The summer season has come to close and the Canterbury Harriers have had an excellent time with plenty of trophies, race wins and PB’s.

Both Nicola Charlton and Fiona Tester have had come consistently within the top 3 of any races they have participated in, including the Stelling Minnis 10k where they placed 2nd and 3rd respectively.  Nicola and Fiona along with Gemma Jeffrey also placed first in the summer relay season to retain the Vet 35 A team trophy.  There have been plenty of other triumphs including the East Kent and Aylesham 5k in which Sarah Maguire, Melanie Christodoulou and Wendy Smith came 1st, 2nd and 3rd respectively.  At the Canterbury Half marathon, which not only is a tough, hilly course, was also one of the hottest days of the year with temperatures close to 30 degrees, Emma Greatrix, not only placed 4th female but was first in her Vet 45 age category and then a week later in slightly cooler conditions, the ladies pulled it out of the bag again, with Hannah Pilbeam on her debut run for the club coming 1st senior female, Fiona Tester not only getting a PB but coming 3rd female and alongside Deborah Paris and Leisa Foad winning the Ladies team prize.  Deborah Paris on that day also clocked a huge PB by over 30 minutes, Debbie has consistently been getting PB’s across pretty much every race she has participated in.

The men have also had a good season; Peter Hogben won the Canterbury Half Marathon for the second time in 3 years.  Yiannis Christodoulou, Simon Jones and Alex Horsley  along with Peter Hogben have consistently placed high in all races they have participated in.  Alex placing high in the Mount Ephraim 10k in 2nd, Yiannis came 2nd in the East Kent and Aylesham 5k, Simon Jones winning the University of Kent at Canterbury 10k.  Mark Peacock raced all 4 of the PodPlus Ashford Summer 10k series and came 1st or 2nd in all of the races.

Harriers have raced all over the world during the summer in lots of different disciplines and distances, from 5k to 50k, from open water swimming to cycling.

We also had 4 members compete for Great Britain, Peter Hogben, came 3rd at the National Championships today for the middle triathlon distance, Yiannis Christodoulou, ITU Aquathlon World Championships came 6th in age group, Simon Jones, ITU Aquathlon World Championships came 10th in age group, Dave Bowden, ITU Long distance Triathlon placed 23rd, all of whom have qualified for next year.

Well done to everyone who has competed over the summer, there have been team prizes, trophies and PB’s galore for us, a full list of all of these can be found on the Canterbury Harriers website

The Harriers were out in large numbers not only in the U.K. but also in Le Touquet in France.

There were 6 runners in the tough and hilly Mount Ephraim 10k, there were no PB’s but some good performances, notably Alex Horsley at 38.04 and Stephanie Bancroft in a good time of 56.16.

In the ever popular Aylesham and East Kent 5k and 10k there were 11 Harriers out in the warm conditions. 1st, 2nd and 3rd lady, in the 5k, was an all Harrier affair with Sarah Maguire, Melanie Christodoulou and Wendy Smith taking the places respectively. Nicola Charlton also took the 1st place lady in the 10k.

Over in France a small group went out to Le Touquet 10K, including Roy Gooderson who was out there for his 26th year in a row!

This was a bumper weekend with plenty of medals for the Harriers and all results can be found on the Canterbury Harriers website.

“The Harriers hosted the final event in the East Kent Inter Club Relays Series on Tuesday 4th July 2017 at the Victoria Recreation Ground in Canterbury with a record turnout for the club on a warm and humid evening. 

Once again we finished on a high note with victories on the evening and series victories for the Ladies v35 A Team,Mens V40A and Men`s V60A teams and excellent competitive runs and times for all of the Harriers taking part including our identical twins Kieran and Tom Jessup running in a Mens Senior Team !”

Tuesday 23rd May saw the start of the relay season on a lovely evening down on the Folkestone seafront.  There was a great turnout for both the men’s and the women’s events. The women’s vet 35 A and B teams made a good start on defending their current titles finishing top of the standings. There were some lightning performances on the slightly shortened route along the promenade including Simon Jones in 12.54 and Alex Horsley in 14.09 for the men and Nicola Charlton for the ladies in 16.09. Also in the ladies races new member Hannah Pilbeam and Fiona Tester both recorded  quick times of 16.36.

The second race at Minnis Bay on 30th May came along on another warm and sunny evening. There was a good turnout for both the men and women with  some stand out performances from Sian Smith-Keary, 15.44, and Caroline Wetherill in 15.40 and for the men Mark Peacock in 13.30 and Jethro Kimber in 14.13

After the second round of the series  the ladies Vet 35 A and B teams are still top along with the Men’s Vet 45 and the men’s vet 60 A and B teams.

Well done to all those who have run over the two races. Let’s hope we can keep up the momentum, and the  turnout, for the upcoming events.

A slightly wet and windy May Bank Holiday in Whitstable was the setting for the 18th Whitstable 10k organised by Canterbury Harriers and sponsored by Baileys Nissan.

Pictured are the two race winners, Dominic O’Mahoney from Invicta East Kent AC, who finished in a time of 32 mins and 56 secs  and Anoushka Johnson from Dartford Harriers AC who recorded a time of 42:41 being presented with their awards by Canterbury Harriers Chairman  Peter Yarlett.  Pictures of  other category  winners  can  be found on the Canterbury Harriers Facebook page.

Running clubs from all over Kent and further afield took part in the race  including a large group from Rebel Runners, a newer club from Medway , using the event as one of their club 10K championship races. Included in their number was the MP for  Gillingham and Rainham , Rehman Chishti, who recorded  an impressive PB of over 40 seconds and finished  24th overall in the race in a time of 40 :35

A total of £1000 raised from race entry fees was donated to the Demelza House Childrens Hospice Charity.

