Harrier April wins at Meltham

A field of more than 300 took part and although the rain held off, there were gale force winds on the higher stretches.

The first five miles are mainly uphill with an occasional brief flat section. The last mile is then a steep and straight downhill.

Caufield won in 43:10, seemingly hardly affected by either the hills or wind.

It was a Snails’ championship race and they were led home by Jonathan Moon in 19th place in 41:52, followed by Warren Evans in 46.16.

Rebecca Pollard was the club’s first female back in 55:49, followed by Nicky Brown and Sandra Pinder who came over the line together in 1:05:55.

Ten Lions took part and a classy run from Aileen Baldwin saw her win the F65 category while David Roberts (M50) and Lesley Henderson (F65) were third in their sections.

Snails’ Kevin Carse, who came home in 47:11, said: “I don’t think I have ever run into a stronger headwind.”

Clubmate Terry Lamonby-Smith, who was four minutes behind, said: “It’s definitely the worst weather I have participated in. Not only was it hilly but the wind on the flats made it hard work as well.”

Jodie Smith thought it was the hardest 10K she had ever run. “It was hard work but the feeling at the end was worth it. I’m proud of myself entering and proving anyone can run.”

Moon now leads Division One with Ian Hesselden heading Division Two. The other early leaders are Sandra Pinder (Division Three), Brian Crowther (Division Four) and Emma Greaves (Division Five).

Northowram Pumas’ Jude Roberts finished 28th of the 327 runners in 42:52.

Sowerby Bridge results: 19, Jonathan Moon 41:05; 69, Warren Evans 46:16; 78, Kevin Carse 47:11; 94, Chris Hanley 48:13; 124, Rob Hick 50:27; 126, Ian Hesselden 50:3; 137, Mark Szefer 51:09; 145, T. Lamonby-Smith 51:26; 201, Rebecca Pollard 55:49; 232, David Redhead 58:19; 289, Nicky Brown 1:05:55; 290, Sandra Pinder 1:05:55; 294, Amanda Aveyard 1:06:24; 295, Nicki Paynter 1:06:24; 296, Suzanne Fretwell 1:06:42; 303, Ellen Battye 1:08:15; 304, Adele Gribbin 1:08:16; 315, Wendy Evans 1:12:23; 319, Brian Crowther 1:16:18; 325, Emma Greaves 1:29:29; 326, Carol Whitworth 1:29:29; 327, Jodie Smith 1:30:01.

Stainland Lions times: David Roberts 43:15, John Ingles 49:07, Aileen Baldwin 50:06, Martin O’Brien 51:29, Paul Corns 52:15, Jan King 54:03, Paula Pickersgill 59:25, Sandy Gee 60:57, Carol Heptonstall 66:51, Lesley Henderson 67:55.

Halifax Harriers times: April Caufield 43:10, Nigel Taylor 53:07, Nigel Corns 55:06, Geraldine Roby 59:12.

Stainland Lions pair Adam Scratcherd and Jim Harris were the overall winners in the 2017/18 Team OA Urban Night Series of orienteering-style races.

The event combines night running with locating checkpoints using only a very basic map, with the aim of collecting as many points as possible.

The Lions performed strongly in all three events, winning race one and finishing runners up in races two and three.

They amassed 220 points to finish almost 60 points clear of their nearest rivals.

More athletics stories and pictures in Friday’s “Courier”