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SPARTAN CHAMPIONS NIGHT

 

A huge number of Fairlands Valley Spartans gathered in the Cromwell Hotel, Old Stevenage on Friday for the club’s annual presentation evening.

They celebrated some highlights from the year.  2016 was a fantastic year for the club including everyone who took part in the cross country races where record numbers took part.  The Men’s A Team won bronze in the county championships and the overall series, plus there were individual victories for Natalie Lawrence and Craig Halsey.

In the Hertfordshire Championships the Spartans enjoyed more success including

  • Natalie winning silver in the county 10 mile champs with the women’s team finishing third overall.
  • Brian White finished second in the men’s vet 60 10K along with a gold medal in the Hertfordshire half marathon.
  • Jim Brown took bronze in the road 10K plus golds in the 1500, 5,000 and 10,000 metres on the track.
  • Plus numerous other successes in the county track and field champs
  • Craig enjoyed more success in the county 5K and more medals in the county 10K at Standalone.

The Spartans also enjoyed national and international success.

  • Iris Hornsey collecting golds and silver for fun at the British masters champs.
  • Grant Ramsay winning the British masters marathon.
  • Iris along with Dave David Bowker and Tessa Stephenson amongst others smashing it in the masters indoor champs.
  • Monica Brown winning gold in the British masters indoor pentathlon and becoming the new British masters pentathlon champion in June, whilst being ranked in the top 5 in Europe.  That led to the first award of the evening.  The outstanding achievement award went to MONICA BROWN.

Fantastic individual performances by Monica also boosted the team performances in the 2016 EMAC (Eastern Masters) Competition, formerly known as EVAC.   This change in name certainly didn’t stop the mighty Spartans.

The amazing Women’s team topped the South West division and at the final put in a not too shabby performance to finish an extremely close second missing Gold by a tiny little 0.5 of a point.

In the Mid Week League it was fantastic to see so many new Spartans trying out 10K for the very first time.  Huge congratulations to Natalie Lawrence who was first in the senior women category and Simon Jackson who won the men veterans 40 plus, with Grant a close second.

Again in 2016 the club hosted some amazing events including the home Mid Week League race hosted in June, the Fairlands Valley Challenge off road race, the 3K Relays in the Park and the Stevenage Half Marathon..

The Spartans also hosted the Stevenage Sport Relief Mile back in March.  A major highlight during this event was down to a certain Spartan who thought he would do a little bit to support the charity by running a just few laps around Ridlins.  The few laps were actually 402.2, which is 100 miles and the Spartan of course was John Nelms.  His exploits over 21.5 hours in which he completed the distance were awe inspiring and drew support from 100+ Spartans throughout the whole 22 hours, with most joining John on the track.  This led to JOHN NELMS also receiving an Outstanding Achievement Award.

The captains’ awards went to THOMAS SAUKA and TODD GRAY, joint male winners, and CLAIRE COX who raced in every Cross Country and Mid-Week League fixture of the season.

In the Club Championships awards, which were collated by Paul Holgate, the winners were:

Male short – Open: 3rd Steve Green (66.5%); 2nd Mike Green (69.0%); 1st Grant Ramsay (77.9%).

Male short – Age graded: 3rd David Bowker (73.6%); 2nd David Riddell (73.7%); 1st Craig Halsey (79.6%)

Male long – Open: 3rd Steffan Iestyn Ford (71.5%); 2nd Grant Ramsay (78.0%); 1st Andrew Patterson (78.7%).

Male long – Age graded: 3rd Steve Green (69.4%); 2nd Pete Smith (73.1%); 1st Craig Halsey (76.3%)

Female short – Open: 3rd Andrea Westcott (56.3%); 2nd Hazel Clark (61.3%); 1st Ann Tryssesoone (65.5%)

Female short – Age graded: 3rd Sharon Crowley (64.3%); 2nd Cathy Craig (68.4%); 1st Iris Hornsey (79.8%)

Female long – Open: 3rd Maria Thorne (47.5%); 2nd Mollie Smith (57.1%); 1st Isabel Green (61.6%)

Female long – Age graded: 3rd Sharon Crowley (56.4%); 2nd Jan Fry (61.0%); 1st Karen Ellis (61.3%)

The short distance championships were decided by the best three out of 1500 metres, 5K, five miles and 10K.  The long distance by the best three out of ten miles, half marathon, twenty miles and full marathon.

