Harriers Race Reports: 2008

Eye 10 & Blisworth 5k
(Sunday 11th May 2008)

In extremely warm conditions,11 Harriers ran in the Eye 10k. The first to finish and the 1st lady overall in the race was Donna McEwen in 39:44. Well done again Donna. Also very well done to Lynne Greenard  who, running a a vet 60 for the first time - happy birthday Lynne -  set a new LV60 club best time of 55:23. (The previous LV60 club best time was set in 1997).

The finishing time of the other Harriers running were Cliff Smith (43:49), Steve Gaunt (43:52), Ian Marshall (45:45), Caroline Maher (48:00), Robin Fiander (50:11), Chris Fadden (53:01), Pauline Bambury (53:23), Lesley Barnes (55:23) and Fiona Fiander (64:28).

Two Harriers also ran in the Blisworth 5k. Mark Holland did 21:36 and Linda Watson improved her pb to 28:15.

Silverstone 10k
(Tuesday 6th May 2008)

41 Harriers ran in the Silverstone 10k, the club's 10k championship race. The first Harrier to finish was Simon Fawcett in 35:05, followed by Kevin Willett in 36:01 and Morgan Walters in 37:46. The first lady Harrier and the 4th SL overall was Carla Fisher in 39:07. The second lady Harrier and the 4th LV35 was Sarah Lee in 44:30 and the third lady Harrier and the 1st LV50 was Nora Haggart in 46:25.  Pauline Bambury had an excellent run setting a new LV55 club best time of 48:33. Also running well was Bill Billington who was the 1st MV70 in 50:09 and Larry Corkrey who was the 2nd MV70 in 54:28. Twelve Harriers also ran pb's - well done all.

David Piegaze ran in the Barry Jones 5 on Bank Holiday Monday and finished in a new pb of 38:42.

Daffodil 15 & 10k
(Sunday 27th April 2008)

If you ran in the Daffodil races send your time in to hello@bedfordharriers.co.uk. The official results don't list the runners club. The times we have so far for the Daffodil 15 are Gary Chester1:51:14, Ian Marshall 2:03:07 and Lisa Donovan 2:39:06. The times we have for the Daffodil 10k are Tom Brassington 56:63 and Helen Belk 59:38.

 Shakespeare Marathon
Last Friday 5k, Lyon Marathon
(Friday 25th April - Sunday 27th April 2008)

In other results, Noel Jones ran in the Shakespeare Marathon and finished in 4:19:06 and Sylvia Jones ran in the Half marathon and completed in 2:42:31.

Three Harriers ran in the Last Friday 5k in London. Justin Openshaw did 18:51, Joe Horsman ran 21:39 and Kathy Horsman also ran 21:39.

Stuart Trevallion ran in the Lyon Marathon and in very hot conditions finished in 3:11:06.

A belated well done to Iva Barr whose run of 78:01 at the Flitwick 10k, established a LV80 club best time for the distance.

Flitwick 10k
(Sunday 20th April 2008)

Ampthill and Flitwick 'raised their stakes' by upping their entry limit of 1000 runners and 'got it right' when they had to close their list just two days before the race. In the event 871 finished in a well organised race, albeit with rather limited facilities. Mens race was won by Owen Matthews (Beds & Co) in 31m 57s with clubmate Matt Janes second, but with the top team being Ampthill & Flitwick.Tracey Ranson (Springfield Striders) won the Ladies in 38m 16s, Biggleswade taking the team award.
 
The undulating Flitwick course, especially the testing 9th kilometre, has never been deemed an easy run, but each of the 38 Harriers present, completed the course with purpose. With the 'London'  taking priority just a week ago, contesting the leading team positions was not really on the agenda, but as the team and individual results show, this was an opportunity for the Club's 'middle order' runners to head up the Harriers effort. Special mention here for Matt Holland, Jack Chana and Iva Barr who all ran with inspiration so soon after their London performances. Bedfordshire held their County Championships in conjunction and amongst these Amanda Friman took second place in the Ladies Vet 50 section - well done Amanda.
 
