Month: February 2018

 

After an amazing year BRIAN WHITE was awarded Club Champion and Spartan of the Year at Fairlands Valley Spartans presentation evening, dinner and disco on Friday evening.  SUZY HAWKINS was women’s champion for 2017.

Last year’s Chair and Vice-Chair NICK WITCOMBE and JAMES KILROY presented the awards which were:

In the Male Open Short Distance Championship CRAIG HALSEY beat SIMON JACKSON by a margin of 1.8% (78.6% to 76.8%).  GRANT RAMSAY was third with 75.3%.

Short distance awards are for the best three performances out of 1500 metres, 5 kilometres, 5 miles and 10 kilometres.

Age grading recognises those who keep running into their 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s and maybe beyond.  In the Male Age Graded Short Distance Championship BARRY OSBORNE won by the narrow margin over 0.3% (85.7% to 85.4%) over BRIAN WHITE.  JOHN HARRIS was third with 81.9%.

Turning to the women ALISON WOOD won the Female Open Short Distance Championship with 73.3%; SUZY HAWKINS was second with 69.3% and ISABEL GREEN third with 65.7%.

Age Graded JULIE SIMMONS won with 79.4% followed by IRIS HORNSEY 77.8% and CATHY CRAIG on 70.3%.

Moving up to the long distance Male Open Long Distance Championship CRAIG HALSEY won with 78.9%; GRANT RAMSAY was second with 76.2% and JASON ANDERSON third with 72.1%.

Long distance awards are made for the best three performances out of 10 miles, half marathon, 20 miles and full marathon (26.2 miles).

Age Graded Brian White was the clear winner with 81.6% with PETE SMITH edging out STEFFAN FORD by 73.2 to 73.1% for second place.

SUZY HAWKINS followed up her second in the short by winning the Female Open Long Distance Championship with 68.3%.  NICOLA KENNEDY was second on 63.1% and ISABEL GREEN third on 61.4%.

Age Graded CAROL PAUL won with 66.3% with JAN FRY and CATHY CRAIG having a tussle for second with 63.9 and 63.8%.

Combining the long and the short Brian White was the overall male champion and Suzy Hawkins the female champion.  Either a woman or a man can win the overall club championships but for 2017 it went to Brian White.

STUART HAYCROFT was the most improved man over 2017 with CRAIG HALSEY second and RICHARD KENNEDY third.

RUTH REILLY was the most improved female with JO BOWDERY second and CLAIRE HYDE third.

The Spartan Photo of the Year was submitted by TIM SABAN.

The club participation award went to SIMON JACKSON with ten out of ten.  CLAIRE EMMERSON and SHARON CROWLEY tied as top women with eight out of ten appearances in league events.

Starter of the Year – Trevor Broom

Chair’s Award for services to the club went to immediate past secretary Karen Palmer

The President’s Award went to the Crowley Family – Sharon, Mike, Elizabeth and Nicholas – for their consistent help at events such as the Relays in the Park, Mid Week League, Cross Country League, Fairlands Valley Change and Stevenage Half Marathon over many years.

The Spartan of the Year is voted by club members.  After his huge successes and encouragement as a club coach BRIAN WHITE was nominated.

 

English National Cross Country Championships

The national cross country championships are an amazing event to take part in.  More than 2,300 men and 1,100 women attacked the first hill from the Lido in Parliament Hill Fields on Saturday.  This year twelve Fairlands Valley Spartans raced, six women and six men and the club finished with counting teams in the men’s and women’s events – a tremendous achievement.

The women were first off at 2.20p.m. for their eight kilometre race and 44 minutes 27 seconds later LAUREN ING was over the finish line; soon HAZEL SMITH was back in 45 minutes 6 seconds.  SHARON CROWLEY came back in 50 minutes 49 seconds with a smiling PENNY SCHENKEL just 20 seconds behind in 51:09.  Next came PETA WILSON in 55:49 with CALLIE CHAPMAN not far behind in 56:47.

At 3p.m. the men set off for their 12 kilometres of hills and gooey mud.  DAVID RIDDELL got round in an excellent 56 minutes 15 seconds and TODD GRAY also beat the hour with 57:18.  THOMAS SAUKA was back in 1:02:18.  Then came the three Spartan Musketeers.  Despite TIM ROBINSON doing a spectacular muddy roll at five kilometres, JIM BROWN sliding off course and the general effort of it they with PAUL WHYTE kept together and joked, shouted and encouraged each other round and then managed a sprint finish to entertain the spectators.  Paul was 2,289^th in 1:19:41; Jim 2,290^th in 1:19:43 and Tim 2,291^st also in 1:19:43.  Six finishers needed and six Spartans in.