By combining the short and long distance results the overall male winner was Grant Ramsay and the overall female winner Sharon Crowley.

Most improved male compared with 2015 was KARL SHREEVE and the most improved female NICOLA TOUT.

CAREN THAIN was Starter of the Year.  Many Spartans first taste of running with the club was with the starter group on a Monday and Thursday before progressing to the other groups and open events.

Taking everything into account GRANT RAMSAY is Fairlands Valley Spartans’ CLUB CHAMPION 2016.

The chair’s award went to JAMES KILROY who organised the Sport Relief Mile.

 

Spartan of the Year

All Spartans can vote for the Spartan of the year.

This year’s winner of Spartan of the Year 2016 is a man that goes quietly about his own running, always attending the club related team events, cross country and mid-week league where he regularly racks up high points for us, but being such a lovely fella also encourages and motivates everyone he sees in the stripes, always with a massive smile on his face.  He continues that encouragement if you are lucky enough to pass (in the opposite direction of course) Group 5+ during a training session and notably at whole club training events as well.  Personally he achieved great things with his running last year, most notably taking three minutes off his half marathon PB (personal best) to an amazing 1 hour 14 minutes finish which qualified him for a Championship place at the 2017 London Marathon.  The Spartan of the Year is ANDREW PATTERSON.

 

Baldock Beast

Hills and sections of cross country running were a serious challenge and made the Baldock Half Marathon the beast of an event that it is.  The last four miles seemed to be straight into a strong headwind.  That wore many runners done.  Nevertheless the eleven Spartans put in some good performances.

TOM SAUKA improved by 2 minutes 32 seconds on last year to finish in 1 hour 33 minutes 46 seconds for 26th overall out of the 306 finishers.

ROS INGRAM was fastest female for Fairlands in 1:52:55 while JIM BROWN was third veteran 60 plus in 1:51:12.  RICHARD KENNEDY was in the top 100 with 1:42:57.

TIM ROBINSON came in with 1:53:40; CLAIRE WHITCHURCH and PAUL WHYTE crossed the line together in 1:55:00 exactly; NICOLA KENNEDY came in with 1:55:59; JENNY PAUL with 2:08:54; MARK BEASLEY 2:35:39 and CALLUM BEASLEY in 2:35:40.

 

Position Name Time Comments
27 THOMAS SAUKA 1:33:46 2.5 min imp 9MV40
80 RICHARD KENNEDY 1:42:57
140 JIM BROWN 1:51:12 Third MV60
149 ROS INGRAM (F) 1:52:55 9FV35
153 TIM ROBINSON 1:53:40
161 CLAIRE WHITCHURCH (F) 1:55:00
162 PAUL WHYTE 1:55:00
171 NICOLA KENNEDY (F) 1:55:59
239 JENNY PAUL (F) 2:08:54 7FV45
299 MARK BEASLEY 2:35:39
300 CALLUM BEASLEY 2:35:40

There were 306 finishers.

 

Brian Wins In Duathlon

BRIAN WHITE ran the Ashridge Duathlon which was in the estate grounds of Ashridge House.  It consisted of a 10K trail race; 44K cycling and a 5K run.  He won the veteran 60 plus award with a total time of 2 hours 51 minutes 23 seconds and was 21st overall.

In the shorter Sprint distance event NICOLA TOUT competed in her first duathlon.  She was 28th woman (9th in F45-49 category) in 1:44:15.

 

Ken’s Inaugural

KEN JUDE ran the inaugural Thorpe Park Half Marathon in 1:58:34 despite an-interrupted winter training schedule.

 

Betteshanger

On Saturday Carol Paul ran the 100 club marathon at Betteshanger Country park just outside Deal in Kent.  The marathon consisted of 12.96 laps of the cyclopark.  It was a very windy day where at times it felt as if you was running on the spot.  Carol completed the marathon in 4:23:41

Meanwhile ROGER BIGGS did the double with marathons held on Saturday and Sunday.

