2010 Derwent River Relays
Click to follow link forResults
Tour of Derwent Valley - May Bank Holiday
Well done to all of the Harriers that took part in this weekends tough Tour of Derwent Valley organised by Dave Denton. It consists of 4 races in 4 days with each race getting progressively tougher (well so it felt to me!). It was great to see so many of us there, Gordon, Gemma, Simon E, Simon H, Rob N, Rose, Len, Craig, Andy P, Steph and Ron, Andy R, all of us taking part in all 4 races and winning a few prizes between us.
Gordon won 3 of the 4 races and was overall winner of the Tour with Andy P not far behind coming in 3rd overall.
Rose knocked over 20 minutes from her overall time from last year and should be very proud of herself. Steph, Ron, Simon E and Andy P all went away with prizes for their respective categories. Prizes or not, everybody ran brilliantly and Craig just went from strength to strength surpassing himself in the last race. I will forever remember him hurtling past me down the steep hill towards the end with a look of glee (or was it panic!) on his face!
What a brilliant event.
I also want to say WELL DONE to everyone who took part in the White Peak Marathon and Half Marathon the other week in very hot conditions. Everyone did fantastically well to even finish and special mention to Krish who completed the Marathon in 3.20 and came 4th. Fantastic. I will be posting his report of the race onto the race reports section of this website shortly.
Steph (31 May 2010)
Derwent River Relays 2010
On Saturday July 17th 2010, BELPER HARRIERS will be hosting the fourth edition of our increasingly popular DERWENT RIVER RELAYS event.
Based at the Belper Rugby Club grounds - the home of the popular annual 'Rugby Rover' 30K racethe Derwent River Relays is a multi-terrain race for teams of four runners (men, ladies or mixed teams) which takes place on a 3.2 mile circuit along either side of the scenic River Derwent. Last year's successful event, i n common with the both the 2007 and 2008 editions, took place in great weather and was once again well received and enjoyed by runners and spectators alike.
An excellent range of CASH PRIZES will be up for grabs on the day (including awards for fastest laps and individual & team course records) - see attached flyer for details. With a LICENSED BAR and hot & cold SNACKS available, along with a MUSIC PA and an informative RACE COMMENTARY, a good time should once again be had by all! Alongside all that, a new attraction for this year will be a PENALTY SHOOT-OUT competition provided by our sponsor partner... The Midlands Co-operative Society.
As well as running and athletics clubs, the event is also open to LOCAL COMMUNITY and CORPORATE TEAMS. This gives novice runners the opportunity to get together a group of friends or colleagues to run in the same race as established running club teams... and to have a chance of winning one of the community/corporate category or fastest lap prizes into the bargain!
With the event being held on a Saturday, and at just over 3 miles per leg, most runners will be able to come along and have an enjoyable afternoon at The Derwent River Relays and still have plenty of energy left for other longer events that they may be planning to enter on the following day! (Even those running the Tara Kinder 10K on the Friday evening will still be able to contribute to their team effort on the Saturday!). At JUST £4 per affiliated runner, the entry fee represents great value for a challenging and fun afternoon out in a picturesque setting.
Once again, we will also be holding a Fun Run on the grounds prior to the main event. A change for this year will allow for our younger runners to participate in a choice of distances... 1/2 mile; 1 mile or 1.5 miles. Entries for the Fun Runs will be just £2 on the day (or in advance) for all ages from 9 and upwards. (Under 9's can also join in but must be accompanied by a parent or guardian in the 1.5 mile run).
Full event details, along with an entry form are available by either clicking on the Club Diary tab above or click here. For PDF versions of the flyer and entry form are available by clicking on flyer and entry form
Steve Winfield (May 2010)
A MESSAGE TO ALL OF THE BELPER HARRIERS BDL RACE STAFF...
