Race Report & Club Photo Reminder (this Tuesday – bring vests!)

Tough Race at Teversal

A journey into the next county on a Tuesday night with unreliable weather on a tough course is not something to get too excited about but thirty-eight Harriers made the start line at Teversal and produced some outstanding individual performances. The rain held off, the sun came out and conditions were excellent for an evening race.

Unfortunately space does not permit me to publish all of the many performances that merit publication but a number still have to be mentioned. Our first finisher was Tim Hollings who produced an excellent run to finish fifth. Tim has improved rapidly since he joined the Harriers, producing his highest place finish to date. Yet again we had runners making their debut for the club, Alan McKay and Myles Mourby. Myles who is only fifteen, along with our two other junior men, Sam Horton and Jack Dakin had tremendous runs and they all should be well pleased with their performances. The standard in these races has improved immensely, making the competition a lot more competitive although the number of runners overall was down to 270 compared to the 300 who ran at the Rugby Club. On the evening the men finished in sixth position, the ladies in sixth and overall the team was sixth and after two races the club is standing at fifth in the men’s, seventh in the ladies and sixth in the overall team effort [see post further below for results].

There are still three more races in the road race series, so if we keep turning up and giving it our best effort I am sure we will move up the team positions.

Well done to all who ran and let’s go for another great turnout at Shipley Park Visitors Centre on Tuesday June 12th at 7.30pm. See you on the start line.

Recent Local Races

There has been a number of Harriers who have been in action in local races over the past few weeks. Chris Jackson had a good run in the Derwent Dambusters 10 mile race around the Derwent and Howden reservoirs. Over a mixture of tracks and tarmac, Chris recorded a time of 1hr 22mins. The evening following the first BDL race Jack Dakin went out and ran the Derby Midweek 5k race, producing a personal best of 18mins 36secs.

A new local race took place organised by Lea Primary School over a 10k course. It was all road but with very little traffic and some outstanding views. Craig Allen and Malcolm Weir both had a run out in this event which hopefully next year will see more runners including some more from the Harriers. Not quite so local was the Kendall 10k where Shaun Bott put in an excellent performance, to finish sixth, in a time of 37mins 29secs finishing just 80 seconds behind the winner.

Club Photograph

Next Tuesday evening before training we will be taking a club photograph. It would be great to have as many members on it as possible, so even if you have not been down recently or are injured come and join the club picture. Remember to bring and wear the club vest.

Thanks Malc

Five Harriers in the London Marathon

The contingent of five Belper Harriers took to the streets of London last Sunday morning to join the thousands of runners in the London Marathon.  The five of Steph Ilsley, Mark Riches, Ben O’Connell, Rob Pearce and Phil Shaw all broke the four hour mark, to register some excellent times.

Ben O’Connell was our first finisher, running a road marathon for the first time in 3hrs 2mins 5secs.  The next finisher was regular marathon runner Mark Riches in 3hrs 15mins 37secs, followed by Steph Ilsley in 3hrs 18mins 35secs, beating her previous best marathon time by three minutes.  Rob Pearce and Phil Shaw finished within two minutes of each other with Rob finishing in 3hrs 57mins 43secs, bettering his London Marathon time in 2010 by 18 minutes.  Phil who finished in 3hrs 59 was running his first marathon, suffered a few problems but still recorded a highly creditable time.

A very well done to all five runners, after all the hard work over the winter doing the regular training sessions and preparing for a race of duration.

Booths Decorators League, Darley Park, Report & Results

A fantastic turnout of 37 club members took to the starting line in the first race of the summer season in the Booth Decorators League, held at Derby Rugby Club. The strong field, in not the most pleasant conditions of 304 runners saw the club finish fifth in the team event, fifth in the men’s and sixth in the ladies.

Our first finisher was Gordon Irvine in 5th place followed by the fast improving Tim Hollings in ninth place. There were many other excellent performances while eight members, Shaun Bott, Simon Swanborough, Tim Boursnell, James Roden, Andy Nash, Helen Soiris, Anna Waite and Emily Hall all made their first appearances for the club. It was also good to see a couple of our runners back after layoffs through injury and that hopefully there were no ill-effects after the race.

Unfortunately there was a downside to the evening when some of the runners took a route off the course, making their run a bit longer. This was down to a lack of a marshal at a point where the runners had a change in direction. These mistakes must be taken on board for future races to make sure the course is absolutely fool-proof for the runners.

A really big thank you must go out to our marshals and supporters particularly a couple of our marshals who had a difficult evening with the volume of traffic at the Abbey pub and around the river bridge.

