The Easy Runner Blog

IN his first proper race of the year Rob Whalley was delighted to make a triumphant return but admitted it had been a very painful night in east Bristol.
The former British international, one of the most successful athletes in the area over the past decade, opted for the Bridge Inn 5k race to stretch his legs in anger after finally shaking off a hamstring injury that has troubled him for some time.
He won in a respectable time of 15mins 34secs, over a minute clear of Jonathan Hanley and Andrew Cooke, but all Whalley could recall was the pain of victory.
“I knew I had not trained hard enough to go off as fast I did but I still did that all the same,” said Whalley. “That first 2.5k is slightly downhill so I ran it very hard but when I turned around to come back it really started to hurt.
“By 4k I felt I had stopped breathing and I was really suffering. Coming back on that course was no fun at all!”
There will be many others in the race who will take some solace in knowing that even the top guys find it hard; pain is relative to how fast you are going.
But for Westbury Harries’ in-form Debbie Marsden the pain in her legs was due to Saturday’s Cotswold Way Relay. The hills had taken their toll and the in-form Marsden had no answer to her team-mate Emma D’Alton who raced clear for an emphatic victory in 17:50 with Marsden even being nudged out of second by Camilla Briggs.

1 Rob Whalley (B&W, M40) 15:34; 2 Jonathan Hanley 16:46; 3 Andrew Cooke (B&W) 16:54; 4 Matt Deacon (B&W, U17) 16:55; 5 Anthony Glover (WH) 17:22; 6 Lee Pattison (HT, M40) 17:34; 7 Wayne Ellis (BRR) 17:43; 8 Stuart Penny (Chep, M45) 17:48; 9 Emma D’Alton (WH) 17:50; 10 Gareth Cullen (B&W) 18:00.
M50: Jon Goodland (B&W) 18:41. M60; Tony Jeffries (WH) 19:23.
Women: 1 D’Alton; 2 Camilla Briggs (B&W, W35) 18;33; 3 Debbie Marsden (WH) 18:36; 4 Vicky Tester (B&W) 18:40. W45; Helen Hinsley (BRR) 19:52. 60 finishers.

BRISTOL & West AC international Claire Hallissey has confirmed that she will make her debut in New York on November 7th.
Hallissey has established herself as one of the best road runners in the country after the 27-year-old won the
British half marathon title in 2009 and was third over 10k this year.
With Hallissey now spending more time in America as her husband Matt has a job working in Washington DC, it seemed logical for Hallissey to make her marathon debut in the Big Apple.
“The plan is to run New York and then London next April,” said Hallissey. “Hopefully it will go well but by doing New York I will get an idea of the event and what areas I need to work upon.”
With a PB of 72mins 03secs and a style of running that seems perfectly suited to the longer distance there is no doubt that Hallissey has the potential to run a very fast time.

A REMINDER that Thornbury Running Club stage the Thornbury Carnival 10k road race a week tomorrow (Thursday July 8th).
Formerly known as the Sundayshill race the re-named event is held along the quiet country lanes of Berkeley Vale with the race HQ at Thornbury Rugby Club.
The race has been accurately measured and there are kilometre markers plus changing facilities with showers and use of the club bar afterewards. For further information see the race website at: www.thornburyrunningclub.co.uk

CLAIRE Hallissey shook off any lingering effects of jet-lag to win the silver medal in the 10,000m at the Aviva UK Championships in Birmingham.
The 27-year-old Bristol & West AC international only returned to Bristol mid-week from a visit to see her husband in Washington but didn’t waste any time in getting back into action in her first major track race of the season.
Hallissey wisely didn’t go with the pace set by club life member and two-times Olympian Jo Pavey as she powered to victory in a time of 31mins 51.91secs to achieve the B qualifying standard for the European Championships in Barcelona but she can take great satisfaction from a season’s best of 33:24.15.
“It was a bit slower than I would have wanted but I ran sensibly and it was okay,” said Hallissey, who actually finished third overall behind Pavey and an Australian runner.

GREAT run by Jon Wills to clock a personal best of 30mins 00.01secs, although the delight of clipping just over six seconds off his best will have been tempered by the frustration of not ducking under 30 minutes for the first time.
It is also worth nothing that while Wills finished 18th in the race he was actually the seventh British runner.
“I’m not sure why there so many foreign runners in the field and it didn’t help Jon at all,” said coach Mike Down.
In the 5000m Bristol & West AC’s Tom Russell had a disappointing run to finish ninth (14:39.11).

