HARRIERS INTERNATIONAL
Join the Harriers....see the world
The Club usually arranges at least one
overseas running party each year - each visit incorporating
marathon / half / 10k races. In recent years members have
visited Cyprus, Vancouver, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Dublin,
Cuba, Amsterdam, Lanzarote & Benidorm.
In 2008 one group of members re-visited the Dublin marathon
and another group travelled all the way to Cuba (see lower
this page) for that country's major marathon race.
In 2009 Pete Sarson ran the Hong Kong marathon in early
February and Pete Burns took a small contingent to Prague
in March for the Half Marathon. In October Pete Sarson
& Graham Williams travelled into deepest Scotland to
run the Aviemore Half marathon at the foot of the
Cairngorms - great scenery and a brilliant course on hard
paths - and mainly downhill !
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Berlin
Half Marathon 3rd
April 2011
Due to the
success of the last two years visits to Prague for an early
spring Half Marathon as part of training for London and
other races it was decided to inflict the Harriers on
another European country.
So it’s Berlins turn.
We are looking at a four night long weekend leaving on
Thursday evening 31st March 2011 and returning on Monday
evening 4th April. The Berlin Half Marathon is
on Sunday 3rd and is one of the fastest and flattest half
marathon’s in the world.
The cost cannot be fully confirmed yet as flights are not
yet bookable but it is thought to be in the region of £300
to £350 per person in a 3 star hotel in central Berlin on a
B&B basis.
In order to see if the trip is viable let us know if you
are interested. There is a list down at the club. This is
not a commitment to go we just need to know the
interest.
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AVIEMORE HALF
MARATHON - 17 Ocober
2010
Harriers International
plan another overseas trip in 2010 - all the way to
Scotland !
(OK not overseas, but definitely
cross-border)
‘ A spectacular scenic course on road and excellent forest
tracks set in the shadow of the Cairngorm Mountains, around
breathtaking Loch Morlich, through stunning Glenmore Forest
Park and Rothiemurchus Estate, across the River Spey and
finishing in the new Aviemore Highland Resort ’
And it's downhill, not uphill !
Stafford Harriers
and Happy Days Coaches have made arrangements for a four
day visit to the Highlands of Scotland which will include
the Aviemore Highland Half Marathon.
PRICE PER PERSON - £144
~ which includes 3
nights dinner, bed and breakfast; excursions as listed;
Highland Entertainment.
Single room supplement £20. Children (in 3 or 4 bed rooms)
£102. PLEASE NOTE ALL COACH
TRAVEL IS NON SMOKING
This
party trip is now fully booked.
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VIETNAM HALF
MARATHON - OcTober 2010
Here is the finalised itinerary
The Nha Trang International Half Marathon (21.0975km) –
this year will be held on Sunday 10th
October 2010, we hope.
17
night itinerary
01 Oct – Depart London for Saigon
02 Oct – Arrive Saigon - 4 nights – Saigon (Ho Chi Minh
City)
06 Oct - Depart Saigon for Nha Trang – 6 nights – Nha Trang
– Beach location of Marathon
12
Oct - Depart Nha Trang for Ha Long via Hanio – 1 nights –
Ha Long
13 Oct - Transfer from Ha Long to Hanio – 3 nights - Ha
Long
16 Oct - Depart Hanoi for return flight back to UK
£1530.00pp
approximate price per person –
price can not be guaranteed until proposed itinerary is
confirmed
Price
includes:-
Not included:-
Vietnamese Visa Fee £38.00 per person + Postage (approximately)
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Edinburgh
Marathon 2010
23 May
2010
Report
from Bec Bostock
So the question is what do you do when the weather is 26
degrees? Do you a) sit in the garden chilling with a nice
cold drink, b) sit in the garden chilling with a nice cold
drink or c) run 26.2 miles along the coast in Edinburgh!!
and myself and a few other mad harriers choose c!!!!.
