Categories
News

GRANT WINS AT MILTON KEYNES

 

Fairlands Valley Spartans’ GRANT RAMSAY led from the start and won the Enigma Three Lakes Challenge Marathon by a massive margin of 25 minutes.  On the back of a good second place in the Sunday League Cross Country 3 days earlier he ran a year’s best time of 2 hours 43 minutes 59 seconds.  This was the second stage in the series and was based at Furzton Lake in Milton Keynes

 

Snowdonia Times 25

SHARON CROWLEY ran her 25th Snowdonia marathon in 5 hours 30 minutes 6 seconds.  That was her best time for three years.

 

Beachy Head 10K

PETER CARPENTER tackled the tough Beachy Head 10K.  It was a tough event with three main hills totalling around 250 metres, he was disappointed that he couldn’t keep running up these three and needed to walk a good amount of each.  The running back down helped make the overall time not too bad!  The organizers did say expect to take 10 to 20 minutes longer than a normal 10K. The actual distance was closer to 9.5k.  Peter’s time was 1 hour 8 minutes 27 seconds and he was 322nd out of 438.

 

Only a Week to the Stevenage Half Marathon

The Stevenage Half Marathon will be this Sunday 6th November and YOU can tackle the 13.1 miles.  Go to www.fvspartans.org.uk to enter.

This will be the 30th Stevenage Half and it’s a 70th Anniversary event for Stevenage New Town.

The race starts from Ridlins Athletics Track promptly at 11a.m. and will follow a two lap course up Gresley Way and Six Hills Way into Fairlands Valley Park passing the lakes then down the length of the park past the showground then along Broadhall Way and back onto Gresley Way.  The first lap is slightly shorter than the second which has an extra loop at the north end of the park.  Almost all the race will be on cycleways and footpaths.

The race is open to all aged 17 or over but it also includes the Hertfordshire County Championships for seniors (18 plus).  Entries are £24, less for Spartans and members of other UK Athletics affiliated clubs.  There are already about 600 entries.  Don’t delay if you want a space.

Running a successful event like this takes dozens of helpers.  If you want to be a volunteer marshal or to help in any other way please contact shm@fvspartans.org.uk.

 

Round The Lake Again

Two Spartans ran the popular Serpentine 5K in Hyde Park on Friday.   DAVE BOWKER was 73rd in 20 minutes 3 seconds and JIM BROWN 177th in 23:50.  Conditions were mild and dry with a medium breeze.

 

Parkrun Report

At Stevenage BRIAN WHITE was first Spartan over the line, finishing in a new course personal best (PB) of 19:50 in 11th place. ADRIAN BUSOLINI (16th ) and DAVE SMITH (17th) also notched new course bests, finishing in 20:39 and 20:41 respectively. PETE SMITH (18th ) was fourth Spartan finisher on his parkrun debut in 21:01.

SUZY HAWKINS was second woman to finish in 21:49. VERITY FISHER was 8th in 23:33, ZOE JACKSON was 11th in 25:07, CAROL PAUL 13th in 25:25 and HAZEL SMITH 14th in 26:31.

There were also new course PBs this week for DARREN EMMERSON, who continues to get quicker by the week and finished 25th in 21:42, MARTIN DUDLEY (31st in 21:54), STEVE SMITHSON (41st in 23:05) SIMON JACKSON (36:18 accompanying his young son), and ROBERT EVANS (41:37 accompanying his two sons). The other Spartans at Stevenage were CHRIS HOLLAND (23:15), DANIEL SUTTON (23:30), PAUL MAGUIRE (23:41), NIKKI WILBY (26:03), LAUREN HARNETT (29:20), HEATHER MALONEY (31:03) and KAREN PALMER (58:06 on tail-running duties).

In other local events, three Spartans ran at Panshanger. THOMAS SAUKA was 28th in 21:59, ANDY JAY smashed his course PB finishing 48th in 23:15 and TIM ROBINSON finished 50th in 23:26. At Ellenbrook Fields MARIE HUTCHINGS finished 39th in 35:58, while at South Oxhey JOHN ROXBOROUGH was 2nd in 21:40, a new course PB.

Finally, CHLOE EMMERSON (32:46) and CLAIRE COX (32:59) were 32nd and 33rd women at Bicester parkrun, and furthest traveller of the week was TRACY STILES who was 51st woman to finish at Harrogate 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 the Hertfordshire 10K championships.  The opportunities include:

  • Stevenage Half Marathon, a Stevenage 70 event, on Sunday 6th November.
  • Second Cross Country League Race on Sunday 13th November (new date).
  • St Neots Half Marathon on Sunday 20th November.
  • County Five Miles Open Championship in Hatfield on 27th November.
  • Spartans Christmas Social on Saturday 10th December.
  • Third Cross Country League Race on Sunday 18th December.
  • Boxing Day Five in Witham on Monday 26th December.
  • Serpentine New Year 10K in Hyde Park on 1st January.
  • Watford Half Marathon on Sunday 5th February.
  • Finchley 20 on Sunday 11th March.

 

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 9a.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 £37 per year, £25 without UKA affiliation.  Concessions are available.  Membership forms are available on the Spartans website www.fvspartans.org.uk  Please ask if you would like a paper copy.  You can also join online.

