Thanks for reading!

I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who has followed the blog over the past couple of years - between you all you clocked up nearly 50,000 page visits, which is a fantastic achievement! As many of you know I have moved down to Devon and have decided to leave Westbury Harriers, so unfortunately the blog's emphasis on Bristol will be no more! But fear not, like a phoenix it will rise again with more of a Devon and Cornwall focus to reflect my new location in due course!

Thanks again everyone for reading!

Campbell 4th in Bitton 5k

Scott Campbell continued his comeback from injury with a solid 4th place and a time of 17.08 in last night's Bitton 5k. Campbell made a fast start in an attempt to stick with the leaders, but it cost him valuable time on the way back. That said a time close to 17 minutes is not to be sniffed at and I'm sure it will be a good platform moving forwards!

More results when we have them!

Phillips shines at the Towpath

Robin Phillips continued his return to form at last night's Towpath race, with a fine 4th place and a time of 37.33. Coming just 24 hours after his 4th place at the TACH series run he can be pleased with that! Another Harrier doubling up was Ken Ham who finished 14th in 39.21. Terry Jewell-Davies was 17th in 39.29, Andrew Yuill 36th in 42.10, Richard Hughes 38th in 42.22, Alistair Smith 57th in 44.32, Julian Wilson 85th in 48.30, Kay Ridgwell 120th in 54.59, Robyn Golding(?) 129th in 57.34 and Tracey Bain 141st in 1.30.21.

Well done to you all!

TACH race gets a taste of Summers!

Whilst most of the country continues to be battered by weather conditions more akin to April or October, the new TACH race last night got a taste of Summers; Dan Summers to be precise! The in-form Westbury Harriers athlete dominated the new race run out of north Bristol last night, as the Harriers continued their success in the summer series with their athletes finishing 1st, 4th (Ken Ham), 5th (Charlie Jones) and 6th (Robin Phillips). Not to be outdone the ladies also won the team prize (as they did last month) with Shona Mackie (2nd SL) and Jane Goodwin (2nd VL) leading the way, well supported by Evita Gonzales-Szamocki and Sarah Tucker.

With Clive Sheppherd, Caroline Potter and Jane Thornton also in action, it was a good turn out from the Harriers!

Full results should be available from www.tach.org.uk/races.php in due course.

Glover storms to PB at Clevedon 10k

Westbury's Anthony Glover picked up a bronze medal in the Avon 10k championships, as he stormed to a new PB of 33.43 at yesterday's Clevedon 10k. Glover has adopted a new approach to training - which appears more focussed on the pub the the tarmac - but it appears to be working for him as he knocked some 45 seconds off his previous best. Sophie Voller also put on a good display as she knocked 5s off her PB, to come 5th in the ladies race.

Full results as and when we have them!

Westbury Women tougher then Men at the 2012 Man v Horse Marathon

The tables were turned on the men at this year's Man v. Horse marathon as 5 ladies tackled the full course at this, the 33rd running of the great man v. horse event! Unfortunately only two of the club's men were able to tackle the full course, as injuries robbed the team of the services of Matt Ellis, Rich Collinson and John Terry. This left Anthony Glover to drop down to the relay, which he ran with two school friends from Northern Ireland, and he didn't disappoint arriving at the first changeover point in first place in the relay race (although behind two individuals running the whole thing!) Also in the relay event, Karl Dunn, Jullian Bailey-Gard Jnr and Robin Phillips teamed up to good effect and finished 4th, with Robin rapidly closing down on 3rd come the finish!

Back to the main race, and leading the club home was Emma D'Alton who in her first attempt at the course finished 3rd lady in a time of 3.01.54, enough for 17th overall. Kevin Knights was next home in a time of 3.20.09 for 49th place. Then we had Shona Mackie 67th in a time of 3.25.38, Graham Bazley in 3.56.30, Linda O'Shaugnessy 4.07.12, Jane Goodwin in 4.12.02 and Jane Thornton in 4.38.40. Unfortunately for the club Emma was not listed as Westbury Harriers as the ladies would surely have made the top 3 teams if so!

The top end of the race was a who's who of Man v. Horse with 3 former prize winners in the top 5. The winner was Huw Lobb, who repeated his 2004 triumph, although this time finishing some 20 minutes behind the horse and so there was no cash bonus for Huw this time round. John McFarlane and Mark Palmer, also both former winners, were 4th and 5th. With Mark Croasdale - another man v horse veteran doing the prizes and William Hill once again sponsoring the event, it seemed that the event rolled back the years with another highly successful race, defying the gloomy weather forecasts!

The Happy Harriers post race party - 20 members and their friends celebrated in the heart of Wales in Britain's smallest town, Llanwrtyd Wells!

The men's team will I'm sure bounce back and make sure that next year's 34th running of the event will see a return of Westbury dominance!

Ham on top for Harriers at Bradley Stoke 10km

Ken Ham was the leading Westbury Harrier at today's Bradley Stoke 10k. Ham completing the course in a time of 38.43, around a minute clear of the next runner - Lizzy Smith - whose time of 39.30 was enough for 2nd place in the ladies race. Mike Hopkins finished 71st in 44.23, Andreas Lomvardos ran 46.48, Victoria Howlett 47.09, Dean Gardner 52.30, Paul Mooney 52.42, Kay Ridgwell 55.02, Diane Heys 57.14, Caroline Scapens 58.35 and Victoria Jones 1.00.01.

The overall race was won by Matt Hooper in 34.37, with unattached James Shorney 2nd in 35.56. Bristol & West's Jenny Jagger was first lady in 37.42.

Well done all!

Harriers men get round the Bupa 10!

Westbury's men's team successfully closed out a team in today's BUPA London 10k, which doubled as the UKA 10k team champs. Running for the Harriers were Anthony Glover (35.53), Karl Dunn (37.35) and Robin Phillips (37.53), with Dunn securing a PB. In the ladies race, Lucy Richens was top performer for the Harriers as she completed the course in 38.50. Supported by Lizzy Smith and Tamsin Chick the ladies finished 16th team, the men 37th.

Well done everyone!

Record turnout for Harriers in the Bristol 10k

Near ideal conditions for distance running met the runners at today's Bristol 10k. Stand out performances throughout the field as 65 Harriers took part! At the sharp end of the field Chris Palmer scored a PB as he clocked 34.53, for 59th place, whilst Emma D'Alton narrowly missed making the podium as she finished 4th Brit, as an Ethiopian claimed British residence to make the top 3. D'Alton may (or may not) be consolidated with the thought of being 1st veteran in the field (as runbristol proudly highlighted). At present, it looks like the ladies team of D'Alton, Lucy Richens and Debbie Marsden will be 2nd team!

Results (produced via runbristol's website) are below! Well done all!

