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Jackie Newton has been appointed as the Director of Coaching and Athlete Development for Athletics Northern Ireland. She will be taking up this positon on 1st May and Stockport Harriers wish her all the very best with this new role.

Jackie Newton has been an active member of Stockport Harriers & AC since 1977 when she joined the Club after being introduced to cross country running at school. Since then, athletics has been a huge part of her life and she has enjoyed success as an athlete, coach and team manager. All of this experience has now led to her being appointed as Director of Coaching and Athlete Development for Athletics Northern Ireland.

As an athlete, Jackie began her career running cross country and middle- distance track races for the club. She went for a few years in her early twenties to live and work in Australia and, when she came back, she moved to road running where her performances progressed rapidly. She was well-known on the local road running scene and especially for winning the iconic Tour of Tameside three times between 1994 and 1996. She then went on to compete for Great Britain in the marathon and half marathon.

Having retired from serious competition in 2001, Jackie worked through her coaching qualifications and became a level 3 UKA coach and a tutor for coach education. She has also continued training and racing and, although she isn't as serious now, she competed at the World Masters' Athletics Championships in the autumn and came home with a team gold medal from the cross country competition. She is often seen at the Woodbank parkrun and regularly trains with the endurance group that is directed by Paul Stepto and Steve Jones.

Jackie said, "I am delighted to have been selected to take on this role where I will be responsible for supporting and accelerating the progression of athletes and coaches. For the first twelve months, much of my attention will be on preparing the athletes for the 2018 Commonwealth Games as well as making sure the talent is coming through for future years. I have a lot to thank Stockport Harriers for. It was way back in the 70's that I was first inspired by the positive behaviours and methods of the coaches at Stockport Harriers. Of course my dad has also had a massive influence on me. He started coaching when I started running and as well as supporting me 100% with everything that I've done, he has also challenged me when he has seen any sign of de-railing and made me think, assess and plan what I'm doing. I am very much looking forward to using all of these experiences as well as the knowledge that I have gained in my new role."

Press reporting: I wish to retire / stand down from this Harriers' job after 3+ years (target was 2 years), are there any volunteers out there who could write a weekly column for the Stockport Express?

It's not particularly onerous but it is every week and we are getting good coverage from the local media at the moment including some cracking photos.

Might suit a retiree or someone going into media studies, useful for a portfolio. Us “oldies” can't go on doing the Harriers' jobs for ever and it would be a pity if this valuable publicity ceased.

Contact Peter Powell at peter [dot] powell [at] mypostoffice [dot] co [dot] uk or phone 0161 477 8922.

Report of 6th Event – 18 March 2017

We again used the modified course located entirely within the 1 km loop of roadway in the centre of the park because of the flooded conditions in the lower area of the park adjacent to the stadium. One lap of the course was approximately 700m long and to keep close to the usual race lengths the children in years 3 and 4 had to run 2 laps and those in years 5 and 6 had to run 3 laps. The number of participants in this final event of the season was the fewest of the 6 events no doubt in part because of the weather and ground conditions.

Our congratulations go to the 197 runners who have participated in five or 6 of the events and therefore met the requirement for the award of an Endeavour medal in recognition of their achievement. The medals will be awarded at the Presentation Event on 25 March as described at the foot of this report.

We were again pleased to see Adam Finch of St Simon’s joining in at the back of the B5-6 race to walk part of the course with his chaperone in his endeavour to regain his physical fitness following his treatment for cancer. In recognition of his determination we have awarded him an Endeavour medal. Similarly, we have awarded a medal to Charlie Rayner of Cale Green, who is visually impaired and ran in some of the Boys Y3-4 race with his guide, Stockport Harrier, Evie Wild, for his achievement in tackling cross-country running with  its variable underfoot conditions.

Again, we have allocated times of 50:00 minutes to runners who had to drop out races for one reason or another. This is to allow us to account for them more easily when determining which runners have done 5 or more races and are eligible for an Endeavour medal.

As usual, please advise me of any questions that you have about the results. Also, we have a missing name for position 48 in the G5-6 race and 2 names at position 58, plus missing names in positions 39 and 41 in the B5-6 race. Any guidance that you can give would be greatly appreciated.