I'd like to say a very, very big thank you to all those who worked on the Denby BDL race on Tuesday. The set up team; the marshals; the race-recorders; the first aid & drinks station team; the photographer; the promotional boys (Roger and Adrian flyering the parked cars!) and also the results collator, all carried out a fantastic job to help deliver a safe and successful event. (The set up team included four Harriers who also competed in the race!).
Along with the large contingent of club members, three partners also came along to lend a hand... thanks very much to Paul, Avis and Roger, who have been regulars at club hosted events over the years!
A big thanks too to Wendy from Cullum Detuners; another regular helper on our events.
A special thanks to Pete Kemp and Roger Morgan who also gave up last Saturday afternoon to make up a 3-man course clearance team with me; removing all of the larger rocks & stones and raking over most sections of the 1.4 mile bridleway loop in preparation for the race.
From the feedback we received on the night, the venue, course and organisation appear to have been very well received by the runners. As it is quite likely that we will be asked to host this event again next year, It would be very useful if you could pass on any feedback that you had from competitors, as well as any observations you might have relating to your marshal point, or other job that you covered. (E.g. Did it work well? Were there any safety issues/concerns? Are there any changes or improvements we might need to make for next time?)
Steve (April 2010)
Booths Decorators Summer League 2010 - Harriers finish a creditable third in the first league race of the season held at Denby Pottery on 20th April 2010
Last night’s BDL Race 1, held at the new Denby venue, saw a record turnout of Belper runners secure a very creditable third place behind strong teams from Heanor and North Derbyshire. (We actually finished on equal team points with 2nd placed North Derbyshire, but placed just behind them; being a mere 11 position points adrift).
The men took a well-deserved 3rd place on the night, while our ladies team produced a superb 2nd place finish! Compare these results with those from last years below-par first race at Darley Park where Belper’s men were 4th; the ladies6th, and the combined team 6th and it can clearly be seen that we are in the running right from the very start of the season this year.
On the individual front, DALE ANNABLE led the men’s team home in an excellent 7th position, closely followed by GEOFF LOWRY in 11 th (and first VM45). Showing their usual consistency, Dale and Geoff continued the pattern established during the cross-country league races, where they were our first two finishers in each race of the series. Although disappointed with his run, BEN HUMPHREYS was our third counter in 22nd place bridging the gap between our two leading runners and the remaining team counters. Just 20 seconds separated the closely packed SAUL TAYLOR, ALEX DUTHIE, ANDY PARKIN and MARK RICHES who filled four of the five positions from 29th to 33rd to complete the scoring seven. There were many other excellent performances just outside of the top seven scorers; illustrating the growing strength in depth that we are able to draw upon from within the club. (For instance, Krish Mahadevan was just 2 seconds behind our final counter!).
With injuries and London Marathon preparations impacting the availability of runners on the ladies side, their second place in a closely fought battle with North Derbyshire was all the more remarkable. (Just 6 position points separated the two teams). STEPH ILSLEY in 99th ran well to crack the top 100 in this record field, and finished first in the VL45 category. SHARON MELLORS, just 30 seconds behind in 106th, and GEMMA REDFERN in 146th completed the scoring three. It is worth noting that had one of those three not run last night, the ladies team would have finished only 8th at best (with a resulting knock-on effect on the overall team placing). So, it just goes to demonstrate the impact that a single runner can have!
In the hiatus between the cross-country and summer league series, several new runners have joined the Harriers, a number of who made their team debuts for the club at Denby -Ed James (40th), JimNaismith (59th), Jack Dakin (78th) - at just 15 years old! Chris Barker, Craig Allen, Chris Jackson and Sara Russell. Many congratulations to all of them!
Two new records were established in last night’s race: firstly, the highest ever number of runners in a BDL race - 277 (previously 246); and secondly, the highest number of Belper runners in a league race - 36 (previously 33)! This was particularly pleasing when considering the number of potential Belper competitors who were working on the hosting of this race. A total of 54 Belper Harriers (plus three partners) ran and/or worked on last night's event - a fantastic level of support!
