ECG test, by Tony Taylor

To all Harriers,
We have at Ipswich Harriers the opportunity for all our athletes aged between 14 and 35 years to have ECG screening tests. All the details and more information can be found on the two attachments with this e-mail.
Please consider taking advantage of this opportunity as early diagnosis of any potential problem is so important.
Please apply on the attached form before March 17th 2008 to make a booking for your screening.
Tony Taylor
(Coaching Secretary)
info
Health Questionnaire and consent forms

EEA Throws 30th March, by Nigel Bevan

Hi All
Sunday 30th March Lee VAlley 10 - 4pm is the next and last throws squad. Please all attend as it should be a good one!
Nigel

British Masters Champs. Lea Valley. 23rd - 24th Feb 08, by Malcolm Fenton

Harriers,
Just to inform you that I won two National Titles at the above Championships. Winning the Hammer and Weight Throw in the M50 age group.
The Hammer was won with a very poor 49.69m, but was still 9m ahead of the 2nd placer.
The Weight was won with 19.69m, some 3m ahead of 2nd place, a distance only ever beaten by myself by a Briton.
The weekend also saw my number of titles at County level and above go through the 200 mark, to 201.
Regards,
Malcolm Fenton
Vice President

Herts Phoenix Open Meeting - Good Friday, by Dave Rice

Please find attached details of our Good Friday Open Meeting.
Dave Rice

Lee Valley Athletics Centre, by Domenica (Nikki) Silva

Dear All,
Please find attached details of our Open Meeting which being held on 12th April, we would be grateful if you could pass on to people and place on you website.
Thank you
Domenica (Nikki) Silva

National XC Champs, 23rd February 2008

Congratulations to Shaun Webb, National U15 XC Champion. A great start to the day with Shaun winning the opening race at Alton Towers on Saturday.
Under 15 Boys - 1 Shaun Webb, 90 Jack Gavin
Under 15 Girls (7th team) - 18 Charlotte Christensen, 66 Mary Galbraith, 122 Sophia Nicklin, 130 Hannah Petterson
U17 Men - 56 Elliott Palmer
Junior Men - 29 Chris Rooke, 168 Daniel Palmer
photos

SWL Bury St Edmunds, 3rd February 2008

Congratulations, league champions again. Well done to everyone that took part this season.
In the juniors the boys won their league and the girls were second.
Full results: junior, seniors.
photos

Radley A.C. Open Meeting 22nd March 2008, from Jess Lacey

The Radley A.C. Annual Track and Field Open Meeting will be held on Saturday 22nd March 2008 at Tilsley Park, Abingdon.
This year we are pleased to announce that there will be electronic timing with Photo Finish on the track and there will be electronic measuring for the long throws events on the field.
I have attached an entry form for your own reference, please feel free to pass it on to interested parties. Equally if you know of any officials that may be interested in attending the meeting, (particularly on the field) then please feel free to pass on my email address or they can contact David Lacey the officials secretary directly.
Kind Regards
Jess Lacey
Radley Athletics Club Secretary

SWL Stowmarket, 20th January 2008

Another strong team performance at Stowmarket sees us in a commanding position at the top of the league with one fixture to go. Top finishers were Elliot Palmer(2nd), Simon Gardiner(5th) and Alice Simpson(5th). In the juniors it was Ross Fawcett(3rd), Andrew Revell(6th) and Laura Thomas(6th). The boys are top of their league and the girls in second place
Full results: junior, seniors.
Next league fixture: 3rd feb at Nowton Park

SUFFOLK XC CHAMPS, RHS - 6th January 2008

Well done to everyone who took part in the County Champs last Sunday. We had individual winners in Charlotte Christenson, Shaun Webb, Chris Rooke and Ellie Sprake. There was also a second place for Mary Galbraith and third for Joshua Entwistle.
full results, photos

Javelin analysis, by Nigel Bevan

The attached document contains Nigel's feedabck on some javelin technique following an East Of England coaching day.

Rendlesham Forest Challenge, from Chris Cooke

Hello,
We would like to draw your members attention to our forthcoming unique event.
World Property Centre Rendlesham Forest Challenge. A 20k Run/Bike event for teams of two in support of the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign.
Sunday March 9th 2008, 11.00am Rendlesham Forest Centre off B1084 nr, Woodbridge, Suffolk.
Competitors take turns to run or cycle. Swap from run to bike as often as you like but stay within 10 metres and finish together. Minimum age 17.
Entry fee is £25.00 per team + £5.00 0n the day.
More information, entry forms and online entry available on our website www.runbikeevents.com or email info@runbikeevents.com
Yours in Sport
Chris Cooke
Race Director
Run/Bike Events

SWL Woodbridge, 9th December

Congratulations to James Calvert for his victory in the fourth SWL fixture at Woodbridge. Highest finisher in the women's race was Tonya Antonis in 6th. Another strong team performance means we hold on to top spot in the league. Top finishers in the juniors were Ross Fawcett in 3rd and Claire Caiger in 5th. The boys are top of their league and the girls in sevond place
Full results: junior, seniors.
Next league fixture: 20th Jan at Stowmarket

GREAT EAST RUN, 17th February 2008

I would be grateful if you could bring this event to your members attention

Elgood's Brewery GREAT EAST RUN Sunday 17th February 2008 1100hrs start from Bungay High School, Suffolk 700 participant limit 20km rural undulating course, BARR Gold Grade

Entries via website www.greateastrun.org.uk or www.runnersworld.co.uk
Many thanks and we hope to see your club featured in the race line-up. I enclose an entry form as an attachment.
Regards
Tim Morton
Bungay Black Dog Running Club

Bungay Black Dog Marathon & Half Marathon

Dear Club,
Please find attached a poster and entry form for the 2008 Bungay Black Dog Marathon Could we ask that you display the poster at your club (and any where else that you feel might generate interest for this charity event) and make the entry form available to whom ever needs it.
Full details etc. are on our website http://www.bungay-marathon.co.uk
Many thanks and look forward to seeing you at the race
Marathon Committee

SWL Bungay, junior results

Results from the junior race now in and some photos from the day's races uploaded too.

SWL Bungay, 18th November

The provisional results for Bungay see us remain top of the senior league at the half way point of the season. Another good run from Tonya Antonis saw her finish in second place in the women's race. Elliot Palmer was the first Harrier home in the men's in fifth place. No junior results yet although we can report that Ross Fawcett finished second. Provisional results of seniors.

Stowmarket Scenic 7m - 11th Nov

A couple of Harriers, Tom Taylor and Tonya Antonis, took part in this one and congratulations go to Tonya for finishing third lady overall.

22 Thomas Taylor 44:25
42 Tonya Antonis 46:31

PHOTOS

The photos have moved to photos.ipswich-harriers.co.uk and include pictures from this season's Suffolk Winter League.

SWL FRITTON LAKE, 4th November

It was a new xc venue for the second fixture in the SWL and a fine win for Chris Rooke, having raced the previous day in the National xc relays at Mansfield. It was another good turnout and we kept our position as league leaders. Well done everyone. Full results of seniors and juniors.

AGM 2007 - committee, team managers and subscriptions

CHANGE OF HQ FOR THE SWL FIXTURE AT BUNGAY by Colleen Fuller

I have today been informed that, due to building work currently being carried out at the usual HQ of Broome Village Hall, the HQ for this year's Bungay Suffolk Winter League race to be held on 18th November 2007 has been changed to Ditchingham Village Hall. All other details remain unchanged. I attach a revamp of the directions that I've already given out to many of you at last weekend's race at Fritton Lake. I hope to see as many of you as possible at Broome Heath - any problems/questions, please feel free to phone me or see me at the Clubhouse on Tuesday or Thursday evenings.

SWL FRAMLINGHAM, 28th October

It was a great start to the cross country season for Harriers with wins for Andrew Rooke and Alice Simpson in the senior races. Great support from the rest of the team means we go into the second fixture top of the league. The supporting junior race was won by Andy Constable and Emma Burroughs was third in the girls race. Full results of seniors and juniors.

Orienteering, from SUFFOC

Dear runners,

Suffolk Orienteering Club (SUFFOC) would like to invite you to an orienteering event in Rendlesham Forest on 25th November 2007. Registration is on the day from 10.00-12.00 with individual starts from 10.30 to 12.30. Fees are £7 Adult/Group and £2 Junior/Student.

Directions (approaching from A12): Take the A1152, signposted Orford and Melton, at the northern Woodbridge roundabout on the A12. After Melton, follow the brown signs for the Rendlesham Forest Centre on the B1084. Turn Right onto a Forestry Commission road signposted to Rendlesham Forest Centre. You will see orienteering signs for the event. The grid reference is TM354488.

For more details visit www.pdl.demon.co.uk/suffoc or email ipswich harriers for contact number.

