Press Reports

06/12/2009 Grim 2009 Harriers conquer the Grim and Grime in style. If the 'Grim challenge' involved horses it would have been banned years ago. Instead, since it involves mere humans, it goes from strength to strength, as 2279 entrants, boosted by 15 Halterworth Harriers, sacrificed their Sunday morning lie-in to take on the Army tank testing course in Aldershot. This year's 8 mile event was the wettest ever (not surprising considering the recent deluges); the smallest puddles had turned into ponds, the ponds into lakes. Whilst the yellow sand that covered most of the course had turned into a viscous gloop that successfully covered most of the athletes from head to foot. Eternal optimist, Peter Haig, was heard to say 'At least it's not icy', referring to last year's outing when a man with a sledgehammer was sent ahead of the runners to break the ice. Despite warnings from the enthusiastic race announcer, first timer Mark Sills found himself submerged in only the second water hazard of the race. Fortunately this didn't dampen his spirits as he went on to lead one of the Harrier squads home to a very creditable 11th place.
The promised sand dune did not materialise (it was probably levelled by Saturday's downpour) but the course did not disappoint, with the highlight being a 50 metre waddle through what seemed like quicksand, followed by a wade through a waist deep ravine. The crowd that gathered would have felt more at home in The Coliseum as they bayed for the intrepid athletes to slip under the freezing water. Hopefully most of them will find something better to do with their Sunday mornings by next year. Despite its reputation, the Grim Challenge is essentially a fun run and more than one seasoned Harrier did a double take as they were passed by fairies with pink wings and super heroes in full costume. Jane Vennik, Gill Southam and Simone Arnott were traumatised at having to follow a group of bare-chested young men for most of the race, unable to pass them how ever hard they tried. Michael Tanner was the first Harrier home, finishing 56th overall, but his achievement was eclipsed by the women's team of Jane Heyer, Abi Batholemew and Rachel Shimell. They won the women's team event which must go down as the outstanding Harrier performance of day. Finally, Sara Kenyon continues to move up the ranking each year and made it back before the rest of the Harriers had devoured her exceedingly good home made 'high energy biscuits'.
	Halterworth Harriers - The Grim Challenge (6th December 2009)

27/4/2009 Double marathon success for Halterworth Harriers

Despite training through the coldest winter in a decade, breaking the ice in puddles and snapping the tops off frozen grass as they ran the four Halterworth Harriers in two different marathons last weekend suffered varying degrees of disappointment in their results, slowed but not defeated by the glorious conditions on the day. Ian Lochray, Frances Ter Haar and Martin Rosell came back from the last Flora London Marathon to compare notes with Barrie Roberts who had competed in Stratford’s Shakespeare Marathon.

With temperatures soaring as high as 20 degrees dehydration became a major danger for all four runners with the additional fun of Cramp and nausea thrown in for good measure, a combination of factors that made all of the Harriers determined never to put on a pair of running shoes again once they’d finished. A determination that lasted all the way until Monday when the ballot for the 2010 Virgin London marathon opened and at least 2 of the intrepid foursome had their names on the list.

Ian was quickest home in 3.31.51, followed by Frances in 4.13 with Martin 5 minutes behind her, Barrie finished the Shakespeare marathon in 4.25, however the spirits of all runners were lifted when they realised that they had at least all beaten Peter Andre and Jordan by nearly 3 hours, and managed to stay ahead of Elvis, Lara Croft and assorted Wombles, Rhinos and Mister Men, although Martin’s spirit was crushed when he couldn’t catch the 2 metre tall Beer Bottle at mile 22 (although that may have been a hallucination by that stage)

22/3/2009 Halterworth Harrier takes on the Marwell challenge

Whilst others were pampering their Mums or being pampered by their families on Mothers’ Day, Southampton resident, Jean Parker (61 yrs), flew the flag for the Harriers in the Marwell 10 km. Jean, who has regularly cycled with CTC Southampton for 24 years has only recently started running and, having missed this event last year because of injury, was determined to run this time.

