The end of July has been a hectic time for the Skyrac AC's McDonald's boys' Young Athletes League team with their final two matches being held in Manchester and Liverpool on consecutive weeks. This has been due to their fourth league meeting at Burnley in early July being cancelled because of the race problems then.

However, there was a poor team turn out at Trafford's Longford Park Stadium and probably only a great effort at Liverpool's Wavertree Stadium this weekend can save the club from relegation from North West Division One.

Nevertheless, there were some outstanding performances from the Guiseley-based boys of the club, especially from Andrew Staniland who won all his three events in the Under-15 boys' category. These victories came in the high jump (1.65m), the shot (10.86m) and the discus (31.42m).

Sam Webster, James Clayton and Andrew Hawkyard all performed well in the Under-13 boys' age group, and Nathan Tugwell and Andrew Thompson also gave of their best in the Under-17 events.

Ian Clark made his debut in the league and ran a gutsy 3000m for third place in 11mins exactly. He then teamed up with Staniland for a second position in the 4x100m relay. However, there were too many gaps in other events and sadly the efforts of the determined few proved to be of no avail for an overall top ten position.

Mid week saw the sixth and penultimate fixture of the Complete Runner West Yorkshire Track and Field League, again at Wakefield's Thornes Park Stadium.

Two Under-15 Skyrac athletes gained first places, while there was a whole host within the top six in their respective events, and therefore gaining league points for both themselves and their club.

Andrew Staniland had another successful meeting, winning the Under-15 boys' shot (4kg) with a personal best of 11.23m.Then he also ran a PB in the 100m for second place in 12.7s. Laura Kirk dominated the Under-15 girls' 1500m from the start, and had to do with 17 girls taking to their marks! She finished a clear winner in the excellent time of 4 mins.50.8s. In the same race 13 year- old Bethany Staniland (Kingston-upon-Hull AC) knocked almost 40 seconds off her personal best for eighth position in 5 mins.18.2s in only her second ever 1500m.

She then went on to achieve fifth in the Under-15 girls' discus (26.00m), an event which saw Amy Howard throw 28.96m for second place. Amy is now just two points behind the Under-15 girl league leader with one match remaining.

Georgina Ablett maintained her league second place with two fine performances in the Under-13 girls' competition. She came second in the shot (2.72kg) with 7.54m and second equal in the 80m in 11.5s. However, she just missed out on the points in the 800m, coming eighth in 2 mins.51.0s.

The Under-17 women's 800m saw a good run for third place from Horsforth's Elizabeth Spencer (Holmfirth Harriers) in 2 mins.25.7s.

Amongst the local men there were two fine performances from the seniors with Robert Spencer (Holmfirth Harriers) narrowly being pipped for first place in the 800m (2 mins.01.8 s) and Thomas Poulton-White (Skyrac) finishing in sixth place in the 200m with 24.2s.

Skyrac's Under-13 boys continued to perform well, with a fourth position from Sam Webster in the 800m (2 mins.32.6s) and the same position for Andrew Hawkyard in the long jump with 3.79m. Andrew was also eighth equal in the 80m in 12.5s. Sam's younger brother, Oliver, also ran well for eighth place in the Under -11 boys' 600m (2mins03.9s).

Although the sun shone brightly for the 1000 or so competitors in the annual round the town Harrogate 10K road race, Skyrac's competitors had mixed fortunes. Stephen O'Neil after a good first lap suffered from lack of training due to university exams, and dropped over 20 places on the second lap to finish in 36:23. Graham Grindstead benefiting from his hard training regime continued to improve with a time of 40:03.

Not far behind was super vet over 60 Malcom Coles who could be in the podium placings when the full results are available. Peter Rawnsley still suffering from hamstring problems finished in 43:23 with Mick Howard just behind in 43:25.

Otley A C wind

down

After the successes of the Harrogate and District Summer Road Race League this year where Otley AC won the main team competition and the Elite Trophy as well as having the overall male champion (Ian Fisher) and the overall male veterans champion (Mark Hall) it was good to wind down with an informal end of season handicap event in Ripon a couple of weeks ago.

Also competing earlier this month were Caroline Marler, David Cooke and Phil Williams in the World Veterans' Championships in Brisbane, Australia. Caroline managed a remarkable fourth place in the women's over-55 400m despite injury. David finished fifth in the men's over-45 400m with a time of 53.61 seconds and Phil completed in the marathon but his position/time remains unknown at present.

