Thirty seven Avon Valley Runners decided to burn off the excesses of Christmas, at the 47th staging
of The Boxing Day run
.
The Five Kilometre course starts in Moulton Drive, Bradford on Avon before getting onto the towpath
heading out to Staverton and then back to the finish at the Beehive Public House.
First back was recent recruit Vojtech Hajdu who recorded 17:21 ahead of last year's winner Michael Bryant in 17:33 and third placed Michael Towler in 17:48. Bob Ellis continued his comeback from (alleged) injury to finish as 1st MV40 in 19:22, with Steve Williams 1st MV50 in 18:42 and Anthony Hickson 1st MV60 in 23:10.
In the ladies race Sue MacGregor claimed her first ever victory at the Boxing Day run recording 21:07 ahead of Melanie Nichols in 21:23 and ten times winner of the event (between 1990 and 2001) Rosemary Barber in 21:59. Four times former ladies winner (2002 to 2006) Rachel Bown recorded 22:14 to claim the 1st FV35 award, Jackie Harding ran 26:14 to finish as 1st FV45 and the award for 1st FV55 went to the club's Vice-President Judy Farr, who has won the ladies Boxing Day run on an incredible seventeen occasions over a twenty five year span between 1964 and 1989.
North Wiltshire Hash House Harriers pride themselves on being a drinking club, with a running problem
,
it was in this spirit that they decided to hold the first Swindon Santa Dash 5K.
Drawing upon the model that drew 5,000 costumed runners to Liverpool in 2006 or more infamously the
4,000 Santa's to South Wales, where the 2004 run degenerated into a drunken brawl.
A modest 80 Santa runners gathered outside of the Wyvern Theatre to run two laps of the town centre
in the pouring rain.
After 100-yards it became apparent that the white beard would be a major hindrance and a small fur-ball
was starting to form in my mouth.
I settled in with a small group (I don't know what the collective noun is for a group of Santa's)
whilst the leader sped off into the distance, unfestively dressed in running gear,
rather than a Santa suit!
After a couple of kilometres our chasing group had been whittled down to just two, and then in the final kilometre I found myself pulling away to finish second, collecting a Santa medal and mince pie to celebrate my endeavour.
Despite the heavy rain, Avon Valley Runners managed to field one of their best turnouts for a County Cross Country championships in recent years. At a water-logged Stanley Park in Chippenham.
First up for AVR was Mitzi Barber in the U17 ladies, covering the 4.5K course in twenty one minutes and five seconds to finish second.
The final race of the afternoon mixed Juniors, Seniors and Veteran Men over a 10K course. Taking the county title was David Bishop of Bristol & West AC in 35:25 from Brian Gardner of Swindon Harriers and Avon Valley Runner Vojtech Hajdu in 38:09. Next back was Michael Towler in 40:27 to finish fourth in the Junior Men's race. Running in his first race of 2007 was Bob Ellis who recorded 43:37 to finish 19th, ahead of 20th placed Mike Pace and 26th placed Darren Wrintmore.
Nearly 400 runners lined up to face a fierce headwind at the Bromham Christmas Pudding 10K. Among those assembled were thirty two Avon Valley Runners (AVR's second highest turnout of 2007). Leading home over the flat but exposed two lap course was Luke Quilliam of Bitton Road Runners in a time of 35:59, followed by Stephen Rose of Bath AC and Avon Valley Runners new recruit Vojtech Hajdu in 36:43. Sixth placed Kevin Sparey in 36:51, 16th placed Alistair Bartlett in 38:13 and 23rd placed Jim Hart in 39:12 brought Avon Valley Runners home as the third placed Men's team behind Bath AC and Chippenham Harriers.
In the ladies race, Tamsin Simmonds of Swindon Harriers led home in 40:51, followed by Jenny Carter of Bath AC and Avon Valley Runner Jackie Rockliffe in 41:52.
Other Avon Valley Runners: 25th Chris Stevens 39:21; 35th Steven Williams 40:02; 46th Chris Atkinson 41:05; 48th Mark Harris 41:12; 50th Ian Mapperson 41:14; 55th Darren Wrintmore 41:21; 61st Jackie Rockliffe 41:52; 73rd Mike Maidment 42:56; 74th Nigel Evans 42:59; 95th Llewelyn Jones 44:05; 97th Peter Jones 44:10; 110th Jimmy Lowther 44:59; 114th Martin Meredith 45:13; 130th Laurie Irwin 46:23; 161st Ali Atkinson 48:09; 163rd Neil Whitehead 48:13; 171st Anissia White 48:46; 191st Ted Rockliffe 49:44; 205th Bernard Waldron 50:16; 232nd Tina Vivian 51:52; 242nd Michael Brain 53:16; 256th Gen Sharam 54:15; 278th Hilary Hammill 55:51; 286th Victoria Black 56:10; 287th Jennie Mason-Smith 56:11; 294th Alan Grout 56:40; 326th Fay Barnes 60:18; 329th Tony Griffith 60:53.
The event saw the conclusion of the Avon Valley Race Series which started back in March with the Devizes 10K and featured ten races across the region, with a total of 85 club members taking part. Avon Valley Runners were awarded points according to their position relative to other Avon Valley Runners in the same event. Alistair Bartlett claimed victory in the Men's series gaining a maximum 20-points at five of the 10-events with Rosemary Barber who always finished in the top-4 points scorers in the seven races that she completed, came out top of the ladies. Other 20-point scorers were: Andy Hawkins at the Warminster Forest 10 & Wimborne 10, Mike Pace at the Corfe Beast, Darren Wrintmore at the Swindon Half Marathon and Vojtech Hajdu at the Bromham 10K. For the ladies, maximum point scorers were: Jackie Rockliffe at the Devizes 10K, Roundway Chase, Moonraker 10K, Swindon Half Marathon and Bromham 10K; Ali Atkinson at the Warminster Forest 10; Sue MacGregor at the Foxtrot Five and Corfe Beast; Liz Ringham at the Wimborne 10.
