2009 Results

Last updated: Monday, 7 September 2009
Action from the 2009 Inter Counties Cross Country Championships held at Wollaton Park, Nottingham.

We will be aiming to keep this section up–to–date and request that members keep us informed so we can post up the results quickly and efficiently. Soon, past results will be able to be viewed by going to a Results Archive section, where the past results are stored by month and year.

Click on one of the links in the list of contents below to read about the recent results for White Horse Harrier club members.

top < Oxford Town and Gown ~ Sunday, 17 May 2009

The rain didn’t put off our Harriers from running round Oxford. The weather cleared towards the end of the race for a sunny finish.

Place Time Name Category
197 0:42:18 Atkin, Simon V40 Men
780 0:49:24 Pickering, David V40 Men
2293 1:06:10 O’Sullivan, Joanne Senior Women
2295 1:06:11 Burrows, Don V40 Men

A total of 2,619 runners completed the course at this year’s Town and Gown.

For a full list of the results at the 2009 Town and Gown click the link here ».

top < Flora London Marathon ~ Sunday, 26 April 2009

Again high temperatures on race day made this year’s Flora London Marathon more of a trial than a pleasure – the crowds, however, were grateful to be able to bask in the sunshine!

This year the Harriers had seven representatives in the event. Jason Cooke led our athletes home, crossing the line disappointingly outside of three hours – symptomatic of the lack of training and fitness that has bedevilled Jason’s year. Dan Peace, the next Harrier over the line, produced an excellent performance to record a time of 3:12:25. The remainder of athletes suffered in the heat with Simon Atkin finishing outside of four hours (10,275th). John Matthews (19,563rd), Michael Gallagher (22,762) and Ian Brennan (22,811 – wearing a Scooby Doo outfit!) rounded off the list of male finishers. Sarah Baker, our sole lady representative, came home in a time of 4:23:34 to capture 3,436th place among the ladies.

Following a suicidal early pace in the men’ race Sammy Wanjiru (Kenya) beat his countryman Martin Lel’s course record from last year to win the 2009 Flora London Marathon in a personal best of 2:05:10 after a tense battle with Ethiopia’s Tsegaye Kebede who finished just 10 seconds adrift. Jaouad Gharib (Morocco), the Olympic silver medallist in Beijing smashed his PB by more than a minute and a half recording a time of 2:05:27 to finish in 3rd place.

In the ladies’ elite race Irina Mikitenko (Germany) became the first woman since Paula Radcliffe in 2003 to retain her London Marathon title this morning as she held off a spirited challenge from Britain’s Mara Yamauchi to win the third marathon of her career. Mara Yamauchi gave the record home crowds much to cheer recording a time of 2:23:12, demolishing her PB by nearly two minutes in the process. The European 5000m record holder Liliya Shobukhova (Russia) in her debut over the distance produced performance to remember by finishing third place in a time of 2:24:24.

Place Time Name Category
1,485 3:08:46 Cooke, Jason Senior Men
1,761 3:12:25 Peace, Dan Senior Men
10,275 4:09:19 Atkin, Simon V45 Men
3,436 4:23:34 Baker, Sarah Senior Women
19,563 5:05:01 Matthews, John V70 Men
22,762 5:47:33 Gallagher, Michael V60 Men
22,811 5:48:35 Brennan, Ian V40 Men

Well done to all our competitors in this year’s event.

For a full list of the 2009 Flora London Marathon results click here ».

top < Lambourn 6k Fun Run ~ Sunday, 26 April 2009

While others were pounding the streets of the capital in the London Marathon, a select band of runners tackled a challenging course in the annual Lambourn 6k Fun Run.

Leading the Harriers home this time was Stuart Shilston who finished in 7th place closely followed by Mark Trott (8th) and John Peake who crossed the line a couple of places further back (10th). Graham Wiggins (14th), Karen Malone (40th) and, husband, Pascale Malone (41st) completed the list of our finishers in this year’s race.

The first man home was Ian Reade who came close to beating the course record time finishing in a time of 0:20:25 – missing the record by less than 10 seconds. David Fry crossed the line in 2nd place just over 40 seconds adrift with Thomas Watkins securing 3rd position. The first lady across the line was Susan Francis who finished well clear of her rivals recording a time of 0:24:17. Jane Fitzgerald secured 2nd place holding of Justina Kay who claimed 3rd position.

Place Time Name Category
7 0:22:37 Shilston, Stuart Vet Men
8 0:22:47 Trott, Mark Senior Men
10 0:22:58 Peake, John Vet Men
14 0:25:04 Wiggins, Graham Senior Men
40 0:32:58 Malone, Karen Vet Women
41 0:32:59 Malone, Pascale Vet Men

A field of 78 runners completed the course at this year’s Lambourn 6k.

A complete list of the results for the 2009 Lambourn 6k is available here ».

top < White Horse Harriers AC April Time Trial ~ Thursday, 23 April 2009

Well done to everyone who ran in the club timetrials last night, lots of you took big chunks out of your PBs. There were also some excellent debut performances from new club members.

The timetrial results have been analysed and those who have improved the most over the 08/09 winter season are: U9 – Megan Gardiner & Matthew Druce, U11 – Kezia Margetts & Ryan Craze, U13 – Chloe Craze & Henry Batten/James Hartley, U15 – Christie Bridle & Edward Preece. Well done everyone!!!

Place Time Name Club Category
1 04:07 Leech, Phoebe White Horse Harriers AC U9 Girls
1 03:59 Allen, Isaac White Horse Harriers AC U9 Boys
1 03:48 Juer, Amy White Horse Harriers AC U11 Girls
1 03:21 Claridge, Ben White Horse Harriers AC U11 Boys
1 07:50 Lloyd, Sophie White Horse Harriers AC U13 Girls
1 08:08 Olliffe, Zack White Horse Harriers AC U13 Boys
1 15:22 Sanders, Mel White Horse Harriers AC U15 Girls
1 10:03 Holmes, Anthony White Horse Harriers AC U15 Boys
1 11:41 Dykes, Tom White Horse Harriers AC U17 Boys

A total of 64 athletes competed in the club’s Apri Time Trial. Well done to all our participating Harriers with particular congratulations to those who improved their personal best times.

For a full roundup of the White Horse Harriers AC April Time Trial click here ».

top < White Horse Half Marathon ~ Sunday, 05 April 2009

The White Horse Half Marathon, incorporating the Oxfordshire County Half Marathon Championships is a well–regarded and well–organised race with an entry limit of 650. The course, which is recognised as one full of pb potential, is flat and fast with the finish at the Madjeski Stadium to lift everyone’s spirits.

White Horse Harrers were represented by six athletes in this year’s event – five men and one lady. Dan Peace lead our runners across the line in a creditable 44th position overall. Dan was followed home by David Roberts (66th) and Lucia Singer (142nd). Lucia’s performance managed to secure the Oxfordshire County Championships bronze medal in the V35 Ladies category. Jeremy Smeddle (166th), Neil McColl (251st) and Hugh Owen (268th) completed the lineup of our club’s finishers on the day.

This year’s overall winner of the event was Paul Farmer (Ampthill & Flitwick Flyers RC) who scored a runaway victory crossing the finishing line in a time of 1:12:06 – some 3 minutes ahead of his closest rivals. In a closely fought battle Tony Lock (Witney Road Runners) prevailed over (Belgrave Harriers) recording a time of 01:02:46. Benedict Whitby (Windsor, Slough, Eton & Hounslow AC) James Bolton (Woodstock Harriers AC) to secure second place by a margin of 7 seconds.

In a similarly convincing performance Charlotte Penfold (Bournemouth AC) outclassed the opposition to secure first place recording a time of 1:21:57 finishing in 22nd place overall. Samantha Amend (Handy Cross Runners) was the next lady across the line in 37th place overall, with Liz Grolimund (Alchester RC) claiming 3rd place finishing in 64th position overall a further three and a half minutes adrift.

