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News Race Results

STEVENAGE HALF THIS SUNDAY

 

This Sunday (4th) is the big day for running in Stevenage as it’s the town’s half marathon which is organised by Fairlands Valley Spartans.  More than 570 have already entered and you’ll be very welcome to come out and encourage the runners as they make their way around the 13.1 mile race which starts from Ridlins Athletics Track at 10a.m.

The event is mostly based on Stevenage’s famous cycleways and is on a two lap course which will come up Gresley Way and Six Hills Way into Fairlands Valley Way, loop around the park and return via Broadhall Way.

The race includes the senior Hertfordshire Half Marathon Championships and is an accurately measured and licensed event.  All the surplus from this volunteer, it takes about 75 people, organised event will go to the club charity which in 2018 is Kawasaki Kid and to the outside groups that volunteer at the event.

 

Callum Second in Cross Country

A cold start but it was a lovely morning as 18 Spartan women and 29 men tackled the first cross country league race of the season which was at Cheshunt.  Nine of the FVS team were first timers who benefitted from good conditions with the three lap course firm underfoot.

CALLUM STEWART was second out of the 540 plus runners in just 26 minutes 4 seconds.  SIMON JACKSON was next in for the Spartans 24th with 28:36 while CHRIS WESTCOTT 28th in 28:52; PAUL HEWETT 49th in 30:05; STEFFAN FORD 58th in 30:18; DAN HUKIN 62nd in 30:24; MARTIN BLACKBURN 67th in 30:42; ALEX DUNNETT 74th in 30:53 and STUART HAYCROFT 75th also in 30:53 all beat 31 minutes.

SUZY HAWKINS was first in for the women, 175th overall, in 34 minutes 26 seconds with MICHELLE REEVES not far behind at 190th in 35:05.  JO BOWDERY was 379th in 40:50; KAREN ELLIS 410th in 41:05 and WENDY THARANI 418th in 42:05 to complete the Spartans “A” team.

(Tables of results can be found at the very end of this release)

 

Sharon Maintains Her Record in Snowdonia

The coldest day of the month so far could only mean one thing – time for the Snowdonia marathon.  The race lived up to its reputation as one of the toughest marathons in the UK as the five Spartans taking part this year experienced all four seasons in one day with snow, sun, wind and rain as they climbed 838 metres in the course of the race which has a flat equivalent distance of 29.32 miles.

In his thirtieth consecutive participation in the race Paul Holgate was first to finish in 5 hours 31 minutes 17 seconds, with Tricia Hopper, Barry King & Karen Liddle very close behind in 5:32:20.  Sharon Crowley continued her record as the female with the most finishes, crossing the finish line in 6:03:36 in her 27th Snowdon marathon, despite her severe lack of training following being bitten by a dog on the Pennine Way in August.

 

Beachy Head Trail Marathon

On Saturday 27th October Tim Robinson ran the Beachy Head marathon.  The race is a trail race across the South Downs with several checkpoints stocked with biscuits, chocolate, fruit, cakes and jelly babies.  The route involves over 3,600ft of ascent.  There was a cold northerly wind blowing most of the day dropping temperatures to just above freezing on the tops of the South Downs but a clear day meant some great views.  Using a walk run strategy (walking up hill and running anything flat and downhill) from the start meant the final five miles over the Seven Sisters and Beachy Head were not quite as painful or slow as last year resulting in a very slightly quicker time of 5:46:12

The UK’s biggest Trail Marathon with over 2000 finishers.  Starts and finishes on the edge of Eastbourne, using firstly the North leg of the South Downs Way, returning by the South leg of the South Downs Way. Featuring 5000ft of incline, making this one of the toughest.

For ROGER BIGGS, it was a race too hard and probably a race too soon following his heart problem earlier in the year.  Roger had two fellow lady runners who supported him for the last seven miles of the event and allowed him to finish.  He came in at 6 hours 8 minutes 49 seconds.

PETER CARPENTER completed the Beachy Head 10K on Saturday.

His time of 1 hour 10 minutes 47 seconds was just two minutes slower than 2106 – which is slightly surprising as he felt going round that he was going rather poorly and walking more of the hills than intended – also he said, “If I’m honest I should really still be in recovery mode after the other events I’ve completed recently.  It was very cold but fortunately I’d managed to wear the right level of clothing, so that wasn’t a problem.”

 

Fenland 10

DAVE BOWKER ran the Fenland 10.  His time of 71 minutes 10 seconds made him 68th out of more than 700 runners and sixth man aged 60 plus.  He was fourth in the EMAC championship section.

 

A Little Bit of Running for John

Spartan JOHN NELMS completed two marathons and an ultra marathon this week – On Tuesday it was eight laps of Willen Lake and Wednesday 17 laps of Furzton Lake , both in Milton Keynes as part of the Enigma running three lakes challenge.  He was then joined on Saturday by REECE McCULLAGH to complete the Thames Trot Ultra Marathon – starting in Oxford and following the river to finish 50 miles downstream in Henley.  John and Reece both finished together in 9 hours 30, smiling and sprinting the last 500 yards live on Facebook.

John said “we now have a growing group of Spartans who have completed or who are planning to complete an ultra marathon.  Any other members who would like to know more about running stupid distances please come and speak to me at training.  It’s not as daunting as you might think and you get to eat cake and jelly babies during the run “

 

Tim Goes Ultra

TIM SABAN ran his first Ultra at the Stort 30.  The race follows the river Stort till it meets the river Lea.  At that point it continued to follow the river towards Rye House where they turned around and retraced the route back.  Tim says it was a tough course in parts with very narrow ruts that were barely wide enough to place your foot.  He said he didn’t quite get his nutrition right, ate too late into the race and paid heavily for it.  But he really enjoyed the experience and finished in 4 hours 43 minutes.  An ultra is a race over the marathon distance of 26.2 miles.

 

Ricky Road

ED HARE ran his first race for the Spartans on Sunday.  In the Ricky Road Run ten mile event he finished in 1 hour 27 minutes 43 seconds.  That a new personal best for ten miles and he was 182nd out of the 326 participants.