The top-10 looking like this:
| 1st Alistair Bartlett 155pts | 1st Rosemary Barber 128pts |
| 2nd Jimmy Lowther 120pts | 2nd Tina Vivian 116pts |
| 3rd Peter Jones 120pts | 3rd Jackie Rockliffe 100pts |
| 4th Chris Stevens 117pts | 4th Kay Middleton 89pts |
| 5th Carl Davies 92pts | 5th Denise Ellis 78pts |
| 6th Darren Wrintmore 79pts | 6th Joyce Field 63pts |
| 7th Mark Harris 79pts | 7th Sue Macgregor 59pts |
| 8th Chris Atkinson 71pts | 8th Ali Atkinson 58pts |
| 9th Anthony Hickson 61pts | 9th Victoria Black 40pts |
| 10th Mike Pace 53pts | 10th Katie Robinson 33pts |
The full tables are available here.
Avon Valley Runners, December 2nd 2007
Despite the inclement conditions Avon Valley Runners mustered a strong turnout of thirty runners for the Wimborne 10. The event attracted a field of 500 and played host to the South West Inter-County Championships. For a select few Avon Valley Runners this meant exchanging club colours for county colours: Andy Hawkins, Alistair Bartlett & Liz Ringham representing Wiltshire (along with Rob Hayday of Corsham, John Burns of Devizes, Stuart Dinwoodie of Chippenham Harriers, Amy Stiles of Bristol&West AC and Justin Montague, Tamsin Simmonds, Kate Jacobs all of Swindon Harriers), whilst AVR member Kevin Sparey represented his home county of Somerset.
In cold driving rain the race got underway to a musket shot with a fast opening downhill mile skirting the grounds of Kingston Lacy house before levelling off and heading out past Sturminster Marshall. At the halfway point in the village of Shapwick the field turned into a fierce headwind which compounded the effort required to tackle the final mile climb back into Wimborne.
Making light of the conditions was Willard Chinhanhu of Poole Runners, who set a new course record of 51:37. First back for Avon Valley Runners was Andy Hawkins who finished 29th recording 59:39 followed ten places later by Kevin Sparey in 60:58. Alistair Bartlett's debut for Wiltshire didn't go to plan and he sufferred an uncharacteristically bad run, finishing 70th in 64:51 and being closed down by 75th placed Chris Stevens (who recorded a Personal Best time of 65:19) and 77th placed Darren Wrintmore recording 65:32. However, finishing as the third Avon Valley Runner gave Alistair Bartlett 18-points which mean't that he wins the 2007 AVR Race Series with one event still to run.
In the ladies race Amy Chalk set a new course record of 58:33 with Liz Ringham following as the third scorer for Wiltshire in 68:23. In 265th position Rosemary Barber came home as the fourth AVR lady in 80:06 (behind Melanie Nichols & Tina Giles), giving Rose 17-points to put the 2007 AVR Race Series out of reach of her club rivals, with the Bromham 10K still to go.
Other Avon Valley Runners: 88th Steve Noyes 65:59;
95th Chris Atkinson 66:22;
97th Mark Harris 66:42; 145th Ian Mapperson 69:39; 154th Mike Maidment
70:31; 161st Simon Ringham 70:56; 193rd Peter Jones 73:45; 216th Martin
Meredith 76:05; 219th Melanie Nicholls 76:26; 223rd
Tina
Giles 76:47; 247th John Welford 78:28; 250th Jimmy Lowther
78:38; 288th Bernard Waldron 82:13; 289th Kay
Middleton 82:15; 308th Daniel Gard 83:39; 309th Liz Gard 83:41; 368th
Christina Vivian 87:33; 379th Michael Brain 88:14; 395th
Christine
Davidson 89:59; 428th Susan Cook 94:42; 442nd Frances Hood 96:51; 466th
Tony Griffith 103:45; 475th Sarah Welford 107:10.
Avon Valley Runners, November 18th 2007
The bang of a firework reverberating through the Avon Valley set nearly three hundred runners on their way for the "Over the Hills " 12-kilometer multi-terrain race. Starting beside the Tithe Barn the runners head out through Barton Farm Country Park following the River Avon out to Freshford before heading through Friary woods to Iford, where the runners had to wade across the River Frome to the tune of the "Dambusters". A tough climb up through the Pito Gardens of Iford Manor brought the runners to Westwood, before having to traverse a number of boggy fields down into Avoncliff from where the Kennet & Avon Canal was followed back towards the finish line.
The firm footing once again was to the liking of Rob Hayday of Corsham Running Club who retained his title recording forty four minutes and fifteen seconds, ahead of 1999 winner Alec Wood of Bristol & West AC and Nick Shearn of Team Bath AC. Chippenham Harriers just maanged to edge host club Avon Valley Runners out of winning the team prize.
In the ladies race Tamsin Simmonds of Swindon Harriers took victory in 53:11 ahead of Julie Humphries of Alton Runners and Melanie Blackman, who led Chippenham Harriers to the team prize.