Place Gun Time Name Club Category
44 01:25:44 Peace, Dan White Horse Harriers AC Senior Men
66 01:29:00 Roberts, David White Horse Harriers AC Senior Men
142 01:37:50 Singer, Lucia White Horse Harriers AC V35 Ladies
166 01:40:30 Smeddle, Jeremy White Horse Harriers AC V40 Men
251 01:50:15 McColl, Neil White Horse Harriers AC V40 Men
268 01:51:28 Owen, Hugh White Horse Harriers AC V40 Men

A field of 487 runners completed the course in this year’s White Horse Half Marathon and were welcomed home by an enthusiastic crowd at the finish. Well done to all our participating Harriers on an excellent effort.

For a full list of the 2009 results for the White Horse Half Marathon click here ».

top < Reading Half Marathon ~ Sunday, 29 March 2009

The Reading Half Marathon is one of the biggest races in the UK with an entry limit of 16,500 and is a well’liked event by runners and, as you would expect from such a large event, well’organised. The course, which is recognised as one full of pb potential, is flat and fast with the finish at the Madjeski Stadium to lift everyone’s spirits.

This year ten of our members took to the roads of Reading in almost perfect conditions to compete in the event. Jason Cooke was the first of our athletes home finishing just outside the top 100 in a time of 01:18:27 to claim 107th position in the race overall. Next across the line for the Harriers was Terry Gashe taking 2,144th place ahead of Don Burrows and Dan Peace ’ 2,328th and 2,330th overall respectively. Tim Bardell was next in 2,745th place, followed by only only female competitor this year, Sarah Baker, who finished in 2,812th position. Adrian Evans, 2,845th), Mike Smith (2,990th), James McGuigan (3,054th) and Lorrimer Fellingham (3,578th) completed the list of our finishers.

The overall winner of this year’ race winner was the Kenyan athlete Kiplimo Kimutai who crossed the line just 5 seconds clear of his closest rival Philip Wicks (Belgrave Harriers) recording a time of 01:02:46. Benedict Whitby (Windsor, Slough, Eton & Hounslow AC) claimed 3rd place almost a minute further back. Joyce Kiriu made it a Kenyan double by leading the ladies home in a time of 01:12:49 taking 37th place overall. Louise Damien (unattached) finished just over a minute behind to grab 2nd place (55th position overall) with Susie Bush (Aldershot, Farnham & District) finishing in 65th place overall to claim the third prize.

Place Gun Time Chip Time Name Club Category
107 01:18:27 01:18:24 Cooke, Jason White Horse Harriers AC Senior Men
2,144 01:43:38 01:41:46 Gashe, Terry White Horse Harriers AC V60 Men
2,328 01:44:50 01:43:41 Burrows, Don White Horse Harriers AC V45 Men
2,330 01:44:51 01:43:42 Peace, Dan White Horse Harriers AC Senior Men
2,745 01:47:25 01:45:40 Bardell, Tim White Horse Harriers AC V40 Men
2,812 01:47:51 01:46:17 Baker, Sarah White Horse Harriers AC V35 Ladies
2,845 01:48:02 01:41:20 Evans, Adrian White Horse Harriers AC V40 Men
2,990 01:48:46 01:47:12 Smith, Mike White Horse Harriers AC V45 Men
3,054 01:49:07 01:47:55 McGuigan, James White Horse Harriers AC V55 Men
3,578 01:52:11 01:45:33 Fellingham, Lorimer White Horse Harriers AC V60 Men

This year’s Reading Half Marathon saw 11,871 runners complete the course in front of the massed crowds at the Madejski Stadium. Well done to all our participating Harriers on an excellent effort.

For a complete rundown of the 2009 results for the Reading Half Marathon click here ».

top < Carterton 10k ~ Sunday, 29 March 2009

The Carterton 10k is perceived by the reviewers on the RunnersWorld website as being a well–organised and friendly event. The course, which is described as flat and fast over two laps primarily on roads with a short section on dirt track with just one gentle quite long hill, is therefore geared towards anyone looking to improve on their pb for the 10 kilometre distance. The cool weather conditions on the day were a bonus.

This year’ event saw the Harriers represented by the motley crew of John Peake, Graham Wiggins and Nick Portsmouth. John was our first Harrier home finishing in a very creditable 14th position overall – he even managed to beat all the ladies! Graham was our second runner across the line in 37th place with Nick, in his first serious race back after injury, rounding off our finishers in 134th position.

This year’ overall race winner was Steve Millward (Gloucester AC) who recorded a time of 33:27 crossing the finish line almost a minute ahead of his nearest rivals. Mark Prestwood (RAF Athletics) held off Rhys Glastonbury (Windsor, Slough, Eton & Hounslow) to claim second place. The first lady runner home was Kirsty Bamber (Witney Road Runners) who finished in a time of 40:50 securing 28th position overall. Tam Simmonds (Swindon Harriers) was the lady across the line just 11 seconds adrift in 30th place with Elena von Benson (unattached) claiming 3rd place finishing in 63rd position overall.

Place Time Name Club Category
14 38:27 Peake, John White Horse Harriers AC V40 Men
37 42:21 Wiggins, Graham White Horse Harriers AC Senior Men
134 53:38 Portsmouth, Nick White Horse Harriers AC V40 Men

A field of 220 runners completed the Carterton 10k event this year. Well done to John, Graham and Nick on a great effort.

A complete list of the results of the 2009 Carterton 10k are available to view here ».

top < Cleevewold 14 ~ Sunday, 29 March 2009

The Cleevewold 14, an event run by Cheltenham & County Harriers, is a tough, hilly 14–mile multi–terrain event starting and finishing at Postlip Hall near Winchcombe. The route takes the runners across Cleeve Common and incorporates most of the high points in the area including Belas Knap. You can view this video on YouTube to get a real flavour of the event!

In this year’s race Paul Jégou was flying the flag for the White Horse Harriers. A strong performance saw Paul vying for 2nd place with the previous year’s winner John Atyeo (Witney Road Runners) as he approached the finish. The last thing both runners needed at the end of 14.5 miles of Gloucestershire hills and valleys was to be involved in a sprint finish. This is exactly what happened, and in a steep uphill Paul managed to cross the line to secure 2nd place of his rival by the narrowest of margins – just 2 seconds!

The overall winner of this year’s race was Steve Osbourne (unattached) who crossed the finishing line almost a minute ahead of the two Oxfordshire runners recording a time of 01:41:04. The ladies’ were lead home by Kate Goodhead (Bristol & West AC) who recorded a time of 01:47:52 – some seven and a half minutes ahead of her nearest competitor. In doing so Kate broke the course record by over two and a half minutes.

Place Time Name Club Category
2 01:41:59 Jégou, Paul White Horse Harriers AC Senior Men

Well done to Paul on another strong performance.

This year a field of 148 runners completed the Cleevewold 14–mile multi–terrain course.

A full rundown of the results at this year’s Clevewold 14 are available here ».

top < Wessex XC League Round 5 – Avon Heath Country Park ~ Sunday, 22 March 2009

The fifth and final round of the 2008/9 Wessex Cross Country League series took place at Avon Heath Coountry Park on Sunday. As with the previous round at Ham Hill, Yeovil the course is set in the woodland of the park and the conditions on the day were again excellent.

Paul Jégou, our sole Harrier representative, was looking to crown his cross country season with an overall victory in the 2008/9 series. Despite the recurrence of leg cramps which have plagued recent performances Paul managed to secure 3rd place on the day which was sufficient to gain the overall men’ title – a tremendous achievement.

The first finisher across the line in the men’ was Mike Grist (Poole Runners R&AC) in a time of 31:54 holding off Rob McTaggert (Bournemouth AC) who finished second ahead of our own Paul Jégou. In the ladies’ race Nicki Bissett (Poole Runners R&AC) held off Vicky Grey (Poole AC) and Margaret Pritchard (Stubbington Green R&AC) to claim victory recording a time of 19:57.

Place Time Name Club Category
3 35:50 Jégou, Paul White Horse Harriers AC Senior Men

Congratulations to Paul on fine result.

A complete roundup of the results from the 2008/9 Wessex Cross Country League meeting held at Avon Heath Country Park as well as the final individual and team standings can be viewed using the following links.

top < Hastings Half Marathon ~ Sunday, 15 March 2009

The Hastings Half Marathon is described as probably the best half marathon in the world on the event’s website – this will need to be judged by yourselves – and having been popular with visitors since 1066! The size of the race entry tends to support this. The course itself circumnavigates the ancient town, starting at the seafront and following the route of William the Conqueror towards Battle, round the back of the town and down to the famous ‘Old Town’ and fishing village of Hastings, then comes back along the three mile Seafront back to the finish.