On the morning of the marathon we woke up to light drizzle
and overcast which is what the weatherman forecasted, at
the start of the marathon it was overcast – within 10
minutes of starting the weather changed completely and the
sun burnt through and it was hot. I think most
runners where happy till about 18 miles and then the heat
and conditions really hit. The last 6 miles for me
was a run/walk as by then it was about 2pm and it was so
hot, added to the heat you run along the coast so I felt
the heat intensified due to the reflection of the sea – and
there was no sea breeze. There were lots of poorly
folk on the side of the road all looking in a very bad way,
the marathon organiser put on extra water stations and the
people of Prestonpans spent the day soaking runners with
their garden hoses, which was very welcome. My time
was way out due to the heat but I finished and am in one
piece today which is all that counts for me. I had a
great weekend in Edinburgh with Jackie Allen, Sally Burns
and Sarah Johnson and Sarah and Jackie popped their
marathon cherry. I would always recommend Edinburgh as it
is a great marathon course - but maybe not when the weather
is 26 degrees!
Can’t
find the full results at the moment for everyone who ran
but from the back it looked like Ed and Graham were running
strong – didn’t see anyone else out on the
course.
Report
from Liz Stanyer
On the
hottest weekend of the year, 12 ( I think ) Harriers
travelled north of the border to Edinburgh for the
marathon. Saturday was a blisteringly hot day and we got
quite worked up about how we were going to cope running 26
miles in those conditions when we had struggled to walk up
the bank from the train station!
Sunday morning was grey, overcast, cool and slightly
drizzly. We got quite excited at what seemed to be perfect
conditions. However about 10mins before the 10am start the
clouds started to disappear and then the sun broke through
and remained blazing for the entire race. There is
absolutely no shade to be found around the whole course,
which takes you downhill out of Edinburgh and out to the
coast for a long section along the promenade. The sea
wasn't even kind enough to give off a breeze. We then
headed out to Mussleborough along coastal lanes and to
the section where you meet the elite/faster runners heading
back towards the finish. There were two sections where you
beared left for a long loop off the main coastal road. I
found this the hardest part of all, as mentally, I wanted
to just keep going straight on and these sections appeared
to go on forever. The second loop took you slightly uphill
around dusty farmland and the heat at this point was quite
savage.We then hit 18 miles where you turn around and
you finally feel like you are heading home! Back along the
coastal route passing many casualties as a result of
the weather and two mad men who were pulling tractor
tyres.
The finish was at Mussleborough race course where the
support from the crowds was deafening.
The course was really flat, lots of variety and some
of the scenery along the coast was lovely. It was just too
hot! The local support was fantastic with families dishing
out a much needed soaking with hosepipes and water pistols.
The staff at a garage even used a jet wash on the runners,
but it was a little fierce on the face! The water and
lucozade stations were plentiful and the overall
organisation was excellent. Our only grumble was the
painful hour long walk ( or shuffle in our case ) to
the shuttle buses that took you back to the city.
For a few of us this was our first marathon experience,and
it was a shame to tackle such an event in such unforgiving
temperatures.
However I would definitely recommend this as a
marathon weekend to anyone, as Edinburgh is a
fantastic city, and it really is a flat course.
Did I mention that it was hot?!!
1st male finisher was Steve Littler in 02:26:30
1st female finisher was Sarah Gee in 02:38:14 (I have
rechecked that result as seems quite incredible)
1st Harrier home was Kirsty Stephenson in 3hrs 38:21 -
finishing in 1203rd place from the 9459 finishers.
Report from Craig
Baxter
Wow, what a first marathon. Promised by the
weatherman to be an overcast day, Sunday looked like being
perfect conditions. This was so when I first woke up
and even on the start line, then within ten minutes of
starting the clouds completely vanished and suddenly we
were left with very uncomfortable running
conditions.
The
half way mark was just as I had planned, around the two
hour mark with no problems. Just after this my arm
was starting to burn so I had to spend a few minutes in the
first aid shelter to receive treatment on a badly sunburned
arm. I never really settled into a decent pace after
this and my biggest fear started to happen, my troublesome
heel, that stopped me from training in the previous four
weeks, was starting to become unbearable. I carry on
to the end, trying my best to run but this was almost
impossible, but I managed to put on a spurt for the
finishing straight ,on the race course, finishing with a
disappointing time of 4.51, but this has made me more
determined to extend my marathon career.
I
would highly recommend the Edinburgh Marathon and a special
mention goes out to the supporters around the course and in
particular the villagers of Prestonpans, who with hosepipes
in hand kept us cool on a very trying day. What a
great experience and exceptional weekend with great company
and the odd pint of Deuchars IPA.
