Salomon Scafell Pike Trail Marathon Sunday 15th August 2021
Last Sunday saw the Salomon Scafell Pike Trail marathon start and finish in Crow Park, Keswick. The 44km and 1800m of climbing route took competitors down the Borrowdale Valley via Grange to Seathwaite Farm, where there was then a sustained climb to Styhead Pass and the Corridor Route to Scafell Pike. The descent was via Esk Hause and a return to Seathwaite and another climb to Watendlath. The conditions were grim: thick mist above 400m or so and persistent, wind driven rain making safe navigation an absolute must as the mountain section was not marked. The weather did improve by late afternoon although many had finished the race by then. The ladies winner was Eleanor Davis of Preston Harriers in a time of 4:08.12 and she was an incredible 9th overall. 2nd was Keswick AC athlete, and former Harrier ,Nichola Jackson in 4:18.40. 3rd was Georgia Tindley in 4:24.19 from Kingussie in Scotland. The men’s winner, in 3:32.29, was Tom Adams of Ilkley AC and 2nd was Andy Douglas of Inverclyde AC. Ricky Lightfoot was 3rd in 3:37.20. Almost 240 runners started the race. The race was also a selection event with automatic picks for the first two men and ladies for the Great Britain team at the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships 40 km in Thailand in November 2021. However a few days before the Scafell race, competitors were advised that the World Trail will be held back to February 2022, with selection still based on this race.
Northern Athletics Junior Track & Field Championships
Preston Harriers sent a strong team to the Northern Athletics Junior Championships in Hull. Queenie Nguta once more proved her promise, easily taking first place in the 100 metres (U13) and Isaac Delaney showed his class to win the U17 shot put with a new personal best performance. Emma Harrison (Hammer, U17) and Jack Winstanley (800 meters, U15) made up the other 1st places. It was also a great day on a personal level with Oliver Delaney (U13) improving his PBs in 100 metres, long jump and shot put, Olivia Rankin (U13) improving her time for the 100 metres and Corey Middleton (U15) gaining a personal best in the 80 metres hurdles. Elsewhere, Alex Bernstein took silver on Wednesday against a strong performance from Owen Merrett in the Manchester International.
Catforth 5km road race Saturday 14th August 2021
On the roads, a large team took on the Catforth 5k and was rewarded with the women’s team prize. First Harrier home was Andrew Tranter (20:22) followed by Zara Darkin (20:38) and Ken Beazley (20:45). As usual, following hard on his heels was Peter Cowling (20:52). The mens team was completed by Steve Boardman (21:47) and Alan Littler (25:45). Vikki Duckett (22:59), Maureen Kirkby (27:05) and Angela Tranter (28:35) completed the women’s team.