The bank holiday weekend saw plenty of action for Gade Valley Harriers. Before the weekend even began, Thursday 26th August saw the final round of the GVH summer handicap. The summer series, where each runner is assigned a time handicap based on their predicted finish time, is extremely popular with the Harriers because it is designed to create a close …
The weekend of 21st and 22nd August saw Gade Valley Harriers celebrate their 30th birthday. The club was formed back in 1991 and has always prided itself on being an inclusive environment for people who like to take running just seriously enough so that they can enjoy the celebrations afterwards. 30 years on, the club ethos hasn’t changed much and …
The weekend of August 14th and 15th saw some familiar sights, a Gade Valley island invasion and the return of an aspect of racing sorely missed during the pandemic and its long tail of frustration. The weekend kicked off early on Friday as an initial group of 5 Gade Valley Harriers led by Vince Ellerby kicked off the annual pub …
Summer holidays kicked in for the Gade Valley Harriers as several of them took on parkruns around the country and beyond, a few stay-at-homes contented themselves with a local 10k race in St Albans and one Gade Valley Harrier drove herself to the edge of Reason as she took on the North Downs Way ultra marathon on the weekend of …
The last Thursday of a summer month for Gade Valley Harriers means it is time for the latest round of the summer long GVH handicap race. The start of the school holidays and perhaps the choice of various Olympic sports on TV saw a reduced turnout from previous months, creating an opportunity for more points for those taking part. The …
In the surest sign yet that something like normality is on the way, Saturday July 24th saw the return of Parkrun to England as restrictions lifted and most Parkruns gained permission to restart from their local landowners. Curiously, it seems that Parkruns in Scotland and Wales are still dangerous (and illegal) affairs but thankfully those of us based in England …
In the weekend when most of England hoped that football would come home, but a tall young Italian man took it to Rome instead, there was still time for some of the Gade Valley Harriers to take part in some challenging competitions before the barbecues, alcohol and crushing disappointment (with a hint of deja vu) set in. As is often …
Many people woke up on Sunday morning with a hangover. It isn’t clear where this collective hangover originated but rumours suggest that it was something to do with “coming home and drinking the Semillon too easily”. Although some things in the world seem to slowly be returning to “normal”, the familiar rhythm of running events throughout the summer hasn’t yet …
Thursday 24th June saw the latest round of the Gade Valley Harriers Summer Handicap Series. As usual the handicap format provided some excellent racing with 37 Harriers racing over the 4 mile course. After some confusion in the May edition leading to an overly harsh handicap, Anthony Fogden had trailed in last. This time the committee had assigned a more …
Summer seemed to arrive last week but then decided to go away at the weekend. That was good news for anybody taking part in any kind of racing but bad news for pretty much anybody else. Martin Pike was in the group of people that were happy to see the weather deteriorate. After making his ultra-marathon debut in the Chiltern …