Fixtures & Reports
2011-2012 |
Date |
Race Event |
Distance |
Link |
| 1 | Sunday Oct 23rd 2011 | BUPA Birmingham Half Marathon | 13.1M | Report Below /Entry |
| 2 | Sunday Nov 20th 2011 | Cannock Rotary 10k | 10k | Report Below /Entry |
| 3 | Sunday Dec 11th 2011 | Snyed Pudding Run 10m | 10M | Report Below /Entry |
| 4 | Sunday Jan 15th 2012 | Stratford ‘Not the Roman IX’ | 12k | Report Below |
| 5 | Sunday Mar 25th 2012 | Stafford Half Marathon | 13.1m | Report Below |
| 6 | Sunday May 13th 2012 | Crowle (Worcester) 10k | 10k | Info / Report Below |
| 7 | Sunday Jun 17th 2012 | Aldridge 10k | 10k | Info |
| 8 | Thursday 19th July 2012 | Rowheath 5k | 5k | Entry Form |
| 9 | Wednesday 25th July 2012 | West Bromwich 5k | 5k | Entry Form |
| 10 | Wed 8th Aug 2012 | Staffs Knot 5mile | 5Mile | Info |
| 11 | Sunday 2nd Sept 2012 | Little Aston 5mile | 5Mile | Info |
| 12 | Sunday 9th Sept 2012 | Lichfield 10k | 10k | Online/Postal |
Race Reports
GP6 – Crowle 10k
Crowle 10K Race Report – GP 6
For the second race in succession it was a bright sunny start to GP6 Crowle 10k, however the conditions were blustery, with the majority of the last 4K run into a strong head wind. We had a great turn out of 19 Harriers considering this is the furthest race away from the stadium on this years GP series. The course is a delightful run through rural Worcestershire starting and finishing with a lap of the playing fields at the back of the village hall. Itʼs undulating, although a number of folks after the race decided it should be described as hilly. There was an excellent choice of tea and cake or a BBQ available at the village hall, for post race refreshments. Of course all us Birchfield Ê»Athletesʼ stuck to the carb/protein recovery shakes…didnʼt we…?
Again a number of PB were produced showing the hard winter marathon training is paying dividend, especially from Barry & Tonyʼs group. Manisha and Julie-Anne racing together produced yet another PB and get joint performance of the day. Connolly was very pleased to dip under 38 mins for the first time, Simon also had a ʻpower of 10ʼ official PB, although he has run slightly quicker on a non UKA registered course. Martin and David running their first GP race or 10K have put down great markers to beat in the future. Paul was 5mins quicker than GP2 Cannock 10k.
First across the line for Birchfield was Pete D in 3rd place overall closely followed by Simon in 7th, Mike in 8th and Connolly 12th. Mike received 2nd M40 prize which was a great run considering the flesh wound he sustained after being tripped up by a dog the day before at the British Masters Relays. If a team prize had been awarded Birchfield would have easily won. Val just missed out on a W45 prize by 1 place and a few seconds. Former overall GP winner Peter Parker now running for Sutton, took 1st place for the M50.  It was yet another race where the loudest cheers at the awards ceremony were coming from Birchfield.
Chris and Windel ran together until the 6K point before Windelʼs achilles problem caused him to limp home. Neil was in the top 50. There was a solid run from Alan B who is slowly coming back to form after a difficult time at London Marathon. Lisa had to contend with Peter L, Pete D and especially Alan B shouting at her to sprint faster in the last few hundred meters. Steven who has recently started training at the club also had good run of 50:50 which was a nice neat finish time.
A special thanks go to Pete D, Simon, Mike, Connolly, Nick, Val, Peter L, Alan B and Alan P who all ran a fast 5K in the British Masters Relays in Sutton Park the day before. It shows great commitment to the club and Grand Prix series as well as an understanding partner. The next race GP 7 is Aldridge 10K www.aldridgerunningclub.co.uk/arc10k.htm Itʼs a popular fast undulating 10K which is only a few miles from the stadium. Just get ready for the last 2K. We hope to see you there.
Race report by Pete Dimbleby
> Results
GP5 – Stafford Half Marathon
It was a gloriously sunny day for GP race 5 at Stafford Half Marathon, with a slight cooling breeze making it ideal conditions for fast times. We had an excellent turn out of 32 runners for this mixed town and rural race. The course has a couple of short hills in the first 6 miles, a fast flat 2 mile section along a disused railway between miles 10 and 12. The last mile is quite twisty, with a 90 degree sharp turn off a down hill slope by the river very challenging on tired legs.
