On what were close to ideal running conditions - light breeze, not too cold, not too hot, slightly overcast - 9 Harriers dusted off their trainers and participated in the Great West Run (GWR) in Exeter. The biggest (in terms of participant numbers) event in the area, the GWR half-marathon attracts a good mix of top level athletes, club runners and first time charity runners, making for a hugely varied field in terms of both finishing times and also running costume!
Of the 9 Harriers that took part, each had their own personal motivation for doing the race. The biggest mention has to go to Roger Riggs. This was Roger's first ever race last year and he was happy to complete it but also left wondering what sort of time he could do with a proper training regime. So he joined the Harriers! Since joining Roger has made HUGE progress and this is all down to the dedication and enthusiasm he has put into his running. He rarely misses a training session and always turns up with a beaming smile on his face and certainly looks to be enjoying every minute of it! A lovely, friendly guy, he has been a very welcome addition to the club and I can say that there is not one Harrier who has met Roger who wouldn't have been thrilled for him yesterday when he had an absolute stormer of a run, completing the course a whopping 22 minutes quicker than last year to stop the clock at 1:57:49. This gave him 854th place over all and 27th MV55. Very well done! We only hope that Roger will continue to set himself new targets so that we still get to welcome his cheery smiling face at training nights in the future!
Mike Musgrove had every reason to be pleased with himself as well. Running on still tired legs after his sub-3h marathon performance at London 2 weeks previously, he did not have the highest of expectations of himself prior to the race. As anyone who knows Mike will tell you, however, whether he's feeling 100% or not, he always gives 100%. He crossed the line in a time of 1:24:34 - down on his PB but this is by no means a fast course, containing several nasty hills. More impressive is to say that he came 20th over all and 2nd MV40, bagging himself a tidy Ironbridge Runner prize in the process. Although, Mike said that what made him even happier was seeing Roger's grinning face as he crossed the finishline. Aww... Harriers love!!
Jon Garrity (or Jon Gamily, as he appears in the results... people always seem to struggle with his name, he has previously appeared in the guises of 'John', 'Jon Garit', and now this!), was taking it easy and having a steady run after a recent calf-strain issue. He was foreced to pull out of the Bideford Half and register a DNF due to this injury so he sensibly took it easy on this occasion but still recorded a very respectable time of 1:34:01 for 109th place and 17th MV40.
Another special mention, on what turned out to be a great day for individual Harrier performances, needs to go to Diane Richards. Diane registered a PB, knocking 2 minutes off her time set in Barcelona back in March, and she did so on a much hillier and tougher course. She came in at 1:52:20 chip time to take 640th spot over all and 79th female. (Category position not known as for some reason the results have Diane down as a male vet....) Well done Diane, and keep chipping away at that time!
Next over the line was Clare Medlock, having a solid race to finish just outside the 2h mark with a 2:03:08 posting. This also placed her just outside the top 1000 runners with 1016th place over all and gave her 203rd female and 21st FV45.
Claire Baxter was having a steady jaunt around, helping to pace her friend Nikki who was running her first ever half marathon. Claire, and Nikki, were very pleased to finish ahead of a giant gorilla(!) in a time of 2:17:19. Claire was 1363rd over all, 368th female and 15th FV50.
Trevor Cope just loves the half marathon distance and will travel fair distances to compete, so of course he did not pass up the opportunity to run a race on his doorstep and clocked a consistent 2:33:52 for 1562nd place and 38th MV55.
Mark Thompson also competed but under someone else's name, so for the moment his result is not known; however, Mike reckons he finished in around about the 1:25 mark.
Roger Rowe took up official pace-making duties and paced 100 or so runners to a comfortable 2h clocking at an even 9m/m pace.
The race was won by the very in form Bristol and West athlete, Shaun Antell. Antell beat our own second claim speedster, Tom Merson, by almost a minute. Tom is of course still on the comeback trail after injury and so a time of 1:11:28 will have no doubt boosted his confidence ahead of the summer track season.
First woman was Vicky Pincombe, also winner of the Taunton half, with a convincing win margin in 1:22:11, 12th place over all.
There were 1669 finishers.
Claire Baxter and her friend Nikki after the race
Great West 5kMeanwhile in the shorter, yet still challenging, Great West 5k race, there were two Harrier representatives. Andrew Johnson won the male over-45 category, placing a highly creditable11th overall in 20.22. Dave Eveleigh, really coming back into form this season, ran in as second male over-55 in 21.17, to place 16th overall. Considering 114 people finished the race, our 2 Harriers did the club proud!
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