-Race reports July to December 2004-

Race Reports January to June 2004

Road Race Championship: 2004

With the road season at around its halfway stage, twenty-four harriers have now completed five or more qualifying races. The month has seen no change in the first three men's and overall positions, but Chris Proud with an average age-graded score of 76.5 over six races holds a strong position. While in the ladies' section  Dee Bethune has moved into the lead following some good results in the evening road league.

David Sutcliffe

The Boreham Wood Half Marathon

Chris Proud who has produced some fast runs of late, clocked up another time at the Boreham Wood Half Marathon. Chris's time of 1:31:13 represented an age graded score of 76.6% and was a five minute improvement on his half marathon run at Watford in February.

Around half a dozen Harriers also took part in the latest Bedford Sprint Triathlon. Their times will be posted on the site as soon as available.

The Colworth Marathon Challenge
(18th -20th June 2004)

There was a record turnout in this year's Colworth Marathon Challenge with 369 finishers in the Colworth 5, 138 in the Trail Race, and 142 in the Half Marathon. 88 Runners completed all three events.

The overall winner of the Challenge was Mark Mckay of Rugby and Northampton who was the first to finish in all three races. Mark won the 5-mile race in 26:18, the 8.1-mile trail race in 44:37 and the half marathon in 1:11:36 for a tremendous overall marathon finishing time of 2:22:31. The second runner to finish in the Challenge was Phil Redden of Riverside Runners (a MV50) who ran the three stages in 31:12, 50:31 & 1:26:31 for a overall time of 2:48:14. Third to finish overall was Guy Roper of Norwich Road Runners who ran the three races in 29:14, 53:00 & 1:26:01 respectively for a total time of 2:48:15.

The first lady to complete the marathon challenge was Zoe Thornburgh of Wootton Road Runners who finished in 2:55:18. The second lady was Tracey Curl of Norwich RR who finished just outside the 3-hour mark in 3:01: 57 and the third lady was Sarah Geddes of Wellingborough who ran 3:27:19.

Full set of Marathon Challenge finishers & times.

Full set of Prizes Winners

Colworth 5

After Mark McKay, the 2nd man to finish in the Colworth 5 was James Drinkwater of Luton AC in 27:32 followed in 3rd place by Bedford Harriers Kevin Willett in 28:41. The first lady to finish was Tracey Curl of Norwich RR in 32:15 followed by Zoe Thornburgh of Wootton RR in 33:30 and Clare Edmonds (unattached) in 33:43.

Colworth Trail Race

After Mark McKay (44:37), the second man to finish in the 8.1-miler trail race was Phil Redden of Riverside Runners in 50:31 with Duncan Pearson (unattached) third in 50:35. The first lady to finish was Zoe Thornburgh of Wootton RR in 53:18, followed by Tracey Curl of Norwich in 56:15 and Sally Cartwright (unattached) in 56:31.

Colworth Half Marathon

Mark Mckay completed the half marathon in 1:11:36. The second man was David Rayner (an unattached runner) who finished in 1:23:12 and the third man was David Haynes of Trent Park who ran 1:24:32. The first lady to finish was Zoe Thornborough in 1:28:30, followed by Tracey Curl in 1:33:27 and Sarah Paradine, an unattached runner, in 1:34:52.

Harriers Results

63 Harriers finished in the Colworth 5 including Kevin Willett who was 3rd (28:41), Tony Dadd who was 7th (29:38), Morgan Walters who was 8th (30:06) and Franck Monmont who was 14th (30:35). Kevin, Tony, Morgan and Franck won the team prize. The first lady Harrier to finish was Eugenie Carr in 34:39. The second lady Harrier to finish, Avril Monmont in 34:51, also won the LV35 award.

25 Harriers ran in the Trail race with the first four finishers being Andy Sewell in 55:34, Franck Monmont in 54:37, Duncan Vavangas in 55:10 and Richard Piron in 55:45. Andy, Franck, Duncan and Richard won the team prize. Martin Leach in 56:06 won the MV60 award. Avril Monmont in 61:07 was the first lady Harrier.

20 Harriers ran in the Half Marathon with the first to finish being Andy Sewell in 1:27:45 followed by Kevin Willett in 1:28:03 and Duncan Vavangas in 1:32:21. Delores Wallis was the first lady Harrier in 1:52:11 followed by Lynn Gingell in 2:06:30 and Suet Lua in 2:15:04.

Marathon Challenge

Andy Sewell was the first Harrier to finish in the challenge (and 9th place overall) in a time of 2:52:39. Richard Piron was the second Harrier to finish in 2:58:57 (16th overall position) and Duncan Vavangas in 3:00:00 exactly, was just behind Richard in 17th position. Richard also won the 1st MV50 prize

The other Harriers completing the marathon challenge were Alistair Fadden 3:07:35, Derek Morrison 3:13:30, Mark Francis 3:21:50, Ian Kingstone 3:24:02, Gary Denton 3:25:27, Gary Horsman 3:30:27, Richard Ogborne 3:32:15, Chris Capps, 3:35:53, Delores Wallis 3:36:21, Steve Clark 3:44:07, Mick Inskip 4:00:00, Lynn Gingell 4:00:03, Chris Cottam 4:00:20, & Iva Barr, Angela Gallivan and Heather MacKinnon who all finished in 6:33:20.