 

Serpentine

STEFFAN FORD ran the Serpentine Last Friday of the Month 5K in 17 minutes 53 seconds.  He was 33rd overall out of 268 and ninth in his age group.

On a cool, breezy and dry day JIM BROWN enjoyed a recovery run in Hyde Park after the recent Chelmsford Marathon and finished the same event in 28:34.

 

Parkrun Highlights Saturday 27th October

First Saturday of the month saw 19 Spartans don their stripes at Stevenage and six at other venues.  There were two new PBs for Spartans at Stevenage.  Steve DOBNER was 50th finisher with 23:52 and Nichola DURENT ran a new personal best of 40:04.

Jonathan PARR was second finisher at Stevenage in 18:13, followed by Todd GRAY, 7th place in 19:12 and Danny SCANLON 9th place in 19:36.  Verity FISHER was sixth female in 24:01 and Kerstin WEINER was 8th in 24:41.  At Letchworth, Ros INGRAM was fifth female in 26:01.

(See the end of this release for all Saturday’s Spartan Parkrun results).

 

Tables

Women at Cheshunt Cross Country

Overall Position Name Time Comments
175 SUZY HAWKINS 34:26 A Team
190 MICHELLE REEVES 35:05 A Team
379 JO BOWDERY 40:50 A Team
410 KAREN ELLIS 41:05 A Team
418 WENDY THARANI 42:05 A Team
460 KAREN PALMER 44:10 B Team
467 SHERYL HANN 44:30 B Team
474 ALISON SHELLEY 45:51 B Team
494 CAROLINE CROFT 47:22 B Team
507 MONICA SMITHSON 48:05 B Team
516 ROWENA RUTLEDGE 49:55
517 KAREN BROOM 49:57
530 PETA WILSON 52:20
531 CALLIE CHAPMAN 52:20
532 CLAIRE EMMERSON 52:20
537 SOPHIE COWAN 53:02
538 SUE HAMER 53:02
540 IRIS HORNSEY 57:50

 

Parkruns, Saturday 27th October

Parkrun Pos Gen Parkrunner Time Notes
Brockenhurst 187 116 Darryl STEVENS 00:39:12
Bushy 625 150 Sheryl HANN 00:27:20
Gunpowder 108 30 Rowena RUTLEDGE 00:29:44
Letchworth 42 5 Ros INGRAM 00:26:01
Littleport 26 22 James MCSWEENEY 00:23:15
Stevenage 2 2 Jonathan PARR 00:18:13
Stevenage 7 7 Todd GRAY 00:19:12
Stevenage 9 9 Danny SCANLON 00:19:36
Stevenage 33 30 Chris HOLLAND 00:22:25
Stevenage 48 43 Paul SHELLEY 00:23:35
Stevenage 49 44 Matthew PATTMAN 00:23:37
Stevenage 55 50 Steven DOBNER 00:23:52 PB
Stevenage 56 51 Nigel STRONGITHARM 00:23:53
Stevenage 62 6 Verity FISHER 00:24:01
Stevenage 69 62 Jonathan JONES 00:24:28
Stevenage 71 64 David PATTMAN 00:24:35
Stevenage 73 8 Kerstin WEINER 00:24:41
Stevenage 106 89 Michael O’KEEFE 00:26:51
Stevenage 141 31 Debbie BLANTERN 00:28:32
Stevenage 189 59 Alison SHELLEY 00:30:48
Stevenage 190 60 Callie CHAPMAN 00:30:48
Stevenage 259 105 Hazel JONES 00:37:45
Stevenage 265 111 Nichola DURENT 00:40:04 PB
Stevenage 272 115 Hayley PEACH 00:43:14
Categories
News Race Results

CLAIRE SMASHES IT IN ABINGDON

 

Fairlands Valley Spartans took full advantage of the last Sunday in “Summertime” for some amazing races from 5K to full 26.2 mile marathons.

CLAIRE EMMERSON completed the Abingdon Marathon in 3.53.57 on Sunday, her goal was sub four hours, so she was really pleased with her result.  It’s a huge personal best (PB) by over 36 minutes.  Claire is women’s captain for Fairlands Valley Spartans.

ANDREW PATTERSON despite suffering with a hip niggle last week and pain through the race took 34 seconds of his personal best to finish in a championship qualifying 2 hours 41 minutes 46 seconds.  He was eleventh overall in the race.

 

Chelmsford Marathon

The Chelmsford Marathon isn’t flat but conditions were great for tackling 26.2 miles.

Spartan STUART ARCHER came in 102nd with an impressive sub 3:30 3 hours 28 minutes 50 seconds.

JIM BROWN made a last minute decision to run.  He said he had such a bad time at the overheated London Marathon that he thought he should put that behind him before the end of the year and perhaps get a “Good For Age” qualification.  Well he beat his London time by 35 minutes 22 seconds and got his GFA by more than eleven minutes with 3:48:28 and 185th out of the 582 finishers.  He said one of the beauties of an event with a few hundred runners rather than many thousands is that you can get a clear run most of the way.  Jim commented he could have done without some of the climbs in the second half, such as into Willingale, but was delighted with his time.

Now with well over 900 marathons done ROGER BIGGS finished in 6 hours 1 minute 13 seconds and was second veteran 70 plus.

 

Get 4th November In Your Diary

More than 500 people have already entered the Stevenage Half Marathon which will be on Sunday 4th November.  This superb local event is organised by Fairlands Valley Spartans and includes the senior county championships.  It’s on an accurately measured and licensed course starting from Ridlins and including Fairlands Valley Park.  All the surplus from this volunteer organised event will go to charity.  The 2018 Charity for the Stevenage Half Marathon Charity is Kawasaki Kid.  Don’t miss out.  Enter now.  Go to https://www.activetrainingworld.co.uk/events/2018/11/04/stevenage_half_marathon or via www.fvspartans.org.uk

 

Three Peaks Ultra

THOMAS SAUKA finished the Three Peaks Ultra Marathon in 10 hours 40 minutes 17 seconds.  He said, “I’m well chuffed with that, all I can say is if you think it was easy, think again, a lot is on the Pennine Way and there is 2353 metres of elevation over the 43 miles.  I fell twice but it was a great event if a bit cloudy and drizzly on the tops.”

