Race report w/e - 24th January 2010.

Martlesham cross country
Twenty eight members competed in the fifth race of the popular 53-12 cross country league on a muddy testing two lap course at and were very well rewarded with some fine performances coming to the fore to claim 4th place on the day.

Young Great Bentley member James Porter led the way for the day with a fine win in the junior race showing months of hard training are reaping rewards for the talented youngster and upon learning of this fine victory on their way to the start line the senior members were truly fired up despite a couple of key members missing due to injury and illness.

Vicky Presland, female runner of the year, led the way for the ladies crossing the finish line in a fine 15th place and ahead of, for the first time this season club team mate Amy Neve also finishing strongly in 16th place chased hard all the way to the line by Lara Townsend finishing strongly in 19th place. Jo McKay enjoyed a good race finishing in 23rd place.

Other ladies results were Davina Swindell 33rd, Theresa Bishop 35th, Anna Lyon 36th, Lyn Foster 41st, Nicky Brown 45th, Caroline Porter 47th, and Sue McKay 56th.

Simon Dale led the way for the men claiming a highest ever 13th place in his cross country debut season after a terrific 50 metre sprint to the line with club team mate Russ Sharp who settled for a great 14th place and he was also chased hard all the way to the finish line by Mick Ruth finishing in a good 15th place. Peter Pearce also ran well finishing in 20th place with Kevin Jeffries finishing in 37th place.

Other Great Bentley male results were Clive Thomas, male runner of the year, 41st, Chris Green 57th, Jamie Ash 58th, Club captain, Clive Jones 61st, Mark Ross 72nd, Frank Gardiner 98th, Des Bishop 109th, Simon Price 120th, Dave Sawyer 124th, John McKay 129th and Keith Porter 131st.

Benfleet 15 mile
Keith Scrivener was Bentley's sole representative at the notoriously tough 15 mile off - road race ran along the seafront, mudflats and sections of Country Park around Canvey Island. Large sections of the course are very exposed to the elements and the low lying mudflats are often flooded at this time of the year making large sections of the race very muddy which saps the strength of the hardiest of competitors.
Keith started the first half of the race well although, as is normal amongst most of the competitors, started to tire through the much tougher muddier sections. This good start early in the race enabled Keith to achieve a good time of 3:14:00 beating his time of last year by a staggering 25 minutes.

elated junior member James Porter after winning the junior race

Club race report for year end 2009

Club member, Keith Scrivener, was the clubs sole representative in the '100 Marathon Club' championships held on a technical 5 lap course at Bromley, Kent. The race was V60 Keith's 113th marathon and was ran over local roads and a muddy off - road course made even more testing by large patches of ice . Keith ran very well in the arduous conditions although he began to tire after eighteen miles yet still finished in a good time of 5:28:00

December 2009

The clubheld their annual awards presentation night at the Ramada Hotel in Ardleigh on 18th December 2009 and sixty two runners and guests were seated to enjoy a fine three course meal.

The awards are decided by nominations from fellow club runners and also club committee members and are judged over results achieved throughout the year.

Two additional trophies were donated to the club this year by club committee member Kevin Cox in memory of his late father Alan Cox and will be contested for many years to come by future male and female club runners of the year. This year the Alan Cox Memorial trophy Female Runner of the Year was won by Vicky Presland who enjoyed a brilliant debut club running year and The Male Runner of the Year was won by a richly deserved Clive Thomas.

Other award winners:
Male cross country runner of the year: Dave Wright - led the way for the men's team off -road
Female cross country runner of the year: Lara Townsend - strong determined running
Micky Edward's memorial trophy: Simon Dale
Handicap race series Male winner: Eric Shaw - capping a brilliant year for the popular veteran
Handicap race series Female winner: Vicky Presland
Male Veteran: Eric Shaw - great year beating a lot of the younger club runners at the tender age of 63.
Female Veteran: Nicky Brown - a good year for the Ladies Captain with some strong running leading by example
Most Improved Male: Mick Ruth - showing lots of hard training are reaping deserved results
Most Improved Female: Theresa Bishop - a really good year of running and well deserved award for her efforts
Best Male Newcomer: Jamie Ash - a most popular individual with a great debut season now behind him
Best Female Newcomer: Vicky Presland - another fine runner to join the ladies team at Great Bentley...brilliant first year
Best Male Performance: Dave Green - for his fine London Marathon performance
Best Female Performance; Anna Lyon - for a gutsy and determined run at the Felixstowe Half - Marathon
Club Person: Clive Jones - a most popular choice
Chairman's award: Eric Shaw - for all his hard work on behalf of the club
Eric Dunne award: Dave Nugent - well deserved by the club stalwart.
Junior Male runner of the year: James Porter - encapsulating a fine year of running by him which has seen him rise from Junior running into the much tougher senior running section putting together a good run of results in the process. At his current level of improvement he will soon be challenging for the higher places in local races.
Junior Female Runner of the Year Fiona Watt: - more to come from Fiona as she steps up into the senior section.

