NEWSLETTER
DECEMBER 2001 ISSUE 293
EVENTS DIARY:
| JAN 5th | HANTS.X COUNTRY Championship at DIBDEN INCLOSURE |
| 12th | HANTS. XC League at OVERTON |
| 13th | STUBBINGTON 10km |
| 24th | VILLAGE handicap |
| 26th | SOUTHERN X-COUTRY CHAMPS. at PARLIAMENT HILL |
| 27th | ROMSEY 5 miles Road Race EPSOM ODDBALLS 2000 (Mr. SIMCOX’S FISHY RACE) |
| FEB 2nd | HANTS. X C League at BOURNEMOUTH |
| 3rd | CHICHESTER PRIORY 10 km |
| 8th | TRAINING WEEKEND STARTS |
| 9th | TILFORD X-COUNTRY RACES ( Inc. JUNIORS) |
| 11th | TRAINING WEEKEND ENDS |
| 17th | GOODWOOD GALLOP 10 miles |
| 21st | FOXDOWN HANDICAP |
| 24th | BRAMLEY 20 mile Road Race (& 10 mile race) WINCHESTER 10 km |
PLEASE CHECK NOTICE BOARD OR RUNNING MAGAZINES FOR FURTHER INFO.
FRANNYS BITS.
By the time you read this, the festive season will be over though some of us may be feeling the after effects of all the excess food and drink. The club has had a good year on the cross-country and the track but it is noticeable that the numbers competing in open road races seems to be falling. A bright point is the number of new members we have attracted in the last 12 months and also the large fields in both the summer and winter handicaps. The club committee hopes you had a great Christmas and wishes you a happy New Year.
The major event for this month is our home fixture in the Hampshire x-country league at Ashe Meadows on January 12th. ANY OFFERS OF HELP, whether with the course marking/marshalling, car parking, catering or anything else will be gratefully received. Please contact Paul or Geoff if you feel you can help. It is hoped to reduce the car-parking problem of last year by using the car park on Station Hill to relieve the pressure on the farm.
Many apologies to those of you who waited so long for your standard certificates for the year 2000. Most of these were presented at the Christmas party along with the majority of this years certificates. Outstanding certificates will be presented to individuals in the New Year.
I have been told that the Christmas dinner held after the cyclist race was a great success and many thanks to Cath for organising it. Also thanks to Geoff and Liz for organising the food for the party held after the December handicap.
STATTO’S REVIEW OF THE YEAR.
JANUARY.
The muddiest county x-country championship in decades saw a poor turnout from the club though both Cath and Ian being 2nd in the Vets. Once again our home x-country fixture was a great success with everyone mucking in with the running of the fixture. Senior men’s’ team were 2nd, with the vets virtually sewing up another league title. Cath took a superb 2nd overall and helped Jill and Liz to take first spot for the Vets. In the ladies race. The monthly handicap was won by Tom Duncan. Illness affected Geoff’s squad of juniors at the County schools and Mike MacMahon reported in from Kosovo.
FEBRUARY.
Another fantastic training weekend in Cornwall was followed closely by the foot and mouth outbreak. The final x-country fixture at Bournemouth saw the men finishing third in the league with the Vets. Winning theirs again. Ian took the Vets. Title as did Cath with the lady Vets finishing 3rd. Young Aaron rounded off a good season with a fine 13th place as the U13 boys finished
8th in the table. Gareth Plumb won the handicap whilst Mark Simcox had a fishy result at Epsom and Keith Clark runs a blinder in the Wokingham half.
MARCH.
The foot and mouth meant that the only open race in the area was the Eastleigh 10k. Nick did enough to win the consistency league with Liz winning the ladies title. Dave “the moaning bandit” won the final winter handicap on a very cold night. Keith Clark took the handicap title with Mark Simcox winning the time league. Jamie gets bitten by a dog that fortunately makes a full recovery.
APRIL.
A good marathon debut from Jamie at London was the highlight of the month with other good marathon efforts coming with a PB from Jill and my fastest time since 1982. Blissy was first Vet. At the Totton 10k where Cath was third lady as once again races were few and far between.
MAY.
Second in the opening fixture gives the track boys a good start to the season. A good turnout for the first mob match saw a good victory over the new Nutley Bottom course with the club filling the first eight places. Ian reported an impressive set of running and Duathlon results as he prepared for the European Championships. Chris Jones used his 1500m speed to snatch the club pentathlon title from Darren Cuff.