 

Bronze for Bowker

It was bronze for Bowker at the Leigh on Sea 10K.  DAVID BOWKER was third Vet 60 in the EMAC (East of England Veterans) Championships for men 60 plus with 43 minutes 34 seconds.

 

Great South Run – Ten Miles

The Great South Run was ERICA GRAYSON and MAGGIE MONTGOMERY’s third named “Great” Run in less than two months.

Erica ran a new PB (personal best) for ten miles of 1:27:01 and ANGIE KEELING cut her PB by 12 minutes 10 seconds to 1:43:48 but JENNY GARRETT led Team Spartan when she finished in 1 hour 24 minutes 45 seconds, a new PB by nearly two minutes and a course PB by 5:14.

SAM SIMMONS also ran the GSR.  He said, “This was my first big race which was  a fantastic day – from the moment I arrived the atmosphere was amazing.  Weather was beautiful and running along the shores and to see the boats of Portsmouth was fantastic.

I had to earn my PB as I started too far back and got stuck in some congestion but kept cool and managed my first sub 1:35.”

Jonathan JONES ran 10 miles in the Great South Run, Portsmouth in a new PB of 1 hour 37.57, knocking an incredible 22 mins off his time for the same course last year.

SUE HAMER came in with 1:46:11 and Maggie Montgomery in 2:17:42.

The previous day, Saturday, HAZEL JONES ran the Portsmouth 5K in 36:07.

 

Town and Gown 10K

MEGAN TAYLOR ran the Town and Gown 10K on Sunday morning in Cambridge and got a new PB.  Her official time was 53 minutes exactly.

Her previous PB set in 2013 was 55:08 and her fastest 10K so far this year was 1:01:39 in Hyde Park.

 

Parkrun Round Up Saturday 20th October

Spartans ran at seven different parkrun locations this weekend with three achieving new PBs and one first timer.  Liz SMITH ran Stevenage, her first parkrun in 25:10 and was 14th female.   Simon SYPULA ran in Ellenbrook for a new PB of 24:08 whilst in Stevenage, Karen ELLIS ran 26:15 PB and was 19thF and David ACKERY 28:53 PB.

Top twenty gender positions included Madeleine PRICHARD 5th in Letchworth 24:51, Verity FISHER 6th in Stevenage 23:59.  Danny SCANLON was 15th in Stevenage 19:29, John ROXBORUGH was 15th in Aldenham 23:58 and John NELMS was 18th in Stevenage 21:03.

(See the end of this release for all Saturday’s Spartan Parkrun results).

 

Tables

Parkrun Pos Gen Parkrunner Time Notes
Aldenham 17 15 John ROXBOROUGH 00:23:58
Ellenbrook Fields 74 63 Lee PICKERSGILL 00:23:51
Ellenbrook Fields 79 67 Simon SYPULA 00:24:08 PB
Great Denham 19 18 John NELMS 00:21:03
Letchworth 34 5 Madeleine PRITCHARD 00:24:51
Malling 61 54 Michael O’KEEFE 00:26:14
St Albans 426 133 Michelle MARCHANT 00:31:07 5th parkrun
Stevenage 16 15 Danny SCANLON 00:19:29
Stevenage 44 42 Martin DUDLEY 00:22:23
Stevenage 51 48 Daniel SUTTON 00:22:48
Stevenage 62 59 David PATTMAN 00:23:26
Stevenage 71 66 James MCSWEENEY 00:23:52 40th parkrun
Stevenage 72 67 Luke VINCENT 00:23:53
Stevenage 76 6 Verity FISHER 00:23:59
Stevenage 80 74 Chris HOLLAND 00:24:08
Stevenage 103 14 Liz SMITH 00:25:10 1st parkrun
Stevenage 134 19 Karen ELLIS 00:26:15 PB
Stevenage 141 121 Nigel STRONGITHARM 00:26:35
Stevenage 145 22 Alison SHELLEY 00:26:49
Stevenage 163 135 David SCOTT 00:27:43
Stevenage 177 142 Stephen SMITHSON 00:28:39
Stevenage 187 146 David ACKERY 00:28:53 PB
Stevenage 222 66 Hannah SYPULA 00:30:33
Stevenage 236 70 Ida LEO 00:31:42
Stevenage 240 169 Peter CARPENTER 00:31:54
Stevenage 247 76 Callie CHAPMAN 00:32:30
Stevenage 255 81 Sally MCBRIDE 00:32:47
Stevenage 277 181 Steven DOBNER 00:34:25
Stevenage 298 187 Dave PEACH 00:36:29
Stevenage 317 193 Jon SYPULA 00:38:07
Categories
News Race Results

SPARTANS STORM ROUND PETERBOROUGH

 

Wet and cold was the theme for all those running in UK races at the weekend.

A far from re-acclimatised JIM BROWN said the tail end of Storm Callum meant it was wet, very wet throughout, for Sunday’s Great Eastern Run Half Marathon at Peterborough.  Despite that many of the fifteen Spartans recorded amazing times including four new personal bests.

Spartan STUART HAYCROFT was way under one and a half hours with a new personal best (PB) of 1 hour 24 minutes 36 seconds.  He was in the top 5% at 170th out of the 3,451 finishers.  Next came MARIE COLUCCI running amazingly all this year with a new PB of 1:40:36 and a high scoring 678th.  Marie said she almost didn’t get out of the car to start it was so horrible but look at that time!

He said he did not know whether it was jet lag, season shock having just returned from New Zealand or just wanting to get out of the rain but JIM BROWN was third for FVS way faster than his predicted time with 1:44:39, making the top 1,000 with 978th.  Jim commented it was a rare but great feeling just seeming to go faster and faster in the second half.  Getting under 1:45 in his age group opens up opportunities for other events.  Goodness it was slippery just after the finish line.

CAROLE SHELDRICK beat two hours with a new PB of 1 hour 58 minutes 27 seconds and CAROLINE CROFT achieved a new PB of 2 hours 9 minutes 4 seconds.  Carole said she was due to run last year but deferred due to coming back from an injury, little upset as Peterborough is close to her heart with lots of family and friends there.  So this year nothing was stopping me……not even the constant rain.  And it sure was constant from start to finish.