Both marathons were held on the same mildly undulating course on a perfect road service usually used by cyclists.  From the high part of the park, Deal and the Kent Coast are clearly visible.

The Saturday event was named the AGM Handicap, where runners set off according to the recent marathon times.

On windy days, Roger completed the first day in 4:48:50, and the second in 5:03:32.

 

Serpentine

It was bright but chilly and breezy for the monthly race round the Serpentine on Friday.  Spartan JIM BROWN was 214th in the popular lunch time race with 24 minutes 17 seconds, a ten second improvement since January.

 

Parkrun Reports

A blustery, chilly morning in Fairlands Valley saw 17 Spartans line-up in the biggest Stevenage parkrun field of the year so far.

VERITY FISHER was first Spartan woman in 12th position in a time of 26 mins 05 seconds and secured the first and last Stevenage points competition (parkrun has scrapped the points from this date forward).  CALLIE CHAPMAN was 16th in 26:31 and HAZEL SMITH 17th in 26:33.  KAREN BROOM was the next Spartan woman and knocked almost two minutes off her previous best here, to go sub-30 for the first time, finishing in 28:36. SALLY PHILLIPS finished in 33:12.

First male Spartan was again JAY PAPA this week, finishing 11th in a new course PB of  20:14.  BARRY OSBORNE was 18th in 21:01, with MARTIN DUDLEY 35th in 22:27. DARREN EMMERSON was fourth Spartan man in 22:33. The other club members in attendance were LEE PICKERSGILL (24:11, new course PB), TIM ROBINSON (26:28), CRAIG BACON (27:50), DANIEL SUTTON (27:52), TIM SABAN (28:37), STEVEN DOBNER (30:29), ROBERT EVANS (39:06 with his kids) and JAMES SOUTH (49:20 with family, buggy and dogs).

Elsewhere JOHN ROXBOROUGH was 37th at Milton Keynes in a new course PB of 21:40. DARYL STEVENS was at one of his usual haunts, completing the Brockenhurst parkrun in 37:40. Finally, ANDY JAY was also on the south coast, moving to within 1 run of notching the half-century of parkruns when finishing in 24:59 at Southampton.

 

Roding Half

PAUL HEWETT ran the Roding Valley Half Marathon in 1 hour 24 minutes 21 seconds.

 

Coming Events

Many Spartans will be enjoying a busy programme of races, social and training events over the next few weeks including cross country league.  The opportunities include:

  • Essex 20 and Berkhamsted Half Marathon on Sunday 5th March.
  • Finchley 20 including Hertfordshire Championships on Sunday 12th March.
  • Welwyn Half Marathon on Sunday 19th March.
  • Sandy Ten and Wymondham 20 on Sunday 26th March.
  • Serpentine 5K in Hyde Park on Friday 31st March.
  • Lee Valley 10K and Half Marathon in Waltham Forest on Sunday 2nd April.
  • Brighton Marathon on Sunday 9th April.
  • Maidenhead Easter Ten on Friday 14th April.
  • London Marathon on Sunday 23rd April.
  • County 1500 Championships in Stevenage on Monday 1st May.
  • Dereham 10 (ten miles) on Sunday 7th May.
  • First Mid Week Road Race League match on Wednesday 10th May.
  • Summer Solstice 10K at St Albans on Tuesday 16th May.
  • Stirling Marathon on Sunday 21st May.
  • Mid Week Road Race League in Hitchin on Wednesday 14th June.
  • Herts Veteran 10K Championships at Welwyn on Sunday 25th June.
  • Mob Match on Thursday 13th July.
  • Fairlands Valley Relays in Stevenage on Thursday 27th July.
  • Herts Senior 5K Championships at Hatfield on Wednesday 30th August.
  • Herts Veteran 5K Championships at Hatfield on Wednesday 13th September.
  • Herts Senior 10K Championships at Standalone on Sunday 1st October.
  • Peterborough Half Marathon on Sunday 8th October.
  • Stevenage Half Marathon on Sunday 22nd October.
  • St Neots Half Marathon on Sunday 19th November (TBC).
  • Bass Belle 10 near Royston on Sunday 26th November.
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MONICA RETAINS NATIONAL TITLE

 

Recently, Monica Brown, along with Andrea Westcott, Tessa and Dave Stephenson headed south to the warmth of Lee Valley indoors sports centre to compete in the masters competitions.  The day consisted of the British Masters Pentathlon Championships, the Eastern Masters Area Championships and the South of England Championships for individual events.

