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PB for Pete in Dublin Peter Kaneen recorded a personal best time at 20K on Saturday 17th December in the Dublin Winter Race Walking Challenge event in Phoenix Park. Peter won the 20K event in a time of 1.33.47. Check out photo’s by Shelley Walsh (thanks to Bridget for the link) 20km Walk Results 1. P Kaneen ( Isle of Man) 1.33.47 2 . J Egan (Slaney Olympic) 1.41.56 3. D Kidd (St L O’Toole) 1.46.14 4. J.Constandinou (Cyprus) 1.57.09 Euro Cross 2005 (report by Andy Fox) It is not often that an athlete enters a race and comes out of it with injuries that a boxer or martial arts exponent might expect. However, that was the bitterly disappointing experience Keith Gerrard had to endure at the European Cross Country Championships on Sunday 11th December. On a slippery, narrow and twisty course that the kind hearted would describe as tight, and the more critical as unfit for such a Championship race, Keith was one of many athletes who had their plans wrecked through no fault of their own. However, it has to be said the conditions were the same for everyone and unfortunately on this day they did not work in Keith’s favour. As the race set off Keith was at the back of the GB pen having finished 6th. in the trial race. He knew a fast start was required to get into the kind of position that would allow him to attempt to achieve his pre race aims of a possible top 10 and certainly top 20 placing. After 100m the course took a very sharp turn and the 100 plus athletes streamed around in very close order. It was impossible to see the ground as the athletes were so close together with approximately 3 seconds covering the whole field at this stage. Over the next kilometre Keith moved through the field confidently trying to pick his way to the front. At this stage he was feeling good. Suddenly he felt a push from behind. He fell along with 20 or so others and hit the ground hard sustaining a shoulder injury in the process. After disentangling himself he continued now back in 95th place. His team mate Tom Minshull had been behind him at this stage, saw the pile up but managed just to avoid it and went on the finish 29th!!! As Keith got going again he began to pick athletes off once more before his second fall after 9 minutes of running. An athlete in front fell, Keith could not avoid him and fell over him. As he plummetted to the ground he was hit in the face by an elbow and then spiked as two or three athletes ran over him. From this point getting up into the top 20 was impossible and the plucky lad from Peel pushed on as hard as he could to recover again from a position in the 90s to finish 69th. It was a bitterly disappointing end to a day that began with such high hopes. Keith’s team mates, all of whom he has beaten this year, finished as follows :- Andy Vernon 2nd, Adam Hickey 13th, Kelvin Hardy 24th, Tom Minshull 29th and Anthony Moran 33rd. The GB team took silver behind Poland and ahead of Romania. However, this in no way compensates for the way the run went in Keith’s mind. Keith’s aim now is to bounce back (please excuse the pun) and use this experience to spur him on to great things for the rest of the winter. His racing plans include a low key but welcome turn out in the Millennium Way relay, a run in the Senior race at the Lancashire Champs and the defence of his Junior English national title at Parliament hill in London. In addition he plans to race the British University Students champs as well. This will mark the beginning of his transition to Senior competition and hopefully the chance to avenge the events of Tilborg in the Senior Euro Champs in a few years time UK Athletics website report Euro Cross Website Race result here Manx Harriers at the UK Cross Challenge Keith Gerrard was disappointed with his 7th place finish in the Junior Mens race but was delighted to hear later in the day that he had been selected for the GB team for the Euro Championships in Tilburg, Netherlands next month. The top 6 finishers were selected for the squad, but the race winner Moumin Geele does not hold a British Passport. Performance of the day came from Sarah Astin who finished 8th in the U13G race There were excellent performances from Nicola Cooil & Gemma Astiin the U15G race. Well done also to John Halligan, Andy Fox, Darren Gray & Gianni Epifani in the Senior Mens race Andrew Newton’s name doesn’t appear in the U17B results Manx Harriers at the UK Cross Challenge Keith Gerrard will be the leading local contender in the UK Cross Challenge races at Sefton Park, Liverpool this weekend (26th November). The Manx Harrier has been in scintillating form so far this year and will be looking to ensure his place in the UK team for the Euro under 20 Champs in Tilborg, Holland on Sunday 11th December 2005. Keith has been plagued by misfortune in this race in the past. Racing and training has gone well so far and hopefully we will see a strong display from him on the day. Over last weekend he commented "it would be nice to win the race but really I have to concentrate on one thing – getting into the first 4 and so the team. I need to save my best for the Euro Champs in Holland." We wish him all the best and will cover the full story next week. Also running will be Nicola Cooil in the under 15s race. Nicola finished 18th in the corresponding fixture last year and will be hoping for as good if not better a display this time around. Gemma Astin has had a good local cross country season so far and will be aiming for a pleasing performance on Saturday. Sister Sarah will be hoping to do likewise in the under 13 girls race. The Sefton Park course is flat and fast which may suit Nicola more, however, all three girls will give their all, of that you can be assured. Andrew Newton runs in the under 17 race. His training is progressing well although race results have been a little inconsistent so far. Andrew’s main aim is the Lancashire Cross Country Champs and beyond to the Inter Counties and National Champs in 2006. Hopefully Saturday will prove to be a useful stepping stone along the way. In the Senior race local Cross country’s 100% winning record will end in that John Halligan will not win the UK senior men’s trial race!!!! However, it will be very interesting to see how high John can finish. Anything inside the top 70 would be a great run and the top 50 would be fantastic. I am sure cross country supporters will watch with great interest. Darren Gray also competes and will be looking to continue his return to form after a few bouts of illness so far this winter. Evergreen Andy Fox is also having a run out. Chris Quine and Gianni Epifani are also in attendance and will compete or spectate depending on illness and injury. (thanks to Andy Fox) nManx Harriers at the Nordic Race Walking Championships A valiant performance by Peter Kaneen in his attempt to achieve a Commonwealth Games consideration time in the 50K walk. Peter was rewarded with a personal best time of 4.30.26. Bridget’s 20K time of 1.54.09 was just over 40 seconds off her PB, and a great performance when you consider all the distractions of Peter’s race. Well done to Neil Bates who walked well to finish 20K in 1.47.42 as he continues to regain his fitness after a long illness. Harriers fly to Denmark for Nordic Walks A small party of Manx Harriers will be travelling over to the Nordic Walking Championships to be held in Valbyparken, Copenhagen in Denmark on 8th October. Peter Kaneen is entered as a guest walker in the Nordic 50k Championships on