News & Press Reports for 2002

Birmingham League – Coventry

Division 2: 6 Peter Kellie (U20), 40.13; 14 Simon Kellie, 41.25; 27 Bill Griffiths, 43.09; 60 Jeremy Mower, 45.28; 71 Roland Ilott (U20), 45.57; 76 Richard Taylor, 46.10; 90 Peter Lloyd, 46.47; 104 Dave Gresswell, 47.36; 105 Ian Summers, 47.39; 117 Angus Wells, 48.21; 121 Neil Scowby, 48.54; 127 Keith Short, 49.47; 142 Humphrey Phillips, 52.13; 150 John McLean, 53.16; 170 Andy McKenzie, 62.26.

Team: 1 Leamington 123, 2 Halesowen 132, 3 Nuneaton 146, 4 Trentham 153, 5 Birmingham Rowheath 240, 6 Gloucester 254, 7 Solihull & Small Heath 263, 8 Bromsgrove & Redditch 286, 9 Massey Ferguson 347, 10 Dudley & Stourbridge 357, 11 Worcester 375, 12 Chase Harriers 390, 13 Staffordshire University 489.

After 2 races: 1 Leamington 237, 2 Halesowen 296, 3 Nuneaton 327, 4 Trentham 363, 5 Gloucester 479, 6 Birmingham Rowheath 530, 7 Solihull & Small Heath 633, 8 Bromsgrove & Redditch 637, 9 Chase Harriers 639, 10 Worcester 678, 11 Staffordshire University 727, 12 Dudley & Stourbridge 755, 13 Massey Ferguson 787.

B team: 4 Gloucester 664. After 2 races: 1 Leamington 730, 2 Halesowen 864, 3 Worcester 1267, 4 Gloucester 1296

Birmingham League – Senneley’s Park

Gloucester AC finished fifth in division 2 in the first Birmingham League cross-country race at Senneleys Park, Birmingham. The four divisions of the League were incorporated into one event and combined with the Reebok Cross Challenge Series fixture, and featured a field in excess of 1000 athletes.

In the senior mens race, Peter Kellie was first County runner home in 55th place overall in the race in 37.18. He was 8th U20 on the day, and fourth finisher in division 2. Mo Hill was disappointed with his run, coming in 144th overall and 15th in the division in 39.41, while Bill Griffiths was pleased with his timing of 40.26 for 24th. The team was completed by Jeremy Mower, Peter Lloyd and Richard Taylor, all recording times around 43 minutes. Taylor missed most of the summer with a knee injury, but was delighted to be back in cross-country action for his club.

Division 2: 4 Peter Kellie (U20), 37.18; 15 Mo Hill, 39.41; 24 Bill Griffiths, 40.26; 57 Jeremy Mower, 43.24; 61 Peter Lloyd, 43.47; 64 Richard Taylor, 44.04; 78 Ian Summers, 44.45; 99 Luke Herbert, 46.37; 103 Dave Gresswell, 46.47; 105 Keith Short, 47.17; 114 Neil Scowby, 48.18; 133 Arnold Yeomans, 51.00; 135 Humphrey Phillips, 51.29; 151 Andy McKenzie, 60.13.

Team: 1 Leamington 114, 2 Halesowen 164, 3 Nuneaton 181, 4 Trentham 210, 5 Gloucester 225, 6 Staffordshire University 238, 7 Chase Harriers 249, 8 Birmingham Rowheath 290, 9 Worcester 303, 10 Bromsgrove & Redditch 351, 11 Solihull & Small Heath 370, 12 Dudley & Stourbridge 398, 13 Massey Ferguson 440.

B team: 1 Leamington 351, Halesowen 462, 3 Worcester 589, 4 Gloucester 632, 5 Bromsgrove & Redditch 694.

Reebok Cross Challenge

The main race was preceded by the age group races, and Gloucester AC were to the fore early on, with Richard Farrow placing 35th in the U13 Boys race in a field of 78. The U13 Girls race saw Sarah Hopkinson taking a well deserved third place in 11.21. Hopkinson had finished in sixth place in the Liverpool Reebok race, and used the experience gained there to good effect, pacing her run far better to beat all the girls who had finished ahead of her at Liverpool, and only being beaten by two girls who were both a year older.

In the U15 Girls event, reigning Reebok Inter-Counties and National Under 13 Champion Emily Pidgeon continued her domination of her new age-group. She poured on the pressure over the hills to open up a convincing winning margin over Non Stanford (Swansea Harriers), who was also a gallant second at Liverpool, winning by 9 seconds in a time of 12.28.

Alex Felce managed a seventh place finish in 19.42 in the U17 Mens race. Felce suffered from a stitch during the race, robbng him of a higher placing in the 72 strong field.

Stroud Half Marathon

26 – Bill Griffiths 1:16.49 (2nd V45); 49 – Jeremy Mower 1:20.17(pb); 74 – Peter Lloyd 1:22.37; 135 – Dave Gresswell 1:27.07; 136 – Ian Summers 1:27.10; 140 – Dominic Malsom 1:27.27; 254 – Jeff Tyndall 1:33.36; 274 – Camilla Mottram 1:34.25; 429 – Phil Whitmore 1:41.43

National Men’s 6 Stage Road Relays

Gloucester Athletic Club flew the flag at the National Men’s 6 Stage Road Relays at Sutton Park, Birmingham on Saturday, finishing as the leading county team in 60th place of the 72 teams entered. Gloucester AC qualified, along with Cheltenham Harriers and Severn AC, from the Midlands championships, but with Cheltenham not starting, it was left to Gloucester and Severn to fight it out for the honour of being the top local club. Both clubs suffered from having a number of athletes unavailable, and this meant Severn were unable to field a full senior team, having to use U17 Josh Lilly to make up their six, this invalidating their performance as the event requires runners to be at least 17 years of age, the club not counting in the final results.

The National is a step up in standard from the Midlands, featuring all the top clubs from the whole country. The very windy conditions made the course tougher than usual, but on the first leg, Peter Kellie recorded 18.58 over the 3.63 mile loop, only 2 seconds slower than he timed at the Midlands, to finish in 48th place, 34 positions lower than in the Midlands, this defining the difference in standard between the National and Regional events. Severn were led off by Stephen Hale who recorded 20.28 for 67th place, giving Gloucester a lead they were never to relinquish.

Simon Kellie improved by over 40 seconds from his Midlands time with a leg of 19.30 to drop only four places to 52nd, gaining a further 10 seconds over Severn’s Andrew Hussey who gained five places to 62nd in timing 19.40. On the third leg, Lloyd Pritchard recorded 20.29 for 57th place while Severn’s star junior Josh Lilly pulled back six seconds with 20.23 for 63rd. With Mo Hill and Bill Griffiths unavailable, Gloucester had to bring in two more runners. Ian Summers improved by over 30 seconds with his time of 21.13 to finish in 59th place on the fourth leg. A suffering Chris Harvey could only manage 22.02 to leave Severn in 66th, then on leg 5, Gloucester’s Peter Lloyd improved by nearly one minute as he equalled Summers’s time of 21.13, dropping one place to 60th. Severn’s Robin Smith timed 21.12 for 66th.

On the anchor leg, Jeremy Mower was 1 second slower than his previous effort, timing 20.57 for a total time of 2 hours 2 minutes 20 seconds, bringing his team home in 60th place. Nick Gaulder completed Severn’s team in 22.23 for a total time of 2:06.08. The winners of the event, Belgrave Harriers, recorded a total time of 1:44.24.

Road Race Captain Jeremy Mower was pleased with the team’s performance. “We benefited from the knowledge of the course gained at the Midlands event four weeks ago, and, although the conditions were far worse, Simon Kellie, Ian Summers and Peter Lloyd all made big improvements in their times. The difference in the class of the opposition was a bit of an eye opener, but we all enjoyed the day and we did well, and will aim for a top 50 place next year.”

Reebok Cross Challenge – Liverpool

Kate Goodhead finished 20th overall in the senior women's race and 2nd Under 20 in a time of 19.15. The race was race won by international star Liz Yelling in 17.23.

Emily Pidgeon continued where she left off last season when she won the U13 girls title to come home in first place in the U15 girls race in 9.51, 12 seconds ahead of Welsh U15 champion Non Stanford. Sarah Hopkinson, trying to emulate her more illustrious training partner, finished in seventh place in the U13 girls race in 11.02, 22 seconds behind the winner, and 5 places ahead of Forest of Dean AC's Danielle Cinderey-Smith who timed 11.12. This is Hopkinson's first year in this age group, so her performance shows good promise for her chances next season.

In the senior men's race, Peter Kellie finished in 48th place in 26.49, closely followed by his elder brother, Simon. Alex Felce came home in sixth place in the U17 mens race in 16.59 and Richard Farrow was eighteenth in the U13 boys race in 10.44.

