Harriers runners receive county call ups!

A substantial number of Harriers have received call ups to represent Avon in next weekend's SW Intercounty XC Championships, to be held at Bicton Park near Exeter. County squads were chosen from entries received for the race and supplemented by choices from the team managers (Keith Brackstone and Mike Down), with up to 12 athletes per category.

For the senior men: Karl Dunn, Matt Ellis, Simon Everington,  Anthony Glover, Ken Ham, Charlie Jones, Chris Palmer, Robin Phillips and John Terry are all selected.

For the senior women: Emma D'Alton, Debbie Marsden, Lizzy Smith and Vicky Tester.

For the U20M mountain running specialist Felix McGrath is selected.

For the U13G Ellie Leather, Georgia Taylor and Emma Tomes.

Many congratulations to all selected athletes, a reflection in no small part on the club's performances in the Gwent League in both SM and SW categories and the recent team victory in the tri-counties championships for the SM.

Harriers turn up for Parkrun training session!

Westbury Harriers ended the year with a training session at the Parkrun in Ashton Court with 11 members running. Top of the shop was Anthony Glover who won the event in a time of 17.34, which was very competitive considering the massive hill and gale force winds which combined to make running more like walking towards the top of the hill! Then John Collier ran 17.53 for 2nd and new boy Scott Campbell who recently joined the club from Southville Runners was 3rd in 18.15. John Terry was 5th in 18.48, Chris Palmer 6th in 19.14 and then another new girl, also from Southville, Lucy Richens won the ladies race in 19.21 and finished 8th overall!

Next home in 10th was Kane Lee, from our partner club Yate and District in 19.34 for 10th, Robin Phillips was 12th in 19.40, Debbie Marsden 22nd in 20.54, Vicky Tester 32nd in 22.17 and Tim Synge 34th in 22.24.

For those runners still with any energy left, the run was followed up with 8x40s strides and then coffee and cake (which seemed to attract more runners than the efforts for some reason). Well done all!!!

Christmas successes for Bailey Gards and Glover

Jullian Bailey-Gard Jnr made his customary trip to Burnham on Sea for the Jingle Bell 4 this past weekend, and didn't disappoint finishing a fine 3rd place behind Clevedon's Stuart Hancock and Minehead's Laura Parker (yes a lady did beat Jullian!).  Not to be outdone, dad Jullian Snr took the V60 prize in a time of 28.15.

Meanwhile up in Staffordshire, Anthony Glover finished 6th in a snowy Christmas Cracker 5 organized by Staffordshire-Moorlands AC.

Well done all!

Marsden impresses with 37th position in Lotto Cross Cup

Debbie Marsden ran an excellent race in today's Lotto Cross Cup event in Brussels finishing 37th in a top class field in a time of 24.29. On a mud bath of a course, the winner was Kenya's Caroline Chepkonwy (who also won the event last year) in a time of 21.17. A good indicator of how tough the conditions were was that Chepkowny's time was nearly a minute slower than her winning time from last year. Leading Brit was Hatti Dean who finished 6th in a time of 21.44, just holding off Steph Twell who ran 21.45. Top Midland participant was Stroud's Emily Pidgeon who ran 21.54 for 9th place.

Marsden, who is on the road to recovery after a serious chest infection during November, was happy with her performance: "I really enjoyed it, although it was a serious challenge. I tried to start off easy, but with the quality of the field you can't help but get carried along too fast. Fortunately I seemed to get stronger in the third and fourth laps and managed to pick off a few athletes towards the end!"

Marsden's next target will be the South West XC champs, where she will hope to help Avon to secure victory in the inter-regional event, as well as Westbury to overall team victory!

Marsden steps up a level!

Good luck to Westbury's Debbie Marsden, who is heading over to Brussels this weekend to represent the Midlands in an inter-regional match as part of the Iris Lotto Cross Cup. Teaming up with Debbie for the Midlands is Jane Potter (Charnwood), Emily Pidgeon (Stroud) and Alison Lavender (Oswestry).

Marsden, who made the team by finishing 2nd behind Lavender at the Midland Women's 5m championship - which served as the main qualifying event for the competition - will be hoping to improve on the 35th place she secured in her debut at the event last year!

Go Debbie!

Victorious Vicky escorted to the Prom!

Westbury's Vicky Tester enjoyed her first win at tonight's Weston Prom, clocking an excellent time of 30.37, with club mate Sophie Voller 2nd. Meanwhile in the men's race Matt Ellis was a comfortable winner in 25.58 from Wells City Harriers' Matthew Dickinson. Anthony Glover was 4th in 27.16 and John Terry 7th in 28.41, with club mate Dan Summers just behind in 28.46.

Also competing were Jullian Bailey-Gard Jnr 30.07, Ken Ham 30.30, Robin Phillips 30.35, Chris Palmer 30.40, Sophie Voller 31.24, Kevin Knights 31.39, Alex Miller 32.16, Richard Hughes 32.27, David George 33.14, Tim Synge 34.47, James Cant 34.50, Jullian Bailey-Gard Snr 34.54, Rebecca Lee 35.43, Zoe Wildgoose 35.54, Trish Robson 36.04, Hayley Johnson 36.20, Valerie Hughes 36.25, Jane Goodwin 37.27, Kim Ingleby 38.28, Sarah Tucker 39.23, Anneke Bull 39.59, Jane Thornton 41.05, Gill Anagnostakis 41.28, Roger Long 41.28, Kay Ridgwell 43.02, Eithne Noonan 43.32, John Percival 45.16, Sandra Bailey-Gard 53.51.

Well done to you all!!!!

Great end to 2011!

Time to reflect for a few moments on where the Senior Mens' team have come over the past 12 months. The year started well on the country with 3rd place in the SW Intercounties, followed by 5th place at the Midlands, where we finished behind the powerhouse clubs of Notts, Tipton, Cov Godiva and local rivals B&W. The Gwent League ultimately ended with us a gallant 4th place, as we paid the price for a sticky start in the early race at Bridgend, but it sowed the seeds for what we could achieve!

