Distance Running News, 23-24 November 2019

24 November 2019

Charlie Jones produced the stand out Cheltenham Harriers performance as the club’s athletes excelled at the Gloucester 10k road race. With a very strong field assembled for the race that incorporated the South West inter-counties championship, the field soon split up on a still and dry morning that provided ideal running conditions. Passing the 3km mark in just over 9:50, Jones was in a six man group just outside the top twenty alongside teammates Richard Dare, Jacob Pickering, Eliot Taylor and Doug Wight who were all working well together.

Jones and Wight then pulled clear and both picked up places throughout the race as Jones knocked fifteen seconds off his personal best to stop the clock at 32:05 for twelfth position. Wight then followed in sixteenth as he took nine seconds off his PB with 32:29 before Dare set a ten second PB of 32:38 for twentieth place. Taylor finished just four seconds and one position later before James Bingham arguably produced the Harriers run of the day.

Not only did the 42 year old finish as first veteran, he also took 44 seconds off his five year old PB as he stopped the clock at an impressive 32:48. Pickering (33:09), John Parker (34:01), Chris Cleary (35:41), Dan Schofiled (36:57), Gareth Edwards (37:08) and Alex Lindfield (38:48) all followed before Charlie Marshall (39:19) set a new PB. Fee Maycock led the Harriers ladies home with 39:47 to finish as second LV50 runner whilst Izzy Loza (40:42) and Amber Bullingham (40:56) both put in encouraging performances before Nicola Knight (47:01), Sue Townsend (47:23), Sam Pickering (49:41) completed the club contingent. In the wheelchair race Ed Grazier (34:54) and Les Hampton (43:17) finished first and second respectively.

The previous day Dom James and George Watson had travelled to Liverpool for the British Athletics Trials for the upcoming European Cross Country Championships for one of the highest standard races on the domestic calendar.  Both ran well as they finished 57th and 86th respectively in testing conditions.

Elsewhere Anthony Bailey continued his comeback with his a first win for 34 months at the off-road Howling Bull 6 mile race in the Wye Valley village of Walford.

The most pleasing Harriers parkrun result of the weekend saw Dan King (18:36) finish first in Hereford after 12 months out of the sport with health problems. Elsewhere there were also first place finishes for James Bingham (17:23) at the KIng George V Playing Field event in Cheltenham and Dave Aubrey (18:29) in Newent. Caroline Cotterell (23:22) finished as first lady in Cirencester whilst Georgia Palmer (20:12) set a PB as she finished as second lady in Cheltenham. The Pittville Park event also saw Simon Crichley (18:39) place fifth.whilst Peter Carmichael (19:36) and Matt Wood (19:51) also had a run out. Ellis Woolley (21:49) meanwhile finished as fourth lady at the Conkers parkrun in Derbyshire.