JUNE.
VICTORY for the track boys at Battersea leaves them third in the league and some start talking about promotion. Another victory comes in the away mob match where we got out 26 runners. Scott won the summer handicap and the countryside opened up with races at Netley, Ropley and Braishfield.
JULY.
Two thirds and a second keep the track team flying close to the top of the table in the closest league battle for many years. High placings from Blissy, Keith and Paul at the Tadley 10k and Liz wins the handicap.
AUGUST.
Third in their final fixture gave the track & field squad their best league placing for many years. Jamie picked up a bronze medal at the Southern 10,000 metre championship and took 5th place in a classy field at the Newark half-marathon. Ian Vosser romped home to win the final summer handicap with Liz taking the title and Blissy winning the time league. Ian Ford was second Vet. in the popular evening race at Bushy Park.
SEPTEMBER.
A busy month saw prizes aplenty on the roads. The Overton 5 was a great success with numerous individual prizes, both men’s and ladies team prizes and Matty won the one lap event. Another team title went to the men at the Newbury 10 where Jamie finished second in his other vest while Mike and Chris were 5th and 8th respectively. Ian Ford finished 26th in the World Duathlon in Italy despite a heavy fall during a race the previous week. Jamie won the Nottingham marathon in fine style.
OCTOBER.
Cath was 7th in her age group at the British Vets. X-country at Swansea then led the women’s team to 4th spot at Farley Mount. Blissy led home the men with Aaron running best of the juniors (following another good effort over the same course the previous week). Dave Bright won the opening handicap of the winter while both the ladies and veterans’ teams were convincing winners as we hosted the annual relays against Andover and Newbury.
NOVEMBER.
Another good performance from Aaron at Reading with an improved run by Scott in the junior race, Cath took fourth in the ladies again being first Vet. An injury-affected men’s team finish 6th and the Vets. Crown looks under threat. The ladies Vets. finish second. Cath captains the Welsh team in the Vets x-country championship in Scotland but misses a medal by only four seconds. Aaron runs for Hampshire schools in France finishing a superb 10th. Audra wins the second handicap by over a minute whilst Gwynneth becomes the only woman to score consistency points on the road this season.
DECEMBER.
End of term report in the Hampshire league: men’s team 4th, B team 3rd, Vets in 2nd behind Portsmouth with Ian Ford currently third o/all in the Vets…. Not sure on the senior ladies team position but the Vets are TOP but only on match points with Reading Road Runners second. Cath leads the Veterans and is currently third o/all. Elsewhere Dave Henery clocks a PB at the Christchurch 10k and holds a big lead in the consistency league. Martin Crawshaw, Franny and Liz win the team prize at the Tadley x-country and we gain revenge in the cyclist’s race.
CLUB CONSISTENCY LEAGUE.
The Consistency league has three and a half months to go but Dave Henery seems to be deservedly romping away with it. The same few runners: Dave,ET,JT, Steve seem to be the only seniors running on the roads with any regularity. Whilst only one woman has deigned to tread the tarmac in a consistency event this season. The numbers in x-country races and the club handicap leagues are as high…if not higher…than ever before but the numbers in the old popular road races seems to be falling. Does the consistency league need a revamp? How about a league running January thru December thereby incorporating races such as Netley, Braishfield and Bushy. This leaves the winter months clear for the cross-country fixtures and stops the double header weekends. I really do need your suggestions so, can you have a serious think and let me know your ideas prior to the AGM in April when hopefully we can discuss this subject more fully. Remember that the main objective of this league was to achieve large turnouts at certain selected races and thereby boost the clubs standing.
HANTS. X-COUNTRY League at BASINGSTOKE.
The rain managed to hold off until the racing was over on a day that saw a good turnout from the club. Young Alex Bright made a very promising debut in the under 13 race but was sadly our only runner. Aaron continued his good form with another 16th place and with Matty giving fine support the team lies in seventh place in the league.
1st DECEMBER.
| U13 BOYS | ||
| 37th | A.BRIGHT | 15m 08 secs. |
| 45 RAN | ||
| U15 BOYS | ||
| 16th | A.HARRIS | 14m 23 secs. |
| 31st | M.BRIGHT | 15m 30 secs. |
| 44 RAN |
Another strong run from Cath led home a larger than usual ladies squad. Audra and Liz gave good support to bring the senior team home in sixth place and the same three runners were third in the vets. They are only top of the vets league on scoring points as they tie with Reading Road Runners on 6 match points each. They are certainly capable of winning this league if they can get their best runners out for the last two fixtures.
