Latest News

10th of May - 2008 Ranking List

The Ranking Lists for 2008 include a number of innovations. In the Senior Men’s and Women’s rankings we have included road performances for the first time over 10K, Half Marathon and Marathon.

We have adjusted some performances from 2007. Anyone submitting a personal performance for consideration should first of all consult these standards.

Submitted performances should include: Name, Age Group, Club, Performance, Venue, Date, Wind Speed (+ or -) where known.

Clubs are urged to obtain results of the meetings they compete in and submit them to the website as soon as possible. Performances achieved at this year’s Border Harriers Open Meeting and the first Cumbria League meeting are not included because we have not received the results of those meetings. Anyone having those results should submit them as soon as possible.

Ranking List Standards
Track rankings
Field rankings

29th of April - County Best Performences

As a kind of preview for the 2008 ranking list, which is being put together at the moment, here are the current top performances by Cumbrian athletes.

Men
100m Kieran Condon (Carlisle Asp) 11.5 (U17)
200m Kieran Condon (Carlisle Asp) 23.4 (U17)
400m James Bowness (Trafford) 53.2 (U17)
800m Steven Fox (Seaton) 2:00.581
1500m Colin Welsh (Border) 4:06.61i
3000m Danny Parkinson (Kendal) 8:53.93i
5000m - -
10,000m - -
Half Marathon David Golding (Ambleside) 68:40
Marathon David Golding (Ambleside) 2:29:51
3000m Steeple - -
110m Hurdles James Wright (Sale) 14.97 (3’3”) (U20)
400m Hurdles - -
High Jump Nathan Williams (Border) 1.90i
Pole Vault - -
Long Jump James Wright (Sale) 6.74 (U20)
Triple Jump Robbie Nixon (Border) 11.19 (U15)
Shot Put - -
Discus Steve Thomas (Barrow) 34.76 (M50)
Hammer Dave Little (Border) 57.18
Decathlon - -
Women
100m Maria Morganella (Border) 12.6
200m Maria Morganella (Border) 25.7i
400m - -
800m Alisha Casement (Kendal) 2:29.22i (U17)
1500m - -
3000m - -
5000m - -
10,000m - -
Half Marathon Rhiannon Silson (Eden) 82:94
Marathon Karen Heaviside (Eden) 3:18:16
High Jump Alisha Casement (Kendal) 1.50i
Pole Vault - -
Long Jump Maria Morganella (Border) 4.99i
Triple Jump Hannah Mitchell (Kendal) 9.55i
Shot Put - -
Discus - -
Hammer - -
Decathlon - -

23rd of April - Intercounty Meeting at Sheepmount

Cumbria AA are to stage what is to be its most major meeting ever at the Sheepmount Stadium in Carlisle, a six-county match between Dumfries and Galloway, Durham, Northumberland, Tees Valley, Tyne and Wear and Cumbria.

Scheduled for Saturday, 13th September the match will provide a climax to the 2008 season for the county’s most aspiring young athletes in the Under 15 and Under 17 age groups.

In addition there will be invitation events for Under 20s and seniors thus enabling the public to see the very best athletes from the north of England and southern Scotland in action. It is the intention of the organising committee that this should be an annual end of summer bonanza staged in turn by each of the counties.

Only one competitor from each county will compete in each event thus making competition for places very tough indeed.

The events (for both men and women) are: 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1500m, 3000m (U17), sprint hurdles, 300m hurdles (U17), High Jump, Long Jump, Triple Jump (U17), Shot Put, Discus, Hammer, Javelin, 4 x 100m Relay plus invitation events.

“Quality competition is at a premium for many athletes in each of these counties,” said spokesman Tony Ward, “most of whom have to travel long distances in order to obtain it. Bringing the best in each of the six counties together, with travelling time greatly reduced, should provide a huge incentive to our young talent and enable them to aspire to greater things. We hope to obtain sponsorship to allow us to make this a meting to remember for both athletes and the public.”

FURTHER INFORMATION FROM: TONY WARD 01900 829260; MOBILE: 07951 272798

31st of March - Laura Park's Finest Hour

Laura Park ran the greatest race of her life in coming 17 th in the World Cross-Country championships in Holyrood Park in Edinburgh on 30th March, finishing just one place behind leading British scorer Charlotte Purdue. She finished 59 secs behind the winner, 17 year old Genzebe Dibaba of Ethiopia, younger sister of Tirunesh Dibaba, winner of the women’s race. Laura was the second European runner home.

After the first lap Laura was leading the British team; three of them, Park, Purdue and Pallant then came together. In the last lap Purdue and Park pulled away with the former ahead at the finish by 6 seconds.

It was an outstanding performance by the 16 year old of the Ellenborough club and it is a sobering thought that she has three more years in this age group.

“I felt really strong,” Park said after the race, “I couldn’t compete with the Africans but just tried to hang on. The support was fantastic on the course and I really enjoyed the experience.”