Our sole Harrier representative making the journey over to Hastings this year was Stephen Casey. With the sun out and temperatures up to around 18 there could be no excuses and a solid performance saw Stephen crossing the line to finish 425th position.

The overall race winner was Kiplimo Kimutai (Kenya) repeated his victory of the previous year completing the course in a time of 01:02:48 and in doing so improved his course best time by over three minutes. The first UK athlete across the line was Mike Coleman (Medway & Maidstone AC) who finished in 5th place overall. The winner of the ladies’ race was Caroline Hoyte (Arena 80 AC) who recorded a time of 01:16:56 crossing the line almost two and a half minutes ahead of her nearest rival to finish in 27th position overall.

Place Time Name Club Category
425 01:36:57 Casey, Stephen White Horse Harriers AC Senior Men

Well done to Stephen on a solid performance.

This year a total field of 3,846 runners completed the course at the Hastings Half Marathon.

A complete roundup of the results at the 2009 Hastings Half Marathon can be viewed here ».

top < Teddy Hall Relays – Oxford ~ Wednesday, 11 March 2009

A large field of teams assembled for the 2009 Teddy Hall Relays held at the Iffley Road track close to Oxford city centre. This year the organisers had invited Sir Roger Bannister to present the prizes to mark his 80th birthday at the track where he achieved the first sub four–minute mile on 6 May, 1954 with the aid of his two pacemakers, Chris Brasher and Chris Chataway. Sir Roger was much in demand before the start of the relays giving television interviews and signing autographs.

This year the Harriers fielded four teams – one ladies’ team, two men’s teams and one mixed team. This was a significant improvement over last year. After the successes achieved in this event over the past few years our teams were aiming to continue in the same vein.

The ladies’ team produced a solid performance to finish in 15th position and in doing so picked up the prize for the first ladies athletics club team. For the men Paul Jßgou produced the fastest Harrier leg of the day recording a time of 19:47 in helping the men’s A team to finish in 29th place.

The men’s B team finished in 83rd position with Nick Ponting leading the team in only his second race in almost a year! Our mixed team did well to achieve 32nd place despite at least two of the team members running suffering from illness or injury.

In the men’s event Oxford University Cross Country Club held off arch–rivals Cambridge University Hare and Hounds A to take the victory in a combined time of 1:12:29. Bristol University Women’s A team were victorious holding off the challenge of the Oxford University Cross Country Club Women posting a combined time of 1:00:25. In the mixed relay the Bristol University Mixed team were runaway winners recording a time of 1:19:31 finishing over eight minutes clear of their nearest competitors Fit 2 Run 2.

Place Time Team Members Category
15 1:16:32 White Horse Harriers ‘A’ Helen Brackenbury, Ros Burgess, Lucia Singer Ladies
29 1:25:51 White Horse Harriers ‘A’ Stuart Shilston, Paul Jégou, Neil Druce, John Peake Men
83 1:39:16 White Horse Harriers ‘B’ Fergus Nicoll, Dene Stringfellow, Nick Ponting, Don Burrows Men
32 1:57:59 White Horse Harriers ‘A’ Ana Ramos–Villeverde, Kevin Harris, Sheila Bailey, Gareth Smith Mixed

Well done to all our runners who took part, with congratulations in particular to our ladies’ team for their first athletics club performance.

For a full roundup of this year’s Teddy Hall Relays results click here ».

top < Banbury 15 ~ Sunday, 08 March 2009

The first club championship race of the 2009 road race season took place at Banbury on Sunday over a 15 mile course described as rural and generally undulating with three stiff climbs thrown in for good measure. With a strong wind behind the runners for the first half of the race, but an even stronger wind against for the second half the weather conditions were certainly not condusive for fast times. The horizontal rain and hail in the latter stages of the race didn’t help matters either.

This year four of our Harriers entered the fray looking for early’season championship points. Simon Atkin, Jason Cooke, Paul Jégou and Jeremy Smeedle made the journey north to Banbury. And it was Jason Cooke who lead our Harriers over the line at the finish securing 10th place overall. Paul Jßgou was not far behind finishing in 16th place, with Simon Atkin (60th) and Jeremy Smeddle (216th) rounding off our finishers.

The overall winner of this year’s race was Nigel Marley (Alchester RC) who dominated the race finishing well clear of his nearest rivals in a time of 1:24:15. David Green (Bristol & West AC) and Garry Payne (George Eliot Striders) were the next to cross the line in closely fought battle finishing in 2nd and 3rd place respectively.

Sophie Dawson (Kidlington R&AC) took the ladies’s title crossing the line in a time of 1:39:36 finishing in 32nd position overall. Jude Craft (Headington RR) and Liz Grolimund (Alchester RC) were Sophie’s closest challengers finishing in 39th and 56th places overall.

Place Time Name County Category
10 1:33:57 Cooke, Jason White Horse Harriers AC Senior Men
16 1:35:10 Jégou, Paul White Horse Harriers AC Senior Men
60 1:46:11 Atkin, Simon White Horse Harriers AC V40 Men
216 2:05:40 Smeddle, Jeremy White Horse Harriers AC V40 Men

A total of 378 runners completed the course at this year’s Banbury 15. Well done to Jason, Paul, Simon and Jeremy on their performances.

For a full list of the results at the 2009 Banbury 15 click the link here ».

top < Inter Counties Cross Country Championships – Nottingham ~ Saturday, 07 March 2009

The Inter Counties Cross Country Championships were held at Wollaton Park, Nottingham this year with the event also combining the McCain Cross Challenge Final and the World Cross Country trials. The course presented a strong test for the runners with the hill up to Wollaton Hall in particular playing a significant role in the outcome of many of the races.

The cool, dry conditions were a blessing for the athletes on the day. White Horse Harriers AC had eight athletes representing Oxfordshire in this yeaṟs event. Sophie Lloyd finished 99th in the Under 13 Girls race and Zack Olliffe crossed the line in 257th place in the equivalent boy’s race. In the Under 15 Girls race Bethan Murphy–Hand completed the course in 229th position.

The Harriers had two representatives in the Under 15 Boys race with Anthony Holmes finishing in 177th place just over 30 seconds ahead of Alex Mills who crossed the line in 247th place. James Belcher carrying the flag in the Under 17 Boys event finished in 263rd place.

Tim Traynor produced the strongest Harrier performance of the day to finish in a very creditable 35th place in the Under 20 Men’ race. In the Senior Men’s race former Harrier Owain Bristow finished in 90th place with Paul Jßgou completing the Harrier results crossing the line in 210th place.

Place Time Name County Category
99 14:55 Lloyd, Sophie Oxfordshire U13 Girls
257 14:46 Olliffe, Zack Oxfordshire U13 Boys
229 18:00 Murphy–Hand, Bethan Oxfordshire U15 Girls
177 17:08 Holmes, Anthony Oxfordshire U15 Boys
247 17:41 Mills, Alex Oxfordshire U15 Boys
263 25:21 Belcher, James Oxfordshire U17 Boys
35 27:51 Traynor, Tim Oxfordshire U20 Men
210 44:03 Jégou, Paul Oxfordshire Senior Men

A total of 2,644 athletes competed in the various events at this year’s Inter Counties Cross Country Championships. Well done to all our athletes and congratulations in particular to Sophie Lloyd, Anthony Holmes, Alex Mills, Tim Traynor and Paul Jégou for their counting performances.

For a complete roundup of the results at the 2009 Inter Counties Cross Country Championships click the link here ».

top < Wessex XC League Round 4 – Yeovil ~ Sunday, 01 March 2009

The fourth round of the Wessex Cross Country League took place at Yeovil on Sunday. The course is set in the scenic, undulating woodland around Ham Hill and the conditions on the day were glorious.

Paul Jégou was our sole Harrier representative to make the trip down to Yeovil. In a closely fought race Paul crossed the line in 3rd place behind Nathan Young (Mendip AC) who recorded his 3rd victory of this season’s Wessex Cross Country League series in a time of 34:44. Charlie Maclean (Taunton AC) finished in 2nd place just 23 seconds ahead of Paul.