Gloucestershire Cross-Country League, Forest of Dean

Gloucester Athletic Club ladies got their cross-country season off to a good start in the first Gloucestershire League fixture at Forest of Dean. Having won the League in 1999/2000 and 2000/2001, Gloucester lost the title to Cheltenham last season. Led home by Catherine O’Carroll in 3rd place in 25.57, the club took first place with Cheltenham, both clubs scoring 16 points, Gloucester getting the verdict by virtue of having their third scorer ahead of Cheltenham’s. O’Carroll was followed in by Helena Trigg in 6th (26.43) and evergreen veteran Beryl Sampson in 7th (26.48). Gloucester had six finishers, with Camilla Mottram 11th in 27.08 and newcomer Emma Jeffery producing a strong finish to take 28th place in 30.00. Liz Feakins placed 33rd in 31.34 to finish as first junior lady.

1 Gloucester AC 16, 2 Cheltenham Harriers 16, 3 Kenilworth 43, 4 Bourton 88, 5 Severn AC 106, 6 Angels RC 107, 7 Droitwich 114.

The senior men took fourth place with Bill Griffiths first club finisher in 15th. Jeremy Mower and Peter Lloyd had a close race, finishing 28th and 29th. Gloucester AC positions – 15 Bill Griffiths V45 38.18, 28 Jeremy Mower 39.32, 29 Peter Lloyd (V40) 39.34, 36 Ian Summers 40.30, 50 Geoff Hanson (V45) 42.02, 58 Dave Gresswell 42.43, 64 Dave Spackman (V55) 43.21, 67 Gary Boon 44.03, 77 Gerry McGarr (V50) 45.17, 110 Andy McKenzie (V40) 54.33, 115 Mike Storey (V50) 55.47.

Team positions – 1 Severn AC 58, 2 Cheltenham 97, 3 Great Western Runners 196, 4 Gloucester AC 216, 5 Kenilworth 219, 6 Thornbury RC 288, 7 Leamington 314, 8 University of Gloucestershire 326, 9 Bitton RR 330.

In the juniors, Ed Baker placed 19th in the U13 girls race in 16.21, Michael Greene 8th out of 27 in the U11 boys in 7.06, S Jones 22nd in the U13 boys in 15.20 and Phil Hanson 7th in the U17 men in 16.37.

Worcester Beacon race

Gloucester AC's Kate Goodhead was the ladies winner for the second year running in the annual Worcestershire Beacon Race over the Malvern Hills. The race, now in its 49th year and organised by Worcester Athletic Club, started and finished in Malvern's Rose Bank gardens and took competitors on a punishing 10km course over the top of the Worcestershire Beacon and North Hill.

This year the race attracted its largest ever field of 260 runners and, in ideal weather conditions, Goodhead finished eigth overall in a time of 47.37, less than four minutes adrift of the winning male runner, and five minutes clear of the second female. Goodhead last month won the World Biathle Championship in Calgari, Sardinia, and is a rising star of the British athletic scene.

Her recent performances and undoubted potential has persuaded Malvern high-tech company CGP Associates Ltd to sponsor her as her career develops. Company business development manager, Derek Cunningham, said: "Kate's performance last Saturday was outstanding and we are looking forward to seeing her win many more events next year."

Gloucestershire County Cross-Country Relay Championships

Gloucester Athletic Club took the three men’s County Championship titles on offer in the County 4x2 mile cross-country championships, organised by Severn AC, at Plock Court.

An exciting race developed between the Gloucester AC and Severn AC ‘A’ teams. Gloucester were without Alex Felce, and had to choose an alternative fourth team member to add to Peter Kellie, Simon Kellie and Mo Hill. It was thought that U17 400m specialist Richard Davenport would fare best over the firm flat course, and he got the verdict ahead of Lloyd Pritchard and Bill Griffiths. In the event, the latter two both ran faster times than Davenport.

Davenport was put on the first leg with the goal of trying to hold on to Severn’s first leg runner, Carlo Toledo. Severn were fresh from their third place in the previous weekend’s Midland cross-country relay championships, and had a very strong team on paper. Davenport did well but could not match the pace over two miles of Toledo and had to dig deep over the closing stages, coming home in 10:25, 20 seconds adrift. The gap of 100m looked as if it could be decisive as Gloucester’s Simon Kellie set off in pursuit of Severn’s Andrew Hussey. In a superb display of relay leg running, Kellie steadily clawed back the deficit, and by three-quarters distance had closed the gap and then went ahead, coming home 8 seconds in the lead, recording 9:36 to Hussey’s 10:04, and handed over to Mo Hill for the third leg. Hill was hoping to be doing the chasing on his leg, but Kellie’s effort saw him take off with a 40m lead over Alex Hope. “I really prefer to be chasing than leading from the front as I’ve got someone to work off. I decided not to go flat out, and let Alex do the hard work to close down over the first mile. We then matched each other stride for stride before I put in an effort over the last 100m to give Peter Kellie a head start on the anchor leg.” Hill recorded 9:56 to give Peter Kellie a small lead over Dave Lander, but the race was now effectively over, Lander having no answer to the younger Kellie brother’s pace, Kellie recording the fastest leg of the day of 9:23, finishing nearly 180m clear in a total time of 39:20.

The Gloucester ‘B’ team comprised Ryan Preddy (11.18), Lloyd Pritchard (10.01), Neil Simpson (10.39) and Jeremy Mower (10.34) for a total time of 42.32.

The Vet 40 award went to Gloucester AC, with the team of Peter Lloyd (10.43), Bill Griffiths (10.18), Gerry McGarr (11.40) and Geoff Hanson (10.53) recording a total time of 43.24. Griffiths’s time was the fastest by a V40.

The Vet 50 section, with three runners rather than four, was also won by Gloucester AC in 36.03, through John McClean (12.01), Stephen Pidgeon (12.29) and Dave Spackman (11.33), Spackman winning the prize for the fastest leg by a V50.

Gloucester AC put in a mixed team, with first leg runner Emily Pidgeon recording the fastest lap by a female in 10.52. The rest of the team was Richard Farrow 11.46, Wayne Booth (guest) 10.56 and Keiron Hornibrook 18.02, Hornibrook finding the distance a different proposition to his favoured sprints.

Midland Road Relay Championships

Gloucester Athletic Club finished 19th out of 115 teams in the Midlands Mens 6 Stage Road Relays at Sutton Park, Birmingham, to secure themselves a place in the National Road Relay Championships at the end of October.

On a perfect autumn day which saw both the individual and the team course records broken, Gloucester AC got off to a solid start through Peter Kellie who ran the fastest leg by any county athlete over the undulating 5.847Km circuit in 18 minutes 56 seconds for 14th place. Kellie made the mistake of easing off slightly at half way and this probably cost him 5 to 10 seconds. “I kick myself for doing this now, but there’s a short out and back section half way round the course, and I eased back on the downhill out section in preparation for the uphill return and lost contact with the group I was in. I never made the gap back up. Now I know the course, I won’t make the same mistake next time. You can’t afford to ease up at all on this course – it’s flat out all the way.” Lloyd Pritchard took over on the second leg and timed 20.27, dropping to 20th place overall. Jeremy Mower ran the third leg in 20.56 to drop a further 6 places to 26th, crucially just outside the top 25 placing needed to gain a place in the National finals. Mower had to deputise for Aidan Mercer who withdrew from the team at the last minute with a heavy cold, and his absence probably cost the team the best part of a full minute. With the pressure on to pull the team back into the top 25, Mo Hill set off on the fourth leg and steadily clawed back places as he went round to lift the team back up to 20th, recording 19.28, the 10th fastest time of the lap. Bill Griffiths picked up another place to 19th on the penultimate leg, timing 20.02, handing over to Simon Kellie who ran 20.11 on the anchor leg to keep the team in 19th place at the finish in a total time of exactly 2 hours 0 minutes 0 seconds.

Gloucester AC fielded three teams with the B team finishing 70th in 2,15.52 and the C team 89th in 2,26.22.

A team – Peter Kellie 18.56 (14th), Lloyd Pritchard 20.27 (20th), Jeremy Mower 20.56 (26th), Mo Hill 19.28 (20th), Bill Griffiths 20.02 (19th), Simon Kellie 20.11 (19th).

B team – Angus Wells 22.26 (84th), Neil Scowby 23.43 (86th), Peter Lloyd 22.08 (79th), Geoff Hanson 22.38 (76th), Dominic Malsom 23.16 (75th), Ian Summers 21.41 (70th).

