Author: valley

Suffolk County Championships

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We had 10 athletes compete in the Suffolk County Championship and a fantastic 6 Champions crowned!

Josh Mayston (SM) 100m bronze
Abeni Beckham (U17) LJ and TJ champion
Kiera Kane (U15) LJ champion, HJ and 100m silver
Vaughan Beckham (U15) LJ and TJ champion
James McAllen (U13) 100m bronze
Agatha Gouldby (U13) Shot Put champion, 100m silver, high jump bronze

Our medalists from the Suffolk County Championships

The clubs fantastic performances:
U13b
James McAllen- 100m 3rd 14.4 & 200m 4th 29.3 (Final 30.2)
Cohen Copeman- 1500m 7th 5:23.1, 100m 7th 15.4 & 200m 3rd in Heat 29.9 (Missed our on the final by just 0.01)
Alfie Caplin- LJ 5th 3.77m
U13g
Agatha Gouldby- SP 1st 7.23m, 100m 2nd 15.9 & HJ 3rd 1.00m
U15b
Vaughan Beckham- LJ 1st 4.87m, TJ 1st 10.75m & 100m 4th 13.4
William Browne- 1500m 6th 5:04.8
U15g
Kiera Kane- LJ 1st 4.03m, HJ 2nd 1.40m & 100 5th in heat 15.1
U17w
Abeni Beckham- LJ 1st 4.40m & TJ 1st 9.37m
U20m
Josh Mayston- 100m 3rd 11.8 & 200m 4th 24.1
Well done everyone, another great day at the oval office!

North Suffolk underway in the Eastern Young Athletes

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On Sunday the clubs juniors track and field season kicked off with our first fixture in the Eastern Young Athletes League at Ipswich. After struggling for athletes in this league over the past few years we decided to try forming a composite team with the other local clubs. Beccles and Bungay Harriers and Bungay Black Dogs accepted our invitation and we formed The North Suffolk Composite Team.

We had a successful day, with 36 athletes competing coming in 5th out of 6 clubs, the 5 other clubs are fortunate enough to have facilities we could only dream of so to come 5th and only 23 points off 4th was a great way to start the season. The U13b, U13g, U15b and U17m all came 4th in their age groups.

We had three new club records set on the day and two in the Discus. Milly Weddle in her first outing as an U13g set a new record of 15.93m and in the U17m Michael Van Haren threw 31.65m for a win and a record and in the U17w Abeni Beckham set a new 80mH record with 15.2s With Personal Bests in plentiful supply despite the swirling winds top performances from the day go to Milly Weddle (U13g) winning the Javelin A, and coming 2nd in the A String Shot and Discus, in the U13b Jude Benson-Smith and Alfie Caplin completed a double A & B win in the Shot Putt. In the U15g, Amber English and Kiera Kane produced good Long Jumps to finish 3rd in the A and 2nd in the B, Joel Burgess A and Vaughan Beckham B (U15b) also had good Long Jumps with both coming 2nd in their strings with Joel also picking up a 2nd in the 300m A. In the U17w as well as her club record in the 80mH Abeni picked up a good win in the Triple Jump A and 4th in the Long Jump A and in the U17m Michel Van Haren took two A String wins in the Shot and Discus.

Well done to all the athletes that competed, everyone had good performances which will put them in good stead for the season. Thanks to all the parents that helped out and to Rick Littlejohns, Lynn Emmett and Antony Sinden that officiated the field events, to Vicki Burgess with the new vests and Cavell Beckham who team managed.

The full results will be on the Power of 10 website in a few days

Opening the T&F Season with a Warm-up Meet

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On Thursday the clubs athletes embarked on the 2019 Track and Field season at Great Yarmouth. Traditionally a very cold opener and this meeting was no different! With rarely run races for the juniors the club had 6 new club records set and one so close it deserves a mention.

The club records came from James Burgess U13b breaking his own record in the 600m with a 1:48 and he set a new record 8.8 in the 60m, in the U15b Vaughan Beckham and Joel Burgess both ran the same time with 8.3 to set a new 60m record with Joel lowering his 150m time to 19.8. In the U15g Amber English picked up a good win and new record of 23.1 in the 150m and Abeni Beckham ran 22.1 to set a new 150m record for the U17w. Josh Smith narrowly missed out on the U13b Mile record running 5:55.0 missing out by just 0.06s.

Many new athletes competing for the first time did very well especially in such tough conditions, so well done to all!

Ultra’s, Freethorpe, Snetterton & Parkruns

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Waveney Valley AC member Bob Milner recently completed a tough long distance achievement when he finished the third of three ultra distance races within a year.  His arduous challenge started early last year with the Peddars Way 48 mile race which he finished in a time of 10 hours, 14 minutes and 53 seconds. He followed this with a 100 kilometre event in June, crossing the finish line in 14 hours, 41 minutes and 34 seconds.
 
