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!

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!

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!!!

Westbury 2nd in Bridge Inn 5k

The first ever Bridge Inn Mob Match was dominated by the host club who had 8 in the top 10 in a record field of 208 starters. Only 205 finished, and of the three that didn't one of whom was Westbury's Robin Phillips who was tripped and injured in an overcrowded start. Sadly I think the course is not suited to many more than 100 competitors due to the narrow cycle way.

It was a 1-2-3 for Bristol and West as Phil Wylie won in a time of 15.13, followed by Owain Jones and Steve McGuigan. For Westbury, Matt Ellis was the top performer, finishing 4th in a time of 15.43, then it was Emma D'Alton 2nd lady and 18th overall in 17.19, just 12 seconds off of Imogen Ainsworth of Bristol and West. Gregg Ward ran 17.36, Terry Jewell-Davies 18.08, Steve Hawes 18.09, Jullian Bailey-Gard Jnr 18.11, Colin Johnson 18.16, Paul Fletcher 18.37, Alex Miller 18.43, Lizzy Smith 18.53, Graham Clark 19.04, Phil Court 19.20, David George 19.22, Tony Jefferies 20.02, Clive Attwood 20.09, Evita Gonzalez 20.48, Richard Hughes 20.49, James Noott 21.19, Kelly Winstone 21.20, Mike Harris 21.36, Hayley Johnson 22.16, Debbie Fletcher 22.24, Julian Wilson 23.19, Caroline Potter 23.50, Sandra Price 24.11, Sarah Tucker 24.58, Jane Thornton 25.40, Rachel Nowak 26.28, and Eithne Noonan 27.16! Phewww!!! Well done all!!!

Ellis wraps up title at the Weston Prom

The final Weston Prom of the season saw Matt Ellis cruise to victory in a time of 26.06, some 40 seconds ahead of Clevedon's James Rodgers, with Bitton's racing machine Rob Farley 3rd in 27.27.

For Ellis that represented his fourth win of the series, which combined with three second spots was enough for him to wrap up the overall title as well! There was lots of other Westbury success in the overall series, with Tamsin Chick being the first overall Female and first SM to boot! The ladies also took the ladies team prize, which was a great effort from the girls over the course of the winter! The mens team took the SM title, behind overall winners Clevedon Vets.

Back to the race itself, also in action for the Harriers were John Terry who finished 11th in a time of 28.47, believed to be a PB, with Robin Phillips close behind in 29.13. Gregg Ward, making a welcome return to racing after his London marathon nightmare also broke 30 minutes in 29.57. Jullian Bailey-Gard Jnr was next home in a time of 30.52, which would have been considerably quicker if he learnt to get to the start line on time! Then we had Sophie Voller - first lady home - in 31.09, Graham Clark in 31.21, Alex Miller 31.30 and Phil Court in 32.11. Then Zoe Dixon was 3rd lady home in a time of 33.15, Jullian Bailey-Gard Snr in 34.14, Richard Hughes 34.45, Tamsin Chick in 34.54, Laura Tanna 36.40, Andrew Gibbons 37.07 and David Taylor 37.49. Then Robert Wallis in 37.53, Sandra Price 37.55, Caroline Potter 39.31, Roger Long 39.35, Gill Anagonstakis, 41.10, Jane Thornton 41.21 and Sandra Bailey-Gard 52.41.

Well done all and enjoy the summer off!!!

Voller breaks 3 hours, as Collinson leads the Harriers home

They say that the marathon is an unpredictable event and so it proved as a warm day in London greeted the runners in the 2011 London Marathon. Whilst the heat proved no barrier to the Elites, with the Men's Course record being broken and the Ladies only record close to going; it proved less forgiving to the rest of the runners, as neither our top male or female runner completed the course :-( Rich Collinson finished first counter for the Harriers in a time of 2.45.26. Rich ran a tactically sound race - clocking off the first half in 1.21.58 and only slowing slightly as the heat of the day kicked in. For the ladies, Sophie Voller will be delighted to break 3 hours for the first time, breaking her PB by nearly 10 minutes to finish in 2.58.12 and finishing 24th lady in the mass start! Colin Johnson will be another happy Harrier as he took 37s off his PB to finish in 2.57.04. Robyn Golding ran a solid race in 3.07.23, but Gregg Ward struggled in the final 10k to finish in a time of 3.16.28 in his debut at the event. Tim Synge ran a solid time of 3.27.29 to keep the Harriers flag flying!