Monica started off the day in great form by winning the women’s 60 metres in the 50 to 54 year age group in the Eastern Masters Championships which also qualified her for the South of England title too.  Well deserved as Monica also beat the times of all her younger competitors who were ten years younger bar one!

Monica was then joined by club mates Andrea Westcott competing in her first pentathlon in the 45 to 49 year age group and Tessa Stephenson competing in the 55 to 59 year age group for the second year.  The indoor pentathlon consists of 60 metres hurdles, high jump, shot putt, long jump and rounding it off with 800 metres around the smaller 200 metre track.

On her way to retaining her national title, Monica produced good results in all her events particularly the high jump which was 1.36m, her long jump of 4.24m was slightly shorter than usual but still clear of her opposition.  Monica also achieved a personal best in the shot putt with 8.01m.  Tessa Stephenson had a good event by putting the shot 8.58m.  Andrea saved the best to last by running a personal best of 3:24.08 in the 800 metres.

Andrea Westcott tallied up a total of 1259 points to win silver, Tessa achieved 2339 points to also win silver and Monica earnt 3312 to retain her title and surpass last year’s total of 3230 points.

In between the pentathlon events, Dave Stephenson did his first competition of the year, entering the men’s 50 to 54 years age group 200 metres.  He managed to dip under 30 seconds to record 29.09 seconds.

 

Bramley 20

TODD GRAY and BRIAN WHITE ran the Bramley 20 miles event on Sunday.  Many use this as preparation for the London Marathon.  Todd finished in 2 hours 17 minutes 55 seconds and Brian in 2:21:43.

 

First Stripy Run

On Sunday NICK GILL ran his first race in the Spartans vest – the Hampton Court Half in Thames Ditton.

Running with his brother-in-law who is also in training for the Greater Manchester Marathon, the plan was to keep the pace fairly easy for the first five miles – and then kick on for the second half.

All went to plan, but with three miles to go there was a small chance they could finish in under 1 hour 40 minutes if they really went for it.  Despite running the final three miles in under 21 minutes 40 seconds and ending with a sprint finish, Nick crossed the line in 872nd place in 1h40m02s, just a shade over 100 minutes.

But as he wasn’t chasing a personal best, the run couldn’t have gone better as he prepare for Manchesters – and the negative split (51m43s first half, 48m19s second) was really encouraging and well worth the 5.30a.m. start from home.

 

Herts Vets Cross Country

Three Spartans ran the Hertfordshire Veterans cross country championships on Horsendon Hill.  TIM ROBINSON was 18th veteran (40 plus) taking 46 minutes 28 minutes for his 5.5 mile run.

Over a shorter distance PETA WILSON was 16th (women aged 45 plus) in 33:04 and SHARON CROWLEY 16th (women aged 55 plus) in 35:16.

 

Parkrun Reports

JAY PAPA was first Spartan to finish at Stevenage parkrun, crossing the line 9th in 20 mins 46 secs in his first ever parkrun. He just pipped BARRY OSBORNE who was 10th in the same time. DARREN EMMERSON was 24th in 22:09 and MARTIN DUDLEY 34th in 22:58. The other Spartan men in action were CALLUM BEASLEY (24:29), MARK BEASLEY (24:36), STEPHEN SMITHSON (26:57), TIM ROBINSON (an easy 28:14 ahead of Sunday’s County Vets Cross Country), ROBERT HARDY (37:13), JAMES SOUTH (39:57 pushing a buggy) and IAN ALEXANDER (tail-running in 51:36).

VERITY FISHER was 4th woman in 23:41 and CAROL PAUL 11th in 26:25. MONICA SMITHSON was 21st in 29:13. ELLA GOWER (32:51, a new course PB by 4 seconds) and SALLY PHILLIPS (33:44) were the other Spartan women running.

