Over the last couple of weeks, Dartford Harriers’ seniors and vets once again showed themselves to be a real force on the local road running scene.
Whitstable 10k
On Monday 6th May, the Harriers attended the Whitstable 10k on mass. Over recent years, road runners from DHAC have won successive team and individual prizes at this popular event. This year was no different: with 10 runners in the Top 20, the Dartford Harriers demonstrated fantastic strength in depth.
Four runners in the Top 10 meant the male team was never in doubt. Nick Varley also picked up the win for the MV50 category – sure to be the first of many since moving into this age group.
Cas Jackson won the womens’ race, and she, Denise Rose and Elizabeth Ives landed the female team prize too.
There were notable personal bests for many of the athletes taing part, despite the fierce winds over the last 4k of the route, particularly notably for George Boxall and Elizabeth Ives, who took a considerable amount off their previous best times.
For anyone who has yet to try out the Whitstable 10k, it’s a great course – almost flat, and if the wind stays away it is one of your best bets for a fast time over 10k.
| Pos | Name | Cat | Time | Chip |
| 4 | Archie May | SM | 34:31 | 34:31 |
| 5 | Daniel Pyne | SM | 35:45 | 35:45 |
| 8 | Daniel Jackson | SM | 37:21 | 37:21 |
| 9 | Jon Kennedy | SM | 37:42 | 37:42 |
| 11 | Reuben Burford | MV40 | 37:58 | 37:57 |
| 13 | Nick Varley | MV50 | 38:20 | 38:19 |
| 17 | Derren May | MV40 | 39:00 | 38:59 |
| 18 | George Boxall | SM | 39:01 | 39:01 |
| 19 | Connor Burford | SM | 39:04 | 39:04 |
| 20 | Stuart Waterman | MV40 | 39:08 | 39:07 |
| 23 | Cas Wright | SW | 39:41 | 39:41 |
| 27 | Paul Dawes | MV40 | 40:15 | 40:15 |
| 48 | Rowan Burford | SM | 42:45 | 42:45 |
| 86 | Jonathan Ives | MV50 | 45:40 | 45:36 |
| 129 | Denise Rose | FV55 | 48:03 | 48:00 |
| 146 | Elizabeth Ives | FV45 | 48:55 | 48:51 |
| 258 | Chris Rust | MV60 | 54:43 | 54:11 |
| 352 | Andrew Byard | MV50 | 58:03 | 57:33 |
Darent Valley 10k
Our DHAC road running contingent faced stiffer competition the next week, as the Darent 10k features in the Kent County Road Race League, and is hence attended by more of the faster runners across the county.
Nonetheless, we packed the Top 10 with more runners than any other club, with Chris Biddle, Dan Jackson and Dan Pyne once again showing their class.
Although narrowly pipped into 2nd, Cas Jackson once again showed she is one of the very best in Kent. Denise Rose went one better than the previous week, picking up the F55 prize with a tenacious victory over a near rival.
It was also our second week in a row fielding a team of more than a dozen runners. With all of the county’s keenest road running clubs fielding strong teams, it was a great achievement to come third in the team standings (7 men, 3 women to count).
| Pos | Name | Cat | Time | Chip |
| 4 | Chris Biddle | SM | 35:33 | 35:34 |
| 8 | Daniel Jackson | SM | 36:46 | 36:48 |
| 9 | Daniel Pyne | SM | 36:52 | 36:52 |
| 18 | Jon Kennedy | SM | 38:06 | 38:07 |
| 40 | George Boxall | SM | 39:52 | 39:53 |
| 51 | Cas Jackson | SW | 40:54 | 40:57 |
| 57 | Paul Dawes | MV40 | 41:29 | 41:30 |
| 92 | Andrew Archer | MV40 | 43:25 | 43:27 |
| 206 | Stephanie Wood | FV45 | 49:02 | 49:13 |
| 229 | Bonnie Maugey | SW | 49:50 | 50:00 |
| 240 | Denise Rose | FV55 | 50:25 | 50:34 |
| 258 | Jessica Dando | SW | 51:10 | 51:21 |
We would love to see more Harriers joining us at these road races. If you would like to hear more about which races we are targeting as a team, please get in touch with Jon Kennedy.
If you are a keen distance runner thinking about joining a club, Dartford Harriers AC is a great club for adult/vets road running and cross country.