The next race is at Teversal Grange Sutton-in-Ashfield on Tuesday 15th May at 7.30pm and let’s makes it another big turnout for Belper Harriers. These races are an excellent guide to a runner’s progress and they do produce a certain amount of camaraderie within our own club and also with the other clubs. So if you have never ran one of these races, or have not done so recently, come and have a go at the next race.

As the next race will be a bit further we will organise car-sharing from the Leisure Centre. There will be the usual presentations for the cross-country league after the race but unfortunately this year there will be no refreshments although liquid refreshments will be available.

On a final note, good luck to Steph Ilsley, Mark Riches, Ben O’Connell, Rob Pearce and Phil Shaw who will be running the London Marathon on Sunday. It was good to see them all down on Tuesday evening, either running or being on marshal duty.

See attached file for full results -> BDL_17042012_Darley

Malcolm Weir

Best Yet for the Derby 10k

An absolutely perfect morning for running produced some outstanding performances from the runners in the Derbyshire Building Society 10k race.  The Belper contingent of 36 runners, although a couple were running for their company teams produced many personal bests.  On a course which changed slightly from last year, saw enthusiastic crowds supporting the runners both in the city and on Pride Park.

Our most unfortunate runner was Ben O’Connell who forgot his chip for timing purposes but Ben has an even bigger event in a few weeks time.

Tim Hollings was our first official finisher in a sub 35mins time while Edward James, Shaun Bott, Simon Lloyds, Andy Rose, Dave Horton, Rob Norman and Sean Ollier were all under 40 minutes.  Just over this time came Mark Riches, Robin Clegg, Jack Dakin, Malcolm Weir, Vejay Pak and Phil Butt who all finished under 42 minutes.

Less than 45 minutes came Amer Armoush, Tim Boursnell and Steve Meath while less than 48 minutes came Andy Dakin, Rob Pearce, Dean Warren, Paul Bradley, Geoff Stone, Andy Nash, Gary Fray, Chris Jackson and Jane Armoush.

The sub 50 minutes was broken by Simon Hackett, David Smith and Rosemary Arris while between 50 minutes and 55 minutes came Jo Southcott, Georgina Bestwick, Anna Waite and Pete Kemp.

Just over the 55 minutes came Garry Knights and Vicki Kirk.

There were a good number of personal bests from our runners which will shortly be collated for record purposes.  For the full list of the 3344 runners to finish the 10k race go to www.sporting-futures.org.uk.

Well done to all the Harriers and if this turnout can be translated into the Booth Decorators League over the summer we should be in for a good season.

-Malc

Recent Races and Personal Bests

 

The Liverpool Half-Marathon always seems an interesting and popular event and so it was for Dean Warren. Dean who some of you are aware was a member of the club for a number of years then had to retire through injuries.  Twelve months ago he started to do a bit of running again and eventually rejoined the club last autumn and is now back racing.  The race started from the Docks and went out to Sefton Park at the halfway point, while the final part of the race is run next to the Mersey.  Dean finished in 1hr 47mins, in a finishing position of 1333, out of a field of approximately 6,300 runners and should be well pleased with his efforts.

More of our runners have been getting a few races under their belts, none more so than Steph Ilsley who ran the Aldi Ashby  20-miler a week after running the Stafford 20-miler.  Steph who is in training for the London Marathon in April, ran the Ashby race in 2hrs 27mins while Rob Pearce knocked eleven minutes off his time from the same race two years ago.  Rob who is also running the London Marathon finished in a time of 2hrs 47mins. Steph and Rob are running well at the moment and along with our three other London Marathoners, Mark Riches, Ben O’Connell and Phil Shaw we should see some good times from them on the big day.

Over at Stafford last Sunday, Theresa Hempsall and Ron Ilsley ran in their half-marathon with both recording excellent times. Ron produced a personal best by forty seconds to finish in 1hr 26mins 47secs while Theresa was not too far away from the magic sub 90mins, finishing in a time of 1hr 31mins.  Once again it was well worth the journey to achieve such good times.
Three of our runners made the journey eastwards to the historical city of Lincoln to run in their 10k.  This is a very popular 10k which had 4375 finishers, running over the route around the city.  Abi Sawyer who has recently joined the club ran a very creditable 57mins 57secs in her first race in the club colours. Geoff Stone a regular in this race ran an impressive 45mins 55secs while Paul Bradley ran another personal best by 25secs to finish in 46mins 12secs over this distance.  Well done to all three who must be well pleased with their performances.