The next BDL race will be at Teversal Grange on Tuesday May 18th. Prizes from the cross-country league competition will be presented in the pub following the race.
Steve (April 2010)
Two more club records for Gordon Irvine in just four days!!
Having started the year by breaking the Club 10K Handicap record in January, Gordon Irvine has continued in his quest to re-write the Belper Harriers record book this week.
Finishing in a superb 8th place at the Derby 10K last Sunday (out of a field of almost 3000 runners) Gordon recorded a fine 33:20 mins. to smash Geoff Lowry's long-standing previous record by 1 minute and 20 seconds. It was then on to the Derby Midweek races on Wednesday evening, where Gordon ran both the 1 mile and the 5K. With an excellent time of 4:49 on the out & back course, Gordon finished in first place and lowered Geoff's 2008 road mile club record by 1 second.Then, just 15 minutes later, it was back on the same start line for the 5K.Finishing the race in 5th place - amongst a phalanx of Loughborough students - Gordon recorded 16:27 to come within a whisker of setting a hat-trick of club records within four days! (Just 2 seconds behind Geoff's 16:25 recorded in 2007).
Here's looking forward to the possibility of a few more revisions over the coming summer months!
(Don't forget... if you've run a recent PB, or if any of your previous best performances* are not listed in the records, please e-mail Chris Gilbert
cgilbert@scs-online.co.uk
a copy of your official result (or a link to the race results website). Remember, we have rankings lists for all standard distances from 1 mile up to the Marathon. The more information we have, the more representative the rankings!).
Steve (April 2010)
BDL Cross-Country 2009/10 Final results
Please find attached the final list of prize winners following the conclusion of the BDL cross country series.
As the final race in February was cancelled due to weather conditions, individual points have been calculated based on runners' three best performances from the four races. (Usually best four from five races).
Belper Harriers are once again well represented, as you will see from the Roll of Honour. Note that the variance in the number of prizes awarded across different categories reflects the relative number of qualifiers within each of the age groups.
Many congratulations to the following runners...
Dale Annable - 4th in the Senior Men category
Krish Mahadevan - 3rd in the VM45 category
Geoff Lowry - Equal 1st in the VM45 category
Malc Weir - 1st in the VM60 category
Rosemary Arris-Pratt - 2nd in the VL45 category
... and a special mention to Dale and Krish; both of whom also won prizes in the Summer 2009 series!!
As in previous years, the above prizes will be presented at the Teversal Grange Inn following the second league race in May. Once again, there will also be team trophies to pick up on that night, as follows...
Mens team competition - 2nd Place
Combined team competition - 3rd place
As indicated in the pre-race e-mail last month, the above would almost certainly have been upgraded to 1st in the Mens and 2nd in the combined had the Nutbrook event gone ahead! However, there's always next time....Bring on the Summer league!! Hopefully, we will also see the Belper ladies team joining the list of prizewinners in the forthcoming series! (They certainly have the potential to do exceptionally well - if we can consistently field our best runners over the five races!)
See attachment for the final team results.
Steve
National Cross Country Report
A group of ten runners from the club made the short journey up to Leeds on the last day of February, to run in the Saucony National Cross-Country Championship at Roundhay Park. It was another first for the club as we had teams of four ladies and six men in the race. There have been occasions when individuals have run in the race but we have never fielded teams as we did at Leeds and for the regional event at Blackburn.
Over the tough, hilly and muddy course the ladies went off first, running two laps totaling 8k in distance. It was no surprise to see Jo Caborn running strongly and finish in an excellent 55th place.
Sharon Mellors ran herself into a good position to finish 208th while Gemma Redfern seems to get better with every race, finished 318th. The indomitable Rose Sensecall was the team’s final counter in 510th position, bringing in the team in 38th place, out of sixty-one complete teams.
This was a marvelous performance by all four ladies and has set themselves a good marker for future years.