Saturday which combine the Danish, Swedish and Norwegian championships within the race. Peter will be hoping that the hard work he has put in over the Summer months will pay off as he hopes to improve on his 4hrs 31 clocking for 50k earlier in the year in Slovakia. This will be his final opportunity to race at the distance this year so he will be putting every effort in to try and achieve his dream of bettering the Manx Commonwealth Games standard of 4hrs 25. The race will held over 25 laps of a 2000m flat and hopefully fast road course and all the fingers are crossed for kind weather conditions. Peters wife Bridget had originally intended to travel as feeder and back up to her other half, but with their coach Allan Callow now also travelling and taking on this duty she has been left free to enter the women’s 20k event and is looking forward to competing away from home. Neil Bates is also racing as a guest in the Junior men’s 20k championship. This will be Neil’s first 20k for over a year as he gradually gets back to fitness after a prolonged illness last year. He will be looking to use the event as a springboard for winter training and a mark to build on for next season. Race judge Dougie Corkill is also travelling with the party and has been invited to join the judging panel for the event so will be gaining further experience judging at international level and a great opportunity for forging friendships between countries involved in the sport. The final member of the party will be Neil’s mum Carol, who had planned to spend the weekend with her son anyway but was informed of a new location for the get together. Manx Harriers at the World Masters Manx Harrier Cal Partington competing for the Isle of Man at the World Masters Fell Running Championships on Saturday 10th September in Keswick where she finished a superb 7th place in the W35 race. Ian Callister, Mike Quine & Richie Stevenson also competed in the event as did Simon Skillicorn in the Open Race the following day. Check out event details here & hundreds more photo’s here. Andy Fox pictured here in the Northern League at the NSC this Summer competed for Great Britain in the 3000m SC in the XVI World Masters Athletics Championships on 3rd September in San Sebastian. Andy finished in 6th place in 10.23.48 find out more about the event here & check out full results of Andy’s race
inEnglish Schools Race Walking Championships 2005 On Friday 16th September Ciara Kaneen, Emma Latham, Bronwen Kaneen, Robert Moore and coach Elizabeth Corran travelled to Southampton for the 33rd Annual English Schools Combined Events and Race walking Championships. With half the group injured prospects were not looking good. However things got off to a good start with Bronwen in the Junior Girls 3Km event. She was slightly disappointed with her time of 19m 09s, but finished in a respectable 7th place in very hot conditions. It was Bronwen’s maiden attempt at the English Schools and she gained invaluable experience. However she still lacks confidence in her own ability and by her own admission there is still a lot more to come from her in the future. Next to race were Emma and Ciara in the Intermediate Girls 3Km race: both sporting an attractive pair of Merseyside team purple knicker shorts!. The race went very well despite both Emma and Ciara suffering from minor injuries. Ciara came home in an excellent 5th position in a time of 16m 42s after nearly 2 years away from the sport. Ciara walked a strong and technically sound race and was very pleased with breaking 17 minutes for the first time. Emma also walked a good technical race settling into a strong rhythm in an ideal place in the pack to pick off the competition in an offensive race. Despite pre-race worries about the competition she obliterated the opposition to finish in an amazing 3rd place with an English Schools standard time of 15m 52s – a result to be pleased with and a springboard for the coming season. The final race of the day was the Senior Boys 5Km event. Robert moved up an age category this year and faced some fierce competition. From the gun Robert walked a strong positive race and was all set for 3rd place until two laps to go when the competition stepped up the pace. Unfortunately Robert was unable to match the pace and dropped slightly back but still fought hard before falling foul of the judges with 250m to go. He was very disappointed but put on a brave face to share in the delight of the girls performances. Overall it was a successful weekend with some top quality walking. Most of all we had a lot of fun and we are very grateful to our coach Elizabeth Corran for taking us there and for putting up with us all. We are also very grateful for the financial help from Manx Harriers and from Brenda Charlton and Margi Killey of the Young Race walkers Fund. By Robert Moore, Emma Latham, Ciara Kaneen & Bronwen Kaneen 4th place for Harriers in Northern League (report by Chris Quine) Manx Harriers consolidated their position in Division Two West of the North of England Track and Field league in warm conditions at Stretford, Manchester last Sunday (7th August). Despite a slightly depleted team the squad managed fourth place with National League team Trafford AC taking the overall Division title. A number of medallists from the recent NatWest Island Games were in action. The best result of the day came in the 3000m steeplechase with Andy Fox and Darren Gray picking up maximum points with wins in both the A and B events. The third member of the Island Games half marathon medal winning team, John Halligan ran a PB of 15 mins 36 secs, whilst finishing 2nd in the 5000m. Stuart Corran scored well in the throws, surprising himself with a PB of 10.82m in the Shot. He was well supported by a number of the younger members of the squad who picked up valuable B event points. One with an eye on future Island Games might be 15 year old Michael Haslett who ran an excellent 400m hurdles with a sub 60 seconds clocking. His brother Daryl also managed a PB in the 400m with a time of 53.6 secs. Another with Games aspirations is Tom Riley and he clocked up a couple of good performances in the 100m and 200m. It is always good to see new faces on the scene and this time, it was the turn of newcomer Glen Hamilton to pick up useful points in the 100m, 400m and both relays. Amongst the females, Sarah Nelson and Wendy Ross picked up valuable points in the middle distances, whilst Rachael Kelly and Sarah Dowling worked hard for points in the hurdles and sprint events.. Encouragingly the squad had a number of athletes in the under 20 and under 17 age groups. Hopefully, many of these will continue to develop their athletics over the next 2-3 years. One of the keys to success in the league is to have competitors in all events. Frustratingly, a lack of numbers, mainly on the female side, meant that a minimum of 60-70 points were surrendered before the match had started. This proved to be the difference between finishing third, possibly even second, and the actual fourth on the day. Provisional results: Liverpool Pembroke Sefton – 397 pts Trafford – 389 pts Wigan – 360 pts Manx – 299 pts Sutton St Helens – 256.5 pts Altrincham – 251.5 pts North of England Track & Field League website Manx Harriers 2nd in Match 4 of the Young Athletes League at Ellesmere Port (Sunday 17th July)