Full results including full details of the race category winners  can be found on the Whitstable 10k website.

There were excellent conditions for the 14 Harriers taking part  in the London Marathon last Sunday. Among the 14 there were 4 PB’s and 2 debuts. Mike Mawby was first Harrier over the finish line in a time of 2 hrs 41 mins and 54 secs. One of those making a  debut over the distance  was Lea Burnett who was also raising money for the Kent Kidney Patient Association. She finished in an excellent time of  5.04.18 for her first marathon.  Among the PB’s were Wim Van Vuuren who ran this year after having to defer his place from last year due to a last minute injury. He ran an impressive 3.33.51. Other notable performances were Dave Bowden clocking  2.59.03, breaking through the 3 hr barrier for the first time and also  breaking his own Vet50 club record in the process, Andy Phillips, 3.21.34, pictured, Thom Fenton, 3.41.00, and Colin Kent who has been battling with a long term injury came in at 3.59.44

Well done to all those who have run marathons this spring season, all the results can be found on the website

Spring is in the air and a record number of Harriers have been piling on the mileage in preparation for a range of upcoming marathons. Full details are listed below. We wish them all the best in their various races especially those who are doing their first ever marathon. Don`t forget to wave as you cross the line
 

Canterbury Harriers – Spring Marathon List

Spring Phoenix Marathon – 5th March

Sally Silver

SUN Charity Challenge Marathon – 25th March

Sally Silver

Groovy Baby Marathon – 2nd April

Sally Silver

Manchester Marathon – 2nd April

Mike Denson

Paul Elderton

Thom Fentem

Steve Tugwell

Glenn Wilson

Caroline Wetherill

Brighton Marathon – 9th April

David Dunn

Jo Manser

Karen Hoult

Daren Parris

Deborah Parris

Sally Silver

Paul Keen

Dean Bradshaw

Tom Purnell

Rosie Maltby

Paul Knight

Stephanie Bancroft

Karen Bennett

Andy Phillips

Paris Marathon – 9th April

Emily Thompson

Adam Elston

Jake McLoon

London Marathon – 23rd April

Wim van Vuuren

Karen Bennett

Ian stokes

Faye Roberts

Barbara Wenman

Jenny Benson

Nicola Charlton

Thom Fentem

Paul Knight

Ian Pearson

Nigel Porter

Lea Burnett

Sarah Maguire

Mike Mawby

Andy Phillips

Blackpool Marathon – 23rd April

Wendy Smith

St George’s Day Marathon – 23rd April

Jennie Lucas

Milton Keynes Marathon -1st May

Julie Bradford

Bewl Water Marathon – 13th May

Sammy – Jo Foster

Reculver Marathon – 4th June

Leisa Foad

Sunday 19th February saw the last of the cross country races of the season at Fowlmead, Deal.  There were some stellar performances including Simon Jones, pictured, coming in 2nd in the race but also runner up in the Men’s Championship. Alex Horsley also came in the top 10 in the race.

For the women there were 3 Harriers in the top 10, Claire Pluckrose, Jo Norrington and Barbara Wenman which meant the ladies team came first in the race today but came 5th overall in the final standings, also helping the combined team to come in 3rd overall.

There were some other notable performances including Emma McCabe coming in 19th in the Ladies Championships in her first season and Leisa Foad coming 48th also in her first season! Steve Clark came 74th in the Men’s Championship but has also run in over 100 races since the records began in 2001.

Well done to everyone who has taken part across the season it has been another successful year for the Harriers.

All results can be found on the Harriers website

Sunday 5th February saw  Canterbury Harriers host the penultimate event of the season in the Kent Fitness League.  A total of 293 runners completed the course. Conditions were perfect, chilly with plenty of mud! The club fielded a large team of 35 runners. Simon Jones had another great run to finish in second place. He was backed up for the men by Yiannis Christodoulou in 7th and Paul Knight in 11th position. Barbara Wenman was first home for the Harriers ladies in 118th position backed up by new member Claire Pluckrose running her first ever cross country race ! in 124th and Emma McCabe continuing her great season in 135th position . The race also brought some members out of the closet, including Emma Greatrix, pictured, who dusted off her trail shoes for the first time in 5 years! There were plenty of other notable runs including  debut KFL runs by Jethro Kimber and David Dunn. A great all round team performance and well done to all those who braved the cold, battled the mud and ran hard for Harriers.With the final race in the series at Fowlmead , Deal in two weeks time on Sunday 19th February the club lies in 3rd place in the Mens League standings,6th in the Ladies standings and 5th in the combined. We need another big turnout at Fowlmead to consolidate our team positions and maintain our proud record in the League.

Full details from the Blean race can be found by clicking on the link to the right of our website home page.

37 Harriers turned out for the Canterbury 10. The conditions certainly not ideal with freezing fog, and many icy patches not the best when coupled with some tough hills. There were 17 debuts, including  a very impressive 1.06.20 from Adam Elston and an excellent run from Philip Hadler coming in at 1.48.28! There were also some impressive PB’s, 7 in total, including Gemma Jeffrey who came in at 1.16.54, a PB by two and a half minutes and Melanie Christodoulou who took four minutes off of last years debut time, coming in at 1.19.42, well done girls! There were three runners in the top 50, Simon Jones, 7th 57.41, Yiannis Christodoulou, 28th 1.01.11 and Paul Knight, 47th 1.02.50.

A very impressive set of results, in a challenging race in challenging conditions. All results can be found on the Canterbury Harriers website.