Latest News
Getting your fill from Gade Valley Harriers
Welcome to the latest and greatest Gade Valley Harriers has to offer. We have a few different types of update that get posted on this page.
Here you can find the latest news, Member of The Month, latest club results, club awards and social updates.
New Updates
More Virtual Action for the Harriers
One of the nice things about the scarcity of races in these times is that we can focus on some of the runners that may not always enjoy the spotlight. This week we had three runners taking on the Virtual Run Your Town Dacorum 10k and one taking to the streets of Hemel...
Reason’s to be Cheerful for Harriers
This weekend saw a return to racing for many of the Harriers with 6 taking part in the Chiltern Ultra on Saturday, 7 tackling the Eton Dorney Marathon on Sunday and a further 7 Harriers joining 45000 or so others around the world in the Virtual London Marathon. The...
Wendleken in Iron Man Action While Harriers Reflect
Gade Valley Harriers, in common with the rest of the world’s runners, have spent the whole summer dreaming of the time that they can return to regular racing. As with the rest of the UK, the running community was dealt a Covid related blow this weekend with the...
Member of The Month
Existing and past member of the month awards. Congratulations to all those nominated.
Feb 2020: Isabel Wilson
Isabel has gone from strength to strength in her running and maintains an amazing modesty despite how brilliant she is! Isabel has completed in all of the cross country fixtures in the 2019/2020 season and has performed well in every one. On 8th February, in the final...
Feb 2020: Michael Linden
February saw the final race in the Chiltern Cross Country League held at a somewhat boggy but certainly hilly Campbell Park in Milton Keynes so I feel it fitting that February’s member of the month competed in all five of the cross county fixtures of the 19/20 season...
Latest Results
Bovingdon 10k – 1 Sep 2019
Place | Name | Gender | AG | ChipTime | Club league points | Age grade |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
3 | Richard Coles | M | V45 | 00:35:23 | 20 | |
12 | michael linden | M | V40 | 00:39:14 | 19 | |
20 | David Goodman | M | V40 | 00:41:06 | 18 | |
23 | James Birnie | M | V45 | 00:41:45 | 17 | |
30 | Philip Mercer | M | V40 | 00:42:29 | 16 | |
33 | Philip Heaton | M | SEN | 00:43:06 | 15 | |
38 | Trevor Normoyle | M | V40 | 00:43:36 | 14 | |
56 | Andrew Watt | M | V45 | 00:46:26 | 13 | |
71 | Tracey Cotton | F | V40 | 00:47:01 | 20 | |
106 | Bethan Heaton | F | SEN | 00:51:59 | 19 | |
112 | Isabel Wilson | F | V65 | 00:52:29 | 18 | |
127 | Helen Cook | F | V50 | 00:53:27 | 17 | |
133 | Jaqui Sampson | F | V40 | 00:54:32 | 16 | |
135 | Angeline Cottrill | F | V40 | 00:54:51 | 15 | |
148 | Kirstie Hardiman | F | V35 | 00:55:59 | 14 | |
170 | Holly Beckett | F | V35 | 00:58:59 | 13 | |
171 | Mary McCluskey | F | SEN | 00:58:59 | 12 | |
173 | Susie Ivin | F | V40 | 00:59:06 | 11 | |
193 | philip walker | M | V55 | 01:03:09 | 12 | |
194 | Helen Heathcote | F | V45 | 01:03:24 | 10 |
A huge contingent of Harriers took part in the Bovingdon 10k, a fairly flat road race which started in the heart of the village and wound its way around local country lanes. Rich Coles wasn’t taking any prisoners as he was first club member to pass HMP The Mount and turn onto the High Street to cross the finish line, completing the course in third place overall and as first male vet 45+ (MV45), clocking a superb time of 35:23. Andy Symmonds was just three places further back and second MV55, crossing the line in 37:04, ahead of Michael Linden who also managed a sub-40 minute finish, claiming the first MV40 position with a time of 39:21.
David Goodman was participating in his third race of the week, after completing the Canterbury Half Marathon (1:39:11) on Bank Holiday Monday and the Chase The Sun – Brockwell Park 10k (41:54) on Wednesday, and took the silver MV40 medal at Bovingdon on Sunday with a time of 41:06, ahead of James Birnie (41:51) who was third MV45.
