Club Records updated to 20 March 2010. New 10k PB's for Alex Duthie, Phil Conroy, Rob Norman, Matt Conroy and Rose Sensecall; 5k PB's for Alex, Gemma Redfern and Rose .... AND CONGRATULATIONS to Steph Ilsley - the fastest v45 female in the world at the Kilomathon!
Updates include Trafford 10k, Fradley 10k, Kilomathon, Derby Midweek 5k and February club handicap. Any missing times to chris@belperharriers.co.uk
February 2010 Handicap - "Keeping it in the family"
The second Handicap event of 2010 took place on Tuesday night, following further snow flurries during the early part of the evening. As anticipated, the weather conditions kept some away; so given the conditions, the turnout of 29 runners was quite pleasing.
Once again there were a number of Harriers recording personal bests on the night: Dan and Rachel Clark; Andy and Jack Dakin; Jane Armoush, and relative newcomer Andrew Morton all revised their previous best times by between half a minute and five minutes.
The winner on the night - with an improvement of over 5 minutes - was DAN CLARK, who recorded 49:33 mins. Dan was delighted with his sub 50 minute performance and will surely be targeting a further improvement in next month's event. Keeping it in the family, - and following him home in second place - was wife RACHEL CLARK, who improved by almost three minutes! A little further down the finishing order, another family battle was played out on the A6 course... Father and son duo, Andy and Jack Dakin (who took the winner's trophy last month) started off just half a minute apart... and finished almost half a minute apart... but the opposite way around! Andy's head start was eaten in to, and then reversed by Jack, who recorded 44:17 mins. Both improved their January PBs by over a minute. On the ladies side, THERESA HEMPSALL was quickest over the 10K course, recording 46:34.
As for the faster runners; five sub 40 minute performances were recorded last night. Coming close to his course PB of last month was BEN HUMPHREYS, who stopped the clock at 37:20 mins and crossed the line alongside SAUL TAYLOR; second fastest in 37:50 mins.
There were two debut performances on the night... Craig Alan, a Wirksworth RC member currently second claim with Belper, recorded 49:11; while Mark Riches ran the River Gardens course for the first time ever, ** despite being a long-standing Belper Harriers member. (** Due to working permanent nights!).
A big thank you to Geoff Stone, who assisted with race recording, and Adrian ('would you like a Jelly Baby?') Koe, who marshalled the Ambergate turnaround point. Having not been to the club for some time, Geoff certainly saw a lot of new faces on the night! Thanks also to Steve Meath for t he post run hospitality back at the Dev. (A very welcome hot meal to warm us all up... and for just £2!!).
The final Handicap of the season will be held on Tuesday 23rd March. Click here for Februaries results.
Old News Items
I have created a new page called 'News archive' which contains all of the old news items that were posted on this page up to the end of 2009. This is in the form of a word document. I will do this every year so that we don't end up with a ridiculously long news page plus we keep a record rather than lose everything.
Oh well, the XC was cancelled this morning so at least it has given me a bit of free time to do this!
Steph
21 Feb 2010
BDL Race 4 - Berry Hill 14 February 2010 :
'Harriers team step up onto the podium after the penultimate race'
The 4th BDL race at Berry Hill, held on what is undoubtedly the best course of the five-race series, saw 21 Belper Harriers' runners battling hard to further improve the club’s standing in this season’s cross-country league. As a result of the men achieving an excellent second place and the ladies improving to finish fifth (after an eighth place in Race 3) the combined team placed a very creditable third on the day behind Mansfield and Long Eaton.
The effect on the league standings (after four of the five races) was to move the Belper combined team up from 4th to 3rd place
as anticipated in the pre-race e-mail last week. Our men’s team have now strengthened their hold on 2nd place in the standings to date, but crucially are now equal on (league) points with leaders Heanor RC, having beaten them by a point yesterday. However, in the absence of most of our stronger runners, our ladies despite showing true grit and determination in finishing 5th yesterday remain in 8th place after the four races.
As for individual performances: Dale Annable and Geoff Lowry once again led the way for our counting seven; executing very strong races to finish 8th and 10th respectively. The resurgent Alex Duthie had a superb run to finish in 18th place, while the ever-reliable Simon Merwood and continually improving Andy Fookes were close behind in 21st and 24th. Completing the scoring seven; Krish Mahadevan (revered leader of the SRTS) was 33rd, along with Rob Norman, who had an excellent run to finish 44th. It’s worth noting that the race winner was Mansfield’s former GB International runner, Billy Farquharson. (Who - probably intentionally - did just enough to win on the day!).