The club is allocated three tickets for the London Marathon and these are drawn out at the award presentation night. The lucky winners of a coveted London Marathon 2010 place are Stewart Baggs, Michael Sommerlad and Lara Townsend.

That's all for now, Kevin.

Male and Female Runner of the Year
Left to Right VIcky Presland, club committee member Kevin Cox -(who donated the trophies to the club in memory of his father Alan Cox) and Clive Thomas.

Halstead Cross Country
In the third race of the 53 -12 cross country league held on a notoriously muddy course at Gosfield 23 members competed in the large field.
In the junior race Great Bentley junior member James Porter won the race with a strong determined run leaving the field trailing in his wake to record his first ever victory.

For the ladies in-form Amy Neve ran well to record a fine 8th place with Vicky Presland chasing hard all the way to record a good 18th place. Lara Townsend ran well finishing in 34th place with Davina Swindell running a strong race to finish in 43rd place. In-form club Chairperson Lyn Foster made good progress through the clinging mud to record a well earned 51st place chased hard all the way to the line by Caroline Porter finishing in 56th place. Sue McKay V60 ran her usual strong race to finish in 62nd place.

Russ Sharp had yet another strong race finishing in a fine 23rd place chased hard all the way by in- form Simon Dale finishing in 31st place. Dave Wright ran a determined race to earn a good 33rd place closely followed by club coach Peter Pearce finishing in 35th place despite suffering from a heavy cold. Kevin Jeffries ran well finishing in 46th place with club coach Geoff Tomlinson running hard all the way to the line to record a good 52nd place. Other Great Bentley finishers were Clive Thomas 57th place, Clive Jones 71st place, Jamie Ash 77th, Mark Ross 109th, Frank Gardiner 113th, Dave Sawyer 174th, John McKay 177th and Keith Porter finishing in 178th place.

That's all for now
Many Thanks
Kevin Cox

Cross country - Hylands Park Springfield
In the second race of the league held on a wind and rain swept course at twenty four members from the club competed on the notorious tough course which seems to get more testing each year.
Amy Neve again ran very strongly and was well rewarded with a fine 9th place overall for the ladies chased hard all the way by a determined run from in- form Vicky Presland finishing close behind in 10th place.
Jo McKay is now rediscovering her form of last year and ran well to achieve a good 25th place finish chased hard all the way to the finish line by Lara Townsend who claimed a hard earned 25th place. Anna Lyon, in her first year of cross country running is performing well in the harsh conditions and again ran well to finish in 37th place narrowly beating a late charge to the finish line by Davina Swindell who finished in 39th place and Vicky Law who finished in 40th place. Caroline Porter adapted well to the testing muddy conditions to claim 57th place with Sue McKay V60 claiming 70th place.

In- form Russ Sharp led the Great Bentley men across the finish line running a fine race to finish in 25th place overall . Dave Wright ran well finishing in 32nd place chased hard all the way to the line by Peter Pearce finishing in 36th place and Kevin Jeffries finishing in 41st place. Club coach Geoff Tomlinson ran well despite feeling unwell prior to the start of the race and claimed 51st place. Chris Green , back in cross country action after a lengthy injury absence finished in 57th place chased hard all the way to the finish line by club captain Clive Jones finishing strongly in 58th place. Jamie Ash in his first cross country season ran strongly through the numerous water filled ditches to score valuable points for the Bentley men's team in only his second race.

Other Great Bentley men's finishing results were Mark Ross 96th place, Des Bishop 118th place, Frank Gardiner 120th place, Simon Price 161st place, John McKay 169th place, and despite falling over heavily into the mud Keith Porter scrambled to his feet to finish in style claiming 169th place. Don Welsh was unfortunate to sustain an injury which forced him to withdraw from the race just past the halfway point.
The club are currently 5th in Group A of the 53-12 cross country league

Club race report for w/e 22/11/09

Harwich cross country 15/11/09
Twenty four members competed in the first race of the 53-12 cross country league hosted by Harwich Running Club.