Marwell Zoo was buzzing with anticipation from children entering the fun run and the large field of runners entering the 10 km. It was a delight to see the animals enjoying the spring sunshine on the walk through the zoo to the start line. Families and friends cheered the runners through the first kilometre in the zoo grounds. The race then headed uphill to Owslebury before turning back to finish by Marwell Hall. Although, by the standards of most of the field, Jean’s time was not so fast, coming through the finish line at 1:07:01, but she was faster than she had expected. “I knew from cycling that the hill to Owslebury was tough and I should run the first 4 km steadily. Then it seemed like downhill all the way so I made up some time”.

Although Jean lives in Southampton she runs with the Romsey based Halterworth Harriers because her running partner lives in Romsey. She says “they are a small friendly club who have been so encouraging and motivating for me, despite being a late-starter to running.’

15/3/2009 Harriers put in double the effort in weekend of spring sunshine

Two races provided excellent races this weekend for the Halterworth Harriers, in what proved to be fantastic early season weather.

Exbury 10k puts a spring in Harrier steps

5 Halterworth Harriers enjoyed an early Spring floral display – and great running conditions – at the Exbury 10k. The famous daffodils were out, providing an early promise of the colour to come later in the season. Good times were had by all – in particular Simone Arnott and Tony Kendrick, who were several minutes faster than their last 10k times. Jean Parker, Sara Kenyon and Thelma Dowling all ran in smiling, putting in good performances in their respective classes.
The course was kind, wide enough to avoid congestion in the early stages, gently sloping down to the sea. As the runners stretched out along the shingle foreshore, the Isle of Wight formed a magnificent backdrop in the sea mist. Back up along leafy lanes past Foresters’ cottages, spurred on by the excellent marshals, the Harriers suddenly found themselves back in the Gardens for the last stage, threading their way through the bushes and trees and families out enjoying the Spring day. After the race the Harriers were treated to goody bags courtesy of the race organisers and Sara Kenyon’s legendary banana cake and muffins!

All in all a great race, and one to be repeated next year in the Harrier racing calendar.

Harriers prove Fleet of foot

Meanwhile, 6 intrepid Halterworth Harriers took on the challenge of the Fleet Half Marathon as their colleagues ran the Exbury 10k.

Conditions were ideal with plenty of warm sunshine and a cooling breeze, especially in the shade. The warm weather proved perfect for spectators, many of whom lined the streets in the residential areas and gave much appreciated encouragement. Others relaxed in deckchairs on the verges outside their homes along country lanes, soaking up the rays and no doubt wondering what on earth possesses people to go out and run 13 miles on a day like Sunday!

Three of the harriers were using the race as continued preparation for forthcoming marathons. Frances Ter Haar consolidated her impressive progress towards London Marathon success with a well judged 1 hour 45 mins. Training for the same event, Ian Lochray proved what fine shape he is in, with a new personal best of 1 hour 23 mins. Barrie Roberts, preparing for the Shakespeare marathon on the same day, ran with great assurance to achieve his target of 1 hour 40 mins – also a personal best.

Michael Tanner continued his fine recent form, coming home in 1 hour 27 mins. Dave Kenyon also achieved an excellent 1 hour 33 mins. And Mark Sills recorded 1 hour 37 mins in his second half marathon.

Afterwards the team were rejuvenated by the very same banana cake as the Exbury-ites, thanks to Sara Kenyon, before setting off home, pleased with another good day’s adventure.