More Harriers news as the full results become available!

7 Harriers could break the barrier

Well the waiting is almost over, as the 2011 edition of the Virgin London Marathon is finally here and it looks like the Harriers could have 7 runners break the three hour barrier.

Matt Ellis: Should comfortably finish as the Harriers top performer. Has lowered his PB over the Half to 70.27 and ran 1.53 for 20 miles at Bramley. He will be looking to break the 2.30 barrier and providing he can curb his tendency to go off like a rocket, he should easily achieve this goal.

Emma D'Alton: Has been running consistently well over all distances this year. Setting a new PB at 5k (17.28), as well as at 20m (2.09), all points towards a time of well inside 2.50, which would put her as one of the country's leading women in the main race.

Rich Collinson: Having decided against an attempt at a world record in fancy dress, Rich will  be looking to put serious inroads into his current PB of 2.56.06. PBs this year in 10k (34.04) and 20m (2.06) would also suggest he should comfortably run under 2.50.

Colin Johnson: Like a fine wine, he keeps getting better with age. PBs of 18.00 for 5k and 1.21 for the half show that he is in the shape to better his time of 2.57.41 from last year's Dublin Marathon.

Gregg Ward: A bit of an unknown quantity, he has been running exceptionally well over short distances this season and has improved his PB to 16.44 for 5k and 1.18.52 for the half. Less experience over longer distances suggest he will be looking to comfortably break 3 hours in his first race at the distance.

Sophie Voller: Will be confident of smashing her previous PB of 3.09 set 2 years ago in London, having improved her half time to 1.21.52, she must be thinking of a time between 2.55 and 3.00 based on present form.

Robyn Golding: Her debut at the distance and her preparation has been hampered in recent weeks by a niggling achilles injury. Early form points towards sub 3 and if anyone out there could do through sheer weight of personality when the going gets tough it's gotta be Robyn!

Good luck to all the other Harriers, plenty will be looking for GFA times in their age categories, so let's keep an eye out for the performances on Sunday!

Harriers race to victory in the Bitton relays!

Westbury Harriers' crack squad of Matt Ellis, Robin Phillips, Dan Studley and Gregg Ward scorched to victory in the new Bitton 4x5 mile relay event, beating local rivals B&W into second place. Matt Ellis got the Harriers off to a flying start clocking 25.30 and with solid runs from Robin Phillips in around 30, Dan Studley around 26 and Gregg Ward anchoring the team home in around 28 minutes, the glory was all there for the Harriers. A complete roundup when all the results are in!!!

Harriers in action in Hogweed Hilly Half, Rhayader 20 and San Domenico 20!

A number of Harriers took part in challenging local races yesterday as the San Domenico 20m and the Hogweed Hilly Half provided stern run outs!

Over in Wales, Emma D'Alton continued her recent good form to win the ladies race in a time of 2.11.25 - no mean feat on a challenging course, with some tough climbs in the second half! Sophie Voller also knocked out a PB running 2.18.11 to finish 2nd in the ladies event! For the men Colin Johnson ran 2.24.14, Gregg Ward 2.26.47, Tim Synge 2.31.23 and Brian Edgar 2.41.08. Also in action Laura Tanna 2.55.37 and Richard Hughes in the same time !

Over at the Hilly Half, three harriers were in action David George ran 1.36.17, with Graham Bazley and Aidan Naughton both running 2.00.02 - well done guys!