A Team Event Winners: U17 Men: 1500m Lee Butterworth (4.32.3); 400mH Michael Haslett (60.5); 1500m S/C Lee Butterworth (5.19.7); Hammer Adam Jones (37.57); Javelin Daniel Stewart-Clague (35.41); Pole Vault Daniel Stewart-Clague (2.40); Long Jump Michael Haslett (6.16); U15 Boys: 100m Will Latta (11.6); 200m Will Latta (23.6); 800m Tom Bateson (2.19.1); Shot Putt Will Latta (9.98); U13 Boys: 800m Tom Kelly (2.32.7); Shot Putt Robert Kneale (5.83); U17 Women: Discus Charlotte Christian (21.81); Shot Putt Charlotte Christian (8.24); Long Jump Helen Ring (4.17); 4x100m Relay Helen Ring, Mary Reilly, Ciara Kaneen, Mel Cubbon (57.4); 1500m Rachael Kelly (5.07.6); U13 Girls: 800m Emily Ashe (2.44.6); 1200m Sarah Astin (4.14.8); B Team Event Winners: U17 Men: 200m Daniel Chan (25.8); 400m John Rudge (58.2); 400mH Fin Biscoe-Taylor; 100mH Richard Crellin (17.6); Hammer Ben Brand (17.75); Javelin Ben Brand (33.94); Long Jump Ben Brand (5.76); U15 Boys: 800m Conor Delabanque (2.23.6); 300m Tom Richard (10.53.0); Javelin Jamie Haslett (21.06); High Jump Sean Pacey (1.45); U13 Boys: 1500m Sam Retin (6.24.2); Shot Putt Jack Callaghan (5.64); U17 Women: Ciara Kaneen (50.5); Discus Helen Ring (20.40); Javelin Ciara Kaneen (18.35); U15 Girls: 1500m Gemma Astin (5.17.8); U13 Girls: High Jump Emily Ashe (1.20). Bronze for Emma in Tullamore Emma Latham won a Bronze medal in the English Schools Under 17 Girls 3Km Track Race Walk at the SIAB Schools’ International held in Tullamore, Ireland on Saturday 16th July. The race was won by England’s Sarah Foster in a time of 15.04.2 with Sorcha Prendeville of Ireland in Second. The top 3 placings were a repeat of last months Under 16 race at the Dublin Grand Prix. Although Emma’s time of 15m 40s on Saturday was 12 seconds slower than Dublin, it is a Personal Best time on the track Bridget Kaneen Awarded Bagley Trophy Bridget Kaneen was awarded the Bagley Trophy at last month’s IOMAA Presentation night. The trophy, donated by Manx Harrier Alan Bagley and his father is presented annually to an official/organiser who has made an outstanding contribution to Manx athletics.A worthy recipient of this years award, Bridget is a Manx Harriers committee member, race walking events organiser,timekeeper at many local events and surely the best post-race fresh cream scone and cake maker. The winner of the men’s trophy was Steve Kelly of Northern AC Manx Harriers Race Walkers at the AAA’s It must have been thirsty work for the Manx Harriers race walkers competing at the World & Commonwealth Trials & AAA Championships in Manchester on Sunday 10th July. Steve Partington was 4th (22:20.71) in the Men’s 5K walk with Neil Bates 8th (24:53.33) making a welcome return to competition after a long illness. Bridget Kaneen was 7th in the Women’s 5K event recording 7th (27:24.08) in the hot conditions Harriers Finish Third in Wigan Thriller (report by Andy Fox). Match 3 of the Northern Senior Athletics league Division 2 West went right down to the wire before the final placings were known. The first three teams were well ahead of their rivals with Manx Harriers trading blows with Liverpool Pembroke and Wigan. In the end the two larger clubs just had enough to defeat the locals however the fighting display should just about assure them of avoiding relegation and also perhaps just missing out on a promotion match place depending upon the result of the final match in August. The weather conditions were unusual. It was warm, cloudy and quite humid. However, there was a strong wind in the home straight which hampered all in the track events as the sprinters were held back running into such a strong headwind and the distance runners had their strength sapped as they struggled lap on lap into the strong gusts. Having said that the conditions were the same for everyone and some fine performances were recorded. The club scored 3 A wins with Shaun Cregeen and Hollie Bass both warming up for Shetland with A wins in the High Jump. Rachael Kelly took the A 400m hurdles. In B events there were two wins in the same disciplines. Carly Letch marked her debut with a fine clearance of 1.45m to take the High jump while Hannah Riley won the B 400m hurdles. Overall the club scored 11 second and 5 third places in A events
and 9 second and 12 third places in B events. The consistency is plain to
see with over half of the events contested seeing Manx Harriers
athletes The individual performances were as follows :- Men. Athlete/Events/Performances Women. Athlete/Events/Performances 1. Liverpool
Pembroke and Sefton 382 The overall standings after match 3 are as follows :- Match Points League Points 1. Liverpool
Pembroke & Sefton 1032.5 15 Many thanks to the officials that travelled with the club on
the day – Di and Bernie Shimell, Bridget Kaneen and Elaine Whelan.
Mr Fox Heads to Masters Andy Fox competed in the 3000m steeple chase event representing Great Britain in the Interland Masters match versus France, Belgium and GB reserves on Saturday 25th June at Ashford in Kent. Thanks to Andy for the following report; 8 in the race – 2 French, 2 Belgian, 2 GB A and 2 GB B team. The day was warm and humid but also windy. I would say that all sprint perfs. could well have had an over the legal limit wind assistance. For officionadoes of the ‘chase, the water was on the outside of the track so just over 7 laps required rather than 7.5. The result is lap times of around 85 will bring you close to 10 mins rather than 80 for the inside water jump tracks. The race was fast and furious at first. I was on the back of the 4 continentals at the end of lap 1 in 79 seconds probably 3 or 4 secs behind the leader. At this stage I decided to ease back. The pace was sub 9.30 which I am not capable of any more. I tried to settle in at a good pace and the leaders stretched out quite a big lead on me. The lead changed hand 3 or 4 times during the race with one faller and one refusal at the water during the 7 laps from the 8 runners. In the last 2 laps it seemed all of the first 4 were coming back to me. I guess the early pace was beginning to tell. Certainly 3rd and particularly 4th were (the 2 Belgians at this point). I managed to pull back the 4th. Belgian by the last barrier, a sprint finish ensued which he managed to win. As such, I finished 5th. out of the 8 competitors. The times were approx 1st. 9.44, 2nd. 9.49, 3rd. 9.57 4th. 10.08.9 5th. 10.10. This is all unofficial of course but not far from the mark. The other Brits were around 10.30. The second Brit to finish was Bernie Jones who some might remember from the old IOM v N. Wales v Shropshire XC matches of the late eighties and early nineties. He won the indoor over 45 GB 1500m and 3000m titles this winter and is no mug so I was pleased to be ahead of him. The French and Belgian runners were all in their early 40s I think. They ran the kind of times I did at that age so I guess it was to be expected really. Why the GB team in the chase was made up of over 45s I do not know. I suppose we would have to ask the 40 and 41 year olds that question. I certainly enjoyed the experience although it was a very long and tiring day. Up at 5am, flights, trains, missed one connection but still got there in time to warm up (just) and that was just getting there. It may be my one and only chance so I am glad I have done it and performed at least satisfactorily on the day. It seems all went well with the Parish and I thank the lads at Ballasalla, Jan and Stewie Lambie (he stepped into my shoes there at short notice) for covering for me in my absence. One last point. Every race I have run this summer has been
in a near gale or at least strong wind. Is someone up there trying to prepare
me for the Shetland Games do you think????
