The Easy Runner Blog

FORMER champion Teh Kuok Yuen is among the entries for the sixth Hogweed Hilly half marathon from Horton Village Hall (10.30am) on Sunday. Yuen won the race two years ago and has since spent a year studying in America.
Over 200 entries have already been received for the popular which is not designed for a PB but has plenty of other things on offer.
“We do expect a record field of 350 runners and will take entries on the day,” said race spokesman Bob Bell of Hogweed Trotters.
For further details see the race website at: www.hogweedtrotters.co.uk

THE Athletic Union at Bristol University has opted to throw open entries to its 5k race at Coombe Dingle on Sunday to local runners .
The women’s race starts at 2:30pm with the men an hour later and chip timing will be provided. Entries cost £5, with all proceeds donated to charity and for further details email AJ White at: a.white@bristol.ac.uk

THE next Weston Prom 5 miles road race will be held on Thursday (7.30pm/March 18th) with registration at the Pavilion Bar on the sea front.

KEVIN Mowat has just finished fifth overall in the Namib Desert Ultra 220km 5-day event. Mowat, who competes for Bitton Road Runners, completed the race in 29hrs 58mins 33secs.
“We had to run with a backpack that contained all our needs for the five days which included compulsory items listed by the organiser and was around 20 pounds in weight,” said Mowat, who also revealed that temperatures reached 46C.

CONTINUING on the ultra distance theme Bristol & West AC runner Jon Goodland is taking part in the Marathon des Sables between 3-10 April.
Goodland, who will be joined by Chris Lewis of Hogweed Trotters for the 250k race held over seven days in the Sahara desert, will be running on behalf of Facing Africa, a charity that works to combat NOMA, an infectious disease that effects the face & jaws, which kills 125,000 children aged between 1-6 years per year.
You can sponsor Goodland directly by going to: http://www.facingafrica.org/FA08/content/site/en/pages/donatenow/default.asp
Then under section3 click on the ‘I am sponsoring a competitor in the Marathon des Sables’ and fill in Jon Goodland and Mds 2010.

CLEVEDON AC’s Paul Wilson won the veterans’ over 40s prize in the Bideford half marathon clocking a time of 75mins 54secs. Clubmate Steve Hollier was top veteran over 60 (82:15). Great Western Runners’ Peter Royle was 19th (79:41) and Clevedon’s Mark Drewitt 24th (81:02).
Weston AC’s Phil Richards was third (87:46) in the women’s race. There were 371 finishers.

PAT Foley was delighted to finish 40th overall of 1491 finishers in Sunday’s Grizzly but probably less impressed to later find that he had been awarded the prize as top woman!
The Portishead Running Club member appeared in the official results as top woman in a time of 2hrs 52mins 03secs, 38 seconds clear of Elizabeth Kendon.
Perhaps the organisers thought it was Patricia Foley who was the new champion and this column’s suspicions that something was astray was confirmed by Matt Crocker, who revealed there is still only one Pat Foley in the club – and he is very much a man.

WESTBURY Harriers took full advantage of racing on ‘home’ soil at Blaise Castle to pick up a hatful of awards in the final
race of the 2009/10 Gwent Cross Country League season.
From the senior women to the novice girls the Harriers had plenty of reason to celebrate as individual and team prizes were handed out.
While some overall prizes had still to be confirmed Westbury’s roll of honour read as follows:

1 Senior women second.
2 The senior women’s B team won the reserve division title.
3 Ellie Leather is the new novice girls’ champion
4 Poppy Thompson won the Under 13 girls’ title
5 Emma Jones is awaiting confirmation that she finished third in the Under 13s
5 Novice girls squad of Leather, Alana Sherman, Fenella Ford and Jenna Kelley won the team title
6 Zoe Barber was runner-up in the U17s age group
7 The Under 15 girls’ squad of Lauren Ellis, Iris McNeill and Kelly Leat are also expected to be named champions.

* For full results see today’s Bristol Evening Post

THERE was also plenty for Bristol & West AC to celebrate at Blaise Castle with wins for Tim Wallis and British junior international Eleanor Wimshurst, now recovered from injury, in the senior men and women’s races.
Also Bristol & West runners Miranda Sadler (U15 girls), Olivia Sadler (U17 women) and Sean Hazel (U20 men) claimed victories, with Hazell wrapping up the overall league title. Wallis’ run earned him second place overall in the league with Olivia Sadler leaping from seventh to third.

SOPHIE Voller was the top local runner in yesterday’s Bath half marathon.
The 32-year-old Westbury Harrier smashed her PB by almost two minutes with a superb time of 83mins 07secs.
Her previous best was 84:50, which she ran last October in the Cardiff half marathon and that was a huge two minutes plus quicker than the time she ran in bath last year.
Indeed, over the past twelve months Voller has gone from running 87mins 24secs for 25th woman in the Bath half to 83:07 and 17th place.
Surely she must now start looking at breaking 82 minutes.

Women: 1 Michelle Ross-Cope (Stoke, W35) 72:07 (PB); 2 Susan Partridge (Leeds) 72:44; 3 Joice kandia (Kenya) 75:12; 4 Deborah Walters (B’field, W40) 75:17 (PB); 5 Kat Grimmett 75:18; 6 Fiona Clark (Reigate) 75:50 (PB); 7 Genet Measso (Ethiopia) 77:13; 8 Lynn Cox (Tip) 77:13 (PB); 9 Gladys O’Neill 77:14; 10 Louise Gardner (Lancaster) 77:18; 11 Rachel Gibbs (Bed) 77:43 (PB); 12 Emma Stallard (CAC, W35) 79:15 (PB); 13 Tina Oldershaw (W40) 80:17; 14 Anne-Marie Hutchison 80:18; 15 Georgia Wood (TBAC) 81:22; 15 Nicola Meekin 81:31; 16 Joanna Rodriguez (Woking) 82:29; 17 Sophie Voller (WH) 83:07 (PB): 18 Jo Thompson (TBAC, W50) 83:08; 19 Jenny Moore (Wells, W45) 83:39; 20 Caroline Hawkins (TBAC, W40) 84:02.