Studley rounds off season with a pint of Leffe!

Dan Studley ended his track season on a high, clocking a fantastic 3.56.09, as he finished 6th in the C race in the European regional championships in Antwerp. Studley, representing the South West, overcame a number of strong challengers including Luxembourg's U20 champion, the crown prince of Liechtenstein and a number of Dutch and German competitors. Fortunately, they all left the battles on the track and made the most of Antwerp's famous nightlife, each indulging in at least one bottle of Leffe!

Big congratulations to Dan, who has had a fantastic track season and he will now turn his attentions to the 6 stage relay, where he will be leading off Westbury's assault on a top 6 finish, for the first time since 2003!

Phillips keeps on winning as Harriers canter to the Foxtrot 5!

Stampede Sports annual 5 mile race from Broughton Gifford brought more success to Westbury Harriers, as their mens team successfully claimed the team prize on a breezy morning in Wiltshire. Leading the way was John Collier who finished 5th in 27.12, followed by Anthony Glover 7th in 28.15, John Terry was 8th in a new PB of 28.20, and Robin Phillips 10th in 29.03. Their cumulative time of 112.50 was a long way clear of 2nd place Avon Valley Runners, whose top counter was 3rd place Michael Towler.

Robin Phillips, John Collier, Anthony Glover and John Terry - victorious Westbury men!

Well done all!!

Clark secures V.40 title at Towpath Run

Congratulations to Graham Clark who secured the 1st V40 prize in the GWR Towpath series, with a solid performance in the final race over 5k. Clark who has been returning to from over the past few months clocked a time of 19.23 on the undulating multi-terrain route.

Top counter for the Harriers was Robin Phillips in 5th place in 18.11, which saw him take 3rd senior man overall! The race was won by the unattached Graham Wadsworth in 17.00, with Mike Blackmore of Bitton 2nd in 17.09. Tim Synge finished 34th in 20.57, Rebecca Lee 50th in 22.20, Richard Hughes 52nd in 22.26, Anneke Bull 72nd in 25.05, Roger Long 77th in 25.25 and Paul Mooney in 25.37.

Well done all!

McGrath run a piece of cake!

Felix McGrath was the surprise winner of the Crooke Peak Cake Race on Wednesday, following an unfortunate detour for the race leader Matt Crane of Bristol & West. Coming down the final hill Crane had a thirty second lead over McGrath, but somehow loss sight of the finish line, and continue down the hill the wrong way - allowing McGrath - whose navigation as usual was spot on - to claim victory!

Well done Felix!

Studley impresses with lifetime best

The final BMC grand prix meeting, saw a great new performance from Dan Studley in the 1500m. Running in the D race, he ran 3.54.29 knocking nearly 4 seconds off his previous best. This caps a great season for Dan, who has come on leaps and bounds under the tutelage of Tom Watson, who also coaches Charlie MacLean who broke the 3.50 barrier in the C race!

Well done both

Races back on the agenda!

Following a quiet few weeks, the race calendar hots up again this weekend, as the Towpath series comes to an end with the curtain closer of a 5k. Then there's the Park Run at Ashton Ct on Saturday morning, and the Foxtrot 5 over in Wiltshire on Sunday - apparently a flat and fast course... There is apparently a team prize for the Foxtrot - mens team of 4 and ladies team of 3, so all the more reason to consider it! See here for more details.

Phillips and Golding triumph in Gorilla run

There was a joint winner of the one-off JTs 35th Birthday Bash Great Gorilla Run as Robyn Golding and Robin Phillips took up the challenge of being photographed beside as many of Bristol's famous gorillas in one hour as they could. Organized by Debbie Marsden, participants met on the Downs and were handed a map showing the location of all 60 gorillas and told which one to visit first. After that you were on your own, but you had to be back at the Downs an hour later or face a penalty. Richard Porter (unattached) was second and the birthday boy himself came third.