Looking forward to this weekend we have the Derby 10k where the club will have a large turnout of runners. If any club has more runners out on Sunday I will be very surprised, so remember to wear your club colours.

The first three Tuesdays in April see us at the Leisure Centre on the 3rd of April, the following Tuesday is Karl’s Special from the Bulls Heads Belper Lane 7.15pm and on April 17th the first BDL of the season at Derby Rugby Club with a 7.15 start, so see you on the start line.

 

Malcs Race Report

Last Handicap of the Season

The final 10k Handicap of the winter was run on Tuesday evening with twenty-four runners going off their allotted handicap time and four other runners having a run on the course, either coming back from injury or having run at the weekend. The calm early spring like weather helped to produce some good times from our runners. The winner on the evening was Rachel Clark who coming back from a long-term injury ran well to take the winners trophy until October. The fastest time on the night was Ed James in 37mins 50secs who along with Shaun Bott running his first Handicap, a mere six seconds slower. Joining them in producing sub 40 minute runs were Simon Lloyds and Ron Ilsley. Three other runners made their Handicap debuts, Tracey Morley-Dukes, Rob Wadey and Simon Swanborough and I am sure all three must have been well pleased with their performances.
Well done to everyone who ran and thanks to Georgina Bestwick and Jo Southcott for the recording and time-keeping.

Over the six Handicaps there have been some significant and improving performances which hopefully our runners will put into races over the coming weeks.

Thanks to everyone who supported the Handicaps, also to Chris and Tom Jackson for their prompt entry of the results and to Alan for getting them on the website as soon as they were available.

Finally thanks to Steve and his staff at the Devonshire for the food and the hospitality over the winter.

Harriers in Action

The spring is here and the races are getting more plentiful with three races last Sunday where our runners were in action.
The Fradley 10k race took place just off the A38 near to Litchfield with six of our runners in the field of nearly 900 runners. Although this race has received a good reputation over the years for being a good fast course and well organised, this year there was a problem with the results. Some of the official times for our runners were not correct which is a travesty for a high profile race, considering how much it costs to run in this type of event. The basics we should receive, are that the course is the correct distance, there are sufficient marshals and runners get their correct time from the race.

Anyway from various conversations with some of the runners, the six of Jack Dakin, Andy Rose, Rob Norman, Ed James, Robin Clegg and Gary Knights all produced good times from their unofficial time-keeping.

Getting a long race in before a marathon is always a good idea and this is what Steph Ilsley and Mark Riches did in preparation for the London Marathon. Steph and Mark both ran the Stafford 20 mile race last Sunday with Steph recording 2hrs 29mins while Mark running 2hrs 32mins. Good times and if you could keep that up for the extra six miles there would be two good marathon times.

Relatively new recruit Tim Boursnell was in action in North Nottinghamshire running the Retford Half-marathon. Coming home in 164th place out of 450 runners, Tim recorded a time of 1hr 43mins for a very creditable performance.

At the beginning of the month, Chris Jackson traveled down to Milton Keynes to run in their half-marathon and it was well worth the journey, as Chris ran a personal best. Chris recorded a time of 1hr 46mins to beat his previous best for the distance by two minutes.

Great to see our runners in action producing some good times, so if you run anywhere a bit different, regardless of what type of race, drop me an email with your time etc to help keep the race reports in progress.

 

Race Report – Good Day in London!

Once again the club had runners in the Saucony England Cross-Country Championships last Saturday. This year the event was being held at Parliament Hill North London, having been held in the past two years at Leeds and Alton Towers.

Our contingent of Gordon Irvine, Mark Riches, Andy Rose and Rob Norman acquitted themselves excellently in the huge field of 1,688 runners over the 12k distance.

Gordon running for his first claim club Thames Valley Harriers was once again up there with the top runners, finishing in 273rd place in a time of 42mins 40secs. Further down the field our consistent trio of Mark, Andy and Rob finished within 29 seconds of each other. Mark finished in a time of 52mins 39secs with Andy just nine seconds behind in 52mins 48secs while Rob finished in 53mins and 8secs.

Well done guys you all should be very pleased with your performances and for bringing the Harriers vest among the runners at this prestigious event.

You would think after their efforts they would have been ready for a rest but the following day Andy Rose was on the start line in the Weston 5 mile race at Weston-on-Trent South Derbyshire. Andy in excellent form at the moment was joined by Malcolm Weir on this out and back course. Andy finished in 32nd place in a time of 32mins 31secs and Malcolm 48th in 34mins 14secs in a field of 217 runners.

