Month: January 2018

 

Owing to an emergency diversion Friday’s Serpentine 5K was slightly long but Fairlands Valley Spartan DAVID BOWKER ran an excellent 21 minutes 8 seconds for a 75% score.  MADDIE PRITCHARD was not far behind with 21:24.  JIM BROWN was second in his category with 24:49.  The race round London’s Hyde Park was in cool, dry but breezy conditions.

There were 279 finishers.  The next Serpentine 5K will be on Thursday 16^th February, one week earlier than usual.

 

Presentation Evening, Dinner and Disco

The championship and other awards will be presented at the Fairlands Valley Spartans Champions Night in the Cromwell Hotel, Old Stevenage at 7p.m. on Friday 23rd February.  Tickets £25.  You can find more information on www.fvspartans.org.uk

 

Coach to London

Do you have an entry to the London Marathon on 22^nd April 2018?  Have you thought how you will get to London from Stevenage on the big day? Fairlands Valley Spartans have a coach from Stevenage and there are spare places.  The cost is just £10.  If you would like to join us, please contact Roger Biggs on roger@thebiggs.net.

 

Parkrun Highlights

Fastest Spartan of the parkrun weekend was ASHLEY SCHOENWETTER who was first woman, and third overall, at Cassiobury Park in Watford in a time of 19:36.  Spartans running at other parkruns away from Stevenage included GARETH COWELL (15^th at Rosliston in 22:30), BARRY OSBORN (18^th at Oak Hill in 21:13). EMMA POULTER (24^th at Westmill in 41:32) and NICK GILL (8^th at Wanstead Flats in 20:50).  At St Albans, DAVE SMITH ran the only Spartan course PB of the weekend, finishing 25^th in 20:19.

At Stevenage DANNY SCANLON was first Spartan finisher, in 9^th place in a time of 20:21. THOMAS SAUKA and TIM SABAN were next in 15^th and 17^th respectively. NIKKI WILBY was best Spartan woman, 23^rd in 27:49 with VERITY FISHER one second behind in 24^th place and SHARON CROWLEY the third Spartan woman in 30:08.

Hertfordshire gained another new parkrun this weekend as Letchworth opened for business and attracted a large field of 388 for its inaugural event.  Four Spartans headed over there and JOHN HARRIS finished 14^th in 21:43 with the others being MICHAEL O’KEEFE (31:23), MONICA SMITHSON (34:30) and TRACY STILES (36:25).

 

Coming Events

Many Spartans will be enjoying a busy programme of races, social and training events over the next few weeks including:

• UKA Club Run at Fairlands Valley Spartans on Thursday 1^st February.
• Watford Half Marathon including veteran county championships on Sunday 4^th February.
• Bramley 20/10 (20 miles or 10 miles) on Sunday 11^th February.
• St Valentine’s 30K at Stamford on Sunday 11^th February.
• Serpentine 5K on Friday 16^th February (please note change of date).
• Cross Country League at Royston on Sunday 18^th February.
• Fairlands Valley Spartans Champions Night on Friday 23^rd February.
• National Cross Country Championships, Parliament Hill Fields on Saturday 24^th February.
• Baldock Beast on Sunday 25^th February.
• Welwyn Half Marathon on Sunday 4^th March.
• Big London Half Marathon on Sunday 4^th March.
• Milton Keynes 5K and 10K on Sunday 11^th March.
• Finchley 20 miles (including Herts County) on Sunday 18^th March.
• Oakley 20 miles on Sunday 18^th March.
• Serpentine 5K on Friday 23^rd March (please note change of date).
• Orion 15 classic cross country at Chingford (Epping Forest) on Saturday 24^th March.
• County Cross Country Championships for Veterans at Royston on Sunday 25^th March.
• Maidenhead Easter Ten on Friday 30^th March.
• Sandy Ten on Sunday 8^th April.
• London Marathon on Sunday 22^nd April.
• Flitwick 10K on Sunday 29^th April.
• Stirling Marathon on Sunday 29^th April.
• EMAC track and field event one on Wednesday 2^nd May.
• County 1500 and veteran track and field championships on Monday 7^th May.
• Pednor Five including county championships for veterans on Monday 7^th May.
• Mid Week Road Race League 10K in St. Albans on Thursday 24^th May.
• EMAC track and field event two on Wednesday 6^th June.
• Welwyn 10K including senior county championships on Sunday 24^th June.
• EMAC track and field event three on Wednesday 4^th July.
• Fairlands Valley Challenge off road on Sunday 15^th July.
• EMAC track and field event four on Wednesday 1^st August.
• Standalone 10K on Sunday 7^th October.
• Peterborough Half Marathon (GER) on Sunday 14^th October.

 

Tables

Full Spartan Parkrun results from Saturday 27^th January were as follows:

 

parkrun	Pos	Gen	parkrunner	Time	Notes
St Albans	28	25	Dave SMITH	00:20:19	New course PB
Rosliston	16	15	Gareth COWELL	00:22:30
Oak Hill	18	18	Barry OSBORNE	00:21:13
Westmill	57	24	Emma POULTER	00:41:32
Wanstead Flats	8	8	Nick GILL	00:20:50
Stevenage	9	9	Danny SCANLON	00:20:21
Stevenage	16	15	Thomas SAUKA	00:21:07
Stevenage	18	17	Tim SABAN	00:21:24
Stevenage	39	36	Martin DUDLEY	00:22:45
Stevenage	56	49	Mark BEASLEY	00:23:54
Stevenage	66	57	Lee PICKERSGILL	00:24:56
Stevenage	79	69	David SCOTT	00:25:34
Stevenage	86	76	Michael ANDREWS	00:25:53
Stevenage	123	23	Nikki WILBY	00:27:49
Stevenage	124	24	Verity FISHER	00:27:50
Stevenage	151	117	James SOUTH	00:29:06
Stevenage	160	124	Steven DOBNER	00:29:44
Stevenage	165	38	Sharon CROWLEY	00:30:08
Stevenage	169	130	Paul HOLGATE	00:30:30
Stevenage	174	42	Iris HORNSEY	00:30:44
Stevenage	176	43	Sital SHAH	00:30:53
Stevenage	215	71	Sally PHILLIPS	00:33:35
Stevenage	253	98	Hazel JONES	00:40:10
Brockenhurst	215	137	Darryl STEVENS	00:40:55
Cassiobury	3	1	Ashley SCHOENWETTER	00:19:36
Letchworth	14	14	John HARRIS	00:21:43
Letchworth	193	159	Michael O’KEEFE	00:31:23
Letchworth	259	70	Monica SMITHSON	00:34:30
Letchworth	291	90	Tracy STILES	00:36:25

 

The Fred Hughes 10 was run in ideal weather conditions for penguins but BRIAN WHITE finished first 60 plus and 102^nd overall in 67 minutes 45 seconds.  He was five minutes ahead of his nearest rival.

