Categories
News Race Results

WITHAM FIVE FLYERS

Spartan Christmas Parkruns * X/C Vets Nose Ahead

 

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 14th January.

 

Saturday parkrun Highlights for Fairlands Valley Spartans

On Saturday 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 25th 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 7th in 23:23 and JO BOWDERY continues to run well, finishing 9th 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 13th woman at Westmill parkrun,

Finally BARRY OSBORNE secured a top 20 finish at Ellenbrook Fields, crossing the line in 21:23 for 15th 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 9th in 26:24.  CLAIRE EMMERSON, KERSTIN WEINER and JENNY GARRETT were the other Spartans in the Top 30 women finishers.

TOM SAUKA finished 9th 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.  The course for Clair in Haywards Heath 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.  Karen was pleased to finish in 28:48.

 

Tables

Full parkrun results for 23rd 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 25th 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

 

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 29th December.
  • Buntingford Year End 10 on Sunday 31st December.
  • Ely New Year’s Eve 10K on Sunday 31st December.
  • New Year 10K in Hyde Park on Monday 1st January 2018.
  • County Cross Country Championships at Cassiobury Park on Sunday 7th January.
  • Cross Country League at Watford on Sunday 14th January.
  • Fred Hughes 10 miles including senior county championships at St. Albans on Sunday 21st January.
  • Southern Cross Country Championships on Saturday 27th January.
  • Watford Half Marathon inc. veteran county championships on Sunday 4th February.
  • Bramley 20/10 (20 miles or 10 miles) on Sunday 11th February.
  • St Valentine’s 30K at Stamford on Sunday 11th February.
  • Cross Country League at Royston on Sunday 18th February.
  • Fairlands Valley Spartans Champions Night on Friday 23rd February.
  • Baldock Beast on Sunday 25th February.
  • Welwyn Half Marathon on Sunday 4th March.
  • Finchley 20 miles (including Herts County) on Sunday 18th March.
  • Oakley 20 miles on Sunday 18th March.
  • Orion 15 at Chingford (Epping Forest) on Saturday 24th March.
  • London Marathon on Sunday 22nd April.
  • Stirling Marathon on Sunday 29th April.
  • Welwyn 10K including senior county championships on Sunday 24th June.

 

Leave a Reply