Some stand out performances during the spring and summer: John Collier and Matt Ellis at the Reading Half; with Matt taking his form on the road throughout the remainder of the Run Britain Grand Prix series, finishing an excellent 10th place. At the London marathon, Rich Collinson ran 2.46 to be part of a world record breaking mother and son team! In June the team capturing the man v. horse team competition for the third year in succession and a truly great performance from Rich Collinson to finish 2nd, well supported by John Terry in 4th and Anthony Glover in 7th.

In the autumn we saw the club leap up the finish positions at the 6 stage relays, as Dan Studley, Matt Ellis, John Collier, Sam Dalgleish, Will Massey and Si Everington combined to great effect to finish 9th. What an exciting day it was as the top 3 combined to be leading at one point and in 3rd at the end of leg 3! But we shouldn't forget that we had 4 teams out running that day, as we were one of the best represented clubs on that glorious Autumn day in Sutton Park!

Then the cross country season kicked off again and this time we made sure we learned from our mistakes of last season and got out a competitive team in the first Gwent League of the season, finishing 4th on the day at Bridgend. We then followed this up with 5th at Bath University, before claiming 1st on the day at Singleton Park and taking top spot overall. At the same time our B team is flying high, 2nd place in the B league, testament to the strength in depth of the squad, and a great achievement to have 16 men make the long trip to Swansea to represent our great club!

Senior Mens Squad at Avon XC Championships: (back) Robin Phillips, Colin Johnson, Karl Dunn, John Terry, John Collier, Charlie Jones, Ken Ham and James Cant. (front) Anthony Glover, Chris Palmer, Matt Ellis, Bob Pringle, Jullian Bailey-Gard Snr and Tony Jefferies.

Then this past weekend at the Avon Championships we saw Matt and John get individual Avon medals (silver and bronze) and Matt qualify as of right for the combined Avon/Somerset intercounties team (3rd overall). The team didn't disappoint as Anthony Glover, John Terry, Karl Dunn (cracking sprint finish) and new boy Charlie Jones, who in the few weeks he has been with the club has come on leaps and bounds and already has a gold medal to show for it. With another new runner, Ken Ham taking gold in the V.50 class and Tony Jefferies and Jullian Bailey-Gard Snr taking medals in the V.60, it was a great day out and great way to end the year!

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you for making the, often long, journeys to represent our great club and together we can build on the success of this year and make 2012 - Olympic year - one to really remember for the club.

Cracker of a run from the Westbury Harriers

15 Harriers opted to make the short trip to Weston for the annual Christmas Cracker 10k and didn't disappoint as they all put in great performances. Leading the way was David George in 74th place in a time of 41.52. He was followed by Matthew Lee-Charnock in 42.09, Richard Hughes 42.43, Graham Bazley 47.14, Ian Louden also 47.14 and Rebecca Lee 48.12. Then we had David Baber in 48.46, Clair Cusack in 49.06, Dianne Heys 57.03, Sue Wood 58.37, Helen Cook 58.55, then Jane Thornton, Lauura Tanna and Jane Goodwin all in 59.16 and then Kirsty Burns ran 1.14.07.

Well done to you all!

Westbury Seniors Dominate in County Championships

Westbury Harriers Senior Men took the Gold medal in the Tri-Counties XC Championships held today at Bath University. With a squad of 14 to call on, Westbury always looked to be favourites, but an early push from Swindon Harriers gave the boys a bit of a scare, as a wall of 6 Black and White Harlequins were placed just behind Anthony Glover. Fortunately with Matt Ellis finishing 5th overall and taking the Avon silver medal, just ahead of John Collier who took the Bronze medal and with Anthony Glover, John Terry, Karl Dunn and Charlie Jones. Chris Palmer finished just behind the scoring six and shortly afterwards Ken Ham came home to win the Gold medal in the V50 class. Robin Phillips and Colin Johnson fought out a great battle, but were separated in the end by a strong finish from Jullian Bailey-Gard Jnr. Colin was then followed by Bob Pringle and then James Cant, before we had the two V60s in Jullian Bailey-Gard Jnr and Tony Jefferies, although the medals are not yet clear for that category.

The ladies were also well represented and are currently silver medalists (Vicky Tester 6th, Lizzy Smith 7th, Kelly Winstone and Zoe Wildgoose), although some confusion remains over whether this should be silver or gold.

Sadly, despite combining Avon, Somerset and Wiltshire, the event still only produced a small turn out and organizers will need to think about ways of improving participation in what should be one of the highlight events of the XC season.

Full results for all categories will be published when available.

Harriers look forward to County Championships with Confidence

Planning to build on their recent win in the Gwent League, Westbury Harriers look set to field the same squad that took on allcomers in Singleton Park at this weekend's county championships.

Leading the way in the 6 to score competition, will be Matt Ellis and John Collier who between them had a cracking battle in the last Gwent League, with Matt prevailing by four seconds. They will likely be battling it out for the Avon individual medals in the SM category. With Anthony Glover, John Terry and Karl Dunn all available the A team from Singleton Park will be reunited this weekend. Then with Charlie Jones, Ken Ham, Chris Palmer, Robin Phillips and Jullian Bailey-Gard Jnr running, we also have the complete B team from last weekend as well! But the squad doesn't stop there either, with Colin Johnson, Jullian Bailey-Gard Snr and Tony Jefferies also running and looking for medals in their age categories, Westbury will be fielding a strong squad and providing nearly half the entries for the Avon section of the Senior Mens race.

The ladies could also prove a threat, with Emma D'Alton, Vicky Tester, Lizzy Smith and Kelly Winstone all running. Much could depend on the fitness of Sophie Voller, who has had a bad cold in the past few days, as to whether there might be an historic double team win for the Harriers this weekend. It looks set to be a battle between Emma D'Alton and Laura Parsonage for individual honours in the Avon part of the race.

Outstanding performance from the Harriers' men, as they dominate the Gwent League

An awesome display from Westbury's senior men, saw them not only top the field on the day, but take a 50 plus point lead in Division 1, as Swansea was turned White and Blue by a Westbury army! The team made light work of missing a number of key members, as they were led home by Matt Ellis in 12th place, with John Collier hot on his heels in 13th. Anthony Glover put in an excellent display to finish 16th, whilst John Terry returned following illness to finish 29th. Completing the A team was Karl Dunn, who produced his best ever performance in the Gwent League to finish 43rd.