On a day when events like the Windsor Half Marathon were cancelled due to the weather 754 finished the race which included the Hertfordshire County Championships for seniors.

STEVE & ISABEL GREEN both managed course bests (figure of 8 course) on the undulating and snowy event.  Steve, ran his 12th Fred Hughes, in 01:12:00 (169th place) and Isabel, running her 10th FH10, finished 372nd in 1:23:59.

Despite the conditions JIM BROWN was 15 seconds quicker than last year with 1:23:40, just making it into the top half of the field.  GARETH COWELL finished with a useful 1:17:43.

KAREN ELLIS was second Spartan woman with an excellent 1:24:59.  JULIE SHADBOLT ran a new personal best of 1:32:50 with KAREN PALMER just three seconds slower at 1:32:53.  SHARON CROWLEY was pleased with her 1:42:41.

Pos	Name	Time	Category	Cat Pos	Gender	Comments
101	BRIAN WHITE	01:07:43	M60	1	Male	1st Vet 60
169	STEVE GREEN	01:12:00	M40	58	Male
253	GARETH COWELL	01:17:43	M40	87	Male
372	ISABEL GREEN	01:23:59	W35	32	Female
381	JIM BROWN	01:23:40	M60	13	Male
414	KAREN ELLIS	01:24:59	W45	24	Female
561	KAREN PALMER	01:32:53	W45	55	Female
562	JULIE SHADBOLT	01:32:50	W45	56	Female	PB
661	SHARON CROWLEY	01:42:41	W55	31	Female

 

(All chip times)

 

Santa Pola

Spartans in Spain succeed at Santa Pola.  While nine Spartans were shivering at the County 10 miles championships in St. Albans two were winning prizes in sunny Spain.

Yuko Gordon and Cathy Craig achieved first and third in their age category at the Santa Pola Half Marathon during a 27 degree heatwave.

This was Cathy’s 10th half marathon in Santa Pola in a row and marks 10 years since she became a runner.  Yuko finished in an amazing time of 1.39 and Cathy in 2.20.

The first year Cathy started running was to run this race.  (the temperature rose to 27C  not the 23C we expected from the weather forecast) and other runners from the UK had to drop out due to the heat.  Yuko was first FV65.  Cathy was 3rd FV65, in 2:20.  It was tough due to the sun and heat but better than freezing in Stevenage.

 

Masters Third

With one race to go the Spartan veteran men are third in the cross country league.  Overall the club’s men are eighth out of the 20 clubs and the women 10^th.

 

Presentation Evening, Dinner and Disco

Fairlands Valley Spartans Champions Night will be at the Cromwell Hotel, Old Stevenage at 7p.m. on Friday 23rd February.  Tickets £25.  You can find more information on www.fvspartans.org.uk

 

Coach to London

Do you have an entry to the London Marathon on 22^nd April 2018?  Have you thought how you will get to London from Stevenage on the big day? Fairlands Valley Spartans have a coach from Stevenage and there are spare places.  The cost is just £10.  If you would like to join us, please contact Roger Biggs on roger@thebiggs.net.

 

parkrun Highlights

JOHN WALSH took the parkrun PB honours for the weekend. He notched a new best at Cambridge as he finished in 42 mins 52 secs. Meanwhile VERITY FISHER went to Bedford and completed in 23:35 for a top ten finish. At Peterborough, SIMON BELL just missed a top ten finish in 19:11 while ANNETTE BELL finished 8^th woman in 24:40.

At wet and cold Stevenage there were no new milestones as far as times were concerned. DANNY SCANLON was first Spartan, 10^th in 20:11. NICK GILL (12^th in 20:31), DAVE SMITH (14^th, 20:45) and BARRY OSBORNE (18^th, 21:19) were next. For the women, KAREN PALMER was 10^th in 27:15, followed by TRACY PEZ ( 13^th in 27:30) and ANGIE KEELING (29^th in 29:52).

 

Coming Events

Many Spartans will be enjoying a busy programme of races, social and training events over the next few weeks including:

• Southern Cross Country Championships on Saturday 27^th January.
• UKA Club Run at Fairlands Valley Spartans on Thursday 1^st February.
• Watford Half Marathon including veteran county championships on Sunday 4^th February.
• Bramley 20/10 (20 miles or 10 miles) on Sunday 11^th February.
• St Valentine’s 30K at Stamford on Sunday 11^th February.
• Serpentine 5K on Friday 16^th February (please note change of date).
• Cross Country League at Royston on Sunday 18^th February.
• Fairlands Valley Spartans Champions Night on Friday 23^rd February.
• National Cross Country Championships, Parliament Hill Fields on Saturday 24^th February.
• Baldock Beast on Sunday 25^th February.
• Welwyn Half Marathon on Sunday 4^th March.
• Big London Half Marathon on Sunday 4^th March.
• Milton Keynes 5K and 10K on Sunday 11^th March.
• Finchley 20 miles (including Herts County) on Sunday 18^th March.
• Oakley 20 miles on Sunday 18^th March.
• Serpentine 5K on Friday 23^rd March (please note change of date).
• Orion 15 classic cross country at Chingford (Epping Forest) on Saturday 24^th March.
• County Cross Country Championships for Veterans at Royston on Sunday 25^th March.
• Maidenhead Easter Ten on Friday 30^th March.
• Sandy Ten on Sunday 8^th April.
• London Marathon on Sunday 22^nd April.
• Flitwick 10K on Sunday 29^th April.
• Stirling Marathon on Sunday 29^th April.
• EMAC track and field event one on Wednesday 2^nd May.
• County 1500 and veteran track and field championships on Monday 7^th May.
• Pednor Five including county championships for veterans on Monday 7^th May.
• EMAC track and field event two on Wednesday 6^th June.
• Welwyn 10K including senior county championships on Sunday 24^th June.
• EMAC track and field event three on Wednesday 4^th July.
• Fairlands Valley Challenge off road on Sunday 15^th July.
• EMAC track and field event four on Wednesday 1^st August.
• Standalone 10K on Sunday 7^th October.
• Peterborough Half Marathon (GER) on Sunday 14^th October.

