Beyond The Finishing Line

• Kevin Sheppard
• Gerry Murray
• David Beechey
• Dick Hill

• Tony White

The Club has experienced many moments of excitement, achievement and all the fun that comes from running and taking part in athletics together, but there have been times of sadness as well. Five of our members are commemorated here, and we remember them with affection.

Kevin Sheppard was the inspiration behind the founding of the Club, and for many years made a great contribution in his own unique style to its growth. He was prominent in the joint activities we organised with our German twin club at Bad Durkheim, and was a pretty sharp runner as well with a sub three hours marathon time. He was very popular in local circles other than running, and at his funeral service at St Cuthberts, the church was packed. Berni Mundy donated the Kevin Sheppard Marathon shield that is awarded annually in his memory to remind us how much the club owes to him.

Gerry Murray was a popular and respected figure in the area, a Teacher at Kings of Wessex School at Cheddar, and an early recruit to the Harriers. At the time he was one of the small number of veterans (V40+) and a tough competitor in races. Sadly he collapsed while taking part in a Cheddar race, and did not recover. In his memory the ‘Gerry Murray Races’ were run from the Market Place in Wells for a number of years. They not only attracted runners from local clubs, but also some of the national elite runners of the time (1990’s) including Rob Denmark and Richard Neuraker. Clive Thomas and Mike Derbidge did a wonderful job organising these events, making a fine tribute to Gerry.

David Beechey was one of our younger members, a student of Strode College when he first joined. He had a great enthusiasm for running and life in general, a regular runner on the Wednesday club runs, and a participant in the first Series of the Street 5km races. He joined the RAF, serving much of the time in Germany, and whenever back in Wells joined us in running. He was thinking of training to be a paramedic after his RAF career, but was tragically killed in a road accident in Germany.

Dick Hill joined the Harriers as a result of our Partnership agreement with Yeovil Olympiads in September 2000. Dick came with a tremendous amount of experience and enthusiasm – he had competed at a number of tough fell races as well as road and cross-country events. Over the 2000/2001 Avalon League Cross Country season he was a loyal member of the Harrier team, and was also used to top ten finishes at the local multi-terrain races. Unfortunately in 2001 he was diagnosed as suffering from Motor Neurone disease, was forced to give up his job with the Dorset Wildlife Trust and stop running, and finally succumbed in November 2002, aged 40.

Tony White took up running in his early 50’s after a long period as a keen and competitive cyclist. He was originally a member of Yeovil Town Road Runners and in 1999 joined us to train with the Sunday group going for the usual 2 hour plus run. This endurance training was allied to some speed work and before long Tony started to record a number of personal bests including 38.25 for 10km and 18.30 at the 5km. Probably his proudest achievement in a Wells vest however was when he finished 4^th V60 overall at the London Marathon in 2002 with his personal best 3hrs 3mins. For this achievement he was awarded the inaugural ‘Kevin Sheppard’ Trophy for the best Marathon performance that particular year. Tony was, and still is, one of the inspirations for continuing to train and trying to achieve personal bests no matter the age. Tony died of leukaemia in June 2008 and was cremated along with his Wells kit.