In the ladies’ race Rose Penfold (Mendip RC) lead the way across the line finishing in a time of 24:14 well over a minute clear of her nearest challenger. Hannah Taunton (Taunton AC) and Kirsty Harvey (Wimborne AC) finished in 2nd and 3rd places respectively.

Place Time Name Club Category
3 35:50 Jégou, Paul White Horse Harriers AC Senior Men

Well done to Paul on another consistent performance.

A complete roundup of the results from the 2008/9 Wessex Cross Country League meeting held at Yeovil as well as the current individual and team standings can be viewed using the following links.

For more information about the Wessex Cross Country League and past race results click here ».

top < Oxford Mail XC League Round 5 – Clanfield ~ Sunday, 01 March 2009

The fifth and final Oxford Mail League meeting of the 2008/9 season was held at Friars Court, Clanfield on Sunday and the weather conditions couldn’t have been better. This was a new venue for the league providing a different style of course for the athletes to negotiate.

You could’t have asked for better weather. The sun was out with barely a cloud to be seen – a very welcome change compared to recent conditions which had confronted the runners. Everyone was positively basking in the sunshine!

With several of our athletes in the hunt for honours this year there was definitely an air of expectancy as our runners prepared for their races. Another productive morning saw top 10 finishes by Sophie Lloyd – 3rd Under 13 Girls, Zack Olliffe – 8th Under 13 Boys, Anthony Holmes – 9th Under 15 Boys, and Job King – 4th Senior Men were the Harrier highlights of the final round at Friars Court.

The team performances of the day were Under 13 Girls A (=2nd), Under 13 Boys A (4th), Under 15/17 Boys A (5th).

The men’s team managed to retain their place in the men&38217;s first division by finishing in 6th position in the overall standings. However the ladies were not so fortunate, finishing in 7th place overall they return to the second division next season.

Place Time Name Club Category
24 07:06 Juer, Amy White Horse Harriers AC U11 Girls
28 07:20 Rose, Emma White Horse Harriers AC U11 Girls
35 07:39 Graham, Eloise White Horse Harriers AC U11 Girls
36 07:40 Hazell, Emma White Horse Harriers AC U11 Girls
46 07:54 Leech, Phoebe White Horse Harriers AC U11 Girls
49 08:24 Hansen, Mikaela White Horse Harriers AC U11 Girls
20 06:26 Thackray, Toby White Horse Harriers AC U11 Boys
21 06:29 Harrison, Charles White Horse Harriers AC U11 Boys
32 06:56 Rees, Oliver White Horse Harriers AC U11 Boys
37 07:07 Druce, Matthew White Horse Harriers AC U11 Boys
3 08:30 Lloyd, Sophie White Horse Harriers AC U13 Girls
14 09:41 Harrison, Josephine White Horse Harriers AC U13 Girls
17 10:11 Turner, Eleanor White Horse Harriers AC U13 Girls
22 10:37 Craze, Chloe White Horse Harriers AC U13 Girls
8 08:18 Olliffe, Zack White Horse Harriers AC U13 Boys
17 09:04 Rose, Matthew White Horse Harriers AC U13 Boys
19 09:19 Froud, Tom White Horse Harriers AC U13 Boys
23 09:34 Pettifer, Adam White Horse Harriers AC U13 Boys
25 09:44 Bellerby, Toby White Horse Harriers AC U13 Boys
9 17:07 Holmes, Anthony White Horse Harriers AC U15 Boys
16 17:50 Mills, Alex White Horse Harriers AC U15 Boys
27 19:08 Lomas, Mitch White Horse Harriers AC U15 Boys
31 19:23 Ritter, James White Horse Harriers AC U15 Boys
54 21:57 Burgess, Ros White Horse Harriers AC V1 Women
63 23:04 Hazell, Clare White Horse Harriers AC V1 Women
82 25:24 Froud, Karen White Horse Harriers AC V1 Women
91 26:23 Craze, Marie White Horse Harriers AC Senior Women
4 30:39 King, Job White Horse Harriers AC Senior Men
54 35:06 Hart, Matthew White Horse Harriers AC Senior Men
90 36:56 New, Dan White Horse Harriers AC Senior Men
95 37:21 Peake, John White Horse Harriers AC V1 Men
106 38:01 Atkin, Simon White Horse Harriers AC V1 Men
116 38:23 Druce, Neil White Horse Harriers AC V1 Men
166 43:04 Stringfellow, Dene White Horse Harriers AC V1 Men

Congratulations to our athletes who picked up awards at the presentation ceremony: Sophie Lloyd (Under 13 Girls) – equal 2nd; Under 13 Boys team – 2nd; Anthony Holmes (Under 15 Boys) – 3rd; Job King (Senior Men) – 3rd.

A total number of 533 athletes completed the various scheduled events at Friars Court, Clanfield this year.

A complete roundup of the results along with the final individual and team standings from the 2008/9 Oxford Mail Cross Country League meeting held at Clanfield can be viewed using the following links.

A complete listing of the Oxford Mail League race results are also available by clicking here ».

top < BMAF Pentathlon Championships ~ Sunday, 22 February 2009

The British Masters Athletic Federation UK Indoor Pentathlon Championships were held at the excellent indoor facility at Lee Valley this year. No excuses about the weather then!

Representing the White Horse Harriers was John Peake who was aiming to improve on his bronze medal at last year’s British Masters Outdoor Pentathlon Championships. John produced solid performances in the 5 disciplines – 60m hurdles, long jump, shot putt, high jump and 1000m, although he felt his long jump was a little disappointing. Unfortunately, despite improving on his overall points total by over 100 points John could only achieve 4th place this time.

Place Points Name Club Category
4 2,186 Peake, John White Horse Harriers AC MV40

Well done to John on a good performance.

A full rundown of the results of the 2009 British Masters Pentathlon Championships can be seen by clicking here ».

top < Veterans AC & Eastern Veterans Indoor Championships – Lee Valley ~ Sunday, 22 February 2009

The Veterans AC & Eastern Veterans Indoor Championships was held at the Lee Valley Athletics Centre on Sunday sharing the venue alongside the British Masters Indoor Pentathlon Championships.

Representing the Harriers in the M60 category shot putt was Richard Jégou hoping to emulate his first 11.00m+ earlier this month. Richard displayed consistency in achieving another best putt in excess of 11.10m.

Event Place Distance Name Club Category
Shot Putt 1 11.11m Jégou, Richard White Horse Harriers AC M60

Well done to Richard on another consistent performance.

For a complete roundup of the 2009 Veterans AC & Eastern Veterans Indoor Championships results click here ».

top < The Terminator – Pewsey ~ Sunday, 22 February 2009

For some strange reason the organisers decided to make the course even longer this year! Some of us were blissfully unaware of this detail prior to setting off at the start in the bright, welcoming sunshine. How easily fooled ... it was the dog–leg straight up a near vertical cliff face when the reality sunk in!

The White Horse Harrier contingent despite being somewaht underprepared still managed to produce some good performances. Lucia Singer our only lady representative on the day excelled in the mud to take 3rd place in the ladies’ V35 category.

If you would like to sample some of the delights of this event have a look at some of the photographs from this year’s event by clicking here ».

This year Matthew Ray (Team Bath AC) outgunned Peter Davis (Southampton RC) and teammate Brian Penny, 2nd and 3rd respectively, to take the victory in a time of 1:21:58. Karen Rushton (Southampton RC) was the first lady across the line taking the ladies’ prize in 1:30:45. Her nearest competitors over five minutes adrift were Tracey Cook (Dorset Doddlers) and Marianne Gittoes (Chepstow) who finished in 2nd and 3rd positions.

Team Bath AC dominated the men’s team prizes with 3 men in the top 5 finishers to sweep to victory in the men’ team event and 8 men in the top 55 finishers to take the Big Team Challenge crown. The ladies’ team prize was won by Swindon Striders.

Place Time Name Club Category
44 1:30:46 Hart, Matthew White Horse Harriers A.C. SM
145 1:42:43 Singer, Lucia White Horse Harriers A.C. LV35
173 1:44:52 Roberts, David White Horse Harriers A.C. SM
177 1:45:08 Gibbons, Giles White Horse Harriers A.C. SM
291 1:53:58 Webb, Chris White Horse Harriers A.C. M60
449 2:06:14 Stringfellow, Dene White Horse Harriers A.C. M40
495 2:09:56 Ponting, Nick White Horse Harriers A.C. M40

Well done to all our Harriers with particular congratulations to Lucia on her excellent result. A total of 691 runners completed the Terminator course this year.