At Panshanger MARK GOODWIN eclipsed his previous course best by 24 seconds to record 23:03 in 35th place, while at Cambridge THOMAS SAUKA was 33rd in 20:09 on his first visit to that venue. At Canons Park, JOHN ROXBOROUGH was 12th in 21:36 on his debut run there.

Three Spartans were in action further south. OLWEN BATTY was 24th woman at Hove Promenade, finishing in 24:09, her best parkrun time anywhere. Heading west, DARRYL STEVENS notched a time of 37:15 at Brockenhurst, just 5 seconds outside his best time there. Finally, DANIEL SUTTON ran at Yeovil Montacute and finished in a time of 26:49.

 

Coming Events

The Spartans Presentation Evening is in the Cromwell Hotel, Old Stevenage this Friday 24th February.

Many Spartans will be enjoying a busy programme of races, social and training events over the next few weeks including cross country league.  The opportunities include:

  • Serpentine 5K in Hyde Park on Friday 24th February.
  • Spartans Presentation Evening in Old Stevenage on Friday 24th February.
  • Roding Valley Half Marathon on Sunday 26th February.
  • Baldock Beast Half Marathon on Sunday 26th February.
  • Essex 20 and Berkhamsted Half Marathon on Sunday 5th March.
  • Finchley 20 including Hertfordshire Championships on Sunday 12th March.
  • Welwyn Half Marathon on Sunday 19th March.
  • Sandy Ten and Wymondham 20 on Sunday 26th March.
  • Serpentine 5K in Hyde Park on Friday 31st March.
  • Lee Valley 10K and Half Marathon in Waltham Forest on Sunday 2nd April.
  • Brighton Marathon on Sunday 9th April.
  • Maidenhead Easter Ten on Friday 14th April.
  • London Marathon on Sunday 23rd April.
  • County 1500 Championships in Stevenage on Monday 1st May.
  • Dereham 10 (ten miles) on Sunday 7th May.
  • First Mid Week Road Race League match on Wednesday 10th May.
  • Summer Solstice 10K at St Albans on Tuesday 16th May.
  • Stirling Marathon on Sunday 21st May.
  • Mid Week Road Race League in Hitchin on Wednesday 14th June.
  • Herts Veteran 10K Championships at Welwyn on Sunday 25th June.
  • Mob Match on Thursday 13th July.
  • Fairlands Valley Relays in Stevenage on Thursday 27th July.
  • Herts Senior 5K Championships at Hatfield on Wednesday 30th August.
  • Herts Veteran 5K Championships at Hatfield on Wednesday 13th September.
  • Herts Senior 10K Championships at Standalone on Sunday 1st October.
  • Peterborough Half Marathon on Sunday 8th October.
  • Stevenage Half Marathon on Sunday 22nd October.
  • St Neots Half Marathon on Sunday 19th November (TBC).
  • Bass Belle 10 near Royston on Sunday 26th November.
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CROSS COUNTRY TROPHIES

 

A fantastic last race in the series of five cross country league fixtures moved Fairlands Valley Spartans men up to second overall.  On the day the club’s combined men and women were second on 2198 behind Trent Park first on 1873 but ahead of host club Royston who were third with 2471.  The nineteenth club scored 13,609.

In a tough hilly event on Therfield Heath ANDREW PATTERSON was second in the race in 35 minutes 1 second and confirmed his second place in the series.  SIMON JACKSON was seventh in 36:24 which moved him up to third veteran (40 plus) in the series.  23rd in 38:14 was enough for GRANT RAMSAY to clinch the top spot as winner in the veteran series.  JASON ANDERSON was in the top twenty of the 299 finishers on 15th in 37:50.

The Spartan men won the league masters’ trophy with 93 fixture points.  Overall the men were second on 84 fixture points having squeezed ahead of Royston and St Albans Striders both on 81.

Thirty four Spartans, 22 men and twelve women ran in the final race.  MICHELLE REEVES was the club’s fastest woman and 20th female in the race in 48:35.  The rest of the women’s “A” team consisted of ISABEL GREEN, 28th in 50:57; CLAIRE PULLEN, 30th in 51:05; LAUREN ING, 42nd in 52:39 and HAZEL CLARK, 49th in 53:33.

