Avon Valley Runners turned up in force for the Warminster Forest 10, fielding twenty six runners who would undertake a number of testing climbs enroute. The course heads out of Warminster towards the Longleat estate, skirting past Shearwater and then following the trails around Centre Parcs, before heading back into the town and the finish at Warminster Cricket Club in Samborne Road.
First back of the two hundred strong field was Peter Grist of Wells City Harriers in a time of fifty seven minutes and twelve seconds. First of the Avon Valley Runners to finish was 6th placed Vojtech Hajdu (62:04) who renewed his rivalry with club mate Alistair Bartlett who finished just ten seconds behind in 7th place recording 62:14. 11th placed Doug Barber (64:33) and 15th placed Kevin Sparey (66:18) ensured that Avon Valley Runners secured the team prize./p>
In the ladies race, first back for Avon Valley Runners was 63rd placed Tina Giles from 83rd placed Ali Atkinson in 78:11 and 91st sue MacGregor in 79:56, but unfortunately the team lost out to Warminster Running Club for the team prize.
Darren Wrintmore, June 22th, 2008
Avon Valley Runners entertained Team Bath and Corsham Running Club at a Mob Match utilising the
Over the Hills
course - only backwards.
With runners starting in Barton Farm Country Park heading out to Avoncliff, climbing up to Westwood
then descending past Iford Manor before heading Cross Country to Freshford and following the River Avon
back to the finish besides the Tithe Barn in Bradford on Avon.
Avon Valley's Alistair Bartlett used his local knowledge to lead the field for most of the race, before being overcome in the final couple miles by a trio of Team Bath runners led by Brian Penny. Team Bath came away with a points tally of 17 to take victory over Avon Valley Runners who scored 26 points and Corsham who scored 83 points.
In the women's race, the grouping of Tina Giles, Melanie Nichols and Ali Atkinson behind Team Bath's Emer Brangan ensured a victory for the host club with 19 points ahead of Team Bath's 57 points and Corsham's 59 points.
Avon Valley Runners, June 20th 2008
Fourteen Avon Valley Runners travelled to Midsomer Norton for the Miners Half Marathon. The race started with a challenging mile long climb out of the town towards Wells and by the top Daniel Stevens of Somer AC had established a lead that he would go on to extend to take victory in 1:13:40. In the chasing pack Avon Valley Runners Alistair Bartlett and Vojtech Hajdu enjoyed a close battle around the demanding thirteen mile course, finishing in 4th & 5th places recording 1:20:48 and 1:21:47 respectively - with Vojtech claiming the 1st MV40 award. In 12th place Tom Frost recorded 1:26:49 to ensure an Avon Valley victory in the Men's team race. Next back for AVR was 17th placed Mark Harris whose 1:29:26 clocking gained him the 3rd MV40 award, with 18th placed Chris Atkinson and 20th placed Darren Wrintmore less than a minute behind.
In the ladies race Avon Valley Runner Tina Giles finished as 3rd lady recording 1:39:03 and also 1st FV40 with club mate Ali Atkinson recording 1:45:09 to finish as 2nd FV40. Megan Orrell ran well to break two hours for the first time with a 1:58:53 clocking - with the Avon Valley Ladies just missing out on the team prize to Wells City Harriers.
Darren Wrintmore, June 15th, 2008
Danny and Liz Gard pushed north up the M5 to Gloucestershire in order to take part in the Dymock half marathon on what can only be described as a wet, windy and undulating course. The poor weather ensured that participation was low, however an unconfirmed ninety runners took part in the race that saw Danny Gard finish 9th overall, with a PB of 1hr 28min and 18 sec, and Liz Gard finished the race in 1hr 56min 59sec.
Avon Valley Runners, May 25th, 2008
Over one hundred runners lined up at the Beeches to take part in the Shaw&Whitley Stampede, organised by Avon Valley Runners and DB Max. 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. The race lived up to its name, when as the runners got underway twenty head of cattle decided to join the race but were fortunately diverted before they could reach the A365.
First home in a time of thirty two minutes and forty seconds was unattached runner Tom Fisher from Westwood who was a good two minutes clear of his nearest rival. Michael Towler of Avon Valley Runners and Stuart Henderson of Corsham Running Club were involved in a sprint finish for the line with the AVR member taking the overall runners-up spot. In the ladies race Natalie Burke of teamBath AC took the honours with a good run in thirty eight minutes and fifty eight seconds from club mate Phillipa Spruit and Julie Humphries of Alton Runners.
In the men's team race, the Avon Valley Runners trio of Michael Towler, Will Whitmore and Mark Harris took victory ahead of Chippenham Harriers and Corsham Running Club. The teamBath grouping of Natalie Burke, Phillipa Spruit and Helen Pettemides ensured a clear victory ahead of Avon Valley Runners and Corsham Running Club.