Orienteering is a sport for all ages and abilities. There will be help available for those new to the sport. For more information about orienteering visit http://www.britishorienteering.org.uk/

Great Bentley Half Marathon

Dear Club Representative,
I am pleased to attach a copy of the entry form for the Great Bentley Half Marathon. The race is being held on 3rd February 2008, and as last year it will incorporate the Essex AAA Half Marathon Championship. Further information will be appearing on our website www.gbrc.org.uk.
Kind regards,
Tom Geddes
Club Secretary

Hebridean Marathons

Please see attached entry form
Will shortly be on line registration on Runners World as well.
Please circulate !
Thank you
Tony

MARTLESHAM 10k

Don't think we've had such a big turn out for a road race for ages! Well done to everyone and great run from Elliot Palmer to be first Harrier home in 4th place.
4 ELLIOT PALMER 35,28
5 GLYNN THOMAS 35,45
8 SIMON GODINER 36,55
19 Kevin Peirce 38,50
30 DANIEL PALMER 40,20
63 Daniel Kett 44,14
95 MATTHEW BARHAM 47,44
121 Kenneth Wright 51,11

AGM

The Ipswich Harriers and Ipswich Harriers Supporters Association Annual General Meetings will take place on Friday 26 October at the Education Centre, St Elizabeth Hospice, Foxhall Road, Ipswich.
Details of the meetings have been posted to all members but because of possible delays in the postal system you are reminded that the Supporters Association AGM will commence at 7pm followed by the Harriers AGM at approximately 7.45pm.
The IHSA & IH Committees look forward to seeing you at the meetings.

Suffolk Winter League dates

28/10/07: Framlingham
4/11/07: Fritton Lake (on A143 between Beccles & Gt Yarmouth)
18/11/07: Bungay
9/12/07: Woodbridge
20/1/08: Haughley Park, Stowmarket
3/2/08: Nowton Park, Bury St Edmunds

Felixstowe half marathon

Tom Taylor(1:25) and Kevin Peirce(1:27) took part in the Felixstowe half marathon on 3oth September.

EAL FINAL

We had a good day at the EAL final and the Senior Men and the U17 Men both won their age groups.
results summary
SENIOR MEN
UNDER 13 BOYS
UNDER 17 MEN
SENIOR WOMEN
UNDER 13 GIRLS
UNDER 15 BOYS
UNDER 15 GIRLS

GEORGINA AN EXCELLENT 5TH PLACE IN NATIONAL FINAL by MIKE OAKLEY

Every year athletes competing in the National Junior League for athletes Under 20, have their performances converted to a points basis similar to the way Decathlon and Heptathlon events are scored..... Full report

NJL results and 400m splits Colchester, 29th July
EAL results Ipswich, 22nd July
EYAL results Ipswich, 15th July
SML results Ipswich, 2nd June

SWL results Ipswich, 2nd June

snrs track, snrs field, jnrs, jnrs part2, non scorers

SML results Woodford, 19th May

track, jumps, throws

EYAL results St. Albans, 29th April

U13b, U13g, U15b, U15g, U17m, U17w, match result

WSAC charity open meeting 23rd September by Tania Spurling

West Suffolk Athletics Club are hosting a charity open meeting on Sunday 23rd September 2007 at West Suffolk Athletics Arena (Bury St Edmunds). The event is supporting the East Anglian Air Ambulance and ALL money raised through entries, raffles, t-shirts and programmes are being donated to the Air Ambulance. The competition is hosting a wide range of events from U11’s up to senior age groups, please visit WSAC site to view the events available.

South of England Championships, 16th-17th June by Neil Gillingham



A small group of athletes and supporters made the two-hour plus trek to Crystal Palace National Sports Center over the weekend of 16th and 17th June 2007.
Ipswich Harrier club member Mark Leitch competing in the colours of the Army struck gold in the senior men’s shot putt with a solid throw of 14.33m on the Saturday. In fact any of Mark’s legal throws would have been good enough to secure the gold medal as such was his dominance in this event winning by over a meter and a half...... full report

County T&F Champs, 13th May
Photos by Allan Rooke


results

Meeting results from Tony Cheatham

EAL Ipswich 6th May
SWL Ipswich 28th April

NATIONAL JUNIOR LEAGUE by MIKE OAKLEY

I know that its early days (only 2 of the 4 meetings gone) but attached should reveal that Harriers have 3 girls in the top 14 and one boy. The top 8 of each get to contest a final at the "Grand Final" of the League.

Katy gets the Silver! by Wendy Sealy

Thought you might like to know that Katy Sealy won the silver medal in the very soggy U17 womens' high jump at the South of England Chamionships in Ashford on Sunday. Her second attempt clearance at 1m55 won her the silver medal on countback, just one failed attempt behind the gold medal winner who also cleared 1m55. Katy was one of three athletes who having cleared 1m55 attempted 1m60 to win the competition and all came very close in very difficult conditions. Katy also came 7th in the U17 womens' long jump with 5m06.

NATIONAL JUNIOR LEAGUE by MIKE OAKLEY

At Basildon on Sunday May 27th in miserable cold and wet conditions, Ipswich Harriers Under 20 Men and Women secured a first ever League win since the sexes were combined a few years ago.... Full report

SUDBURY JOGGERS MT 5MILE by Paul Preston

Hi all,
We hope that you are well.
Please find attached an entry form in MS Word format and PDF format for our Sudbury Joggers MT 5 mile race, which will be held on Wednesday 4th July 2007 at 7:30pm. This is in the middle of the 3 week gap between Stowmarket and Great Bentley Friday 5s.
This is a new event for the running calendar, which includes some lovely country views.
If you have any questions, then please do not hesitate to ask, we have added race details and final instructions etc to our website at www.sudburyjoggers.org.uk
Many Thanks for your time,
Paul Preston
Sudbury Joggers
Club Captain

EYAL by Ricky Hanley

Eastern Young Athletes League – St. Albans – 29th April 2007


Ipswich Harriers kicked off their Eastern Young Athletes League campaign with a match at St Albans against Basildon, Biggleswade, Milton Keynes St.Albans and Trent Park. Ipswich were only beaten by 6 points on the day and with a few more middle distance runners competing would have ended with a comfortable victory. Full report

Press Release - Forest Challenge by Julian Long

Please find attached Press Release detailing a new dual sport Run/Bike Event to take place in Suffolk in July. The event is in support of the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign.
Kind regards,
Julian Long
Run/Bike Events

EKIDEN MARATHON RELAY - SUNDAY 29 July 07 by Robin Belsom

I am pleased to announce this year’s Ekiden Marathon Relay. The date will be Sunday 29 July 2007 so please add this to your club's fixture list. We can also confirm that the entry fee will be £24 per team of six affiliated runners increasing to £30 for entries on the day.
We are organising the event with St Elizabeth Hospice, Ipswich to raise much-needed funds for the Hospice.
This year we have a new venue and the race will take place in the grounds of Orwell Park School, Nacton, Suffolk IP10 0ER.

Ilford AC Newman Hilly Five, July 18th by Sally Gillam

Hi
I am attaching an entry form for our Club Race - The Newman Hilly Five on Wednesday July 18th at 7.30pm. It is a two lap off road course set in picturesque Hainault Forest. There are good prizes for all catogories. There are no mementos for all runners as profits mainly go to St Francis Hospice.
The race is well supported by local clubs. This year we would like to encourage more runners to enjoy the night.
The form and details of the location can also be found on our website www.ilfordathleticclub.org.uk
Best Regards
Sally

SML LEAGUE

The first Southern Men's League meeting of the season was a home fixture and a good result with a second place which puts Harriers in 6th place after the first round of matches. Table and match results

NATIONAL JUNIOR LEAGUE by MIKE OAKLEY

Ipswich Harriers competed in the first of four “Junior League” meetings for athletes Under 20 and Under 17. Our 12 men and women competed in as many events as they could but although finishing 5th of the seven teams who attended, were generally well beaten.... Full report

JOE BLOOMFIELD'S CROATIA TRIP by CRAIG BLOOMFIELD

Joe has been selected to compete in an International Throws Meeting in Varazdin, Croatia on the 7th July. Joe will be competing as part of the Hammer Circle's Team.

Although very early in the season Joe is currently ranked 2nd in the UK in the U17 Mens Hammer and is eager to regain the top spot.

This will an ideal opportunity for Joe to experience competition in a part of the world with very strong hammer throwing traditions. He will be competing alongside senior and junior Internationals from a number of countries.

Joe has been extremely committed over the winter and has rarely missed any of his 6 days a week training schedule - half of which he spends weight training in our garage on his own.

I am truly delighted his hard work has been rewarded in this way.

UNDER 13 LONG JUMP LEAGUE

Results of the first (Braintree) leg of the three way U13 boys and girls Long Jump competition between Braintree, Colchester & Tendering and Ipswich Harriers show a win for the boys and 3rd [place for the girls. Next meeting is in Colchester on 30th May.

LONDON MARATHON

Well done to Glynn Thomas(3:11:51) and David Sealy(4:16:56) on finishing a rather warm London Marathon this year.

Champions of Europe, by Tony Taylor


Jonny Palmer, Josh Entwistle, Katy Sealy, Katherine Bradshaw, Lucy Taylor, Tom Taylor and coaches Tony Taylor and Wendy Sealy accompanied a small party of Farlingaye High School pupils and their teacher Kate Alexander to the European Indoor Championships in Birmingham recently.
It was an incredible experience and one that will remain in the memory of all of us for a very long time.
We had perfect seats to view all the events, the atmosphere was electric and the capacity crowd that included many supporters from all over Europe rose to the occasion to encourage all the athletes.
Many of the athletes competing were not just Europes best but the World leaders in their events.
The womens high jump for instance featured the Worlds top six. Katy and Wendy Sealy were in their element.
The athletes that we were fortunate to meet were very friendly and a large number of very sought after autographs were collected. The ingenuity of some of our group in the collecting of these autographs must be commended. They got into , and were regularly removed, from “gold areas” reserved for the top coaches and officials.
A fabulous three days.