C team – Dave Gresswell 23.42 (100th), Luke Herbert 22.50 (88th), Andy McKenzie 28.57 (103rd), John McClean 23.36 (92nd), Heath Adams 24.51 (95th), Anthony Lake 22.26 (89th).

Gloucester AC's Emily Pidgeon set yet another UK record as she recorded a time of 5,05.6 at the Gloucester Mile on Tuesday 10th September, breaking the previous age 13 record of 5,08.1 that had stood since 1982. Pidgeon now holds the mile records at ages 11, 12 and 13. The age 10 best belongs to her training partner Sarah Hopkinson.

Avon Track & Field League (4th fixture – Yate)

The Avon League drew to a close with the fourth fixture at Yate on Sunday. With the big two Avon clubs of Bristol and Yate well clear at the top, it was left to Forest of Dean and Gloucester, the two most powerful all round Gloucestershire clubs in the league, to fight it out for third spot. Forest of Dean were one point clear going into the final match, and Gloucester needed to beat them on the day to climb above them and take third place. On the day, Forest of Dean had too many athletes present and finished a deserved third overall to hold onto third place. Gloucester had too many gaps in their team, with no under 13 or 15 boys present, and a number of high profile absentees in Emily Pidgeon, Sarah Shuttleworth and Lorraine Shaw.

Gloucester performed well however, with a full complement of under 15 girls taking third place on the day to lift themselves from sixth to fourth in the final overall placings. The senior ladies only featured two athletes, with Paula Whitcher making her debut for the club, claiming third in the A discus and first in the B shot, and Alex Purcell, the team of two taking third place on the day, leaving the club third overall behind Forest of Dean and Yate.

This makes three age groups of involvement for the Whitcher family, with mum Paula in the seniors and daughters Amy in the under 17 ladies and Frankie in the under 11 girls. A similar range is covered by the Hanson family, with Geoff in the senior/vet men, Richard and Phil in the under 17 men and Sarah in the under 15 girls.

The under 17 men, after a complete absence in the third fixture, returned to re-assert themselves to claim second place on the day, even with a team of only four. Richard Davenport won the 400m hurdles in a league record of 53.9, and the 400m flat in another league record of 48.2, earning himself the ‘Athlete of the match’ award, then anchored the 4x100m relay team to victory, turning a seven metre deficit into a three metre lead at the finish line. Alex Felce won the B races in the 400m hurdles and 400m in 59.9 and 53.9 while Nick Clarke showed good form in the triple jump to take second place with 11.75m. This left them in third place overall, having scored no points in the third match.

The senior men had been hoping to beat Bristol on the day, but the Avon club were too strong, and Gloucester had three crucial gaps, otherwise the result may well have been different. Marc Graham won the high jump, equalling his personal best of 1.85m. He went for 1.90, which would have given him a national grade 3 standard, but retired after he misjudged his run up and caught the right hand upright with his head on the jump, bringing the apparatus crashing down. Graham is confident of being able to clear 2.00m with the right training and is now looking forward to next season. Ian Summers increased his personal best in the hammer by over 5m with a throw of 21.75. The senior men have shown a great team spirit throughout the season with everyone having a go at a range of events, and this has earned them a deserved second place overall.

Gloucester AC have made a big impact in their first season in the league. There were seventeen new league records set overall during the year across the ten teams, and Gloucester claimed seven of them, in most cases breaking the old marks by substantial margins, and all of them with national grade 1 standard performances. Gloucester AC also took away four of the eight available ‘Athlete of the match’ awards, the only one that did not involve a record was Sarah Hopkinson’s national grade 1 winning time in the under 13 girls 800m of 2,32.7 in the second fixture.

Gloucester AC league records set during the season (previous record in brackets)

1st fixture – Richard Davenport MU17 200m 22.2 (22.9)

2nd fixture – Alex Felce MU17 1500m 4,05.2 (4,12.5) (Athlete of the match)

3rd fixture – Emily Pidgeon LU15 1500m 4,51.6 (5,02.2); Sarah Shuttleworth LU17 300m 41.0 (42.7); Lorraine Shaw SL Hammer 61.95 (52.02) (Athlete of the match)

4th fixture – Richard Davenport MU17 400m 48.2 (51.6) (Athlete of the match); 400m hurdles 53.9 (58.7)

Gloucester AC results from the fourth fixture

U11 Girls

75m: A – 7 Alice Duckett 12.7; B – 6 Frankie Whitcher 14.3

Long Jump: A - 6 Alice Duckett 2.50

U13 Girls

100m: A – 6 Georgie Hammond 16.0; B – 3 Emily Duckett 16.1; Guests – Ed Baker 16.1, Katie Edwards 18.1

200m: A – 2 Georgie Hammond 31.0; Guest – Ed Baker 33.8

800m: A – 1 Sarah Hopkinson 2,34.3

4x100m relay: 4th 65.6 (Disqualified)

Long jump: A – 7 Sarah Hopkinson 3.13; B – 5 Emily Duckett 2.79

U15 Girls

100m: A – 2 Grace Fairburn 13.6; B – 5 Ashton Duckett 15.4

200m: A – 4 Laura Collier 30.1; B – 7 Sarah Hanson 32.4

800m: A – 7 Charlotte Avent 2,49.6; B – 4 Sarah Hanson 3,00.3

4x100m relay: 2nd 57.4

Long jump: A – 2 Grace Fairburn 4.49; B – 8 Ashton Duckett 2.86

Shot Putt: A - 2 Sarah Hanson 6.30; B - 5 Laura Collier 4.81

Discus: A - 6 Grace Fairburn 12.40; B - 2 Charlotte Avent 11.79

U17 Men

100m: A – 5 Richard Hanson 13.7; B – 2 Nick Clarke 12.4; Guest – Alex Felce 12.8

400m: A – 1 Richard Davenport 48.2 (League record); B – 1 Alex Felce 53.9; Guest – Nick Clarke 58.0

400 m hurdles: A – 1 Richard Davenport 53.9 (League record); B – 1 Alex Felce 59.9

4x100m relay: 1st 48.8

Triple jump: A – 2 Nick Clarke 11.75; B – 4 Richard Hanson 10.37

Javelin: A – 3 Richard Hanson 20.16

U17 Ladies

100m: A – 3 Amy Whitcher 14.3

200m: A – 4 Gemma Collier 29.6

300m hurdles: A – 2 Gemma Collier 51.0

800m: A – 2 Gemma Collier 2,42.5

Shot putt: A - 3 Amy Whitcher 6.09

Discus: A – 5 Amy Whitcher 13.66

Senior Men

100m: A – 6 Lloyd Pritchard 12.1; B – 5 Andy McKenzie 15.5

400m: A – 4 Lloyd Pritchard 55.3; B – 2 Geoff Hanson

hurdles: A – 2 Peter Kellie 63.8; B – 2 Andy McKenzie 96.6

1500m: A – 2 Peter Kellie 4,10.7; B – 2 Lloyd Pritchard 4,29.7

5000m: A – 4 Ian Summers 17,56.6

4x100m relay: 4 (McKenzie, Short, Summers, Hanson) 58.0

Triple jump: A – 4 Lloyd Pritchard 10.40

High jump: A – 1 Marc Graham 1.85

Hammer: A – 4 Andy McKenzie 27.65; B – 3 Ian Summers 21.75

Javelin: A – 5 Ian Summers 32.08; B – 2 Marc Graham 31.30

Senior Ladies

100m: A – 3 Alex Purcell 14.1

Long jump: A  – 4 Alex Purcell 4.18

Discus: A – 3 Paula Whitcher 14.34; B – 1 Alex Purcell 13.58

Shot putt: A – 3 Alex Purcell 6.10; B – 1 Paula Whitcher 5.28

Vet Men

100m: A – 2 Dave Meadows 14.2; B – 3 Geoff Hanson 14.1

5000m: A – 4 Geoff Hanson 19,03.0; B – 1 Keith Short 19,05.7

Age group results from the fourth fixture

U13 girls: 1 Bristol 101, 2 Forest of Dean 99, 3 Yate 90, 4 Bath 86, 5 Gloucester 42, 6 Bitton 20, 7 Stroud 17, 8 Severn 11

U15 girls: 1 Yate 112, 2 Bristol 98, 3 Gloucester 87, 4 Forest of Dean 79, 5 Bitton 66, 6 Clevedon 55, 7 Bath 54, 8 Stroud 46, 9 Dursley 17, 10 Severn 5

U17 ladies: 1 Yate 119, 2 Forest of Dean 91, 3 Bristol 50, 4 Gloucester 47, 5 Bitton 35, 6 Bath 20, 7 Dursley 10, 8= Clevedon & Stroud 9

Senior ladies: 1 Forest of Dean 138, 2 Yate 93, 3 Gloucester 33, 4 Bitton 32, 5 Bath 26, 6 Bristol 19, 7= Dursley & Clevedon 10, 9 Stroud 9

