Handicap Race – 10 Nov 09
The second Handicap of the 2009/10 season on Tuesday evening was less well attended than the previous month; just 17 runners venturing out in the rain this time around. Tired legs after the cross-country league race on the Sunday prior, along with several runners saving themselves for the (earlier than usual) Derby Midweek races the following evening, may have combined with the rainy conditions to deter many from running on Tuesday night. (Unfortunately, moving the handicap to the following week wasn't possible this month as I will be away on holiday next week).
However, despite the lower than usual turnout, there were a fantastic NINE personal bests on the night. Most, if not all, of those whose previous best was run on the River Gardens course** would have also recorded a PB had Tuesday's Handicap been held there. (**Which is a little over 300m longer; but faster than the Coxbench course).
It was great to see one of the Belper Harriers' stalwarts striding down the hill in isolation towards the finish... DAVE CHADWICK had an excellent run to finish in first place this month. His time of 50:45 was 3 minutes faster than his River Gardens best, which he ran in October 2006. (Dave's best on the Coxbench Handicap dates back to May 2002 - when he ran 46:44: and considering that more than 7 years have passed since then, it must have been a pleasing performance for him!).
In 2nd place - and with a substantial chunk taken off his PB - was MATT CONROY. Moving up a level from his 49.03 previous best run at Coxbench last month, Matt took well over 3 minutes of that time to run a superb 45.41. Similarly, everyone else who ran their PB on this course last month also smashed it again this month - with improvements ranging from 20 seconds to over 2 minutes.
The f astest over the 6 mile course was once again ANDY PARKIN - with a very swift PB in 37.23. (Andy will become a first claim member of the club in December; and his return to the Harriers fold is certainly going to add strength to our team over the remaining X-C league races). H aving started on a 24.5 minute handicap - just half a minute before Andy - PHIL CONROY also had a storming run to maintain that gap and record an almost identical time of 37.24!! (After the race, it appeared that Phil was going to request a Stewards Enquiry to question whether the timekeeper had misread his stopwatch by a second or two!!!)
The fastest of the girls was the rapidly improving MADDY SALTER who, in her first handicap race, recorded a superb time of 45:42 to finish third (off an estimated handicap).
Thanks very much to Dave for his assistance at the finish line after completing his run.
As mentioned in my pre-event e-mail, the Handicap will revert back to the River Gardens venue next month. Please note that I have moved the scheduled date from December 8th to December 15th in order to avoid holding it just after the next league race on Dec 6th. (The Derby Midweek races are not until the 23rd next month).
BDL Race 2 – 8 November 2009- Chaddesden Park
Yesterday's race saw a very respectable turnout of 32 Belper runners (plus several supporters) representing the club at Chaddesden Park. On the relatively flat, but nonetheless challenging course (which included the obligatory water features on each of the two laps) the Harriers team delivered a solid performance to once again finish a creditable 3rd behind Heanor in 1st place and Long Eaton in 2nd.
As in the Shipley Park opening race, Dale Annable and Geoff Lowry were our first two finishers in 7th and 14th respectively. Dropping down in distance from his usual mountain marathon exploits, Saul Taylor - in 20th place - was a welcome addition to the men's scoring seven. With our remaining four counting runners finishing within the top 35 (Mark Riches, Simon Merwood, Andy Fookes and Rob Norman) this ensured that our men's team achieved another well-deserved 2nd placing - a mere 7 place points behind winners, Heanor RC! A special mention goes out to Andy Fookes who, despite there being almost 40 more runners in this race, placed an excellent 28th after his 'breakthrough' 39th place in Race 1 !!
The return of Jo Caborn to the team ensured that our ladies were able to move up the finishing order to 5th place, following their 7th place opener at Shipley last month. Jo had a superb run to finish in 26th place overall, and 3rd place in the ladies race!! Following on from her similarly outstanding performances in the summer league races earlier this year, it is great to see Jo continuing her exceptional form through into the winter season. However, one runner alone does not make a team...
and had Gemma Redfern and Amy Robinson not put in another gutsy performance - after their run at the National X-C relays the previous week - we would certainly not have finished as high as fifth in the ladies race. (Liking the new war-paint by the way!!)