If you want to know more about the Spartans please contact Jim Brown (0793 968 7509), Andy Neatham 0777 197 5499 and 01438 816889; or Karen Palmer (07734678566) or visit their website www.fvspartans.org.uk

Categories
Race Results

Sunday Cross Country League: Cheshunt Results

 

The results are in for the first race of the new season in the Sunday Cross County League, and the Spartans made a great start!

On combined overall results we sit in third place after the first race at Cheshunt.

For the men, the A team are in 6th place with the B team sitting in 7th place. The Masters team currently leads the table!

For the ladies, the A team are sitting in 6th place, the B team 5th in their table and the Masters in 10th place.

The full results can be seen in the Excel spreadsheet HERE! Please scroll to the bottom of each sheet to see the team standings.

Well done to everyone that ran on Sunday and kicked off the season so well, and especially those tacking cross–country for the first time! We hope to see you all again at Grovelands next month.

Categories
News

Cross Country

 

Forty seven from Fairlands Valley Spartans, 18 women and 29 men, raced round the first cross country league race of the season which was in Cheshunt on Sunday.

Two were in the top ten of the 500 runners in this inter club event.  GRANT RAMSAY was second in 26 minutes 58 seconds and ANDREW PATTERSON fourth in 27:45.  SIMON JACKSON also beat the half hour and was 12th in 28:37.

The Spartan women’s “A” team did amazingly well – SAM PRETTY was 97th overall (including all the men) in 32 minutes 20 seconds; NATALIE LAWRENCE 122nd in 33:12; JULIET FULLWOOD 242nd in 37:35; NICOLA KENNEDY 277th in 38:20 and CLAIRE COX 284th in 38:58.

The next fixture will be on Sunday 13th November.

 

Women (5 to score in “A” team)

Position Name Time Comments
97 SAM PRETTY 32:20
122 NATALIE LAWRENCE 33:12
242 JULIET FULLWOOD 37:35
277 NICOLA KENNEDY 38:20
284 CLAIRE COX 38:58
287 ISABEL GREEN 39:02
308 MARIE COLUCCI 39:55
327 HAZEL CLARK 40:25 W35
329 KELLY McHALE 40:26 W35
339 SOPHIE COWAN 40:38 W35
378 OLWEN BATTY 42:36
395 WENDY THARANI 42:55
409 JO BOWDERY 44:00
433 JULIE SHADBOLT 45:00
434 PETA WILSON 45:02
442 STEPHANIE MAYFIELD 45:30
465 HANNAH SYPULA 46:00
479 EMMA POULTER 46:30

 

Men (8 to score in “A” team)

Position Name Time Comments
2 GRANT RAMSAY 26:58 V40
4 ANDREW PATTERSON 27:45
12 SIMON JACKSON 28:37 V40
36 STEFAN FORD 30:00
48 CRAIG HALSEY 30:30
67 DAN HUKIN 31:00 V40
99 STEVE GREEN 32:29 V40
111 BRIAN WHITE 32:53 V60
124 TODD GRAY 33:18
156 TOM SAUKA 34:28 V40
172 TIM SABAN 35:08 V40
173 DAVE SMITH 35:12
188 PETE SMITH 35:39 V50
200 RICHARD KENNEDY 36:29
201 STEVE MAYFIELD 36:30 V50
218 DARREN EMMERSON 37:00 V40
224 MARK GOODWIN 37:11 V50
245 STEVE SMITHSON 37:43 V40
246 DAVE BOWKER 37:44 V50
259 RICHARD HAZELDENE 37:51 V50
280 NEIL ROBINSON 38:50
294 ANDREW SMITH 39:23
304 TIM ROBINSON 39:27 V40
306 ANDY JAY 39:34 V50
341 MARK CHEADLE 40:42 V40
368 KEN JUDE 42:03 V50
375 ROB SHAW 42:23 V60
382 JON SYPULA 42:43 V40
388 JAMES KILROY 42:50

 

Faster in Abingdon

KAREN LIDDLE ran the Abingdon Marathon in a massive PB of 4 18 54.  That’s a personal best by eight minutes.

 

Great Double in Portsmouth

LIAM HERBERT did the double in Portsmouth this weekend.

In the Great South 5K Run on Saturday he finished 27th in 19:22.  He took part in a special challenge which was to finish ahead of Tom Bosworth, an Olympic race walker, who race-walked the course in an impressive time of 20:10.  My faster time has won me a free entry into the same 5K race next year.

Liam finished within the top 500, 479th, in the Great South Run ten miles race on Sunday with a time of 1:08:25.  JENNY GARRET ran the same race in 1:32:25.

 

Leg for Literacy Marathon – Sunday, 23rd October 2016

Roger Biggs completed his seventh Canadian Marathon in 2016, with this, the Leg for Literacy Marathon held in and around the City of Moncton, New Brunswick.  A good deal of the marathon course was on the Bicycle Trail system, which in turn often followed the Peticodiac River. The river is well known for the biggest and most regular (at twice a day) TIDAL BORE in the world!

The weather man promised rain and wind, but as the case with most of Roger’s recent marathons, the weather was much more conducive to marathon running, although the wind did pick up later in the race. Roger would admit that this was not one of his better days, and finishing in 5:16:29.

On Saturday CAROL PAUL ran the Betteshanger Marathon at Betteshanger Country Park near Deal in Kent.  The marathon was 12.96 laps of the cyclo park.  After a tough marathon in Maidstone six days before Carol was pleased to finish in 4 hours 17 minutes exactly.

