Harriers assemble: we had an impressive turn out of runners for the competitive annual relays.
Our victorious senior men's team of Dave Stone, Tony Hatchard, Berihu Tesfay and men's captain, Adam Miller.
And our victorious ladies vet 45 team of Claire Baxter, ladies captain, Dawn Teed, Lorraine Gilson and Cathy Newman.
Thanks to Carly Miller for the following report, who has very kindly been helping me to catch up with the blog reports whilst I've been away. It's much appreciated Carly!
The Erme Valley relay is a very
competitive event, drawing runners of a high standard from across Devon. The
stiff competition does not detract from the festive atmosphere however; it is
an incredibly fun event to run, and exciting to watch from the handover point,
where runners gather to watch the race unfold and cheer on their club mates.
The course is short, but far from sweet! Although measuring slightly less than
2.5 miles, it tests runners with two very challenging hills and some fairly
steep descents. Teams consist of 4 runners, who each run the same loop before
handing over at the changeover point outside the Ivybridge Rugby Club.
Our first senior men’s team were fired up for the challenge and determined to take down the competition. First off for the Harriers was men’s team captain Adam Miller, who improved on his time of last year by over 20 seconds to run a fantastic 13:25. Having overtaken two men in the closing stages of the leg, Adam was able to hand over in second position, just 9 seconds behind the leading runner from Erme Valley Harriers. Next off was Dave Stone, running the first of his two scheduled legs. He also improved on his 2012 time to run 13:14 and come in third, just 4 seconds behind the leader from Torbay, and 1 second behind MDNA. This left Anthony Hatchard tantalisingly close to the front of the race as he set off on the third leg, determined to take the lead. Anthony ran as aggressively as ever, completing his run in a great time of 13:36. He held the lead briefly before being overtaken in the final 100 metres by Martin Breslan from Torbay, but was able to hand over to Berihu just 3 seconds behind the leader. Those of us watching waited to see just how much of an advantage Berihu would have over impressive local runner Kairn Stone, who was surely the only person who could challenge Berihu over the last leg. As Kairn set off just 11 seconds behind, the rest of us watched and waited, anticipating a close finish. The two men came round the corner into the finishing straight neck and neck and sprinted for the line. For a worrying moment it looked as if Berihu may stop short of the line, having mistaken some nearby cones for the finishing area but, having been screamed at by his fellow Harriers on the sidelines, he ran on, holding off Kairn to take the victory! His time of 12:23 was the third fastest of the night, and gave the team a very impressive overall time of 52:38.
The next Harriers team to finish was our senior men’s 'B' team. Leg 1 runner Chris Dupain gave them a great start, running nearly half a minute quicker than he did last year, finishing in 15 minutes exactly. Next up was Scott Jordan, also setting a massive new course best time and completing in 16:11, followed by Jon Croome in a fine 15:36. Their final runner was Marc Cox, who was another athlete to improve upon his 2012 time by half a minute to finish in a fantastic time of 13:58. This gave the team an overall time of just outside the hour in 60:45, and put them in 18th position.
Our vet 50 men’s team arrived next, having run a total time of 67:39. They were led off by Dave Wright, who completed his leg in 15:47. Next was Dave Eveleigh in 18:35 and Terry Oldham in 18:26. Hugh Marsden ran a brilliant last leg to finish in 14:51, and bring home the team in 3rd position in the MV50 category.
The first Harriers ladies team to complete was our senior team. I (Carly Miller) ran the first leg in 17:48 and handed over to Lisa Hatchard, who was running the first of her 2 legs for the evening, finishing in 18:17. Next was Emma Dupain, who ran 17:28 and handed over to her sister, Hannah Bown, to run the last leg in a pretty amazing 15:58. All four of us managed to improve significantly on our times from last year, which enabled us to finish a respectable 5th position in the ladies competition.
The fifth Harriers team to finish was a real mix of age groups. The first leg was run by Nigel Dupain in 19:02. Stan Mason followed him, completing the second leg in a time of 21:46. Next up was Ben White, running exactly the same time of 17:05 as he did last year. Dave Stone completed the team, running his second leg of the evening (spurred on by having already secured victory in the competition overall) in a time of 13:38.
Not far behind them was our FV35 team. Joan Mason ran leg 1, improving on her 2012 time to run 21:24. She handed over to Lorraine Croome, who ran the second leg in a time of 18:38. Cathy Newman ran leg 3, her second of the evening, in another fantastic time of 16:19. The team was anchored home by Lisa Hatchard, who was also running for the second time. Lisa completed her leg in 18:39, and brought the team home in a total time of 75 minutes exactly.
