Everington returns to Westbury colours

Within 24 hours of handing in his membership forms, Simon Everington was out in Westbury colours (well name only!) and taking part in the first of the winter series Bridge Inn. After a 3 year hiatus, he finished 13th in a time of 17.21, just behind Kane Lee in 17.16 and Anthony Glover 17.10. First over the line was once again Matt Ellis - only this time he was there from the start, helping out with the finish times! The race itself was won by Team Bath's Allister Sheffield, with B&Ws Phil Parry close behind in 2nd.

In the ladies race it was a clean sweep for the home club, with Rebekah Randell winning in 17.14, Imogen Ainsworth 2nd in 17.16 and Hannah Alderson 3rd in 17.29. For Westbury, Emma D'Alton was first home in 17.47, Debbie Marsden was next in 18.11 and Robyn Golding 3rd in 18.21.

Also out for the club were Jullian Bailey-Gard Jnr - who just failed to break the 18 minute barrier, Colin Johnson in 18.06, Tyrone James in 18.19, Alex Miller in 18.37, David George in 19.42, Tony Jeffries 19.47, Tamsin Chick 19.52, Dave Chandler 20.32, Shona Mackie 20.36, James Noott 21.53, Richard Hughes 22.36, Jane Goodwin 23.16, Roger Long 24.20, Linda O'Shaugnessy 24.52, Jane Thornton 25.54 and Sandra Bailey-Gard 32.16.

Well done to you all!!!

Collinson finishes 6th in Kenilworth

Rich Collinson showed no ill effects from anchoring the club's A team to the National finals, with a time of 1.17.06 to finish 6th at the Kenilworth 1/2 marathon. On an undulating course around quiet country lanes, Collinson started steady, but picked the pace up in the middle miles, just holding off the first lady. His time is a season's best for 2010, although slightly off his 1.16.10 that he set in Bath back in 2009.

Ellis breaks barrier in Berlin!

Westbury's Matt Ellis has just run a storming time in the Berlin Marathon - clocking 2.34.26   - to beat his PB by an astonishing 17 minutes! The in-form Westbury runner made the most of ideal marathon running conditions in Berlin to maintain a steady pace of 5.53/mile all the way round the picturesque city centre course, finishing 85th overall out of 40000 competitors!

With the UK rankings already updated, Matt finds himself 11th in the Southwest for the Marathon, and 102nd in the UK! Great effort Matt!

Men qualify for National 6 stage relay finals!

A weakened Harriers men's team still found enough in the tank to qualify for the National Road Relays 6 stage finals in 3 weeks time at Sutton Park, Birmingham. Missing Matt Ellis (Berlin Marathon), John Collier (Out of Africa), Dan Studley (some weak excuse about a Uni open day) and others, at one stage it looked touch and go as to whether they would make it, with the top 25 qualifying for the premier relay event of the season. Fortunately they had a couple of aces up their sleeve as Sam Dalgleish gave them a solid start with a 19.16 for 26th place, before Will Massey pushed them up 10 places with a 19.21 - a great run from the ever improving youngster! John Terry took over on leg 3 and managed 20.39, but lost 5 places, dropping the team back to 21st. Gregg Ward, despite suffering from a heavy cold, ran a solid 20.37 pushing them back into 20th, before Robin Phillips kept them in with a shout running 21.42, coming home in 24th. It was then left to Rich Collinson, to keep the team in 24th with a time of 20.15.

For the B team, Karl Dunn started the team with a solid 22.05, Tony Jeffries then ran 23.46, Mal White then ran 23.43. Colin Johnson then ran the best leg of the day a 21.54 - gaining 12 places - Tim Westmacot ran 25.43 and Bob Pringle anchored the team home in 24.07.

Great running from all the guys. With a couple of runners sure to come in for the Nationals, a top 50 spot for the Harriers has got to be on the cards!

Full results are here.

Girls land top 5 spot in the Midland Road Relays!

Westbury Harriers sent 3 ladies teams out to compete in the Midland Counties Road Relays at Sutton Park and they didn't disappoint with the A team finishing in a great 5th position - improving on the 8th place they secured last year. Led off by Debbie Marsden who ran a cracking 15.33 to finish in 5th place on the strong leg 1, Sophie Voller took over and kept them in contention, only dropping 2 places and running 16.46 in the process. Robyn Golding then took them back into 5th place with a time of 16.00, before Emma D'Alton anchored them home with the quickest time of the day - 15.30, to secure 5th place overall in a time of 1.03.49! For the B team, Vicky Jones (18.26), Tamsin Chick (17.52), Kelly Winstone (18.14) and Zoe Dixon (17.52) finished 27th place in 1.12.24. The C team finished incomplete, with Mel Trickett (18.48), Sianna Jones (18.30 and Hayley Johnson (19.55) completing the squad.

Great running ladies!

Full results are here.

Felix is Top Cat!