 

Only a Week to the Stevenage Half Marathon

The Stevenage Half Marathon will be on Sunday 6th November and YOU can tackle the 13.1 miles.  Go to www.fvspartans.org.uk to enter.

This will be the 30th Stevenage Half and it’s a 70th Anniversary event for Stevenage New Town.

The race starts from Ridlins Athletics Track promptly at 11a.m. and will follow a two lap course up Gresley Way and Six Hills Way into Fairlands Valley Park passing the lakes then down the length of the park past the showground then along Broadhall Way and back onto Gresley Way.  The first lap is slightly shorter than the second which has an extra loop at the north end of the park.  Almost all the race will be on cycleways and footpaths.

The race is open to all aged 17 or over but it also includes the Hertfordshire County Championships for seniors (18 plus).  Entries are £24, less for Spartans and members of other UK Athletics affiliated clubs.  There are already about 600 entries.  Don’t delay if you want a space.

Running a successful event like this takes dozens of helpers.  If you want to be a volunteer marshal or to help in any other way please contact shm@fvspartans.org.uk.

 

Parkrun Report

Fairlands Valley Spartans filled two of the first three finishing positions at Stevenage parkrun in Fairlands Valley Park.  First Spartan home was STEFFAN FORD who put in a strong performance only five seconds behind his course best in finishing second in 18:25. MIKE GREEN finished third in 18:33, his first attempt on the course, and BRIAN WHITE was twelfth in 20:08 in his first ever parkrun.  DAVID RIDDELL was 16th in 20:30.

For the ladies VERITY FISHER was first Spartan, finishing fifth in 25:07. CLAIRE COX was sixth in 25:08, HAZEL SMITH notched up a new course PB (personal best) to finish seventh in 25:09 and CALLIE CHAPMAN also achieved a new course best finishing eighth woman in 25:25.

There were also course PBs for CHRIS HOLLAND (22:28) and SIMON JACKSON (39:24 pushing a buggy and accompanying his young son). The other Spartans running at Stevenage were ADRIAN BUSOLINI (21:22), MARTIN DUDLEY (22:10), DANIELSUTTON (23:08), DARREN EMMERSON (25:04), DAVE SMITH (25:09) and KAREN BROOM who was volunteer tail-runner (57:13), with a number of other Spartans also supporting on volunteering duties as usual.

At other local venues, TIM ROBINSON ran at Gunpowder parkrun, finishing 36th in 23:21, while ANDY JAY (23:55) and JEANETTE COLLINS (28:25) both ran at

Panshanger. JOHN ROXBOROUGH took on the challenging layout at Tring, finishing 16 th in 22:58 while MARIE HUTCHINGS went to Ellenbrook Fields in Hatfield and finished in 35:40, a new course PB.

Finally DARRYL STEVENS ran at Netley Abbey, finishing in 38:10.

 

Coming Events

Many Spartans will be enjoying a busy programme of races, social and training events over the next few weeks including the Hertfordshire 10K championships.  The opportunities include:

  • Stevenage Half Marathon, a Stevenage 70 event, on Sunday 6th November.
  • Second Cross Country League Race on Sunday 13th November (new date).
  • St Neots Half Marathon on Sunday 20th November.
  • County Five Miles Open Championship in Hatfield on 27th November.
  • Spartans Christmas Social on Saturday 10th December.
  • Third Cross Country League Race on Sunday 18th December.
  • Boxing Day Five in Witham on Monday 26th December.
  • Serpentine New Year 10K in Hyde Park on 1st January.

 

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 9a.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 £37 per year, £25 without UKA affiliation.  Concessions are available.  Membership forms are available on the Spartans website www.fvspartans.org.uk  Please ask if you would like a paper copy.  You can also join online.

If you want to know more about the Spartans please contact Jim Brown (0793 968 7509), Andy Neatham 0777 197 5499 and 01438 816889; or Karen Palmer (07734678566) or visit their website www.fvspartans.org.uk

Categories
News Race Results

Getting Ready for the Stevenage Half

 

The Stevenage Half Marathon will be on Sunday 6th November and YOU can tackle the 13.1 miles.  Go to www.fvspartans.org.uk to enter.

This will be the 30th Stevenage Half and it’s a 70th Anniversary event for Stevenage New Town.

The race starts from Ridlins Athletics Track promptly at 11a.m. and will follow a two lap course up Gresley Way and Six Hills Way into Fairlands Valley Park passing the lakes then down the length of the park past the showground then along Broadhall Way and back onto Gresley Way.  The first lap is slightly shorter than the second which has an extra loop at the north end of the park.  Almost all the race will be on cycleways and footpaths.

The race is open to all aged 17 or over but it also includes the Hertfordshire County Championships for seniors (18 plus).  Entries are £24, less for Spartans and members of other UK Athletics affiliated clubs.  There are already about 600 entries.  Don’t delay if you want a space.

Running a successful event like this takes dozens of helpers.  If you want to be a volunteer marshal or to help in any other way please contact shm@fvspartans.org.uk.

 

Ampthill

Spartans JOHN HARRIS and DAVID DOWKER were at the Ampthill Cross Country Festival on Sunday.  It was a tough one on a hilly 10K route.  Luckily they missed the rain and the sun came out just in time for the seniors.  It had been very wet for the children’s races.  John finished 28th in 44 minutes exactly and David was 66th in 52:17.

