Clocking 33min 16sec on the undulating course, Simon was content with his performance to add to his string of wins in recent months.

In the Swanage half marathon, Matthew Cross was among the first 100, finishing in 1hour 37min10sec, supported by Andy Gillespie with 1.49.37.

Representing Wiltshire in the south west inter-counties track championships, a squad of Salisbury’s young athletes put up some good performances at Exeter, despite wet and windy conditions.

Jamie Poulton won the under-17 high jump with an excellent1.9metres; Jake Ness won the under-15 400m in 52.8sec; Geo Downie took third place in the under-17 800m with 2min 7.7sec and his sister Claudia improved her best in the under-13 800m with 2min 40.4sec, closely followed by Heidi Porter making her debut for the county.

Dean Holdsworth and Jaymee Domoney were part of the winning Wiltshire junior sprint relay team; Emma Clarke took second place with a 30second improvement in the 3,000m clocking 11min 25.9sec; and the award for the day’s busiest athlete went to Richard Holt who took fifth in the senior 200m with 22.9sec, then was second in the triple jump and finished off with third in the long jump competition.

City of Salisbury’s star athlete Simon Plummer notched another win on Sunday during his continuing ‘tick-over’ phase before he restarts training in earnest next month in time for a big autumn marathon that he hopes will warrant international selection.

This latest success at local level came in the New Forest 10mile race, staged mainly over woodland tracks, and despite the comparatively slow going he still clocked 54.58 for a resounding first place in the field of 900.

Next Salisbury runner was John Gorham who had cause for satisfaction with his 75.24, and he was followed by Chrissie Gorham with 83.16, Keith Gibson 87.34, Charlene Gibson 88.50, Andrew Bennett 90.32, Jane Whiteley 93.46, Colin Martin 93.47 and Diana Charnley 107.23.

On the track in a Southern Athletics division 2 league match, City of Salisbury were placed fourth behind Andover and Overton, Vale of Aylesbury, and Serpentine.

Winners in the women’s squad were Amy Jaramazovic in the under-17’s 400metres A with 60.0sec; Alex Mundell with 59.7sec in the B race and then in the 800m with 2.16.6sec and to complete her hat-trick of wins, first in the under 17’s 1500m too.

Lizzie Clifford took the 400m hurdles A race in 68.4sec; Emma Clarke the 1500m steeplechase in 6min 7.1sec; Danielle Scott the under-17 pole vault with 2.6m; and Lizzie Clifford the long jump with 4.78m.

Among the men’s events, Darren Clissold won the pole vault with 3.2m. 

Click here for Full league results (.xls)

City of Salisbury’s young athlete Jake Ness was the club’s success story at the English Schools championships at Gateshead.

Running in the juniors’ 400m, he first produced a significant personal best of 51.79sec in the heats among the country’s best opponents in his age group.

Then in the final, undaunted by the pressure of the occasion, he lopped a further fifth of a second off that time to an excellent 51.57sec which gave him third place and a well-deserved national medal. Less than two seconds separated him from gold.

In the 4 x 100m relay that followed Jake took another bronze with the county team in a photo-finish that rounded off a fine trip to the north east.

Three other rising stars among the club’s young athletes also produced good performances. Lizzie Clifford couldn’t repeat her form from the regional championships’ intermediate 300m hurdles but still achieved fourth place in her heat; Danielle Scott was 19th; and in the high jump Jamie Poulton recorded 1.77m, rather below his best but still 21st in the listings.

Notable absentee was Alex Mundell in her first year as an under-17 in the 800m but age groupings mean her chance to make her mark comes in this event next year.

Salisbury's track athletes win 13 county titles   (28/06/2011)

City of Salisbury young track athletes scooped no fewer than a baker’s dozen of wins in the Wiltshire County championships at Tidworth where star performances from Alex Mundell and Jake Ness also set two new championship records.

Alex’s win came in the under-17’s 800metres where she headed the field with a rapid 2min 16.3sec run that made the most of the fine conditions to take gold.

Then in the under-15’s 400 metres, Jake Ness again showed fine form to record 52.8sec and put his name on the championship record lists.

Lizzie Clifford scored an excellent winning double, taking the under-17’s 300m hurdles in 46.7sec and the 80m hurdles in 13.1sec.

Other championship winners from Salisbury were: Dean Hodgson in the under-13 100m in 14.2sec; Alice Smith in the under-15 200m in 27.7sec; Seb Rowe in the under-17 long jump with 5.54m; Callum Hodge in the under-15 high jump with 1.51m; Thomas Hughes in the under-13 javelin with 24.39m; Jamie Poulton in the under-17 high jump with 1.85m; Florence Powell in the under-17 1500m in 5min 34.3sec; Emma Clarke in the under-17 3,000m with 11min 55.6sec and Jordan Donaldson in the under-15 javelin with 31.14m.

To round off a barnstorming day, the under-13’s 4 x 100m relay squad of Jaymee Domoney, Kieran Saul, Thomas Hughes and Dean Hodgson took gold with 58.2sec. Similar success then rewarded the under-17’s team of Alice Smith, Amy Jaramazovic, Freya Espir and Alex Mundell who completed their sprint relay win in 54.9sec.

Wiltshire Junior Championships   (23/06/2011)

The Wiltshire Junior County Championships for Under 17, U15 and U13 age groups will be taking place this Sunday at Tidworth Oval. 

The aim of this competition is to enable young athletes across the County to participate in the event of their choice for both development and as a stepping stone to a higher level of competition. The Wiltshire Athletic Association work hard to produce an event that is enjoyable and entertaining and at the same time of a quality that ensures that all results are deemed viable for higher competition due to the presence of qualified athletics officials. 

Unfortunately the number of qualified officials in the County is dwindling(mainly due to age) and we are struggling to provide enough officials for our event on Sunday. Why not try your hand at officiating on Sunday. 

Please contact me if you would be prepared to help out (if only for 1 hour) We need help with Track Judging (beady eyes), Time Keeping(quick fingers), Field Events (brave) and Results Recording(computer savvy).You will be supervised by qualified officials at all times. We intend to hold officials courses in the County early next year . Wiltshire Athletics Association will subsidise all applications. Please contact me if you are prepared to help.

Details of the event can be found at www.wiltshire-athletics.org 

Salisbury’s Lizzie hurdles to UK top ten place   (20/06/2011)

City of Salisbury’s young track athlete Lizzie Clifford was the weekend’s star performer at the schools’ inter-county championships in Exeter where her personal best to win the under-17 300m hurdles pushed her up to seventh in her age group across the UK at the distance.

For good measure, she clocked her best ever time for third place in the 80m hurdles too. With another full season ahead in her age group these runs show real potential.

In the schools’ 400m Jake Ness ran a solid 53.1sec for another in his series of wins.

Meanwhile at Marlborough, more event winners from the talented Salisbury squad included in the under 13s Imogen Edwards with 15.4sec in the 100m; Dean Hodgson 28.4sec in the 200m; and Heidi Porter 2.49sec in the 800m.

Among the under-15s, Alice Smith won the 100m in 14.0sec; and Jake Ness took the 300m in 37.8sec for seventh in the UK all-time list for this age group, and first in the UK this season.

