Otley AC's Ian Fisher was to the fore in the latest of the West Yorkshire Cross-Country League meetings at Middleton Woods, Leeds, and although he did not win the race second place was enough to give him the overall individual title for the series.

The Otley men's and women's teams finished fifth and sixth respectively over the whole season and the most pleasing aspect of the series was that both the Otley men and women finished teams in all four of the league races.

At Middleton the men's race was won by Martin Hilton of Leeds City in 29 mins with Fisher second in 29.11. Fisher was ably supported by Chevin Chase winner Neil Cayton who was fifth in 29.57, Neil Eccles 24th in 31.50, Mark Hall 45th in 32.48, Andrew Robertshaw 55th in 33.25 and Duncan Burgess 61st in 33.49.

Otley even had the luxury of finishing a second team in Julian Mawson 64th in 33.,56, Ray Hawksby 72nd in 34.58, Andrew Willis 75th in 35.17, John Armitstead 82nd in 35.45, Colin Best 115th in 38.51 and Jonathan Newman 88th in 36.30.

Completing the Otley line-up were Steve Mann who was 119th in 39.06 and David Cattanach 144th in 45.54.

Otley's ladies were without three key performers but were still able to field six runners. The race was won by Sarah Rowell in 17.40 with Otley's Beth Massey 26th in 21.07, Caroline Marler 27th in 21.15, Samantha Cartwright 46th in 23.55 and Carol Armitstead 53rd in 25.01.

Making a welcome return from injury Kath Robertshaw was 56th in 25.45 followed by Emma Payne who was 59th in 26.32.

The Otley teams are in good heart for the forthcoming North of England Championships at South Shields but meanwhile this coming weekend they will stage the first club handicap race of the year starting at the Square and Compass, North Rigton, at 11 am.

Otley AC welcome runners of all abilities at their training sessions on Tuesdays and Thursdays from Otley RUFC at 7.15 pm. Tel 0113 2842572 for further details.

Skyrac A C

Many Skyrac Athletes competed in the Yorkshire Cross Country Championships at Rotherham last week weekend and enjoyed some considerable success.

The only gold medal was won by the outstanding Laura Kirk in the Under 13 girls event. Ably supported by the 6th placed Sarah Manby, the under 13 girls picked up the team silver medal.

The Under 13 boys also gained the team silver medal and were well led by the 5th placed Stuart Johnstone. In this age group Skyrac athlete, Nick Howard, was 4th, although in these Championships he was running for his school (Bradford Grammar School).

Elizabeth Spencer was once again impressive as she finished 2nd in the Under 15 Girls race and in the Under 17 Boys competition, Robert Spencer came a very creditable 5th position, all the more so since he is still in this age

group next year. With the first eight runners in each race being selected to

represent the county, all the above runners will gain a Yorkshire vest when they run in the forth coming Inter-County Championships.

Meanwhile this Sunday saw the annual Wakefield New Year indoor meeting and Skyrac brother and sister pairing of Andrew and Bethany Staniland showed early season promise. Bethany won the Under 13 girls Long Jump (3.77m) and 60m (9.6s), both personal best performances. Andrew won the Under 15 Boys Long Jump (4.84m) and was second in 60m sprint (8.5s), also a personal best time.

On Saturday many Skyrac Athletes took part in the final West Yorkshire

League cross country race and a report on this will appear next week.

Skyrac fellrunners

PAULA Radcliffe, England's outstanding female middle distance runner, recently said that for a runner to improve he or she should join a club, get a decent coach and most importantly of all enjoy the sport.

Skyrac AC's f ell runners endorse her views. This well established club has experienced coaches and all fell runners believe that sport should be fun or why else would they run up and down mountains?

The recent Chevin Chase illustrated how many runners do not belong to a club and yet joining an athletics club improved performances. Not just in the competitive sense of winning races but by making running easier and therefore more enjoyable.

Joining a club means just that. Making friends with people who have a common interest and a club can only thrive on the basis of sociability. For those who would like to emulate Skyrac's Peter Whitehead, fourth in the World Marathon Championships, then the wealth of experience available from Skyrac runners can be tapped by any new member.

