Latest News
Week Ending 4th September
2 September 10
Club News
- Ridgeway Relays – Congratulations to Mike Beard for completing the gruelling 85 mile Ridgeway Challenge on Saturday 28th/Sunday 29th August in 16 hrs 21 mins and finishing 2nd overall – a remarkable achievement.
- Pewsey Half Marathon – A good turnout at Pewsey on Sunday 29th August with Gary O’Brien finishing second and the mens team (Gary O’Brien, Steve Goulding and John Lewis) taking the mens team prize, Jo Parkes came third lady.
- Wootton Bassett Mayors 5K – again a good turnout from the Club, Alex Fisher took second place, Matt Raymond third (and 1st Junior), Tess Osmond was the third lady to finish.
- Coate Water 5k – we were well represented at the Grassroots 5k on Wednesday 1st September, highest finishers were Tom Campbell 2nd, John Billett 3rd (and 1st Male V40), Alex Bampton 8th, John Lewis 10th, and Oliver Cooke 21st, Tess Osman was 1st Ladies V45 and we were 1st Senior Men team – congratulations to all the other club members who took part.
It has been a busy few days for the road and cross country runners!
Swindon Leisure Passport – be sure to check out the note below about the oppotunity to purchase a discount leisure passport.
Forthcoming Events
BBQ – Saturday 4th September – do not forget the barbecue being held on Saturday 4th September, from 7.00pm – 11.00pm at Supermarine, both the bar area and the outside barbecue are available to us.
Tickets are £5 adult, £4 under 13 before the day (£7 and £5 respectively if purchased on the day) and are now on sale from all training venues. This is open to non members so why not bring the family and friends!
Road Races
Saturday 4th September – Malmesbury Carnival 10k Road Race – 11.00am – full details from the website..
Track and Field
Saturday 4th September – both the Senior Ladies and Mens teams are in action for the final time this season, the Ladies travel to Basingstoke for the final league match while the Mens are at Copthall defending the BAL Plate which they won last year.
Posted by Ray Bell
Club Track Records
2 September 10
Two new records have been set;
- Under 15 Boys 3000m – Joe Grant set a new record of 9m 55.3s in the SEAA age group championships at Hendon (Copthall) on 25th July.
- Under 15 Girls 75mh – Keeleigh Chapman improved her existing club record when she finished 3rd in the English Schools final at Birmingham on 9th July in 11.26s (Keeleigh – sorry for the delay in updating the records!!)
When done to both athletes!
Posted by Ray Bell
Week Ending 28th August
27 August 10
Club News
Swindon Leisure Passport – be sure to check out the note below about the oppotunity to purchase a discount leisure passport.
BBQ – Saturday 4th September – do not forget the barbecue being held on Saturday 4th September, from 7.00pm – 11.00pm at Supermarine, both the bar area and the outside barbecue are available to us.
Tickets are £5 adult, £4 under 13 before the day (£7 and £5 respectively if purchased on the day) and are now on sale from all training venues. This is open to non members so why not bring the family and friends!
Forthcoming Events
Road Races
Wednesday September 1st – 7.15pm at Coate Water – 5k Run with a 300 runner limit – and its free!
Yes, it really is free. There are no winners prizes or memento’s but there will be full results available. Race HQ will be in the Sun Inn where everyone is welcome for a post race chat and a drink or two. St John Ambulance will be in attendance and the race will be run under UKA rules. Oh and did we say, its free.
Enter via www.grassrootsevents.co.uk and collect your number on the night from The Sun Inn 5.30pm onwards. All abilities welcome – Minimum age is 13 yearsAbsolutely no entries on the night.
Saturday 4th September – Malmesbury Carnival 10k Road Race – 11.00am – full details from the website..
Track and Field
Saturday 4th September – both the Senior Ladies and Mens teams are in action for the final time this season, the Ladies travel to Basingstoke for the final league match while the Mens are at Copthall defending the BAL Plate which they won last year.
Posted by Ray Bell
Swindon Leisure Passport
27 August 10
Although there has been some interest in purchasing a Swindon Leisure Passport at a discounted rate we still need more for the club to be recognised as a corporate member and enable members to take advantage of the discount – in brief the scheme is as follows;
The Council has offered the club corporate membership of the Leisure Passport scheme, this will entitle all members to get discounted rates on both the individual and family Leisure Passports. Full details are available by clicking here.
The savings are significant – approximately £100pa discount for a single membership, £200pa discount for a joint membership.
To qualify we need to find 5 new members to sign up. If you currently do not have Leisure Passport and are interested in getting one at a discounted rate or if you want more details of the scheme please contact Steve Connolly.