ZOE JACKSON led in the “B” team at 67th in 57:29, supported by KELLY McHALE, 70th in 57:45; CLARE COX, 85th in 61:02; SOPHIE COWAN, 86th in 61:03; and SUE HAMER, 87th in 61:07.

 

Position Name Time Comments
2 ANDREW PATTERSON 35:01 Series second man.  Men’s “A”
7 SIMON JACKSON 36:24 Series 3rd Vet 40.  Men’s “A”
15 JASON ANDERSON 37:50 Men’s “A”
23 GRANT RAMSAY 38:14 Series 1st Vet 40.  Men’s “A”
32 STEFFAN FORD 39:20 Men’s “A”
52 RICHARD SPRINGALL 41:08 Men’s “A”
53 TODD GRAY 41:15 Men’s “A”
65 TOM SAUKA 42:25 Men’s “A”
109 JAY PAPA 45:53 Men’s “B”
123 STEVE MAYFIELD 46:43 Men’s “B”
131 PETE SMITH 47:29 Men’s “B”
148 MICHELLE REEVES (F) 48:35 “A” 20th woman
154 NICK CROWLEY 48:51 Men’s “B”
155 DARREN EMMERSON 48:53 Men’s “B”
168 MARK GOODWIN 50:20 Men’s “B”
171 ISABEL GREEN (F) 50:57 “A” 28th woman
174 CLAIRE PULLEN (F) 51:05 “A” 30th woman
182 NEIL ROBINSON 51:22 Men’s “B”
195 LAUREN ING (F) 52:39 “A” 42nd woman
205 HAZEL CLARK (F) 53:33 “A” 49th woman
207 ANDREW SMITH 54:01 Men’s “B”
234 TIM ROBINSON 57:00
236 ZOE JACKSON (F) 57:29 “B” 67th woman
241 KELLY McHALE (F) 57:45 “B” 70th woman
262 CLARE COX (F) 61:02 “B” 85th woman
263 SOPHIE COWAN (F) 61:03 “B” 86th woman
264 SUE HAMER (F) 61:07 “B” 87th woman
265 CALLIE CHAPMAN (F) 61:15
278 KARL SHREEVE 64:05
285 SHARON CROWLEY (F) 66:28
288 KARTIK GHARMA 67:45
293 PAUL HOLGATE 70:04
294 PETER CARPENTER 71:41
296 STEVE GOUGH 71:51

 

The Mid Week Road Race League starts in May.

 

Love Welwyn 10K

Running her first race and the furthest she’s ever run LISA SMITH very nearly broke the hour when she finished Sunday’s Welwyn Love 10K in one hour and seventeen seconds (1:00:17).  ELLA GOWER came in with 1:08:24.

It was only SHANI HUNT’s second 10K and she improved by three minutes to 1:10:23 and considering the weather conditions she was happy with that.  MARIA QUICKE finished in 1 hour 11 minutes 21 seconds.

EMMA POULTER ran the Welwyn 10K in 1:21:56.  It was only her second 10K.

 

Punchbowl Marathon – Sunday, 12th February 2017

The Punchbowl Marathon is called a marathon, but it is actually 30 miles in the Surrey countryside from the Village of Witley.

The forecast snow did not arrive, but it was wet enough underfoot to make the course very hard going, with plenty of climbing and stony tracks.  ROGER BIGGS completed the 30 miles in 8 hours and 19 minutes.

 

Parkrun Reports

Fastest Spartan parkrunner of the week was STEVE GREEN who completed the Princes parkrun in Liverpool in 19 mins 39 secs for 10th place in the men’s event on his first visit to the course.

The rest of the Green family were running closer to home at Panshanger Park.  ISABEL was third woman to finish in 23:16 (a new course personal best), joined on the course by daughter Georgina (32:08, also a new course PB) and son Daniel (34:18).  BEV HARLOW was 63rd woman in 34:47 while JOHN ROXBOROUGH was the sole Spartan male at the course, finishing 25th in 22:25.

On home soil in Fairlands Valley VERITY FISHER was 6th fastest woman in 24:20 and has a seemingly unassailable lead in the women’s points competition with two weeks to go.  The other Spartan women in attendance were CLAIRE COX (32:05), HAZEL SMITH (35:05) and CALLIE CHAPMAN (35:58).

