Harriers and Lions play their part in memorable Marathon events

Those running in Sunday’s London Marathon were greeted by warm sunshine and among the record number of more than 55,000 finishers were club members from Stainland Lions and Halifax Harriers.

April Stewart led Harriers’ quintet home, finishing in 3:19:16, followed by Lucy Quemeneur in 3:24:33. The other Harriers were Rachael Beaumont (3:31:43), Paul Hopkinson (4:00:16) and Maisie Allen (4:24:42).

Spearheading the contingent of nine from Lions was Gavin Foster, who recorded a time of 2:53:30, followed by Jamie Westwood (3:01:10), Dan Marsden (3:08:12), Lindsay Upton (3:48:24), Maria Harron (3:52:27), Michelle Rogerson (4:14:49), Ranjit Uppal (4:36:50), Cat Daniel (4:40:52) and Alex Whyte (5:52:09).

Also taking place on Sunday was the Manchester Marathon, the second largest marathon event of the year, with more than 36,000 on the start line.

Lions’ Chris Hall led his clubmates home with a time of 3:08:09, followed by Paul Brough (3:56:02), Paul Alexander (4:11:14), Wayne Underwood (4:25:55), John Rushworth (5:36:29) and Trish Hallowell (5:38:48).

Watson Peel was the first of eight Harriers to finish, in 3:12:14, with Jack Denton (3:21:02) and Gareth Burrell (3:22:23) not far behind.

Hannah Garnett-Hogg (3:56:03), Marc Rocheteau (4:00:08), Alex Garnett-Hogg (4:03:09), Jack Melia (4:07:49) and Tim Slow (4:33:42) were the other runners wearing Harriers’ colours.

Swapping the roads for the fells were the intrepid souls who took on the mighty Three Peaks Race and celebrated the event’s 70th year.

James Franklin was the first Harrier to finish the tough 24 mile course, with around 5,500 feet of total ascent, taking 112th place in 4:11:29. Also representing Harriers were Steve Sladdin, in 4:30:19, Sarah Cumber and James O'Rourke, only a few places apart in 4:53:03 and 4:53:52 respectively, Fred Carver (5:06:28) and Stef Dickinson (5:18:16).

Lioness Margaret Beever rose to the occasion crossing the line in an outstanding 4:24:15 and finishing third FV40.

Ultra events were the order of the day for several Halifax Harriers runners.

Andrea Ackroyd and David Broadley took on the challenge of the Calderdale Way Ultra and both completed the very hilly 30-mile course from Brighouse to Heptonstall in 7 hours, 9 minutes.

Ryan Barker participated in The Fellsman, a 61-mile traverse over very rugged moorland, with more than 11,000 feet of climbing, from Ingleton to Threshfield, and completed the epic challenge in 15 hours, 7 minutes.

Four determined Lions made their way to Oxspring for race two of the Trunce Series, a key event in the club’s Fell Running Championship.

With four miles of challenging trails and 558 feet of ascent, it was a true test of grit and agility, and James Penson once again set the pace, finishing in a strong 33:37, with solid runs from Ray Mooney (41:36), Sue Cash (48:09) and Paula Pickersgill (49:38).

Stunning scenery and steep climbs awaited those taking part in the Burnsall Trail Half Marathon, including Lions’ Aileen Baldwin who claimed 90th place and first FV70 in a time of 2:29:57.

Lioness Sue Cash ran in support of the 7th Dronfield Scout Group at the Dronfield 10k and a fine time of 54:37 knocked three minutes, 29 seconds off her 2024 time.