Other prize winners: 1st MV40 - Peter Killey u/a; 1st FV40 - Zoe Eccleston u/a; 1st MV45 Jonathon Bamber of Great Western Runners; 1st FV45 - Yvonne Cox u/a; 1st MV50 - Brett Sadler of Frome Running Club; 1st FV50 - Jo Binloss Gibb of Marlborough Running Club; 1st MV55 - Peter Allan of Corsham Running Club; 1st FV55 - Vivien Rogers of Corsham Running Club; 1st MV60 - Ted Townsend of Marlborough Running Club; 1st FV60 - Janice Rombridge of Team Bath AC.
Avon Valley Runners, November 4th 2007
Nearly two thousand runners lined up in Pipers Way for the Swindon
Half Marathon , which was also hosting the Wiltshire
County Championships for the distance. Among the field were fourteen
Avon Valley Runners who took on the challenging course out past Coate
Water before tacking a series of climbs as the course undulated it's
way through the villages of Badbury, Wanborough and Liddington before
facing a long drag back up to Old Town.
First to complete the thirteen mile course was Gary O'Brien of Swindon
Harriers in one hour seventeen minutes and twenty four seconds. Leading
home for Avon Valley Runners was Darren Wrintmore who had an enduring
battle with clubmate Mark Harris, swapping positions several times
before Darren made the break at the twelve mile point to finish 47th in
1:29:05 with Mark finishing two positions behind in 1:29:42 and taking
fifth spot in the MV45 category. Jimmy Lowther came in 146th recording
1:37:36 to complete the Avon Valley Runners team challenge, just
loosing out on a podium position to Wootton Bassett Hounds.
In the ladies race, Jackie Rockliffe was first back for Avon Valley
Runners in 1:36:06 to take second place in the FV35 category and
followed by Kay Middleton in 1:44:33 taking the 3rd FV40 prize and Tina
Vivian in 1:53:50 taking 4th FV50 prize completed the Avon Valley
Runners team challenge, just loosing out on a podium place to Highworth
Running Club.
Joyce Field reclaimed her 1st FV60 award that she last won in 2005, by
running 2:07:15.
Other Avon Valley Runners: 205th Peter Jones 1:41:06; 485th
Bernard Waldron 1:53:42; 506th Ted Rockliffe 1:54:08; 551st
Anna Colthorpe 1:56:28; 678th Katie Robinson 2:03:04; 734th Denise
Ellis 2:06:05; 848th Tony Griffith 2:12:07.
Avon Valley Runners, October 14th 2007
Avon Valley Runners had a good weekend's racing with ten runners taking on the Mells Trail Run. First back over the 7-mile course was Brian Penny of TeamBath AC in 40:21 with Avon Valley's Kevin Sparey in third place recording 41:46, who along with 6th place Alistair Bartlet (42:21), 13th place Brett Flook (45:18) and 16th placed Mark Harris (46:17) took the Men's team prize ahead of team Bath.
Not to be outdone, in 33rd place Melanie Nichols (50:14)led the ladies team of 54th Kirsty Doonan (54:53), 55th Rosemary Barber (54:57) and 96th Christine Davidson (62:06) to a women's team victory. In 108th place Francis Hood recorded 65:21 and in 117th Fay Barnes recorded 69:14 to complete the AVR performance.
Avon Valley Runners - Sunday September 30th 2007
Among the two hundred runners assembled in the National rust estate at Stourhead were sixteen Avon Valley runners, there to compete in the "King Alfred's Torment" 7-mile trail run. Starting beside the Spread Eagle Inn the runners were afforded a great view across Stourhead lake to the Pantheon as the field launched into a fast opening half-mile; Passing beneath the estates rock arch and skirting past a cascading waterfall before a scramble slope took us up into the woods, emerging on the approach to St Peter's Pump monument, which marks the source of the River Stour. The field then headed back into the trees once more and engaged in a series of wooded climbs before the sight of King Alfred's Tower standing some 1000ft above the Wiltshire countryside indicated the halfway point and it would be downhill all the way back to the finish, where burnt cakes awaited.
Probably ignoring most of the picturesque setting was one of Langport Runners who proved a runaway winner in 42:50. First back for Avon Valley Runners was fifth placed Alistair Bartlett in 46:34, followed by 23rd placed Michael Pace in 51:42, 30th placed Darren Wrintmore in 53:32 and 34th placed George Roberts in 55:16. First of the AVR ladies to complete the testing course was 65th placed Melanie Nichols recording 58:34 from 76th placed Annissia White in 60:14 and 96th placed Rose Barber in 63:27.
Other Avon Valley Runners: 45th Peter Jones 56:35; 68th Neil Whitehead 58:56; 72nd Ian White 59:21; 86th Andrew Hoddinett 62:13; 101st Sue MacGregor 63:52; 107th Tina Vivian 65:53; 151st Liz Gard 73:21; 154th Glyn Phillips 73:35; 168th Denise Ellis 77:47.
Avon Valley Runners - Sunday September 23rd 2007
A record field of two hundred and twenty runners lined up along the
Common at Broughton Gifford to take part in the Foxtrot Five. Heading
out of the village the course descended through the lanes to Great
Chalfield Manor where a bridle path took them on to Little Chalfield
and a long uphill drag back towards the village, where a good downhill
charge could be mustered over the final mile back to the finish
alongside The Fox
Public House.
First home in a new course record time of twenty five minutes and
thirty three seconds was Adrian Whitwam of Tonbridge AC, followed by
Dan Woolford of Wessex & Bath AC in 27:38 and Duncan Wells of
Bournemouth AC in 28:23. The ladies race saw a tight battle between Amy
Chalk of Bristol & West AC and Catherine Dugdale of Swansea
Harriers, with the English international taking victory over the Welsh
international with a 48 second margin, recording 28:02 to set a new
ladies course record.