 

Maidstone Marathon

On Sunday CAROL PAUL ran the Maidstone marathon in Kent.  The course was tough and hilly but she completed her 340th marathon in 4:25:26.  Carol was seventh lady and 37th overall.

 

A Mission In Canada

ROGER BIGGS continued his mission to run a marathon in all 13 Canadian Provinces & Territories.

Sunday’s Prince Edward Island Marathon started on the Northern shores of the Island, and looped round to finish in the Prince Edward Island capital town Charlottetown.  The guide books will tell you that there are no mountains on the Island, but there are plenty of hills.

On a lovely day for running, wall to wall sunshine yet a cool breeze, Roger completed the marathon in 4:46:06, his 8th of 13 in his Province / territory quest.

 

1066 Way To Battle

KIERAN FEETHAM and HOLLIE DOUTRE ran the 1066 Way to Battle trail event, part of the 950th anniversary of the Battle of Hastings commemorations.

Over about 17 miles following the 1066 Way Footpath Kieran was 198th in 2 hours 43 minutes 20 seconds and Hollie 199th in 2:43:19  (these are chip times).

 

Cross Country Season Starts

The first cross country league race of the season will be in Cheshunt this Sunday 23rd October.  Dozens of Fairlands Valley Spartans are expected to compete.

 

Parkrun Report

A baker’s dozen Spartans were in action at Stevenage parkrun with some fine performances

DAVE SMITH was again first Spartan finisher this week, crossing the line in 20:42 for 14 place overall and a new course personal best (PB).  DAVID RIDDELL was 15th in 20:53 and DARREN EMMERSON, who continues to be in fantastic form, was 19th in a new course PB of 21:45.  CLIVE CANNON also achieved a new course PB of 23:45 to finish 36th.

For the ladies, CLAIRE COX was 3rd to finish in 23:13. VERITY FISHER was 5th in 23:33, and NIKKI WILBY was 37th in 24:26.  All three achieved new course PBs.

The other Spartans in action at Stevenage were DANIEL SUTTON (23:47), ANDREW SMITH (24:32), STEFFAN FORD (27:37), JOHN MCCALL (27:57), ALEXANDRA WHITEHOUSE (31:55) and IAN ALEXANDER (58:37 on tail-running duties).

At Panshanger JEANETTE COLLINS was the sole Spartan in attendance, finishing 43rd in 29:01.  DARRYL STEVENS continued on his mission across the south-coast parkruns, finishing the Havant event in 40:56.

Finally, STEVE GREEN was 8th male finisher at Stratford-upon-Avon in 19:37, ISABEL GREEN was 3rd woman in a time of 22:52 and ROGER HARDMAN was 64th male in 26:17.

 

Coming Events

Many Spartans will be enjoying a busy programme of races, social and training events over the next few weeks including the Hertfordshire 10K championships.  The opportunities include:

  • Abingdon Marathon on Sunday 23rd October.
  • First Cross Country League Race in Cheshunt on Sunday 23rd October.
  • Stevenage Half Marathon, a Stevenage 70 event, on Sunday 6th November.
  • Second Cross Country League Race on Sunday 13th November (new date).
  • St Neots Half Marathon on Sunday 20th November.
  • County Five Miles Open Championship in Hatfield on 27th November.
  • Spartans Christmas Social on Saturday 10th December.
  • Third Cross Country League Race on Sunday 18th December.
  • Boxing Day Five in Witham on Monday 26th December.
  • Serpentine New Year 10K in Hyde Park on 1st January.

 

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 9a.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 £37 per year, £25 without UKA affiliation.  Concessions are available.  Membership forms are available on the Spartans website www.fvspartans.org.uk  Please ask if you would like a paper copy.  You can also join online.

If you want to know more about the Spartans please contact Jim Brown (0793 968 7509), Andy Neatham 0777 197 5499 and 01438 816889; or Karen Palmer (07734678566) or visit their website www.fvspartans.org.uk

Categories
News Race Results

Spartans One, Two At Hatfield

 

It was first AND second and four in the top ten for Fairlands Valley Spartans at the final Hatfield 5K race of the series.  The Spartan top four were all under 17 minutes with ANDREW PATTERSON beating that target for the first time.

Series winner CRAIG HALSEY confirmed his achievement by winning the third race in just 16 minutes 23 seconds.  GRANT RAMSAY was pushing him all the way to the line and was just five seconds behind and first veteran in 16:28.  Not far behind SIMON JACKSON was sixth and third veteran in 16:47 and Andrew Patterson ninth in 16:56.

STEFFAN FORD was 17:54 (27th); ANDY JAY (88th) and KEN JUDE (106th) ran year’s bests – Andy finishing in 22:41 and Ken in 23:17.  JIM BROWN (117th) has been spookily consistent in his last three 5Ks with the official results all showing 23:48!

VISHAL SHAH was 127th in 24:20 with HAZEL CLARK 128th in 24:23.  In addition ROGER BIGGS was 158th in 26:53; PAUL HOLGATE 163rd in 27:21 and SHARON CROWLEY 163rd in 27:21.

