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Vale of Aylesbury Athletic Club |
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| Thursday 23rd Feb 2012 |
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IAN AND ROGER RUN WOKINGHAM HALF
With a place at this year’s London Marathon Ian Thompson has been in serious training mode. This weekend he was delighted to run his quickest half marathon for nearly 2 years finishing the Wokingham Half in 87:12 (232nd place from over 2000 runners). Ian was 24th V45 runner. Roger Kirk also ran and not having run for nearly a month, did very well to finish in 1:51:12, 35th V65.
X-STREAMLY TOUGH RUN!
With nearly 300 runners competing, they could be happy for a dry spell in recent weeks as the water was lower than in previous years, the ground slightly firmer and the weather just perfect.
The first three places were a carbon copy of last year with Charlie May finishing in second place, sandwiched between two Chiltern Harriers runners; winner Thomas Beedell and Eddie O’Gorman. The improved conditions showed in the finishing times; the first three, and indeed all Vale runners, improved on their times from 2011, some by several minutes.
Andy Rolt finished in 5th place and was 1st V40 home with Dave Maisey close behind in 6th. Alan Roberts made up the men’s team was 2nd in the team event.
Chloe Oldfield was 2nd lady home, an improvement on her 5th position last year and 5 minutes faster! The top 4 Vale’s ladies comprising of Chloe, Vicky Sheldon, Jayne Littlejohn and Julie Madry took 3rd place in the team event, Jackie Rolt also ran.
A link to full results can be seen here:
VALE JUNIORS IN SPORTSHALL FINALS
On 12 February, the SE Regional Final of the Aviva Sportshall Competitions took place in Burgess Hill. The competition is for the U13 and U15 age groups and Vale were represented by Aaron Fenty, Will Ralston, Katie Jones, Charlie Brown and Donelle Arulanandam.
For the U13’s, Will took part in the 4 Lap Relay and Speed Bounce; Aaron the 2 lap relay and Standing Long Jump and for the girls, Katie was in the High Jump and Speed Bounce Competitions. In the older age group, Charlie Brown was a member of the 2 Lap Relay team who finished 3rd, he was also in the Speed Bounce and Standing Triple Jump competitions. Donelle had a busy day too with the girls 2 Lap Relay, the Speed Bounce and Vertical Jump.
The second competition, which took place during half term, was The Tom Pink Relays. Three of these events are held each year, funded by a Trust from the parents of a young athlete who sadly died. The days include events similar to normal Sportshall competitions with some interesting names for the relays!
Vale was represented in the County Team by Aaron and Korben Fenty, George Bates, Will and Annabel Ralston and Max Forgham. In the field events, Will took part in the Shot, Highland Steps and Standing Triple Jump; Aaron the Weight for Height and took 3rd place in the Shot; Max also did the Standing Triple Jump and the Weight for Height. For the U11s, Annabel threw the Soft Javelin as did George along with the Weight for Distance event. The final U11 was Korben who was also in Weight for Distance and the Standing Long Jump.
In the relays, it was a stronger day for the Bucks girls than the boys. The U11 girls had one team which qualified for the final of the ‘Keeping up with Paula’ relay where they finished 4th as did the team which qualified for the ‘Over Under Relay’. In the U13 relays, the girls had one team in the final of the ‘Chasing Kelly Relay’ who finished 3rd. The boys had one team which reached the final of the ‘Chasing Steve Relay’. Parents and coaches who travelled to the event in Birmingham declared the event great fun and certainly one to take part in again.
INDIVIDUAL GOLD, SILVER AND BRONZE FOR CLUB
Carolyn Boosey didn’t quite keep her 100% record, coming second to Wycombe’s Pippa Woolven, but she was 1st Division 1 runner, and quite deservedly took the individual Gold medal for the season. She was naturally confirmed she had not felt 100%. Second Vale athlete home was Julia Austin in 12th; she was 2nd V45, followed by Helen Bennewith in 34th. The Vet ladies team comprising Julia, Helen, Heather Fallaize and Vicky Sheldon won the Vet Ladies Team Race on the day.
The Vale Men ran well with Charlie May, 11th, Declan Hamblin, 14th and Rob Taylor, 25th, first men home. The Vets team of Declan, Andy Rolt, Dave Maisey and Mark Richards didn’t quite outshine the ladies, but were 2nd Men’s Vets team of the day.
At the Medal Presentations later in the day, Vale seniors collected 5 medals. In addition to Carolyn’s Gold, Julia Austin took silver in the V45 category; Declan Hamblin bronze for the V40 men and both Vet Teams won prizes. The Ladies won silver, the men bronze. Seniors across all age ranges were 3rd for the season which is the Club’s best performance for some years.
Link to results page for race day and end of season placings
PATRICK TO COMPETE AT OLYMPIC STADIUM
The Games run over 4 days across a variety of sports from rugby 7’s to cycling and of course athletics. The athletics will be taking place on Wednesday 9th May. Not only is it an honour to be selected, but the venue for this year’s event is the Olympic Stadium! Patrick said “I am honoured to be selected. To run in the stadium, especially before the Olympics, will be amazing. My injury last Spring affected my whole track season; I am going to be very careful this year!”