Girls Years 3-4:

We had to wait until this final event to see how the close competition at the top of the League table between teammates Aisling Brooks and Niamh Mackintosh of Ladybrook, Ella Buckley of Pownall Green, and Rosie Philbin of St Mary’s Marple would resolve itself. The girls had another close competition and their final race positions were reflected in the final league table: Aisling finishing first, Niamh second, Ella third and Rosie fourth. Our congratulations go to the medalk winners and to all for an enthralling competition.

The other runners in the top 10 after race 5 shuffled their positions slightly with the outcome of the 6th race: Alexa Billman of Cheadle and Ellena Walker of Tithe Barn retained their respective 5th and 6th positions by finishing 5th and 7th in the day’s race, Maeve Tunney of Ladybrook moved into 7th spot ahead of Ava Richards of St Philip’s by finishing in 6th position, and Imogen Hill of High Lane moved into 9th position ahead of her team mate, Sophie Bradford, by finishing 9th. Well done everyone.

In the team competition, the League champions, Ladybrook, finished off in a fine style by achieving their best score of the season and by far the best in the competition. Ladybarn came 2nd in the race one place ahead of High Lane, but their score of 37 points to High Lane’s 40 points was insufficient to displace High Lane from 2nd spot in the table and they had to be content with 3rd place overall. Our congratulations go to both teams for a good competition.

Boys Years 3-4:

This season’s League winner, Josh Garrone of Vernon Park, achieved his full house of race wins this season, leading home, silver-medallist Will Bailey of Buxworth who achieved a full house of 2nd places.  Our congratulations go to Will’s fellow pupil, Oliver Ecob, who came 3rd in the race and thereby secured the bronze medal. Josh’s brother, Matteo finished 4th in the race and so held onto his 4th place in the League table. Behind him, Isaac Reed of Rose Hill, competing in his 4th race of the season achieved a quartet of 5th places which took him from the middle of the table to 5th place overall. Despite Isaac’s late appearance among the top 10 in the table, all the runners holding top 10 positions after the 5th event remained in the top 10 courtesy of a tied score. Harry Seymour of Romiley finished 6th in the League, Simon Harrison of St Peter’s was 7th, William Berridge of Lady barn was 8th, Ben Sturgess of Great Moor 9th, and Joel Hulley of Hazel Grove and Isaac Briscall-Slack of High Lane were equal 10th. Well done to all.

Our congratulations go to Vernon Park who won the team race with 17 points which dramatically improved their best 4 results score, propelling them from 4th place to the top of the League table and making them the League champions. Buxworth worked hard to maintain their position at the top of the table finishing 2nd with a score of 22 points which improved their League score but not sufficiently to prevent Vernon Park overtaking them. High Lane also improved their League score by coming 3rd in the race but, like Buxworth, slipped a place in the League to come third overall. Lady Barn had another good race, finishing 4th with 45 points but slipping off the podium. Our congratulations go to all teams for their good performances and keeping us unsure of the final outcome until the last race.

Girls Years 5-6:

The League winner, Jasmine Reed of Rose Hill, was absent for the final race of the season and Freya Murdoch of Pownall Green, already confirmed as the silver medal winner, won the  ahead of  Grace Longden of Buxworth and Saffron Meade of Great Moor. Saffron’s 3rd place moved her up to the bronze medal position in a tie with Mary Seymour of Romiley, who finished 5th in the race. Our congratulations go to both girls.

Sophie Ellwood of Fairway who has shown a steady improvement as the season has progressed, finished 4th in the race and just outside the top 10 in the League.  Gabrielle Sampson of St Mary’s Marple and Ava Walsh of Ladybrook held onto the respective 5th and 6th positions in the League by finishing 6th and 9th in the race. Lucy Williams of Romiley, doing her 4th race of the season, finished 8th and so moved sharply up the table to 7th position. Emily Whitworth of Lady Barn moved up to 8th in the League by finishing 10th in the race and improving her best 4 races score. Hannah Morrey of Romiley did not race and was unable to defend her 7th place, slipping to 9th in the League. Her team mate, Alice Blythe did race but was unable to improve her League score and slipped to 10th place overall. Our congratulations go to all top 10 finishers.