PositionBib #AthleteGenderChip Time
591042Chris PalmerM00:34:53
65106Emma D'altonF00:35:13
971137Warren PicklesM00:36:50
1031078Robin PhillipsM00:37:02
1091099Lucy RichensF00:37:19
1181158Andy SwainM00:37:37
1221077Ken HamM00:37:47
1242966Debbie MarsdenF00:37:51
17914008Elizabeth SmithF00:38:57
1801110Ewan KilgourM00:38:59
1921210Anthony BallanceM00:39:14
2371155Mark TooskiM00:39:43
2531254Keith HillM00:39:54
2711556Tim WhitakerM00:40:07
3521502David GeorgeM00:41:00
4661252Michael HaganM00:41:51
4713046Joshua Francis HowlettM00:41:55
5421329Geraint TorringtonM00:42:24
5541534Tim SyngeM00:42:28
6321860Rebecca LeeF00:42:52
6611317Mike HopkinsM00:43:02
7833072Victoria ShufflebottomF00:43:46
7961649Nick MarshallM00:43:51
9721193Alex MillerM00:44:37
10002654Anthony WoodM00:44:44
11953183Graham BazleyM00:45:35
12194031Richard CroninM00:45:41
12412990Goksel DursunM00:45:47
12652542Judy KnightsF00:45:55
12681748Mike MewseM00:45:57
134914169Lisa FeehilyF00:46:19
13912541Jennifer CumminsF00:46:26
147114021Philip CourtM00:46:44
15411874Rich BelbinM00:47:00
15802822Steve MacdonaldM00:47:09
15932656Victoria HowlettF00:47:12
167714157Sarah OrrF00:47:29
17877977Nick HounsfieldM00:47:51
19673214Julian WilsonM00:48:29
20561883Linda O'shaughnessyF00:48:46
20604043William RhodesM00:48:46
21074032Valerie HughesF00:48:57
24592543Robert WallisM00:49:57
26112831Andrew MaddockM00:50:31
28692655Suzanne WoodF00:51:21
31575365Douglas HopkinsM00:52:18
35331269Richard HughesM00:53:18
361010083Roger FarrowM00:53:30
37122652Tim CarrM00:53:47
37825372Sarah Love-JonesF00:53:59
441014434Kay RidgwellF00:55:40
44925366Benjamin HopkinsM00:55:53
47784997Dianne HeysF00:56:35
485114472Jermey SandfordM00:56:47
54311862Andreas LomvardosM00:58:18
55445815Victoria JonesF00:58:37
559510084Sam WhiteM00:58:44
56127524Henry NurserM00:58:46
57498316Caroline ScapensF00:59:08
614011991Victoria JayF01:00:19
639313218Sharon EynonF01:01:08
65418030James FoxM01:01:38
66698356Susan KingF01:02:02
72958358Kirsty BurnsF01:04:32
78229707Kathy KilgourF01:07:17

15 Harriers run the final Prom

The curtain closed on the 2011/12 Weston Prom series, as 15 members of Westbury Harriers made the start line. Leading the way was Jullian Bailey-Gard Jnr who ran 30.14 for 16th place. Robin Phillips was 31st in 31.41 and David George 46th in 42.49. Then we had Tamsin Chick running 33.42, Tim Synge 34.30 and Jullian Bailey-Gard Snr in the same time, Rebecca Lee 34.55, Valerie Hughes 38.13, Caroline Potter 39.51, Jane Thornton 41.04, Roger Long 41.04, Kay Ridgwell 42.57, Richard Hughes 44.52, Sarah Gould 50.51 and Sandra Bailey-Gard 52.22.

The race itself was won by Chippenham's Stuart Leaney in 26.20, with Chris Old running 27.40 and Tim Britton of GWR 3rd in 28.06.

Well done to all of you.

Palmer triumphs in Self Transcendence 2m

Westbury's Chris Palmer triumphed in the first of the summer's Self Transcendence races at Eastville Park. Over a tough 2 mile course, Palmer clocked a time of 10.59, some 20 seconds clear of second placed Robin Phillips in 11.20! Jullian Bailey-Gard Jnr managed 4th in 11.40, with Chinmoy regular Gavin Watkins of GWR preventing a top 3 from the Harriers. Ray Hooper clocked 12.49, before the first two ladies came home - Kelly Winstone in 13.03 and Tamsin Chick in 13.15. Then Hayley Johnson ran 14.36 and Sarah Tucker 15.03, Valerie Hughes 15.26 and Jane Thornton 16.14. Richard Hughes clocked 16.45,  Kay Ridgwell 16.50, Roger Long 16.56, Eithne Noonan 16.58 and Sandra Bailey-Gard in 20.21

Well done all!

Weekend Roundup

In addition to the relays, Harriers were in action over the very short and the very long distances (and things in between too!) On the very short side, Anthony Glover claimed the senior men's title in the Avon Track championships over 1500m, running a respectable 4.19 (just 48 hours after his victory in the TACH race). Meanwhile over 20m, Emma D'Alton is the new UK Trail Running champion (Middle Distance) following a great performance at the Marlborough Downs 20, a race in which Shona Mackie also competed.

A number of Harriers also took part in the Keynsham 10k today - results should be available tomorrow!

Well done everyone!

Veterans in action at Sutton Park

A number of vets squads turn out at Sutton Park on Saturday, with our ladies finishing 9th out of 15 in the V35 class, as Kirsti Roberston, Hayley Johnson, Victoria Howlett and Sarah Tucker teamed up to run a combined time of 1.28.45. The in the V55 class,  Marilyn Palmer, Shirley Hume (with a great time of 21.57) and Eithne Noonan finished 6th of 11.

Meanwhile our men finished 19th out of 28 in the V45 cat, as Aidan Naughton, Ken Ham, Keith Hill, Malc White, Mark Tooski and Andrew Yuill teamed up with great effect, for a combined time of 1.55.31

Ladies show men the way in the opening TACH Race

The Westbury ladies took team honours at the opening TACH race, as Lucy Richens returned from an achilles problem with an impressive win in the first race out at Wrington. Her time of 43.33 was good enough to make the top 10, as Shona Mackie, Evita Gonzalez-Szamocki and Debbie Cleary joined forces to claim the prize. Also in the ladies race for the Harriers were Jane Goodwin, Caroline Potter and Jane Thornton - so a fantastic turn out for the ladies.

With injury and illness robbing the men of Matt Ellis, John Terry and Charlie Jones and work commitments denying Dan Summers and Colin Johnson, it was always going to be slightly harder but Anthony Glover stepped up to the mark to win the race in a time of 37.43, to finish nearly two minutes clear of Felix McGrath. With Robin Phillips also in the top 5, the team was then completed by Michael Hagan in 38th place (a great run  there). Sadly for the Harriers Weston AC packed the top 10 with 4 runners, which proved in the end to be too strong. Also in action for the men was Clive Shepherd.

Well done to all of you!

Weekend Roundup

A few Harriers were in action over the weekend. Last Friday saw the first of the GWR Towpath runs, with Robin Phillips leading the way in 7th overall in a time of 37.31. Ken Ham also made the top 10, and first V50 with a time of 38.22. Robyn Golding ran 43.32, Rebecca Lee 44.54, James Bardwell 46.28, Julian Wilson 49.17, Kay Ridgwell 57.37, Richard Hughes 1.00.14 and Tracey Bain 1.04.05!

Then on Saturday Anthony Glover turned out for our partner club Yate and District in the Midland League and ran 4.16 for 1500m, whilst John Collier flew the flag at the Olympic Stadium for Southampton Uni in the BUCS track champs over 10k. Collier led for the first mile in characteristic style, before allowing a few other through to sample the glory!

