Sale Indoor Open - Sunday 10th March 2019 by Dave Greenwood

Like Pandora's Box, the Indoor arena swallows a surprising number of people. One minute it looks quite empty and seduces you into thinking there's not many there so it will be a short day. The call comes for 60m Sprints and out they come like a swarm of Bees buzzing around, chattering away in expectation. The hush falls and instead of the gun that scares the pants off people and awakens youngsters, there’s a softer electronic game noise and when there's a false start I thought at times I had gone back to the Nineties space Invaders game. Replacing the gun was a trial start system which was being used as an experiment; in the North of England with a view to becoming the new system. We will endeavour to seek more information from David Brown and report back.

 This was the renowned Sale Harriers Winter Indoor series, the Final event of the series in fact. As one would expect having seen the culmination of the major Indoor season with the Europeans in Glasgow recently, the numbers of athletes were not as great as there had been in early January. It's now the transition period when the rest do not look forward to the first freezing encounter with track and field outdoors. We usually get fooled into thinking spring is here, the Daffodils are out, Farah has stolen the limelight in the half and the marathon, it's Spring, then it goes grey, cold and wet again.

For the Sprinters and jumpers the relative warmth of Sportcity gets them ready again. The frustration of false starts and there were plenty, reminds people to go away and practice their starts again, he Long jumper who needs to take their run up a few inches back to hit the board. All are skills that are honed here. All that winter practice is not quite the same as competition.

On the positive side many will have left pleased with where they are at; a total of 99 P.B.s were recorded in the 60m!  That’s right 99 ! Come to Sale next winter and grab a P.B.

There were a number of 60m sprint races in the morning with the opportunity to go again at the end of the day with 300m races, hurdles and 600m. Two High jump beds were in action for the jumpers

The Pole vault; a wonderful facility which has helped raise the standard and popularity, was not as busy as it was at Vault Cardiff, an event nearly as good as Vault Manchester.

The invitation 200m Masters event saw 43 year old T.J.Ofori of Shaftesbury Barnet only just overcome Mike Coogan (V45) of East Cheshire in a time of 22.80, two athletes who would put many younger to shame. A measure of how good T.J. still is was his 60m time which was fastest of the day for all ages, in 7.60 seconds. I wonder how many of you will be in such good shape at their age ? Now there's a challenge.

Finally without the incomparable Jack Frost and all his co-workers this series would not be possible. Many of the officials are retired but spend most weekends officiating in Athletics. People like club stalwart Brian Goulden who had spent Saturday at the Inter Counties then all day Sunday at this. We should thank all these people and I'm sorry to say I recognise many but don't know all their names. Thank you to all those selfless people who dedicate themselves to this club and the sport.

Indoor Open Meet

54 Ae5k8832 Copy

02 Ae5k7713 Copy

08 Ae5k8042 Copy

12 Ae5k7757 Copy

03 Ae5k7985 Copy

01 Ae5k7974 Copy

by Matt Spragg

“Where’s the mud?” cried the traditionalists as we arrived at Harewood House for the 2019 National Cross Country Championships. Completely dry ground, ridiculously warm weather and a magnificent setting all contributed to a memorable day.

Two long 6k laps for the two thousand or so men who assembled on the start line. And no mud meant faster running which, combined with the hills, meant that the race was as tough as always. The advice beforehand was to get a fast start to avoid any bottlenecks; all very well for those on the front row but for everyone else the first half mile was a frantic head-down shuffle, avoiding flailing arms and spikes until the field started to thin out.

Then the hills started - a long slog up to the back of the course (amazing views from here), before a steady downhill section which I hoped would take us back to the end of the lap; but no, the course went back up for a steep couple of hundred metres before a rapid descent down to the start/finish area.

So one more lap of the same. No letting up because any time you slowed down, a hundred people would overtake you. More of the punishing hills (no enjoying the views this time round) and then a seemingly endless sprint to the line.

Tremendous vocal support on the course from the SHM fans, with Dave and Brian popping up here and there to shout out their usual encouragement and words of wisdom.

Fantastic running all round, and great work towards the front of the field with Nigel Martin in an impressive 11^th overall, with Luke, Callum, Gaz and Dan making up the fifth placed men’s team.

The fun wasn’t over as we faced an interminable struggle to get out of the car park and then through the traffic in Leeds – although the minibus crew weren’t complaining as Glenn Savage had come up with the goods, producing a crate of Old Speckled Hen to help pass the time.

The day ended with some still bemoaning the lack of mud as we tucked into a well-deserved curry back in Sale. It was a true privilege to represent Sale Harriers in such a prestigious event. Here’s to next year!

      SALE HARRIERS MANCHESTER

NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

TO BE HELD ON THURSDAY 19th of MARCH 2020         

COMMENCING AT 8:30pm

AT THE

ATHLETICS FACILITY

 CROSSFORD BRIDGE STADIUM

 SALE

Any items of business for the meeting must be notified in writing to the Club Secretary Frank Cordingley at 27 Barnfield, Urmston. M41 9EW. (email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.), to reach him no later than 21 days prior to the date of the AGM (i.e. 27th Feb 2020).