Just outside our scoring trio of ladies was our latest recruit - Sarah Holme - running her first race for the Harriers in 142nd position. With only 4 seconds separating triathlete Sarah, and 3rd scorer Amy (who was making her debut in a league race) it is encouraging to have yet another keen challenger in our ladies ranks!
Although standing 3rd in the league table after the first race, and achieving another 3rd place yesterday, Belper Harriers' combined team scores over the two races now leave us in 4th place. However, with only two points between Belper and 3rd placed Sutton Harriers, clawing our way back into the podium positions i s certainly not an insurmountable challenge in the next race. After all, we were in 5th place at this stage last year... and still came through to win three team trophies at the end of the series! (Men 3rd/Ladies 3rd/Combined 3rd).
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
Many thanks to Maddy Salter who ably performed the race recording duties on the day.
The next BDL race will take place on December 6th at Bramcote Country Park, Nottingham.
Shipley Park BDL Cross Country Race 1 - 25 October 2009 - " A respectable opener for The Harriers"
As outlined in the pre-race e-mail, Belper Harriers' key strengths - excellent strength in depth in terms of potential scorers, along with the ability to consistently field larger teams than the other clubs - came to the fore on Sunday as we made the most of our assets in less than ideal circumstances. With this first race being moved back a week, clashes with other events resulted in fewer runners available to represent their clubs on Sunday.
However, the Belper men's team finished the race in a superb 2nd place behind winners Heanor. Although the ladies were 7th in this opening race, this represented a creditable performance when considering that none of our top five or six runners were available to race this time around. The combination of our 2nd and 7th places gave Belper Harriers a great start to the five race series, with a third place overall behind winners Long Eaton RC, and runners up Sutton Harriers. It's worth noting that Heanor - who were winners of the men's race - finished only 4th overall; illustrating the fact that it's the combined effort that counts!
Our men's team was led home by Dale Annable (a previous winner on this course) in 10th place, ably supported by Geoff Lowry in 12th (despite a fall in the woods!) and Krish in 19th. Mark Riches would have been disappointed with his below par 27th place, however, with Rob Norman, Andy Fookes and Ian Hays completing the scorers, the team should be proud of their achievement in this first race.
It was good to see some different names on the scoresheet for the ladies team... with the fast-improving duo of Maddy Salter and Gemma Redfern securing 92nd and 100th places, and the returning to form Becky Poyser in 122nd place.
All in all, a good result to kick off the series... particularly when compared to last year's first race where the men were 3rd; the ladies 7th, and the combined team 4th.
Results Summary - Race 1:
Men - 2nd Ladies - 7th Combined team - 3rd
The next BDL race will take place in just 2 week's time on November 8th at Chaddesden Park.
Harriers October 2009 Handicap - Coxbench
The first Handicap of the 2009/10 season on Tuesday evening saw 33 runners having a go at the original 6 mile course between Coxbench and Little Eaton. Of those who ran, 15 had previously done this route prior to spring 2006, and 18 were 'Coxbench virgins'. As is often the case with our Handicap runs - conditions were made difficult when the rain came down!
As mentioned in the pre-event e-mail, the route is around 300m shorter than the 10K River Gardens one; but is a slower course due to the time lost when slowing down for the three very sharp turns and the 'sting-in-the-tail' hill approaching the finish. Therefore, as times are roughly equivalent for both courses, all handicaps were based on previous performances from last season's River Gardens runs (or the most recent open 10K races for our newer members).
The first person to cross the finish line back at Coxbench was GEMMA REDFERN. Recording a superb time of 45.21 - and nearly six minutes ahead of the 2nd finisher, MATT CONROY - it looked like she had run an absolute stormer! However, Gemma later realised that she must have taken a wrong turn on the way back, which probably cut off around 600m or so. Had the full distance been completed, it's likely that she would still have won the race by around two minutes, and been way in front of her best River Gardens time.
Similarly for Matt; his time of 51:08 represents a significant improvement since the last Handicap race last March!