GOLD FOR IPSWICH GIRLS, by Ricky Hanley


Katy Sealy celebrated selection to the England Athletics East Combined Events Squad with a Gold and Silver medal at the Eastern Athletics Indoor Championships at Chelmsford. She will receive support and help with planning and progression of her training and competitive activities for the season and also sessions with some of the Country’s top Event Coaches. It was Katy’s second indoor competition at the fantastic Melbourne Park facility in February, collecting a bronze in the Essex Indoor championships and picking up a Pb of 1.60 whilst competing as a guest. In a crowded arena the Farlingaye High school Under 17 dominated the High jump winning with 1.55 and then went on to win silver in the shot with 8.17. Under 13 Charlotte Shelley is beginning to look like a multi event athlete picking up 2 silver medals in the Long Jump with 4.17 and the 60m hurdles crossing the line in a time of 10.7. At the West Norfolk Indoor Championships at Kings Lynn, Charlotte took gold in High jump with 1.35 and is currently top of the UK Athletics regional rankings. She also collected a bronze in the hurdles with a time of 10.8. Charlotte Cattermole won a silver in a very tight under 15 60m hurdles with 1st 2nd and 3rd all given the same time clocking a very quick 9.7 seconds.

EYE 10K AND 3K

Dear All
Please find attached a copy entry form for this years Eye 10k and 3k Family Fun Run - please could I ask that details are circulated to your members.
Full details of the events are available on our race website - www.eye10k.co.uk
Entries are accepted on line at no extra cost....
Many thanks for your assistance
Simon Lovell
Race Director

WOODBRIDGE 10K

Following update received from Roger Hobson, Race Director Woodbridge Shufflers R.C.:-

Dear All,
The Woodbridge Round the Town Races (10k and Junior Run) are now full and no more entries can be acccepted. We apologise to all those who are now too late to enter.
Regards,
Roger Hobson
Race Director, Woodbridge Shufflers R.C.

CAPEL 5M AND 1M

We've received a poster and entry form for this event on 17th June.

ECCA NATIONAL CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPS

The highest finisher at the event on 10th March was Kelvin Hardy in 8th place in the junior men's race. Other Harriers taking part in the races at Sunderland were Matt Constable, Andy Constable, Andrew Rooke and Chris Rooke.

WOODBRIDGE 10K

Following update received from Roger Hobson, Race Director Woodbridge Shufflers R.C., Friday 9th March:-

We now expect the races to be full within a week or so!!!

ENGLAND ATHLETICS EAST

Attached document from England Athletics East, for your information.
Regards,
Andy Johnson

AAA INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS - 24th and 25th February

Three Harriers took part in the England Athletics Indoor Championships at NIA, Birmingham:-
Thomas Love 800m(01:59.07), Joe Bloomfield Shot(14.49) and Charlotte Cattermole 60m Hurdles(9.99).

INTER COUNTIES, NOTTINGHAM - 24th February

John Bird finished the UK Challenge series with an 8th place in the final race at Nottingham to secure top spot in the U15 boys rankings for the season. Other Harriers representing Suffolk on the day were Kelvin Hardy, Chris Rooke, Andrew Rooke, Elliot Palmer, Tom Taylor, Jonny Palmer, Alice Simpson, Laura Thomas, Emma Burroughs and James Robinson.

WOODBRIDGE 10K

Dear All,
Just a reminder about the event above. Perhaps you could pass this on to your club members.

Already more than 50% of places in the 10k and Junior Run events have been taken so I would urge your club members to apply soon if they wish to enter.

I attach an Entry Form but this is also to be found on www.woodbridgeshufflers.org.uk. Club runners have a tendency to apply late and a number have missed out in recent years. Last year, entries were full by mid-April and at the present rate of entry, it could be even sooner this year.

Hope to see you there.

Regards,

Roger Hobson
Race Director, Woodbridge Shufflers R.C

GENEVA MARATHON

We've received the following flyer about the Geneva Marathon!

TRACK AND FIELD 2007

SUFFOLK WINTER LEAGUE - CHAMPIONS 2006-2007

The final league race of the season was at Bury St Edmunds on 4th February and we emerged from the mist as league champions for the second year running. Well done to everyone that turned out and thanks to everyone who supported the team this season. Special thanks go to team manager, Colleen Fuller, for encouraging people to turn out and to Andrew Pattle and Allan Rooke for catching the action on film. We'll post details of the national final as soon as we get them.
First home in the men's race was Chris Rooke in fifth closely followed by a strong run from Tom Love for 7th. The other scorers were Josh Entwistle 11th, Tom Taylor 13th, Simon Gardner 14th, Michael Fuller 16th and Kevin Pierce 28th.
Congratulations to our junior teams as well. The boys won their league and the girls were second in their's. In the boys race at Bury St Edmunds it was another win for John Bird, just holding off Elliot Palmer. We packed well in the top ten with Andy Constable 4th, Tim Byford 6th, Ross Fawcett 7th, Jonathan Ling 8th and Joe Rowntree 10th. It was another strong run from Emma Burroughs in the girls race for 3rd place.

Glynn Thomas, Elliot Palmer and John Bird topped the rankings for the season for their age groups.

Click to see Andrew Pattle's and Allan Rooke's photos from the races.

NEUKIRCHENER CROSS

Kelvin Hardy was in Düsseldorf on 3rd Feb representing England at the U23 Team Challenge and finished 16th.

2007

SWEATSHOP INVITATION

We've had the following message from Sweatshop, Ipswich:-

Hi

Attached is a flier for the next Video Analysis Day on 13th Feb for you to display and distribute.

We are also holding another injury "clinic" on Wed 28 february 6 -9pm but I wil send more information later this week. These evenings are fun and informative - we dont have video analysis but some very useful advice from qualified medical professionals who also run and are on your side and will encouirage and support you to keep going!

We look forward to seeing you

Gail, Alex and Andrew
Sweatshop, Ipswich

CLUBMARK

Some good news from our secretary, Andy Johnson:-
"Ipswich Harriers has been awarded England Athletics ClubMark Accreditation."

SEAA CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS

A change of venue for the Southern Champs with this year's event being held at Holkham Hall in Norfolk on 27th January. John Bird was again to the fore and was our highest placed athlete finishing 7th in the U15 boys race. Others to make the trip were: U15 Girls Emma Burroughs(80) & Catherine Healy(126); U17 Men Elliot Palmer(15), Tom Taylor(61) & Jonny Palmer(63); Junior Men Josh Entwistle(54), Tom Love(58) & Daniel Palmer(66)

SEAA INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS, by Neil Gillingham

Becky Welbourn had a busy day on the 21st January competing at the SEAA indoor championships at the new Lee Valley Indoor Athletics Centre. She took part in the junior women's 400m and after successfully winning her heat in 60.55s and finishing second in her semi in 60.07s qualified for the final. In the final a storming finish secured Becky the silver medal in a time of 59.27s! Other athletes to take part on these championships included Katy Sealy finishing 5th in the under 17 women's high jump with 1.55m, Kerry Dixon finishing 6th in the junior women's high jump with 1.55m and the Neil Gillingham finishing 4th in his heat of the senior men's 400m in a time of 56.67s.
Click to see Neil Gillingham's photos.

TRACK AND FIELD 2007

SUFFOLK WINTER LEAGUE

We weren't able to put out as strong a team as we'd have liked to and suffered our first defeat of the season although still head the league with one fixture remaining. That will be at Nowton Park on 4th February. The men's team was led home by Glynn Thomas in sixth place. The other scorers were:- 12th Chris Rooke, 20th Josh Entwistle, 22nd Tom Love, 25th Simon Gardiner, 31st Jamie Dines and 32nd Kevin Pierce.
In the women's race it's a big 'thank you' to Kerry Fuller for turning out to make sure we had a full team. Hannah Arbon was first home again in tenth and was closely followed by Alice Simpson in 12th.

Congratulations to Emma Burroughs for a well deserved first victory in the junior girls race. Laura Thomas also ran well for 3rd place. Andy Constable enjoyed his best finish this season with second place and was well supported in the top ten by Tim Byford(4th), Robert Blagg(6th), and Joe Rowntree(8th).

Click to see Andrew Pattle's photos from the races.

The next meeting is on 4th February at Nowton Park.

UK CROSS CHALLENGE

Another great run and first place for John Bird at Cardiff on the 20th January. The win extends his lead in the U15 boys rankings. Others to compete at Cardiff were Kelvin Hardy, 33rd-senior men, Elliot Palmer, 15th-U17 men, and Andrew Rooke, 24th-U17 men.

Click to see Allan Rooke's photos from Belfast.

IMPORTANT SWL MESSAGE FROM COLLEEN

At the Haughley Park x-country today, Joe Mower confirmed to me that the final SWL x-country race at Bury St Edmunds is at NOWTON PARK and not Culford School (as it was last year).

SWEATSHOP EVENTS

We've had the following message from Sweatshop, Ipswich:-

Sunday 28 January 11-6pm

Free video gait analysis and shoe trial van. Repeating the always popular service from Nike. Video analysis shows you the difference shoes can make to help prevent injury and help you achieve your goals. This is also a great chance to see the Nike+ range* (with ipod nano link incorporating speed and distance monitor, motivational training programmes and songs) The system is now in some of the top of the range shoes at no extra cost, including the Structure Triax 10 and in a few months the award winning Pegasus 2006, after successful trials with the range available last Summer. Highly recommended by top athletes incuding Lance Armstrong and Paula Radcliffe.

