Littlestone 10k – Friday 27th May
On Friday evening, five beach loving Tunbridge Wells Harriers travelled south to the little known holiday destination known as ‘Littlestone’. A low key event that had a friendly welcome from the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.
Robert Winter won first Harrier home in a massive PB of 39.16, a 2 minutes 12 second improvement. Then in quick succession Saul Harris in 40:57 also a PB. Andy Joad, Geoff Turner and Steve Austin all following on with some rock solid performances.
A tremendous effort by all, leading to TW Harriers winning the team title. Also some notable individual performances from Geoff and Steve taking M50 and M55 awards yielding a real swoop on prize wine for us all (5 bottles in total).
Full results: 5th Robert Winter 39:16, 10th Saul Harris 40:57 (2nd M45), 11th Andrew Joad 41:15 (1st M50), 14th Geoff Turner 41:48 (2nd M50), 16th Stephen Austin 42:29 (1st M55).
Trail Running Sussex – Weald Challenge Trail Races – 29th May
A collection of Harriers met in the beautiful little village of Muddles Green, Chiddingly for Trail Running Sussex latest set of Trail Races of Half Marathon and Ultra Marathon (50k). Another good day of sunshine with the added strong breeze set for good conditions. The Weald Challenge Trail Races follow the long distance paths of the Wealdway and the Vanguard Way. This race was named ‘Challenge’ for a reason. Negotiating long grass, rained gouged paths, rock hard crop fields and muddy gate passes needed some concentration. There certainly were a few scrapes and scratches at the finish including Harrier Andy Page who took a dive during the final miles!
A thoroughly enjoyable race with a lovely relaxed atmosphere. The winning time knocked 5 minutes of the current record with a time of 1:29.36! New Harrier Kelvin Desmoyers-Davis, who finished in 6th position last year, finished in an impressive 9th position this year.
A huge well done to Sarah Barker on finishing her first ultra marathon, a superb achievement.
Half Marathon full results: 9th Kelvin Desmoyers-Davis 1:43:20, 89th Lesley Mercer 2:11:42, 96th Andy Page 2:14:15, 199th Catherine Kinder 2:43:19, 200th Rosie Harris 2:43:19, 227th Helen Jenkins 2:55:29. Ultra Marathon: 51st David Vezey 5:56:39, 143rd Sarah Barker 7:56:37.
Westminster Mile – 29th May
Andy Howey and Nicola Morris made their way into London for the Westminster Mile. Both did a sterling job representing the Harriers with two great performances. Andy Howey finished in 4 minutes 59 seconds winning the M50 category. Nicola Morris finished in 6 minutes 19 seconds, setting a new Club F45 record.
Edinburgh Marathon – 29th May
Three Harriers made the long trip to Scotland to take part in the Edinburgh Marathon. Kim Deeney was the first Harrier home in 3:27:36, setting a new personal best. Siobhan Browne also set a personal best in 4:18:10. Graham Brooks, running in the M80 category, finished in 6:25:07.
Rock ‘N’ Roll Liverpool Marathon – 29th May
Also undertaking the marathon distance was Peter Cummings at the Rock ‘N’ Roll Liverpool Marathon. The weather was glorious, even too hot, but on a hilly course taking in numerous famous sites Albert Dock, Goodison Park, Stanley Park, The Cavern, and Penny Lane), Peter achieved an excellent time of 3:23:39 in his first marathon.
Rye 10 Miles
Gary O’Reilly took part in the Rye 10 Mile race, a hilly challenging course. Gary came 123rd out of 196 finishers in a time of 1:28:26.
London Vitality 10k
Three Harriers spent Bank Holiday Monday in London for the Vitality 10k. Sarah Lavender came home first in 45:04, followed by Richard Martin (M60) in 52:07 for a personal best and Charles Castleton in 1:08:57.