The fastest over the 6 mile course was ANDY PARKIN - in an excellent 37:43. It was a case of 'the return of the Prodigal Son', as Andy had recently re-joined Belper Harriers after spending the last few years with Ripley Running Club. By virtue of his 37:52 from 2002, Andy had been ranked 6th on this course as of the last time we ran it in March 2006. Five other runners also recorded sub 40 minute times on the night.
Please see the attachment for the full results. (Scroll down to the key for details of abbreviations).
Thanks very much to Ian and to Simon E for carrying out the marshalling duties, and to Gel and Gemma for their assistance at the finish line.
The next Handicap will take place on November 10th.
BELPER HARRIERS WIN BDL RACE 5...AND EQUAL LAST YEAR'S LEAGUE PLACINGS
Following on from the ladies finishing top of the pile at Carsington last month - and the men finishing second - it was the turn of the men's team to take top honours in Tuesday's final league race at Shipley... finishing in FIRST PLACE ahead of Long Eaton RC. However, it wasn't just about the men... as our girls put in another sterling performance to take a well-deserved SECOND PLACE in the ladies race behind winners Heanor RC.
The combined team performance saw Belper Harriers WINNING the overall race for the second time this season - another spectacular result against strong competition - following on from last month's win at Carsington! This is the first season (summer or winter) that our combined team has won two of a five race series!
As predicted prior to this race, it was expected that Belper's men would maintain their 2nd place in the league standings, and that the ladies would hold on to their 4th place achieved after the first four races. However, it was going to require another fantastic combined team result in the final race to hold off 3rd placed Mansfield and 4th placed North Derbyshire to remain in 2nd place overall at the end of the series. As you will see from the results, the final gap over Mansfield (who were level on points with us after race 4) was actually increased to 5 points after Tuesday's excellent team performance. This is a superb achievement when you consider that Belper were languishing in 6th place after the first two races!!
League standings progression summary: (After races 1/2/3/4/5)
Men’s team: 4th/4th/2nd/2nd/2nd
Ladies: 6th/6th/6th/4th/4th
Combined team: 6th/6th/5th/2nd/2nd
Race results summary: (Races 1/2/3/4/5)
Men’s team: 4th/3rd/2nd/2nd/1st
Ladies: 6th/6th/3rd/1st/2nd
Combined team: 6th/4th/3rd/1st/1st
Once again, in the absence of several of our potential scoring runners, the men’s team demonstrated their excellent strength in depth. As in the previous race, all seven scoring runners finished inside the top 30. GEOFF LOWRY, returning for the final race, finished in 14th place and was followed by Dale Annable, Krish Mahadevan and Simon Merwood within the space of less than a minute. Completing the scorers, Andy Shorney, Alex Duthie, and Alan Billington were close behind in 24th, 27th and 29th, bringing the whole team home in less than a minute and a half.
In the ladies race, JO CABORN showed remarkable consistency to deliver yet another finish inside the top 30. (26th this time!). Once again, her race was almost a replay of the Grassmoor and Carsington races, as Jo achieved 2nd place in the ladies contest for the 3rd consecutive race!! Jo continued to narrow the gap behind first place...with just 37 seconds separating her from the winning lady (Heanor's Lisa Palmer) this time around! Joining Jo on the score sheet were: Steph Ilsley, who had her best finish of the series to place an excellent 73rd; and Maddy Salter, running her best race so far to finish in 130th place. (Maddy was absolutely delighted to be one of the scoring team for the first time!)
As in every other race this season, their were debut appearances in a Belper vest: Jordan Whitehead and Belinda Shorney had their first taste of a league race... and hopefully learned from the experience!
As well as showing both individual and team results, the attached spreadsheet includes an additional page this month detailing the age category prize winners. (Click on the relevant tab for details). Just to re-cap... runners are scored on their four highest finishes over the five race series. Many congratulations to...
STEPH ILSLEY - 1st in the VL45 category
KRISH MAHADEVAN - 2nd in the VM40 category
ROGER MORGAN - 3rd in the VM55 category
MALCOLM WEIR - 3rd in the VM60 category
(As there are fewer prizes awarded in the smaller categories, it may be that trophies are not awarded for the third places.)