Thursday Feb 1st

Injury clinic with Dr Mark Hainsworth, Nick Salway (Osteopath) (useful for run grouops leaders, coaches as well as the runners

* Short presentation on posture and lower limb injuries and how they impact on your running gait * discussion on "is it safe to run through it?" - the question we all need the answer to particularly when training for events and following fitness schedules. * individual assessments, gait analysis.

There is no charge and the usual discounts apply to all events.

REMEMBER - this week is Blue Cross Sale week - the official final week of the sale - produce your affiliated running club membership card we'll give you 10% off sale stock too!

We look forward to seeing you soon

Sweatshop, Ipswich

SEAA Indoor Combined events championships

Katy Sealy competed in the U17 women's pentathlon at the South of England Indoor Combined events championships at Lee Valley on the 7th January and finished 8th with a pb of 2671 points. Katy said of the day: "It was a really fun but a long and gruelling day especially on the sprint finish of the 800m! I was quite pleased with my performances being just short of my PB's in all events. The new stadium was great to compete at and the facilities were really good and the event was very well organised. Everything was on time and if not it was early to benefit everyone. Combined events always have a special atmosphere and I recommend anyone interested to have a go."
And those inividual event performances were : 60m Hurdles - 10.15 seconds, High Jump - 1m57, Shot put 8m35, Long Jump - 4m66, 800m - 2mins56.90 seconds.

Suffolk Cross Country Champs

The first local competition of 2007 was the Suffolk Cross Country Champs held at Holbecks Park, Hadleigh on the 7th January. Kelvin Hardy was crowned senior county champion for the second year in a row with a comfortable victory. There was a rare outing for Ben Spashett and a solid 4th place performance. Other age group winners were John Bird, Andrew Rooke and Jack Garvin.

Click to see Allan Rooke's photos from the races.

UK CROSS CHALLENGE

The first fixture of 2007 was at Stormont Estate, Belfast on 6th January. John Bird and Andrew Rooke took part and John had a great run to win the U15 boys race and now tops the ranking for that age group. The trip was a bit tougher for Andrew who finished 28th.

Click to see Allan Rooke's photos from the day.

2006

Sweatshop invitation

We've had the following message from Sweatshop, Ipswich:-

Sweatshop Ipswich would like to invite your members to a Free Injury clinic on Thursday 18 January starting at 6pm with a presentation on lower limb injuries, ("is it safe to run through it"), prevention and healing by Dr Mark Hainsworth and Carolinme Southgate (sports physio) This will be followed by individual consultations, gait analysis and informal discussion. We will be on hand as always for advice on shoes, training, nutrition

These evenings are always popular friendly and informal so do encourage your members to come along - new runners and the more experienced always benefit!

There is no ned to book but if you are bringing a group of more than 5 then it would help if you could let us know in advance (by Wed pm)

The event is free and in addition to the usual discounts 10% will also be given on sale purchases

We look forward to seeing you.

Gail
Sweatshop, Ipswich

SUFFOLK WINTER LEAGUE

While Claire Holme was out in Italy running for GB other club members were competing in the third meeting of the Suffolk Winter League at Woodbridge. The team was led home by Chris Rooke with his best finish so far in third place. He was joined in the top ten by Glynn Thomas in sixth place. The other scorers were:- 12th Dan Borrett, 13th Jamie Dines, 21st Michael Fuller, 24th Tom Love, 27th Simon Gardiner.
Hannah Arbon enjoyed her best run of the season to finish 5th with the other scoreres being Elizabeth Welbourn in 25th and Becky Welbourn 32nd.


The result in the junior race was a repeat of the previous fixture in the junior boys race with John Bird winning from Elliot Palmer in second. Emma Burroughs was first Harrier home in the girls race in 4th.

It was another overall match victory, although by a somewhat closer margin this week, and we remain top of the league.

Click to see Andrew Pattle's and Allan Rooke's photos from the races.

The next meeting is on 21st January at Stowmarket.

European Cross Country Championships

Congratulations to Claire Holme for winning a team gold medal in the U23 women's race at at the SPAR European Cross Country Championships in San Giorgio su Legnano, Italy, on Sunday 10th December. Claire finished in 19th place and was third GB scorer.

The following is extracted from an article on the UK Athletics website:-
Claire Holme (Ipswich AC), 19th in 19:49, said: “It was very fast from the start but I worked my way through, which was pleasing. It was amazing, really. I set off fairly hard but after the bottleneck [shortly after the start] I ended up quite far back. I kept strong and people kept coming back to me all the time. We wanted a team medal. The Junior Women set the standard for us, didn’t they?”

SOUTHERN INTER COUNTIES

Well done to Alex Ogilvie, Laura Thomas, John Bird, Andrew Rooke and Elliot Palmer who were selected to run for Suffolk at the Southern inter counties at Parliament Hill on the 9th December. There were top ten places for Alex(5th), John(8th) and Andrew(6th).

T shirts

Anyone wishing to order a t-shirt to arrive before Christmas needs to get an order to Colleen, Gill and Jane by 12th December. Cheques should be made payable to Ipswich Harriers Supporters Association.

Christmas Party

The Ipswich Harriers Supporters Association has arranged a Christmas Party in the Northgate Bar after training on Tuesday 19th December. Training sessions will finish early and all athletes, coaches and helpers are welcome to come along. We have the bar booked until 9pm.
Colleen, Gill and Jane will be grateful for any donations of food and drink for this event.

The Harrier

After a long break the Club newsletter has been resurrected by our new club Chairman, John Tunaley. You can get a printed copy of the newsletter from the clubhouse and it should be available on the website soon. In an effort to be eco friendly we'd like to email rather than print the newsletter so if you'd like to receive a copy then send your email address to this site via the contacts page.
There's also a prize on offer to come up with a new name for the newsletter so send in your ideas.

European Cross Country Championships

Claire Holme has been selected for the Norwich Union Great Britain and Northern Ireland Under 23 Women's team for the SPAR European Cross Country Championships to be staged in San Giorgio su Legnano, Italy, on Sunday 10th December.

UK Cross Challenge

The latest fixture was at Liverpool on 25th November and included the European XC Trials. Top positions were John Bird, who was a fine 2nd in the under 15 boy's race and Claire Holme who was 4th U23 in the combined senior and U23 race. Other results were :- Senior Men 36th Kelvin Hardy, U20 Men 71st Christopher Rooke and Under 17 Men 9th Andrew Rooke.
Claire Holme should now be selected for the European Chamionships on 10th December.

SEAA entry forms

Entry forms for the SEAA 2007 Cross Country Championships, SEAA Indoor Combined Events Championships and SEAA Indoor Individual Events Championships are now available to download from the SEAA website.

Sufolk Winter League

Another good weekend as we won the second league fixture at Bungay on 19th November. Chris Rooke got the better of Michael Fuller this week with Chris finishing 4th and Michael 5th. The other scorers were:- 7th Glyn Thomas, 14th Tom Love, 20th Simon Gardiner, 22nd Jamie Dines, 33rd Jonny Palmer.
Alice Simpson had a great run in the women's race to finish 2nd and was well supported by Hannah Arbon in 11th and Becky Welbourn in 16th.
There was also a change round in the junior boys race with John Bird winning this time and Elliot Palmer 2nd. There was another solid run and 4th spot for Andy Constable. Laura Thomas improved on her 6th place at Framlingham with 3rd place this time and was closely followed by Rachel Ademokun in 4th.




The next meeting is on 10th December at Woodbridge.

Map My Run by Kevin Peirce

OK.   Go here: http://www.mapmyrun.com/search.php
In the search - select "United Kingdom" - then enter 'Harriers' into the keywords field and do a search. Ignore those not in Ipswich!!!
Cool huh?
By all means add others - just start the name with 'Harriers' then we can maybe build up a catalogue of 'known' runs

Some event notices from Andy Johnson:-

    Suffolk County Athletic Association – 2007 Cross Country Championships
    Sunday 7 January 2007 at Holbecks, Hadleigh (Entry closing date 29 December 2006)
    Entry forms and further information from the Clubhouse or Steve Benson

    SEAA 2007 Cross Country Championships.
    Saturday 27 January 2007 at Holkham Park, Norfolk - Entries close 18 December 2006
    Entry forms and further information from the Clubhouse or Steve Benson

    SEAA Indoor Combined Events Championships at Lea Valley Athletics Centre.
    Sunday 7, Saturday 13 & Sunday 14 January 2007
    Entry forms from the Clubhouse - Entries close 19 December 2006

    SEAA Indoor Individual Events Championships at Lea Valley Athletics Centre.
    Saturday 20 & Sunday 21 January
    Entry forms from the Clubhouse - Entries close 9 January 2007

    England Open Championships - Senior & U20 Combined Events - EIS Sheffield
    Saturday 13 & Sunday 14 January 2007

    U20, U17 & U15 Championships – NIA Birmingham
    Saturday 24 & Sunday 25 February 2007

    U17 & U15 Combined Events – Sport City Manchester
    Saturday 17 March 2007
    Entry forms from the Clubhouse

Membership secretary

Julie Walker has now been appointed as the Harrier's membership secretary.

Tilburg Cross Country International

Kelvin Hardy and Ellie Sprake represented the South of England at the 48th Tilburg Cross Country International on 12th November.
Kelvin was 8th in the U23 men's race and Ellie 11th in the U20 women's race.

Scenic 7

Glynn Thomas won the vet 40 prize when finishing 4th at the Stowmarket scenic 7 mile race on 12th November.

