Ted has sent in a report of the day, as follows:

Eight Wharfedalers went to Pete Jebb's Kettlewell race to join 80 others on a cool crisp November morning for this 4 miler. Ian Holmes won in 33.00 minutes. Then the Wharfedale team came in thick and fast to win the team prize. Ted 2nd, Watdog 7th, Jack Smith 8th, For the women, I forget who won, but Cathy Bradley received 5th prize. Thanks must go to Watdog who left his £20 voucher and 6 tins of beer in the pub. I've spent the voucher and started the beer. Don't worry Jack, I will save your beer till you are old enough. Ted

Full results are in the results section and the times and places of the Wharfedalers were as follows:

Pos	Name	Time	Other
2	Ted Mason	33:58
7	Sam Watson	36:34	1st U23
8	Jack Smith	36:46	1st U18
17	Will Marshall	38:43	U18
28	Andy Smith	41:49
41	Neil Taylor	44:55
58	Pete Metcalfe	48:37	V50
66	Cathy Bradley	50:15	F

News from across the pond is that Tamara Hird had a great race to finish in 200th position with a time of 3:15:32. This is an improvement on her 2005 London Marathon time of ten minutes. Jason is in New York with her and hopefully a few pics follow shortly.

The Winning Team
For the second time this weekend, Wharfedale have ended up taking the team prize. Owen Beilby has sent in a report of the day, as follows:

Myself and Gareth were surprised to discover Bruce at the Cop Hill Fell Race in Meltham on Sunday allowing Wharfedale to field 2 men's teams in one weekend...Surely this has to be...(More)

The full results are in the results section and times and positions of the Wharfedalers were as follows:

Pos	Name	Time	Other
2	Owen Beilby	48:14
7	Bruce Elsworth	50:45
11	Gareth Hird	52:27

Last Saturday saw 233 runners set off from the Blacksmiths Arms for this 5 mile/1800 ft race over Raven's Crag and Stickle Pike. Amongst this large field were three Wharfedalers. Chris Newman led them home in 37th place, followed by Judy Howells and Kate Rogan.

The full results are in the results section and times and positions of the Wharfedalers were as follows:

Pos	Name	Time	Other
37	Chris Newman	47:31
116	Judy Howells	56:33
142	Kate Rogan	59:05

Please note that a few extra pics taken by David Hird have now added to those originally posted in the gallery.

A few pics of this race, taken by David Hird have now been added top the gallery.

Please note that a few pics taken by David Hird of the youngsters that took part in this event have now been posted in the gallery

Four Wharfedalers turned out for this race. The winner once more was Ian Holmes, with Ben Mounsey 2nd and Karl Grey third. First home for Wharfedale was Bruce "King of the Mountains" Elsworth, who finished in 12th place followed by Gareth Hird in 20th place.

Our other representatives were Adam Baker and Cathy Bradley. The total number of runners this year was 362 compared with 235 last year.

The full results are in the results section and times and positions of the Wharfedalers were as follows:

Pos	Name	Time	Other
12	Bruce Elsworth	48:01
20	Gareth Hird	49:17
130	Adam Baker	58:47
247	Cathy Bradley	66:59	L

In addition to those listed below, pictures have now been added for the following events:

• Bofra Cracoe
• Bofra Cray
• Gargrave Show
• Kilnsey Show

All these pics are courtesy of David Hird and feature many of the youngsters who took part in these races.

Brief details of this race are just in and it transpires that Sharon had a great run, finishing in a time of 1:32:27, which is a new PB, knocking 6 minutes of her best previous time. She finished in 91st position out of a total of 419 finishers.

Full results are now in the results section.

Tamara & Jason are back from their break in New York which they have both throughly enjoyed. Tamara is still suffering from the after effects of running the marathon and her legs are still feeling quite stiff. However, she is determined to turn out for the West Yorkshire Cross Country League at Wetherby next week, but it will be a while before she regains her pre-marathon form.

Bruce Elsworth	Lucy Horrocks
Ben Johnstone & Scott Baistow	Ben Johnstone & Scott Baistow

Our Juniors put in some good performances at this meeting. Scott Baistow had a cracking run to finish 2nd in the U16s race. In the U12s, Ben Johnstone was 3rd boy and Zoe Baistow was 3rd girl, whilst in the U8s Lucy Horrocks was 2nd girl and Robbie Johnstone was 3rd boy.

We have our Owl Events. Bowland have Bat Runs. If anyone fancies a bit more off road running with head torches, Bowland are quite happy for you to join them.

Download list of runs (pdf format)

Great Britain olympian Alistair Brownlee entered this race, which perhaps emphasises how important cross country running is to improving your running performance on the fells. All youngsters should take note of this. To show how tough cross country running is and hence how it improves your overall fitness, Alistair finished in 3rd place and his brother Jonathan finished in 5th. Our own Owen Beilby was not all that far behind in 15th place.