Leading the way home for the B team was new boy Charlie Jones, who finished 53rd, Ken Ham finished 71st, Chris Palmer (rapidly returning to form) in 81st, Robin Phillips in 87th, with the team completed by Jullian Bailey-Gard Jnr in 121st.

We also had a complete C team, consisting of Tony Jefferies in 156th, Dean Gardner in 166th, Mike Hopkins in 179th, Jullian Bailey-Gard Snr 180th and James Cant in 204th. Our final representative being Andrew Lomvardos in 228th.

A brilliant performance from all our men.

Despite missing several runners, our ladies also put in a solid display, as they finished 3rd on the day, to keep hold of 2nd place in Division 1. Leading the way was Lizzy Smith, with a best ever finish of 13th place. Next home was Vicky Tester, who paid the price for a hard start up the hill, and finished 19th. Then we had Kelly Winstone in 44th, Hayley Johnson in 59th and Zoe Wildgoose in 62nd.

The B team consisted of Vicky Jones 71st, Sarah Tucker 95th, Victoria Howlett 103rd, Eithne Noonan 133rd and Kay Ridgewell 136th. Completing the squad was Caroline Bannister in 153rd.

A great showing from both our guys and girls at a mud bath of a course, over 80 miles from home. With Brecon in February and the home fixture at Blaise in March, a coordinated effort from our men and ladies could see a double gold for the Harriers!

Glover makes top 10 in quick Bridge Inn

Anthony Glover made the top 10 in a keenly contested Bridge Inn 5k last night as he clocked 16.24 to finish 10th. A rare sub 15 minute time from Belgrave Harriers' Steve Davies, as he beat B&Ws Chris Dodd, with former Harrier Joe Dalgleish back in 3rd. English Fell runner Felix McGrath was next home in 17th, with a time of 17.32, Karl Dunn ran 17.46, Chris Palmer 17.47, Alex Massey 18.00 and Robin Phillips 18.04. Then we had Terry Jewell-Davies in 18.57, Jim Massey 19.28, David George 19.53, Tony Jefferies 20.02, Matt Lavis 20.08, Richard Hughes 20.12 and Ray Hooper 20.29.

Then we had our first lady - Kelly Winstone who ran 20.42, Valerie Hughes 23.11, Tim Carr 23.44, Caroline Potter 24.22, Jane Thornton 24.46, Laura Tanna 25.34, Gill Anagnostakis 25.36, Eithne Noonan 26.13 and Kay Ridgewell 26.15.

Well done all!!!!

Hellrunner Collier claims yet another win

It seems that John Collier can't stop racing - and winning - at the moment! Today he headed down to Longmoor Camp in Hampshire to run in the "Hell down South" race in the Hellrunner Series! Collier didn't disappoint, as he stormed to victory in the second fastest time in history. His prize? Not a one way ticket to hell, but another pair of Brooks shoes of his choosing!

Well done John, now rest up ready for the Gwent League next weekend!

Ashton Court and Sefton Park

Westbury athletes have been in action up and down the country today. This morning Matt Ellis decided to try his hand at the infamous Ashton Court Park Run, and promptly destroyed the field and the course record, clocking a time of 16.39 on the challenging hill run course! Also in action were Robin Phillips who ran 19.24 for 5th place, Tim Synge who ran 22.49 for 39th, Tim Car who clocked 23.59 for 50th and Julian Wilson with 26.10 for 65th.

Meanwhile this afternoon at Sefton Park in Liverpool, Emma D'Alton was taking part in the European XC Trials as part of the McCain Challenge. In a top quality event, won by Hallamshire's Hatti Dean, D'Alton broke into the top 50, finishing 43rd in the end. Joining Hatti on the trip to the European XC champs are Charnwood's Gemma Steel who finished 2nd and Freya Murray of Edinburgh AC who was 3rd. The selectors also get to pick 3 others, with Charlie Purdue and Steph Twell both of Aldershot, likely to figure strongly in their discussions!

Weekend Round Up!

For the 2nd weekend in a row John Collier doubled up and with some success! On Saturday he finished 2nd in the Bushy Park Park Run, running a cracking time of 15.49, although he was someway behind winner Paul Pollock who ran an outstanding 14.33! Then today he tackled the Epsom Downs 10m race, finishing 2nd again in a time of 55.52 and pocketing £70 in the process! Great running JC!

On Saturday Julian Wilson braved the Ashton Court Park Run, clocking 25.00 for the hilly course! Sunday saw Tim Synge take on the Castle Combe 10k, where he finished in a respectable time of 45.57, particularly considering he was one of 7 Harriers who took part in the Duathlon earlier in the morning! The others were David George, Andrew Lornvardos, Richard Hughes, James Cant, Ian Louden and Clair Cusack. At the same venue, Will Massey finished 21st representing the University of Plymouth in the Inter-University Duathlon championships!

Also in action today were Lizzy Smith who broke her PB again with a time of 38.03 at the Swindon 10k. Ken Ham finished 2nd and top vet in the new Bath 10k multi-terrain race! Well done to all of you!!!

Harriers in action at the Weston Prom

Despite missing several of the quick guys, Westbury still provided an impressive 26 runners at this month's prom run. Leading the way was new runner Charlie Jones who ran 29.52, just holding off Robin Phillips in 29.54. Then came Jullian Bailey-Gard Jnr in 30.26, before ladies winner Sophie Voller who ran 30.39. David George ran 32.09, Alex Miller 32.35, Richard Hughes 32.56 - who is improving every race - Jullian Bailey-Gard Snr 34.35 and James Cant 35.46. Then we had Zoe Wildgoose 36.43, Valerie Hughes 37.00, Rebecca Lee 37.10, Jane Goodwin 37.58, David Baber 38.23, Anneke Bull 39.52 and Caroline Potter 40.00. Then Roger Long in 40.46, Myriam Camboulives 40.59, Jane Thornton 41.45, Gill Anagnostakis 42.07, Eithen Noonan 42.46, Dianne Heys 43.50, Kay Ridgwell 44.14, Caroline Scapens 48.11 and Sandra Bailey-Gard 53.42.

Great running all!!!

Harriers out in force at the Sodbury Slog

There was a real feast of off-road running this weekend, with the Ashton Court MT 10k, the Gwent League at Bath and the infamous Sodbury Slog at Chipping Sodbury. The Harriers had 15 runners out in the slog, which given the competition was no mean feat.

