NEWS
Congratulations to Aldershot, Farnham & District (AFD) athlete Chris Thompson who set an amazing 10,000m debut time of 27:26.61 at the Payton Jordan Cardinal Invitational in Stanford on May 1st.
This time puts Chris 3rd on the all-time UK 10,000m rankings list. Well done Chris, excellent achievement.
Also at the event National Cross-Country winner & AFD Andy Vernon set a PB of 28:11.43.
For more see here
Congratulations to everyone who took part in this year’s London Marathon. Over 36,000 people completed the event raising over £50million of charity. Well done!
Athletes from Ronhill sponsorship clubs were also taking part in the elite race. Andi Jones from Salford Harriers was the first British male across the finish line, in 2hrs 16mins 38secs, closely followed by Ben Moreau from Aldershot, Farnham & District (AFD) in 2hrs 16mins 46secs.
Tipton Harriers were the first team across the finish line in a total time (of 3 athletes) at 7hrs 19mins 40secs. Tipton were followed by AFD in second position with a team time of 7hrs 19mins 56secs.
National Success – On the Road!
The National Road Relays took place on Saturday 17th April. Congratulations to Newham & Essex Beagles who look the men’s team award in the 12-stage. Ronhill had an impressive 4 teams finishing in the top 6.
2nd – Tipton Harriers
4th – Aldershot & Farnham District
5th – Leeds city AC
6th – Bristol & West AC
In the women’s 6-stage road relays Aldershot, Farnham & District AC came first. Well done to Beth Andrew, Alice Lethbridge, Lily Partridge, Emily Adam, Emma Pallent & Steph Twell.
Archive – 40 Anniversary - Ron Hill wins the 1970 Boston Marathon
An insight into Ron Hill's fantastic win in Boston 40 years ago. Featuring the build up to the race, how it happened and memories from Ron himself. CLICK HERE TO VIEW
Leeds win Northern Road Relays
Congratulations to Leeds City AC. Their men's 'A' team brought home first place in the Northern Road Relays that took place on 21st February at Wythenshaw Park in Manchester. The team managed to get round the course in a total time of 3hrs 50mins 17secs, with a 5 minute gap to host club Sale Harriers who pipped Morpeth Harriers to second place.
Alogside Salford Harriers, like Leeds City, are another club who Ronhill sponsor. Salford were unfortunate not to make the top 3 positions after missing out by 10 seconds. Although the team a clearly making an impression of intent for the months ahead.
HUNDREDS OF BRITISH RUNNERS IN HISTORIC MARATHON
Athens classic race is 2,500 years old
Hundreds of British runners will become part of history in October when the Athens Classis Marathon is 2,500 years old.
The British athletes are following in the footsteps of a messenger named Phidippides who, in 490 BC, ran the 26 miles and 385 yards from Marathon to Athens – in a full suit of armour – to announce that the Greeks had defeated the Persians in the Battle of Marathon.
Sports Tours International have teamed up with Dr. Ron Hill, MBE, who won gold in the Marathon at the 1969 European Athletics Championships at Athens and also ran his 100th ever marathon in 1985 on the same course, to offer a trip to this historic event on October 31st 2010. There are also a 5k and a 10k run on the same day over part of the Marathon course, finishing in the main stadium. There are also some special running items included in your trip, including a commemorative t-shirt, race number carrier and water bottle. For more details, please visit the Sports Tours website at:
http://www.sportstoursinternational.co.uk/running/athens-classic-marathon
Plus, how about joining Ron at Club La Santa, Lanzarote in May for a week long marathon training camp. It starts on May 6th and encompasses a fascinating programme of various distance runs and insights into how to improve your running, whether for fun or as a competitor. Club La Santa is the world famous sports and activity holiday resort, where you can do as little or as much as you want. To book your place on Ron’s camp, contact Club La Santa on 0161 790 9890 or visit the website at www.clublasanta.co.uk
On May 16th 2010 a group of ex Birmingham University athletes from the 1970s will meet up to run 10km together, in memory of a good friend, Angela Deegan (nee Turland) who sadly died last year after a long battle with cancer, aged 51. Find out more on our blog: http://ronhillblog.blogspot.com/
The English National Cross Country was held on Saturday 27th February. The setting was a cold dry yet muddy Roundhay Park in Leeds.