 

Tables

 

Fred Hughes 10 Miles:

Pos	Name	Time	Category	Cat Pos	Gender	Gen Pos
101	BRIAN WHITE	01:07:43	M60	1	Male	95
169	STEVE GREEN	01:12:00	M40	58	Male	151
253	GARETH COWELL	01:17:43	M40	87	Male	212
372	ISABEL GREEN	01:23:59	W35	32	Female	77
381	JIM BROWN	01:23:40	M60	13	Male	298
414	KAREN ELLIS	01:24:59	W45	24	Female	103
561	KAREN PALMER	01:32:53	W45	55	Female	191
562	JULIE SHADBOLT	01:32:50	W45	56	Female	192
661	SHARON CROWLEY	01:42:41	W55	31	Female	265

 

(All chip times)

 

Full Spartan parkrun results from Saturday 20^th January were as follows:

parkrun	Pos	Gen	parkrunner	Time	Notes
Bedford	73	9	Verity FISHER	00:23:35
Cambridge	487	301	John WALSH	00:42:52	New course PB
Peterborough	11	11	Simon BELL	00:19:11
Peterborough	112	8	Annette BELL	00:24:40
Stevenage	10	10	Danny SCANLON	00:20:11
Stevenage	12	12	Nick GILL	00:20:31
Stevenage	14	14	Dave SMITH	00:20:45
Stevenage	18	18	Barry OSBORNE	00:21:19
Stevenage	33	32	Martin DUDLEY	00:22:44
Stevenage	51	49	Ryan DUNNING	00:24:24
Stevenage	67	63	David SCOTT	00:25:20
Stevenage	92	84	Simon SYPULA	00:26:42
Stevenage	103	10	Karen PALMER	00:27:15
Stevenage	109	13	Tracy PEZ	00:27:30
Stevenage	110	97	Tim ROBINSON	00:27:31
Stevenage	152	29	Angie KEELING	00:29:52
Stevenage	173	38	Sital SHAH	00:30:53
Stevenage	184	45	Liz GUEMACHE	00:31:20
Stevenage	262	100	Caren THAIN	00:39:24
Stevenage	263	101	Emma POULTER	00:40:04
Brockenhurst	196	111	Darryl STEVENS	00:42:00

 

After only a week Fairlands Valley Spartans returned to Cassiobury Park, Watford for a cross country race.  Seven days ago it was separate men’s and women’s races for the senior county championships, this time it was all in together over about 9.5 kilometres for a Sunday Cross Country league event.

The outstanding Spartan performance came from CALLUM STEWART who was second overall out of more than 400 finishers in just 34 minutes 4 seconds for the six miles or so, but the amazing YUKO GORDON continues to astound.  She’s a veteran 65 plus women and her time of 46 minutes 38 minutes made her first female from Fairlands and eighth out of the 31 runners from the club.

SIMON JACKSON and TODD GRAY also beat 40 minutes and were in the top 60 with Simon 13^th in 36:27 and Todd 57^th in 39:59.  The rest of the men’s “A” team consisted of RICHARD SPRINGALL 84^th in 41:30; THOMAS SAUKA 113^th in 42:55; TIM SABAN 114^th in 42:57; STEVE MAYFIELD 151^st in 45:22 and GARETH POWELL 191^st in 47:28.  Men’s teams consisted of eight runners.

No less than three Spartan women’s teams completed the rest.  The “A” team were Yuko; SUZY HAWKINS 179^th in 46:47; MICHELLE REEVES 214^th in 48:33; CLAIRE EMMERSON 260^th in 51:22 and new club chair SOPHIE COWAN 299^th in 54:02.

JENNY GARRETT led in the women’s “B” team at 320^th in 55:02.  She was supported by KAREN PALMER 326^th in 55:26; KELLY McHALE 332^nd in 56:30; PENNY SCHENKEL 345^th in 57:22 and CAROLE SHELDRICK 367^th in 59:59.  Women’s teams consisted of five runners.

There were 17 FVS women and 14 men.  All the Spartans results can be found at the end of this release.

Fairlands Valley Spartans have entered fourteen runners for the national cross country championships on Saturday 24^th February.  They will be on the tough, hilly and usually Parliament Hill Fields in north London.  The club have teams in the senior women’s and men’s races.  The final league race will be on Therfield Heath, Royston on Sunday 18^th February.

 

Disney World Marathon

Running his first ever marathon, Michael Andrews made his way through Walt Disney World, Florida in a very good time 5:14:41. Wife Aimee Andrews also in her first ever marathon persevered excellently to stay inside the seven hours cut-off time, finishing alongside her dad Paul Holgate in 6:57:09.

 

Coach to London

Do you have an entry to the London Marathon on 22^nd April 2018?  Have you thought how you will get to London from Stevenage on the big day? Fairlands Valley Spartans have a coach from Stevenage and there are spare places.  The cost is just £10.  If you would like to join us, please contact Roger Biggs on roger@thebiggs.net.

 

Snetterton Sam

SAM SIMMONS ran the Snetterton 10K in 53 minutes 33 seconds.  He finished 304^th out of the 760 finishers.

 

UKA Club Run

Fairlands Valley Spartans applied for the England Athletics Club Run scheme in September 2017 and found out at the end of the year that they had been selected.  The Club Run scheme provides a series of three visits from an England Athletics Coach, over a three month period.  The aim is to provide some additional coaching to club members and to support coach development.