Back to the present (almost) and nearer to home (just) was the International Snowdon Marathon which took place in North Wales last Saturday. The club had three representatives, including, for the first time ever, a woman.

The weather was hot and sunny and the ten mile race to the summit and back climbed 3200 feet in the first half. Otley's first finisher was Andrew Robertshaw who finished only ten minutes behind the winner in a remarkable 1 hr 15 for 15th position overall and third in the open category.

Otley's next finisher was Dale Foster in a good time of 1 hr 24 for 46th overall. The third Otley finisher was Emma Payne who was very pleased with her time of 2 hr 18 for 395th position in the hot conditions.

The following day saw the annual gathering in Harrogate town centre for the 10k two lap road race. Again the conditions were hot and sunny with temperatures probably above 20deg c by the time the race got underway at 11am.

The race was won by Nick Jones of Tipton Harriers in a slower than usual 30.22. Four minutes later the first of six finishers for Otley AC, Julian Mawson, came home in 34.33 for 20th position. The next Otley finisher was Mick Jeffrey who suffered in the heat to record 40.12. Next home was Tom Hannah (42.44) followed by David Fox (43.18).

Tom and David were together at the 8k marker but the Club President managed to open up a 130m gap down the long hill to the finish. The two other Otley finishers were Antonio Cardinale (49.30) and David Cattanach who ran very well on the first lap but whose final time is unknown at present. At least 600 runners took part in this race and numbers were possibly so high because many fell races are still unable to go ahead due to Foot and Mouth Disease.

Members are reminded of the forthcoming Club events: Tonight (August 2) a training run will leave The Sun Inn, Norwood. On Thursday, August 16, a 3000m Runner-of-the-Year and Handicap event will be held at the Carnegie track in Leeds. On Sunday, August 19, will be the annual barbecue hosted by Phil and Janice at their home in North Leeds (phone 0113 2660471 for more details).

The club's Annual General Meeting will take place on Tuesday, September 18, at Otley RUFC. All members are asked to try and attend as this is the one time when ordinary members can have a big say in the future direction of the Club.

It is also worth noting that any proposed changes to the club's constitution (see July's newsletter) must be forwarded in writing to Chris Carver by August 28. Of course, this is also the time that all Otley members should be thinking about a new President as two years ago, when Tom Hannah took over the role, he stated his intention of only keeping the job until 2001. If any member has any suggestions please feel free to discuss them with Chris or Tom.

For further details about any of the above events, or about joining a very friendly Club which trains on Tuesday and Thursday evenings (7.15pm) from Otley RUFC, please phone Chris on 01943 468109 or Tom on 0113 2842572..

Ilkley Harriers

enjoy races

On a blistering hot Sunday, Ilkley Harriers were competing in two superb races. Locally,they joined a thousand runners in the Harrogate Town Centre 10k.

Andy Wade was the fastest Harrier in 35.42, but there were PB's from Clive Smith in 38.16 and Bob Whiting in 46.25. Official results are not yet available but informal results to hand are Neil Chapman 41m, Keith Wood 44.15, a brilliant 38.30 from new member and Keith's neighbour Adrian, Andy Wolfenden 47.30, Ian Adamson 48m, Janet Souyave 52m, Mandy Parnaby 55.07, and Brian Sweet 56m.

The same day, but much further afield and on wildly different terrain, was the International Snowdon Race, a ten mile fell race up and down the 3250' from Llanberis to the summit, with the international standard athletes taking well over the hour.

There were three Ilkley Harriers running: Nick Pearce was fastest in 1h 31m, after a brave descent with badly blistered feet. Mike Baldwin was next in 1h 36, and Vet-50 runner Dennis Ackroyd also ran well. Second-claim Harrier John Taylor (Bingley) was the first Brit home, in third place - an inspiring result. Former Harriers Malcom Pickering, Bob Hamilton (Wharfedale), and Jason Hemsley (Pudsey) all enjoyed good results too.

Ilkley Harriers is a friendly club, running from Ben Rhydding Sports Club at 7pm on Tuesdays. Contact the captain Ken Souyave on 01943 609507, or visit the website at www.ilkleyharriers.co.uk.