THE Westbury Harriers’ Legends (self-appointed I believe!) won the mixed team prize in the 103-miles Cotswold Way Relay from Chipping Camden to Bath.
The squad finished fourth overall in a time of 13hrs 10minis 47secs with Debbie Marsden (7th overall Stage 3), Robyn Golding (3rd overall Stage 9) and Emma D’Alton (7th overall Stage 10) all picking up a bottle of champagne as the to woman on their respective stages.
The honour as top west team went to Great Western Runners in third. “We were only 21 seconds off second and just over a minute off first so it was a great effort by the team,” said GWR spokesman Mike Willcox.

Cotswold Way Relay (Chipping Camden to Bath 103 miles in ten stages) – overall: 1 Stroud & District AC 12:41.17; 2 Cheltenham Harriers 12:42:07; 3 Great Western Runners 12:42.28; 4 Westbury Harriers Legends (mixed) 13:10.47; 5 Gloucester AC (mixed) 13:13.12; 6 Chepstow Harriers 13:18.12; 7 Team Bath AC 13:21.24; 8 Chippenham Harriers Veterans 13:22.09; 9 Bitton Road Runners 13:56.13; 10 Chippenham Harriers 14:10.51.
Veterans: 2 Hogweed Trotters 14:11.19; 3 Dursley & District 14:26.17. Mixed; 3 Tewkesbury AC 14:26.36.
Women: 1 Chepstow Harriers 14;57.58; 2 Team Bath AC 15:18.54; 3 Chippenham Harriers 15:47.00. 74 teams finished.

KEVIN Mowat, of Bitton Runners, finished 24th overall and top veteran over 50 in the Endurancelife Classic Quarter Lizard to Lands End 44 Mile Coastal Ultra in a time of 10 hours 6 minutes 15 seconds.

CLAIRE Hallissey flew back from America this week to line up for the women’s 10,000m at the Aviva UK Athletics Championships in Birmingham tomorrow.
The Bristol & West AC runner finished fifth last year in a personal best time of 33:10.73, which still stands as her PB and matched by her 33:10 on the roads in the Eastleigh 10k in March.
Hallissey won’t want to follow two-times Olympian Jo Pavey, who is hoping to run under 32 minutes and ideally beat the qualifying standard of 31:45 for the European Championships in Barcelona but if she isn’t affected by jet-lag then sub 33 minutes is well within her capability

LOCAL runner Michael Johnson won the Nailsea Festival 10k on Wednesday.
Johnson, who lives in Long Ashton and runs for Cardiff AC, raced to victory in a time of 32minis 04secs, 46 seconds clear of Ben Morley from Great Western Runners.
GWR’s Tom Fewster was a distant third (34:51) while there was a good run by Westbury Harriers’ Robin Nash to finish fifth and first veteran over 50.
Top woman was Severn AC’s Gwen Kinsey (38:31)

Men: 1 Michael Johnson (Cardiff AC) 32:06; 2 Ben Morley (GWR) 32:50; 3 Tom Fewster (GWR) 34:51; 4 Andrew Cooke (B&W) 35:55; 5 Robin Nash (WH, M50) 36:22; 6 Wayne Walsh (unatt) 37:04.
M40: Pat Foley (PRC) 38:11. M60: Terry Welch (BRR) 42:45.
Women: 1 Gwen Kinsey (Sev) 38:31; 2 Zoe Dixon (PRC) 42:07; 3 Debbie Cleary (WH) 42:49. 172 finishers.

BRISTOL & West AC’s Tom Merson celebrated his comeback with a record-breaking victory in the Festival 4 miles road race around Exeter quayside on Wednesday.
In his first race since winning the Great West Run on May 2nd, an event he will remember for being flattened by a back marker and suffering cracked ribs, Merson was understandably rusty but will take great encouragement from his win.
“I reckon I have lost between two-and-a-half to three months this year due to injury and illness and that’s dreadful,” said Merson, who lives in Exmouth. “It is good to be back.”
Merson smashed the previous record of 22mins 54secs held by James Bellward of South West Road Runners, by over a minute as he crossed the line in 21:50.
The women’s record also went with SWRR’s Lucy Commander racing to victory in a time of 25:56 to carve 68 seconds off Caroline Hewitt’s previous best.