Going That Extra Mile, Year After Year, After Year!

On Sunday 9th August, on a wonderfully balmy summer afternoon, and almost exactly 25 years after its inception, Harborough Athletics Club commemorated the milestone in style - with a 25 x 1 Mile relay celebration. The relay was hosted, very generously, by Corby Athletics Club at their Rockingham Triangle track; and both they and the Leicester Coritanian Athletics Club took on the quarter centurian. The birthday Team displayed a line-up that both embodied and underlined the wide demographic spread of the Club, offering athletes from four generations of runner, proving that HAC is in fine fettle for the next 25 years.
Ably supported by the time-keeping and medal-awarding team of Graham Hillier, Betsan Callan, Yvonne Barber, Anne Loake and Ted Toft, the three teams pounded round the high quality track for some 100 laps, with the extra distance being marked out by cones around the first bend. First home, in 2 hours 34 minutes and 23.3 seconds were the Coritanian Team, lead by former HAC member and Junior Record Holder Gordon Lee. Harborough and Corby enjoyed a quintessential back-and-forth battle throughout, with the hosts eventually just losing out as a strong flourish from the Harborough squad saw them come home second, in 2 hours 37 minutes and 10.4 seconds, with Corby finishing 2 minutes and 18.6 seconds further back.
All three teams thoroughly enjoyed the entire experience, and Harborough AC would like to formally extend its sincere thanks and congratulations to both of the other two Clubs involved for their time and generosity.

The Harborough Team was lead by stalwarts and founding members Dick Callan (6:04.04), Pete Leach (7:03.3) and Dave Oram (8:18.7); with the remainder of the squad as follows:
Will Clapp (5:05.4)
Martha Clapp (6:47.9)
Tony Harrison (5:40.1)
Chris Astley (5:51.2)
Stuart Avins (6:26.2)
Alan Fordham (6:10.2)
Daniel Taylor (6:31.1)
Matt Taylor (6:19.3)
Nicola James (6:47.6)
Barry Yarwood (7:11.5)
Hannah Eveleigh (6:00.6)
Dave Ward (6:43.0)
Sarah Ward (5:54.7)
Matt Driver (5:56.1)
Chris Loake (6:49.0)
Karen Brooks (6:11.7)
Adam Brooks (5:36.8)
Shane Edge (6:01.2)
Richard Bufton (5:46.8)
Graeme Rolfe (6:23.6)
Rick Brown (6:03.4) and
Ady King (5:29.9).

In addition to the above, a further three HAC members helped make up the numbers in the other Teams - Teresa Brown (8:18.7), Jackie King (8:19.6) and Lianne Brooks (7:08.8).

The fastest HAC lap was run by the male athlete of the year for 2008, Will Clapp, with 70.3s. Clapp also completed the quickest overall HAC leg, clocking 5:05.4.
The quickest lap of the day was completed by Gareth Deacon of Coritanians, in 66.2s.

All runners recieved an individual medal to remember the day.

09/08/2009