Latest Harriers news from Essex…, and further afield.

The festive trail racing season reached its climax with three events over three days, with the wet weather making for testing conditions.  The 10K search for Santa event from Littley Green saw Melissa Dowell finish first lady after benefiting from time bonuses to record a time of 28:26. Dowell was then in action again a few days later in Little Baddow, running 1:17:58 to finish second female in the 13K race.  Meanwhile Malcolm Statham clocked 1:45:46 at the Elves 11 trail from Maldon. In parkrun action the Colchester Castle event survived the wet conditions with 24 Colchester... read more

Membership Rates 2020/2021 Season

Membership Rates 2020/2021 Season

Please find below a list of the Membership Fees for the 20/21 Season, which commences on 1st April 2020. Membership Rates 20/21Adult First Claim - 55.00 * (approved at AGM)Adult Second Claim - 39.00Junior - 37.50 * (approved at AGM)Post 16 Student - 37.50 *Distant Member - 40.00 *Family 2 Adult 1 Child - 132.50 **Family 1 Adult 2 Child - 115.00 **Family 0 Adult 3 Child - 97.50 **Social - 12.00Coach - 12.00* Includes £16.00 England Athletics Affiliation Fee** Includes 3 x £16.00 England Athletics Fee Membership Fees have not risen since 2015, when... read more

Ladies and under 15 girls shine at a muddy Writtle

The third fixture of the Essex Cross Country League on a muddy course at Writtle College saw Colchester Harriers’ women’s team hold on to their third place after finishing third on the day.  Heidi Steele shrugged off injury concerns to finish in 11th position, with Denise Morley (14th and first V50), Rachel Dale (29th) and Alexandra Hennessey (32nd) completing the scoring team.  Debbie Cattermole also had a good day, finishing 43rd and second V55. Thomas Palmer was the first man home for the club, finishing 41st although he was closely followed by Cameron Humphries (42nd)... read more

Harriers win six medals at Oxford

Colchester Harriers’ Men’s Vet 50 team were in top form once again as they travelled to Oxford for the South of England Masters Cross Country Championship.  The quartet of Allen Smalls, Keith Marley, Paul Spowage and Colin Ridley saw off tough opposition from Guildford and Godalming AC on their way to the silver medals.  Meanwhile running for Essex in the Under 13's Inter Counties event Lyla Belshaw finished in an impressive ninth position, also helping her team into the silver medal position. In the under 17's event Milly Presland finished 21st as the Essex team took bronze... read more

UK marathon record for veteran Mingay

Colchester Harriers Super-vet Paul Mingay has run his way into the record books with an outstanding performance in the Valencia Marathon.  The 62 year old Feering based athlete recorded a remarkable time of 2:45:14 and in doing so broke the UK record for the fastest ever marathon ran by an over 60 athlete, beating the previous record set in 1991 by over a minute.  Mingay was also over 4 minutes ahead of his nearest rival on the day in what was a top quality international field.  Harrier’s international race walker Daniel King also ran in the event, finishing his first... read more

Final details for the 89th Boxing Day Runners versus Riders cross country races for the Markham Cup

The 2019 Runners vs Riders cross country races (Colchester Harriers/CATS vs Colchester Rovers Cycling Club) take place at Friday Woods, Colchester on Boxing Day. There is an under 13 race run over two laps of approx. 900m each starting at 10:00am. The main race takes place at 11:00am. This year because of a fallen tree on the course there is an extension of about 200 metres to each lap. Under 15's running one lap, ladies running two laps and men three laps. Each lap is approximately 2100m long. The undulating course will almost certainly be muddy which will mean appropriate... read more

2019 Colchester Sports Personality Awards

Congratulations to the seven Colchester Harriers who won awards at the prestigious Colchester Sports Personality Awards evening held at the Community Stadium on Monday. Wyatt Larkins - Under 14 Boy (commendation) Isla Widdowson - Under 14 Girl (commendation) John Wheatley - Eric Chapman Award (commendation) Daniel Summersgill - Bill Tucker Award (commendation) Steve Garnham - Coach of the Year (winner) Joy Ogunleye - Female (commendation) Rebecca Jeggo - Female... read more

News from a quiet weekend

Colchester Harriers’ athletes have made a strong start to the International Running Challenge in Lanzarote, an annual competition drawing athletes from across Europe.  The Vince Regan 10K, the first of four races in four days, saw Colin Ridley clock 37:56 to win the V55 category by over two minutes and place just outside the top 20 in a field of over 400 athletes.  Simon Ford crossed the line in 41:08 whilst Andrew Conway ran 49:37. Back in the UK, on a quiet weekend for road racing Ian Rattray ran a time of 41:27 to post a Personal Best (PB) at the Olympic Park 10K in... read more

Juniors Shine at Annual Awards

Sunday 17 November saw the Pegasus Clubhouse packed for the annual awards celebration. Club stalwart, Rachel Abbot kindly agreed to be guest of honour to present the awards, with Chris Akehurst acting as host as well as quiz master to provide entertainment. Celebrations included achievements across Cross Country, Park Runs, road running as well as Track and Field where the young green vests had enjoyed one of their best seasons to date having regained the NESS Trophy and placing 10th in the EYAL league. Members were applauded for their contributions to the successes as well as to... read more

This weeks Road, Cross Country and Parkrun news roundup

The Club were out in force at this year’s Chelmsford 10K, with our athletes making the most of good conditions to post some fast times.  Keith Marley continued his purple patch, leading the club home to clock a Personal Best (PB) of 36:40 and finish first V50.  Kevin Higgins, another runner currently in fine form, was close behind in a PB of 37:09, finishing third V45.  Next to finish was Andrew Lovelock in 38:12, followed by experienced vet Colin Ridley who finished first V55 in 38:40 and Jennifer Lovelock who recorded 40:01 to just miss out on the sub-40 minute time she... read more