On a tough 5 mile course made even more testing for the large field of runners by heavy overnight rain, the inclines across the freshly ploughed fields soon split the competitors.
An in-form Amy Neve led the Great Bentley ladies across the finish line on her debut cross country race to claim a fine 11th place closely followed by another cross country debutant, Vicky Presland who finished well in 12th place.
Jo McKay ran a strong determined race to finish in 25th place chased hard by Anna Lyon also making her cross country introduction in a well deserved 31st place. Vicky Law battled through the clinging mud to claim 42nd place while Emma Vincent ran a determined race to finish in 63rd place.

The male runners were in good form and grouped well up in the higher placed finishers. Dave Green led the way finishing in a fine 5th place overall. Mick Ruth has made big improvements in his running over the past year and this came to the fore with another fine performance to claim 27th place closely followed by Dave Wright in 28th place and Russ Sharp in 32nd place.
Geoff Tomlinson ran well finishing in 34th place chased hard all the way by Kevin Jeffries who finished in 42nd place. Club coach, Clive Jones, ran his first cross country for some time and soon settled into a good pace to finish in a good 47th place chased hard all the way to the finish line by a welcome return to running for Chris Green, after a lengthy injury absence, finishing in 48th place. Other Bentley runners were Jamie Ash 82nd place in his first ever cross country race, Mark Ross 104th, Frank Gardiner 107th, Paul Blackwell 111th, Brian Telford 118th, David Sawyer 141st, Simon Price 149th, Don Welsh 152nd, Mike Vincent 153rd, and Keith Porter in 154th place.

The second race of the popular 53-12 cross country league is hosted by Springfield Striders on 29th November at Hylands Park, Chelmsford

Hadleigh 10 mile 22/11/09
Clive Thomas led the way home for three Bentley runners in affine time of 01:04:58 on a tough, hilly windy course. Lyn Foster ran very well and completed the course to finish in a good time of 1:27:54, showing that recent hard structured training is starting to show rewards. Simon Price, also training hard lately was running well until an injury (hamstring) forced him to slow down, but he finished in a good time of 01:31:45

Amy Neve being chased hard all the way to the finish line by Vicky Presland.

That's all for now
Many Thanks
Kevin Cox

Club race report for w/e 18/10/09

Harwich 10k race
David Sawyer was the sole competitor for this race. In perfect conditions for running David was quickly into a good stride rate and was well rewarded with a finishing time of 56:12.

Abington marathon
Keith Scrivener ran his 110th marathon at his third marathon in successive weekends and ran a strong determined race finishing in a fine time of 4:42:00, his fastest time at this distance for over two years.

Wix 5 mile road race
Club members were abundant at the popular and well hosted race by Harwich Running club with no fewer than 44 members taking part eager to win back the inter club trophy challenge between Harwich and Great Bentley.

David Green , back from university in Bristol just for the day led his team mates across the finish line in a fine time of 29:08 chased hard all the way by club coach Peter Pearce in a good time of 29:21. He too was chased hard all the way to the finish line by in- form Russ Sharp finishing in a good time of 29:52.
Newcomer to the club Michael Beckett continues to impress his new club mates with another fine performance finishing in 30:05 which also earned him a Diamond standard award. Geoff Tomlinson ran a determined race after a lay-off through injury and was rewarded with a good time of 30:08, with Mick Ruth claiming a new personal best time with a good 30:28 finish chased hard all the way to the finish line by David Wright finishing in a good time of 30:43.
Other finishing times were Clive Thomas 30:47, Dan Foster 30:50, Simon Dale 31:05, club captain Clive Jones 31:10, Martyn Patterson 33:14, Jamie Ash ( voted by club members as performance of the day ) 33:26 which also earned him a club bronze standard award, Lea Turnbull 33:30 club bronze standard award, Kevin Cox 33:.44, Vicky Presland 35:09, Amy Neve 35:25, Bob Watt 35:35, Eric Shaw 35:44 and a new personal best , Lara Townsend 36:04 , Frank Gardiner 37:15 club silver standard award, Jo McKay 38:15, in - form Theresa Bishop 38:31 club gold standard award, Des Bishop 38:32, Stuart Baggs 39:50, Vicky Law 39:52 club silver standard award, Chris Hayes 40:29, Nicky Brown 40:30, Andy Cable 40:46, Lyn Foster 41:06 club gold standard award, Sally Cable 41:10, Barbara Law 41:52 club diamond standard award, Peter Reeve 41:59, Caroline Porter 42:29 club silver standard award, Emma Vincent 43:25, Don Welsh 44:34, Davina Swindell 44:44, Michael Sommerlad 49:41, Keith Porter 49:48, Rita Page 54:39, Heidi Baker 55:54, Naomi Mellersh 56:04, Dionne Meecham 56:33 and club stalwart David Nugent finishing in a timer of 1:04:40.
The men's and lady's running teams also had the accolade of both finishing in 2nd place in the team event and also won the inter club challenge trophy. A welcome return to its rightful home.
Many thanks to all at Harwich Running Club for a well organised event from everyone at the club