In the team competition, the League winners, Romiley Primary again won the race with 26 points. Romiley’s B-team could only manage 7th place in the race but their League score was good enough to give them 2nd place overall. High Lane closed the gap on them by coming 2nd in the race but needed a very low score to move from 3rd place in the table to 2nd. Our congratulations go all 3 teams on achieving podium positions.

Boys Years 5-6:

The League champion, Luke Carrington of Gee Cross and Harry Ahearn of St Christopher’s, who seems to like the muddier conditions experienced in recent races,  were running neck and neck at the end of the race with Harry slightly ahead of Luke. Unfortunately, Harry mistook the tape the lap marshal was holding to guide them into the finish funnel as the finish line leaving Luke a free-run into the finish. The boys took away any need for an official judgment by agreeing the finishing order and shaking hands - a magnificent example of sportsmanship! Harry’s efforts did, though, ensure that he finished 3rd in the League. Finlay McLaughlin of Lady Barn who had already secured 2nd place in the League finished 6th in the race. Our congratulations go to all three medal winners.

Third place in the race for Sol Barlow of Romiley meant that he moved up from 5th to 4th place in the League, which caused Patrick Doohan of St Winifred’s, who was missing from the race, to slip to 5th place. Tom Morton of Tithe Barn finished 4th in the race and moved up to 6th place in the League causing Dylan McGrath of St Ambrose to slip to 7th, equal on points with Harvey Murphy of Romiley whose 5th place in the race improved his League score by 5 points. Matthew Haines of St Peter’s  improved his League score by 2 points by coming 7th in the race which moved him one place up to 9th in the table, ahead of Joshua Stutchfield of Torkington, who finished 9th in the race. Our congratulations go to all the top 10 certificate winners.

Our congratulations go to Romiley who won the race with 36 points and signed off the season as League winners. Our congratulations also go to St Winifred’s who fielded a full team for the 4th time this season and thereby took 2nd place in the League with 187 points in total.  We also congratulate Lady Barn for finishing 3rd in the League.  Despite their best efforts,  their  third place in the race, two places ahead of St Winifred’s, were not enough to prevent St Winifred’s from overtaking them.

Finally we should mention that High Lane took 2nd place in the race, their best result of the season.

Prize Presentation Event

This event will take place on Saturday 25 March 2017. The timetable for the presentation of the top 10 certificates, medals and team trophies is as follows:

10:30 Girls Y3-4

• Presentation of certificates to the top 10 runners
• Presentation of medals to the top 3 runners
• Presentation of team awards to the top 3 teams

10:45 Boys Y3-4

As above

11:00 Girls Y5-6

As above.

11:15 Boys B5-6

As above

Runners who have participated in at least 5 races and thereby achieved the requirement for an Endeavour medal will be able to pick up their medals at the administration desk in the clubhouse between 10:00 and 11:30. As we have a lot of medals to award we shall require a signature for each medal so that we know who has and who has not received a medal. The list of children’s names will be listed alphabetically by school name. We are aware that some team managers have indicated that they wish to collect the children’s medals on their behalf for a more formal presentation at school and will therefore be able to sign on the children’s behalf. Otherwise the children or their parents/guardians can sign for the medals individually. Medals that are not picked up on the day can thereafter be picked up at the clubhouse between 18:30 and 20:30 on Tuesdays and Thursdays until the end of April.

Finally, after over 20 years of involvement in Stockport Harriers’ annual Schools Cross-Country League, I shall step down as the League manager after the Presentation event. My initial role in the League was as the race hare but after a few years of being pressed hard by the leading runners chasing behind me, I took up the manager’s role as the more easy option. You can guess from my longevity that I have enjoyed the job and my decision to step down was taken with some sadness and concern that nobody would be available to pick up the reins. However, I am pleased to say that my concern was unwarranted and that the Leagues will continue, possibly with a revised format.

I would like to thank all those who have helped me stage the League events through the years, some of whom have been part of the team since the beginning of my involvement. I would also like to thank and congratulate all the children who have taken part in the league races through the years of their existence, some of whom may now have children participating today. My appreciation also goes to the team managers who have attended the events through the years, of whom at least one has been attending since before my time as well as the children’s families and friends for supporting them sometimes in foul weather conditions, and St John Ambulance for tending to those needing medical attention.

I hope to see you at the Presentation event on the 25th March.

• Schools’ Cross Country League Race 6 and Final Results