Repeating her achievement from the previous race at Bramcote, Gemma Redfern was once again Belper's first lady home in 102nd place. It was good to see Theresa Hempsall back in the thick of it again, and scoring for the team, on the Mansfield course. Also on the score sheet once again this season was Rose Sensecall in 128th place.
Congratulations and well done to Andy Dakin and Jane Armoush who, having only joined the club relatively recently, each completed their first ever cross-country race yesterday!! Both runners acquitted themselves well and should be proud of their achievements! (Jane has spent many years supporting her talented daughters at cross-country events but had never had the opportunity to run one before!).
Results Summary
Race 1: Men - 2nd Ladies - 7th Combined team - 3rd
Race 2: Men - 2nd Ladies - 5th Combined team - 3rd
After 2 races: Men - 2nd Ladies - 6th Combined team - 4th
Race 3 : Men - 1st Ladies - 8th Combined team - 4th
After 3 races: Men - 2nd Ladies - 8th Combined team - 4th
Race 4 : Men - 2nd Ladies - 5th Combined team - 3rd
After 4 races: Men - 2nd Ladies - 8th Combined team - 3rd
Click here for the spreadsheet showing the results
'10k Handicap Course Record smashed!!'
'Flash performance from Gordon takes it to a whole new level!'
Tuesday’s club night saw the first of the 2010 Harriers Handicap events taking place from the River Gardens venue. Unusually, weather conditions were conducive to good running, with no rain, wind or icy conditions this time around.
Apart from a flurry of eight Personal Bests and five Sub 40 minute performances, the highlight of this month's race was a superb new course record posted by GORDON IRVINE on his first attempt at the Handicap! Starting in last place, on a 28 minute handicap, Gordon finished in equal 11th position - recording a fantastic 34:06 in the process. (Karl and I watched with disbelief as he set off from the River Gardens at what seemed a suicidal pace!). The previous record of 35:18- set by Dale Annable in December 2006 - was revised by 1 min. 12 seconds to set the new benchmark. Had this month's race been run on the old (six mile) Coxbench course, it's likely that Gordon would have got very close to Geoff Lowry's 32:51 recorded on that route in 2005. On the ladies side, it was good to see SHARON MELLORS back as fastest lady in 42:58.
The race winner on the night was our youngest recent recruit, JACK DAKIN, who improved by almost four minutes on last month's debut performance to record an excellent 45:53! (Beating his Dad Andy's new best time by 23 seconds). Jack crossed the line in 3rd place, but was headed by a new runner on an estimated handicap and another on a re-calculated time... and therefore declared the actual winner on the night.
With 29 runners contesting the race, it was great to see yet another batch of Harriers improving their PBs. As well as Jack and Andy, others to take from 2+ minutes down to 7 seconds off their bests were... Neil, Gemma (again!), Chris Jackson, Alex, Sarah and Ben (who was the 2nd fastest in 37:06). As always, there were a number of new members making their debuts on the Handicap course. Seven runners - including Adrian Koe (who had not run the Handicap before, despite being a member for some time) - now have a target to aim for over the remainder of the season; as do Chris Gilbert and Roger Morgan, who had not run here for a couple of years or so. Of particular note were ex-cyclist Jim Naismith, running 41:23, and Scott Mather, 3rd fastest in a swift 37:14. (See results spreadsheet on the 10K Handicap tab under Results for details).
A big thank you to Karl Atton, who assisted with race recording, and Malc Weir, who marshalled the turnaround point. Thanks also to Steve Meath for the post run hospitality back at the Dev. A hot meal for just £2-50... you can't go wrong! Why not come and join us after the next Handicap?
GRAND PRIX 2009
The results of the Belper Harriers 2009 Grand Prix are now available, having been checked and finalised by Sam Lowry last week. Please click here to access the spreadsheet on the Grand Prix tab in the Results section of this website.
I am delighted to announce the three prize winners, as follows
1st place: ANDY ROSE 194 points
2nd place: ANDY FOOKES 178 points
3rd place: SIMON HACKETT 134 points
Many congratulations and well done to all!!