Position Name Time Comments
1. CRAIG HALSEY 16:23 Series Winner
2. GRANT RAMSAY 16:28 First Veteran
6. SIMON JACKSON 16:47 Third Veteran
9. ANDREW PATTERSON 16:56 Top Ten
27. STEFFAN FORD 17:54
88 ANDY JAY 22:41 Year’s Best
106 KEN JUDE 23:17 Year’s Best
117 JIM BROWN 23:48
127 VISHAL SHAH 24:20
128 HAZEL CLARK (F) 24:23
158 ROGER BIGGS 26:53
163 PAUL HOLGATE 27:21
175 SHARON CROWLEY (F) 28:59

 

Great Eastern Run, Peterborough

The Great Eastern Run is a fantastic well supported half marathon with lots of runners but not so many as to cause serious congestion on the wide traffic free course.  About as flat as you could hope for over 13.1 miles with conditions near to perfect GRANT RAMSAY ran his fastest half for three years and was 30th out of the 4,247 runners in a fantastic 1 hour 14 minutes 24 seconds.  Also beating eighty minutes CRAIG HALSEY was 87th in 1:19:54.

BRIAN WHITE startled many younger runners by winning the veteran (60 plus) race in a sub 1:30 time of 1 hour 28 minutes 46 seconds.  He was 283rd overall.

Altogether there were twenty Spartans.  Just outside the top ten per cent STUART HAYCROFT improved by ten minutes with 1:33:31, he was 436th and Fairlands fastest female SUZY HAWKINS cut her personal best to 1:33:59 for 455th.

DAVID RIDDELL was 701st in 1:39:37 and THOMAS SAUKA 743rd in 1:40:17.  ISABEL GREEN (849th) set a new personal best of 1:42:24 and ANDY PRIOR cut his PB by three and a half minutes to 1:44:22.

JIM BROWN reduced his season’s best by 7 minutes 19 seconds to 1:47:16.  NICOLA TOUT did well in her first half marathon and finished with 1:52:20 and TRICIA HOPPER crossed the line with 1:54:02.  Then came WENDY THARANI in 2:01:15; VISHY MAN in 2:02:45; JULIE SHADBOLT in a new personal best of 2:04:27; JENNY GARRETT in 2:07:31; JACKIE DOWNES in 2:07:56; NICK WITCOMBE in 2:13:36; PAUL HOLGATE in 2:14:21 and STEVE DOBNER in 2:33:48.

Position First Name Last Name Time Comments
30 GRANT RAMSAY 01:14:24 Best Half for 3 years
87 CRAIG HALSEY 01:19:54
283 BRIAN WHITE 01:28:46 1st V60
436 STUART HAYCROFT 01:33:31 PB (10:00)
455 SUZY HAWKINS 01:33:59 PB
701 DAVID RIDDELL 01:39:37
743 THOMAS SAUKA 01:40:17
849 ISABEL GREEN 01:42:24 PB
1000 ANDY PRIOR 01:44:22 PB (3.5 minutes)
1206 JIM BROWN 01:47:16 SB (7:19)
1536 NICOLA TOUT 01:52:20 New
1706 TRICIA HOPPER 01:54:02
2303 WENDY THARANI 02:01:15
2137 VISHY MAN 02:02:45
2448 JULIE SHADBOLT 02:04:27 PB
2668 JENNY GARRETT 02:07:31
2698 JACKIE DOWNES 02:07:56
3018 NICK WITCOMBE 02:13:36
3057 PAUL HOLGATE 02:14:21
3790 STEVEN DOBNER 02:33:48

 

Royal Parks

Three Spartans were among the 16,000 at the Royal Parks Half Marathon which finished in Hyde Park.  PAUL MAGUIRE finished in 1:46:42; ANDREA WESTCOTT in 2:04:06 and IAN ALEXANDER improved his 13.1 time by 5 minutes 52 seconds to finish in 2:43:01.

 

Bucharest

ROGER BIGGS added another Country to his marathon collection with a visit to the Romanian Capital, Bucharest.  After two days of rain, the forecast sun arrived, and the runners had a glorious day on the streets of Bucharest.  The marathon course started in the front of the parliament building, a fairly flat affair, but with runners going in all directions and numerous out and back sections.

Roger could not say he had a good day, and finally came through the finish line in 5:17:35.

 

Herts 10K

JOHN ROXBURGH ran the Herts 10k on Sunday finishing with a chip time of 45:15.

 

Gravesend 5K

A bit of a trek but the Gravesend 5K on Thursday evening went well for DAVID BOWKER who finished ninth in 19 minutes 58 seconds.

He says the race was advertised as “floodlit,” the start / finish area was, but the hairpin bends at the bottom of the hill had just a car’s headlights and at the top there was nothing.  All good fun and he says he’ll go back and do the 10K next time.

On Sunday Dave went to Wimbledon Common for the BMAF inter area cross country challenge.  With only two from the Eastern area there was no team but he finished 17th overall, eighth vetera (55 plus) in 32 minutes 15 seconds on a 4.5 mile course.

 

Hoohah Batty

OLWEN BATTY ran the 10 mile Wimpole Estate Hoohah race in 1:33:20.  She was 12th female overall and 6th senior female.

 

Bournemouth Marathon

Recently TIM ROBINSON ran the fourth Bournemouth marathon.  The course is fairly downhill at the start and despite a minor hill at 5miles, and a sharp hill at 12miles, Tim made the half way point in 2:01. The next section was along the sea front with a slight incline up to Boscombe Pier, but by now the midday sun was out in full force and the pace was slowing.  There was some relief as the return back along the sea front was back down the incline but short lived as at 18miles the course climbed steeply back up to the top of the cliffs and the pace again took a big hit.  Once on the top of the cliffs the course heads inland and into the shade of gardens and the pace picked up again as the course meandered back down to sea level.  The final 5 miles out and back along the promenade again in the full force of the sun were tough and made harder by more steep climbs at 21miles and 23miles. A final sprint saw a finish time of 4:28:08.