More runners, more mud and a longer distance for the men. The course of three laps, 12k looked a daunting prospect with around an hour of running ahead for our six runners. Andy Rose was our first finisher having an excellent race to finish 989th with Rob Norman only seven seconds behind. Steve Meath who ran good fast third lap finished in 1269th, a minute in front of Simon Hackett who piped Malcolm Weir in the home strait by the odd second. Our final counter Matt Conroy should have been well pleased with his performance in this race, coming home in 1362nd position.
Another member from the club Gordon Irvine running for his first claim club Thames Valley Harriers finished alongside the elite runners in 272nd position. Well done Gordon.
Our ten runners from the club, six of them running in this level of competition for the first time, should take great credit and next year they will hopefully be joined by a few more from the club.
A final thought for Mark Riches who usually runs in these events, had to pull out on Friday evening due to the birth of his first grandchild. There is one or two things even better than running.
Malc
Summer Specials April 13th 2010
The first special on April 13th will be from the Amber Hotel, Furnace, Oakerthorpe. DE55 7LL.
** Please be there for 7ish so we can be running by 7:15. **
The Amber Hotel has a nice big car park and is on the B6013 which from Belper direction is the road opposite the Excavator on the A610. Just follow it along straight through the South Wingfield/Alfreton staggered junction, passed The Peacock and Wessington/Matlock turning, down the hill and it's on the left before the road turns right up hill. Should be 5 mins from the Excavator so perhaps 15 mins from BLC.
As neither of us live in Belper we cannot guarantee that a carshare / follow will be leaving BLC Bay 1 at 645, but there normally is !
There will be 2 groups, me taking the shorter route Andy Horsley taking the longer one. The route is fairly flat, along a couple of surprisingly nice tracks towards Alfreton and through Shirland Golf course. The longer route will cross the A61 and do a loop to Stonebroom and back. As it will be getting dark around 8 these are going to be a bit shorter than normal, probably 5 miles for the short route and 8 for the long one.
Food will be in the form of chip Butties at £2.00/head. We'll get a show of hands on the night for food but it would be useful if people could let me know in advance by email (simonhackett@yahoo.co.uk) so I can give the landlord a rough idea the day before.
Simon H
March 10K Handicap Exceptional display from Jo Caborn to cap a successful season!!
The final handicap event of the autumn/winter season took place last Tuesday from the RiverGardens venue. Once again, inclement weather added a further challenge for the assembled runners! The turnout was on a par with most of the preceding time-trials; with 32 Harriers completing the course (four of those on an untimed basis).
Once again, we witnessed a number of personal bests; with seven runners recording improvements of between one and twelve minutes (!) for the A6 course. (Jo, Jack, Ken, Ed, Rachel, Dan and Jim).
As they had not contested the event for well over a year, the first and third runners to finish had been set off on estimated handicaps for their return outing. Therefore, the official race winner on the night (i.e. the first to finish having started on the correct handicap) was second placed JACK DAKIN, in yet another PB of 41:59. This was 2:18 minutes faster than his February performance!. Jack, who at just 15 years old is our youngest member (by far) has recorded a PB at every Handicap event since his 49:47 debut in December! By virtue of being the March winner, he will now be able to proudly display the winners trophy on the Dakin mantelpiece until the 2010/11 season starts in October.
While Jack's excellent progress since joining the Harriers late last year has been a pleasure to witness, the meteoric improvement in the fortunes of one of our longer standing members has really been something to marvel at. JO CABORN - who secured a magnificent 55th place in the recent National Cross Country Championships - delivered yet another stunning performance in Tuesday night's 10K - recording a superb 37:37 to cross the line in first place!! Jo's only previous attempt at the Handicap took place as long ago as May 2008; when she recorded 50:09 - a world away from her new ladies club record mark!! (Maddy and I were so stunned that we had to re-check the watches and the starting time before we could believe it!).