As well as the four above - who ran in all five races - another ten Harriers also competed for the club throughout the complete series... Gemma, Dale, Alex, Andy R., Rob, Simon H., Matt, Phil S., Steve and Ron.
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14 July 2009 - BDL Summer League 2009 - Race 4
A NIGHT OF SUPERLATIVES!!
The excellent team performance at Grassmoor last month - Men 2nd/Ladies 3rd/Combined team 3rd - was going to take some living up to at last night’s 4th race in the series... but, not only did the Harriers men hold on to their hard-earned 2nd position in the league standings – with another excellent SECOND PLACE at (rain-soaked) Carsington Water, but they were eclipsed by our fantastic ladies team – who finished in FIRST PLACE!!
The combined team performance saw Belper Harriers WINNING the overall race for the first time this season... a superb result! You will see from the team results that the ladies won by the narrowest of margins – just one point separating them from 2nd placed North Derbyshire. So, any of our runners who passed one of North Derbyshire’s scoring ladies team at some stage in the race could have been instrumental in our ladies’ win! Had our girls finished second to North Derbyshire, then Heanor would have triumphed once again in the combined race.
This performance has dramatically altered the league standings after the four races: our men increasing their lead over the third placed team from 1 point to 4 points; and our ladies moving up strongly from 6th to 4th position. As a result, the effect on the combined team standings was to move Belper up from 5th (after 3 races) to a superb 2nd POSITION after last night’s race. With 3rd placed Mansfield and 4th placed North Derbyshire very close behind us on points, we will be looking for another sterling team effort in the final race of the series next month, to ensure that we are able to consolidate our league positions and pick up those trophies once again.
Progression summary: (After races 1/2/3/4)
Men’s team – 4th/4th/2nd/2nd
Ladies: 6th/6th/6th/4th
Combined team: 6th/6th/5th/2nd
Demonstrating their excellent strength in depth, in the absence of several of our potential scoring runners, the men’s team packed extremely well at the sharp end – with DALE ANNABLE, Krish Mahadevan, Mark Riches and Simon Merwood spread by less just 39 seconds from 14th to 19th place, backed up by Alex Duthie, Andy Shorney and Saul Taylor, who were split by just 23 seconds in 25th to 28th place!
In the ladies race, it was almost a replay of the Grassmoor race for JO CABORN. Jo had another fantastic run to finish in 27th place overall and 2nd place in the ladies race – once again less than a minute behind the ladies winner!! Also in common with the previous race, Jo's performance was so impressive that she again finished within our men's scoring seven! Its worth pointing out that Jo beat the 3rd placed Suzanne Roddis by 39 seconds... and Suzanne ran the fastest lap by a lady in Saturday’s Derwent River Relays event. Wouldn’t it have been great if Jo could have been there to take that honour in our own race at the weekend!
The ever-consistent Steph Ilsley improved on her position from Race 2, finishing in a very creditable 83rd place. Helen Skelton, in what was her last race for the Harriers before moving on to pastures new, ran out of her skin to place 93rd to make up our scoring three. Helen will certainly be missed by all of us who have got to know her during her time with the club.
There were a number of new members making their debuts for Belper last night: Andy Shorney in 23rd place (and one of the scoring seven men); Richie Barker, and Sharon Colegate. As well as a superlative team performance at Carsington, the record for the highest number of Belper Harriers contesting a club race was broken: 37 RUNNERS completed the gruelling, hilly course in the rain last night!!
A usual, the attachment shows both individual and team results. (Click on the relevant tab for details). I would be grateful if everyone would check that their age category is correctly shown - and advise me of any errors. (Age is as of the first race of the season). There are category prizes in all age groups for both the men and the ladies – so it’s important (particularly for those in contention) that you are listed under the correct age group. Runners will need to score in four out of the five race series.
The next BDL race will be at Shipley Cricket Club on Tuesday August 4th.
Well done everyone!
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16 June 2009 - BDL Summer League 2009 - Race 3
NEWS FLASH: 'Belper Harriers return to form with a superb team performance at Grassmoor Country Park'
LAST NIGHT'S RESULT: Men 2nd....Ladies 3rd...Combined team 3rd !!!
