KENT LEAGUE CROSS COUNTRY. The last of the season's cross country meetings took place on Saturday March 4th at Tunbridge Wells; Dartford Harriers A.C. medal winners from the four race series were:- Under 15 girls- Ellie Denton- silver; U/17 Hayley Hickmott- joint bronze: U/20 Elaine Murty- joint gold. Results from the Tunbridge Wells race: boys U/15: Nick Wood 12th. girls U/15: Ellie Denton 4th. Zoe Belcher 17th. A.J. Gibbs 23rd. U17: Hayley Hickmott 3rd. U/20: Elaine Murty 2nd. Senior women: Wendy Tester 12th, Gill Skellon 24th, Maureen Farmer 28th.
National Cross Country Champs. Since 1950, Parliament Hill Fields on Hampstead Heath has been home to the National Cross Country Championships. With an expected entry of 8000 competitors over all age categories, there is a 6 % increase since the event was last held here three years ago. On Saturday 25th February,conditions on what is considered a tough and challenging course ,were predictably cold, wet and muddy. Four members of Dartford Harriers A.C. joined the throngs to compete on Saturday. Results: Under 13 Girl - Sally Laimbeer 289th Under 15 Girl - Ellie Denton 62nd Under 17 Woman - Hayley Hickmott 75th Senior Woman - Ruth Ward 280th. Conditions were cold, very windy and very muddy!
KENT
FITNESS LEAGUE RELAYS, SWANLEY PARK 19/2/06
There
were team and individual honours for members of Dartford Harriers A.C. at
the weekend. A fine display of team running saw Dartford Harriers A.C. winning
the Fitness league relays, held at Swanley Park on Sunday 19th February. A
total of 27 teams took part. The 'A' team consisting of one female and four
male runners, started with Elaine Murty on the first leg. Elaine handed over
in second position to Daniel Pyne who had recently returned from injury. Daniel
had a fine run to take the lead, and handed over to Darren Smart who did very
well to maintain second position after being overtaken by Allan Lee, fastest
individual runner of the day. Tony Durey was 'on a mission' to chase down
the Sevenoaks runner on his leg, and a great effort from him meant that he
was able to hand over to Andy Pickett in first position who ran an excellent
leg to finish with the second fastest leg of the day. There was further success
for Dartford's 'B' team who came in fourth with Amy Smith running the fastest
ladie's individual leg of the day, This was further backed up by Dartford's
'C' team who finished in fifth position.
Dartford
Harriers A team after retaining the Kent fitness league relays title
(left to right: Darren Smart, Dan Pyne, Elaine Murty, Tony Farmer "team
manager", Tony Durey and Andy Pickett)
Amy
Smith with a great first leg for the B team
getting the fastest womens time of the day
Elaine
Murty with a good first leg putting
the A team in a strong position in 2nd place
Rosie Powell after a good run in the first leg for the womens team
Steve Hickmott managing to keep the B team in touch with the top 3 teams
Dan Pyne pushed hard to give the A team the lead by a clear margin
Suzi Wiltshire having a solid run for the girls team
Darren Smart ran well to keep the A team in the top 2
Jason
Marchant back to fitness with a fine run to keep
the B team in touch with the top 3
Emma Chivers clocking a good time for the womens team
Tony
Durey having probably the best run of the day
taking the A team into a clear lead with only 1 leg to go
Stuart Waterman keeping the B teams hopes of a top 3 finish alive
Hayley Hickmott running a very fast leg for the womens team
Andy Pickett held his position to give the A team victory
Gary Walton had a great run but the B team just missed out on 3rd place
Ruth Ward running a great anchor leg for the womens team
Andy Pickett and Elaine Murty who both finished first overall to win the mens and womens kent fitness league titles.
Relay
times and results:
Dartford A - Position 1st
1 Elaine Murty 15:46
2 Daniel Pyne 14.22
3 Darren Smart 16.08
4 Tony Durey 14.31
5 Andy Pickett 13.34
Dartford
B - Position 4th
1 Amy Smith 15.16
2 Steve Hickmott 16.47
3 Jason Marchant 15.53
4 Stuart Waterman 15.07
5 Gary Walton 15.01
Dartford
C - Position 23rd
1 Rosie Powell 17.01
2 Suzie Wiltshire 19.46
3 Emma Chivers 19.54
4 Hayley Hickmott 16.43
5 Ruth Ward 18.29
After the Relay presentation hosted by Swanley A.C. it was then time for handing out the League's individual honours. This time there were individual honours for both Andy Pickett and Elaine Murty who took the top prizes in the league. These were exceptional performances as the league has an average of over 300 runners in each race, held over seven races on widely varying terrains. Tony Farmer Team Manager said, " These were impressive individual performances and just reward for their hard work in training over this season. They have also shown great determination in running in every one of the seven races. I would also like to thank all members of Dartford Harriers who have run in, and supported the team".