 

The first of three visits from coach Simon Mennell was on Tuesday night.  They was an amazing turn out for a whole club session of over 50 runners.  This was an 800 metres endurance session, with each group having a pace to aim to maintain over their reps.  Everyone enjoyed the session and benefited from Simon’s coaching.  He then spent some time with the coaches, discussing different practices and techniques.  The feedback we have received from members has been brilliant – everyone enjoyed the session and we are really looking forward to Simon’s next visit on Thursday 1st February.  Why not train with the Spartans?  Have a look at www.fvspartans.org.uk?

 

Great Edinburgh

JOHN HARRIS ran the great Edinburgh winter run 5K in 20 minutes 38 seconds.

 

parkrun Highlights

Parkrun Highlights: At Stevenage MADDIE PRITCHARD was first woman to cross the line, finishing in a time of 22:28. CLAIRE EMMERSON also claimed a top ten finish in 25:21 with VERITY FISHER (27:27) and CALLIE CHAPMAN (30:21) the next Spartan women home. For the men, recent recruit DANNY SCANLON was 6^th in 20:06, with MARTIN DUDLEY gaining a top 50 finish in 22:42.  LEE PICKERSGILL (24:01) and CLIVE CANNON (25:20) were next.

Best performances away from the “home” venue were by CHRIS HOLLAND, who ran 21:50 in finishing 10^th at Pymmes, and DAVE SMITH who was 15^th at Linford Wood in a time of 21:18.

 

Coming Events

Many Spartans will be enjoying a busy programme of races, social and training events over the next few weeks including:

• Fred Hughes 10 miles including senior county championships at St. Albans on Sunday 21^st January.
• Southern Cross Country Championships on Saturday 27^th January.
• Watford Half Marathon inc. veteran county championships on Sunday 4^th February.
• Bramley 20/10 (20 miles or 10 miles) on Sunday 11^th February.
• St Valentine’s 30K at Stamford on Sunday 11^th February.
• Cross Country League at Royston on Sunday 18^th February.
• Fairlands Valley Spartans Champions Night on Friday 23^rd February.
• National Cross Country Championships, Parliament Hill Fields on Saturday 24^th February.
• Baldock Beast on Sunday 25^th February.
• Welwyn Half Marathon on Sunday 4^th March.
• Milton Keynes 5K and 10K on Sunday 11^th March.
• Finchley 20 miles (including Herts County) on Sunday 18^th March.
• Oakley 20 miles on Sunday 18^th March.
• Orion 15 classic cross country at Chingford (Epping Forest) on Saturday 24^th March.
• County Cross Country Championships for Veterans at Royston on Sunday 25^th March.
• Maidenhead Easter Ten on Friday 30^th March.
• Sandy Ten on Sunday 8^th April.
• London Marathon on Sunday 22^nd April.
• Flitwick 10K on Sunday 29^th April.
• Stirling Marathon on Sunday 29^th April.
• Welwyn 10K including senior county championships on Sunday 24^th June.
• Standalone 10K on Sunday 7^th October.
• Peterborough Half Marathon (GER) on Sunday 14^th October.

 

Tables

Spartans at Watford Cross Country League race, Sunday 14^th January.

Position	Name	Time	Gender	Comments
2	CALLUM STEWART	34:04	M	Men “A” team
13	SIMON JACKSON	36:27	M	Men “A”
57	TODD GRAY	39:59	M	Men “A”
84	RICHARD SPRINGALL	41:30	M	Men “A”
113	THOMAS SAUKA	42:55	M	Men “A”
114	TIM SABAN	42:57	M	Men “A”
151	STEVE MAYFIELD	45:22	M	Men “A”
177	YUKO GORDON	46:38	W	Women “A” team
179	SUZY HAWKINS	46:47	W	Women “A”
191	GARETH COWELL	47:28	M	Men “A”
206	PAUL WHYTE	48:06	M
214	MICHELLE REEVES	48:33	W	Women “A”
223	ANDREW SMITH	48:47	M
260	CLAIRE EMMERSON	51:22	W	Women “A”
287	JIM BROWN	53:21	M
299	SOPHIE COWAN	54:02	W	Women “A”
320	JENNY GARRETT	55:02	W	Women “B”
323	TIM ROBINSON	55:28	M
326	KAREN PALMER	55:26	W	Women “B”
332	KELLY McHALE	56:30	W	Women “B”
345	PENNY SCHENKEL	57:22	W	Women “B”
367	CAROLE SHELDRICK	59:59*	W	Women “B”
370	ERICA GRAYSON	60:18	W	Women “C”
371	JULIE SHADBOLT	60:19	W	Women “C”
378	CALLIE CHAPMAN	61:10	W	Women “C”
385	PETA WILSON	62:13	W	Women “C”
388	CAROLINE CROFT	62:39	W	Women “C”
390	MARK FREEMAN	63:13	M
395	SHARON CROWLEY	64:40	W
399	ANGIE KEELING	65:00	W
405	STEVE GOUGH	68:50	M

 

Full Spartan parkrun results from Saturday 13^th January were as follows:

parkrun	Pos	Gen	parkrunner	Time	Notes
Luton Wardown	292	123	Linda GREENE	00:39:06	First time here
Cambridge	575	354	John WALSH	00:44:01	First time here
Pymmes	10	10	Chris HOLLAND	00:21:50	First time here, top ten finish
Stevenage	6	6	Danny SCANLON	00:20:06	Top 10 finish
Stevenage	32	1	Maddie PRITCHARD	00:22:28	1st woman
Stevenage	42	41	Martin DUDLEY	00:22:42
Stevenage	64	61	Lee PICKERSGILL	00:24:01
Stevenage	91	83	Clive CANNON	00:25:20
Stevenage	92	9	Claire EMMERSON	00:25:21	Top 10 finish
Stevenage	121	108	David SCOTT	00:26:34
Stevenage	134	19	Verity FISHER	00:27:27
Stevenage	165	133	Tim ROBINSON	00:28:37
Stevenage	182	144	James SOUTH	00:29:26
Stevenage	212	53	Callie CHAPMAN	00:30:21
Stevenage	241	68	Judy KING	00:31:41
Stevenage	246	73	Olwen BATTY	00:32:09
Stevenage	247	74	Karen BROOM	00:32:20
Stevenage	271	84	Sally PHILLIPS	00:33:05
Stevenage	349	211	Trevor BROOM	00:39:25
Stevenage	368	151	Emma MARTIN	00:53:15
Stevenage	372	219	Ian ALEXANDER	00:59:41	Tailrunner
Linford Wood	15	15	Dave SMITH	00:21:18	First time here
Brockenhurst	181	105	Darryl STEVENS	00:41:54
Exeter Riverside	98	80	Andy JAY	00:25:29

Fairlands Valley Spartans finished two complete and counting teams at the Hertfordshire Cross Country Championships.  A great achievement in such a competitive event.