A full review of the Terminator race results are available by clicking here ».

top < English National Cross Country Championships ~ Saturday, 21 February 2009

The National Cross Country Championships returned to Parliament Hill this year and despite the pleasant sunshine the recent rains made sure the athletes were going to be in for a tough time out on the course. As usual the course provided a mixture of terrain along wooded trails as well through what to all intents and purposes were cloying mud pits. All very character–building really!

Our younger compatriots were clearly relishing the prospect of pitting themselves against the best in the country. It was an opportunity to gain valuable experience which will stand them in good steady for the future. The older competitors among us, having trodden the well–worn trails before, viewed things from entirely different perspective knowing full well what they would confronted with later in the day.

All our younger competitors produced encouraging performances with Sophie Lloyd finishing 124th in the Under 13 Girls event, Zack Olliffe 176th in the Under 13 Boys and Alex Mills 211th in the Under 15 Boys. In the Senior Men’ event disappointingly Graham Wiggins had to pull out of the race at the start of the second lap owing to illness. John Peake and Ian Brennan ran well to finish in 1,044th and 1,263rd places respectively with Dene Stringfellow bringing up the rear in 1,305th place.

Place Time Name Club Category
124 0:14:30 Lloyd, Sophie White Horse Harriers A.C. U13 Girls
176 0:14:01 Olliffe, Zack White Horse Harriers A.C. U13 Boys
211 0:18:36 Mills, Alex White Horse Harriers A.C. U15 Boys
1,044 0:58:09 Peake, John White Horse Harriers A.C. V40 Men
1,263 1:02:56 Brennan, Ian White Horse Harriers A.C. Senior Men
1,305 1:04:08 Stringfellow, Dene White Horse Harriers A.C. V40 Men

Well done to all our Harriers on their performances. A total of 691 runners completed the Terminator course this year.

A full rundown of the 2009 National Cross Country race results can be viewed by clicking here ».

top < Bramley 20 ~ Sunday, 15 February 2009

The Bramley 20 course is described as being 2 laps all on road along quiet country lanes with a couple of inclines thrown in for good measure. The race starts at Bramley Primary School, a short walk from the station/level’crossing, and then meanders through or near the villages of Stratfield Saye, Beech Hill, Mortimer, and Silchester before returning to Bramley ... to do it all over again!

This year three of our Harriers entered the race no doubt in preparation for the challenge of the longer events to come later in the season. Dan Peace was the first our runners over the line finishing in 307th position with Hugh Owen crossing the line a further 210 places back. Don Burrows completed the list of White Horse Harrier finishers in 603rd place.

The overall winner of the race in a time of 1:47:04 was John Mcfarlane (Thames Hare & Hounds) who finished over a minute clear of Ewen Malloch (Woodford Green with Essex Ladies AC) with Tim Doran (OWLS AC Leicester) almost 4 minutes further adrift in third place. Sue Harrison (Leamington Cycling & AC) was the first lady to cross the line finishing in 13th position overall with her closest rivals Holly Rush (Team Bath AC) and Sarah Gee (Reading Road Runners) taking in 2nd and 3rd places respectively behind her.

Place Gun Time Chip Time Name Club Category
307 2:34:13 2:33:27 Peace, Dan White Horse Harriers AC Senior Men
517 2:51:13 2:49:57 Owen, Hugh White Horse Harriers AC V40 Men
603 2:59:02 2:58:01 Burrows, Don White Horse Harriers AC V40 Men

A total of 839 runners completed the course in this year’s Bramley 20. A great effort by Dan, Owen and Don. Well done.

For a complete roundup of the results at the 2009 Bramley 20 click the link here ».

top < Chiltern XC League Round 5 – Luton ~ Saturday, 14 February 2009

The final race of the 2008/09 Chiltern Cross Country League series took place at Stockwood Park, Luton in Bedfordshire on Saturday. Having left Oxfordshire in bright sunshine with recent snows all but disappeared it was a real surprise to arrive at Stockwood Park and find it largely under a blanket of snow and ice. Thankfully it wasn’ too cold and the sun did its best filtering through the clouds.

The sole representative of the White Horse Harriers in this final round of the Chiltern League series was again Dene Stringfellow. Although the underfoot conditions were not ideal Dene produced an improved performance over the testing course to earn 179th position overall despite being outsprinted on the final run to the line.

A. Bowden (Harrow) completed a clean sweep of victories in the series with his fifth straight win, finishing five seconds ahead of his nearest rival D. Deed (Bedford & County) in a time of 33:10. D. Clorley (Luton) finished in 3rd place over a minute behind the leading pair. J. Craft (Headington RR) finished comfortably ahead of S. Staines (Dacorum) and teammate H. Barnes winning ladies’ race in a time of 23:23. With support from L. Kyte (5th) and D. Moore (6th) the Headington ladies dominated the final event of the series taking the team honours ahead of Marsall Milton Keynes’ ladies.

Place Time Name Club Category
179 48:36 Stringfellow, Dene White Horse Harriers AC Men V40

A full list of the results from the 2008/9 Chiltern Cross Country League meeting held at Stockwood Park can be viewed via the following links.

A total of 744 runners competed in the various race events at Stockwood Park this year.

For more information about the Chiltern Cross Country League and past race results click here ».

top < Southern Counties Veterans Indoor Track & Field Championships – Lee Valley ~ Saturday, 08 February 2009

The Southern Counties Veterans Indoor Track & Field Championships took place again at the Lee Valley Athletics Centre. The venue is the largest indoor and outdoor athletics centre serving London and the Southe south of England.

Richard Jégou, representing the Harriers in the M60 category shot putt, was hoping to achieve an 11.00m+ throw for the first time. Richard improved on his first shot putt performance of the year at last month’s SECTA Weight Pentathlon with a club record putt of 11.15m.

Event Place Distance Name Club Category
Shot Putt 2 11.15m Jégou, Richard White Horse Harriers AC M60

Well done to Richard on another excellent performance.

For a full review of the 2009 Southern Counties Veterans Indoor Track & Field Championships results click here ».

top < Wessex XC League Round 3 – Salisbury ~ Sunday, 01 February 2009

Following on from his exploits in finishing 18th in the senior men’ event in the Oxford Mail Cross Country League earlier in the day Paul Jégou made the journey down to Old Sarum, Salisbury to compete in the third round of the Wessex Cross Country League. The bitterly cold weather followed Paul and Dick (chauffeur) all the way down to Salisbury. With the Salisbury course being quite exposed there was no hiding from the weather!

In a hard fought race Paul had to settle for 3rd place behind Nathan Young (Mendip AC) and Mike Grist (Poole Runners) who crossed the line in first and second places respectively with the winner recording a time of 27:07.

The ladies’ race was won by Karen Rushton (Southampton RC) finishing well clear of her nearest challengers in a time of 24:05. Joy Radford (Winchester & District AC) and Margaret Pritchard (Stubbington Green R&AC) finished in 2nd and 3rd places respectively.

Place Time Name Club Category
3 28:47 Jégou, Paul White Horse Harriers AC Senior Men

Well done to Paul on a fine effort.

A complete rundown of the results at the Salisbury round of the Wessex Cross Country League can be viewed by clicking the link here ».

top < Oxford Mail XC League Round 4 – Cirencester ~ Sunday, 01 February 2009

The fourth Oxford Mail League meeting of the 2008/9 series was held at Cirencester on Sunday. The freezing temperatures experienced on the day along with the brief flurries of snow were in marked contrast to the conditions the previous weekend at Hillingdon. Despite the conditions another encouraging turnout by our Harriers made sure we had good representation in most of the events.

Top 10 finishes by Sophie Lloyd – 4th Under 13 Girls, Zack Olliffe – 8th Under 13 Boys, Frances Briscoe – 2nd Senior Women, Tim Traynor – 4th Senior Men, and Job King – 6th Senior Men were the Harrier highlights of the fourth round at Cirencester Park. Frances Briscoe’s result sees her move into the lead in the senior women’ overall standings while Job King consolidated his position in the senior men’s standings.