In the absence of a MV70 category, our vet 70 men were running in the MV60 category. The team was set off by Jim Wyatt, who ran his leg in 20:49, taking 9 seconds off his time from last year. Second to run was Mike Keep, completing the course in 21:11.Mike was followed by John Goss-Custard, who ran 21:03 before handing over to Les Turner, who ran the final leg in 21:11. The total time for the team was 84:14, which earned them second place in the MV60 category.
Our first senior men’s team were fired up for the challenge and determined to take down the competition. First off for the Harriers was men’s team captain Adam Miller, who improved on his time of last year by over 20 seconds to run a fantastic 13:25. Having overtaken two men in the closing stages of the leg, Adam was able to hand over in second position, just 9 seconds behind the leading runner from Erme Valley Harriers. Next off was Dave Stone, running the first of his two scheduled legs. He also improved on his 2012 time to run 13:14 and come in third, just 4 seconds behind the leader from Torbay, and 1 second behind MDNA. This left Anthony Hatchard tantalisingly close to the front of the race as he set off on the third leg, determined to take the lead. Anthony ran as aggressively as ever, completing his run in a great time of 13:36. He held the lead briefly before being overtaken in the final 100 metres by Martin Breslan from Torbay, but was able to hand over to Berihu just 3 seconds behind the leader. Those of us watching waited to see just how much of an advantage Berihu would have over impressive local runner Kairn Stone, who was surely the only person who could challenge Berihu over the last leg. As Kairn set off just 11 seconds behind, the rest of us watched and waited, anticipating a close finish. The two men came round the corner into the finishing straight neck and neck and sprinted for the line. For a worrying moment it looked as if Berihu may stop short of the line, having mistaken some nearby cones for the finishing area but, having been screamed at by his fellow Harriers on the sidelines, he ran on, holding off Kairn to take the victory! His time of 12:23 was the third fastest of the night, and gave the team a very impressive overall time of 52:38.
The next Harriers team to finish was our senior men’s 'B' team. Leg 1 runner Chris Dupain gave them a great start, running nearly half a minute quicker than he did last year, finishing in 15 minutes exactly. Next up was Scott Jordan, also setting a massive new course best time and completing in 16:11, followed by Jon Croome in a fine 15:36. Their final runner was Marc Cox, who was another athlete to improve upon his 2012 time by half a minute to finish in a fantastic time of 13:58. This gave the team an overall time of just outside the hour in 60:45, and put them in 18th position.
Our vet 50 men’s team arrived next, having run a total time of 67:39. They were led off by Dave Wright, who completed his leg in 15:47. Next was Dave Eveleigh in 18:35 and Terry Oldham in 18:26. Hugh Marsden ran a brilliant last leg to finish in 14:51, and bring home the team in 3rd position in the MV50 category.
The first Harriers ladies team to complete was our senior team. I (Carly Miller) ran the first leg in 17:48 and handed over to Lisa Hatchard, who was running the first of her 2 legs for the evening, finishing in 18:17. Next was Emma Dupain, who ran 17:28 and handed over to her sister, Hannah Bown, to run the last leg in a pretty amazing 15:58. All four of us managed to improve significantly on our times from last year, which enabled us to finish a respectable 5th position in the ladies competition.
The fifth Harriers team to finish was a real mix of age groups. The first leg was run by Nigel Dupain in 19:02. Stan Mason followed him, completing the second leg in a time of 21:46. Next up was Ben White, running exactly the same time of 17:05 as he did last year. Dave Stone completed the team, running his second leg of the evening (spurred on by having already secured victory in the competition overall) in a time of 13:38.
Not far behind them was our FV35 team. Joan Mason ran leg 1, improving on her 2012 time to run 21:24. She handed over to Lorraine Croome, who ran the second leg in a time of 18:38. Cathy Newman ran leg 3, her second of the evening, in another fantastic time of 16:19. The team was anchored home by Lisa Hatchard, who was also running for the second time. Lisa completed her leg in 18:39, and brought the team home in a total time of 75 minutes exactly.
In the absence of a MV70 category, our vet 70 men were running in the MV60 category. The team was set off by Jim Wyatt, who ran his leg in 20:49, taking 9 seconds off his time from last year. Second to run was Mike Keep, completing the course in 21:11.Mike was followed by John Goss-Custard, who ran 21:03 before handing over to Les Turner, who ran the final leg in 21:11. The total time for the team was 84:14, which earned them second place in the MV60 category.
Congratulations to all the Harriers, particularly to those who set new PBs on the course, who ran 2 legs, who were giving the event a go for the first time or who were part of one of the victorious teams. This really is a great team event and one that brings the club together in support of every runner. Even the Harriers who weren't running had a good workout of the vocal cords as they screamed and cheered their fellow club mates out and in. It will be hard to top these performances next year but you can bet your life that we will give it a darn good try!
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