Leading the way was the rapidly improving David Whalan who ran 1.06.05 for 35th place! Then it was David George in 1.07.58 (54th place), Shona Mackie 1.11.32 (107th place and 8th lady!). Then we had Alex Miller in 1.12.43, Michael Hagan 1.16.40, Andy Schwartz 1.18.20, Graham Bazley 1.22.36, Paul Smith 1.28.58, Jane Goodwin 1.31.39, Sarah Tucker 1.32.02, Michael Cullum 1.35.16, Simon Farrell 1.37.24, Kin Cheung 1.44.28, Julian Pyrke 1.47.22 and David Taylor 1.56.10.

There were 998 finishers in total - well done to you all!!!

Men and Women in 2nd place!

With the results in from Round 2 at Bath, Westbury Harriers men's team have moved into second place, whilst the ladies have moved from 1st to 2nd, despite fielding a weakened team.

In the men's league, Cardiff strengthened their lead at the top with a strong showing of 1214 points, but Westbury's 1116 was enough to finish 4th on the day and to move into 2nd place, as Swansea Harriers fielded an incomplete team.

For the ladies Lizzy Smith finished 16th, Vicky Tester 21st, Kelly Winstone 41st, Kirsty Robertson 50th and Jennifer Cummins 72nd completed the A team. Leading the way for the B team was Hayley Johnson in 73rd, with Vicky Jones in 74th, Anneke Bull in 90th, Eithne Noonan in 126th and Kay Ridgewell in 139th. Then we had  Caroline Bannister in 150th and Sandra Bailey-Gard in 156th.

The ladies finished 2nd on the day and now lie 2nd overall, following a strong showing from Les Croupiers...

Men maintain position in Gwent League

Westbury's men team overcame tough conditions to stay in contention in the 2nd round of the Gwent League at Bath University. Leading the way was Matt Ellis who finished 10th, John Collier was 25th (showing no ill effects from the previous days 10k!) , Anthony Glover 44th, Simon Everington 45th and Gregg Ward 50th.

For the B team Ken Ham was 80th, Karl Dunn 81st, Robin Phillips 94th, Jullian Bailey-Gard Jnr was 113th and Dean Gardner 154th.

Sadly our C team was incomplete, but that didn't stop Tony Jefferies finishing 164th, Jullian Bailey-Gard Snr 168th and Mike Harris 212.

Well done all. Full results when we have them through!!!

McCain Challenge comes to Bristol

It was a tale of two days as the first runBristol off-road weekend came to fruition across two days of running at Ashton Court. On the Saturday nearly 800 runners took part in the inaugural Ashton Court off-road 10k and Westbury were well represented.

Leading the way Stephen Fowley was 27th in 45.56, Vicky Shufflebotham was 51st in 48.13, David Baber was 175th in 54.47, Anthony Bird was 288th in 58.46 and Daine Heys was 390th in 1.02.27.

Then onto Sunday, with  the McCain challenge arriving in Bristol. The fields was disappointingly small in all races, with only 30 in the Senior Mens and 28 in the Senior Ladies. Unfortunately, given the organizers chose to go against both the regional XC League and the Sodbury Slog on the same day, they were perhaps as large as one could have hoped for. Luckily size didn't imply lack of quality, as the ladies race was won by GB international Gemma Steel, who finished way ahead of fellow international Naomi Tachimowitz. Steel clocking 25.25 to Tachimowitz' 26.07. Fellow international Justina Heslop was 3rd in 26.16. Westbury were represented by Emma D'Alton who finished 19th in 28.51.

Meanwhile in the Senior Mens race, a "local" lad ended up the winner as Wells City Harriers' Frank Tickner won in a time of 29.56, from Phil Wicks of Belgrave Harriers. Steve Mitchell of B&W finished 9th in a time of 31.39.

Well done all!

Tough guy Collier finds brutal 10k no challenge

Harriers' hard man John Collier warmed up for the Gwent League this morning by winning the Brutal 10k in a time of 45.19, finishing nearly 90s clear of the rest of the field. As a result he won a pair of Brooks shoes of his choosing. With heavy rain over the past few days, let's hope he opted for the 15mm spikes!

Well done!

Gwent League Action

This weekend sees the second of the winter Gwent League events - this one held at the University of Bath. The Harriers will be looking to build upon their strong start in both mens and womens divisions. The men who finished 3rd in the opening round, will be hoping John Collier recovers from illness as they plan to field an unchanged squad, whilst the ladies will be hoping to consolidate their first place finish from round 1!

Glover blitzes the Park Run

Anthony Glover led from start to finish as he put in a masterful display at the Ashton Court Parkrun. Saturday's event was incorporated into Westbury Harriers' club championship, which meant a number of Harriers were in action.

Glover ran a conservative 9.44 on the up and then a storming 7.25 on the way down for a time of 17.09, the second fastest time ever recorded at Ashton Court! Following him home was Steve Adams in 5th in 18.41 and Jullian Bailey-Gard Jr in 19.08. Then we had Floren Scrafton finishing 2nd in the ladies race in 20.39, followed by Vicky Tester in 20.58, Richard Hughes in 21.55 and Kelly Winstone in 23.03.

Jane Goodwin finished next in 24.20, Tim Carr in 24.24, David Baber 24.25, Valerie Hughes 24.49 and Judy Knights 25.24. Roger Long ran 26.49, Jane Thornton 27.04, Eithne Noonan 29.35 and Craig Walker 31.53 - well done everyone!!!

Phillips powers to 8th place in the Rutland Water Marathon

Congratulations to Robin Phillips, who defied a tough course and windy conditions to run a great time of 3.05 to finish 8th in the Rutland Water Marathon. Phillips who had to pull out of the Amsterdam Marathon due to illness, showed no long-term effects as he powered round the undulating course, to clock another Good for Age time and keep himself eligible for London until 2014!

Well done Robin!

Marsden finishes 22nd in windy Portsmouth

Debbie Marsden finished 3rd counter for the Midlands team in a time of 1.01.19, which was enough to secure 22nd place overall in the women's race at the Great South Run. Conditions at the race were far from ideal, as a strong wind blew down the seafront, which made the last two miles "challenging" to say the least! It seems that the midlands won the inter-regional match, with Juliet Doyle finishing 10th in 56.49 and Kate Goodhead finishing 13th in 58.19.