26/01/2009 Halterworth Harriers Sports Personalities of the Year

The Halterworth Harriers held their most important meeting of the year this Sunday – their AGM at Woodley Village Hall - with its biggest attendance ever of just under 30 members, many of whom had recently joined the running club. During the evening Martin Rosell gave his last address as President, as did Jon Tilt as Club Coach. Some new committee members were elected, bringing fresh ideas to a rapidly growing running club. 2 special people received the club’s annual trophies – Debbie Sims received the Award for ‘Most Improved Harrier’ and Jon Tilt the ‘Club Member of the Year.’ The former is awarded by the Club Coach for the Harrier who has shown the most determination and improvement – at any level. Coach Jon Tilt said of Debbie’s award; ‘For Debbie it’s been a two year journey that has taken her from just about being able to run 5 miles to confidently completing a half marathon. In that time she has completed the Crewkerne 9 twice, knocked 6 minutes off her 10k time, competed in the notorious Grim Challenge and successfully run a half marathon in just over 2 hours.’ Jon Tilt was voted by the members as the ‘Club Member of the Year’ for having given group coaching and individual advice to all members over the year. Says Debbie at receiving her Award; ‘'I was shocked but delighted to receive the award. I feel that I have only been able to make such improvements through the support and encouragement of the coaches and the whole club who have helped me throughout the last year. ‘

22/1/2009 Halterworth Harriers’ Tim Triumphs at Manor Farm

Tim Parker of Halterworth Harriers delivered an outstanding performance to claim victory in the final CC6 of the season at Manor Farm Country Park. In a closely fought race, Tim proved too strong in the final 200 metres and finished 10 yards ahead of his nearest rival.

The race was run on a delightful Spring morning in the beautiful surroundings of the Manor Farm Country Park in Bursledon. Whereas the previous race in the series had been run in almost Arctic conditions, the weather for this event couldn’t have been better. The sun was shining through the trees on a still morning as the runners raced over a challenging but picturesque course through the woods. Some steep inclines and treacherous mud made the going difficult but the race was thoroughly enjoyed by all of the competitiors.

In the men’s team event, Harriers Rob Finch and Michael Tanner joined Tim with top 10 finishes, followed by Jon Tilt, Ian Lochray, Dave Kenyon, Jon Vamplew and Tony Kendrick. The team finished in second position in the race and this cemented their place as second overall in the CC6 series for 2008 – 2009, the club’s best performance in their five year history.

In the ladies’ race, the Harriers were represented by Abi Bartholomew and Simone Arnott, with both putting in excellent performances. This was Abi’s first competitive race for the Harriers, having only joined the club last week.

The race was very well organised and marshalled by Eastleigh running club.

10/1/2009 Halterworth Harriers double their efforts!

This Sunday saw Halterworth Harriers dividing themselves into two groups and supporting both the Romsey 5 and the Stockbridge Cross Country Fun Run.

The annual 5 mile Romsey Road race is always well attended by the Halterworth Harriers. Being the club’s local race it is also the venue at which many Harriers have set their PBs and is a great opportunity to test how much impact the Christmas festivities have had on their fitness levels and for those already focused on longer events in the spring it serves as a useful milestone to benchmark their progress. This year the 12 Harriers who took part were relieved that the sub-zero temperatures had abated and the sunny sky and (almost) frost-free roads meant that conditions were perfect. They were led home by Tim Parker, running his first Romsey 5 for the club and finishing in an impressive time of under 31 minutes. Not far behind were Jon Tilt and Mark Sills (PB), with Dave Kenyon, Barrie Roberts and Tony Kendrick (PB) completing the men's lineup. Frances Ter Haar led the ladies home in impressive style, demonstrating that her training for the Flora London Marathon is well on track. Liz Tilt also ran a great race and was elated to lower her PB. Jane Vickery, Simone Arnott, Sara Kenyon and Thelma Dowling completed the ladies lineup. During the post race celebrations (at the Luzborough House) there was unanimous agreement that the race would have been ruined by the proposed route of 5.5 laps of the industrial estate and the club would like to thank all those who stepped in at the last minute to re-instate the race to the roads.