Other awards went to 1st FV35 : Gillian Pear of Bath Amphibians; 1st MV40 : Peter Cusick of Chippenham Harriers; 1st FV45 : Sue MacGregor of Avon Valley Runners; 1st MV50 : Tim Hoare of Corsham Running Club; 1st FV55 : Zina Marchant of Team Bath AC and 1st MV60 : Patrick Rogers of Team Bath AC.
The first team to finish was from Chippenham Harriers.
Avon Valley Runners, August 26th 2007
Avon Valley Runners held their Avon Valley Mile time trial over a measured course of 1609 meters in Bradford on Avon's Barton Farm Country Park. In the Senior Men's race Andy Hawkins proved a run away winner recording a time of four minutes and forty nine seconds from Mike Bryant some twelve seconds adrift. The Senior Ladies race brought a runaway victory for Mitzi Barber who just ducked under the six minute barrier, recording 5:58 ahead of second placed Melanie Nichols in 6:26. The most eagerly awaited contest was the Masters Mile for V50+ and Chris Switzer stormed home with a mile in six minutes and six seconds ahead of Les Unsworth who recorded 6:19. For the Ladies Rose Barber took the honours with a 6:22 clocking ahead of Tina Vivian.
Avon Valley Runners, Thursday August 9th 2007
The first day of the
West Wilts Show
was a bit of a washout for Avon Valley Runners with very little foot traffic
making it's way into the Melksham tent to visit our stand, forcing the
cancellation of the first of our Fun Runs. However, seventeen runners signed up
for the afternoon Fun Run and most of them braved the torrential rain to make
it onto the start line. The first runner was Gerry Clifton from Melksham
completing the 1-Kilometre loop from Trowbridge Town Park out and around Biss
Country Park in a swift three minutes and thirty one seconds, to earn his AVR
medal and a special spot prize - in fact we were so impressed with all that
took part in the inclement conditions that we gave spot prizes to all.
Day two proved a little more successful than the opening day, with twenty three runners making it onto the start line. All were left in the wake of a blistering two minutes fifty three seconds 1-Kilometre run by seventeen year-old Nick Mead from Trowbridge.
Saturday brought the sunshine but unfortunately not the runners, seventeen runners made it to the start line with the first runner crossing the line in a shade over four minutes.
Avon Valley Runners - Saturday July 28th 2007
Avon Valley Runners fielded four teams for the 105-mile Cotswold Way Relay, which tackles some of the toughest terrain in the South of the country as it winds it's way along the waymarked trail from Chipping Campden on the Gloucestershire/Worcestershire border down to the finish at Bath Abbey.
An early morning shower got the runners underway on the first leg which saw Mike Pace of the AVR Senior mens team pitted against Darren Wrintmore of the AVR Veteran mens team and moved ahead of his club mate at two miles after completing the climb over Dovers Hill. However by eight miles Darren managed to overhaul Mike and open up a gap of over three minutes by the finish at Stanway house, completing the run in 1:34:51 in 16th place overall with Mike finishing 22nd in 1:38:21. The Senior Ladies and the Mixed teams saw Rachel Bown and Sue MacGregor run together for most of the way with Rachel surging ahead in the last quarter of a mile to finish 43rd in 1:51:11 with Sue 45th in 1:51:26, picking off a Hogweed Trotter in the process.
On the second leg down to Cleeve Common Chris Stevens had a good run run over twelve miles to finish in 13th place overall in 1:36:20, with off-road specialist Ian White finishing next for the AVR Mixed team in 42nd place some sixteen minutes adrift. Next back was AVR Veterans team captain Stuart MacGregor in 51st place just ahead of Kay Middleton of the AVR Ladies team.
The eight mile third leg from Cleeve Common to Seven Springs saw the AVR Senior Mens team get their first top-10 position with Richard Ayling who despite taking a wrong turn came through for 8th place ahead of 31st placed Ross Williams for the AVR Mixed team, 47th placed Adella smart of the AVR Ladies and 53rd placed Neil Whitehead for AVR Veterans.
Leg four was probably the most demanding of the legs forcing competitors over twelve miles to Cranham Corner including a run up Coopers Hill, which is more well known for rolling cheese down it. AVR mens team captain Chris Atkinson ran hard to finish in 32nd place with Martin Meredith in 44th for the AVR Mixed team and Ali Atkinson 51st for the AVR Ladies. AVR Veterans team runner Mike Maidment managed to get 'lost' enroute and failed to meet the two hour cut-off time.
Over the twelve miles from Cranham Corner to Ebley Mill, Steve Williams put in a good performance for the AVR Veterans team finishing in 13th place overall recording 1:31:15 over five minutes ahead of George Roberts from the AVR Senior Men team. In 42nd place Kevin Ladner recorded 1:49:10 for the AVR Mixed team and in 50th place the AVR Ladies team captain ran in 1:56:21.
Leg six saw AVR Senior man Danny Gard finish in 15th place over the nine mile run down to Dursley, ahead of 29th place Laurie Irwin (AVR Vets), 49th placed Linda Ladner (AVR Ladies) and 57th placed Liz Gard (AVR Mixed).
The next leg over seven miles saw a good run by Michael Towler (AVR Senior Men) who came through the field for 6th position in 56:10 ahead of 28th placed Mark Heywood (AVR Vets) in 61:08, 31st Kate Robinson (AVR Mixed) 72:08 and 40th Tanya Maidment (AVR Ladies) 74:40.