The mens race made for an interesting event, as a seemingly suicidal first mile of 4.12 from eventual race winner Leonard Koman spread the field out within the first 150m. Koman's 5k splits of 13.48, 14.02 and 15.03 tell the story, as fatigue and the head wind in the final section cost him any chance of getting close to the world record, which was his stated aim pre-race. He eventually finished 22 seconds clear of Abel Kirui with Alistair Cragg 3rd.

Regional representatives in the Great South Run

Our own Debbie Marsden will be running for the Midlands in the inter-area match which forms part of this Sunday's Great South Run. Marsden will be competing in the elite women's race, which (if I understand the IAAFs rules correctly) mean that if she sets a new World Record, then it will officially stand!!!

Also in action is B&Ws Michael Johnson (husband of Hayley) who will representing Wales and looking to improve on his time of 53.21 that won him the Oldbury 10 a few weeks back. I  suspect given some solid weeks of training he will be closer to 50-51 minutes!

Good luck guys!

Ellis in the money!

With the results tallied from yesterday's Birmingham Half Marathon, it seems that Matt Ellis has finished in 10th place in the inaugural run britain grand prix and has won himself £100. With Emma D'Alton's outstanding 4th place overall in the ladies competition, the Harriers can be very proud of their runners achievements in what was a very competitive national competition.

With a bit more careful targeting of races next season, I can see several of our ladies joining these two in the money!

Well done both!

Harriers ladies secure Stroud Team success

Westbury Harriers were the winning ladies team at the Stroud Half Marathon this morning. A howling head wind blowing slap bang up the A419, meant that fast times were out of the window, as the race became more a battle of attrition in the final four miles back into Stroud. Leading the way in 5th spot overall was Sophie Voller in a time of 1.23.19, 3 places ahead of Debbie Marsden in 1.24.09. Completing the team was Vicky Tester, who finished 17th lady in 1.28.59 and between them they shared the £150 prize!

Leading the way for the men was John Terry who ran 1.20.41 for 29th place, some way off his PB of 1.17.40 set at Reading earlier in the year, but having raced at Weston only 3 days previously, Terry didn't appear to be taking the race that seriously. Next home was Steve Adams, who found the conditions at the end tough and finished 64th in 1.24.35. Then Robert Williams ran 1.29.49, Richard Hughes 1.31.33, Michael Hagan 1.34.43, Mike Hopkins 1.38.07, Nick Marshall 1.38.54, Ian Louden 1.39.20 and Rebecca Lee 1.39.59.

Then after a little gap came James Cant in 1.46.01, Graham Bazley 1.46.29, Jane Goodwin 1.51.22, Zoe Wildgoose 1.56.20 and Jane Thornton 2.01.50. Well done to you all!!!

D'Alton secures 4th place in inaugural run britain Grand Prix

Emma D'Alton ran one of her best ever races to finish 4th overall in the Birmingham half marathon and claim 4th place in the Run Britain Grand Prix in the process. Along with her prize from today's race, that will guarantee D'Alton £500 in prize money from her performances across Swansea Bay, BUPA London and Bristol 10k events earlier in the season. D'Alton time of 1.18.49 represents a season's best and the tough course and conditions suggest she has a few more seconds to come off yet!

Ellis storms to PB in Amsterdam Marathon

Matt Ellis smashed through the 2hr 30 barrier with a great run in today's Amsterdam marathon. Learning from his experiences in London earlier this year, Ellis started conservatively - passing through 10k in 35.56 - before winding up the pace to finish in 2.28.48! Matt's time was 6 minutes quicker than his previous best and placed him fifth Brit behind Phil Wicks, James Smith, David Turnbull and Will Green. B&Ws Steve McGuigan ran 2.34.23 in his debut at the distance.

Robyn Golding finished 12th in the Half Marathon in a time of 1.24.12!

Well done to both!!!

Two Johns make the podium for Westbury

Meanwhile, down in Hawkesbury Upton two members of the Westbury Harriers mens squad finished in the top 3 at the annual Hogweed Trotters Muggles races! Sadly for the Harriers, injuries and unavailabilities had meant the club were unable to field a mens team in the National Road Relays,so instead John Collier and John Terry finished 2nd and 3rd respectively in the main event  - a 16 mile multi-terrain stomp around the Cotswolds. Collier finished 2nd in a time of 1.47, whilst Terry was 3rd in 1.54. The race was won by Welsh Fell running specialist Matt Collins in 1.44.

In the ladies race Emma D'Alton, who surprisingly opted to run XC rather than her preferred road-running, was untroubled in claiming victory in a time of 2.04.

Well done all!

Westbury repeat 14th in the National Road Relays

Westbury's ladies put in a solid performance to finish 14th in today's 4-stage relays at Sutton Park. The B team put in a good showing too to finish 62nd overall.

For the A team Debbie Marsden led them off with a time of 15.23, handing on to Sophie Voller who clocked 15.43, Lizzy Smith with 16.20 and then Vicky Tester in 15.53. It was great to see all of the girls who ran last month improving on their times! For the B team, Kelly Winstone led off with 18.08, Hayley Johnson 19.17, Vicky Shufflebotham in 18.22 and Sarah Thorne 20.53. Great running girls!

At the business end, it was once again Aldershot, Farnham and District won, led home by Charlie Purdue in 13.48. 2nd were Charnwood who were anchored by Gemma Steel, who ran 13.45 - the fastest leg of the day, and 2nd fastest leg of the past 10 years - only Steph Twell having running quicker since 2000. In third were Bristol and West, who couldn't have done anymore given the strength in depth of the two teams ahead of them. For B&W Kate Goodhead and Annabel Gummow both shone running times of 14.20 and 14.15 respectively...

* UPDATE: Bristol and West's mens team finished 6th, which was also as good as they could hope for, with several of their runners: Jon Wills, Charlie MacLean, Steve Mitchell and Tom Russell all knocking several seconds off their Midland Relays times!

