Bye Bye Cross-Country...

So this month saw the last of the big cross country races with the final Kent Cross Country League event at Foots Cray

Meadows. There is still the all important

Club Country Cross Champs, although it may

have already happened when you read this!

I only managed a few XC events this season,

but hope to do more next year because I

really enjoyed Somerhill (honest!). The

event calendar doesn’t stop though, with

more Kent Grand Prix races, London and

Brighton Marathons and more club social

events coming up. The fun never stops!

Check out this month’s new feature looking

back at previous reports.

N. Reynolds

Contents

Club News and Events

Blast of the Past

Results and Reports

The women’s XC team at Foots Cray Meadows—Gemma Richardson, Jillian Holford, Cathy Gill,

Carol Tsang, Lesley Mercer and Stella Richardson in support.

Newsletter - March 2016

Future Club & Open Events and Committee News

Wednesday 6th April AGM - 7:30pm

Don’t forget that this year’s AGM takes place at 19.30 on

Wednesday 6th April, at The Nevill. Come along and hear a

round up of the year’s major events and issues. Is there

anything you would like to see changed with how the club

is run? Are you burning to make suggestions for

improvement? Members are encouraged to submit

proposals for discussion at the meeting so feel free to put

forward your ideas. (Formal notification of the meeting

and invitation to submit proposals will be sent out in mid

March but why not start thinking about it now?)

If you would like to become more involved in the running

of the club why not consider standing for the committee?

Many of the current members have been on the

committee for years and it’s always good to have new

blood! Please have a chat with any of the existing

committee to find out what we do.

Please note that there is no formal club run but the

clubhouse will be open at 17.30 and members may go for

a short run, at 18.00, leaving plenty of time to change and

shower before the meeting.

The current committee members are:

Chairman – Andy Howey

Secretary – Lucille Joannes

Treasurer – Matt Clark

Vice Chair/Social Secretary – Rosie Harris

Membership Team – Phil Long, Jenny Weaver & Dave

Hadaway

Publicity – Nick Reynolds

Website – Simon Howden

XC Captains – Ed Steele and Lesley Mercer

Road Race Captains – Bob Lawrence & Nicola Morris

Member without portfolio/Nevill Rep – Peter Richardson

Member without portfolio – George Harris

Member without portfolio - Steve Bright

Cross-Country Events:

Sat 19th March - 10:00am Club XC Champs - Hargate Forest

Kent Grand Prix:

Sun 13th Mar - Dartford Half Marathon

Fri 25th Mar - Folkestone 10 Mile

Sun 5th June—Staplehurst 10k

Sun 26th June - North Downs Run 30k

Other Events:

TWH Host ParkRun Event - Date TBC

Sun 3rd Apr - Paddock Wood Half Marathon

Sun 17th Apr - Brighton Marathon

Sun 24th Apr - London Marathon

Sat 14th May Bewl Water Race Series

Check out the website for full event details and schedule.

Club Events and Calendar

Join us on Facebook

Follow us on Twitter

Forums

Photos

Email Group

Committee News

Club Tour

This year's annual Club Tour will be to the beautiful

Dartmoor National Park on Friday 24th June. Put it in your

diaries. If you need to book off time at work, request the

Friday 24th & Monday 27th June.

Most Harriers start out on the Friday with a leisurely

journey to the accommodation, meeting at a lunch venue

en-route. A short late afternoon run takes place to stretch

our legs, with a longer run on the Saturday, a Sunday

morning excursion & lovely evening meals.

Most people stay on the Sunday night, & travel back on

Monday, although this is not essential.

Here is a link to the accommodation website:

http://www.brimptsfarm.co.uk/

Club Grand Prix Trophy

With none of the big guns out for the last Grand Prix race of

2015 - the A20 Path 'N' owns back in November 2015, the

final results, for those that competed in 5 or more of the 10

events, are as follows (top 8 because that’s all I could fit in

Nick):-

Position / Name / % / No. of Events

1 Mark Gamage 76.61 (6)

2 Stuart Shields 75.71 (5)

3 Derek Harrison 70.41 (5)

4 Terry Everest 69.72 (8)

5 Lucille Joannes 69.13 (5)

6 Stephen Bright 68.92 (9)

7 Michael Russell 67.06 (5)

8 Lesley Mercer 64.84 (5)

Join us on Facebook

Follow us on Twitter

Forums

Photos

Email Group Club Cross Country Champs - 19/3/16 - 10:00

The Club Cross Country Championship race is held annually in Hargate

Forest and this year is happening on Saturday 19th March.

