Ellis and Terry excel at the OMM!

Making their competitive debut as a team at the 2010 Dartmoor edition of the OMM, Matt Ellis and John Terry surpassed expectations by finishing 4th at the end of Day 1 and 8th overall (out of nearly 190 teams) in the D class event! Despite both suffering from aching joints (ankle in the case of Ellis, and knee for Terry) they powered their way through Day 1, completing the 25.8km linear course, which incorporated 890m of climb in just 4 hours and 5 minutes!

This gave them a part in the chasing start, as they finished just 28 minutes behind the Day 1 leader. Despite an uncomfortable night in a small tent, that was battered by over an inch of rain and 50mph wind gusts, they were up bright and early ready for Day 2. Unfortunately the weather did not improve, with strong winds, heavy rain and hill fog causing problems, even for the more experienced navigators. In the end, dense fog caused them to summit the wrong tor and by the time they had corrected themselves, 20 minutes or more had elapsed, resulting in a time of 4.02 for the 20.4km and 1100m of climb. However it was still a great effort in their first appearance off of their more favoured (well in Matt's case!) road surface.

Other Harriers in action, included Gareth Howard - who teamed up with his dad Bob - to finish 100th in a combined time of 11 hours and 12 minutes, whilst Rick Butters and Brad Payne finished 103rd in a time of 11 hours and 16 minutes.

TACH also had some participants, with Rob Hicks excelling in the medium score class, finishing a brilliant 3rd place, including 1st overall on Sunday, and Jonathan Gledson finished 12th overall in the D class!

Great effort all!

Marsden breaks PB at latest Bridge Inn

Debbie Marsden was the latest Harrier lady in PB form, as she dipped under 17.30 for 5k for the first time. Debbie battled hard with ex-Harrier Hannah Alderson and clocked 17.27 for the undulating 5k course as she finished 3rd in the race, which was won by Imogen Ainsworth in 17.03.

Meanwhile Colin Johnson and Robin Phillips are probably still recovering from a Guiness induced hangover, as they both broke the 3 hour barrier for the first time at the Dublin Marathon. Colin clocking 2.57 and Robin 2.58!

Full results to follow later!

D'Alton smashes PB in Stroud Half

Westbury's Emma D'Alton produced a commanding performance at the Stroud Half on Sunday, knocking nearly two minutes off her PB as she ran 1.17.49 to finish 5th lady in the Stroud Half Marathon on Sunday.  Emma has produced some outstanding runs in the past 12 months and this latest PB is a reflection of the hard work she has put in.

The Harriers also had a number of other competitors in action, including Ewan Kilgour 1.23.50, Sophie Voller in 1.24.58, Phil Court 1.31.20, Dean Thornton 1.33.57, Andrew Parsonage 1.46.34, Laura Tanna 1.47.01, Jane Goodwin 1.48.37, David Whalan 1.49.31, Eirian Thornton 2.00.14 and Susan King 2.19.40.


Well done all!!!

Glover is a minor muggles winner!

Anthony Glover, running in the colours of his second claim club Hogweed, won the mimsy muggles last weekend clocking a time of 34.28 for the approximately 5 mile course! Not too sure if there was any further Harrier participation, in what has now become a regular part of the off-road campaign!!!

Cardiff course error is a shambles

The organizers of the Cardiff Half Marathon should hang their heads in shame. If you are organizing a race, one of the first things you do is to obtain an accurate measurement of the race distance over which your race is advertised. Then when it comes to race day, you make damn sure that you mark out the course in accordance with the official measurement. By not doing so, the organizers have ruined the day of a lot of competitors, most of whom were celebrating what they thought were big PBs, only to discover that they have been short-changed. So far the organizers are admitting that the course was 202 metres short, but have provided no explanation for why this happened. Combine this with poor marshalling, which meant that many competitors cut off another large section of the course, running straight through a park, rather than around the outside and you begin to understand why the winner of the race can set a near 3 minute PB! If I were you I would be demanding money back, and boycotting this race in future.

What a shame for all the Harriers who were out in force at the event. Sophie Voller ran 1.22.36, Declan McManus 1.32.03, Jayne Pemble 1.37.06, Richard Hughes 1.39.34, Andrew Parsonage 1.44.14, Judy Knights 1.45.29, Matt Jackson 1.52.00, Myriam Camboulives 1.53.12, David Taylor 2.03.43, Michael Cullum 2.04.17 Rachel Nowak 2.15.33 and Julian Pyrke 2.16.25. Well done to you all!

Terry pops up down under!

Less than 48 hours after setting foot in Australia, John Terry was in action at the Brisbane Road Runners 15k. Benefitting from jetlag leaving him wide awake at 4am, he was fully prepared for the 6am race start - ensuring that running conditions were favourable, a somewhat chilly 13c. This still didn't stop one Aussie bloke running the race in only a pair of ill fitting speedos!

The race itself was a 3 lap course of a route by the Brisbane river, fairly flat, although breezy conditions meant the 2nd half of each loop was a challenge. The race was won in a time of 51.15 by local champion (and Oceania games international) Brendan Whelan, whilst John finished 5th in a time of 54.56 and kept the Westbury flag flying high, by finishing 1st overseas - a new category invented especially by him!