Charlie Patrick won the under 17/20 100m in 11.4sec; Alex Mundell took the 300m in 43.7sec; Sammy Miller won the boys’ 300m in 39.0sec; and Jamie Poulton won the high jump with 1.85m.

photo shows Lizzie Clifford at the Exeter combined events meeting

Summer barbecue   (16/06/2011)

A date for the diary:
City of Salisbury Athletic and Running Club has set the date of its summer barbecue organised by road runner Clive Smith, to which all 250 members are cordially invited.

It will be held on Saturday 16th July at Salisbury Rugby Club and tickets are available from Clive Smith or Sylvia Fry on Tuesday and Thursday evening at the track sessions or Wednesday evening at the 5 rivers leisure centre road run. Tickets priced £10 for adults and £5 for juniors

Matt Fortes who joined City of Salisbury Athletic and Running Club at the age of twelve has just won his first international cap.

Now 34 and still well known and highly regarded in Salisbury running circles, Matt has been selected to run for Wales in the gruelling alpine marathon championship in Slovenia next Saturday. Organised by the World Mountain Running Association, the race features more than 5,000m – well over half the elevation of Everest – of lung-bursting climbs and steep descents. It is widely regarded in the sport as one of the toughest of mountain marathons.

Matt now lives in north Wales where he competes most weeks in the fell-running races for which in recent years he has discovered a growing talent. The race, near Ljubljana, is part of a championship series of mountain running events.

On the road Simon Plummer clocked up another win in the Melksham 5k, his 15min 33sec giving him more than a half minute’s margin; in the same race Aly Sloane won her age category with 21.35.

In other road races, a delighted Mish Barlow-Graham scooped first place in the Alresford 10k ladies’ event, her 42min 31sec rating as her best race yet despite wind and rain that slowed most of the 200 finishers. In the men’s event Rithy Hy also ran well for 39.52, just ahead of Andy Budgell’s 41.20.

The Braishfield 5mile saw Stewart Holloway also defy the conditions to take 7th place with a pb 28.11, followed by Mel Holloway 35.16, Rod Smith 36.38, Liz Roberts 44.0 and Val Knight 45.0.

At the Yeovilton 5K, Chris Southern was fourth in 16.43, followed by Simon Wiltshire 18.26 and Aly Sloane 21.19.

On the track in the Wiltshire schools championships, Amy Jaramazovic was second in the intermediate 300m with 42.2sec; Joe Willicome took third in the intermediate 200m with 24.2 sec; Rosie Tabor was second in the junior 100m with 13.2 secs followed by Alice Smith, 5th with 13.8sec and Rosie won the 200m in a pb 26.7 sec; Jaymee Domoney was second in the junior 800m with 2min 31.4 and second in the 1500m with a new pb of 5min 8sec.

Salisbury’s Jake Ness was second in the Hampshire junior 400m with a pb 52.6 seconds, to be rewarded with a county vest for the forthcoming English Schools championships in Gateshead.

left photo shows Matt Fortes in action on the fells, photo coutesy of Al Tye
right photo shows Andy Budgell, Rithy Hy an Mish Barlow-Graham at Alresford

Simon Plummer back in the saddle with 10mile record win   (06/06/2011)

City of Salisbury athlete Simon Plummer put his recent marathon disappointment behind him when he broke his own course record by nearly two minutes to win the tough Warminster multi-terrain 10mile race. Leaving the rest of the field behind from the start, he powered round to finish in 54min 19sec.

“That’s just what I needed,” he said. “I’ve analysed what went wrong in the marathon two weeks ago and with my coach I’ve reset my sights on to an autumn 26miler to give me the quick time I need for international selection. I’ll run just a few races like this to keep ticking over before starting the big build-up again in August.”

The problem he identified was low blood sugar levels when he embarked on the marathon in Edinburgh. He’d run a 10mile race followed by a fast 10k in the days before the main event, and he simply hadn’t recharged his reserves sufficiently. He had been going well to 17miles but it was at that point that he had used up the last of his energy reserves, reducing him to a walk. However, he sees it as a lesson learnt and it’s not a mistake he’s likely to repeat.

Taking consolation from the Warminster race, he added: “When you fall out of the saddle, you’ve just got to get right back in it again.”

In the Needles cross country half marathon on the Isle of Wight, Salisbury’s Sally Greenslade crowned a series of steady improvements this season to take third place in the ladies' section with an outstanding 1.44.30 on the rolling downland course.

Next came Colin Martin in 2.3.09, followed by Charlene Gibson with 2.3.25, Linda Robson 2.3.42, Keith Gibson 2.10.44 and Naomi Flower 2.19.21.

Elsewhere, in the Kennet Kanter 10mile, Lewis Fuller took 6th place with a good 63.19 and Rithy Hy 67.04; at Portsmouth in the D-Day 10k Martin Phillips clocked 44.20, and in the Poole 10k Michael Brewster clocked 47.47.

City of Salisbury and Athletic Club’s remarkable long distance runner Phil Smith took on a race at the weekend that even he found challenging. Billed as Britain’s ‘longest, toughest non-stop running race,’ the Grand Union Canal event is fought out on a tow path all the way from Birmingham to London. Phil covered the cool and windy 145miles, equivalent to more than five consecutive marathons, in 35hours 1minute, for 15th place and what must be one of his best results in the endurance race calendar.

At the other end of the distance spectrum, in the young athletes’ open event at Andover, Salisbury’s Amy Jaramazovic took gold in the under 17’s 300m and bronze in long jump. She was supported by Jaymee Domoney with bronze in the under 13’s 800m and Rosie Tabor with bronze in both the under 15’s 100m and the 200m. Dean Hodgson won both the under 13’s 100m and 200m with a pb in the 100m, Ethan Ness made his debut for the club in the under 11’s 80m, 600m and long jump competing above his age for the first time and Tash Mundell took bronze in the under 11’s 600m.

On the road, Rithy Hy continued his good form with 40min 8sec for 14th overall in the Ropley 10k and he was followed by John Gorham in 45.04 and Chrissy Gorham with 50.49.

Meanwhile the Hampshire road race league programme for the coming season has been announced:

Sept 3 Overton 5ml, Sept 18 Victory 5ml, Oct 9 Solent Half Marathon, Nov 6 Lordshill 10ml, Nov 20 Gosport Half Marathon, Jan 15 Stubbington 10k, Feb 5 Ryde 10ml, Feb 19 Bramley 20ml, Mar 11 Salisbury 10ml, Mar 25 Eastleigh 10k, May 6 Alton 10ml, May 13 Netley 10k.

Huge disappointment was City of Salisbury athlete Simon Plummer’s reaction after his bid for a fast marathon, in Edinburgh, continued to elude him. He has now joined the growing number of the UK’s leading prospects who so far this year have been floored by this supreme test of athletic endurance.

With his heart set on a performance that would catch the eye of selectors looking to fill international slots at the 26.2mile distance, he looked set fair for a good performance as he reached the half-way point in 69min 02sec in fourth place. That was perfect for a 2.20 result that would have satisfied his ambitions given that the Edinburgh course is several minutes slower than many.

