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A Tale Of Three Halves

ANDY AND ANDREA WIN HANDICAP 5K

There was a double A win as a miserable, cold, wet & windy evening did not dampen the spirits of the 19 Spartans taking part in the February Handicap 5K on Thursday.

ANDY JAY was first to finish, winning his 2nd handicap 5k in 3 months. He won in December and improved that time by 1 minute 50 seconds to 24 minutes 13 seconds – a whole 3 minutes ahead of handicap.

Andy was closely followed by ANDREW GARDINER, returning from injury to beat his handicap by 2:50, in a new season best time of 18:08. NICK EMMETT was third in a new personal best time of 23:37, 24 seconds quicker than before.

New member DAVID HODBOD finished fourth, 2:24 ahead of handicap, in 19:51, while DANIEL THORBY and SIMON TANG also beat 20 minutes as Simon improved his PB to 18:32, as did JASON ANDERSON with a new PB of his own of 18:16, and DANIEL BATES just missed beating 20 minutes by 2 seconds as he recorded his fastest 5k of the year in his 10th 5k in 9 weeks, with 20:02.

ANDREA WESTCOTT was first woman in 26 minutes 41 seconds, 1:34 better than handicap. MICHELLE REEVES was second female in 22:10 and SUE HAMER third in 27:33.

ANDREW GARDINER was the fastest runner on the night with his 18:08, with JASON ANDERSON’s 18:16 second quickest and DANIEL THORBY & SIMON TANG’s 18:32 third quickest.

MICHELLE REEVES 22:10 was the fastest ladies time, with ANDREA WESTCOTT’s 26:41 second and SUE HAMER’s 27:33 third.

New members TIM ROBINSON and IAN ANDERSON ran their first 5K races in 23:57 and 36:45 respectively. STEVE ELDER recorded a time of 21:11; with BERNADETTE MILLWOOD finishing in 32:15; PETER CARPENTER in 30:34; DAVID PEACH in 28:52: VICKY MEREDITH in 33:42 and HAYLEY PEACH in 37:02.

Event Pos’n

Name

Time

Comments

Speed Pos.

1

ANDY JAY

24:13

1:50 improvement 

11

2

ANDREW GARDINER

18:08

Fastest man. SB

1

3

NICK EMMETT

23:37

PB (by 0:24)

9

4

DAVID HODBOD

19:51

1st 5K race

5

5

DANIEL THORBY

18:32

Third fastest man. 

3

6

SIMON TANG

18:32

PB (by 0:28)

4

7

JASON ANDERSON

18:16

2nd fastest man. PB (0:09)

2

8

DANIEL BATES

20:02

Year’s best (by 0:06)

6

9

ANDREA WESTCOTT

26:41

Second fastest woman 

12

10

TIM ROBINSON

23:57

1st 5K race

10

11

MICHELLE REEVES

22:10

Fastest woman.

8

12

SUE HAMER

27:33

Third fastest woman 

13

13

STEVE ELDER

21:11

 

7

14

BERNADETTE MILLWOOD

32:15

4th fastest woman 

16

15

IAN ANDERSON

36:45

1st 5K race

18

16

PETER CARPENTER

30:34

 

15

17

DAVID PEACH

28:52

 

14

18

VICKY MEREDITH

33:42

5th fastest woman 

17

19

HAYLEY PEACH

37:02

6th fastest woman 

19

Next month’s handicap will be on Thursday 19th March 2015.

Hampton Halves

Spartans TESSA and DAVE STEPHENSON took part in their first of two races in Hampton Court over the next few weeks. “Henry VIII” gave high fives as they passed the Palace with Tessa finishing the Half Marathon in 2 hours 5 minutes and 52 seconds despite falling on the muddy trail towards the end. Due to confusion over the route, Dave did an extra small lap near the start but still finished in 1 hour 54 minutes 50 seconds.

Madeira Halves

NICOLA HABERLAND and RICHARD KENNEDY ran the Funchal half marathon in Madeira on Sunday as part of their training for their four Spring marathons. Richard ran a good 1:41:48 and Nicola a big personal best (PB) of over 3 minutes for a 1:44:41.

Malta Half

BEV HARLOW ran the Malta half marathon in 1:59:35 on Sunday. She was very pleased as she had been suffering with a bad back for the last two weeks and up until Thursday was doubtful whether she would be able to start.

The course started on top of a hill in the small medieval village of Mdina and ran down to the coast. The weather provided runners with all seasons in one day – strong wind, rain and warm sun.

Park Runs

YLLKA ISTREFI ran a park run personal best of 22 minutes 35 seconds at Finsbury Park on Saturday morning. She was first in her category; fourth woman and 50th overall out of the 183 finishers.

DANIK BATES took on the Beckton Parkrun which located under the flight path of London City airport. The two lap course around Beckton Park which 70% was concrete paths and 30% running across football fields which were turned into a bog. It was an enjoyable but a hard run. Danik finished third out of 36 runners in a time of 20-05.

Further afield down in Somerset, DANIEL SUTTON and VERITY FISHER took on the Yeovil Montacute parkrun. Daniel finished 38th out of 195 runners with a time of 24-05 (a new course PB) whilst Verity finished 79th with a time of 26-41.

Several other Spartans enjoyed the Gade Valley Pre-London 17 mile training run in Hemel Hempstead on Sunday morning.

Champions Night

Celebrate with the champions. Fairlands Valley Spartans’ Presentation Evening, Dinner and Dance will be at Chesfield Downs this Friday 27th February. Tickets are only £20 and they are available now. Go to http://fvspartans.org.uk/calendar-all/races-events/presentation-evening-tickets/

Running London?

