Several Chiltern Harriers tackled the Virtual Berkeley Avenue 5k Relays over the Easter break.
 
The course was just over three laps of the fast and flat Berkeley Avenue circuit in Chartridge, familiar to many harriers from Tuesday evening training sessions over the years.
 
Fifty-five runners entered, making eleven teams of five, however a few could not complete the route so their estimated times have been used in the results.        DOWNLOAD RESULTS
 
The weather over the fortnight racing window was largely cool and dry, making for good running conditions.
 
The fastest quintet in 1.42.51 were Holiday Harriers (Angus Williams, Craig Fulham, David Howells, Glen Martin and Jo Murray). In second were Pednor Pedestrians (Finn O’Brien, Holly Henderson, Richard Moss, Caroline Stephens and Ruth Holroyd) in 1.43.19. And third were Berkeley Bunnies (Max McGarvie, Sammy Whibley, Tom Wright, Christine Taylor, and Trevor Brawn) in 1.44.39).
 
The individual fastest three males were Aran Davidson (15.37), Max Poplawski (16.11) and Thomas Redmond (16.33) whilst the quickest three females were Holly Henderson (19.02), Lean Ni Chiobhain (19.11) and Ellie Bates (19.13).
 
With actual road races and track races beginning in April, it’s hoped that virtual racing will not be necessary going forward. However it has been a useful tool in keeping athletes motivated over the various lockdowns and there have been some great performances.

Please see the teams for the inaugural (and in the nicest way hopefully last) Easter Virtual Berkeley Avenue 5k Relay.   Download Team List
 
The race window is from now until midnight Friday April 9th, running just over three laps of the popular fast and flat Berkeley Avenue circuit in Chartridge, just up from Chiltern Hills Academy.
 
Here is a strava map of the course.
 https://www.strava.com/activities/4954959637
 
Please email your strava runs to [email protected] or if you don’t have strava, just email your time.
 
Feel free to have more than one attempt.
 
Good luck!
​
Steve

With covid restrictions in place, the Bran Tub Relay could not be held as normal just before Christmas. Instead the club held a virtual event and 75 athletes across 15 teams took part.
 
Athletes had a window from December 21st to December 30th to complete their laps and there were some excellent times from runners across the age groups. Each runner entered via google and logged an estimated time – this led to seeding which made for fairly evenly matched teams.
 
The circuit is around 1400 metres and is based around the rectangle leading from the bollards at the end of Devonshire Avenue, along the main Chesham Road and up Hervines Road to finish back at the bollards. Most athletes utilised Strava or other GPS functionality to record their times.
 
The winning team was Santa’s Strollers featuring runs from Sam Howell (3.55), Christine Burroughs (5.34), Nick Hughes (4.25), Callum Powell (5.07), and Lean Ni Chiobhain (4.57). In second place came Merry Milers – Cameron Reid (3.51), Miriam Kempson (6.49), Adam Shute (4.36), Alicia Bushell (5.01), and Archie Pinder (4.25); and third were Reindeer Runners – Aran Davidson (4.21), Jacob McCall (5.40), Jonny Slade (4.34), Richard Quantrill (5.16), and Alex Hughes (5.00).
 
Fastest lap was a new course record from Will Perkin – 3.46. Cameron Reid was second in 3.51 and Sam Howell third in 3.55. Other lads to dip under four minutes were Richard Slade (3.58) and Angus Williams (3.59). On the female side Frankie Baxter was fastest with 4.46. Next came Maddie Hughes (4.48) with Abbie Henderson third (4.52). Lean Ni Chiobhain (4.57) and Holly Henderson (4.59) also went under five minutes.
 
Several seniors ran the lap for the first time and many were pleasantly surprised with their speed over a short distance.
 
Hopefully next year the Bran Tub can go back to a being a real race

RESULTS of the BRAN TUB RELAY

A big thank you to all the volunteers, without whom this event would not be possible.

Steve's Report
There was a great turnout at the 2019 Bran Tub Relay at Hervines Park on Sunday. A rare pleasant weather day saw some competitive racing with several course records broken.
 
There were enough athletes to create thirteen teams of five, with team captains running two of the 1450m legs around the Devonshire Avenue, Chesham Road, Hervines Road loop.
 
The finishing order ebbed and flowed as the laps proceeded but it was Abbie Henderson’s Black team that prevailed, ending up comfortable winners with a great combined time of 29.21 (Abbie Henderson, Euan Pinder, Matt Brown, Frankie Baxter).
 
Only Will Perkin had previously gone below 4 minutes on the circuit but a very competitive lap 1 saw Richard Slade break the record with 3.53, and Alex Johnson (3.58) and Alex Johnson (3.59) also dip under. Alden Collier ran an U13 record with 4.16 and a record numbers of girls broke 5 minutes (Holly Henderson 4.35, Abbie Henderson 4.39, Frankie Baxter 4.49, Orla Williams 4.54, Lesedi Nkoane 4.56, and Maddie Hughes 4.57).

RESULTS from today's race and photos by Martyn Loach