BETHAN Morley stormed to a fine sixth place finish at this weekend's National Cross Country Championships at Hampstead Heath in the U17 women's category.

Morley ran in an impressive time of 19.03 and she was not the only youngster to make an impression on the national stage. Euan Brennan came tenth in the U17 men's category, crossing the line in 20.15.

The U17 men also came ninth overall as a team, a result which capped off a fine weekend for Harriers teenage contingent.

There was a large field for the senior men's race with over 2,300 runners finishing. Tim Ashelford was the top male runner, coming home in 802nd place with a time of 52.05.

Stephen Coy also finished in under an hour, placing 1,202nd with a run of 55.56, while Steve Weston secured 1,723rd place after achieving a time of 61.38.

1,113 runners crossed the line in the senior women's race and Diane Kitchen completed the course in 45.18, enough for 790th place. Petra Bijsterveld finished in 860th place, with her time of 46.54.

In slightly warmer climes, Paul Carman and Jann Smith competed in the Transgrancanaria Advanced Ultra, which saw them run from the north to the south of the island, through mountain ranges and national parks.

In an incredible effort from the two Harriers, Carman and Smith finished in 115th and 168th place respectively with times of 7hr 20min and 7hr 50min.

Several Harriers took part in the races at Harewood House in Leeds on Sunday. The standout performance came from Jane McCarthy, whose time of 1.38.01 in the half marathon was the quickest of any female over the age of 40.

Tom Lally, Adela Repercki, Claire McLoughlin, Mike Baldwin, Helen Waddington ran well over that distance too. The quintet all completed the course in under two hours, with times of 1.53.06, 1.56.40, 1.59.06, 1.59.08 and 1.59.17 respectively.

There were three Harriers in the top 100 finishers in the 10K too. Will Buckton ran brilliantly to secure 12th place in a time of 38.47, with Jonathan Turner close behind in 16th. Turner finished in 40.26, while Colin Williams came 52nd in 43.36.

In the Cardiff 5K Parkrun at the weekend, Alex Hirst excelled. He finished 14th out of 704 runners in a time of 18.21.

Rob Cunningham picked up sixth place in the Skipton Parkrun with a time of 19.15 while Rob Budding secured eighth in the Crichton event with a time of 20.31. Both runs had nearly 200 competitors apiece.

Geoff Howard was the sole Harriers runner at Wetherby, crossing the line in 13th place with a time of 23.54.

There were a couple of fine female performances in the Parkruns too. Junior runner Nina Pearce came tenth in Bradford with a time of 19.38, and was the highest placed female runner.

Finally, Kate Archer came 16th in Skipton in a time of 20.39. Her performance was enough to ensure that she was the second highest-placed female runner in the race.