15 GVH runners toed the line at the August club league race – the Bearbrook 10k. Rich Coles came in 1st V40, and GVH were 2nd male team and 3rd female team. Individual results as follows:
| Pos | Name | Net Time | Category | Cat Pos | Gender | Gen Pos | Club league points | Age graded |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | Richard Coles | 00:36:16 | MV40 | 1 | Male | 7 | 20 | |
| 23 | Antony Beamish | 00:39:43 | MV40 | 6 | Male | 20 | 19 | |
| 27 | David Goodman | 00:40:43 | MV40 | 7 | Male | 24 | 18 | |
| 33 | Simon Wallis | 00:41:39 | MV40 | 10 | Male | 30 | 17 | |
| 40 | James Birnie | 00:42:20 | MV40 | 13 | Male | 36 | 16 | |
| 41 | Stephen Newing | 00:42:52 | Male Senior | 16 | Male | 37 | 15 | |
| 44 | Anthony Willcox | 00:43:17 | Male Senior | 17 | Male | 40 | 14 | |
| 45 | Phil Mercer | 00:43:22 | MV40 | 14 | Male | 41 | 13 | |
| 73 | Tracey Cotton | 00:47:21 | FV35 | 4 | Female | 10 | 20 | |
| 136 | Helen Cook | 00:52:23 | FV45 | 8 | Female | 25 | 19 | |
| 142 | Kim Morgan | 00:52:51 | FV35 | 9 | Female | 28 | 18 | |
| 155 | Angeline Cottrill | 00:53:47 | FV35 | 10 | Female | 36 | 17 | |
| 184 | Jaqui Sampson | 00:56:52 | FV35 | 16 | Female | 51 | 16 | |
| 215 | Susie Ivin | 00:59:53 | FV35 | 24 | Female | 69 | 15 | |
| 249 | Helen Heathcore | 01:04:30 | FV45 | 24 | Female | 93 | 14 |
The Bearbook 10k treated runners to almost perfect race conditions – the polar opposite to recent weekends of racing in either wet and windy or hot and humid conditions – on a sunny day with a slight breeze and lower-than-average temperatures for August
Rich Coles was taking part in his first race since having surgery on his knee just seven weeks ago, for an injury sustained in February which aborted his marathon training. He bearly put a foot wrong as he was first Harrier to complete the course, which started with a long flat stretch before a gradual incline became a welcome,long-downhill finish.
He was also first Male Vet 40+ to cross the line, with a superb time of 36:16. Antony Beamish (39:43) passed David Goodman (40:43) – who had worked a night shift the previous night – in the closing stages. Simon Wallis (41:39) had been suffering with slight illness all week, but the quartet combined to pick up a second place award for the men’s team.
The next four club mates all finished within just over a minute of each other, with James Birnie (42:20) and Stephen Newing (42:25) finishing in consecutive places while Anthony Willcox (43:17) held off a sprint finish from Phil Mercer (43:22) who was completing his second race in three days after clocking a personal best (PB) at the Ealing Mile on Friday, with a time of exactly six minutes.
Tracey Cotton (47:21) was first Harrier female to cross the line, and she was nearly five minutes clear of her team mates. Helen Cook (52:23) led a trio of club athletes who all finished within ninety seconds of each other with Kim Morgan (52:51) and Angeline Cottrill (53:47) helping the ladies team to a bronze medal.
Jaqui Sampson (56:52), Susie Ivin (59:53) and Helen Heathcote (1:04:30) all completed a great team performance.