Fantastic taking part in such a prestigious event.  The standard at the fast end was incredible with the women’s race won in 28:33 and the men’s in 39:35.  A great day out.

 

Beat The Beast With The Spartan Army – Natalie Second

Clearly needing no rest the Three Musketeers were out again on Sunday but this time they were five and it was the Baldock Beast Half Marathon.  JIM BROWN, ERICA GRAYSON, KAREN PALMER, TIM ROBINSON, PAUL WHYTE were together from the start, tackling the cold headwind.  Tim dropped off the pace a bit after a cross country section on icy patches around Sandon and Rushden but the others kept a steady rhythm going with good humour which led to the unexpected bonus of Karen dipping under two hours with 1 hour 59 minutes 58 seconds at 251^st place.  Erica was soon over the line at 254^th and 2:00:05.  Jim was 250^th in 1:59:56, Paul 253^rd in 2:00:04 and Tim 266^th in 2:02:50.

Nearer the front NATALIE LAWRENCE was second woman, and 40^th overall, in 1:34:06; KATY JINKS 171^st in 1:50:10; LISA BURGESS 187^th in 1:52:15 and CLIVE CANNON 203^rd in 1:54:37.  KARTIK SHARMA was 318^th in 2:12:22.

 

Tarpley 10

On a lovely bright but cold morning women’s captain CLAIRE EMMERSON ran the Tarpley 10 miles around the villages near Bury St Edmonds.  Her time was 1:18:54 a new personal best by over 3 minutes.

 

Brighton

MADDIE PRITCHARD ran the Brighton Half on Sunday in 1:41:58, CLAIRE HYDE beat two hours with 1:58:57 and MARIE HARVEY came in with 2:21:49.

 

Maverick Jenny

On Saturday JENNY GARRETT took part in the Maverick 8mile tough trail run in Amberley West Sussex, it was a very hilly and slippery course which took her 1 hour 25 minutes to complete

 

Hillingdon

STUART ARCHER ran the Hillingdon Half Marathon and beat 90 minutes with what would have been a new personal best of 1 hour 29 minutes 42 seconds but unfortunately there was a problem with the course measurement.

 

Lee Valley Bowker

Not starting until 6.30p.m. DAVE BOWKER ran in the 3,000 metres at the Lee Valley Indoor Championships.  He finished in 11 minutes 40 seconds.

 

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 24^th February

A relatively quiet week of parkrunning with some Spartans no doubt nursing hangovers, facing the National XC championships that afternoon, the Baldock Beast the following day or maybe even all three!

At Stevenage CRAIG HALSEY was first over the line in a new course PB of 16:47. DANNY SCANLON was 6^th in 19:33 and MARK BEASLEY had a top 30 finish in 22:16. For the women KELLY EVANS was first Spartan finisher, 12^th in 26:09, with VERITY FISHER 25^th in 27:44 and SALLY PHILLIPS being third Spartan woman in 33:23. There was also a new course PB for STEVEN DOBNER (28:40), and LORRAINE SAUNDERS completed her first parkrun in 33:51.

Elsewhere DAVE SMITH was one of the runners to test the new trial course at St Albans as they look to find a way to accommodate the growing numbers running there and MICHAEL O’KEEFE went to Bedford, while TIM SABAN, RUTH REILLY and ANDY JAY headed to Panshanger and JOHN ROXBOROUGH to Great Denham.

 

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 March.
• Welwyn Half Marathon on Sunday 4^th March.
• Big London Half Marathon on Sunday 4^th March.
• Milton Keynes 5K, 10K, Half and 20 miles on Sunday 11^th March.
• Finchley 20 miles (including Herts County Champs) 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 Good Friday 30^th March.
• Club training twenty from Marriotts 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 at Stevenage on Wednesday 2^nd May.
• County open 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 race one in Epping Forest on Thursday 10^th May at 7.30p.m.
• Mid Week Road Race League 10K in St. Albans on Thursday 24^th May.
• EMAC track and field event two at Bedford on Wednesday 6^th June.
• Welwyn 10K including senior county championships on Sunday 24^th June.
• EMAC track and field event three at Cambridge on Wednesday 4^th July.
• Fairlands Valley Challenge off road on Sunday 15^th July.
• EMAC track and field event four at Milton Keynes on Wednesday 1^st August.
• Standalone 10K on Sunday 7^th October.
• Peterborough Half Marathon (GER) on Sunday 14^th October.
• Stevenage Half Marathon on Sunday 4^th November.
• St Neots Half Marathon on Sunday 18^th November.