Leg eight saw another good performance by the AVR Senior Mens team as Carl Davies secured 7th place recording 1:30:13 for the twelve mile run. Jo Mumford had a good run to finish 34th overall ahead of 42nd placed Llewellyn Jones (AVR Vets) 1:59:30 and 54th placed Anthony Hickson (AVR Mixed) 2:06:00 or a minute outside the cut-off time.
Leg nine took the runners from Old Sodbury down to Cold Ashton and Andy Hawkins of the AVR Veterans team produced another fine performance to win the leg outright from Mark Gilbertson of Great Western Runners in a time of 62:03. Steve Noyes came in 12th for the AVR Senior team. For the Avon Valley Ladies Liz Ringham managed a good run to finish as the second lady home with husband Simon just over a minute behind scoring for the Mixed team in 23rd position.
The final leg, pitted AVR Veteran Brett Flook against in-form Senior Alistair Bartlett over the ten mile leg from Cold Ashton to the finish outside of Bath Abbey. With Craig Davey of TeamBath running away to win the leg, Alistair was stuck in a fight for second spot but unfortunatley lost ground in the final mile to finish fourth in 65:48 with Brett just a minute behind to come through for 5th position. Jackie Rockliffe ran strongly to finish as the second lady overall on the leg recording 75:57 with Julia Scott of the Mixed team finishing in 50th.
The final standings showed a victory for TeamBath AC Senior Men's team in a combined time of twelve hours and thirty nine minutes, with Avon Valley Senior Men finishing 13th overall in thirteen hours forty seven minutes; AVR Veterans finished nearly two hours behind in 25th place recording 15:38:45 and 6th in their category; AVR Ladies finished as 44th team overall and forth Ladies team recording 16:39:31. The AVR Mixed team took 47th place recording 16:47:18.
Saturday, June 30th
Avon Valley Runners showed a strong presence at the Warminster Forest 10, fielding twenty four in the field of around two hundred runners. The run started in Samborne Road and heads out of town to Crockerton, where the route skirts past Shearwater hitting the trails around the Longleat Estate, before finishing back at Warminster Cricket Club. Taking a break from changing nappies and enjoying only his third race of the year Andy Hawkins took victory over the undulating course in a time of 59:37, just fifteen seconds ahead of Nick Page of Clevedon AC and third placed Kevin Barlow of Poole AC. Good runs from 4th placed Alistair Bartlett (61:09), 7th placed Brett Flook (62:31) and 10th placed Carl Davies (64:20) enabled Avon Valley Runners to take the Mens team prize.
Ali Atkinson enjoyed a good run in 81:10 to lead home the Avon Valley Ladies team, who along with Becky Follet (81:24) took a rare victory over Rosemary Barber who finished in 82:46.
A relay team from Avon Valley Runners
consisting of Rosemary Barber, Sue MacGregor and Tina Giles
took part in the Annual Man versus Horse
race.
The race takes place at Llanwrtyd Wells in Wales, rising through forests, rough tracks and
open hill tops, to over 500 metres before descending via bogs and river to the finish.
In extremely hot conditions they completed the arduous 22 miles MT course in 3:20:56. They were 4th female team and first female veteran team, also beating many of the horses and riders.
For only the second time in the race's 28 year history, the first man home beat the first horse and rider, claiming a £3000 prize for doing so.
On a very hot and sticky day, we set off over the canal bridge, over the railway bridge, up into the village and then ran for 2k along a lovely flat course, Mark Harris running very well near the front of the pack. At 2k we started to run uphill, passing the 3k marker we were still climbing, at the 4k, 5k and 6k markers we were climbing (there were some flat sections in between) and we reached the summit (I didn't know that there were any mountains in England) at 7k before descending back down to Great Bedwin. Mark finished in 13th position about six minutes behind the winner.
Darren ran this event in 19:38
One mile in 19 minutes?
- interesting as the race was supposed to be 3.5 miles. However with 2,300 runners on the start line outside St Pauls Cathedral, the race organiser informed everyone that Tower Bridge was being raised. So the event was hastily converted to something around 5K, crossing the Thames over London Bridge!!! Our secretary finished just behind the first lady who ran 19:35.
Sixteen Avon Valley Runners were among the two hundred and twenty five runners assembled at Keevil airfield for the third running of the Keevil 10K. Under a fierce sun the runners completed two laps of the airfield with a slight breeze being the only respite from the heat.
At the sharp end Bristol&West AC pair of Daniel Moore and Mick O'Doherty set the pace finishing in 33:17 and 34:18 with teamBath's Brian Penny in third. In fifth position AVR's Doug Barber continued his recent run of form to record 36:24 and take the 1st MV45 award. In 8th place Mike Bryant recorded 37:35 and claimed the 3rd U35 award.
In the ladies race Suzanne Bartram of West Bromwich Harriers recorded a 40:10 timing to take the first ladies prize ahead of Jane Khan and last year's winner Tamsin Simmonds of Swindon Harriers. In 8th place AVR's Ali Atkinson recorded 48:30 to take the prize as 1st FV35.
Alistair Bartlett continued his good run of form by taking victory at the Wincanton 10K. In warm but overcast conditions Alistair had a running battle with James Reilly of Dorset Doddlers whom he overhauled in the final kilometre to take victory in a new course record time of 35:57.