Steve Taylor previews the Dublin Grand Prix of Race Walking Local athletes will be travelling to Ireland this weekend (25th June) to take part in the 15th Dublin Grand Prix of Race Walking held in Phoenix Park, Dublin. The event is the last opportunity for athletes all over the world to gain a World Championship qualifying time and a large and very talented filed is expected to gather for this event.
The Manx team is made up of junior and senior athletes, with the spotlight falling firmly on Peter Kaneen going for a Commonwealth Games consideration time of 4hours 25minutes for the 50km event. Peter has ranked 2nd in Britain over 50km over the last two years but that alone is not enough to earn him selection for the Commonwealth Games. His personal best time of 4.31.31 was set in the Isle of Man in March last year and he came with 12 seconds of this when competing in the Czech Republic earlier this year. His speed work augers well but a lot depends on the competition he will face on the day and whether or not he can be pulled around in the required time. His best results so far have been very much solo efforts so in the right race he could well achieve his ambition.
In the same race will be club mates Steve Partington, the current National 50km champion and Les Brown. Steve has already achieved the Commonwealth Games consideration times at both 20km and 50km and will be using this race as a confidence booster by hopefully improving on his current best time. Les has opted for Dublin instead of competing in the Parish Walk event, which this year is held on the same weekend. Les has competed with distinction at major events on the UK mainland and like his teammates will be looking to improve on his current best time of 5.33.51.
Competing over 20km will be Marie Latham. Marie has improved considerably over the last few years and in the right racing conditions could go close to the Commonwealth Games consideration time of 1.45.00. She can be assured of being in a fast race with Irelands own Gillian O’Sullivan set to compete. O’Sullivan won the silver medal at the 2003 World Championships in Paris.
Three Manx juniors will be making the trip and all three have been selected by the Race Walking Association to represent England in the annual Nihill Shield challenge match against their Irish counterparts. Emma Latham, returning to racing after injury will compete over 3km in the under 16 event, whilst her sister Fay will compete in the under 14 2km race. Lauren Whelan who successfully defended her UK National title in Leamington in April walks in the under 12 1K event. Lauren & Fay formed the basis of the Manx Harriers team that took team gold.
Team Manager for the weekend is Bridget Kaneen who has put aside her own desire to compete in order to assist the walkers on the day. Also travelling to Ireland are Dougie Corkill and Steve Taylor. Dougie will be judging at the main event and no doubt trying to further his growing reputation as veteran athlete of some distinction in the Veteran International 3km event held at the end of the proceedings. Dougie has won a medal at the last four veteran races he has competed in. Steve will have his hands full on the day also having been appointed by the European Athletic Association to the position of Technical Delegate for the event.
Andy Fox reports on Northern Senior Athletics League Match 2 Northern Senior Athletics League, Division 2 West : Match 2, Stretford,
04/06/05. Rachel Kelly ran 2 PBs in the 1500m and 400 Hurdles while Hollie Bass won the high jump. Helen Sheen and Kirree Kermode both produced an excellent set of throws in the field with Helen winning the A javelin and hammer events. Harriet Pryke again produced some very promising runs in both of the short sprints winning the B 200m. Phil Riley produced three second places in the A jumps competitions Stuart Corran came second in the A Hammer and third in the A Discus and veteran Andy Fox set yet another over 45s Manx record when finishing 2nd. in the A Steeplechase. Young lads James Eccles and Darryl Haslett also ran PBs in the 800 and 400m respectively. All performances are listed below as well as the overall League positions. The local squad lie in fourth place overall and need to ensure a good result in the third match at Wigan to help consolidate their position out of the relegation places in what is a very competitive division 2 west. Individual performances :- Athlete
Event Time/Distance Steve Taylor passes International Level 2 Judges Examination Former
Commonwealth Games race walker Steve Taylor travelled to Miskolc in Hungary on
May 19th for the European Cup of race walking but on this occasion was not
competing but taking the international level 2 judges examination. This
examination was run by the European Athletic Association on behalf of the IAAF
and is held every fours years. Judges are either seeking re-election or to be
elected as a level 2 judge.
Each
country is allowed to nominate only two judges to take the exam and Steve was
nominated last summer by the UKAthletics Policy Support Team for Race Walking.
As part of his preparation he was invited to judge at the GBR v Australia and
GBR v Germany v Italy junior internationals, the National 50km and the Dublin
and Leamington Grand Prix events.
The
exam was split into three parts, written, oral and practical. A seminar
focusing on the role of the judge was held prior to the exam and at the end
there was a question and answer session where participants were able to ask any
questions or seek clarification on any points regarding judging or the exam
itself. There were 44 judges in attendance from all over
Europe, and the main issue raised was the fact that the written exam could only
be answered in English or French with the oral exam only answered in English.
This is not race walking specific but an IAAF ruling.
The
written part of the course was held on Friday morning and made up 40% of
the total mark for the exam. Some judges were done in 30 minutes whilst others
were took up the full allotted time. All questions were based on (and around)
IAAF rule 230 which governs race walking. The oral exam (20% of the overall
mark) held the same afternoon was based on "what would you do if". Answers
needed to be detailed enough to cover all points raised in the question, spoken
clearly and succinctly with marks being given for preciseness and clarity.
The
practical exam has been changed over the years by the IAAF and this year the
judges were required to shadow judge the European Cup Competition. This meant
standing on the course spread out over 100m on each side of the road to caution
and issue warnings to competitors as they saw fit. The judges "shadowed" for the
50km and both junior male and female 10km events, but at no time did the shadow
judges communicate with the competitors as this would only cause confusion.
A sign
of a good judge is not by how many warnings (disqualification cards) he issues
judge, indeed it is thought that a good judge can actually help a competitor to
finish by the judicial use of a caution before any infringement of the rules
takes place. As such the judges were advised not to put a card in for every
athlete but at the same time not to turn a blind eye either. Marking on this
part of the exam was based on formulae more akin to rocket science than race
walking where by points were given for a warning given that matched with any
other judge divided by the total number of warnings given and for a warning
given where that athlete was disqualified. For the purposes of the exam the
shadow judges warnings were compared only between themselves and not with the
official judges on the day. The shadow judges had to issue 16 warnings in order
for an athlete to be disqualified.
Judges
were left to enjoy the remainder of the day as they saw fit whilst the examiners
were left to the arduous task of marking everyone’s tests.
The
pass mark to become a level 2 international judge is 75%. This is 5% up on last
time as the governing body seeks to improve judging standards and trim down the
number of judges in order to achieve a higher level of consistency.The top four in the exam, providing they achieved in excess of 80% would
be invited on to the EAA elite panel of judges, where they are likely to receive
more appointments to higher profile races and have the opportunity to take the
international level 3 exam which is scheduled for September 2006 in
Amsterdam.