Once the Club has the 5 new members we can achieve corporate membership and thereafter any members who renews an existing passport can do so at a discounted rate.
Posted by Ray Bell
Week Ending 14th August
9 August 10
Ooops – I missed publishing last weeks news and highlights – sorry…………………
So here are two weeks of club activities –
Pewsey 5 – congratulations to Gary O’Brien who finished 3rd, full results are available here.
BAL Cup Semi Final – After finishing 3rd in the cup semi final the senior mens team now go into the BAL Plate Final which is being held at Copthall on Saturday 4th September to see if we can retain the trophy won last year.
Senior Mens League – The final match in the 2010 Southern Mens League Division 2 was held at Battersea Park on Saturday 31st July. Following four late call offs, decathlete Adrian Hemery unavailable and athletes sustaining injuries on the day, it was a rather depleted squad that finished the day in fourth place and a final finish in 17th place out of 25 teams. A full report of the day can be found here, full results here.
Southern Ladies League – Due to late call offs and holidays, it was a small team of just 6 athletes that represented Swindon Harriers last Saturday in the fourth match of this year’s Southern Women’s Track & Field league. Despite each of the team competing in several events each, there just simply wasn’t enough athletes available on the day. Despite this with just the relays to go, Swindon were in third place despite the shortage of athletes but Bexley overtook them to relegate Swindon to fourth place. A full report can be found here.
The women’s team have just one more league fixture on 4th September at Basingstoke to end the season. They are currently in 11th place out of 16 but due to the points total, are not in serious danger of relegation.
South West Inter Counties – congratulations to the athletes who represented Wiltshire in Exeter last Sunday; Lillie Bellemy won the under 15 girls 1500m, Will Baker 4th in the under 17 Boys 100m in a prsonal best of 11.78s and 3rd in the long jump, Charlotte George 5th in the under 13 girls 1500m in a personal best of 5.17.12, Beth and Zoe Large in the under 17 girls Discus and Hammer respectively.
Bath Open Track and Field Meeting – this is being held at Bath University on Sunday 15th August, details and entry forms can be accessed through the fixtures page.
Barbecue – This is on Saturday 4th September, from 7.00pm – 11.00pm at Supermarine with the bar area and the outside barbecue both available to us. Tickets are £5 adult, £4 under 13 before the day (£7 and £5 respectively if purchased on the day). Tickets are now on sale from all training venues.
Swindon Leisure Passport – Corporate membership will enable all members to get discounted rates on both the individual and family Leisure Passports. To qualify we need to find 5 new members to sign up. If you currently do not have Leisure Passport and are interested in getting one at a discounted rate or if you want more details of the scheme please contact Steve Connolly.
Once the Club has the 5 new members we can achieve corporate membership and thereafter any members who renews an existing passport can do so at a discounted rate.
Important News from England Athletics re affiliation renewal – for details please see the Membership Section.
Posted by Ray Bell
Week Ending 31st July 2010
27 July 10
UPDATE FROM ENGLAND ATHLETICS
The club has recently received a letter from England Athletics relating to annual affiliation fees, the following is an excerpt from this letter;
‘if the affiliation fee for any athlete (who has competed in a competition under UKA rules in the current season) were not paid by 30th July, that athlete would not be permitted to renew their competition licence as a member of the club for the next 12 months’
Effectively this means that anyone who has not paid their affiliation fee by 30th July would be unable to compete under UKA rules for the next 12 months,
Please check that you have paid your club membership and EA affiliation fee for the current year, starting 1st April 2010, we would not like to see anyone prevented from competing for the next 12 months.
If in doubt please check with Tess Osman.
Club News
BAL Cup Semi Final
Our senior men finished 3rd beating a number of BAL clubs and now wait to see if this is enough to reach the Plate final in September. Although the only winner was Rob Warensjo in the Pole Vault it was again a solid team performance across all events.
The ladies, although only able to field a team of 5, again turned in a sound team performance with most competing in more than one event and finished 5th – only four points behind the next club. Unfortunately they did not make the Plate final in September.
Swindon results can be found here.
Senior Mens League
After their efforts last week the senior men are off to Battersea Park this coming Saturday. 31st July for the last Southern Mens League match of teh season. As a result of the improved performances in the last two match the team is settled into mid table but are looking to improve on this at this final match.
Please contact Jim Elder. for transport arrangements as Swindon Town have a footballmatch this Saturday which will make parking at the County Ground difficult.