Around one hundred runners found a break in between showers to run the
Shaw & Whitley Stampede 6-mile multi-terrain race. Heading out through
Whitley to Neston and then back through Atworth and Purlpit to Shaw, the
runners tackled some of the most technical terrain in the area over the six
mile route. First home in a time of thirty three minutes fifty three
seconds was pre-race favourite Craig Davey from TeamBath AC, who celebrated
his victory with a series of somersaults to cross the finish line.
In second place and making his competitve debut for Avon Valley Runners was
Michael Towler in 37:28 from club mate Chris Stevens in 37:47. In 8th place
overall Richard Hudson helped Avon Valley Runners to claim the team prize
ahead of TeamBath AC.
In the ladies race Sarah Lewis of TeamBath AC recorded forty minutes and fifty seconds to retain the title that she won in 2005. In second place was Lorna Shaw of Chepstow Harriers in 41:11 just ahead of Octathlete Jacqui MacQuisten in 41:34. The Avon Valley Runners team of Kay Middleton, Anissia White and Tanya Maidment claimed the team prize ahead of Corsham Running Club.
Other awards went to: 1st MV40 - Simon Williams from Staverton; 1st MV50 - Michael Eatough of Devizes Running club; 1st MV60 - Peter Loftus from Great Somerford; 1st MU20 - Bartholomew Thomas of teamBath AC; 1st FV40 - Kay Middleton of Avon Valley Runners; 1st FV50 - Lorraine Kirby from Newbury; 1st FV60 - Anne Hosking of Great Western Runners; 1st FU20 - Natalie Burke of Devizes Running Club.
... is now three events old and is paying dividends with individual and team awards aplenty at the targetted races.
In the Mens Series, Alistair Bartlett leads the way with maximum points, ahead of George Roberts, Jimmy Lowther and Pete Jones - all of whom have completed all events so far. In the Ladies Series Rosemary Barber who is the only lady to have completed all races so far, leads from Jackie Rockliffe and Kay Middleton.
The next event up is the Warminster Forest 10 on Sunday June 24th and then we have a change in the published series. THE PINEWOOD 10K IS NOT BEING RUN IN 2007 - therefore the Moonraker 10K being held at Urchfont on Sunday July 8th @17:00 will be the July event. One point of note, is that the entry form asks for UK:A Reg Number - these are not being issued until September by England Athletics and I shall notify the race organisers accordingly.
Darren, 9th May 2007
Ten Avon Valley Runners lined up for the May Fayre 3 mile run in Bradford on Avon. In windy conditions Alistair Bartlett duelled with Brian Penny of Team Bath only to lose out by nine seconds to finish second overall recording 16:32. In 6th place Darren Wrintmore successfully defended his MV40 title recording 18:37. Tina Giles of AVR was the first lady home recording 20:45 with 30th placed Genevieve Sharam taking the FV35 award. These positions were overshadowed by the splendid performance of 11-year old Alex Carter who left many experienced athletes in his wake as he raced to take third place overall in a time of 17:36.
Avon Valley Runners at Christchurch, Bradford on Avon - 7th May 2007
If you like the sound of a race with an 'interesting' name then try this one next year! Although a fair distance away - two hours drive - to Combe Sydenham Country Park at the foot of the Brendon Hills, it is worth the trip. Not only do you get a choice of a 9 (9.8!) or 3 mile race but the organising club (Taunton Hash House Harriers) lay on a range of entertainment including rock bands, morris dancers, food stalls and a beer tent plus a steel band adding to the atmosphere at the start. The 3 mile course follows the valley bottom, avoiding the worst of the hills, along forest paths and tracks. The longer race IS hard work with plenty of hills up and down through the steeply forested sides of the valley. Half way round we passed the site of a deserted village ominously marked by a marshall dressed as the Grim Reaper. There were quite a number of cheerful Reapers dishing out jelly babies around the course too. After all the ups and downs, the final descent to the finish was a welcome relief. A really good day out!
Avon Valley Runners - 6th May 2007
Three Avon Valley Runners met at the Ivy Inn near Calne for the Heddington Hill Climb. The one mile race which features nearly 200 meters of ascent as it climbs up Roundway Down attracted a small field, which from the start was left in the wake of the in-form Alistair Bartlett.
Alistair powered away to a new course record of 6:37 beating defending champion Darren Wrintmore into second place over thirty seconds adrift, in 7:10 ahead of Gareth Harman of Calne Running Club. Anthony Hickson completed the trio by conquering the hill in 11th place and recording a time of 9:48.
Heddington, 24th April 2007
Congratulations to Jackie Rockcliffe who made a new Club Record. She finished the London Marathon in 3 hours 7 minutes and 45 seconds, 26th in her category. Congratulations also to Jo Mumford who finished less than 14 minutes later.
Whilst other folk were tucking into their Easter Eggs, seven Men and three Ladies were representing Avon Valley Runners at the Yeovilton Easter Bunny 10k. The conditions were perfect, cool and overcast! The course was great, flat and fast! All made for some excellent times.
All 7 Men completed the course in under 40 minutes, with Andy Hawkins first home for AVR in 10th place overall and 3rd Vet 40+, with a time of 34:22, a good run from Alistair Bartlett in a seasons best of 35:23 gave him 14th overall. Michael Bryant recorded 35:54, with Kevin Sparey 2nd Vet 50+ in 36:17, Peter Bryant was 3rd Junior Male in 37:40.
Chris Atkinson had a good run further lowering his PB to 39:17, whilst hotly pursued by Stephen Bryant in 39:39.
For the Ladies, all three finished within 3 seconds of each other, with PBs for Kathy Kinsey 45:12 and Ali Atkinson 45:15. Whilst Rosemary Barber took the prize for 1st FV55 in 45:13.
