Gwent League Success
01/03/2008 by Gerry.
From Eric Bailey
Promotion for Ladies team.
Saint David’s day saw the final fixture in this seasons Gwent League at a sunny but windy Blaise Castle. Pride of place once again goes to the victorious Ladies team who again showed why they finished top of their division this season. With consistent runs from Sam Mulligan 12th Becky Merriman 20th and Lou Summers 37th backed up by Esther Barrett 58th and Sain Edwards 74th ( complete with daffodil) they consolidated their position at the top of Division 2.
On the individual front congratulations go to Sam Mulligan who finished 3rd overall in the Senior Ladies section and Becky Merriman who picked up the Silver Medal in the Vet 0/35 section by finishing 2nd overall. The ladies are really setting the standard for next year when they will be competing in the First Division once again.
One hour earlier the novice section saw both Paige and Darcy Wright start the day of with fine performances in the Novice section. With an earlier than normal start it was over to the Men’s team to carry on with some excellent runs from all concerned. After a fine performance in the Welsh Championships last week Philip Matthews was again in good form running with a group of runners fighting for top ten places. Unfortunately for Philip he lost a few places on the final sprint to the line but still finished with a fine 9th place. Men’s captain Mark Harvey ran well to finish in 58th place. The next five team places were a constant battle with positions swapping on each lap. At the finish it was Ivan Teed 73rd just leading home Steve Harris 75th closely followed by Matthew Lawson (minus buggy on this occasion) in 86th. Backing up the front five were Steve Caldwell 96th Calum Cheshire 111th Mark Jefferies 138th Nick Higgins 155th and improving with each race Dick Finch 193rd. Also present at the race was Kevin Mcentee who was ready to run but was called away just ten minutes before the start (work commitments). Overall a fine 3rd place for the men’s team in Division 2 just missing out on the promotion spot, still there’s always next year.
Again on the Individual front its congratulations to Phillip Matthews who finished a magnificent 3rd overall in the Senior Men’s section.
With promotion for the ladies and three individual category awards I think it confirms the committee’s decision to carry on with the club’s participation in the Gwent League which offers all club members the chance to test themselves against a much wider range of athlete’s at all levels. Well done to everyone who took part and if you missed out on the fun you can always join in next Season.
Photos from Saturday can be found on the Flicker Web site.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/23777992@N04/sets/72157604025641372/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/24303361@N07/sets/72157604026434601/
Eric Bailey
Llanthony Short Fell Race
01/03/2008 by Gerry.
A few Chepstow Harriers with ambitions in the hills rather than the country headed for the Winter Hill fell race at Llanthony. It was a windy day and promised wild conditions on the ridge, but a late change to the course meant that there was not too much time up top. The total distance of just under 2.5 miles did include about 360 metres of climb.
Sue earned her coveted sweatshirt for competing in 50 winter league events, as well as a well deserved prize for her age category. Photos to follow shortly. Meanwhile, Link to another Blog on the race