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PRAGUE HALF
MARATHON
28
March 2010
There were so many
local races on this weekend but a party of 19 Harriers went
off for a weekend of culture to the Czech Republic to take
on the Prague Half Marathon. The publicity says, “Run the
Prague Half Marathon and discover the undiscovered Prague!
Skip the souvenir shops and run through the different
neighbourhoods alongside the Vltava River. “
The race starts and finishes in the City’s historical
centre, right next to the famous Jewish Quarter. The party
were greeted with glorious warm spring weather. On race day
it started cool with a breeze blowing along the river. The
race didn’t start till 12 noon by which time it had warmed
up.
It is a figure of eight course along the river crossing the
many bridges that are over the historic river. However the
cobbled roads in many places did make the going tough at
times. Not for the winner. Joel Kimurer of Kenya sprinted
round the course in 1hour and 9 seconds. In fact the first
6 all finished in under 1 hour 2 minutes. Of the Harriers
10 runners Chris Ross was our first home just a little
further back in 1:36:08 with our first lady runner Jill
Ross in 153:27. There were 6127 finishers. Others Harrier
times were as follows;
Ten Harriers ready for the
off.
Chris and Dave looking fresh
at 6k................ Someone calling Frank a poseur
(sign).
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The Aviemore
half marathon October 2009.
992 runners finished this year’s half
marathon, run on paths and trails at the foot of the
Cairngorm Mountains in the Central Highlands of Scotland.
The race was won by Tommy Lawrence of Carnegie Harriers in
1:15:15.
Peter Sarson finished in 41st place in a time of 1:26:26,
was 1st MV60+ home and set a new age group course record.
Graham Williams finished in 356th place in 1:50:22
The view
from the course at about 5miles
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The Prague Half
Marathon - March
2009
So
Harriers International have been off on their ventures
again. Just a small party this time to check out the Prague
Half marathon scene. With Graham Williams a stalwart
International injuring himself in Hong Kong and New Zealand
he decided to be part of the support group this time. This
just left Dave Preece and John Finney to wear the yellow
vest round the streets of Prague.
Over 4500 runners took part with a serious race up front
that saw Kiprutto of Kenya finish in 1:00:07 with his
fellow countryman Kamakya just 2 seconds behind. If that
wasn’t enough excitement two more Kenyans finished 3rd
& 4th in 1:00:15 and 1:00:19. In fact the first 9
finished in under 1:03.
In the ladies race yet again Kenyans finished 1,2,3 with
the winner Kosgei finishing in 1:09:03.
So as you can see this was a seriously high quality field
and so it was for our two Harriers. Dave Preece finished in
a good time of 1:33:59 which was 2 minutes faster than his
Stafford time of two weeks previous.
John Finney who has not run a half for some time was more
than pleased with his 1:43:27.
Here are
Dave and John working hard at the 8 K mark
Both of them agreed it was one of the better Half Marathon
Courses and was extremely well organized. It was a figure
of eight course crossing the river twice and taking in all
the sights of Prague. Other than a couple of underpasses
and a tunnel it was very flat.
There was extensive TV coverage of the race with motorbikes
and helicopters covering every move. There was fantastic
support from everyone around the course. The Harrier
supporters found it easy to follow the race and were able
to see the runners at various points around the course.
Although some did miss seeing Dave near the finish as they
were in a bar. No names.
The weather on the day was very sunny and warm.
As for Prague everyone was impressed with the city and the
people. The food was excellent and we believe the beer was
good as well. We didn’t really Czech that out. (Much)
“Czech that out.. see what I did there?”
We were in the same hotel as Rothwell Harriers a great
bunch from Yorkshire (more yellow vests). They had three
runners under 1:30 and 2nd L50 and 3rd V55.
Unfortunately they really showed us up by staying in the
bar later than us.
We have promised a rematch next year on that one. We are
already booking the hotel so put it in your diary 27th
March 2010 (see above).
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The 2008 Cuba trip:
Everyone on the trip enjoyed their visit to CUBA as a
holiday, but only two of the party managed to run in the
Marathon.
Dave Preece finished 108th position in a time of 4:18:46
and Lew badger was close behind in 114th place in time of
4:23:49.
The race was won in2:20:56 by Aguelmis Rojas De Armas and
149 finished.
Frank Evans enjoyed himself in spite of not being able to
run :
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