Rich Collinson, Jane Goodwin and Jane Thornton flew the flag for the club in Rhayder. Rich finishing in a highly respectable 2.10.50 for 11th place, Jane G in 3.10.23 and Jane T in 3.16.36!!!

Good day out at Gloucester for the Harriers

Many of the Harriers marathon competitors were out in force at Gloucester yesterday for the annual 20 miler and there were some excellent performance throughout. Leading the way was Emma D'Alton who broke 2hr 10 for the first time, 2.09.22 to finish 2nd overall in the ladies race, just 30 seconds behind the winner Louise Gardener of Lancaster and Morecambe! A time of around 2.50 still looks doable for Emma on the basis of this performance, which would make her one of the South West's top marathon runners! The ladies scooped the team prize, as Robyn Golding and Sophie Voller both ran 2.23.58 to finish 45th and 46th overall! Laura Tanna ran 2.49.21and competing the ladies presence, Emma Powell ran 3.11.19. Meanwhile for the men, team manager Gregg Ward ran 2.17.07, followed by Keith Hill in 2.21.29 and Clive Attwood 2.26.58. Tim Synge ran 2.38.32, Brian Edgar 2.40.43, Richard Hughes 2.51.19, Andrew Gibbons 2.55.18 and Julian Pyrke 3.02.27.

Meanwhile, up in Stafford Rich Collinson ran an excellent 2.06.11 to claim 17th place in the Stafford 20m!

Great running all!!!

Harriers prepare for Gwent League decider

Westbury Harriers have their sights set on medals in both mens and womens competition as the Gwent League reaches its climax in the final race of the season at Singleton Park in Swansea. The ladies are overwhelming favourites to win Division 1, as they have a commanding lead of 130 points over Les Croupiers and in Debbie Marsden have the leading senior lady competing for them. The men will be hoping to overhaul Neath Harriers and claim bronze medals for the first time in 6 years, and are waiting on Anthony Glover passing a late fitness test, otherwise an SoS to Gregg Ward, who is currently planning to run the Gloucester 20, maybe required! That said with Dan Studley, Sam Dalgleish, Simon Everington, Colin Johnson and John Terry all running they may already have enough ammunition to overturn the narrow 31 point gap!

Bridge Inn UPDATE

Well done to all the Harriers who took part in the recent Bridge Inn 5k. The race itself was won by B&Ws Steve Francis, who ran a cracking time of 15.08, which should give our own Matt Ellis a challenge when the two next meet. For the Harriers, first over the line was Anthony Glover who in 16.27, just held off Sam Dalgleish in 16.32 and Gregg Ward in 16.46. Junior, Felix McGrath was next home in 17.23, with veteran Colin Johnson securing a new PB in 18 dead. Colin was able to hold off rival Jullian Bailey-Gard Jr in 18.08. Another junior Adam Wilson ran 18.52, followed by another veteran Graham Clark in 18.54. David George ran 19.12, Phil Court 19.57, Tony Jefferies 20.15. James Noott in 22.29, Richard Hughes 22.43, Jane Goodwin 23.30 and Jane Thornton in 25.01.

Well done all!!!

Harriers survive Alton Towers mudbath

Arriving at around 1pm members of the Westbury Harriers planning to run the national cross country championships at Alton Towers were greeted with some of the most shocking conditions most could remember experiencing! A sight more reminiscent of Glastonbury, the regular sound of the ambulance siren, a worrying indicator of the safety issues that plagued the early junior races. The ladies race was delayed by 20 minutes whilst organisers reworked the course to avoid the most dangerous sections.

As Keith Brackstone pointed out today was about "survival" and it certainly was as all the Harriers returned home safely. Debbie Marsden led the team home in 73rd place, in a time of 27.49 for a revised 4m route. Next home for the Harriers was Tamsin Chick finished 129th, Zoe Dixon was 192nd and Evita Gonzalez was 300th. The team finished 22nd overall. The winner of the race was Louise Damen, with Hatti Dean second and Liz Yelling 3rd.