Buckinghamshire are delighted to have five athletes selected for the team. In addition to Patrick, they are Lewis Barnes from Marshall Milton Keynes then three athletes from Windsor, Slough & Eton, Stephanie Clitheroe; Becca Croft and Olivia Caesa
GOOD TURNOUT IN SNOWY CONDITIONS FOR JUNIORS
Vale’s first athletes of the day competed in the Under 11 girl’s category, where we had a fantastic turnout. Kitty Shepherd Cross ran a brilliant race coming 2nd, her best position of the season. Afterwards they came in thick and fast, Alice Maisey, Jemima Taswell-Fryer and Tilly Green coming in 31st, 32nd and 36th respectively. Finishing off the 6 piece was Kristyn Dee-Crowne in 49th and Hannah Mabey in 62nd place, giving the team a 6th overall placing out of 17 teams. The boys of this age group ran well with Ben Lindars finishing off a very successful season in 17th and not too far behind him was Alfred Mawdsley in 27th place. The Under 13 boy’s were also well represented, and Harri Kane ran another solid race to finish in 11th, 10th in the overall standings. As always Will Ralston and Tom Swindlehurst finished right on each other’s heels, Will getting it this time by 3 seconds in 24th place, and Tom just behind in 26th. The strong team were capped off by good performances from James Patton in 34th place, and Matthew Proctor in 41st, which is a 15 place improvement on his best. The Under 13 girls only had two runners, but they both ran great runs, Eliza Taswell-Fryer coming home in 12th, and Jasmine Kobewka not too far behind in 17th.
The Under 15 girls had the sole runner of Alice Wright, who delivered on the day, making up for a lack of numbers to finish 6th, a seasons best for her and it puts her 5th overall to finish. The Under 15 Boys had 4 runners, Tatenda Manjengwa in his first ever Chiltern League finished 3rd, a massive achievement. Luke Pauley finished off a strong season, coming 23rd and Ethan Luck and new Vale athlete Josh Greenberg finished in 31st and 33rd. Although Kieran Lindars was not there, he did manage to get 5th placing in the category overall, so well done to him.
The Under 17 Boys made up for a lack of numbers with 3 fantastic performances. Patrick Taylor finishing in 3rd place, after a battle up the hill with James Davis who finished 4 seconds behind in 4th, and George Langston ran a superb race to finish in a season’s best 5th place, this putting the team 2nd in the match and 4th by a mere 5 points overall. These performances put Patrick 1st overall for the season and James Davis 2nd, so both boys received a Plaque at the ceremony. The only Under 17 Girl runner was Louise Lightfoot who ran well to finish in 14th position, a best placing for her this season.
VALE YOUNGSTERS WIN COUNTY PLACES
For the Aviva event, Vale athletes performed very well with top three finishes across the events going to Aaron Fenty, Will Ralston, Kieran Hall, Thomas Andrew, Max Forgham, Charlie Brown and Donelle Arulanandam. We are delighted to report that all but one of these these athletes, together with Rene Vaughan and Katie Jones have all been selected for the County Team to compete at Burgess Hill.
Selection for the County Tom Pink Relay Team was also tough and our athletes performed with great enthusiasm across all events. Those selected to compete in the County Team at the NIA are Katie Jones, Annabel Ralston, Korben Fenty, George Bates, Arron Fenty, William Ralston, Max Forgham and Thomas Andrew.
The turnout for this event from the Club was excellent; thank you to the 30 youngsters who took part and to the adults who came along to support and cheer. There were too many to name everyone in the report, but a link to the results will be posted on the website soon.
BEN GREGORY ON FORM INDOORS
Ben’s most recent competition was in Prague where he competed for Great Britain in an International Combined Events competition. He finished 6th overall, and top competitor from Great Britain with a final score of 5582 which is a PB for him and a Club Record.
Ben achieved 3 further PBs which were in the 60m (7.25), 60H (8.29) and Long Jump (7.12). It is now possible that he could qualify for the World Championships in Turkey if invited by the IAAF; only 8 athletes will be invited.
He also finished 2nd in the English Combined Events competition in Sheffield at the beginning of January
INDOOR RECORDS FOR WILL AND ZOE
Will Gurton and Zoe Magnall competed in the London U20/Senior Indoor Games at Lee Valley last weekend, and both achieved new Club Records. Will ran the 800m in a time of 1.52.51 and Zoe threw 9.82m in the shot which is also a PB for her.
BOOSEY’S BRIGHTON’S BEAUTY
Carolyn, who has been in winning form in the Chiltern League this season, negotiated the hilly 8-km course in just 31 minutes and 10 seconds. She was less than 90 seconds behind winner Ceri Mitchell from Southampton in bright sunshine and perfect running conditions.
Next back for the Club in the women’s race was Julia Austin, 69th in 34.48, followed by Sharon Maisey, Joanna Card and Victoria Sheldon whose times have not yet been confirmed.
Charlie May led the men’s team home taking 123rd place in 57.08, a creditable effort given the quality at the front of the 745-strong field. The men’s race was held over 15-km so anything under the hour indicated good levels of endurance. A pity then that Dave Maisey’s steadfast effort saw the Vet 40 finish just 4 seconds over the hour in 214th place. A loyal band of Aylesbury supporters then had a rather long wait before Henry Edwardes-Evans and Alan Roberts tumbled out of the woods to round off Vale’s efforts around the 70-minute mark, claiming 462 and 501 places respectively.
Many thanks to Pat Card and Dick Knowles for making the journey to support. On the edge of Sussex University and opposite Brighton & Hove’s posh new football stadium, Stanmer Park is set in rolling Sussex downland with fast underfoot conditions. Chips on the front and a one-nil victory for Brighton vs Newcastle at home rounded off a most excellent day out.
LUKE TAKES TITLE AT SOUTHERNS
U15 Athlete Luke Paulley took part in his first indoor competition on Sunday. He represented the Club at the SEAA Indoor Championships at Lee Valley running in the 1500m, and won the event by a 10 second margin. Not only did he take the title, his time of 4:57:60 is a new Club Record. Many congratulations!
KATIE ANNABEL AND KORBEN JOIN COUNTY TEAM
Katie Jones, Annabel Kalston and Korben Fenty were all selected to compete for Buckinghamshire in South East Regional Festival of Aviva’s Sportshall competitions held on 15 January in the U11 team. Annabel was in the Grand Prix and was ranked 16th, Katie was 8= in the Target Throw and Korben was ranked 8= in the Balance Test and 18th in the Standing Long Jump
SOPHIE SPRINTS TO SUCCESS
Sophie is an U15 athlete and is delighted to have come away with 3 new personal best performances in the Long Jump, 60m and 200m. It was the sprint events where she achieved Club Records with times of 8.35s and 28.03s respectively. We are awaiting confirmation on the 200m time, but as it is 2 seconds ahead of the current record, she should be safe. She can now look forward to the coming track season with great confidence.