Meeting at 6pm that evening the examiners announced that only 11 of the
44 judges achieved the 75% pass mark. We are pleased though to be able to report
that our very own Steve Taylor not only achieved the pass mark but exceeded 80%
and as a result has been elected to the EAA elite panel of
judges.
Steve
has stated that he would like to put on record his thanks to Peter Marlow and
Sylvia Markham who are both regular visitors to the IOM for their advice and
support since taking up judging.
Manx Harriers third in high class home match (report by Andy Fox) Manx Harriers Senior Team finished third in the opening fixture of the Northern Senior Athletics League at the NSC last Sunday (1st May). Reigning Division 2 West Champions, Trafford, won the match quite convincingly from newly promoted Wigan with Manx Harriers not too far back and quite comfortable in third place. There were some fine individual performances on the day with young Harriet Pryke doing exceptionally well on her debut in this league in the B 100 and 200m races to record a second and first place in 12.7 and 26.2 seconds respectively. Other winners for the local Ladies included Hannah Riley in the A 100m hurdles and Helen Sheen in the B Discus. There were also second places in A events for Sarah Dowling, Rachael Kelly and Helen Sheen yet again. On the men’s side the field events proved very fruitful for the locals. In the Jumps Phil Riley won the A Long and Triple Jumps (obviously travelling to exotic locations has done his athletics no harm at all!!!). Shaun Cregeen won the A High Jump and both were ably supported by Daniel Stewart-Clague who won the B high jump in his senior team debut and Chris Whitlow who took the B long jump. Other winners on the day were Stuart Corran in the A Hammer and Andy Fox in the B Steeplechase where John Halligan made a welcome return to form taking third in the A event. Rob Keelan also did very well to come second in the A Discus event in his first serious competition for 2 years. After a solid first match and with a few experienced performers to return to battle in the future it would seem that the club has good prospects of staying up in this highly competitive division. However, it will not be easy!!! The next match takes place on Saturday 4th. June at Stretford. Any athletes wishing to compete should contact Andy Fox on 626415 before Saturday 28/05/05. A full list of local results is to be found below :- Men. Event A B 100m 6th. Chris Whitlow 12.1 2nd. Tony Eccles 11.7 Women. 100m 2nd. Sarah Dowling 12.8 2nd. Harriet Pryke
12.7 Overall result. Pos: Team Match Points League Points* 1 Trafford A C 417 6 Andy Fox previews the North of England Track & Field League match at the NSC Manx Harriers host the first match in Division 2 West of the Senior North of England Athletics League at the NSC this coming Sunday 1st May. The action starts in the field at 12 noon with the Men’s Hammer, Pole Vault for both sexes and Long Jump for women. 12.50 sees the women’s Hammer get underway and 1pm the Men’s Long Jump. The first track events are an open 1500m for under 17 upwards where locals and any visitors unable to get nto the actual match races can have a run out. Please report to the grandstand at 11.30am if you wish to compete in this event. Otherwise the first match events off on the track are the women’s 400 hurdles at 1pm followed by the men at 1.10pm. The next races on the track are the 800m events from 1.25pm. The full range of events are covered in the afternoon with the final events being the 4x100m and 4x400m relays for both sexes between 4.30 and 5.00pm. The teams travelling to the Island are Altrincham AC, Liverpool Pembroke & Sefton, Trafford AC, St. Helens and Wigan. Two of the clubs LPS and Wigan have been in the British League in the last decade and Trafford’s A team is there now. The Trafford B team which travels to the IOM could well have A team athletes within it and those aspiring to such a position. As such the standard of competition could be quite high. It is known that up to 140 athletes and officials are travelling to the IOM for the event. Manx Harriers are hoping to have a good squad out on the day. It will be a mixture of youth and experience with the emphasis on the younger athlete as the club goes through what would seem to be a transition stage with regards the senior team. Certain established stars are unavailable due to illness and injury. If you are keen to compete in the match (there is also an open 100m event during the afternoon as well) please contact Andy Fox on 626415. Also if you would like to offer your assistance as an official on the day that would be much appreciated. Again contact Andy if you are willing to help. The local squad will include a number of past Island Games representatives and the match represents a great opportunity for athletes to impress the selectors prior to their deliberations regarding the Shetland Games Team later in the month. Spectators will be made most welcome with refreshments on sale, a results service on the day together with full commentary of the events etc. So why not come along and support our local athletes as they take on some of the best from the North West of England.
Manx Harriers racewalkers head to Leamington Spa (preview by Bridget Kaneen) A team of Manx Harriers walkers are travelling to Leamington Spa this weekend (16th April) to take part in the UKA 20km Championships and National younger age group championships. The youngest athlete taking part will be Sinead Kaneen who will line up in the under 11 development race. In the under 13 girls, Lauren Whelan, Fay Latham and Kirsty Taylor will race at 2km. All three have been walking well over the winter, resulting in both Lauren and Fay being picked to race for England against Ireland in the Nihill match. If all the girls walk to form then individual and team silverware is a realistic possibility. In the 3km event for under 15 girls, Bronwen Kaneen will be pleased if she can register another improvement in what is her first year racing this distance Robert Moore also steps up to 10k this season as he is now racing in the under 20 men. He has started to show signs of a return to form and will surprise a few if he can perform at his best on the day. Emma Latham had intended to race in the under 17girls at 5km and had tailored her winter training with this in mind. However, a change was made by the powers that be in January to double the distance of this race to 10k. This left Emma feeling unprepared and she has also declined the call up from the England team to represent them in the match against Ireland. She will now travel in a supporting role to the rest of the junior team. Liz Corran, Allan Callow and Dougie Corkill will all be taking part in the Veterens 3km event which also doubles up as a match against the Irish Veterans. In the UKA 20km mens championships both Steve Partington and Peter Kaneen are resting on their laurels and with a couple of good performances already tucked away at both 50km and 20km they are wisely taking time to recover a little. Manx Harriers still have two men flying the flag however with David Griffiths and Les Brown both entered. Marie Latham and Bridget Kaneen are entered in the Ladies 20k. Marie would be delighted to get a bronze as she did last year, however the field is likely to be much stronger this year with Commonwealth Games places up for grabs for those getting under 105 minutes. Steve Taylor will be judging and getting some useful practice before his international job in the European Cup in Hungary in May. Neil Bates is not fit enough to race at the moment,
but being in England on a visit will hope to get to the event to support the team. Team Manager for the day will be Paul Jackson who will be ably
supported by Ciara Kaneen. Gail Musson will also be there to
support fiance Dave and the rest of the walkers.
