Dynamic duo make their mark as Harriers storm to British Masters victory

Two super-fit mums from Berkhamsted were part of the four-strong Belgrave Harriers Belles squad that stormed to victory in the W35 age category at the British Masters Road Relay Championships.
Kate Rennie (holding the shield) and Zoe Doyle, right, helped Belgrave Harriers to victory in the W35 age category at the British Masters Road Relay ChampionshipsKate Rennie (holding the shield) and Zoe Doyle, right, helped Belgrave Harriers to victory in the W35 age category at the British Masters Road Relay Championships
Kate Rennie (holding the shield) and Zoe Doyle, right, helped Belgrave Harriers to victory in the W35 age category at the British Masters Road Relay Championships

Kate Rennie and Zoe Doyle are two of the top veteran female runners in the country, and they showed their class alongside team-mates Sophie Carter and Louise Blizzard as the Harriers won the event in convincing style.

Carter led the opening leg by 10 seconds with a 17:25 clocking for the hilly three-mile route through Sutton Park, and at the end of leg two Blizzard had stretched the gap to 31 seconds over second-placed team Heanor RC.

On leg three, club debutante Rennie widened the gap to almost two minutes and, although Doyle lost some ground on the last leg, the winning margin was still a conclusive 75 seconds.

Team result: 1 - Belgrave H, 1:12:38; 2 - Heanor RC, 1:13:53; 3 - Telford AC, 1:14:35; 4 - Tyne Bridge H, 1:16:16; 5- Tipton H, 1:16:28.

Individual Belgrave results: S Carter, 17:25; L Blizzard, 18:50 ; K Rennie, 17:58; Z Doyle, 18:25.

As well as their heroics at the British Masters Road Relay Championships, Rennie and Doyle have been making their mark at various meets throughout the country.

Rennie has been concentrating on ultra marathons; she recorded a fine win on her first competitive attempt at the distance, before finishing third in the South Downs Ultra last month.

She also won the 100km Chiltern Way ultra marathon last year, as well as triumphing in the Berkhamsted Half Marathon in 2011 and 2012.

Doyle, meanwhile, has been busy competing in a full cross country season – winning the Surrey League in the veteran category and finishing fifth in the open competition.

On top of this, Doyle recorded a third placed finish in the V35 category in the South of England Cross Country Championships, before helping Tring to fourth place at the Herts County Championships.

The speedster is now training hard for the World Masters Championships in Lyon in August, where she will be competing in the 1,500m – an event in which she was ranked third in the UK in the V35 category at the end of last summer.

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