Ronhill sponsorship club Aldershot, Farnham & Distict (AFD) won the senior mens team trophy following Andy Vernon’s win (38m01s) and good individual performances from Ben Lindsay, Martin Mashford and Neil Phillips.
The senior women’s race was won by Steph Twell (27m52s) who along with Emma Pallent, Emily Adams and Beth Andrew came second in the women’s team category.
AFD’s team success at the National’s didn’t stop there, AFD came 3rd in the junior men’s, 1st in junior women’s, second in the under 17 men’s,
1st in under 17 women’s and 1st in the under 15 girls. It was a very public show of the determination and dedication from the AFD coaches and athletes.
Other Ronhill sponsored clubs to celebrate successes at the National XC were:
Leeds City AC
Senior men - James Walsh (7th), Alan Buckley (10th) to put Leeds into team silver medal position
Junior men - James Wilkinson (2nd), team matched the seniors to finish 2nd.
Bristol & West
Senior men - Tom Russel (6th)
Senior women - Claire Hallisey (10th) with the team finishing 3rd
Under 15 boys – Zak Tobias (6th)
Do you know a athlete, coach, club official or parent that deserves to be our winner in the monthly Ronhill/Athletics Weekly UK Club Awards?
If so, £150 of kit from Ronhill could be heading their way - but you need to nominate them first.
The winner - it might be your family member, clubmate, coach or athlete - could be from any discipline. We are looking as much for tales about dedication, triumph over adversity and impressive improvement or skills as we are for stories of potential or achievement.
To nominate your winner please tell us in no more than 400 words why they should be featured in the next Ronhill UK Club Awards.
Please send all nominations for the awards to: elisabeth.cammel@athletics-weekly.com
Please do not forget to include your telephone number and contact details for your nomination.
Northern XC
The Northern XC took place on Saturday 23rd January in Blackburn and saw Stockport athlete Steve Vernon win after taking control early in the race. Leeds City were winners of the team trophy with another Ronhill sponsored club, Salford Harriers, finished in second place. The National XC takes place at Roundhay Park in Leeds on 27th Feb.
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Leeds on 27th Feb. Record Breakers
The National road relays were held on the weekend of 17th October at Sutton Park in Birmingham. It was a great weekend for Aldershot, Farnham and District AC as they went into the weekend looking to extend their unbeaten run to in the senior womens race to 3 consecutive years. Emily Adams, Steph Twell, Louise Small and Charlie Purdue took their places in the senior womens team for 2009 and with Charlie the fastest of the day and Steph 3rd fastest the team won in record time of 57m 09sec.
AFD’s Senior Men team also finished in the medal positions, by finishing 3rd. The team included Mat Ashton, Paul Rogers, Steve Scullion, Ben Lindsay, Chris Thompson and Ben Moreau. Additionally, the under 13, 15 and under 17 girls all won, meaning AFD won all female races. Well done to everyone involved.
2009 Road Relay Championships – The Regionals
Let’s set the scene: In the men’s senior race, Leeds City AC were in the hunt for a hat trick of wins going into the 2009 Northern Relays on Saturday, meanwhile Aldershot, Farnham & District (AFD) were looking to fend off any ‘would be’ challengers and maintain their impressive run in the senior women’s relays.
The Northern relays were arguably the place to be. Leeds City AC senior men ran a hard fought race and battled hard to retain their title. A resurgent Salford Harriers stormed into second place in the men’s Northern Relays, by an incredibly small marginal – just 3 seconds – ahead of Altrincham, who in turn were hounded down by Morpeth Harriers who missed out on 3rd place by 2 seconds. Leeds senior women also produced a very consistent set of times that saw them finish 4th only missing a medal position by 6 seconds overall.
At the Southern relays, which took place at Rushmoor Arena, AFD’s senior men and women won their respective races. The women’s team was also without Steph Twell and Emma Pallent, both of whom were sidelined by injuries. AFD also had wins for the under 17s and under 15s girls.
Congratulations also to the senior men's and women's teams at Bristol & West AC, who last weekend underlined their claim to be the number one distance running club in the Midlands by medalling in both the men's 6-stage and women's 4-stage road relay championships in Birmingham. In addition for the first time Bristol & West AC finished the top B team in both events.
A good set of regional relays all round for the Ronhill sponsored clubs.