All age categories take part in the one race, these being:

Men: Senior, M40, M50 & M60

Women: Senior, F35, F45 & F55

Silver salvers are awarded for each of these categories

Club Annual Dinner Dance & Prize Presentation - 21/5/16

Save the date! Saturday 21st May is the Annual Club Party/Dinner/

Awards Night and is a not to be missed event. Open to all Harriers and

their partners, it’s a chance to socialise, eat, drink and dance without

wearing the usual lycra! New Harriers are most welcome. This year it

will be held at the Royal Wells Hotel. It promises to be another great

social event, so keep the date free! More details to follow.

Membership Renewals!

New year, new challenges, new

goals and new memberships.

Please renew your membership

as soon as possible. You cannot

represent the club in events

without being a paid up member.

Last year’s quiet and sober

Dinner Dance

New members...

Welcome to our latest paid up

members: Paul McKeon, Christo-

pher Walmsley, Lyndon Jennings,

Julie Lodrick, John Mcginty, An-

thony Spratt, Olivier Berta, Ellie

Price

New

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rom

No

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ber

19

96

New

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19

96

Event Results Kent XC League - Foots Cray Meadows

13/2/16

Ed Steele’s report:

The 5th and final event of the 2015 Kent Cross Country League took place on Saturday 13th February at Foots Cray Meadows - another new venue close-by to the Swanley races - a rather picturesque and large park interspersed with woods, streams and a few local dog walkers bemused by the race infront of them. Being a public park, no tents were allowed, but thankfully we’d brought a gazebo. The very same gazebo that fell victim to the elements at Sparrow’s Den, brought back to life with a roll of magic gaffa tape, a twig and a load bearing flag-pole. Conditions were cold, with a light drizzle and minimal wind - pretty good compared to the sideways rain of Brands Hatch and the annual quagmire of Parliament Hill. The ground was varied, the paths were hard with a top layer of mud but the majority of the course was across soft open grassland with many opting for trail shoes over spikes. Overall the course was fairly flat but with a nice sloping downhill path to the finishing field. With only the seniors racing and the pressure limited to those with a chance at prizes, numbers tend to be down, with only 116 men and 64 ladies competing in a slightly lower turnout than last year. Despite early worries of a low turnout, we still put out 19 harriers on the day and completed the duodec (12 to score) season for the men.

In the ladies 5k race at 12:00pm we had 5 ladies and 1 V70 competing. Sadly, with the finish being so far away from the bulk of the race, it was hard to find a spot as a spectator other than the few battles towards the finish – it was great to watch Tina and Maria from Paddock Wood duelling right upto the line. Cathy Gill (18th) pulled out a great performance to finish first harrier home, followed shortly afterwards by Jillian Holford (20th). Ladies’ captain Lesley Mercer (40th) completed the 3 to score, with Carol Tsang (48th) and Gemma Richardson (54th) finishing off the team. In the 3 to score race, the ladies came 7th out of 10 clubs, finishing 7th out of 17 clubs overall in the season. Sadly, our team prize for the 6 to score from last year was tearfully handed back. I do encourage anyone who hasn’t tried it to come along to these free events, they are great training and participation can be as important as position. The M70 race was ran at the same time, with Byron ‘Spud’ Taylor coming home in 3rd (although the only M75 in his race) but taking 1st place in the M70 competition overall, our 3rd win of this trophy. The senior men’s 10k race began with a fast start, a little too fast for some caught unlaced. Tom Wooley shot off as usual but was quickly caught by Sam Begg in fantastic form and I spent most of the race fending off fierce competition by Terry Everest by never looking back until the finish. Sam was first harrier home in a fantastic 14th place - our best men’s placing since I started cross country events in 2009 – followed by Craig Chapman (22nd and 3rd V40) showing he’s mastered this event as well and Chairman Andrew Howey (30th and 3rd V50). Alex Jeffreys (35th), also on great form finished the 4 to score. The duodec was then made up of Tom Woolley (45th), Edward Steele (50th), Terry Everest (55th), Simon Howden (68th), Andrew Joad (77th), Geoff Turner (84th), Michael Russell (91st) and Andy Page (107th). The mens 4 to score were 6th in the race and 7th out of 18 teams overall. In the duodec trophy we were 4th home and finished the league in a close 3rd place. In the individual overall competitions, Andy Howey took a well-wearned 3rd veteran and 2nd M50 to add to his bulging trophy cabinet.