Sophie Lloyd also retained her second place in the Under 13 Girls overall league rankings. While Alex Mills and Anthony Holmes are vying for the honours in the Under 15 Boys league rankings currently holding 3rd and 5th positions respectively.

Place Time Name Club Category
20 06:03 Juer, Amy White Horse Harriers AC U11 Girls
21 06:05 Rose, Emma White Horse Harriers AC U11 Girls
29 06:19 Graham, Eloise White Horse Harriers AC U11 Girls
39 06:38 Hazell, Emma White Horse Harriers AC U11 Girls
29 06:02 Thackray, Toby White Horse Harriers AC U11 Boys
36 06:46 Druce, Matthew White Horse Harriers AC U11 Boys
4 09:09 Lloyd, Sophie White Horse Harriers AC U13 Girls
16 10:58 Craze, Chloe White Horse Harriers AC U13 Girls
8 09:00 Olliffe, Zack White Horse Harriers AC U13 Boys
13 09:26 Rose, Matthew White Horse Harriers AC U13 Boys
18 09:51 Bellerby, Toby White Horse Harriers AC U13 Boys
25 11:14 Froud, Tom White Horse Harriers AC U13 Boys
15 20:47 Holmes, Anthony White Horse Harriers AC U15 Boys
16 20:52 Mills, Alex White Horse Harriers AC U15 Boys
19 21:31 Ritter, James White Horse Harriers AC U15 Boys
34 23:51 Paterson, Alastair White Horse Harriers AC U15 Boys
39 27:49 Brennan, Matthew White Horse Harriers AC U15 Boys
2 24:38 Briscoe, Frances White Horse Harriers AC Senior Women
55 31:09 Brackenbury, Helen White Horse Harriers AC V1 Women
61 32:17 Hazell, Clare White Horse Harriers AC V1 Women
4 32:30 Traynor, Tim White Horse Harriers AC U20 Men
6 32:42 King, Job White Horse Harriers AC Senior Men
18 34:57 Jégou, Paul White Horse Harriers AC Senior Men
59 37:40 Hart, Matthew White Horse Harriers AC Senior Men
97 40:26 Peake, John White Horse Harriers AC V1 Men
118 41:24 Atkin, Simon White Horse Harriers AC V1 Men
130 42:16 Wiggins, Graham White Horse Harriers AC Senior Men
132 42:33 Coakley, Terry White Horse Harriers AC V1 Men
145 43:19 Brennan, Ian White Horse Harriers AC Senior Men
161 45:33 Stringfellow, Dene White Horse Harriers AC V1 Men
179 47:40 Smith, Gareth White Horse Harriers AC V2 Men

This was another decent turnout by our Harriers for this meeting despite the travelling diustance involved and the freezing temperatures. Well done to all our Harriers on their performances.

A field of 522 athletes completed the various scheduled events at Cirencester Park this year.

A complete roundup of the results from the 2008/9 Cirencester Oxford Mail Cross Country League meeting and the current individual and team standings can be seen using the following links.

A complete listing of the Oxford Mail League race results are available by clicking here ».

top < SECTA Weight Pentathlon ~ Saturday, 24 January 2009

The first SECTA Weight Pentathlon event of the year took place at Ewell Court on Saturday. This event comprised the shot putt, discus, hammer, javelin and weight throwing disciplines.

Dick Jégou, competing in his first event of the year, recorded throws of 10.81m in the shot putt, 33.54m in the discus, 31.45m in the hammer, 20.85m in the javelin and 12.02m in the weight. In doing so he improved on his own club record for the Weight Pentathlon.

Place Points Name Club Category
2 2,881 Jégou, Richard White Horse Harriers A.C. M60

Congratulations to Dick on a fine start to the year.

A compete rundown of the SECTA Weight Pentathlon results for the January event are available here ».

top < Southern Cross Country Championships – Hillingdon ~ Saturday, 24 January 2009

A good turnout by our Harriers in the 2009 Southern Cross Country Championships at Hillingdon House Farm, London on Saturday ensured that we were able to field full teams in the U13 Boys, U15 Boys and Senior/Veteran Men’s categories. This was a significant improvement on the previous year. The conditions were genrally overcast apart from the odd breakthrough of sunshine however under foot the situation deteriorated as the events progressed to swamp–like conditions by the time the men’s race started. As for the tent “village” it was welly heaven!

The individual performances of Tim Traynor and Sophie Lloyd were the pick of the day finishing 20th and 41st respectively in their age categories. In terms of the team performances the U13 Boy’s team finished in 26th position, the U15 Boys were placed 30th and the Men’s team managed to secure 39th position.

The winner of the senior men’s race was Phil Wicks (Belgrave Harriers) recording a time of 51:08 just five seconds clear of Benedict Whitby (Windsor, Slough, Eton & Hounslow AC) with Neilson Hall (Bedford & County AC) finishing in 3rd place. In the senior ladies’ event Katherine Sparke (Woodford Green AC with Essex Ladies) was first to cross the line in a time of 31:50 with Faye Fullerton (Havering Mayesbrook AC) and Nicola Sykes (Bedford & County AC) picking up 2nd and 3rd places respectively.

Place Time Name Club Category
41 14:08 Lloyd, Sophie White Horse Harriers AC U13 Girls
139 15:41 Harrison, Josie White Horse Harriers AC U13 Girls
181 14:46 Rose, Matthew White Horse Harriers AC U13 Boys
231 16:31 Brennan, Alex White Horse Harriers AC U13 Boys
235 17:11 Banham, Dominic White Horse Harriers AC U13 Boys
238 17:26 Froud, Tom White Horse Harriers AC U13 Boys
107 17:31 Murphy–Hand, Bethan White Horse Harriers AC U15 Girls
87 16:46 Holmes, Anthony White Horse Harriers AC U15 Boys
125 17:21 Mills, Alex White Horse Harriers AC U15 Boys
182 18:12 Ritter, James White Horse Harriers AC U15 Boys
224 19:15 Paterson, Alastair White Horse Harriers AC U15 Boys
20 30:21 Traynor, Tim White Horse Harriers AC U20 Men
208 44:47 Murphy, Carolyn White Horse Harriers AC Veteran Women
184 1:02:39 Jégou, Paul White Horse Harriers AC Senior Men
293 1:07:40 Shilston, Stuart White Horse Harriers AC Veteran Men
306 1:08:13 Hart, Matthew White Horse Harriers AC Senior Men
446 1:14:39 Wiggins, Graham White Horse Harriers AC Senior Men
500 1:16:59 Peake, John White Horse Harriers AC Veteran Men
542 1:19:13 Brennan, Ian White Horse Harriers AC Senior Men
620 1:26:21 Stringfellow, Dene White Horse Harriers AC Veteran Men

It was pleasing to see the Harriers turn up in good numbers to compete in the Southern Cross Country Championships despite the desperately muddy conditions. Well done to all our competitors.

A total of 2,355 runners competed in the various race categories in the 2009 Southern Cross Country Championships at Hillingdon House Farm, London.

For a complete roundup of the 2009 Southern Cross Country Championships results click here ».

top < Highworth Half Marathon ~ Sunday, 18 January 2009

The Highworth Half Marathon is an invitation team event that takes place largely along country lanes and through the quiet country villages of Hannington, Kempsford and Castle Eaton with the first 5 runners home to score (which must include a lady).

This year our team was led home by Paul Jégou who finished in the 10th position with Jason Cooke a hand–full of places further back in 17th. Lucia Singer was our first lady finish (67th) just pipping teammate Hugh Owen (68th) by one second. Don Burrows who finished in 77th position completed the scoring members of our team.

The first male finisher across the line was Gary O’Brien (Swindon Harriers) who finished in a time of 1:15:07 and the first lady to complete the course was Cathy Cook (Swindon Tri Team) who reorded a time of 1:27:19. The team event was won by Bourton Road Runners – all their counting runners coming in under the 1:30:00 mark – just holding off Marlborough Running Club with a 10–point advantage. Last year’s winners Woodstock Harriers still managed pick up third spot despite their only counting lady runner carrying an injury.