Other awards went to: 1st MV40 - Andrew Holdsworth of Chippenham Harriers; 1st MV50 Sean Butler of Chippenham Harriers; 1st MV60 - Clive Power; 1st FV40 - Mandy Crust of Kenilworth; 1st FV50 - Margaret Thompson of Devizes Running Club; 1st FV60 - Fay Barnes of Avon Valley Runners.
Following on from the Stampede was the 3 Kilometer Family Fun Run
the Keane Kanter
, with just under 100 entrants.
15-year old Jamie Hancock from Hilperton blasted around the course in just over twelve minutes,
whilst Ellie Bennetts from Melksham was the first girl to finish.
Kaya Hereward-Isaac won a special prize for being the best fancy dress entrant (being a flamenco dancer).
It is hoped that the event will have raised over two thousand pounds for children's
cancer charity CLIC Sargent.
Avon Valley Runners, May 17th, 2008
It's been a busy race calendar for the Avon Valley Runners during the fine weather of recent days and it kicked off with some hot paced racing at the Keevil Airfield on Saturday 10th May. Two flat laps of a 5k tarmac circuit, looked geared towards some fast times and the Avon Valley Runners saw Tom Frost, Will Whitmore, Doug Barber and James Hart all finish in under 39 minutes and in the top 10 overall at the Keevil 10k.
In stark contrast the following day's Cowpat Canter at Midsomer Norton was completely tarmac free and even had stiles, ponds and a river to negotiate. Doug Barber turned out for the second day running and finished in 13th place overall and first home for the Avon Valley Runners. Andy Grist was close behind him followed by Kevin Grover as third placed man.
Sophie Grist had a great run to bring the ladies home, finishing just a few minutes behind the top three guys. Sharon Gover and Julia Drewitt were second and third Avon Valley ladies.
Tuesday night's Roundway Chase saw Vojtech Hajdu run brilliantly to win the event outright. No less than seven other Avon Valley men finished in the top 20 and Tina Giles put in a top performance to finish second in the female race. A superb haul on the night for the club and nineteen Avon Valley Runners completed the course in total.
Avon Valley Runners, May 13th, 2008
Seven Avon Valley Runners headed down to the capital for the Flora London Marathon on Sunday along with their families and friends in support. The conditions were somewhat cooler than in 2007, helping more than 34,000 runners to complete the 26.2 mile course in 2008.
All eyes were on Avon Valley Lady Liz Ringham, who recently led the club to 2nd place in the Vets' Team race at the Bath Half Marathon - and she was on top form once again. Liz finished the race in a new club record of 3:03:21, beating the old record by over four minutes!
James Hart continued his impressive year and finished his maiden marathon in 3:05:38 as the first man home.
Avon Valley Runners, April 16th, 2008
Avon Valley Runners held their first Melksham training session on Wednesday with about fifteen runners
in attendance, including several new faces to the valley.
A seven and a half mile route taking in Bowerhill, the Kennet & Avon canal, Semington,
Conigre Mead nature reserve and Melksham town was completed, with some opting for slightly
shorter options and taking advantage of cutoffs for routes of four & six miles.
It is planned that we will meet again at Christie Miller Sports Centre on Bowerhill
next Wednesday at 19:00 to continue the sessions.
Avon Valley Runners, April 10th, 2008
With the threat of snow holding off until the afternoon, the Trowbridge 10K got underway in good conditions, even if the wind was a bit chilling. Avon Valley Runners dominated the record field of over one hundred and sixty runners with a 1-2-3 finishing. Coming home in a time of 38:48 was Vojtech Hajdu from 2005 race winner Michael Bryant in 39:22 and third placed Alistair Bartlett in 40:21.
Anita Mellodew of team Bath recorded 44:59 to finish as first Woman, followed by Beth Watts in 47:25 and Tina Giles of Avon Valley Runners in 48:04 who also finished as 1st FV40.
Other prize winners were: 1st MV40 - Steven Cottingham of team Bath; 1st MV50 - Brett Sadler of Frome AC. 1st FV50 - Margaret Thompson of Devizes.
Avon Valley Runners, April 6th, 2008
A busy, cold and blustery Easter weekend of races saw twenty one Avon Valley Runners take part in eight different events.
First up on Good Friday, four runners travelled to Maidenhead to take part in the Maidenhead Easter 10. First back for AVR was Chris Atkinson in a new PB time of 1:05:06 for ten miles, followed by Danny Gard in 1:09:30, then Ali Atkinson with a PB time of 1:16:33 and Liz Gard in 1:27:37.