24th of March - Intercounties Cross Country

The UK Intercounties cross country championships and world trials took place 15th of March at Nottingham. Noel Hakeman has prepared a report and summary of the results


Download All of The Photos

27th of Februrary - Updates

In a brilliant weekend, over 23 and 24th February 14 year old Ryan Thompson (Carlisle Aspatria AC) clinched a silver medal in the England Athletics Indoor Championships Under 15 age group 200 metres at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham. Running second in his heat with a personal best of 23.72 secs Ryan led the final with 50 metres to go and just failed to hold the fast finishing Joshua Hughes (Southport-Waterloo) but clocked his third personal best of the season with 23.65

In the 60 metres Ryan reached the semi-final after equalling his personal best of 7.65 seconds. His indoor performances (2nd in the Northern 200 metres and winner of the Scottish title) mean that he has achieved the NW Power of 10 standard as well as the ESAA qualifying standard for 2008, ranking second indoors at 200 metres in Britain.

Laura Park (Ellenborough AC) continued her winning ways at the National Cross Country championships on 23rd February by taking the Under 17 title with ease.

The second sprint workshop of the year will be held at Sheepmount Track, Carlisle on Sunday, 9th March starting at 10am. All sprinters aged 14 and above and all coaches who want to improve their knowledge of sprint techniques are welcome. Full details from Tony Ward, Course Director on tonypward@yahoo.com

Against the impressive backdrop of Alton Towers she won by 20 seconds from European Junior bronze medallist Charlotte Purdue in 14:24.

4th of February - Northern Indoor Report and other Updates

Cumbria athletes won two silver medals at the Northern U17 and U15 championships at the EIS Indoor Centre in Sheffield on Sunday, 27 January.

RYAN THOMPSON, (Carlisle Aspatria) made a magnificent breakthrough in the Under 15 200 metres. Winning his heat in 24.67 Ryan had a hard fought battle in the final, with Joshua Hughes (Southport), finishing second, 23.97 to 23.70. His time is not only a personal best either indoors or out, currently ranking him second in Britain, but is a NW Power of 10 qualifying time along with a qualifying time for the ESAA Championships in the summer.

JAMES BOWNESS (Trafford AC) was up against Josh Moody who was ranked fifth in Britain outdoors last year. In an intriguing but slow run race James gained the silver medal, 4:19.55 to 4:18.45 to currently rank fifth in Britain.

In the Northern Senior championships MARIA MORGANELLA (Border) made an excellent return to competition by running fifth in the 60m final in 8.05 (8.06ht).

UPDATE: James Wright (Sale H) was another Cumbrian who did well at the Northern Under 20 championships in Sheffield. He won gold in the 60m Hurdles in 8.28 and a bronze in the Long Jump with 6.74.

In other news

27th of December - Laura's Great Run in Euro Cross Country

Fresh from winning a team medal with Great Britain’s junior women at the European Cross Country championships in Toro, Spain, Ellenborough’s 16 year old Laura Park won the women’s race at the Great Langdale Christmas Pudding 10km, near Ambleside on Saturday in 33 mins. 59 secs. In totally different conditions to those she found in Spain she was beaten by only nine male competitors in a total field of 451.

21th of December - XC Results

Get them here

11th of December - Laura Park

Ellenborough’s Laura Park ended her wonderful year with her greatest achievement yet. In November, in Liverpool, and running against women three years older she earnt selection for the Great Britain team to run in the Under 20 European Championships in Taro, Spain. She ran in a magnificent third behind the winner Charlotte Purdue of Aldershot and Joanne Harvey of Exeter to earn her first international selection.

In Spain, at the weekend, she ran 27th out of 85 of the best European runners and was part of the Great Britain squad to take team gold. It was a magnificent achievement by the young woman who only turned 16 in October and undoubtedly the outstanding performance by any Cumbrian athlete in 2007. Her next aim surely must be to make the GB team to run in the World Cross-Country at Edinburgh in March 2008.

14th of October - Cumbria League Results & Cross County Details

The results of the last Cumbria league meeting are now up here and the final results. We also have details of Cross County County Championships and the XC Series.

27th of September - New sections

Two new sections have been added to the site; a page about the Northwest Athletics Regional Academies, and a page on Sarah Friday, our new Regional Performance and Development Coordinator.

Additionally, for those who are interested, the UKA competition review is available on their site, about the proposed future form of athletics competitions in Britain.

10th of September - Intercouties Results, CACA Newsletter, Power of 10

A much depleted team travelled to Hull for the Northern Inter-Counties meeting at the Costello Stadium. Pride of place must go to Lee and Collette Doran for an excellent senior javelin double. Lee (ranked fourth in Britain) threw a meeting record of 69.23m and Collette set a new lifetime best of 39.25m in winning her event.

