One County Track & Field Championship record was set when u20 Elise Thorner took the victory in the 1500m Steeplechase in a time of 4.52, thus surpassing the original record set by team-mate Emily Smith some years ago. Elise's brother Ollie Thorner won the u20 Long Jump with 6m26, and was 2nd in Pole vault with 4m20.
A number of junior Harriers were competing for the first time at the County Champs and all performed well on the day. U15 Georgina Burrows was busy running the 100m, 200m & 300m sprints in times of 14.50, 29.35 & 46.93 (2nd - silver).U13 Jake Watson won the shot put gold with 7m38, and also achieved 3m13 in the Long Jump.
The main strength of the Harriers, however, was in the middle distance events. Matthew Quarterman won the u17 1500m in 4.15 with team mate Toby Watson also achieving a pb in the same age group with 4.30. Bradley Glover was 2nd in the u15 1500m in 4.41, whilst Hannah Blundy also ran a pb of 4.54 in the u15 girls 1500m. Holly Bigger won the u17 800m race in 2.21.
Lizzie Ingram and Poppy Pellow were 1st and 2nd in the u17 1500m Steeplechase in times of 5.26 and 5.30. Dan Maydew and Leo Stockham, likewise were 1st and 2nd in the u17 3000m race with 9.36 and 10.24. Senior Zak Hurrell ran 9.25 in the same event. Bernard Mealing ran 61.87 for the u17 400m. Jack Harvey was 2nd in the u15 3000m in 10.24.
Excellent performances by all!
Our thanks to the Championships Secretary David Cooke for yet again organising these Championships - he even managed to find time to win a medal in the 400m sprint event! & of course to the volunteer officials who help the event run like clockwork. Harrier members, or parents of juniors, should think about how they can assist at these events, or volunteer to become an official - a lack of officials in the future may mean such events can't go ahead. Don't assume its always someone else's responsibility.
Zak, Dan and Leo in the 3,000m
More photos from County Champs to be added soon
At Stourhead on the Saturday, 11th May, on a 10km multi-terrain course, Matt Sparkes won the v60 prize when finishing in 43.21, with Alex Meadows 43.42 and Alice Knight 53.01. Former member Nathan Young was also back in action and won the event. (Photo to follow).
Another event this past weekend, on the Sunday 12th, was the Wambrook Waddle 10k - part of the Somerset Series, sponsored by Cornwall Glass - and Karen Shears was our only representative, finishing in 51st place in a time of 66.41.
Earlier in the week, the Yeovilton 5k road race on Wednesday May 8th saw Ben Lloyd once again lead the Harriers home in 16.26, in 5th place overall, with Chris Walker next home in 17.28. Other Harrier times at the 5k: 12th Alex Coombs 17.35; 13th Will Pate 17.42; 29th Alex Meadows 19.45; 30th Andy Piper 19.49; 49th Isabelle Walker 21.33; 59th Melissa Aspinall 22.31; 63rd Dave Kitcher 23.04.
Last weekend we also saw two of our ultra runners out completing a hilly marathon circuit. Craig Foley reports:
"Both Nick Weaving and Craig Foley took part in The Hellstone trail marathon in Dorset at the weekend as part of their preparation for longer challenges later in the year. With approximately 1000 metres of ascent and a slightly long course (27.2 miles) the pair finished in 30th and 31st place out of 130 finishers, recording times of 4:55:11 and 4:55:12 respectively."
(photo to follow)
Entries are still being taken for the Wells Fun Runs coming up on Sunday 26th May. Organisers ask that people enter early using the on line facility to avoid delays, with all numbers to be collected on the day at the Town Hall. Harriers that aren't running, or parents of Junior Harriers, are asked to contact Kay Franklin to take on a volunteer role to help ensure this event goes to plan.
