HELEN Waddington and Alison Bennett had the privilege of being selected for the England 5km teams for the International Masters England v Wales Road Race held in Tenby over the weekend.

Wearing their England vests, they both had a superb 5km run on an undulating course.

Bennett completed the course in 21:49:6, taking first place in her age category. Waddington finished in 22:45:9, taking fifth place in her age category. An honour for the Ilkley Harriers to have representation at such a prestigious event.

Ilkley Harrier Emily Gibbins continued on her fine form and was the first lady to finish at the Harrogate 10km, with Gibbins finishing in ninth place overall out of a field of 486. Emily ran this undulating multi terrain course, set in the lovely Crimple Valley, in a superb time of 38:15. Ilkley Harrier Diane Kitchen also had a great run at this race, finishing with a high age category placing.

Three Ilkley Harriers took part in the Leeds 10k race this weekend. This popular race, was set up by Jane Tomlinson to continue the fundraising vehicle for charities that she had started prior to her battle with terminal cancer. It is one of the highlights of Leeds City events calendar and the route takes in many of the city’s historic landmarks. Ilkley harrier Rumana Chowdhury led the Ilkley Harriers home in a great time of 51:15. She was followed by Harriers Angela Carpenter and Alex Stanley-Hyde who had great runs also.

This week saw the staging of the Hyde Park Harriers Summer Mile race. This annual event takes place on tarmac paths in Hyde Park in Leeds and involves a 2-lap course. This event is excellently organised with the races taking place in ‘heats’ which means all runners get a chance to spectate and watch other runners completing the course. Six Harriers took part with excellent results all round. Michael Abrams-Cohen led the Harriers home in a great time of 5:11:0. He was closely followed by David Foyston in 5:15:4, with Adam Gerrish the third Harrier home in 5:22:6. Marie Watson led the Ilkley ladies’ home in 6:31:8. She was followed by Claire McLoughlin in 6:34:1 and Helen Waddington in 6:48:4, personal best time on this race distance for Helen.

On the fells, Harrier Mary Jeal took part in the Oakworth Haul fell race. This 5.6 mile fell race, with 820ft of climbing is organised by Keighley and Craven Athletics Club. Mary had a great run, completing this race in 1:01 and taking first place in her age category.

More great parkrun results from Ilkley Harriers this week also. Catherine Gibbons was the second lady to finish at the Gunnersbury parkrun, Catherine finishing in a great time of 21:03. Michael Abrams-Cohen was the second finisher at this week’s Temple Newsam parkrun, Mike completing the course in 19:01. Lots of top ten placings for Ilkley Harriers at other parkruns this weekend, including James Lee who was the ninth finisher at the Cliffe Castle parkrun, Adam Gerrish, who was also the ninth finisher at the Market Rasen Racecourse parkrun, Robin Nicholson who was the tenth finisher at the Chevin Forest parkrun and Junior Harrier Jake Norris who also had a tenth-place finish at the Bradford parkrun.  REPORT BY: JEAN SULLIVAN