Nicky had a good run ahead of one of our most improved runners of the last few months, Moira continued her fine run of form and looks like rewriting some of her road times come the spring. New members Helen and Kate made very promising debuts and will definitely improve after getting use to the joys of x-country. Helen is lacking some of the speed from several years ago but put in a solid effort on a course that got muddier as the day wore on as did Belinda who is slowly but surely moving up the field with each race.
| 4th | C.WHEELER | 16m 32sec | 80th | M.WEST | 20m 51sec |
| 32nd | A.DENNISON | 18m 05sec | 89th | H.KERR | 21m 18sec |
| 50th | E.SANDALL-BALL | 19m 00sec | 93rd | K.MAXWELL | 22m 30sec |
| 71st | N.CLARK | 20m 20sec | 99th | H.MacMAHON | 23m 32sec |
| 108 RAN | 102nd | B.LADE | 24m 17sec |
Prior to this race the seniors were lying 6th in the league but the fine performances on the day, helped by some of the teams above us having off days meant that all was about to change.
Mark Simcox finally clicked when it mattered and his storming run finally meant he led the squad home. It was a close run thing as Mike Bowering was only four seconds down at the line with Ian Ford looking slightly below par when finishing 5th Veteran. Andy Hoiles made a very welcome outing for the team to finish next with Chris finally making his x-country debut with a cautious run following his injury problem to close the A team. With Reading (5th) City of Portsmouth (7th) and Southampton R.C. (10th) having off days our fine third place on the day lifted the A team to third overall…though it is tight.
Martin put in another sterling effort to score good points and Voss put in a good run to close the Vets team in fourth place. The squad now has a hard fight to retain their title as Portsmouth now has a 3-point lead. All hands to the pump for the next two races. Keith continued his rather quiet season but still had a minute in hand over the ever-reliable Gavin. Dave Henery is smoking at the moment and scored the first part of his weekend double over Eric who ran well in his first league race of the season. Dave Bright was a little bit below his recent form unlike Steve who always seems to raise his game when there’s a handicap medal on offer. I had my best race of the season despite having to concede to Steve in the last half-mile. The course didn’t appeal to Geoff who was below par while JT ran well for third in his agegroup with fellow Vet60 John Goulding completing the squad.
| 30th | M.SIMCOX | 28m 32sec | 144th | D.HENERY | 33m 02sec |
| 31st | M.BOWERING | 28m 36sec | 149th | E.TILBURY | 33m 14sec |
| 39th | I.FORD | 28m 53sec | 175th | D.BRIGHT | 34m 24sec |
| 50th | A.HOILES | 29m 33sec | 191st | S.McNAIR | 35m 00sec |
| 55th | C.JONES | 29m 44sec | 197th | R.FRANCIS | 35m 18sec |
| 75th | M.CRAWSHAW | 30m31sec | 209th | G.CLOKE | 36m 01sec |
| 85th | D.VOSSER | 30m 52sec | 232nd | J.THOMAS | 41m 12sec |
| 97th | K.CLARK | 31m 25sec | 234th | J.GOULDING | 43m 25sec |
| 128th | G.DUNCAN | 32m 31sec | 237 Finished |
PUBLICITY.
In the last few weeks neighbours and workmates have started mentioning seeing the race reports appearing with more regularity in the local press (admittedly mostly asking why I wasn’t running). These reports are being co-ordinated by Geoff so, if you do plan to race and cannot send an E-mail to him can you please see him and work out a way (phone etc.) to pass results and perhaps a brief report to him as early as possible. Remember good publicity attracts new members.
FOXDOWN HANDICAP.
A bitterly cold night for the third handicap of the season saw an easy win for Dave Vosser who was making a rare outing over the course. He was followed by the three PB’s of the night with the fast improving Moira,who took 53 seconds from her best time, taking second spot ahead of young Aaron’s 36 second improvement. Dave Titcomb was 23 seconds faster than his debut run to take fourth. Jamie was fastest once again but it was that man Vosser who took the maximum points in the time league. Runner up was Keith Clark with Cath third (following her second spot the previos month). Five more runners to add to the alltime list with the most outstanding debuts coming from the junior section. Scott ran well for 12th fastest on the night while the younger Alex Bright may have found the race a bit too long but shows great promise for the future.