But the marathon is notoriously difficult to gauge and by mile 17 he’d slipped out of contention at the front, being reduced to walking by mile 17. When all chance of success was gone, he did well to jog to the finish, and he stopped the clock at 2.40.10 for 15th overall – eight minutes slower than his previous best and way off his true potential. The winner, Phil Nichols from Tipton AC, clocked 2.19.

“I felt I just couldn’t run any more. I had no energy,” said a disconsolate Simon. “All my races this season in the build-up to this have been brilliant, with strong performances at all distances from 10k all the way up to 20miles. I’ll have to review this in the hard light of day and will probably refocus for another crack at the distance in the autumn. The talent I know I have should mean I’m in line for Great Britain selection but first I have to nail a top result.”

Also running at Edinburgh, Fiona Ross-Russell confirmed her remarkable status as current UK number one at 20miles in her age group when she clocked a fine 3.20.31. Sue Hazzard too did well, finishing in 3.47.51.

Jon Rich produced a good 3.10.29, and Andy Budgell likewise with a personal best 3.26.26, matching the pb run of Ruth Thom with 4.27.15.

In the Marwell 10k Stuart Holloway was 6th in 36.24, and he was followed by Adrian Berlie with 40.26, John Gorham 44.50 and Chrissy Gorham a neat 50.00mins.

With a large number of absentees for the second Southern Athletic League fixture of the season it was always going to be an uphill struggle for the remaining athletes. But in Darren Clissold and Richard Holt the club possess two very dedicated multi events who were determined to leave very few gaps on the team declaration sheet.

Richard competed in 8 individual and 2 relay events. Amongst all these energy sapping events he also had a personal best and a new club record in the 'A' string triple jump with 13.53 for 1st place and maximum points. The jump moves Richard to 20th in the u23 national rankings for the season.

Darren competed in no less than 10 individual events with his best being a solid 30.42 for 2nd in the 'A' string Hammer.

Debut appearances from Chris Southern and Rithy Hy also proved an inspired team selection with both competing well in a number of track events.

Considering there were only four women available to compete for the club those that did so acquitted themselves extremely well. Emma Clarke still only 15 won her first ever 400m and also did very well in the 800m and 1500m too with Laura Allen, Linda New and Jo Norbury all providing good backup. Linda’s 9:05.8 in the 2000m steeplechase will no doubt figure highly in the national age rankings for the event this season.

Full results from Swindon can be found here:
http://www.southernathletics.org.uk/assets/files/results/11sal22swindonresults.htm

The Hampshire Road Race series came to an end on Sunday 15 May with the last race in the series held over 10k at Netley in Southampton.

With Simon Plummer competing in the Bristol 10k on the same day top runner for City of Salisbury was Stuart Hollaway with a fine 35-03 for 8th place overall. Next came Aaron Wilson with 35-42 for 15th place, followed by Kevin Tilley 38th 36-38, Ian Shelley 41st 38-08, Jon Rich 67th 39-21, then Adrian Berlie 80th 39-59, Clive Smith 102nd 41-23.

The Club’s women runners were led home by Faye Parker in an super 11th place in 41-58 closely followed by another excellent run from Mish Barlow-Graham 12th in 42-16.

Other Salisbury runners were John Gorham 134, 43-32, Sally Greenslade for 4th in her age group with 43-53, Christ Panks 44-59, Emma Willcox 45-01, Rod Smith 45-14, Christine Gorham 48-53, Jane Whiteley 49-53, Colin Martin 51-12, Judy Flint 54-29, Alison Theobald 55-11 in what was a very good turnout from the club’s road runners.

The final standing for the 2010-11 series can be found on the HRRL website.

For the A teams the ladies finished in a superb 4th place overall in Divsion 1 and the men an equally impressive 6th. For the B team the positions were reversed with the ladies finishing 6th place overall in Dvision 1 and the men in 4th.

Top club lady for the series was Sarah Kemp in 24th and top man was Aaron Wilson in 12th.

Meanwhile Simon Plummer was honing his preparation for next week’s marathon by setting a new PB of 30:09 for 10K in the company of an international field. Simon was very pleased to run such an excellent time in such windy conditions.

Salisbury team photo from Netley. Picture by Benjamin Dunk

City of Salisbury’s star athlete Simon Plummer returned from two months’ injury-enforced absence from competition with a resounding win in the Alton 10mile road race. Part of the Hampshire road race league series, the event was a test of Simon’s form – and he came through with flying colours, winning by four minutes with 52min 14sec.

His classy run came despite blustery conditions and a gruelling past four weeks in the build-up towards one of his main targets for the year: a marathon at Edinburgh good enough to put him in the national standings. “I’m training faster and better than three months ago so things are coming together well for the big race on May 22,” he said.

Simon’s win gave the Salisbury club a boost that was reflected in other good runs. Best of the bunch was Aaron Wilson with 60.43, and with Lewis Fuller 65.10 and Adrian Berlie great new pb of 65.20 the A team finished fourth overall in the league contest. Ian Shelley 66.08, Clive Smith 70.01 were the counters for another good result for the club’s B team.

Andy Budgell clocked 71.18, Mel Holloway 73.50, John Gorham 76.22, Steve Lomas 80.09, Simon Adlard a pb 85.35 and Colin Martin also with a pb 90.43.

Despite injuries keeping three of the club’s ladies on the sidelines, some outstanding performances by newer members kept the Salisbury name to the fore. Mish Barlow-Graham , one of the club’s finds of the season was best, finishing in 73.24 to lead Sally Greenslade 74.51 and Kate Mansfield 78.35 to a notable team result. Not to be outdone, Kate’s mother Ali Theobald improved her pb at the distance by eight minutes to 92.48. Chrissie Gorham finished in 83.18 and Katie Clements 84.24.

A new form of competition for young club athletes was trialled on Tuesday evening at Salisbury’s home track at Five Rivers. The format of the Wiltshire ‘Super8’ league has teams comprising eight boys and eight girls, each of who competes once on the track, in a field event and in a relay. City of Salisbury were up against Team Bath and Marlborough, with teams of under-13s, under 15s and under-17/20.

Best Salisbury performances on the night were Thomas Hughes winning his field event and the 200m in the youngest age group with 31.3sec; Jake Ness winning both the long jump (5.25m) and the 300m in the under-15s with 39.7sec; Rosie Tabor winning the under-15 100m in 13.5sec; and Nathan Coburn taking the seniors’ 100m in 11.7sec.

City of Salisbury track athletes made a flying start to the newly formed Southern League when the team took second place overall at Eastbourne.

The long-jump pit was the scene of some of the day’s best performances, Richard Holt winning the A event by almost a metre with 6.64metres and clubmate Joe Willicome top in the B event with 5.17m. In ladies’ A event Lizzie Clifford was winner with an excellent 4.82m and in the B series, Amy Jaramazovic used her sprinting speed to win with 4.51m.

A strong easterly wind in the home straight meant it was no day for the sprinters. But among the longer events, Salisbury’s versatile multi-eventer Linda New put up the bravest showing of the day in the1500m steeplechase where she was beaten by a younger rival by less than a second.