His final race was the 50 kilometre King’s Forest event towards the end of last year, where he recorded a time of 4 hours and 32 minutes.  He finished in an excellent 8th place and received a ‘grand slam’ award for being a triple ultra finisher.
 
29 members took part in last Sunday’s Freethorpe 10m race on a day when competitors certainly felt the very cold northerly wind during the second part of the race. Trophy winners for Waveney were Zoe Chase for 2nd ladies 40-44 and Lisa Knights 2nd ladies 45-49.  Zoe and Lisa, together with Becky Langford, were also veteran team award winners. There were personal bests recorded by Lloyd Scriven 1.03:59, Mike Quantrill 1.08:28, Bob Milner 1.09:07, Lisa Knights 1.13:19, Daren Coulter 1.14:01, Christine Moore 1.27:35, Rosemary Plant 1.37:18, Gavin Hamilton 1.42:33 and Donna Milner 1.43:38. 699 runners completed the race.
 
At the Snetterton 10k there was another good turn out from the club with almost 30 members taking part. In fine conditions on the flat course, there were PB’s by Zoe Chase 41:44 ( 1st ladies 40-44 age category), Kerry Saunders 47:41, Louise Harrod 50:50, Lisa Stewart 52:30, Peter Lang 54:43, Alison Cooper 55:59, Jo Fisher 56:09, Lauren Finch 57:34, Jenny Caulfield 1.00:19, Claire Randall 1.00:56, Tara Carroll 1.04:23, Alison Barnard 1.04:24 and Fiona Houghton 1.10:24.
 
5k parkrun PB’s for January:- Sonny Neeve 24:00, John Skelly 24:49, Mary Jones 29:04, Oscar Chong 22:17, David Doddington 29:19, Emily Harding 42:43, Maggie Godfrey 29:34, Louise Carroll 31:10, Emma Collyer 41:46, Sarah Norman 23:03, Helen Wright 31:32, Geena Clarke 37:32 and Leon Neeve 19:39.

Suffolk & Norfolk XC Champs

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Waveney Valley AC fielded two senior men’s and two senior women’s teams, plus one junior athlete, for the Suffolk Cross Country Championships at Culford School, near Bury St Edmunds, on Sunday. The course, consisting of grass and trails, was fast and firm with one energy-sapping gradient which the seniors had to deal with on each of the three laps. The distance for the seniors was 10k with 1 x 2k and 2 x 4k laps.

There was a closely contested field in the ladies race and Samantha Lines kickstarted the new year in fine style by finishing second in a time of 38:51, less than half a minute behind an international athlete from Aldershot & Farnham  AC. Completing Waveney’s two strong ladies teams were Zoe Chase 17th in 45:43, Jess Hall 21st in 47:01, Sarah Norman 34th in 48:10, Susannah Close 41st in 51:31, Stephanie Pimlott 45th in 51:56, Kerry Saunders 46th in 51:57 and Rebecca Harris 55th in 54:09. Zoe Chase won the trophy for 2nd in the V40 age category.  88 runners completed the course with Waveney’s teams performing well to finish third (bronze) and 11th out of 16 teams

In the men’s race, Matt Jeffries finished fourth out of 165 runners, in a time of 34:14 with Dean Bain 23rd in 37:44, Jim Burgess 36th in 38:54, Chris Meadows 42nd in 39:46, Chris Pimlott 47th in 40:11, Leon Bernasconi 57th in 40:49,  Chris Bradford 63rd in 41:20, Tim Earl 100th in 44:21 and Steve Carruthers, affected by an injury, 102nd in 44:28. Waveney’s ‘A’ team finished a very respectable 5th from 11 teams and Jim Burgess was the award winner for 3rd in the V45 category.

In the boy’s under-13 3k event,  Waveney’s James Burgess finished 19th in a time of 14:39.

Sam Lines and Matt Jeffries have been selected to run for Suffolk in the Inter-Counties Championships at Loughborough on March 9.

At the Norfolk Cross Country Championships held at Thetford,  Antony Croucher finished 32nd.

Groggy Doggy, Santa Dash & Parkruns

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Waveney Valley AC members enjoyed competing in a number of festive events over Christmas. Bungay Black Dog AC’s annual Groggy Doggy races always attracts a good turn out on Boxing Day, as mans – and ladies best friend – lead their masters to the muddy field of Outney Common in Bungay.

There were one and two lap races on offer, to be run with or without a dog. In the two laps 4.2 miles plus dog event, Lee Cook and Benji emerged the winners in a time of 31:16. Zoe Chase and Dudley were fourth in 38:09.  Also completing the course with their dogs were Chris Bradford in 10th in 44:51, Alison Cooper 18th in 51:45 and Demelza Hammond 21st in 52:32.