Another excellent turnout of 31 runners for the third Booth Decorators League race last night saw the combined Belper Harriers team finishing in 3rd place. Scoring the same number of points (19) as the teams in first and second place, we were just 8 place points away from winning last night!! The men's 2nd placing moved them up from 4th to 2nd in the league standings after three races, while the ladies team remain in 6th place (just one point behind 5th placed Sutton).
The combined team score after three races has moved Belper up from 6th to 5th place in the league standings. However, we are now only two points behind the 3rd placed North Derbyshire team... so, there is definitely everything to play for over the final two races!
Even without our 4th placers from the first two races (Ben Humphreys and Gordon Irvine) Belper's men performed superbly to place 6 of their seven counters inside the top 30. MARK RICHES led the way in 15th place, ably supported by Geoff, Dale, Krish, Simon M (with just 23 seconds separating them), Alex and Simon E.
In the ladies race, the welcome return of JO CABORN bolstered the team's fortunes... Jo had a fantastic run to finish in 36th place overall, and 2nd place in the ladies race - just 33 seconds behind Mansfield's winner!! (Her performance was such that she actually finished within our men's scoring seven!). Steph equalled her position from Race 2, finishing in a very creditable 85th place; while the ladies scoring team was completed by Theresa in 123rd place.
Once again, another new member made his debut for the Harriers at Grassmoor...congratulations to Garry Knight for completing his first race in a Belper vest. It was great to see that we had a number of supporters in attendance once again - making a total of 35 Belper Harriers in all
BDL Race 2 - Tuesday May 19th 2009
The Trial of the Teversal Trail
Another excellent turnout for the second of this year’s Booth Decorators League races last night saw the combined Belper Harriers team finishing in 4th place. The men achieved a creditable 3rd placing - one place higher than in last month's race - and now stand in 4th place in the league after the first two races. The ladies team equalled their 6th place from Race 1 and remain in 6th place in the league tables after both races. Unfortunately, the combined effect of the results from the Darley Park and Teversal races leaves the Harriers still languishing in sixth in the league standings overall, despite many valiant efforts again last night!
In common with the first race (where Ben was our first runner home) Belper once again had a 4th place finisher...GORDON IRVINE, in his first race for the club since joining us recently, showed his class to finish close behind the strong trio of Mansfield runners at the head of the race. Ben Humphreys, who was also up towards the sharp end during the majority of the race, encountered calf problems and had to stop to try and ease it in the latter stages. But, he gamely limped on to still finish as our third scorer behind Mark Riches. The remainder of our scoring men's team was made up of Simon M, Dale and Krish (separated by just 3 seconds!) and Simon E.
In the ladies race, STEPH ILSLEY almost equalled her position from Race 1, finishing strongly in 85th place. Improving on her category placing from last time's 2nd, Steph consolidated her position in her age category contest by finishing 1st in the VL45 category. Helen and Theresa made up the scoring three for Belper in what was a particularly competitive women's race once again.
As well as Gordon Irvine, two other new Belper Harriers members made their team debuts... Phil Oldfield (in his first race of any kind) and Maddy Salter both performed well on the challenging Teversal course. Congratulations to both of them!
Following the race, a significant number of our team attended the presentation of the team and individual trophies from the cross-country league in the Teversal Grange Inn. As well winning the following team trophies for last season... Men - 3rd Ladies - 3rd Combined team - 3rd...... three individual trophies were awarded (with rapturous applause from the Belper throngs) to... Roger Morgan - Equal 1st in the VM55 category; Theresa Hempsall - 1st in the VL40 category and Helen Skelton - 3rd in the SL category. Well done to all three!!
BDL race 1 - Darley Park
Thanks to all those who turned out for the club at the first of this year’s Booth Decorators League races on Tuesday night. A total of 32 Belper finishers almost equalled the previous highest league race turnout of 33 runners - achieved at this race last year, and also at Grassmoor last June. (Although we could stretch it to 34 if the 2 DNF runners are included!).
A superb 4th place performance from Ben Humphreys, in a very closely contested race at the sharp end, led home the Belper contingent. Mark, Dale, Krish and Saul, packing well – with just over half a minute between the four of them - along with Simon E. and Alex made up the scoring seven men.