Inter Counties Cross Country 5th March 2005 (report by Chris Quine) St Galmier, France for the World Cross Country Championships is the next stop for Peel’s Keith Gerrard after he finished second in last Saturday’s Inter Cross Country Championships. In a race televised live on Sky Sports, he made a brave bid to repeat his English National win taking the lead at around halfway in the 8k race. However, on this occasion he was unable to break the entire field and had to surrender the lead in the final 600m. Although slightly disappointed with the result, the Manx Sports Aid Foundation/Tower Insurance recipient has had his best ever winter and can look forward to at least matching his 50th place in last year’s event. In all a total of eight Manx Harriers athletes represented Lancashire in the championship that is effectively the UK Championships. Held on an undulating parkland course in Wollaton Park, Nottingham, the event proved a real initiation onto the National level for a number of young runners. First in action was Andrew Newton (under 17). He was hampered by a recent cold and finished a disappointed 222nd. Next in action was the rapidly improving Nicola Cooil (under 15). She had a very good run to finish 62nd and first counter for the Lancashire team. With another year in this age group, she should take great encouragement from this run.There were three local runners in the under 13 girls event. Gemma Astin (89th) and Lauren Whelan (92nd) both had very good runs in a field of around 300 runners. Gemma, 7th in the Lancashire Championships in January, was the third Lancashire runner on this occasion so must be pleased with this improvement. Rachael Franklin found it going tough at this level – running in fields of over 300 athletes can be a daunting task. Hopefully she will learn from the experience and come back a stronger runner. Next up was Jordan Cain (under 13 boys). He too was recovering from a cold. He also found it a real challenge, finishing in 243rd place. Again, he will have benefitted from the experience of running at this level. Andrew Duncan also took part in the under 20 event with Keith Gerrard. After a cautious start, he worked his way through the field to claim 151st place. Hopefully, this will prove good preparation for his summer track season. To give some idea of how things can change, Keith Gerrard finished outside the top 160 in the under 15s race in 2001. So, who knows who may be on the podium in 2009!! A number of these athletes will now be representing Merseyside in the English Schools Championships in Norwich on Saturday. full results here & UK athletics report National Cross Country Championships (report by Andy Fox) Keith Gerrard the English National Cross Country Champion. Yes, a runner from the Isle of Man has joined the hallowed list of National Under 20 Champions that includes the likes of Steve Ovett. Of course there are plenty who won the trophy Keith now proudly has who failed to make it as seniors. However, there are also plenty of others who won European medals, Commonwealth titles and even set world junior records that would not be known perhaps to the general public! To get back to reality however one still has to marvel at the achievement. Keith did not even feature in the preview written by Athletics Weekly for the event such was the percieved strength of the field that he destroyed on Saturday afternoon. At this level to win by 5 seconds is deemed a clear victory. 27 seconds is a massive margine. It was the manner of the victory that really took everyone aback. He sat with the pace for around 6500m. At this point he looked really easy, but of course looks can be deceptive. Then he attacked in the final third of the race. Such was the increase in pace he opened up a gap of 15 seconds in around 800 to 1000m. He then continued to pull away relentlessly through to the finish and the rightful acclaim of the crowd. The impact of his victory can be measured by the congratulations he recieved from so many on the day and via email on forum sites etc. across the country. As ever, though the Manx Sports Aid recipient was modest and unassuming, thanking sponsors Tarleton Hodgeson for their support and looking ahead to his next race the Inter Counties Championships in 2 weeks time. These are also the trial races for the world championships so in some ways the serious business starts now! The other athletes representing Manx Harriers at Cofton Park, Birmingham, had a difficult act to follow. All put up the usual gutsy performances with some pleasing positions being gained in very competitive fields. Andrew Newton gained revenge over Lee Butterworth in the under 17s race finishing 100th. to Lee’s 138th. Both lads ran very well in a large field with over 240 finishers and both will be in the same age group next year as well. Cal partington made her debut in this kind of event and set a good benchmark for future races. She came 78th. and will have gained greatly from the experience. With around 450 finishers this was a fine performance indeed. The Manx senior men were a little depleted in numbers but produced some good runs. Andy Fox finished 336th and can perhaps be excused for not quite having his mind totally focussed on his race!!! Nick Percival, returning from injury, ran well to finish in 543rd. position. If he can now get in a consisitent period of training we should see him back in good form and perhaps next year pushing for a place in the top 300. The evergreen Dave Newton ran on well to finish 766th out of 1300 finishers and bring the Manx team home on this auspicious afternoon for Manx distance running. All in all it was a fabulous day and one that all the Manxies there will never forget. The supporters present also helped the overall effort and Chris Quine, Darren Gray, Andy Cannell and Steve Partington all played their part as well. Manx Harriers and Manx AC before them also have to be congratulated. Their determination to invest in groups of athletes attending these championships over many years has been justly and rightly rewarded by Keith’s fine run. What now you may well ask? The Inter Counties and hopefully a place in the World Cross Country representing GB. Nothing can be taken for granted but the plans are already in place and the final touches being put to the training this week. Keith Gerrard 1st (Junior Men results) Cal Partington 78th (Senior Women results) Andrew Newton 100th & Lee Butterworth 138th (Under 17 Men results) Andy Fox 336th , Nick Percival 543rd & Dave Newton 766th (Senior Men results) interview with Keith Gerrard and coach Andy Fox at North of England AA website
