News

Several athletes travelled to Norwich to compete in an afternoon of 1500’s, and one sprinter, unfortunately for those that made the journey to a very wet and windy Sports park PB’s were going to be hard to come by. First up Emily McGill in driving rain. Emily took off with too much enthusiasm passing the first 400 in 69 seconds, which would have been a decent first lap of an 800. She ran a brave race to finish 4th in 5.56 just outside her PB, a time we are sure would be reduced by several seconds in better conditions and a slightly slower first lap. Next up were four Harriers in... read more

A small group of youngsters and one senior took the trip to Norwich on a cool and windy Friday evening to take part in the Athletics Norwich series of open meetings. First up was Maisy Wood running in her first ever track race for the club she showed her tenacity going out with the leaders in a fast pace she held her form well to finish in an excellent time of 2.42, Maisy is a first year under 15 so we hope to see a lot more from her in the future. Then we had two Harriers in the same race, U13 Henry Rutland, this was Henry’s first race on a track for the club, and U17 Emily Swan... read more

Colchester Harrier Ella Neale has a top podium finish at the Madrid Cross Duathlon championships Having gone through a strict lockdown in Madrid, Ella took part in the rescheduled Madrid Duathlon Championships. The competition consisted of a 5k run, followed by a 15km off road mountain bike ride, this was followed by a 2.5km run. Ella found few problems with her favoured element the runs but the mountain bike course looked like a desert in the heat of the summer sun, with the ride consisting of several tight turns, steep inclines and ditches making going very difficult. On one occasion... read more

At what might well end up being the last track event of the already truncated 2020 season, a handful of  Colchester Harrier sprinters tested out their grass training at an evening meet held at Chelmsford Athletic Centre on Wednesday 9 September. Despite seemingly excellent conditions, a swirling wind dampened hopes of an official time for new girl Lexie Richards as she made her debut in the U13 girls 100m. Placed in lane seven she took a good fourth place in 14.82 (2.1).  Just minutes later and also making her first appearance in a green vest was U13 Samantha Yearwood, competing... read more

Rebecca Jeggo turned a difficult and trying summer into a massive positive outcome, by winning a bronze medal at the British Athletics Championships in Manchester this weekend. The Colchester Harriers athlete confounded the odds after only being able to access an athletics track for a very short time during the current situation. With tracks across the country being shut through the Covid 19 virus and the Garrison track in Colchester only reopening fot three weeks before being closed for refurbishment meant that Rebecca has been training on grass and do what strength training she could... read more

Despite cancelling their usual Age Group Championships the South of England Athletic Association were delighted to host the alternative Covid Games at Chelmsford Athletic Centre over the weekend of 29th and 30 August allowing those athletes of all ages who have had the opportunity of some track and field training to have the chance of a competition. Opening the competition for Harriers on Saturday morning in cold, wet and windy conditions was Hollie Martin-Whymark who made her debut U15 appearance.  After early morning nerves she ran a competent race to finish with a new unofficial... read more

By Rob Earl As part of the ongoing development of the Harrriers throwers, coaches and officials, Harriers hosted the first of a series of four meetings at the Garrison on Sunday 23 August. These were carried out in line with England Athletics Covid-19 guidelines and the updated licensing process. First and foremost, the competitions were led by Maxine Simon. Along with technical support from Denise Larkins and Darren Graham both of whom gained invaluable experience while officiating under the new Covid-19 guidelines, to supplement their ongoing officials qualification process. On a... read more

Stepping onto a track for the first time this year following a solid block of distance training throughout lockdown, U13 Lyla Belshaw couldn’t have been more delighted with her performance.  At the BFTTA Open at the Jim Peters Stadium, Dagenham on Sunday 23 August she executed a great debut 800m. Competing in the first of two races, Belshaw was placed on the outside of a waterfall start. At the gun, she headed straight for the arc of the bend and the front of the pack, managing to hold off an early challenge for the initial 150m.  By the end of her first lap (just under 74s) she... read more

In the past few weeks, in the run up to the rescheduled British Championships in September Rebecca Jeggo has been laying down a great foundation for her acceptance of her invitation to compete there. At the recent London Inter Club Challenge events Rebecca opened up with her first 100m race of the year with a win in 12.01s into a difficult 2.3mps headwind. Rebecca followed that with third place a high class 200m race which including international and Olympic athletes. Running into a 2.1mps wind she clocked 24.66s. At the Chelmsford sprint evening, racing the 100m in horrendous wet... read more

Colchester Harriers’ endurance runners put themselves to the test over the weekend in the Stour Valley Path 50K Ultra marathon.   Run over a challenging 50 kilometre section of the Stour Valley Path from Sudbury to Brantham, the race was run in line with new Covid-19 guidelines involving, among other things, staggered start times for the 200 or so competitors. Allen Smalls led the way for Colchester, the veteran runner rolling back the years to record a superb time of 4:04:27 and finish second overall in a strong field.  Not to be outdone Victoria Primmer, on her ultra debut,... read more