Race for Life
Congratulations to all the members who either took part in the 5k or 10k events and also to all those who acted as marshals on the two days – as ever special thanks to Gordon Hayes who puts so much work into this event.
Barbecue
This is on Saturday 4th September, from 7.00pm – 11.00pm at Supermarine with the bar area and the outside barbecue both available to us. Tickets are £5 adult, £4 under 13 before the day (£7 and £5 respectively if purchased on the day). Tickets will be on sale from mid July.
Swindon Leisure Passport
Corporate membership will enable all members to get discounted rates on both the individual and family Leisure Passports. To qualify we need to find 5 new members to sign up. If you currently do not have Leisure Passport and are interested in getting one at a discounted rate or if you want more details of the scheme please contact Steve Connolly.
Once the Club has the 5 new members we can achieve corporate membership and thereafter any members who renews an existing passport can do so at a discounted rate.
Posted by Ray Bell
Week Ending 24th July 2010 - IMPORTANT UPDATE
20 July 10
UPDATE FROM ENGLAND ATHLETICS
The club has recently received a letter from England Athletics relating to annual affiliation fees, the following is an excerpt from this letter;
‘if the affiliation fee for any athlete (who has competed in a competition under UKA rules in the current season) were not paid by 30th July, that athlete would not be permitted to renew their competition licence as a member of the club for the next 12 months’
Effectively this means that anyone who has not paid their affiliation fee by 30th July would be unable to compete under UKA rules for the next 12 months,
Please check that you have paid your club membership and EA affiliation fee for the current year, starting 1st April 2010, we would not like to see anyone prevented from competing for the next 12 months.
If in doubt please check with Tess Osman.
Club News
National Young Athletes League
The final meeting of the season took place last Sunday at the County Ground, our young athletes team, despite missing a number of regular athletes, competed very well coming second behind potential promotion favourites Milton Keynes and well in front of local rivals Gloucester.
Highlights of the meeting were Jess Salles improving her Under 17 Ladies Pole Vault club record to 1.80m and wins for Johan Warensjo (under 13 boys 75m hurdles and high jump), Emma Pietek (under 15 girls 800m), Emma Jane (under 13 girls 800m), Alex Bampton (under 17 boys 800m), Charlotte George (under 13 girls 1200m), Joe Grant (under 15 boys 1500m), Robyn Matthews (under 15 girls discus), Callum Bampton (under 13 boys shot) and the under 13 boys 4×100m relay.
BAL Cup Semi Final
Both our senior men and ladies are in action this coming Saturday, the 24th July, in the British Athletics League Cup semi final at Yate. Our men won this trophy last year so have set a high standard to live up to – it should be a good afternoon of athletics with a short programme of 10 events in 100 minutes.
Bath Medal Open Meeting
There is an open track and field meeting being held at the University of Bath on Sunday 15th August with events for all age groups from under 11s upwards. The full timetable and entry form can be accessed through the entry on the fixtures list.
Race for Life
This annual event will be held again this coming weekend at Lydiard Park, full details can be found by clicking here. .
Barbecue
This is on Saturday 4th September, from 7.00pm – 11.00pm at Supermarine with the bar area and the outside barbecue both available to us. Tickets are £5 adult, £4 under 13 before the day (£7 and £5 respectively if purchased on the day). Tickets will be on sale from mid July.
Swindon Leisure Passport
Corporate membership will enable all members to get discounted rates on both the individual and family Leisure Passports. To qualify we need to find 5 new members to sign up. If you currently do not have Leisure Passport and are interested in getting one at a discounted rate or if you want more details of the scheme please contact Steve Connolly.
Once the Club has the 5 new members we can achieve corporate membership and thereafter any members who renews an existing passport can do so at a discounted rate.
Posted by Ray Bell
Week Ending 17th July 2010
14 July 10
Club News
Track and Field
Another busy weekend for our track and field athletes at both the English Schools Track and Field Finals at Birmingham and at Bromley with our Senior Mens in action.
English Schools Track and Field Finals
- There was an outstanding performance from Keeleigh Chapman who finished 3rd in the Under 15 Girls 75m Hurdles achieving another personal best and club record!!!! The first English Schools medallist for some considerable time – well done Keeleigh!
- Our other competitor at the English Schools, Lillie Bellamy, ran well in a very competitive field in the Under 15 Girls 1500m finishing in a time of 4.52.84 but unfortunately did not make the final.
Congratulations to both girls for performing consistently well throughout the season and being selected for these finals.