U17s FINISH 2nd AT SLOUGH
The best all round performance of the day went to the U17 boys, who claimed 2nd place behind the strong Bedford and County trio. First home was Patrick Taylor in 5th place, then James Davis in 8th. George Langston had a storming run coming home 11th, in an ever improving season to complete the team. The boys should be congratulated for this performance particularly as there was a complete mix up over the time of their race. Despite the site stating that U17 men run at 1.40pm, for some reason the organisers at Slough decided it should be at 1.15. This unfortunately meant that the boys had to cut their warm ups short, hardly ideal! It is thought that some athletes from other Clubs may have missed the race altogether. The sole U17 girl was Louise Lightfoot, who finished in a respectful 24th position in her first run in this competition.
Kieran Lindars had a powerful run finishing 6th in his race, an improvement on his previous Chiltern Leagues this season, and James Cronin was equally strong finishing 14th, a great position as he is a first year in this age group and this was his first Chiltern League race. The U15 boys’ team was completed by Luke Pauley and Ethan Luck in 21st and 33rd respectively. Alice Wright finished in 14th position, running as a first year in the U15 girls’ race.
In the boys U13 3k race, Harri Kane finished in 13th place, and next in saw a tough battle between Tom Swindlehurst and Will Ralston for 17th place, with Tom just pipping Will to the post. The team was completed by Dan Lindars in 33rd, and Kieran Hall in his first ever Chiltern League, congratulations to him. Jasmine Kobewka and Bronwen Reed ran well in their U13 girls race to finish 17th and 27th respectively.
The earliest races of the day belonged to the U11 boys and girls, who all ran well on such a cold frosty morning. In the boys race Ben Lindars continued his great form to come 15th, only 30 seconds behind the winner from Bracknell who is a year older than him. Ross Hazel was the only other U11 runner, finishing in 39th place. The U11 Girls team of Jemima Taswell-Fryer, Georgia Hall and Lucy Gunson, all had good runs, setting the team up in a strong position.
MAKE THAT 5 GOLDS!!!
An update on the County Cross Country from Saturday, and apologies to Declan Hamblin. Declan received our 5th gold medal of the day as 1st Vet home in the men's race. He finished in 8th place behind Charlie May!
MEDALS FOR VALE AT COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIPS
In the U13 races Eliza Taswell-Fryer just missed out on a medal finishing 4th, but with Jasmine Kobewka and Charlotte Evans also running well, the team finished in bronze position. In the boys’ race, Harri Kane was first Vale runner home and the team again took bronze with Tom Swindlehurst, William Ralston and Richard Chappell all performing well.
The 4.3k U15 races gave us two individual medals with Kieran Lindars finishing 2nd and Tatewda Manjengwa hot on his heels, separated by just 3 seconds, to claim bronze. With solid performances from Luke Paulley and Ethan Luck, the boys’ team claimed another bronze. Alice Wright was our sole competitor in the girls’ race. She has another year in this age group and ran a very smart race to finish 4th.
The U17 boys were running 6k in their race and again, we won individual silver and bronze with excellent performances from James Davis and Patrick Taylor, both of whom have another year in this age group. George Langston finished 9th, and impressed coach Harry by overtaking 7 runners on the long slow hill!
At U20, the distances increase and the boys’ course was an 8k one where Will and Dan Gurton took silver and bronze respectively with Tom Atkins finishing out of the medals this year. Anna Madry was our only U20 girls across their 5k course.
The Seniors came away with a good array of medals! The ladies were first to take to their 6k course, a race which brought our first gold of the day from Carolyn Boosey who is making a habit of winning this season! She won to become this year’s County Champion in a time of 20:58, 30 seconds ahead of her nearest rival. Julia Austin was in 6th place in a time of 23:04 and took gold as 1st Vet 45. A good race from Natalie Chandler meant that the ladies team as a whole finished 2nd, but the Ladies Vet Team went one better! Along with Julia in 6th, Helen Bennewith finished 17th and Heather Fallaize 21st, these three V45 runners claimed 1st Vet Team prize by over 4 minutes!
Not to be outdone, the men’s 12k race produced yet more medals. First Vale athlete to finish was Charlie May in 7th, closely followed by Declan Hamblin in 8th. Solid performances from Dave Maisey, Rob Taylor, Mark Richards and Alan Roberts brought the Men’s Team home in 3rd place, but yet again it was the Vets who raised the bar. The successful combination of Hamblin, Maisey, Richards and Roberts secured our 4th gold of the day, again by over 4 minutes. Last but certainly not least, one final medal for presentation was to Colin Steptoe who took silver in the V60 category.
ALAN RUNS PEDNOR 10 MILE
Alan finished 15th from over 100 competitors in 68:44 and the race consisted of two laps of the traditional Pednor 5 mile road race which is held in May with several inclines to be negotiated.
Chiltern Harrier’s report is attached
CAROLYN’S INDOOR SUCCESS
Carolyn travelled to Sheffield to compete in the Northern Indoor Open Meeting on 17 December. We are delighted to report that not only did she win her race in a time of 9:58:42, but this is a new Club Senior Ladies Record by over 20 seconds!!
It was only a brief respite from the mud and cold as she will be back on the Cross Country courses this weekend. Many congratulations Carolyn!
BOXING DAY RACE
Close to 200 runners took part and we are delighted to report that it was won by Anuradha Cooray in a time of 15:42 with Fabian Downs taking 2nd place in 16:15 and Laurie Probert 3rd in 16:19. First lady home was Vale’s Carolyn Boosey in 18:13 with Jade Leggett 2nd and Lucy Mayer 3rd.
