Top Twenty Hit

Hermitage Harriers were out in force once more in the third race of the LRRL winter league. Thirty five Harriers tackled Kibworth 6; a race notorious for its steep climbs and beautiful countryside scenery.

The Harrier’s ladies team delivered an outstanding performance with four ladies finishing in the women’s top twenty. First home was the club’s ‘new girl’ Bonita Robinson in 10th position with a time of 43.20. She was quickly joined by a dynamic duo in the shape of Joanne Matthews and Mia Weston who crossed the line 16th and 17thand just one second apart with times of 44.26 and 44.27 respectively. Matthews also claimed third place in the vet 40-44 category. Katie Wright was fourth female home in a time of 44.52 and 20th place. In addition, the club also fielded five new lady runners: Jodi Nicholson, Abi Crane, Teresa Bradshaw, Debbie Nicholson and Gemma Cave, who all performed exceptionally well on a challenging course.

Similarly, the men’s team had a very successful race with Matt Adcock flying around the course in an impressive time of 33.19 and claiming 2nd place overall. He was in good company, when he was joined shortly after by Jason Williams who crossed the finishing mat in 6th position with a time of 33.51. Ryan Twigg was next home in 35.34 and 17th position. Shaun Coulton and Gavin McDermott took the next two team spots with 21st and 25th position and times of 35.46 and 36.01 respectively. A 30th place finish by Craig Hinds in 36.13, secured six men inside the top thirty runners for the club. The team was completed by Kristian Bravin in 33rd position with a time of 36.17 and Paul Gregory in 36.24 and 34th place.

As always, there were impressive performances across the entire club with many individuals smashing times and targets. On her debut league run for the club, Jodi Nicholson smashed her previous 6 mile best time by almost five minutes with her time of 51.44. Darryl Johnson also took a considerable chunk of two minutes off his PB with a new best of 51.31 alongside Tracey Richardson-Lyne whose finishing time of 57.26 saw her shave 2 minutes off her 6 mile PB. Colin Mayes also produced an impressive PB with a new time of 50.57. Furthermore, Pete Armstrong smashed his PB for the course, taking 3.40 off his former best time. The club’s vet 50 record for the course was also broken by Shaun Coulton who bettered it by around 3 ½ minutes. Kibworth 6 was also the first six mile race for both Fraser Harris and Debbie Payne who both delivered fantastic runs for the club.

The next race in the LRRL Winter League calendar is Desford 6 on Sunday 29th March where Hermitage will be looking to continue their success so far this season