20th DECEMBER.
| POS. | RUNNER | FIN.TIME | HANDICAP | ACTUAL TIME | POS. ON TIME |
| 1 | D.VOSSER | 28.39 | 6.51 | 21.48 | 1 |
| 2 | M.WEST | 29.07 | 1.45 | 27.22 | 17 |
| 3 | A.HARRIS | 29.24 | 6.08 | 23.16 | 5 |
| 4 | D.TITCOMB | 29.37 | 3.35 | 26.02 | 15 |
| 5 | D.BRIGHT | 30.16 | 7.02 | 23.14 | 4 |
| 6 | S.GRAHAM | 30.26 | 5.01 | 25.25 | 12 |
| 7 | E.TILBURY | 30.27 | 5.53 | 24.34 | 7 |
| 8 | A.DENNISON | 30.38 | 6.14 | 24.24 | 6 |
| 9 | G.CLOKE | 30.39 | 5.34 | 25.05 | 11 |
| 10 | C.WHEELER | 30.40 | 7.42 | 22.58 | 3 |
| — | J.JONES | 30.40 | 11.47 | 18.53 | — |
| 11 | J.THOMAS | 30.45 | 3.10 | 27.35 | 19 |
| 12 | S.McNAIR | 30.57 | 5.09 | 25.48 | 14 |
| 13 | E.WICKE | 31.03 | 5.24 | 25.39 | 13 |
| 14 | R.FRANCIS | 31.26 | 6.25 | 25.01 | 10 |
| 15 | D.WICKE | 31.32 | 1.47 | 29.45 | 22 |
| 16 | M.VOSSER | 31.34 | 1.47 | 29.47 | 13 |
| 17 | K.BURTON | 31.49 | GO | 31.49 | 25 |
| 18 | K.CLARK | 31.54 | 9.51 | 22.03 | 2 |
| 19 | E.SANDALL-BALL | 32.10 | 4.42 | 27.28 | 18 |
| 20 | G.DUNCAN | 32.26 | 7.44 | 24.42 | 8 |
| 21 | N.DALTON | 32.26 | 7.43 | 24.43 | 9 |
| 22 | C.BOYLE | 33.11 | GO | 33.11 | 26 |
| 23 | A.BRIGHT | 33.41 | 3.35 | 30.06 | 24 |
| 24 | N.CLARK | 33.43 | 5.54 | 27.49 | 20 |
| 25 | H.KERR | 34.05 | 5.54 | 28.11 | 21 |
| 26 | D.HENERY | 34.06 | 6.51 | 27.15 | 16 |
CONSISTENCY TABLES FOLLOWING CHRISTCHURCH 10km.
| MEN | PTS. | WOMEN | PTS |
| D.HENERY | 132 | C.WHEELER | 80 |
| E.TILBURY | 110 | A.DENNISON | 76 |
| J.THOMAS | 101 | E.SANDALL-BALL | 71 |
| G.DUNCAN | 96 | N.CLARK | 67 |
| M.SIMCOX | 95 | M.WEST | 63 |
| D.BRIGHT | 92 | B.LADE | 58 |
FULL TABLE IS ON THE NOTICE BOARD.
CURRENT HANDICAP LEAGUE TABLES
HANDICAP LEAGUE.
| NAME | OCT | NOV | DEC | JAN | FEB | MAR | TOTAL |
| D. BRIGHT | 1 | 3 | 5 | 4 | |||
| M.WEST | 14 | 2 | 2 | 4 | |||
| A.HARRIS | 3 | 7 | 3 | 6 | |||
| D.TITCOMB | 2 | 18 | 4 | 6 | |||
| A.DENNISON | 16 | 1 | 8 | 9 | |||
| G.CLOKE | 15 | 4 | 9 | 13 | |||
| A.HARTLEY | 7 | 6 | – | 13 | |||
| J.THOMAS | 4 | 17 | 11 | 15 | |||
| E.TILBURY | 10 | 9 | 7 | 16 | |||
| C.WHEELER | 9 | 8 | 10 | 17 | |||
| G.DUNCAN | 5 | 13 | 20 | 18 | |||
| E.WICKE | – | 5 | 13 | 18 | |||
| S.McNAIR | 19 | 10 | 12 | 22 | |||
| D.WICKE | 11 | – | 15 | 26 | |||
| M.SIMCOX | 12 | 14 | – | 26 | |||
| K.BURTON | – | 11 | 17 | 28 | |||
| N.DALTON | 13 | 16 | 21 | 29 | |||
| D.HENERY | 6 | 24 | 26 | 30 | |||
| R.FRANCIS | – | 19 | 14 | 33 | |||
| E.SANDALL-BALL | 17 | – | 19 | 36 | |||
| K.CLARK | – | 22 | 18 | 40 | |||
| B.LADE | 21 | 21 | – | 42 | |||
| C.BOYLE | 20 | 20 | 22 | 62 |
TIME LEAGUE.