 

Parkrun Report

On a drizzly morning in Fairlands Valley which was perfect for running twenty-two Spartans were in action at Stevenage parkrun, with a further half a dozen supporting on volunteering duties.

DAVE SMITH was first Spartan over the line, finishing 8th in a time of 20 mins 57 secs for a new course PB (personal best). MARK BEASLEY was 11th in 21:28, DARREN EMMERSON who continues in fine form was 15th in 21:53 and MARTIN DUDLEY 22nd in 22:06 (course PB).

MICHELLE REEVES was first woman to finish in 21:04. CLAIRE COX was 4th in 23:33, close followed in 5th by VERITY FISHER in 23:47 (course PB). JULIE SIMMONS was 7th in 24:13.

There were also new course PBs for CLIVE CANNON (24:05), ANDREW SMITH (24:13), LEE PICKERSGILL (24:20), LIZ CARVELL (28:05) and SIMON JACKSON (39:38 accompanying his son). The other Spartans in action at Stevenage were LIAM ERRINGTON (22:34), DANIEL SUTTON (23:23), CHRIS HOLLAND (23:48), CALLUM BEASLEY (24:06), THOMAS SAUKA (25:02), CAROL PAUL (25:26), HANNAH SYPULA (30:15), JOHN WALSH (30:23) and KELLY McHALE (34:55).

Elsewhere, ANDY JAY preferred his usual run around Panshanger, finishing 80th in 26:34. JOHN ROXBOROUGH went to Hackney Marshes and finished 34th in 20:19. Further afield LUCY FIELD finished 25th at Oxford in 26:37 while up the road at Banbury HAZEL SMITH was 16th in 25:48.

 

Stevenage RAISES ÂŁ3,443.04 FOR SPORT RELIEF

Earlier this year, the Sainsbury’s Sport Relief Mile in Stevenage saw local people running one, three or six miles in aid of Sport Relief. The money has been counted up and the people of Stevenage raised a total of £3,0443.04.

This year’s Sport Relief was a record breaking year with the campaign raising a total of £72.5 million. The money raised will help disadvantaged people living incredibly tough lives, across the UK and the world’s poorest communities.

James Kilroy of Fairlands Valley Spartans said “The people of Stevenage did us proud and we are delighted with the total amount of money we have raised this year. It’s brilliant to have been part of such a successful Sport Relief year and know that we are helping to make a difference to people’s lives.”

Jess Kirke, Events Manager at Comic Relief said, “We want to say a huge thank you to all of our local mile organisers. They work tirelessly to organise successful events up and down the country and we are truly grateful for all their efforts and hard work – Sport Relief wouldn’t be the event it is without them.”

 

Coming Events

Many Spartans will be enjoying a busy programme of races, social and training events over the next few weeks including the Hertfordshire 10K championships.  The opportunities include:

 

  • Abingdon Marathon on Sunday 23rd October.
  • First Cross Country League Race in Cheshunt on Sunday 23rd October.
  • Stevenage Half Marathon, a Stevenage 70 event, on Sunday 6th November.
  • Second Cross Country League Race on Sunday 13th November (new date).
  • St Neots Half Marathon on Sunday 20th November.
  • County Five Miles Open Championship in Hatfield on 27th November.
  • Spartans Christmas Social on Saturday 10th December.
  • Third Cross Country League Race on Sunday 18th December.
  • Boxing Day Five in Witham on Monday 26th December.
  • Serpentine New Year 10K in Hyde Park on 1st January.

 

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 9a.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 £37 per year, £25 without UKA affiliation.  Concessions are available.  Membership forms are available on the Spartans website www.fvspartans.org.uk  Please ask if you would like a paper copy.  You can also join online.

If you want to know more about the Spartans please contact Jim Brown (0793 968 7509), Andy Neatham 0777 197 5499 and 01438 816889; or Karen Palmer (07734678566) or visit their website www.fvspartans.org.uk

Categories
News Race Results

Plenty Medals At Standalone

 

A massive 48 Fairlands Valley Spartans were among the 1340 runners at Sunday’s Standalone 10K in Letchworth.  It included the Hertfordshire County Championships for veteran runners and eight Spartans took home championship medals.

In the open race the Spartans had four runners in the top 100 and they made up the team winning BRONZE medals in the County race.  SIMON JACKSON was 15th overall in 35 minutes 21 seconds; JOHN HARRIS was 65th and also won the individual BRONZE for the veteran (50 plus) age group with 39:44; BRIAN WHITE was 83rd and won individual SILVER in the veteran (60 plus) category with 40:14.  STEVE GREEN completed the team improving his 10K personal best to 40 minutes 42 seconds to come 99th overall.

NICOLA KENNEDY led in the BRONZE medal women’s team.  She was 360th in 48:10.  CLAIRE COX, 367th in 48:09 and JULIE SIMMONS, 370th in 48:36 completed the three person team but Julie also won SILVER in the County Championship for veteran women (55 plus).

JIM BROWN surprised himself by running his fastest 10K since major injury.  His 47 minutes 49 seconds won him the BRONZE medal in the veteran (60 plus) contest and a new season’s best (SB).