The race gave Carole all she wanted – fast and flat which resulted in her getting her sub two hours in a place that felt like home.  This was Caroline Croft’s second time running Peterborough and happily improved her time from last year.  Unfortunately it was too cold to celebrate with her usual Mr Whippy ice-cream.

Four Spartans were running their first half marathons; DEBBIE BLANTERN 2.09.47; LINDA NOLAN 2:22:26; TRACY HOUSE and MICHELLE HOLTON both with 3:11:48.

KEN JUDE 1:54:42 and PAUL HOLGATE 2:22:33 ran season’s best times while JO BOWDERY 1:54:44 and ROGER BIGGS 2:29:31 ran their fastest this year.  Ken was very pleased with his performance even though he slowed a bit as he’s not been able to get in the long training miles to prepare.

ISABEL GREEN came in with an excellent 1:44:40 and SHARON CROWLEY in 2:56:37.

 

Yuko Wins At Lisbon Marathon – Quite Happy

Quite happy!  YUKO GORDON won her age category at the Lisbon Marathon with 3 hours 24 minutes 41 seconds.  She’s a woman 65 plus and said she was “quite happy” with 28th  overall female (all ages) out of 688 including five African elites.  It was warmer than ideal but at least it was not affected by the hurricane caused so much havoc in the north of Lisbon the night before though the start time was delayed by an hour.

Another thing, Yuko has been selected for England team for Irish and British International Masters Cross Country in November!

 

Royal Parks

KAREN BROOM ran the Royal Parks Half Marathon on Sunday.  She said it started and finished in Hyde Park.  A very wet and cold run she was happy to finish in a year’s best 2.16.24.  In the same event ROWENA RUTLEDGE ran a new personal best (PB) of 2:08:39 and SARAH SAPSTEAD a new PB of 2:28:26.

 

Lakenheath 10K

The Race for Wildlife Lakenheath Fen 10K was on a bleak and beautiful single lap course around the Lakenheath RSPB.  Although it was mainly flat JAMES McSWEENEY said the varied terrain and wet conditions made it challenging.  He was quite pleased with his time of 50:58 considering.

 

Hatfield 10K.

Craig Bacon reports that on Sunday 14th a group of brave, or mad, runners gathered in the rain for the first Hatfield House Half Marathon. This event, that featured a 10 Km race too, was held through the undulating parkland of the historic house. The course was mainly on tarmac paths, but also went through woodlands and along the grassy lakeside as well as up a track of a half mile hill about three miles from the end of the lap, which the half marathon runners got to enjoy on their second lap too.

Although the race started in heavy rain, thankfully it eased later in the morning, allowing the runners to enjoy the two lap course in slightly better conditions, although the rain returned for those finishing later.  In a field of 186 runners, Adrian Busolini was first Spartan home 13th overall, tenth male in a time of 1:35:10.  Craig Bacon finished 46th overall, tenth M40 and 42nd Male in 1:42:48.  Nigel Strongitharm finished 92nd in a time of 1:55:21 and 14th M50, 80th Male.  Michael O’Keefe was 114th, 18th M50 and 97th male in 2:00:11.  Robert Wright 124th, 102nd Male in 2:02:10 and Jenny Paul was 171st in 2:23:36..

The Hatfield House 10K was rather wet and boggy to put it mildly.

DAVID HARRIS-CHERGUIT ran a new personal best (PB) of 39 minutes 11 seconds, 4th overall and 1st in category (men 40 plus).

He was really pleased with the new PB as it was my first race back from injury and his first race for the Spartans.

David gave a massive thanks to Fairlands Valley Spartans for getting him to sub 40 and the supporters on the course who turned out in really wet conditions.

JONATHAN JONES time was 52:52.  He said the course was extremely water logged within the picturesque closed ground of Hatfield House

CATHY CRAIG was enjoying herself on her birthday.  She was fourth woman 60 plus in 1:00:55.

 

Yorkshire Marathon – Wendy Would Not Be foiled

WENDY THARANI said she got really, really cold during Sunday’s Yorkshire Marathon. It rained from the start to end.  She got through the last seven miles with the help of a foil blanket, given to her by the kind ambulance folk.  Running through York was lovely.  York Minster had all their bells chiming which was great, but you are quickly out of York and running up endlessly long and straight and flooded country roads.  Her time was 5 hours 3 minutes 54 seconds.

 

The Downunder Spartans Return

JIM BROWN incorporated two half marathons, two parkruns and two cycle rides into a three week trip to Australia and New Zealand and PENNY SCHENKEL ran three 5K races and also enjoyed the cycling.

The Spartans stripes were first seen at the Capalapa Parkrun in the outskirts of Brisbane on Saturday 22nd September.  The parkrun formula is similar to the UK but there are differences including that the standard start time is 7a.m. not 9a.m; at Capalapa there are permanent direction arrows and kilometre markers; and free electric BBQs provided by the local Council.  To Jim and Penny it felt like running at 10p.m. and they ran together to finish midfield 83rd and 84th in 31 minutes 32 seconds.

That was only the start of the day for Jim because at 5p.m. he was off on the Twilight Bay Run Half Marathon at Wynnum, remember it now felt like 8a.m. in the morning.  The first 2K felt like it was a mistake which he largely put down to the heat and jetlag but then Jim found a rhythm until something else happened – darkness fell very quickly at about 6p.m.  Some parts of the last 10K got very dark so he no choice than slow down a bit in places.  However he was surprised and delighted to get under 1 hour 50 minutes with 1:49:29, and found that in the dark he had got past two other runners in his category to end up second and 185th out of the 628 finishers.

It was getting seriously hot as Jim jogged the two miles to the start of the following Saturday’s Capalaba Parkrun but he decided to give it a go and was pleased to be first 60 plus in 24:06.  Penny improved to 30:46.   Then they just had time to rehydrate and catch a flight to Melbourne.

JIM BROWN and PENNY SCHENKEL continued their exploits in the southern hemisphere on New Zealand’s South Island.