KENT
LEAGUE, PARKWOOD SCHOOL, SWANLEY 11/02/06
The last of the Kent Senior
League Cross Countries took place at Parkwood School, Swanley on Saturday
11th February, a beautiful of somewhat chilly day. Thia last fixture of the
season was run on a bone dry course after weeks with little rain. High standards
were maintained, with the race won by county champion Mike Coleman. Andy Pickett
had a fantastic run to finish 8th, but with Sam Coombes injured, the Harriers
usual two-pronged attack was muted. Other results:- Tim Orr 43, Tony Durey
57, Stuart Waterman 63, Jason Marchant 73, Steve Hickmott 78, Mark Powell
100. The team finished in 7th place, with a similar end of season final league
position. Dartford were rewarded for their consistency by having three athletes
in the top 25 of the rankings. Andy Pickett in 4th place only just missed
out on an individual award, and Tim Orr was 18th and Tony Durey 23rd.
Kent Cross Country Champs, Wildernesse School Sevenoaks, Jan 7th. Men: U/13: Daniel Sayer 63. U/15: James Standing 7, Philip Butler 28. U/20: Gareth Evans 11, Michael Evans 20. Ladies: U/13: Sally Laimbeer 19, Nicole Gibbs 40. U/15: Ellie Denton 14, Jessica Dean 30, Nicole McQuade 32, Amy Williams 35, Ann-Julie Gibbs 37. U/17: Hayley Hickmott 8, Jessica Dando 18. U/20: Elaine Murty 4. Senior: Jayne Alexander 18, Wendy Tester 32, Ruth Ward 47, Jenny Farmer 54, Gill Skellon 63, Suzie Wiltshire 64, Maureen Farmer 74.
FITNESS
LEAGUE, AVERY HILL PARK 2/01/06
16
Dartord Harriers turned out for the first x country race of 2006 at Avery
Hill Park on 2nd January. It was a great day for Dartford Harriers, The race
was the 6th in the league series out of 7. Andrew Pickett finished in 3rd
place which has secured him 1st place in the league series, Elaine Murty also
had a great run fininshing second lady which now moves her into 1st position
in the ladies league series with one race to go. Sam Coombes was the first
Dartford Harrier home winning the race in his first league outing of the season.
Results: 1st Sam Coombes 27:06, 3rd Andrew Pickett 27:38, 40th Michael Evans 31:15, 53th Darren Smart 32:14, 57th (2nd lady) Elaine Murty 32:20, 77th Carl Gardner 33:06, 108th Steve Hickmott 34:20, 138th (13th lady) Hayley Hickmott 35:24, 174th Tony Farmer 36:37, 198th Paul Hills 38:04, 218th Markus Graves 39:00, 221th (34th lady) Jessica Dando 39:04, 233th Mick Cox 39:49, 239th Bob Coombes 40:41, 253th (48th lady) Gillian Skellern 42:24, 267th (60th lady) Maureen Farmer 44:23.
Here are a few action pics from the race:
The
lead group om the first lap with Sam Coombes
and Andrew Pickett leading the way for the Harriers
Sam Coombes on his way to a good victory
Andy Pickett hanging on to third place
Elaine Murty with a great 2nd place
Tony Farmer with a good run
Markus Graves having a determined run
FITNESS LEAGUE, OXLEAS WOODS 18/12/05 There was another fine turnout by Dartford Harriers on a sunny, but bitterly cold day. Elaine Murty continued her success story by finishing in first position in the ladies race and an excellent 42nd overall There was success also for Andy Pickett who finished in a creditable second position, which now elevates him to first position overall in the league standings. Results:- 2nd Andrew Pickett 30:09, 39th Darren Smart 35:29, 42nd (1st lady) Elaine Murty 35:55, 50th Carl Gardner 36:19, 82nd Steve Hickmott 38:12, 136th (13th lady) Wendy Tester 40:53, 137th Tony Durey 40:54, 149th Tony Farmer 41:32, 154th (20th Lady) Ruth Ward 41:47, 208th (39th Lady) Jenny Farmer 45:37, 216th (44th lady) Gillian Skellon 46:42, 217th Bob Coombes 46:43, 236th (54th lady) Maureen Farmer 51:02.