Although our Handicap - being essentially a closed club time trial - is not an authorised race for rankings purposes, it is an accurately measured and timed event. Having since checked Jo's time against the current UKA National and Regional 10K rankings for ladies, it gives me great pleasure to point out that her 37:37 represents the 5th fastest time in the East Midlands region so far this year, and the 46th fastest across the whole of the UK!! Many congratulations Jo!
Along with the above sub-40 performance, which was the fastest of the night, four other runners also recorded times below the barrier... Saul, Ed, Alex and Paul. Not far adrift of them was Handicap first-timer, Chris Wardle, who recorded 40:45.
By way of a summary of the 2009/10 Handicap season: the six races have seen a total of 46 personal best performances, and have included 27 new (and sometimes not so new) Harriers making their Harriers Handicap debuts!
Many thanks to Krish for marshalling the turn-around point (and for providing runners with his usual 'helpful' comments, I suspect!) and to Maddy for her much appreciated assistance with the setting off and race recording duties. Thanks also to Steve Meath - yet again - for the post-race hospitality back at the Dev.
Here's looking forward to some great road race performances building on what's been achieved through this season's Handicaps.
(See attached spreadsheet for detailed results).
Steve
Booths Decorators Summer League 2010
Those of you who attended the AGM will be aware that I h ad made provisional plans for us to host the first Booth Decorators Summer League Race on April 20th. As I have now been successful in obtaining all of the required permissions and have also received the UKA licence, this fixture will definitely now be going ahead from the Denby Pottery Visitor Centre.
As I mentioned at club training on Tuesday, I am now looking for volunteers to cover the marshal points and the finish line tasks. In addition, I will also need a small team to help with course set up duties etc. prior to the race. Requirements are as follows...
9 course marshals
1 timekeeper
1 race recorder
1 disc controller
1 water station operative
2 first aiders
+ approx. 5/6 people for the course set up (who could be from the above) .
Volunteers confirmed so far are...Rob Pearce/Geoff Stone/Maddy Salter/Theresa Hempsall/Julie Hamilton (+Paul?)/ Becky Poyser/ Roger Arris-Pratt/ Ian Hays. (PLEASE WOULD YOU LET ME KNOW IF YOU ARE NO LONGER AVAILABLE).
Those of you who have been around long enough to remember the Denby races that we hosted a few years ago will recall that the course was based on the same side of the main road as the Pottery site. The initial section of that course had to be routed along a cycle way at the edge of the road, and also crossed a couple of minor roads. Due to the increased numbers now participating in BDL Summer League races, this course is no longer suitable. In addition, part of the old course is not accessible, due to a landowner blocking off one of the footpaths previously used.
The new course is an out and back route on pavements and incorporates a 2-lap off-road bridleway loop on the land between Street Lane and Derby Road. Since I finalised the course in October last year, a 250m s ection of the off-road loop has been badly affected by the severe winter weather. This deterioration almost put the fixture in jeopardy due to the resulting increased risk. However, having consulted with fellow club officials last month, the league were still very kee n to go ahead with this new venue (rather than revert back to the over-used Shipley Park!). To reduce the risk on that particular downhill se ction, I have since reversed the direction of the loop. This now means that runners will be going uphill along that part; which is far safer than trying to negotiate the uneven ground when travelling downhill at speed. (Please note that the mile markers on the middle section of the attached course map relate to the original anticlockwise direction).
Steve
Club Records
Club Records updated to 5 April 2010. The latest notable performances came at the Weston-on-Trent 5m race, with Gordon Irvine (27.03) smashing Geoff Lowry's Belper Harriers record that had stood for 4 years, by 27 seconds. The same race saw Gemma Redfern become the clubs fastest female over the 5m distance finishing in 36.43.
Rob Pearce (Newtons Fraction, Grantham) and Ken Dalgliesh (Bath) both bettered there times over the half marathon distance.
Other recent PB's include ... 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!
Chris
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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.
Steve
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
Steve
'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?
Steve
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!
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.
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.
Steve
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)