Other results included: Charlie Patrick 2nd in the 100m and 200m with 11.8sec and 23.5sec; Martin Phillips 3rd in the 400m with 61.7sec; Patrick Batin 1st in the 400m hurdles with 65.2; Darren Clissold 2nd in the pole vault with 3.0m; Amy Jaramazovic 2nd in the ladies’ 400m with 62.8; Danielle Scott 1st in the 400m with 65.4 and 1st in the pole vault with 2.4m; Alex Mundell 1st in the 800m with 2.29; Freya Espir 2nd in the shot putt with 7.63m; and among the ladies’ seniors, Aly Sloane 2nd in the A 1500m with 5.57.5 and 2nd in the A 3,000m with 12.24.4; and Sue Hazzard 1st in the B 1500m 6.33.6 and 1st also in the B 3,000 with 13.06.9.There was also an encouraging debut PB of 2:16.8 by Sam Rogers the youngest member of the team

Full team results and league table from Eastbourne are here:
http://www.southernathletics.org.uk/division-two.html

Individual results from Eastbourne are here:
http://www.thepowerof10.info/results/results.aspx?meetingid=50580

Meanwhile on the road in similarly hot and windy conditions, Rithy Hy produced a great run in May Day’s North Dorset Village marathon at Sturminster Newton, defying the strength-sapping sunshine with 3hours 21min 37sec. John and Chrissie Gorham ran the 26.2miles together, finishing in 4.13.43.

In the Corsham 10k, Stephen Halligan clocked 48.01 to finish comfortably in the top third of the field.

Following a clutch of recent endurance runs, several of the City of Salisbury’s top road runners took a break over the Easter weekend to recuperate.

Meanwhile Mark Cole was the club’s best placed runner in the Boscombe Rotary quarter marathon, his 42min 59sec placing him just outside the top two dozen finishers among a field of 300. John Gorham was some five minutes behind with 48.37, and Chrissie Gorham not far back with 52.57.

At Yeovil in the traditional Easter Monday 10k, Lewis Fuller was Salisbury’s sole representative, working off any Easter excess with a respectable 39.25.

City of Salisbury’s steadily improving athlete Aaron Wilson put down a marker for the future in Sunday’s London marathon when he beat three hours – for club runners one of the real barriers in endurance racing – to clock an excellent 2hours 56min 15sec. This came just a month after he’d beaten another such barrier – the hour - for the first time over ten miles in his own club’s league race in the Woodford Valley.

One of ten Salisbury runners in the London field of 35,000, he went through the half way point in 1hour 22min before starting to feel the heat and the distance, but he held on for a fine performance and clearly has still quicker times to come.

Kathy Dudman defied an enforced shortage of recent racing to clock an excellent personal best 3.25.59, confirming her return to form after starting a family.

Next was Andy Gillespie with a good 3.27.36...beating his long-held London ambition to get inside 3.30 - and it was only his 21st attempt! Then came Sarah Kemp 3.39.05, Kate Mansfield 3.49.50, Louise Webber 4.14.36, Becky Fortes 4.17.40, Ruth Thom 4.29.18, Nicole Crofts 4.44.54 and Mark Williams 5.09.06.

Also in London for the three mile mini marathon which preceded the main event, Alex Mundell ran for the south west region and finished well up among the under-15s despite this being six times over her preferred distance of 800m.

As though the 26.2miles of the London marathon were not enough of a challenge, Phil Smith ran three times as far in the 78mile Jurassic Coast cross country race from Studland to Lyme Regis, finishing in a creditable but staggering 20hours 12mins.

City of Salisbury’s Amy Jaramazovic produced the club’s performance of the day when she took first place in the Havant Athletic Club open meeting’s 300m.

Competing in the under-17’s category and making the best of good conditions, she ran faster than she has ever done before at the distance, clocking a rapid 43.6sec to lead Salisbury’s up and coming track squad to another good set of results that included no fewer than 10 personal bests.

Jake Ness scored a winning PB double in the under-15’s 100m and 200m, equalling the club record in the longer event with 24.0sec. Dean Hodgson, an under-13, did almost as well with two second places in the sprint double.

Richard Holt won the senior men’s 400m in 51.4 and clocked 23.5 in the 200m; Anna Lever 2min 36.9 in the 800m; Heidi Porter 2min 55.8 for a pb third in the 800m, Danielle Scott 45.5 for a pb second place in the 300m, Joe Willicome 12.3sec for a pb third in the 100m, and 24.8sec pb also for third in the 200m, Patrick Ba-Tin 12.9sec pb in the 100m and 58.9sec pb in the 400m, Andrew Pryde 12.4sec pb in the 100m and 25sec in the 200m, and Nathan Cobern 11.8sec on the 100m and 23.9sec in the 200.

City of Salisbury’s 13 year-old rising star athlete Jake Ness produced the club’s top performance at the Lee Valley track meeting when he scorched round the 400m track to beat all but one of a field of 20 year-olds to set a new club age group record of 52.8sec.

He was among eight Salisbury athletes of the 11 competing there who made the most of the warm, fast conditions to notch personal bests, all evidence of the track squad’s growing stature.

Richard Holt too was on top form, winning at 100m 11.64 and scoring a pb of 50.55sec when coming second in a 400m, looking ever more capable of sub 50seconds later in the season. Amy Jaramazovic clocked 61.47 at age 14 in her first full 400m which puts her well up the national rankings for the best of the country’s under 17s, a further remarkable achievement.

Evie Cummings was another to record a pb at 400m 62.57; Freya Espir 13.74 , Rosie Tabor 13.46 , Andrew Pryde12.42 (and 24.79 for 200m) and Dean Hodgson 13.86 (and 28.33 for 200m) all produced pb’s in their respective 100m races and Alice Smith 13.80 was only fractionally outside hers. In the 800m Alex Mundell controlled the race throughout to win in 2min 18sec.

At the other extreme, City of Salisbury’s distance guru Phil Smith made light of the hilly cross country Bath Beat marathon, clocking 4hours 55min 13sec on Saturday and next day defied both fatigue and logic to complete another cross country marathon, at Pewsey, in a quicker 4.32.25.

In other marathons affected by the hot conditions, Rithy Hy produced an excellent 3.14.41 in the Great Welsh coastal run at Gower and Clive Smith 3.36.38 in Paris where the hopes of many in the huge field of 32,000 wilted in the sun.

City of Salisbury Athletic Club rookie road runner Mish Barlow-Graham made her mark in the Taunton half marathon when she sliced 20minutes off her previous best to record a remarkable 94min 33sec.

In a field of over 1200, she took ninth place in the under-35 age category and was 15th lady to cross the line. Having donned a Salisbury vest for the first time only weeks ago, she clearly has real potential on the road..

Another fine performance at Taunton came in the full marathon, where Rob Lomas completed his first attempt in 3hours 21min 44sec to finish well up. Similarly well-placed in the Combe Gibbet to Overton 16mile cross country over rolling hills, Sue Hazzard clocked 2.14.16..

Martin Phillips was first Salisbury runner home in the Figsbury Challenge 5k, another hill-race, when he finished in 19min 19sec to almost match his time of last year. Next was John Thurley with 21.46, Charlene Gibson 22.20 for first place in her age group, Keith Gibson 23.18, Jane Whiteley 23.30, Ethan Ness 24.17 who was paced by his elder brother Jacob Ness.

