“Please come,” Maureen had said, “we need to beat Halifax if we’re going to be promoted”.
And it certainly looked as if lots of Harriers had answered her pleading. On an ideal day for PBs – mild, sunny weather, not too much of a breeze, nice, bouncy track – a strong team of men and women came ready to run, jump, throw (up, if necessary) to try to claim the prize of a place in the 3rd Division.
Hayley Standing had an excellent afternoon in Hammer, Discus and Shot, ably supported by the Sports Family Kay. Marie Kay managed to complete a dizzying range of events: 100m, 400m hurdles, 100m relay, Discus and Javelin, whilst daughter Sarah ran 100m, Javelin, Long jump, Triple and High jump – what a great pair of multi-eventers.
Helen Walsh’s flying form continued. She ran a season’s best at 400m, officially timed at 2.26, but those in the stands timed it at 2.25, and completed a swift 200 and 100m relay leg as well.
Newlywed Helen Barry came first in the 1,500m A-race in 5.14, and also completed a fast 400 leg in the relay event.
It wasn’t just the women who answered Maureen’s call. There was brave racing in the 400m hurdles (Grand National style fences), with Chris Brock completing his lap heroically, having fallen twice and sustaining a nasty gash to his knee which led to an unexpected to Stepping Hill.
Jon Walch raced off with 1st place in the 800m A-race in 1.59, with Mike Cooke ably following him up in the B. Rory Evans and Tom Taylor both scored top spots in their 200m races, and Jamie Loxam achieved a swift 2nd in the 5,000m.
Pete Torrance supported the field events in Hammer, Javelin and Shot, whilst Neil Wilkins threw well in the Discus and Javelin. Chris Hesketh made the High jump look effortless as he won with a jump of 1.70m.
Final results: STOCKPORT HARRIERS PROMOTED! Our final League standing was 2nd, with 1499 points, to Halifax hot on our heels in 3rd with 1470, and Altrincham up in the lead with 1734. We had successfully seen off Halifax and built up some strong team spirit.
A huge thank you is due to Maureen Wilkins for managing the ladies’ team. This is a thankless task and she has overseen a great achievement for the Club.