U13 boys: 1 Bristol 90, 2 Yate 87, 3 Bath 66, 4 Bitton 63, 5 Forest of Dean 26, 6 Stroud 11, 7 Severn 7

U15 boys: 1 Bristol 114, 2 Yate 93, 3 Forest of Dean 92, 4 Stroud 63, 5 Bitton 52, 6 Severn 37, 7 Bath 18, 8 Dursley 8

U17 men: 1 Bristol 137, 2 Gloucester 89, 3= Bitton & Bath 64, 5 Stroud 50, 6 Yate 33, 7= Bitton & Severn 22, 9 Dursley 13, 10 Forest of Dean 8

Senior men: 1 Bristol 183, 2 Gloucester 158, 3 Yate 113, 4 Severn 101, 5 Forest of Dean 87, 6 Stroud 53, 7 Bath 51, 8 Bitton 13, 9= Dursley & Clevedon 6

Overall: 1 Bristol 792, 2 Yate 740, 3 Forest of Dean 620, 4 Gloucester 456, 5 Bath 385, 6 Bitton 345, 7 Stroud 258, 8 Severn 183, 9 Clevedon 102, 10 Dursley 64

Final overall standings

U13 girls: 1 Bristol 40, 2 Yate 31.5, 3 Bath 30 (303 event points), 4 Forest of Dean 30 (282 event points), 5 Gloucester 27, 6 Bitton 15.5, 7 Stroud 15, 8 Severn 9, 9 Dursley 6.5 (Clevedon – no points scored)

U15 girls: 1 Bristol 39, 2 Yate 34, 3 Bath 26, 4 Gloucester 25 (243 event points), 5 Bitton 25 (223 event points), 6 Stroud 22, 7 Clevedon 20, 8 Forest of Dean 16.5, 9 Dursley 4.5, 10 Severn 4

U17 ladies: 1 Yate 40, 2 Bristol 34, 3 Gloucester 31, 4 Forest of Dean 27.5, 5 Stroud 21.5, 6 Bitton 16.5, 7 Bath 20, 8 Clevedon 12.5, 9 Dursley 6 (Severn – no points scored)

Senior ladies: 1 Forest of Dean 39, 2 Yate 36, 3 Gloucester 30.5, 4 Bristol 24, 5 Bath 23.5, 6 Stroud 18.5, 7 Bitton 17, 8 Clevedon 9, 9 Dursley 6, 10 Severn 2.5

U13 boys: 1 Bristol 36, 2 Yate 35.5, 3 Bitton 31, 4 Bath 30, 5 Forest of Dean 23.5, 6 Stroud 21, 7 Dursley 14, 8 Gloucester 7 (24 event points), 9 Severn 7 (23 event points), 10 Clevedon 2

U15 boys: 1 Bristol 40, 2 Yate 35, 3 Stroud 30.5, 4 Bitton 26, 5 Forest of Dean 24, 6 Severn 23.5, 7 Bath 13, 8 Dursley 11, 9 Clevedon 4 (35 event points), 10 Gloucester 4 (26 event points)

U17 men: 1 Bristol 40, 2 Stroud 28, 3 Gloucester 26, 4 Yate 25.5, 5 Bath 24, 6 Bitton 22.5, 7 Forest of Dean 15, 8 Severn 14.5, 9 Clevedon 12.5, 10 Dursley 11

Senior men: 1 Bristol 40, 2 Gloucester 36, 3 Yate 29.5, 4 Forest of Dean 26.5, 5 Severn 23, 6 Stroud 22, 7 Bath 21, 8 Dursley 8.5, 9 Bitton 6, 10 Clevedon 4.45

Overall: 1 Bristol 40, 2 Yate 36, 3 Forest of Dean 29, 4 Gloucester 27, 5 Bath 24, 6 Stroud 22, 7 Bitton 18, 8 Severn 11, 9 Clevedon 7, 10 Dursley 6

Gloucester Athletic Club juniors continue to set new standards with a number of record-breaking performances being achieved over the last week.

Richard Farrow started the ball rolling by setting a new UK age 11 300m best with a time of 46.7 at the Worcester open meeting on Tuesday 13th. The previous record was 47.27. Richard equalled the time the next day in Birmingham on the 14th.

Also at Birmingham, Richard Davenport took the UK under 17 and age 16 bests at 300m, recording 34.4 to beat the times of 34.5 set by Mark Hylton in 1993, and 34.56 set by Kris Stewart in 1996.

On the same Wednesday night, at the BMC meeting in Watford, Alex Felce was having another crack at the European and UK age 15 bests in the 3000m steeplechase. Felce had missed out at the Midland League meeting the week before when he timed 9,46.0, but, running in the A race at Watford, was hoping to draw on his experience gained in the League race to improve by enough to beat both the current UK record of 9,43.8 set by Colin Reitz in 1975 and the European record of 9,42.0. Running a controlled race, Felce finished fifth in 9,38.70, comfortably claiming the two records.

Tanya Bilous installed herself at number one in the U17 ladies hammer Welsh rankings at the Gloucester Hammer meeting on the 20th with a new personal best and Club U17 record throw of 40.51, all the more impressive as she has missed most of the season to concentrate on academic studies, and has only just resumed training.

Avon Track & Field League (3rd fixture – Bath)

Gloucester Athletic Club provided the highlight of the day at the third Avon League fixture at Bath on Sunday, as their Commonwealth Games champion Lorraine Shaw competed in the senior ladies hammer, smashing the league record with a throw of 61.95m.

Shaw had arranged to return home a day early from the European Championships in Germany so that she could compete for her home club. Shaw has been a member of Gloucester Athletic Club for eighteen years, and although she also joined Sale Harriers some eight years ago in order to get the absolute top level of competition she needed to further her career and reach the top, she remains loyal to her roots, and was keen to represent her home city’s club. Shaw’s best throw of 61.95 broke the existing league record of 52.02. Her presence caused quite a stir, with a crowd gathering near the throwing cage to see her compete. The officials allowed a further three throws in addition to the three scheduled competition throws, and Shaw produced efforts of 62.75 and 63.34m to delight the onlookers. She then showed the grace of a true champion by signing autographs by the dozen for all the awe struck youngsters.

For good measure, Shaw also added a win in the javelin. The only other senior lady, Kate Goodhead, was returning from an ankle injury, and won the 1500m in a time of 5,01.7.

Elsewhere, the club had a lot of juniors away on holiday and a number at the National AAAs Under 17 and U15 Championships in Birmingham, so the junior section was rather depleted.

The U13 girls had a good day with Emily Duckett and Adriana Coppola both winning their 75m hurdles races, and helping the 4x100m relay team to victory in 62.2 despite some poor baton changes.

In the U17 ladies, newcomer Sarah Shuttleworth made a sensational debut in the 300m, winning by nearly 30m in a national grade 1 time and new league record of 41.0, eclipsing the old record of 42.7. She also won the 100m in 13.5.

The senior men again had the biggest presence, but an injury to Keith Short in the first 100m of the 3000m ruled him out of any further events, and cost the club several points. Bill Griffiths took first place in the veteran mens section of the 3000m in 9,46.4, with Jeremy Mower not far behind in 10,02.2 as he took second in the senior mens section A string, with Ian summers first in the B string in 10,41.6. Summers also picked up valuable points in the 110m hurdles, long jump and discus. Dave Meadows notched up a second place in the A string of the veteran mens 100m in 14.7, a time that gave him great satisfaction as it was 0.1 seconds faster than his protégé Lucy Williams had timed in her race. Andy McKenzie picked up third place in the B string in 15.4. The men capped off their day with a victory in the 4x400m relay.