There were some excellent times posted especially from the ladies with the majority running much faster than at Birmingham Half (GP1). 14 Harriers who ran both races were quicker at Stafford. Performances of the day have to go to Helen and Marion who both ran 10 minutes quicker than at Birmingham. Simon also managed a cracking PB of 1:19:42 and a top 20 position. Congratulation to Val for getting 1st W45 Prize in a fantastic 1:36:54.
Helen Bloomer & Marion Peak at the 12.5 Mile point
Mr ‘Consistency’ Connolly ran his 3rd Half Marathon of the year all have been completed in 1 hour 24 min. Endurance effort of the day goes to Harry, who did a 10 Mile warm up prior to the start, before running round the course at marathon pace.
We had fantastic support on route from loads of Birchfield members and family including Mike running the opposite way round the course. Mel, Windel and BJ cheering at the 8 mile point just as the leg were starting to tire. Fergal, Helen’s husband, was giving great encouragement by standing right next to the 800m to go sign shouting ‘come on – push – you have only 900m left’! It did make me chuckle. A big thanks from the runners to all the supporters, it definitely helps.
Birchfield had the greatest number of club members at the awards ceremony. The loudest cheer of the day was for Val’s prize (1st W45). Unfortunately she didn’t find the venue in time so the award was collected on her behalf by Simon, who graciously declined the offer of a kiss from the mayor.
Next Race GP6 is Crowle 10K, which a scenic family friendly race set in rural Worcestershire. We hope to see you there.
Race report by Pete Dimbleby
Results here
Photos here
GP4 – Not The Roman IX
Twenty six runners lined up at the start to this odd distance run.
Weather conditions were at about freezing point at the beginning of the race which led to several icy patches on the route to negotiate. The course could be described as challenging due to the steady uphill climbs on the first half.
Stratford is a beautiful part of the country and this made for lovely views over the countryside, taking your mind off the hard slog.
We had a few P.Bs on the day including Simon McNamee by 2 mins, also scoring his highest age grading to date 75.70%. Harry Lalli by a staggering 5 mins, either trying to impress, or run away from his new bride Sandy. Coach and G.P leader (women) Val Carter brought the ladies home followed by a jubilant Mary Ross who broke the 1 hour mark by 39secs. Alison Aberdeen who wore the number 1 race tag and Marion Peak came agonisingly close but just failed to break 60mins by 36secs and 42secs respectively.
Mike Morley brought the men home with a staggering 82.09% age grading. After battling with Simon McNamee for positions until 400m to go, Mike just managed to pull out the smallest of leads over Simon who was followed by Connolly Meagher who now leads the G.P.
Out of the 26 runners today Connolly, Alan Britton and Peter Lawton have completed in all the GPs to date, which shows great commitment.
Runners that have completed 3 races or more to date and have improved their age gradings each time are Simon McNamee, Val Carter, Mary Ross, Nick Hewitt, Carol Frain, Neil Lloyd and Helen Bloomer. So keep up the good work, you are improving every time.
Special thanks to Tony Frain for keeping a manual check on positions and times at the finish, not much gets past his keen eye.
Race Report by Mike Morley
GP3 – Snyed Pudding Run
Chilly and blustery conditions made for a fast but tough run around two laps of the gentle undulating course.
Our third race in the Grand Prix (GP) to date got off to a good start with approximately 20 Birchfield runners toeing the line, urged on by the numerous supporters on the way.
This years GP winner Peter Dimbleby (58:23) led the Birchfield men to the finish, followed by Simon McNamee (1:02:12), Connoly Meagher (1:04:42), Chris Aston (1:06:16), Windel Simpson (1:06:40), Nick Hewitt (1:09:00), Martin Wilkinson (1:11:35), Kevin Wakerly(1:12:36), Alan Britton (1:21;07), Wayne Dawkins (1:31:10), Terence Parker (1:42:56) and Ronald Adams (2:05:57).
New runners to the club: Jenny Walsh and Wayne Dalkins ran well in the windswept conditions and we all look forward to seeing both competing in more of the GP events.
The ladies team had a good turn out, with team coach Val Carter (1:12:58), leading from start to finish, followed by last years GP winner Mary Ross (1:22:15), Alison Aberdeen (1:26:56), Jenny Welch (1:28;10), Manisha Patel (1:28:46), Helen Bloomer (1:29:01), Marion Peak (1:29:53), Karon Jones (1:30:33), Rachel Walton (1:34:48), and the forever smiling Carol Frain (1:49:08).
