Round 2 of the Norfolk Sportshall League took place on Saturday 9 November 2013 at Taverham in Norwich with Waveney Valley Athletic Club taking a large squad of 32 junior athletes to compete against 228 other athletes from City of Norwich AC (CoNAC), Bungay Black Dog AC (BBD), Ryson AC/W Norfolk AC, Gt Yarmouth & District AC (GYDAC), Dereham and Hethersett High. Although a damp and drizzly day, the athletes were unaware, as all the events took place in the venues 2 large sports halls.

Waveney’s athletes competed in the U11 and U13 team categories for both girls and boys, with the U15’s competing individually. In both categories athletes compete in the 2 lap, 4 lap, standing long jump, vertical jump, speed bounce and relay, with the U11s also undertaking 2 lap hurdles, seated ball throw and 6 lap paarlauf and the U13s the 6 lap, standing triple jump, shot put, 8 lap paarlauf and 4x 2 lap relay.

The U11 boys team consisted of Theo Hudson, Joel Burgess, Benjamin Cone, Reuben Harvey, Finn Howes and Vaughan Beckham. The boys finished 4^th out of 11 team with 298 points – a huge improvement over round 1’s 7^th place finish with 234 points, and just 1 point from one of CoNACs teams in 3^rd place. Theo gained a 2^nd place (from 18) in the throw with 7m and 3^rd (from 17) in the 2 lap with a time of 27.5s. Benjamin achieved a 3^rd (from 14) in the speedbounce with 44 jumps, and Joel and Theo came 2nd in the paarlauf.

The U11 girls team included Maddie Archbold, Abeni Beckham, Brooke Oram, Shamara Hammonds, Libby Mayall and Maisie Elvin-Andrews who finished the day 6^th out of 13 teams, an improvement of a place and 10 points over round 1. Shamara was the star performer of the team in this meeting, winning the 2 lap (from 26 athletes) with a time of 26.1s and 4^th (from 24) in the 2 lap hurdles with a time of 29.2s.

The U13 boys team were the clubs team of the day with members of Tai Elvin-Andrews, Jamie Besford, Dylan Davies, Leon Cousins, Callum, Jake Hunter, Max Braddock, Harry Bernasconi and Ethan Lee. The boys achieved a fantastic 2^nd place finish of 8 teams with 387 points, much bettering round 1s 4^th place and 347 points. Dylan defended his round 1 shot put win with a throw of 7.5m (of 10). Leon came 3^rd (of 12) in the long jump with 2.0m and 3^rd in the shot put with 6.24m. Callum and Tai gained a 2^nd place in the paarlauf, and the 4x 2 lap relay team also gained a 2^nd place.

The U13 girls team again consisted of Hannah Mayne, Harriet Lyman, Harriet Gooch, Lily Collins and Mia and finished 4^th of 8 with 366 points, just 1 point off the 3^rd placed team from Ryston/W Norfolk. Hannah again excelled by winning both the 2 lap (from 14) with a time of 25.0s, the vertical jump (from 14) with 47cm, and a 2^nd place in the long jump with a leap of 2.01m. Harriet Gooch continued her good form in the speedbounce with a 3^rd place (from 14) with 74 jumps. The girls also finished the 4x 2 lap relay in 3^rd place.

Waveney had seven U15s competing individually against 16 boys and 24 girls. With a very high standard of competition with all athletes competing in all events, Kieran Covill’s performances were notable finishing in 3^rd place overall with 136 points, but winning both the 2 lap and 4 lap races in times of 22.3s and 47.4s respectively and a 3^rd in the standing triple jump with 7.03m. Jake Block gained 108 points for a 9^th place and Lewis Covill gained 66 points. For the girls, Emily Archbold gained 91 points for a 12^th place finish which included a 4^th in the long jump, and 5^th in the vertical jump, Shannon Hall gained 69 points for a 15^th place with Lauren Oram and Georgia Fairs gaining 37 points and 20 points respectively.

