posted 13 Nov 2011 13:36 by David Kenyon
With many members taking part in Remembrance Day activities it was a depleted Harriers team that set out for the second cross country race of the winter season. Those that did were treated to perfect running conditions and a scenic yet challenging course through the southern New Forest. After the traditional minute silence the race followed an undulating path through woods and across heathland with a few short but very steep inclines to test stamina and lung capacity.
In the ladies race it was the juniors who took centre stage with Laura Kenyon leading the team home in 29th place, Amy Wharmby picked up a place on the line with a gutsy sprint finish to finish 32nd. A youthful Eleanor Wilde completed the ladies team in 46th place. For the men, Dave Kenyon completed a family double finishing first man home also in 29th place. He was followed by Jon Tilt, 38th, Jon Vamplew, 65th, and Paul Garland, 72nd. |
posted 27 Apr 2011 13:37 by David Kenyon
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updated 27 Apr 2011 15:31
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There is a reason why all of the major marathons are held in Spring and Autumn and that is to avoid the Summer heat and so the unseasonably warm spell was not welcomed by the six Halterworth Harriers taking on the challenge of the Virgin London Marathon. Whilst great for spectators temperatures of over 20 degrees make the prospect of running 26.2 miles even harder than it already is. The six Harriers had been anxiously watching the weather forecast and had been relieved to see that morning was expected to be overcast, however, as the start time approached without a cloud in the sky it was clear that once again the forecast was wrong.
Michael Tanner starting close to the front of the red start following his phenomenal 2hrs 51mins in Abingdon led the Harrier contingent and clocked an impressive (but conservative for him) 1hr 29mins at the halfway stage. Dave Kenyon took a similarly cautious approach to the first half and went through halfway on schedule at 1hr 33mins. But despite taking on plenty of fluid both began to struggle as they passed through Docklands and the mid-day heat took its toll. By 20 miles all thoughts of achieving pre-race targets were banished and it was a mind-over-matter struggle to keep on running. Dave's slower start allowed him to cope with the conditions slightly better than Michael and the pair were reunited at 26 miles, eventually finishing the race side-by-side; Dave in 3hrs 14mins 15secs and Michael in 3hrs 15mins 2 secs.
After recovering from the dissapointment of having to withdraw from last year's race due to injury Abi Bartholomew had redoubled her training efforts and was looking forward to putting in a good performance in her first marathon. Despite starting well she couldn't maintain her early pace, but nevertheless managed to run at a consistent pace from 10 miles to clock a respectable 4hrs 46mins 54secs.
Frances Ter Haar running her second London marathon kept to a very consistent pace for 18 miles and was on schedule for a sub-4hr finish, but as the temperature began to take it toll on her she was forced to make an unscheduled stop. For many lesser mortals this would have been the end of their race but Frances displayed true grit and after a few minutes being attended to by the St John's Ambulance volunteers she was back in the race, crossing the line in 4hrs 24mins 44secs.
For Peter Haig the marathon was little more than a warm up jog for his forthcoming epic adventure of the West Highland Way (a mere 95 hilly miles). Pete has completed several previous marathons (and a few ultras) but this was his first attempt at London. He ran a controlled race only slowing slightly in the last six miles to finish in a personal best time of 4hrs 29mins 24 secs.
After running the Edinburgh marathon last year Sara Kenyon was also tackling her first London marathon, choosing this time to support the charity Help for Heroes (as did Peter Haig). For Sara the target was to finish in time to catch the club bus home again, which allowing for time to cross the start line and time to walk from The Mall to Waterloo required a sub-7hr finish. This she easily achieved, knocking nearly 10 minutes off her Edinburgh time, completing the course in 6hrs 23mins 32secs and leaving just enough time for a post race ice cream before boarding the bus.
Despite the difficult conditions all of the competitors and several other club members who went along to provide moral support agreed that it was great to be part of such a major sporting occasion and that they would be back again next year. Perhaps one of the most memorable sights of the day was the club flag flying on the Embankment (pictured above) just a mile from the finish and encouraging one last effort. |
posted 20 Mar 2011 14:02 by David Kenyon
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updated 20 Mar 2011 14:08
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With only four weeks to go to the London Marathon this was the weekend that several Harriers chose to test how well their winter training had paid off by taking on a half-marathon race. The group has been training hard since London places were announced in October; taking to the streets and byways of Romsey whatever the weather on dark mornings and evenings in an effort to get themselves ready to tackle 26.2 miles.