Massey starring in the South West

Will Massey has wasted no time in settling in down in the South West. Last Sunday he took part in the Brooks Westward XC League, where he finished 20th in a top quality field - despite not having a pair of XC spikes and having to run the race in flats!!! He then attended a few maths lectures on monday and Tuesday, before taking part in the Armada Winter 3k, where he clocked a winning time of 9.45!

Great effort Will! Keep the results coming!

Harriers make strong start to the Gwent League

With the Senior Results in, our men and women have made one of the best starts to the league in our recent history. The men are currently 3rd in Division 1 with 1490 points, behind Swansea and Cardiff. The ladies are doing even better, currently leading Division 1 from Les Croupiers and Cardiff. For the men that represents a huge improvement over last year, where they finished 7th in the first round, before gaining momentum to eventually finish 4th, just behind Neath. This season they promised a much stronger start and delivered, with Matt Ellis, John Collier, Simon Everington, Anthony Glover and John Terry finishing between 18th and 52nd place!

Our men's B team are also 3rd in the reserve division, as are our ladies!

Great running guys and girls!!!

Harriers muddle along the Mendips!!!

7 hardy Harriers made the short trip down the M5 to take part in Weston ACs annual Mendip Muddle. Leading the way was new signing Kevin Knights in 1.40.59, which gave Kevin 22nd place overall. Terry Jewell-Davies was next home 36th in 1.43.44. A gap arose before Ian Louden finished 177th in 2.08.41, Jane Goodwin 218th in 2.18.44, Richard Hughes 219th in 2.18.48, Laura Tanna 227th in 2.20.25 and Clair Cusack 238th in 2.23.44.


The race itself was won by Alec Woods representing Team Bath AC in 1.25.05!


Well done all!!!

D'Alton retains Swindon title!

Emma D'Alton successfully defended her Swindon half marathon title, in a time of 80.05, which was enough for her to finish 10th overall. It was a commanding performance from D'Alton who finished over 13 minutes clear of 2nd place female, Diane Hier of Warminster. The race itself was won by Dave Roper of Cheltenham in a time of 72.58!

Harriers impress over marathon distance!

3 intrepid Harriers made the trip up north to the home of Hollyoaks, to take part in the Chester Marathon. Dan Summers - making his debut in a Westbury vest - ran 2.55.01 for 42nd place, whilst Keith Hill ran 3.12.42 for 147th place and Clive Attwood 4.13.42 for 1307th place! Well done to you all !!!!

Westbury flying high in the mens and womens Gwent League

In the opening round of this season's Gwent League, Westbury put in a strong showing across both the men's and women's league. For the ladies Debbie Marsden finished a strong 4th place, behind winner Rebekah Randall of Bristol and West. Vicky Tester put in an outstanding run to finish 10th, one place ahead of team mate Sophie Voller. Lizzy Smith completed the ladies A team in 27th.

For the men, Matt Ellis ran a steady pace throughout to finish 18th, John Collier 27th, Simon Everington 40th, Anthony Glover 48th and John Terry completed the A team in 52nd. For the B team, Gregg Ward was 65th, Colin Johnson 101st, Robin Phillips 102nd, Ken Ham 119th and Jullian Bailey-Gard Jnr 134th.

Then we had a guest - Andy Buck - finishing 174th, just ahead of Tim Westmacott in 178th, Mike Hokins was 196th, Tony Jefferies 208th, Jullian Bailey-Gard Snr 216th and Mike Harris 273rd.

We also had two other guests Andreas Lomvardos and Dean Gardner turn out for the club in a strong first showing.

In the U.20s former Harrier Dan Studley, now running as an individual for B&W, finished 2nd behind Blair Brown of Taunton!

I'll put a more detailed report, completing the ladies squad and details of the juniors as we have them!

Golden oldies dominate for the Harriers

Meanwhile down in Exmouth, several of the Harriers vintage were in action in the British Master Athletics Federation's National 10k championships. Along with runners from local rivals Bristol and West, our boys and girls (or should this be granddads and grandmothers?) put in some strong performances on a sweltering day with a hot sun and no breeze!

For the women, Robyn Golding was first home - in 5th place overall - in a time of 38.26 in the V35 class, she was followed by Kristi Robertson who ran 49.09 in the V40 class and Victoria Howlett in 51.50 in the V35 class. Between them they took 2nd place in the V35-44 team category! Then we had Anneke Bull in 51.54 in the V50 class, Sarah Tucker 53.32 in the V40, Eithne Noonan 56.58 in the V55, Sarah Godsell 59.35 in the V55  and Kay Ridgewell 1.00.21 in the V50 class. Anneke, Sarah and Kay finished 4th in the V45-54 class.

For the men Westbury also took 2nd place in the team competition in the V35-44, behind nemesis Neath (who narrowly pushed the Harriers into 4th place in the Gwent League last season). Anthony Glover was 25th overall and 5th V35 in 35.26, John Terry was 36th and 6th V35 in 36.08 and Robin Phillips was 48th in 37.22, also in the V35 class.

Westbury Harriers - 2nd Team in the V35-44 Class - Robin Phillips, Anthony Glover and John Terry

Another Harrier making his debut, was Ken Ham - who recently joined the club from Thornbury - and he ran 42.48 in the V50 class.

Meanwhile local rivals Bristol and West dominated in the V45-54 team competition, with Phil Parry leading the way finishing 4th overall and 1st in the V45 class in a time of 33.45.

Great running from all of our members - well done!!!

Harriers ladies dominate at Oldbury

Westbury Harries ladies team were in dominant form as they finished 1st, 3rd and 4th to easily take the team prize. Fresh from her recent win at the Bridge Inn 5k, Sophie Voller eased round the course on a hot and humid October's day to win in 63 minutes. Marking her formal debut for the club Vicky Tester ran 66 minutes for third place, whilst Lizzy Smith continued her recent good form to finish 4th.

In the men's race, Colin Johnson ran 62 minutes, which secured 2nd place in his age category in the Avon Championships.

More details when the full results are in!

Voller wins at the Bridge!

Sophie Voller showed that her outstanding run at the Midland 4 stage relays was no fluke, as she came from behind to end up a convincing winner at the first Bridge Inn this week. Voller ran 18.00 to beat Bristol and West's Hannah Alderson by over 15 seconds. Alderson who started strongly, faded badly during the second half, enabling Voller to overtake. New signing Vicky Tester took up the challenge of representing Bristol's best running club by finishing 3rd in the ladies race.