U11 Boys

75m: A 4 Gianfranco Coppola 12.5

U13 Boys800m: A 3 Richard Farrow 2,29.8

U13 Girls

70m hurdles: A 1 Emily Duckett 14.1; B 1 Adriana Coppola 15.0

100m: A 4 Emily Duckett 16.4; B 2 Adriana Coppola 15.0; guest Emily Baker 16.5

200m: A 4 Emily Duckett 33.6; B 1 Adriana Coppola 32.2; guest Emily Baker 34.1

1500m: A 2 Sarah Hopkinson 5,10.8

4x100m relay: 1st 62.2

U15 Boys

200m: A 7 Aled Jones 29.2

3000m: A 5 Aled Jones 12,08.2

Long jump: A 7 Aled Jones 3.31

U15 Girls

75m hurdles: A 2 Grace Fairburn 12.9

100m: A 3 Grace Fairburn 13.9

200m: A 2 Grace Fairburn 28.41500m: A 1 Emily Pidgeon 4,51.6 (League record)

U17 Ladies

100m: A 1 Sarah Shuttleworth 13.5; B 1 Lucy Williams 14.8

300m: A 1 Sarah Shuttleworth 41.0 (League record); B 1 Lucy Williams 45.2

1500m: A 1 Lucy Williams 5,04.7

Hammer: A 1 Tanya Bilous 30.36

Javelin: A 5 Tanya Bilous 10.80

Senior Men

100m: A 5 Jeremy Mower 14.4

200m: A 6 Jeremy Mower 30.3; B 4 Bill Griffiths 30.5

800m: A 5 Andy McKenzie 3,07.2; B 1 Jeremy Mower 2,24.6

3000m: A 2 Jeremy Mower 10,02.2; B 1 Ian Summers 10,41.6

110m hurdles: A 3 Ian Summers 26.1

4x400m relay: 1st (Griffiths, McKenzie, Summers, Mower) 4,29.2

Long jump: A 4 Ian Summers 4.44; B 4 Dave Meadows 3.70

Discus: A 5 Andy McKenzie 22.20; B 3 Ian Summers 21.24

Shot put: A 5 Andy McKenzie 7.40; B 4 Bill Griffiths 5.94

Senior Ladies

1500m: A 1 Kate Goodhead 5,01.7

Hammer: A 1 Lorraine Shaw 61.95 (League record)

Javelin: A 1 Lorraine Shaw 26.64

Vet Men

100m: A 2 Dave Meadows 14.7; B 3 Andy McKenzie 15.4

3000m: A 1 Bill Griffiths 9,46.4

AAAs Under 17 Championships

Gloucester AC’s Richard Davenport stunned his rivals at the National U17s championships in Birmingham by winning the U17 400m hurdles at his first attempt. He won his heat in 56.22, over three seconds clear of second place, in his first ever run over hurdles at the distance, and then won the final in an even more impressive time of 53.08 to put himself fourth on the UK all-time list. He beat the current English Schools champion who took the silver medal in 56.76. The three times ahead of him on the list are 52.81, 52.69 and 52.20, and he will have the opportunity to attack these times in the final Avon League meeting at Yate in just over two weeks time."I ran it for a bit of fun and only started doing hurdles practice on Tuesday," said Davenport. "It was a nice change from running 400m."

Kate Goodhead from Slad sampled the Commonwealth Games triathlon course as she took part in the National Aquathon Championships in Manchester. The 17-year-old Cirencester College student, who is a member of Gloucester AC and is backed by sponsorship from CGP Associates, won the 17 to 19 age group crown. The event was held at Salford Quays along the route used by the Games as the competitors swam for 600 metres and then embarked on a five-kilometre run. The medals were then presented by Canadian Olympic triathlon champion Simon Whitfield.

Goodhead also competed in the Early Bird series in Devon and won her age group before trying a biathlon in Weymouth. She impressed enough there to be selected for Great Britain for an event in Sardinia in September.

Midland Men’s Track & Field League (4th fixture – Sutton Coldfield)

Points for Graded Officials – 15

Team totals (excluding officials points) – 1 Kettering 240; 2 Notts 211; 3 Yate 192; 4 Nuneaton 187; 5 Charnwood 169; 6 Kidderminster & Stourport 166; 7 Gloucester 159; 8 Royal Sutton Coldfield 74

Revenge was sweet for Richard Davenport as he set a new British Schools' record at the Scotstoun Stadium, Glasgow. Only seven days after his surprise defeat at the hands of Essex athlete Simon Toye in the English Schools Championships, Davenport showed the mettle of a true champion with a stunning performance.

Representing England at the Home Countries international match in Scotland, the 16-year-old Gloucester AC and King's School sprinter won the 400 metres in 47.69 seconds to slice twelve one-hundredths of a second off British international Mark Hylton's previous record.

More than that, it left Toye trailing a distant second in 49.25 and proves that Davenport's English Schools run was a temporary blip.

"I was angry after last week's defeat and I felt I had let myself down as well as my family and coach," said Davenport. "I was focused on this race and even though I was in lane eight, I ran my own race and was pleased with the result."

Davenport also picked up a gold medal as part of the victorious England 4x400m relay team.

Alex Felce was third in the 1500m steeplechase.

Avon Track & Field League (2nd fixture – Yate)

U11 Boys

75m: A – 5 Gianfranco Coppola 12.2

600m: A – 3 Ellis Waugh 2.02.6; B – 3 Matthew Hayward 2,11.4

High Jump: A – 1 Matthew Hayward 1.11; B – 1 Ellis Waugh 1.05

U13 Girls

100m: A – 3 Rachael Smith 14.6; B – 2 Adriana Coppola 14.5

200m: A – 5 Rachael Smith 32.4; B – 1 Adriana Coppola 31.8; Guest – Sarah Hopkinson 30.6

800m: A – 1 Sarah Hopkinson 2,32.7

U15 Boys

100m: A – 7 Aled Jones 13.9

400m: A – 7 Aled Jones 64.3

Javelin: A – 7 Aled Jones 16.85

U15 Girls

100m: A – 7 Laura Collier 14.1; B – 6 Sarah Hanson 15.1

200m: A – 1 Grace Fairburn 26.8; B – 3 Laura Collier 29.2

800m: A – 5 Grace Fairburn 2,47.8

Long jump: A – 8 Sarah Hanson 3.17

U17 Men

400m: A – 6 Richard Hanson 60.0

800m: A – 3 Phil Hanson 2,11.2

1500m: A – 1 Alex Felce 4,05.2; B – 1 Phil Hanson 4,29.2

Triple jump: A – 2 Richard Hanson 10.37

Hammer: A – 4 Phil Hanson 20.54

Javelin: A – 4 Richard Hanson 20.33

U17 Ladies

100m: A – 4 Amy Whitcher 14.5; B – 3 Gemma Collier 14.1

200m: A – 4 Amy Whitcher 30.2; B – 2 Gemma Collier 29.0

300m hurdles: A – 2 Gemma Collier 49.7

800m: A – 3 Gemma Collier 2,49.3; B – 1 Amy Whitcher 3,11.1

Long jump: A – 4 Amy Whitcher 3.40

Senior Men

100m: A – 6 Richard Burrows 12.9; B – 5 Jeremy Mower 13.8

400m: A – 4 Keith Short 58.2; B – 5 Jeremy Mower 65.8

1500m: A – 1 Peter Kellie 4,04.5; B – 1 Geoff Hanson 4,44.8

5000m: A – 1 Jeremy Mower 18,07.7

4x100m relay: 3rd (Short, Dave Meadows, Summers, Burrows) 54.7

Triple jump: A – 6 Andy McKenzie 7.71

High jump: A – 1 Marc Graham 1.80; B – 1 Richard Burrows 1.55

Hammer: A – 5 Andy McKenzie 25.80; B – 4 Ian Summers 15.81

Javelin: A – 4 Ian Summers 34.80; B – 3 Marc Graham 25.00

Senior Ladies

100m: A – 5 Alex Purcell 14.6

200m: A – 2 Rachael Richards 30.5

800m: A – 2 Liz Feakins 2,51.3

3000m: A – 3 Rachael Richards 12,49.9

Long jump: A - 2 Rachael Richards 4.04; B – 1 Alex Purcell 3.91

Discus: A – 3 Liz Feakins 14.79; B – 1 Alex Purcell 13.21

Shot putt: A – 3 Liz Feakins 6.39: B – 1 Alex Purcell 6.09

Vet Men

100m: A – 3 Keith Short 13.6; B – 2 Andy McKenzie 15.3

Midland Men’s Track & Field League (3rd fixture – Stourport)

Points for Graded Officials – 15

Team totals (excluding officials points) – 1 Notts 241; 2 Yate 231; 3 Kettering 214; 4 Gloucester 194; 5 Stourport & Kidderminster 191; 6 Nuneaton 173; 7 Charnwood 86; 8 Royal Sutton Coldfield 66

Midland Men’s Track & Field League (2nd fixture – Nuneaton)

Points for Graded Officials – 15

Final team totals – 1 Notts 269; 2 Yate 194; 3 Nuneaton 192; 4 Stourport & Kidderminster 190; 5 Gloucester 185; 6 Charnwood 169; 7 Kettering 159; 8 Royal Sutton Coldfield 72

Midland Counties U20 Championships

U15 Girls 800m: 2 Emily Pidgeon 2,17.96 (personal best by 5 seconds)

U15 Girls 1500m: 1 Emily Pidgeon 4,39.03

U20 Womens 1500m: 7 Kate Goodhead 4,53.83

U20 Womens 3000m: 3 Kate Goodhead 10,13.49

U17 Mens 1500m steeplechase: 1 Alex Felce 4,26.83

U20 Mens 200m: 2 Richard Davenport 22.26

U20 Mens 400m: 1 Richard Davenport 47.29 (3rd fastest time ever in UK by U17)

Midland Men’s Track & Field League (1st fixture – Yate)

Points for Graded Officials – 15

Final team totals – 1 Notts 245; 2 Yate 240; 3 Kettering 212; 4 Stourport & Kidderminster 195; 5 Gloucester 189; 6 Charnwood 146; 7 Nuneaton 128; 8 Royal Sutton Coldfield 102

Gloucestershire County Track & Field Championships

Gloucester Athletic Club collected 17 gold, 7 silver and 8 bronze medals at the Gloucestershire County Track & Field Championships at the weekend.