CHRIS HOLLAND was fastest Spartan man at Stevenage, achieving a new course PB  finishing 16th in 21:52, with NICK GILL 17th in 22:01. MARK BEASLEY was 22nd in 22:46 and MARTIN DUDLEY 26th in 22:53. The other Spartan running were THOMAS SAUKA (22:59), TIM ROBINSON (23:41, new course PB), DARREN EMMERSON (24:13), DANIEL SUTTON (24:44), PETER CARPENTER (30:49) and JAMES SOUTH (46:30).

Finally DARYL STEVENS ran at Brockenhurst completing in 40:30.

 

Coming Events

The Spartans Presentation Evening is in the Cromwell Hotel, Old Stevenage on Friday 24th February.

Many Spartans will be enjoying a busy programme of races, social and training events over the next few weeks including cross country league.  The opportunities include:

  • Veterans County Cross Country Championships on Sunday 19th February.
  • Serpentine 5K in Hyde Park on Friday 24th February.
  • Spartans Presentation Evening in Old Stevenage on Friday 24th February.
  • Roding Valley Half Marathon on Sunday 26th February.
  • Essex 20 and Berkhamsted Half Marathon on Sunday 5th March.
  • Finchley 20 including Hertfordshire Championships on Sunday 12th March.
  • Welwyn Half Marathon on Sunday 19th March.
  • Sandy Ten and Wymondham 20 on Sunday 26th March.
  • Serpentine 5K in Hyde Park on Friday 31st March.
  • Lee Valley 10K and Half Marathon in Waltham Forest on Sunday 2nd April.
  • Brighton Marathon on Sunday 9th April.
  • Maidenhead Easter Ten on Friday 14th April.
  • London Marathon on Sunday 23rd April.
  • County 1500 Championships in Stevenage on Monday 1st May.
  • Dereham 10 (ten miles) on Sunday 7th May.
  • First Mid Week Road Race League match on Wednesday 10th May.
  • Summer Solstice 10K at St Albans on Tuesday 16th May.
  • Stirling Marathon on Sunday 21st May.
  • Mid Week Road Race League in Hitchin on Wednesday 14th June.
  • Herts Veteran 10K Championships at Welwyn on Sunday 25th June.
  • Mob Match on Thursday 13th July.
  • Fairlands Valley Relays in Stevenage on Thursday 27th July.
  • Herts Senior 5K Championships at Hatfield on Wednesday 30th August.
  • Herts Veteran 5K Championships at Hatfield on Wednesday 13th September.
  • Herts Senior 10K Championships at Standalone on Sunday 1st October.
  • Peterborough Half Marathon on Sunday 8th October.
  • Stevenage Half Marathon on Sunday 22nd October.
  • St Neots Half Marathon on Sunday 19th November (TBC).
  • Bass Belle 10 near Royston on Sunday 26th November.
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BRIAN WINS AT WATFORD

 

Fairlands Valley Spartans BRIAN WHITE won the 60 plus winner’s trophy at Sunday’s Watford Half Marathon.  He completed the hilly 13.1 miles in 1 hour 30 minutes 13 seconds and was 189th overall out of the 1,629 finishers.

JASON ANDERSON was first in for the club at 39th with 1:19:53, a personal best (PB) by three minutes.

Despite the climbs CAROLE SHELDRICK achieved a new personal best of 2:03:39.

ANDREW BUSSOLINI was 335th in 1:35:36 and ANDREW JORDAN 410th in 1:38:17.

JIM BROWN completed the race 5 minutes 26 seconds faster than last year.  He was 784th in 1:49:09.  JENNY PAUL finished in 2:09:31 (1,372nd); CAROLINE CROFT in 2:09:32 (1,387th) and SHARON CROWLEY in 2:19:01 (1,508th).