Meanwhile on the track at Basingstoke, Alex Mundell ran in her first 1500m of the new season in the under-17 category and took silver in 4min 51sec. Dean Hodgson ran well in both the under-13 100m and 200m, just missing a place in each of the finals in his first racing outdoors for some months..

And at the Bournemouth open meeting, in unsuitably cold and blustery conditions, Alex – because of her fast pb at 800m – was put in the men’s race but still came second overall as well as winning her age group..

Lizzie Clifford, a multi-eventer also in the under-17’s took first in the 300m with 44.5sec and cleared 1.40m in the high jump, good performances in her first competition of the year. Anna Leaver set two excellent pb’s in the under-15 200m (29sec) and 800m (2.35), despite little recovery time between them and younger brother Tom Leaver made the top six in the four-event Quad Kids for under-11s.

The club AGM is to be held at the Salisbury City FC at 7.30pm this Thursday 7 April.

City of Salisbury athlete Dean Hodgson rounded off the indoor season with two silver medal placings in the Lee Valley U13/U15 open meeting in London. Running at U13 in both the 60m and the 200m, Hodgson delivered two personal bests and only the current UK number one came between him and two wins.

All the sprint team will be in action at the same venue for their first outdoor event of the season on April 9th.

Three intrepid Salisbury runners took on the Jurassic Challenge marathon along the switchback Dorset coast. The trio of Linda Robson, Charlene Gibson and Peter Clements survived the tough hilly course and completed the distance one minute under six hours, a good performance given the gradients.

The slightly more forgiving multi-terrain 10k at Downton saw City of Salisbury’s Rithy Hy finish in a very creditable 40min 51sec and Sally Greenslade in 58.57.

Aaron Wilson produced his best run yet for the City of Salisbury Athletics and Running Club when he set a sparkling new personal best of 34min 50sec in the Eastleigh 10k road race, part of the keenly contested Hampshire League series.

His continuing improvement set the tone for two fine Salisbury men’s team performances. Kevin Tilley also found the warm conditions and flat course to his liking with a ‘faster than for a long time’ 35.39, and good personal bests from both Keith Champion in 37.28 and Lewis Fuller 38.17 put the A team well up the result board. This came despite the absence of injury-hit Simon Plummer, who still leads the league individual standings overall.

Salisbury’s strength in depth on the road shone through in the B team, where four runs inside 40mins made it their best league result of the season. Ian Shelley led the way with 38.37, followed by Simon Wiltshire 39.06, Adrian Berlie 39.37 and Jon Rich 39.46.

Back on form Sarah Kemp ran a good 44.16 to head the ladies team, and she was supported by Katie Clements in 46.52 and consistent Chrissy Gorham with 50.12.

Fastest of the club’s other runners was John Gorham in 43.43, then came Tom Woodhouse 44.17, John Ruskin 44.57, Rod Smith 46.53, Simon Adlard 49.06, Andrea Bathurst 53.58, Laurence Bathurst 56.02 and Mark Williams 61.31.

Meanwhile in the season’s opening track event at Bracknell, Alex Mundell took a win in her first showing in the under-17 age group, clocking 2min 21sec with a late sprint. This came after winning gold for the fastest lap in the last of the season’s school cross country relays at Canford Park.

Four City of Salisbury Athletic Club’s mud-running enthusiasts took the challenge of tough terrain featuring three waist deep bogs, long stretches of energy-sapping pebble beach and some steep climbs in the Grizzly ‘Valley of the Bogs’ 20mile race at Seaton in East Devon.

Among a field of 2,000 competitors, first Salisbury runner was Kathryn Waterworth in a creditable 4hours 56min 59sec, just ahead of Ruth Thom in 4.57.00, Charlene Gibson 4.58.10 and Keith Gibson 5.08.00.

The Fleet half marathon was dominated by Winchester AC’s Toby Lambert, winner of last week’s Salisbury 10mile road race, who took first place again with 66min 20sec. Well up among the 2,300 finishers, James Crichton was City of Salisbury’s leader in 1.38.50, and he was followed by Andrew Walker with 1.46.09, Giles Lewis 1.52.59 and Laura Allen 1.54.35.

Also at the 13.1mile distance, at the Reading mass participation event, Sarah Kemp defied a recent injury lay-off to clock an encouraging 1.43.51 in her build-up towards the London marathon next month.

In the Exbury 10k John Gorham clocked 44.12, and Chrissy Gorham 49.07 for fourth in the ladies' race and second in her age category.

This Sunday the club resumes its season-long campaign in the Hampshire Road Race League, with more than 20 Salisbury runners due to face the starter in the always competitive Eastleigh 10k. Race favourite is Salisbury’s Simon Plummer who is looking to seal the individual title in the league overall, and looking forward to giving his clubmates a strong lead in the men’s team competition.

City of Salisbury young athlete Alex Mundell took a notable third place in the Wiltshire Life magazine annual ‘sports personality’ awards, the final round of which was staged at Marlborough.

Winner was Mike Buss won who has broken 14 world records and run 100 marathons in 100 days. Second was an army officer who had his foot wrenched off in an accident on the Cresta Run and although it was sewn back on, he later opted for amputation so he could continue his sporting activities, running a marathon and sailing the Atlantic.

Back in running mode, Alex starts her new track season on Saturday with an opening 800m at Bracknell.

Salisbury team photo from Ryde

City of Salisbury Athletics and Running Club’s star Simon Plummer reports that he is now fully recovered from the calf injury that kept him out of the Salisbury 10mile last weekend. He has just resumed full training, with just a month to go before he lines up for his first major target for the year: the Virgin London Marathon.

“In total I had to miss seven days running,” Simon said. “So I had an unplanned rest: not what I wanted and it was really disappointing to miss my own club’s big road race of the year. But I now know that if I’d run with the injury, I’d have torn more tissue and would probably have ended up being sidelined for much longer.

“What it does show is just how ‘on the edge’ we all are as athletes. One minute you are up and flying - the next it can turn. But the enforced rest may, I hope, turn out to be a blessing in disguise by providing some extra recovery time.

“I’m not doing the Reading half marathon on Sunday but will be at the Eastleigh10k on Mar 27th for the Hampshire road race league series. Then it’s time for final preparations for the big one, the London.”

A record number of 41 runners from City of Salisbury Athletics Club took to the start line in the keenly awaited 10mile road race along the Woodford Valley but, without their star Simon Plummer ruled out by injury just two days beforehand - they were unable to prevent a Winchester AC whitewash at the head of the 650-strong field.

On a bright, dry spring morning with a rising breeze from the half way point, Toby Lambert scored his fourth consecutive win in the event with an impressive 51min 20sec that he managed to make look deceptively easy. Leading from the gun, his closest challenger after the first mile was his own Winchester clubmate Chris Powner, and Lambert running easily just outside 5min mile pace maintained a 30second lead all the way to the finish. Winchester’s other top counters were placed 13th and 14th, leaving no doubt about the outcome of the men’s team event. Women’s winner was Cassie Thorp of City of Portsmouth in 62.11.

Not to be outdone, the home club put up a number of fine performances in the slightly lower order. Salisbury’s lead runner was Aaron Wilson who set a cracking pace in the closing miles to notch a two minute improvement on his previous best, with 59.14 for 24th place. Kevin Tilley stopped the clock just two seconds outside the hour, then came Rob Lomas in 62.11 and Lewis Fuller with 62.53, to complete a tightly grouped A team for a good showing.