A special mention was given by the organisers to Iva Barr, a LV76, who completed the marathon challenge at the third attempt.

The Banbury 5
(15th June 2004)

Seven Harriers ran in the Banbury 5, the sixth race in this year's 8-race East Midlands Grand Prix Series.  Larry Corkery again produced a good run and was the 1st MV65 to finish in 39:48. Larry has now won the MV65 category in five of the six races and so has an unassailable lead in his grouping.  Also running well at Banbury was Chris Proud who was the 2nd MV55 to finish in 32:34.  John Shearer was the first Harrier to finish overall in 31:58 followed by Tony Barnes in 32:04. Graham Horne running his first race in the series did 33:19 and Deirdre Bethune ran 38:46. Bill Bethune completed the Harriers efforts in 47:34.

Full set of results from Banbury

2004 Road Race Championship

Early season positions in this year's Road Race Championship show that Henry Downes is the championship leader at present with 666 points from his ten qualifying races followed in second place by Chris Williams with 595 points from his ten races followed in third place by  Mike Barnard with 590 points from eight races. The leading lady in the championship is Suet Lua  with 564 points from ten races followed by Deirdre Bethune with 352 points from five races and Elaine Munday with 283 points also from five races.

The championship runs until early December.

Norwich Half Marathon & Dunstable 10k
(13th July 2004)

The two main races run by Harriers this weekend were the Norwich Half Marathon and the Dunstable 10k. Running at Norwich were Andy Sewell and Simon Smith. Andy ran in this race last year and suffered badly in the heat. Despite the temperature again being in the high 70's, Andy improved his  time by ten minutes over 2003 to finish in 1:27:06. Andy also finished in the first 50 from a field of around 1,300. Simon Smith ran his second race of the year and did well to finish in 1:50:16. Simon now plans to run in the Blackpool half marathon next weekend.

Full set of results from Norwich

Eight Harriers ran in the Dunstable 10k. The first to finish here was Paul Roberts in 41:13 followed by Graham Short in 43:08 and Henry Downes in 45:05. Three Harrier ladies also ran with the first to finish being Janet Lehain in 48:17,followed by Jeanette Cheetham in 53:05 and Suet Lua in 56:56. Completing the Harriers turnout was Ian Marshall in 46:03, Bill Billington in 48:18 and David Gallagher in 51:13.

Full set of results from Dunstable

Chris Williams report on the Dunstable 10k:

Well it's a good job I've got a sense of humour ! I can't give much of a race report because I got sent the wrong way by the marshal and did not complete the course ! But here goes anyway. Me and my old mukka Henry arrived and registered at about 9.45. The race kicked off at 10.30 and I decided after my disaster at Weedon that it was too hot to tear off, so nice and easy does it. I must admit I was feeling quite good and at 4k I was able to pick up the pace a bit. Then it all went wrong ,me and the guy I was running with took the wrong turn at the 1st/2nd lap marker and found our selves running with the sub 40 minute gang ! So I finished in a very respectable 38 minutes and got a fantastic reception from the crowd which I did milk a bit ! It was very funny at the time but now I wish I'd stayed in bed.So well done to every one who took part on a sweltering day and for me ,well at least it was not a 1/2 marathon, god knows where I might have ended up!

Chris Williams

Weedon 10k
(8th June 2004)

Deirdre Bethune set her second club best time in two weeks in the Weedon 10. Deirdre's run of 51:16 was an improvement of more than nine minutes on the previous LV55 best time for the distance. Deirdre, who also improved the LV55 best time for five miles by 12 mins at Rockingham last month, could now established new best times across all the distances for the age category this year..  

Also running well at Weedon (which was the fifth race in this year's eight-race Grand Prix Series) were Veronica Singleton and Larry Corkrey who picked up age category prizes. Veronica completed the notoriously hilly course in 44:15 and was more than a minute ahead of the next lady in her LV40 group. Larry had a tougher race on his hands and finished in 52:19,  just eight seconds ahead of the next MV65 finisher. Larry now seems certain to win his overall age category at the end of the series.

Six other Harriers ran in the race including Tony Barnes who was the first to finish to 42:38 and  Henry Downes (running his 15th race of the year), who finished in 44:49. Chris Williams also ran the race for the first time and discovered a little bit about it! Here is Chris's report on the night.

"Picked up my sparring partner Henry Downes at 6pm and made of  to Weedon 
arriving at 6.30pm on a beautiful warm evening. After registering I had a good 
look at the great selection of home made cakes and cream teas and watched all 
the runners crying their eyes out and licking their lips ! In fact I was humming 
"should I stay or should I go" as we made our way to the start. 