It is reported that Anuradha’s warm up for the race was a run into Aylesbury from Wendover and his warm down was the return journey! We are told that on the course itself he had a problem on one of the tight corners in that he was going so fast he had to take it very wide!
Best U17 prizes went to Kieran Lindars and Jade Leggett; U15 to Ethan Luck and Alice Wright. Vale athletes Julia Austin and Roger Kirk took first prize in their age categories, and The Kirk Clifford and Ruth Allcock Trophies were awarded to Anuradha Cooray and Carolyn Boosey respectively.
The Junior race of approximately 800m took place before the main event and was won by Ewan Joyce with Vale’s Ben Lindars in 2nd and Charlie Scott in 3rd. Helena Rowland was first girls to cross the line.
Full results can be seen via the link on the home page.
PATRICK’S PARK RUN
Patrick Taylor (U17) ran in the MK Park Run on Christmas Eve and completed the 5k course in 16:32. He took 2nd place behind Paul Erwood and his time gave him a new PB for the distance. It also puts him 3rd in Vale’s Road Rankings for 2011.
Andrew Reading Memorial 10k
Paul Gregory was again in brilliant form finishing 16th overall in 35:05, first V50 runner by almost 3 minutes. The next Vale athlete home was Kieran Lindars in 36:47 who was running his first ever 10k, though he frequently runs 6k in triathlons. Kieran has had a frustrating year with injury so can take a lot of confidence from this run.
Three more Vale athletes ran; Alan Roberts finished in 40:08; David Blackburn in a PB of 49:09, and Julie Lindars who finished in 59:14.
TEAM PRIZES AT WOLVERTON 5 MILES
Obviously aware of the restriction on not being allowed to play a Joker whilst leading the series Charlie and Paul played theirs and to great effect too.
The race was held round Willen Lake Milton Keynes in conditions described as windy but not too cold.
With both the Senior Men and Vet Men winning the team titles in this a prestigious and historical event everyone finishing picked up 2 extra bonus points for each team win.
On the age graded front Paul's 92.24% earned him 5 extra bonus points and decimated the competition. To put it into perspective it is a better score than Will Gurton's 800m best and Anurahda Cooray’s Marathon pb. It is a time that ranks Paul 3rd V55 on the Power of 10 UK rankings for 2011.
Whilst James (2nd U20) just pips Declan (1st V40) in to 2nd on the age grading points just as he piped him in the race too. It’s a time that places James 14th U17 on Power of 10 for 2011 and 7th on the Club’s All Time Junior (Under 20) rankings and he is still only 16!
The next race in the series is the Club's own Boxing Day 5k.
Wolverton positions and times
12th Charlie May 27:27 (77.72%) 20+4 (J) = 48
16th Paul Gregory 27:47 (92.24%) 1st v55 19+2+4+5 (J) = 60
17th James Davis 27:49 (81.42%) 2nd U20 18+2+4+3 = 27
20th Declan Hamblin 28:01 (81:18%) 1st V40 17+2+4+1 = 24
30th Dave Maisey 29:27 (77.23%) 3rd V40 16+2+4 = 22
73rd Alan Roberts 33:09 (74.75%) 10th V45 15+4 = 19
226 finished
Grand Prix after Round 1
1st Paul Gregory 60 (J)
2nd Charlie May 48 (J)
3rd James Davis 27
4th Declan Hamblin 24
5th Dave Maisey 22
6th Alan Roberts 19
Submitted by Andy Rolt
CAROLYN COMPETES WITH THE BEST
In a field of some of Europe’s best Cross Country runners she finished 45th in a time of 30:03, a fantastic run which she can be very proud of. There were over 180 competitors in the Senior Women’s race, so many congratulations for a superb performance.
ALAN’S TRIP TO EYNSHAM
On Sunday Alan Roberts ran in the Eynsham 10k and finished 96th with 565 finishers.
AWARDS NIGHT 2011
The 2011 Awards Night took place on Saturday evening, and we welcomed GB Triple Jumper Nathan Douglas to speak to us and make the presentations. Read More
HERBERT’S HOLE
The annual Herbert’s Hole race took place this weekend (20th Nov)with four Vale athletes competing. Results can be seen here
CELEBRATIONS FOR CAROLYN AND DECLAN
Carolyn Boosey and Declan Hamblin are celebrating after great runs at the Chiltern League on Saturday at Cassiobury Park Watford.
SEASON’S BEST FOR STEVE AND ALAN
The race was run over a two lap flat course that took in some of the scenic parts of Abingdon . Alan reports that having started off at a consistent 7 minute mile pace reaching the half way point in just over 92 minutes, with Steve some 10 minutes behind him, he dropped off the pace to come home in 3 hours 38 minutes 24 seconds in 377th spot.
Steve ran a slightly quicker second half but also found the last 6 miles a struggle. He did close the gap on Alan though finishing 406th in 3.42.36. There were 777 runners who finished the race.
In the British Masters Marathon championships held in conjunction with the open race, Alan came 6th in the over 45 category with Steve 7th and in the Southern Counties Marathon Championships which was also held, they were just outside the over 45 medals with in 4th and 5th place.
CHARLIE LEADS TEAM HOME IN MARLOW
Almost 950 runners completed the course which was described by the organisers as challenging, undulating and scenic through country lanes. Whilst suitable for experienced and novice runners, the long climb of over a mile at the beginning may put off the inexperienced, but at least they got to run down it at the end!
Jo Card was our only lady taking part and is delighted with her PB of 1:44:40. David Maisey and Alan Roberts both V40 runners were 19th and 111th respectively in times of 1:22:17 and 1:34:34. We had one V60 runner, Roger Kirk who completed the course in 1:48:37.