Northern Region Cross-Country Championship

The Northern’s took place last Saturday with five of our runners making the trip up to Pontefract Racecourse in Yorkshire.  Steph Ilsley was our only lady in the field of 235 runners, over the 8k distance, finishing 98th in a time of 38mins 33secs.
For the men over a distance of 12k, Andy Rose was the first Harrier home in 54mins 16secs. Rob Norman and Mark Riches finished within 8secs of each other with Rob recording 57mins 10secs and Mark in 57mins 18secs.  Steve Meath followed in 63mins 28secs.  These four represented the club in a field of 685 runners.
Well done to all five runners and for keeping the club colours showing at this large regional event.

The final BDL cross-country race takes place on Sunday 12th February at Holmebrook Park, Newbold Chesterfield at 11.00am.  This is a new venue for the league and it would be good to have a stronger presence for the final race.  If you are available and injury free, come have a run on Sunday week.  We will try and organise car-sharing from the Leisure Centre for those who are interested.

Tuesdays 7th, 14th and 28th February, training from Belper Leisure Centre for a 7.30 start.

Tuesday 21st February 10k Handicap at the East Mill on the A6 Belper for a 7.30 start.

Thanks to all who attended the AGM at the Devonshire.  An orderly meeting with many different opinions and various points raised.  Once again thanks to Steve Meath for the comfort of the Devonshire and for the club to prosper even further in 2012.

January 10k Handicap Report

10k Handicap

On another minus temperature evening on the A6, twenty-four runners took part in the January 10k Handicap.  There were also three other runners just out for a steady run. Out of the twenty-four, Andy Basey and Simon Lloyds did not run off their Handicap times but the remainder ran off their estimated times.  The fastest time of the evening went to Tim Hollings in 36mins 11secs while Andy Rose in great form at the moment ran his first sub-40 minute 10k in 39mins 47secs.
Our first runner back was for the second successive month was Paul Bradley, followed by Jane Armoush.  There were three runners making their handicap debuts Jenny Corden, Steve Groves and Tim Bournsell who would all be pleased with their performances.
Thanks to Theresa Hempsall and Geoff Stone for their help and Tom Jackson with his prompt return of the results.

Next Tuesday the 24th January we will be at the Leisure Centre for a regular run for a 7.30pm start.

The following Tuesday 31st January due to the Annual General Meeting a 50 minute run starting at 6.15pm from the Leisure Centre.

-Malc.

Malcs XC Race Reports

Rose in Bloom at Wollaton and Shipley!

It was a good weekend for Andy Rose, running in the North Midlands League Cross-Country at Wollaton Park on the Saturday and the following day in the Booth Decorators League at Shipley Park. On the Saturday in cold, frosty but with a bit of sunshine, the last North Midlands race of the winter took place on the picturesque Wollaton Park.  In the ladies race of 6.5k, Steph Ilsley had another fine run to finish 29th and claim first position in her age category.  Steph ran in three of the four races to take her title. The men’s race attracting 205 runners of varying degrees of abilities, some extremely good runners at the front end of the field saw four Harriers on the start line.  The course of 10k, three long laps of the park saw Andy finish in 111th place, in an excellent time of 44mins 2secs while Rob Norman also could be well pleased with his run finishing two minutes further back in 46mins 1sec.  Amer Armoush and Malcolm Weir were the other club runners finishing in 47mins 33secs and 48mins 43sec respectively.   All five of our runners could be pleased with their efforts over a pretty tough course.

The following day on Shipley Park, Heanor Running Club were staging the fourth race of the Booth Decorators cross-country series.  It was good to see Gordon Irvine up with the leaders finishing 5th while Tim Hollings running really well finished 8th. Our next finisher was Andy Rose having another excellent run, to add to his previous days performance, finishing 38th while Jack Dakin had his best race yet for the club finishing 39th.  Dave Horton, Ian Hays, Mark Riches and Craig Allen all ran a consistent race while Phil Butt, Roger Morgan and Geoff Stone all long-standing members of the club could be happy with their performances.  The ever reliable Andy Dakin and Steve Meath completed the team for the men. The ladies were led in by Teresa Hempsall in 78th position and followed by Gemma Irvine and Rosemary Arris.  On the day the club finished fourth in the men’s, ladies and the team category and overall after four races we are sitting fifth in all three groups.

The final race will be at Holmebrook Park Chesterfield on February 12th, a new venue for this competition and for a change the race will not clash with the North Midlands League.  Well done to all twenty-one runners who competed for the club over the weekend.