YOUTH DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE (Lower)

Peter Shaw

The YDL is a national league for U13 & U15 boys and girls and, prior to Covid, Sale were North-West Premier, North of England and National Champions. In recent years our youngsters won eleven northern and three national titles. On Saturday the 21st of May 2022 they took part in a NW Premier match at Longford Park.

Our sprinters and hurdlers were in great form with wins in both U15 boys relays and individual victories from JAMES O'BRIEN, JAMES JACKSON, JEFFERSON ADENUGA, NIAMH DOLAN, LILY OLDALE, MATTHEW ADENUGA, DANIEL OWOSENI, EVA ANWYL and LILY VALENTINE. ALFIE DICKS, LIAM O'BRIEN, NIAMH RIDLER, MAX CUNNINGHAM, HANNAH OWOSENI, KIERAN STAFFORD and OLIVER HOWELL were runner's up whilst ROXY Mc HUGH and MADDIE HOLT ran PB's

Our Harrier tradition was upheld in the middle distance events with excellent performances against strong opposition. JAMES O'BRIEN was our star performer with 2 individual victories. The girl's 1200m was the highlight of the day with OONAGH MC MANUS and BEA SOPER winning their events with Grade 1 performances. Further victories came from ALEX FRASER, DAN OAKES, SIENNA JONES, LOLA RICHARDSON and GRACE HILL. IZZY HALL had an excellent run to finish 2nd over 1500m whilst FINLAY GODDARD and HANNAH SQUIBBS ran PB's.

Lily Oldale

Our best performances in the field events came from LILY OLDALE who competed in four events and won the javelin with a Grade 1 performance of 41m which broke Shelley Holdroyd's long standing U15 Sale Harriers record from 1987. Our other field events winners were MARIA RAYKOVA, PANAGIS ZAPANTIS and CALUM PARK whilst JOSHUA DOYLE was 2nd .

After two matches Wirral are in 1st place with Sale equal 2nd with Preston on league points (though Preston have more total match points).

A massive thanks to CARL WORTHINGTON who again team managed the boys and girls on his own, to parents, officials, coaches and, of course ERNIE GREENWOOD, the club's even faithful and reliable photographer.

 

Thea Brown continues to show outstanding ability as she breaks another Sale Harriers club record. At the recent YDL meeting in Liverpool she ran 11:59 in the U17 80m hurdles. This follows earlier successes in U15 Pentathlon (3598 points) a record which stood since 2014 and her U15 high jump record stands at 1.72m.

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Thea Brown had a very successful 2021 as an under 15 pentathlete. In June she won the ESAA NM schools combinedevents championships with a points score of 3116. Then she went on to win the England U15 high jump title and the 100m bronze medal in Augusts EA U15 championships breaking her own hih jump club record with a new height of 1.68m. In September she then became the ESAA English Schools Combined Events U15 silver medalist with a PB score of 3407 and, as a result, was selected to represent England in the U16 SIAB Home Nations International in December. Held at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, she had another fantastic weekend and won the Pentathlon silver medal only losing out to gold by about 3 secs in the 800m and helping team England girls to a new team international record. She again improved her pentathlon PB to 3598 points and on this occasion brokr Grace Bower's club Pentathlon record of 3273 which stood since 2014.

Schneider Electric Marathon de Paris 2022

Paris map

On April 3rd, three Sale Harriers set off in Paris on the 26.2 scenic route. Paris attracted 35,757 runners in total. The weather had threatened to be snowing all weekend when people arrived on Friday; by Sunday it was clear skies and ideal running conditions, but still cold. The race was won by Ethiopian Deso Gelmisa in 2:05:07, with the first female, Kenyan Judith Jeptum Koriv knocking over a minute of the course record with 2:19:48. Those new shoes Eh!

Eddie

Richard ‘Eddie’ Edwards MV45 was first home from Sale Harriers with 2.51.51, pretty much half an hour faster than his last marathon in 2018.

Aaron Steele was over the moon with an 11 minute PB of 3.09.21, he did 3:21:23 in Manchester last year. This is likely to be Aaron’s last outing with Sale as he has decided to return to his native Northern Ireland with his wife and family after 7 years with Sale Harriers. We wish him luck on his new life and new challenges.