So at 7.45 we were off and it wasn't long before I started to remember that I 
can't run in the heat, even though it had cooled down quite a lot it was still 
too warm for me and I thought I might crash and burn in this race. And crash and 
burn I did spectacularly at 4k .We were told the course was hilly but wow ! I 
nearly had a nose bleed ! I had to walk for 4 or 5 minutes until I was able to 
start running again and was glad that I took a break because having a gentle jog 
and enjoying what I thought was a very good course turned out to be the better 
option. The hills kept coming and just as you thought you were over the worst, 
at 7k came a mountain which made me turn the air blue ! It went up and up and up 
to 8k where I'm sure I saw Edmond Hillery with a marshals bib on ! most of the 
remaining 2k was then down hill apart from a little climb at the end for good 
measure. I don't know all the Harriers that took part as I only saw the backs of 
their heads ! I finally got over the finish line in a tragic 51.05, my slowest 
10k for about 5 years. But I must say, Weedon is well worth running if you 
fancy a challenge. I'd have another go at it in cooler conditions. Henry was 
asleep when I found him, he got in, in an impressive 44.49. 

So another one in the bag and hopefully I can make amends this weekend at 
Dunstable"
                
Chris Williams. 

Full set of results from Weedon

World Duathlon Championships
(31st May 2004)

Just a week after competing in the Lanzarote Ironman, Cathy Rogers along with Chris Proud competed in the World Duathlon Championships in Geel, Belgium. Some 1000 duathletes from 32 countries took part in the Championships which involved a 4-lap-10km run, followed by a 5 lap-40km bike, and finished with a second 2-lap run 5km.  The day in Geel was cool with air temperatures around 18oC, with light rain – ideal for running, but quite treacherous on the bike.  Chris finished in 16th place in his age category in a total time of 2:15:47 and Cathy finished in 18th position in her age group in 2:24:51.

Results from the World Duathlon Championships

The Brandon Half Marathon
(31st May 2004)

Andy Sewell also travelled a bit further away from Bedford than usual to run in the Brandon Half Marathon at Thetford Forest. Andy had a good race, finishing in 1:26:55 and in 16th position overall from more than 250 finishers. One of Andy's main targets this year is September's Berlin marathon. His next run in preparation for this may be the Norwich Half Marathon in two weeks time.

Results from Brandon

Rockingham 5
(26th May 2004)

It was a good night for the Harriers at the Rockingham 5 with two new club best times being set. The first was set by Kevin Willett who improved the previous MV40 club best by 22 secs to 27:33. Kevin's time was just a second outside his own pb which he set in 2001. The second club best time was set by Deirdre Bethune  who improved the previous LV55 best for the distance by almost 12 mins to finish in 37:47. It was Deirdre's fastest five mile run for at least four years and may also have been a pb.

A number of Harriers did well in their age categories.  Larry Corkery (38:12)  was the 1st MV65, Martin Leach (31:51) was the 2nd MV60, Veronica Singleton (33:17) was the 2nd LV40 and Deirdre was the 2nd LV55. Larry Corkery did especially well and reversed his recent 'Bedford 6' defeat by 1961 National XC Champ Mike Turner of Liverpool, winning the M65 category on this occasion by 27 secs. Larry now has 3 wins in 4 races at the halfway stage of the current Grand Prix Series and has a good chance of winning his group in which he was 2nd last year. (The results are decided over each runner's best 5 races). 

Quite a few Harriers also set new pb's at Rockingham including Sean Newbury who finished in 28:57, Neil Lovesey who ran 30:43, Paul Roberts who got home in 31:31Andrew Moore who finished in 31:43, Henry Downes who ran 32:33 and Michael De Cesare who did 32:52.

Full set of results from Rockingham

Phil Gray's Rockingham Report:

'what a night in the heart of northamptonshire as one and all addressed 5 miles at the rockingham speedway circuit. yours truly was there to capture harriers  in action as they say and what action. a pure adrenalin rush as 300 plus bodies  exploded into frenzied action. it was good to see so many harriers in action,  including the elder statesmen, larry and dave, strutting their stuff. kevin was  on fire as he recorded a mind blowing 27.33 to be first harrier home, followed  in style by sean newbury in 28.57 and graham king in 30.09. they were well  supported by a host of harriers, some i believe recording personal bests on the night. larry, not to be outdone by the junior element, secured yet another first MV 65 in a respectable 38.12. i and and many others welcomed refreshments in the guise of hot drinks and rolls of delight. well done to all who went the distance on the night and who represented the club, big style. a night to remember was at a close as larry and i made our way home.'

Stockwood Park 10k

Eleven Harriers also ran in the Stockwood Park 10k. The first Harrier to finish here was Graham Short in 42:22 just five secs ahead of Henry Downes. Among the Harriers setting new pbs was Janet Lehain who ran 48:24.

Full set of results from Stockwood

Bedford Sprint Triathlon
(23rd May 2004)

There was a good turnout by the Harriers at the second race in the Bedford Sprint Triathlon Series. Though some of those competing were seasoned triathletes, others including Sean Newbury, Alistair Fadden, Andrew Moore, Graham Bufton, Jonathan Rook and Steve Gingell, were taking part in their first triathlon. This event consisted of  400m swim, a 25k bike and 5k run

The first Harrier to finish was Paul Langford in 1 hour 12 mins and 9 secs. The next Harrier home and the 1st MV50 was Richard Piron in 1:15:19 followed just over a minute behind by Sean Newbury in 1:16:42. Also well done to Jack Chana who was the 1st MV55 to finish in 1:24:40.

