The Great Manchester Run took place again in May for the first time since 2019. While last year’s race did take place in September, it has not taken place in spring since before the coronavirus pandemic.
Once again thousands of people – including elite athletes, club runners, and fun runners – took part in the 10km and half marathon races.
The first runners set off at 8.30am for the half marathon followed by the elite wheelchair, men and women’s races, and the remaining 10km waves – the last starting at 12.47pm.
QRC was represented by the following;
Matt Thornton – Position – 237. Time – 01:29:37 David Bean – Position -2520 .Time – 01:59:26 Angela Waddington – Position – 5330. Time – 03:15:23 Joanne Punt – Position – 5370. Time – 04:01:15
Sunday morning saw a great turnout of runners from QRC, we managed to avoid the promised deluge and wind. Well done all who attended this very well organised event.
Great performance from the team and congrats to Neil, Andy, Dave, Terri, Jo Fortune and Manjit all getting PBs.
Position -Name – Category -Category Position – Net Time
An undulating 5km course on tarmac paths within Heaton Park.Starting in the centre of the park, the first 2km consists of a flat section around the Heaton Park lake. Between 2 and 3 kilometres, some challenging hills take you to outside Heaton Hall with spectacular views of Manchester. A loop through the forest area behind the hall follows, before a welcome downhill section to complete the lap.
The 5k is 1 lap, 10k is 2 laps, and Half Marathon is 4 laps with an additional out and back section at the start.
Heaton Park 10k
Simon Taylor 9th 40.16 MV35 1st,
Richard Brook 22nd 43.54 MV45 1st,
Laura Taylor 165th 57.40,
Heaton Park 5k,
Katie Brook 11th 4th female 24.02
Meltham AC Tough 10k
The infamous Meltham ‘Tough’ 10k – a winter Road Race with plenty of gruelling climbs, long fast descents and guaranteed challenging weather
Pudsey Pacers hosted the fifth cross country race of the 2021-22 West Yorkshire Winter League series on Sunday 9th January at the extensive grounds of Parkwood Outdoor venue near Tong. The 5-mile course followed loops along forest trails and a wide grassy hill with a very large amount of mud and slippery grass to test the field of nearly 400 runners.
A sprint over the final 100 metres saw Queensbury’s Dylan Naylor first across the line, with Tom Collinge not far behind in 8th place. All in all a magnificent performance by the 19 runners representing QRC, with each one showing real grit and determination to overcome the conditions underfoot. Thanks as well to QRC Race director, Glenn Thornton for his support for the Queensbury crew.
New Year’s Day 2022 saw a good crowd of QRC runners take on the Giant’s Tooth Fell Race. Starting from Ogden Water car park the 3-mile route climbed 120 metres from the reservoir, through the woods to the Giant’s Tooth, with some sharp ascent and descent plus mud and slippery roots thrown in for good measure. Queensbury’s Dylan Naylor came in first place by a decent margin with Paul Greenwood and Tom Collinge following up in 3rd and 4th places. And another excellent performance by Lorna Dodd who took first ladies’ place. Well done all QRC runners who took part.
Today saw off the final race of the West Yorkshire Winter League. Another great turn out by Queensbury and well done to everyone who ran through the series. Queensbury finished an impressive 4th overall out of a field of 11 teams.
Queensbury runners form an orderly queue led by Ben Clare just after the start
Thirty-nine club members ran in the 3rd cross-country race in the West Yorkshire Winter League series on Sunday 31st January. In short we emerged as the overall winners on the day for the very first time in our history! There were many outstanding performances. Chris Williams, in his first race in the series, was 2nd overall to the regular winner of the men’s event (Ben Mounsey, Stainland). Tom Collinge has competed in every race so far and he managed his best performance taking 3rd place from Julian Hood (Skipton). New member, Alistair Galt, proved his ability crossing the line in 26th place. There then followed a remarkable sequence of finishers, including our top veteran runners: Andy Dovernor (32nd), Mick Coe (33), Martin Firth (36), Ben Clare (40), Peter Hughes (42). This ensured a fantastic first place in the men’s event on the day by 40 points over Baildon in 2nd place. A further 21 men completed the course. The women’s team finished 4th on the day with excellent performances by Anna Smith (13th), Jo Horan (16th albeit carrying an injury), Stacey Cleal (17th), Lynne Robinson (26th), Maria Rhodes (37th), Zoe Hipwell (48th), Julie Hepworth (54th), Rachel Kendall (65th), Dianne Simpson (78th) and Sharan Loughran (83rd). The combined efforts of the men and women meant that Queensbury was placed 1st overall on the day, a single point ahead of Stainland Lions in 2nd place and eight points ahead of Baildon Runners.
Chris Williams sprints for the line in 2nd place while Tom Collinge secures 3rd place in the background.
Queensbury was invited to join the West Yorkshire Winter League in the 2012-13 season. At the time the men formed a small but strong team and they finished the season in the 4th place. However, in our inaugural season there was no women’s team at all. It was not until the 2013-14 season when Anna and Jo started representing the club. By the end of the 2014-15 season the women, now joined by Stacey and Zoe, were placed 7th out of ten teams. This season, with one race to go, the women are 4th out of eleven teams in the same position as the men’s team. Given the competitive nature of the WYWL this is a remarkable leap forward for the club.
1st F50, Anna Smith, finishes strongly
The achievements at the club have drawn admiration from others throughout the season. The team spirit is exceptional and we celebrate every runner’s achievement. Thanks to those who put on an excellent race at Temple Newsam and to the WYWL organisers for their hard work. Thanks also to Graham Cecil Halstead for the excellent photos.
Some of the team before the race. Thanks to Bev Morritt for the photo.
WYWL Results: Temple Newsam
2nd Mopen
Williams
Chris
M
2
3rd Mopen
Collinge
Tom
M
3
Galt
Alistair
M
25
5th M45
Dovernor
Andy
M45
32
3rd M50
Coe
Mick
M50
33
1st M55
Firth
Martin
M55
36
Clare
Ben
M
40
1st M60
Hughes
Peter
M60
42
Hunt
David
M
53
Brook
Richard
M40
68
Heron
Carl
M50
69
Fielding
Matt
M35
70
Newberry
Richard
M
75
Thornton
Matt
M
76
Rhodes
Graham
M50
89
Robinson
Philip
M50
93
1st F50
Smith
Anna
F50
13
3rd F45
Cleal
Stacey
F45
17
Gibbons
Peter
M50
128
Hipwell
Lee
M40
138
Robinson
Lynne
F
26
3rd M65
Jowett
Graham
M65
153
Rushworth
Chris
M50
157
Lindsay-Yule
Anthony
M
161
Windle
Neil
M40
168
Hipwell
Zoe
F35
48
Thornton
Glenn
M60
181
Hepworth
Julie
F40
54
4th M65
Thomas
Simon
M65
185
Jack
Darren
M
188
Kendall
Rachel
F
65
David
Hepworth
M45
193
Hanson
Chris
M35
199
Simpson
Dianne
F50
78
Smith
Andrew
M45
201
Loughran
Sharan
F45
83
Morritt
Gary
M50
205
Stacey Cleal, 3rd F45
Rachel Kendall
Andy Dovernor, 5th M45, just edges Mick Coe, 3rd M50
The first West Yorkshire Winter League race, hosted by Dewsbury Road Runners, took place on Sunday 13th December with a HUGE QRC turnout. The results are not available yet but here’s a slideshow of images taken at the race. Pump up the volume and enjoy!