Other winners were James Wright who won the senior long jump with 6.67m and Kerry Hunton who crowned a busy afternoon with a win in the Under 17 300 metres in 42.00 secs.

Another outstanding performance came from Under 15 athlete Katie Bernard who, throwing in the Under 17 Hammer came second with 30.74m.

Results (Top Three)
Men
Senior
3000m, Peter Huck, 3rd 9:07.82
1500m Richard Mace 2nd 4:03.29
Long Jump James Wright 1st 6.67m
Javelin Lee Doran 1st 69.23 (meeting record))

Under 17

Long Jump Matthew Wright 2nd 5.85m

Women

Senior
Hammer Bethan Lishman 2nd 41.16m
Javelin Collette Doran 1st 39.25m pb

Under 17

200m Kerry Hunton 3rd 27.50
300m Kerry Hunton 1st 42.00
3000m Ellie Wilson 3rd 10:38.03
Hammer Katie Bernard (U15) 2nd 30.74m

A fifth CACA news letter, a review of the year in Cumbrian athetics is now available here. The latest on the Cumbria Athletes who obtained the Power of 10 is now here.

14th of August - Ranking List Submissions

Please send all further ranking list submissions to rankings@athleticscumbria.org.uk.

3rd of August - Mass Update

We have several updates today

1) We now have the results of the third Cumbria league here.

2) Laura Park (Ellenborough AC) ran a sensational  3000 metres at the Young Athletes meeting in Carlisle on 24th June. In a solo run (Park appears to have been the only competitor in the race), held in far from ideal conditions at the Sheepmount track, she clocked 9:53.4 rising to fifth on the British Under 17 rankings.  Not only that but she became the third Cumbrian athlete to achieve a UK Power of 10 standard (the others being Lee Doran and Tom Farrell).

3) We have the results of the Coniston County Fair fell race and a short report on them.

4) Ranking list updated.

16th of July - Great performance by Cumbrian schools team at the ESAA championships

You can’t ask more of a team, considered a minor county, that is going to the athletics cauldron that is the annual English Schools Championships than it come back with two medallists, eight finalists (top eight) and four personal bests. Indeed the vast majority of the Cumbrian team of seventeen athletes came close to their personal best over the two days which augurs well for the future. What the sport in the north-west region and the county must ensure is that they are given every support in their future athletic endeavours.

Pride of place must go to the two silver medallists both of whom will be representing the English Schools in the international match next weekend. SAM COE of Sedbergh School threw 59.93m in the Senior Hammer whilst LAURA PARK crowned a great year of cross-country and track running by running a magnificent 9:48.60 to set a personal best over 3000m by a considerable margin.

Other personal bests were set by NICK MILLER of Border H in the Junior Hammer, KERRY HUNTON of Seaton AC in the Intermediate 300m and REBEKAH RUDKIN of Border H in the Senior Hammer.

The other finalists at the championships were NATHAN MORRIS in the Junior Shot, TOM FARRELL in the Intermediate 3000m, NATHAN WILLIAMS in the Intermediate High Jump, JAMES WRIGHT in the Senior Long Jump, REBEKAH RUDKIN in the Senior Hammer and RACHEL FLEARY in the Senior Javelin.

Our commiserations go to Kyle Fisher who, jumping in wet and slippery conditions, injured himself in the high jump.

All in all a great effort so congratulations to the whole team.

Results

Junior Boys (U15):

800m Joe Aris 4th ht 2.06.59
1500m Matthew Grieve 10th ht 4.42.94
HJ Kyle Fisher 10th= 1.64m
Matthew Parker 15th 1.64m
SP Nathan Morris 8th 12.22m
HT Nick Miller 11th 39.01pb
Intermediate Boys (U17):
3000m Tom Farrel 6th 8.56.85
HJ Nathan Williams 8th 1.87m
LJ Bradie Houldsworth 14th 6.15
Senior Boys (U19)
LJ James Wright 5th 6.74m
HT Sam Coe Silver 59.93
Intermediate Girls (U15)
300m Kerry Hunton 2nd/ ht 6th s/f 40.88 (pb)
3000m Laura Park Silver 9.48.60 (pb)
80mH Katie Jenkinson 4th Heat 12.00
Senior Girls (U19)
SP Eloise Stott 9th 10.98m
HT Rebekah Rudkin 7th 40.80m
JT Rachael Fleary 6th 37.39m

9th of July - Ranking list update and schools results.

The schools results are finally available here. The ranking lists have been updated with all the schools results, the British League meeting on Saterday and all recent submissions.

22nd of June - Ranking list update

The ranking list has been updated again.

8th of June - Ranking List Update

Ranking list updated with the Cumbria league results and other submissions.

6th of June - Cumbria League 2 Results, Ranking List Update

We now have the results of the second Cumbria League. We're still trying to get hold of the results from the last Northern League league meeting - if anyone has them I'd be greatful if you could e-mail them in.