| NAME | OCT | NOV | DEC | JAN | FEB | MAR | TOTAL |
| M.SIMCOX | 1 | 1 | – | 2 | |||
| C.WHEELER | 5 | 2 | 3 | 5 | |||
| A.HARTLEY | 2 | 3 | – | 5 | |||
| G.DUNCAN | 2 | 4 | 8 | 6 | |||
| D. BRIGHT | 6 | 5 | 4 | 9 | |||
| K.CLARK | – | 7 | 2 | 9 | |||
| A.HARRIS | 8 | 6 | 5 | 11 | |||
| N.DALTON | 7 | 8 | 9 | 15 | |||
| A.DENNISON | 10 | 10 | 6 | 16 | |||
| E.TILBURY | 11 | 12 | 7 | 18 | |||
| K.MAXWELL | 50 | 21 | 50 | 21 | |||
| G.CLOKE | 12 | 11 | 11 | 22 | |||
| D.HENERY | 9 | 19 | 16 | 25 | |||
| R.FRANCIS | – | 16 | 10 | 26 | |||
| S.McNAIR | 16 | 13 | 14 | 27 | |||
| E.WICKE | – | 14 | 13 | 27 | |||
| D.TITCOMB | 14 | 15 | 15 | 29 | |||
| J.THOMAS | 15 | 17 | 19 | 32 | |||
| M.WEST | 19 | 17 | 17 | 34 | |||
| E.SANDALL-BALL | 17 | – | 18 | 35 | |||
| D.WICKE | 18 | – | 22 | 40 | |||
| C.BOYLE | 20 | 22 | 26 | 42 | |||
| B.LADE | 21 | 23 | – | 44 | |||
| K.BURTON | – | 20 | 25 | 45 |
FULL TABLES ARE ON THE NOTICE BOARD.
Tadley Runners Xmas Cross Country
Sunday 9th December 2001 from Liz
On a cold bright but still day, a small group from the Club made the short trip to compete in the annual Tadley Runners Christmas XC. I was particularly looking forward to the race as this XC course was my first ever competitive race, running then for the M.O.D team. This was a very testing course of 5.3 miles, which included good fast stretches, forest trails, rough parkland,
mud pools and a jump over a four-foot ditch, designed to take out the unwary.
Cross-country specialist Martin Crawshaw continued his recent good form with a satisfying 5th place to win the coveted over 40s category. Richard was 19th and Geoff 25th, newcomer Dave Titcomb had a good run coming home 43rd. I was pleased with my run to get second lady home, In addition Martin, Richard and myself won the mixed team event. The event was well organized, finishers all received a glass memento and were treated to delicious home made soup.
Pos.
5 Martin Crawshall 34.27 1st v40
19 Richard Francis 38.52 6th v40
25 Geoff Cloke 39.48 3rd v50
35 Liz Sandall-Ball 41.11 1st v45
43 Dave Titcomb 42.40 13th v40
CHRISTCHURCH 10K
HENERY 20 POINTS!
Sunday 9th December 2001
Weather Sunny but cold.
A very disappointing turn out for a consistency event, only 3 legal runners and a “ghost”.
So Dave Henery, Eric Tilbury and JT, the legal runners arrived at the start. A dubious and under weight Richard Francis appeared, also known as Steve X bellies. X is lower than before, but the author is not convinced it is X- 4 bellies( perhaps X-2?).
We all travelled in the same car, so much discussion about tactics etc. ET was confident of reversing last weekends humiliating defeats by Henery. Steve X belies was only there to stop JT getting consistency points.