Phil Gray reports:

'a bright and early start for yours truly - 6.30am actually - as participants began to arrive a little after 7am. is it really 4 weeks since the last one in april? i was located at the queens head hotel turn in milton ernest to direct participants to radwell and felmersham. it was good to see some familiar faces in the guise of that man jack chana, richard piron, graham bufton, yes, graham bufton, and steve gingell, who did his best to splice me in two as he came hairing round the bend. about 10 or more harriers participating as the sweep vehicle picked me up about 9 ish. good conditions on the day and good to see alistair fadden addressing his first triathlon at this level and well supported and marshalled by the fadden clan as he concluded his baptism of fire with a 5k run around bedford park. yours truly welcomed a refreshing drink and a gentle ride back to the heart of putnoe, where as you well know, the sun always shines.'

Lanzarote Ironman
(22nd May 2004)

Harriers Cathy Rogers, Simon Fisher, Tony Parello, John Shearer and Peter Gowans completed the Lanzarote Ironman on Saturday. The event consists of a 3.8k swim, a 180k bike ride and a 42k run. Those who know about these things say that Lanzarote is one of the toughest courses on the Ironman circuit.  In total 645 men completed the race and 63 women. The first of our quintet to finish and in 371st position overall was Peter Gowans in a time of 12 hours 32 mins and 53 secs. Next came Simon Fisher in 12 hours 39 mins and 58 secs (388th overall) followed by Tony Parello in 12 hours 52 mins and 19 secs (425th position) and John Shearer in 13 hours 34 mins and 47 secs (498th position). Cathy Rogers, who was taking part in her 1st Ironman was the 55th lady finisher in 14 hours 14 mins and 20 secs.   Brilliant effort by all. Full set of Lanzarote results

Bedford 6
(18th May 2004)

On a night which was ideal for running, 30 Harriers (from a total of 313 finishers) ran in this year's Bedford 6. The first Harrier to finish was Richard Piron in an excellent time of 37:05. Richard was also the first MV50 to finish on the night. The second Harrier home was Rob Miller in 38:46 followed by Jim Gibson in 39:52.  The first lady Harrier to finish and the 2nd LV40 on the night was Veronica Singleton in 41:07. The second Harrier and also the 3rd senior lady was Emily Woodfield in 41:54. The third Harrier lady was Avril Monmont in 42:06. Two other Harriers won category prizes. Deirdre Bethune secured the 2nd LV55 place in 47:11 and Larry Corkery was the 2nd MV65 in 48:05. Well done also to those Harriers including Janet Lehain who ran their first race for the club.

Full Set of Results from Bedford

Phil Gray's race report:

'a glorious and  sultry may evening welcomed one and all to the bedford 6, the third race in the east midlands grand prix series. runners began arriving from the region and beyond to address a demanding 6 miles that included the infamous cleat hill. i located at the wentworth drive roundabout to capture the action as a stream of runners, moving at a rate of knots, came flying past. lots of harriers in action and good to see richard piron and rob miller leading the harrier onslaught at this early stage. minutes ticking away as the race began to reach a happy conclusion. yet another incredible tale as that lady, yes suet lua, not content with doing the copenhagen marathon on sunday,  was strutting her stuff by doing the bedford 6 as well. well done suet and to richard piron who secured 1st harrier on the night, followed closely by rob miller and an unknown harrier face. these guys were well supported by the ladies in the guise of veronica, avril and co. veronica securing 1st harrier lady on the night. well done to all who went the distance on this balmy night  in the heart of putnoe. yours truly welcomed a cold drink in the guise of a nice cold coke. coca cola you fool. taking pictures and clapping is hard work, so they tell me'

Halstead Marathon

Running in the Halstead Marathon on Sunday 26th May was Neil Godfrey. Neil's finishing time was 3:57:25. Well done Neil.

Full set of results from Halstead

Eye 10k & Copenhagen Marathon
(Sun 16th May)

Sunday was another quiet day for racing with only a couple of races attracting Harriers runners. In the Eye 10k, three Harriers took part. The first to finish was Ian Marshall in 45:57, followed by Chris Capps in 49:16 and Paul Hudson in 78:02.

Full results from Eye

Over in Denmark, Suet Lua ran in the Copenhagen Marathon and finished in 4:44:00. Suet's time was just three minutes outside her last Marathon run, which was London in 2003

Results from Copenhagen

Rugby 6
(Wednesday 12th May)

Larry Corkery was the 1st MV65 to finish in the Rugby 6, the second race in this year's 8-race Midlands Grand Prix Series. Larry's time of 47:54 was over two minutes faster than the next competitor in his category. Also running at Rugby were Tony Barnes who finished in 40:03 and Lydia Swift who finished in 52:29. It was Lydia's first race of the year.

Full set of results from Rugby

Stevington 12k
(Sunday 9th May)

Kevin Willett (pictured on the right), was the first man to finish in this year's Stevington 12k. Kevin's winning time was 42:10. Matt Burgin, another Harrier, was the second to finish in 44:59. It was Matt's first race of the year. The third Harrier to finish and the sixth overall was Alistair Fadden in 48:14. Kevin, Matt and Alistair won the team prize.