National xc relays

We had one complete team for the ECCA National cross country relays at Mansfield on 4th November and the U17 men's team of Andrew Rooke, Tom Taylor and Elliot Palmer finished 13th. Andrew was first home on leg one. Other notable first leg performances were Kelvin Hardy 1st in the junior men, John Bird 3rd in the U15 boys and Ellie Sprake 4th in the junior women.

Team spirit

Four athletes showed good club spirit last weekend by travelling to the Birmingham UK Challenge on Saturday and then turning out in the SWL at Framlingham the following day. A tough weekend! Thanks go to Chris Rooke, Daniel Palmer, Elliot Palmer and John Bird for their efforts.

Sufolk Winter League

We made a great start to this season's local cross country league by winning the opening fixture at Framlingham on 29th October. Due to waterlogged conditions the course had to be altered to a three lap race but this didn't cause any problems for our athletes. Leading the men's team home was Michael Fuller in 3rd place closely followed by Chris Rooke in 4th and Glyn Thomas, who recovered from an early fall to finish 6th. The other scorers were:- 11th Dan Borrett, 12th Aza Row, 17th Simon Gardiner, 23rd Daniel Palmer.
Hannah Arbon had a good run in the women's race to finish 9th with the other team scorers being Becky Welbourn in 17th and Elizabeth Welbourn 20th.

Overall, a fantastic club turnout with 23 seniors and 22 younger athletes for the junior race. Elliot Palmer won the junior race with John Bird a few seconds behind in 2nd. Andy Constable just missed out on a top three finish. First girl to finish was Emma Burroughs in 3rd place.
Click to see Andrew Pattle's and Allan Rooke's photos from the races.

UK Cross Challenge

A number of athletes travelled to Birmingham on the 28th October for the first cross country meeting in this season's UK Challenge series. Top positions were Ellie Sprake who was 3rd in the U20 women's race and Andrew Rooke, 3rd in the U17 men's race. Other performances were:- Senior Men 17th Kelvin Hardy, U20 Men 26th Christopher Rooke and 34th Daniel Palmer, Under 17 Men 40th Elliot Palmer, Under 15 Boys 5th John Bird, Under 13 Boys 9th Alexander Ogilvie.


Click to see to see Allan Rooke's photos from the race.

Martlesham 10k

Chris Rooke made his debut on the local road racing circuit with a fantastic third place at the Martlesham 10k on Sunday in 34:34. Well done.

Suffolk Sports Awards

Congratulations to Steve Benson for being voted coach of the year at the inaugural Suffolk Sports Awards held on Sunday 15th October. Steve was presented with the Ipswich Town Coach of the Year Award by Ipswich Town chairman David Sheepshanks. Ellie Sprake was also at the awards where she was runner up in the Grassroots Young Sports Personality of the Year.

"We organise the Tesco campaign and are looking for a qualified and experienced (licensed) Athletics coach, who is interested to run a 4 hour session at a primary school near Ipswich. The session will include a short brief with teachers and parents and then the running of some general exercises in both Track and Field. A manual will be sent to the coach beforehand to provide a more detailed guideline. The fee will be 120£ (all in) for a 4 hour session and we would be delighted if an athletics coach at Ipswich Harriers club would be interested and available on one of the following dates: 24th April, 8th or 15th of May. I am guessing that all the participating children will be at a young age as they are all at a local primary school. Please would you be so kind to get back as soon as possible, should someone be interested. I hope this information helps and look forward to hearing back from you soon.
Kind regards, Richard Wetzki"

Congratulations to coach Steve Benson on his appointment as a GB team manager for the U20 cross country competition against Portugal in Lisbon on 15th January.

It's been a while but you'll be pleased to hear that Harriers will be hosting a track & field open meeting at Northgate on 2nd April - entry form - 35kb.

The following was part of a report on the UKA website about the Cardiff UK Challenge cross country races on 22nd January and refers to Ellie's victory in the U17 women's race-
"Under 17 women 4km: Ellie Sprake (Ipswich) became the newest Challenge winner in Steve Benson’s highly successful training group a week after securing the Suffolk Under 17 title. She got away from the pack just before halfway and never looked back, making the six-hour journey well worth while – and probably needing the six-hour return trip to get the smile of delight off her face."

Harriers enjoyed a good day at the Suffolk County Champs at RAF Barnham on 15th January 2006 with four individual wins and a team 1st in the U17 men. The race winners were Kelvin Hardy, Jim Norris, Laura O'dell and Ellie Sprake.
To see Allen Rooke's photos from the day click here.

One fixture to go in the Suffolk Winter XC League and we're still holding on to top spot after another fine club performance at the latest meeting at Stowmarket on 8th January. Congratulations must go to James Calvert and Laura O'Dell who enjoyed individual wins which one hopes will get proper recognition in the press! Don't forget the change of venue for the last meeting on 12th Feb - now Culford School.

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2005
Glynn Thomas finished 5th at the Beccles 10 miler on 18th December in 57:12

Kelvin Hardy was 6th at the Lotto Brussels Crosscup in Belgium on 18th December representing England.

The final race of the Suffolk Winter League on the 12th February will now be held at Culford School. We've been informed that the new course will be a two lap parkland course and will take a spike.

Congratulations to Kelvin Hardy on his team silver medal running for Great Britain and Northern Ireland at the European Cross Country Championships staged in Tilburg, Netherlands, on Sunday 11 December. Kelvin was third GB runner home in 24th place. This weekend Kelvin will be representing England at a competition in Belgium.

Here's a cross country report just in from our man in the field Kevin Peirce:-

"After several years of obvious decline, Ipswich Harrier's involvement in cross country has made a rapid and glorious come back during this 2005 Suffolk Winter League season. Perhaps it's the achievement of 'Radcliffe/Holmes' having an effect? Or maybe other factors have come into play that are attracting more of our club members into the more 'adventurous' side of the sport? Whatever the reason, it's had the positive effect of propelling Harriers into the overall top spot so far in the Suffolk Winter League - and with good prospects to go on and win the league in February. And we can do better yet...

We have been well represented in all parts of the league (males and females, juniors and seniors) with an amazing turn out in the senior male and female races. In fact we have the lead in a number of individual categories (female 17, female 40, male 17) and in most of the others have athletes in the top five places. What a result.

The junior results tell a similar story with two top slots currently taken (boys 13, boys 17) and expectations for other groups by the end of the season. However, it is here where we could do better. The juniors that have competed have done so with amazing dedication, but there are a number of juniors who could and should be out there racing for the club. The boys are currently holding the top spot, and the girls are third! So come on juniors, get out there in January and run for your club and help get us into those top spots! Everyone of all abilities are welcome as every point scored can count towards our final league standings. There is also an additional bonus for taking part in the Suffolk Winter League. We have all signed an agreement with Harriers to race under the Ipswich Harriers name in a good proportion of available races throughout any given year. Therefore, racing in the Suffolk Winter League is a local and easy way to build up your Harriers races.

So with the brilliant turn outs at a very muddy Framlingham (over 27 athletes), a bitterly cold Bungay (over 25 athletes) and a sunny Woodbridge (over 25 athletes) perhaps it's time to consider resurrecting the Harriers team coach, or maybe even just dust off the old Ipswich Harriers standard that we once thrust proudly into ground at every league event we attended in the old Peter Scott days. If we finish the league this year as we started some of this should certainly be considered next season.

Check out photos on the Ipswich Harriers website at: http://www.ipswich-harriers.co.uk/results.html And see the official results on the Suffolk Athletics website at: http://www.suffolkathletics.org.uk/crosscountry.htm "

Entry forms for the Sufolk XC Champs at RAF Barnham on 15th January are available from the Suffolk County A.A. website. Closing date is 30th December.

We had another great result in the Suffolk XC League to keep us top of the league after three fixtures. We won both senior races and the boys race.

Strong runs from Janes Calvert(3rd), Glynn Thomas(5th) and Michael Fuller(6th) and good packing from the rest of the team gave us a good score. Becky Welbourn was the first of our ladies home in 4th place. To see Andrew Pattle's photos from the day click here.
Next race is at Stowmarket on 8th January.

Congratulations to Kelvin Hardy on his selection for the Norwich Union Great Britain and Northern Ireland team for the European Cross Country Championships to be staged in Tilburg, Netherlands, on Sunday 11 December. This was as a result of his 5th place in the European trials at Liverpool on 26th November.

Ben Spashett ran as a guest in an Essex League xc race at Great Notley on 26th November and won.

Details are now in of this year's plumb pudding race on Boxing Day.

We had another good turnout for the Suffolk XC league for the second round at Bungay on 20th November. We finished fourth overall on this occasion but are still just top of the league. First home was Glynn Thomas

in fifth spot just ahead of a back in form
Michael Fuller in seventh.
We had another good turnout of juniors with Daniel Palmer being the first of them to finish, in 26th place. The ladies were once again led home by Becky Welbourn
in fifth place.
Well done to all that turned out. To see Andrew Pattle's photos from the day click here.
Next race is at Woodbridge on 4th December.

Well done to Glynn Thomas for his third place in the Stowmarket Scenic 7 on 13th November.

The second race in the Suffolk Winter League on the 20th November will now be at Bungay.