Southern Mens League
- At Bromley the senior men turned in their best performance of the season – hoping for a good result to move well clear of the relegation zone, the team performed superbly winning the meeting in a close finish with Hastings. Whilst every athlete played their part in a great day, a special mention must go to the club’s throwers and long distance runners who achieved maximum points.
- The throwers, Adrian Hemery, Allan Barnard, Darren Akers, Andy Brown and Tony Jackson combined to win 40 out of 40 points in the four throwing events, whilst distance runners Andy Fulford and Matt Blackmore doubled up to win 20 out of 20 in the 3,000 metres steeplechase and 5,000 metres. Plenty of water was consumed thereafter!
- We again almost managed to fill every event on the card, only the B race in the 110 Hurdles remained empty. This is reflected in the overall points score of 123.5, the highest for some years. For a full report read here., full results can be found here
National Young Athletes League
The last league match of the season is this coming Sunday, the 18th July, again at the County Ground track at a meeting jointly hosted by Marlborough and Gloucester.
Road Races/Multi Terrain
A number of new races are being added to the Road Race fixture list –
- Brecon Lions 10 Mile Road Race on 1st August
- Aldbourne 10k Road Race on 12th September
- Kidderminster 10k Road Race and Fun Run on 19th September
- Crystal Palace 10k Open Road Race (incorporating the SEAA 10k championship) on 3rd October
Sponsored Run
A sponsored run/walk will be held at the track on Wednesday 21st July to raise funds for a clubhouse/cabin to be installed at the side of the track. It is currently planned to start this event at 6.30 with the under 11s, 6.45 for 11-18 girls and 7.00 for 11-18 boys but senior athletes and parents are more than welcome to join in on any of these sessions. Sponsorship forms are available at the track.
Barbecue
This is on Saturday 4th September, from 7.00pm – 11.00pm at Supermarine with the bar area and the outside barbecue both available to us. Tickets are £5 adult, £4 under 13 before the day (£7 and £5 respectively if purchased on the day). Tickets will be on sale from mid July.
Swindon Leisure Passport
Corporate membership will enable all members to get discounted rates on both the individual and family Leisure Passports. To qualify we need to find 5 new members to sign up. If you currently do not have Leisure Passport and are interested in getting one at a discounted rate or if you want more details of the scheme please contact Steve Connolly.
Once the Club has the 5 new members we can achieve corporate membership and thereafter any members who renews an existing passport can do so at a discounted rate.
Posted by Ray Bell
Week Ended 2nd July 2010 - Updated Again!
30 June 10
Club News
- Last weekend was very busy for our track athletes with both our senior men and senior ladies’ teams in action. In addition Paddy North was competing at the UK Trials in Birmingham.- see below for more details of all these events.
The mens team is back in action on Saturday 10th July at Bromley.
- Similarly our road runners have been busy over the last few days at the Downlander challenge last weekend and the 2nd Back in a Flash race on Wednesday 30th June – fuller report below;
- Plans for the barbecue on 4th September are progressing well, further details are below.
- The club has the opportunity to become a corporate member of the Swindon Leisure Passport, for further details see below.
- A sponsored run/walk will be held at the track on Wednesday 21st July to raise funds for a clubhouse/cabin to be installed at the side of the track. It is currently planned to start this event at 6.30 with the under 11s, 6.45 for 11-18 girls and 7.00 for 11-18 boys but senior athletes and parents are more than welcome to join in on any of these sessions. Sponsorship forms are available at the track. More details will follwo in due course.
- Best of luck to Keeleigh Chapman and Lillie Bellamy who are both competing in the English Schools Track and Field finals at Alexander Stadium, Birmingham on Friday 9th and Saturday 10th July.
Track Competitions
The senior mens team travelled to Hillingdon in west London on Saturday for the fourth fixture in this season’s Southern League. With decathlete Adrian Hemery making a comeback after a broken ankle, and all events covered, we were optimistic about our chances.
As it turned out, the team led the meeting for a large part of the afternoon, but following a few weaker events near the end, succumbed to the home club Hillingdon and finally finished in second place. Still, the score of 114.5 was the highest team points score away from Swindon for a long time and has helped to ease the relegation worries by moving them up to 16th in the 25 team league table.
For a full report read here., full results can be found here
The senior ladies competed at home with a team short of a few people owing to Glastonbury and other committments and although they finished 4th out of 4 they all covered virtually every event with everyone competing in multi events.
Special mention for Pauline Morgan – predominately a road runner – who came off the track judges stand at short notice to compete in the 3000m and who immediately after the race was back adjusting hurdles for the next race!! Also Beth Bermingham – a sprint hurdler – who collapsed suffering from the heat in the 1500m and Morgan Gascoigne who suffered from her asthma after filling in the 4×400m relay.