The first Harrier lady to finish and the 2nd lady overall was Veronica Singleton in 51:07. The second lady Harrier to finish and the third lady overall was Avril Monmont in 52:40. 11 Harriers ran in the race. Full set of Stevington 10k results The Dog & Hedgehog Hinckley Half Marathon Four Harriers also ran in the Dog & Hedgehog Hinckley Half Marathon. First to finish was Andy Sewell in  1:27:10, Graham Horne ran 1:33:43, Derek Morrison finished in 1:40:05 and Simon Smith (a new name) ran 1:45:58. Full Set of Results from Hinckley

Silverstone 10k
(Tuesday 4th May)

On a rain affected night, 17 Harriers ran in the Silverstone 10k, the first race in this year's
eight-race grand prix series. Usually a pb course, not to many seemed to have been achieved on this occasion though if anybody got one, let's know.

Phil Gray's Report

'gene kelly was singin' in the rain. i kid you not. torrential did little to dampen the spirits of 800 plus runners at a wet and wild silverstone. it was good to see at least a dozen harriers participating and led in style by kevin willet. he did not disappoint on the night and turned in a blinding performance. he was looking for 34.30 and the club mv40 record but settled for an incredible 35.01 as 1st harrier home, and supported well by sean newbury and neil lovesey - 2nd and 3rd harriers respectively. larry was also on fire and turned in a cracking sub 50 time, and veronica was strutting her stuff as the 1st harrier lady to finish. yours truly got well and truly soaked as he captured harriers in action and welcomed the sight of hot tea and a mixture of rolls and sponge cake. yum! yum! for my tum. me and 800 plus welcomed this as the night reached a conclusion. remember - if you listen very carefully tonight, boys and girls, you can here gene kelly ' singing in the rain '.

Full set of Results from Silverstone

Titchmarch 10K : Great Weston 5 : EV Road Relays
(Sunday 2nd May)

On a fairly quiet weekend for racing, Neil Godfrey achieved a new 10k pb at Titchmarch, David Gallagher obtained his fourth pb in four races in the Great Weston 5 and the Harriers MV60 team finished in 3rd position in the Eastern Vets Road Relays at Hemingford Grey.

In the Titchmarsh race, Neil Godfrey just missed going inside 40 mins by 8 secs. His time was however a 1 min 38 secs improvement on his previous 10k run this year at the Daffodil in January.

David Gallagher's 37:12 for the Great Weston 5 was his fourth pb at four different distances this year. According to David, Great Weston is a hilly course with the last 400 metres being all up hill.

At Hemingford Grey, the Harriers team of Martin Leach, Bill Billington and David Sutcliffe completed the course in 41:56 (Total distance to be confirmed). Martin ran a 12:23 leg, which was the fastest in the MV60 category, Bill ran 14:05 and David ran 15:28.

Dave Bithell (Flitwick) 10k
(Sunday 25th April)

There was a strong turnout of Harriers at Sunday's Dave Bithell (Flitwick) 10k. Dave Bithell was a former member of the Harriers who very sadly died in 2002. His daughter Vicki, who is a member of  Ampthill & Flitwick Flyers, helped to organise the race.

Over 30 Harriers took part in the event including several who ran their first race for the club. The first Harrier to finish was Mark Whiteman in 37:54. Mark was the 14th finisher overall in the race from a total of 361. The second Harrier to finish was Graham King who was running his first race back from injury. Graham finished in 21st position in 38:56 and won the 1st MV50 prize. The  third Harrier to finish was Mike Barnard in 39:45.  Mike's time was less than a minute outside his pb and an excellent run considering  he did the London Marathon last week.

The first lady Harrier to finish was Emily Woodfield in 43:49. This was Emily's second race since joining the Harriers. Her first was the Sandy 10 which she finished in 71:02. Finishing just five secs behind Emily was Avril Monmont in 43:54; Avril had a good run and won the 3rd LV35 prize.  The third lady Harrier to cross the line was Elaine Munday in 51:34. Elaine's time was around two and a half mins faster than her previous 10k run this year at Woburn Abbey in February. Well done also to another of the lady Harriers, Lynn Banks, who won the 3rd LV55 prize.

Among the Harriers running their first races for the club were Paul Kent who finished in 52:11 and Claire Payne who finished in 59:10

Over in Holland, Chris Proud competed in the European Powerman Duathlon Championships. The event consisted of a 15k run, a 60k bike ride and another 7.4k run. Chris completed the event in 3:34:16 and was the 4th finisher in his age category.

London Marathon
(Sunday 18th April)

Over 30 Harriers ran in this year's London Marathon. Amongst the Harriers raising money for charity was Jude Cottam who has so far raised over £12,000 including one single donation of £2,500. The other Harriers running for charity included Iva Barr (Calvert Trust), Chris Capps (Cancer Research),Alex Rothwell (Farm Africa) and Jack and Pete Chana.

The first Harrier to finish was Tony Dadd who had a tremendous run and completed his second marathon in two weeks in 2:54:53. (Tony's marathon pb was his 2:50:25 at Rotterdam just two Sundays ago). The second Harrier home was Andy Sewell in 3:07:29 followed by Mike Barnard in 3:11:11. Mike's run was a pb by around 2 mins.

