Garbutt is edged out in Dewsbury 10K climax

Mohammed Abu-Rezeq (Altricham) just got the verdict, crossing the line in 30:24 with last year’s winner Dan Garbutt (Durham) given the runner-up spot.

Leeds-based Garbutt, who is the Northern Cross Country Champion, was just a second behind in the same time as International triathlete Mark Buckingham (Holmfirth) and recent Leeds City recruit Tesfaye Debele.

A fine run by Wakefield Harrier Julie Briscoe gave her the women’s title in a personal best of 34:19. Briscoe will be 38 next week and she is running better than ever. A regular in the Dewsbury race, she was almost a minute faster than her previous best on this course and finished 29th overall in a field of 1,000.

She beat Scottish international marathon runner Hayley Haining who has hopes of making the Scottish team in the marathon at the Commonwealth Games and who travelled to Dewsbury to race in better conditions that she was experiencing north of the border.

With Helen Singleton (5th) and Jenny Latham (6th) supporting Briscoe, Wakefield swamped the opposition in the women’s team race.

Yorkshire junior champion James Hall (Bradford) had no problem adding the West Yorkshire Schools title at their championships in Leeds on Saturday. Hall, who runs for the Wharfedale club, won the senior boys race by over half a minute.

The senior girls race was a closer affair with junior internationals Georgia Malir (Leeds) and Annabel Mason (Kirklees) battling it out. Ilkley Harrier Malir finally proved too strong for Mason.

Georgia Taylor-Brown (Leeds Metropolitan University) caused an upset when she beat Emilia Gorecka (Royal Hollaway) to win the British Universities Cross Country title at Stirling on Saturday.