Here it was just four degrees as runners lined up for the Aoraki Mount Cook half marathon.  Basically the race went 10.55 kilometres down a hill and then back up to Mount Cook village.  There was a spectacular back drop of a snow topped Mount Cook for the finish line photos but that did make the last 100 metres a brutal climb.  Jim Brown the 60 plus category in 1 hour 48 minutes 27 seconds finishing 54th overall.  Penny celebrated her birthday by winning the Women’s 40 plus category in the 5K by a wide margin in 28:26.

The first bike ride was on some of the many miles of cycle routes in Melbourne.  They went from the Princes Bridge near Flinders Street station bridge alongside the Yarra River to near Abbotsford Convent and back; the second ride crossed the Naree Budjong Djara National Park which is Quandamooka Aboriginal land from Dunwich to Point Lookout on North Stradboke Island which is in Moreton Bay off the coast of Queensland.

 

Get 4th November In Your Diary

More than 485 people have already entered the Stevenage Half Marathon which will be on Sunday 4th November.  This superb local event is organised by Fairlands Valley Spartans and includes the senior county championships.  It’s on an accurately measured and licensed course starting from Ridlins and including Fairlands Valley Park.  All the surplus from this volunteer organised event will go to charity.  The 2018 Charity for the Stevenage Half Marathon Charity is Kawasaki Kid.  Don’t miss out.  Enter now.  Go to https://www.activetrainingworld.co.uk/events/2018/11/04/stevenage_half_marathon or via www.fvspartans.org.uk

 

Catch Ups

A fantastic sixty six (66) Spartans ran the Standalone 10K, which this year incorporated the county veteran’s championships.

Individual county prizes were won by JULIE SIMMONS (gold in the women’s 55 plus category) and YUKO GORDON (gold in VW65 in a season’s best time) and CLAIRE EMMERSON (bronze in VW45).

Three Spartan teams won county medals:

Men’s bronze: Grant Ramsay, Keith Coughlin, David Bowker, Dean Carpenter.

Women’s silver: Yuko Gordon , Marie Colucci, Claire Emmerson

Women’s bronze: Julie Simmons, Carole Sheldrick, Wendy Tharani

ANDREW PATTERSON successfully defended the Hitchin Town Centre title he won in 2017.  He completed this year’s race in 16:54, holding off NHRR’s Mark Vaughan by seven seconds.

 

Parkrun Round Up Saturday 13th October

A blustery autumn Saturday saw thirty-two Fairlands Valley Spartan’s head out to run in five of the weekly Parkrun events. Finishing in a downpour JENNY GARRETT finished as the 7th woman, in a PB time of 25 mins and 52 secs, at her 10th event in Stevenage, alongside CLAIRE EMMERSON and KERSTIN WEINER who were the 8th and 10th women in 25 mins and 52 secs and 25 mins and 59 secs, respectively. Also finishing as a top 10 lady, SHERYL HANN was the 7th woman in a time of 27 mins and 10 secs on her first visit to the Panshanger run. Top 20 runs were recorded for VERITY FISHER, who was the 14th woman to finish in Stevenage in a time of 27 mins and 29 secs, and ALISON SHELLEY who was the 15th female finisher in 27 mins and 34 secs.

MICHAEL O’KEEFE ran the event for the 90th time in Stevenage in 26 mins and 11 secs, alongside DAVID ACKERY who ran this course for the first time in 29 mins and 29 secs. Times were also recorded at new courses for KELLY MCHALE in Cambridge of 28 mins and 52 secs, HANNAH NEALE of 34 mins and 35 secs at Braunstone Park, and NIKI PLUMB of 38 mins and 35 secs while running at Panshanger. JAMES MCSWEENY finished the Littleport event in 24 mins and 23 secs and ANDY JAY the Panshanger one in 24 mins and 54 secs.

In Stevenage, MARTIN DUDLEY, DANIEL SUTTON, CHRIS HOLLAND, DARREN EMMERSON, JIM BROWN, DAVID PATTMAN, MATTHEW PATTMAN, DAVID SCOTT, NIGEL STRONGITHARM, MARK BEASLEY and SIMON SYPULA finished in the top 100 men with times of 23 mins and 03 secs, 23 mins and 52 secs, 24 mins and 08 secs, 24 mins and 20 secs, 24 mins and 40 secs, 25 mins and 02 secs, 25 mins and 03 secs, 25 mins and 09 secs, 26 mins and 50 secs, 26 mins and 57 secs, and 27 mins and 29 secs, respectively. While SALLY PHILLIPS in a time of 30 mins and 35 secs, VICTORIA BRETT in a time of 30 mins and 58 secs, and HAZEL JONES in a time of 36 mins and 27 secs were in the top 100 ladies. Also running this event were PAUL JENNNGS with a time of 29 mins and 13 secs, ROGER BIGGS in 33 mins and 16 secs, TIM ROBINSON in 33 mins and 50 secs, STEVEN DOBNER in 24 mins and 52 secs, and TREVORE BROOM in 51 mins and 21 secs.

(See the end of this release for all Saturday’s Spartan Parkrun results).

 

Tables

Great Eastern Run (Half Marathon)

NAME BIB CATEGORY CHIP TIME COMMENTS
Stuart Haycroft (170) 600 M40 1:24:36 PB
Marie Colucci (678) 3624 F40 1:40:36 PB
Jim Brown (978) 335 M65 1:44:39 YB
Isabel Green 3898 F40 1:44:40
Ken Jude 3893 M50 1:54:42 SB
Joanne Bowdery 3045 FSEN 1:54:44 YB
Carole Sheldrick 323 F40 1:58:27 PB
Caroline Croft 4773 F45 2:09:04 PB
Debbie Blantern (2392) 1808 F45 2.09.47 1st Half
Linda Nolan 562 F55 2:22:26 1st Half
Paul Holgate 3664 M60 2:22:33 SB
Roger Biggs 3684 M70 2:29:31 YB
Sharon Crowley 557 F60 2:56:37
Tracy House 637 F45 3:11:48 1st Half
Michelle Holton 638 F40 3:11:48 1st Half

There were 3,451 finishers.