 

Tables

Full parkrun results for Spartans for 24^th February:

parkrun	Pos	Gen	parkrunner	Time	Notes
St Albans	28	27	Dave SMITH	00:21:31
Bedford	221	163	Michael O’KEEFE	00:29:46
Stevenage	1	1	Craig HALSEY	00:16:47	New course PB
Stevenage	6	6	Danny SCANLON	00:19:33
Stevenage	26	25	Mark BEASLEY	00:22:16
Stevenage	32	31	Martin DUDLEY	00:22:28
Stevenage	39	37	Nick GILL	00:22:57
Stevenage	40	38	Chris HOLLAND	00:22:59
Stevenage	57	52	Lee PICKERSGILL	00:24:24
Stevenage	58	53	Darren EMMERSON	00:24:30
Stevenage	85	77	Jonathan JONES	00:25:37
Stevenage	99	12	Kelly EVANS	00:26:09
Stevenage	126	25	Verity FISHER	00:27:44
Stevenage	138	108	Paul HOLGATE	00:28:07
Stevenage	155	120	Steven DOBNER	00:28:40	New course PB
Stevenage	241	80	Sally PHILLIPS	00:33:23
Stevenage	246	83	Lorraine SAUNDERS	00:33:51	First parkrun
Stevenage	278	104	Hazel JONES	00:38:39
Stevenage	293	180	Ian ALEXANDER	01:00:59
Panshanger	22	21	Tim SABAN	00:21:23
Panshanger	40	4	Ruth REILLY	00:22:56
Panshanger	66	60	Andy JAY	00:24:16
Great Denham	25	23	John ROXBOROUGH	00:21:55

 

There were wins for Yuko and Brian and third place for the men’s masters team as 45 Fairlands Valley Spartans hit the Therfield Heath hills in the final race of this season’s cross country season on Sunday morning.

ANDREW PATTERSON led in the 23 Spartan men in sixth place and taking 35 minutes 48 seconds for the 5.5 undulating miles.

The men’s masters team (male veterans aged 40 plus) of GRANT RAMSAY 36:12; STEFFAN FORD 38:44; STEVE GREEN 43:02; THOMAS SAUKA 43:18; TIM SABAN 44:03; BRIAN WHITE 45:09; STEVE MAYFIELD 46:53 and PETE SMITH 49:24 consolidated some good results from the previous four races to finish in BRONZE position, third out of the twenty clubs in the league.  Brian was winning veteran 60 plus over the five races,

The fastest female from Fairlands was also sixth.  NATALIE LAWRENCE’s top ten place in the women’s contest was achieved in 43 minutes 14 seconds.  SUZY HAWKINS was next in at 12^th with 46:04 and the amazing YUKO GORDON underlined her emphatic league win in the 65 plus category at 14^th with 46 minutes 12 seconds.  MICHELLE REEVES, 46^th in 51:41 and ISABEL GREEN 47^th in 51:42 completed the women’s “A” team for Fairlands Valley who were third out of twenty on the day showing what could have been achieved with a bigger turnout in the race at Watford.  Women’s teams consist of five runners in the Sunday cross country league and FVS had four complete teams.

In the open team race the men’s team of eight included four seniors – Andrew Patterson; MIKE GREEN 77^th in 42:49; DANNY SCANLON 92^nd in 43:33 and NICK GILL running his first cross country 94^th in 43:43.  The men’s open team were fourth on the day and fifth in the league.

ROS INGRAM led in the women’s “B” team, she was 54^th woman in 52:50, which included CLAIRE EMMERSON 55^th in 52:51; SOPHIE COWAN 75^th in 54:33; SARAH PIKE 81^st in 55:51and ANN TRYSSESOONE 91^st in 58:05.

PENNY SCHENKEL and KELLY McHALE brought in the “Cs” with 58:50 and 60:05.

