THE cross country season continues to dominate the collective desire for honours with Harriers finishing overall fifth at Heaton Park on Saturday, writes David Barnes.

With the club attempting to gain promotion from Division Three of the Manchester Cross Country League, Joe Mercer led the team home, and was followed closely by Gareth Booth.

A trio of RMI vets in Martyn Bell, David Jackson and Dave Milliken – seemingly more intent on competing against each other – all finished within seven seconds of each other.

The muddy conditions made races tougher than normal for a small group of Harriers who travelled to Accrington for the fourth race in the Mid Lancs Cross Country League.

The under-13s boys continued where they left off last week with a strong team winning on count back from Blackburn Harriers.

Tom Massey enjoyed a superb race with a third-placed finish, and with Luke Brindle and Robert Seddon eighth and ninth, the boys had done enough to take victory.

Lewis Wilkes tackled the conditions well for the u15s and Luke Massey run well for fourth place for the u17s.

The senior men were represented by two club stalwarts in Paul Massey and Tony Hesketh.

A great race by Massey saw him record 39:55 for 17th place and sixth-placed veteran, while Hesketh finished third for the over-60s in a time of 50:45 to take 142nd place.

At the Soreen Stanbury Splash fell race in Yorkshire, Nick and Sandra Kelly proved their mettle in snowy conditions and the Middleton boys displayed a flair for handling the icy slopes.

Setting a good example, dad Jason Middleton ran 23:14 at Worsley Woods on Saturday in one of the few parkruns in the area to beat the weather.

In a chilly Cheshire on Sunday, the Helsby Essar Four Villages half marathon attracted its usual big field and Paul Muller claimed first spot in the MV55 category and overall 31st of 1,722 finishers.

Results

Mid Lancs Cross Country league (Wilson Playing Fields, Hyndburn) – Boys U13s: Tom Massey, third 11:49; Luke Brindle, eighth 12:22; Robert Seddon, ninth 12:25; Boys U15s: Lewis Wilkes, 10th 16:29; Men's U17s: Luke Massey, fourth 23:13; Senior men: Paul Massey, 17th 39:55; Tony Hesketh, 141st 50:42.

Manchester Cross Country League (Heaton Park) – Boys U13s: Lucas Milliken, 16th 13:32; Senior men: Joe Mercer, 11th 35:04; Gareth Booth, 20th 36:25; Martyn Bell, 50th 38:31; David Jackson, 52nd 38:36; Dave Milliken, 53rd 38:38; Andy Ford, 94th 40:28; Gary Chadderton, 170th 43:56; Doug Fleming, 177th 44:18; Mark Swindell, 252nd 49:00; Gordon Stone, 296th 53:23; Lawrence Pinnell, 299th 53:38.

Essar Four Villages (Helsby) Half Marathon – Paul Muller, 31st 1:19:40; Geoff Leech, 810th 1:50:48; Derek Whittle, 921st 1:52:57.

Soreen Stanbury Splash five-mile fell race (Penistone Hill, Haworth) – Nick Kelly, 66th 42:12; Sandra Kelly, 142nd 46:37; One-mile race for juniors: Theo Middleton (U10s), 56th 9:03; Toby Middleton (U12s), 10th 6:44.