 

Parkruns Saturday 13th October

Parkrun Pos Gen Parkrunner Time Notes
Braunstone Park 313 106 Hannah NEALE 0:34:35
Cambridge 250 47 Kelly MCHALE 0:28:52
Stevenage 33 32 Martin DUDLEY 0:23:03
47 45 Daniel SUTTON 0:23:52
50 48 Chris HOLLAND 0:24:08
52 50 Darren EMMERSON 0:24:20
57 54 Jim BROWN 0:24:40
63 59 David PATTMAN 0:25:02
64 60 Matthew PATTMAN 0:25:03
67 62 David SCOTT 0:25:09
78 7 Jenny GARRETT 0:25:52 PB – 10th parkrun
79 8 Claire EMMERSON 0:25:52
83 10 Kerstin WEINER 0:25:59
89 79 Michael O’KEEFE 0:26:11 90th parkrun
97 85 Nigel STRONGITHARM 0:26:50
99 87 Mark BEASLEY 0:26:57
105 14 Verity FISHER 0:27:29
106 92 Simon SYPULA 0:27:29
109 15 Alison SHELLEY 0:27:34
135 111 Paul JENNINGS 0:29:13
144 117 David ACKERY 0:29:29
165 40 Sally PHILLIPS 0:30:35
178 46 Victoria BRETT 0:30:58
213 146 Roger BIGGS 0:33:16
217 148 Tim ROBINSON 0:33:50
231 155 Steven DOBNER 0:34:52
242 85 Hazel JONES 0:36:27
282 167 Trevor BROOM 0:51:21
Panshanger 85 83 Andy JAY 0:24:54
137 7 Sheryl HANN 0:27:10
333 104 Niki PLUMB 0:38:35
Littleport 29 26 James MCSWEENEY 0:24:23
Categories
News Race Results

DANNY SUTTON SMASHES HIS PB

 

At the Bedford Autodrome Running Grand Prix DANNY SUTTON completed his 2nd marathon in a new PB of 3:53:10 – a massive 70 minute improvement over his first in London in the spring. He finished 18th of 42 men. The conditions were great and he gritted his teeth to get the exact time he was aiming for!

dannysutton

CALLIE CHAPMAN complete the half marathon in 2:13:39

VERITY FISHER completed 10km at the same event in a year’s best of 48:59 with negative splits so was really happy with her time, finishing as 16th lady out of 135. ROWENA RUTLEDGE finished in 57.08 with KYM MARTIN finishing in 1:09:04.

 

Standalone 10k (incorporating Herts County Vets Championships)

Sixty-six Spartans ran in the Standalone 10k, which this year incorporated the county veteran’s championships.

standalone group

Individual county prizes were won by JULIE SIMMONS (gold in VW55 category) and YUKO GORDON (gold in VW 65 in a season’s best time) for the women. For the men, DAVID BOWKER was third finisher and county bronze medalist in the VM60 category in a season’s best and PETER CARPENTER 4th finisher in the VM70 category, but with one non-Herts runner in front he secured county bronze in a season’s best time.

The race traditionally provides a host of personal achievements for Spartans and this year was no different. There were new personal bests for DANNY SCANLON, JAMES KAY, MARIE COLUCCI, CLAIRE EMMERSON, ANDREW SMITH, NEIL ROBINSON, LEE PICKERSGILL (his second of the week), NEAL MUGGLETON, CAROLE SHELDRICK, SAM SIMMONS, LIZ SMITH, STEVEN DOBNER, ALISON SHELLEY, SHERY HANN, SOPHOCLES GEORGIOU, SALLY PHILLIPS and WAYNE McMILLAN.

Additionally there were season’s best times for MATTHEW GILL, DARREN EMMERSION, MARTIN DUDLEY, STEPHEN PIKE, SARAH PIKE, KAREN PALMER, MONICA SMITHSON, ANTON McCALLA, LIZ CARVELL, TRACY STILES and CHLOE EMMERSON. Also year’s best times for MIKE GREEN, KEN JUDE, JOHN NELMS and KELLY CHAPMAN.

Finally it was tremendous to see a number of Spartans running their first 10k race with the club, including ADAM JENKINS, MATTHEW PATTMAN, HOLLY ARCHER, TAHER THARANI, NICOLA HATHERLEY and NIKI PLUMB, all setting new baseline PBs to work on improving going forward!

Commenting on his result Andrew Smith noted “I was 10 minutes quicker than 2015 .. but I did start drunk that year!”

For Vicky Archer it was both her first ever race and first in stripes after joining the club’s starters group following the Spartans trip to Edinburgh in May where she watched husband Stuart in the marathon. She said “I was very proud to be wearing my stripes! Thanks to the amazing Jenny Garrett I managed 1hr 2mins which for my 1st attempt is amazing and of course a PB. Very proud of myself.”

Speaking about his PB James Kay said: “I was really pleased with my time and for going sub 40. It was great running with Danny Scanlon and Todd Gray who pushed me along. Four Spartans finished within 23 seconds in positions 70-75 all sub 40 mins in great times. A big thank you to everyone who supported along the course as it made a big difference!”

A full table of Spartans results and times can be found towards the end of this release.

 

Chester Marathon Festival

TIM SABAN ran the Chester marathon in a chip time of 3:24:36. Tim reported afterwards “I found the hills a little tough towards the end. But I enjoyed it nevertheless. It was a year’s best and course record by 6 mins on previous attempts”.

Also taking in the road trip to Chester’s Roodee was ERICA GRAYSON who ran in the metric marathon, a 26.2k race. She was happy with her time after down-trading from the full marathon after a cold and life meant her training had not gone to plan.

 

Oxford Half Marathon

HELEN WHITEHURST reported she was happy with her time of 2:13:19 at the Oxford Half Marathon. Her goal was to complete without walking, and in a time of sub 2:30, which achieved in some style. The runners at the event have yet to receive medals, as they got caught in storm Ali had not cleared customs in time for the race!

 

Mount Cook Aoraki Half Marathon and 5k

JIM BROWN and PENNY SCHENKEL continued their exploits in the southern hemisphere on New Zealand’s South Island.