Five Harriers travelled to Reading for a fast and largely flat city centre race. Conditions were good with just a stiff breeze to contend with on some parts of the course though, unfortunately, this did make its impact felt when it was least wanted in the last two miles. With over 12,000 runners taking part the start was somewhat congested but that didn’t affect Mike Tanner, whose previous best time qualified him to start just behind the elite athletes. Despite finding it difficult to fit in as much training as he would like he still finished in a blistering time of 1:22:30. Dave Kenyon knocked more than a minute off his time from last year to clock a PB of 1:25:45, so goes onto London in a confident mood. Mike and Dave both finished 20th in their respective age groups. Sara Kenyon also ran a great race coming in close to her PB in 2:45:36. The three marathon runners were joined at Reading by Ann Bartholomew who finished in 1:46:06 and Jeanette Parker, 2:21:15.
A fourth Harrier marathon runner, Jenny Baverstock-Poppy, opted to run the Fleet half-marathon, which follows an undulating course around country lanes and through several villages surrounding Fleet. Despite being beset by a recent injury she was pleased to complete the course in 2:20 and now hopes to remain injury free during her final few weeks of training. |
posted 8 Mar 2011 14:02 by David Kenyon
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updated 8 Mar 2011 14:07
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Halterworth Harriers had 5 new runners taking part in the last CC6 race of the series. Three of them were second generation Harriers and they all did extremely well. Frances Arnott, who turned 15 last month, was the first Harrier home and was 6 th in the ladies race. She beat all the male Harriers home including her father, Dave.
Laura Kenyon was 22nd in the ladies race and finished in front of her mum, Sara. William Sims sprinted home in the men’s race going past the usually unbeatable finisher, Pete Haig.
The other two CC6 virgins were Sanjay Jogai and Pete Elliot; although not quite teenagers they were very excited about their first cross country run and both did very well.
The ladies team did well with three in the top 20 with Nala McRobert 8th and Carol Anderson 19th. |
posted 7 Feb 2011 16:10 by David Kenyon
Halterworth Harriers take part in a number of races over the summer & winter but they also take part in fun run & charity events. This weekend was the turn of the George Skeates 24th charity run. On what turned out to be a glorious but chilly morning a number of Harriers lined up for the options of the 8 mile cross country or 3 mile run.
The recent rains had left the ground sodden but the going was not too muddy, helped by the frozen ground. Michael Tanner of Halterworth Harriers was first home for the 8 mile run and two of its youth runners Jess Tilt & Eleanor Sims came home in 2nd & 3rd place respectively in the 3 mile run.
For a number of Harriers this was their first Stockbridge event and all were supported by family and other Harrier members. The teams all enjoyed a very civilized and well-deserved session of tea, cakes and a raffle in the Town Hall after their efforts. |
posted 7 Feb 2011 15:39 by David Kenyon
This year’s Romsey 5 took place for the very first time in the grounds of Broadlands Estate. The scenic new route took in three laps of beautiful parkland and countryside and made a welcome change from the well-established road route.
Taking place on their home territory and attracting a range of club members, the Romsey 5 is always a favourite in the Harrier racing calendar. With 19 members running the race and 2 running it for the first time, personal bests were guaranteed and many of the regular racers also put in excellent performances.
The club’s many supporters cheered Michael Tanner as the first Harrier home in just 28.42, taking over 2 minutes off his personal best (and finishing 14th place overall and fourth in his category), closely followed by Mark Sills (30mins, fourth in his category)and Jon Tilt. First woman home was Ann Bartholomew, running it in just 36.11 (and coming first in her category), with Rachel Shimell (37:17, fourth in category), Jane Heyer (37.26, second in her category) completing the women’s ‘A’ team, which came 2nd overall. Carol Anderson (38:17, third in her category) following close behind. And there were loud cheers for newcomer to the Romsey 5, Eleanor Wilde, who was celebrating her birthday and running as a birthday treat!