Helen 1

Helen Carter FV40, ran 3.38.31, a great improvement on her last Paris Marathon in 2016 of 3:46. She is having a great year with a 2:48:11 at the Trimpell 20 in March.

All 3 were delighted and celebrated around the sights of Paris afterwards. French sporting newspaper, L’Equipe, publish a marathon supplement on Monday 4th. Eddie ranked 707, Aaron, 2580 and Helen 9268.  

   Paris 2022

 

Paris apre

 

The Manchester Marathon 2022

On the same day The Manchester Marathon, which meanders through the pleasant suburbs of south Manchester, attracted a host of Sale Harriers, many of whom were delighted with their times and positions.

Of course, everyone deserves a huge shout-out for to-day's Marathon but a special shout-out for Nigel Martin who's not only improved his PB by 3 minutes but also has broken by 13 seconds Sale Harrier's marathon club record of 2:15.32 held by Matt Bond from London 2016.
 
Nigel said:
"2:15:19 for *6th at the Manchester Marathon today - almost a 3 minute PB.
A very tough race with a 66 first half, but no regrets giving it a go and gave it everything.
Time to rest and recover!"
 
Nigel Martin Manchester 22
 In the ladies competition our very own Sonia Samuels came 4th with 2:32:30
 
Sophie Wood Manchester 22
 
Sophie Wood had a stormin race finishing in 9th position with 2:38:23.
She said:
"Marathon Debut as an elite runner! Imposter syndrome at its finest. Last mile hurt .. A LOT. Cried when I finished but couldn’t have done it without all my amazing friends and family! So grateful to have the best support crew and literally can’t believe I’ve just ran a 2:38 marathon!!"
 
Nigel Martin                 2:15:19                       SM
Nick Barry 2:23:43 SM
Sonia Samuels 2:32:30 F
Rob Dunn 2:35:51 SM
Joe Vis 2:36:30   SM
Peter Shipley 2:37:47 SM
Sophie Wood 2:38:23 F
Tom Stephenson 2:38:12 SM
Adam Bradshaw 2:50:02 SM
Robert Palmer 2:58:08 M40
Mike Ashby 3:00:23 M40
Rachael Rozhdestvegskaya 3:00:38 F
Simon Latham 3:03:26 SM
Alistair Kell 3:08:50 M50
Jason Bowers 3:13:39 V45
Jenny Fox 3:14:55 F40
Rob Heggs 3:15:45 M45
Hum Vaz 3:18:42 M40
Robbie Greenslade 3:30:03 M45
Sam Forshaw 3:39:24 M40
Caroline Kinghorn 3:47:06 F55
Tim Hines 3:56:27 M40
Matt Brooke 3:58:14 M45
James Crossan 3:59:41  
Dawn Gilbert 4:31:13 F45
Tim Rainey 4:32:44 M55
Jon Stock 5:18:34 M55
Ranjit Bennett 5:27:06 M50
 
 

Jonny Mellor and Becky Spriggs weren't the only two to run out of the skins in April's Manchester Marathon with commanding wins that smashed the England qualifying standard for the Birmingham Commonwealth Games and European championships but Sale Harriers also had a lot to shout. Plaudits indeed go to all twenty-seven club participants from NIGEL MARTIN'S zippy PB of 2:15.19 for 6th place to RANJIT BENNETT admirable resilience to bravely finish at the other end of the 14000 field of runners in 5:27.06. In-between were the likes of 53-year old ALISTAIR KELL who braved it even after two surgeries on a torn calf and still came close to his best of 3:08.50.

Nineteen of the twenty-seven drank from the elixir of running with fantastic PB's. The most notable of these were:

NIGEL MARTIN (2:15.19) who improved his PB by three minutes over last year's Kew Garden's British Olympic Marathon. He also broke by 13 seconds the club's marathon record of 2:15.32 held by Matt Bond from the London Marathon of 2016.

SONIA SAMUELS was 1st L40 in 2:32.32 with one of the fastest L40 marathon performances of all time that put her on top of her UK age-group marathon rankings. Her performance was further awesome in that she'd endured multiple bouts of illness following becoming a Mum and in the later stages of her marathon preparation got Covid. Sonia, as readers will know, has represented GB in the marathon at the 2016 Rio Olympic Marathon, the 2018 European Championships and the 2018 Gold Coast Marathon and holds the club marathon record of 2:28.04 from Berlin in 2015.