The next Sportshall league meeting takes place on 30 November 2013 in Kings Lynn.

Waveney Valley Athletic Club members have travelled outside Suffolk and Norfolk for their most recent road races.
Ailsa MacDonald took part in the Nottingham Robin Hood Marathon on Sept 29, held in perfect conditions over a quick and relatively flat course. Entering into the spirit of the event she joined several other runners by wearing the famous characters costume.
Ailsa was on her race target time until the final 10 miles when, hampered by knee trouble she sustained a few days earlier, she slowed significantly and finished in a time of 4.17.39. Her next marathon will be the Coastal Trail race on Oct 26 when she hopes to run a faster time.
The 31st staging of the Windsor Half Marathon, also on Sept 29, had an entry of almost 4,000 athletes. Competing for Waveney Valley were David and Angela Mower. David finished in 936th place in a time of 1.51.46 and Angela 3,359th in 2.35.27. The race winner was former Kirkley schoolboy – and winner of the 1996 Lowestoft Scores Race – Kojo Kyereme, a member of Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers, who won in a time of 1.09.37.
Last Sunday, Mark Nussey and Paula Lambert took part in the Cambridge Town & Gown 10k, over a flat course in excellent weather conditions. From the 600-plus entrants Mark finished 57th (13th in his age group) in a time of 45:47 and Paula 181st (7th in age group) in 51:54.

A dozen members of Waveney Valley Athletic Club were part of an entry of more than 400 runners at the recent Great Yarmouth 10k.

A number of personal bests were recorded by club members and three, Lisa Knights, Pat Tuttle and Alan Richardson were amongst the race prize winners. Chris Pimlott finished 26th in a time of 39:01, Richard Aukland was 54th in an excellent pb time of 41:57, Bill Kingaby was 109th  in 45:05.

Lisa Knights and Ailsa MacDonald started the race alongside each other, and that was how they finished, both recording a personal best 45:34 in 115th and 116th places. Lisa also won second prize in her age group. Steve Gibbs was 124th in 46:03, Joe Mayne 149th in 47:55 and Nigel Herrod 151st in 48:12.

Alan Richardson, who won first prize in his age group, was placed 187th in 50:37. David Goosey achieved a pb of 53:39 finishing 246th and Pat Tuttle was 264th in 54:47, winning second prize in her age group. Stuart Smith was 313th in 58:15. There were 399 finishers.

All runners over 18 received a bottle of beer, sponsored by Adnams except, it appears, Bill Kingaby  who somehow failed to notice the huge stack of bottles in the race headquarters.

 

At last Saturdays Gorleston parkrun, Steve Gibbs finished 34th in a time of 22.28 and Maddie Archbold was 116th in 29:27, another personal best for her.

Wind and heavy rain made conditions very difficult for the thousands of runners who took part in the Perkins Great Eastern Run at Peterborough on Oct 13. Waveney Valley Athletic Club member Tracy Mayne joined the 5,200 entrants at the Embankment which quickly became a mudbath as the runners assembled at the start line.

Despite the weather Tracy knocked nine minutes off her previous time over the half marathon distance to finish in 2-41.36 and 3,708th place. On the same day, Alan Richardson took part in the Martlesham 10k, staged over a 4-lap course of the new village of Martlesham Heath. He put in a very strong performance to finish first in his age group with a time of 50:57, in 141st place from a total of 225 finishers.

A number of club members have featured at the Gorleston Cliffs 5k parkruns over recent weeks. On Sep 28 Jon Comyn recorded 20:47 and Alan Richardson 29:32. On Oct 5 Comyn ran a personal best 20:15 and on Oct 12 he crossed the finish line in 20:25. At last Saturdays race, Maddie Archbold recorded a personal best time of 29:39.

