Wakefield District Harriers & Athletics Club

🟢⚪️ NEW MV55 5K RECORD FOR DARREN⚪️🟢

A huge congratulations to Darren Hewitt who has set a new Wakefield District Harriers & AC club record in the Male Vet 55 category!

Darren chose the perfect way to celebrate his 55th birthday — by stepping up at the EvenSplits York 5K and chasing one very specific target…to run a sub-18 minute race.

Target achieved. ✅ ⚡ Chip Time: 17:57 ⚡

A fantastic performance, showing exactly what dedication, consistency, and experience can achieve. A brilliant example that age is no barrier — the goals just keep changing.

Congratulations, Darren, on an outstanding run and a thoroughly deserved club record.

We’re proud to have you representing the Harriers so brilliantly! 💚🤍💚

Happy 55th birthday, Daz — what a way to celebrate!

🟢⚪️ Success for Scott at the Blackpool Run the Lights 10k! ⚪️🟢

A huge congratulations from everyone at Wakefield & District Harriers & AC to Scott, who produced an incredible run at one of his favourite races of the year.

The Run the Lights 10k is a unique night time race along Blackpool Promenade, with runners taking on a fast, traffic-free course through the famous Blackpool Illuminations atmosphere. The event brings together thousands of runners for a spectacular evening of racing, with both 10k and 5k routes starting and finishing on the seafront.

Scott returns to this race every year alongside his Dad, with family there to support them and share the experience. This year, his goal was clear — to beat last year’s impressive time of 35 minutes… and he absolutely delivered!

🔥 Crossing the finish line in a superb 34:11, Scott not only smashed his target but secured an outstanding overall 2nd place from a field of more than 1,700 runners racing the 10k! 🥈

Despite a challenging night with strong head winds and the added difficulty of weaving through 5k runners as he pushed towards the finish, Scott showed incredible determination and strength to produce a brilliant podium performance.

A fantastic achievement and another unforgettable Run the Lights for Scott — congratulations on a superb run! 💚🤍💚

🟢⚪️ Distance League Update – Wakefield Thornes parkrun ⚪️🟢

A huge well done to all our runners who met up at Wakefield Thornes parkrun for our latest Distance League event!

There were some fantastic performances, and we’re looking forward to seeing the impact they have on the league points table as the competition continues.

A massive thank you to everyone who came along to run — whether you were pushing hard for your league position, chasing a great performance, or enjoying a social catch up with fellow club members. Every single person who takes part is valued and plays an important part in making our club what it is.

Thank you to Karen for capturing the team photo which shows some of our members who took part and helped make the event such a great morning.

Well done everyone...

Pictured - Jonathan M, Francis M, Nicola H, Chris R, Craig O, Andrew L, Pauline T, Mark B, Helen R, Paul T

and to Adam P, Paul G, Hugh A, Craig D & Ian R

Next up for our Distance League is the Vale of York Half Marathon in September.

💚🤍

🟢⚪️ TWO NEW CLUB RECORDS FOR JULIE! ⚪️🟢

A fantastic performance from Julie Briscoe at the York 10K, where she produced a superb run to rewrite the Wakefield District Harriers & AC FV50 record books! 💚🤍

Julie completed the 10K in a brilliant 39:13 chip time, finishing:

⭐ 179th overall
⭐ 13th female
🥇 1st FV50

An outstanding result in its own right — but even more impressive when you consider that this was Julie’s first race in nearly two years!

Her 39:13 sets a new FV50 club record for 10K and, based on her average pace during the race, Julie has also set a new FV50 5K club record of 19:37.

FV50 5K — 19:37 🏆
FV50 10K — 39:13 🏆

A long-standing member of the club, Julie has been part of the green and white for many years, and it’s fantastic to see her back racing and putting her name into the club record books twice in one performance.

Huge congratulations, Julie! 💚🤍

🟢🟡⚪️ FUNETICS MULTI CHALLENGE – ENTRIES NOW LIVE! ⚪️🟡🟢

Wakefield & District Harriers & AC are excited to invite U10 and U12 athletes from our club AND other local clubs to join us for our Funetics Multi Challenge!

This is all about friendly competition, having fun, and giving young athletes the chance to enjoy a range of events in a welcoming environment.

📅 Saturday 29 August 2026
⏰ 10:00 am
📍 Thornes Park Athletics Stadium, Horbury Road, Wakefield, WF2 8TY

⭐ U10 Boys & Girls
50m • 400m • Long Jump • Howler Throw
⭐ U12 Boys & Girls
75m • 600m • Long Jump • Howler Throw

🌟 ALL LOCAL CLUBS ARE WELCOME! 🌟

🟡 ENTRY IS NOW LIVE
Entries close Wednesday 26 August at 10:00am.

🔗 Enter here:
https://meets.rosterathletics.com/public/competitions/details/schedule?id=29637

🙋‍♀️🙋‍♂️ PARENTS – WE’D LOVE YOUR HELP TOO!
If your child is competing and you’re able to volunteer to help us with the running of the day, we would really appreciate your support. It genuinely makes a difference and helps us provide a great event for all our young athletes.