All three athletes have made substantial improvements during 2009; benefitting not only from more structured training, but also from greater competitiveness, improved focus and stronger determination. Having joined the club in late 2008, Andy Rose and Andy Fookes have made dramatic steps forward, and have certainly realised their potential during the past year. Simon Hackett has made an exceptional comeback following a serious knee injury. Incredibly, Simon had previously claimed one of the prizes in the 2008 competition - finishing in 2nd place last time around (with 83 points)!
The annual Grand Prix competition of which this was the sixth edition is designed to encourage our runners to challenge themselves across a range of disciplines and distances, while entering into healthy competition on a level playing field with their fellow club members. It also rewards loyalty to Belper Harriers through awarding additional bonus points for representing the club in league and relay competitions etc.
In order to qualify for one of the top three prizes, runners had to complete nominated races in ten required categories This can be quite difficult to do, and takes some planning to achieve! For example, you will see from the final standings (see the League Table 2009 tab on the spreadsheet) that Matt Conroy ended the year with the third highest number of points, but had only scored in eight categories; thus leaving third place open to Simon, who had ensured completion of all ten! Krish Mahadevan (on nine events) might also have been in with a look-in had he completed just one more qualifying race last year!
It’s also worth pointing out the effect that bonus points can have... while runner-up, Andy Fookes, scored the highest number of race points, winner Andy Rose eclipsed Andy's overall score through accumulating a whopping 44 bonus points during the year. This included two 10 point double-bonuses awarded for completing all five cross-country league and summer league races; a feat also achieved by two other runners this year - Steve Meath and Rob Norman. (Thanks for your superb support for the club guys!)
As in previous years, I will be carrying out the re-grading exercise for all runners who have recorded performances in last year's Grand Prix. This will ensure that everyone starts off on a level footing in readiness for this year's competition. Sam and I will also be reviewing last year's nominated races by category, and will consider additions and deletions based on 2009 participation levels. Once all this has been completed, I will communicate the new grades, along with the full details of this year's Grand Prix competition, to all members.
Trophies (including the famous 'Golden Trainer') will be presented to all three winners at the Belper Harriers AGM on February 2nd. (Speeches are optional!!)
I would like to thank Sam Lowry for her sterling work in collating and inputting all of the qualifying race results once again this year. Without her much appreciated efforts, keeping the competition going would be extremely difficult!
Regards,
Steve
IMPORTANT MESSAGE: BDL race 17 January 2010
The 4th BDL race scheduled for this coming Sunday has been CANCELLED due to the weather conditions. Inspections of the course, car parks and footpaths leading to the course took place on Saturday and again yesterday. The opinion of the organisers from Ilkeston RC was that conditions remained dangerous/unsuitable.
Depending on the response from league clubs, the race may be re-run at a later date (likely to be 21st February). If there is no re-run, this year's X-C league may be declared a 4 race series. I will advise everyone once a decision has been made.
Regards,
Steve Winfield - Club Secretary, Belper Harriers
Belper Harriers AGM 2010
The Belper Harriers AGM will be held on Tuesday 2nd February 2010 at The Devonshire, Bridge Street, Belper at 8-30pm. (Venue TBC). All paid-up members of Belper Harriers are invited to attend this important event. As always, th e committee are keen to encourage as many members as possible to come along on the night.
As in previous years, there will be a shorter than usual training run from the BLC, starting a little earlier than normal at 7-00pm. Please note that changing and showering facilities are available at the leisure centre on payment of £1 at reception to cover use of the showers.
Belper Harriers PB's / Club Records
Happy New Year to all Belper Harriers!
Please note that all known PB's are now up to date, as of 1 January 2010 - see club records tab. If there are any times that need updating please email chris@belperharriers.com with relevant link to the results page.
The River Gardens 10k list (now including 127 runners) can be found by clicking the Club Records tab.
Happy Running in 2010
Chris
Belper News race reports
Hi All, I have now posted up on the Race Reports web page all of the reports that Malc posted in the Belper News newspaper throughout 2009. Well worth a look if you don't normally buy the newspaper. You may see your name in in print!
The reports run from January to December...not the most user friendly but I didn't realise until I had put them all up that it might have been better the other way round with the latest first!! Too late to change it now but I will post them up in a more user friendly way in 2010.
Merry Christmas and Happy Running in 2010
Steph
(item posted 23 Dec 2009)