For the men, Anthony Glover put in a strong showing to finish 3rd in a time of 16.21, just 10 seconds behind the winner - Bristol and West's Matt Crane. Simon Everington, still recovering from illness, posted 16.56 in finishing 5th.

There was plenty of other Westbury runners in action: Stephen Cripps ran 17.51, Robin Phillips 17.52, Jullian Bailey-Gard Jnr 17.57, Alex Massey 18.14, Colin Johnson 18.30, Terry Jewell-Davies 18.33, Lizzy Smith 19.00, Tim Westmacot 19.24, Keith Hill 19.30, Richard Hughes 19.38 and Chris Palmer 19.44 all clocking under 20 minutes!

Then we had Tony Jefferies 20.14, Evita Gonzales-Szamocki 20.36, James Noott 21.17, Mike Harris 22.08, Tim Carr 23.23, Julian Wilson 24.08, Caroline Potter 24.01, Valerie Hughes 25.02, Laura Tanna 25.31 and Jane Thornton 25.32.

Great running from you lot - what a turnout!!!

Ellis double up at Swansea Bay

Matt Ellis made it two sensational runs in two days as he finished 17th in the Swansea Bay 10k in a "UKA" PB of 31.47 and puts himself into contention to finish in the top 10 of the RunBritain Grand Prix. Likewise Emma D'Alton put herself into contention too with a great 8th place (7th Brit) in a time of 35.50. Also doubling up, Debbie Marsden ran 37.47 to finish 12th lady (11th Brit).

Meanwhile down in Windsor, another Harrier on the double up was Robin Phillips who was busy preparing himself for the Amsterdam Marathon in 3 weeks time, and clocked 85 minutes for the half marathon there, the day after taking a PB at the road relays!

Well done to all of them!!!

McGrath 10th in home countries international

Congratulations to Felix McGrath who finished 10th in the home countries international, which was held in conjunction with the Commonwealth Mountain Running championships. Felix, who despite being a year young for his age group and suffering from a cold all week, came through strongly to take 10th place, just behind his England rival Dominic Mahoney, who completed the England team - whose first three made a clean sweep of the medal positions!

Felix is now taking a well earned breather, having run some excellent races over the summer!

Awesome Harriers so close to glory!

A huge congratulations to the 4 ladies and 23 men who turned up to Sutton Park to make it one of the best days in Westbury Harriers' recent history. The ladies team finish 4th, whilst the men's A team finished 9th, the B team 33rd, the C team 62nd and our D team were battling hard in 77th, when they had to call it a day after 5 legs!

For the ladies Debbie Marsden started the race and came home a strong 5th in a time of 15.34, before Sophie Voller ran a great leg to take the team up to 3rd, having briefly led the race outright along the top stretch of the course. Then Robyn Golding took over and overhauled Notts AC into 2nd, before Annabel Gummow from Bristol and West came storming through into the lead with the quickest time of the day (14.23), Robyn put in a great effort up the final hill to finish in a time of 16.18. On the last leg Lizzy Smith put in another great performance knocking over a minute off her previous best time over the undulating 4.3km course finishing in a time of 16.40 for 4th place - which gave the ladies their best finish for many years, behind winners Bristol and West, Birchfield Harriers and Notts AC.

The men produced an equally amazing performance. First off Dan Studley ran the leg of his life to finish 5th in a top quality field with a time of 18.08, handing over to Matt Ellis. Matt then put in the leg of his life as he overturned the 26s advantage of Bristol & West and was within 2s of the lead as the finish of the leg arrived. Matt running 18.17. A third incredible leg, this time from John Collier - who knocked nearly a minute off his previous best time in 18.49, to hold on to 3rd place (in fact he too briefly led the race!), as Notts AC's Tim Hartley raced through the field with a time of 18.11. Then Will Massey took over and ran 20.09, handing over to Sam Dalgleish in 5th, who then ran 20.01. Si Everington then ran the final leg to close the side out in 1.55.39 for 9th place - the best performance for the mens team since 2004! The race itself was won by our neighbours Bristol and West in a time of 1.49.06, to complete what must be a very rare mens and ladies double! Well done to them. 2nd were Notts AC - just 4 seconds behind - and 3rd were Coventry Godiva.

The B team were an outside bet to reach the top 25 and qualify as of right for the Nationals and were given a perfect start as Anthony Glover ran 20.05 and Rich Collinson 19.53 to haul them into 29th place. Robin Phillips then run 21.17 for 28th place, Colin Johnson ran 21.51 for 36th place, Gregg Ward held position running 21.11, before John Terry closed the team out with 20.44 for a time of 2.05.01 for 33rd place - inside the top 25 A teams, but not the top 25 itself - still only 2 minutes away, a definite target for next year!!!

There was more to come from the Harriers as the C team of Karl Dunn (22.01), Jullian Bailey-Gard Jnr (22.29), Matt Lavis (25.02), Malc White (23.03), Bob Pringle (24.19) and Warren Pickles (20.40) ran home in 2.17.34 and 62nd place.

Our D team of Chris Palmer (23.42), Tony Jefferies (24.41), Geraint Torrington (25.00), Tim Westmacot (23.40) and Alex Miller (24.42) were in 77th place, when they had to bow out of the action. Such was the strength in depth of the club, only 2 sides had complete D teams out, and ours was the next biggest contingent - awesome!!!

A massive thanks to all you guys and girls for taking the trouble to represent and support the club on its travels - you were all great and gave us all some real excitement. It can only be a matter of time before the club rightly retakes its place amongst the medals!!!