In the ladies race, Steph Ilsley, making her debut for Belper in a league race, was our first lady home in 83rd position. Finishing 4th lady overall, Steph also made a good start in her age category contest, coming in 2nd VL45 (and just 5 seconds off first place!). Helen Skelton and Rose Sensecall made up the scoring three.
There were a further five runners making their team debuts for Belper Harriers... Ron Ilsley, Phil Conroy, Dave Cooper, Matt Conroy and Gemma Redfern all performed well - and now have a marker to aim for in subsequent league races.
Despite the excellent turnout, and a number of very creditable performances from Belper runners, the strong showing from other clubs combined with the absence of some of our potential scorers made for a very challenging competition on Tuesday night. As a result, our team placings were well below expectations... the men in 4th place; our ladies team in 6th and the combined team also in 6th. However, this could be turned around dramatically in the ensuing races - as we saw in the cross-country season!
X-Country - BDL race 5 1/03/2008
Mission Accomplished
Going into today's final league race, we had three stated targets to aim for...
Aim 1: For the men's team to maintain 3rd placing in the league standings and win the trophy for 3rd place in the league: - ACHIEVED!
Aim 2: For the ladies (in 5th place after four races) to move up to 4th, or even 3rd place in the final standings, by beating Ripley and/or Heanor by one point more than in last month's race: - ACHIEVED!
Aim 3: For the combined team to overhaul 3rd placed Sutton to clinch the team trophy for 3rd place in the league: ACHIEVED!
... all thanks to another good team turnout and excellent effort at Berry Hill this morning. A fantastic comeback for Belper Harriers, following a below-par first half of the season!!
Congratulations to all... and thanks for your efforts.
RACE RESULT: Men – 3rd Ladies – 2nd Combined team – 2nd
FINAL LEAGUE STANDINGS: Men - 3rd Ladies - 3rd Combined team - 3rd
Following on from winning the previous race at Nutbrook in January, that feat was almost repeated today - with both the men's and ladies teams scoring a mere one place point less than the teams ahead of them! (See team scores table). 2 place points more for the men would have stood them in 2nd place in today's race, and 2 points for the ladies would have seen them winning the race! Had either of these happened, this would have put the combined team into the winning position, in place of Mansfield. You can't get any closer than that!!
Although several of our scorers from previous races were unavailable, the strength in depth within the men's ranks saw us through admirably. Mark and Krish led the way in 17th and 20th, while the supporting cast of Simon E., Rob N., Dave H., Ian and Karl backed them up well. In the ladies race, Jo Caborn - in her first cross-country race of the season - had an inspired run to finish 33rd overall and 3rd in the ladies race! (Jo's superb achievement was underlined by the fact that she finished ahead of two of our male scorers!) The ladies scoring team was completed by Helen and Theresa, who ran well to finish in 56th and 59th positions respectively. Our scoring ladies actually took 3rd, 4th and 5th places in the ladies race!
As well as many other notable performances outside the counting runners, it was good to see Rosemary back racing for the club; and to have our newest member, Mark Leatherland, making his debut. It was also notable that Belper had the highest number of runners again today - with 23 out of the 125 total!!
Results Summary:
RACE 1: Men - 3rd Ladies - 7th Combined team - 4th
RACE 2: Men - 2nd Ladies - 7th Combined team - 3rd
RACE 1+2: Men - 2nd Ladies - 7th Combined team - 5th
RACE 3: Men - 5th Ladies - 6th Combined team – 6th
RACE 1+2 + 3: Men - 3rd Ladies - 7th Combined team - 6th
RACE 4: Men – 3rd Ladies – 2nd Combined team – 1st
RACE 1+2+3+4: Men - 3rd Ladies - 5th Combined team - 4th
RACE 5: Men – 3rd Ladies – 2nd Combined team – 2nd
RACE 1+2+3+4+5: Men - 3rd Ladies - 3rd Combined team - 3rd
Booth Decorator's League Race 18/01/2009...
To all Harriers,
What a fantastic turnaround in fortunes yesterday...
BELPER HARRIERS WON BDL RACE 4..... AND CLIMBED UP TO 4TH PLACE IN THE LEAGUE!!!