The under 17 ladies won seven medals between them, with Lucy Williams winning two golds with excellent runs in the 300m and 800m. Kate Goodhead won her first County gold in the under 20 ladies 1500m, while Helena Trigg took gold in the senior ladies 800m and 1500m, where she narrowly beat Cheltenham’s Jo Brewer in a very close race.

Richard Davenport picked up three golds in the sprints. Phil Hanson cut 9 seconds off his personal best in winning the under 17 mens 1500m. Both Ian Summers and Andy McKenzie won their first senior County Championship titles, Summers taking gold in the javelin and the long jump, McKenzie striking gold in the hammer and the discus.

U13 girls

100m: 4th Emily Duckett, 15.7

Long jump: 1st Emily Duckett, 3.44

High jump: 3rd Emily Duckett, 1.00

U15 girls

75m hurdles: 2nd Grace Fairburn, 13.1; 3rd Charlotte Grant, 13.3

100m: 3rd Grace Fairburn, 13.3; 5th Laura Collier, 14.0; 7th Holly Johnson-Manley, 14.4

Long jump: 1st Grace Fairburn, 4.54; 4th Holly Johnson-Manley, 3.57; 6th Ashton Duckett, 3.34

Shot putt: 6th Charlotte Grant, 5.89

U17 ladies

80m hurdles: 2nd Amy Whitcher, 14.5

200m: 3rd Gemma Collier, 28.8

300m: 1st Lucy Williams, 44.3; 3rd Gemma Collier, 47.4; 4th Amy Whitcher, 51.8

300m hurdles: 1st Gemma Collier, 52.5

800m: 1st Lucy Williams, 2,24.0

Javelin: 2nd Amy Whitcher, 16.32

U20 ladies

1500m: 1st Kate Goodhead, 4,56.2

Senior ladies

800m: 1st Helena Trigg, 2,20.3

1500m: 1st Helena Trigg, 4,50.1

U17 men

200m: 1st Richard Davenport, 22.2

400m: 1st Richard Davenport, 48.6

1500m: 1st Phil Hanson, 4,18.6; 7th Tom Faiers, 4,34.2

Long jump: 2nd Steve Broughton, 5.66

Triple jump: 2nd Steve Broughton, 12.59

U20 men

1500m: 1st Alex Felce, 4,13.5

Senior men

100m: 1st Richard Davenport, 11.2

1500m: 3rd Jeremy Mower, 4,48.1

Long jump: 1st Ian Summers, 4.09; 2nd Andy McKenzie, 3.56

Hammer: 1st Andy McKenzie, 26.37

Discus: 1st Andy McKenzie, 22.49; 3rd Ian Summers, 20.51; 4th Jeremy Mower, 18.50

Shot putt: 2nd Ian Summers, 7.46; 3rd Jeremy Mower, 6.69

Javelin: 1st Ian Summers, 34.13; 2nd Jeremy Mower, 8.49

Gloucester AC’s Emily Pidgeon set a European girls age best in the 3000m at the BMC PB meeting at Millfield, finishing 4th overall in 9,44.39. Kate Goodhead (U20) finished 6th in the same race in 10,12.71, achieving the English Schools Senior Girls qualifying she has been chasing.

Richard Davenport finished third in the 880m A race in a personal best of 1,52.60, the fastest time by an U17 in the country this year. In the 1500m A race, Alex Felce ran 4,07.76, his best time since last August. In a mixed 1500m race, Richard Farrow finished first, taking 16 seconds off his pb with a time of 4,56.5. Sarah Hopkinson finished as 1st U13 girl, knocking 15 seconds off her pb with 5,14.5.

Gloucester AC’s Richard Davenport smashed the Black Bridge track record when he ran a personal best of 48.0 in the 400m at the Gloucester Open meeting. He took the record away from his club mate Ryan Preddy who had run 48.4 last year. Ryan has recently had an operation on his shins and is now recovering and hopes to resume light training later in the season.

Also setting personal bests on the day were Richard Farrow (U13) in the 800m with 2,29.6, Alex Felce (U17) an outdoor pb in the 800m with 1,59.6, Emily Pidgeon (U15) in the 1500m with 4,39.0 and Kate Goodhead (U20) in the 800m with 2,33.6.

Avon Track & Field League (1st fixture – Yate)

Gloucester Athletic Club took part in their first ever Avon Track and Field League fixture. The League caters for all categories, from the under-11s up to the veterans, both male and female, and so gives the whole of the club the opportunity to compete together at the same time.

The club were not sure what to expect in the way of opposition, with the relative strengths of the other 9 teams being unknown. On the day, Gloucester acquitted themselves well, finishing third overall.

There were a number of good performances and personal bests. The strongest section was the U17 Men, with Richard Davenport finishing 2nd to a very good Yate & District AC sprinter in the 100m in 11.0. Richard reversed the position in the 200m, to sneak a narrow win in a time of 22.2. Richard recorded a pb of 6.04 in the long jump, as he and Steve Broughton won both A and B strings. Alex Felce and Tom Faiers also gave the club a double win in the 3000m. An exciting 4x400m race saw Davenport pull his team away from their Bristol AC challengers on the final lap to win in a time of 3,40.6.

Bristol AC had a very strong squad overall, and were to prove a nemesis to Gloucester AC on many occasions. Helena Trigg was just pipped for first place in the senior ladies 1500m, having led the race all the way with her Bristol adversary on her shoulder until the final 60 metres when she was outsprinted to the line, both finishing well clear of the rest of the field. In the same race, Rachael Richards made her debut for the club, and had a good race to finish second in the B string in 5,45.4. Rachael also scored a third place with an impressive 8.79m in her first ever attempt at the triple jump.

A big contingent of the junior girls was present and all performed well. New member Sarah Hopkinson marked her club debut with a first place in the U13 1500m in 5,29.2, beating one of the Forest of Dean’s top class juniors Danielle Cinderey-Smith into 2nd. Grace Fairburn won the U15 75m hurdles with Charlotte Grant just failing to make it a double, finishing second in the B event to yet another Bristol AC runner. The girls’ squad has grown considerably since last year, and now has the strength in depth to challenge for first place in their National Young Athletes League division this season.

The senior men were a bit depleted, but Andy McKenzie, Jeremy Mower, Keith Short and Geoff Hanson all scored well across a range of events. Even coach Rob Peck donned a club vest for the first time to gain valuable points. 51-year-old Keith Short recorded a pb of 26.2 in the 200m.

Team Manager Bob Purcell was delighted by the way things went on the day. “There was a really good team spirit, with juniors and seniors all showing great commitment and cheering each other on, and all had an enjoyable day. This is the first time that the boys and the girls have competed together, and with the seniors involved as well, everyone is competing for each other. There is an overall competition as well as the ones for each category. We’ve made an encouraging start, and we should have a stronger team next time, as there will be a number of athletes back from university to bolster the senior men and ladies teams.”