With nine weeks to go so far 22 Fairlands Valley Spartans have declared that they are running this April’s London Marathon. Some have qualified on time; some came out of the draw; many are running for charity.

They are GRANT RAMSAY, HELENE MILLER; HILARY DAVIES; JACKIE DOWNES: JAN FRY; JIM BROWN; JACKIE DOWNES; KAREN ELLIS; LISA LIVERSIDGE; MADDIE PRITCHARD; MARIA RUSHTON; MICHELLE REEVES; NICK EMMETT; NICK WITCOMBE; NICOLA HABERLAND; PAUL MAGUIRE; PAUL MARSHALL; RICHARD KENNEDY; ROGER BIGGS; RUTH REILLY, SUZY HAWKINS and YLLKA ISTREFI.

Please support them. Over the next few weeks several stories on the Spartan entries will be released. To get the ball rolling http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/JimBrown1

Got a place in the London Marathon?

Got a Place in the London Marathon? Every year Fairlands Valley Spartans successful train thirty or more people, many of them first timers, to run the London Marathon. There are training groups from starters to fast fives to suit everyone. Why not have a look at www.fvspartans.org.uk or contact Jim Brown 0793 968 7509 or Karen Palmer 0773 467 8566? Newcomers very welcome.

Coming Events

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

Serpentine 5K on Friday 27th February.

Presentation Evening, Dinner and Dance at Chesfield Downs on Friday 27th February. Tickets available now.

County Veterans Five Mile Championship, and open road race, at Berkhamsted on Sunday 1st March.

Finchley 20 mile road race on Sunday 8th March.

Silverstone Half Marathon on Sunday 15th March.

Handicap 5K in Stevenage on Thursday evening 19th March.

County Cross Country Championships for Veterans in Trent Park on Sunday 22nd March.

Welwyn Garden City Half Marathon on Sunday 22nd March.

Serpentine 5K in Hyde Park on Friday 27th March.

Orion 15 classic cross country on Saturday 28th March.

Oakley 20 mile road race on Sunday 29th March.

Maidenhead Easter Ten on Friday 3rd April.

Sandy 10 mile road race on Sunday 12th April.

Flitwick 10K on Sunday 19th April.

London Marathon on Sunday 26th April.

County 1500 metres track championship in Stevenage on Monday 4th May.

County 5 miles senior championships at Pednor on Monday evening 4th May.

Midweek Road Race League race in Stevenage on Tuesday 12th May.

Midweek Road Race League race in Chingford on Wednesday 27th May.

Midweek Road Race League race in Harlow on Wednesday 17th June.

Midweek Road Race League race in Hitchin on Thursday 2nd July.

Bushey 10K including Herts Veterans road championships on Sunday 5th July.

County 10000 metres track championship in Biggleswade on Thursday 9th July.

Midweek Mob Match in Welwyn Garden City on Thursday 16th July.

County and Open 3K Relay Championship in Stevenage on Thursday 30th July.

County 5K Senior Championships on 2nd September.

County 5K Veterans Championship on 16th September.

Standalone 10K (inc. country senior champs) in Letchworth on Sunday 4th October.

Great Eastern Run in Peterborough on 11th October.

Stevenage Half Marathon (includes County Veterans) on Sunday 1st November.

St. Neots Half Marathon on Sunday 15th November.

County 10 miles Veterans Championship at Buntingford on 27th December.

Join The Spartans

Live in or near Stevenage? Like running? Fairlands Valley Spartans is your local running club and is on the up! The club was voted the UK’s Best Running Club in 2010. It now has hundreds of members and encourages participation by all. The Spartans have a varied training programme to suit those who want to run 5 kilometres through to full marathons.

The Spartans weekday training sessions are on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. Go along to the new sports centre at Marriotts School – a Sports College, Telford Avenue, Stevenage (SG2 8UT) at 7p.m. Up to five running groups go out on training nights – there will be one to suit you!

The Spartan Starter group starts from Marriotts at 7.30p.m. every Monday (except public holidays) and 7p.m. every Thursday.

Most long Sunday morning training sessions start 9.00a.m. sharp. Spartan track training sessions are held at Ridlins Athletics Track, Woodcock Road, Stevenage most Saturdays from 9.15a.m. There are events to enter every Sunday. Newcomers are very welcome – those who have not yet done very much running might prefer to start with a Thursday, Saturday or Monday session.

Try a few sessions before joining. Membership is only £35 per year, £25 without UKA membership. Concessions are available. Membership forms are available on the Spartans website www.fvspartans.org.uk Please ask if you would like a paper copy.

If you want to know more about the Spartans please contact Jim Brown (0793 968 7509), Karen Palmer (07734678566) or visit their website www.fvspartans.org.uk

E N D S

More from Jim Brown (Press Officer) 0793 968 7509 or Karen Palmer (Secretary) 07734678566

www.fvspartans.org.uk

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SPARTANS SPARKLE AT CROSS COUNTRY

Bramley 20/10 * More For London

 

Fairlands Valley Spartans sparkled at the last cross country race in the series and achieved their best result in at least five years. 

With only a one point advantage going into the last race some tremendous performances on Therfield Heath confirmed the women’s team in second place (out of 21); and the female masters’ team (all veterans 35 plus) leapt from sixth to third.  JULIE SIMMONS was first woman veteran (55 plus).