Place Time Name Club Category
10 1:20:10 Jégou, Paul White Horse Harriers A.C. Senior Men
17 1:24:00 Cooke, Jason White Horse Harriers A.C. Senior Men
67 1:37:41 Singer, Lucia White Horse Harriers A.C. Veteran Ladies
68 1:37:42 Owen, Hugh White Horse Harriers A.C. Senior Men
77 1:40:12 Burrows, Don White Horse Harriers A.C. Veteran Men
79 1:41:17 Smeddle, Jeremy White Horse Harriers A.C. Veteran Men
85 1:43:00 Peake, John White Horse Harriers A.C. Veteran Men
86 1:43:20 Burgess, Ros White Horse Harriers A.C. Veteran Ladies
88 1:43:42 Stringfellow, Dene White Horse Harriers A.C. Veteran Men
93 1:45:50 Webb, Chris White Horse Harriers A.C. Senior Men
105 1:52:51 Baker, Sarah White Horse Harriers A.C. Veteran Ladies

Last year᾿s second place was a hard act to follow, but we still managed to finish 9th in the team standings. Well done to all our team members. There were 116 competitors who completed the event this year.

A full list of the 2009 Highworth Half Marathon race results is available by clicking here ».

top < Rough ’n’ Tumble 10 ~ Sunday, 11 January 2009

The Rough ’n’ Tumble 10 is a hilly multi–terrain race with its race headquarters in Milton Lilbourne, Wiltshire. The conditions on the day were testing to say the least following the recent hard frosts which helped to provide the iced slush/mud conditions underfoot. The gusting windy conditions also ensured this event would live up to its name!

Terry Coakley, Stuart Shilston (33rd), (129th) and Mike Smith (196th) were the representatives for the Harriers in this year’s race. Stuart Shilston lead the way home for our competitors finishing in 33rd overall and in doing so secured 2nd place in the men’s V50 category. Terry Coakley was next to cross the line in 129th position with Mike Smith finishing 196th place overall.

The overall winner of the race this year was Gareth Watkins (Army Athletics Association) who finished a comfortable two minutes clear of his nearest rivals Tom Fisher (Unattached) and Wyclef Forbes (Team Frog), who finished in second and third places respectively, in a time of 1:06:23. The first lady to cross the line was Fiona Ross–Russell (City of Salisbury) recording a time of 1:25:51 to earn 85th position overall. Angela Carpenter (Chichester Runners AC) secured 2nd place (115th overall) with Diane Hier (Warminster RC) picking up 3rd place (139th overall).

Place Time Name Club Category
30 1:18:53 Shilston, Stuart White Horse Harriers A.C. Male Vet 50
129 1:29:35 Coakley, Terry White Horse Harriers A.C. Male Vet 40
56 1:34:38 Coakley, Terry White Horse Harriers A.C. Male Vet 40

Well done to Stuart, Terry and Mike for their excellent performances. A total of 559 runners completed the course this year.

A complete listing of the 2009 Rough ’n’ Tumble 10 race results can be viewed by clicking here ».

top < Oxfordshire County Cross Country Championships – Horspath ~ Sunday, 11 January 2009

Another strong turnout by our Harriers in the 2009 Oxfordshire County Cross Country Championships at Horspath on Saturday ensured a competitive edge to the proceedings – particularly with county vests up for grabs. The conditions were hard and mostly dry under foot following more overnight frost. At least the skies were bright although the temperature was a little chilly.

The first success of the meeting was Sophie Lloyd picking up an individual bronze medal in the U13 Girls event, who along with Josie Harrison and Esme Gardiner took the team silver. The U13 Boys team of Zack Olliffe, Toby Bellerby, Dominic Banham and Alex Brennan also picked up a team bronze. Rounding off a very successful day for our junior members the U15 Boys team of Alex Mills, Anthony Holmes, James Ritter and Alastair Paterson produced a strong performance to secure the team silver medals.

In the combined U20, Senior and Veteran Women’s race Frances Briscoe running in her first–vest of Coventry Godiva Harriers retained the title she won last year with a winning margin of over aminute from her closest competitor. In the corresponding men’s race Tim Traynor secured the U20 men’s title by finishing in third place overall behind Steve Frear (Woodstock Harriers) and Owain Bristow (Edinburgh Athletic Club).

Noteworthy also was Christopher Druce’s strong performance in the U11 Boy’s race where he was just beaten into second place by Thomas Jaunet’Green (Great Milton Primary School) despite recording the same time. The performances of our juniors certainly bode well for the future. Well done to everyone.

Place Time Name Club Category
17 06:22 Alder, Levi White Horse Harriers AC U11 Girls
21 06:36 Graham, Eloise White Horse Harriers AC U11 Girls
27 06:52 Howard, Phoebe White Horse Harriers AC U11 Girls
37 07:10 Hazell, Emma White Horse Harriers AC U11 Girls
39 07:11 Tracey–Ramos, Micaela White Horse Harriers AC U11 Girls
40 07:15 Tracey–Ramos, Carmen White Horse Harriers AC U11 Girls
2 05:21 Druce, Christopher White Horse Harriers AC U11 Boys
7 05:39 Harrison, Charlie White Horse Harriers AC U11 Boys
9 05:50 Thackray, Toby White Horse Harriers AC U11 Boys
12 05:56 Eggleshaw, Jack White Horse Harriers AC U11 Boys
14 05:56 Onay, Okan White Horse Harriers AC U11 Boys
15 05:59 Batten, Nicholas White Horse Harriers AC U11 Boys
22 06:57 Druce, Matthew White Horse Harriers AC U11 Boys
3 11:38 Lloyd, Sophie White Horse Harriers AC U13 Girls
11 13:25 Harrison, Josie White Horse Harriers AC U13 Girls
16 14:23 Gardiner, Esme White Horse Harriers AC U13 Girls
15 14:37 Bedford, Anna White Horse Harriers AC U13 Girls
16 15:32 Craze, Chloe White Horse Harriers AC U13 Girls
17 15:35 Turner, Ellie White Horse Harriers AC U13 Girls
10 12:02 Olliffe, Zack White Horse Harriers AC U13 Boys
15 12:46 Bellerby, Toby White Horse Harriers AC U13 Boys
19 13:16 Banham, Dominic White Horse Harriers AC U13 Boys
20 13:25 Brennan, Alex White Horse Harriers AC U13 Boys
21 14:06 Froud, Tom White Horse Harriers AC U13 Boys
22 14:09 Pettifer, Adam White Horse Harriers AC U13 Boys
24 15:31 Howard, Toby White Horse Harriers AC U13 Boys
7 15:51 Murphy–Hand, Bethan White Horse Harriers AC U15 Girls
4 18:42 Mills, Alex White Horse Harriers AC U15 Boys
5 18:51 Holmes, Anthony White Horse Harriers AC U15 Boys
10 19:55 Ritter, James White Horse Harriers AC U15 Boys
15 21:34 Paterson, Alastair White Horse Harriers AC U15 Boys
20 25:13 Brennan, Matthew White Horse Harriers AC U15 Boys
9 22:20 Belcher, James White Horse Harriers AC U17 Boys
1 28:27 Briscoe, Frances White Horse Harriers AC Senior Women
19 36:13 Murphy, Carolyn White Horse Harriers AC V45 Women
31 39:59 Hazell, Clare White Horse Harriers AC V35 Women
33 44:00 Ramos–Villaverde, Ana White Horse Harriers AC V35 Women
34 46:11 Bedford, Sharon White Horse Harriers AC V45 Women
3 30:22 Traynor, Tim White Horse Harriers AC U20 Men
8 31:30 Jégou, Paul White Horse Harriers AC Senior Men
43 36:41 New, Dan White Horse Harriers AC Senior Men
46 37:24 Druce, Neil White Horse Harriers AC V40 Men
47 37:53 Peake, John White Horse Harriers AC V40 Men
49 38:23 Wiggins, Graham White Horse Harriers AC Senior Men
54 39:51 Owen, Hugh White Horse Harriers AC V40 Men
66 41:43 Brennan, Ian White Horse Harriers AC Senior Men
70 43:28 Stringfellow, Dene White Horse Harriers AC V40 Men

It is pleasing to see the progress being made particularly by our junior Harriers. Well done to all our competitors and congratulations to our medal winners.