SOPHIE WOOD surpassed her own expectations for an 2:45 debut marathon. She was understandably thrilled to run 2:38.23. “I can't believe it' she said.

TIM RAINEY ran his 163rd marathon, surely in itself a club record! Tim is an ultra-distance specialist and his 163rd marathon includes 58 ultra marathons.

PETER SHIPLEY (2:37.47) recorded the biggest of all club PB's. In great form throughout the year he knocked a massive twenty minutes off his 2017 Manchester Marathon and dipped under 2:40 for the first time.

SIMON LATHAM (3:03.26) was the next biggest improver. He knocked 10 minutes off his 2021 London Marathon time.

JENNY FOX was the next biggest improver who knocked a chunky seven minutes off last year's Manchester Marathon for a new best of 3:14.55.

RACHEL ROZHDESTVENSKAYA (3.00.38) improved her best by a full 5 minutes on her 2014 St. Petersburg (Russia) Marathon and came nail-bitingly close to her first sub 3-hour marathon.

Well done to those Sale Harriers who lined the route and cheered their colleagues and those who marshalled a section of the course and raised a bucket-full of money for the club coffers

Fechin McCormick

national men

The Nation's most prestigious cross-country event returned to it's spiritual home of Parliament Hill Fields in February for the 17th time following a missed 2021due to Covid-19.

ALAN WHITE, a member of the club's senior endurance section, described the 'National'' in an excellent article for Fast Running. “ Cricket has The Ashes. Golf has its majors. English football has Wembley. Horse racing has Cheltenham. Running has plenty of its own, but for English cross country, nothing quite matches the magnitude of the National. Many towns and cities have staged it, but when at Parliament Hill, the race is different. A national championship on another level. For many, it is the true home of English cross country, and once witnessed, the image of a never-ending sea of runners charging up the iconic uphill start lives on forever”.

If you've not done a 'National' at Parliament Hill wait and do the next one. Stand on top of that iconic hill up from the start line with London's skyscrapers as its backcloth and experience the ground thunder as the senior men explode from their 400m wide pens and charge up the hill forming an arrowhead as they speed for the top. I wish I could still do it!

Parliament Hill is a tough undulating course with killer hills and it tends to throw up everything from good underfoot conditions to having to plough through energy sapping mud and historically it's been run in horrendous snow, sleet and rain. This year's 8000 runners and thirteen age-groups who'd travelled from Gateshead and Morpeth and Penzance in Cornwall had good conditions but no-one escaped the stretches of thick, energy sapping mud thanks to February's storms Dudley, Eunice, Franklin and Gladys.

Sale Harriers enthusiasm for 'The National' is such that this year more seniors than any other club in Northern England travelled to the Capital - 34 senior men and women whereas Hallamshire had 25 and Leeds 20! For some it was the experience of taking part but for most it was the serious business of competing against the country's best, aiming for top positions and to win the prestigious team accolades and medals. Parliament Hill always attracts the best and this year's line-up's had their full compliment of national and regional champions in all the thirteen age-group races.

In the senior men's race, the club had NIGEL MARTIN cross the line in a brilliant 6th place. The club's top senior endurance runner of 2021 raced his first Parliament Hill 'National' in 2015and finished 159th . He wrote, “ I finally nailed 'it' with three MACCL wins (having previously never won a XC race), a win at the Gtr. Manchester Champs, 2nd at the 'Northern's' and now 6th at the 'National'. A medal was on my mind, but with Mahamed Mahamed, Emile Cairess and Alex Yee all running, they were always likely to lock the podium out' (as they did!). Let him inspire all you up and coming ambitious runners!

He led the club to 7th place - a performance consistent with 10th in 2020, 5th in 2019 and 10th in 2018. They were also the 2nd Northern club behind Leeds City AC who retained their silver medals from 2020 and were champions in 2019. The seven men behind Nigel all finished among the top 200 which speaks volumes for the club's depth, quality and ability to be more widely successful. Well done NICK BARRY (64th), DANIEL KASHI (100th ), PHIL ROBERTSON (112th), JAMES WIGNALL (112th ), WILLIAM ONEK (137th ), GAZ RAVEN (189th) and ALAN WHITE (193rd ) A special shout-out to evergreen M45 Gaz Raven who ran his 27th consecutive 'National'. That's awesome!