Local charities benefitted from the run, and £1 from each race entry was donated to the British Legion which is celebrating its’ 90th anniversary this year.
U17s AT NATIONAL RELAYS
In this age category 81 teams of three athletes took part, each one running 3k. Our boys ran well in wet conditions. Patrick Taylor ran the first leg (9:51:35); George Langston the second (10:44:90) and James Davis the final one (10:10:90). These times put the team in 38th place.
MO BACKS ROAD RACE FOR CHARITY
The conditions were described as ideal for this the 28th running of the event across an increased distance of 9.5 miles in the Amersham/Rickmansworth area. The Committee was fortunate enough to meet up with Mo recently to talk about the work undertaken with the monies raised. He has very kindly signed a race poster which will be up for grabs at a charity auction to boost funds.
SHARDELOES SUCCESS FOR PAUL
Paul is having another brilliant season for the Club and finished the new multi-terrain 10k just 20 seconds behind the winner, Fabian Downs of Chiltern Harriers. Fabian is a good quality runner who is just25! The second V50 runner was in 23rd place, 7 minutes slower than Paul – which is still a very credible time, showing just how well Paul ran.
Derek Peverell also competed for the Club and finished as 3rd V60 runner. Congratulations to both.
ALICE TAKES TROPHY
Alice Wright started her half term off in a very positive way by winning theU15 girls race. Daniel (U13) and Ben (U11) Lindars came 4th and 2nd respectively in their age groups, and for the U15s Ethan Luck was in 6th place and Luke Paulley from Nick’s squad was 3rd. We had just one U17 runner, George Langston who again was 3rd in his age category.
There was a Senior’s race though Vale only had one competitor, Alan Roberts. Alan finished in 56th place overall
CHARLIE TOPS AT LEIGHTON
Carolyn’s Ridgeway Run.
Carolyn finished an impressive 15th overall. She covered the 15.5km multi-terrain course in 64.51 in a mixed field of 517 finishers who had to battle against some strong head winds at times. Alan Roberts was next home in 59th spot in 73.41 followed by a strong run by Sharon Maisey who was 141st in 79.57 to head veteran runners Derek Peverill who was 188th in 82.55 and Steve Rooney who was 197th in 83.34.
TAYLORS TAKE TOP PRIZES
Rob ran a superb race in Buckingham to take first prize at the annual event having started the race in a small group at the front and taking the lead in the second half. Rob has been a dependable runner for the Vale in the last year and yesterday was strong and controlled throughout; certainly a worthy winner. “It’s 20 years since I last won a race. Strange feeling!” he said afterwards with a wry smile! Rob completed the 10k in a time of 36:05.
Patch Taylor was 4th overall in a time of 37:17 winning the Junior prize. This was his first 10k race, and he said afterwards “I really enjoyed it, but it was a tough course, there was nowhere that was on the flat. I will definitely run it again next year.”
Yesterday’s race, an annual event, was organised by Buckingham Ladies Circle for Charity. Starting and finishing in Buckingham town centre, the course went up Stowe Avenue and through a portion of the National Trust Gardens with over 170 competitors.
JUNIORS RUN AT LUTON
In the Division 1 U17 age group we had two first year runners in Patch Taylor and James Davis. Over the 6k course, Patch finished 3rd and James 7th from a field of 42, so both can be very pleased with their efforts. George Langston is a second year runner but has spent 6 months with a knee injury; his 22nd place is therefore a good benchmark for him. The boys all crossed the line feeling they had more to give, and are looking forward to the next race at Watford in November. Rachel McCann and Emma Wright ran for the U17 girls in a joint race with theU20 women.
Kieran Lindars was out for the U15 boys finishing 7th with younger brother Ben competing for the U11s and finishing 15th. Ben picked up the wrong spikes had to run in a pair too small for him so who knows what he will do when he runs in comfort! Alice Wright was our only U15 girl who finished 14th.
The U13 contingent ran very well. For the boys the trio of Harri Kane (26th), William Ralston (32nd) and Tom Swindlehurst (34th) gave all they had and Eliza Taswell-Fryer (21st) and Bronwyn Reed (39th) were out for the girls, again running well. The U11 girls were competing in their first cross country races for the Club and did very well indeed. Kitty Shepherd-Cross finished joint 4th which is fantastic. Katie Jones wasn’t far behind in 10th with Kristyn Dee-Crowne(29th) and Jemima Taswell-Fryer (44th).
CAROLYN TAKES TOP SPOT AT LUTON
The Veteran Ladies, courtesy of Julia, Helen Bennewith (33rd); Sharon Maisey (38th) and Heather Fallaize (52nd) are also lying 2nd in their table. These ladies, together with Natalie Chandler and Sandra Hall gave us a great start to the season.
New recruits to the men’s team put some backbone into a strong showing by the senior men. First back for the team was Charlie May (11th) in the 9-km 1st division race as the team overall sealed fourth place. Behind May were excellent first-time efforts by Will (21st) and Dan (30th) Gurton, shepherded round by the evergreen Declan Hamblin (31st), with an in-form Rob Taylor and another new boy, Tom Atkins, in close attendance (34th and 41st).
Strong support was offered by Phil Corbett (58th) and Dave Maisey (73rd) in a packed mob match field that ground to a near-halt on the opening lap because of bottlenecks. Henry Edwardes-Evans (95th), Mark Fallaize (102nd) and Mark Richards (108) got round the fast and strangely enjoyable airport-abutting course without disgrace, as did Alan Roberts (124th), Ian Thompson (128th) and Clive Fallaize (196th).
The Vets landed third spot in the first division group, so there is work to be done if Vale is to retain its title this year. A great turnout, with more to come; we were without a few stalwarts this time.
VALE’S TOP VETS
On a damp, dismal and windy evening, Andrew Rolt and Alan Roberts took part in the Championships where a wide range of abilities meant that the field quickly strung out. This left the athletes to battle into the wind down the back straight on their own.