More information can be found at:
Northerns – www.noeaa-athletics.org.uk
Midlands – www.midlandathletics.org.uk
Southern – www.seaa.org.uk
Update Monday 27th July - UKA Grand Prix
The weekend's action centred around Crystal Palace for the UK Athletics Grand Prix as the athletes prepare for the IAAF World Championships in Berlin. Many of the British athletes roared into life wih seasonal and personal bests throughout the weekend. A selection of the weekends action is below... Belgrave athlete Nick Goolab won the under-20 men's 3000 metres with a personal best of 8.15.27, followed by Thomas Farrell in 2nd and AFD athlete Johnny Hay finished 3rd setting a PB of 8.17.17. Ronhill sponsored clubs AFD and Leeds City also had athletes in the 3000m. Mickey Reed came in 16th whilst Geoff Belcher and Michael Salter both set PBs to finish 21st and 22nd respectively. Lisa Dobriskey finished 3rd in the women's 1500m setting a seasonal best time of 4.08.38. Helen England finished just behind Lisa in 4th whilst AFD athlete Steph Twell was again marginally behind Helen in 6th place. In the women's 3000m Sarah Ingis set a PB to win in 9.26.02. AFD athletes Emelia Gorecka finished 5th with Lily Partridge and Ruth Haynes 9th and 15th. GB athete's faired well in the men's 400m and 5000m. Michael Bingham won the men's 400m setting a PB of 45.03 to take first place ahead of USA's Angelo Taylor, whilst Mo Farah set a seasonal best time of 13.09.14 to win the 5000m ahead of Kenyan's Sammy Mutahi and Mike Kigen. The GB women produced a 1/2/3 in the 800m - Jemma Simpson 2.01.08, Jenny Meadows and Marilyn Okoro.
A quick update on news from the UKA World Trials in Birmingham that took place on 10th-13th July.
Charlotte Purdue, from Ronhill sponsored Aldershot, Farnham & District AC finished 2nd in the women’s 5000m final. Charlotte finished in a time of 15:57:18, which was 12secs behind Chester-Le-Street athlete Freya Murray. Emily Adams (from AFD) and
AFD athlete Steph Twell, finished 2nd in the women’s 1500m following a semi final time of 4:18:75. Steph ran the final in 4:09:55 but was beaten on the final straight by Wakefield athlete Charlene Thomas in 4:09:18!
Leeds City AC athletes David Webb, Simon Deakin and Adam Grice all made the final of the men’s 5000m and all finished in the top 10.
Finally Andy Norman, Ronhill team member, also ran in the 5000m finishing in 14:30:69 – 33secs behind the winner. Andy was disappointed at his 11th place finish, as he set a PB of 14:06 earlier in the month.
Aldershot, Farnham & District athlete Isabel Pooley has been one of the early high lights fof the summer season with a High Jump of 1.79 in the Under 17 group. Furthermore Isabel is to represent England at a Jumps International in Apeldoorn, Holland.
Congratulations to Martin Williams from Ronhill Cambuslang for a fantastic race on Sunday at the Edinburgh Marathon. Martin finished the 26.2mile course in 2hrs 18mins 24secs. 24 seconds ahead of Andi Jones from Salford Harriers.
Stephanie Twell produced a personal best 4:03.62 to win the 1,500m title at the 55th Janusz Kusocinski Memorial, a European Athletics Premium meeting, in Warsaw on Sunday
Leeds City AC took all the medals in the under-17s 1500m at the recent North of England Championships in Gateshead. Michael Wood took gold, with team-mates Gordon Benson and Elliot Todd winning silver and bronze.
National Road Relay Championships 2009
In April the summer season has made a great start. The regional 12-Stage & 6-Stage Road Relay Championships took place on the weekend of the 4th April and Ronhill sponsored clubs matched the amazing summer weather with some first class results. Aldershot, Farnham & District (AFD) women came first in the southern area whilst the men's team came second. In the midlands Tipton Harriers men managed a fantastic 1st, which was mirrored in the northern section where Leeds defended their position as the number one men's team. The Leeds City ladies team came in a very respectable 4th.
On the weekend of the 18th April the National road relays took place and
Bristol & West’s formidable and ultra consistent ladies team made the medal podium yet again to back up their outstanding silver medal success in the National cross-country championships, while the men defied the loss of star U23 international Tom Russell and late withdrawal of Rob Whalley through injury to still maintain a position among the top ten teams in the country in a field boosted (or compromised according to one's point of view) by a host of foreign internationals.