U11 Boys

75m: A – 4 Michael Greene 12.1

600m: A – 4 Michael Greene 2.09.3

Long Jump: A – 6 Michael Greene 2.98

U13 Boys

100m: A – 5 Richard Farrow 14.5

800m: A – 1 Richard Farrow 2,33.2

U13 Girls

70m hurdles: A 3 – Emily Duckett 15.2; B – 2 Abigail Evans 22.6

100m: A – 4 Rachael Smith 14.7; B – 3 Adriana Coppola 14.7

200m: A – 5 Sarah Hopkinson 31.9; B – 4 Adriana Coppola 33.4

1500m: A – 1 Sarah Hopkinson 5,29.2

4x100m relay: 5th 67.4

High jump: A – 1 Emily Duckett 1.22; B – 3 Abigail Evans 0.97

U15 Girls

75m hurdles: A – 1 Grace Fairburn 12.9; B – 2 Charlotte Grant 13.2

100m: A – 8 Laura Collier 14.3; B – 7 Sarah Hanson 15.4; Guest – Ashton Duckett 15.5

200m: A – 6 Laura Collier 29.1; B – 4 Holly Johnson-Manley 30.3

1500m: A – 1 Emily Pidgeon 5,09.0

4x100m relay: 4th 57.9

High jump: A – 4 Grace Fairburn 1.27; B – 4 Laura Collier 1.02; Guest – Sarah Hanson 1.07

Javelin: A – 4 Sarah Hanson 10.57; B – Grace Fairburn 8.22: Guest – Charlotte Grant 7.54

U17 Men

100m: A – 2 Richard Davenport 11.0; B – 2 Nicky Clarke 12.2; Guest – Steve Broughton 12.0

200m: A – 1 Richard Davenport 22.2 (League record); B - 2 Nicky Clarke 24.8; Guest – Alex Felce 25.0

800m: A – 3 Phil Hanson 2,11.2

3000m: A – 1 Alex Felce 9,36.1; B – 1 Tom Faiers 9,57.7

4x400m relay: 1st 3,40.6

Long jump: A – 1 Steve Broughton 5.84; B – 1 Richard Davenport 6.04

Discus: A – 2 Phil Hanson 22.28; B - 3 Tom Faiers 11.84

Shot put: A - 2 Phil Hanson 8.29

U17 Ladies

80m hurdles: A – 2 Amy Whitcher 13.9

100m: A – 4 Hannah Pike 13.7

300m: A – 2 E Collier 48.3; B – 3 Amy Whitcher 54.0

1500m: A – 3 Lucy Williams 5,15.4; B – 2 Hannah Pike 5,37.7

4x100m relay: 3rd

Javelin: A – 4 Amy Whitcher 12.55

Senior Men

100m: A – 6 Jeremy Mower 16.3

200m: A – 4 Jeremy Mower 29.1; B – 5 Keith Short 26.2

800m: A – 4 Keith Short 2,15.5; B – 2 Jeremy Mower 2,28.1

3000m: A – 4 Jeremy Mower 10,45.5

4x400m relay: 4th 4,38.7

Long jump: A – 3 Keith Short 3.78; B – 2 Andy McKenzie 3.38

Discus: A – 3 Andy McKenzie 20.12; B – 3 Rob Peck 16.05

Shot put: A – 5 Andy McKenzie 6.89; B - 5 Rob Peck 3.44

Senior Ladies

100m: A – 5 Helena Trigg 15.2

1500m: A – 2 Helena Trigg 4,56.4; B – 2 Rachael Richards 5,45.4

Triple jump: A – 3 Rachael Richards 8.79

Javelin: A – 4 Rachael Richards 12.89

Vet Men

100m: A – 3 Geoff Hanson 13.6; B – 2 Andy McKenzie 15.7

3000m: A – 1 Geoff Hanson 10,50.4

U13 girls 1 Bristol 92, 2 Forest of Dean 91, 3 Bath 88, 4 Gloucester 79, 5= Bitton & Yate 59, 7 Dursley 28, 8 Stroud 5, 9= Severn & Clevedon 0.

U15 girls 1 Bristol 109, 2 Stroud 98, 3 Gloucester 84, 4 Yate 74, 5 Bitton 54, 6 Bath 42, 7 Clevedon 41, 8 Forest of Dean 28, 9= Dursley & Severn 0.

U17 ladies 1 Yate 113, 2 Bristol 77, 3 Forest of Dean 61, 4 Gloucester 57, 5= Bitton & Stroud 20, 7 Dursley 15, 8 Clevedon 8, 9= Bath & Severn 0.

Senior ladies 1 Forest of Dean 66, 2 Yate 55, 3 Bristol 48, 4 Gloucester 39, 5 Stroud 17, 6 Clevedon 8, 7 Bitton 7, 8 Severn 8, 9 Bath 6.

U13 boys 1 Yate 109, 2= Forest of Dean & Bitton 77, 4 Bath 65, 5 Bristol 60, 6 Dursley 36, 7 Gloucester 16, 8 Stroud 13, 9 Clevedon 9, 10 Severn 0.

U15 boys 1 Bristol 149, 2 Stroud 91, 3 Yate 83, 4 Forest of Dean 79, 5 Severn 44, 6 Bitton 38, 7 Dursley 7, 8+ Bath, Gloucester & Clevedon 0.

U17 men 1 Bristol 150, 2 Gloucester 121, 3 Stroud 75, 4 Yate 34, 5 Severn 33, 6 Dursley 32, 7 Bath 28, 8 Bitton 24, 9 Forest of Dean 18, 10 Clevedon 16.

Senior men 1 Bristol 204, 2 Yate 107, 3 Gloucester 100, 4 Stroud 86, 5= Forest of Dean & Severn 36, 1 Bath 15, 8 Clevedon 8, 9 Dursley 6, 10 Bitton 0.

Overall 1 Bristol 889, 2 Yate 634, 3 Gloucester 496, 4 Forest of Dean 456, 5 Stroud 405, 6 Bitton 279, 7 Bath 244, 8 Dursley 124, 9 Severn 121, 10 Clevedon 90.

Great Western Open, Exeter

A number of Gloucester AC juniors competed in the Great Western Open track and field meeting at Exeter. Richard Farrow finished 4th in the U13 boys 800m ‘A’ race in 2,32.5, while 10-year-old Sarah Hopkinson made an excellent track debut to take 2nd place in the U13 girls 800m in 2,39.6.

Emily Pidgeon won the U15 girls 800m in 2,23.0. Kate Goodhead recorded the second fastest time of the day in the U20 womens 3000m of 10,29.2 on her track debut, as she chases an English Schools qualifying time of 10,16.

Richard Davenport ran in the senior mens 800m and was up against European junior medallist and top UK runner Nic Andrews. Andrews was looking for a fast time, but decided to slow the pace down, going through halfway in 61 seconds. Davenport made the challenge with 250m to go and laid down the gauntlet to Andrews who only just managed to respond and force his way back to the front in the final few metres to take the win, Davenport finishing second in 1,55.8.

Chedworth Trail Multi-Terrain 10

(356 entries) 5th – Carlo Toledo, 63.49; Jeremy Mower, 65.52; 19th – Peter Lloyd, 66.16; 33rd – Ian Summers, 70.30; 39th – Geoff Hanson, 71.10; 116th – Arnold Yeomans, 79.07; 147th – Chris O’Carroll, 81.59; 174th – Tony Phelps, 83.37; 269th – Andy McKenzie, 97.01

Birmingham League – Malvern

Gloucester AC secured their promotion to Birmingham Cross-Country League Division Two after finishing the season in third place overall in division three following the final fixture at Malvern. A depleted team could only finish in sixth place on the day, but the big lead they had over the fourth place team going into the final race gave the club a cushion, and they were not threatened by any of the other teams behind them. The club have now won promotion in successive years, having gone up from division four to three after the 2000/2001 season.

Wolverhampton and Bilston returned to the form that saw them win division four last season by winning the race with a total of 95 points. This lifted them to fifth place overall, their promotion hopes having being effectively dashed by their last place finish in the first race at Senneleys Park. Host club Worcester AC were second on 111 and leaders Rugby third on 124.

Over a very tough hilly four lap course, Gloucester suffered a setback within yards of the start as Jeremy Mower accidentally trod on the back of Andy Hawkins’ ankle with his spikes, putting a gash in Hawkins leg forcing him to stop immediately. Hawkins had to go to hospital for treatment and four stitches in the wound. After the race, Mower said, “I got barged from the right and then pushed in the back and as I lost my balance my foot came down on Andy’s achilles. He yelled in pain and dropped to the ground. I half stopped to see what had happened, and in doing so, most of the field went away from me, and I then had to work my way back through them. It must have been gutting for Andy as he was really keyed up for the race.”

Bill Griffiths led the team home in 12th place in a time of 36.51. Richard Taylor had his best result of the season, picking up three places over the final half lap to claim 26th place in 38.04. Peter Lloyd and Jeremy Mower had a good battle over the closing stages of the race, with Lloyd finishing 48th in 39.43 and Mower 49th in 39.46. Ian Summers was 62nd in 40.29 and Mark Ingram completed the scoring team in 69th in 40.53. Ingram had been in the top thirty early on, but started to suffer and steadily dropped back. It was a disappointment for Ingram as he works his way back towards full fitness after a long time viral layoff. “It was very warm and I started to feel the backs of my legs tighten and I really struggled over the second half of the race. It’s a pity because my training has been going very well recently, and I was hoping to improve my 77th place in the previous race to a position in the top forty.”

Heath Adams marked his debut by scoring for the B team in 129th place. Humphrey Phillips dropped out of the race after aggravating a hamstring injury sustained the week before. Gloucester finished as fourth B team overall with a total of 2329.