Onto Sunday and a few Harriers tackled half marathons - first up at Lichfield Half Karl Dunn led the way with 14th place in a time of 1.22.01 - great running from Karl! Also in action was Dean Gardner in a time of 1.32.48! Over in Richmond, Dan Summers put in an excellent run to clock 1.16.56 and finish 10th place there - awesome running!!!

This week sees the first of the TACH series, which has a number of Harriers entered, before the Bristol 10k on Sunday week!

Two Harriers tackle Three Peaks!

A hardy bunch these Westbury Harriers, as two members tackled one of the toughest fell races there is - the three peaks race - a 24 mile spectacular taking in the finest the north of England can throw at you! Nick Kerry was first home in 4.21 for 265th place, Kevin Knights ran 4.32 for 344th - both comfortably in the top half of the field of nearly 750 participants. For Kevin his time represented a near 20 minute PB - great running from both of you guys!!!

Glover makes top 3 in weather affected Stratford Race

The organisers of the annual Shakespeare marathon and half marathon took the decision to cancel the full race just minutes before the scheduled start, but this did not stop Anthony Glover, who was only entered for the half! Despite the atrocious weather conditions Anthony battled round in a great time of 1.18.02, which secured him 3rd place overall, on a day when people were several minutes down on their normal times.

Anthony commented that for the first half of the race it looked like a sub 75 would be comfortably on the cards, and then unfortunately the wind arrived!

Still a great effort, especially from a vet!!!

Unstoppable Collier wins 3rd race in 8 days!

John Collier stormed to victory in atrocious conditions as he won the Pensford 10k and with it a £100 bonus. Undeterred by driving wind and heavy rain, Collier ended up a comfortable winner.

Lizzy Smith also ran well to secure 2nd place in a time of 41.33. Shonie Mackie finished in 45.29 and Colin Marrs in 55.27 to complete the brave Harriers turnout! Well run all!

Collier makes it 2 in 2 at the Parkrun!

John Collier made it 2 wins in consecutive weekends, as several Harriers turned out for the Ashton Court Parkrun today. His time of 17.32, was enough to win by 7 seconds from the unattached Robin Judson. With club championship points up for grabs, Jullian Bailey-Gard Jnr was next home in 7th place and a time of 19.07, followed by Robin Phillips, "fresh" from the London Marathon, in 12th and 19.55. Kelly Winstone ran a great race to win the ladies event in 20.55, with Tamsin Chick running 22.07 for 4th lady. Tim Synge ran 22.07, Sarah Thorne 23.00, Tim Carr 24.03, Victoria Howlett 24.17, Caroline Potter 26.11, Jane Thornton 26.34, Richard Hughes 27.08, Roger Long 27.12, David Nash 27.31, Eithne Noonan 28.32 and Caroline Scapens 30.24.

Well done to all the Harriers who braved "the hill" and lived to tell the tale!

4 Harriers break 3 hour barrier in great London Marathon

There were some outstanding individual performances from Westbury Harriers in yesterday's London Marathon, as the club had 17 runners in the race. Leading the way was Charlie Jones, who ran sub 2.50 for the first time in his career, clocking a time of 2.49.51! Joining him in breaking the 3hr mark was Steve Adams in a time of 2.52.24 - another big PB. For our ladies, stars of the show were Lucy Richens who clocked a massive PB of 2.55.30 to finish 27th lady in the masses race, with Sophie Voller also securing a PB of 2.57.34, for 35th lady in the masses!

Also running we had Ian Ruck securing a monster PB of 3.06.54, a great time, which was good enough to beat Robin Phillips who ran 3.08.04. Then Vicky Tester ran 3.20.06, a great debut time for her, then Mike Hopkins in 3.24.20, Nick Marshall in 3.24.40, Simon Gardiner in 3.25.12, Keith Hill in 3.26.55, Richard Hughes in 3.29.32, Edd Gould in 3.33.41, Tim Synge in 3.39.48, Jane Goodwin in 3.43.29, Linda O'Shaugnessy in 3.51.49 and Ruth Moore in 5.02.13 - awesome running from you all!!!

Also of note from a Bristol perspective was Claire Hallissey's 2.27 which puts her in contention for the third and final place in the British Olympic team!

Good luck to all Westbury marathoners

Best of luck to all of the members of Westbury Harriers running club who are taking part in this weekend's Virgin London Marathon. There will be high hopes for sub 3 hour showings from Charlie Jones, Robin Phillips and Steve Adams for the men and Lucy Richens and Sophie Voller for the ladies. With a supporting cast including Vicky Tester, Tim Synge, Mike Hopkins, Rich Hughes and many others, I'm sure they'll be some exciting stories to report on come sunday afternoon!

PS Despite terrible weather conditions last night, Dan Summers comfortably beat his PB at the Weston Prom, clocking a time of 28.28! Well done Dan!

Weekend Roundup

It was a busy weekend for members of the Harriers. First off our ladies had two teams out running in the National 6 stage Road Relays up in Sutton Park, where despite missing several athletes, the A team finished 24^th and the B team 34^th. Leading the way for the A team were Debbie Marsden and Lizzy Smith, who were well supported by Kelly Winstone, Evita Gonzales, Rebecca Lee and Shona Mackie. Our B team comprised Sarah Thorne, Maria Hobbs, Victoria Howlett, Linda O’Shaugnessy, Allison Foote and Hayley Johnson. Meanwhile across in Swindon Anthony Glover gave the Swindon Parkrun a go and emerged a comfortable winner in 16.58.

Today saw the running of the Great Welsh Marathon, where Graham Bazley and Jane Thornton both secured PBs, in times of 3.43.30 and 4.05.30 respectively. Trish Robson was also running and there were maybe others too!

Richens wins the Easter Bunny

Westbury Harrier's Lucy Richens was the ladies winner of the Easter Bunner 10k, hosted by Yeovil Running Club on Easter Monday. Richens secured a new PB in the process of 36.30 as she makes her final preparations for the London marathon next week! Just behind her was Adam Kula-Przezwanski in 36.33, with Dean Gardner running 40.54 and Andreas Lomvardos running 46 minutes on the nose!

Great running guys and girl, hope you enjoyed the easter eggs!!!

Collier at the double, with two wins in two days!

John Collier triumphed in today's Hanham Horror, just 24 hours after clocking 17.05 to win the Ashton Court Parkrun! Collier ended up 40 seconds clear of Clevedon's Julian Emery, as he added another off-road victory to his growing collection of titles! With Robin Phillips, Terry Jewell-Davies, Jullian Bailey-Gard Jnr also making the top 15, it was a highly successful day for the men!

It was just as successful for the ladies as Lizzy Smith and Evita Gonzales-Szamocki scored a 1-2 in the ladies race!

Full results to follow when available!!!

D'Alton stars again at Reading Half

Emma D'Alton showed no signs of fatigue as she finished 8th in the Reading 1/2 marathon, less than 24 hours after her starring role in Westbury Harriers' 6 stage win. D'Alton clocked a time of 1:18:32 to finish 6th place British runner, as the leading two athletes were both Kenyans. Also participating for the Harriers were Keith Hill and Ian Ruck, who both clocked sub 90 minutes, with Dean Gardener finishing just outside. Robyn Golding also got round, as she paced a friend to a PB of 2hr 8 minutes.