It was freezing, T shirts were contemplated by the girls, but eventually Steve stripped down to his Harriers vest! Not a vast field, but well over 200. We lined up near the front. The flag went down and we were away.
Little did ET know, but Henery had changed his tactics. He would not be waiting on ET’s shoulder for the last mile and a sprint to victory. This time Henery, the demented idiot went from the gun. The first 1K marker, seemed a long run, as did the second, it was at the 3rd,that the time was checked with another runner 18.30, whoops miles, not K. A quick chat as to the PB of the adjacent runner, 36 minutes, what is Henery doing this far up the field? At 5 miles the same runner proffers encouragement, that a PB is in sight, at this pace. We push on and Henery duly smashes his PB, by 46 seconds. My first PB for 2 years, at my age. Cath. you are right, with training I could be a good runner? Just need to do some training! Well let’s not get carried away.
ET trotted in with a time of 39.53, a little disappointing compared to the Victory 5. Richard X bellies McN. was happy with his time, as was JT. He had to wait around for 6 hours to check if he had won the 4th prize in the very old persons (that bothered to turn up ) event. We still do not know the outcome, other than for Sabrina, JT had given Steve a perfectly valid excuse, for being late for Sunday lunch. Pints of Porter at the Inn on the Furlong, pucker. The traditional Christmas Pudding was the prize for all finishers, eat you heart out those that did not bother. JT still has half left from 2 years ago!
Results
1st Dave Henery 38.01 53rd 20 Pts PB by 46 secs.
2nd Eric Tilbury 39.53 77th 19 Pts
3rd Steve McNaire 41.31 110th 17 Pts
4th John Tomas 45.42 205th 18 Pts
Now to the excuses, men only.
Keith Injured?(Nicky this is suspicious)
Mike B Injured (Mike you are taking my threats too far)
P Wheeler Not allowed out, no note from Cath.
Geoff Too far
Paddy Where is Christchurch?
Jamie Intimidated
Gavin Well bunged
Nick London Marathon training with his lovely wife Laura, god the expense.
Mark Mystery Virus?
Jamsie Forgot to enter.
Martin Too far from home.
Everyone else well sorted.
Committee Meeting 10/12/01Present G.Cloke, M.Dennison, P.Wheeler, C.Wheeler, R,Francis, G.Mclaughlin.
Matters Arising
- Consistency: Discussion over turn out to races by members. Not enough people doing the road races. Do we need to change the format. Perhaps do a summer consistency or do we include cross country. Need to discuss this and report back to the committee.
- London Marathon: No rejection slips have been handed in. Therefore the entries are open to anyone willing to do the race.
- Christmas lunch in hand.
- Still waiting to hear from Basingstoke about the lighting at Down Grange.
- Christmas 100 club extra prizes this week.
- New trophy ordered after receiving donation from Barker Son & Isherwood.
- Cross country race in January. Discussions about parking, toilets and insurance Also payment to St Johns Ambulance £117.50
Treasurer’s Report
Income £2412.00
Expenditure £259.00
Current £451.00
Reserve £4169.31
A.O.B
1)Need new gas cylinder for starter hooter, Paul to buy.
2)Need new stop watch for John.
3)Cyclists race starting at 10.30 am
4)Coombe Gibbet need permit for insurance. Also info to hand out about the Overton”5″
5)Overton “5” have not heard back from the police yet.6)Groundsman getting card and gift for Christmas £25. Also decided to give the same to the cleaner.
6) Boxing day run, perhaps to be run over the handicap course, need to discuss this with the members.7
7)Handicap John not happy with members changing their starting times.
8)New member, Karen Burton
9)e-mail from Kevin Laing re: Road race in Basingstoke asked for help from Overton. Have decided to say no.
Meeting closed at 9.40p.m.
Date of next meeting 14/1/02
Cyclists Race Sunday 23rd December from Geoff
On a very cold, bright and windless day, 21 Harriers and 12 members of Cycle Club Basingstoke (without their bikes) assembled at the Recreation Centre to take part in the annual 3½ miles race on the Harroway course. The race is a team event, has been held for the past 25 plus years, and is competitive despite the festive timing. Not surprisingly the Harrier’s have been declared the winners on almost every occasion. But last year the Cyclists put out a strong team against an injury depleted Overton side, and were awarded the trophy, for the first time.