Westbury men struggle at the Nationals

In a top class field, Westbury Harriers men found the going tough and finished 62nd in the National 6 stage relays. Given a great start by Matt Ellis who ran 19.02, they were still in 58th position, a sign of the quality of the field if ever there was one. Rich Collinson was next up with a 20.07, before dashing off to watch Villa play. Dan Studley, deputising for Will Massey, ran 21.13, before the welcome return of John Collier who ran 19.43. Gregg Ward ran 20.34 before the team were anchored home by Sam Dalgleish in 19.30. A great effort to make the finals and an improvement of over a minute on the qualifiers - well done guys!

Ladies obtain top 30 spot in the Nationals

The Westbury Harriers ladies team managed a top 30 position in the National 4 stage relays at Sutton Park yesterday. Missing several of their top runners, they still got off to a flyer thanks to Debbie Marsden, who whizzed round the course in a PB time of 15.08 to put them in 14th place after an ultra competitive stage 1. Debbie handed over to Zoe Dixon who ran a great time of 17.13, then Tamsin Chick with 17.15 and Kelly Winstone in 17.57. The team finished in 1.07.33 for 30th position.

Meanwhile the ladies B team of Debbie Cleary, Vicky Jones, Kim Ingleby and Lizzy Smith finished 56th in 1.13.50.

Well done all!

Weekend preview!

There's a lot of racing action going on this weekend. The main event is of course the National 6 stage / 4 stage relays, where Westbury have one of the strongest squads out for some time. Able to call upon Matt Ellis, Sam Dalgliesh, John Collier, Will Massey, Rich Collinson, Dan Studley, Simon Everington and Gregg Ward, a top 40 spot must be there for the taking. Also happening this weekend is the annual Hogweed muggles event, where historically Anthony Glover and Emma D'Alton have tended to do well! Then onto Sunday and it's the Cardiff 1/2 marathon, where Sophie Voller will be hoping to put months of hard training to the test, by beating the time of 1.23.13 she set at Bath earlier this year.

Good luck to all!

Terry leads home the Harriers in Gwent League Opener

John Terry ended up the surprising team-leader in the Gwent League opener at Bridgend. With Sam Dalgleish and Gregg Ward both in the line-up and running well, it looked like there would be a strong showing from the Harriers in the traditional curtain raiser to the season.

Unfortunately for Sam he turned his ankle on the second lap and had to pull out, whilst in a battle for a top 10 placing. Meanwhile both Gregg and John started steadily on lap 1 and found themselves in the mid 50s, before pushing through the field during the second lap. A nasty tumble, nearly finished the race for Gregg, but luckily he was able to continue, although his stride was clearly broken. John closed down a few more people on the final lap to finish 31st in 35.35, nearly 2 and a half minutes quicker than last year! Gregg meanwhile finished just a few places back, 37th in 36.00. Robin Phillips and Colin Johnson fought a great battle, with Robin just prevailing in a time of 37.50 for 70th place, with Colin one place back in 37.51. Completing the A team was Jullian Bailey-Gard Jnr in 38.51.

In the B team we had Tony Jeffries, fresh from his exploits in the Gloucester league the day before finishing in 179th, Mike Harris in 189th, Jullian Bailey Gard Snr in 206th and William Rhodes in 266th.

Full details to follow when results available!

Debbie takes 3rd place in the opening Gwent League

Debbie Marsden produced a superb run to finish 3rd in the opening Gwent League race at Bridgend on Sunday. Traditionally the best attended of all the Gwent's, Debbie started with a pack of 6 or 7 ladies and pushed through the field to lie second, behind eventual race winner Ellie Wimshurst of B&W, with the big hill to come. However, the third place lady pushed on strongly up the hill, and despite Debbie producing a great finish, she ended up in 3rd place - a great improvement on the 17th she secured last year!

There was a big contingent of Westbury ladies out, with full details to follow as the results become available.

D'Alton takes course record at Swindon Half

Westbury's Emma D'Alton ran a commanding race to win the Swindon Half, creating a new course record! Emma's time of around 80.04 was a cracking effort on an undulating course and took nearly 2 minutes off the old course record. Robyn Golding followed up her win at Burnham on Sea last week, with a solid second place in 86.54 in the race to cap a great day for Westbury's ladies! Meanwhile in the men's race, Matt Ellis appeared to show no ill effects from the Berlin Marathon, as he "took it easy" to finish 2nd in 73.46! Great efforts guys!

Full details available later!

Anthony has a lark in the mud

Westbury's Anthony Glover finished in a cracking 5th place at last Sunday's Marshfield Mudlark - despite attrocious weather conditions and an elongated course, he managed to run a time of 48.05. Meanwhile the Harriers Terry Jewell-Davies made a welcome return to action, finishing 16th in 52.58 - well done guys!

Oldbury 10m

Emma D'Alton claimed 2nd place in the women's race, running a new 10m pb time of 1.00.08, as she finished agonisingly close to breaking the hour mark for the first time. Winner of the ladies race was Kate Goodhead, but as she is Gloucestershire based, I am guessing Emma was declared county 10m champion - defending the title she won in the equivalent race last year. In the men's race, Hayley Johnson's husband Mike - "the machine" as he is known - powered to victory in a time close to 50 minutes, as he continues his exceptional run of recent form. Colin Johnson gained a county silver medal, and Jane Goodwin alsoe medalled in their respective age categories!

Full results to follow when available!

Golding storms to PB at Burnham on Sea 1/2

The Harrier's Robyn Golding powered to victory in the Burnham on sea half marathon, securing a new PB in 1.23.09, in spite of stormy conditions at the seaside resort this Sunday. Thankfully for the runners the course was pancake flat (the high-low difference is something like 20ft in this race!), so although the winds got up, it didn't slow them down too much! Great running Robyn!