Said Richard Jordan-Baker, Director of Estates at Broadlands; 'Sunday's race was a huge success. We had over 400 runners enjoying the new route and it was a real pleasure to welcome them to the Estate. Hopefully they appreciated the hill-free course and beautiful setting! We very much hope to host the race again next year.'
And Eleanor Wilde, running for the Harriers for the first time (and on her birthday, too!) ‘I really enjoyed the race and the great support from the Harrier spectators and fellow runners really spurred me on. Running with the Halterworth Harriers is marvellous and has proved to me that you can and improve at your own rate and really feel good. The club has given me huge encouragement.’ |
posted 7 Feb 2011 15:33 by David Kenyon
“Run, wade and crawl, 8 miles of off-road challenge – Have you got what it takes?”
This was the taunt sent out to the Halterworth Harriers by the organisers of The 2010 Grim Challenge, which was postponed from early December to this weekend, 15 and 16 January.
Without hesitation 12 Harriers – 5 ladies and 7 men - signed up to take on the hills, the camouflage netting, the ravines and the puddle strewn paths, but that was way back in the summer. Would the intrepid athletes be so keen on a cold, sodden morning in January? It was eagerly awaited and billed as The Harriers’ toughest race of the year (apart from the Marathons and various ultra-marathons of course!).
The early part of the race lulled the runners into a false sense of security, with just a few gentle hills and a relatively flat path. However, just a mile or so later, the real battle of wits began. A fiendish, mile long stretch of ravines and gullies, carved by years of pounding from tank tracks and now filled with either ice cold water or a glutinous yellow mud greeted the hardy souls.
After nearly 9 miles of action packed slipping and sliding, the Harriers triumphantly waded through the final lake before crossing the finish line. First man home (and first Harrier overall) was Mark Sills, who completed the race in 1 hour 2 minutes and was 5th man overall in his age category. He was followed by Dave Kenyon (also 3rd in his age category), Kris Reilly, Dave Arnott (another 3rd place in age category!) Jon Vamplew, Martin Rosell and Tom Buller. First lady Harrier home was Rachel Shimell (1 hour 17 minutes) who was delighted to shave 5 minutes off her previous time and to finish third overall in her age category!). She was very closely followed by Jane Heyer (who’d fallen in one of the lakes and been helped to safety - to come in an incredible 3rd overall in her category too!), Ann Bartholomew (who was racing for the first time after a few weeks off with flu and managed to come in 2nd in her category!), Debbie Sims and Becky Bellworthy.
Reflecting on her very first Grim, Ann Bartholomew said; ‘After seeing the course and hearing about it from seasoned Grimmers I was incredibly nervous. I found it very tough going and easily the most challenging run I’ve attempted! But, I’m determined to be back for more next time round!’ |
posted 7 Feb 2011 15:23 by David Kenyon
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updated 7 Feb 2011 15:31
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The first CC6 of 2011 was held at Stoney Cross on January 2nd; the timing was quite a shock to the Halterworth Harriers. Their Scotsman, Dave Arnott, is used to be still first footing neighbours at that time of the New Year, and most of the Harriers had celebrated hogmanay in style. However, they had a large turnout for the event, which took place over a very hilly and muddy course.
Graham Fisher made it a hat trick of wins in the men’s’ event, again coming home well clear. He was followed by Dave Kenyon in 11th place, his highest ever finish. Next Harrier home was Jon Tilt, who was still trying to get over his New Year’s Day visit to St Marys when he saw his beloved Exeter City lose heavily to the Saints. Robert Finch was next (just before he returns to University) followed by Dave Arnott, Jon Vamplew and Pete Haig. The team finished a close second to Winchester on the day.
The Harriers had a very full ladies team with Nala McRobert finishing a great 8th, followed home by Jane Heyer, Rachel Shimell, Carol Anderson, Judy Cutbill, Debbie Sims, Simone Arnott and Eleanor Wilde. This was Carol’s first CC6 event; “I found the hills very hard work but really enjoyed it and am looking forward to future races” she said afterwards.
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