The Spartans “A” team consisted of NATALIE LAWRENCE (3rd in 40 minutes 43 seconds); ALISON WOOD (6th); MADDIE PRITCHARD (13th); MICHELLE REEVES (16th) and JULIE SIMMONS (17th).

TRACY PEZ (25th) and HAZEL CLARK (37th) were not far behind leading in the “B” team which also included SARAH PIKE (58th); LISA BURGESS (73rd) and KATY JINKS (74th). 

So many Spartan were keen to run there was also a “C” team of JO BOWDERY (78th); KAREN LIDDLE (79th); PETA WILSON (82nd); STEPHANIE MAYFIELD (89th) and SHARON CROWLEY (104th).

In the men’s race GRANT RAMSAY was second in 33 minutes 21 seconds; ANDREW PATTERSON 6th in 34:22; SIMON JACKSON 7th in 34:48; ANDY NEATHAM 13th in 35:26; IAN YENNY 23rd in 36:15; LIAM HERBERT 54th in 38:43; MARTIN WOOD 74th in 40:54* and STEVE GREEN 81st in 41:59.  They made up the “A” team (eight to count). 

A total of twenty Spartan men ran.  Their “B” team was NICK CROWLEY (88th); BERNIE BARNABY (91st); THOMAS SAUKA (104th); MARK GOODWIN (128th); DAVE STEPHENSON (139th); ANDY CHURN (146th); STEVE PIKE (162nd) and MARK CHEADLE (165th).  They were backed up by ANDY JAY (168th); ANTHONY WHITE (171st); MARK FREEMAN (177th) and PAUL HOLGATE (180th). 

There may be other individual Spartans prizes but the full results have not been published yet.

 

Bramley 20/10 

ANDREA WESTCOTT continued her build up to the Paris Marathon with another personal best at the Bramley 10 Mile race on Sunday.  Andrea clocked 91:33 for a new best by nearly 2 minutes. 

YLLKA ISTREFI became the first woman to complete a series for the 2015 long distance Spartans championship when she finished the Bramley 20 mile race in 2 hours 37 minutes 57 seconds.  The series is the best of three out of 10 miles; half marathon; 20 miles and full marathon.  She was 308th out of the 743 finishers in this high quality race which is popular for many targeting the London Marathon.  JIM BROWN became unwell during the race but finished 594th in 3:12:11.

 

Gold For Christopher 

Meanwhile CHRISTOPHER WESTCOTT made the shorter journey to Lee Valley where he claimed Gold in the veterans (40 plus) 800 metres Southern Masters and EVAC (East of England) Championships.  Christopher’s time of 2:09.72 improved his own club V40 record.

 

Beat the Baldock Beast 

Three Spartans beat the Baldock Beast Half Marathon.  DANIEL BATES was 48th in 1 hour 35 minutes 7 seconds; PAUL WHYTE 76th in 1:37:52 and PAUL MAGUIRE 105th in 1:43:14.  There were 320 runners.

 

Love Welwyn 10K 

Club Secretary KAREN PALMER ran the Love Welwyn 10K in one hour and one second (1:00:01) on Sunday morning.  She says she will do much better when she has had some training.

 

Parkruns 14th February 2015 

Valentine’s Day and there was no other place to celebrate than with a Parkrun at Valentine’s Park in Ilford, in the east end of London.  Spartan men’s captain Danik (DANIEL BATES) was flying the flag and despite being stuck on the North Circular and making it to the park with just ten minutes to spare.  This was a two lap run (where The Great British Bake-Off is filmed).  After a very brisk warm Daniel was completed in 20-18.  He was 15th out of 264 runners (double the amount of runners which the Valentine’s Parkrun usually gets due to the date and the park’s name!). This was a perfect warm-up for the Baldock Half Marathon which took place the next day.

Two Spartans did one better on their tour of the Parkrun circuit, Verity Fisher and Daniel Sutton landed up in Barnstable, north-west Devon. Daniel finished the course in 26th place in a time of 22-24 and Verity was fifth female home with a time of 23-47 (37th place).  There was a total of 148 runners.

Down at the Spartans favourite local course at Panshanger, Hertford, Hazel Clark finished 99th out of 175 runners with a time of 30-08.

 

Champions Night 

Celebrate with the champions.  Fairlands Valley Spartans’ Presentation Evening, Dinner and Dance will be at Chesfield Downs on Friday 27th February.  Tickets are only £20 and they are available now.  Go to http://fvspartans.org.uk/calendar-all/races-events/presentation-evening-tickets/

 

Running London? 

With ten weeks to go so far 22 Fairlands Valley Spartans have declared that they are running this April’s London Marathon.  Some have qualified on time; some came out of the draw; many are running for charity. 

They are GRANT RAMSAY, HELENE MILLER; HILARY DAVIES; JACKIE DOWNES: JAN FRY; JIM BROWN; JACKIE DOWNES; KAREN ELLIS; LISA LIVERSIDGE; MADDIE PRITCHARD; MARIA RUSHTON; MICHELLE REEVES; NICK EMMETT; NICK WITCOMBE; NICOLA HABERLAND; PAUL MAGUIRE; PAUL MARSHALL; RICHARD KENNEDY; ROGER BIGGS; RUTH REILLY, SUZY HAWKINS and YLLKA ISTREFI. 