A total of 294 athletes competed in the various race events in the 2009 Oxfordshire County Cross Country Championships at Horspath.

For a full summary of this year’s Oxfordshire County Cross Country Championships results click here ».

top < Oxford Mail XC League Round 3 – Banbury ~ Sunday, 04 January 2009

The first Oxford Mail League meeting of the New Year was held at Banbury on Sunday. The ongoing development at Drayton School meant that the usual start and finish area had to be moved for reasons of safety. This meant that competitors had to negotiate a narrow gap between fields early on in the races which did cause some holdups for competitors not right at the front of the field. It paid to be quick off the start.

The pick of the performances at Banbury were Frances Briscoe’s victory in the women’ race which moved her up to share the lead in the women’s league standings. A strong performance by Job King saw him secure second place in the men’s race which has moved him up to 3rd place in the men’s league standings. Paul Jégou also had a top ten finish which moved him up to 14th position in the league rankings.

In the U11 Boys race had a solid run to finish in 10th place. Sophie Lloyd produced another consistent performance to finish in 3rd position in the U13 Girls race cementing her 2nd place in the U13 Girls league standings. Zack Olliffe crossed the line in 7th place in the U13 Boys event, and Bethan Murphy’Hand also ran well to claim 6th place in the U15/U17 Girls race.

Place Time Name Club Category
32 06:19 Hansen, Klara White Horse Harriers AC U11 Girls
34 06:22 Hazell, Emma White Horse Harriers AC U11 Girls
38 06:53 Hansen, Mikaela White Horse Harriers AC U11 Girls
10 04:55 Druce, Christopher White Horse Harriers AC U11 Boys
14 05:06 Harrison, Charlie White Horse Harriers AC U11 Boys
16 05:11 Eggleshaw, Jack White Horse Harriers AC U11 Boys
21 05:23 Thackray, Toby White Horse Harriers AC U11 Boys
30 05:42 Craze, Ryan White Horse Harriers AC U11 Boys
36 06:03 Druce, Matthew White Horse Harriers AC U11 Boys
3 08:47 Lloyd, Sophie White Horse Harriers AC U13 Girls
14 10:09 Harrison, Josie White Horse Harriers AC U13 Girls
24 11:30 Craze, Chloe White Horse Harriers AC U13 Girls
7 08:50 Olliffe, Zack White Horse Harriers AC U13 Boys
15 09:35 Brennan, Alex White Horse Harriers AC U13 Boys
17 09:46 Murphy–Hand, Fraser White Horse Harriers AC U13 Boys
20 09:52 Banham, Dominic White Horse Harriers AC U13 Boys
22 10:25 Froud, Tom White Horse Harriers AC U13 Boys
23 10:31 Cornick, Sam White Horse Harriers AC U13 Boys
6 13:55 Murphy–Hand, Bethan White Horse Harriers AC U15 Girls
31 18:59 Bedford, Rachael White Horse Harriers AC U15 Girls
10 17:21 Mills, Alex White Horse Harriers AC U15 Boys
12 17:29 Holmes, Anthony White Horse Harriers AC U15 Boys
32 20:43 Paterson, Alastair White Horse Harriers AC U15 Boys
1 17:09 Briscoe, Frances White Horse Harriers AC Senior Women
39 21:48 Murphy, Carolyn White Horse Harriers AC V2 Women
63 23:38 Hazell, Clare White Horse Harriers AC V1 Women
77 25:12 Froud, Karen White Horse Harriers AC V1 Women
79 25:17 Ramos–Villaverde, Ana White Horse Harriers AC V1 Women
91 26:03 Bedford, Sharon White Horse Harriers AC V2 Women
2 26:57 King, Job White Horse Harriers AC Senior Men
10 27:58 Jégou, Paul White Horse Harriers AC Senior Men
38 30:31 Shilston, Stuart White Horse Harriers AC V1 Men
64 32:43 Hart, Matthew White Horse Harriers AC Senior Men
72 33:08 New, Dan White Horse Harriers AC Senior Men
83 33:39 Wiggins, Graham White Horse Harriers AC Senior Men
84 33:44 Peake, John White Horse Harriers AC V1 Men
91 33:55 Druce, Neil White Horse Harriers AC V1 Men
120 35:19 Atkin, Simon White Horse Harriers AC V1 Men
126 35:52 Brennan, Ian White Horse Harriers AC Senior Men
167 38:59 Smeddle, Jeremy White Horse Harriers AC V1 Men
172 39:11 Stringfellow, Dene White Horse Harriers AC V1 Men

It was good to see another excellent turnout by our Harriers for this meeting despite the conditions and the travelling distance involved. Congratulations to everyone on their performances.

A total of 540 competitors completed the various scheduled events at Drayton School, Banbury this year.

A full rundown of the results from the 2008/9 Banbury Oxford Mail Cross Country League meeting and the current individual and team standings can be seen using the following links.

A complete listing of the Oxford Mail League race results are available by clicking here ».

top < Chiltern XC League Round 4 – Wing ~ Saturday, 03 January 2009

The fourth race of the 2008/09 Chiltern Cross Country League series took place at Cottesloe School, Wing in Bedfordshire on Saturday. The setting for the races was spectacular in the bright winter sunshine. Occasional cloud cover caused the temperature to drop significantly from time to time – nothing to cause any issues for the competitors though. The conditions under foot were largely hard and dry following the overnight heavy frost.

Once again the sole representative of the White Horse Harriers in this round of the Chiltern League series was Dene Stringfellow. After a promising start Dene faded in the middle of the race losing valuable ground and places. Towards the end of the race he managed to up the pace and recover some of the lost ground to earn 248th position overall.

A. Bowden (Harrow) once again dominated the proceedings with his fourth straight victory in the series, finishing well clear of his clubmate R. Franzese and A. Inskip (Bedford & County) in a time of 29:28. N. Sykes (Bedford & County) finished over a minute ahead of her nearest rivals H. Barnes (Headington RR) and L. Bromilow (Marshall Milton Keynes) in a time of 21:21 to claim victory in the women’s race.

Place Time Name Club Category
248 45:07 Stringfellow, Dene White Horse Harriers AC Men V40

A complete rundown of the results from the 2008/9 Chiltern Cross Country League meeting held at Wing can be accessed via the following links.

A total of 976 runners competed in the various race events at Wing this year.

For more information about the Chiltern Cross Country League and past race results click here ».

top < New Year’s Day Handicap ~ Thursday, 01 January 2009

This year’s event was dominated by our younger competitors. In a repeat of his victory in last year’s event Alex Mills managed to improve on his time by well over five and a half minutes to see off his nearest rivals Anthony Holmes and Sophie Lloyd who had to settle for 2nd and 3rd places respectively. With Anthony Holmes also shaving a mere seven and a half minutes or so off his time for last year’ it is clear that the handicapping system will need to be reviewed ahead of next year’s event!

The fastest time of the day was recorded by Stuart Shilston who completed the course in a time of 25:02. John Peake and Simon Atkin also produced improved performances compared to last year.

Place Name Handicap Time Actual Time
1 Mills, Alex 05:09 30:31 25:22
2 Holmes, Anthony 05:09 31:01 25:52
3 Lloyd, Sophie 03:47 31:12 27:25
4 Hazell, Clare 00:00 32:47 32:47
5 Druce, Neil 05:30 33:18 27:48
6 Wiggins, Graham 06:57 33:53 26:56
7 Patterson, Alistair 03:47 34:27 30:40
8 Atkin, Simon 06:29 34:40 28:11
9 Peake, John 09:01 34:51 25:50
10 King, Tom 03:47 35:28 31:41
11 Mills, Cliff 08:14 35:51 27:37
12 Shilston, Stuart 11:09 36:11 25:02
13 Patterson, Gary 04:39 37:19 32:40
14 Hughes, Tim 12:00 41:39 29:39
15 Matthews, John 04:39 45:25 40:46
DNF Smith, Gareth 04:39    

Congratulations to everyone for continuing to make the opening event of the year a success. This was another very good turnout from our Harriers right at start of the New Year. The results of our junior members were particularly pleasing.

A full analysis of the New Year’s Day Handicap results can be viewed by clicking here ».

Archives of other year’s results are also available by clicking here ».