Fiona Ross Russell led the Salisbury Ladies’ A team with a steady 70.29. She was followed by one of the highlight performances of the day, a debut 72.28 from a delighted Mish Barlow-Graham who signed for the club only last week, and third team counter was Sally Greenslade with 74.55. Faye Parker clocked 75.01 for first place in the Ladies’ B team, and she was closely followed by Kate Mansfield with 75.10 and Chrissie Gorham 82.33. Team scorers in the men’s B squad were Ian Shelly 63.58, Jon Rich 64.55, Mark Shepherd 65.30 and Adrian Berlie 66.02.

Next came Rithy Hy with 66.46, Clive Smith 67.43, John Leeman 69.24, Chris Mingo 72.38, Matthew Cross 73.05, Mel Holloway 73.33, Martin Phillips 76.03, Steve Halligan 76.20, David Cox 77.22, Christopher Panks 77.42, Craig Murphy 78.26, Steve Lomas 79.31, John Pelton 80.10, Andrew Walker 81.37, Becky Fortes 82.46, George Atkinson 83.24, Emma Wilcox 83.46, Phil Smith 85.43, Matthew Harris 86.18, Andrew Bennett 88.50, Michael Scott 89.51, William Barker-Wyatt 89.56, Tom Peters 91.40, Nicola Harrington 94.42, Bridget Colloby 95.29, Andy Budgell 104.40 and Sam Fielding 104.41.

The 10mile race was sponsored by Westover Nissan, Alton Sports and Sport4Salisbury. The Hampshire road race league, of which this race is a key part, have now published updated league tables reflecting the results above.

Photos of the event can be found on the seemeinaction website

Simon Plummer, City of Salisbury's star athlete, has had to pull out of Sunday's big 10mile road race being promoted by his own club, because of injury. A calf strain he picked up in last weekend's rapid half marathon at Bath has failed to repair during the week and has forced him to withdraw just two days before the region's major league race, which he was tipped by many to win.

"I'm so disappointed to be unable to run," said Simon. "But I have everything to lose if I worsen the injury - despite really wanting to race, I wouldn't forgive myself if it meant it I was still on the sidelines for the London marathon next month. I've taken top advice and, hard as it is to turn down the Salisbury race, I have no alternative. Deep down I know it's the right call and I'll just have to make sure I win it in style next year."

Plummer's withdrawal leaves the way clear for last year's winner, Toby Lambert of Winchester AC, to notch another victory.

Two rising stars at Salisbury Athletics and Running Club have had their potential recognised by grants from one of the region’s sports scholarship organisations.

Fifteen year-old Evie Cummings is one of the club’s sprint squad and has competed at the English schools and south west regional championships, improving steadily during the season. Her grant will enable her to receive specialist coaching from a sports scientist.

Another of the club’s 15 year-olds, record-breaker Alex Mundell is a middle distance athlete who has also competed in both English schools and south west regional championships. The grant she receives will contribute to the costs of attending a residential summer camp for athletes at Brunel university, where she’ll hear from top class athletes such as Mo Farah and Sally Gunnell and get advice on nutrition, physiology and sports psychology.

Now in its 15th year, the Mike Slade sports scholarship fund was set up in memory of Cllr Mike Slade to help young sports stars in south Wiltshire with coaching and expenses. A keen sportsman himself, he strongly believed in the benefits of the scholarship which is funded by the Slade family, Wiltshire Council and Salisbury Area Sport.

City of Salisbury’s star athlete Simon Plummer continued his high quality build-up towards the London marathon next month when he clocked a new personal best for 13.1miles in the international Bath half marathon among a field of over 12,000.

His time of 66min 7sec knocked more than two and a half minutes – half a mile at this pace – off his previous best at the distance, set last year, and marks his relentless upward progress.

After clocking 49.42 for 10miles, itself quicker than he has ever recorded even when breaking the course record in his own club’s Salisbury 10 a year ago, he looked set for an even better result.

In the final mile a lack of top flight competition during the past several months started to show, but he still finished in a highly creditable seventh place behind the super-quick Kenyan Edwin Kipkorir’s 64.20.

Simon said afterwards that he hadn’t been tested like that for some time and though he was disappointed to have been tailed off at the very end, he knows that a race like this is the best possible preparation for the London marathon in April.

On Sunday the Salisbury club promotes its annual 10mile road race starting at 10.30am from Five Rivers leisure centre. The course takes the field of several hundred runners northwards up the Woodford Valley, crosses the River Avon and retraces to Salisbury, finishing on the leisure centre track. If conditions are good, Simon Plummer is clearly one of the hot favourites and in his current form he could threaten the sub-50minute barrier.

*The mini London marathon will also have representation from the Salisbury club. Alex Mundell has just been selected to run for the south west region’s team of six in the three mile junior event. It covers the course taken later in the day by the main marathon’s final stages, finishing in The Mall close to Buckingham Palace. .

City of Salisbury's Alex Mundell ran to a convincing win in the Wessex cross country league race at Bournemouth, where she reached the finish line almost a full minute clear of her nearest challenger. And keeping success in the family, little sister Tasha aged 10 pulled on a club vest and ran well in the under-11's race, coming home in her age group's top 10 - clearly one to watch for the future

City of Salisbury athlete Jake Ness smashed a 30 year-old club record in a stunning 400m final at the UK indoor championships in Birmingham. His time of 53.28sec in the under-15 age group lopped two seconds - a huge margin at this level - off his previous best and earned him a superb bronze medal position.

Jake and Nathan Cobern were Salisbury's only representatives at the National Indoor Arena meet, the culmination of the indoor season. Both had achieved much by beating the qualifying standards, and even so were at first slightly overwhelmed by the event and surroundings. They each also ran the 60m sprint in their age groups: nerves took their toll though and neither progressed beyond the first round. But then came the performance that crowned Jake's season on the track, marking him out as a real prospect for the future.

In the tough off-road Pewsey Terminator 11mile event on the hills around the White Horse, Ian Shelley used his strength to place first of the Salisbury team in a time of 1hour 33min 33sec with Martin Phillips second in 1.59.11 Katie Clements led the ladies team with a fine 2.02.34, and she was followed by Kate Mansfield in 2.07.45, Naomi Flower 2.25.02, Hilary Webber 2.32.28 and Mary Clements 2.48.09.

More mud was on the menu at the equally hilly Meon Valley 20miler, where Charlene Gibson came out best Salisbury runner in 4hours 2mins 24sec, followed by Linda Robson in 4.21.35, Kathryn Waterworth 4.25.35 and Keith Gibson 4.40.24. Still off-road, Rithy Hy clocked 1.40.51 on the tracks of the New Forest Heartbreak half marathon, and Sally Greenslade finished in 1.58.57.

On the road, in the Winchester 10k, Andrew Walker improved his personal best to 40min 07sec, and he was followed by Duncan Housden with 55.57 and Katie Philpotts 56.31.

Photo of Jake Ness with his Championship medal

City of Salisbury's Simon Plummer notched up another good victory on the road, his third in three weeks, to lead the club to a fine set of performances in the Bramley 20mile race in the Hampshire league which he looks ever more likely to win overall in a few weeks' time.