Congratulations to Westbury Harriers' Felix McGrath, who represented Team England in the "British and Irish Mountain Running Championships" over in Glendalough in Ireland last weekend. Felix didn't disappoint either, winning the 3.5 mile race, which included a 1000ft climb by 23 seconds! Felix also formed part of the winning Team England side! What a great effort Felix!

It's a long way up north!

It is indeed, but it did not deter one Harrier from taking part in yesterday's Great North Run on Tyneside! So well done to Anthony Blacker who completed the 13.1 mile course in 2:32:49.

Debbie dashes to victory in Cransley Hospice 10k

Debbie Marsden took a trip 'up north' to take part in a 10k event to raise money for Cransley Hospice, a specialist in providing respite care for patients with cancer. She didn't disappoint, not only raising £400 for the Hospice, but winning the race - described as undulating - in a time of 38.03. Great effort!

Ellis cruises to another win!

Matt Ellis continued his great run of form with a close to one minute victory in the opening Weston Prom. A virtuoso performance from start to finish, he eased down to win in a time of 26.19. GWRs Ben Morley was second in 27.14 and Exeter's Steve Goss was third in 27.19. The ladies race was won by GWRs Aileen Brown, but Westbury got in on the act with Sophie Voller 2nd and Tamsin Chick 3rd.

There were some other cracking Harriers performances, with Gregg Ward finishing 9th in 29.03, David Hobbs running 29.49, Jullian Bailey-Gard Jnr 30.42, Graham Clark 31.55, Alex Miller 32.18, Jullian Bailey-Gard Snr 35.11, Richard Hughes 37.37, Sandra Price 37.47, Andrew Gibbons 39.32, Clair Cusack 39.35, Linda O'Shaughnessy 39.59, Jane Goodwin 40.10, Jane Thornton 42.14, Robert Hawkins 42.57, Eirian Thornton 43.07, Gill Anagonstakis 44.29, Caroline Scapens 48.23 and Sandra Bailey-Gard 54.00.

Well done all!

Club champions announced

At last night's club supper the presentation was held for the Club Championships 2009-2010. A total of 16 or so events were included, with an athlete's best 8 results counting. In the ladies competition it was Debbie Marsden who emerged victorious, whilst for the men - keeping it a family affair - John Terry came out on top! Well done to all the runners who represented the club at these events. The top 10 in each category were:

Ladies:
1. Debbie Marsden
2. Laura Tanna
3. Jane Thornton
4. Eirian Thornton
5. Sandra Bailey-Gard
6. Jane Goodwin
7. Sandra Price
8. Emma D'Alton
9. Sophie Voller
10. Robyn Golding

Men:
1. John Terry
2. Gregg Ward
3. Jullian Bailey-Gard Jnr
4. Clive Attwood
5. Dean Thornton
6. Richard Hughes
7. Jullian Bailey-Gard Snr
8. Roger Long
9. Anthony Glover
10. Colin Johnson

Don't forget this season's championship kicks off at the Weston Prom, where Matt Ellis must start amongst the favourites to win the race and dip under 26 minutes, following his very impressive run of recent form!

Westbury Guys and Girls excel in the North Somerset Road Relays

The North Somerset Road Relays, incorporating the Avon championships were held today on an undulating and windy track out of the Hand Stadium in Clevedon. For a time it looked liked an upset might be on the cards, as Matt Ellis led the first leg runners home, clocking the 2nd fastest time of the day in 15.53, passing over a 10 second lead to Will Massey. Will didn't disappoint as he extended the lead to the best part of a minute, with a storming 2nd leg. Dan Studley then ran hard to hand over to Robin Phillips and John Terry eventually anchored the team home to 3rd place behind Bristol and West and Clevedon AC.

In the ladies race, another good battle between B&W and Westbury saw B&W victorious, as Rebekah Randell held off Robyn Golding in the final leg. Earlier on Shona Mackie, Debbie Marsden and Sophie Voller all ran competitive legs to keep Westbury in the hunt.

It was great to see so many Harriers out today, with 2 mens and 5 womens teams. A more detailed report with times will become available as the results do.

Line up for the club at the Clevedon Relays

This weekend are the Clevedon Road Relays - 4x5km for the ladies and 5x5km for the men. Westbury are looking to get as many teams out there as possible, so if you fancy running a leg for the club, please make your way to the venue for 10am on Sunday. Details of getting there are here.

Ellis and D'Alton top Harriers and top local runners in the Bristol half

Matt Ellis continued his meteoric rise, as he took the honour of 1st local runner finishing 30th in the Bristol 1/2 marathon in a time of 70.42. A massive 4 minute PB - Ellis who has improved dramatically over the past 9 months must surely be ready to compete against the very best runners next season. Meanwhile, Emma D'Alton performed equally well, also claiming the 1st local runner status, as she was 12th in the ladies race in a time of 79.38.