Phil Mercer had completed the Spitfire 10k at RAF Hendon on Saturday morning (44:33) and manged to better his time just 24 hours later, finishing the Bovingdon event in 42:29, ahead of Phil Heaton (43:06), Trevor Normoyle (43:36) and Andrew Watt (46:26).
Tracey Cotton was another Harrier to string together two races this week, completing the Hatfield 5K (22:36) on Wednesday before being first female from the club – and eighth overall – to cross the line at Bovingdon, picking up the FV40 prize with a time of 47:01.
Rupert Cavenagh-Mainwaring (51:25) was the next club athlete to complete the course and Bethan Heaton (51:59) finished a minute ahead of the first FV65 and club mate Isabel Wilson (52:29) while Helen Cook (53:27) was third FV50.
Jaqui Sampson (54:32) held off Angeline Cottrill (54:51) and Kirstie Hardiman (55:59). Holly Beckett and Mary McCluskey (58:59) ran together and recorded identical times, with Susie Ivin (59:06) just a few seconds, and two places, behind.
Philip Walker (1:03:09) and Helen Heathcote (1:03:24) rounded up a fine performance for the team.
GVH achievements and PBs July 2019
GADE VALLEY HARRIERS PBS ETC JULY 2019
SPECIAL CONGRATULATIONS TO:
Chris Dowling for completing the Wendover Woods 100 Mile Ultra
Teresa Reason & Anita Berwick for completing Race to the Stones 100k Ultra
Rob Humphreys for completing the Lakeland 50 Mile Ultra
Craig Hardiman for completing the Bolton Ironman Triathlon
TOP THREE CATEGORY PLACES:
Dave Goodman: 2nd MV40: Chase the Sun 5k, Victoria Park on 3rd
And 1st MV40: Gunnersbury Park 10k on 21st
Tracey Cotton: 1st FV40: Spire Bushey 10k on 14th
PBS:
ParkRun: Holly Beckett, Ross Deacon, Isabel Wilson (x2), Imogen
Hudson, Susannah Harker, Jody Whitehill, Jenny Plastow (x2), Helen
Harker, Nikki Tucker, Sara Muncke, Caron Williams, Jackie Leach,
Angela Hunt
5k (non ParkRun): Dave Goodman, Phil Mercer (x2)
5 mile: Phil Mercer
10 mile: Dave Goodman, Holly Beckett, Mary McCluskey
Bearbrook 10k – 4 Aug 2018
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.
GVH ACHIEVEMENTS AND PBS JUNE 2019
Race winners (M & F):
15th: Anthony James: South Downs Half Marathon
16th: Lisa Newing: Kings Langley Puffaten (10k) (1st Female)
First Place Age Category Positions:
21st: Bill Hawes: 1st MV50 at St Albans Summer Solstice 10k
30th: Dave Goodman: 1st MV40 at Lee Valley Velodrome 5k
Top Three Age Category Positions:
9th: Teresa Reason: 2nd Female at Weald Challenge 50k
21st: Lisa Newing: 2nd FV35 at St Albans Summer Solstice 10k
4th: Jon Roberts: 3rd at Hawridge Duathlon
First Place at ParkRun:
29th: Tracey Cotton: 1st Female at Sunny Hill
PBs:
ParkRun: Sam Sparks, Mary McCluskey x2
10k: Dave Wood, Chris Dowling, Simon Geary, Michael Linden, Gareth Tucker, Andy Cook, Ross Deacon, Phil Mercer, Laura Sharma-Smith, Helen Cook, Mary McCluskey, Kirstie Hardiman.
Half Marathon: Michael Linden
Marathon: Harvey Denmead
St Albans Summer Solstice 10k 21 June 2019
A fab turnout from GVH at the St Albans Summer Solstice 10k on 21 Jun, which was the GVH club league race for June. Runners were rewarded with an excellent medal and a BBQ after their 10k performances.
St Albans has been the focal point of the longest day of the year for the last few years as it holds its annual Summer Solstice 10k and on Friday Harriers went in huge numbers to beat the sunset on a route which largely follows the Alban Way – a disused railway line that goes from the ancient city’s suburbs towards Hatfield.
