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!