March 2008

Greetings from Holmfirth

Dear Bob,
A big thank you to you and all your club for allowing me to join you as a visitor for the past couple of months. I really appreciated the welcome and enjoyed the training runs. My father whom I was visiting, passed away last week and I have returned to Yorkshire and Holmfirth Harriers. Please pass on my most sincere and grateful thanks for making me feel welcome and allowing me to have some quality runs with a great team. Yours Aye. Richard Whale
 ps If any of your members are visiting Holmfirth please feel free to come along and visit me/us as a guest, club details at: www.holmfirthharriers.com
Not so many runners this year and so it was a bit lonely with no-one overtaking me after the 1st mile. Nevertheless I had a few breathing down my neck which kept me going, finishing not far off my course PB.

Asthma UK 10km 22/3/8

 3   Nathan Holmes     34:39
29   Rebecca Smith     40:17 PB
 
Pancake-flat course around Dorney Lake (Eton College rowing lake) with hardly any bends to slow down for. Definite PB potential, as Becky demonstrated... and I didn't. That said, I think on the day we'd have been happy with a few gradients and corners if it meant a bit more shelter from the wind; it was awful!
  Not sure if this was the first running, but the organisation was a bit of a shambles. Don't think I'd recommend it to people for next year - certainly not without caveats around the parking, the pre-race setup and the fact that it's definitely more of a charity event than a race for club runners...

Massey Ferguson Easter 5 23/3/8

Position Number Time Name Gender Cat
19 477 33:30 Mike Wheeler M SM
29 476 35:13 Richard Hodge M SM
33 510 35:31 Nigel Bassnett M O/40
35 492 36:22 Andrew Ralph M O/40
40 474 37:20 John Wilson M SM
41 552 37:31 Bryan Knox M O/45
49 549 39:27 Bob Adams M O/50
64 493 42:47 John Ralph M SM
80 542 47:25 Lesley Keighley F O/55
Results and photos at  http://www.kenilworthrunners.co.uk/main/index.htm

Stafford Half Marathon 16/3/8

32 770 P Kelly (M55) M 01:21:05  01:21:01 32
167 769 A Kelly (F) F 01:32:15   01:31:38 157

Silverstone Half Marathon 9/3/8

199   Rebecca Smith     1:30:07 PB
226   Paul Lawlor       1:30:58

Inverness Half Marathon  9/3/8 

Martyn Brunt - 1:19.29 (a PB) – 22nd place overall, 19th in category.
Race report: Another diet of whisky porridge for breakfast and another PB, not to mention my first half marathon under 1:20. If I’d been six month’s older I’d have been third vet and in the money, but never mind, I had another whisky to commiserate. I wasn’t even worried about the howling gale that blew in my face for the last three miles. Brunty’s formula for success: Whisky = power + strength.

Barry 40 Mile race 9/3/8

Mark Baker      5-14-37   PB   (won bronze medal in Welsh Ultra distance Championship)
Dave Halford    5-30-25
 

Athlete	5 Miles	10 Miles	15Miles	20Miles	25 Miles	30 Miles	35 Miles	40 Miles
13. Mark Baker	35:00	1:10:08	1:46:00	2:22:33	3:01:08	3:43:30	4:28:43	5:14:37
15. David Halford	36:50	1:15:06	1:54:10	2:32:35	3:12:32	3:54:23	4:39:54	5:30:25

Report  (Mark Baker):    This was the race that I had been training for since the New York Marathon. I was very keen to improve my PB of 5-19-36 from my last attempt in 2001. I was also looking for a top 3 finish in the Welsh Ultradistance Championships, which were included in the open race. The quality of the field in the open race was the best for years, with many well known ultrarunners competing. Dave Halford had entered the race for the first time, and looked forward to the 161 laps of the 400 metre track at Barry football stadium. Each runner was introduced to their personal lap scorer before the start. The lap scorers would encourage their runners when things got tough. My strategy was to make a positive start (around 7 minute miles) without too much pace variation. This worked well up to the marathon despite some heavy hail showers which tested everyone’s resolve. I found myself competing with another Welsh runner for the silver medal, and we changed places several times up to 27 miles. Then I hit a bad patch, and lost some ground over the next few miles. I started to recover at 32 miles and increased my pace. As the last few laps were counted down, I knew that I would get the bronze medal, and was elated to hear the bell for the final lap. The stadium tannoy tracked my final 100 metres, and I was delighted to get a PB by 5 minutes, just 3 minutes behind the silver medallist. I encouraged Dave over the final few laps, then we enjoyed some well-earned refreshments in Barry on Sunday evening.

Llanelli Half Marathon 2/3/8

Barcelona Marathon 2/3/8

Penny Wilkin 4hr 08 minutes PB