Andrew finished in 3rd place overall and was 1st V40 in a time of 17:08:20. Alan was 1st V45 in a season’s best of 19:41:20
VALE ATHLETES ON MILITARY ROADS
At the time of writing, official times have not been confirmed, but we do have information given on the day. The Vets race was first each athlete running a distance of 6k. The V40 team of Andrew Rolt, Paul Gregory, Henry Edwardes-Evans and Declan Hamblin made an excellent start to the day finishing 6th overall out of 28 teams, with a combined time of 1:26:44. Paul Gregory ran the 12th fastest time of the day (20:41) and Andrew Rolt the 19th fastest (21:16). Paul competed in the V40 team, but usually runs V50 – had he done so on Sunday, he would have recorded the 2nd fastest time in the age group for the day.
Two hours later the Senior Men took to the roads with a team of 6 across the same distances as the Vets. Tom Atkins ran the first lap followed by Will Gurton, Rob Taylor, Adam Johnston and Matt Raden with Charlie May on the final lap. Charlie May unsurprisingly ran the fastest leg of our athletes with a time of 19:47; he and Matt made up 11 places during their laps to put the team 38th on the day in a total time of 2:05:12.
ITALIAN ADVENTURES FOR ALAN
With the exception of the 800m, Alan was the only British competitor in the EMG and his first race, 10,000m, was straight after a 6 day competition in the UK. The 33 degree temperatures made life difficult as it was also very humid. Although Alan didn’t return home with a medal, he can be very proud of his performances. He was 5th in the 10k on Saturday; 5th in the 3k Steeplechase on Wednesday with a time of 14:25:56 which is a 1 second improvement on his V45 Club Record; 7th in the 1500m on Thursday; then going into the following week 5th in the 5k on Saturday; 8th in the 20k Road Race on Sunday and 7th in the 800m last Monday.
To fill his time, in the middle of these Championships he travelled to Paluzza ro run in the World Masters Mountain Running Championships where the GB team were 2nd overall with Craig Roberts of Kendal winning Gold.
6 DAY MARATHON FOR ALAN
The races begin on day one with the Tattenhoe 11k, culminating on the final day with the Willen Lake 10k; they cover a range of terrains from cross country to track, and a variety of distances from 1 mile up to 11k. Rumour has it there are a few visits to public houses involved too, but the only certainty is that completion of all races will earn you a T-shirt!
Alan can be very proud of his final 18th position in the overall race; he was 2nd V45 with a total time over all events of 3hours and 2 minutes. Unfortunately the first day came after a 10k race at Chalfont, and day 4 included a challenging 3-race schedule for him as he had to run Willen Lake as a time trial in the morning, followed by the Bucks 5k in the evening!
He was in 16th place after 5 races, but was unable to compete in the final one as he had to catch a flight to Italy to compete in the European Masters on the Saturday. This meant he slipped to 18th place, but nevertheless an excellent performance.
WILL REACHES COMMONWEALTH FINAL
Will Gurton was selected to run in te 800m for England at the Commonwealth Youth Games held on the Isle of Man last week.
Will's time in the heats of 1:53:84 put him through to the semi-finals where he finished 3rd in a time of 1:55:11. His semi final was the faster of the two, and his time quicker than the Kenyan and Botswanan who qualified from the other semi. In the final he was in 5th place behind three Africans and just 8/100ths of a second behind a Canadian.
Nick Taylor commented that to reach the final of a major competition like this is great news; Will can be very proud of his achievement. None of the times were close to PBs due to the weather - Nick reported that the rain was horizontal!
The competiton as a whole was won by England with a total of 77 medals, 19 of which came from athletics, and of those 19, 12 were gold!
JAMES ON TOP OF THE WORLD!
James Davis has had a strong track season and is proving he can run on any terrain. He ran in the Wooburn 10k this weekend against experienced athletes many years his senior. James won the race in a time of 35:36, just 9 seconds outside his PB. As with most races over the weekend, conditions were not good for running as he had to battle against the wind. Phil Corbet came home in 4th place in 37:14, two minutes faster than last year. Unfortunately they were the only Vale athletes participating, just one more would surely have won us the team prize!
COORAY BREAKS OWN CLUB RECORD
In a field of nearly 9,000 athletes, Anuradha ran the Bristol half-marathon this weekend and finished a very credible 3rd behind two Kenyan athletes. His time of 66:15 is a 31 second improvement on his previous Club record. The conditions were poor for distance running, and it is thought that without the wind, he could have run up to a minute faster.
ROBERTS AND GREGORY ON FORM
Alan Roberts finished 177th from almost 7500 runners in the Burnham Beeches Half Marathon (including the Southern Vets Championships) in a time of 99:51 taking the silver medal in the over 45 category of the Southern Vets Championships.
In the final race of the Motivation Series at Oxford, Paul Gregory finished 11th in 21:46 to win the over 50 race on the day and to take the series over 50 prize. Alan finished 99th in 26:24, and also ran in the Chalfont St Giles Show Multi-terrain 10k finishing 27th in 48:53
PB AT BEDFORD 10k FOR PHIL
In a field of over 300, Phil ran a strong race, finishing 3rd Snr Male in a time of 36:24 which is a 12 second PB for him. He reported that the course, which comprised of a gravel type cycle path was more demanding that he originally expected! Mick too had a good race finishing in 59th place in a time of 41:15 putting him as 4th V 50-54.
Although both enjoyed their races, dodging cycles proved to be a “bit of a pain”.
Full results are available: Bedford 10k results
Another Half Second Lower For Will
Will recorded a time of 1.51.49 for the 800m to lower the existing club best ever time by nearly half a second, when he finished second in the BMC Grand Prix final 800m C race at Birmingham's Alexander stadium on Saturday evening, 20th August.