Please support them.  Over the next few weeks several stories on the Spartan entries will be released.  To get the ball rolling http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/JimBrown1 


London Marathon – Suzy Hawkins

SUZY HAWKINS, 39 is a district nurse.  She first entered the London Marathon ballot ten years ago and has had four unsuccessful attempts to get in.  The last few years she’s been very busy with the arrival of small children and she is delighted and excited to be running.  This will be her second marathon but first London.  Suzy is hoping for around 3:30.  Ran the recent Watford Half Marathon in 1 hour 39 minutes 56 seconds. 

With wonderful support from Fairlands Valley Spartans (especially the Sunday long runs), Suzy feels like her training is back on track now: maybe not for a personal best, but definitely to finish with a smile. 

She hopes to raise some money for cancer research, as with many of us, people close to her have been devastatingly effected by cancer.  She hopes that will help her to keep her motivated when it starts getting tough.

 

London Marathon – Yllka Istrefi 

YLLKA ISTREFI is a concert pianist.  Yllka had already qualified for the London Marathon but was so impressed by the Fairlands Valley Spartans coaching team that she joined the club late in 2014.  Yllka ran the Amsterdam Marathon in 3L54:05 and Edinburgh in 3:42:05.  She ran the recent Watford Half Marathon in 1:40:41, and continued her build up with Sunday’s Bramley 20 in 2:37:57.  She hopes to beat 3:30, maybe 3:25 on 26th April.
 

London Marathon – Ruth and Jackie 

RUTH REILLY was lucky enough to get a ballot  place and is helping JACKIE DOWNES with her fundraising  for Children with Cancer UK.  Fundraising is going well, we have held cake sales, a race night and had a charity Christmas lights display.  It will be their first marathon so they are really excited!  They have a blog if people want to see what they have been getting up to in training:  www.jackieandruth.wordpress.com 

 

Got a place in the London Marathon?   

Got a Place in the London Marathon?  Every year Fairlands Valley Spartans successful train thirty or more people, many of them first timers, to run the London Marathon.  There are training groups from starters to fast fives to suit everyone.  Why not have a look at www.fvspartans.org.uk or contact Jim Brown 0793 968 7509 or Karen Palmer 0773 467 8566?  Newcomers very welcome.

 

Coming Events

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

  • Handicap 5K in Stevenage on Thursday evening 19th February.
  • Serpentine 5K on Friday 27th February.
  • Presentation Evening, Dinner and Dance at Chesfield Downs on Friday 27th February. Tickets available now.
  • County Veterans Five Mile Championship, and open road race, at Berkhamsted on Sunday 1st March.
  • Finchley 20 mile road race on Sunday 8th March.
  • Silverstone Half Marathon on Sunday 15th March.
  • Handicap 5K in Stevenage on Thursday evening 19th March.
  • County Cross Country Championships for Veterans in Trent Park on Sunday 22nd March.
  • Welwyn Garden City Half Marathon on Sunday 22nd March.
  • Serpentine 5K in Hyde Park on Friday 27th March.
  • Orion 15 classic cross country on Saturday 28th March.
  • Oakley 20 mile road race on Sunday 29th March.
  • Maidenhead Easter Ten on Friday 3rd April.
  • Sandy 10 mile road race on Sunday 12th April.
  • Flitwick 10K on Sunday 19th April.
  • London Marathon on Sunday 26th April.
  • County 1500 metres track championship in Stevenage on Monday 4th May.
  • County 5 miles senior championships at Pednor on Monday evening 4th May.
  • Bushy 10K including Herts Veterans road championships on Sunday 5th July.
  • County 10000 metres track championship in Biggleswade on Thursday 9th July.
  • County and Open 3K Relay Championship in Stevenage on Thursday 30th July.
  • County 5K Senior Championships on 2nd September.
  • County 5K Veterans Championship on 16th September.
  • Standalone 10K (inc. country senior champs) in Letchworth on Sunday 4th October.
  • Great Eastern Run in Peterborough on 11th October.
  • Stevenage Half Marathon (includes County Veterans) on Sunday 1st November.
  • St. Neots Half Marathon on Sunday 15th November.
  • County 10 miles Veterans Championship at Buntingford on 27th December.

 

 

Join The Spartans

Live in or near Stevenage?  Like running? Fairlands Valley Spartans is your local running club and is on the up!  The club was voted the UK’s Best Running Club in 2010.  It now has hundreds of members and encourages participation by all.  The Spartans have a varied training programme to suit those who want to run 5 kilometres through to full marathons. 

The Spartans weekday training sessions are on Tuesday and Thursday evenings.  Go along to the new sports centre at Marriotts School – a Sports College, Telford Avenue, Stevenage (SG2 8UT) at 7p.m.  Up to five running groups go out on training nights – there will be one to suit you.

The Spartan Starter group starts from Marriotts at 7.30p.m. every Monday (except public holidays) and 7p.m. every Thursday 

Most long Sunday morning training sessions start 9.00a.m. sharp.  Spartan track training sessions are held at Ridlins Athletics Track, Woodcock Road, Stevenage most Saturdays from 9.15a.m.  There are events to enter every Sunday.  Newcomers are very welcome – those who have not yet done very much running might prefer to start with a Thursday, Saturday or Monday session. 

Try a few sessions before joining.  Membership is only £35 per year, £25 without UKA membership.  Concessions are available.  Membership forms are available on the Spartans website www.fvspartans.org.uk  Please ask if you would like a paper copy. 

