Keep keeps on churning out good performances!

Mike Keep has been very active on the local racing circuit since returning to the region from Africa earlier in the year. On April 28th he was the only Harriers' representative at the Plymouth Half Marathon. The absence of any of Mike's club-mates might be explained in part by the somewhat hefty £31 entry fee; this race now being organised by the GO2 events company, who are also taking over the running of the Great West Run this year. The GWR also costs £31 to enter and these are the most expensive races in Devon. Significantly cheaper (nearer £20) are the races over the same distance in Exeter - the IBR 3-lapper (Feb), Bideford (Mar) and Torbay (Jun). Also, if you are prepared to drive to neighbouring Dorset, the Dorset Doddlers organise a truly fantastic half marathon, the Stur Half, from Sturminster Newton High School, in August. At just £8 a pop to enter, with free cake and a quality finishers' tee-shirt (that comes in both male and female sizes), not to mention the beer tents and catering facilities installed in the field at the school at the finish area, this is perhaps the best value for money half you will find in the west country. But I digress....

Keep had another good run, just cracking the 2 hours barrier in finishing 1508th overall of just over 3000 completing the event. There was no Men over 70 category but Mike was 18th of 56 in the over 60 section so it is tempting to guess he would have placed in the top 3 of any over 70 category. It must be said that race organises need to correct this little bit of trophy injustice. It really is not fair to expect a man of over 70 to compete in a category with others up to more than 10 years younger and there is certainly a demand for an over 70s section, as Exmouth Harriers alone have 4 members actively competing - yes, competing, not just participating - in this age group. Nevertheless, this places him inside the top 40 in the country in his age group for the half-marathon distance this year: a superb achievement. Well done Mike!