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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
UK Atletics report
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.
full results here
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)
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1st West Cheshire
2nd Manx Harriers
3rd Bolton
4th Oldham
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393.5
361.0
357.5
120.0
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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 feature in the first three places.
The individual
performances were as follows :-
Men.
Athlete/Events/Performances Tom Riley 100m & 200m 11.7 & 23.4 secs. Tony Eccles
100, 200m & TJ 12.0, 25.2 & 11.68m. Andrew Duncan 400 & 800m 57.7
& 2.04.6 James Eccles 400, 800m & TJ 56.2, 2.08.9 &
11.21. Keith Gerrard 1500m 4.05.1 Andy Watson 1500m 4.30.5 John
Halligan 3000mS/C & PV 9.56.2 & 2.30m. Darren Gray 3000m S/C
10.33.1 Andy Fox 5000m 16.29.6 (IOM over 45 rec) Nick Percival 5000m
17.21.0 Stephen Halsall 400H & 110H 70.1 & 19.2. Chris Quinn 400H
& LJ 69.4 & 5.09. Shaun Cregeen 110H, HJ & Jav 21.3, 1.85m &
33.31. Stuart Corran Ham, Disc & Shot 44.43, 33.08, 10.23. Rob Keelan
Ham, Disc, Jav, Shot 21.22, 29.15, 34.66 & 9.00. Daniel Stewart-Clague
LJ, HJ & PV 5.32, 1.60 & 2.60m.
4x100m Riley, T. Eccles,
Stewart-Clague & Quinn 47.00 4x400m Duncan, J. Eccles, Gray, Watson
3.51.6
Women.
Athlete/Events/Performances Sarah Dowling 100
& 200m 13.2 & 27.0 Hannah Riley 100 & 400H 13.5 &
65.0 Hollie Bass 200 & HJ 28.5 & 1.55m. Carly Letch HJ & 400m
1.45m & 72.8. Bridget Kaneen 800m 2.42.2 Sarah Nelson 800, 1500 &
3000m 2.41.5, 5.30.8 & 12.07.6 Rachael Kelly 100H & 400H 18.5 &
69.5 Helen Sheen Ham, Disc, Jav & Shot 31.56, 24.50, 33.04 &
8.86m. Charlotte Christian Ham & Shot 19.22 & 7.30. Kirree Kermode
Disc & Jav 25.01 & 14.01. Rhian Evans LJ & TJ 4.37 &
9.59 Helen Ring LJ & TJ 3.98 & 8.65
4x100m Dowling, Kelly,
Riley & Bass 51.3 4x400m Dowling, Evans, Riley & Bass
4.16.6
The team score for Match 3 was as follows :-
1. Liverpool
Pembroke and Sefton 382 2. Wigan 363 3. Manx 360 4. Trafford 348 5.
St. Helens 308 6. Altrincham 274
The overall standings after match
3 are as follows :-
Match Points League Points
1. Liverpool
Pembroke & Sefton 1032.5 15 2. Trafford AC 1090.5 14 3. Wigan 1047.5
14 4. Manx Harriers 999.0 10 5. St. Helens 887.0 7 6. Altrincham
827.5 3
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.
A small Manx Harriers senior team fought hard in match two to
finish fifth just missing out on 4th place. The result was in fact better
than expected with a number of athletes unavailable due to injury, illness,
work and examination commitments. Having said that there were some
fantastic individual results which augre well for the rest of the summer and
the fast approaching Shetland Island Games.