SO CLOSE TO PROMOTION!!!
Steve Stokes came home with a win in the discus and a new V40 Club Record with a throw of 33.72m, this broke his own record set in July of this year. He also took 2nd place in both the shot putt and hammer and 3rd in the javelin. Other field event successes went to Rochelle Arulanandam (U17) with three wins in the high jump, long jump and triple jump; Kat Ford got a new PB in the shot as did Libby Crawford in the long jump.
The track was a great success for men and women too. Tom Atkins notched up two wins in the 800m and 2000S/C plus a 2nd place in the 5000m which took place between his other two races! Dan Gurton won his 1500m and 400m races, the latter one with a new PB of 51.7s.
Dan Barber barely had time to draw breath! He took 2nd place in the 100m, won the 200m, was 2nd in both long jump and triple jump and if that isn’t enough, ran in both the 4x100m and 4x400m winning relay teams!
The ladies had their share of successes too with Heather Fallaize achieving a 14second PB for her 1500m run, as did Julia Austin and Vicky Sheldon in the 800m. Hannah Welsh was victorious in both the 400m and 400m hurdles with Libby Crawford and Janie Gadsden winning both the A and B string 200m. A final ‘multi eventer’ on the day was Carolyn Boosey with double wins at 3k and 1500S/C.
Sincere congratulations to Saturday’s team and to those athletes who have competed for them during the season, but were absent this weekend. To miss out on promotion by so few points is disappointing, but let them watch out for us next year!
Vale of Aylesbury Results (pdf)
PB FOR PATRICK AT NATIONALS
Patrick Taylor (U17) ran this weekend at the National U15 and U17 Championships at Bedford. Patrick competed in the 800m and ran a very strong tactical race. He was 4th in his heat, narrowly missing out on qualification to the final, but his time of 1:56:78 is a PB for him. The three in front of him were all 2nd year U17 athletes.
The Final EYAL Event 5 At Hemel Hempstead 14th August July
The last match of the season was held at Hemel Hempstead and the weather was kind. We had 10 first places on the day. These were Matt Robinson with a great PB of 56.5 in the U15 boys 400m and his first outing in a club vest. Tatenda Manjengwa and Will Davison in the A and B string 1500m U15 boys. Charlie Brown shared the top position in his high jump with a jump of 1.55m. Our U15 girls did not let us down either; Alice Wright won the 800m; Donelle Arulanandam had PB’s in high jump – 1.47m and long jump – 4.85m to secure her A string victories; Sarah Ireland had a long awaited PB of 4.49m to win the B string long jump. Becky Rodnight equalled her PB in the Pole vault to get us top points. In the U17 women Rachel McCann came first in the B string triple jump and Tasha Cornwell won the B string shot.
There were many other great results on the day and we even managed to get two relay teams out. Although we were down on numbers due to the summer holidays and missing Patrick and Jordan who were competing for Bucks; we managed to climb off the bottom spot. Our 5 U17 girls came joint second so it just shows what we could do with a full team. Welcome and well done to our other new competitors – Sophie, Amy, Shannon, and Tiernan. See you next season.
Thanks as usual to my army of helpers; Martin, Simon, Graham, Jim, Catherine, Robin, Paul, Tom and Andy (and Cathy and Phil for coming to officiate but found we were over run!)
Well done everyone. The results should soon be available on the Power of 10 website but in the meantime please find them attached.
Will Gurton - Getting faster
In windy conditions, Will Gurton ran the fastest 1500m ever recorded by a Vale athlete, running 3.52.87 at the Watford open meeting, a time that will be surely revised downward in the near future.
Bletchingdon, Blisworth and Hooky
4/8/11 – Bletchingdon 4 ¼ miles: Paul Gregory finished 10th (1st over 50) in 23.31 to lead in the over 50 category in the Motivation midweek series with just one event to go at Oxford next month. Alan Roberts was 90th in 28.48 with 302 finishing this event.
5/8/11 – Blisworth 5: Alan Roberts competed in this hilly race near Northampton finishing 80th in 35.23. There were 272 finishers
14/8/11 – Hooky 6: Alan Roberts finished in 86th place in 42.53, the race was held on a two lap figure of eight course around the village of Hook Norton. There were 280 finishers
ANURADHA TAKES TITLE!
A Bearbrook representative told us that one of the Marshall’s had just sat down to wait for the runners to come through thinking she had plenty of time, only to see Anuradha coming towards her! They also said that the lead car was taken by surprise at his speed … they obviously don’t know him! Many congratulations again!
VALE ATHLETES IMPROVE AT KINGSTON
PBs achieved on the day came from Mr PB, James Davis in the 3K (9:28:79); Jordan Hadley made the drive worthwhile for his mum with 2 PBs in the 100m hurdles (14.55s) and 400m hurdles (61.12s) and Tijeanne Bartley in the triple jump 12.78m. The other Vale athlete competing was Patrick Taylor who ran the 800m. Patrick lead the race through to the last 100m, finally finishing 2nd.
Jordan and TJ were part of the 4 x 100 relay team who came 3rd; Patrick ran the first leg of the 4 x 400m relay with Jordan on the final leg where we finished 4th. Well done to one and all!
IFFLEY ROAD MILE
On Wednesday 3 August athletes gathered in Oxford to compete in a 1 mile race in historic surroundings. Although the cinder track has long been replaced, Iffley Road is the track where Sir Roger Bannister was the first man to break the 4 minute mile back on 6 May 1954.
On a hot and humid August evening, almost 60 athletes turned out to run with the wind blowing up the back straight. Unfortunatley, unlike 1954, the wind did not die away for the race!
There were five races in all, graded according to expected finish times, and Andrew ran in 4th of the evening finishing in 4:48:4; this puts him 5th fastest V40 athlete on the Power of 10 for 2011. Although happy with his time, Andrew commented “the hot weather certainly sapped energy from most of us. It will be a cold lager tonight!”