Meanwhile, closer to home Lizzy Smith finished 3rd in the Forest of Dean half marathon, a race also ran by Hayley Johnson. I suspect there were other Westbury participants but sadly their search facility is not friendly on that count!

Harriers ladies stun rivals with victory in Midlands 6 stage!

Westbury Harriers ladies pulled a stunning performance out of the bag to win the Midland 6 stage relays with the 6th fastest winning time ever! Team manager Tamsin Chick took a leaf out of Alex Ferguson's book and kept both the team and the opposition guessing, refusing to announce her team until 48 hours before the race!

On the day itself, Debbie Marsden gave the team a great start, as she put a period of injuries and illness behind her to run 17.33 to place the team 3rd after leg 1 behind Birchfield and Notts. Sophie Voller then put in a time of 17.55 to place the Harriers 2nd, but over two minutes behind Birchfield. Vicky Tester took over and managed to close the gap by 50 seconds, running a time of 18.15. Leg 3 was also the turn of Annabel Gummow to run the fast time ever at the midland 6 stage clocking a stunning time of 15.50 - one that would have been highly respectable in the men's race - as Bristol & West came in 3rd, just 20s behind Westbury. Robyn Golding then clocked the 2nd fastest leg 4 time of 18.19, as the lead at the front was closed to 48s.

Luckily the Harriers had two of their big guns in reserve, as Emma D'Alton ran the fastest time for the Harriers of 17.16 to close the gap to just 16s. It was then left to Lucy Richens, who ran a stormer of a leg in 17.17 to overtake Birchfield come the top of the hill and cruised away to a 35s victory with a time of 1.46.35. She not only surprised herself but also the organizers, who didn't have the tape ready in time, but so ecstatic was Lucy she didn't notice that and wanted to go and run the course again!

We also had a complete B team, which finished a highly respectable 14th (and top B team), thanks to Lizzy Smith (18.51), Tamsin Chick (20.53), Sarah Thorne (21.10), Victoria Howlett (22.38), Evita Gonzalez (20.41) and Kelly Winstone (19.30).

Meanwhile the men improved on previous years with a 17th place showing. John Collier got them off to a solid start with 29.12 for 18th place, Will Massey then pulled them into 16th with 16.15, before Felix McGrath took the Harriers to their highest spot of the day 12th place, with a 9th quickest on the leg time of 16.48. Charlie Jones then ran the 2nd long leg in a time of 32.41, handing over to Chris Palmer in 19th place. Chris then pulled out a cracker of a time of 16.38, 10th fastest leg 5 and the Harriers up to 18th. Gregg Ward then managed 16.50 (a great effort having been working until 2am) and the club were in 16th. Robin Phillips then ran another great leg with 31.59 and the club in 17th.  Jullian Bailey-Gard Jnr then took the club into 15th with a time of 17.31, before Rick Wallis, in his first race for nearly 3 years, clocked a time of 18.05 for 16th. John Terry then took on the challenge of the final long leg and a time of 31.00 dead saw the club in 17th, before Malc White in 18.35 and Matt Lavis in 19.28 closed the team out in 17th.

A corker of a day, and a ladies team performance that was hard to beat with all 6 counters in the fastest 27 of the day! The beginning of a new era of ladies athletics in the SW - bring it on!

Golden Oldies gain victories in Masters XC

The final XC of the year saw several Harriers competing in the British Master XC championships, held at Bath University. First off was the 6km race for ladies and gentlemen over 65. Leading the way was Robyn Golding with a fine 14th. She was well supported by Kirsti Robertson, Maria Hobbs, Victoria Howlett, Sarah Tucker, Anneke Bull, Marilyn Palmer, Eithne Noonan, Diane Heys and Sandra Bailey Gard. When distilled down into age categories the ladies walked away bronze medals in the W55-64 category and gold medals in the W35-44 class. Great running ladies!

Tony Jefferies also ran well to finish 10th in the V65 class!

Then at 1pm with the sun scorching down the 8km race for gentlemen between 35 and 64 kicked off. The heat took its toll with several drop outs, mainly amongst the V35 class which suggests they need to "man up" a little! No such troubles for the Harriers as Anthony Glover led the team home in 28th, with John Terry 41st and Robin Phillips 57th, they obtained bronze medals in the V35-44 class, to sit alongside the silver medals the same trio achieved on the road back in October over 10k.

They were well supported by David Hobbs, Ewan Kilgour, and Jullian Bailey-Gard (Jnr and Snr).

Great running from all the Harriers and a cracker of a way to finish off an exceptional cross country season!

Well done all!

Victories galore for long distance Harriers!

Our distance training group enjoyed a weekend of unparalleled success, as Dan Summers, Emma D'Alton and Lucy Richens all scored victories! For Summers, a first ever competitive win was secured with a run away victory in yesterday's Hogweed Hilly Half, as he raced to victory in 1.21.17. Not to be outdone, Emma D'Alton finished 2nd overall and smashed the ladies course record in a time of 1.22.32!

Meanwhile over in Wales at the San Domenico 20m, Lucy Richens scorched to victory in a time of 2.17.32. Hot on her heels was Sophie Voller who made it a 1-2 for the ladies with a time of 2.21.20. Also running a great race, Victoria Tester, who clocked 2.33.35, to ensure the team prize would be returning to Bristol!

Also in action at San Dom, Richard Hughes, Tim Synge, Trish Robson and Graham Bazley, whilst flying the flag over the hills of Hogweed were Paul and Debbie Fletcher, Aidan Naughton, Andrew Gibbons and Emma Powell.

Great running from everyone!

Westbury veterans seeking to finish XC season on a high!

This Sunday sees the British Masters XC Championships, which are to be held at Bath University over 6k for ladies and 8k for gentlemen. The club will be hoping to be competitive in many of the age categories, not least the Male 35-44 grouping, with the likes of Anthony Glover, John Terry, Robin Phillips, Ewan Kilgour and Jullian Bailey-Gard Jnr all in action. Success here would build upon the silver medal that Glover, Terry and Phillips secured on the road in the Masters 10k champs last October in Exmouth.

As always, we'll have the results here for you on Sunday after the race!

Westbury ladies in cruise control at Gloucester 20!

WEll done to Lucy Richens, Sophie Voller and Vicky Tester who all successfully negotiated the Gloucester 20, as their preparations for London ratchet up a notch. Several other Harriers were also in action including Keith Hill, Ian Ruck, Richard Hughes, Michael Hagan, Graham Bazley, Trish Robson, Linda O'Shaugnessy, Zoe Wildgoose, Aidan Naughton, Shirley Hume, Jane Goodwin, Jane Thornton, Glyn Jones and Michael Cullum.

Well done to you all!!!

D'Alton storms round the lakes!

Emma D'Alton clocked a very impressive 2.14 to win the Rhayader Round the Lakes 20m race today. The course, renowned more for it's breathtaking scenery than its capability to produce fast times with a continuous 3 mile climb early on, was tamed by a number of Harriers, on a good day for running (if only for the headwind)!