Scrutiny of the Ampthill & Flitwick website will show the results in minute detail - including 'age-graded' scores, perhaps a source of bewilderment to some, but a real guide measuring performance in relation to age. Today's results show that Bil Billington, Matt Burgin, Amanda Friman and Tony Barnes (first time for five years he says) all beat the 70% 'gold' standard, while Gary Butler and Geoff Cooper made the 65% 'Silver' standard and Iva, Dave Prior, Dave Roberts and recent (?) Harriers Russell Lambert and Michael Cheverall all hit the 60% 'bronze' standard.
 
There were no doubt quite a few 'PB's' achieved, but I'll leave these for the website management to spot and add in. If you ran a PB and find it is not shown, please  email  hello@bedfordharriers.co.uk - also of course if you ran and your name has been missed out.
 
Well run EVERYONE - and my thanks for a splendid morning's entertainment!
 
David

-Flitwick 10k Results 2008-

London Marathon & Rotterdam Marathon
(Sunday 13th April 2008)

Five new club best times were set at the London and Rotterdam Marathons, and many other Harriers set new pb's.

Setting the club best times at London were  Donna McEwen who became the first Harrier lady to run a sub-3 with a time of 2:56:51 which was a new SL best; Kathy Horsman who finished in 3:26:38 for a new LV45 best and Iva Barr  who established a LV80 best of 5:50:45.

Among the Harriers who ran pb's at London were Alastair Fadden, Adam Hills, Steve Daniels, Anna Litchfield (we think!), Kathy Horsman (we think!), Neil Lovesey (we think!) Gabs Arpaia, Paul Harris (we think!), Lynne Gingell,  Kate Barnard, Angela Kay (we think!), Rachel Burrage (we think!), Angela Gallivan, Richard Watson and Sara Taylor. A number of other Harriers also ran their first marathon. If any Harriers ran pbs and have not been mentioned, let's know at hello@bedfordharriers.co.uk

Setting the new club best times for the marathon at Rotterdam were Richard Piron whose 3:15:09 was a new MV55 best and Nora Haggart whose time of 3:39:58 was a pb and a new LV50 best. The other Harriers running at Rotterdam were Tony Dadd (2:55:30), Stuart Trevallion (2:56:25 - pb), Paul Stuart (3:20:05 - pb ) and Mark Tinkler (3:25:35 - pb).

Bungay Black Dog Marathon & XC Plate Race
(Sunday 6th April 2008)

16 Harriers turned out for the XC Plate Race in the snow. Ampthill Park is known for its hills and the snow added an extra dimension along with the mud. Real cross country stuff!!

 Well done to all who ran the tough course and Bedford Harriers finished in 3^rd place.

Three Harriers ran in the Bungay Black Marathon. Peter Gowans finished in 3:35:35, Jerry Pullinger ran 3:38:43 and Robin Fiander running in his 1st marathon crossed the line in 4:06:59. Cliff Smith and Malcolm McEwen ran  in the half marathon. Cliff did 1:36:37 and Malcolm ran 2:07:21.

Sandy 10
(Sunday 30th March 2008)

Simon Fawcett set his 3rd club best time of the year at the Sandy 10. Simon's time of 57:19 was a pb and a 30 secs improvement on the previous MV35 best time for the distance of 57:49 which was set by Tony Dadd at Sandy in 2007. Simon was also the 2nd man to finish overall. Donna McEwen put in another good performance and  was the 1st lady  to finish in 62:30. The third Harrier to finish and the 1st MV50 was David Holt in 64:29. Other  Harriers award winners were Kathy Horsman who was the 1st LV45 in 1:13:00 and  Bill Billington who was the 1st MV70 in 1:23:33. Well done also to Graham Short who ran his first race in three years.

Stanwick 10
(24th March 2008)

The Harriers ladies had another good day at the Stanwick 10k . Donna McEwen  was the 1st lady in 37:49 and Carla Fisher was the 2nd lady in a time of 39:40 which was a pb. The 3rd Harriers lady and the 1st LV45 was Kathy Horsman in 43:44. Donna, Carla and Kathy won the ladies team prize.

The first Harriers man to finish was Rob Miller in 40:05, followed by Justin Openshaw in 40:11 and Steve Gaunt in 42:17. Among the other Harriers running pb's were Andy Purdy (43:40) Gary Butler (44;28) Noel Jones (44:32)and Robin Fiander (48:29).