If you want to know more about the Spartans please contact Jim Brown (0793 968 7509), Karen Palmer (07734678566) or visit their website www.fvspartans.org.uk

E N D S 

More from Jim Brown (Press Officer) 0793 968 7509 or Karen Palmer (Secretary) 07734678566

 

www.fvspartans.org.uk

Categories
News

SPARTANS AIM FOR LONDON

50 Miles for John * Paul’s Enigma * Maddie Second 

With eleven weeks to go so far twenty Fairlands Valley Spartans have declared that they are running this April’s London Marathon.  Some have qualified on time; some came out of the draw; many are running for charity. 

Those running are on 26th April include GRANT RAMSAY, HELENE MILLER; HILARY DAVIES; JACKIE DOWNES: JAN FRY; JIM BROWN; KAREN ELLIS; LISA LIVERSIDGE; MADDIE PRITCHARD; MARIA RUSHTON; MICHELLE REEVES; NICK EMMETT; NICK WITCOMBE; NICOLA HABERLAND; PAUL MAGUIRE; PAUL MARSHALL; RICHARD KENNEDY; ROGER BIGGS; RUTH REILLY; SUZY HAWKINS and YLLKA ISTREFI. 

Please support them.  Over the next few weeks several stories on the Spartan entries will be released.  To get the ball rolling http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/JimBrown1

 

London Marathon – Jim Brown 

Those of you that know Jim will know why he was so pleased to be able to complete the London Marathon in 2014 after a break of four years – and why he was so much slower than he used to be!   Jim thought that “comeback” was his last but it was great fun and he was delighted when the Ron Pickering Memorial Fund gave him the chance to run this year. Brilliant. It’s almost the ideal charity for someone running the London Marathon, all the money raised goes to supporting young athletes. 

So come on everyone.  He’s been given a target of £1500.  Let’s see if we can bust through that – and maybe Jim can be a wee bit quicker than last time.  Please go to http://www.virginmoneygiving.com/JimBrown1 now

Jim is press officer and part of the coaching team for Fairlands Valley Spartans.  This will be his 21st London Marathon – 18 running and three helping as a volunteer. 

The Ron Pickering Memorial Fund (RPMF) raises funds to help young aspiring athletes become the next generation of British Olympians 

The RPMF helps recipients make the difficult transition from junior to senior level through support for equipment, specialist coaching or travel and importantly helps build the athletes’ confidence and self esteem through recognition. 

The fund has raised and awarded over £1.5 million in small but significant grants to over 2000 talented young British athletes, including all of the London 2012 Olympic athletics medallists. 

Over 75% of the British athletics team in the 2008 and 2012 Olympics had at some stage in their careers received support from the fund.

Ron Pickering, OBE, was one of British sport’s great visionaries.  He was a former Physical Education teacher and national athletics coach, training Lynn Davies to Tokyo Olympic long jump gold.  Ron is best remembered as the voice of athletics during his 25 years spent commentating alongside David Coleman for the BBC and iconic programmes such as Superstars.

When Ron unexpectedly died in 1991, his wife Jean, herself an Olympic medallist from the 1952 Helsinki games, and children Kim and Shaun set up the Ron Pickering Memorial Fund to help aspiring young athletes fulfil their potential.

Sadly, Jean passed away in March 2013 but the Fund continues her legacy by supporting the next generation of Olympic champion. 

Jim’s first contact with an Olympian was ROBBIE BRIGHTWELL.  A silver medallist at Tokyo and his geography teacher in 1964.

 

London Marathon – Grant Ramsay 

GRANT RAMSAY will be running this year’s London Marathon, for his charity Asthma UK.  He will be aiming for another sub 2 hours 40 minutes finish and hopefully smash his 2:37 finish. 

Grant wants London to be a building block for this year’s World Marathon Champs for Veterans in Lyon, where he will be aiming for a top 10 finish (overall), and push on for a time around 2 hours 30.  The champs will take place in August.  He’s feeling very bullish, due to excellent progress being made in training.

 

London Marathon – Nicola and Richard, Four in Four

Richard Kennedy and Nicola Haberland will be running the London Marathon.

Nicola was lucky enough to get her Virgin London Marathon space in the Fairlands Valley Spartans club ballot and Richard has got a charity place for the Hertfordshire based Animal Care Trust.  Between them they aim to raise £1000 for them. 

Nicola and Richard both love running and to date have run the entire 26.2 miles 6 times.

This year they wanted to challenge themselves a little bit more by running the following four marathons in four weeks (104.8 miles in total by the time they cross the last finish line) to raise money, as mentioned above, for the Animal Care Trust:  Brighton on Sunday 12th April; Bungay on Sunday 19th April; London on Sunday 26th April and Milton Keynes on Monday 4th May. 

Funds raised for the Animal Care Trust not only contribute towards improving animal care, but also support their Care Farm Project which is a series of short farm-based courses and activities aiming to make a positive difference to the lives of disadvantaged and disabled individuals who are experiencing social or educational exclusion.

Nicola and Richard are paying all their own expenses so any donations received will go directly to the Animal Care Trust.  They would be extremely grateful and appreciative of any donations members of the public can possibly give, they only need to find 1000 people to all donate £1 each (25p a marathon) and they will hit our target.  Just in case you can include the fundraising information here are their Just Giving page details: 

Just Giving Website:  http://www.justgiving.com/RichardNicola4In4 

Alternatively you can text:  Text: NHRK47, followed by the amount, e.g. £1, £2,£5.  To: 70070 

As said above they both really love running, it’s a great way to keep fit, meet other people and feel a real sense of personal achievement each time they cross a finish line at a race. 

