Junior News 2020

Junior Section Report for December 2020

The first half of December saw ongoing regular attendance by some of the Juniors at the Monday and Wednesday night training sessions, held at the Cricket Club before closing for the Christmas break, and despite the darker, colder and wetter conditions, we were still able to offer training sessions on the grass.

Jack Dawson has been busy during December, running 1km loops with his school, managing to clock on average an excellent time of 3 minutes 45 seconds per loop – well done Jack and keep up the great work!

Regrettably, due to the current imposed Tier 4 restrictions within Staffordshire, the Club is unable to provide any Junior training sessions as we move into January, and will continue to follow advice from England Athletics in regard to when we can start up the sessions once again; please monitor the Harriers website for further information and we look forward to hopefully seeing you really soon.

Finally, after what has been a very different and challenging year, the Junior Coaches would like to thank all of the Juniors for their fantastic efforts, hard work and achievements during 2020, whether that has been training with the Club, on your own, participating in virtual races from home or even entering real ones during the early part of the year, and we wish them all and their parents the very best for 2021, hoping next year sees the return to some form of normality, and of course some real races.

Junior Section Report for November 2020

Due to the imposed Lockdown throughout the majority of November, there have been only two Junior training sessions held at the Cricket Club, and has therefore been a very quiet month; the Coaches are not aware of any virtual races being undertaken by the younger members of the Club, however, please do let us know if you have been taking part in any such events, or indeed any type of running activities, either with your family, friends or even on your own so we can report on your achievements, which will hopefully encourage others to do the same.

We are continuing to follow advice from England Athletics in regard to starting up the Junior training sessions once again, please monitor the Harriers website for further information and we look forward to hopefully seeing you really soon.

Junior Section Report for October 2020

October has been a quiet month for the Juniors, the Coaches are not aware of any virtual races being undertaken by the younger members of the Club, however, please do let us know if you have been taking part in any such events, or indeed any type of running activities, either with your family, friends or even on your own so we can report on your achievements, which will hopefully encourage others to do the same.

Despite the darker nights, we have continued to see steady attendance at the Monday and Wednesday night training sessions at the Cricket Club, with ongoing regular attendance by Matthew Hilsdon at the Tuesday night Speed sessions, running with the adults, which has been very encouraging to see. Well done all and keep up the hard work!

Junior Section Report for September 2020

Tuesday, 22nd September

Harriers Handicap

After what has been a very long six months and not being able to run in any form of race, some of our Juniors were able to compete in this Harriers organised event, not at the usual venue but more socially distanced at Marquis Drive, and still on Cannock Chase. We had three Juniors running as follows:

Name Position Net Time
Lucas Willson 4 26:49
Ben Green 26 30:39
Reuben Willson 28 33:37

A big well done to all who took part in the race and for giving the seniors a great ‘run for their money’.

The Monday and Wednesday night training sessions at the Cricket Club have continued to see some of the Juniors attend on a regular basis, and Matthew Hilsdon has started to attend the Tuesday night Speed session, which has been good to see. Well done all and keep up the hard work with the training, it will pay off!

Junior Section Report for August 2020

Covid aside, August is traditionally a quiet month for the Juniors and races, with many people away on holiday, and therefore we are not aware of any participation in virtual races or events.

We have however over the last month continued to witness reasonable attendance at the Monday and Wednesday Junior training sessions held at the Cricket Club, which has been pleasing to see.

Junior Section Report for July 2020

July has seen some of the Juniors continue to compete in the Harriers Grand Prix virtual races, all putting in some fantastic times and plenty of effort. Ben Green has taken part in all seven events organised for the Juniors (that’s the 1 mile, 2 mile, 5km, 5km, 1mile, 2mile and 5km). Well done to Ben and all who have competed in these events, and keep up the good work!

Over the last month we have had fairly consistent attendance at the Monday and Wednesday Junior training sessions held at the Cricket Club, this typically being around the 12 and 7 mark respectively.

Non-Harrier Events

Sporting a very cool looking hair do, Caleb Allen-Hingerty took part in the Rainbow Run with his school, Weston Road Primary in aid of all the staff at Stafford hospital. Caleb achieved an awesome time of 29:32, over a distance of 5k or so – a massive well done to Caleb.

2nd Time Trial

June 28th to July 4th

The winner is the most improved runner since 10th May. Only three juniors took part in both races.

Name TT 1 TT 2 Time Improvement Percentage of Improvement
VICTORIA SHREHORN (JUNIOR) 29:32 25:48 3:44 12.6%
DYLAN SHREHORN (JUNIOR) 22:39 21:25 1:14 5.4%
BEN GREEN (JUNIOR) 24:31 26:09 -1:38 -6.7%

 

Junior Grand Prix Results

 

Update 8th June: – Change to the rules for Juniors.
We will allow Junior Harriers additional time to complete the GP events and upload their results. We are aware some have been struggling to submit an accurate time and there is also the issue that they may need assistance or supervision from a parent.
So we will let them complete the 1 and 2 mile events at your convenience.

No GPS watch?
If you do not have access to a GPS enabled watch, not to worry – why not map out a route before you run it to determine the distance? There are several websites that can help you easily achieve this such as https://www.mapmyrun.com/ or https://gb.mapometer.com/. Once you have mapped out a course of a known distance and you are happy with it, you can then do the run, measure your time to complete and upload a photo of your time and possibly a screenshot of the mapped course to the Harriers Facebook page or website.

If you have a smartphone there are a number of apps that can track a run.

Results so far:-

Junior (15+)

Time

Name 1 Mile
MATTHEW HILSDON 6:40

 

Juniors.

There is still time for any Junior to take part. You can join in at any time.