There were Cadburys Button Easter Eggs for all finishers, and also a T-Shirt as it is Yeovil Town RRC's 25th Anniversary!
Avon Valley Runners - 9th April 2007
Two AVR ladies travelled to Grove near Wantage to do the Vale of the White Horse Half marathon, a flat scenic race through the Oxfordshire countryside. On a good day this would be a pb course but on Sunday the wind whistled through the Vale! Kay Middleton finished in a very creditable 1.44.58 considering she had done the Bath Half marathon the previous Sunday in a pb. Tina Vivian finished! A fall at 10 miles took the wind out of her sails and knackered her ipod but she tottered in at 1.53.33.
Grove, Oxfordshire - 1st April 2007
Over one hundred runners lined up in Lambrok Road to compete in the Trowbridge 10K, hosted by Trowbridge Lions and supported by Avon Valley Runners. Duncan Lancashire of Croydon Striders and James Denne of Honiton Running Club broke away from the field at an early stage to finish first and second in 36:11 and 36:26. Trying to close down the gap was Avon Valley's Alistair Bartlett who had a good run to finish third in 37:41 with former winner Michael Bryant of AVR back in 6th place. Darren Wrintmore, Mike Maidment, George Roberts and Jimmy Lowther endured a four-way tussle around the two laps of Southwick Country Park, with Darren heading the foursome home in 14th place to take the 3rd MV40 prize in a time of 42:39. Peter Jones ran well to take the 2nd MV50 prize in 45:25, finishing 25th overall.
In the Ladies race, Amy Chalk of Bristol & West AC took the honours in 38:11 from Joanna King of London Heathside in 38:54. Finishing as third Lady overall was Avon Valley's Rosemary Barber who clocked 49:16 and along with Susie Phillips in 55:05 laid claim to a number of age-category prizes.
Trowbridge - 1st April 2007
Around ten thousand runners entered the 26th Bath Half Marathon. Among the starters in Great Pultney Street were thirty five Avon Valley Runners. First back for AVR around the two lap course was 117th placed Kevin Sparey in 1:19:58 from 134th placed Alistair Bartlett in 1:20:48 and 194th placed Doug Barber in 1:23:34.
The ladies were headed home by Jackie Rockliffe who recorded 1:26:29 to finish as 4th lady veteran. Rosemary Barber had a good run to finish as 2nd lady over 55, recording 1:39:38; as did Susie Phillips whose time of 1:58:56 was good enough to land fourth spot in the same category.
Bath - 25st March 2007
Mike Maidment and George Roberts travelled to Rome to complete the 13th Rome Marathon. The 12,000 strong event was won by Kenyan Chelimo Kemboi in 2:09.36. The womens race was won by Algerian Souad Ait Salem in a course record 2:25.08. Mike won the Avon Valley dual finishing in 1332nd place for a personal best 3:20:07. George knocked a staggering 26 minutes off his PB to finish in 1531st place in 3:21:52. It was a predictably hot day and Mike in particular was happy to beat his previous year's effort when his chip finished in 3:25:30 and he finished at km41 in a heap.
Rome - 21st March 2007
Loan ranger Kinsey reporting in - went in search of hills and found them in Horton!
What a lovely race - plenty of hills, water stations with jelly babies, massage tables, cakes and ..... no queues for ladies loos. It was the perfect race!!! Seemed like the whole village was taking part - very friendly club - even invited to stay to watch the rugby afterwards.
Covers a little bit of the Cotswold Way - stunning.
Recommend it to all for 2008 - their 10k is May - Monday 21st
Horton - 11th March 2007
Five Avon Valley Runners made the trip to the Second Llanelli Waterside Half Marathon. This event has grown to a field of 1500 from 150 in the inaugeral race in 2006.
The event route takes you around the beautiful scenic coastal cycle path, starting and finishing at the Millenium Park. The weather was very kind and the sun shone for most of the event, however due to the location being along the Coastal Path, there were points of the course that were extremely windy. The course was quite challanging due to the strong winds off the sea and the undulations, but a very enjoyable event all the same. At the end of the race there were T-Shirts as a momento (different sizes available!), there was also a unique idea that you could hand in your Champion Chip for a portion of chips, very nice!
First back for AVR was Chris Atkinson 1:29:33 followed by Danny Gard 1:32:06. For the Ladies, all 3 achieved PBs, Ali Atkinson 1:41:55, Debbie Roberts 2:01:08 and Liz Gard 2:01:56
Llanelli - 11th March 2007
The course was very good but the strong winds and rain made it tough. Given the conditions Sue MacGregor did very well to set a new PB of 2:36:47 and Kathy beat her previous time for the course by a minute.
Gloucester - 4th March 2007
Avon Valley Runners had a strong presence at the revived Devizes 10K road race, with it being the first event in the 2007 AVR Race Series, with twenty seven members taking on the challenge of the undulating single lap course. Phil Kibble of Wiltshire Police was the first man overall to finish, recording a time of 34:28.
First back for AVR was 12th placed Alistair Bartlett in 37:29, who along with 29th Carl Davies (40:08), 32nd George Roberts (40:17) and 61st Chris Stevens (42:21) took first place in the Men's team race ahead of Chippenham Harriers and Pewsey Vale. In 147th place Ron Whittle landed himself the prize for 3rd MV60 with a good run in 48:15.