One event which epitomises people running together with a common aim is last weekend's Wheeldale Tandem Race. Teams run as pairs but each runner takes a different course for the first 20 of the 28 miles.

The pair must work out which route is the easier and favours the weaker partner. The pair then meet up and complete the last eight miles together. Careful planning is required or else one runner spends valuable time waiting for their partner at the check point. Years of experience of running together and a candid assessment of one's fitness are essential.

Conditions this year were clear and frosty making for a good performance. Skyrac's premier pairing of Howard Sawyer and Duncan Asquith won the event for a second year running with their time of 3hrs 52 mins.

This was Duncan's second victory in two weeks as he also won the 24 mile Scarborough Rock Race.

Super Vet Pair (Over 50 years) Neil Clayton and Malcolm Coles were 11th in 4hrs 44 mins just in front of the leading ladies' team. Ralph Warman and Max Wood, both returning to form after illness and injury, were 18th in 5hrs.

With 146 pairs completing the course the Skyrac runners can be justifiably proud of their performances.

If the prospect of running in a Commonwealth Games or of just meeting up with a few friends for a training run followed by a sociable drink sounds attractive then see what Skyrac can offer by ringing Sue or Neil on 0113 2290924.

Ilkley Harriers

THE major race at the weekend was the last of the West Yorkshire Cross Country races at Middleton Wood in South Leeds.

Tim Ashleford, not quite at his best after a race a few days earlier, still managed a good 53rd position in a high quality field.

On Sunday, Andy Wade put in an outstanding personal performance over the 10K Woodkirk road race with a time of 35.30.

The club held its traditional annual handicap on Tuesday as a prelude to Millennium Party on Saturday.

Forty-four runners put pressure on the handicappers and timekeepers with many new members to organise and recognise as they burst across the finishing line.

First home was new member Janet Grace, closely followed by Chistine Airey and Martin Sturges.

Thursday training nights are continuing to grow rapidly having only started two weeks ago with 22 members attending the last session.

The Millennium Party on Saturday (Jan 22) is at Ilkley Tennis Club.

The club meets at 7.00pm at Ben Rhydding Sports Club on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

For more information contact Ken Souyave on 01943 862096.

Wharfedale

Harriers

Last weekend saw Wharfedale Harriers travelling to compete all over the North of England in beautiful winter weather.

In the West Yorkshire Cross-Country League event at South Leeds, Kate Rogan picked up second place in the Under-20s race.

This result made her the Under-20 ladies champion, which at the age of 17, and another two seasons left to compete in this category, is a remarkable achievement.

In the men's race young Richard Wadsworth had a great run to lead home elder brother James.

Also on Saturday, Bob Hamilton ventured across the border into Lancashire for the Boulsworth Hill Race, famed for its vicious finish up the face of a quarry.

Bob returned a respectable 23rd in 55.54, despite losing a few places following a rather too invigorating plunge into a pool of freezing water at the top of the hill.

Sunday saw a mass exodus into Cumbria for the Kendal Winter League Race at Staveley. In the men's event, Steve Hounslow led the Harriers home in 11th place in 28.18, followed by Andy Holden 13th, 29.39; Paul Rogan 18th, 30.41; Dave Fell 22nd, 31.23; Damien Scholes 26th, 32.13; and Kevin Rogan 40th, 35.53.

The ladies race saw Kate Rogan racing well again, 3rd home in 18.49 followed by Lynn Whittaker 10th in 26.22.

Over the same course, youth again triumphed in a second sibling contest when Martin Hounslow finished fourth in the Under-17 boys' race in 18.20, just ahead of elder brother Sam who was fifth in 18.40.

Finally, Des O'Regan made a journey to the North Yorkshire moors to compete in the Wheeldale Tandem, finishing the first solo 22 miles fourth in 2hr 57m, then, after a little wait, joining up with his partner to run the last eight miles together to come home an overall 9th in 4hr 36m.

Wharfedale Harriers is a family oriented club aiming to promote fell and cross-country running across all ages and abilities.

l Training takes place Monday to Thursday evenings from Silsden, Skipton and Ilkley. For more details please contact David Hird on 01535 653826.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.