HAZEL SMITH was first finisher at 50^th with 40 minutes 35 seconds for the women’s race over 8 kilometres in Cassiobury Park, Watford.  She was supported by CLAIRE EMMERSON, 54^th in 41:01; JENNY GARRETT, 64^th in 2:32; ERICA GRAYSON, 76^th in 45:55; PENNY SCHENKEL, 79^th in 46:15; CALANTHA CHAPMAN, 85^th in 49:16 and SHARON CROWLEY, 89^th in 52:52.

Starting at 1.15p.m. the men got an extra loop in the woods making their race up to 12 kilometres.  DAVID RIDDELL got under 50 minutes for the undulating course.  He was 71^st in 49 minutes 11 seconds.  TIM SABAN was 97^th with 52:36; TOM SAUKA 100^th in 53:35; STUART ARCHER 101^st in 53:38; NICHOLAS CROWLEY 117^th in 58:40; JIM BROWN 127^th in 1:03:45 and TIM ROBINSON 130^th in 1:05:40.

These were the senior (i.e. aged 20 and above) championships.  The veteran championships are on Sunday 25^th March.  The Spartans will return to Watford for a cross country league race this Sunday 14^th January.

 

Women (8K)

 

Position	Name	Time
50	HAZEL SMITH	40:35
54	CLAIRE EMMERSON	41:01
64	JENNY GARRETT	42:32
76	ERICA GRAYSON	45:55
79	PENNY SCHENKEL	46:15
85	CALANTHA CHAPMAN	49:16
89	SHARON CROWLEY	52:52

 

Men (12K)

 

Position	Name	Time
71	DAVID RIDDELL	49:11
97	TIM SABAN	52:36
100	THOMAS SAUKA	53:35
101	STUART ARCHER	53:38
117	NICHOLAS CROWLEY	58:40
127	JIM BROWN	63:45
130	TIM ROBINSON	65:40

 

Coach to London

Got a place in the London Marathon?  You can train with Fairlands Valley Spartans and then you can coach to the big event as the club have booked a bus.  Cost £10.  Bookings to Roger Biggs by emailing roger@thebiggs.net.

 

parkrun Highlights

Nineteen Spartans lined up at Stevenage parkrun, and recent joiner DANNY SCANLON finished 5^th and was first Spartan home in 20 mins 29 secs.  BARRY OSBORNE (22:52), MARTIN DUDLEY (23:30), MARK BEASLEY (23:35) and CRAIG BACON (23:45) all finished in the top 50.  It was also good to see JAMES SOUTH running close to 26 minutes following his long rehab from a broken leg.

VERITY FISHER was the first Spartan woman to finish, 12^th in 27:41, with CLAIRE EMMERSON right behind in 27:43.  KAREN PALMER (28:30) and TRACY PEZ (29:01) also top 50.

MICHELLE MARCHANT was the notable performer elsewhere, returning to Bedford, the scene of her first parkrun, and notching a new course PB of 32:03.  ANDY JAY went to Westmill and finished 22^nd in a time of 41:49.

 

Coming Events

Many Spartans will be enjoying a busy programme of races, social and training events over the next few weeks including:

• Cross Country League at Watford on Sunday 14^th January.
• Fred Hughes 10 miles including senior county championships at St. Albans on Sunday 21^st January.
• Southern Cross Country Championships on Saturday 27^th January.
• Watford Half Marathon inc. veteran county championships on Sunday 4^th February.
• Bramley 20/10 (20 miles or 10 miles) on Sunday 11^th February.
• St Valentine’s 30K at Stamford on Sunday 11^th February.
• Cross Country League at Royston on Sunday 18^th February.
• Fairlands Valley Spartans Champions Night on Friday 23^rd February.
• Baldock Beast on Sunday 25^th February.
• Welwyn Half Marathon on Sunday 4^th March.
• Finchley 20 miles (including Herts County) on Sunday 18^th March.
• Oakley 20 miles on Sunday 18^th March.
• Orion 15 at Chingford (Epping Forest) on Saturday 24^th March.
• County Cross Country Championships for Veterans at Royston on Sunday 25^th March.
• London Marathon on Sunday 22^nd April.
• Stirling Marathon on Sunday 29^th April.
• Welwyn 10K including senior county championships on Sunday 24^th June.

 

Tables

Full results from the 6^th January parkruns were as follows:

parkrun/date	Pos	Gen	parkrunner	Time	Notes
Bedford	421	128	Michelle MARCHANT	00:32:04	New course PB
Westmill	26	22	Andy JAY	00:25:57
Wycombe Rye	511	315	Darryl STEVENS	00:41:49
Stevenage	5	5	Danny SCANLON	00:20:29
Stevenage	22	21	Barry OSBORNE	00:22:52
Stevenage	32	31	Martin DUDLEY	00:23:30
Stevenage	34	33	Mark BEASLEY	00:23:35
Stevenage	37	36	Craig BACON	00:23:45
Stevenage	60	57	James SOUTH	00:26:14
Stevenage	72	66	Dave SMITH	00:26:50
Stevenage	84	76	Clive CANNON	00:27:10
Stevenage	88	78	Darren EMMERSON	00:27:13
Stevenage	89	79	Lee PICKERSGILL	00:27:14
Stevenage	95	12	Verity FISHER	00:27:41
Stevenage	96	13	Claire EMMERSON	00:27:43
Stevenage	106	91	Sam SIMMONS	00:28:04
Stevenage	114	18	Karen PALMER	00:28:30
Stevenage	130	23	Tracy PEZ	00:29:01
Stevenage	204	61	Liz GUEMACHE	00:33:15
Stevenage	218	67	Sally PHILLIPS	00:34:02
Stevenage	274	174	Robert Lloyd EVANS	00:40:05
Stevenage	286	177	Trevor BROOM	00:43:56

 

YUKO GORDON won her category by a mile in the Buntingford Year End 10 on New Year’s Eve.  In fact it was by a lot more than a mile as she was 14 minutes ahead of her nearest competitor.  She was first female veteran, 65 plus with an amazing 1 hour 14 minutes 1 second.