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 Tom Riley A 100m/200m/B Shot 11.5/23.3/7.63 Tony
Eccles B 100m/200m/B TJ 12.1/24.9/11.14 Darryl Haslett A 400m/B LJ
54.2/5.64 James Eccles A 800m/ 1500m/B Dis/B Jav
2.05.5/4.38.7/26.25/28.61 John Halligan B 400H/B 3000SC/ 1500m
63.9/10.18.5/4.39.4 Andy Fox A 3000SC/A 5000m/B 110H
10.06.5/16.34.9/23.7 Nick Percival B 5000m/Field Official 17.00.8 Josh
Masterson A 400H/B 400m/B HJ 65.5/56.6/1.60 Stuart Corran A Ham/Disc/Shot
42.02/32.94/9.66 Phil Riley A LJ/HJ/TJ/110H/Jav/BHam
6.31/1.75/12.62/18.5/32.93/18.34 Colin Halsall Time Keeper
P
Riley/Eccles/Haslett/T Riley 4x100m 46.2 Halligan/Eccles/Masterson/Corran
4x400m 3.55.6
Sarah Dowling A 100m/200m/B HJ 13.0/27.0/1.35 Harriet
Pryke B 100m/200m 13.0/26.5 Hollie Bass A 400m/HJ/LJ
64.4/1.55/4.80 Rachael Kelly A 400H/1500m 68.2/5.09.7 Sarah Nelson A
3000m/B 1500m 11.58.4/5.31.2 Helen Sheen A Disc/Ham/Jav/Shot
28.61/32.25/36.94/9.76 Kirree Kermode B Disc/Ham/Jav/Shot
27.26/20.47/13.50/7.63
Dowling/Pryke/Bass/Kelly 4x100m
52.8 Dowling/Pryke/Bass/Kelly 4x400m 4.17.8
League Positions
after 2 Matches
1. Trafford 11 (731.5) 2. Wigan 9 (687.5) 3. LPS
9 (654.5) 4. Manx 6 (640) 5. St. Helens 5 (580) 6. Altrincham 2
(553.5)
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 200m 5th. Alistair
Audsley 23.9 4th. Tony Eccles 23.7 400m 4th. Paul Bergquist 52.3 5th. Chris
Quinn 55.4 800m 6th. Andrew Duncan 2.06.9 2nd. Ben Brand 2.06.4 1500m 6th.
James Eccles 4.25.9 5th. Andy Watson 4.42.9 3000mS/C 3rd. John Halligan
10.09.4 1st. Andy Fox 10.26.1 5000m 5th. Paul Clarke 16.59.2 3rd. Nick
Percival 17.07.9 400m Hurd. 3rd. John Halligan 66.8 4th. Andy Fox
67.6 110m Hurd. 3rd. Phil Riley 18.9 6th. Andy Fox 26.9 Hammer 1st. Stuart
Corran 42.33 3rd. Rob Keelan 20.20 Discus 2nd. Rob Keelan 33.54 2nd. Stuart
Corran 32.80 Javelin 4th. Chris Whitlow 42.95 3rd. Rob Keelan 35.82 Shot
Putt 4th. Stuart Corran 10.14 3rd. Rob Keelan 9.27 Long Jump 1st. Phil Riley
6.34 1st. Chris Whitlow 6.20 Triple Jump 1st. Phil Riley 13.02 2nd. Daniel
Stewart-Clague 10.96 High Jump 1st. Shaun Cregeen 1.83 1st. Daniel
Stewart-Clague 1.70 Pole Vault 4th. John Halligan 2.30 3rd. Phil Riley
2.10 4x100m Did not finish. 4x400m 4th. Duncan, Quinn, Brand, Bergquist
3.42.4
Women.
100m 2nd. Sarah Dowling 12.8 2nd. Harriet Pryke
12.7 200m 4th. Sarah Dowling 26.7 1st. Harriet Pryke 26.2 400m 5th. Ciara
Kaneen 67.4 800m 2nd. Rachael Kelly 2.29.3 3rd. Ciara Kaneen 2.32.5 1500m
5th. Rachael kelly 5.22.8 3rd. Michelle Greaves 5.30.0 3000m 3rd. Sarah
Nelson 11.45.9 2nd. Bridget Kaneen 11.50.0 400m Hurd. 3rd. Hannah Riley 69.6
100mHurd. 1st. Hannah Riley 15.0 Hammer 3rd. Helen Sheen 27.79 3rd.
Charlotte Christian 24.37 Discus 3rd. Kirree Kermode 31.41 1st. Helen Sheen
28.88 Javelin 2nd. Helen Sheen 34.80 3rd. Kate Divers 17.12 Shot Putt 2nd.
Helen Sheen 9.81 2nd. Kate Divers 7.74 Long Jump 3rd. Rhian Evans 4.67 2nd.
Mary Reilly 3.93 Triple Jump 4th. Rhian Evans 9.41 High Jump 6th. Rhian
Evans 1.10 Pole Vault 4x100m 3rd. Riley, Dowling, Pryke, Kelly
53.0 4x400m 3rd. Dowling, C. Kaneen, B. Kaneen, Riley 4.28.2
Overall
result.