KENT FITNESS LEAGUE, NURSTEAD COURT 27/11/05 Another excellent turnout from the Harriers with 18 runners and a few first time cross country runners turning out. Andy Pickett was an excellent 4th (3rd overall as the winner was a guest) in another high turnout, and quality field. Elaine Murty finished a very creditable second in the womens event The course provided the opportunity to run through a cattle trough twice with the only exception being Bob Coombes who somehow managed to sidestep and find his way around the side!! Results are below (league positions): 3rd Andrew Pickett 32:56, 38th Darren Smart 37:25, 2nd lady Elaine Murty 38:20, 82nd Carl Smith 40:06, 101st Steve Hickmott 40:51, 108th Mark Powell 41:12, 133rd Tony Farmer 42:35, 143rd Paul Hills 42:58, 149th Steve Clarke 43:08, 23rd lady Wendy Tester 44:30, 32nd lady Ruth Ward 45:36, 190th Mark Smedley 47:56, 56th lady Gillian Skellon 49:52, 202nd Tony Durey 49:55, 209th Bob Coombes 51:41, 69th lady Maureen Farmer 52:56, 91st lady Janet Pyne 1:01:22, 92nd lady Katie Pyne 1:01:26.Here are some action pics from the race:
Andy Pickett
Darren Smart
Elaine Murty
Carl
Steve Hickmott
Mark Powell
Janet Pyne & Katie Pyne
Maureen Farmer
Bob Coombes
Tony Durey & Gill Skellon
Wendy Tester
Tony Farmer
Paul Hills
KENT LEAGUE CROSS COUNTRY, SPARROWS DEN. (19th November 2005). Twenty six athletes from Dartford Harriers A.C. turned out at Sparrows Den, West Wickham, to compete in the third of the Kent League Cross Country races. The course at the Den is a varied one, consisting of almost a mile in woodland, with a testing uphill section, followed by muddy or frosty parkland. The Harriers had representatives in all the age categories, with the best individual performance coming from Elaine Murty, first in the Under 20 ladies. Ellie Denton ran well for fourth in the U/15 girls, with Sam Coombes and Andrew Pickett in twelfth and fourteenth in a hotly contested Senior Mens' race. Showing excellent form were James Standing (seventh U/15 boy) and Hayley Hickmott,( eleventh U/17 lady). Results:ladies: U/13: Nicole Gibbs 27th, Sally Laimbeer 28th. U/15: Ellie Denton 4th, Nicole McQuaid 20th, Anne -Julie Gibbs 34th. U/17: Hayley Hickmott 11th, Jessica Dando 16th. U/20: Elaine Murty 1st. Senior:Rosie Powell 16th Wendy Tester 26th, Susie Wiltshire 49th, Gill Skellon 54th. Men: U/13: Daniel Sayer 46th. U/15: James Standing 7th, Nick Wood 16th, Philip Butler 25th, Joe Green 37th. Senior: Sam Coombes 12th, Andrew Pickett 14th, Tim Orr 50th, Tony Durey 64th, Stuart Waterman 74th, Jason Marchant 103rd, Steve Hickmott 105th, Mark Powell 108th, Bob Coombes 143rd.
Fitness League Swanley Park (13th November 2005). There was a record number of runners (340), for this Fitness league event at Swanley Park. For the second time in three outings the winner was Andy Pickett, Daniel Pyne was in an excellent ninth position but unable to repeat his second postion with Andy at the first league meeting at Canterbury. He was not helped by being taken slightly off course with the front runners whilst in second position. There was an excellent turnout of 18 Dartford Harriers, results of which are shown below. Andy Pickett 1st Daniel Pyne 9th Steve Game 20th Tony Durey 46th Darren Smart 59th Elaine Murty 73rd Jason Marchant 108th Tony Farmer 126th Steven Hicknott 136th Ruth Ward 194th Wendy Tester 203rd Paul Hills 225th Mick Cox 258th Gillian Skellern 269th Susie Wiltshire 271st Markus Graves 272nd Kelly Howes 291st Maureen Farmer 298th. The next league event at Nurstead Court Meopham on Sunday 27th November at 11.00.am.
KENT LEAGUE CROSS COUNTRY, TONBRIDGE The second of the Kent League cross countries on Saturday 29th October took place in Summerhill Park Tonbridge, with the runners challenged by quite a hilly course. Pleasant warm weather compensated for the testing terrain, with twenty Dartford Harriers taking part. Boys: U/13: Daniel Sayer 44. U/15: James Standing 6, Nick Wood 11, Phillip Butler 30. Girls: U/13:Sally Laimbeer 13, Christina Corbidge 17, Natalie Hickmott 23, Rachel Collins 31. U/15: Ellie Denton 5, Sophie Corbidge 6, Nicole McQuaid 27, Ann- Julie Gibbs 33. U/17: Hayley Hickmott 5. U/20: Elaine Murty 2. Senior: Rosie Powell 13, Wendy Tester 27, Susie Wiltshire 48, Gill Skellon 49, Emma Chivers 50, Maureen Farmer 56.