Full results for the 23 Spartan men:

Position	Name	Time	Comments	Category
6	ANDREW PATTERSON	35:48	Men’s “A”	MSenior
11	GRANT RAMSAY	36:12	Men’s “A”	M40
32	STEFFAN FORD	38:44	Men’s “A”	M40
77	MIKE GREEN	42:49	Men’s “A”	MSenior
82	STEVE GREEN	43:02	Men’s “A”	M40
88	THOMAS SAUKA	43:18	Men’s “A”	M40
92	DANNY SCANLON	43:33	Men’s “A”	MSenior
94	NICK GILL	43:43	Men’s “A”	MSenior
99	TIM SABAN	44:03	Men’s “B”	M50
110	BRIAN WHITE	45:09	Men’s “B”	M60
129	STEVE MAYFIELD	46:53	Men’s “B”	M50
148	PETE SMITH	49:24	Men’s “B”	M50
163	MARK GOODWIN	50:44	Men’s “B”	M60
166	PAUL WHYTE	51:15	Men’s “B”	M40
189	ANDY JAY	54:22	Men’s “B”	M50
190	NEIL ROBINSON	54:41	Men’s “B”	MSenior
191	ANDREW SMITH	55:09		MSenior
197	STEVE PIKE	56:17		M50
200	SIMON SYPULA	56:26		M40
203	JIM BROWN	57:43		M60
211	TIM ROBINSON	62:53		M40
215	MARK FREEMAN	67:30		M60
218	STEVE GOUGH	73:07		M40

 

And the 22 Spartan women:

Position	Name	Time	Comments	Category
6	NATALIE LAWRENCE	43:14	Women’s “A”	WSenior
12	SUZY HAWKINS	46:04	Women’s “A”	W35
14	YUKO GORDON	46:12	Women’s “A”	W65
46	MICHELLE REEVES	51:41	Women’s “A”	WSenior
47	ISABEL GREEN	51:42	Women’s “A”	W35
54	ROS INGRAM	52:50	Women’s “B”	W35
55	CLAIRE EMMERSON	52:51	Women’s “B”	W45
75	SOPHIE COWAN	54:53	Women’s “B”	W35
81	SARAH PIKE	55:51	Women’s “B”	WSenior
91	ANN TRYSSESOONE	58:05	Women’s “B”	W45
96	PENNY SCHENKEL	58:50	Women’s “C”	W45
102	KELLY McHALE	60:05	Women’s “C”	W35
110	SHARON CROWLEY	61:34	Women’s “C”	W55
111	HAZEL SMITH	62:26	Women’s “C”	W35
113	JULIE SHADBOLT	62:26	Women’s “C”	W45
115	ERICA GRAYSON	62:26	Women’s “D”	W45
117	NICOLA TOUT	64:13	Women’s “D”	W45
118	VICKY COTTOM	65:07	Women’s “D”	W35
121	PETA WILSON	67:30	Women’s “D”	W45
122	ANGIE KEELING	68:28	Women’s “D”	W35
123	TRACEY STILES	68:48		W45
125	SUE HAMER	68:52		W45

 

Fairlands Valley Spartans have fourteen runners in this Saturday’s National Cross Country Championships on Parliament Hill Fields.  The women’s race is at 2.20p.m. and the men’s at 3p.m.  Supporters will be very welcome.

 

Llanelli

This weekend TREVOR and KAREN BROOM went to Llanelli in South Wales.  On Saturday Trevor ran the Llanelli coastal park run and got a personal best (PB) of 31.51 on the lovely route along the coastal path.

Then on Sunday Karen ran the Llanelli Half Marathon in 2.21.26.  She says it was a hard run out from the parc y scarlets rugby stadium along the coastal path and back again along the coast.

 

SCVAC Indoor Championships

At the Southern Counties Veterans Athletics Club indoor championships DAVE BOWKER competed in the 3K walk.  He was fifth in 19 minutes 13 seconds for the 15 laps of the Lee Valley track.

 

Hampton Court Palace Half Marathon

GERRY ROSEN completed the Hampton Court Palace Half Marathon.  It was his first half marathon event and he finished with a time of 2 hours 16 minutes, so it’s a PB!!

 

Comet Congratulations

Congratulations to BRIAN WHITE and YUKO GORDON.  Brian won the veteran’s achievement prize in the Comet Sports Awards and Yuko was a finalist.  A picture by Penny Schenkel of Kelly McHale and Juliet Fullwood at the Relays in the Park was displayed at the event.

