Sat. 8th February 2025, Towneley Park, Burnley
On a chilly but dry day the course itself was not the usual mud fest seen in previous years which was a welcome change for many. The Senior Ladies lined up with a squad of 14 athletes on the day and straight from the gun a battle ensued at the front with Emma McColm from Preston chasing down Emily Simm from Blackpool. Emma running hard to ultimately take the victory by 6 seconds in 18:46.
Next home from Preston were Jamie Robinson 20:13, 5th overall (1st in her age category F35) and Katie Littlefair, 10th in 21:28. These 3 ladies bringing home the Ladies in 1st place. Following close and supporting the team was also Charlotte Gregory 22:17.
Preston Ladies also finished 2nd in the Over 35 race, backing up Jamie were Cathy Flitcroft (F60) 23:26 and Sharon Wilkinson (F50) 24:22. And there were more accolades for the Preston Ladies:
1st in Over 45 category with Cathy and Sharon as mentioned above along with Catherine Mitchell (F45) 25:03 who sprinted home to take valuable points.
3rd in Ladies Over 55 category with Cathy, Sue Wickham (F60) 34:21 and Judith Deakin (F75) 38:22, 1st in her age category.
Other great performances from this amazing squad of Ladies were Lindsey Berends (F50) 25:05, Zowie Purnell (F40) 26:22, Julie Tyrer (F45) 29:33, Agnieska Kowalczyk (F35) 30:23 and Olga Wiggins (F45) 30:39
Next it was the turn of the men, with 17 Senior Men taking to the start line. Chris Livesey (V40) immediately taking the lead and staying in that position through to the finish with a time of 30:07. The Harriers then had a flurry of finishers with Wesley Wilkinson 2nd home for the Harriers in 13th with 32:06, 19th Billy Reid (U20) 32:47, 21st Jenson Warren (U20) 33:02, 23rd Luke Suffolk 33:25 and 28th Martin Phillips 33:41. These 6 athletes doing enough to secure 1st Team place for the Senior Men, mirroring the Ladies result.
Following these 6, further athletes from the strong Harrier squad crossed the line with Simon Collins (V40) in 33:48, Peter Gibson 35:50, David Lea (V60 – 1st in age category) 37:08, Robert Worsey 38:45, Chris Williams 38:46, Paul Jeffries (V50) 40:20, Joseph Sharples 40:42, John Rainford (V60) 40:52, John Griffiths (V60) 41:10, Michael Brown (V65) 49:23, William Johnstone (V60) 50:56
In the age group races Preston Men also showed their domination:
2nd in Over 40 category – Chris Livesey (V40), Simon Collins (V40), David Lea (V60), Paul Jeffries (V50)
1st in Over 60 category – David Lea, John Rainford (V60), John Griffiths (V60)
With just one fixture left on 1st March in Skelmersdale both Preston Harrier Men and Women sit top of the Division One Leagues but a final good turnout will be important to bring the trophies home to Preston.
Other notable team results from the Harrier youngsters made it a very successful day for Preston.
U11 Girls 4th – 11th Emily Holden, 12th Harriet Johns, 17th Annie Turner
U11 Boys 2nd – 7th Patrick Piron, 8th Harrison Kingwells,10th Henry Taylor
U13 Girls 4th – 4th Millie Wright, 17th Lucy Mitchell, 21st Phoebe Newsham
U13 Boys 1st – 1st Jack Turner, 12th Dylan Parker, 13th Matthew Bennett
U15 Boys 1st – 3rd Jack Mawdsley, 6th Thomas Bates, 8th Samuel Ridgway
U17 Men 1st – 2nd Luke Kane, 4th Joshua Smith, 6th Samuel Bates