Victoria Park 5
(Saturday 22nd March 2008)

An excellent run by Simon Fawcett  who set a new MV35 club best time for the 5 mile at Victoria Park. Simon's time of 27:45 was a pb by 56 secs and a 23 secs improvement on the previous MV35 club best time of 28:08 which was set by Steve Earley at Banbury in 2006. Also running at Victoria Park were Kevin White were did 37:33, David Piegaze 38:55, David Fake 44:57 and Graham Bufton 46:31.

Five Harriers ran in the Cardiac Arrest 8m and 16m XC. Running in the 8m race were Matt Burgin who finished in 1:01:27, Jason Goodman who did 1:02:21 and Paul Stuart  who ran 1:05:07. David Holt  and Viv Kilgour ran in the 16m race. David did 1:39:10 and Viv finished in 2:04:31.

Karen Robertson ran in the Maidenhead 10 and finished in 1:24:30.

Harriers results from the Stanwick 10k will be put on the site when available.

Oakley, Bath and Cyprus
(Sunday 16th March 2008)

29 Harriers ran in the Oakley 20. Alastair Fadden (2:14:58), Tony Dadd (2:15:09), Donna McEwen (2:15:33) and Stuart Trevallion (2:16:19) were the first four Harriers to finish. Donna was the 2nd lady overall and Alastair, Tony and Stuart won the men's team prize. The second Harriers lady to finish was Kathy Horsman in 2:40:32 and Leith Stewart was the third Harriers lady in 2:52:19.Among the Harriers who ran pb's was Lynni Gingell  in 3:06:33.

Simon North and Neil Lovesey ran in the Bath Half Marathon. Simon, who was running his first half, crossed the line in 1:26:44 and Neil ran 1:29:18.

Adam Hills had a good run in the Cyprus Marathon finishing in a new pb of 3:18:31, an improvement of almost 13 minutes on his previous marathon best.

The Grizzly,  Ashby 20,  Silverstone Half Marathon, Clumber Park Classic Duathlon
(Saturday 8th & Sunday 9th March 2008)

Around a dozen Harriers took part in the Grizzly which is a demanding multi-terrain challenge over around 19 miles. The first Harrier to finish and the first lady overall in the race - for the second year in succession - was Donna McEwen in 2:45:49. Donna's time was a 7 mins 12 secs improvement on her 2007 run. The second Harrier to finish was David Holt in 3:00:29 and the third Harrier was Anna Litchfield in 3:11:18.

Anna Reports on the Race:

The Grizzly was a fantastic event, with a number of Grizzly virgins from Bedford Harriers. The weather was good (the calm before the storm) although there were a couple of showers including a hail shower which Donna missed out on because she was running too fast!
 
We covered just over 19 miles of shingle beach, hills, tracks, streams, hills, muddy bogs, hills (steep enough to require a rope!), more tracks, more muddy bogs, hills, woods, a mile stretch of shingle beach, the infamous Stairway to Heaven, hills, downhills, shingle beach and the finish line. I decided after the 3rd hill that I might make it if I walked up the hills! We were cheered on by the entire population of East Devon, wonderful bands to rival the Great North Run and enthusiastic marshals. The last 100 metres was on road, but by then the legs had gone. They were somewhat revived by the 'showers' provided by the local Fire Service.
 
Big congratulations to Donna who retained her ladies title in tremendous form - it's always harder to hold onto the title. Well done too to Viv who ran brilliantly despite having felt lousy the day before with a bad cold.
 
We had a mantra for the race which really holds true - 'This is Fun!'

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Four Harriers also ran in the Ashby 20. The first to finish was Kathy Horsman in 2:39:17.Joe Horsman was next home in 2:46:38, followed by Robin Fiander in 3:05:37 and Kate Barnard in 3:05:38.

Around a dozen Harriers ran in the Silverstone Half Marathon. Justin Openshaw was the first Harrier here in 1:29:35 followed by Sarah Lee in a new pb of 1:36:01 and Nick Bampton in 1:43:31.

Richard Piron took part in the Clumber Park Classic Duathlon and completed the event in 2:06:51. The race is a World Championship Qualifier and Richard now has a good chance of qualifying for the World Championship.