 

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

At Stevenage ROSIE LYON-SMITH ran her first parkrun and was first woman over the line, finishing in 21:12. VERITY FISHER was 12th, and CLAIRE EMMERSON 13^th (both in 26:00) and TRACY PEZ was 17^th in 26:40.

For the men STUART HAYCROFT finished as first Spartan, 5th overall in a time of 19:27, just in front of DANNY SCANLON who was awarded the same time in 6th, a new course PB for Danny. MARK COLLINS made it three Spartans in the top 10, finishing 9th in 20:03. GARETH COWELL notched a new course PB of 21:28 in finishing 17^th/

The other highlights at Stevenage were new course PBs for STEVEN DOBNER (28:54) and for HAZEL JONES (36:51).

Elsewhere TREVOR BROOM ran a new course PB of 31:51 at Llanelli Coast.

JAMES KILROY ran the Bournemouth parkrun in 26.46

 

Coming Events

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

• Fairlands Valley Spartans Champions Night in Old Stevenage on Friday 23^rd February.
• National Cross Country Championships, Parliament Hill Fields, London on Saturday 24^th February.
• Baldock Beast on Sunday 25^th February.
• UKA Club Run at Fairlands Valley Spartans on Thursday 1^st March.
• Welwyn Half Marathon on Sunday 4^th March.
• Big London Half Marathon on Sunday 4^th March.
• Milton Keynes 5K, 10K, Half and 20 miles on Sunday 11^th March.
• Finchley 20 miles (including Herts County Champs) 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 at Stevenage on Wednesday 2^nd May.
• County open 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 race one in Epping Forest on Thursday 10^th May at 7.30p.m.
• Mid Week Road Race League 10K in St. Albans on Thursday 24^th May.
• EMAC track and field event two at Bedford on Wednesday 6^th June.
• Welwyn 10K including senior county championships on Sunday 24^th June.
• EMAC track and field event three at Cambridge on Wednesday 4^th July.
• Fairlands Valley Challenge off road on Sunday 15^th July.
• EMAC track and field event four at Milton Keynes on Wednesday 1^st August.
• Standalone 10K on Sunday 7^th October.
• Peterborough Half Marathon (GER) on Sunday 14^th October.
• Stevenage Half Marathon on Sunday 4^th November.
• St Neots Half Marathon on Sunday 18^th November.

 

Tables

Full parkrun results for Spartans for 17^th February:

parkrun	Pos	Gen	parkrunner	Time	Notes
Gorleston Cliffs	42	40	Ryan DUNNING	00:22:33
Llanelli Coast	66	48	Trevor BROOM	00:31:51	Course PB
Nobles	19	4	Nicola KENNEDY	00:25:27
Stevenage	5	5	Stuart HAYCROFT	00:19:27
Stevenage	6	6	Danny SCANLON	00:19:27	Course PB
Stevenage	9	9	Mark COLLLINS	00:20:03
Stevenage	17	1	Rosie LYON-SMITH	00:21:12
Stevenage	18	17	Gareth COWELL	00:21:28	Course PB
Stevenage	31	28	Martin DUDLEY	00:22:32
Stevenage	43	40	Chris HOLLAND	00:23:13
Stevenage	53	49	Lee PICKERSGILL	00:23:52
Stevenage	66	59	Wills JENNINGS	00:24:51
Stevenage	68	61	Darren EMMERSON	00:24:55
Stevenage	69	62	Jonathan JONES	00:24:56
Stevenage	72	64	David SCOTT	00:24:57
Stevenage	86	75	James SOUTH	00:25:55
Stevenage	92	12	Verity FISHER	00:26:00
Stevenage	93	13	Claire EMMERSON	00:26:00
Stevenage	110	17	Tracy PEZ	00:26:40
Stevenage	145	116	Daniel SUTTON	00:28:19
Stevenage	150	31	Monica SMITHSON	00:28:31
Stevenage	156	34	Dzenana TOPIC	00:28:47
Stevenage	158	124	Steven DOBNER	00:28:54	Course PB
Stevenage	203	146	Peter CARPENTER	00:32:01
Stevenage	251	88	Hazel JONES	00:36:51	Course PB
Tonbridge	482	306	Michael O’KEEFE	00:43:07
Letchworth	44	42	Neil ROBINSON	00:27:15
Bournemouth	164		James KILROY	00:26:46

 

On Sunday Spartan YUKO GORDON beat the Stamford 30K course record by more than 27 minutes!!  She won the women veteran 65 plus age category by covering the 18.63 miles in 2 hours 25 minutes 33 seconds – the previous record was 2:52:14.  She was faster than the male 65 plus winner by 14 minutes.  Freezing cold and windy condition over the hilly course but the superbly organised race made runners enjoy the annual St Valentine’s event.