On Easter Sunday, three brave Avon Valley Runners took on the gruelling off-road Hanham Horror near Bristol. Tina Vivian finished 2nd in the Female Vet 50 category in 1:01:24, followed by Anthony Hickson in 1:07:14 and Denise Ellis in 1:14:48. Meanwhile, on the same day, Tony Griffith ran the Joe Cox Half Marathon in 2:23:37 and James Hart added cycling to his running at the Goodwood Duathlon with a 4k run, 40k bike and 8k run race. James finished in 6th place overall with the second fastest bike leg of the day, despite the atrocious weather conditions. Will Whitmore also opted for duathlon, making the trip to West Sussex for the Steyning Duathlon and doing enough to qualify for the European Duathlon Championships in Greece in May.
But the Easter Bunny 10k at Yeovil proved to be the most popular race of the weekend, with fifteen AVR members making the journey to Yeovil to compete. Kevin Sparey finished 22nd overall in 36:20 and Vojtech Hajdu was just behind in 36:52. Carl Davies finished 39th in a new PB time of 38:06 and Chris Atkinson completed a hat-trick of PBs in just a week, adding his new 10k time of 38:34 to his Bath Half Marathon and Maidenhead 10 Mile personal bests. Rosemary Barber also ran well to take first place in the FV55 category in 46:47.
Avon Valley Runners, March 26th, 2008
Three family groups entered the Trowbridge 1 mile (actually 1.12 miles) sport relief mile. Starting on the 11.00 start time were the Gard and Ellis families. Obtaining his first ever win was Danny Gard in 6.29 (measured mile 5.47) second in for the Gards was 11year old Megan Gard in about 10 mins followed by team Ellis (Bob Denise Josie aged 15 and Harriet aged 10) in about 10.30 mins followed by Liz Gard running with 6 year old Emma Gard in 11.15.
Later that morning the Maidment family were spotted trying to beat the above times.
Avon Valley Runners, March 16th, 2008
A record fifteen thousand runners entered this year's Bath Half Marathon, among them were over sixty Avon Valley Runners who braved the rain at the start line in Great Pultney Street. Unfortunately a contracting glitch meant that the first aid marquee was not in place for the start of the race and enforced an hour's delay to the start. Fortunately during this time the rain stopped and the runners enjoyed cool conditions for the duration of their two lap race.
First back for AVR was 124th placed Kevin Sparey in a time of 1:19:06 from 252nd Tom Frost in 1:24:09, 258th placed Vojtech Hajdu in 1:24:23 and 262nd placed Doug Barber in 1:24:37.
Personal Best times fell to 269th placed Carl Davies 1:24:46 and 297th Chris Atkinson in 1:25:40
Also enjoying a new PB was 341st Liz Ringham in 1:26:38 who battled for the duration with 339th Jim Hart (1:26:40) and 351st Chris Stevens (1:26:53) who also claimed a PB over the 13.1 miles closely followed by Will Whitmore (1:27:35) who knocked five minutes off his previous best time.
Results for Avon Valley Runners | Photographs
Avon Valley Runners, March 16th, 2008
A busy weekend for AVR with the 2008 race series kicking off with the Devizes 10K. Well done to Tina Giles, Ali Atkinson, Rose Barber and Kay Middleton on winning the Ladies team race. For the men: Tom Frost, Carl Davies, Alistair Bartlett and Simon Gilbert took the third place team prize. Pete Jones, Ted Rockliffe and Tina Vivian also managed to land awards in their respective age categories.
At the Salisbury 10, Kevin Sparey recorded the fastest time over the distance this year by an Avon Valley Runner, clocking 59:26 on the undulating course to finish as 1st MV50.
At the Chilly Duathlon held at Castle Combe, James Hart, Kenny Brown and Nigel Evans claimed the third placed team prize for Avon Valley Runners ahead of a number of specialist triathlon clubs.
Avon Valley Runners, March 9th 2008
The Avon Valley Runners were in action at the weekend, both locally and internationally. Mike Maidment and George Roberts headed to Spain for the Barcelona Marathon and finished the 26 miles in 3:22:06 and 3:42:24 respectively. Closer to home in the Gloucester 20 Mile Road Race, James Hart finished in an impressive time of 2:16:58, but star of the race and indeed the weekend for Avon Valley Runners, was Liz Ringham. She won her category, finishing the 20 mile course in 2:15:53 and broke the club record in the progress, by around 6½ minutes!
James Hart goes window shopping down Dursley High Street!!!
Vojtech Hajdu led the Avon Valley Runners home for the second time of the year on Sunday and twenty-one of his club mates accompanied him in completing the Slaughterford 9 multi-terrain run.
The race, organised by Chippenham Harriers Running Club, comprises nine miles of steeply undulating countryside, with a total of 900 feet to climb, whilst running along stony paths, fields, tracks and lanes. The recent wet weather meant there was extra mud and water to contend with in 2008 and a cold river to cross as well.