Nigel Martin

The Armagh 5k is just under 5 laps of ‘the mall’, right at the centre of Armagh in Northern Ireland. The course is all road in a sort of oval shape, but with tighter turns. Looking at the course you wouldn’t think it was perfect as there are a couple of inclines, so it’s not totally flat. This was the 3^rd time in a row I’d done the race and for good reason. Not only does it produce lightning fast times, but like no other race I’ve done, it takes care of the athletes. There is not a large amount of prize money on offer, instead most of the sponsorship money goes into getting the athletes to Armagh, putting them up in accommodation, providing meals and just generally creating an atmosphere which makes everyone feel like a professional, if just for a couple of days. The race has grown in depth rapidly over the last few years with ever tougher entry requirements, potentially 15:30 next year!

I arrived on the Wednesday night along with some others from my training group, but surprisingly no other Sale runners. After arriving at the hotel I did basically what you do up until the evening of the race – rest in bed. There’s a lot of time to kill as the race isn’t until 8:30pm, but it’s perfect as the late time is usually conducive to running fast and any wind has normally died down. Lunch wasn’t until 1:30pm so a few of us did a Shake-out run at 12:30pm. For those not in the know (which included me until a couple of years ago) a shake-out run is just a very easy jog for 10-20mins generally between 4-8 hours before the race. It might not sound important, but I’d say it’s crucial and just as important as a warm-up. Conditions were mild, but with a bit of a breeze. The inevitable question of “what time are you aiming for” was asked. I said 14:15, but I was thinking 14:10 was a real possibility. More importantly my aim was to just stick with the lead group, which I’d need to do given it’s usually won in around 14 flat. Training had gone really well and unlike last year where I was past peak shape and actually a bit over-trained, this year I’d come into form at just the right time. I was confident I could stick with the leaders.

After napping in bed most of the afternoon (another definite performance booster that tends to be unique to this race unless you’re a full-time athlete), I thought at about 5:30pm it was time to get up with 3 hours to go until the race. I had a “proper” filter black coffee with 2 hours to go, having brought a French Press with me! We went out for a warm-up an hour before the race, giving us loads of time. The women’s 3k race was underway as we were doing drills and conditions were perfect. Unlike previous years it was not freezing cold, but a mild ~10°C. The breeze from earlier also seemed to have gone away. The women’s race times were very similar to last year, being won in just under 9:00, then it was time for the 5k. Every meter of the course was lined with spectators 3+ deep. Geoff Wightman, the famous athletics commentator, had been flown in again to do the race commentary. The mall was decorated in lights, anything and everything to add to the atmosphere.

The main ‘problem’ with the 5k now is there are too many good runners. The race is chip timed, but there is just a line in a road, no starting mat. Everyone obviously wants to be at the front. It’s been suggested for future races there needs to be a mat or even a B race. I hung back before lining up, keeping an eye on the likes of Jonny Mellor as I knew he’d be on the front. Everyone moved forward as the marshals came in and I nearly got swallowed up, but then everyone was pushed back to the start and I found myself on the front, which was quite lucky!

The k split times are called out, but I can never see where the markers are, so I’m usually running totally blind. My watch gives an idea, but with the tight corners it’s not accurate. Usually a big advantage I find as all you focus on is racing those around you.

I stuck to the back of the lead train and ignored all the moves off the front people were making and just settled into the pack. Gaps opened up at times as a select few ran off the front to form a lead group, but generally we caught them back up. We went under the finish gantry in 2:27, which was after around 900m run.  Each lap is slightly over a k, so my aim was to keep chopping the seconds down, running under 3min per lap. I found the 2^nd lap tough and drifted to the back of the group, but we went through again in 5:18 and I started to get more into it on the 3^rd lap. I found that the downhill immediately after the incline was where people were really pushing hard. Once I prepared myself for that I felt better. We hit 3 laps in 8:09 (3k called out in 8:20, a PB for me!) and we were down to quite a select group at this point, with Sam Stabler (last year’s winner) still right next to me, waiting to time his long push for home. My watch showed I was running a lot faster than last year, but I still didn’t have better than 14:10 in mind as I was convinced that was as good as I could do. I was inspired running alongside such great runners and the longer the race went on the better I felt. Usually whenever I have a really good run, it’s not particularly painful.

4 laps were hit in 11:04, suggesting a sub 14 was on the cards, but still I didn’t register that, blind to how fast I was running. Things really picked up on the final lap. Sam in particular was really flying to catch the lead group, who were a few seconds ahead. I got detached slightly and just kept the England vests in focus, just trying to match their speed as I pushed hard down the ‘back straight’. Some people were dropping back, paying for their earlier efforts, but even they were still running very fast. Helpfully this year they had 600/400/200m to go signs and with 400 to go I was giving it everything. An England vest was just a second or two in-front and I was matching his pace, but it wasn’t until I saw the clock with about 80m to go reading 13:39 that the disbelief set in. I forgot all about the pain and sprinted across the line in 9^th in 13:53, thinking that somehow a mistake had been made, since there’s no way I could run under 14... This despite it being the exact same course as the last 2 years. I’d just run 32s quicker than the PB I set in the same race the previous year.

Thinking about it after, the confidence I had that I could run with the leaders, the fact I didn’t know how fast I was going, the perfect conditions and incredible depth were what led to such fast times. This was the 29^th running of the race, but this time the top 10 all beat the old course record! A world record of 113 athletes ran under 15 minutes (beating 90 odd the previous year). The conditions have been good the last 2 times I’ve done it, just not perfect. Needless to say, if you can, you absolutely have to do this race!

Full race video:

Race results