Name 1 Mile 2 Mile 5 km 5 km 1 Mile 2 Mile 5km
LUCAS WILSON 6:00 13:57
REUBEN WILSON 8:03 18:04
TYLER KNIGHT 8:32
VICTORIA SHREHORN 8:29 16:54
DYLAN SHREHORN 6:55 13:46 22:39
BEN GREEN 6:53 15:17 25:51 26:56 6.47 16:58 28.21
CALEB ALLEN 19:18 28:45

Juniors Challenge

The Junior coaches will be splitting the juniors into multiple-groups as we do with the senior challenge. Once this is done I will produce a challenge results table.

 

Junior Section Report for June 2020

June has been quite a busy month for some of the Juniors, competing in the various Harriers Grand Prix virtual races, such as the 1 and 2 mile and 5K events. So far, we have seen Lucas and Reuben Willson, Dylan and Tori Shrehorn, Matthew Hilsdon, Ben Green, Tyler Knight and Caleb Allen-Hingerty all taking part in these events held throughout June. Well done to everyone for achieving some fantastic times and keep up the good work as we head into July.

Operating under guidance from England Athletics, June also saw the introduction of the Monday night training sessions held at the Cricket Club, these catering for up to 20 Juniors, in groups of five plus one coach. These sessions, which are in smaller groups than normal, are intended to provide the Juniors with some individual coaching and offer a great opportunity for them to run and train with their peers, observing social distance rules of course. Some of the Juniors have also been attending the Wednesday night sessions too. Good feedback has been received from both the parents and Juniors and we plan to continue to provide these sessions going forward throughout July.

None Harrier Events

On the 17th June Tori Shrehorn was presented with a medal for representing her school in which they finished in third place at the Cross Country events held back in March of this year (pre-lockdown). In the individual girls, Tori actually finished in joint first place. A massive well done to Tori for a tremendous achievement, and a great example of how our Juniors continue to run outside of the Harriers.

 

Junior Section Report for May 2020

Due to the ongoing Covid-19 situation, all races and events planned for May were either postponed or cancelled, so, unfortunately, there is not much to report. We are however aware of some Juniors continuing to run with members of their household, maintaining their fitness, and some competing in the events organised by Stafford Harriers, as follows.

10th May 2020

Stafford Harriers 5K Virtual Time Trial

Six Juniors competed in this first of two events, aimed at measuring the improvement in performance, over time.

Name Time
Dylan Sherhorn 22:39
Matthew Hilsdon 23:24
Ben Green 24:31
Morgan Allen-Hingerty 25:44
Victoria Sherhorn 29:32
Caleb Allen 32.37

Well done all for some great performances and times, and we look forward to seeing your times in the second event, w/c 28th June!

Stafford Harriers Grand Prix

Starting from 31st May and running through to 24th July, alongside the adult ones, we have a number of virtual races intended for the Juniors, over a wide range of distances, including 1 mile, 2 mile, 5K, 5 mile, and for the older juniors, a 10K. These events should provide some great friendly competition for our Juniors, and all are actively encouraged to participate. Please see the website for more details and of course do follow the rules that can also be found on the website. We look forward to seeing how you all get on.

Finally, all of the Stafford Harrier Junior Coaches continue to send their best wishes to all and their families, and please stay safe during these ongoing difficult and uncertain times.

Junior Section Report for April 2020

Due to the ongoing Covid-19 situation, all races and events planned for April were either postponed or cancelled, so, unfortunately, there is little to report. We are however aware of some Juniors continuing to run with members of their household, maintaining their fitness, ready for the return of the races, so well done to them and keep up the great work!

Finally, all of the Stafford Harrier Junior Coaches send their best wishes to all and their families, and please stay safe during these ongoing difficult and uncertain times.

Junior Section Report for March 2020

Unfortunately, due to the fast-developing Covid-19 situation, many of the local races were cancelled or postponed, however, we are aware of several events that did manage to take place before lock-down was introduced across the Nation.

Stafford Half Marathon Fun Run, Stafford

Sunday, 15th March

For the second consecutive year, Matthew Hilsdon won this race, so a massive well done to him and to any other Juniors who may have also taken part.

Schools Cross Country Races, various locations

We are aware of a number of Juniors who ran in the first two of these events before the remainder were cancelled – a big well done to all who participated!

Future Races and Events

As of the end of March, it is unclear what the medium to long term future holds for all races – short term there will clearly be no such events, but if the Covid-19 situation starts to improve over the coming months then we can hopefully start to look forward to carrying on with our races. In the meantime, if you are able to do some runs with other members of your household, keep this up ready for the return of the races. Finally, all of the Stafford Harrier Junior Coaches send their best wishes to all and their families, and please stay safe during this difficult time.

Junior Section Report for February 2020

February has once again been a quiet month for the Stafford Harrier Juniors (possibly due to the bad weather), with just one event in which some of them competed.

School Event – Saturday, 1st February

County Schools Cross Country Championships, Betley Court Farm

Matthew Hilsdon, Jack Heath, Harry Beckett and Murphy Hamilton all represented their schools in this event, which at county level meant they were competing in a field of good quality runners. No official results appear to be available, but all that took part ran very well and the event provided them with some valuable experience – well done to all.

Park Runs

As per the norm, we’ve had a number of Juniors continuing to take part in these events at various locations during the month, one being in Leeds – keep up the good work!

Junior Section Report for January 2020

It has been a quiet start to the new year and of course decade for the Stafford Harrier Juniors with no one participating in any races, as far as we know. This year there was little appetite for the Staffordshire County and Midland Cross Country Championships, were compared to previous years we have seen at least a handful run.

Park Runs

We have seen a number of Juniors continue to participate in the Cannock Chase Park Run, and possibly others, which is a great way over time, to help improve people’s performance over the same distance, and on a weekly basis. Keep up the good work and well done!

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