RAY McARTHUR and Gilly Markham were the big winners when Meltham Athletic Club held their annual prize presentation evening at the Durker Roods Hotel.
McArthur and Markham were the club’s overall champions after achieving the highest placing over 15 races during the year, and the duo also won the men’s and ladies’ fell running championship and were awarded cups sponsored by the Colne Valley Rubber Company of Slaithwaite.
Other winners included Mick Lunn, who won the men’s handicap championship, and Fiona McArthur, who won the ladies’ by a single point from Alison Hargreaves on the last race of the year.
Sharon Whitworth won the Summer Handicap, Giles Bailey the Winter Handicap, Martin Sturdy and Graham Sykes the winter point-to-point, Rob James the first Meltham male home on the Meltham 10k and Steph Rathbone, the first lady home in the same race.
The team championship was won by Richard Beaumont, Graham Sykes and Andy Whitworth.
The best run of the year was a joint win this year with Fran Whitworth and Gilly Markham receiving the Keith Bamforth Memorial Cup for their excellent performance at the Karrimore two-day orienteering event.
Longwood Harrier Andrew Pearson was in impressive form in the North nine-mile road race in Doncaster.
He won the race in a time of 44 minutes 13 seconds, fully four minutes from Leeds runner Paul Marchant (48-39) and Salford’s Pumlani Bangani (48-52) in third.
In the Yorkshire Veterans League meeting at Meltham there were strong showings from Longwood’s Donald Kennedy, who was 12th in 41-49, and Ian Mitchell, 30th in 45-11.