The AFD Ladies were beaten into 2nd place by Charnwood who held on to there lead despite AFD putting strength on the last 3 legs which included the 2 fastest legs of the day Steph Twell and Charlie Purdue. The gap of 7 second over the 6 stages made for a thrilling race. The men came in 10th with some good individual runs.
Leeds City AC men came in 8th just ahead of Bristol and West and AFD. In the ladies 6-stage championship Leeds ladies came in 13th.
Lets hope the teams (and the weather) carry on the great start this summer.
National Cross-Country Championships News!
On a beautiful day in February, the weekend of 21st to be exact, the 2009 National cross country championships were held at Parliament Hill in London. Despite the glorious sunshine the course was muddy and heavy in places, which challenged all those who ran the various races.
Athletes at Leeds City AC said of ‘Parly Hill’ that “with its combination of rolling hills, sticky mud, fast, dry stretches and even a bit of woodland, if you do well there, you can call yourself a cross-country runner.”
So how did the day go?
Ronhill sponsored Aldershot, Farnham and District AC won the under 13s Girls & Boys, under 15s Girls, under 17 Men and Women and Junior Women. That’s all the junior categories bar 2 - Good effort!
Kate Haynes from AFD said, “I calculate that 25 AFD athletes came away with one or more national medals! Amazing! As well as the medal winners there were also some very promising results from further down the field from athletes who I am sure will feature in future medal tallies so well done!”
AFD athletes who came in the individual medal positions of their respective categories were: Andy Vernon, Steph Twell, Lilly Partridge, Louise Small, Jonny Hay, Emelia Gorecka, Harvey Dixon & Harriet Preedy.
In the Senior Women category the latest addition to the Ronhill brand Bristol & West AC came 2nd. Also in the Senior Women’s Michelle Sikes individually finished in 6th place to help lead Oxford University to a top 10 finish.
For Ronhill sponsored Leeds City AC there were some excellent performances all round. Two of the club’s younger athletes put in top twenty finishes and the Under-20 Men took Silver in a desperately close contest. The men’s Senior team, which has won the National title in each of the last three years and deprived of almost all its ‘front end’, brought home medals for the seventh successive year – a club record if not a post-war National best! Martin Hilton (26th) produced his highest national finish at the 13th attempt, and Darran Bilton came right through to 33rd with a National as good as any he’s ever managed in even more years.
Next year it’s Roundhay in Leeds turn to host the National XC and the challenge is on for Leeds City to retake the Senior Men’s title on home turf!
This weekend saw the area Cross-Country Championships take place accross the UK. Ronhill sponsorship clubs Aldershot, Farnham & District (AFD), Leeds City, Tipton Harriers and Salford Harriers all rose to the challenge and put in some exceptional performances.
AFD had a fantastic day with 8 team wins out of a possible 10. Across the various age groups AFD individual athletes won 7 out of 10 races and also had 2 second place finshes and numerous top 10 spots.
AFD's Kate Haynes explains "My man of the match, in a day when there were lots of candidates, was Leigh Chapman, first major championship win as a bottom year U13!" Whilst "Club person of the day was Emma Pallant who was quite happy to run to close the U20W team if required, in spite of clearly not being recovered having being unwell in the week. Thankfully she was not required!"
Kate summed up the infectious atmosphere for further glory...."Bring on the National!"
There were many proud faces at the Aldershot, Farnham & District awards ceremony on Sunday. Awards were given to star performers and to those that showed exceptional improvements over the past year. Ronhill sponsored awards for the Under 20s went to Steph Twell and the under 18s award went to Jonny Hay.
Leeds City AC senior men won an unprecedented 7th title in the Northern Cross-Country Championships at Sherdley Park, St Helens. David Webb came home second overall with a time of 34:56. Darren Bilton was placed in the top 10 and Alan Buckley in the top 20 which Martin Roscoe just missed out on.
Ronhill sponsored Tipton Harriers success was driven by Phil Nicholls who came first in the senior men. Phil was one of 3 Tipton athletes who made the top 5 positions. Ryan Mcloed and Phil Hinch completed the trio in the top 5. Martin Williams was the forth Titpton athlete to make the top 20 finishing in 16th position.