First home and in 7th overall was John Terry in a time of 2.09.29, just enough to keep ahead of team mate Charlie Jones who finished 9th in 2.10.09. Terry and Jones had been locked in battle (or maybe conversation) up until 17 miles, when Terry sneaked ahead on yet another uphill. Steve Adams finished 20th in 2.16, and completing a strong Harriers team, Tim Synge finished in 2.35.

Meanwhile in the 5 mile race, Debbie Marsden demolished the entire field, finishing first overall in a time of 29.20!!!

Great running everyone!

Bailey-Gard Jnr leads home Westbury Promers

Jullian Bailey-Gard Jnr produced one of his best performances on a good night for running at Weston on Thursday. With the team missing several key runners due to injuries or availability, Bailey-Gard, 36, stepped up to the plate with aplomb. He ran the course in a time of 29.11 to finish 12th overall!

Also in action we had Alex Miller 31.41, Keith Hill 32.35, Zoe Wildgoose with a great time of 34.08, Jullian Bailey-Gard Snr 34.31, Rebecca Lee 34.36, James Cant 35.05, Valerie Hughes 36.22, Kim Ingleby 36.35, Jane Goodwin 36.44, Linda O'Shaughnessy 38.44, Sarah Tucker 40.15, Jane Thornton 40.48, Caroline Potter 42.08, Diane Heys 43.40, Eithne Noonan 43.42, Roger Long 43.43, Kay Ridgwell 43.51, Sandra Bailey-Gard 53.42 and Richard Hughes 57.53 (did he start 20 minutes late?)

Well done to you all!!!

Ellis close to top 100 at the Intercounties

Matt Ellis had a storming run at yesterday inter-counties XC championships (incorporating the McCain Challenge Final) as he finished in 104th place in a time of 38.45, in what Ellis described as the most competitive race of his career to date. Anthony Glover was also running in the colours of Avon & Somerset and finished in a time of 42.02 for 223rd place. There were 278 finishers, as Keith Gerrard stormed to victory, to do a domestic double, following on from his National triumph last month. The North East took the team competition as they were led home by Ricky Stevenson in second! Avon & Somerset finished 19th team overall.

Richens leads the way at the Bath Half

Westbury's Lucy Richens was the top finisher for the club, as she broke the 80 minute barrier for the first time in today's running of the Bath Half. Richens who finished 12th lady, was well supported in the race as Sophie Voller ran 1.22.05 to finish 21st, Lizzy Smith 1.26.07 for 34th and Vicky Tester 1.28.25 for 43rd, as we had four ladies break 90 minutes. On the current results, they look strong contenders for the overall team prize!

For the men, leading the way was Andrew Yuill in 1.32.35 and Aidan Naughton in 1.42.28. I suspect we had others running too, but at the moment this is all Harriers listed on the official results.

Await a further update later! Well done all!

Ellis and Glover to fly the Harriers flag at the Intercounties

Congratulations to Matt Ellis and Anthony Glover who will be representing Avon & Somerset at this weekend's intercounties championships, incorporating the McCain Challenge final, which will be held at Cofton Park in Birmingham. It could've been a hat-trick, but unfortunately John Collier has not recovered from illness and has had to rule himself out.

Well done to Matt and Anthony, a great reward for their performances over the country this season!

Westbury men claim title on home soil!

Westbury Harriers long wait for a Gwent League title came to an end at Blaise Castle as they claimed their first title since 1992 on a balmy day at Blaise!

Matt Ellis, as he has done in every race this season led the team home with a fine 6th place (which earned him the 2nd Senior Male prize)! He was well supported by Felix McGrath 15th, Anthony Glover 16th, Dan Summers 22nd and John Terry 23rd as they finished just 13 points behind a strong Les Croupiers team, to claim the title by just 30 points in the end!

The strength in depth never more apparent than by the fact that our B team finished 4th overall on the day, as Will Massey 24th, Chris Palmer 29th, John Collier 31st, Gregg Ward 36th and Karl Dunn 40th meant we had 10 guys home in the top 40!

Still they kept coming with complete C, D, E and F teams to report on!

The C team: Ken Ham 48th, Robin Phillips 53rd, Ewan Kilgour 66th, Jullian Bailey-Gard Jnr 72nd and Ian Ruck 78th - awesome packing!

The D team: Chris O'Donovan 84th, Bob Pringle 95, Terry Jewel-Davies 97th, Colin Johnson 101st and Nick Kerry 113th.

The E team: Julian Hall 115th, Jullian Bailey-Gard Snr 120th, James Cant 129th, Tony Jefferies 133rd and Clive Shepherd 139th.

The F team: Tim Synge 153rd, Geraint Torrington 156th, Rich Bloss 163rd, Andreas Lomvardos 164th, and Rich Hughes 178th.

Bringing the club home was Tim Carr in 183rd. We were also delighted to welcome back David Hobbs who finished 88th as an individual as he awaits clearance from UKA and to welcome Dan Summers' friend Tim Cridland into the squad for the weekend as he finished 113th.

An awesome way to finish off a cracker of a season for the Senior Men, whose domination of the regional XC scene is now complete. Avon Champions, South West Champions and now Gwent League Champions, a great, great performance from everyone who has represented the club over the course of the winter!

The 12 stage road relay now awaits at the end of March and then a well earned break!

Juniors romp home to Gwent League silverware!

Our junior girls gave the club plenty to celebrate too, as the U 15s were champions, the U17s were champions with Jodie Kelly 3rd overall, U13s were runners up, with Ellie Leather champion lady, U20s were bronze medalists, and Floren Scrafton taking 3rd overall. A great series of results from our girls, and we look forward to seeing their further progression over the coming years!! Well done to all of the coaching staff too!!!

Westbury's ladies produce the goods at Blaise Castle!

On home soil, it was always expected that the club would put on a good show, and they didn't disappoint finishing 1st on the day to cement their 2nd place in the league!

New signing Lucy Richens in her first Gwent League for the club, ran a corking to finish 3rd (although running as an individual having already scored for Southville earlier in the season), then Sophie Voller had another cracking run for 7th, Debbie Marsden returned from injury with a solid 11th, Lizzy Smith was 18th, Robyn Golding 20th and Vicky Tester 22nd to complete the A team. Vicky's run also secured her 3rd Senior Lady in the overall competition!

Our B team consisted of Kelly Winstone in 28th, Kim Ingleby 44th, Vicky Shufflebotham 47th, B Lee 50th and Sarah Thorne 56th. The C team was Debbie Cleary 58th, Hayley Johnson 61st, Tamsin Chick 67th, J Cummins 71st and Vicky Howlett 78th. Then a D team! Sarah Tucker 83rd, Valerie Hughes 91st, Kay Ridgwell 117th, Eithne Noonan 120th and Caroline Scapens 128th

Well done to you all!!!

Jones storms to half PB in windswept Llanelli!

Charlie Jones just can't stop getting quicker and quicker! Not satisfied with his new 5m PB of 28.17 at last month's Weston Prom, he chose another waterfront course to race to a new PB this time over the half marathon distance with a time of 1.18.27! Jones was naturally delighted with his top 25 position and new PB, his happiness only tainted slightly by the fact that racing in Llanelli meant he had to miss out on the club's triumphant day in the Gwent League and subsequent party the night beforehand!

I'm sure they'll be lots of others opportunities to celebrate!