Full results:

1. Robin Phillips (Westbury) and Robyn Golding (Westbury) 23 Gorillas 3 penalty points
2. Richard Porter (Unattached) 21 Gorillas 5 penalty points
3. John Terry (Westbury) 19 Gorillas 2 penalty points
4. Mike Hopkins (Westbury) 19 Gorillas 7 penalty points
5. Anthony Glover (Westbury) 17 Gorillas 0 penalty points
6. Vicky Tester (B&W) and Sophie Voller (Westbury) 17 Gorillas 2 penalty points
7. Matt Ellis (Westbury) 17 Gorillas 3 penalty points
8. Geraint Torrington (Westbury) + children 7 Gorillas 0 penalty points
9. Gareth Howard (Unattached) + Raz + Orien 0 Gorillas 0 penalty points

Harriers performances in vain as Yate are relegated

Yate AC were sadly relegated from Division 2 of the Midland League, following a gallant performance at the Aldersley Leisure Village in Wolverhampton. Missing several key stars, Anthony Glover and John Terry made up the numbers in the 800m, 1500m and 3000m. Anthony running 2.16.3 in the 800m, 4.35.7 in the 1500m and 10.18.7 in the 3000m. Terry meanwhile managed 2.21.8 in the 800m and 10.00.1 in the 3000m.

The women were more successful with Debbie Marsden finishing 2nd in two A races - 10.40.5 in the 3000m and 4.57.4 in the 1500m and Kelly Winstone finishing 2nd in the 3000m B race and 5th in the 1500m B race in 11.51.9 and 5.44.7.

Well done to all who've run this season!

Studley finishes 4th in BMC young athletes

Well done to Dan Studley, who managed to secure 4th place in 1.58 at the BMC Young Athletes 800m A race. That time was just 2 seconds off of his PB, and with a tough week, following his Diamond League debut over 3000m, Dan was no doubt feeling a little tired!

With several of Westbury's men coming into form at just the right time, this season's 6 stage relays could be interesting!

Phillips takes individual title in Bitton Series and Voller wins ladies race

Congratulations are due to Robin Phillips, whose 9th place in 17.28 was enough to secure him the individual title for best 3 cumulative times in the series! Closing in on him was Colin Johnson, whose 17.55 was yet another PB - well done Colin! Steve Hawes ran 18.14, and then it was Sophie Voller who won the ladies race in a time of 18.19, just four seconds off of her PB! Then Bob Pringle ran 19.44, James Bradwell 20.28, Bill Silto 21.01, Roger Long 24.00 and Tim Carr close behind in 24.04...

Well done to you all!!!

Ellis and Golding making it a Westbury Double on the Towpath!

Westbury runners led the way in both the mens and ladies event at the most recent towpath run held out of Greville-Smyth Park on Friday evening. For the men, Matt Ellis was a comfortable winner, ending up nearly 2 minutes clear of Mike Blackmore in a time of 32.44. Bristol & West's Andy Cooke was 3rd. For the ladies, Robyn Golding ended up the winner, as she fought off the challenge of Southville's Lucy Richens.

More to follow when the full results are in...

Meanwhile on Saturday, Anthony Glover ran out a convincing winner of the Waterworks Park Run, clocking a time of 17.34. Anthony will no doubt be pleased with that as it followed less than 24 hours after his brother's wedding (and more crucially the reception!) Closer to home John Terry finished 2nd in the Ashton Court hill run in 18.17, Gary Hughes of Team Bath was the winner in 18.04, with Wayne Ellis of Bitton 3rd in 18.26.

Well done all!

Studley runs 8.35 in 3000m Diamond League event!

A huge well done to Dan Studley who finished 15th in the UKA U.20 3000m championships incorporated within today's Diamond League event at Crystal Palace. Dan ran a cracking time of 8.35 (tbc) which is a real marker of the improvement Dan has made this year under the careful guidance of Tom Watson. With many of the club's top men regularly churning out PBs at the moment, it's all boding well for the Midland 6 stage championships next month!