They say their love of running has only been enhanced even more since becoming members of Fairlands Valley Spartans in November 2013.  All the coaches (and all fellow FVS members) they run with are so encouraging and they both feel they have benefited and developed so much more as runners since joining the club.  They encourage anyone interested in running or thinking about starting to run to join the club.

Since starting running back in the summer of 2006 their main aim has always been to run the London marathon.  This is the first time we will be running the London marathon, so it is really exciting. 

They both remember watching the London marathon on the television when we were little admiring all those 1000s of runners raising money for such good causes, and now this year they are both so lucky enough to have places as well. 

Nicola’s personal best to date was at the Stevenage Marathon last year which was 3 hours 49 minutes and 21 seconds.  This year she is hoping to go under 3 hours 45 minutes. 

Richard’s personal best to date was at the Abingdon marathon last year which was 3 hours 30 minutes and 6 seconds.  This year he is hoping to go under 3 hours 20 minutes 

For more information please contact Nicola Haberland – Email: nlghaberland@gmail.com

Tel: 07946 786 336 or Richard Kennedy – Email: rtckennedy@gmail.comTel: 07814 166 765

 

Got a place in the London Marathon?   

Got a Place in the London Marathon on 26 April?  Every year Fairlands Valley Spartans successful train thirty or more people, many of them first timers, to run the London Marathon.  There are training groups from starters to fast fives to suit everyone with sessions available five days a week.   Why not have a look at www.fvspartans.org.uk or contact Jim Brown 0793 968 7509 or Karen Palmer 0773 467 8566?  Newcomers very welcome.

 

Nelms Goes Ultra 

JOHN NELMS completed the Thames Trot 50 mile trail race in 10 hours 43 minutes.  He wants to thank all the coaches and fellow runners at Fairlands Valley Spartans who have encouraged him and helped him train for this ultra marathon event.

 

Paul’s Enigma 

PAUL HOLGATE ignored the snow showers to take the opportunity for a Thursday marathon in Milton Keynes consisting of 7.5 laps around a very cold Caldecote Lake.  He finished in a very satisfying 5 hours 26 minutes 23 seconds.

 

Maddie Second In 5K 

MADDIE PRITCHARD ran the Norton 5K in Norton, Letchworth on Saturday morning.  It was icy and muddy but she still finished in an excellent time of 22 minutes 11 seconds  Maddie was second lady, and 13th overall.   CRAIG BACON was 17th in 22:42.  There were 63 finishers.

 

Parkrun Report 

This Saturday’s Parkrun down the A1 had drama and some pretty fast action for the boys from the Spartans at Barnet.  Oak Hill was the venue and is one of the fastest parkrun courses in North London.  Danik aiming to beat his course personal best (PB) of 20-06 (and maybe an overall PB) and Thomas Sauka improving all the time on the circuit.  However there was some drama before the start after the warm-up where Danik’s laces couldn’t be sorted out before getting to the start on time.

During the run after taking the lead, good pacing, all was going well until after 3.5km mark where Daniel Bates laces became undone and took around twenty seconds to sort out with cold hands.  Dropping places and around twenty valuable seconds and finishing 9th with a time of 20-09. Thomas Sauka put in another superb performance to wrap up the run in 21-29 (14th).  There were 90 runners in this week’s run.

Down the road at our favourite local course of Panshanger (Hertford), Daniel Sutton was first Spartan home finishing 27th (out of 171 runners) with a time of 22-12, Mark Allen finished with a time of 23-15 with Verity Fisher not far behind in 23-34.  Emma Kinsley powered home in 25-20.  

At St Albans Graham Hill completed the three laps of the lakes next to the beautiful cathedral in 32-33 (256th out of 311 runners).

 

Met X/C at the Scrubs 

GRANT RAMSAY raced in the final match of the Metropolitan Cross Country League at Wormwood Scrubs, London on Sunday. 

Over five miles he was 63rd out of 400 runners in 28 minutes 19 seconds.  Grant was 54th in the overall classification for the whole series and fifth in the very tight veterans contest – he missed out on winning by only four points.

 

Punchbowl Marathon 

On Sunday CAROL PAUL and MIKE NEWBITT took part in the Punchbowl Marathon which is 30 miles off road taking in the Devils Punchbowl.  On a lovely sunny day Carol completed the event in 7:12:10 and Mike completed it in 7:52:30.

 

Got a place in the London Marathon?   

Got a Place in the London Marathon?  Every year Fairlands Valley Spartans successful train thirty or more people, many of them first timers, to run the London Marathon.  There are training groups from starters to fast fives to suit everyone.  Why not have a look at www.fvspartans.org.uk or contact Jim Brown 0793 968 7509 or Karen Palmer 0773 467 8566?  Newcomers very welcome.

 