Craig, Michael, Geoff, Peter, Andy, Sam, Ed, Terry, Simon,

Andy, Alex, Tom

Event Results Kent XC League - Foots Cray Meadows

13/2/16

Thanks to Stella, Bob and the ladies for supporting and to Carol for photos. Thanks to everyone who has competed or helped across the season, especially those providing much the missed anzac biscuits! I've been Men's captain for a long 5 years now and the men's team has got stronger and stronger. It's a shame we cannot get the same enthusiasm from the ladies' despite the great effort our captains put in. Please do try out cross country, the first race of any season is a great intro. Next and final XC race is the morning of 19th March in Hargate forest. Put it in your diaries!

Photos http://photos.twharriers.org.uk/Races/Cross-Country/Kent-XC-League-2015-Foots-Cray/ Peter Richardson's levitating water bottle trick Full Results Senior Women – 5k 18 00:21:52 CATHY GILL 20 00:22:03 JILLIAN HOLFORD 40 00:24:35 LESLEY MERCER 48 00:26:00 CAROL TSANG 54 00:27:03 GEMMA RICHARDSON Senior Men – 10k 14 00:33:46 SAM BEGG 22 00:34:44 CRAIG CHAPMAN 30 00:35:32 ANDREW HOWEY 35 00:36:05 ALEX JEFFREYS 45 00:37:19 TOM WOOLLEY 50 00:37:44 EDWARD STEELE 55 00:38:16 TERRY EVEREST 68 00:39:29 SIMON HOWDEN 77 00:40:35 ANDREW JOAD 84 00:41:13 GEOFF TURNER 91 00:42:32 MICHAEL RUSSELL 107 00:45:08 ANDY PAGE 110 00:47:05 PETER RICHARDSON M70 – 5k 3 00:32:32 BRYON TAYLOR Overall League Results – Kent Cross Country League 2015/2016 Senior Women Team: 3 and 6 to score

Blackheath & Bromley Harriers AC Senior Men Team: 4 to score and 12 to score Tonbridge AC Individual League Winners – Veteran Men 3rd Andy Howey – Tunbridge Wells Harriers Individual League Winners – Men 50-59 2nd Andy Howey – Tunbridge Wells Harriers Individual League Winners – Men 70+ 1st Bryon Taylor - Tunbridge Wells Harriers

Andy Joad (Front) and Geoff Turner (Back)

Lesley, Gemma, Carol, Cathy and Jillian

Event Results Headcorn Half Marathon 14/2/16

Mike King’s report:

Based on Nicola’s recommendation of a lovely run in the sun 8 Harriers (and Bob in support role) decided to give it a go. What materialised however was 3 degrees and rain! However the worst of the rain stayed away for the race.

The race started off with a lap of a muddy field to make sure your feet were soaking wet before taking to pretty quiet country roads. The course was mainly flat through attractive countryside with only a few slight undulations to deal with and definitely one for PB potential. Also no complaints on the organisation and possibly the best portable toilets I have ever seen at a race!

See below for results but I believe everyone was pleased with their times and many course PBs and a few PBs and Nicola picked up the F45 prize. I was pretty pleased with my PB (wanted to claim a 10 mile PB as well but Bob said that doesn’t count ).

Rob Latala won the mens race with a time of 1:12:05 and Kate Mills took the ladies race in 1:27:35.

Worthing Half Marathon 14/2/16

Nick Reynolds’ report:

Having been getting a good amount of mileage in training for the Brighton Marathon, my hopes were high for besting my half marathon time of 1:28:21 at the

Worthing Half Marathon. This was the first half marathon in Worthing for 30 years. The course was a confusing looping affair, traveling back and forth on some parts of the seafront three times. It was so confusing through the residential section it confused the marshals. One told my support crew (my wife and in-laws) that they would be waiting ages just as the leader ran past and when they moved to their next location, the marshal asked them what direction the runners were meant to be coming!

Long story short, I found

the race hard going. I think the training caught up with me. The aim was to run 6:40min/mile pace which I almost managed for the first 9 miles, and then it started to slip. The head wind for the last 3 miles was most unwelcome. I finished in 1:29:17, 97th out of 1470. I got a medal, banana and bottle of water for my efforts, but no goodie bag, t-shirt, cake or beer so definitely room for improvement next year.

I was lucky because my father-in-law is in to his photography and got some good photos. He'll be at Brighton marathon trying to pick out the deckchairs.

Position Chip Name

Category

Time

22 01:24:15 MIKE KING SM

88 01:37:06 NICOLA MORRIS W45

113 01:41:23 DAVID FRENCH M50

124 01:42:36 COLIN RICKETTS M50

187 01:48:33 IAN NUNNS M40

197 01:49:26 ANA-MARIA GREEN W45

238 01:54:37 NICKY WHITE W45

422 03:09:33 GRAHAM BROOKS M70

Your newsletter author in

action in Worthing

More silver for Nicola’s collection