The ranking list has been updated again but doesn't include the second Cumbria league results, as I felt it was more important to get them out rather than delay them any further. Another update will follow shortly.

Northern Under 17 championships and Intercounties

Tom Farrell (Border H) and Laura Park (Ellenborough) showed, by their 2007 season’s track debuts at the Northern Under 17 championships at Leeds last weekend, that they aim to repeat their cross-country successes on the track this summer.

Farrell shot straight into the National Power of 10 with a stunning 8:44.96 win in the 3000 metres. In far from ideal conditions he beat his previous best by 15.19 secs. It currently ranks him third in the UK at the distance. To set such a fast time early season augurs well for the summer and national championships ahead for the 16 year old Carlisle runner.

Park set a fast pace, on a chilly and windy day, in the first half of the women’s 3000m and soon the rest of the field were 30 metres adrift but over the final laps her running slowed and she was figuratively roped in by the eventual winner, Tamara Armoush and silver medallist Rachel Robinson. She won the bronze medal with an extraordinary debut time of 10:06.21 which currently ranks her eighth in Britain and heads the North-West rankings. The 15 year Ellenborough runner displayed two things: one, her enormous distance running potential and two, her track naivety which, with experience, will improve considerably. She is well capable of clocking under 10 minutes and becoming as equal a force on the track as she is at cross-country and fell.

Bradie Houldsworth (Barrow Striders) jumped 6.45m in the U17 long jump to win silver. Likewise Nathan Williams (Border H) came second in the U17 high jump with 1.85m. On his second attempt he was but a whisker away from a personal best of 1.90m. On a more benign day he will surely achieve this aim. 14 year old Katy Bernard from Appleby competed in her first major championships event in the U15 Hammer and won silver with a fine throw of 37.18m, a personal best.

Katie Jenkinson (Liverpool H) won bronze in the U17 high jump with a leap of 1.60m. She also ran fourth in the 80m Hurdles in 11.86 secs.

15 year old James Bowness (Seaton AC) ran close to his best in the U17 800m. He front led his heat almost to the line and clocked 2:01.14, a smidgen outside his hand timed personal best of 2:01.0. In the final he finished fifth (2:01.83). Matthew Wright (Kendal AC) came fifth in both the U17 long jump (6.05m) and 100m Hurdles (14.36).

In the CAU Championships at Bedford, also held in appalling weather, there were two Cumbria competitors. Alessandro Morganella (Border H) threw 44.45m to finish sixth in a discus competition held in pouring rain and in the hammer Bethan Lishman (Wigan AC) threw 37.12, just a metre down on her season’s best.

The ranking list has been updated with the results from both of these meetings as well as the usual submissions &c

28th of May - Video from the County Championships

Here is some of the video I managed to take at the county championships which turned out to be good enough to put on the website. Apologies for how shaky it is in some places, I’m still learning how to use the camera.

Men's 100 meters
Rachel Fleary Throws the Javalin
Women's 100 meter hurdles final
Richard Byers' impressive attempt on 2 meters

24th of May - Another Ranking List Update

The ranking list has been updated with all the latest results and submissions.

18th of May - Ranking List Update

The ranking lists have been updated with the results from the County Championships, and with all the submissions sent in so far. Corrections, additions to the usual address.

17th of May - Count Championships Results

The results of the County Championships are finally available. I apologise for the delay I tried to have them mailed to me on the day, but that didn't workout.

11th of May - Fixtures List

The track and field fixtures list has been updated with all major competitions for 2007.

10th of May - 2007 Rankings

We've now gathered enough results to make a start on the 2007 ranking lists, which are available here.

Please send any submissions or corrections to timward@athleticscumbria.org.uk. For new submissions, please remember to include your: name, club, age group and event as well as the venue, the date and a wind speed if one was taken - windy performances will still be included, but will be marked as such. Performances must meet the standards for inclusion.

We also have the results for the first meeting of the North of England League at Middlesborough.

3rd of May - Northern Junior League Results

Results for the first Northern League Meeting held at Grangmouth.

1st of May - Cumbria League Results

The results of the first Cumbria league are available.

12 of April - Park and Farrell end cross-country season in style

Two young Cumbrian athletes came of age during this cross-country season and ended it in magnificent style at the SIAB Schools International in Dublin at the end of March.

Laura Park of Ellenborough, who captained the English team, has had a phenomenal season, capturing the England Under 17 title in Sunderland and the English Schools Intermediate title in Leeds. The icing on the cake came in the Irish capital when she won her race by nine seconds.

What was particularly interesting was that Park, a lover of running over the Fells, faced a different terrain altogether in Dublin, the races being staged on Dublin City University’s sports ground but she still triumphed over Scotland’s Elizabeth Potter and her England team-mate Kate Avery.