We got off to a great start in the Suffolk Winter League by winning the opening league fixture at Framlingham on 30th October. We had a great turnout and placed all our scorers in the top 40 in the men's race. The team was led home by James Calvert in 2nd place, just twenty seconds behind the winner, with Glynn Thomas not far behind in fifth spot. The team of twenty athletes included nine juniors with the highest placer being Jamie Dines in 18th place. The ladies team were led home by a junior with Becky Welbourn finishing in 6th place. Anyone got any pictures from the day? Well done to everyone and lets hope for a similar turnout at the next fixture on 20th November which was scheduled for Woodbridge but now has a question mark against it and may be at Bungay instead. If anyone knows for sure would they email the site. Thanks.

Flora London Marathon - 23rd April 2006 - Club places
We usually qualify for a couple of club places for the London Marathon and these are firstly offered to members rejected by the official ballot. If you'd like to put your name down for one of the places either email this site or look out for the poster in the hut.

The club AGM will be on 28th October at St Elizabeth Hospice at 7.30pm.

The Supporters Association AGM will be on 28th October at St Elizabeth Hospice at 7.00pm.

There's been no road racing to report for a while but Glynn Thomas has been back in action with a couple of good runs. On the 25th September he was 3rd in the Diss 15 mile race and on 2nd October 4th in the Felixstowe half marathon. The half marathon was also the county championship and Glynn won the MV40 category. Congratulations. The Diss races also had a fun run where Laura Thomas finished 2nd.

The club presentation evening will be on 22nd October at Next Generation.

The cross country season will soon be here and the first meeting of the Suffolk Winter League will be on 30th October at Framlingham. All the fixtures and directions can be found on the fixtures page.

Well done to all the juniors that competed in the EYAL final at Ipswich on 11th September and produced overall wins for the boys and girls teams. There were wins for the U13 and U15 boys age groups and a second place for U17 men. For the girls it was the U15s and U17s winning their age groups with the U13s finishing 5th. Thanks to everyone that helped on the day and to Milton Keynes AC for compiling the results. A copy of these can be found on the results page.

Congratulations to the Southern Women's team for finishing runners-up in division 3N. They finished off their season with a convincing win at Wycombe on 3rd September.

Orienteering.
We've received the following note from Perry Mole, Club Secretary of Suffolk Orienteering Club:-
Dear Running Club,
I wonder if I could ask you to distribute amongst your members, this invitation to an orienteering event that we are hosting shortly at Shrubland Park, near Needham Market? I realise that the event clashes with a number of local running fixtures, but those not involved are more than welcome. The courses are aimed at those with little or no experience of orienteering, and are path-based. There will also be some elementary coaching in technique for beginners.
Many thanks in advance,
Perry Mole
Club Secretary - Suffolk Orienteering Club
There's a pdf document giving full details of the event avaiable on the fixtures page.

The Southern Women's team travelled to Haringey on 20th August and put in an excellent performance to win the fixture and move up to second place in the league. Let's hope they can repeat this at the final fixture at Wycombe and hold onto that second spot.

Malcolm Fenton has been appointed as the new UK Athletics hammer coach.

Harriers had another win in the East Anglian League on the 31st July at Northgate. Well done to everyone that turned out.

The Southern Men's team won their final fixture at Bury St Edmunds on 30th July to clinch second spot in division 3N and gain promotion to division 2 for next season. Well done to everyone involved throughout the season.

Ekiden Champions.The Ekiden is a relay race for teams of 6 participants which covers the marathon distance (26.2 miles) with the 6 legs being 7.2k,5k,10k,5k,10k,5k. Harriers entered three teams for this year's event held at Woodbridge School on 24th July 2005 and came away with overall victory with the team comprising Michael Fuller, Ben Spashett, Tom Sharland, James McNally, Sam Jacobs and Kelvin Hardy. This is the third year running that Harriers have won the trophy. There was an exciting competition between our other two teams and they finished only 5 seconds apart. The team that just dipped first were Wendy Griffin, Chris Spashett, Steve Hicks, James Hicks, Claire Holme and Paul Graham to hold off the team of Wendy Sealey, James Calvert, Dave Sealey, Daniel Palmer, Matthew Gisby and Kevin Pierce in 11th place.

In the National Junior League meeting on 24th July at Haringey the women finished 3rd and the men 6th.

The Southern Women's team finished second in their fixture at Cambridge on 23rd July and are currently in third place in division 3N after three fixtures.

There was another trip to Haringey on 9th July and another convincing win for the Southern Men's team. The result leaves us in 3rd place in the league although equal on match points with the second placed team. We'll be hoping for a good result at the final fixture on 30th July to secure second spot and promotion.

The Eastern Young Athletes match at Ipswich on 3rd July was a very close affair with Ipswich and Havering finishing joint first at the end of the match.

Harriers won the third fixture of the East Anglian League at Cambridge on 26th June. There was a convincing win for the Southern Men's team at the third league fixture at Haringey on 25th June. It was a good team performance but a Jason McDade and Michael Fuller deserve a mention for their great contribution on the day. We are currently 3rd in the league.

Glynn Thomas just dipped under the hour at the Ipswich Jaffa 10 mile recording 59:58 in 6th place.

James McNally had an excellent run at the Woodbridge 10k to finish in 4th spot. We won the second match of the East Anglian League at Southend on 5th May.

We put up a good fight in our opening fixture of the Southern Men's T&F league at home on 7th May but were beaten into 2nd place by a strong Ryston team.

The first Southern Women's T&F league meeting at Ilford on 30th April saw a convincing win for the Harriers. Well done everyone.

In the first National Junior League T&F meeting of the season at Woodford on 24th April the women finished 4th and the men 7th.

In the first Eastern Young Athletes T&F meeting of the season at Cambridge we finished third overall.

The track and field league meetings started on 17th April with an East Anglian League fixture at Colchester which didn't give much of a break for those competing in cross country fixtures up to the end of March. We finished in the top three in all age groups, with the U17s winning their's, and finished 2nd overall.

Congratulations to Glynn Thomas (2:57.06), Wendy Sealy (3:57.53) and David Sealy (4:39.29) for completing the Flora London Marathon on 17th April.

We're back online! Sorry we weren't available for a while. This was due to our provider Ghoulnet having another hardware failure but this time they weren't able to supply us with alternative space to rebuild our site to. Instead, we had to pay to upgrade to their new service under the new GNhosting banner. How convenient for them!

The English Schools XC championships took place on the 12th March at a rather chilly Norfolk Showground. Top finisher was Kelvin Hardy with a third place in the Senior Boys race. Well done to all those Harriers who represented Suffolk:- John Bird, Elliot Palmer, Chris Rooke, Luke Hardy, Andrew Rooke, Kelvin Hardy, Chris Spahett, Louise Prowse, Alice Simpson, Ellie Sprake, Becky Welbourne and Lizzie Hicks

Glynn Thomas had a good run at the Bungay 20k on 20th February finishing in 6th place and 2nd V40.

Congratulations to Sam Jacobs and Claire Holme who picked up individual bronze medals in their Junior races at the National Cross Country Championships at Birmingham on 19th February 2005.

Eastern Indoor Athletics Championships - Report from Ricky Hanley, 18/2/05
A small squad of 5 Ipswich Harriers traveled to Kings Lynn for the Eastern Indoor Athletic Championship and come away with 7 medals. First event of the day was the under 17 women long jump and for Geogina Malster competing in this age group for the the first time. Conditions were far from perfect in a very cold indoor arena, however Geogina completely dominated the competion winning the gold medal with a jump 4.93. In the under 11 age group ex gymnast Charlotte Shelly took the gold medal in the long jump and her first ever indoor event. She also took siver in the 60m sprint with a time of 9.5. Fellow ex gymnast Charlotte Cattermole jumped 3.81 in the under 13 girls long jump to take the silver medal. Coached by Ron Jones, Charlotte also won the gold medal in the 60m hurdles with a time of 10.5 in what was a very impresive display for such a young athlete. Nathan Hanley in his first year at under 17 men took the gold medal in the long jump with a leap of 5.87 and went on to win gold in the triple jump. Jumping 12.06m,a clear meter and a half further than the second placed athlete . Nathan and Geogina, both of Kesgrave high school have recently been selected to train with Great Britain international Philips Idowu and national jump coach John Herbert. This means traveling to Haringay in london every saturday morning but it is clearly paying off and both athletes who are very much looking to the next two years in the under 17 age group.

Congratulations Becky Welbourn, Elliot Palmer, Daniel Palmer and Michael Fuller who all won their age group categories in the Suffolk Winter League.

The final race of the local cross country league took place at Stowmarket on 13th February 2005. Michael Fuller rounded off a good league season with another 'first Harrier home' in 12th place but was only 10 seconds ahead of Kevin Pierce who enjoyed his best finishing position of the season. Wendy Sealey has had a good season and was again first Harrier home, this time in 11th place. Elizabeth Welbourn had her best run of the season in 19th spot. We rather dominated the junior race winning the both the boys and girls individual and team events. Chris Rooke had his second win of the season and there was a third 2nd place finish for Elliot Palmer. We also took the first two places in the girls race with the win going to Louise Prowse and second place to Becky Welbourn. The final league positions were 5th place for the seniors, 1st place for the boys and 2nd spot for the girls. Well done to all those that turned out during the season, a good club effort. And a big 'thank you' must go to Colleen Fuller, Gill Arbon and Paul Rutter for their help and support during the season.

Congratulations to Sam Jacobs who picked up an individual silver medal in the junior race at the Southern XC championships at Parliament Hill on 29th January. He was closely followed home by Kelvin Hardy who just missed out on a medal in fourth place.