💚 Want to volunteer or have a question about the event?
Contact our Lead Organiser, Alyce McCurdie, at:
📧 [email protected]

Please share this post with your club, coaches, parents, and young athletes and help us spread the word.

🟢⚪️ STOCKPORT 10K - Gold for Amy- Eloise ⚪️🟢

Huge congratulations to Amy-Eloise Neale, who took 1st place while competing in the elite field at the inaugural Vitality Stockport 10k!

Amy-Eloise absolutely flew through the closed-road course, crossing the finish line at Edgeley Park in a spectacular time of 31:54!

It is an incredible performance that makes everyone here at Wakefield and District Harriers & AC immensely proud.
Fantastic running, Amy-Eloise!

💚🤍 CELEBRATING 10 YEARS OF ALYCE! 🤍💚

We're incredibly proud to celebrate one of our amazing coaches, Alyce, who has been recognised by England Athletics for an incredible 10 years as a Throw Coach! 🎉

For the past decade, Alyce has dedicated countless hours to developing athletes, sharing her knowledge, inspiring confidence, and helping throwers at our club achieve their potential. Her passion, commitment, and enthusiasm have made a lasting impact on our athletes and everyone fortunate enough to work with her.

This recognition is thoroughly deserved, and we couldn't be prouder to have Alyce as part of our coaching team.

She truly is one of our Harrier Heroes. 💚🤍

Please join us in congratulating Alyce on this fantastic milestone and thanking her for everything she does for our athletes and our club.

Congratulations, Alyce, and here's to many more years of inspiring the next generation of throwers!

💚🤍 Distance League Update – The Race Is On! 🤍💚

The battle for this year’s Distance League title is hotting up! With 21 races completed and just 6 races remaining, the leaderboard is incredibly competitive, and there is still plenty of time for things to change.

A huge congratulations to our current top five athletes:

🥇 Francis Mwaba – 5322 points
🥈 Helen Beck – 4968 points
🥉 Paul Gilbert – 4962 points (last year’s overall winner)
4️⃣ Ian Ogden – 4949 points
5️⃣ Katelyn Walker – 4757 points

But the fight for those top positions is far from over! With many athletes sitting just outside the top five and pushing hard, the leaderboard could change massively before we bring this year’s league to a close after the Abbey Dash.

Every race, every effort, and every point could make the difference! 💪🔥

The Distance League is all about celebrating everyone’s achievements. Performances are scored using age and gender grading, creating a level playing field where athletes of all ages and genders can compete together on equal terms. It’s a fantastic way to recognise consistency, commitment, and performance across the whole club.

A massive well done to Francis, Helen, Paul, Ian and Katelyn — and congratulations to every athlete taking part. Whether you are chasing points, climbing the leaderboard, setting personal goals, or simply enjoying running with your teammates, you are all contributing to what makes our club special. 👏

📅 Next Distance League race: Thornes Park parkrun – Saturday 15th August
We’d love to see as many athletes there as possible!
Whether you’re aiming to add more points to your league total or simply want to embrace the social side of running with your clubmates, come along, get involved, and enjoy another great Distance League event.

. 💚🤍💚

🟢⚪️Wakefield & District Harriers Distance League 2026 ⚪️🟢

Our updated list of remaining Distance League fixtures is here, including the recent addition of Castleford 10K.

The Distance League is a great way for Wakefield Harriers members to enjoy racing throughout the year, with points awarded towards each member's individual league score. With events ranging from parkrun and road races to cross country, there's something to suit a wide range of abilities and experience.

Whether you're aiming for a personal best, trying a new distance, or simply enjoying the social side of racing, we'd love to see as many members as possible taking part over the remaining fixtures.

If you're thinking about joining Wakefield Harriers, this is just one of the many ways our members stay active, support one another, and enjoy racing together.

If you have any questions about the Distance League, please get in touch with our Club Captain, Stew Knowles, at [email protected].

🟢⚪️ Athlete of the Month – July ⚪️🟢

A huge congratulations to our second Athlete of the Month for July, Helen!

After an injury forced her to step back from racing, Helen showed incredible patience and commitment to her recovery. The rest and rehab have certainly paid off, and she has gone from strength to strength throughout the year so far.

July was another exceptional month, with three fantastic achievements to celebrate:

🏅 Jane Tomlinson Canal Race Series – Helen secured the FV45 Series Title, a brilliant reward for her consistency across the series.

🏅 The Flat Cap 6 Miler – Another superb performance saw Helen take 1st place in the FV45 age category.

🥉 The Yorkshire Vets Relay – Helen teamed up with Jenny and Katie as part of a ladies' V35–44 team, running the second leg of the three-person relay and helping the team secure an excellent 3rd place finish.

What a month! Helen's determination, resilience, and hard work have been inspiring to watch, and her performances are a testament to what can be achieved with patience and perseverance.

Congratulations, Helen, on a truly outstanding July — we're all incredibly proud of you and can't wait to see what the rest of the year brings!