Rumour has it that the Ellenborough runner finds track racing (and training probably) boring but in a post-race interview there were signs that she might be changing her mind. “I’ve never done track and I find it boring,” she said, “but I want to see what time I can get for 3000m.” Two things for Laura to cogitate on: the first is that to succeed on the track doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to train on it (witness one of the greatest milers ever, Herb Elliott) and secondly that there is no Fell Running scheduled for the 2012 Olympics.

Tom Farrell ran a very fine sixth in the Intermediate Boys race to culminate his season. The young Border Harrier was the fourth scoring English runner thus earning himself a team winner’s medal. He is said to be following in father Dave’s footsteps but all the signs are that he is, in fact, well ahead.

9th April - Road Race Permits

From Noel Hakeman, reguarding Road Race Permits.

To all Road Race Organisers

Road Race Permits

You may know that the NoEAA is not now the body that issues permits for Athletics events in the North of England.

This function is now carried out by the Athletics Services department of UK Athletics at Solihull. Cumbria AA acts as their agent in order to ensure that the requirements of the permit system are complied with.

The system to be followed is that all road race permit applications should, as before, be routed to the county permit officer. After vetting the application will be forwarded to UKA who will issue the permit which will then be forwarded to the race organiser.

After the race the returns should be made within one month, to the county who will forward them to UKA.

The new system has brought with it a change of paperwork. A copy of this is available from the county.

Some of you will have been issued with a NoEAA permit for 2007 races. These remain valid, although it may be necessary for UKA to issue a duplicate. Returns (for races taking place after April 1st ) should be sent to the county (not UKA as previously advised) and any cheques made out to “Athletics Services”.

It is probable that some permits will be re-issued from Solihull.

The temporary membership scheme (applicable to non affiliated promoters) is to be discontinued -- full membership may be necessary.

New sets of forms are available (and required) for any future application and returns.

The system also applies to multi-terrain races.

Permits for Track and XC events do not as yet have a new system in place and the existing procedure will still apply.

The County Association does not have any involvement in the issue of Fell or Trail race permits.

Athletics Services Address:- Athletics Services Central Boulevard Blythe Valley Park Solihull B90 8AJ Tel 0870 998 6765 e-mail permits@athleticsservices.org.uk

Cumbria County permit sec:- Noel Hakeman Eals Slaggyford Brampton CA8 7PG Tel 01434 321385 e-mail noel@noelhakeman1.demon.co.uk

5th of April - Report on the XC Intercounties

Noel Hakeman has sent me the following report on Cumbria's performance at the XC Intercounties.

The weather forecast was for a wet day. Fortunately for us it did not start to rain until after the event was over. We had a successful day in that we finished teams in all events except the u20 Ladies. There were some creditable individual performances, notably Laura Park’s 4th place in the u15 Girls. Our lack of strength in depth showed in places, although we avoided last place in all events. We did manage a team in all but one of the events. Only 6 counties finished a team in all events. We must thank Barrow for providing and manning the tent which proved a focal point for the team and it was pleasing to see all clubs using it - providing a great boost to morale. Next year’s date has revolved back to March 15th - again at Nottingham. We will need to inform runners in the earlier races of the congestion outside the Park.

Lost property left in the tent - contact Noel Hakeman for retrieval One Grey top
One pair of red shorts
One running vest with logo “HAMPSHIRE”

SENIOR MEN 282f
Again only one of the first nine of the finishers in the County Championship ran. Fortunately we do have a nucleus of runners who are always willing to run. David Hook showed continued improvement (he is still a junior). Steve Angus struggled in the mud.

James Douglas (Border) 145th 45m14
Alasdair Russell (Kendal) 167th 45m50
Jeffrey Chadwick (Hoad H) 199th 46m42
Jeff Cunningham (Herne Hill) 213rd 47m10
David Hook (Barrow FS) 224th 47m33
Steve Angus (Border) 259th 49m16
Team 31st/35 1207pts

U20 MEN 172f
We did well here to even finish a team in this (very narrow) age group. Only Mark Nixon is an u20 next year.

Kieran Alderson (Kendal) 92nd 30m44
Peter Savage (Barrow FS) 108th 31m23
David Crawley (Border) 121st 31m39
Mark Nixon (Eden) 159th 34m48
Team 21st/24 480pts

U17 BOYS 263f
Our first two runners ensured this was one on the best team results of the day. The team were the remnants of last year’s under 15 tem that finished last, so this must be seen in context as a pleasing performance.

Tom Farrell (Border) 35th 22m56
Tom Addison (Helm H) 44th 23m06
Peter Huck (Barrow FS) 97th 23m45
Alex Till (Dallam) 213rd 25m43
Tom Nicholson (Border) 255th 27m28
Jackson Kelly (CFR) 263rd 30m35
Will Nicholson (Border) dnf
Team 22nd/41 389pts

U15 BOYS 288f
We had a full compliment of 8 runners and the results show that this is usually a morale booster. There was some solid packing around the 200 position (only a minute between). Tom Doyle is unbeatable on the fells , but even the muddy conditions did not compensate for the lack of steep hills.