Westbury aiming for success in the Midland Relays

Westbury Harriers will be looking to both their mens and womens teams to make an impact in this weekend's 6 stage relays, to be held at Sutton Park in Birmingham. The womens team consisting of Debbie Marsden, Robyn Golding, Sophie Voller and Lizzy Smith (still celebrating a 9 minute PB at the recent Bristol half) look to be capable of a top 5 spot, which would emulate the squad of 2010. For the men 4 teams have been entered, all of which are set to be complete. The A team of Dan Studley, Matt Ellis, John Collier, Sam Dalgleish, Will Massey and Simon Everington, are arguably the strongest squad the club have sent out since 2004 and must surely be capable of a top 10 spot. The B team of Anthony Glover, Rich Collinson, Robin Phillips, Colin Johnson, Gregg Ward and John Terry are also looking strong and could give several A teams a run for their money! The C team of Karl Dunn (fresh from the Nottingham marathon), Jullian Bailey-Gard Jnr, Matt Lavis (making his comeback), Malc White, Bob Pringle and Warren Pickles are looking to stake their claims for high positions next time and our D team of Chris Palmer, Tony Jefferies, Geraint Torrington, Tim Westmacot, Alex Miller and hopefully Graham Bazley will also be seeking to push themselves over the undulating 5.85km. It's great to see so many member committed to representing the club in the relays - the first event that will count towards the Peter Griffin memorial trophy - a trophy in memory of Peter, which will be awarded on a points system, based upon representing the club at regional and national events over the course of the season.

Good luck to you all!

Westbury secure 2nd place in Avon Relays

Confusion reigned supreme at the end of the Clevedon Relays as Bristol and West won the race outright, but somehow Team Bath finished 1st Avon team and Westbury took the silver medals, despite finishing 6th on the day! The team consisting of Steve Adams, Robin Phillips, Tony Jefferies, Gregg Ward and Jullian Bailey-Gard Jnr did the club proud, as the quicker guys opted to keep their powder dry for this weekend's Road Relays, which could throw up a few suprises in the mens and womens races!

More later!

Westbury's Matt Ellis lead the British team to an easy victory at the inaugural Airbus "Olympics" held in the south of France this weekend. Ellis, better known for his antics over the road, first took to the track to run 7:10 for a 2.4k leg of a "pyramid relay" event, before dominating the afternoon XC, claiming victory in the 8.8km event in a time of 28.39. The time was nearly 3 minutes ahead of second place. A champagne with one or two canapes awaited Ellis during the evening - in what was being billed as an opportunity for the French team to redeem themselves.

Meanwhile over in London, John Terry and Debbie Marsden were both in action at the Bromley "10k", sponsored by Nuffield Health. Marsden easily won the ladies race, clocking a time of 36.55, whilst Terry finished runner up in a time of 34.36. Despite claims by the organizers of the race being a "gold standard" event, I am highly suspicious about the measuring employed!!!

Marsden wins in Weston return

Debbie Marsden made a successful return to racing with a comfortable victory in last night's Weston Prom 5m - the first race of the 2011/12 series. Despite the usual blowy conditions on the sea-front, Marsden clocked 29.42 to see off Bitton's Michelle Kerfoot. In the men's race our top finisher was Robin Phillips who finished 10th in 29.14. The race itself was won by Clevedon's Ian Smith in 26.43.

Our other runners in action were: Jullian Bailey-Gard Jnr 31.01, Graham Clark 31.39, Keith Hill 32.21, Richard Hughes 33.33,  Nick Hounsfield 33.36, Michael Hagan 33.44, Jullian Bailey-Gard Snr 34.42, Rebecca Lee 35.13, James Cant 36.19, Zoe Wildgoose 36.44, David Baber 39.07, Caroline Potter 39.42, Anneke Bull 39.47, Roger Long 40,11, Marilyn Palmer 40.36, Bridget Percival 40.53, Myriam Camboulives 40.58, Valerie Hughes 41.18, Gill Anagnostakis 42.24, John Percival 44.33, Kay Ridgwell 46.02, Sharon Eynon 51.50 and Sandra Bailey-Gard 53.01.

Great running from everyone there guys!!!

Weekend Roundup!

It seems not every member of Westbury was running in the Bristol Half today! Karl Dunn completed his debut Marathon in Nottingham, finishing the tough (and lonely in the 2nd half) course in a time of 3:33. Bob Pringle headed down to Somerset yesterday to compete in the Somerset Moors and Levels Half marathon. On a challenging off-road course Bob did well to finish in 1:59:11 for 20th place! Across in Wales Rich Collinson and Hayley Johnson took part in the Lake Vrnwy Half Marathon. Rich finished 27th in 1:18:26 and Hayley in 1:44:33 for 69th place in the ladies event. In the Chippenham Half Marathon Simon Knight clocked 1:31:42 and Kin Cheung 1:55:48. Meanwhile over the shorter distances, Anthony Glover clocked 4:29 for the 1500m, in the final Avon League race of the season representing Yate AC!

Great effort from all!

Times for the Half

Well done to all of the Harriers who took part today - complete results as follows:


2110977Matt EllisM01:10:18
7710025Emma D'altonF01:19:11
11810611Robin PhillipsM01:22:30
13910603Colin JohnsonM01:23:41
1451008Steve HawesM01:24:11
1471017Elizabeth SmithF01:24:13
16110269Sophie VollerF01:25:00
20310975Robyn GoldingF01:26:26
31910984Keith HillM01:29:14
35610834Andrew SwannM01:29:52
43910416Clive AttwoodM01:31:29
44813000Graham BazleyM01:31:36
46210258David GeorgeM01:31:48
47510711Adam Kula-PrzezwanskiM01:31:58
64010955Timothy SyngeM01:34:25
66810994Andrew YuillM01:34:38
69610981Richard HughesM01:34:54
69912973Michael HaganM01:34:56
8441007Ewan KilgourM01:36:36
95310829Vicky ShufflebottomF01:37:36
111810329Nick TaylorM01:39:03
111910676Philip Gary PrescottM01:39:03
114110607Mike HopkinsM01:39:15
116810247Andy MarshallM01:39:27
120310260Nick MarshallM01:39:51
129013017Brian EdgarM01:40:35
174815661Robert WallisM01:44:11
243610874Vicky JonesF01:48:34
36861225Rob EmonyM01:55:50
380720355Matt JacksonM01:56:33
384821397Michael CullumM01:56:47
387813124Myriam CamboulivesF01:56:56
407013071Sue WoodF01:57:54
437715877Tim CarrM01:59:23
443912320David BaberM01:59:42
448121382Victoria HowlettF01:59:58
465012978Nicholas HounsfieldM02:01:00
615421390Eithne NoonanF02:11:12
753915009Hazel RenoufF02:25:09
775127139Tacey Margverits BainF02:28:05
796426029Helen Kula-PrzezwanskiF02:31:58