In the mens race Gregg Ward was first home in 309th in a time of 44.09 - he believes a personal worse for 10k - Robin Phillips was 598th in 48.59 with Colin Johnson Was 678th in 50.08. They all fared better than John Terry who pulled out, have experienced enough of the course, after 4k! The mens race was won by Stockport's Steve Vernon in 35.11, one of the slowest times I can remember for a 10k XC and reflective of the atrocious conditions the runners faced!

A great effort to everyone who braved the conditions!

Men storm to Gwent League success!!!

Westbury's men put in another strong showing at the latest instalment of the Gwent League at the Penlan Leisure Centre in Brecon on Saturday. Led home by Simon Everington in 12th place, he was pushed all the way by Anthony Glover in 14th and Gregg Ward who eventually placed 15th. A minute further back, John Terry finished 35th and Colin Johnson completed the scorers in an excellent 48th - a first top 50 showing for Colin. With Robin Phillips chasing him hard in 52nd, Geraint Torrington making a welcome return to racing in 117th, Rob Williams in 119th, Tony Jefferies in 126th and Mike Hopikins in 131st an excellent showing for the men.

With Dan Studley and Sam Dalgleish threatening to put in an appearance for the final race at Swansea, and maybe even Matt Ellis could be roused from a stag weekend induced slumber, the men look a decent prospect for a medal for the first time in several seasons in one of Britain's toughest XC leagues.

The mens A team squad L to R - Colin Johnson, Anthony Glover, Gregg Ward (c), Simon Everington, John Terry and Robin Phillips

Girls Midlands performance rewarded with county call-ups!

Three of Westbury Harrier's bronze medal winning ladies team from the recent Midlands XC Championships have received the call-up to represent Avon & Somerset at the forthcoming Intercounties Championships (incorporating the World XC Trials) at Cofton Park, Birmingham on March 5th. Debbie Marsden, Emma D'Alton and Robyn Golding have all been selected by Avon manager Mike Down to join the Avon & Somerset combined team for the event. Rumour has it that Gregg Ward's excellent finish in the midlands has also been rewarded with team selection, but we are still awaiting confirmation of this!

Meanwhile many Harriers will be taking part in the club's annual Bristol to Bath run tomorrow morning, although Emma D'Alton is planning on defending her title at the Blackmore Vale 1/2 marathon, which takes place on Sunday.

Well done to all!

Racing update!

Hello everyone! Sorry for radio silence, but I have been abroad and so not been able to update the blog! Lots has been going on in my absence and a quick summation of what I can recall... Matt Ellis - winner of the Riverbank Rollick and then yesterday the Morland 10k. Great running there! John Collier won the Eastleigh Parkrun in 15.57 (a great time on a multi-terrain course) and followed it up with third place in the Romsey 5m in a time of 25.48 - cracking running there - Ellis beware!!! Sophie Voller running just outside her PB to win the most recent Weston Prom run, with Simon Everington running a fine fourth place in the low 27s and Gregg Ward up there too in the low 28s. Both Mens and Ladies teams winning prizes at the Riverbank Rollick!

Great running there!

Just a reminder this weekend see the Midland XC championships and there are plenty of Harriers in action!

Stone wins South West XC champs

Kairn Stone followed up his win in the first chance 10k with a win in the south west XC champs, holding off a concerted challenge from Bristol and West's Rob Bugden. For Westbury, Matt Ellis was 10th in a time of 27.53, Gregg Ward 30.09 for 34th. John Terry was 38th in 30.18. Colin Johnson was 53rd in 31.55, just ahead of team mate Karl Dunn in 32.09.

Westbury were 3rd team in the south west competition, behind Bristol and West and Wells City Harriers. Avon were also 3rd county, although the make up of the team was unclear!

More on the ladies and other results later!

Westbury men struggle at the Nationals

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

Weekend preview!

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

Good luck to all!

Terry leads home the Harriers in Gwent League Opener

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

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

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

Full details to follow when results available!