Not so this year, we were determined to avenge last year’s humiliation and claimed the first two places through Jamie Jones and Ian Ford. Cyclists Paul Miles and Tim Richardson were next in, with Dave Vosser and Keith Clark close behind for the Harriers. Prolific Veteran Cycle Racer Bernie Charlick and club mate Martin Harris were next to finish, followed by Cath Wheeler and Mike Bliss, who was taking it easy following a long absence through injury. Ben Wheeler and Mark Godley were the next Cyclists to finish, separated by Dave Henery, and from there we captured the next six places through, Gavin Duncan, Aaron Harris, Andy Hartley, David Bright, Eric Tilbury and Geoff Cloke to put the result beyond doubt.
Not to be totally out gunned, the Cyclists took six of the next seven places through Andy Bethel, Damien McKeaveney, Simon Lunsky, Michael McKeaveney and Richard Lewis with the Steve McNair evenly splitting the group. Adam Roud, Martine Reynolds, and Matt Galley completed the Cyclists team, and Alastair Paul, Audra Dennison, Liz Sandal-Ball, John Thomas, Madeleine Vosser and Karen Burton did likewise for the Harriers.
After the presentations both teams went their separate ways to indulge in a spot of festive cheer at local establishments, vowing to return next year.
Cyclists Race Sunday 23rd December – Results
| POSITION | NAME | TEAM | TIME | |
| MINS | SECS | |||
| 1 | J. JONES | HARRIERS | 18 | 22 |
| 2 | I. FORD | HARRIERS | 19 | 54 |
| 3 | P. MILES | CYCLISTS | 20 | 08 |
| 4 | T. RICHARDSON | CYCLISTS | 20 | 24 |
| 5 | D. VOSSER | HARRIERS | 20 | 33 |
| 6 | K. CLARK | HARRIERS | 20 | 37 |
| 7 | B. CHARLICK | CYCLISTS | 20 | 43 |
| 8 | M. HARRIS | CYCLISTS | 21 | 04 |
| 9 | C. WHEELER | HARRIERS | 21 | 06 |
| 10 | M. BLISS | HARRIERS | 21 | 18 |
| 11 | B. WHEELER | CYCLISTS | 21 | 21 |
| 12 | D. HENERY | HARRIERS | 21 | 30 |
| 13 | M.GODLEY | CYCLISTS | 21 | 35 |
| 14 | G. DUNCAN | HARRIERS | 21 | 40 |
| 15 | A. HARRIS | HARRIERS | 21 | 49 |
| 16 | A. HARTLEY | HARRIERS | 22 | 04 |
| 17 | D. BRIGHT | HARRIERS | 22 | 25 |
| 18 | E. TILBURY | HARRIERS | 23 | 05 |
| 19 | G. CLOKE | HARRIERS | 23 | 19 |
| 20 | A. BETHELL | CYCLISTS | 23 | 23 |
| 21 | D. McKEAVENEY | CYCLISTS | 23 | 25 |
| 22 | S. LUNSKEY | CYCLISTS | 23 | 30 |
| 23 | S. McNAIR | HARRIERS | 23 | 45 |
| 24 | M. McKEAVENEY | CYCLISTS | 24 | 14 |
| 25 | J. CARTER | CYCLISTS | 24 | 22 |
| 26 | R. LEWIS | CYCLISTS | 25 | 12 |
| 27 | A. PAUL | HARRIERS | 25 | 32 |
| 28 | A. ROUD | CYCLISTS | 25 | 49 |
| 29 | A. DENNISON | HARRIERS | 25 | 54 |
| 30 | E. SANDALL-BALL | HARRIERS | 26 | 07 |
| 31 | M. REYNOLDS | CYCLISTS | 26 | 14 |
| 32 | M. GALLEY | CYCLISTS | 26 | 41 |
| 33 | JT | HARRIERS | 27 | 18 |
| 34 | M. VOSSER | HARRIERS | 29 | 07 |
| 35 | K. BURTON | HARRIERS | 29 | 47 |
Thanks to John Hoare for organising such a great event
Bionic of the Month
Is there anyone within shouting range who hasn’t heard of the great strides that our winner this month has recently made in his long and undulating running career, in pursuit of that much coveted Consistency League Title. PBs during December at the Christchurch 10K, and the Victory 5, and most likely in the Cyclists Race to place him way out in front. Congratulations to
Dave Henery who is proving that age is no barrier to improved performance.