If any other Harriers ran over the weekend, let's know at hello@bedfordharriers.co.uk

Milton Keynes Half Marathon
(Sunday 2nd March 2008)

There were some good performances by the Harriers at the Milton Keynes Half Marathon. The first Harrier to finish was Tony Dadd in 1:24:33. Richard Piron was the 2nd Harrier and the 1st MV55 in 1:27:45 and Adam Hills  was the 3rd Harrier in a new pb of 1:28:19. The first lady Harrier was Carla Fisher in a new pb of 1:30:29; Leith Stewart was the 2nd lady Harrier in 1:42:38 (another pb) and Samantha Baylis was the 3rd Harrier lady in 1:48:38 (a pb). Among the other Harrier who achieved pb's were David Roberts (1:44:08),  Lynne Gingell (1:51:32), Angela Kay (1:57:02), Sandra Cope (2:18:17) and Peter Bishop (2:35:25), Well done also to Bill Billington who was the 1st MV70 in 1:54:27 and Jude Cottam who ran her fastest half marathon in four years (2:19:58).

In other races, Noel Jones ran 4:16:14 in the Cambridge Boundary Marathon and Greg Jeffries did 2:09:53 in the Reading Half Marathon.

Bury 20, English National XC Championships, Wellingborough MT 10k
(Saturday & Sunday 23rd & 24th February)

Eight Harriers ran in the Bury 20. Donna McEwen was the first to finish and the 2nd lady overall in a time of 2:10:13. Donna's run was a pb by 8 mins and 37 secs. Peter Gowans was the second Harrier in 2:27:29 ( which we think was a new pb) and Gary Chester was the third Harrier in 2:32:11.

Six Harriers took part in the English National XC Championships at Alton Towers. In a field of over 1,200 finishers, Stephen Earley, in a time of 40:29, was the first Harrier to finish the 12k course, followed by Jason Goodman in 43:40 and James Dunn in 46:03.

Sarah Lee and Karen Robertson took part in the 3rd race in the Wellingborough MT 10k series. Sarah was the 3rd lady to finish in a new pb of 43:29 and Karen crossed the line in 49:57.

Three Harriers ran in the Winslow 10k. Lynn Christison ran 56:39, Larry Corkrey did 58:20 and Helen Edwards finished in 63:01.

Hotelympia 10k & Draycote Marathon
(17th February 2008)

Simon Fawcett ran one of the fastest 10k times by a Harrier for some years when finishing the Hotelympia 10k in a time of 34:25, which was a pb by 1 min 32 secs and a Club MV35 best time. Simon also finished 3rd in the race. The fastest 10k time in 2007 was Tony Dadd's 34:44 at the Charles Bentley and the fastest 10k in 2006 was Steve Earley's 34:52 at Silverstone.

Well done also to Noel Jones who improved his marathon pb by 14 mins 42 secs at Draycote when finishing in 3:40:42

Eight Harriers ran in the Eastern Vets XC. Avril Monmont, Alistair Vile and David Sutcliffe picked up individual age category prizes and Bill Billington was 2nd in his category. Tony Barnes, Justin Openshaw and Alistair Vile were the 3rd men's team. (Race Photos)

David Sutcliffe reports on the race:

Bright sunshine but frozen lumpy conditions underfoot greeted the Harriers' squad of eight runners, well loaded with experience, at Arrington Park, overlooked by the impressive frontage of Wimpole Hall. With a small overall field, and many clubs represented, the team contests were very limited. Good packing in the Mens' section enabled the Harriers' to take third place out of five clubs behind Beds & County and Ely Runners, while the Harriers' 70+ team extended their unbeaten run to two races (the full race result as it happens will show an absence of team opposition).

3-Counties XC at East Haddon
(Sunday 10th February 2008)

The Harriers  finished in 3rd position in the 5th and final race of the 2007/08 Three-Counties XC league at East Haddon with a total of 163. The Harriers men finished in 3rd position with 152 points and the ladies finished in 1st position with 11 points. James Elworthy was the 2nd man to finish overall in the race and Donna McEwen was 1st in the ladies race.

For the series as a whole, the Harriers finished in 3rd position and qualify for the Plate Final. The Harriers ladies  were 1st overall in the series and the Harriers men were 3rd overall. Donna McEwen was the 1st SL lady in the series, Carla Fisher was the 2nd SL and Anna Litchfield was the 3rd LV. For the men, James Elsworthy was the 3rd man overall.

Harriers Finishing Positions