Day of destiny for the men's team approaches!

Westbury's men will seek to secure their first Gwent League title in 20 years on home soil at Blaise Castle on Saturday. Having dominated the competition in the 1970s and 1980s, winning 10 titles in a row from 1974-1983, the club's dominance has waned in recent years, before slowly recovering to fourth place last season. Now, with one race left the club hold a 43 point lead over Les Croupiers - the Cardiff based running club.

Whilst Simon Everington remains injured, and the ever improving Charlie Jones away, the Harriers look to be able to call upon a strong squad of Matt Ellis, John Collier, Anthony Glover, Felix McGrath, Will Massey, John Terry, Gregg Ward, Karl Dunn, Ed Boyles, Chris Palmer, Robin Phillips, Ken Ham, Colin Johnson, Jullian Bailey-Gard and many others!

After swamping the top 30 with no less than 8 runners Les Croupiers will be feeling confident of causing an upset, but they may need to flood the top 10 to stand a realistic chance of wresting the title from Westbury!

Ellis and Terry hit form at just the right time!

Following a torrid couple of weeks, Matt Ellis and John Terry both hit form at just the right time, with this weekend's deciding Gwent League only a few days away, Ellis finished 2nd in Tuesday night's Bridge Inn, clocking a time of 15.26, to finish just 10 seconds off his PB, whilst Terry went even better, clocking his first sub 17 time of 16.59. Lucy Richens also scored a big PB with 17.40, to finish 2nd in the ladies race. Karl Dunn and Robin Phillips both ran excellent times of 17.39 and 17.49 respectively!

Also in action Robyn Golding ran 19.03, Richard Hughes 19.45, David George 19.49, Kelly Winstone 19.59, Tony Jefferies 20.11, Matt Lavis 20.25, Ross Chick 20.53, Chris Palmer 21.23, Sarah Thorne 21.42, Valerie Hughes 22.21 and Tim Carr 23.12 - well done to you all!!

Bailey-Gard Jnr impresses in challenge

Jullian Bailey-Gard Jnr produced one of his best ever runs to finish 6th in this weekend's Ironwood Challenge. The 36 year old Westbury Harrier, ran an excellent race to finish in 49.54 and over a minute clear of Terry Jewell-Davies. Also in action were Nick Kerry who finished 27th in 55.07, Jullian Bailey-Gard Snr 31st in 55.52, Richard Hughes 33rd in 56.03, Josh Howlett 45th in 58.55 and Clive Shepherd 47th in 59.14. Then we had Debbie Cleary 64th in 1.01.58, Jane Goodwin, Tim Carr and Victoria Howlett 81st-83rd respectively in times of 1.05.14, 1.05.19 and 1.05.29, Linda O'Shaugnessy 91st in 1.07.35, Roger Long and Jane Thornton 113th and 114th both in 1.16.34 and Sandra Bailey-Gard 129th in 1.31.03.

Well done to all!

Terry and Palmer survive the National

A glorious day for racing at London's Parliament Hill, for the 125th running of the Senior Mens National XC Championships. The jinx that had cost the club so many runners in the build up to the race, struck during the race as Scott Campbell suffered a recurrence of an ankle problem and was forced to drop out shortly after 2miles. Fortunately for the club - with the deciding Gwent League rapidly approaching - John Terry showed a return to form to finish 320th in a time of 43.16 for the challenging 12km course, whilst Chris Palmer finished in 44.52 for 451st place.

It seems that Westbury were not the only club affected by the jinx as our colleagues over the way, B&W also suffered, losing Robbie Bugden to an injury suffered during the race and Mike Jacobs collapsed just before the finish, but in a herculean effort, picked himself up and struggled across the line. Earlier on in the day Nathan Young also pulled out, which cost the Junior men a chance of a medal!

Let's hope we can get a much better turn out next year at what has to be the ultimate racing experience. Anyone who has stood at the side of, or better still stood in the middle of, can attest to the truly awing experience of having 1500+ feet simultaneously pounding off up a hill at the start of a race. The ground shakes, yet it's eerily quiet. The National. There's nothing quite like it!

Glover hot foots it to a cracking time in the Chilly 10k

Westbury's Anthony Glover took the opportunity to return to the roads, with a cracking 4th place in a time of 34.40 in today's Castle Combe Chilly 10k. Glover who has been nursing an ageing groin over the past few months, felt the flat tarmac of Castle Combe would be a good indicator of current form. I'd say he's warming up nicely for next weekend's Gwent League!

Also in action, Tim Synge who clocked a time of 42.51, to follow on from yesterday's 26 minutes in the Ashton Court Park Run - well done too to Tim!

Nationals jinx as Harriers team decimated!

It seems that there is a jinx affected Westbury Harriers' athletes, as injuries and illness have robbed them of several athletes. With John Collier, Anthony Glover, Colin Johnson, Rich Collinson, Gregg Ward, Sam Dalgleish and Simone Everington all unavailable, the men's flag will be only flying half mast with Scott Campbell, Chris Palmer and John Terry racing. The girls have had it just as bad, with Sophie Voller, Vicky Tester and Debbie Marsden all out, it has meant a collapse in the ladies team as well.

Thoughts now turn to Blaise Castle and hopes for a rapid recovery from the Harriers athletes, whose number will be boosted through the likes of Dan Summers, Will Massey and Felix McGrath for the deciding Gwent League fixture on March 3rd.

Richens scores 2nd in the tough ten!

Westbury's Lucy Richens finished 2nd lady, just a minute or so off the race winner B&Ws Annabel Granger in this weekend's tough ten. Lucy who has come on leaps and bounds in the past few months, must be feeling confident that next season will be her time to win what she describes as her favourite race!

Well done Lucy!

Ellis canters, Voller gallops and Jones charges at Weston

Westbury Harrier's Matt Ellis cruised to victory in last night's Weston Prom. Ellis led from gun to tape and a solo performance of 25.44 on a relatively calm evening set the tone for some fast performances throughout. Such was his dominance, that he had established a lead of over a minute by half way and cantered through the second half, talking with marshalls and joking with the locals as he eased down to a 1.40 victory from B&Ws Ben Robinson.

In the ladies race, Sophie Voller cruised to a new PB and her first ever sub 30, in 29.55, whilst performance of the night for me came from Charlie Jones, who smashed his PB with a time of 28.17! It looks like all the hard training sessions are paying dividends for this group!

Full results to follow!

Gwent League Results

With the scores on the doors counted, the Harriers take a 43 point lead into the final race of the season, following their 2nd place behind Les Croupiers yesterday. The strength is depth of the current senior men could be no better illustrated by the fact that our B team finished 6th team on the day and with 3654 points would be holding their own in Division 1 along with the A team.

A glorious performance from our SM this season and what better venue for the league to be decided than the Blaise Castle Estate.

Our ladies are still in the hunt, currently lying 2nd overall, but realistically they may have to settle for silver. Whichever way it goes, there's going to be some serious celebrations come Saturday March 3rd!!!

Sunday Round up!

Good news from Reading, where Robyn Golding continues her recovery from injury with a comfortable victory in the Reading 5m. The course was subject to last minute alterations due to snow and ice, but that didn't stop Golding clocking a time of 29.42, to finish 10th overall!