Team Captain Ian Summer summed up the season. “We did enough in the first three races to make virtually certain of promotion. As happened last season, by the time the fourth race came around, the top three spots were already effectively decided. Unfortunately we didn’t have a strong enough team out on the day to push Worcester for second place, and didn’t exactly go out in the blaze of glory I had hoped for. We must now plan for next season as division two will be a lot tougher. We need maximum commitment from everyone if we are to push for promotion again. Consistency is going to be the key to success. We’ve got the runners, but need them to be fit and be able to turn out for all four races.”

Division 3: 12 Bill Griffiths, 36.51; 26 Richard Taylor, 38.04; 48 Peter Lloyd, 39.43; 49 Jeremy Mower, 39.46; 62 Ian Summers, 40.29; 69 Mark Ingram, 40.53; 89 Keith Short, 41.56; 103 Dave Spackman, 43.32; 108 Dave Gresswell, 44.14; 110 Anthony Lake, 44.19; 129 Heath Adams, 46.35; 130 John McClean, 46.42; 131 Neil Scowby (U20), 46.59; 147 Pete Marshall, 51.02; 152 Martin Chopping, 53.00; 155 Andy McKenzie, 55.32.

Team: 1 Wolverhampton & Bilston, 95; 2 Worcester, 111; 3 Rugby, 124; 4 Dudley & Stourbridge Harriers, 206; 5 Newcastle, 215; 6 Gloucester, 266; 7 Stourbridge, 281; 8 Northbrook, 288; 9 Centurion, 293; 10 Warwick University, 298; 11 Royal Sutton Coldfield, 344; 12 Kenilworth, 419; 13 Sphinx, 473.

Final positions: 1 Rugby, 171; 2 Worcester, 567; 3 Gloucester, 735; 4 Dudley & Stourbridge Harriers, 888; 5 Wolverhampton & Bilston, 917; 6 Northbrook, 937; 7 Warwick University, 1112; 8 Newcastle, 1189; 9 Kenilworth, 1197; 10 Centurion, 1264; 11 Royal Sutton Coldfield, 1255; 12 Stourbridge, 1417; 13 Sphinx, 1638.

National Cross-Country Championships

Emily Pidgeon is the new English cross-country champion. The prodigiously talented 12-year-old Gloucester Athletic Club runner won the Under-13s title at Bristol's Ashton Court on Saturday.

She did so in supreme style with a devastating finish as she destroyed her rivals in the latter stages of the race to come home 32 seconds clear of the Aldershot, Farnham and District pair of Stacey Preston and Emma Pallant. "The wind was very strong but I liked the course and I felt really good," said Pidgeon.

Pidgeon was happy to sit in with the leading group of runners during the early part of the race and conserve her energy in the bitterly cold and windy conditions. She then made her winning move as the race entered its second half. "I had to restrain Emily," said her coach David Farrow. "She showed a lot of self-control and discipline as well as a great show of front-running in the second half of the race."

Pidgeon's victory maintains her unbeaten record this winter and completes a notable double. Only a few weeks ago she won the Inter- Counties title at Nottingham, finishing 23 seconds ahead of Preston on that occasion. Now coach and athlete must decide whether to go for the English Schools' cross-country championships in a couple of weeks time.

AAA Indoor Championships

To cap the weekend off, Emily won the AAA Indoor U17 Womens 1500m at the Birmingham NIA in 4,49.06.

Richard Davenport won the U17 Mens 400m in 48.58.

Reebok Cross-Challenge and Inter-Counties Championships

Emily Pidgeon has won her first major cross-country title. The 12-year-old Gloucester Athletic Club runner claimed the Inter-Counties Under-13 title with a convincing victory at Nottingham's Wollaton Park on Saturday.

"Emily led after the first 150m and never saw anyone after that," said her coach David Farrow. "We were delighted but also relieved in some ways because she missed the South West Schools' championships due to illness and she hasn't done much running in the past two weeks. "In fact it was only during the week that we decided she was well enough to run on Saturday."

Clubmate Peter Kellie ran his best race of the winter to finish ninth in the Under-20 race and earn himself a post on the reserve list for next month's World Cross Country Championships in Dublin. It also gave him 3rd place overall in the Reebok U20 Cross-Challenge Series. "It was a really good run by Peter and he has also got another chance that this age group next year as well," added Farrow.

Midlands Indoor Championships

Richard Davenport set a new UK U17 indoor 800m record of 1:52.79 in winning gold in the U20 800m final on Saturday. Emily Pidgeon took gold in the U15 Girls 800m in 2:22.18.

On Sunday, Davenport again took gold, this time in the U20 400m, recording a pb of 48.34. Alex Felce won the U17 Mens race in 2:00.88.

Birmingham Games

Richard Davenport underlined his place as one of Britain's top young sprinters with a superb double at the Birmingham Games.

The 16-year-old Gloucester AC runner ran himself into the top ten UK All-time lists with wins over 800 metres and 400m at the National Indoor Arena.

The King's School student from Littledean won the U20 800m in 1mins 54.20 secs and then 24 hours later, added the U20 400m title in a time of 48.69secs. Both times were indoor personal bests and set him up for the Midland Championships.

"I could not believe it when I saw the 400m time," said Davenport. "I went off hard but it didn't feel that fast. I was also very pleased with the 800m and it was just a shame I missed the UK Under-17s record of 1:53.8."

Coach David Farrow said: "Richard's times were not only personal bests but put him third on the UK All-Time rankings at 400m and 800m. Additionally, no other athlete has made the top ten in two different track events."

Adam Davies was third in the U20 800m behind Davenport in 1:57.80.

Reebok Cross-Challenge, Cardiff

Several Gloucester AC members were in action in the prestigious Reebok Cross Challenge races at Bute Park, Cardiff on Sunday.

In the U13 Girls, Emily Pidgeon again showed she is in a class of her own in the field of 127 as she stormed to victory in 12.30, 36 seconds clear of the field, with Swansea’s Non Stanford second in 13.06 and Laura Dowsing of West Suffolk third in 13.18. Pidgeon’s time was 25 seconds faster than the U15 Girls time and 1 second faster than the U13 Boys time. Pidgeon leads the U13 Girls in the series standings with only the final event, the Reebok Inter-Counties Championships at Nottingham on February 9th remaining. This event is being televised by Sky.

Tom Faiers had a great run in the U15 Boys race, finishing 8th in 15.27, whilst in the U17 Girls event, Lucy Williams was 24th in 18.13, Hannah Pike 39th in 19.12 and Gemma Collier 61st in 20.18 out of 104 finishers.

County Champion Phil Hanson put in a very good performance to finish 24th out of 113 in the U17 Boys race in 23.29.

Peter Kellie was involved in a very close U20 Mens race, taking sixth place in 26.26, the same time as the fifth place runner, Jamie Atkinson of Sevenoaks. The first two were David Jones of Carmarthen, 25.07 and Ed Prickett of Reigate, 25.11.

Birmingham League – Rugby

Division 3: 8 Mo Hill, 37.35; 11 Bill Griffiths, 37.59; 25 Simon Kellie; 35 Richard Taylor; 37 Kriss Haggerty; 47 Jeremy Mower; 61 Ian Summers; 77 Mark Ingram: 81 Keith Short; 98 Dominic Malsom; 109 Gary Boon; 125 Anthony Lake; 127 Humphrey Phillips; 174 Andy McKenzie. 178 finished.

Team: 1 Worcester, 133; 2 Rugby, 145; 3 Wolverhampton & Bilston, 148; 4 Gloucester, 163; 5 Kenilworth, 167; 6 Dudley & Stourbridge Harriers, 200; 7 Northbrook, 274; 8 Warwick University, 282; 9 Royal Sutton Coldfield, 283; 10 Stourbridge, 291; 11 Centurion, 325; 12 Newcastle, 422; 13 Sphinx, 456

After 3 races: 1 Rugby, 347; 2 Worcester, 456; 3 Gloucester, 469; 4 Northbrook, 649; 5 Dudley & Stourbridge Harriers, 682; 6 Kenilworth, 778; 7 Warwick University, 814; 8 Wolverhampton & Bilston, 822; 9 Royal Sutton Coldfield, 911; 10 Newcastle, 964; 11 Centurion, 971; 12 Stourbridge, 1136; 13 Sphinx, 1165

B team: 1 Rugby, 515; 3 Northbrook, 519; 3 Gloucester, 552; 4 Worcester, 623; 8 Stourbridge, 650; 9 Kenilworth, 709; 5 Wolverhampton & Bilston, 770; 7 Sphinx, 804

After 3 races: 1 Rugby, 1559; 2 Worcester, 1586; 3 Northbrook, 1611; 4 Gloucester, 1666; 5 Stourbridge, 2112; 6 Sphinx, 2270; 7 Kenilworth, 2556

One race left at Malvern on March 16th. Three teams will be promoted to Division 2.