There were well over 200 participants in the two laps with no dog event, Waveney results:- 25 Dylan Neeve 34:53, 26 Richard Aukland 35:03, 38 Leon Neeve 36:13, 55 Tim Earl 38:20, 79 Matt Baldry 41:48, 84 David Mower 41:53, 107 Stephanie Pimlott 43:08, 108 Sarah Norman 43:18, 137 Nicole Goffin 46:50, 174 Cheryl Goymer 50:23, 221 Angela Mower 61:39 and 222 Jane Eaglen 62:09. 

In the one lap 2.1 miles plus dog event Jim Burgess was 2nd in 16:38, Steve Carruthers 3rd in 17:19, Jay Butcher 56th in 32:28 and Lloyd Scriven 59th in 34:46. In the one lap with no dog race, Peter Lang was 5th in 21:13, Jane Hunt 38th in 28:02, Sarah James 58th in 31:48 and Rachael Finch 59th in 31:49.

33 members took part in the East Coast Santa Dash 5k which took place at Gorleston. The top ten for Waveney were 9 Mark Thompson 19:48, 12 William Browne 20:36, 27 Danni Liffen 22:36 PB, 53 Susannah Close 24:50, 63 Peter Lang 25:49, 65 Jo Fisher 25:59, 80 Julie Waters 26:58, 81 Cheryl Goymer 26:58, 82 Jay Butcher 26:59 and 98 Rachael Finch 27:50. There were PB’s also by Debbie Foster 27:55, Louise Carroll 32:56 and Victoria Cable 33:00.

5k parkrun personal bests for members for Nov and Dec: Vicky Wood 24:46, Michelle Smith 29:39, Karen Harrod 31:38, Sue Cole 36:42, Chris Meadows 18:08, Pam Warne 28:33, Emily Harding 44:11, Finley Drake 27:51, Lisa Cone 25:55, Peter Lang 25:10, Demelza Hammond 27:34, Zoe Chase 20:43, Leo Stead 21:45, Natalie Brown 26:36, Louise Carroll 32:39, Daren Coulter 21:17, Stuart Spurgeon 20:35, Lisa Wilson 25:56 and Mary Jones 29:36.

Brian Boardley 1942 – 2019

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It is with great sadness, we have to advise members and friends that Brian Boardley has passed away.

Many of you will know Brian has not been coaching or officiating with the club since the summer, having had an operation for cancer and undergoing radiotherapy. For the past few weeks Brian has been in hospital, and he passed away today in Beccles.

Brian was born on 16/10/42, and in November 1970, with three like-minded running friends, formed Lowestoft AC. Brian had been a notable athlete in London with a best time of 53:12 for 10 miles but retired from competition through knee injury seven years after moving to Lowestoft in 1969.

A qualified coach and race timekeeper, Brian was very much involved in the merger between Lowestoft AC and Beccles AC in the spring of 1996 with the new club being called Waveney Valley Athletic Club. He had served as Club Chairman for Lowestoft AC and has since for Waveney Valley AC.

In recent years, in addition to officiating at numerous track and field events, and timekeeping at the clubs and other local races, Brian has coached the Junior athletes, with his passion especially coaching the middle distance athletes. Brian recently received the Chairman’s Lifetime Achievement Award, and was also made Life President at the AGM. Brian was also recognised by Suffolk Sport in 2016 for his dedication to sport with the Unsung Hero award.  Brian inspired so many young athletes, he will be greatly missed.

Rest in peace Brian xx

Inter-Club Sportshall Tournament

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In the Inter-Club Sportshall Tournament in Lowestoft, the host Waveney were in action against athletes from Gt Yarmouth & District AC, Beccles and Bungay Harriers, Bungay Black Dog AC and Framlingham Flyers. There were 90 athletes in action, with just under 40 from the host club, where all athletes contested 2 and 4 lap races, long jump, speed bounce and chest push with the medalists scored across all five events cumulatively.

Waveney’s boys excelled with a 1-2-3 for the U11s led by Lewis Barnes, James McAllen and Ben Littlejohns taking bronze. It was the same with the U13s with William Browne taking gold, followed by James Burgess and Thomas Supple. Another gold went to Waveney U15 Vaughan Beckham, followed by Tom Spurgeon with silver.

Full Results

Our next Inter-Club event is Cross Country.
We are in 1st place for U11 and U13 boys, and also 1st overall, but we need a full turnout with Girls and Boys to maintain our overall position.
Our U11 and U13 boys are in the 1st four places individually, whilst our U15 boys are in 2nd and 3rd places.

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Suffolk Sportshall County Championships

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Many young athletes from Waveney Valley AC concluded the Suffolk Sportshall with the County Championships in Ipswich.