Position Name Time Comments
39 JASON ANDERSON 1:19:53 Personal Best
189 BRIAN WHITE 1:30:13 Winner Vet 60
335 ANDREW BUSSOLINI 1:35:36  
410 ANDREW JORDAN 1:38:17  
784 JIM BROWN 1:49:09 7V60.  5:26 faster than 2016
1252 CAROLE SHELDRICK 2:03:39 Personal Best
1372 JENNY PAUL 2:09:31  
1387 CAROLINE CROFT 2:09:32  
1508 SHARON CROWLEY 2:19:01  

 

Lee Valley Velopark 10K

TIM SABAN was fourth in the Lee Valley Velopark 10K with a time of 43 minutes 33 seconds and KAREN BROOM 71st in 1:01:11.

 

Ultra John

JOHN NELMS ran his second ultra of the year.  The Thames Trot from Oxford to Henley was 48 miles.  He finished 62nd out of 150 runners in 9 hours 2 minutes.

 

Mount Lucas Marathon – 5th February 2017

ROGER BIGGS took another step in his quest to complete a marathon in all 26 Irish Counties.

The Mount Lucas Marathon was run near Tullamore, the County Town of Offaly.  It was in Mount Lucan Wind Farm on good tracks, on a virtually flat course.  The route was one kilometre out from the event centre, eight laps of five kilometres amongst the wind turbines, to return back to the finish at the event centre.  Roger completed his 20th different Irish County in a time of 4:48:28.

 

Winter Run

Three Spartans enjoyed the Cancer Research London Winter Run 10K.  ELLA GOWER finished in 1 hour 6 minutes 33 seconds while CAREN THAIN and SHANI HUNT came in together in 1:13:12.

 

Parkrun Reports

With no Stevenage parkrun this week because of a conflicting event in Fairlands Valley it was a quiet week of parkrunning for Spartans.

Quickest Spartan of the day was THOMAS SAUKA who went to Bedford and ran his first sub-20 5k of the year, finishing 11th in 19 mins 57 secs, a new course personal best. BARRY OSBORNE and KEN JUDE both made first visits to Ellenbrook Fields in Hatfield, Barry finishing 16th in 23:08 and Ken finishing 41st in 26:01.

DANIEL SUTTON and VERITY FISHER headed down to Finsbury parkrun for the first time. Danny was 88th man in 24:21 and Verity was 20th woman in 24:49. Finally DARRYL STEVENS was on the road away from his usual south-coast runs this week, popping up in the Forest of Dean where he finished 44th in 42:57.

The Spartans presentation evening will be in Old Stevenage on Friday 24th February.

 

Coming Events

Many Spartans will be enjoying a busy programme of races, social and training events over the next few weeks including cross country league.  The opportunities include:

  • Fifth and Final Cross Country League Race at Royston on Sunday 12th February.
  • Veterans County Cross Country Championships on Sunday 19th February.
  • Serpentine 5K in Hyde Park on Friday 24th February.
  • Spartans Presentation Evening in Old Stevenage on Friday 24th February.
  • Roding Valley Half Marathon on Sunday 26th February.
  • Essex 20 and Berkhamsted Half Marathon on Sunday 5th March.
  • Finchley 20 including Hertfordshire Championships on Sunday 12th March.
  • Welwyn Half Marathon on Sunday 19th March.
  • Sandy Ten and Wymondham 20 on Sunday 26th March.
  • Serpentine 5K in Hyde Park on Friday 31st March.
  • Lee Valley 10K and Half Marathon in Waltham Forest on Sunday 2nd April.
  • Brighton Marathon on Sunday 9th April.
  • Maidenhead Easter Ten on Friday 14th April.
  • London Marathon on Sunday 23rd April.
  • County 1500 Championships in Stevenage on Monday 1st May.
  • Dereham 10 (ten miles) on Sunday 7th May.
  • Summer Solstice 10K at St Albans on Tuesday 16th May.
  • Stirling Marathon on Sunday 21st May.
  • Herts Senior 5K Championships at Hatfield on Wednesday 30th August.
  • Herts Veteran 5K Championships at Hatfield on Wednesday 13th September.
  • Herts Senior 10K Championships at Standalone on Sunday 1st October.
  • Peterborough Half Marathon on Sunday 8th October.
  • St Neots Half Marathon on Sunday 19th November (TBC).
  • Bass Belle 10 near Royston on Sunday 26th November.

 

We should know the 2017 Mid Week Road Race League dates soon after 8th February.