The first winter competition of the season took place on Saturday for Waveney Valley Athletic Clubs junior athletes. 20 of the Clubs juniors travelled to Taverham High School in Norwich to compete in Round 1 of the Norfolk Sportshall Athletics League, competing against teams from City of Norwich AC (CoNAC), Bungay Black Dog AC (BBD), Ryson AC/W Norfolk AC, Gt Yarmouth & District AC (GYDAC), Dereham and Hethersett High.

The Sportshall Athletics League provides an excellent opportunity for the athletes to continue to compete against other clubs throughout the winter, but in a more relaxed atmosphere to the summer league, with traditional outdoor events modified to be undertaken indoors. It also provides the Clubs young athletes an ideal shop window to be selected for the Norfolk County team, who won last years National final at the Birmingham NEC.

The athletes competed for the Club in the U11 and U13 categories for both girls and boys, with U15’s competing individually. In both categories athletes compete in the 2 lap, 4 lap, standing long jump, vertical jump, speed bounce and relay, with the U11s also undertaking 2 lap hurdles, seated ball throw and 6 lap paarlauf and the U13s the 6 lap, standing triple jump, shot put, 8 lap paarlauf and 4x 2 lap relay.

In the U11 boys team was Theo Hudson, Joel Burgess, Daniel Allen and Benjamin Cone who finished 7th out of 10 teams on the day with 234 points, just 20 behind 4th. An excellent performance taking into account they were 8/9 years competing often against athletes aged 10. Notable performances came from Joel Burgess who won 2 lap hurdles against 17 boys, and came 3rd in the 4 lap, and Theo Hudson, in his first outing for Waveney, who came 3rd out of 18 in the long jump.

The U11 girls team was Maddie Archbold, Grace Forster, Abeni Beckham, Brooke Oram and Maisie Elvin-Andrews who finished 7th from the 13 teams on the day with 213 points, and just 4 points behind 5th. As with the boys, a great performance as the Clubs athletes were younger than their fellow competitors. Notable performances were from Grace Forster who finished 6th out of 25 in the 4 lap and Maddie Archbold, another Waveney debutant finishing 5th out of 25 in the 2 lap hurdles. Grace and Abeni then combined in the paarlauf to come home 5th out of 12 – just 0.3 seconds from 3rd.

The U13 boys team consisted of Tai Elvin-Andrews, Jamie Besford, Dylan Davies, Leon Cousins and Callum. They achieved a 4th place finish on the day with 347 points, just 20 behind the 2nd placed team from CoNAC. Waveney cleaned up in the Shot Put with Dylan continuing his impressive summer form by winning with a throw of 6.90m. Leon came 2nd with 6.02m and also 3rd in the long jump with 2.04m, just 5cm short of the joint winners from CoNAC. Callum finished an impressive 2nd out of 11 in the 2 lap, with Jamie 3rd in the 6 lap.

The U13 girls team were team of the day, with Hannah Mayne, Harriet Lyman, Harriet Gooch, Lily Collins and Mia finishing 3rd with 372 points out of 9 teams, 28 points behind the 2nd placed team from CoNAC. Hannah was the athlete of the day winning both the long jump with a leap of 1.99, the vertical jump with 48 and finishing 2nd in the 2 lap. Harriet Gooch continued to impress in the speedbounce with 72 jumps. Hannah and Mia performed very well in the 8 lap paarlauf with a 2nd place finish, and despite some slick batons changes, the girls finished 5th in the relay.

Charlotte Gooch performed consistently as the Clubs only U15 competitor in this fixture, but with County places up for grabs, more are anticipated at the next fixture.

Seven members of Waveney Valley Athletic Club took part in the Ipswich Half Marathon in rather humid but otherwise perfect weather conditions.Over the hilly and challenging course, Pat Tuttle secured pride of place for Waveney Valley with a well-earned trophy winning first place in the FV55 age category. Over 1,000 runners were entered and Pat finished 589th in a time of 2.01:29. Mark Nussey was first to cross the finish line for the club in 245th place in 1.44:06 with Paula Lambert next in 422nd in 1.53:43.Alan Richardson was 560th in 2.00:32 and David Goosey recorded a very good time of 2.06:54, in 677th, in his first half marathon. Tracy Mayne was placed 977th in a time of 2.50:44. David Pimlott was forced to retire after just two miles when his lower calf tightened following a long downhill section of the course.

