Cold, wet and windy, that was the weather facing members of Stratford Athletic Club and Kenilworth Runners members when the
met in the annual club challenge at Charlcote Park on Wednesday evening but despite the weather conditions no less than 75 runners took part!
The 10 kilometre course chosen for the competition was excellent, but tough, being partly on road and partly on footpaths.
The start and finish was by the ornamental gates of Charlcote Park and the runners headed along the Charlcote Road towards Barford before turning
left into the road to Hampton Lucy. Just after the bridge they turned onto the footpath that headed due north, giving excellent views over
Warwickshire, but demanding a lot of effort to steadily climb to Copdock Hill. After turning into the lane that returned to Hampton Lucy
they passed downhill to turn up Snitterfied Lane and so to another footpath which took them back to Hampton Lucy and so to the finish.
Martin Dorrill of Kenilworth Runners was the first runner to finish the course in an impressive 38 minutes and 27 seconds just
holding off Rob Hornsey of Stratford (38.35) and Kenilworth club colleague Mick Williams (38.49) and Richard Dobedoe of Stratford (39.04).
The ladies race was lead by Lucy Aphramer, a new member of Kenilworth Runners, who you will remember won the Hilly Challenge in May and
again showed her class to finish in 41 minutes and 15 seconds, close behind the men! The next lady to finish was Kate Wright of Stratford
(45.08) closely followed by Kate Disley of Kenilworth (46.14) and Lynn Sherren of Stratford (46.20).
Despite Kenilworth Runners leading both the men's and ladies races Stratford A.C. strength in depth proved decisive and they took
both the men's and ladies team competitions with 615 against 664 in the men's event and 53 against 97 in the ladies.
Whilst during the race no quarters were asked and none were given over a tough terrain, the whole event and the excellent meal
after the race was marked by that friendly competitive spirit that exists in such abundance amongst runners. This event was organised by Stratford
A.C. in a smooth and efficient manner which every runner on that damp night fully appreciated.
11/07/03
- The Allesley Festival 5 KM Road Race
On Sunday six members of Kenilworth Runners joined a field
of about 100 runners in the Allesley Festival Run. Conditions were perfect when after some
rain the sun came out and made for a pleasant days racing.
The course chosen for this run was not easy. Starting at the bottom of Staircase Lane the runners faced a daunting climb up the
hill to Coundon Wedge Drive and then turned towards Brownshill Green and so onto Browns Lane which left the 'sting in the tail' - a
climb up Windmill Hill to finish back at Allesley Green.
With a superb run of 19 minutes and 45 seconds, Lucy Aphramor was not only the first Kenilworth Runner to finish,
but also the first lady overall. To add to this she finished in 9th position! Martin Carter was the next Kenilworth Runner to finish (24.54,
30th), followed by Roger Wilkes (26.07, 38th), Pamela Wilkes (27.42, 46th), Sharon Aphramor
(32.04, 81st) and Karen Carter (32.04, 82nd).
15/07/03
- Kenilworth Runners Summer Handicap Series Race 5
On a bleak Thursday evening and despite torrential rain and poor conditions no less than 51 members of Kenilworth Runners,
a record turnout for the club, took part in the fifth race of this highly popular series of road races.
The course of this 5 mile race starts at the cross roads near Fen End. The first 2 miles are gently downhill until the
road junction in Temple Balsall is reached. A sharp left turn takes the runners onto the Kenilworth Road and shortly to a left turn into
Temple Lane where the climbing begins. At Park Corner a right hand turn into Chadwick Lane presents yet more climbing. Leaving Chadwick
Lane the runners find yet another hill before emerging onto Oldwich Lane West to turn left and with more climbing to reach the finish by
the cross roads.
As the result of yet another great run James Hartwright retains the overall lead with 255 points but he continues to be hard
pressed by the resurgent Laurence Copeland who is a mere 3 points behind him. The group positions with only three races left:-
GROUP RUNNER POINTS
A Laurence Copeland 252
A Lucy Hartwright 219
A Sue Divine 216
B Colin Dooling 214
B John Woodrow 186
B Roger Wilkes 181
C Roland Smythe 207
C Richard Steel 204
C Mick Williams 161
Warwickshire Road Race Results (after 4 races out of 8)
Teams:
Senior Men - We are currently lying in 5th position with 53 points behind Northbrook (74) Godiva (70) Centurion (57) and Sphinx (55).
Vet men - We are currently leading the table with 71 points, behind us are Sphinx and Centurion (both 60) and Northbrook (58).
Senior Ladies - We are currently lying in 4th position with 59 points behind Godiva and Northbrook (both 65) and Centurion (60)
Vet Ladies - We are currently lying in 3rd position with 43 points behind Centurion (57) and Northbrook (46)
Individuals:
Senior Men - Richard Steel 6th
Vet men - Richard Steel 3rd / Rich Greenhalf 5th
Senior Ladies - Sandie Pearman 9th / Pauline Dable 10th
Vet Ladies - Sandie Pearman 5th / Pauline Dable 6th
29/07/04
Summer Handicap Race 6
Again this popular series of evening races attracted a bumper turnout of 46 club
members and guests on a warm Thursday evening to compete in the 6th event of the series. This time the race was a pursuit with runners being
started according to their handicap times.
The race is known to club members as 'The Old Town Eight', not because it is 8 miles long, in fact it is 4 miles long, but
because the course is shaped like a figure of eight. Starting on the footpath by the entrance to Abbey Fields Car Park runners went up the
hill to the traffic lights where they turned left to continue to climb through Old Town to eventually turn right into Malthouse Lane. At
the far end they turned left into Beehive Hill and so onto Clinton Lane. Following Clinton Lane past The Green and so back to High Street
and into Fieldgate Lane. The race then took them back to Malthouse Lane and so back past the Castle and over the Ford to Castle Hill
and up Forest Road past the War Memorial, Castle Hill and so to the finish by the entrance to the car park.
James Hartright retained the overall lead for the 3rd time with yet another impressive run - BUT he has been joined in this prestigious
position by his wife Lucy who cleverly played her joker on the night and so doubled the points she gained as the result of an excellent run.
Thus both are on 279 points and with only two races to come, which are both long and tough events, the husband and wife team have put some
clear water between themselves and the next contender. This is going to make for a most exciting end to what has been a memorable series
of races. The group positions are as follows:-
GROUP RUNNER POINTS
A Laurence Copeland 252
A Sue Divine 248
A Julie Bevan 208
B Colin Dooling 260
B John Woodrow 216
B Jane McNally 206
C Roland Smythe 214
C Richard Steel 209
C Mick Williams 192
The 7th race of the series takes place on Thursday 12th August 2004, starting at 7.30 p.m. in the lane opposite the Honiley
Court Hotel. This is a 6.75 mile race on the pleasant lanes in and around Honiley and Beausale.
Thursday 1st July