Waveney boasted a total of 12 county champions with a further 19 silver and bronze medals returning to Waveney. On the track, athletes competed over 2 and 4 laps (U11s over 1 and 2 laps), long jump, triple jump, speedbounce and shot put (chest push for U11s).

In the U15 event, Abi MacKenzie-Websdale followed up her fine league form with four gold medals and a silver, with Kiera Kane collecting two silvers. In the boys events, Vaughan Beckham collected one gold along with two silvers and two bronzes.

In the U13 girls events, Agatha Gouldby was Waveney’s only medallist where she claimed bronze in the shot put with a best of 5.70m. There was more success for the boys however, led by Jude Benson-Smith claiming a hattrick of golds in the shot put, triple jump and speedbounce. Alfie Caplin also medaled in the shot put with a silver with Reuben Colbridge taking bronze in both the 2 and 4 lap races.

In the keenly contested U11 events, Tia Duncan claimed four county titles in both the 1 and 2 lap races along with the triple jump and long jump. She took a further bronze medal in the chest push, with Anna Colbridge taking a silver medal back to Waveney in the triple jump. A highly competitive boys event saw no gold medals for Waveney’s boys, however Bailey English-Sutton claimed a bronze in the triple jump, likewise James McAllen in the long jump with the pair taking a silver and bronze respectively in the chest push. Lewis Barnes rounded up Waveney’s medalists with a silver in the speedbounce and a bronze in the 2 lap race.

There was further good news for Waveney’s athletes with 23 call ups to represent Suffolk in the Regional Sportshall competition which takes place on 9 February at the UEA in Norwich.

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Fram 10K, Wissey Half, Jolly Jags 10K + Others

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Waveney Valley AC are celebrating a successful start to competitive road running this autumn with the crowning of a county champion to add to numerous personal best times achieved by members. At the Framlingham 10k, which served as the county championships, Samantha Lines ran almost a minute faster than her previous best to record a time of 36:58. She was the first lady to finish and was duly crowned Suffolk champion. Coach, and Sam’s training partner, Matt Jeffries ran a season’s best 33:10 to finish second overall.

At the Wissey Half Marathon, Jim Burgess and Steve Carruthers achieved PB’s. From a field of 255 runners, Jim was placed 13th in 1.25:40 and Steve 18th in 1.26:54. Sarah Norman ran a PB by almost seven minutes at the Great North Run, finishing in a time of 1.45:32. Other GNR times:- Leon Neeve 1.36:00, Andy Ayers 1.40:35, Matt Baldry 1.43:24, Dylan Neeve 1.58:13, Sonny Neeve 1.58:13, Chris Pitman 2.11:38, Angela Mower 2.39:14, Donna Cuppleditch 2.51:44. At the Great East Run held at Ipswich, Stuart Spurgeon ran a personal best 1.38:23, with a PB also for Daren Coulter in 1.45:49. Other GER times:- Andy Ayers 1.45:49, Vladimir Laptikhovsky 2.02:28, Lisa Wilson 2.06:50, Michaela Gooch 2.17:58, Kirsty Howe 2.23:24, James Gooch 2.30:57.

The Jolly Jaguars 10k, held at the former RAF base at Coltishall, proved a happy event for Waveney’s athletes. From a field of 503 runners, new member Stuart Coe finished 14th in 38:49, with personal best runs from Mike Quantrill, 42nd in 40:55, Dave Catchpole 213th in 50:48, Demelza Hammond 279th in 54:27, Debbie Foster 348th in 58:32, Rachael Finch 363rd in 59:05 and Peter Lang 366th in 59:03. Phil Hazell finished well placed in the 70+ age category, and an overall 285th in 54:50.

Eight members competed in the Bure Valley 10m race. Zoe Chase and Chris Strange, in their debut 10m races, finished 53rd in 1.11:28 and 55th in 1.11:50 respectively. There were personal best times for Matt Baldry, 57th in 1.12:02, Lisa Knights 73rd in 1.14:38, Ian Hawkes 82nd in 1.16:14, Louise Harrod 171st in 1.26:44 and Angela Mower 286th in 1.50:11. David Mower was close to his best with 87th place in 1.16:28.

Four members, Becky Langford, David Mower, Danni Liffen and Bill Kingaby, took part in the annual Reebok Ragnar White Cliffs Experience, a coastal relay race covering approximately 177 miles from Sittingbourne in Kent to Brighton, East Sussex. Ten runners per team competed over the 30-leg race, with each competitor running three legs each. Waveney’s part team of four, plus local runner Carl Frisby, were joined by Google employees, mostly from Seattle, to make a full team named Googling Warriors. In wet, muddy conditions, with several steep gradients, the team, with very little sleep, were pleased with their finishing placing of 37th out of 114 teams, in just under 26 hours.

Other results:- Greater Cambridge 10k – Antony Croucher 41:27. Nottingham Half Marathon – Stuart Smith 2.04:51.