Congratulations to all runners in Great Britain Cross-Country teams last weekend at the European Cross-Country championships in Belgium. All of us at Ronhill would like to give a special mention to 5 Aldershot, Farnham & District athletes (see results below) coached by Mick Woods. The European Championships close a fantastic 2008 for Mick and his athletes, and ensured Great Britain were the top team at the championships.
Highlighted results are as follows:
Women’s U20: 1st Steph Twell, 2nd Charlotte Purdue, and 5th Emma PallantThese results were part of a complete dominance of the women’s juniors. Every place in the top 6 was taken by GB, which ensured Great Britain took home the junior team honours. Ukraine took silver whilst early pace setters Russia ended with bronze medals in the junior race after succumbing to the British talent.
Men’s U23: 2nd Andy Vernon, 4th Ben Lindsay
All the British athletes in this field had a strong set of results to take the title of team champions.Well-done to all those that took part, from the athletes to the coaches and supporters. Good luck for the rest of the season.
For the third successive year Leeds City’s Senior Men will represent Great Britain in the European Clubs’ Championship – according to Greg Hull - in Istanbul, early in the New Year. However unlike last year, when the lads walked into Europe unopposed, they had something of a fight on their hands at Sefton Park, as both Cambuslang and Swansea turned up and the Welsh champions at any rate set about the business as though they meant it. It was a bonny effort, and was accompanied by several good grafts, and one superlative effort, among the younger ladsFrom early in the first of the three laps there was the reassuring sight of three of the Club’s six nominated runners well clear of the other contestants. Leading the battle was James Walsh, who had a really good run in strong company, though he reckoned he’d “like to have been just a bit higher up” than the 13th place he finished. Dave Webb admitted to a very heavy training week before the race, and probably wasn’t quite as sharp as he could have been as a result, but 23rd, and second home in the race within a race, was good enough for anybody in late November. For most of the race the Club also had the third ‘placer’ in Adam Grice, but he clearly wasn’t at his aggressive best (in fact after the race he looked a bit green about the gills), and he was just caught on the run-in by the first Cambuslang runner, Bruce Raeside (yes, the Scots had been doing a bit of ‘borrowing,’ in this case from Notts. A.C., but as they only had a bare four it didn’t really matter) to finish 43rd.The real challenge was coming from Swansea, who had the next two in after Adam; but the whole thing was tidied up by Mike Burrett in 71st place, continuing his return to form and running with considerable determination; and acting as an insurance policy Chris Birchall (90) came in just behind the third Swansea man and just ahead of the fourth for a deserved qualification. July Young Athlete of the Month: Annika Jarman
June Young Athlete of the Month: James Taylor
Ronhill signs exclusive sponsorship deals with Aldershot & Farnham District and Leeds City.
Ronhill is proud to announce new sponsorship agreements with two of the best performing running clubs in the UK. As part of the sponsorship agreements both clubs will be provided with bespoke club kit and race promotions to develop the juniors.
Both teams enjoyed a successful weekend at the Northern and Southern Road Relays.
Aldershot & Farnham District
AFD’s junior lead the way with an impressive haul of wins and top 4 finishes, although the seniors and veterans were also not going to let the juniors have all the glory.
1st: Under 13 girls, under 15 girls, under 17 women, under 17 men, senior & veteran women
2nd: Under 13 boys, Senior men
4th: Under 15 boys
Mike Neighbour, chair of AFD, commenting on the sponsorship arrangement said ‘The Ronhill brand have been leaders in athletics clothing for many years and we at AFD believe that their excellence in clothing complements our clubs performance. We look forward to their support in the implementation of our development policy, which is across all disciplines of Athletics from beginner to elite.’
Leeds City
Leeds also had a great weekend up in Hartlepool for the Northern Road relays. Leeds City senior men’s ‘A’ team came first while the senior ladies ‘A’ team came a respectable 8th. Outside of the counties boarders the Yorkshire 6-stage and 4-stage Road Relay Championships also took place at the same time. This offered Leeds City the opportunity to make history – the chance to win two team titles in the same race with different teams! The Leeds City ‘A’ and ‘B’ teams took their unique opportunity and, to make the weekend perfect, the Women’s team went away with a set of Yorkshire Silvers.