In the ladies race, Tamara Hird had a good run despite being fresh from running in the New York Marathon, although she dropped a few places on her previous run at Guiseley. Catherine Wolfenden also dropped a few places from her Guiseley performance, although she gave the impression that she was running so much better. Sharon Barker, fresh from her half marathon had a great run and finished 9 places higher than at Guiseley. A few of these places were gained on her trade mark sprint finish. Despite partying the night before, Kirsty Hall also improved her finishing position from the previous race, although she certainly looked to be paying the price at the end.

In the junior races, we were again well represented, although for one reason and another we only managed to field one team. In the under 11s, you will all remember what a great little runner we have in Charlie Lowrie. Well now we have another promising youngster by the name of Callum Elson, who finished just in front of Charlie. As well as bringing each other on, these two could form the nucleus of a formidable under 11s team

In the under 17s, it was good to see Jack Smith emulating Alistair Brownlee and appearing in this race where he had a great run to finish just a couple of places behind Jonathan Bradshaw in 11th place. Tom Cunningham also had another great run to finish in 15th place and he is another one who is developing into a promising runner.

In the U13s, Will Smith, Ben Johnstone and Harry Muir put in good performances, but sadly Alex Speight had to drop out because of a breathing problem.

Full results are in the results section and a few photos of the day may follow shortly.

Andy Hirst	James Harrison	Judy Howells

Four Wharfedalers were amongst the 201 starters for this race. Andy Hirst sent in a report of the day as follows:

"Ideal weather conditions greeted the 201 starters..." (More)

Joint winners were Paul Thompson of Clayton and Graham Pearce of Pudsey & Bramley in a time of 2:25:43. A few pictures and full results will follow. In the meantime the times and places of the Wharfedalers were as follows:

Pos	Name	Time	Other
41	Andy Hirst	3:01:18
43	James Harrison	3:01:24
91	Jonathan Gibson	3:20:12
102	Judy Howells	3:23:06	L

If you would like to take part in the following races, please can the ladies let Tamara Hird know and the men and juniors let David Hird know as soon as possible, as we have to start entering races at the beginning of December.

Tamara's contact details are 07951 129786 or tamarahird@hotmail.co.uk. David's contact details are 07765 792807 or davidjhird@madasafish.com.

Saturday 10th January 2009
Yorkshire Cross Country Championships
Winterhill School, Kimberworth, Rotherham
Entry fee £5 Seniors, £4 for age groups under 17
Teams: Men - 6 to count, all others 3 to count.

Saturday 24th January 2009
Northern Cross Country Championships
Sherdley Park, St Helens
Entry fee £4 Seniors and U20's, £3.50 all others
Teams: Men - 6 to count, all others 4 to count

Saturday 21 Feb 2009
National Cross Country Championships
Parliament Hill, London (day trip on the train?)
Entry fee tbc
Teams tbc but probably Ladies and juniors - 4 to count, men - 6 to count

Andy Hirst	James Harrison
Jonathan Gibson	Judy Howells

Andy Holden was out and about with his camera at Pendle on Saturday and the above is a selection of some of the photographs that he took. Those and a few more are now in the gallery.

Full results are now in the results section.

Thirty three runners turned out for this event, including three juniors and two ladies. On the top, it was windy with a fairly thick mist which no doubt slowed everyone down a little. In estimating their times, it appears that most people over compensated for the conditions and only four runners estimated a faster time than that which they achieved. One of those underestimating was Mark Nutter, who came away with a bottle of wine for being only 20 secs out from his actual time.

For the runners who took part in this event last year, most took longer to complete the course. A notable exception was Jack Smith, who had a cracking run to complete it in a time of 38:36. The fastest time of the night was Stephen Brock of Keighley and Craven, with a time of 38:28. He just pipped Sam Watson to the post who recorded a time of 38:30. It was nice to see Ian Taylor back out on the fells and he was in the group of four with a sub thirty nine minute time.

On his way round, Will Marshall took a knock on the side of his knee and had to withdraw and he was gallantly accompanied back to the start by Pete Keron. It would appear to be nothing too serious and hopefully, we will see Will out on the fells again shortly.

As usual with these Owl Events, there was a good atmosphere and a get together afterwards in pub afterwards to talk about the evening.

Full times for the event are now in the results section.

Some of the Wharfedale Juniors
The above picture is from the Cross Country last Saturday. That and lots more pics of the day are now in the gallery.

Owen Beilby had a brilliant run to in this race. His victory was announced as a new record, but comparing the times for the past four years seems to indicate that in this respect, the organisers have got it wrong. On the ascent, Owen had a good lead and was being chased by Andrew Robertshaw of Otley. On the descent, the gap looked to have closed, but apparently Owen had done his usual trick of getting lost. However, he managed once more to open up a good lead again and ran out an easy winner. Gareth Hird also had a good run to finish in 5th place, closely followed by Jonathan Bradshaw, who had a great run to finish in 6th place. Once more, there was no team prize, but Wharfedale were first teaam with 12 points. Of the top finishers, Sam Watson finished in 9th place and Lucas Payne was 11th. From the sidelines Adam Baker appeared to be having a good run and the results have confirmed this with him finishing just behind Neil Taylor.