The club also had a top finisher in double Tokyo Olympic Triathlon medallist, GEORGIA TAYLOR-BROWN MBE who just missed the podium in 4th place. What a shame on her most most illustrious Olympian year! Georgia has cross-country in her heart and always finds the time to compete for the club when she's not on the World Triathlon circuit. She's won the National in 2014, was 3rd in 2017 and 4th in 2018 and 2019. This year, she led the club home for 16th place thanks to ALICE WRIGHT (68th), JULIET DOWNS (86th) and ANNE CHINOY but, without some of the other key players missing who massively contributed to the club's success on the Northern & MACCL circuit throughout the winter, they were unlikely to return to the podium where they stood as National XC champions in 2018. For the record they were 10th in 2020 and 14th in 2019. Leeds City AC won this year's title.

The younger age-groups all had the experience of their lives. Many ran their first 'National' and to a person, all deserve the heartiest clap on the back. Parents, coaches and team managers will be very proud of their commitment, grit and determination that the 'National' demands. The U13 boys - JAKE ROYLE, ALEX FRAZER, LIAM O'BRIEN, ED SPARKS and DAN OAKES were 10th team this year. In 2020 the section were 4th , 6th in 2019 and 3rd in 2018. Congratulations to neighbours Trafford AC who were the champions.

The U13 girls were also 10th , a position remarkably consistent with their recent 'Nationals'. They were 11th in 2020,12th in 2019 and 11th in 2018. Well done to the club's starlets who've been awesome throughout the winter - ISOBEL HALL, OONAGH Mc MANUS, IMOGEN HILL, PHEOBE CARROLL and AMBER WEBB.

The U15 boy's have also been incredibly consistent in this Championship. They were 21st team this year exactly as in 2018 and they were 9th in 2020. As ever, well done to the squad of OSCAR SCHOFIELD, FINLAY DAY, JAMES O'BRIEN, SAM PEARCE, ALFIE CLARE and JOE SPARK. Oscar was a brilliant 4th and what a pity he just missed a medal. This fast improving young runner was 58th in 2019 and 32nd last time ….so what progress!

The U15 girls just had ISABELLA APPLEBY and SOPHIE ARMITAGE fly the club flag and well done again to these two club stalwarts of their age-group throughout the MACCL season. Recruit a few more and win medals next year!

The U17 girls were similar to the U15 girls with only AKIRA EDGSON and CARMEN SAFRANAUSKAS on the start line. Akira, the Northern U17 3000m champion, seemed to love the mud and finished an excellent 47th. Carmen, a club stalwart of the MACCL cross-country was 156th.

The U17 boy's were arguably one of the day's highlights. Their 12th finishing position was their section's first time in seven years to finish a team. Well done EVAN & EWAN SAVAGE, CHARLIE TITTENSOR, LUKE CHINOY, JACK SPARK, JOSHUA COLQUNOUN-LYNN and BEN EDWARD. Keep together lads....keep strong....and be on that podium in 2023.

The club's junior men and women are sections that struggle nationally to recruit numbers even though some southern clubs like Tonbridge Wells and Aldershot, this year's champions and silver medallists, seem to regularly medal and finish in top positions in this championship. Is it more than another North/South divide? For the ninth consecutive year, Sale Harriers recorded no junior men's team and had only ROBBIE RIGBY and ZAC GALLEMIN on the start line. Well done, guys for 'flying that club flag '. The junior women were more successful finishing a team in 5th , particularly encouraging in that it was the first time since 2018 their section recorded a team result when they were also the National champions.

The National XC Championships brought an end to the winter's cross-country season. Thanks to everyone involved and that includes the indispensable team managers, parents and coaches Onwards now to an ever greater 2022/3.

Youtube link

NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

TO BE HELD ON THURSDAY 7th of APRIL 2022.    

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 (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. 17th March 2022).

Masks will be advisable, and seating will be set out with Covid-19 in mind. The room will be ventilated so bring warm clothing if you attend.