 

Bramley 20

With the London Marathon just ten weeks away Spartans are beginning to clock up some 20 mile races.  TODD GRAY and JIM BROWN fought the winds at the Bramley 20 with Todd finishing in 2 hours 20 minutes 36 seconds and Jim in 2:46:17; seven minutes quicker than his time at the distance in 2017.  Todd was 97^th and Jim 313^th out of the 684 finishers.

Jim has qualified with a “Good For Age” time for the Big Half in London so he’ll be giving that a go on 4^th March.

 

Love Welwyn Garden City 10K

Thirteen Spartans loved the Welwyn 10K and despite the cold and windy conditions three came away with new lifetime personal bests and a win.  New member DANNY SCANLON benefited from training with the Spartans to run a new PB of 41 minutes 19 seconds; LEE PICKERSGILL ran a PB of 49 minutes exactly and CAROLE SHELDRICK beating her PB by nearly a minute with 53:28.  ERICA GRAYSON ran her fastest time for the event 55:10 and would probably have dipped under 55 minutes if it had not been for congestion and some problems with traffic.

ANN TRYSSESOONE won the women’s 50 plus race with 49:39.

TIM SABAN came in with 41:46; ANDY JAY with 48:51; SIMON SYPULA 50:54; SAM SIMMONS 54:38; KAREN BROOM 1:06:23; ELLA GOVER, enjoying her first race in an FVS vest 1:07:00; WAYNE McMILLAN 1:07:02 and TREVOR BROOM 1:18:07.

 

Lee Valley Indoor Meet

GRANT RAMSAY was at the Lee Valley Indoor Meet.  He was second in the 3,000 metres covering 15 laps of the tight 200 metre track in 9 minutes 49 seconds and fourth in the Dream Mile with 5 minutes 49 seconds.

 

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

CRAIG HALSEY was quickest Spartan of the day, finishing second at Stevenage in 17:00. Behind Craig no less than four Spartans achieved new course PBs round the Fairlands Valley layout.  STUART ARCHER has been flying in training and set a new best here of 19:20 to finish in 6^th place as second Spartan man home.  JONATHAN JONES set a new course best of 24:52 while for the women KAREN PALMER and HAZEL JONES set new course bests of 25:46 and 38:38 respectively.

NICK GILL was third Spartan man to finish in 22:43.  First woman for FVS was CLAIRE EMMERSON who has also been running noticeably well in training, and was third here in 23:22, while VERITY FISHER was 8^th in 25:24 as she completed her 200^th parkrun.

Elsewhere TIM SABAN was first finisher at Canons Park in 21:16, while there were new course PBs for DAVE SMITH at St Albans (19:58), and JOHN WALSH at Cambridge (31:53).

 

Coming Events

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

• 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.
• UKA Club Run at Fairlands Valley Spartans on Thursday 1^st March.
• 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 Epping Forest on Thursday 10^th May at 7.30p.m.
• 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.
• Stevenage Half Marathon on Sunday 4^th November.
• St Neots Half Marathon on Sunday 18^th November.

 

Tables

Spartans at the Love Welwyn Garden City 10K:

 

Position	Name	Time	Comments
181	ERICA GRAYSON	55:10	Event PB
97	ANN TRYSSESOONE	49:39	1st FV50
17	DANNY SCANLON	41:19	Lifetime PB
155	CAROLE SHELDRICK	53:28	Lifetime PB
82	ANDY JAY	48:51
85	LEE PICKERSGILL	49:00	Lifetime PB
21	TIM SABAN	41:46	4th MV50
115	SIMON SYPULA	50:54
168	SAM SIMMONS	54:38
324	KAREN BROOM	1:06:23
329	ELLA GOVER	1:07:00
330	WAYNE McMILLAN	1:07:02
379	TREVOR BROOM	1:18:07

 