We had one retirement today, after having a late breakfast Harry Lalli lasted until mile 7 before his upset stomach said enough is enough.
Numbers were slightly down from the 26 runners last year, however it was still a good turnout for Birchfield Harriers.
With only 3 events completed and 9 more to go, the GP is still wide open at this early stage, as you only need to complete in 6 out of the 12 courses to claim one of the many awards on offer. So get involved and support the Grand Prix.
We hope you all enjoyed your run today and your hard earned Christmas puddings.
Well done and season greetings to you all.
Race report by Mike Morley.
Official times and grand prix rankings to follow soon after scrutiny Refer to club website for GP rules.
GP2 – Cannock 10k
Although it is the first time this race has been incorporated into Birchfield Harriers Grand Prix (GP) it proved to be an excellent venue for all 23 Birchfield runners.
The race started in cold and foggy conditions on a course that was anything but flat, creating a challenging run with Simon McNamee leading the Birchfield runners. It was only at the four mile mark when he was eventually joined by Peter Dimbleby and Michael Morley where they
worked together to reel in the front runners one by one.
With only a mile left Michael took advantage of Peters lack of energy after his tough x/country race the day before, and lead the Birchfied Harriers to the finish (37:23), closely followed by Peter (37:41) and Simon (38:16).
We had 7 ladies turnout with Val Carter (43:39) leading the Birchfield ladies home, followed by Julie Anne Tallon(56:25) and Manisha Patel (56:25). You may notice that Julies and Manishas times are identical, but with age grading applied Julie comes out on top. (Being younger is not always an advantage Manisha).
Interestingly Windel Simpson(39:04) finished in 4th place for the men but with age grading applied he actually comes second for GP purposes.
Performances of the day must go to Connolly Meagher (38:16), Chris Aston(40:17) and Peter D who ran a cross country race the day before.
Well done to you all and a big thank you to all our supporters on the day.
Race report by Michael Morley
GP1 – Birmingham Half Marathon 2011
A record number of Birchfield Harriers took to the start of the inaugural BUPA Great Birmingham Run 2011 (Originally EDF Birmingham Half Marathon). After last years issues at the start and finish it was important that this year organisation was better. The wave starts seemed to help, as did the down hill 1st mile. No issues – Good News!
15,000 reported runners taking part on a dry October morning made all the more special by the presence of a running legend. Haile Gebrselassie was running, not often you get to rub shoulders with the best, and its safe to say I got nowhere near him!
Some excellent performances from the group. Last years GP Winner, Pete Dimbleby (01:18:25) coming in first for Birchfield Harriers, followed by a great effort by youngster Nick Hardy(01:19:55). Mike Morley in 3rd place (1:22:25), followed by our first ladies Claire Grice & Joanna Hartley who ran identical chip times! (01:26:49)
A number of good performances from Birchfield, and some even managed to get onto Channel 5’s TV coverage! As with all these events it never goes without incident. The course included a tough couple of miles at the end, and unfortunately Dave Lea injured himself as he fell with a couple of miles to go. Pull out? No chance! Dave battled to the end, and still finished in a good time. True Birchfield Harriers grit.
Thanks to the Birchifield Harriers runners who didn’t run but were supporting on the day!!
Please see the results table for full results.
Report by Harry Lalli.
Road Runners 2011 Awards
Grand Prix Award Winners
The Grand Prix was scored on Age Graded times and points awarded in performance order i.e. 40 points for 1st place, 39 points for 2nd, 38 points for 3rd and so on. The best of the qualifying 6 races were counted out of the possible 13 races in the series.
| Winner | Peter Dimbleby | 238 points |
| 2nd | Windell Simpson | 233 points |
| 3rd | Simon McNamee | 224 points |
| 4th & 1st Woman | Mary Ross | 219 points |
| 5th | Brain Dawson | 213 points |
| 6th | Peter Lawton | 204 points |
| 7th & 2nd Woman | Marion Peak | 192 points |
| 8th | Dave Lea | 192 points |
| 9th & 3rd Woman | Helen Bloomer | 178 points |
| 10th & 4th Woman | Manisha Patel | 168 points |
Marathon Award
The best overall age graded performance submitted between the 1st October 2010, and the 30th September 2011 was Mike Morley who achieved 76.53% in the Ljubljana Marathon.
Mike Reynolds Memorial Trophy
The winner was announced as a result of a ballot at the Road Runners Consultation Group meeting on Thursday when of the 5 candidates nominated Barry Roberts received 55% of the vote
Archived Results here