Harriers have been out competing hard, near and far this past week or two, and have come home with a few prizes..
Jenny leads Harrier women to victory in Dorset
Jenny Moore led a team of Harrier women to victory at the tough Dorset Three Peaks race this past Sunday. The race held over 10.1 miles of countryside takes competitors across fields and up and down three significant peaks from the start at Shillingstone.
Amongst the field of 414 runners Jenny’s time of 78.26 was good enough for 29th place overall and for her to claim victory and make it the third time she has won this particular race. Jenny was backed up by two other swift Harrier women: Laurie Phippard was 115th in 88.44, and Sam Baker was 124th in 90.13 for the trio to be crowned the women’s team winners.
Laurie’s husband Aiden ran 88.44 and Sam’s husband Nathan ran 94.08 to make it quite a family event whilst Richard Morgan ran a solid 1.45 for 273rd place to close for the Harrier men.
Meanwhile some 450 miles further north, the Harriers once again had some tough athletes out competing over a two day Mountain Marathon held near Perth, Scotland. Despite heavy rain on the Saturday the teams battled through the navigation event that day to pitch their tents and survive for another day of competition on the Sunday when conditions improved.
This was the 44th year of the Original Mountain Marathon and attracted the top orienteers from across the UK and beyond. The event requires all competitors to be experienced fell runners able to survive a night unaided on the fells and to pick up control points within a set time span across terrain which is some of the remotest in the UK. The Harrier teams all competed in the Medium Score category.They didn't see an inch of tarmac from the start of Day one to the end of Day two.
The very experienced Chris Kelsey was competing this year with his younger son, Ben, and they did not disappoint with a storming set of results over the two days to finish 15th overall, and 2nd parent/child combination. They gained 240 points on Day One over a 6 hour span, and a further 140 points on Day 2 from their 5 hours of allotted time. Chris is the only Harrier, so far, to have conquered the tough Bob Graham Round in The Lake District.
Another experienced pair Helen Rutter and Liz Green also competed again for what must be the 15th time. This time they tried to keep low on the Saturday as the heavy rain on the tops meant poor visibility, and they pitched their micro-tent in driving rain. They survived to mount another push for points on the Sunday and achieved the accolade of being top female veterans overall in this category. Final finish result for Simon Jones and his partner Ian Biggs is awaited.
There was some good running by Wells City Harriers at the tough Exmoor Stagger race the weekend before. Held over 15 miles with a total of 3,600 feet of ascent, this race is not for the feint hearted and takes competitors from Minehead to the top of Dunkery Beacon. Top billing for the women was the 2nd overall place gained by Clare Prosser who completed the course in 2.17 just 6 minutes behind the winning woman. Clare was 1st F35. Clare was less than 30 seconds behind one of the Club’s top male veterans with Nick Somerville having a good run to gain 2nd V50 award.
Laurie Phippard was another Harrier that gained an award for her 3rd F40 placing in a time of 2.40, with husband Aiden a minute or so back for 2.41. Mike Brown was next in with 2.43, inside the top 100 finishers. Nick Edwards achieved 3.30 and Jenny Adams ran well for a great 4.08.
In the accompanying Stumble race held over similar terrain but with a total distance of 6 miles to cover the Harriers fielded the 1st overall female with Rebecca Carver excelling to win in 59.09, just ahead of her nearest rival. Elly Miln was next Harrier in with 70.06 and swooped for the 1st F50 prize, whilst Hayley Carver was close behind in 75.10.
Meanwhile at the October Weston Prom race over 5 miles, four Wells Harriers ran in ideal conditions. Matthew Dickinson followed up a good run at the English road relays to win the race overall in a time of 27.03. This is a great personal best, 2nd Harrier in was Simon Prior in 24th in a good time of 29.46, Katrina Prior who is in some great form was 1st vet 35 in 33.04 and new Wells Harrier Steve Dickinson was next in 41.13.
With one race to go in the Somerset Race series for 2011, the Harrier women are leading the way with Jenny Moore and Katrina Prior 1-2 in the overall rankings. Also appearing in the rankings are Kay Franklin, Tracey Halliday and Jenny Adams. The final Series race is at Brent Knoll on Sunday Nov 27th - another not for the feint-hearted.
Harriers and other local runners are also all reminded that the 134th edition of the Street 5k race and junior races, over 1k and 2k, take place next Wednesday November 9th with entries taken on the night at the United Reformed Church, opposite Living Homes from 6.30pm. The Harriers will also make the draw for the allocation of their 3 allocated London Marathon places at the event.