Will Marshall has sent in a report of the day and is available from the link below.

Read Will's Report

Full results are in the results section. A few pics from Andy Holden follow. In the meantime, there are a few pics of the race at http://picasaweb.google.com/BobEWightman/RivockEdge2008#

Team Wharfedale at Eaves Wood
Four Wharfedalers made the journey to the top of Morecambe Bay for this race, which is held in a lovely setting. Andy Holden was going to send in a report of the day, but perhaps he has still not got over the fact that he was having a good race and could have had a much higher finishing position, before he went wrong and lost valuable places.

Full results are now available and the times and positions of the Wharfedalers were as follows:

Pos	Name	Time	Other
31	Andy Holden	41:24	MV40
44	Pete Metcalfe	43:55	MV50
68	Lynn Whittaker	47:12	FV40
96	Brian Hugill	53:26	MV40

Training Run Summary
Will Marshall prefers being out on the fells to anything else, so he took the opportunity to join Andy Hirst on Wednesday night for a training run up Pen Y Ghent. He has written a brief report of the evening as follows:

"Andy Hirst and I decided to brave the elements ...More..."

It was back in December 1994, that David Staff, who was aged just 17, collapsed and died whilst competing in the Clitheroe 10K - his first race as a senior runner. Since that time, Darwen Dashers have put on this race in his memory and any profit made is donated to Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY).

This year, the winner was Ben Fish of Blackburn, who had a superb run to set a new course record with a time of 31:29. Anna Lupton of Radcliffe was the first female home and was in 19th place overall.

Seven Wharfedalers turned out for this event. Jack Smith, despite falling in the slippy conditions on the way back had a brilliant run to not only lead the Wharfedalers home, but to take the prize for first junior. He finished in eighth place overall, just one place in front of Sam Watson. We looked as though we were going to have three finishers in the top twenty, but Will Marshall dropped a place on the descent and ended up in 21st place, although he was second junior on the day. Barry Scholes looked to be going a lot better than at Rivock Edge last week and so it proved. On the other hand, both Neil Taylor and Pete Metcalfe looked to be battling with this demanding course.

The race was extremely well organised by Darwen Dashers and full results were actually available to take away on the day - very impressive.

Will Marshall has written a report of the day from a runner's perspective. Read Will's Report

Full results are in the results section and the times and positions of the Wharfedalers were as follows:

Pos	Name	Time	Other
8	Jack Smith	36:43	1st Junior
9	Sam Watson	36:54
21	Will Marshall	39:43	2nd Junior
59	Barry Scholes	44:25	V55
60	Kevin Rogan	44:38	V50
85	Neil Taylor	47:30	V45
96	Pete Metcalfe	48:24	V50

Pendle Owl Event
As well as marshalling, Paul Rogan took a few pictures of the night, even though the conditions for photographs were not the best. These are all now in the gallery.

Owen Beilby
Andy Holden was out and about last weekend and he has sent through some "psychedelic" pictures of the day. These, plus a few normal ones are in the gallery

Lucas Payne & James Harrison entered this road race and Lucas sent in the following brief report of the day:

It was a cold and crisp Sunday when I met James at Thirsk. We were messing about and nearly missed the start, which was quite a way from the car park, so that was our warm up. I did not realise how many people would be there - 849 ! We both set off at the front like idiots, having a bit of banter. Well, we ran the first mile in 5:30, at that point we both shut up and suffered from there on in. You did a round circuit, if you will, with a there and back leg thrown in. I ran round the cone and heard "Go Lucas".`I was convinced it was Harrison - I ran on waiting for the inevitable, but it seems that it was a voice in my head.

I finished in 1:01:08, James 1:03:39. He is getting closer. I may need to retire.

Gareth Hird
Pictures continue to come in for this race. The latest are from David Hird. These have now been added to the existing pictures in the gallery.

Jack Smith
Quite a few Wharfedale Harriers Juniors took part in this event which was the first round in the selection process to represent North Yorkshire in the English schools finals.

We have no results for this event, but briefly, Jack Smith finished second before going out again on the Sunday to round off an incredible weekend by leading the seniors home in the David Staff Race.

Will Smith finished first in his age group and was followed home in second place by Alex Speight. Surprisingly Ben Johnstone finished 15th in this race.

Harry Muir showed some great grit and determination and had a strong finish in his race.

A few pictures taken by David Hird are now in the gallery.

On Tuesday evening, Sam Wadsworth came over to do a recce for this run and has selected a five and a half mile route with just over 1,000 feet of ascent. He reported that although the ground was covered in snow, the conditions were ideal and he really enjoyed it. Conditions are now even better, as the overnight frost has "firmed up" the snow. The weather forecast is for a cold and clear evening, although more snow is expected in the early hours of Thursday morning.