Stephen Wilson (Barrow FS) 111th 17m54
Jonathan Knox (Helm H) 165th 18m21
Richard Flint (St Annes Sch) 180th 18m34
Jos Addison (Helm H) 186th 18m39
Marc Brown (CFR) 201st 18m48
Niall Till (Helm H) 227th 19m07
Liam Stainton (Helm H) 242nd 19m17
Tom Doyle (Helm Hill) 245th 19m22
Team 33rd/40 642pts

U13 BOYS 285f
Another full team some solid packing in the 150+ positions achieving a creditable position.

Sam Till (Dallam) 68th 14m30
Rory Addison (Helm H) 97th 14m44
Alistair Weymouth (Eden) 149th 15m05
Oliver Lockley (u/a) 177th 15m17
Theo Messenger-Jones (Barrow FS)
180th 15m18
Paul Richardson (Ellenbro) 197th 15m24
Richard Cossins (Eden) 228th 15m37
Dale Sutton (Dallam) 251st 15m55
Team 26th/38 491pts

SENIOR WOMEN 269f
Our womens team seems to be fated. Last year, Ann Haworth was not allowed to start, this year Sue Hool was stuck in traffic. With Gemma Phillips on international duty in Japan, it was left to Rebecca Robinson to lead the team home. I think I am right in saying that the team position was the best ever -and we might have made the top half with a bit more luck.

Rebecca Robinson (Kendal) 22nd 32m01
Clare McKeown (Border) 117th 34m40
Chloe Rodham (L&M) 137th 35m04
Karen Heaviside (Eden) 191th 37m06
Charlotte Douglas (Border) 194th 37m09
Katie Savage (Barrow FS) 225th 38m29
Lisa Uren (Border) 267th 44m26
Team 19th/29 886pts

U20 WOMEN 130f
Rhiannon ploughing a lone furrow here. The number of finishers show that other counties are in a similar position.
Rhiannon Silson (Eden) 93rd 31m16

U17 Girls 258 f
Good performance from Charlotte and Rosie brought us up in the team race.

Charlotte Arter Border) 24th 21m05
Rosie Stuart (Keswick) 108th 22m46
Melanie Andrews (Eden) 219th 25m12
Yasmin Chaudri (Border) 217th 25m08
Holly Marshall (Eden) 245th 26m41
Anna Whitemore (Eden)250th 27m19
Team 30th/39 568pts

U15GIRLS 283f
Laura Park was the star of the day. She was to go on to win the National title and the English Schools Championship (at the bottom end of her age group).

Laura Park (Ellenbro) 4th 16m12
Ellie Wilson (Barrow FS) 67th 17m53
Vicky Johnston (Eden) 144th 18m47
Lara Turner (Barrow FS) 200th 19m30
Chessie Messenger-Jones (Barrow FS) 279th 22m02
Jessica Barnes (Barrow FS) 281st 22m31 Team 23rd/38 415pts

U13 GIRLS 286f
This is traditionally our weakest age group and it wasn’t made any easier without the first two in our County Championships. We did call up two under 11s to run (Hannah and Abbie) and their performance can only be described as magnificent.

Hannah Bethwaite (Ellenboro) 83rd 16m08
Abbie Hetherington (Carlisle Asp) 85th 16m10
Kim Little (Barrow FS) 180th 17m06
Jennifer Huck (Barrow FS) 246th 18m01
Lydia Howard (Barrow FS) 254th 18m07
Kirsty Norwood (Eden) 270th 18m40
Eilidh Sproul (Kendal) 272nd 18m42
Carmen Friel (Workington Z) 286th 20m03
Team 32nd/39 594pts

31st March - Laura Park's Double Triumph

15 year old Laura Park (Ellenborough) has proved herself to be one of the outstanding young distance runners in Britain by winning both the England Under 17 national cross-country title at Sunderland and following this triumph up with a decisive win in the English Schools Under 17 age group at Temple Newsam park in Leeds last weekend.

Better known for her love of the fells she displayed superb form in leading the way in the Intermediate race. “I felt strong from the start,” Park said after her gold medal performance, “so I decided to go with the leaders. Because of my fell running background I enjoy the hills and coped with them fine. I didn’t want to leave it all to finish, so I made sure I had a bit of a lead going into the final straight.”

“I had a rough idea that I was capable of finishing in the top eight and winning the National gave me a good boost of confidence.”

Another great performance at Temple Newsam came from Tom Farrell who finished fourth in the Intermediate Boys race, just six seconds behind the bronze medallist. It was undoubtedly Farrell’s finest hour and a just reward for all the hard training he has been putting in under the eye of coach John Clementson.

Both Park and Farrell will be competing for the English Schools in the SIAB international in Dublin this weekend.