Coming Events 

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

  • Cross Country League at Therfield Heath, Royston on Sunday 15th February.
  • Bramley 20 mile road race on Sunday 15th February.
  • Handicap 5K in Stevenage on Thursday evening 19th February.
  • Serpentine 5K on Friday 27th February.
  • Presentation Evening, Dinner and Dance at Chesfield Downs on Friday 27th February. Tickets available now.
  • County Veterans Five Mile Championship, and open road race, at Berkhamsted on Sunday 1st March.
  • Finchley 20 mile road race on Sunday 8th March.
  • Silverstone Half Marathon on Sunday 15th March.
  • Handicap 5K in Stevenage on Thursday evening 19th March.
  • County Cross Country Championships for Veterans in Trent Park on Sunday 22nd March.
  • Welwyn Garden City Half Marathon on Sunday 22nd March.
  • Serpentine 5K in Hyde Park on Friday 27th March.
  • Orion 15 classic cross country on Saturday 28th March.
  • Oakley 20 mile road race on Sunday 29th March.
  • Maidenhead Easter Ten on Friday 3rd April.
  • Sandy 10 mile road race on Sunday 12th April.
  • Flitwick 10K on Sunday 19th April.
  • London Marathon on Sunday 26th April.
  • County 1500 metres track championship in Stevenage on Monday 4th May.
  • County 5 miles senior championships at Pednor on Monday evening 4th May.
  • Bushy 10K including Herts Veterans road championships on Sunday 5th July.
  • County 10000 metres track championship in Biggleswade on Thursday 9th July.
  • County and Open 3K Relay Championship in Stevenage on Thursday 30th July.
  • County 5K Senior Championships on 2nd September.
  • County 5K Veterans Championship on 16th September.
  • Standalone 10K (inc. country senior champs) in Letchworth on Sunday 4th October.
  • Stevenage Half Marathon (includes County Veterans) on Sunday 1st November.
  • County 10 miles Veterans Championship at Buntingford on 27th December.

 

 

Join The Spartans

Live in or near Stevenage?  Like running? Fairlands Valley Spartans is your local running club and is on the up!  The club was voted the UK’s Best Running Club in 2010.  It now has hundreds of members and encourages participation by all.  The Spartans have a varied training programme to suit those who want to run 5 kilometres through to full marathons. 

The Spartans weekday training sessions are on Tuesday and Thursday evenings.  Go along to the new sports centre at Marriotts School – a Sports College, Telford Avenue, Stevenage (SG2 8UT) at 7p.m.  Up to five running groups go out on training nights – there will be one to suit you!

The Spartan Starter group starts from Marriotts at 7.30p.m. every Monday (except public holidays) and 7p.m. every Thursday.

Most long Sunday morning training sessions start 9.00a.m. sharp.  Spartan track training sessions are held at Ridlins Athletics Track, Woodcock Road, Stevenage most Saturdays from 9.15a.m.  There are events to enter every Sunday.  Newcomers are very welcome – those who have not yet done very much running might prefer to start with a Thursday, Saturday or Monday session. 

Try a few sessions before joining.  Membership is only £35 per year, £25 without UKA membership.  Concessions are available.  Membership forms are available on the Spartans website www.fvspartans.org.uk  Please ask if you would like a paper copy. 

If you want to know more about the Spartans please contact Jim Brown (0793 968 7509), Karen Palmer (07734678566) or visit their website www.fvspartans.org.uk 

E N D S

 

More from Jim Brown (Press Officer) 0793 968 7509 or Karen Palmer (Secretary) 07734678566 

www.fvspartans.org.uk

Categories
News

SPARTANS BEAT THE WATFORD HILLS

Come Back for London Winter 

Cold and windy but there was no sign of the threatened snow for Sunday’s Watford Half Marathon which included the Hertfordshire County Championship within the open race.

The Watford Half is a race of hills and this year there was a new tough one avoid the floods encountered in previous years.

Despite this GRANT RAMSAY beat the 80 minute barrier to finish in 1 hour 19 minutes 28 seconds.  He was fourth veteran (40 plus) and 34th overall out of 1,821 finishers.  There were new personal bests by TIM SABAN, 367th in 1:37:15, improving his time on the fast St Neots course by nine seconds; YLLKA ISTREFI, 508th in 1:40:41, improving on her Bedford time by 2 minutes 41 seconds and a season’s best 1:49:31 for JIM BROWN who was 838th and improved by exactly two minutes.

SUZY HAWKINS was 476th in 1:39:56 and ANDREW JORDAN, coming from a long way back, 493rd with a chip time of 1:39:22. 

AMANDA WHORWOOD finished in 2 hours 8 minutes 48 seconds and ANTHONY WALLER in 2:12:47.  Despite the extra hill PAUL HOLGATE improved his time from 2014 by six minutes to finish in 2 hours 13 minutes 1 second. 

Position Name Time Comments
34 GRANT RAMSAY 1:19:28 4th Veteran (40 plus)
367 TIM SABAN 1:37:15 Personal Best (PB)
476 SUZY HAWKINS (F) 1:39:56  
493 ANDREW JORDAN 1:39:22  
508 YLLKA ISTREFI (F) 1:40:41 Personal Best (PB)
838 JIM BROWN 1:49:31 Season’s Best (SB)
1529 AMANDA WHORWOOD (F) 2:08:48  
1596 ANTHONY WALLER 2:12:47  
1597 PAUL HOLGATE 2:13:01 6 mins improvement on 2014

1821 finishers.  A huge number did not start.

 

30 Year Comeback at London Winter

 

New Spartans PAUL and HANNAH WEST (father and daughter) completed their first 10K race today at the Cancer Research UK London Winter Run 2015.  Paul (MV45), who had not run in over 30 years until joining the club recently, finished in 1 hour 15 minutes 28 seconds, and Hannah, still a junior, finished in 1:09:21.  They are both looking forward to their next race. 

HAZEL SMITH and DAWN HARDY ran their first race for Fairlands Valley Spartans at the same event.  It was a very cold day with a bitterly cold wind and the snow machines around the route made it feel even colder.  Hazel ran well, only slowing down for the last 2K to finish in an amazing 58 minutes.  Dawn finished in 1 hr 19 mins.  Both times were personal bests.  Joining Hazel for this run was her Mum CATHY CRAIG, a second claim Spartan who finished in 1 hr 1 min.