Jim ran the Half Marathon, and won the Men’s Vet 60 category in a time of 1:48:27, finishing 54th overall. The race was run down a hill and then run back to Mount Cook Village with a brutal finish. Penny celebrated her birthday by winning the Women’s 40 plus category in the 5k by a wide margin in 28:26.

 

Bournemouth Marathon Festival

JONATHAN JONES ran the half marathon at the Bournemouth Marathon festival, scoring a new PB of 2.09.34

HAZEL JONES ran the 10K at the festival and completed in a new PB of 01:14:45. SHELBE MOONBEAM also notched a new PB in the race. In a solo outing she showed determination to complete in 1:02:09, knocking over 5 minutes off her previous PB set in Regents Park a month ago.

Shelbe said “that sub 30 5k and sub 60 10k is now with in my reach and I will get it!”

 

Kempton Park Chase

Kempton Park is the scene of many memorable chases over the years as Desert Orchid, The Fellow, One Man and Kauto Star won one one of racing’s greatest prizes multiple times. But this week it was the scene of a new “chase”, a 10k event. KAREN and TREVOR BROOM travelled to Sunbury for the first running.

Karen reported: “it’s a completely flat course around the racecourse. You choose to  run a half marathon 10k or a 5k  depending on how many laps you want to run. Trevor ran the 5k and finished in 30:42. I ran the 10k which was 2 laps, and was so happy with not only a 10k PB by a minute, I also got my first sub 60 10k finishing in 59:30.

We are both happy with today results as we both ran Berlin marathon only 3 weeks ago.”

 

Lee Valley Race for Life Half

MARGARET MONTGOMERY reported that Lee Valley was a lovely venue for running despite the hill at about mile 4. “There was lots of lovely support out on course too.”

She completed the race in 3:08:15.

 

Hatfield 5k Series – Race 3

It was the final race of the Hatfield 5k series on Wednesday night, in much calmer conditions than the middle event was run in. GRANT RAMSAY was the fastest Spartan finishing 6th in 17:06. CHRIS HOLLAND was next, smashing his PB by 29 seconds to set a new mark of 21:21.

YUKO GORDON was first in her category in 21:52, while MICHAEL ANDREWS was fourth Spartan finisher in 22:27. KEN JUDE ran 20 seconds quicker than race 2 to set a new Year’s Best of 22:55 and LEE PICKERSGILL set a new PB of 23:05.

A full table of results can be found towards the end of this release.

 

Parkrun Round Up Saturday 6th October

On the weekend that Parkrun celebrated its 14th birthday Stuart HAYCROFT was first at Stevenage Parkrun in 18:26.  Ashley SCHOENWETTER was first female and fourth overall at Barclay in a time of 21:22.

There were course PBs for John ROXBOROUGH at Heartwood Forest, Michelle MARCHANT in St Albans and Karen ELLLIS in her 4th Parkrun in Stevenage.

(See the end of this release for all Saturday’s Spartan Parkrun results).

 

Get 4th November In Your Diary

More than 270 people have already entered the Stevenage Half Marathon which will be on Sunday 4th November.  This superb local event is organised by Fairlands Valley Spartans and includes the senior county championships.  It’s on an accurately measured and licensed course starting from Ridlins and including Fairlands Valley Park.  All the surplus from this volunteer organised event will go to charity.  The 2018 Charity for the Stevenage Half Marathon Charity is Kawasaki Kid.  Don’t miss out.  Enter now.  Go to https://www.activetrainingworld.co.uk/events/2018/11/04/stevenage_half_marathon or via www.fvspartans.org.uk

 

Tables

Standalone 10k

Standalone 10k – Sun 7/10/18  Notes Gun PB Chip Pos Impr.
Grant Ramsay   Team bronze 36:45:00 x 36:45:00 22
Keith Coughlin  Team bronze 37:54:00 18 37:54:00 32
Danny Scanlon 39:43:00 PB 39:36:00 70 00:59
Todd Gray   Team bronze 39:56:00 x 39:52:00 72
James Kay 40:02:00 PB 39:55:00 74 02:14
Mike Green 40:10:00 YB 39:59:00 75 01:44
Adam Jenkins 41:28:00 New 41:18:00 104
David Bowker   Team bronze/ individual medal 41:33:00 SB 41:24:00 106 00:42
Dean Carpenter 42:36:00 x 42:27:00 136
John Harris 42:42:00 x 42:34:00 138
Duncan Flounders 43:33:00 x 43:16:00 161
Matthew Gill 44:28:00 SB 44:12:00 183 02:34
Marie Colucci 44:58:00 PB 44:44:00 213 01:57
Yuko Gordon County gold 44:55:00 SB 44:46:00 209 00:34
Darren Emmerson 45:55:00 SB 45:41:00 248 00:04
Matthew Pattman 46:29:00 New 46:06:00 266
Claire Emmerson 46:32:00 PB 46:18:00 270 01:14
Andrew Smith 46:36:00 PB 46:20:00 271 00:34
Mark Goodwin 47:14:00 x 46:57:00 282
Martin Dudley 47:15:00 SB 47:01:00 283 00:07
Neil Robinson 47:15:00 PB 47:01:00 284 01:40
Paul Whyte 48:26:00 x 48:11:00 329
Lee Pickersgill 49:02:00 PB 48:46:00 351 00:14
Ken Jude 49:18:00 YB 49:01:00 360 03:24
Neal Muggleton 49:36:00 PB 49:03:00 382 01:10
Andy Jay 50:05:00 x 49:50:00 394
Julie Simmons County gold 50:13:00 18 50:03:00 404
John Nelms 50:31:00 YB 50:14:00 420 00:51
Carole Sheldrick 50:32:00 PB 50:16:00 422 03:12
Robert Wright 50:52:00 New 50:20:00 430
Michael Andrews 52:14:00 x 50:24:00 480
Sam Simmons 51:46:00 PB 51:15:00 467 02:18
Stephen Pike 51:49:00 SB 51:34:00 468 02:20
Liz Smith 52:22:00 PB 51:45:00 487 00:30
Madeleine Pritchard 52:15:00 18 51:59:00 481
Sarah Pike 52:26:00 SB 52:10:00 491 02:30
Wendy Tharani 53:23:00 x 52:35:00 543
Julie Shadbolt 53:33:00 PB 53:17:00 552 +02:00
Karen Palmer 53:36:00 SB 53:19:00 556 01:38
Barry King 54:30:00 18 53:45:00 589
Steven Dobner 55:08:00 PB 54:04:00 612 05:11
Simon Sypula 54:56:00 x 54:10:00 598
Alison Shelley 56:40:00 PB 55:36:00 678 02:17
Sheryl Hann 57:23:00 PB 55:54:00 721 04:37
Sophocles Georgiou 56:40:00 PB 55:58:00 677 06:38
Monica Smithson 57:08:00 SB 56:24:00 705 01:47
Anton McCalla 01:00:24 SB 58:19:00 842 New
Liz Carvell 59:57:00 SB 58:25:00 824 05:32
Paul Jennings 01:00:32 x 01:00:00 852
Tracy Stiles 01:01:32 SB 01:00:28 890 04:04
Vicky Archer 01:03:13 New 01:02:28 949
Jenny Garrett 01:03:13 x 01:02:28 950
Sophie Cowan 01:04:14 x 01:03:14 986
David Scott 01:04:14 x 01:03:14 985
Sue Hamer 01:04:18 x 01:03:17 989
Sally Phillips 01:04:58 PB 01:03:26 1,009 07:33
Peter Carpenter County bronze 01:05:08 SB 01:03:35 1,012 01:38
Taher Tharani 01:08:05 New 01:06:14 1082
Aimee Andrews 01:08:34 x 01:06:44 1,094
Chloe Emmerson 01:08:22 SB 01:06:52 1,088 06:05
Wayne McMillan 01:08:24 PB 01:06:54 1,089 00:08
Nicola Hatherly 01:09:19 New 01:07:33 1,109
Roger Biggs 01:08:45 x 01:07:57 1,097
Niki Plumb 01:14:02 New 01:12:16 1,179
Paul Holgate 01:15:36 x 01:13:46 1,191
Sharon Crowley 01:16:18 x 01:14:13 1,203
Kelly Chapman 01:21:50 YB 01:19:55 1,232 01:55
Key: PB = Fastest 10k recorded; SB = Best since 1st Jan 2017; YB = Faster 2018 time
18 = 1st 10k in 2018; New = 1st 10k; x = Faster 10k time recorded this year