The fourth Harrier to finish was Veronica Singleton in 3:25:14. Fifth home was Henry Downes in 3:33:50. Henry's time was a marathon pb by 15 minutes and a 58 mins improvement of his 2003 London marathon time. Derek Morrison finished in 3:34:37 a seven mins improvement on his 2003 time and Gary Horsman, who also had a great run, finished in 3:44:26. Gary's last London Marathon run was in 2002 when he finished in 4:13:44. Among the other Harriers getting pb's were Mick Inskip who clipped 14 mins off his previous best for the distance to finish in 3:59:27 and Chris Williams who knocked 50 mins off his previous pb with a run of 3:59:49.

Very well done also to those Harriers who completed their first marathons. The list included Mark Billington (3:46:57), Suki Handha (3:56:56), David Herincx (4:12:35), Stuart Bullard (4:23:31), Pete Chana (4:35:34) and Keith Lakin (5:10:41). If anyone has been missed out, let's know.

Massey Ferguson 5  Stanwick 10k
(Sunday 11th April 2004)

The week before London is usually a quiet weekend for racing with not many races on and only a handful of Harriers in action. Amongst those who did race was Sean Newbury who achieved a new pb of 29:01 in the Massey Ferguson 5.  Sean's last attempt at the 5 mile distance was the ill-fated 'Rockingham 4.75' which he completed in 28:21. Five Harriers also ran at the Stanwick 10k. First to finish was Kevin Willet in 34:56. Kevin's run was just 16 seconds outside the club MV40 best of  34:40. Zoe Willett, who ran her first race for 18 months, finished in 55:14 and Suet Lua who was running her 9th race of the year clocked 55:35. No times yet for the other two Harriers at Stanwick.

Rotterdam, Sandy, Bungay and SEAA Relays

It was a busy weekend for the Harriers on Sunday with members taking part in the Rotterdam Marathon, the Bungay Marathon, the Sandy 10 and the SEAA Road Relays.

Pride of place in terms of performances must go to Tony Dadd who completed the Rotterdam Marathon in 2:50:25, which was a new pb by some six and a half minutes. Tony's next race is the London marathon on April 18th. Also getting a pb at Rotterdam was Richard Ogborne who improved his previous best for the distance by 13 minutes to 4:14:41. Richard Piron also had a good run and finished in 3:09:58.

Four Harriers, three of whom are in training for the Lanzarote Marathon on the 22nd May, ran in the Bungay Marathon. Tony Parello finished in 3:19:22, Simon Fisher did 3:33:03, Cliff Smith ran 3:44:03 and John Shearer did 4:10:00

More pb's were also achieved at the Sandy 10. Mike Barnard who ran his ninth road race of the year finished in a new best time of 64:33. (After finishing this race, Mike then shot over to Milton Keynes were he ran the last stage of the SEAA Road Relays and completed that 5.3k run in a very respectable 21:40.) Also successful at Sandy were the ladies Harriers team of Emily Woodfield (a new name!), Rosemary McMahon and Deirdre Bethune who won the ladies team prize.

Finally, eleven Harriers ran in the SEAA Road Relays at Milton Keynes.  The event consisted of six 7.9k legs and six 5.3k legs. The fastest Harrier over the longer leg was Kevin Willett in 27:41; the fastest 5.3k leg was run by Tony Barnes in 21:34.

Phil Gray's report on the SEAA Road Relays:

Oakley 12 & 20
(28th March 2004)

Compared to their runs in 2003, a number of Harriers improved their Oakley 12 & 20 times this year. Mike Barnard, who was the first Harrier to finish in the 20 miler, got around in 2:18:42 which was a 7 minute 48 second improvement on his 2003 time of 2:26:30. Derek Morrison similarly improved his time over the longer distance by 4 minutes 20 seconds to 2:31:03 and Deirdre Bethune clipped 4 minutes 19 seconds of her 2003 run to finish in 2:51:56. In the 12 mile race, Graham Short improved his 2003 time by 1 min 27 secs to 1:26:46.

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Over 600 runners finished this year's Oakley 12 & 20. In conditions which were not far of perfect for running, the first man in the Oakley 12 was Steven Herring of Beds & County in 1:05:63. The second man, also from Beds & County was Jim McMahon in 1:06:33. The third man was Finnish runner Arto Jarvinen in 1:07:08. The first lady to finish in the 12 was Sally Cartwright, an unattached runner, in 1:28:00. The second lady to finish was Emma Keech of Beds & County in 1:30:01. The third lady to finish was Clare Warrington, an unattached runners in 1:31:55. (136 runners completed the Oakley 12).

The first man in the Oakley 20 was Tim Hyde from WSEH in a time of 1:57:04. The second man was Tim May from Leighton Buzzard in 2:00:58 followed by Tim Cook from Beds & County in 2:01:09. The first lady to finish was Sophie Woods from Hare & Hounds in 2:13:40. The second lady was Sandra Holmes from St Neots Riverside Runners in 2:13:54 and the third lady was Kim Masson of Riverside Runners in 2:25:05. (481 runners completed the Oakley 20).

Details of the age and team category winners will be published shortly.