Fifteen from Fairlands Valley Spartans tackled the undulating course.  No ice this year and no rain but a strong headwind in places and the roads were very wet and pavements slippery with damp leaves after recent downpours.

MARK COLLINS was first in for FVS with 1:09:56 and THOMAS SAUKA ran a new personal best of 1 hour 11 minutes 17 seconds.  The second female from Fairlands was MADDIE PRITCHARD in 1:19:11.  JIM BROWN ran a season’s best 1:22:35 and was fourth veteran, 65 plus.

CALLIE CHAPMAN completed her first ever 10 mile race in 1:43:03.  The other Spartans were JOHN HARRIS 1:12:54; ANN TRYSSESOONE 1:26:21, JO BOWDERY 1:28:44; DAVID SCOTT 1:29:40; NEIL ROBINSON 1:30:11; SCOTT ROUSE 1:32:49; KAREN LIDDLE 1:38:47; JENNY GARRETT 1:41:35 and CLAIRE EMMERSON 1:43:03.  There were 492 finishers

 

Eve in Ely

The Ely New Year’s Eve 10k is on a predominantly flat route across the fens starting in the village of Little Downham.  The wind caught runners from all angles of the course.  Post race souvenirs were a packet of Corkers crisps (made in Little Downham) and a bottle of beer.

Spartan times were as follows:  Craig Halsey 35 minutes 17 seconds; Tim Saban 41:32; Chris Holland 48:46; Maria Swift 54:09; Karen Palmer 54:57; Caroline Croft 1:00:05 and Karen Broom 1:03:44.

 

Boxing Day Winner

Spartan GRANT RAMSAY WON the Pirton Boxing Day Race in 18 minutes 29 seconds.  This was a 3.2 miles off road event near Hitchin.  Another Spartan ANDREW PATTERSON was second in 18:50.

 

An Early Start to the New Year

Despite an energetic Hogmanay Spartans PENNY SCHENKEL and JIM BROWN got to Hyde Park in time for the New Year’s Day 10K.  They both finished in 1 hour and 49 seconds (1:00:49).  Jim was 399^th and Penny 400^th.

 

Velopark 10

TIM ROBINSON was third in his age category with 1:27:37 at the Olympic VeloPark.  This was a Grand Prix style circuit of 10 one mile laps.

 

Coach to London

Got a place in the London Marathon?  You can train with Fairlands Valley Spartans and then you can coach to the big event as the club have booked a bus.  Cost £10.  Bookings to Roger Biggs by emailing roger@thebiggs.net.

 

Witham Five Flyers

Taking the last opportunity to run a five mile race for the 2017 Fairlands Valley Spartans club championships TIM SABAN raced to a new personal best (PB) of 33 minutes 17 seconds; in his first event since a mishap at the St Neots Half Marathon JIM BROWN maintained fairly consistent eight minute miles (keeping a reindeer in sight) to finish in 39 minutes 38 seconds; MONICA SMITHSON ran an excellent 45:19 and PENNY SCHENKEL continued her recovery with a steady 46 minutes 29 seconds.  On a bright but chilly day with a headwind to battle for a couple of miles there were 388 finishers.

 

Spartan Vets Have Nose Ahead In Cross Country Team Results

At the third cross country league race in Willian the Spartan men were sixth out of twenty and the club’s women ninth.  Overall the women are tenth and the men sixth but the FVS male veterans (40 plus) narrowly lead the masters’ contest by just two race points (102 to 104) ahead of Trent Park.   The next league race is in Watford on 14^th January.

 

New Year Parkrun Highlights

New Year’s Day is the only day of the year when runners can officially log two parkrun results, and ten Spartans set off to Panshanger to run the first leg of their double, accompanied by an eleventh who presumably had breakfast in mind rather than a second parkrun helping!

GRANT RAMSEY finished second male (third overall) in 18:02, happy with his effort but not totally satisfied with the time in testing conditions following the recent rain.  TIM SABAN, was 25^th in 21:23, and ANDY JAY 77^th in 25:08.  JACKIE DOWNES was 39^th woman in 28:32 with VERITY FISHER 43^rd in 29:00 and RUTH REILLY accompanied her son in 32:55.  ANDREW SMITH, DAVE SMITH, TOM SAUKA, TIM ROBINSON and JAMES SOUTH also ran and all bar ANDY KAY headed off to a second run.

GRANT RAMSAY chose to go to Barclay parkrun, retracing his steps from New Years Day 2017. There he again finished second male in 19:15 to round off a good morning’s work.

The other doublers headed to Stevenage, where JACKIE DOWNES topped off her morning’s work by achieving a new Course PB of 26:40. TIM SABAN. DAVE SMITH and TOM SAUKA showed that running an earlier parkrun was no barrier to running a decent second one and were the first three Spartans home with top 30 finishes in 21:13, 21:43 and 22:22 respectively. MADDIE PRITCHARD was first woman to finish for the Spartans in 3^rd place in 22:23, with YUKO GORDON next in 4^th in 23:07 and JULIE SIMMONS 8^th woman in 24:28.

In all, 36 Spartans ran at Stevenage and Fairlands Valley Park was awash with stripes as most ran in club vests to celebrate the start of a new year of running with the club.

Finally, MICHAEL O’KEEFE opted to do a New Year’s Day double with a different starting point. He began at Luton Wardown where he finished 71^st in a new course PB of 28:44, before then heading to Stevenage to complete the double there.