 

Serpie 

Looking ahead to Sunday’s race JIM BROWN had a steady run round the Hyde Park 5K on Friday. 

On a cold, dry but windy day he was 197th out of the 265 runners in 24 minutes 55 seconds (24:59 gun time).

 

Parkrun Report 

The Spartans were out in force on the weekly Saturday parkrun circuit, this time heading up to Cambridgeshire for the scenic run around Wimpole Hall Estate north of Royston. The snow showed signs that this could have been a whiteout but was not to happen, instead the runners got an offering of ice and mud on the one lap course.  A lot of runners couldn’t cope with the steep hill after 2km due to heavy snow and the slippery conditions but it didn’t stop the group from Stevenage running up it.   

First Spartan home was Daniel Bates still recovering from last week’s marathon in Gran Canaria but finished just outside the top ten places with a time of 22-07.  Thomas Sauka wasn’t far behind finishing in 22-46 whilst Mark Allen paced home in 24-44.  Emma Kinsley was sixth female in 26-19.  Thomas, Mark and Emma were running Wimpole for the first time.  There were 201 runners. 

12th – Daniel Bates – 22-07; 19th – Thomas Sauka – 22:46; 34th – Mark Allen – 24-44 and 57th – Emma Kinsley – 26-19. 

However a lot of parkrun courses were cancelled due to the extreme icy and snowy conditions across the country which caused problems for Verity Fisher and Danny Sutton at the Southampton parkrun course.  The run was cancelled but they ran round the course in about 30:52.

 

Running London? 

Got a place in the London Marathon?   

Every year Fairlands Valley Spartans successful train thirty or more people, many of them first timers, to run the London Marathon.  There are training groups from starters to fast fives to suit everyone.  Why not have a look at www.fvspartans.org.uk or contact Jim Brown 0793 968 7509 or Karen Palmer 0773 467 8566?  Newcomers very welcome.

 

Coming Events 

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

  • Cross Country League at Therfield Heath, Royston on Sunday 15th February.
  • Bramley 20 mile road race on Sunday 15th February.
  • Handicap 5K in Stevenage on Thursday evening 19th February.
  • Serpentine 5K on Friday 27th February.
  • Presentation Evening, Dinner and Dance at Chesfield Downs on Friday 27th February. Tickets available now.
  • County Veterans Five Mile Championship, and open road race, at Berkhamsted on Sunday 1st March.
  • Finchley 20 mile road race on Sunday 8th March.
  • Silverstone Half Marathon on Sunday 15th March.
  • Handicap 5K in Stevenage on Thursday evening 19th March.
  • County Cross Country Championships for Veterans in Trent Park on Sunday 22nd March.
  • Welwyn Garden City Half Marathon on Sunday 22nd March.
  • Serpentine 5K in Hyde Park on Friday 27th March.
  • Orion 15 classic cross country on Saturday 28th March.
  • Oakley 20 mile road race on Sunday 29th March.
  • Maidenhead Easter Ten on Friday 3rd April.
  • Sandy 10 mile road race on Sunday 12th April.
  • Flitwick 10K on Sunday 19th April.
  • London Marathon on Sunday 26th April.
  • County 1500 metres track championship in Stevenage on Monday 4th May.
  • County 5 miles senior championships at Pednor on Monday evening 4th May.
  • Bushy 10K including Herts Veterans road championships on Sunday 5th July.
  • County 10000 metres track championship in Biggleswade on Thursday 9th July.
  • County and Open 3K Relay Championship in Stevenage on Thursday 30th July.
  • County 5K Senior Championships on 2nd September.
  • County 5K Veterans Championship on 16th September.
  • Standalone 10K (inc. country senior champs) in Letchworth on Sunday 4th October.
  • Stevenage Half Marathon (includes County Veterans) on Sunday 1st November.
  • County 10 miles Veterans Championship at Buntingford on 27th December.

 

 

Join The Spartans

Live in or near Stevenage?  Like running? Fairlands Valley Spartans is your local running club and is on the up!  The club was voted the UK’s Best Running Club in 2010.  It now has hundreds of members and encourages participation by all.  The Spartans have a varied training programme to suit those who want to run 5 kilometres through to full marathons.   

The Spartans weekday training sessions are on Tuesday and Thursday evenings.  Go along to the new sports centre at Marriotts School – a Sports College, Telford Avenue, Stevenage (SG2 8UT) at 7p.m.  Up to five running groups go out on training nights – there will be one to suit you!

The Spartan Starter group starts from Marriotts at 7.30p.m. every Monday (except public holidays) and 7p.m. every Thursday 

Most long Sunday morning training sessions start 9.30a.m. sharp.  Spartan track training sessions are held at Ridlins Athletics Track, Woodcock Road, Stevenage most Saturdays from 9.15a.m.  There are events to enter every Sunday.  Newcomers are very welcome – those who have not yet done very much running might prefer to start with a Thursday, Saturday or Monday session. 

Try a few sessions before joining.  Membership is only £35 per year, £25 without UKA membership.  Concessions are available.  Membership forms are available on the Spartans website www.fvspartans.org.uk  Please ask if you would like a paper copy. 

If you want to know more about the Spartans please contact Jim Brown (0793 968 7509), Karen Palmer (07734678566) or visit their website www.fvspartans.org.uk

E N D S

More from Jim Brown (Press Officer) 0793 968 7509 or Karen Palmer (Secretary) 07734678566

www.fvspartans.org.uk