The Northern Indoor track and field championships took place at the England Institute of Sport, Sheffield on the weekend of the 14th ad 15th January 2012.  Athletes from Preston Harriers have competed in this championship over past years with few medals being won.  However, in front of a near full EIS this year four gold, two silver, two bronze medals were won and many creditable performances were achieved.
Rachael Scott had an outstanding weekend with gold in the U17 womens 800m (2:18.46) and silver in the U17 womens 1500m (5:02.23); the latter event being run together with the U20 womens 800m where Rachael finished third overall.
Also having a very successful weekend was Sophie Riley who took gold in the U20 womens 200m (25.27s) and bronze in the U20 womens 60m (7.83s).
In the U20 mens 1500m Ben Akin also took gold (4:00.25), finishing less than 1 second outside the Championship Best Performance set in 2010.
The forth gold medal was won by Sam Miller in the U20 mens long jump (6.92m). Sam’s best jump was the same distance as Liverpool Harriers Craig Jones but Sam was given first place on a basis of having a longer second best jump.

A fantastic turnout saw Preston Harriers achieve victory in the second match of the Lancashire Sportshall League.  The U15 girls team were incredibly strong and contained plenty of point scoring athletes which meant they came first in their age category. Nadia Patel had double victories in the long jump and vertical jump and picked up points in the speed bounce, whilst her team mate Sophie Warden claimed victory in the 4 lap race and claimed three 2nd spots in the long jump, vertical jump and shot putt helping her secure the Athlete of The Match award.  Hannah Porter picked up maximum points in the speed bounce and also gained valuable points in the 2-lap, 4-lap and long jump. Katie Littlefair, Hannah Lord and Aniqah Rawat also scored good points and Kirsten Bateson picked up valuable experience. Patel, Porter, Rawat and Worden finished off the day with a victory in the relay to round off a dominant team performance. Even though the U15 boys team were thin on the ground they more than made up for it in quality. Owen Hargrave achieved the Athlete of The Match award achieving three victories in the 2-lap, 4-lap and long jump and a 2nd place in the shot putt. Also with impressive performances was Tom Booth with joint 1st in the 2-lap, two 2nd positions in 4-lap and triple jump and a 3rd position in the shot putt. Ryan Daley scored good points and with his team mates Booth and Hargrave and an amazing U13 Joseph Duffy they came 1st in the relay putting them in 1st position on the day in their age category. 

The fourth fixture of the season of the Mid-Lancs cross country league took place at the Wilson Playing Fields, Hyndburn last Saturday.  A glorious winters day, with bright sunshine after an overnight frost made for excellent running conditions on a set of courses that includes surrounding woodlands and several loops to negotiate.
The U11s ran 2k and U13s 2.5k.  Meg Beckett was 8th in 9.46, Elisha Lyttle was 11th and Hannah Mulholland also ran but Preston Harriers were one short for a team placing.
Dean Tierney took control early on in the U13 boys 3k race and won in 11.08. Christopher Luff 14th, George Ashcroft 36th and Liam McDermott 37th contributed for 4th team.  Ben McMahon, William Cornwell and Joe Duffy also ran.
The U15 girls improved on that with 2nd team place for Bethany Blackwell 6th, Grace Maddox 7th, Holly Jonestone 11th and Hannah McMahon 24th.
Patrick Dever, fresh from his county victory, won the U15B race by 18secs securing 1st team place along with Elliot Roberts 8th, Chris Durney 10th and Dan Whitlock 15th.  This team have been first in all four race so far and have secured the title with two races to spare, the best 4 races from 6 counting.

Two Preston Harriers, Tom Booth and Nadia Patel, made an early morning trip to Manchester on Saturday 14th January 2012 to compete in Vault Manchester. This is an annual meeting and an opportunity for young vaulters to mix and compete with many of the UK’s elite pole vaulters, as well as vaulters from France and Germany.

The first competition of the day was for the junior vaulters, starting at 9.30am and featured both Booth and Patel.  Patel finished with a height of 2.18m, just missing out on a new PB and placing her 5th in the U15G competition. Booth was in good form, finishing on 2.73m which gained him a bronze medal in the U17M competition.

Top performance of the day, for Preston Harriers, was from Patrick Dever, who  claimed the U15 title by a convincing 27secs and led his club mates, Chris Durney 7th, Elliot Roberts 8th and Rob Shaw 12th to team victory.
There were team titles for both the U17 women and mens teams and individual bronze for U17 Jamaine Coleman and individual silver for U13 Dean Tierney, missing out on the title by just one sec!
The senior ladies team were placed 5th, with Nichola Jackson the highest place finisher in 9th and 3rd Junior woman, whilst the vets team of Philippa Walsh, Claire Mc Dermott and Sarah Gohil won team gold. The overall individual title went to Sue Samme.
Former Preston Harrier, Simon Deakin (Leeds City) won the Senior Men’s title for the third time, controlling the race throughout and never seriously challenged he had a winning margin of 27secs over Chorley’s Gary Priestley.

The organisers of Heptonstall Race would like to invite Preston Harriers to take part in the 15 mile/3000 feet Heptonstall Fell Race on Sunday March 18th 2012. www.heptonstallfellrace.org.uk - 15 mile/3000 ft  - Entry on the day £5.

Mild conditions, although with a light wind, made conditions almost perfect for the Ribble Valley 10k which incorporated the Norhern 10k Road Championships too. The race is a real highlight of the Winter season and this years was much looked forward to, after snow & ice caused the cancellation of last years event.

There were almost 900 finishers although there were quite a few drop-puts during the race itself; perhaps the Christmas indulgence meant a few runners simply were not at their best!
There were runners present from all over the country, not just the Northern based clubs, and there was real quality on show at the sharp end of the race.

There was a dramatic finish too, as the front three had been together practically stride for stride, but in the run-in, Jonny Mellor (Liverpool Harriers) took the tape in 29.10, just ahead of GB tri-athlete, Alistair Brownlee (Bingley) with Ricky Stevenson (New Marske Harriers) 3rd in 29.17.

Eight runners came in under 30 minutes, and there were a further twenty making it a sub 31 minute run. Top placed Harrier Pete Street finished in exactly 31 minutes in 29th position -  a great run. David Rigby, recovered from a spate of colds was next in 32.12 and 48th overall.  Gethin Butler ran well with 33.17 (66th) and was 2nd vet 40. Rob Affleck was 83rd in 34.02 whilst junior Calum Rowett can be pleased with his time of 34.28. Steve Hallas was next with 34.49 and Kingsley Judd can take real pride from another strong run, finishing in 36.02.

With too many names to include, for the women, Marion Hesketh had a superb run, looking strong through-out, with a great time of 41.31, whilst Philippa Walsh with 41.46 & Nichola Jackson with 42.04 ensured they won a bronze team award within the Northern Championships. However, the numbers competing for Preston Harriers were excellent -round with 43 runners taking part and there was plenty of support out on the course too.

A bitterly cold wind, although it was sunny, greeted over 150 juniors and 250 seniors for the junior runs and main Stoop fell race from Penistone Country Park above Haworth, last Sunday.
Although snow had fallen in East Lancashire there was little lying on the Haworth moors of Bronte sisters fame. However, parts of the route were icy after a sharp overnight frost and some earlier light snow. Underneath the top thin layer of frozen ground, lay the notorious peat bogs, ready to slow down or even stop the most determined runner!
The race is 5 miles long and 800` of climb and is practically an out and back course. With the sun shining, the lead runners were steaming down partly obscured by the sun dazzling the middle of the pack. The emphasis for all, though was on fun and enjoyment, with everyone handed a red Christmas hat to run in at registration.