There were event wins from Becky White (100m A, Long Jump A, Triple Jump A), Morgan Gascoigne (100m B), Dominique Oughton (800m A) and Zoe Large (Discus B), new club records from Debbie Martin (Pole Vault 2.55m), Becky White (Long Jump 5.84m, Triple Jump 12.81m) and Naomi Saxby (under 20 ladies Shot 9.00m) as well as many other excellent performances – a real team effort!. Full results are available from this link.
The final results were very close – Harrow 91 pts, Yeovil 83 pts, Dartford 79 pts and Swindon 77 pts – as a result Swindon remain about half way in the table.
Paddy North – UK Trials
Individually Paddy North was competing in the UK Trials finishing 4th in his heat in a personal best time of 47.24s, a new club record and qualifying for the B final.
Barbecue
This is on Saturday 4th September, from 7.00pm – 11.00pm at Supermarine with the bar area and the outside barbecue both available to us. Tickets are £5 adult, £4 under 13 before the day (£7 and £5 respectively if purchased on the day). Tickets will be on sale from mid July.
Swindon Leisure Passport
Corporate membership will enable all members to get discounted rates on both the individual and family Leisure Passports. To qualify we need to find 5 new members to sign up. If you currently do not have Leisure Passport and are interested in getting one at a discounted rate or if you want more details of the scheme please contact Steve Connolly.
Once the Club has the 5 new members we can achieve corporate membership and thereafter any members who renews an existing passport can do so at a discounted rate.
Road Races/Multi Terrain
Downlander Challenge – congratulations to everyone who took part in this 10 mile multi terrain race in sweltering heat, notable successes were;
2nd Overall – Gary O’Brien
1st Female – Joanna Parkes
1st Vet 50 – Steve Connolly
1st Vet 60 – Mike Affleck
1st Male Team – Gary O’Brien/Alex Fisher/Martin Townsend
1st Female Team – Joanna Parkes/Alison Paddon/Alex Griffin
*Back in a Flash Race 2 *- again many of our members were out on Wednesday evening for the 2nd of the 3 races in this series – notable successes were;
2nd – Gary O’Brien
3rd – Heath Bampton, well supported by his two sons Alex and Callum 7th and 50th
8th – Matthew Raymond
22nd – Steve Connolly
Posted by Ray Bell
Week Ending 26th June
24 June 10
Congratulations to
Keeleigh Chapman – for yet again breaking the Under 15 Girls 75m Hurdles club record when winning and setting a new championship best at the recent South West Schools championship in a time of 11.3 sec.
Lillie Bellamy – for finishing a close 2nd to Loren Bleaken and improving her own ckub record to 4.47.0 in the Junior Girls 1500m at the recent South West Schools championship.
Patrick North – for finishing 4th in 48.23s in the 400m at the England Under 23 Championships.
National Young Athletes League
Although still finishing 3rd there was a much improved performance from the young athletes team at the recent match held at the County Ground. During the match Jessica Salles set an Under 17 Ladies Pole Vault best of 1.70m
Track and Field Events
Southern Mens League The mens team are away at Hillingdon, cars will leave the Coate Water carpark at 10.10am.Southern Ladies League
The next YAL match is this Saturday at the County Ground track, first event is at 12.00 midday.
Road Races
Ridegway Relays – congratulations to all the club members who took part, our A team finished in 10th position and the B team in 35th.
Upcoming Fixtures
See the Fixtures section for full listings.
Road & Multi-Terrain
| Date | Event | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18 Jul 10 | St James' Place 10k | Cirencester | Organised by “Running Somewhere Else” club |
| 01 Aug 10 | Brecon Lions 10 Mile Road Race | Brecon | Further details can be obtained by emailing derekbrecon10@aol.com |
| 22 Aug 10 | Foxtrot 5 Mile | Broughton Gifford | A 5 mile race held in the village of Broughton Gifford near Melksham, Wiltshire |
| 12 Sep 10 | Aldbourne 10k Road Race | Aldbourne | Back after a 4 year break over a scenic and challenging course |
Track & Field
| Date | Event | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 24 Apr 10 | Southern Womens League 1 | Harrow | Bannister Stadium |
| 01 May 10 | Southern Mens League 1 | Reading | |
| 02 May 10 | Young Athletes League 1 | Leamington Spa | Edmonscote track |
| 09 May 10 | Wiltshire AA Championships | Swindon |
Cross Country
The Cross Country season starts in October