In this latest stage of his remorseless build-up towards a big marathon showing in the spring, Simon powered away from his only challenger after the first seven miles to go through the half-way point in under 53mins. With no competitors in sight, he slowed slightly in the second half but still clocked a rapid 1hour 48min 19sec, four minutes ahead of second place.

"It was great to run in company for those first few miles," said Simon, "because of course that's how it's going to be for the elite races I'm preparing for. The tougher tests are drawing closer now and I'm happy with this solid foundation."

His winning pace would have produced a marathon time of around 2hours 20min, a massive 12minute improvement on his personal best set in Rotterdam last year.

Next of the Salisbury team to finish was Aaron Wilson, 49th in the field of over 850, with a time of 2.07.57. Then came Jon Rich in 2.17.32, Rithy Hy 2.19.54, Fiona Ross-Russell 2.22.50, Clive Smith 2.29.09, Kate Mansfield 2.37.02, Nicole Crofts 3.02.50, Louise Webber 3.06.15, Chrissy and John Gorham 3.06.43, Mark Williams 3.07.08, Jane Whiteley 3.15.17 and Colin Martin 3.15.18.

In the penultimate 5k road race of the six event Boscombe series, noteworthy performances came from father and son duo of Gordon Wiltshire with 29min 14sec for second place in the M70 category and Simon 18.34 for 11th overall and an excellent first place in the M40 group.

Photo of Simon Plummer at the recent Club Awards Dinner

Seven talented athletes from City of Salisbury Athletic Club’s up-and –coming sprint group took to the track in a regional championships meet at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham and came away with a quite outstanding haul of seven personal best performances.

Richard Holt (top photograph) took gold as South West champion in the senior men’s 200m, reducing his best to a blistering 22.89sec – despite being a 400m specialist; Jake Ness (bottom photograph) won overall gold as Midland and South West champion in U15 boys 400m with a superb 55.1sec; and in the U15 60m, making her debut for Salisbury, Rosie Tabor overcame her nerves to battle through to the final where she took silver in the South West championship with a new best of 8.49sec.

Four other indoor pb’s came from the quartet of Nathan Cobern in the U20 mens 200m; Andrew Pryde in the U17 mens 60m; Amy Jaramazovic with 43.5sec for the U17 women’s 300m which only just missed a place in the final; and in the same event, Evie Cummings.

“All seven athletes achieved what their hard work over the winter deserved,” said the Salisbury club’s sprint coach Lee Ness.

Another 10mile road race in tough windy conditions produced another win for the consistently classy City of Salisbury runner Simon Plummer in the Wiltshire county championship at Melksham. His time of 52min 26sec again defied the conditions and gave him a huge winning margin of half a mile. “I went ahead solo from the start and that was the way it stayed until the finish,” said Simon.

“But I felt great again and winning like this always breeds confidence, which can only help for the future. No complacency though: I know I have to continue to step it up and keep improving.”

Aaron Wilson was Salisbury’s only other runner, and he produced a good 59.23 as one of only ten to beat the magic one hour standard.

Next fixture on Simon’s race plan is Sunday’s Bramley 20mile near Reading in the Hampshire road race league which he leads.

Bright skies and good conditions underfoot greeted competitors in the final Hampshire cross country league fixture at Hudson?s Field, with some good performances from among the City of Salisbury squad.

Steve Herring picked up second place in the veteran category of the senior men?s race, and 11th overall, with Simon Wiltshire 54th, Ian Shelley 68th, Mark Cole 77th, Rithy Hy 96th, Martin Phillips 116th and J Rilley 130th. Salisbury won the division 2 event.

In the senior women?s race, Linda New was 26th, Aly Sloane 38th, Sue Hazzard 48th, Charlene Gibson 52nd, Becky Fortes 56th and Marilyn Hunt 61st.

Highest-placed Salisbury runner in the U15 girls was Alex Mundell, slightly below par in 9th on the day but picking up 4th overall for the season. Danielle Scott was 17th.

Heidi Porter, making her debut for the club in the U13s was 39th, while in the U13 boys, Adam Bradburn produced his best performance so far in the league with 25th place, followed by Tyler Fairclough in a debut 33rd, and fellow newcomer Alvin Martin 36th.

Five City of Salisbury athletes put in good performances at the Boscombe 5k in race four of the six event series. Fastest of the group was Lewis Fuller, whose 17min 18sec was a fine run on the night and earned him 8th place. Then came Simon Wiltshire, just four places behind with 17.50 to win the 40-44 age group; Hannah Drewett 19.25 for third place in the under 20s; Marilyn Hunt 25.46 for first place in her age group, and Gordon Wiltshire steadily recovering his form with 27.19 for second place in his age group too.

This weekend the club returns to its road race campaign in the Hampshire league, with a big contingent making the trip to Ryde on the Isle of Wight where a hilly 10mile circuit awaits them. Both the men's and ladies' teams hold 7th position in the 'A' team league tables and team manager Rod Smith is keen to see them moving higher. "We have real strength in depth for this event," he said, "and if our best runners put in the performances they are capable of, Salisbury should be able to reap the rewards. Alton are only just ahead in the ladies' table and Denmead Striders are within reach in the men's, so our prospects look good."

For any City of Salisbury runners intending to travel to Ryde on Feb 6th, there are still a handful of places available on the team buses which leave Five Rivers at 0745 - contact Rod Smith on 01722 324154 for details.

City of Salisbury Athletics and Running Club were again represented at the 2nd weekend of the South of England Indoor Championships recently. Richard Holt competed in the Long Jump and earned a creditable 9th place in a strong field. Holt was some way off his personal best however and may have been in medal contention if he could have hit his stride, but the drawn out nature of the competition which lasted almost 2 hours didn't suit Holt's preparation. Nathan Cobern competed in the 200m but went out in the first round after a slow first 50m. Cobern picked up the pace in the middle portion of the race but in such a strong field it was unfortunately too late. Jacob Ness continued his successful indoor campaign by taking a significant chunk off his personal best in the semi final of the 200m and then improved on this again in a very tough final, which saw the championship record broken, to take a Bronze Medal.

All the Salisbury Sprint team continue to prepare for the Midlands and South West Indoor Championships at the National Indoor Arena, Birmingham in February and Holt and Cobern will be refining their preparations at the London games at the end of January.

Short distance park runs were the target for City of Salisbury club road runners last weekend. In the Romsey 5 mile, based on three scenic laps of the Broadlands estate at Romsey, The promising Lewis Fuller was only just outside six minute mile pace with a 30min 14sec run that was just quick enough to hold off the challenge of Keith Champion who finished in 30.23, three places down. Then came Rod Smith with 36.19 and Katie Clements with a well earned personal best 37.57 for a place among the top two dozen in a field of 160.

The club's sole representative in the Eastleigh 5k parkrun was John Ruskin who clocked 21.47.