JOHN NELMS improved his PB (personal best) to 41:44; DARREN EMMERSON to 45:39; ANDREA WESTCOTT by 17 seconds to 55:13; and CHLOE EMMERSON to 1:03:22.

SAM PRETTY was the fastest Fairlands female with 41 minutes 5 seconds.

 

All the Spartan times:

Position Name Category Time Comments
15 SIMON JACKSON Vet Men 40-49 35:21 County Team Bronze
65 JOHN HARRIS Vet Men 50-59 39:44 Cty. Bronze & Team Bronze
83 BRIAN WHITE Vet Men 60-69 40:14 Cty. Silver & Team Bronze
99 STEVE GREEN Vet Men 40-49 40:42 Cty. Team Bronze; PB (0:18)
106 SAM PRETTY Senior Ladies 41:05
117 JOHN NELMS Vet Men 40-49 41:44 PB
184 DAVE SMITH Vet Men 40-49 44:06
211 CRAIG BACON Vet Men 40-49 44:43
212 CLAIRE PULLEN Vet Ladies 45-54 44:43
238 PAUL BOICHAT Vet Men 40-49 44:08
245 RICHARD KENNEDY Senior Men 45:25
250 DARREN EMMERSON Vet Men 40-49 45:39 PB
279 MARTIN DUDLEY Vet Men 50-59 46:22
284 GARETH COWELL Vet Men 40-49 46:36
288 DEAN CARPENTER Vet Men 40-49 46:37
332 JIM BROWN Vet Men 60-69 47:49 County Bronze and SB
337 DANIEL SUTTON Senior Men 47:52
360 NICOLA KENNEDY Vet Ladies 35-44 48:10 County Team Bronze
367 CLAIRE COX Vet Ladies 45-54 48:09 County Team Bronze
370 JULIE SIMMONS Vet Ladies 55-64 48:36 Cty. Silver & Team Bronze
376 SELVAN NAICKER Vet Men 40-49 48:16
400 MARIE COLUCCI Vet Ladies 35-44 49:00
446 ROSIE INGRAM Vet Ladies 35-44 49:36
480 ANDY JAY Vet Men 50-59 50:35
502 VERITY FISHER Senior Ladies 51:07
521 SOPHIE COWAN Vet Ladies 35-44 51:11
542 NIKKI WILBY Senior Ladies 52:03
572 KEN JUDE Vet Men 50-59 52:03
584 BARRY KING Vet Men 40-49 52:53
629 STEPHEN PIKE Vet Men 50-59 53:01
681 SARAH PIKE Senior Ladies 53:56
698 ROBERT SHAW Vet Men 60-69 53:56
713 ANDREA WESTCOTT Vet Ladies 45-54 55:13 PB (0:17)
867 KAREN LIDDLE Vet Ladies 55-64 57:14
954 LIZ CARVELL Vet Ladies 55-64 58:40
984 STEPHANIE MAYFIELD Vet Ladies 35-44 59:33
998 TRICIA HOPPER Vet Ladies 45-54 59:51
999 ROGER BIGGS Vet Men 60-69 1:00:46
1111 CHLOE EMMERSON Vet Ladies 45-54 1:03:22 PB
1130 STEVEN GOUGH Vet Men 40-49 1:03:33
1154 PAUL HOLGATE Vet Men 50-59 1:05:05
1159 SHARON CROWLEY Vet Ladies 55-64 1:05:22
1183 TRACY STILES Vet Ladies 45-54 1:06:30
1186 GRAHAM HILL Vet Men 70+ 1:06:17
1220 GOPALAN NAIDOO Vet Men 60-69 1:08:09
1250 ANTHONY OSBORNE Vet Men 70+ 1:11:31
1309 EMMA MARTIN Vet Ladies 35-44 1:17:36
1317 CAREN THAIN Vet Ladies 45-54 1:17:25

 

Liam Gets A Shout From Paula

LIAM HERBERT took part in the inaugural Disneyland Paris Half Marathon last weekend.  There were plenty of highlights for him – it was his first European race (outside of the UK) and he was fortunate to start alongside Paula Radcliffe!  Paula finished ten minutes ahead of the Spartan runner to claim the first lady position, seconds ahead of Aly Dixon, who recently competed for Team GB at the marathon distance in the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.  Liam passed Paula on the course on a section where she was running back in as Liam was sent around an off-road lakeside circuit in the villages surrounding the Parisian theme park, and Liam got a supportive shout out from Paula after he cheered her on!

The course took in both two theme parks and a number of themed hotels on the Disney resort, the surrounding motorways and villages and even included a lap around a local athletics track!  Liam finished 213th out of 8514 participants in a time of 1:36.28.  Liam will be travelling to Walt Disney World in Florida next month to run three races over three consecutive days (5K, 10K and Half Marathon), and in doing so will complete the inaugural Run Disney Castle to Chateau Challenge by virtue of having run a half marathon in Disney theme parks in both Paris and the US within the same calendar year.

 

Patterson Wins First Saturday

ANDREW PATTERSON maintained his undefeated record at the Norton Common first Saturday of the month 5K.  He won in 17 minutes 18 seconds.

 

Last Friday

A tremendous downpour just before the start meant any warm ups were soaking wet but once underway it was dry, cool and breezy for the Last Friday of the Month 5K race around Hyde Park.