To all those who braved the tough, muddy conditions on Ilkeston’s Manor Floods course - congratulations, and thanks for your efforts.
The mens team in 3rd and the ladies team in an unexpected 2nd place combined to score 17 points...one point ahead of league leaders Heanor and Ripley! So, after scores for the first three races of the season had been running well below the previous 2 years, The Harriers are now back in business!
Having moved up two places in the league standings as a result of yesterday’s performance, it looks like the ‘prediction’... “with a big push (and a little luck) in the final two races, a third place finish is certainly not out of reach” .... which I made in my pre-race ‘call-to-arms’ e-mail last week, could come to fruition!
The anticipated return of Geoff, Mark and Graham as scorers for the men was further boosted by Tom’s unexpected attendance - running superbly to finish in 4th place. The scoring seven was completed by Krish, Karl and Dave H, who also scored in the previous race. The mud, which had been worsened by the overnight rain, certainly caused a few problems for many runners, with both Geoff Lowry and John Naughton losing a shoe on the first lap.
After disappointing 7th and 6th place finishes in the first three races, our ever-present ladies team of Theresa, Helen and Rose, demonstrated dogged determination to take a well-deserved 2nd place behind Sutton Harriers. Theresa once again won the VL40 race in 57th place; with Helen not far behind in 64th place. Rose’s finishing position on paper belies the effort that she put in to negotiate what was a mud-bath, and also to out sprint a North Derbyshire runner up the finishing hill. These three have been Belper’s lone female representatives at most of the league races this season and deserve immense credit for keeping the flag flying in the absence of back up from other runners.
Another ‘Well Done’ goes out to John Naughton who, in his debut race for the Harriers, exceeded his own expectations to get round this very tough course in one piece!
With just one point standing between us and 3rd placed Sutton in the league competition, it needs to be another all-out effort in the final race at Berry Hill next month to clinch the team trophy for 3rd place.
Results Summary:
RACE 1: Men - 3rd Ladies - 7th Combined team - 4th
RACE 2: Men - 2nd Ladies - 7th Combined team - 3rd
RACE 1+2: Men - 2nd Ladies - 7th Combined team - 5th
RACE 3: Men - 5th Ladies - 6th Combined team – 6th
RACE 1+2 + 3: Men - 3rd Ladies - 7th Combined team - 6th
RACE 4: Men – 3rd Ladies – 2nd Combined team – 1st
RACE 1+2+3+4: Men - 3rd Ladies - 5th Combined team - 4th
BDL 3: Bramcote Park - Dec '08
At yesterday's 3rd league race at Bramcote Park, Nottingham, a depleted Belper Harriers team of just 17 runners (**) faced a tough challenge on the hilly woodland and parkland course. With most of our usual scoring runners not present - some due to injury or illness - the available Harriers’ mens team put in a gutsy performance to finish in 5th place on the day. An inspired performance from Rob Norman saw him leading the team home in 28th place… his first time as top counter! Congratulations Rob!! He was well supported by Krish, Roger and Karl, all of whom finished inside the top 40. The men have now dropped to third place but, as you will see from the tables, they are still within striking distance of 2nd placed Ripley.
(**It’s worth noting that it wasn’t just our turnout that was lower this month… the 158 overall figure was much lower than the 194 seen at the previous race.)
After disappointing 7th place finishes in races 1 and 2, the ladies team of Theresa, Helen and Rose improved to take 6th place yesterday; just 2 place points away from securing the 5th position. These three stalwarts were our lone representatives at Bramcote, and have been the nucleus of our ladies team over the last two races. It’s a shame that the improved ladies turnout seen at the previous event could not be carried through to this race. Improving on her previous race positions, Theresa led the ladies team home in 72nd position, while also winning the VL40 category race.
In terms of the combined team result, it was clear that, despite the many excellent individual performances, we would not see a repeat of the third place achieved at Chaddesden Park last month. The almost inevitable result pushing Belper down one place to 6th position in the league standings. All is not lost though… the three teams above us in the table are all on 39 points, which is just 3 points higher than our 36 points. So, with a big push (and a little luck) in the final two races, a third place finish is certainly not out of reach!