 

 

Hatfield 5k Series Race 3

Pos Cat Pos Bib Name Cat Gun Time Chip Time Notes
19 6 218 Grant RAMSAY MV40 00:17:07 00:17:06
87 36 272 Chris HOLLAND MS 00:21:34 00:21:21  PB 29 secs
97 1 59 Yuko GORDON FV65 00:21:58 00:21:52
116 40 80 Michael ANDREWS MS 00:22:42 00:22:27
118 20 4 Ken JUDE MV50 00:23:07 00:22:55 Year’s best
121 44 298 Lee PICKERSGILL MS 00:23:17 00:23:05 PB
137 12 290 Verity FISHER FS 00:24:10 00:23:57
144 28 279 Simon SYPULA MV40 00:24:49 00:24:35
188 4 77 Roger BIGGS MV70 00:30:53 00:30:32
192 15 51 Sharon CROWLEY FV55 00:31:51 00:31:29

 

Parkrun Times Saturday 6th October

Heartwood Forest parkrun

A total of 466 runners took part.

View full results for Heartwood Forest parkrun event #47

 

Position   Gender Position   parkrunner   Club   Run Time  
56 53 John ROXBOROUGH Fairlands Valley Spartans RC 00:21:53
199 168 Michael O’KEEFE Fairlands Valley Spartans RC 00:26:27
312 232 Paul JENNINGS Fairlands Valley Spartans RC 00:30:24

St Albans parkrun

A total of 407 runners took part.

View full results for St Albans parkrun event #356

 

Position   Gender Position   parkrunner   Club   Run Time  
264 73 Michelle MARCHANT Fairlands Valley Spartans RC 00:29:58

Durham parkrun

A total of 369 runners took part.

View full results for Durham parkrun event #344

 

Position   Gender Position   parkrunner   Club   Run Time  
363 220 Darryl STEVENS Fairlands Valley Spartans RC 00:45:23

Stevenage parkrun

A total of 232 runners took part.

View full results for Stevenage parkrun event #121

 

Position   Gender Position   parkrunner   Club   Run Time  
1 1 Stuart HAYCROFT Fairlands Valley Spartans RC 00:18:26
16 14 John HOLMES Fairlands Valley Spartans RC 00:21:32
67 60 David RIDDELL Fairlands Valley Spartans RC 00:25:00
90 12 Karen ELLIS Fairlands Valley Spartans RC 00:26:34
92 14 Kerstin WEINER Fairlands Valley Spartans RC 00:26:42
103 17 Karen PALMER Fairlands Valley Spartans RC 00:27:48
138 104 Stephen SMITHSON Fairlands Valley Spartans RC 00:31:03
144 38 Alison SHELLEY Fairlands Valley Spartans RC 00:31:23
159 115 Roger BIGGS Fairlands Valley Spartans RC 00:32:15
184 59 Jane MCFARLANE Fairlands Valley Spartans RC 00:35:11
199 133 Steven DOBNER Fairlands Valley Spartans RC 00:36:34
229 140 James SOUTH Fairlands Valley Spartans RC 00:51:25

Gunpowder parkrun

A total of 164 runners took part.

View full results for Gunpowder parkrun event #361

 

Position   Gender Position   parkrunner   Club   Run Time  
67 12 Rowena RUTLEDGE Fairlands Valley Spartans RC 00:27:28

Barclay parkrun

A total of 127 runners took part.

View full results for Barclay parkrun event #177

 

Position   Gender Position   parkrunner   Club   Run Time  
4 1 Ashley SCHOENWETTER Fairlands Valley Spartans RC 00:21:22

Rutland Water parkrun

A total of 190 runners took part.

View full results for Rutland Water parkrun event #145

 

Position   Gender Position   parkrunner   Club   Run Time  
94 22 Verity FISHER Fairlands Valley Spartans RC 00:26:54
136 95 Daniel SUTTON Fairlands Valley Spartans RC 00:30:29