Spartan DAVE BOWKER ran an impressive 20 minutes 56 seconds while JIM BROWN improved his time for this year slightly to 23:56. They were 108th and 200th out of the 286 finishers.

 

Half An Hour Off At Chester

Spartan TIM SABAN improved his marathon personal best by half an hour at Chester on Sunday.  He finished in 3 hours 30 minutes 10 seconds.

PETE SMITH ran the Cardiff Half in 1:34:51.

 

So Near But…..

Starting with the good news.  DAVE BOWKER went to Hillingdon for the national racewalk 50K championships with lots of supporting races for children and adults alike, a real festival of walking on Sunday.

It took place on the cyclopark, a nice flat smooth surface.  A slight drawback was the actual route.  The star/finish area was outside the clubhouse, then participants walked 500 metres to a bollard, back down the other side to another bollard, repeat 50 times, not for everyone!

Unfortunately there was a cut off time of 6 hours 15 minutes, Dave finished his 49th lap in 6hrs 11mins 25secs, he wasn’t allowed to continue, there were several others behind me in the same situation.

He says he’ll just have to go back next year and try harder!

 

Hitchin Town Centre Race

14 Spartans made the short trip over to our good friends at Hitchin Running Club to race in the second running of the Town Centre 5k road race.  Same as last year this was really well organised and chip timed, with the route over two laps, starting and finishing on the Market Place.

Weather conditions were perfect on the day.

Andy Patterson followed up second place in 2015 with another podium, in third place in a time of 17.00,  which was 40 seconds quicker than his time the previous year.

Julie Simmons, returning from injury, returned to form with a superb run in 23:46.

All the Spartans’ names and times:  Andrew PATTERSON 17:00; Craig BACON 21:39; Darren EMMERSON 21:52; Daniel SUTTON 22:59; Marie COLUCCI 23:13; Rob EVANS 23:41; Julie SIMMONS 23:46; Andy JAY  23:46; Claire COX 23:48; Verity FISHER  24:27; Sue HAMER  26:06; John WALSH  29:22; Iris HORNSEY  30:24 and Chloe EMMERSON  31:18

 

Stevenage Relay

TRUDIE MOLLOY, KAREN LIDDLE, TRICIA HOPPER and BARRY KING ran the Stevenage Relay in Hampson Park.  This was one a 1K loop running in a relay.  In the one hour they completed 13 laps (13K) averaging about 4:37 per lap..

 

Windsor Half Marathon

JORDAN QUICKE ran his first half marathon recently.  He finished the Windsor event in 2 hours 18 minutes 30 seconds.

 

Fell Race

THOMAS SAUKA is getting hooked on fell running.  He ran the Castleton 10K in the Peak District and came 24th out of 296 in 59:04.  Says it was really tough and he wants more.

 

Parkrun Report

With some big Sunday targets coming up the next day it was a quiet day for Parkrunning so far as the Spartans were concerned.  However….

MICHELLE REEVES was first Spartan woman over the line on a misty, Autumn morning at Stevenage’s Fairlands Valley, finishing as third woman in a time of 20mins 49secs. KAREN PALMER was 17th in 28:20 and THERESA KEAST was 20th in 28:49. The other women taking part were HEATHER MALONEY (29:57), TRACY PEZ (30:24), VERITY FISHER (30:27) and CLAIRE COX who just broke the hour on tail-running duties.

For the men, MARK BEASLEY was 12th finisher in 21:39.  MARTYN DOWLING was 26th in 23:19, a new course personal best, and CHRIS HOLLAND was 27th, finishing in 23:26, also a new course PB.  The other men in action at Stevenage were CLIVE CANNON (24:09, course PB), SIMON SYPULA (25:53), DANIEL SUTTON (25:57), DARREN EMMERSON (28:31), DAVE SMITH (28:32) and ROB EVANS (42:47).

Only two Spartans ventured further afield this week. JOHN ROXBOROUGH was 25th at Black Park in a time of 21:15 while at Gunnersbury KELLY MCHALE ran a new best for 5k in finishing 17th in 24:04.

 

Coming Events

Many Spartans will be enjoying a busy programme of races, social and training events over the next few weeks including the Hertfordshire 10K championships.  The opportunities include:

 

  • Open 5K race in Hatfield on Wednesday 5th October.
  • Peterborough Half Marathon on Sunday 9th October.
  • Abingdon Marathon on Sunday 23rd October.
  • First Cross Country League Race in Cheshunt on Sunday 23rd October.
  • Stevenage Half Marathon, a Stevenage 70 event, on Sunday 6th November.
  • Second Cross Country League Race on Sunday 13th November (new date).
  • St Neots Half Marathon on Sunday 20th November.
  • County Five Miles Open Championship in Hatfield on 27th November.
  • Spartans Christmas Social on Saturday 10th December.
  • Third Cross Country League Race on Sunday 18th December.
  • Boxing Day Five in Witham on Monday 26th December.
  • Serpentine New Year 10K in Hyde Park on 1st January.

 

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 9a.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 £37 per year, £25 without UKA affiliation.  Concessions are available.  Membership forms are available on the Spartans website www.fvspartans.org.uk  Please ask if you would like a paper copy.  You can also join online.

If you want to know more about the Spartans please contact Jim Brown (0793 968 7509), Andy Neatham 0777 197 5499 and 01438 816889; or Karen Palmer (07734678566) or visit their website www.fvspartans.org.uk