Westbury had a stunning turn out in the event and congratulations to all our performers:

30	10070	Matt Ellis	Male	01:10:42	Westbury Harriers
98	10069	Gregg Ward	Male	01:18:52	Westbury Harriers
110	10151	Emma D'alton	Female	01:19:38	Westbury Harriers
222	10268	Colin Johnson (45)	Male	01:24:10	Westbury Harriers
298	11119	Karl Dunn	Male	01:26:23	Westbury Harriers
299	10324	Ewan Kilgour (40)	Male	01:26:28	Westbury Harriers
328	10353	Steve Hawes	Male	01:26:57	Westbury Harriers
388	10554	Alex Miller	Male	01:27:52	Westbury Harriers
426	10280	Graham Clark	Male	01:28:37	Westbury Harriers
432	10292	Sophie Voller	Female	01:28:41	Westbury Harriers
584	10622	Keith Hill (50)	Male	01:31:04	Westbury Harriers
712	11642	Stephen Fowley	Male	01:32:35	Westbury Harriers
893	10727	Nick Marshall (50)	Male	01:34:24	Westbury Harriers
941	11600	Philip Court (40)	Male	01:34:55	Westbury Harriers
999	1013	Robert Pringle	Male	01:35:24	Westbury Harriers
1028	10840	Andrew Yuill (45)	Male	01:35:37	Westbury Harriers
1090	11445	Debbie Cleary	Female	01:35:59	Westbury Harriers
1096	10335	Clive Attwood (50)	Male	01:36:02	Westbury Harriers
1260	10436	Tim Synge (45)	Male	01:37:24	Westbury Harriers
1394	11506	Vicky Jones	Female	01:38:26	Westbury Harriers
1577	10717	Nick Taylor (40)	Male	01:39:34	Westbury Harriers
1752	11350	Katie Synge (J)	Female	01:40:43	Westbury Harriers
1762	10831	Nigel Muntz	Male	01:40:46	Westbury Harriers
1888	13836	Richard Bloss (45)	Male	01:41:34	Westbury Harriers
2304	13154	Lisa Feehily (35)	Female	01:43:53	Westbury Harriers
2336	27661	Zoe Dixon	Female	01:44:03	Westbury Harriers
2613	18965	Graham Bazley (45)	Male	01:45:34	Westbury Harriers
2953	13816	Elizabeth Smith	Female	01:47:20	Westbury Harriers
3026	20345	William Rhodes (50)	Male	01:47:40	Westbury Harriers
3051	13749	Judy Knights (45)	Female	01:47:48	Westbury Harriers
3161	16941	Roger Farrow	Male	01:48:20	Westbury Harriers
3170	13079	Michael Cooke	Male	01:48:23	Westbury Harriers
3603	15761	Andrew Parsonage	Male	01:50:23	Westbury Harriers
3934	27009	Aidan Maceneaney (45)	Male	01:51:50	Westbury Harriers
4218	19038	Ian Price (40)	Male	01:53:08	Westbury Harriers
4326	21331	Camboulives Myriam (40)	Female	01:53:35	Westbury Harriers
4366	12682	Richard Hughes (45)	Male	01:53:44	Westbury Harriers
4696	27035	Zoe Anne Wildgoose	Female	01:55:00	Westbury Harriers
4714	19059	Matt Jackson	Male	01:55:04	Westbury Harriers
5215	11441	Aidan Naughton (45)	Male	01:57:15	Westbury Harriers
5222	20784	Tarran Price	Male	01:57:17	Westbury Harriers
5309	17372	Helen Sawyer (40)	Female	01:57:43	Westbury Harriers
5382	16701	Michael Cullum (45)	Male	01:57:59	Westbury Harriers
5966	28789	Paul Mooney	Male	02:00:46	Westbury Harriers
6139	1242	Julian Pyrke (45)	Male	02:01:30	Westbury Harriers
6159	19020	David Nash (45)	Male	02:01:37	Westbury Harriers
6305	27092	Louise Stanley	Female	02:02:20	Westbury Harriers
7692	21526	David Taylor (45)	Male	02:10:29	Westbury Harriers
7865	16229	Brian Edgar (50)	Male	02:11:40	Westbury Harriers
8448	22255	Kay Ridgwell (50)	Female	02:15:46	Westbury Harriers
9516	26448	Rebecca Lippett	Female	02:26:02	Westbury Harriers
10290	25883	Jade Knowlden (J)	Female	02:39:04	Westbury Harriers

Terry and Marsden defend Alderney titles

The Westbury pair of John Terry and Debbie Marsden had a successful weekend in the channel island of Alderney. Both were defending title holders - John in the half marathon and Debbie in the 10k and neither disappointed as both runners successfully won their events. John set a new course record of 1.21.25 for the half and similarly Debbie a time of 38.30 for the 10k. Given the hot and hilly nature of the course, I am sure both were happy with their performances!

Ellis cruises to victory in the AXA 5.5

Although more a corporate race, than a club one, Westbury's Matt Ellis was in dominant form as he cruised to victory in the AXA 5.5m - a undulating loop out of the Axa Sports Ground. Ellis' time of 28.36, is one of the fastest recorded on the course; Matin Hula's 28.50 in 2005, being the only time in recent years to even come close! Ellis must be ready to challenge Ben Morley's dominance over 5 miles at Weston, starting in a couple of weeks time!