Full Spartan Parkrun results from Saturday 19^th February:

parkrun	Pos	Gen	parkrunner	Time	Notes
Grovelands	79	66	Tim ROBINSON	00:26:52
Cannock Chase	27	25	Mark BEASLEY	00:22:35
St Albans	40	39	Dave SMITH	00:19:58	Course PB
Cambridge	347	257	John WALSH	00:31:53	Course PB
Gunnersbury	193	36	Kelly MCHALE	00:26:11
Stevenage	2	2	Craig HALSEY	00:17:00
Stevenage	6	6	Stuart ARCHER	00:19:29	Course PB
Stevenage	26	25	Nick GILL	00:22:43
Stevenage	28	27	Martin DUDLEY	00:22:56
Stevenage	33	3	Claire EMMERSON	00:23:22
Stevenage	38	35	Chris HOLLAND	00:23:31
Stevenage	48	44	Clive CANNON	00:24:25
Stevenage	55	50	Jonathan JONES	00:24:52	Course PB
Stevenage	64	8	Verity FISHER	00:25:24
Stevenage	65	57	Darren EMMERSON	00:25:24
Stevenage	68	9	Karen PALMER	00:25:46	Course PB
Stevenage	89	75	David SCOTT	00:26:53
Stevenage	116	24	Monica SMITHSON	00:28:26
Stevenage	150	111	Steven DOBNER	00:29:54
Stevenage	227	87	Hazel JONES	00:38:38	Course PB
Stevenage	230	90	Emma POULTER	00:39:34
Stevenage	235	94	Caren THAIN	00:41:14
Canons Park	1	1	Tim SABAN	00:21:16
Rushmoor	482	288	Darryl STEVENS	00:41:09

 

Eleven Spartans tackled the Watford hills for a chilly half marathon.  They came back with a bronze medal and a new personal best.

ERICA GRAYSON has been running with the Spartans for twelve months and her first race last year was the Watford Half.  This year she had a fantastic time running with JULIE SHADBOLT and took 5 minutes 29 seconds off last year’s time coming in at 2 hours 3 minutes 40 seconds.  She’s very happy with that good start to this year’s running.

Spartan ADRIAN BUSOLINI ran a great new personal best of 1 hour 26 minutes 26 seconds.

JIM BROWN won the county BRONZE medal by 26 seconds having overtaken the fourth placed Vet 60 runner in the last 500 metres.  He was exactly one minutes ahead of the fifth.  The Watford Half is a popular open race but included the Hertfordshire county championship for veteran runners.

An eighty minute run is a tremendous minutes achievement on such a tough course and fastest from Fairlands GRANT RAMSAY was 49^th out of the 1875 finishers in 1 hour 20 minutes 51 seconds.  He was fifth in the county championships for veterans 40 plus.

RUTH REILLY ran a tremendous 1 hour 38 minutes 8 seconds for a category seventh, the same time as TIM SABAN.  CHRIS HOLLAND came in with 1:47:22, JAMES KILROY with 2:01:18 and ROBERT WRIGHT with 2:03:01.  Spartan SHARON CROWLEY may have been the last in for the club but she still had more than 250 runners behind her with her 2:11:34.

 

Position	Name	Time	Comments
49	GRANT RAMSAY	1:20:51	County 5th
137	ADRIAN BUSOLINI	1:26:26	PB
449	TIM SABAN	1:38:08
450	RUTH REILLY	1:38:08	County 7th
833	CHRIS HOLLAND	1:47:22
1048	JIM BROWN	1:52:38	County Bronze
1370	JAMES KILROY	2:01:18
1409	ROBERT WRIGHT	2:03:01
1410	ERICA GRAYSON	2:03:40
1412	JULIE SHADBOLT	2:03:39
1620	SHARON CROWLEY	2:11:44

 

Brian Qualifies For England Masters

BRIAN WHITE has qualified for the England Masters team in the Birmingham 10K by beating 40 minutes and finishing third veteran 60 plus in the Chichester 10K.  He was 176^th overall out of 1506 in 39 minutes 58 seconds.  Brian enjoyed a very flat fast course finishing with a complete lap of the Goodwood Race Circuit.

 

Winter Fun

New members JONATHAN and HAZEL JONES competed in the Cancer Research 10K Winter Fun Run in London.  Jonathan finished in 56 minutes 7 seconds and Hazel in 1:25:37.  GERRY ROSEN improved his personal best (PB) by more than six minutes finishing in 1:00:22.