Also today, the Dursley dozen attracted a few runners from Westbury including Graham Bazley , whilst down in Exeter Tim Synge competed in the new Exeter 1/2 marathon in 1.34!

Well done all!

Voller stars as ladies look set to seal second.

Sophie Voller led the way for the Westbury ladies in today's Gwent, finishing in a cracking 5th place as they look set to secure at least silver going into the final race of the season. Backed up by the returning Vicky Tester in 14th, Kelly Winstone 35th, Sarah Thorne 59th and Jenni Cummins 64th the A team were hoping to limit the lead of Les Croupiers. Next home we had Hayley Johnson in 70th, Victoria Howlett in 77th, team manager Tamsin Chick making a welcome return in 78th and Lindsay Hall in 129th.

Well done ladies!

Top Gwent finish for Ellis, but Harriers face nail biting climax!

Les Croupiers emerged victorious from round four of the Gwent League at Brecon, but Westbury Harriers remain in first place with the title to be decided at the Blaise Castle Estate in 3 weeks time.

For the Harriers, Matt Ellis ran his best ever Gwent race, and despite going over on his ankle heavily, he managed 5th place, and only seconds off of 4th. John Collier ran a cracking race too for 10th, with Anthony Glover 3rd home in 20th. Then we had Gregg Ward in 33rd and Charlie Jones in 38th to complete the A team.

Karl Dunn led home the B team in 41st, with new boy Ed Boyles in 49th, Ken Ham 54th, Chris Palmer 55th and Robin Phillips 60th a great showing.

We also had a complete C team as Bob Pringle finished 105th, Ian Ruck 108th, Jullian Bailey-Gard Snr 134, Mike Hopkins 145th and Tony Jefferies 153rd.

Les Croupiers packed the top of the field, finishing 6th, 7th, 17th, 22nd, 23rd and 24th - however there was some doubts as to whether their first counter would actually count for the team, having only recently joined. So whilst we await the official results, the Harriers will take a lead of either 26 or 44 points into the final round. Either way it's going to be a nail biting finish to the season, but with the likes of Simon Everington, Felix McGrath, Dan Summers, John Terry,  Sam Dalgleish and Will Massey waiting in the wings, the Harriers will be hoping to have sufficient firepower to see off Les Croups on home soil and win their first title for many years!

Harriers seek to strengthen grip on title

Westbury Harriers senior men's team will be looking to increase their lead at the top of the Gwent League as the 4th round takes place in Brecon this weekend. Following on from securing top spot in the 3rd round at Singleton Park, Swansea in December, the Harriers look set to field a strong squad that on paper will be tough to overcome. They will be led by Matt Ellis and John Collier, with Anthony Glover, John Terry, Charlie Jones, Karl Dunn, Gregg Ward and Chris Palmer all looking to make up the A team. With new boys Scott Campbell and Ed Boyles set to make their Harriers debut and Robin Phillips, Ken Ham, Jullian Bailey-Gard Jnr and Bob Pringle competing as well, it would be a strong side indeed that was able to put much of a dent into the Harriers 50+ point lead.

The ladies will be seeking to close the gap on the leaders Les Croupiers and hope to field Sophie Voller and Vicky Tester to strengthen the side that finished 3rd in the race at Swansea last year.

Good luck everyone!

Ellis and Johnson star at the Chichester 10k

Well done to Matt Ellis and Hayley Johnson, who defied precarious conditions to make it to the start line of the Chichester Priory 10k. Ellis clocked a new road PB of 31.24 as he finished 16th in a highly competitive field, led home by Benedict Whitby in a scorching 29.37. Hayley meanwhile clocked 45.26 as she moves ever closer to a sub 45 time!!!

Also in action at the Blackmore Vale 1/2 marathon - Andrew Gibbons who clocked a time of 1:53:14.

Well done all!

Palmer is back!

Chris Palmer showed he is fast returning to his best form, after clocking a cracking time of 17.14 in January's Bridge Inn. He was kept company by several other Harriers, including Dan Summers and Karl Dunn who clocked 17.35 and 17.38 respectively. New boy Ed Boyles clocked 17.55, just ahead of Robin Phillips in 17.56, who in turn was just ahead of the winning lady, our own Emma D'Alton in 17.57!

The we had Jullian Bailey-Gard Jnr in 18.12, Sophie Voller in 18.26, Malc White in 19.15, Ray Hooper 19.56, Richard Hughes 20.04, Tony Jefferies 20.15, Mike Mews 22.02, Mike Harris 22.11, Sarah Thorne 22.17, Valerie Hughes 22.23, Tim Carr 24.00 and Sandra Bailey-Gard in 32.22

The race itself was won by Bristol & West's Andrew Woods and there were 138 finishers!

Well done to all runners!

Men and Women produce epic displays at the Midlands Cross Country Champs

Westbury's senior teams did the club proud finishing 5th team in the ladies and 6th team in the men, as a very high standard of athletes turned up to contest the 2012 Midland XC Championships at Woollaton Park in Nottingham.

First off were the ladies who agonisingly lost Debbie Marsden to injury during the race, but this didn't stop Emma D'Alton producing her best ever run over the country to finish 13th in 29.44 and with great support from Sophie Voller (23rd, 31.41), Lizzy Smith (53rd, 34.00) and Kelly Winstone (75th, 35.53) they finished with 167 points and 5th place, just 13 off of a medal.

Teams: Charnwood 50, Notts 82, Telford 151, Coventry Godiva 152, Westbury 167.

Then it was the turn of the senior men, who were led (initially) by John Collier, who adopted a front-running approach and jostled for the lead with James Walsh (Leeds City) and Rory Fraser (OWLS). Unfortunately the 4.57 first mile took its toil, and Matt Ellis established his position as top Harrier over the remaining 3 laps of an undulating 12km course. An incredibly high standard of running in the mens race saw 50 runners run sub 5.30/mile and 128 sub 6.00/mile on a fast but challenging course. Ellis finished 32nd in a time of 39.41, followed by Collier (60th, 41.37), John Terry (76th, 42.49), Charlie Jones (102nd, 44.05), Gregg Ward (117th, 44.41), Karl Dunn (123rd, 44.50), Ken Ham (143rd, 45.45) and Robin Phillips (193rd, 47.40).

The scoring 6's total of 510 points placed them a creditable 6th place, as both our mens and womens teams finished top performers from the West country!

Teams: Notts 79, Tipton 97, Coventry Godiva 157, OWLS 231, Charnwood 504, Westbury 510


Well done guys and girls!

Midlands XC Beckons

Saturday sees a return to Woolaton Park for the Midlands Area XC championships and Westbury Harriers will be seeking to replicate their successes of last year. The womens' team of Debbie Marsden, Emma D'Alton, Sophie Voller and Lizzy Smith will be seeking to at least match the bronze medals they secured last year at Leamington Spa, whilst the men will be hoping to match the 5th place they secured last year with a squad of Matt Ellis, John Collier, John Terry, Gregg Ward, Charlie Jones, Karl Dunn, Ken Ham and Robin Phillips all competing for a place as one of 6 scoring counters. Ken will also be seeking individual glory in the V.50 class!

With rumours of availability problems for our local rivals B&W, there could be a battle for top club in the SW beckoning!