At the same time as the Romsey 5 was being run, a group of Harriers were supporting the Stockbridge Fun Run, also a real favourite in the sporting calendar.
A reduced party made the long journey into the frozen wastelands of Stockbridge where they split into teams of 8milers and 3milers. The latter being the larger and more successful team with Sophie Shimell finishing second overall and first lady home, closely followed by Joe Baverstock-Poppy who despite making a navigational error at the first corner still managed to catch up and finish third overall and first male junior proving that the future for the harriers remains bright. Other 3milers were Joe’s mother Jenny, Judy Cutbill and son Harry and Andy Smale. Judy and Andy clearly have ambitions beyond the 3 mile circuit because after a reviving cup of tea and piece of cake went out to run the course again.
The other team of Ian Lochray, Andy Reid, Martin Rosell and Rachel Shimell tackled the longer course, grateful for the improvement in conditions which saw semi-tropical temperatures approaching 8 degrees at one point. The well laid out and challenging course took the field of 200 or so runners on a long loop of mainly tracks and footpaths with a minimal amount of road work and following a long cold and dry spell considerably less mud than has been evident in recent years, even the now infamous “Gumboot Gulley” was little more than soft underfoot.
The other members of the Harriers party were Andy Reid’s wife Kate and their five year old daughter Immy, who undertook the 3 mile circuit as walkers and official support crew for the rest of the club.
Following successful outings at both events the two groups met at the Luzborough house to re-hydrate on Guinness and Ringwood Best, drinks we are assured by someone who once met Paula Radcliffe that are in fact Isotonic, and to swap experiences of the day.

7/12/008 Harriers Laugh in the face of The Grim Challenge

“Run, wade and crawl, 8 miles of off-road challenge on a course designed to stretch military vehicles to the limit – Have you got what it takes?”
This was the taunt sent out to the Halterworth Harriers by the organisers of The 2008 Grim Challenge.

Without hesitation 14 Harriers 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 the coldest morning of the year?

As the squad departed Romsey at 8.30am on Sunday the temperature was rising to
-3 degree Celsius, but fortunately the promised fog had not materialised and the sky was clear and bright – perfect Grim weather.

Lining up at the start with nearly 2000 other athletes, the Harriers were heartened to hear from the announcer that someone had been sent out on the course with a sledgehammer to ensure the worst of the ice had been broken on some of the larger ponds.

The early part of the race eased the runners into a false sense of security, with just a few gentle hills and a relatively flat path. This allowed the 4 Harrier teams to set their own pace, with Ian Lochray and Tim Parker leading the way. However, at the half way point, with limbs just beginning to tire, the real battle of wits began.
A fiendish, mile long stretch of ravines and gulleys, carved by years of pounding from tank tracks and now filled with either ice cold water or a glutinous yellow mud.
Peter Haig, ignoring medical advice, won the award for most muddied athlete following his swallow dive into one of the stickier, knee deep patches on the course.

After 8 miles of action packed slipping and sliding the Harriers triumphantly waded through the final lake before the finish line. Tim and Ian smashed through the one hour barrier with Dave Kenyon not far behind. Dave Arnott led the next Harrier team home, along with the singlet wearing Paul Garland and club president Martin Rosell, but their performances were eclipsed by Jane Heyer’s outstanding time of 73 minutes, which gained her first place in her age category. Rachel Shimell rounded off a fine effort from the Harriers third team. They managed a creditable 20th place in the mixed team event, finishing well ahead of the popular ‘Snow white and the seven muddy dwarfs’ team.

Possibly the most bizarre run of the day came from Sara Kenyon who managed to knock 8 minutes off last years time despite helping push an ambulance out of the mud half way round the course!

Reflecting on the race, Simone Arnott noted that she now understood the therapeutic benefits of an ice cold bath, (as championed by Paula Radcliffe) although in future she will be saving it until after the race rather than half way round.

Liz Tilt and Debbie Sims, both competing for the first time, finished one second inside their target times – an excellent 89 minutes 59 seconds.
After crossing the final lake, arms aloft, Debbie summed up the whole event saying: “That was one of the most fantastically awful, but brilliant races I have ever done!”