Jamie Ash sprinting to the finish line. His performance was voted best of the day.

Many Thanks
Kevin Cox

Club race report for w/e 11/10/09

Martlesham 10k
Five members from Great Bentley Running Club competed in the race on a fast flat course consisting of four laps ran over an off - road course. In-form Clive Thomas had the accolade of being the first Bentley member to cross the finish line in a fine time of 38:38 closely followed by club captain Clive Jones in a good time of 39:50 minutes.
Nikki Bennett also had a good run finishing in a time of 45:38. Caroline Porter won a club gold standard award with a determined run finishing in a good time of 52:36 followed by husband Keith finishing in a time of 1:01:49.

Tiptree 10 mile
This popular ten mile road race attracted a large field of runners and three Great Bentley members were in their midst. Bob Watt , recovered from his foot injury sustained at last weeks Felixstowe half marathon ran very well finishing in a good time of 1:17:52 chased hard all the way to the line by Frank Gardiner V55 finishing in a good time of 1:21:57 which also earned him a club bronze standard award.
Barbara Law ran in her normal strong V65 and determined style finishing in a good time of 1:26:31 which earned her a club silver standard award.

Leicester marathon
Great Bentley marathon man Keith Scrivener V65 competed in his 109th marathon on a tough hilly course. In ideal weather conditions Keith quickly settled into a good pace and was well rewarded with a fine finishing time of 5:10:00

Peterborough half marathon
Six members from the club travelled north to compete in the Peterborough half marathon with three of those members coming away with a new personal best time!

A large field of runners approaching 5000 entrants were attracted to the fast flat course ran through the city and it was in-form Barry Eve who had the accolade of leading the Bentley charge to the finishing line finishing in a new personal best time of 1:31:11 chased hard all the way to the finish line by another in-form member, Jamie Ash, also claiming a new personal best time of 1:33:32.
Lara Townsend started the race very strongly although was unfortunate to suffer a mid race stitch yet still managed to record a good finishing time of 1:41:05 crossing the finishing line with Kevin Cox who is now starting to rekindle form.
Eric Shaw V60 ran a very strong race starting off in determined style and despite struggling over the last three miles still achieved a new personal best time of 1:41:11. Lyn Foster - Club Chair - also had a good race finishing in a good time of 2:03:54.


Left to right...Barry Eve, Lara Townsend, Eric Shaw, Lyn Foster, Jamie Ash, Kevin Cox.

That's all for now
Kevin

Club race report for w/e 04/10/09

Felixstowe half - marathon

Nine members from Great Bentley Running Club competed in the race along the promenade and country lanes of the Suffolk town.

On a two lap undulating course with a brisk head wind which some of the competitors found testing , Clive Thomas led the way for the Bentley members finishing in a good time of 1:27:29. Newcomer to the club Barry Eve continues to improve finishing in style with a new personal best time of 1:34:01 as does in - form Jamie Ash finishing in a new personal best time of 1:37:12.

Vicky Presland led the ladies across the finish line and in doing so earned a club gold standard award with a good finishing time of 1:40:29. Kevin Cox had not run this distance since March and finished in a time of 1:46:49 closely followed by a jubilant Anna Lyon who after months of trying win a club gold standard award at this distance finally achieved her goal with a gritty determined run to finish in a fine time of 1:46:52 which is also a new personal best time!

Eric Shaw, Anna's training partner finished in a good time of 1:47:02, but Bob Watt unfortunately had to pull out of the race after four miles due to painful chafing of his toes caused by new socks after looking very strong earlier in the race. Lessons learned...do not wear new socks on a long distance race!

Anna - jubilant getting Gold! Team effort...(L to R) Kevin Cox, Lara Townsend, Anna Lyons, Eric Shaw, Jamie Ash, Barrie Eve

That's all for now,
Many Thanks
Kevin Cox