Anthony James kept his fine recent form on track, after the previous weekend’s half marathon win, by being first club athlete to cross the line – and sixth overall – steaming round in 37:04, followed three places later by Al Flowers (37:52) who finished just ahead of Jon Roberts (37:58) to make it three Harriers in the top ten.
Chris Dowling (38:31) and Simon Geary (38:34) both picked up personal bests (PB) ahead of Antony Beamish (39:14) and Michael Linden (39:13) – who also managed a PB – and Anthony Willcox (39:35). Bill Hawes (39:35) was first Male Vet over 50 (MV50) and wrapped up an impressive sub-40 field from the club, meaning nine Harriers finished in the top 26.
David Goodman (40:08) held off Gareth Tucker (40:46), Andy Cook (40:45), Ross Deacon (41:04) and Phil Mercer (41:28) who all collected PBs.
Lisa Newing (42:17) was second FV35 – and fourth overall lady – ahead of Teresa Reason (42:46) and Edward Price (42:53) who was running for the first time after a long injury lay-off. Kathleen Smith (43:28) was eighth overall lady but third in her age category, with Gwyn Pritchard (43:45) crossing the line one place ahead of Lozza-tm Sharma-Smith (43:47) who made it four GVH ladies in the top ten and Andrew Watt (45:52), Tracey Cotton (47:05), Victoria Crawley Wise (48:29) and Sam Raffety (49:47) all put in great performances.
Kirstie Hardiman (50:42), Kim Morgan (51:01), Mel Hardy (51:07) and Andrew Terry (51:15) all finished within about 30 seconds of each other, and Helen Cook (51:25) picked up a PB in what was her second race in three days. Isabel Wilson (52:02) and Bethan Heaton (53:05) crossed the line ahead of Mary McCluskey (53:48) who nabbed a PB.
Angeline Cottrill (54:55) ran despite picking up a chest infection in the days leading up to the race, and finished ahead of Joanna Kidd (55:54), David Wilson (56:40) and Helen Terry (56:44). Leona Flaherty (Teresa Maryland) (57:23) was another club athlete racing for the second time in three days and was the penultimate member to cross the line in under an hour, ahead of Thomas Colligan (59:42), with Paula Cook (1:00:00) just missing out.
Gemma Tucker (1:02:11), Claire Pellett (1:03:45), Lisa Pinder (1:04:53), Paul Mosley (1:09:07) and Peter Tucker (1:12:17) completed the line-up.
Results as follows:
Pos | Name | Net Time | Category | Cat Pos | Gender | Gen Pos |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
6 | Anthony James | 00:37:04 | M40 | 4 | Male | 6 |
9 | Alistair Flowers | 00:37:52 | Senior | 5 | Male | 9 |
10 | Jonathan Roberts | 00:37:58 | M40 | 5 | Male | 10 |
14 | Chris Dowling | 00:38:31 | M40 | 6 | Male | 13 |
15 | Simon Geary | 00:38:34 | M40 | 7 | Male | 14 |
20 | Antony Beamish | 00:39:14 | M40 | 9 | Male | 18 |
21 | michael linden | 00:39:13 | M40 | 10 | Male | 19 |
24 | Anthony Willcox | 00:39:35 | Senior | 11 | Male | 22 |
26 | Bill Hawes | 00:39:35 | M50 | 1 | Male | 24 |
31 | David Goodman | 00:40:08 | M40 | 14 | Male | 29 |
36 | Gareth Tucker | 00:40:46 | M40 | 16 | Male | 33 |
37 | Andrew Cook | 00:40:45 | M50 | 5 | Male | 34 |
43 | Ross Deacon | 00:41:04 | M40 | 20 | Male | 40 |
45 | Phil Mercer | 00:41:28 | M40 | 21 | Male | 42 |
52 | Lisa Newing | 00:42:17 | W35 | 2 | Female | 4 |