The first race of the New Year was the fourth round of the local cross country league at Bury St Edmunds on 2nd January. We were unable to field a full men's team so lost out on points and have now dropped a place to fourth in the table. Those that did turn out for the men were all juniors and put up a good performance. First home was Michael Fuller in 5th followed by Alex Wold in 9th. Another junior, Laura O'Dell, had a great run to win the ladies race and Becky Welbourn was first girl in the junior race.

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2004
A number of athletes travelled to Belgium for the Lotto Brussels Crosscup on the 19th December 2004. Claire Holme celebrated her last race as a junior with another win to round of a very good year for her. Kelvin Hardy had a good run for 3rd place in the junior men's race,

Well done to Claire Holme who was first GB runner home in 10th place in the junior women's race at Spar European Cross Country Championships in Germany on 12th December. It was also a good result for the team which finished in second place and so brought home silver medals.

The third round of the local cross country league at Woodbridge on 5th December saw another good club turn out and a changed course run over a single lap rather than the normal two laps. Glynn Thomas was again first home for us, this time in 9th, with Michael Fuller his customary two places behind in 11th. There was a fine debut in the senior race for junior Chris Spashet who finished 14th. First home in the ladies race was Wendy Sealy in 9th place. There were good wins in the junior races for Becky Welbourn and Chris Rooke (with brother Andrew close on his heels in 2nd). The boys won the team event. In the overall standings, the Seniors are in 3rd place, the Boys in 1st place and the Girls in 2nd place.

Congratulations to Kelvin Hardy who won the Under 20 Men's race at Reebok Challenge race at Liverpool on 4th December.

We had another good turn out for the second meeting of the local cross country league at Bungay on 21st November. The recent cold weather meant the ground was fairly hard. It was a similar Harrier's result to the previous round with Glynn Thomas first home in 8th place closely followed by Michael Fuller in 10th place. First home in the ladies race was Wendy Sealy in 10th place. The girls and boys won their team events in the junior race with Becky Welbourn winning the girl's race and brothers Elliot and Daniel Palmer in second and third place in the boy's race.

Claire Holme continued her great start to the cross country season with a victory in the junior women's race at the Reebok Challenge at Parliament Hill on 20th November. The traditional uphill start had been removed so that the course was a more accurate reflection of the one to be used for the European Championships that this was also a qualifier for. There was still plenty of the familiar mud though. Claire now goes on to represent Great Britain in Heringsdorf, Germany on 11th December. Well done and good luck.

Well done to Tom Sharland who made his debut for the senior England team for the cross country international at Margate on 14th November. Tom ran well and was third scorer for England and fifth overall. The team won the event.

Congratulations to our U20 men's team of Matt Barnes-Smith, Kelvin Hardy and Sam Jacobs for winning the National Cross Country Relays at Mansfield on 7th November. We didn't get off to an ideal start when Matt was pushed into a tree leaving us in 10th place after the first leg but close enough to the leaders for Kelvin and Sam to work us through to first place. This repeated our win from last year.

There was a good Harrier turn out for the first race of the local cross country league at Framlingham on 31st October. It was a tough course to start the season off with very deep mud in places. Glynn Thomas put in a good performance in his first run in a Harrier's vest to be first club member home in 10th place. Michael Fuller showed great stamina to finish 16th having made the trip back from University via working a nightshift and very little sleep. First home in the ladies race was Wendy Sealy in 12th place. In the junior race the boys were first team and had brothers Elliot and Daniel Palmer in second and third place overall. Rebecca Mayo-Jennings had a good run to come home first girl.

Congratulations to Claire Holme on a fine run to win the junior women's race at the Reebok Cross Challenge at Birmingham on 30th October. Kelvin Hardy also ran well for second place in the junior men's race. Tom's 12th place finish in the senior race earned him a call up to the senior team for the international race at Margate on 14th November.

Congratulations to Matt Barnes-Smith on a comfortable win at the Martlesham 10k on 10th October on a rather blustery day. There was also a fine 6th place for Alex Wold, a past fun run winner, now making the step up to the full distance. In Alex's place, victory in the fun run went to James Hicks to add to victories in a number of fun runs this year.

Congratulations to James Calvert on a fine third place on his debut over the distance at the Felixstowe half marathon on 3rd October. James was also awarded senior county champion due to the first two places being filled by veteran runners.

Matt Gisby made the trip up to Nottingham for the Robin Hood half marathon on 12th September and was rewarded with a pb of 1:34.

Ekiden Champions.The Ekiden is a relay race for teams of 6 participants which covers the marathon distance (26.2 miles) with the 6 legs being 7.2k,5k,10k,5k,10k,5k. Harriers entered three teams for this year's event held at Woodbridge School on 1st August 2004 and came away with overall victory with the team comprising Matt Barnes-Smith, Kelvin Hardy, Sam Jacobs, Paul Graham, Tom Sharland and Alex Wold. The second Harrier team to finish was James McNally, Ollie Barrett, Steve Hicks, Claire Holme, Richard Wold and Steve Benson with an impressive 6th spot. The final Harriers team of Liam Rutter, Wendy Sealey, Matt Gisby, Andrea McNally, James Calvert and Michael Fuller also performed well and managed 12th place. A very enjoyable event and a great victory

Congratulations to Claire Holme on her third place in the U20 Women's 5000m at the Norwich Union World Junior Trials AAA Championships at Bedford on 27th June.

Congratulations to Richard Wold on his third place in the County 5k Track Championships on 21st June at Northgate.

The third round of the Friday 5 series was hosted by Ipswich Jaffa and held at Claydon on 11th June. The junior run was a repeat of Kirton with James Hicks in first place and Jonny Palmer hot on his heels in 2nd. As the race was a lot shorter than billed James then decided to make his debut at 5 miles and put in a strong performance to finish first Harrier in 34 minutes with Club President Martin Buis next home in 35 minutes.

Kelvin Hardy and Claire Holme were invited to take part in the Loughborough International on 6th June. Kelvin had a cracking run in the 1500m breaking the 4 minute barrier with 3:56 and Claire continued her good form with a 9:37 in the 3000m. Well done.

The Friday 5 mile road race series started on 28th May with the Kirton event. The accompanying junior run was won by James Hicks with Jonny Palmer close behind in 2nd. Well done.

Report from Mike Oakley, 25/5/04
NJAL Grand Prix
Disappointing News
Anticipating that Kerry Dixon would consolidate her position in the NJAL Grand Prix rankings on Sunday at PArliament Hills, it came as a huge disappointment to hear that Kerry had sustained an ankle injury competing at Watford on Saturday. Having achieved a new personal best in the High Jump Kerry must have been hoping to possibly make the top three on Sunday. It wasn't to be and with the Harriers team decimated also by GCSE candidates withdrawing and yet another clash with EAL, Rachel had the hard task of managing a team of one. Kerry Fuller was magnificent leaving her revision tent three times to collect 17 points from a maximum possible 21. She was supported by a full team of officials and we anticipate that when the final results are published, Harriers might not finish last. Herts Phoenix were runaway winners again and take the league very seriously filling most events with A and B runners.

Report from Mike Oakley, 22/5/04
Kerry Dixon
15 yr.old Kerry Dixon of Ipswich Harriers currently stands in 4th place in the National Junior Athletic League Grand Prix competition. The competition is open to athletes from England, Scotland and Wales who are aged between 15 and 19 and is scored for performance in three events at three of the four League fixtures throughout the season. Competing for Ipswich in the Thames Division Kerry ran 100 metres in 13.1 seconds, 200m in 26.6s and High Jumped 1.50 metres. At the end of the season, the leading eight athletes are invited to Derby to compete head to head for the Grand Prix trophy. 16 yr old Hayley Todd is also doing well in the competition currently in 18th place. For both girls this is a remarkable performance against athletes from some of the best athletics clubs in the UK and most of whom will be considerably older than the Ipswich pair.. The remaining qualifying fixtures are on 23 May at Parliament Hills in London, 20 June at Ipswich and 25 July at Woodford Green.

The first two SML meetings were in May and held at Ipswich. This is the first time they've been held in Ipswich for a couple of years because of track restrictions. The jump pits were moved outside the track making it possible to meet UK Athletics requirements and hold meetings at the Northgate track. We had a strong turnout for the second meeting and won the event thanks partly to wins by Ben Higgins, Dan Scurrell, Michael Fuller, Liam Rutter, Jason McDade and Chris Snook. The next meeting is at Haringay on 26th June.

The London Marathon for 2004 was wet and windy but didn't prevent some good club performances from Steve Hicks(3:04), Steve Benson(3:34), David Sealy(3:55) and Wendy Sealy(3:58). Here's to better conditions next year.

Claire Holme ran for the Junior Women’s Norwich Union GB team at IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Brussels on 20th March and finished 88th. The following was part of a report of the event on the UK Athletics website:-
Claire Holme, a Birmingham University student whose home is in Ipswich and who competes for Ipswich Harriers, was 88th in 23:39 on her GB debut. She said: “So many times I really didn’t think that I was going to finish but I thought ‘I can’t drop out’. I have a cold all week which has been getting me down. I am just really pleased I finished as I didn’t think I was going to at one point. It was tough.”

The Reebok UK Inter-Counties Cross Country Championships took place in Nottingham on 6th March. There was a fine run by Claire Holme in the U20 women's race with a third place finish which earned her selection for the team for the World XC Champs in Brussels. Kelvin Hardy added another medal to this season's collection with a second place in the U17 men's race.

Congratulations Katy Sealy, Matt Harrison and Elliot Palmer who all won their age group categories in the Suffolk Winter League.