Two other notable performances were achieved in Leeds. Charlotte Arter (Border) finished 35th in the Intermediate Girls race and Peter Huck (Kendal) ran in 51st in the Senior Boys.

8th of February - Intercounties XC Team Changes & Time table

Here is the updated team for the Intercounties XC, as well as a time table.

7th of February - Report from the Northern Indoor Championships

20 year old athletics’ twins Claire and Katie Huck (Kendal AC) had a busy day the Northern Senior Indoor Championships held at the EIS Sheffield on 28th January.

Katie won silver in the long jump with a leap of 5.01m.and followed this performance with 4th place in the shot (10.15) and 8th in the 60m Hurdles (10.30)

Claire came second in the high jump (1.60m) and 6th in the 60m Hurdles (9.81). In the shot put she set a new personal best with 9.92m for 5th place.

Elsewhere Jordan Fleary, the only other competitor, ran 4th in the men’s 60 metres hurdles, with a time of 8.66.

Amendments and additions to Tim Ward.

7th of February - Cumbrian NW Power of 10 runners have a good day in Durham

Tom Farrell ran impressively to win the Intermediate boys race in the ESAA five counties cross-country meeting in Durham on 3rd February, winning by 22 seconds (17:09 to 17:31). This follows up on his county schools win in Arctic conditions at Sedbergh a few weeks earlier.

Also impressive was Laura Park (who had an outstanding win at Sedbergh) who came second in the Under 17 race just behind last year’s ESAA Junior champion, Kate Avery (13:16 to 13:31). Charlotte Arter was third just 20 seconds behind Park.

Peter Huck ran 3rd in the Under 20 race, Will Nicholson was 6th and Kieran Anderson 8th enabling Cumbria to take the team prize.

In the Junior Boys (Under 15) race Richard Flint was the first Cumbrian home in 11th place, closely followed by Matthew Grieve (12th) and Joe Arris (13th). Sam Till finished 16th so the Cumbrian team packed well.

In the Junior Girls Ellie Wilson ran in 5th, Jessica Sisson was 10th and Vicky Johnstone was 11th.

Full results can be obtained from the ESAA website.

Amendments and additions to Tim Ward.

28th January - Prelimary Inter-County XC Team

Noel Hakeman recently contacted me with the preliminary team for the Inter-Counties XC at Nottingham on the 25th of February. You can find it here. An updated team will be available closer to the time.

28th Januray - North West rankings and North of England cross country results

Those athletes that travelled to Sheffield for the Northern Junior championships found the journey more than worthwhile in terms of national and North-West indoor rankings.

Is James Wright (Sale H) from Kendal on the verge of a big breakthrough in 2007? He tops the early NW rankings in the Under 20 60m Hurdles and Long Jump and is ranked with his 6.96m 2nd nationally in the long jump and with an 8.20 secs in the 60m Hurdles is 5th overall in Britain.

Katie Jenkinson (Liverpool H) from Penrith is ranked second in the North West with a 1.63m high jump (4th nationally) and with her 9.04 60m Hurdles is also ranked 2nd in the North West and 5th in the British rankings.

Another athlete that tops the North West rankings is Bradlie Houldsworth (Barrow) with his 6.37m in Sheffield. This places him 5th nationally.

Charlotte Arter (Border) shot to third in the national rankings (2nd North West) with her 4:49.45 run for silver in the Northern Junior championships.

Athlete Club Event Perf UK Ranking NW Ranking
James Wright Sale H Long Jump (u 20) 6.96i 2nd 1st
    60m Hurdles (u 20) 8.20i 5th 1st
Charlotte Arter Border H 1500m (u 17) 4:49.45i 3rd 2nd
Katie Jenkinson Liverpool H High Jump (u 20) 1.63i 4th 2nd
    60m Hurdles 9.04i 5th 2nd
Bradlie Houldsworth Barrow Long Jump (u 17) 6.37i 5th 1st
Nathan Williams Border H High Jump (u 17) 1.80i 8th= 2nd=
    60m Hurdles 9.18i 27th 5th
Oliver Cartwright Border H 800m (u 17) 2:03.55 13th 4th
    400m 54.30 21st 3rd
Matthew Wright Kendal AC 60m Hurdles (u17) 8.94 20th 4th
    Long Jump 5.92 21st 4th
Steven Fox Seaton AC 800m (u 20) 2:01.83 23rd 7th
William Nicholson Border H 800m (u 20) 2:03.29 34th 11th

Adrian Holliday (Trafford AC) from Bridgefoot, near Cockermouth ran in fourth in the Under 20 category of the North of England cross-country championships held at Heaton Park, Manchester on 27th January. He had a tough battle with the leading group and finished just 21 seconds behind the winner K Deighton of Bridlington. It was the best performance by a Cumbrian athlete on the day. In the same category Alasdair Russell (Kendal AC) came in 24th.