'Phil Gray reports on the day:'

it all began at about 8.20am for me when david gallagher picked me up to begin another day in the village of oakley. why you might ask? a little matter of the oakley races - two in fact. one of 12 miles duration and one of 20.  portaloos were a priority for some, so jack chana, i and a friend moved them to a more visible location as start time approached. chaotic at times as a stream of traffic began filing down station road. this would soon reduce to an orderly trickle. kevin looked composed as he handed over to richard hales and co to get the race underway. i located at the start as the 2004 oakley races exploded into a high gear at 10am. a sea of colours left the village of oakley behind to address either 12 or 20 miles.  final figures suggest over 800 runners participating today. runners from around the region and beyond including stroud in gloucestershire, rrc in surrey and serpentine in london to name but three and one ex-england manager in the guise of graham taylor - using this in preparation for the london marathon in april. minutes ticked away as my camera captured so many harriers in action - with mike and andy leading harriers home in the 20 mile race. well done to all harriers who went the distance on the day and to all those who gave up there time to marshal. what a joyous sight as the last runner appeared in front of the sweep vehicle. an incredible atmosphere in evidence throughout the race and it was nice to hear the word 'thanks' more than once from happy runners who made their way home. thanks to all who made this possible. a special mention for all those who spent time ensuring the success of this race in the guise of kevin willett, brian mccallen, martin lambourne, steve crane and too many more to mention. a sigh of relief as i opened the door of my bungalow and collapsed in a heap. oakley 2004 done and dusted. what next? '

Milton Keynes Half Marathon
(Sunday 21st March 2004)

Race photos

Report by Phil Gray:

A wild and windy day in Milton Keynes did little to deter those strong of mind and body. A thousand braves souls addressed a demanding 13.1 miles that began at the Open University HQ and meandered around the surrounding villages before returning to the OU HQ. I, being a brave soul, decided to endure the ever changing elements to capture harriers in action. it was good to see Stuart Bartlett securing the honour of being first harrier home in a incredible 1.23.30, closely followed by the incredible and ageless Richard Piron in 1.24.15 and the evergreen Mike Barnard in an exceptional 1.25.50. Good also to see some more familiar faces in the guise of Stuart Bullard, Mike Inskip, Henry Downes, Chris Williams, Andy Wilkinson, Gary Horsman and others. Among the Harriers getting pb's was David Gallagher who improved his previous best for the half, which he set at Liverpool in October 2003, by 1min 45 seconds to 1:48:13.

Well done to them all on  a day to remember, not least for the multiplicity of weather conditions.  Thanks also to David Gallagher for the lift to MK and for going the distance on the day.

The Grizzly
(Sunday 14th March 2004)

Ten Harriers ran in Sunday's Grizzly race in Devon. The course was due to be just over 19 miles, but because of the near gale force winds and heavy rain, the organisers had to cut the course short by 3 miles.  At times the runners were unable to see more than 10 metres ahead -but (according to Malcolm) it was really good fun!.

It looks like the official results are in a mess. A lot of people finished without a number on (they'd blown off)  plus a lot of the people that were doing the cub run (9 miles) finished behind the longer run.

Main race finishing times were, Cliff 2.39.04, Andy Sewell 2.39.41,Viv Kilgour 3.00.08,John Cheetham 3.02.14,Ian Kingstone 3.02.15,John Durham 3.18.39 and Malcolm McEwan 4:02:45. Andrea Ranson and Jack chana also ran but their results are not yet available.

Jeanette Cheatham did the cub run in 1:50:58.  Colin Bennetts , who didn't run, took a few photos.

Thanks to Malcolm & Jeanette for the info

Hemel 10
(Sunday 14th March)

Kevin Willet and Veronica Singleton won the Harriers 10 mile championship at Hemel. Kevin, who was the 16th finisher overall at Hemel from a total of over 700, finished in 59:49 and Veronica crossed the line in 72:17. It was Kevin's third successive Club 10 mile championship win but the first for Veronica. The second Harrier to finish was Mark Whiteman in 62:13 while the second lady was Avril Monmont in 73:55. 27 Harriers ran at Hemel including Iva Barr who was the 1st LV75 in a time of 2:15:43. Among the Harriers getting pbs was David Gallagher who finished in 80:44 - a 29 secs improvement on his previous best for ten which he set at Buntingford in December. Henry Downes also improved his 10 mile pb by over a minute.

Two Harriers, Deirdre Bethune and Richard Ogborn also ran in the Ashby 20. Ashby is a tough course and Deirdre finished in a good time of 2:55:08 followed by Richard in a new pb of 2:58:37

Silverstone Half Marathon
(Sunday 7th March 2004)

More good times were recorded by the dozen Harriers who ran in the Silverstone Half Marathon. Tony Dadd, who is in training for both the Rotterdam Marathon (4th April) and the London Marathon  (18th April) was the first Harrier to finish in 1:20:30. Tony's time was little more than a minute outside his pb for the distance of 1:19:15 which he set at Watford in February. The second Harrier to finish was Mike Barnard in 1:27:59. Mike is also in training for London. Another London entrant is Henry Downes in finished in 1:38:42. Henry's time was a minute up on his Watford Half run. Chris Williams finished in 1:38:50 which was a pb and his first Half since running 1-40-05 at Great Barford in 2001. Chris is also  going for London. The first lady Harrier to finish was Suet Lua who was running her sixth race of the year. Suet finished in 1:58:08, her best half marathon run in 2004.