Jackie Rockliffe recorded 41:02 to take second place in the ladies' race behind England international Amy Chalk. Rosemary Barber recorded 46:10 to add yet another FV50 trophy to her collection and along with 154th placed Kay Middleton (48:34) and 188th Christine Davidson (50:28) took second place in the Ladies' team race behind Chippenham Harriers. In 204th place Tina Vivian recorded 51:41 to finish as 3rd FV50 whilst in 330th Ann Whittle took the prize for 1st FV60.
Devizes - 4th March 2007
The men won the second team prize in the ten mile race
Bramley - 25th February 2007
The full results are now available for the race held in the leafy lanes of Calne on Sunday, 18th February on a nice early Spring-like day. Four Avon Valley runners took part being led home, in a very good race, by Tom Frost who finished 13th overall.
Calne - 18th February 2007
Avon Valley Runners had a good turn out for the penultimate meeting in the Wessex XC League, held in Hudson's Field, Salisbury. In the ladies race over 5K, Sue MacGregor recorded an impressive 19:45 to finish 16th overall out of the 30 strong field. In the Men's race Kevin Sparey and Alistair Bartlett enjoyed a close battle over the 8.3K course which included four laps skirting the lower ramparts of Old Sarum hill fort. Kevin finished in 7th place recording 31 minutes with 9th placed Alistair 19 seconds adrift. Making his racing debut was new Avon Valley Runner Carl Davies who finished 26th in 35:10 ahead of 29th placed Mike Pace 35:49, 32nd Chris Atkinson 36:11 and 41st Darren Wrintmore 36:58 out of 60 runners.
A lovely day, beautiful grasslands and no wind. We really enjoyed ourselves.
Hudson Fields, Salisbury - 11th February 2007
We came third in the men' s team race with the same number of points as the second place team, unfortunatley they had all of their scorers back first though.
Can everyone note the (different) timetable for Avon Heath Park on the 18th March - 1pm SW, 1.10pm SM, 2pm Fun Run etc.
Presentations will be at 4pm at the cafe.
Update: - 2nd March 2007
4th February 2007
Nine Avon Valley Runners braved the cold to compete in the Longleat 10K along with nearly a thousand other hardy souls. The heavily undulating route follows a figure of eight around the estate and Horningsham village before finishing with a good downhill run to Longleat house. Leading the field home in a time of thirty two minutes and forty three seconds was Phillip Parry of Bristol and West AC. AVR Club champion Andy Hawkins fell off of the back of the lead pack after a mile but finished in the prizes claiming 9th spot overall and 2nd MV40 in a time of 36:04. Also continuing a good run of form was Rosemary Barber who finished 153rd overall recording 46:52 which was enough to secure the Ladies over 55 prize.
For the other AVR runners see the Results page
28th January 2007
Seventeen Avon Valley Runners took up the challenge of the Slaughterford 9 mile multi-terrain race on Sunday. The race organised by Chippenham Harriers is now in it's ninth year and attracted over 350 runners to the start line in Leafy Lane, Rudloe.
The course starts with a descent along a tarmac road which then turns onto a rough stony track which is followed for about four miles into the village of Slaughterford, where after two narrow bridge river crossings the course ascended steeply out of the valley, forcing many to walk and enjoy the sunlight. The course continued across ploughed fields before forcing the competitors through the chilly water of By-brook. Climbing over the last style the course showed the sting in it's tail, a short but extremely steep grassed bank which had to be conquered on tired legs before the remaining uphill run to the finish.
First home for Avon Valley Runners was 31st placed Doug Barber in 65:24, followed by 54th placed Mike Maidment in 68:08, 60th placed Mike Pace in 69:20 and 80th placed Stuart MacGregor in 71:26 to bring the Avon Valley Runners team home in sixth place.
In 151st place, Sue MacGregor led home the Avon Valley Runners ladies team with a 79:10 timing, followed by 172nd placed Kay Middleton in 81:34 and 238th placed Barbara White in 89:15. The ladies team finished 8th.
Other Avon Valley Runners: 85th Jimmy Lowther 72:33; 92nd Ian White 73:52; 102nd Brian Yates 74:29; 113th Donal Casey 75:27; 116th Laurie Irwin 75:37; 156th Tom Simpson 80:06; 245th Bridget Casey 90:00; 282nd Debbie Roberts 94:15; 320th Denise Ellis 1:40:52; 326th Julia Scott 1:42:49.
21st January 2007
A quartet of Avon Valley Runners travelled to Burrington Combe in Somerset to take part in the 10K 'Combe-over' multi terrain race organised by Town and Country Harriers. The race begins with a 3 km climb which then takes runners around Beacon Batch, Black Down and Rowberry Warren. In the extremely wet and muddy conditions, Alistair Bartlett took advantage of the early leader Vito Graffignino making a wrong turn and finished in an impressive 2nd place in a time of 41:14 behind winner Brian Penny from City of Bath AC.
Ian White finished in 20th place overall in 51:09 and picked up the prize for 3rd MV50. Anissia White finished in 60:50 claiming the junior ladies prize whilst Barbara White finished nearly 2 minutes seconds behind in 35th place. All the runners were rewarded with a welcome bowl of soup in the pub afterwards!
1st January 2007
Just two Avon Valley Runners were among the 175 athletes who had agreed that the best way of recovering from the excesses of the festive period was to race in the appropriately named Hangover 10K at Kewstoke near Weston Supermare.
Leading the field home over the hilly ten kilometre course for the third year was Philip Parry of Bristol & West AC in a time of thirty three minutes and six seconds.
First of the Avon Valley Runners to finish was 10th placed Kevin Sparey in 36:23 to take the MV50 award. In 88th place Rosemary Barber recorded 46:59 to take the FV55 award.
Links to this year's race reports: