The action has been centred on Leigh Harriers' superb new headquarters at Leigh Sports Village in recent weeks. On the 18th October we had a very fruitful committee meeting where we did a lot of the planning for the New Year, and the race dates are now on the Fixtures page. Some of these dates are still provisional, and there are one or two events still being finalised. All the events up to Easter and a bit beyond are all final and preparations are well underway. We are still debating whether to incorporate some of our races within events organised by other clubs. We are not fully agreed on this approach; we would far rather host our own independent races but unfortunately we are having some difficulty in finding enough people to officiate and marshal on the day, and with diminishing numbers of competitors some of the events are becoming non cost effective. This will not always be the case, and the situation will be reviewed regularly. Your views as members and guests are important, so if you want to contact any of the committee members please do. We will be only too happy to hear from you.
The most recent Monthly Run was also of course held at the Leigh Sports Village, and we had a reasonable turnout for the run and the Annual General Meeting immediately after. proceeding were enhanced by the dedication of the stand at the athletics stadium to Derek Howarth, one of our staunchest club members and thoroughly loveable. This was a great honour for Derek and absolutely well deserved: he has done so much for both Leigh Harriers and the Northern Veterans for many years.
We will witness the 21st British & Irish Masters International Cross Country on 15th November in Singleton Park in Swansea. This looks set to be a great weekend once again, and there is an awesome line-up of international veterans ready to cross the start lines. The M55 race in particular looks likely to be the age category to watch, with Mike Hagar, Nigel Gates, Stan Owen and our very own Ken Moss for England up against the awesome Martin Rees on home soil for Wales. We have a number of Northern Veterans running, with M35s Stewart MacDonald, Steve Hallas and David Parkin, M40s Darren Bilton, Eddie Simpson and Paul Freary, M45s John Convery and Mark Aspinall, M50s Bob Atkinson and Jon Cordingly, M55 Ken Moss, M65s Bob Dover and Mike Smith, M70 Fred Gibbs, W35 Sarah Jarvis, W45s Sue Becconsall, Sue Samme and Alison Bennett, W50s Dawn Gibbs and Marian Hesketh, W55s Sue Cooper and Jane Morley, and W60 Carol Wolstenholme. Congratulations to all these selected and best wishes for a thoroughly enjoyable and successful weekend of athletics. The welsh have done an excellent job in preparation for the weekend and it will be a very friendly and competitive few days. Next year's event will be hosted by England in the Isle of Man, and the election process will swing into action in Ruthin on March 21st.