Well done to Andy Rose who, in his debut race for the Harriers, finished in a respectable 90th place.
Results Summary:
RACE 1: Men - 3rd Ladies - 7th Combined team - 4th
RACE 2: Men - 2nd Ladies - 7th Combined team - 3rd
RACE 1+2: Men - 2nd Ladies - 7th Combined team - 5th
RACE 3: Men - 5th Ladies - 6th Combined team – 6th
RACE 1+2 + 3: Men - 3rd Ladies - 7th Combined team - 6th
BDL Race 2 - November 2008
Yesterday's race saw a very respectable turnout of Belper runners * brave the rainy conditions to represent the club at Chaddesden Park. On the flat, but challenging course (which included the obligatory water feature on each of the two laps) the Harriers team put in a spirited performance to finish a creditable 3rd behind Heanor in 2nd place(!!) and newcomers Long Eaton in 1st.
(* 28 runners plus 4 supporters).
With the same five runners as in the previous race filling the top positions (Dale, Simon M., Tom, Mark & Simon E.) our mens team claimed an excellent 2nd place - one place up on last month's position. Another superb performance from Dale, in 6th place, paved the way for a number of inspired runs; none more so than Simon Merwood - who somehow manages to keep improving with every race - finishing inside the top ten for the first time! Karl Atton and Dave Horton, our 6th and 7th counters, will I'm sure have been delighted with their performances in breaking in to the scoring seven.
Improving on her position in race 1, Theresa led the ladies team home in 95th position, and was well supported by new member Helen Skelton in 138th, with Rose Sensecall completing the scoring team. Helen demonstrated her strength in this debut race for the Harriers; coping well with the wet, slippery conditions and the stream crossings! The ladies team's 7th place on the day, while disappointing, came despite the sterling efforts of all seven of our runners. The ladies competition appears to have become increasingly competitive this year (particularly with the arrival of Long Eaton - who won the ladies race); and we really need to be able to field our top runners to get ourselves in contention (in both the ladies and also the combined standings).
With the combined team improving to 3rd in this race, our overall 5th position after two races is below where we would expect to be. As you will see from the league tables though, 3rd place is not insurmountable over the next couple of races.
Results Summary:
RACE 1: Men - 3rd Ladies - 7th Combined team: - 4th
RACE 2: Men - 2nd Ladies - 7th Combined team: - 3rd
RACE 1+2: Men - 2nd Ladies - 7th Combined team: -
BDL Race 1 – October 2008
Whilst there were some superb individual performances, the overall finishing position (4th) was below what we have become accustomed to over the past few league seasons. It's great to see Dale back once again after some difficult times, and to have the in form Tom Moulder and Simon Merwood snapping at his heels. I didn't get to see the race between these three due to being away, but with just 17 seconds between them it lookson paper as though it was an interesting and exciting battle! With Geoff out due to a sprained ankle, it was encouraging to note that these first three counters were all Senior men, as opposed to mainly vets, which has usually been the norm for us. However, our remaining counters were all from the vets categories, and helped to secure a creditable 3rd place for the mens team.
In the ladies event, Theresa, who was delighted to be back racing again, was first VL40 in 103rd position and was supported by Anne Humphrey (in what I believe was her first race for Belper). Unfortunately, due to the absence of any other ladies to make up the scoring team, 7th position was the best that could be expected.
It appears as though I might have tempted fate in my 'setting the scene'/'call to arms e-mail' the week prior to this race (as follows)...
I firmly believe that the high standards produced by our top runners, along with our continually improving strength in depth - demonstrated again throughout the Summer league - will be one of our assets again this year; as will the team camaraderie, which results in excess of 30 Belper runners and supporters turning out at almost every race!
... as last Sunday saw the lowest turnout of Belper runners for several seasons - just 16 competitors - with the ladies turnout of just 2 runners being particularly dissapointing. (The current Harriers membership comprises 64% men and 36 % ladies, which would suggest that we should certainly be able to field a team in every race, as we have done in recent seasons).
Results Summary:
Men - 3rd Ladies - 7th Combined team: - 4th