Waveney valley athletic club member Paula Lambert travelled to Newcastle to do the Great North Run half marathon. A very busy race and the weather was poor. Paula finished in a time of 1hr 53 mins. 38 secs Position overall out of 56,000 competitors 10,761. 1754 overall female. 151th in her age.

Due to committments to organising the Lowestoft Scores Race, Waveney Valley Athletic Club entered just six runners in the senior race. Chris Pimlott finished 14th in a time of 29:27, Jon Comyn was 40th in 33:39, Wayne Freeman 42nd in 33;52, Seamus Wrigley 57th in 35:47, Paul Harrod 63rd in 36:03 and David Mower 76th in 37:18.

The race formed part of this years Suffolk Grand Prix road race series and was event 6 of 7. WVAC runners totalled 943 points and the clubs overall total so far of 1,114 points in the series this year puts them in 14th place from 21 Suffolk clubs.

Four club members competed in the Scores Race junior events. In the boys 10-12 age group Jamie Besford was first in a time of 9:20 and Leon Cousins 5th in 16:32. In the girls 10-12 race, Harriet Lyman was first in a time of 9:52 and Abeni Beckham 3rd in 11:19.

Gorleston Parkrun results Aug 17: 154 David Pimlott 32:19. Aug 24: 10 Jon Comyn 20:31, 135 Alan Richardson 29:07. Aug 31: 14 Jon Comyn 20:51, 26 Alan Fairs 21:23, 183 Vicki Fairs 41:39. Sep 7: 9 Jon Comyn 20:43, 69 Alan Richardson 25:03. Fritton Lake Parkrun Aug 17: 12 Wayne Freeman 22:17(pb).

The Mayor of Lowestoft, June Ford started the 18^th Lowestoft Scores race promptly at 2pm last Sunday. 16 year old Ted Oldman made a fleet-footed transition from the Junior Boys ranks to the Junior Men/Senior Men level by winning this years event. The race was run over a course of approximately 4.75 miles and included 13 stepped hills and 401 steps.

The Bungay Black Dog running Club member, who won the Boys event for the last 2 years, finished just a few paces ahead of his team mate Kieran McMorran. Oldmans winning time was 26.17 with Roger Braybrooks of London Neathside finishing third.

Odette Robson of Bury Pacers was the first lady to finish and set a new course record with her time of 29.29. Karen Kettless was second and Karen Archbold of Lowestoft Road Runners was third.

In the Juniors event, run over approximately 1.4 miles, and including 254 steps, Stanley Collins of Great Yarmouth and District AC won the boys 13-15 event in a time of 7.44. Waveney Valley AC duo Jamie Besford and Harriet Lyman were first in the 10-12 boys and girls events in times of 9.20 and 9.52 respectively.

There were 164 finishers in the Senior race, this year part of the Suffolk Grand Prix series of races. All finishers receiving a commemorative t-shirt.

At the prize presentation, race Director Bill Kingaby thanked Birds Eye for their generous event sponsorship, and also Lowestoft Vision for sponsoring the Junior trophies and bottled water, which was handed to the runners as they crossed the finish line. Thanks were also passed to Claire Henwood of Active Waveney, and her team at Waveney District Council and Waveney Norse, to Christchurch for providing the facilities and refreshments and also to James Gooch, the race organiser, Vicki Fairs, the Chief Marshal and the team of marshals, traffic management officers and helpers who ensured the event was a success.

The prizes were presented by Danny Steel, Chairman of Lowestoft Vision, Peter Aldous, MP for Waveney, June Ford, Mayor of Lowestoft and Nick Copeman representing Birds Eye who also ran the race.