60 | Theresa Reason | 00:42:46 | W35 | 4 | Female | 7 |
61 | Edward Price | 00:42:53 | M40 | 24 | Male | 54 |
67 | Kathleen Smith | 00:43:28 | Lady | 3 | Female | 8 |
71 | Gwyn Pritchard | 00:43:45 | Senior | 25 | Male | 63 |
72 | Laura Sharma-Smith | 00:43:47 | Lady | 4 | Female | 9 |
100 | Andrew Watt | 00:45:52 | M40 | 39 | Male | 86 |
119 | Tracey Cotton | 00:47:05 | W35 | 11 | Female | 23 |
149 | Victoria Crawley-Wise | 00:48:29 | W35 | 14 | Female | 29 |
179 | Samantha Raffety | 00:49:47 | W35 | 17 | Female | 40 |
194 | Kirstie Hardiman | 00:50:42 | W35 | 22 | Female | 48 |
203 | Kim Morgan | 00:51:01 | W35 | 23 | Female | 55 |
213 | Mel Hardy | 00:51:07 | Lady | 25 | Female | 61 |
217 | Andrew Terry | 00:51:15 | Senior | 56 | Male | 155 |
218 | Helen Cook | 00:51:25 | W45 | 11 | Female | 63 |
232 | isabel wilson | 00:52:02 | W55 | 3 | Female | 70 |
252 | Bethan Heaton | 00:53:05 | Lady | 31 | Female | 83 |
270 | Mary McCluskey | 00:53:48 | Lady | 35 | Female | 93 |
294 | Angeline Cottrill | 00:54:55 | W35 | 40 | Female | 108 |
305 | Joanna Kidd | 00:55:54 | W35 | 41 | Female | 114 |
311 | David Wilson | 00:56:40 | M40 | 78 | Male | 195 |
324 | Helen Terry | 00:56:44 | W35 | 42 | Female | 127 |
337 | LEONA FLAHERTY | 00:57:23 | W45 | 34 | Female | 136 |
375 | Thomas Colligan | 00:59:42 | M60 | 11 | Male | 216 |
382 | PAULA COOK | 01:00:00 | W55 | 9 | Female | 164 |
416 | Gemma Tucker | 01:02:11 | Lady | 62 | Female | 193 |
432 | Claire Pellett | 01:03:45 | Lady | 65 | Female | 207 |
455 | Lisa Pinder | 01:04:53 | W45 | 63 | Female | 226 |
501 | Paul Mosley | 01:09:07 | M60 | 15 | Male | 243 |
517 | Peter Tucker | 01:12:17 | M60 | 16 | Male | 248 |
May 2019 podium finishes and PBs
Club Awards
Club awards 2016-17
Award | 2016-17 |
---|---|
Best male athlete | Mark Crabtree |
Most improved male athlete | James Birnie |
Best new male athlete | Charlie Costin |
Best female athlete | Maria Kenny |
Most improved female athlete | Sian Hibbs |
Best new female athlete | Tracey Cotton |
Multi-sport award | Sian Hibbs |
Club league male | Rich Coles |
Club league female | Tracey Cotton |
Club league age-graded | Rich Coles |
Club handicap | Russ Bailey |
Committee award | Dave Wise |
Club members award | Dave Wise |
Club awards 2015-16
Award | 2015-16 |
---|---|
Best male athlete | Rich Coles |
Most improved male athlete | James Thomson |
Best new male athlete | Paul Buxton |
Best female athlete | Claire McDonnell |
Most improved female athlete | Jacqui Sampson |
Best new female athlete | Helen Cook |
Multi-sport award | Susie Ivin |
Club league male | Steve Newing |
Club league female | Gemma Bitaraf |
Club league age-graded | Rob Bowler & Andy Cook |
Club handicap | Paul Buxton |
Committee award | Karis Thomas |
Club members award | Dave Wise |
Club awards 2014-15
Award | 2014-15 |
---|---|
Best male athlete | Mark Crabtree |
Most improved male athlete | Dean Kidd |
Best new male athlete | Andy Cook |
Best female athlete | Gemma Bitaraf |
Most improved female athlete | Jo Kidd |
Best new female athlete | Rossiana Mee |
Multi-sport award | Tracey Aldridge-Jones |
Club handicap | Jo Welbourn |
Committee award | Ed Price |
Club members award | Dave Wise |