Team Silver In Lisbon for Keith (report by Andy Fox) Keith Gerrard represented Great Britain in an International Cross Country at Lisbon on Sunday 23rd January and was a member of the silver medal winning British team at the event. The race is seen by UK athletics team selectors as a dry run for the world champs and a good opportunity to see what the probable athletes are capable of. On a very different course last year Keith finished an excellent 6th. and was GB’s 4th counter for the team. This year the course was of a very different type and at a completely different venue. "As flat as a pancake" is how the old description goes and it is very apt in this instance. In addition nearly one third of the 1500m lap was made up by running around an old cinder 400m track. The rest of the course was of a hard shale type surface underfoot. The result was almost the first track race of the season! Having said that Keith gave an excellent account of himself even if he was not really prepared for the course that confronted him. On the first of the 4 laps he sat in the group before going to the front on the second lap. He was part of a group of 4 that broke away from the rest in the second half of the race. As the four leaders came to the final 600m (consisiting of one lap of the track and a 200m flat and hard surfaced straight) the two top Portuguese and leading Spanish runner began to pull away slowly. Keith ran on gamely but was just caught in the final few strides by team mate Ryan Stephenson. Overall, this has proved excellent experience and his time for the 6000m race of 18.25 equates to 6 X 1km in 3mins 04 (ish) seconds for each km with no rest. Very few athletes on the IOM could do such a session with 2 mins rest between each km such is the talent of the lad from Peel. Keith would like to thank the IOM Sports Council for all their support and particularly the Tarleton Hodgeson Group for their sponsorship. Full results are listed below and his next foray off Island will be the English National Championships in Birmingham on the 19th. of February. Individual. 1st Nuno Costa Portugal 18 – 08 2nd Jose Comendador Spain 18 – 12 3rd Joao Lopes Portugal 18 – 21 4th Ryan Stephenson GB 18 – 24 5th Keith Gerrard GB 18 – 25 7th Adam Hickey GB 18 – 38 8th Kelvin Hardie GB 18 – 41 First 3 Teams. 1st Portugal 14pts. 2nd GB 16pts. 3rd Spain 20pts. UK Athletics website report here Andy Fox previews the Lancashire Cross Country Championships 27 Manx Harriers Athletes plus two officials travel to Blackburn on Saturday 15th January for the Lancashire Cross Country Championships. We have 3 teams on the day who, hopefully, will all be up for medals or at least in with a good chance. The teams are Under 13 girls (4 to score), Under 17 boys (3 to score) and Senior & Vet Men (6 to score). On top of that a number of individuals have chances of medals. It will be interesting to see how everyone goes on the day!. Unfortunately Keith Gerrard has dropped out of the trip due to selection to run for GB in Lisbon the weekend after (23rd January). They stipulate athletes cannot run in a competition for 10 days previous if selected. This is obviously to keep them fresh and ready to produce the goods for their country. Maybe this is something our fixture list can learn from as now the Manx Championships are 5 days before the National Cross Country Championships and the last Manx Gas League the day after the Lancs etc. Andrew Duncan has come in to replace Keith and take his place on the plane. Darren Gray has a foot injury and is at best 50/50 with regards running. We wish him a speedy recovery as it will be a blow for the team if he is unable to run!. Also travelling from the Isle of Man to compete are Andy Cannell & Ryan Fairclough of Northern AC. The team is as follows :- Under 13 girls – Rachel Franklin, Lauren Whelan, Gemma Astin, Chanice Doyle & Fay Latham. Under 13 Boys – Jordan Cain, Richard Seed & Sam Black. Under 15 Girls – Nicola Cooil. Under 15 Boys – Tom Bateson (Ryan Fairclough of NAC possibly making own way to Liverpool joins us on bus). Under 17 Girls – Ciara Kaneen. Under 17 Boys – Andrew Newton, Lee Butterworth & James Eccles. Under 20 men – Andrew Duncan & Robbie Lambden. Senior and Vet Ladies – Cal Partington. Senior and Vet Men – Darren Gray, Paul Clarke (40), Gianni Epifani, Murray Lambden (45), Andy Fox (45), Andy Watson, Paul Curphey (40), Nick Percival, Mike Garrett & Chris Quine (40). (Andy Cannell NAC travelling with us). Officials on the day – Graham Davies and Elaine Whelan.
Richard McAleer to run the Flora London Marathon for the Tsunami Appeal Hi,my name is Richard McAleer and as one of the ‘lucky’ four club members will be running the 25th Flora London Marathon on Sunday 17thApril in aid of the Tsunami Earthquake Appeal.Two years ago I had never even run a half-marathon let alone consider tackling a full marathon,but since then I have run in the Flora Half-marathon at Silverstone,the Great North Run in Newcastle and completed four full Big City Marathons-London (03 & 04),New York (03) & Dublin (04). I think I may have caught the distance bug. I have competed locally in the Boundary Stroll and the Open 20 mile events as preparation for these marathons and I full expect to be lining up on the 13th March again this year for the 20 mile event at the NSC. When I was a lot younger I was a very keen athlete running for the then Manx Athletic Club and was a pretty decent cross-country runner until I was about 18. Then I went to University and discovered Hockey and the social side that goes with it and my running days ended. I recently joined the Harriers in an attempt to rekindle my running and try and improve my marathon PB of just over 5 hours. If there is anyone else running who expects to finish in around 4.45 to 5 hrs and doesn’t mind an extra training companion please let me know, it is very lonely on your own! I have chosen to run for the Tsunami Appeal not only because of the effect the horrific TV pictures have had on me, but also due to the fact that I know Amanda Lowe who has been missing from Phi Phi since Boxing Day from my Hockey connections. I am hoping to raise as much money as possible between now and April for this fund and any donations however small would be most welcome. If you would like to donate I can be contacted in the following ways: Phone 687186 (w) 461363 (m) Email [email protected] Or by posting a cheque to: 24 Seafield Crescent,Birch Hill,Onchan,IM3 3BZ Please make any cheques payable to: DEC Tsunami Earthquake Appeal Thank you for the opportunity to run on behalf of the club and to raise money for this worthwhile appeal The other three Manx Harriers Club entries are now confirmed as Andrew Cubbon, Jim MacGregor and Andrew Corrie
Manx Harriers Race Walkers feature in the Top 50 UK rankings for 2004 Manx Harriers race walkers featured well in the Athletics Weekly December 29th issue which published the Senior UK Athletics rankings list for 2004. The list is compiled by Peter Matthews and Tony Miller with Ian Hodge and help from other members of the Nation Union of Track Statisticians (NUTS).