 

Pre- Christmas Parkrun Highlights for Fairlands Valley Spartans

On Saturday 23^rd at Stevenage it was a Spartan first across the line as GRANT RAMSAY ran his first parkrun in a while to finish in 17 mins 17 secs.  THOMAS SAUKA rushed round in 21:12 in 25^th place and DAVE SMITH was just outside the top 30 men in 22:05. Three Spartan women finished in the top 30.  YUKO GORDON was second in 22:45. MADELEINE PRITCHARD was 7^th in 23:23 and JO BOWDERY continues to run well, finishing 9^th in 23:51.

For a day when you want to run fast you really need to line up near the front rank at Panshanger due to congestion through the gate and the early part of the course in the woods.  RUTH REILLY didn’t do that on this occasion but still notched a new course PB of 22:45 for sixth place woman as she continues to run really well.  TRACY STILES was the other Spartan to achieve a new course PB this weekend, finishing 13^th woman at Westmill parkrun,

Finally BARRY OSBORNE secured a top 20 finish at Ellenbrook Fields, crossing the line in 21:23 for 15^th place.

 

Christmas Day Parkrun Highlights

The recent Spartan favourite of a Christmas Day parkrun at Panshanger was challenged this year as Stevenage held a festive run for the first time, and nineteen Spartans duly lined up in Fairlands Valley.  ERICA GRAYSON has been improving well recently and celebrated the festive season with a new course PB (personal best) of 26 minutes 50 secondss.   She was two places behind the first Spartan woman, TRACY PEZ, who finished 9^th in 26:24.  CLAIRE EMMERSON, KERSTIN WEINER and JENNY GARRETT were the other Spartans in the Top 30 women finishers.

TOM SAUKA finished 9^th in 20:49 to be the best placed male Spartan.  BARRY OSBORNE and DAVE SMITH also finished in the top 30.

Spartans were in festive action up and down the country with Top 30 finishes also achieved by STEVE and ISABEL GREEN in Newcastle, VERITY FISHER at Peterborough, KAREN PALMER at Clair and TIM SABAN at Canons Park.

 

Clair for Karen at Christmas

KAREN PALMER ran the Christmas Day park run in Haywards Heath.  The course was 4 and a half laps and a hilly one.  Supposedly more downhill than up!  Pre race briefing for newbies said to expect a time at least a minute and a half longer.  She was pleased to finish in 28:48.

 

Coming Events

Many Spartans will be enjoying a busy programme of races, social and training events over the next few weeks including:

 

• County Cross Country Championships at Cassiobury Park, Watford on Sunday 7^th January.
• Training session led by England Athletics at FVS Marriotts on Tuesday 9^th January.
• Cross Country League at Watford on Sunday 14^th January.
• Fred Hughes 10 miles including senior county championships at St. Albans on Sunday 21^st January.
• Southern Cross Country Championships on Saturday 27^th January.
• Watford Half Marathon inc. veteran county championships on Sunday 4^th February.
• Bramley 20/10 (20 miles or 10 miles) on Sunday 11^th February.
• St Valentine’s 30K at Stamford on Sunday 11^th February.
• Cross Country League at Royston on Sunday 18^th February.
• Fairlands Valley Spartans Champions Night on Friday 23^rd February.
• Baldock Beast on Sunday 25^th February.
• Welwyn Half Marathon on Sunday 4^th March.
• Finchley 20 miles (including Herts County) on Sunday 18^th March.
• Oakley 20 miles on Sunday 18^th March.
• Orion 15 at Chingford (Epping Forest) on Saturday 24^th March.
• London Marathon on Sunday 22^nd April.
• Stirling Marathon on Sunday 29^th April.
• Welwyn 10K including senior county championships on Sunday 24^th June.

 

Tables

Spartans at Buntingford (most times at Buntingford are “gun” times):

POSITION	FIRSTNAME	LASTNAME	CATEGORY	CAT POS	TIME	CommeNTS
69	Mark	Collins	Male Vet 40	22	01:09:56
77	Thomas	Sauka	Male Vet 40	26	01:11:17	PB
85	John	Harris	Male Vet 50	10	01:12:54
95	Yuko	Gordon	Female Vet 65	1	01:14:01	1st FV65
148	Madeleine	Pritchard	Senior Female	10	01:19:11
185	Jim	Brown	Male Vet 60	4	01:22:35	SB
243	Ann	Tryssesoone	Female Vet 45	30	01:26:21
269	Joanne	Bowdery	Senior Female	23	01:28:44
280	David	Scott	Senior Male	66	01:29:40
283	Neil	Robinson	Senior Male	67	01:30:11
307	Scott	Rouse	Senior Male	69	01:32:49
361	Karen	Liddle	Female Vet 55	10	01:38:47
382	Jenny	Garrett	Female Vet 45	63	01:41:35
393	Claire	Emmerson	Female Vet 45	66	01:43:03
394	Callie	Chapman	Senior Female	34	01:43:03	1st 10 mile race

 

Full Spartan results from the New Years Day parkruns are as below:

parkrun/date	Pos	Gen	parkrunner	Time	Notes
1st January
Panshanger	3	2	Grant RAMSAY	00:18:02	NYD Double 1st leg
Panshanger	28	25	Tim SABAN	00:21:23	NYD Double 1st leg
Panshanger	87	77	Andy JAY	00:25:08
Panshanger	153	120	Andrew SMITH	00:28:14	NYD Double 1st leg
Panshanger	154	121	Dave SMITH	00:28:15	NYD Double 1st leg
Panshanger	165	39	Jackie DOWNES	00:28:32	NYD Double 1st leg
Panshanger	175	43	Verity FISHER	00:29:00	NYD Double 1st leg
Panshanger	176	133	Thomas SAUKA	00:29:02	NYD Double 1st leg
Panshanger	178	135	Tim ROBINSON	00:29:05	NYD Double 1st leg
Panshanger	232	164	James SOUTH	00:32:51	NYD Double 1st leg
Panshanger	235	70	Ruth REILLY	00:32:55	NYD Double 1st leg
Barclay	2	2	Grant RAMSAY	00:19:15	NYD Double 2nd leg
Stevenage	14	13	Tim SABAN	00:21:13	NYD Double 2nd leg
Stevenage	19	18	Dave SMITH	00:21:43	NYD Double 2nd leg
Stevenage	26	24	Thomas SAUKA	00:22:22	NYD Double 2nd leg
Stevenage	33	3	Madeleine PRITCHARD	00:22:33
Stevenage	40	4	Yuko GORDON	00:23:07
Stevenage	48	44	Barry OSBORNE	00:23:42
Stevenage	59	8	Julie SIMMONS	00:24:28
Stevenage	61	53	Mark BEASLEY	00:24:36
Stevenage	62	54	Andrew SMITH	00:24:40	NYD Double 2nd leg
Steveange	64	10	Rosie INGRAM	00:24:48
Stevenage	66	56	Lee PICKERSGILL	00:24:59
Stevenage	95	75	Ken JUDE	00:26:29
Stevenage	100	21	Jackie DOWNES	00:26:40	NYD Double 2nd leg, new course PB
Stevenage	101	22	Ruth REILLY	00:26:41	NYD Double 2nd leg
Stevenage	113	85	Tim ROBINSON	00:27:14	NYD Double 2nd leg
Stevenage	114	23	Hazel SMITH	00:27:14
Stevenage	115	87	Paul MAGUIRE	00:27:15
Stevenage	116	30	Jenny GARRETT	00:27:15
Stevenage	125	34	Verity FISHER	00:27:27	NYD Double 2nd leg
Stevenage	129	95	Darren EMMERSON	00:27:36
Stevenage	130	36	Nikki WILBY	00:27:37
Stevenage	143	39	Carole SHELDRICK	00:28:27
Stevenage	144	40	Victoria BRETT	00:28:28
Stevenage	155	112	Jon SYPULA	00:29:04
Stevenage	164	46	Hannah SYPULA	00:29:15
Stevenage	168	49	Karen PALMER	00:29:23
Stevenage	172	51	Catherine CRAIG	00:29:35
Stevenage	176	126	James SOUTH	00:29:47	NYD Double 2nd leg
Stevenage	192	59	Caroline CROFT	00:30:23
Stevenage	196	137	Michael O’KEEFE	00:30:29	NYD Double 2nd leg
Stevenage	212	67	Karen BROOM	00:31:33
Stevenage	247	92	Sarah SAPSTEAD	00:34:34
Stevenage	282	112	Emma POULTER	00:37:59
Stevenage	297	126	Caren THAIN	00:39:40
Stevenage	299	128	Lynsey CHALKLEY	00:41:12
Stevenage	315	183	Ian ALEXANDER	00:54:57	Tail walker
Luton Wardown	96	71	Michael O’KEEFE	00:28:44	NYD Double 1st leg,New course PB

 

Full parkrun results for 23^rd December below:

 

parkrun/date	Pos	Gen	parkrunner	Time	Notes
23rd December
Westmill	41	13	Tracy STILES	00:33:06	13th woman, new course PB
Medina IOW	303	197	Paul WHYTE	00:34:47
Stevenage	1	1	Grant RAMSAY	00:17:17	1st finisher
Stevenage	26	25	Thomas SAUKA	00:21:12
Stevenage	35	34	Dave SMITH	00:22:05
Stevenage	38	37	Martin DUDLEY	00:22:22
Stevenage	39	38	David RIDDELL	00:22:37
Stevenage	41	40	Chris HOLLAND	00:22:42
Stevenage	43	2	Yuko GORDON	00:22:45
Stevenage	55	7	Madeleine PRITCHARD	00:23:23
Stevenage	64	9	Jo BOWDERY	00:23:51
Stevenage	71	60	Daniel SUTTON	00:24:20
Stevenage	77	65	Lee PICKERSGILL	00:24:58
Stevenage	86	72	Neil ROBINSON	00:26:01
Stevenage	149	113	James SOUTH	00:30:19
Stevenage	185	128	Michael ANDREWS	00:33:33
Stevenage	224	81	Verity FISHER	00:42:53
Panshanger	48	6	Ruth REILLY	00:22:45	New couse PB
Panshanger	130	102	Ken JUDE	00:27:43
Panshanger	132	104	Andy JAY	00:27:47
Lullingstone	40	30	Michael O’KEEFE	00:32:26
Wyre Forest	205	140	Peter CARPENTER	00:34:10
Ellenbrook Fields	15	15	Barry OSBORNE	00:21:23

 

Full Spartan parkrun results for 25^th December below:

parkrun/date	Pos	Gen	parkrunner	Time	Notes
25th  December
Newcastle	16	15	Steve GREEN	00:20:00
Newcastle	112	21	Isabel GREEN	00:24:27
Newcastle	213	159	Roger HARDMAN	00:28:21
Lymington Woodside	156	99	Darryl STEVENS	00:41:41
Peterborough	94	87	Daniel SUTTON	00:23:46
Peterborough	139	16	Verity FISHER	00:25:26
Stevenage	9	9	Thomas SAUKA	00:20:49
Stevenage	21	19	Barry OSBORNE	00:22:15
Stevenage	30	28	Dave SMITH	00:23:13
Stevenage	50	43	Neil ROBINSON	00:25:41
Stevenage	55	47	Nick GILL	00:26:20
Stevenage	57	9	Tracy PEZ	00:26:24
Stevenage	65	11	Erica GRAYSON	00:26:50	New course PB
Stevenage	87	70	Mark BEASLEY	00:28:01
Stevenage	107	27	Claire EMMERSON	00:30:04
Stevenage	109	82	Darren EMMERSON	00:30:09
Stevenage	111	29	Kerstin WEINER	00:30:11
Stevenage	115	30	Jenny GARRETT	00:30:30
Stevenage	124	91	David SCOTT	00:31:37
Stevenage	125	34	Karen BROOM	00:31:38
Stevenage	126	35	Carole SHELDRICK	00:31:46
Stevenage	127	36	Caroline CROFT	00:31:46
Stevenage	138	41	Tracy STILES	00:33:05
Stevenage	166	57	Caren THAIN	00:40:44
Stevenage	169	59	Emma MARTIN	00:41:49
Clair	77	20	Karen PALMER	00:28:48
Canons Park	13	10	Tim SABAN	00:20:59
Panshanger	86	75	Chris HOLLAND	00:24:44
Panshanger	108	94	Andy JAY	00:25:51
Panshanger	132	112	Ken JUDE	00:26:43