This year there are just three league matches for each club before the finals held in February, and this weekend sees the third of these matches.

After round two, all of the Harrier's teams were in third spot in the league, with finals places reserved for the top 5 in each age group we need a good performance, and a good turnout, all round to secure finals places.

If you want to catch up on the league positions so far, all of the results can be found here.

For individual athletes, remember that selection for the County teams for the U11s "Fun in athletics" competition or the Aviva Sportshall U13 and U15 UK Championships will be based on performances across all of these league matches, so there's a chance your run / jump / throws this weekend will give you the chance to represent Cheshire early in the New Year.

The results for last weekend's Sportshall fixture at Widnes are now available on the Sportshall website here.

Keeping things nice and simple, all Harriers teams are currently in third place in every category!

Two club athletes were took their first steps in sports leadership and coaching when they received their Sports Leaders Level 1 Award in Leadership last night.

These awards, to Emma Scott and Amy Pearson, give them a qualification so that they can lead sessions under supervision. It leads to a level 2 award, which gives them more responsibility both for what they can do and how they can help out more in training sessions. The hope is that it will lead to coaching qualifications. 

7 club athletes turned out on a lovely November morning to compete under the new club flag (!) at the second round of the Manchester Area XC League at Sherdley Park in St Helens.  The course here is undulating and energy sapping, so was a tough test for all runners.

Racing over a 2.2km course, Isla was the first club athlete to run, covering the course in 10m52s to take 33rd place overall in the U11G race.  Over the same course and distance, Alex and Jenny were next up, racing with the U11B, though none from Harriers.  Jenny and Alex raced close together, with Jenny crossing the line in 10m02s and Alex just 4 seconds behind in 40th spot.

The next races pitted the U13B and U15G in the same field, over a longer 3.1km course.  The U13B had a full scoring team, with Chris leading the way coming home in 10th place overall in 12m42s.  Bradley ran a strong race with a very strong finish covering the course in 13m47s (20th) and Mitch was the third scorer in a time of 15m03s for a gruelling 26th place.  The boys team was placed 5th overall, and puts their team in 3rd place in the competition so far.  

In the same race, Keira Grady was the 15th home in a time of 13m51s.

All age groups were a little depleted due to the schools cross country races held on the Saturday, so let's hope for a bigger squad at the next race in Wythenshawe Park on Saturday 3rd December to build on some good performances this weekend!

Some pictures from the meeting are on our facebook page - why not check it out - www.facebook.com/hfharriers

The cross country season starts for all club athletes this Sunday with the next round of the Manchester Area Cross Country League taking place at Sherdley Park, St Helens.

Races are open to all age groups from U11s upwards.  Comprehensive notes for parking and getting to Sherdley Park are available here. 

All age groups score both as individuals or as teams of three, with the first three to finish from the club counting as the "A" team, next three as the "B" team etc.  It would be great to get teams out for as many age groups as possible.

If you haven't let Nick know that you are planning on taking part, please get in touch with him - contact details are on the website's "club contacts" page.

For U13s and above this is the second race in the five match series (best 4 positions count), for U11s this is the first race in a four match series (best 3 positions count).

Four of the club's athletes took part in the England Athletics National Cross Country Relay championships at Berry Park, Mansfield this weekend.

In true cross country style the course was very muddy, enjoyed by some and less so by others!

Georgia, Jenny and Molly made a full team for the U13 Girls race with 3 legs over 2km each. Bringing the team home in 55th place overall, Georgia covered the course in 7m50s (in 19th place at the handover), Jenny on the second leg ran in 9m21s and Molly finished off the trio in 9m18s.

In the U15 Girls, Harriers could only field one runner with Kiera covering the first leg of the course in 8m47s.

Full results are on the ECCA website here.

12 of the club's athletes turned out for the first match in the Manchester Area Cross Country League this weekend.

At this first meeting, U13s and older were taking part, with the U11s joining the series at St Helens next month.

The U13 girls were the first to race, with Georgia Aston-Massey the first to return for the club over the hilly Heaton Park course.  Georgia (6th), Charlotte (36th), Esther (43rd) and Molly (44th) all ran well over the course to put the team in 9th place overall.

The U13 boys and U15 girls run together, in this league.  First back was Billy Young in 12th place, followed by Chris (14th), James (28th) and Nathan (31st) putting the boys team in 5th place.  Keira Grady, the only girl running in the U15 race for Harriers, came home in 17th place.

Richard McGeachie was the only Harrier representative in the U17 mens race, coming back in 18th place in his race.

Full results are on the "race-results" website (http://www.race-results.co.uk/results/2011/maccl111.htm)

Well done to all who turned out!

From Thursday 3rd November and until further notice, training in Widnes on Mondays and Thursdays will begin at 6.30pm and finish by 8pm at the latest.

Please remember that we have no indoor training facilities at Widnes, so if it is cold or wet, please make sure your children are dressed appropriately.

Presentation night 2011

At the awards evening last week, the club recognised the achievements, improvements and commitment of individual athletes across all age groups.