Manx race walker Carolyn Brown (unattached) was also ranked 13th for 10K (road) in 56.23
Chris Quine reports on the Commonwealth Youth Games The Commonwealth Youth Games were a fantastic experience for all three Isle of Man athletes. To go to the other side of the world to meet and compete against some the best young athletes in the Commonwealth – and in some instances the world – is an experience which I am sure will last for their whole lives. The team arrived in Melbourne after a 30 hour journey from the Isle of Man via Manchester and Dubai. On the way, they took time out to try the indoor track facilities at Sports City in Manchester. Whilst in Melbourne the team stayed with the England and Northern Ireland team at Monash University, located about 10 miles from the centre of Melbourne. During this time, the team were taken the Duncan Mackinnon Stadium to train each day. Living with the English team gave the opportunity to see how they prepare for a big event. The warm weather – it is summer in Australia – gave perfect conditions for training as temperatures reached 35 degrees Celsius – the mid 90’s in Fahrenheit. During this time, there was also the opportunity to do some sightseeing around Melbourne and the surrounding area. After five days in Melbourne, the team moved up to Bendigo, located about 100 miles north of Melbourne. Bendigo has a population of about 85,000 and has a colonial feel to it. Temperatures here seemed even hotter. There was two days to settle in before competition began. The team were located in a large bungalow at La Trobe University where all competitors and team officials stayed in what was a Games Village. Eating times gave the opportunity to meet competitors and officials from other teams. The most asked question was “Where is the Isle of Man?”. The Games themselves were not too dissimilar from Island Games in terms of the overall scale of the event. I could certainly see a number of parallels in the organisation. Competitively, at the sharp end the standards were generally higher than Island Games. There was an Opening Ceremony and Chris Whitlow was selected to carry the flag for the IOM team. In the competition, there were teams from, amongst others, England, Australia, New Zealand, India, Scotland, South Africa, as well as smaller countries like the Cook Islands, Jersey and Guernsey. As a summary of the performances, here is how everyone did: Ben Brand: 400m – heat 5th – 52.49 secs (PB). final 7th – 53.09 secs. Harriet Pryke: 100m – heat 7th – 13.29 secs (wind -1.9) 200m – heat 5th – 26.69 secs (wind -1.8) Chris Whitlow: Javelin – 6th – 46.18m (PB) Long Jump – 7th – 6.24m (wind 1.6) It needs to be remembered that Ben was running against lads 2 or 3 years older than him. Harriet was running against girls 4 years her senior – she will still be eligible for the Games in 2008. The Isle of Man hopes to send competitors to future Games. The 2008 Games will be held in India. Hopefully some of our athletes currently aged around 12-14 will want to train hard and take part next time.London Marathon Club Entries up for grabs Manx Harriers have received four club entries for the Flora London Marathon on 17th April 2005. Manx Harriers members who wish to be considered for one of these entries should contact club secretary Jane Mooney on 845525 by 21st December. Priority is usually given to club members who have applied to run in the event and have been unsuccessful in gaining a place, although people who haven’t entered originally but fancy having a go will also be considered. Nicola Cooil 18th in the Liverpool Reebok Cross Challenge Well done to Nicola Cooil from Manx Harriers who was 18th out of 75 in the Liverpool Reebok Cross Challenge at Sefton Park on 4th December. Her time was 10m 53. To find out more about this event click here
Commonwealth Youth Games report Congratulations to young Manx Harriers athletes Ben Brand, Chris Witlow & Harriet Pryke who competed in the Commonwealth Youth Games in Bendigo, Australia from 1st & 4th December. Ben Brand ran 52.49s in his 400m heat which was 0.71s inside his PB. In the final he ran 53.09s. Unfortunately he was forced to withdraw from the 200m & 800m events with a groin injury. Chris Witlow was 6th in the Javelin with a PB by over 4m, throwing 46.18m. He was 7th overall in the long jump with 6.24m. Harriet was 5th in the 200m heat with 26.69s, (just 0.09 outside her PB) and 7th in the 100m heat in 13.29s. The team leave ‘Oz’ on Sunday 5th December and we hope to have a full report from Chris Quine following their return. Meanwhile check out the CYG official website
Manx Harriers young athletes head to Australia (report by Chris Quine) |
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Three young Manx athletes set off on the trip of a lifetime on Monday 22nd November when they left with the Isle of Man team for the Commonwealth Youth Games to be held in Bendigo, Australia at the start of December. Chris Whitlow (18), Ben Brand (15) and Harriet Pryke (14) are all members of Manx Harriers. Chris will be competing in the Long Jump, High Jump and Javelin, Ben in the 200m, 400m and 800m and Harriett in the 100m, 200m and High Jump.With competitiors from throughout the Commonwealth including a number of medallists from this year’s World Junior Championships competition will be tough. As well as the big guns such as England, Australia and South Africa, there will also be a number of other smaller nations taking part. However, it is is also a learning experience for all three who will each be aiming to pick some PBs along the way. Hopefully, their efforts will inspire other Manx youngsters to target the next Games to be held in New Delhi in 2008. The athletes will be joining the England team and a number of the other home countries at a holding camp in Melbourne prior to moving up to Bendigo on 29th November. Competition takes on 2nd and 3rd December. Chris competed in the 2003 Island Games in Guernsey. For Ben and Harriet it will be their first taste of international competition. All in Manx athletics wish them the best of luck. Thanks are also due to a number of organisations who are supporting the team: IOM Commonwealth Games Association; IOM Sports Council; IOM Athletics Association; The staff and pupils of Ballakermeen High School; Manx Harriers; Swagelok Ltd; Public Lottery Trust; Intersport
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Keith Gerrard 7th in the European Cross Country Championship trials (report by Chris Quine) |
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Keith was competing in the under 20 race at the European Cross Country Championship trials at Parliament Hill, London on Saturday 21st November. With the first three only guaranteed selection, Keith ran his usual aggressive race and was in the leading group of three at half way. The second half of the race was tough and he lost a number of places in the closing stages. However, he was still only about 4 seconds behind 5th and 21 seconds behind the winner over the 6k course – 17.18 for the winner, 17.39 for Keith. Only one of those ahead of Keith will be eligible for the World Cross later in the winter.Whilst not looking for excuses, it has to be noted that Keith was off school for a couple of days this week with a heavy cold and really only decided to run an hour or two before the race. At this level distractions like this can be extremely costly.Hopefully, he will soon be back to full form with the Brussels Cross Country Cup just before Christmas a likely target.Andy Fox ran in the senior mens race. He finished in the 127th – the race being won by young prospect Mo Farah full results
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Manx Harriers Race Walkers support Leamington European Cup bid |
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Manx Harriers Race Walkers Peter & Bridget Kaneen, Marie & Emma Latham, Allan Callow, Dougie Corkill, Neil Bates & Robert Moore travelled to Leamington Spa last weekend (5th-7th November) to support the launch of a fundraising campaign in support of the UK Athletics bid to host the EAA 2007 European Cup of Race Walking. Read Tim Watt’s report and view his photo’s from the training session and dinner.
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Andy Fox reports on Keith Gerrard’s success in the Liverpool & District Cross Country League (Round 1) held on 30th October 2004 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The race was a tough and muddy 10KM cross country and he was racing against seniors. They included this year’s Junior National XC Champion in a race where Keith came 5th. (Phil McGlory of Liverpool Harriers). On the first lap a lead group of about 6 was detached at the front. On lap 2 keith started working hard and McGlory dropped out. Keith piled on the pressure to win the race. This is the best result ever by a Manx athletes in the senior race in this league eclipsing Gianni Epifani’s 4th and Andy Fox’s 5th. at the notorious Croxteth Triangle course in the mid 90s. It seems Keith impressed many of the athletics community on Merseyside with his strong front running. The results of the first 5 were 1. K Gerrard Manx Harriers – 34.38 2. J. Boardman LPS – 35.21 3. A. Woods Wirral – 35.52 4. P. Walsh Liv. Harriers – 36.18 5. B. Murphy – 36.37 Keith had hoped to run in the Reebok challenge race at Birmingham and test himself against some of the top juniors in the UK. Travel difficulties ruled that out so the Merseyside race will hopefully be a great confidence boost ready for the European Champs trial race in London on 20/11/04. full results, report & pictures here
‘THE HARRIER’ on-line; The Quarterly Newsletter of Manx Harriers
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