Peter Huck (Barrow & Furness AC) ran a fine race in the Under 17 category of the North of England cross-country championships, coming in fifth; in the same race Tom Farrell (Border H) finished in 13th.

Charlotte Arter (Border H) despite being impeded and spiked finished 13th in the Under 17 women’s race.

Michael Hoyle (Kendal AC) finished 36th in the Under 13 boys category.

Clare McKeown (Border H) finished 50th in the senior women’s race.

Other results: Senior men : 51 Duncan Fletcher (Border); 61 James Douglas (Border); 130 T Donnelly (Border); 206 P Singleton (Kendal AC); 376 P Acland (Kendal AC); 487 Stephen Burrowes (Kendal AC) 487

25th January - Power of 10 and Report from the Northern Junior Indoor Championships

There will be a meeting of the Cumbria NW Power of 10 Squad on Sunday February 11 at 2pm (to approx 5pm) at the Waterside Hotel, Grasmere.

England Athletics Katie Jones, the North West Region Performance and Development manager will be in attendance. The meeting will focus on the summer ahead with details of available competitions relevant to the standards of the athletes and national Power of 10 targets. Coaches and parents are urged to attend as one of the topics for discussion will be ways to reduce travelling costs to important meetings. Other areas to be covered will be mental preparation for competition and competition planning for the season.

Most Power 10 athletes will by now have received their invitation but there are still squad members who we have not been able to contact. Athletes from that group who wish to attend should contact Tony Ward on 01900 829260 or e-mail Tony Ward before February 1st.

Meanwhile, Multi-eventers James Wright (Sale H) from Kendal and Katie Jenkinson (Liverpool H) from Penrith shone at the Northern Junior indoor championships held at the EIS in Sheffield weekend of 20/21 January.

Wright achieved a 60m Hurdles/Long Jump title double equalling his personal best in the Under 20 hurdles with 8.20 secs and eclipsing that performance with an overall personal best of 6.96m in the long jump. A week earlier he had come tenth in the England Junior Heptathlon with another personal best of 4459 points (a performance that earned him 4th place in the Northern event).

Jenkinson won gold in the Under 17 high jump with 1.63m and came second in the 60m Hurdles with 9.17 secs. In her heat she set a personal best of 9.04 secs.

At the combined events meeting Claire Huck (Kendal AC) came 7th in the England senior women’s pentathlon championship with a personal best score of 3143 points which won her the bronze medal in the concurrent Northern event. Katie Huck (Kendal AC) finished 9th overall with a personal best of 2894 points which gave her 5th in the Northern championship.

Bradlie Houldsworth (Barrow) jumped a personal best of 6.37m for the silver medal in the Under 17 long jump and Border Harrier’s Nathan Williams also won silver in the Under 17 high jump with 1.80m. He set a personal best in the 60m Hurdles with 9.18 secs, coming fourth in the final.

Charlotte Arter (Border H) in only her second indoor race gained the silver medal in a closely fought Under 17 1500m. Her time of 4:49.45 was an overall personal best, beating her previous outdoor mark by 1.75 secs.

Other results: Under 20: 800m – 6th: Steven Fox (Seaton) 2:04.24 (ht – 1st 2:01.83; William Nicholson () 2ndht: 2:03.29
Under 17: 400m -6th – Oliver Cartwright (Border H) 54.38 (54.15ht)
800m – 3rdht – Oliver Cartwright (Border H) 2:03.55
60mH – 6th – Matthew Wright (Kendal AC) 8.94; 7th - Nathan Williams
(Border H) 9.21 (9.18ht)
Long Jump – 6th - Matthew Wright (Kendal AC) 5.92m

Additional results and amendments to: Tim Ward

You may also have noticed a new section of the site, the Gallery, where I've put up all the photographs accumilated over the past few months from various cross country meetings. Submissions go to Tim Ward.

13th January - Cumbrian athletes good start to 2007

A number of the county’s athletes began 2007 by showing good form at the Reebok Manchester Open indoor meeting on January 7 at Sports City.

Decathlete John Wright (Sale H) who lives in Kendal clocked 7.46 in the 60 metres and heptathlete, Claire Huck (Kendal) ran 9.83 in the 60m Hurdles. Katie Jenkinson (Liverpool H) ran second in her Under 17 hurdles race in 9.23. Finally, amongst the multi-eventers Sam Etherington (Liverpool H) putted 11.54m in the shot put.

Elsewhere Tony Thompson (Border H) ran a spirited 600 metres to finish second in the senior 600 metres in 82.12 secs, just 7/100ths behind the winner. In the women’s Under 17 600 metres, Charlotte Arter (Border H), stepped down from her usual 1500/3000 metres to run second in her race in 1:42.87. Also in the Under 17s 14 year old Fiona Laurie (Border H) ran a fine 60 metres to win comfortably in 8.38 secs.

Further news when more results become available.