Knights circumnavigates Anglesey!

Well done to Kevin Knights who finished 14th in the latest round of the endurancelife Coastal Trail Marathon which took place in Anglesey. On a hilly course, Knights clocked a time of 4:34:43. The winner was Mark Tickle who clocked a time of 3:39:07, to give an indication of how tough conditions were.

Good running!

Ham leads the way in the Morland Multi Terrain

Ken Ham was the leading Harrier in Sunday's TACH winter race the Morland Multi Terrain, finishing in a time of 43.07, which gave him 11th place and top V.50. The race itself was won by the unattached Rob Hayes in 38.39, with Marcus Mumford 2nd in 41.23 and Craig Berryman of Havant AC 3rd in 42.00.

Also running for the Harriers were Jullian Bailey-Gard Jnr  in 44.45 (15th), Terry Jewell-Davies 45.29 (18th), Jullian Bailey-Gard Snr 49.08 (42nd), David Baber 55.33 (96th), Shirley Hume 56.09 (100th), Victoria Howlett 57.34 (112th), Anneke Bull 57.44 (113th), Sarah Thorne 58.01 (117th), Roger Long 61.30 (141st), Glyn Jones 61.40 (143rd), Chris Hume 61.42 (144th), Michael Cullum 62.15 (150th) and Sandra Bailey-Gard 78.02 (199th).

Well done all!

Harriers dominate the prom

Westbury Harriers continued their domination of the local race scene as Matt Ellis won the January Prom in a time of 26.32, with new recruit Scott Campbell finishing 2nd in 28.02. John Terry also made the top 5 in 28.44, as gale force conditions prevented quick times in this month's race. Hot on his heels, Charlie Jones finished in 6th place and just behind was Lucy Richens who finished 2nd lady in 29.21, with Sophie Voller a minute further back in 3rd. Only Steph Barnes managed to spoil the Westbury party as she ran a great race to finish 1st lady and 4th overall in 28.41!

Also in action we had Robin Phillips running 30:35 for 24th, Jullian Bailey-Gard Jnr 31:11 for 30th, Alex Miller 31:59 for 42nd, Richard Hughes 33:49 for 72nd, Jullian Bailey-Gard Snr 34:44 for 92 and also making the top, 100 Zoe Dixon who finished 95th in 34:58.

Then we had Rebecca Lee 122nd in 36:28, James Cant 135th in 37:10, Jane Goodwin 143rd in 37:44, Zoe Wildgoose 146th in 37:51 and Valerie Hughes 148th in 37:55. Then we had David Baber 165th in 39:20, Anneke Bull 184th in 40:29, Jane Thornton 206th in 42:30, closely followed by Roger Long in 42:40 for 207th.

And still they come! Myriam Camboulives 213th in 43:08, Eithne Noonan 219th in 43:53, Diane Heys 220th in 44:04, Kay Ridgwell 227th in 44:27 and Sandra Bailey-Gard 256th in 54:33.

Great running from so many Harriers in testing conditions!

Harriers Rollick along the Riverbank!

Congratulations to Lucy Richens, Anthony Glover, Sophie Voller and Scott Campbell who finished 1st lady, 2nd man, 3rd lady and 4th man respectively in this year's riverbank rollick organized by Thornbury Running Club. For Glover that makes it three times he has finished 2nd in the 9 mile off-road event. Luckily for the runners, the wind was blowing in the opposite direction to normal, making the charge alongside the river Severn much more enjoyable than usual!

Also in action we had Ken Ham 17th in 1.02.22, Jullian Bailey-Gard Jnr 25th in 1.04.03, Terry Jewell-Davies 32nd in 1.04.51, Jullian Bailey-Gard Jnr (again!!!) in 44th in 1.06.17, Ian Ruck 45th in 1.06.21, Jullian Bailey-Gard Snr 73rd in 1.09.34. Then we had Richard Hughes 144th in 1.15.51, Ian Louden 161st in 1.18.35, Jane Goodwin 200th in 1.22.21, Andrew Gibbons 204th in 1.23.05, Victoria Howlett 216th in 1.24.12, Roger Long 233rd in 1.26.27, Jane Thornton 270th in 1.32.57 and Sandra Bailey-Gard 301st in 1.53.42!

Well done to you all!!!

Floren triumphs at Avon Schools!

Cracking result today from Floren Scrafton, who put behind her the nightmare of persistent injury problems to triumph in the Avon Schools XC Championships today. She was well supported by other Harriers, with Lauren Ellis 3rd and Zoe Barber 4th! Great running from all of the girls and we look forward to seeing your progress with the Senior Ladies moving forward!

Westbury's Senior Men romp to SouthWest XC Title

A great start to 2012 for Westbury Harrier's Senior Men, as their squad came away with the Club Prize at the SouthWest XC Championships at Bicton Agricultural College in Devon. Ken Ham also did the club proud take individual silver in the V.50 category!

Despite missing the likes of John Collier, Scott Campbell, Gregg Ward and Simon Everington, the team of  Matt Ellis, first home in 10th place, followed by Anthony Glover in 21st, Felix McGrath in 30th, John Terry 32nd and Charlie Jones in 39th, was strong enough to hold off Cornwall AC by 132 pts to 137, with Wells City Harriers 3rd with 176.

Also in action Chris Palmer in 41st, Ken Ham 53rd (2nd V.50), Colin Johnson 65th (12th V.40) and James Cant 86th. Great running from all the guys!

The race also doubled as the SouthWest Inter-counties championships and many of our club were actually running in the colours of Avon as Matt Ellis, Anthony Glover, Daniel Jones (Team Bath), John Terry, Charlie Jones and Chris Palmer finished 3rd, behind the two powerhouse counties of Devon and Cornwall, where the race itself was won by Bideford's Kevin Heywood in a phenomenal 24.40, nearly a minute clear of Bristol and West's Robbie Bugden.

Westbury / Avon SM squad (l-r) James Cant, Charlie Jones, John Terry, Matt Ellis, Anthony Glover, Chris Palmer, Colin Johnson

The ladies were sadly underrepresented both at county level and for the club. Fortunately Lizzy Smith made the trip down to Bicton and did club and county proud finishing 15th overall! Laura Parsonage was 3rd and first Avon counter, with first and second being Cornwall runners (Miranda Heathcote 1st, Emma Stepto 2nd).

Ken Ham - V.50 silver medalist (photo Lizzy Smith)

Hangovers fail to deter intrepid Harriers!

11 members of Westbury Harriers made the trip over to Kewstoke to mark the New Year with a 10k. First home in a time of 37.45 was Steve Adams which placed him 13th. Next home was Adam Kula-Przewanski in 38.36, followed by Richard Hughes in 43.49. Then the rapidly improving James Cant ran 46.23, with Shirley Hume just behind in 46.40. Then we had Valerie Hughes and Hayley Johnson running 47.22 and 47.41 respectively. Rich Bloss managed 48.36, with Linda O'Shaugnessy in 51.28, Chris Hume in 52.00 and Roger Long in 52.19.

The race itself was won by Hayley's husband Michael Johnson in a time of 31.46, not bad considering he finished 7th in the Nos Galan 5k only hours earlier in a cracking time of 14.47.

Well done all!