Vojtech's time of 59:08 gave him 6th place overall and 3rd in the Vet 40 category, whilst James Hart continues to improve, finishing second for the club and 31st overall in 1:05:09. Anissia White was the first Avon Valley Runner female home in a time of 1:23:16 and Sue Macgregor was the club's fastest female vet, finishing in 1:30:28.
Any budding runners in the area who fancy training with their local running club, or anyone considering taking up running and in need of advice, can visit the Avon Valley Runners website at www.avonvalleyrunners.org.uk for more information.
Avon Valley Runners turned out in force for the Rough 'n' Tumble 10 at Milton Libourne in the heart of Wiltshire on Sunday. A muddy off-road ten-mile course organised by Grass Roots Events, with some steep climbs and descents as well as some spectacular views from the downs thrown in to boot.
And just when the runners think they've conquered the worst, there's an energy-sapping hill to climb towards the end of the course - often a killer for the first timers, who are prone to christen the climb with all number of uncomplimentary nicknames as they scramble and slide on all fours up the muddy ascent. That didn't stop 524 runners completing the course though in a very impressive turnout for a January event.
First home for Avon Valley Runners was Vojtech Hajdu in 22nd place with a time of 1:16:53. He was followed by 52nd placed Chris Stevens and 59th placed James Hart. The Avon Valley Runners ladies were led home by Joanne Mumford in 158th place overall and she was followed by Kay Middleton and Kathy Kinsey.
In all, eleven Avon Valley Runners took up the challenge and all returned home triumphant having conquered the Rough 'n Tumble 10 and that hellish final hill!
The results of the 2007 Club Championships have now been totted up with the best 10K, 10-mile and Half Marathon times providing the scores.
In first place, gaining the title that he last won in 2004 was Kevin Sparey. Kevin clocked 36:17 at the Easter Bunny 10K, and then ran the club's fastest times in 2007 for ten miles at the Oldbury Powerstation 10 with 58:59 and the Half Marathon with 1:19:51 at the Bath Half, in addition Kevin also recorded the best age graded result in the club (for the seventh year running) with 85.6% at the Yeovil 5K running 17:15. In second spot was 2005 Champion Alistair Bartlett who recorded 35:20 at the Totton 10K, 60:10 at Bramley and 1:20:35 at the Plymouth Half Marathon. Taking third spot was Doug Barber who recorded 36:24 at the Keevil 10K, 63:12 at the Bath Hilly and 1:21:29 at the Bristol Half Marathon. Age category winners are: M40 Darren Wrintmore; M45 Doug Barber; M50 Kevin Sparey; M55 Pete Jones; M60 Ted Rockliffe. The fastest time for 10K fell to last year's champion Andy Hawkins who ran 34:22 at the Easter Bunny 10K (the third fastest 10K run in the 21-year history of AVR). The fastest men's marathon fell to Chris Atkinson with his 3:17:55 PB at the Berlin Marathon.
The ladies championship saw Jackie Rockliffe come out on top for the second year in succession, recording the fastest 10K time of the year with 39:51 at the Pewsey 10K and the fastest Half Marathon with 1:26:22 at the Bath Half. Jackie also recorded 69:29 at the Gloucester 10 and set a new club record for the marathon with 3:07:45 at the London Marathon. Second place went to Liz Ringham who recorded the fastest ten mile time with 68:22 at the Wimborne 10 and backed it up with 40:32 at the Castle Combe 10K and 1:29:18 at the Cheddar Half Marathon. In third spot was Tina Giles who recorded 44:39 at the Corsham 10K, 76:45 at the Wimborne 10 and 1:39:28 at the Bath Half Marathon. Age category winners are: F40 Liz Ringham; F45 Sue MacGregor; F50 Tina Vivian; F55 Rosemary Barber (who also managed the best age graded result for a woman with 82.8% at the Yeovil 5K running 21:34); F60 Joyce Field.
The Off-road Championships saw victory for Doug Barber with his 5th place at the Marshfield Mudlark, 2nd place at the Downton MT 10K and 1st place at the Bratton Hilly 11K. Second place went to Alistair Bartlett with his performances at the Mendip Muddle, Burrington Combe-over and the Cotswold Relay. Third place went to Carl Davies for his performances at the Corfe Beast, Cotswold Relay and Roundway Chase. For the Ladies Mitzi Barber made it a double family celebration by taking victory with her performances at the Cowpat Canter, Wessex XC at Bicton and the Wiltshire XC Championships, where she finished second. Runner up was Sue MacGregor with performances at King Alfreds Torment, the Ash Excellent 8 and Roundway Chase. In third spot was Kay Middleton with performances at Charmouth Golden Cap Challenge, Roundway Chase and the Shaw&Whitley Stampede.
Awards will be presented at the club social evening on Saturday February 2nd at the "Riverside" Bradford on Avon. See Denise Ellis to get your tickets.
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