Unfortunately the humidity and wind meant that none of the athletes were able to break Sir Roger’s time ... well there’s always next year! Many thanks for Oxford Uni AC for organising the event.
JAMES IS ON TRACK AT U15/U17 CHAMPS
Last weekend James took part in the South of England Athletics Association U17/U15 3k Championships in Abingdon. James is a first year U17 athlete, and amongst the best in the Country, he took another 3 seconds off of his personal best time with a run of 9:30:5. This means that James has improved his 3k time by a massive 9.5 seconds since April. Many congratulations James.
With no league meetings this weekend, the only other junior in competition was Patrick Taylor who took part in the SEAA U17/U15 Championships in Ashford Kent. Like James, Patch is a first year U17 athlete and he was delighted to qualify for the final, coming second in his heat. It was a slow final, partly due to the windy conditions and partly to the race being tactical. The winner was James McMurray of St Albans who recently competed for Great Britain in the World Youth Games; Patrick was in eighth position, the second first year to cross the line.
RECORDS SMASHED AT WADDESDON
The forecast promised thundery showers, but fortunately they failed to materialise and Steven Naylor of Woodstock Harriers stormed through the finish line in 15m23s to take the course record. He was followed home by Vale’s Charlie May in 2nd (16:21) and Nigel Marley of Coventry Godiva Harriers in 3rd (16:38).
It was a great evening for Woodstock as one of their senior women, Sophie Carter, won the ladies race in another record time of 17m.52s. 2nd place went to Tanya Taylor of Marshall Milton Keynes (18:36) and Vale’s Carolyn Boosey was 3rd (19:01).
Carolyn was the first Vale lady home, followed by Heather Fallaize (23:03) and Victoria Sheldon (23:21).
Vale runners were also amongst the prize winners for the evening not only with Charlie in 2nd place, but James Davis (16m 54s) won the U17 prize, and our men took 1st place in the team event. Alongside Charlie and James were Rob Taylor (16:49) and Patrick Taylor (17:10).
ENGLAND CALL UP FOR WILL!
Will was part of the GB squad which competed in Lille last week. He knew from that outset that despite being the only English 800m runner to have achieved the qualification time required, it would be a tough task to reach the final amongst exceptional competition from some of the African countries. Will cruised through his heats in a time of 1.52.8, but with 3 of the top 10 in the world in his semi final, the outcome was inevitable as only 2 automatically qualified for the final. However he ran well and can be very proud of himself. Coach Nick Taylor said ‘it has been a great experience for Will and one he will learn a lot from’.
England Athletics are obviously impressed with his abilities as he will now be part of the squad heading to Douglas, Isle of Man, from 7-13 September. The Games are held bi-annually and are for track and field athletes aged 16 and 17.
RECORDS AND MEDALS AT RISBOROUGH 10k
This year's Risborough 10k was won by Anuradha Cooray who smashed his own 2009 course record by almost 30 seconds finishing in a time of 31.02! He was over 2 minutes in front of the nearest runner, Charlie May who finished 2nd in a time of 33.10.
Although the weather was very warm, a welcoming breeze was no doubt helpful, and in the men’s race, there were personal best times for Rob Taylor and James Davis. Rob finished 7th in a fast time of 35.21 but James Davis must be delighted with his run as he was just behind Rob in 8th with a time of 35.27! James has had a strong year and this run won him the U17 prize – he was the first junior home. There was another PB for Chloe Oldfield in the ladies race where she finished 7th in 42.29.
For the ladies, Julia Austin won first V45 lady finishing in 5th place overall; Heather Fallaize took the V50 prize in 15th and 1st local lady to finish was Vale’s Vicky Sheldon. Last but not least, and to add to the medals, Men’s and Ladies team prizes were both won by Vale of Aylesbury!
One runner commented that the race was extremely well signed, marshalled and controlled, with no incidents reported on what is a tricky set of roads for road running - testament to Colin Steptoe's directorship and all those who helped him.
PBs AT ENGLISH SCHOOLS CHAMPIONSHIPS
Four Vale athletes made the trip to Gateshead last weekend for the English Schools Track and Field Championships, as members of the Buckinghamshire squad. They were Dan Gurton; Anna Madry; Jordan Hadley and Patrick Taylor.
Unfortunately our athletes didn’t come away with medals, but in the toughest competition they can face at their age, Dan and Jordan both achieved new PBs. Dan ran the 800m in 1.55.05 and Jordan the 400m hurdles in 59.89s. All four athletes are in the first year of their age groups so it was always going to be difficult for them, but we are sure they will be back again next year!
European Veterans Non Stadia Championships
I was competing in the European Veterans Non Stadia Championships in France over the weekend. My first event was a midday 10km road race on Friday in Yutz. I had to try and break 40 mins to get into the GB ‘A’ team and for the first 2km I was one of the top 3 Brits. The conditions were hot so I started to fade soon after and by the end of the first lap I was the last of the 6 Brits. I rallied in the last 2km and got back as 5th Brit in a disappointing time of 42.00 finishing 38th overall in the over 45’s category. Both GB ‘A’ and GB ‘B’ were soundly hammered in the team event. Saturday saw better conditions for the cross country relays in Yutz. I was fortunate to be part of GB ‘A’ running the second leg, my team colleagues were Tony Tuohy and Trevor Raynor who were part of the 10km A team.
This was the 12th championships and for this year they had changed the rules to allow B teams to count as medallists (normally only one team per country could medal) and allow small nations to form an International team. This worked to our disadvantage as a certain silver medal under the old rules saw us finish 4th overall behind both Germany A and B and an International team of 2 Swiss and a Spaniard! It was then on to Thionville on the Sunday for the Half Marathon where the three of us teamed up again for GB ‘A’ again finishing 4th behind Spain, France and Germany. I clocked 92.15 for 28th spot.