The final round of the local cross country league took place at Bungay on 22nd February. First senior home was Kevin Pierce in 25th place a few seconds ahead of junior runner Liam Rutter in 26th place. Wendy Sealy finished in 9th place in the ladies race and was first Harrier home in all the ladies races this season. There was a 2nd place finish for Matt Harrison in the junior race.

The ECCA National Cross Country Championships at Leeds on 21st February provided us with some more medals with Kelvin Hardy finishing third in the U17 men's race and Tom Sharland third in the U20 men's race. The U20 team of Tom, Sam Jacobs, Matt Barnes-Smith and Paul Graham also finished third team.

The fourth round of the local cross country league took place at Stowmarket on 25th January. First senior home was Kevin Pierce in 19th place followed by junior runner James McNally in 25th place. Wendy Sealy continued her run of being first Harrier in the ladies race, this time in 8th place. There were wins for Matt Harrison and Becky Welbourne in the junior race.

Congratulations to our South of England County Cross Country Champions:-
   Tom Sharland   Kelvin Hardy
We were treated to good cross country conditions at Parliament Hill on 24th January with the sun shining most of the day and a tough but not as waterlogged a course as has been the norm in recent years. Our U20 men had a good day with Tom Sharland, Sam Jacobs, Ben Spashett and Paul Graham collecting team silver. The foundation for this was laid by Tom's victory in the race followed home in second by Sam. There was also a win for Kelvin Hardy in the U17 men's race. Well done to everyone that took part and thanks to everyone that came and supported.

Congratulations to our Suffolk County Cross Country Champions:-
   Alice Simpson   Laura Dowsing   Matt Barnes-Smith   Tom Sharland   Laura O'Dell   Kelvin Hardy
It was a good day out for Harriers at the Suffolk Cross Country Championships at West Stow on 4th January 2004 with individual victories in 6 of the 10 races being contested and three team wins. Alice Simpson followed up her victory at the last local league meeting with a win in the first race of the day for U13 girls. This was soon followed by comfortable wins for Laura Dowsing in the U15 girls and Matt Barnes-Smith in the U20 men. Tom Sharland repeated his success of last season with victory in the senior men's race. There was a fine run by Laura O'Dell running as a first year U20 in the combined senior and U20 ladies race which saw her win the race outright beating many experienced runners in the process. Kelvin Hardy finished the day of in style with a win in the U17 men's race. Well done to everyone that took part.

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2003
The third round of the local cross country league took place at Bury on 21st December. We were a bit depleted for this one so didn't score too well. First senior home was Kevin Pierce in 22nd place. Wendy Sealy was our only runner in the ladies race. There was a win for Alice Simpson in the junior girls race and a second place for Matt Harrison in the boys race.

Sam Jacobs and Matthew Barnes-Smith ran for the junior Norwich Union GB Team at the 10th Spar European Cross Country Championships on the 14th December 2003 in Edinburgh. Sam finished 22nd and Matt 26th. The following was part of a report of the event on the UK Athletics website:- Sam JACOBS, who was born in Ipswich, studies at Birmingham University, runs for Ipswich Harriers and finished 22nd in 21:38, said: “I ran OK. I was quite pleased with the result. I wanted to be in the top 20. It was a very physical race. But I liked the course; it was excellent. The Team bunched well but on another day maybe we could do better with some of us in the top ten or 15. The crowd was great, especially in the latter stages when the going gets tough. That really helps you.”
Matthew BARNES-SMITH, who lives in Bury St Edmunds, runs for Ipswich Harriers and was 26th in 21:43, said: “It was different. It was not so much that it was hard but that in the first half, the field was so bunched that I couldn’t run and had to hold back. It’s not the best idea to hit the front at the start but at least if I had I would have been able to run freely. It was a race of two halves. It felt like I was not doing anything for the first half and then ran a 3km race. I really enjoyed it. The support was excellent.”

The second round of the local cross country league took place at Woodbridge on 7th December. There was another good Harriers turnout and first senior home was Steve Hicks in 15th place with Kevin Pierce in hot pursuit in 18th place. Wendy Sealy was the leading Harrier in the ladies race. A number of junior raced the previous day in the school's race at RHS but of those that turned out for this one, Elliot Palmer and Sophie James were first Harriers home.

Following their performance in the European trials at Reebok, Liverpool, Matt Barnes-Smith and Sam Jacobs have been selected to run for the Norwich Union GB Team for European Cross Country Championships in Edinburgh on Sunday 14th December. Well done and good luck.

There were some outstanding cross country performances by Harriers at the Reebok event at Liverpool on 22nd November. In the U20 race, which was also a European Championships trial, Matt Barnes-Smith put in a fine effort for third place closely followed by Sam Jacobs in fifth place. There was another great run from Kelvin Hardy who tasted victory in the U17 men's race.

Congratulations to Claire Holme and Kelvin Hardy who were both selected to represent England in the U20 International races held during the Reebok Challenge cross country races held at Margate on the 16th November. Kelvin was runner-up and first England runner home in his race and Claire was sixth and second scorer in her race. Well done.

There was a great result for Harriers at the National cross country relays at Mansfield on 8th November with a win for Tom Sharland, Sam Jacobs and Matt Barnes-Smith in the U20 men. Well done lads! Tome and Sam also shared the fastest time for all stages. There was also a fastest time for Kelvin Hardy in the U17 men and a second fastest for Claire Holme in the U20 women. This is the fourth time in the last six years that Steve Benson has coached a team to one of the relay titles. An impressive record.

The local cross country season started with the traditional Suffolk Winter League race at Framlingham on 2nd November. The conditions were fairly traditional as well with hills, mud and wind greeting the competitors. First Harrier home in the senior race was junior Alex Wold in 16th place making his first appearance in the main race having been a prolific winner of the junior race in the past. Next home was new member Aza Row in 21st. The ladies were well represented and were led home by the experienced Andrea McNally in 9th place with the improving Kelly Mayhew one place behind Andrea. Hannah Arbon was another junior making the move up to the senior race and managed a fine 20th place. There was a win for Ellie Sprake in the junior girls race and a third place for Matt Harrison in the boys race.

A number of athletes travelled to Birmingham for the second Reebok Cross Challenge on 1st November Top placing went to Kelvin Hardy who finished 2nd in the U17 men's race.

Matt and Will Barnes-Smith made the long trip north to Falkirk, Scotland to take part in the first Reebok Cross Challenge on 18th October and had good runs in their respective races.

The first day of the SEAA 6 stage Road Relays at Aldershot proved a frustrating one for our senior team as they got stuck on the M25 on the way there and the five and a half hour journey meant that they missed the start and had to be content with being allowed to all run during the last leg. A long way to go for what turned out to be a training run. Things picked up on the second day with the U17 men's team of Joe Thompson, Jack Walker, Alex Wold and Kelvin Hardy finishing 7th.

National Junior League report from Mike Oakley:- "With a much depleted team the 1 Junior and 4 Under 17 women went to Copthall on Sunday to contest the Southern Promotion Match of the National Junior League. Against some of the very best Junior Women in the South of England they all covered their maximum permitted events and scored a fine 99pts finishing 6th. With 4 athletes crying off on Tuesday and a further two on Sunday morning the remaining athletes generated a truly amazing team spirit and did their team manager and loyal band of supporters proud. The intrepid 5 held the Ipswich flag high and showed a magnificent example to those athletes who have yet to realise just how good athletics can be. Well done to all."

National Junior League report from Mike Oakley:- "Harriers Under 20 Women ended the League with a 100% record finishing 7 points ahead of their nearest rivals. They have now qualified for the Southern Promotion match at Copthall. There they will compete against the team who finish 7th in the Premier Division, the 4 other Division winners and the best 2 of the runner up. The match will be on 14th September. A great achievement."

Ekiden Champions.  Harriers entered two teams for the Ekiden marathon six stage relay held at Woodbridge School on 27th July 2003 and came away with overall victory with the team comprising Steve Hicks, Ollie Barrett, Tom Sharland, Kelvin Hardy, Sam Jacobs and Matt Barnes-Smith. The second team of Kelly Mayhew, Ian Ling, Kevin Peirce, Matt Gisby, Paul Cardy and Russell Simpson put in a good effort as well and were first B team home in 12th place overall. Although the winning margin of four minutes sounds comfortable it was in fact a close fought affair with Harriers only taking the lead at the end of the fourth leg but once there were able to gradually stretch out their lead. A very enjoyable event and a great victory.

Well done to Ben Higgins who made it through to the 400m semi-final stage at the IAAF World Youth Championships held in Canada from 9-13th July 2003 where he finished 5th in 49.40.

Congratulations to Matt Barnes-Smith on his 3rd place in the 3000m at the U20 International match in Nove, Italy on Saturday 5 July in a fine time of 8:28.39.

Congratulations to Matt Barnes-Smith and Ben Higgins who have been selected for the Norwich Union Great Britain and Northern Ireland U20 and youth teams respectively. Matt has been selected to run in the 3000m at the International match in Nove, Italy on Saturday 5 July. The Norwich Union GB Under 20 Team will take on the Italian National Under 20 Team and an Italian regional team. Ben has ben selected to run in the 400m at the third IAAF World Youth Championships in Sherbrooke, Canada, on 9-13 July 2003.

The Anglian Schools meeting on Saturday 21st June has been switched from Norwich to Kings Lynn.

Well done to Ben Higgins who was selected to run in the 400m and 4 x 400m relay for the GB U20 team at the Loughborough Inte