 

Ultra John

Spartans JOHN NELMS and RICHARD HAZLEDENE finished the Thames Trot Ultra Marathon on Saturday in 10 hours 50 minutes.  The event started in Oxford and followed the Thames river tow path all the way to Henley.  While the point to point distance between these two locations is only 22 miles following the meandering river makes it just under 50!  In cold and wet conditions, not getting about five degrees, the main feature of the run was mud.  In places the mud was six inches deep and the trail only just passable.  This came just three weeks after John and Richard completed the Country to Capital Ultra – a mere 43 miles from Wendover to central London.

 

Top Tens

The Spartan open club championship results will be released at the champions’ night, presentation evening, dinner and disco on Friday 23^rd February.  239 different individuals completed at least one event in the short championships and 156 in the long championships.

The long distance championships for women and men consist of the best three out of 10 miles; half marathon (13.1 miles); 20 miles and full marathon (26.2 miles).  All performances must be in accredited, measured races.

The short distances are the best three from 1500 metres; 5K; 5 miles and 10K.

 

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

On a wet morning DANNY SCANLON filled his recent customary “first Spartan home” position at Stevenage, finishing 7^th in 19:57.  STUART ARCHER ran a new course PB of 21:04 in 9^th and BARRY OSBORNE was 10^th in 21:07.  MARTIN DUDLEY, MARK BEASLEY and RYAN DUNNING all made the top 30, and there was also a new course PB for DAVID SCOTT, finishing just outside the top 30 men in 23:48.

CLAIRE EMMERSON was the first Spartan woman to finish, 5^th in a time of 24:30. KAREN PALMER was the third Spartan with a new course PB at Stevenage, coming home 8^th in 26:11. KAREN ELLIS was 24^th in 28:55. ERICA GRAYSON and JULIE SHADBOLT also finished in the top 30.

Elsewhere there were new course PBs for DAVE SMITH at St Albans (17^th in 20:02), ANDY JAY at Westmill (12^th in 25:00) and NICOLA KENNEDY at Nobles (2^nd woman in 24:44). There were also Spartans in action at Hyndburn, Alice Holt, Forest Rec, Panshanger and Harlow.

 

Coming Events

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

• 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.
• UKA Club Run at Fairlands Valley Spartans on Thursday 1^st March.
• 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 Epping Forest on Thursday 10^th May at 7.30p.m.
• 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.
• Stevenage Half Marathon on Sunday 4^th November.
• St Neots Half Marathon on Sunday 18^th November.

 

Tables

Full Spartan Parkrun results from Saturday 3^rd February:

parkrun	Position	Gen	parkrunner	Time	Notes
Hyndburn	14	13	Gareth COWELL	00:23:30
St Albans	18	17	Dave SMITH	00:20:02	New course PB
Westmill	13	12	Andy JAY	00:25:00	New course PB
Nobles	15	2	Nicola KENNEDY	00:24:44	New course PB
Stevenage	7	7	Danny SCANLON	00:19:57
Stevenage	9	9	Stuart ARCHER	00:21:04	New course PB
Stevenage	10	10	Barry OSBORNE	00:21:07
Stevenage	18	17	Martin DUDLEY	00:22:39
Stevenage	21	20	Mark BEASLEY	00:22:57
Stevenage	24	22	Ryan DUNNING	00:23:16
Stevenage	35	31	David SCOTT	00:23:48	New course PB
Stevenage	38	34	Lee PICKERSGILL	00:24:09
Stevenage	42	5	Claire EMMERSON	00:24:30
Stevenage	50	45	Darren EMMERSON	00:25:23
Stevenage	53	48	Simon SYPULA	00:25:28
Stevenage	59	53	Jonathan JONES	00:25:48
Stevenage	68	8	Karen PALMER	00:26:11	New course PB
Stevenage	71	62	James SOUTH	00:26:15
Stevenage	121	24	Karen ELLIS	00:28:55
Stevenage	122	25	Erica GRAYSON	00:28:55
Stevenage	123	26	Julie SHADBOLT	00:28:56
Stevenage	183	123	Peter CARPENTER	00:33:04
Stevenage	204	74	Tracy STILES	00:35:25
Stevenage	223	86	Hazel JONES	00:40:53
Alice Holt	289	182	Darryl STEVENS	00:42:57
Forest Rec	272	174	Daniel SUTTON	00:42:23
Panshanger	106	92	Tony BRADFORD	00:26:58
Harlow	70	61	Clive CANNON	00:28:11