Two Harriers took part in the Paris half marathon which was also run on Sunday. Paul Hudson finished in 2:42:12 and Stephen Owens in 2:50:40.

Bury 20

The two main events which Harriers ran in on Sunday were the Daffodil 10K & Half Marathon and the Bury 20. At Bury, Stuart Bullard and David Herincx ran their first races over the 20 mile distance. Stuart finished in 2:45:04 and David finished in 3:08:08.

The results for the Daffodil races 10K and Half are now available. Mike Barnard, who ran in the Daffodil Half, wonders if it really was a half;  Debbie Bilham also has her doubts. Here are their reports.

"This should be renamed the 'daft' half. I made what felt like a reasonable start, doing a lap not far adrift of the leading pack around the start area before going off on to the roads. So it came as a major surprise to see 10min on my watch at the 1-mile marker. Think I've walked a mile faster than that! At 3 miles my time was 23min, and I completed the first circuit around 49min, so it was a pleasant surprise to complete lap two in 43min and finish around 1:32:50.

i checked this discrepancy with other runners around me, and all reckoned the first mile was in fact at least a mile and a half. A tough and challenging pre-London workout it certainly was, but accurate -- never!"

Mike Barnard

I too thought that the first mile was nearer a mile and a half but I think the times might be interesting as well. At the start we had to run a circuit within the grounds of Castle Ashby, which brought us around by the finish. I had a glance at the clock, which by then was showing over 11 minutes had elapsed. Now I know I'm not that quick, but.!  By the way this happened a good half mile before I got to the "1 mile" marker.

Debbie Bilham

3-Counties X-C Raffle
-Raffle numbers-

For those who remember, we decided at the start of this season's 3-counties X-C series to give away a prize of a colour television.

The competition was based on awarding Harriers, who ran in the series, a raffle number for each of the races they took part in.

The raffle numbers are given below. A number of Harriers including Tony Barnes, Bill Billington, Jeanette Cheetham, Colin Gibson, Ian Kingston, Martin Leach and Cathy Rogers, ran in all five races and so receive five raffle numbers. Other runners ran in between one and four races and receive the corresponding number of numbers.

If anyone ran in any of the races and has not been given a number for that race, please let us know.

We hope to announce when the draw will take place shortly.

3-counties X-C @ Wing
(Sunday 15th February 2004)

The final race of the cross-country league took place at Wing over an undulating and rather muddy course.   Twenty-two Harriers raced with excellent placings in the men's race by Morgan Walters in 8th, Kevin Willett in 9th and Mark Whiteman in 16th.  The other scorers in the men's
race were Richard Piron, David Holt, Rob Miller and Martin Leach.

In the women's race Cathy Rogers was first Harrier home in 10th closely followed by Viv Kilgour in 12th place.  The third lady counter was Nicola Lawton who just pipped Jeanette Cheetham on the line. 

Once again the Harriers were 4th team in the race.

The final standings for the league were decided after the race with top honours going to Ampthill and Flitwick.  Bedford Harriers finished fourth overall this year which is a great improvement on 7th last year.  A mention must go to the ladies team who finished in 2nd position out of the 11 competing teams and to Hannah Liston who was 2nd female in the individual standings.

Many thanks to all the Harriers who have turned out for the cross country this season.  There has been a real team atmosphere at all the races and hopefully we will have an equally enthusiastic response come next autumn!

Full Set of Results

Cathy Rogers

Eastern Vets Cross-Country
Vet 60's win at last!
(Sunday 8th February 2004)

Race Pictures

David Sutcliffe

Watford Half Marathon
(Sunday 1st February 2004)

Fourteen Harriers, a number of whom are doing London, ran at Watford. The first Harrier to finish and the 30th overall from a field of over 1,700 was Tony Dadd in 1:19:15. Tony, who intends to run in both the Rotterdam and London marathons in April, improved his previous best for the distance by almost three minutes. The second Harrier to finish was Mike Barnard in 1:27:35. Mike will also be running his first London marathon in April. The third Harrier to finish was Chris Proud in 1:36:19 followed by Graham Short and Henry Downes in 1:39:12 and 1:39:46 respectively. Henry is  running at London as are Chris Williams, Mark Billington, Jack Chana and Jude Cottam. The other Harriers at Watford were Dave Russell, Charlie Hempstead, David Pratt, Bill Billington and Suet Lua.

Full set of results from Watford

Folksworth 15
(Sunday 18th January 2004)

Six Harriers ran in the Folksworth 15, one of the first road races of 2004. The first Harrier to finish was Andy Sewell in 1:40:46. Andy is currently in training for the Lanzarote marathon in February. The second Harrier to finish was Neil Godfrey ( a new name) in 1:51:11 followed by Gary Horsman in 1:58:08. Nick Inskip finished in 2:01:59, Andrew Lake completed in 2:17:41 and Jude Cottam, who won one of the Harriers entries for the London Marathon, continued with her training finishing in 2:39:07.

Full set of Folksworth 15 results.