Pos: Team Match Points League Points*
1 Trafford A C 417 6 2
Wigan & District 381.5 5 3 Manx A C 357 4 4 LPS 295.5 3 5 St
Helens-Sutton A C 291 2 6 Altrincham A C 272 1
a collection of photo’s here
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.
|
Provisional Mens Team
100m C. Whitlow, T. Eccles 200m C. Compston, T. Eccles 400m
P. Bergquist, C. Quinn 800m A. Duncan, B.Brand 1500m J. Eccles, A.Watson 5000m P. Clarke, N. Percival 3000m S/C A. Fox, J. Halligan 110H
P. Riley, A. Fox 400H J. Reilly, J. Halligan LJ C. Whitlow, P. Riley TJ
P. Riley, D. Stewart-Clague HJ S. Cregeen, D. Stewart-Clague PV P.
Riley???, T. Davies ??? Ham S. Corran, R. Keelan Disc " " Shot "
" Jav C. Whitlow, T. Davies 4x100m Quinn, Whitlow, Bergquist, Audsley.
(Res – Eccles, Compston) 4x400m Bergquist, Brand, Duncan, Audsley (Res – J
Eccles, Compston, Quinn, Watson).
|
|
Provisional Womens Team
100m S. Dowling, H
Pryke 200m S. Dowling, H. Pryke 400m 800m R. Kelly, C. Kaneen 1500m
R. Kelly, M. Greaves 3000m S. Nelson, B. Kaneen 100H H. Riley 400H H.
Riley LJ R. Evans, M. Reilly TJ R. Evans HJ R. Evans PV Ham H.
Sheen, C. Christian Disc " K. Kermode Shot " K. Divers Jav "
" 4x100m Riley, Pryke, Dowling, Kelly 4x400m Kaneen x2, Kelly, Riley (Res
– Nelson)
|
|
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).
Men
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3000m track
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6th
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Steve Partington
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12.28.5
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11th
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Peter Kaneen
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12.58.2
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5000m track
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5th
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Steve Partington
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21.06.0
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8th
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Peter Kaneen
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22.28.0
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10,000m track
|
2nd
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Steve Partington
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44.00.6
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7th
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Peter Kaneen
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46.23.7
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10K road
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4th
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Steve Partington
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44.07
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7th
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Peter Kaneen
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44.48
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20K road
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6th
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Steve Partington
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1.35.13
|
7th
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Peter Kaneen
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1.37.36
|
9th
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Neil Bates
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1.38.33
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50K road
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1st
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Steve Partington
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4.26.06
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2nd
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Peter Kaneen
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4.31.31
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Women
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3000m track
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13th
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Marie Latham
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15.17.07
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5000m track
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13th
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Marie Latham
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26.41.
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5K road
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7th
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Marie Latham
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26.05
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10K road
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11th
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Marie Latham
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54.54
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20K road
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5th
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Marie Latham
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1.54.09
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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
Under 15 Girls |
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1 |
00:10:03 |
Rebecca Gough |
|
Team Southampton |
2 |
00:10:08 |
Sophie Crumly |
|
Newbury AC |
3 |
00:10:13 |
Kate Hindle |
|
Preston Harriers |
4 |
00:10:18 |
Natalie Grant |
|
Rotherham harriers |
5 |
00:10:26 |
Blue Haywood |
|
Lincoln Wellington AC |
6 |
00:10:27 |
Katie Knowles |
|
Bristol & West AC |
7 |
00:10:33 |
Laura McCord |
|
Whitemoss AAC |
8 |
00:10:33 |
Catriona Sinclair |
|
Edinburgh Southern Harriers |
9 |
00:10:34 |
Lorraine McCarthy |
|
West Waterford |
10 |
00:10:34 |
Julie Whyteside |
|
Whitemoss AAC |
11 |
00:10:36 |
Olivia Desborough |
|
Liverpool Harriers |
12 |
00:10:38 |
Rebecca Finch |
|
City of Glasgow |
13 |
00:10:39 |
Jade Allen |
|
Rotherham Harriers |
14 |
00:10:39 |
Amber-Sian Magee |
|
Charnwood AC |
15 |
00:10:44 |
Carys Davies |
|
Sarn Helen |
16 |
00:10:45 |
997 |
|
Southport Waterloo |
17 |
00:10:51 |
Nicola Morgan |
|
West Suffolk AC |
18 |
00:10:53 |
Nicola Cooil |
|
Manx Harriers |
19 |
00:10:54 |
Rachel Chard |
|
Nuneaton Harriers AC |
20 |
00:10:54 |
Laura Murphy |
|
Liverpool Harriers |
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
Read the North of England Athletics Association website report featuring the above Manx Harriers athletes
Manx Harriers young athletes head to Australia
(report by Chris Quine)
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