Llandow Race Circuit, Cowbridge 3rd April 2011

Successful Day for Newport Harriers at Road Relays

A gold medal combined with fine individual performances marked an excellent all-round display of Newport Harriers endurance talent at a bright but breezy Welsh Road Relay Championships. Last year we fielded just two complete teams in all ages, but today we were out in force with six complete teams from Under-11 up to senior, so we were already making progress before the starter’s pistol fired a single shot.

Lisa Scarfi Leads U11 Girls to Team Gold

The sight of seven black and amber vests lined up for the Novice race was awesome, if not downright intimidating, and Jean Rogers’ well-drilled team dominated throughout.

Lisa Scarfi ran with her trademark effort and commitment to finish 2nd in the individual competition. Next for Newport in 10th place was Molly Harte, cheered on by proud dad Paul. Olivia Jenkins (12th) and Jessica Taylor (13th) had a neck-and-neck sprint finish with Olivia pipping Jessica by one second, followed closely by Emily Gill in 14th position. Mia Davies appeared to smile her way through the race to finish 18th. Youngest and smallest member of the team was Kayleigh Evans, who ran bravely at the end to hold off the trailing Blaenau Gwent runner and finish 20th.

Newport ‘A’ (Lisa, Molly, Olivia) were the Welsh U11 Champions, and Newport ‘B’ (Jessica, Emily, Mia) finished in Bronze medal position.

U13 Boys – Captain’s Role from Carwyn Penny

The U13 Boys were up against it as they were the youngest team in their race. Team captain Carwyn Penny took the boys through their warm-up, ran a superb Leg 1 which was the 4th fastest leg overall, then took the squad through a group cool-down. On Leg 2 it was good to see Jack Haines back running for Newport as he recorded our second fastest leg. On Leg 3 youngest member Luke Hamilton was making only his second Newport appearance, while Geraint Rawlinson on Leg 4 was making his club debut.

It was tough for the boys, but they were up for it, gained valuable experience at championship level, and finished 5th – which makes them the 5th best Under-13 road relay team in the whole of Wales.

U15 Girls – Enthusiastic run from Bronwyn Satterly

Our Under-15 Girls kept the black and amber interest going, even if it wasn’t a favourite event for all of them. At least Bronwyn Satterly was still enthusiastic after the race, preferring it to cross-country, and this keenness was reflected in her race performance as she displayed a determined kick at the end of Leg 2. Before that on Leg 1 Bethan Jackson had given the team the best possible start to hand over in first place with the joint-4th best time overall. Cheyenne Sinclair eased her way round the course on Leg 3 but it was good to see her competing again after a recent injury. Emma Hennessy anchored the team on Leg 4, and it was a reflection of her club allegiance that she took part when her training these days is geared towards hurdles and multi-events.

The U15 Girls finished in 6th place.

U17 Boys – Mad charge from Dan Chesworth secures team Bronze medal

Team Manager Dave Chesworth got the tactics right when he put son Dan on anchor leg. Before that Curtis Goodger (Leg 1) and Ben McEwan (Leg 2) put in enough good running to place the team in contention. Then Dan Chesworth produced the fastest leg of the whole race and finished like a charging bull to pip Swansea in the final few strides for 3rd place.

Senior Women – Amy Rackham defects to Bridgend

Following withdrawals through injury and illness, Amy Rackham was our sole representative. As she didn’t want to be all lonesome she ran 4th Leg for Bridgend who were a team member short, though after some debate she kept her Newport vest on. After the race she remarked that she didn’t like it when everyone kept overtaking her, though she felt better when it was pointed out that these were the best road runners in Wales, fresh from last year’s Commonwealth Games in Delhi.

We’ve now claimed Amy back from Bridgend as there is a ton of running we want her to do for Newport over the coming season.

Senior Men – Cardiff and Swansea dominate, but Newport are best of the rest

We don’t pretend that we are as good as Cardiff and Swansea, but we do maintain that, of all the Welsh clubs, only Cardiff, Swansea and Newport can compete effectively in all athletics disciplines at all levels. This was demonstrated again when Newport took its English Nationals squad to the Welsh Road Relays, and while we trailed behind the A and B teams of the two bigger clubs, we comfortably held our own against our other rivals to finish 5th overall.

Johnathan Morgan was our lead-off man and got stuck into the race from the start, trailing Swansea B by one second on the changeover in 5th place. Emrys Penny consolidated our position, producing the 5th fastest time on Leg 2. Overall Johnathan and Emrys ran the 19th and 20th fastest leg times respectively. On Leg 3 Abdi Tulu maintained 5th place and did not allow the trailing Neath team to get any closer. In-form Chris Carpanini then eased away from Neath and produced the 4th best Leg 4 split.

With young Dan Chesworth eligible for the 6-stage English Nationals next October this squad should continue to improve on the championship stage.

Newport ‘B’ Team – glory lap for Pearce

Newport B trundled around the course proudly declaring, if not our strength in depth, then at least the sheer volume of athletes who were prepared to turn out in the black and amber vest.

Dave Griffiths had Leg 1 thrust unexpectedly on him but rose to the challenge as he valiantly held off Les Croupiers ‘B’. On Leg 2 Darryn McAtee picked off one of the Les Croupiers Veterans teams to advance our cause. Lee Richards then added some extra pace on Leg 3 with the fastest time of our ‘B’ runners. However, when all the Veterans teams completed their race after three legs, this left Stuart Pearce all on his own for the last half a mile. The race officials were worried about missing the last bus home, but Stuart was unfazed as he crossed the line to make us the 12th best road relay team in the whole of Wales.