• Skip over navigation
• About us
• Our races
• Race calendar
• Results
• Championship
• Ace
• Triathlon
• Photos
• Links

Les Croupiers Running Club Home » Barry40 » Barry 40 Results 2002

Barry 40 Results 2002

Races > Castles | Father Time | Fireworks 5 | Barry 40

Retirements

Barry 40 main page.

Race Statistics: 48 Entries, 33 Starters, 26 Finishers.

Ladies: 1 Walker; 2 Storey.

Welsh Championships: 1 Cleves; 2 Lyn Rees; 3 Jeff Rees.

Provisional Date for Next Year: Sunday 2 March, 2003.

Barry 40 Miles Track Race Report

The weather thus far in 2002 has been particularly unsettled, with many days of wet and windy weather, particularly unsuitable for running. So when Sunday 3rd March, race day for the Barry 40 Miles Track Race dawned overcast, dry, mild with just a gentle breeze, runners and race officials alike breathed a collective sigh of relief (writes Mick McGeoch).

The Barry race, now 16 years old, has a well-established place on the international calendar as being an excellent early season guide to form. Both Simon Pride and Carolyn Hunter-Rowe have gone on to win the World 100 Kms. Championships after winning at Barry. This year's event attracted another excellent field of 48 entries, of which 33 faced the starter at the traditional hour of 10.00 AM. On paper, Alan Reid from Metro Aberdeen, who last year dominated the race from gun to tape, appeared to be the man to beat. In the ladies race, Hilary Walker and Kendra White appeared to be well-matched for an exciting re-run of their encounter of two years ago. However, as this race has demonstrated many times, nothing is predictable in ultra-distance running.

Last year, Alan Reid started the race like a greyhound. This time the start was decidedly cagey. Rumours of an injury to the defending champion appeared to be confirmed. So whilst fast times appeared to be out of the question, the early skirmishes in one of the most intriguing races to date started to unfold.

Reid shared the lead in the early miles with Brian Roberts from Mandale Harriers in the north-east of England. Roberts has a strong pedigree on the fells, but 40 miles on the track was something of a journey into the unknown. By 10 miles Roberts had a established a slender lead as Reid's injury problems became apparent. Sadly the defending champion was a bystander before half-distance. Ultra distance, yet again, proved to be no respecter of reputations.

After running with Brian Davidson in the early stages, by halfway Mikk Bradley (Watford Harriers) had emerged to pose the most serious threat to Roberts' lead. One of the intriguing features about a track race such as this is that runners have visible contact with each other at all times. This enables a runner to respond to another athlete even though there many be many laps between them. By lap 69 Roberts held a single lap advantage over Bradley and the two ran together, a single lap apart, until 116 laps had elapsed (around 29 miles). A toilet stop by Bradley at this stage enabled Roberts to gain a further half lap lead, but would this be sufficient for victory in the toughest quarter of the race?

The relentless pace was now beginning to tell on the Mandale man. The occasional grimace was the first outward sign of the onset of leg cramps. By lap 130 (of 161) the deficit was again reduced to a single lap, and suddenly the race was on. Bradley was relentless. By lap 144 he drew level, and after a brief respite of a couple of laps, seemingly just to make sure of victory, he set out alone. Brian Roberts, after appearing the most fluent runner on the track for over three hours, during which he own pace judgement was impeccable, was unable to respond. In securing victory, Bradley improved his time from 12 months ago by over 20 minutes. He looked capable of many more miles at the same tempo. Wracked by cramp, Roberts completed the distance less than three minutes in arrears, the second closest Barry 40 in history, and certainly one of the most fluctuating. The ever-consistent Walter Hill (Crawley AC) third four years ago, repeated that position and looked strong throughout, even if never threatening to catch the leading duo.

The ladies race, in terms of personnel, was a repeat of the 2000 race. In that race, the experience of Hilary Walker (Serpentine RC) triumphed over the youth of Kendra White (Quakers). Here, Kendra started confidently and had established a lap advantage by the five mile mark. This lead lengthened steadily, reaching almost two and a half laps at most, until the effects of a recently sustained injury began to be felt. By the halfway mark, Hilary's relentless pace had taken her into the lead, and she was, as usual, a model of consistency in winning her sixth Barry 40 Ladies title. Kendra's injury sadly led to her retirement after 92 laps, which enabled Pam Storey made it a one-two for Serpentine, and secure second place for the second successive year.

The Welsh Championship appeared to be the most open for years. Jeff Rees (Neath Harriers), winner in 1998 and 1999, made a determined attempt to win for the third time, establishing a five minute lead by the halfway mark, reached in 2:15:20. During this time, Jeff had matched strides with Walter Hill, with whom he always seems to have battles at Barry. However, his pace proved to be a little over ambitious, and by 30 miles the more cautious even-paced approach by Andy Cleves (Les Croupiers) swept him into the lead. Andy's smooth and efficient style saw him scythe his way through the field, eventually taking fourth place overall. His time of 4:41:02 was almost seven minutes quicker than he recorded on his debut two years ago. The real drama of this championship unfolded in the final mile. Jeff Rees's early pace saw him struggle considerably in the closing stages, and it was to his considerable credit that he managed to complete the distance, such was the difficulty he was in. With just three laps remaining, Lyn Rees (Sarn Helen) passed Jeff for the silver medal. Lyn's time of 5:01:53 constituted a new Welsh Over 50s record, and previous record holder Gary Hyatt was the first to congratulate him. Then on the final circuit, it seemed as if Sam Moore would snatch the bronze medal, until Jeff rallied in the final 200 metres. Eleven Welsh runners closed in, making this the most competitive championship race yet.

A special mention should be made of local man Gary Hyatt of Elan Close, Barry. In his sixth attempt at this race, Gary had his best run for years and placed seventh in the above championship and 14th overall. Gary's wife has for many years now supplied the catering which was greatly appreciated by all concerned.

As usual, the day was all about personal tales of endeavour. Everyone present had a tale to tell, it's that sort of event. Bob Emmerson, now 69 years old, showed many of the youngsters the way home, as he always does. He thus maintained his incredible record of completing all 16 Barry 40 Mile Track Races, and in doing so now holds the World 40 Mile Record for the Over 55, Over 60 and Over 65 Age Groups. He already has declared his intention of revising the Over 70 record next year.

In another amazingly successful day for the Barry 40, there were 27 finishers out of 33 starters. That statistic alone speaks volumes for the fitness and dedication of the participants.

Provisional Date for 17th Annual Barry 40 Mile Track Race: Sunday 2nd March, 2003

N.B. Just a last word of thanks to everyone, in whatever capacity, who helped make the race such a success. I'm particularly grateful to the army of lap scorers and drinks attendants who deferred their own training for the day to help all the runners. Many thanks again folks for another ultramarathon effort!

Barry 40 main page.

Les Croupiers Running Club Home » Barry40 » Barry 40 Results 2002

Dave Weeden 2000–8. Feel free to contact me with suggestions, complaints, or praise — or if you spot any errors of fact, grammar, sense, or coding.