Simon Plummer of City of Salisbury Athletics Club ran his way into the Hampshire Road Race League's top spot on Sunday even though he was narrowly edged out of a win in a hard-fought Stubbington Green 10k race near Fareham. But it was a fine run that proved the benefit of hundreds of training miles. His slower than expected time of 32min 11sec reflected the tough, blustery conditions along the Solent coast and only Simon's lack of recent racing allowed James Ellis, from Newham and Essex, a guest runner from outside the league, to open up a six second advantage in the final 400m. The club turned out in force in support and 20 more Salisbury runners faced the starter among the 1600 entrants. Fastest after Simon's classy lead-out was Kevin Tilley with 36min 58sec, and with Aaron Wilson's 37.16 and a resurgent Simon Wiltshire's 38.32, the A team moves up the league table. The fast-improving duo of Lewis Fuller with 39.07 and Rithy Hi a pb 41.49, followed by Adrian Berlie 42.06 and John Gorham with a creditable 43.45 completed a good B team performance resulting in their moving up the table too. Recent signing John Leeman was one of few others to clock a personal best in 44.02, followed by Rod Smith 44.09, John Ruskin 45.42, Sarah Kemp leading the ladies' team with 45.54, Andy Walker another pb 48.07, Simon Adlard 51.49, Laura Allen 51.57, Linda Robson 52.43, Jane Whiteley 53.09, Colin Martin 53.43, Louise Webber 53.44, Judy Flint with a pb 54.32 and Gordon Wiltshire 56.52. The equally competitive Hampshire cross country league event at Reading saw a smaller Salisbury presence, with Anna Leaver the sole club representative in the under-13s where she scored 19th place, Jaymee Dolomey in the boys taking 14th and Adam Bradburn 33rd. Alex Mundell and Emma Clarke again did well in the under-15s finishing fourth and 16th respectively. In the seniors, Sue Hazzard was 57th and Marilyn Hunt 63rd, while in the men's race father and son Paul and Tom Woodhouse were 133rd and 64th respectively. In the Pewsey Vale Rough and Tumble 10mile cross country featuring mud, water and hills Ian Shelley with 1.16.14, Keith Champion 1.21.19 and Ian Leaver 1.27.58 all finished in the top hundred.

City of Salisbury Athletics and Running Club celebrated a vintage year when it held its annual gala dinner and prize presentation at the White Hart Hotel in Salisbury on Saturday, attended by more than a hundred members, family and friends.

Guest speaker was Mike Turner, former sports editor of the Salisbury Journal and now managing director of the popular local website Sport4Salisbury. He spoke highly of the club's continuing success and focussed on how broadly based were its top performers, with top athletes in their mid-teens to those in their 70s. Mike praised the club for its role in the community and, familiar with its progress as he has been for many years of his own professional life, stressed the importance to the area of a strong athletics and running club.

With club chairman Simon Adlard, Mike Turner then presented awards to:

Sarah Kemp for most improved lady athlete of the year; Rithy Hi (pictured right) for most improved male athlete; Simon Plummer, Kevin Tilley, Adrian Berlie, Jon Rich and road racing manager Rod Smith for team of the year; Nathan Cobern for best male track and field athlete; Fiona Ross-Russell (pictured left) for best lady athlete; Simon Plummer for best male athlete; and John Ruskin for best volunteer.

Six young athletes from City of Salisbury Running Club donned Wiltshire colours to compete in the south west intercounties cross country championships at a frost-coated Bicton in Devon, and among the under-15s Alex Mundelltook fifth place, Emma Clarke 23rd and Lizzie Clifford not far behind, for a well-earned team bronze medal. A tough, muddy and steep course made for great racing, and in his first year in the under-13s category, Jaymee Domoney found conditions to his liking for 20th, with clubmate Adam Bradburn two minutes back. Anna Lever represented the club alone in the under 13s and performed well to take 24th spot. Wiltshire were fourth overall in both Anna's event and in the under-13 boys' race.

For the seniors, the Somerley 10k was the traditional New Year pipe-opener over two laps of muddy tracks near Ringwood. Quickest of the big Salisbury group was Keith Champion with 41min 4sec, just holding off Mark Cole in 41.17. Then came Tom Woodhouse in 42.43, Rithy Hy 44.43, Edward Woodhouse 47.38, John Ruskin 49.18, Katie Clements 49.42, Steve Lomas 50.02, Paul Woodhouse 50.35, John and Chrissie Gorham 53.58, Colin Martin 54.22, Jane Whiteley 54.24, Mike Trowbridge 55.27, Mark Williams 56.57, Judy Flint 58.09, Naomi Flower 59.36, and Mary Clements 59.51.

Four young sprinters travelled to London to compete at the first day of the South East England Indoor Championships. All the athletes can be very pleased with their performances. Jake Ness (u15) won the silver medal in his debut over 400m with 55.51, a tremendously encouraging result for both himself and his coach and father Lee Ness. Richard Holt (u23) reached the semi final of the 400m with a PB of 51.24, Amy Jaramazovic (u17) also reached the semis of the 300m in a new PB of 44.6. Evie Cummings (u17) was unlucky to be disqualified after putting a foot on the line in her 300m heat in which she would otherwise have qualified for the semis also. The performances are a real reward for all the hard winter training and with several more indoor competitions to come over the next few weeks we can perhaps look forward to more excellent results.

This weekend the club's focus returns to serious road running with an exciting 10k fixture at Stubbington, where the Salisbury club will be looking to improve on their 7th place standings in both the men's and ladies' A tables. Salisbury's international Simon Plummer resumes his battle for supremacy in this premier road race competition but he faces top class opposition from Winchester AC's Toby Lambert.

The rivalry between the two top men is likely to produce a winning time close to the 30min 10sec set by Lambert to take the same race five years ago. To beat him, Plummer may need to dip below the 30minute barrier. With an ultra-fast personal best at the distance of 29.32 set last year, some 45 seconds faster than Plummer's, the Winchester man is the slight favourite - but Salisbury's star will be drawing on his track-racing pedigree to counter that and is relishing the prospect.

City of Salisbury Athletics and Running club coach Dave Amey has received well-earned recognition from national body England Athletics during a special ceremony at Exeter for 50 years’ service to the sport. After joining the Salisbury club in 1957 he started coaching 30 years ago and has mentored and motivated a long list of athletes ever since. After making a huge contribution to the club's success over the years, Dave is highly respected by sports professionals and enthusiasts throughout the region and his award as the South West’s top coaching volunteer has been warmly welcomed by all his clubmates in Salisbury.

Picture shows Dave Amey (left) receiving his volunteering award from Nigel Rowe, chairman of England Athletics' south west region.

Meanwhile a handful of City of Salisbury athletes worked off the excesses of the Christmas break by running in the Broadstone quarter marathon at Poole - an unusual fixture on the club calendar.

Straight back into his racing stride was road running manager Rod Smith, who overcame the course's three sharp climbs to finish to the six and a half miles in 47min 29sec, a good run in the cold. Just half a minute back was Andy Gillespie with 47.59, followed by John Gorham with 49.10 and Chrissie Gorham warming up for an unseasonal swim in the sea later in the day with 54.07.

It was not only Chrissie who raised eyebrows. Phil Smith defied mud, hills, slush, snow and an icy wind in the Imber village area of Salisbury Plain to complete the aptly named Warminster Plain Crazy 14mile race in 1hour 14min 43 sec as a prelude to the New Year: 2011 must get easier after that.