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.

38 Harriers turned out for the first Kent Fitness League race of 2017 at Minnis Bay Birchington hosted by Thanet Road Runners. Normally quite a muddy 6 mile circuit throughout , conditions were a lot drier than normal underfoot and the weather was fairly benign with little if any wind to contend with. Even the notorious dykes in the latter half of the race were only about a third full of their usual marsh soup. Harriers finished strongly in the team event with 4 of our male runners in the top 15 – Simon Jones 3rd , Yiannis Christodoulou 7th , Paul Knight 12th and Alex Horsley 14th. Jo Norrington led home the Harriers ladies finishing in 134th place backed up by Emma NcCabe in 171st , Kate Slee in 211th and Wendy 234th. Full results including Team Positions can be found by following the link on the right to Kent Fitness League.

Sunday saw the first of the Kent Fitness League Cross Country series at Knole Park Sevenoaks and an all time record KFL turnout for  an individual  event ( 561 runners  ) as well as an all  time record turn out for the Harriers ( 45 runners ) . In dry but  misty and cool  conditions Simon Jones raced home over the tough two lap 5.5 mile circuit to finish in an excellent 2^nd place. He was backed up in an impressive  18^th place by Josh Biggs in his debut race for the Harriers with solid backing  from Tom Purnell in 23^rd. The Harriers mens team finished in 3^rd place overall. For the ladies Jo Norrington was first home in 189^th position followed by Barbara Wenman , making a welcome return  from injury , in 201^st and Emma McCabe on her XC debut for the club in 246th. The ladies team finished in 8^th place overall. In the combined team event the Harriers are in 5^th place overall – a great platform to build on for the rest of the season. Next up Swanley Park on Sunday 13^th November.

For full results go to the KFL link  on the Harriers Website Homepage

 A record numbers of Harriers turned out for the Annual Club Championship 10k race , incorporated in the  Ashford Givaudan 10k , on Sunday 9th October.  Despite the wet conditions there were 48 Harriers finishers in the race, 16 women and 32 men, a club record for any event since being formed in 1993.  As usual there were plenty of PB’s, 22 in total, along with 10 debuts and a team prize for the women, courtesy of Jenny Benson, who was also the first female finisher overall in the event( her first ever race win) alongside Jo Norrington and Jennie Gardiner, who ran very impressive PB’s in  42.11 and 42.29 respectively.

The men had a great race too, with Simon Jones being the first Harrier back in another PB of 34.29 for 6th place in the event. He was closely followed by Paul Knight and Jacob Hussey, in 37.15 and 38.08 respectively.

Tina Jones was 3rd in the Vet 60 females in a speedy 52.38 and we also had Phil Hadler as the first ever Vet 70 finisher in 1.04.23.

Overall the event was a resounding success and we look forward to doing it all over again next year, lets see if we can beat these records!!

A complete list of the results can be found on the Canterbury Harriers website