Month: December 2018

 

The Buntingford 10 has a reputation for being a tough race with its one mile climb out of Westmill village and record of icy patches but on Sunday there was sunshine, temperatures nudging up towards double figures and many of the 21 Fairlands Valley Spartans finishing the race enjoyed some great runs.

Super veteran YUKO GORDON won her second prize in four days taking the women’s 65 plus award in 1 hour 14 minutes 25 seconds.  She was 105^th out of the 522 finishers.  PAUL HEWETT ran his fastest ten of the year.  He was 27^th in 1:03:17 while STEFFAN FORD was 39^th in 1:06:08.  TODD GRAY ran a season’s best 1:09:16 for 56^th and PAUL SHELLEY improved his personal best by 3 minutes 29 seconds to 1:09:58.  He was 68^th.  Despite nursing a troublesome hamstring throughout DANNY SCANLON came in 101^st with 1 hour 14 minutes exactly.

Despite the hillier course MADDIE PRITCHARD improved on her Bassingbourn time by 1 minute 24 seconds to 1 hour 19 minutes 23 seconds.  Next in was JIM BROWN in 1:23:53 pursued by LIZ SMITH in 1:24:37 for her first ten mile race.

ED HARE ran in a new personal best (PB) of 1:26:26, an improvement of 1 minute 15 seconds and STEVEN DOBNER cut his PB by 2:28 to 1:35:15.

CAROL PAUL ran a 2018 best of 1 hour 39 minutes 5 seconds, DEBBIE BLANTERN ran her first “ten” in 1:43:33 while ANDY JAY and PAUL HOLGATE ran new season’s bests of  1:29:55 and 1:37:44.

(All 21 Spartan results can be found near the end of this release).

 

Pirton Boxing Day Run

ANDREW PATTERSON was the only Spartan at the Boxing Day Run at Pirton.  He says the course was quite slippery but great fun.  The 3.25m route starts with a couple of laps of the recreation ground before heading out on the fields for a big loop.

It was his fifth year doing the race and he secured his fifth top three position, taking the win in 18 minutes 12 seconds just over 10 seconds ahead of a fell runner in second place who made him work hard and helped him work off the over indulgence of Christmas Day.

 

Win In Witham

YUKO GORDON was among 432 who Beat the Pud at the Witham Boxing Day Five.  She won her age category, women over 65, with 36 minutes 3 seconds and was 120^th in the whole five mile race.

 

Velo Park Ten

GRANT RAMSAY was second in his best ten mile time for over a year at the Lee Valley Velo Park Ten on Saturday.  This was part of the Run Through Race Series and consisted of ten one mile laps.

Grant says he had a well paced run with a frantic final mile put in to get under 61:00 mins and an age grading scoring over 80%.  He finished in 60 minutes 55 seconds.

 

Serpentine Last Friday

It was a lovely mild, sunny and still day in Hyde Park for the Last Friday of the Month Serpentine 5K.  In a race with some amazing runners at the fast end JIM BROWN improved slightly on last month with 24 minutes 47 seconds and was 175^th out of the 222 finishers.  He finished the overall championship year long championship with 68.1%.  To qualify runners need to run at least six of the twelve races.

 

Parkrun Highlights Christmas Day 25^th December and Saturday 29^th December

Spartans were out in force on Christmas Day, with 43 running across seven locations.  Suzy HAWKINS was second lady and achieved a new PB in Stevenage of 21:17.   Adrian BUSOLINI also ran a new parkrun PB in Stevenage of 19:17 and was 11^th finisher.

Top finishers included Jonathon PARR 17:51 second at Stevenage, Stuart ARCHER 19:25 13^th Stevenage, Ros INGRAM 24:52 20^th Congleton, Isabel GREEN 24:04 28^th Newcastle, Verity FISHER 27:42 28^th Torbay Velopark and Alison SHELLEY 27:43 29^th Stevenage.  Several including CAROLE SHELDRICK (30:37); PENNY SCHENKEL (30:42) and JIM BROWN (30:42) were in full Santa gear.

 

Saturday 29^th December

Top finisher at Stevenage was Jonathon PARR in a time of 17:59.   He was followed by Danny SCANLON who ran his 110^th parkrun in 21:03 and Martin DUDLEY in 22:41.  Top finisher for the females went to Kerstin WEINER in 25:55 followed by Karen PALMER 27:49 and Liz CARVELL 28:45.

Further afield, Kelly McHALE was 7^th at Panshanger in 25:13 and Erica GRAYSON was 14^th in her home town parkrun at Ford, Ulverston in 28:46.  John ROXBOROUGH finished 16^th in Clare Castle 22:50 and James MCSWEENEY finished 31^st 24:22 at Brandon County Park.

 

 

Tables

Spartans at Buntingford

 

Position	First Name	Last Name	Time	Comments
27	PAUL	HEWETT	1:03:17	YB (year’s best)
39	STEFFAN	FORD	1:06:08
56	TODD	GRAY	1:09:16	SB (season’s best)
68	PAUL	SHELLEY	1:09:58	PB (personal best 3:29)
101	DANNY	SCANLON	1:14:00
105	YUKO	GORDON	1:14:25	Winner FV65
168	MADDIE	PRITCHARD	1:19:15	YB (1:24).  7th FS
230	JIM	BROWN	1:23:53	9th MV60
237	LIZ	SMITH	1:24:37	First 10 mile race
254	ED	HARE	1:26:28	PB (1:15)
298	ANDY	JAY	1:29:55	SB (5:05)
311	SAM	SIMMONS	1:30:48
353	JENNY	GARRETT	1:35:06
357	CLAIRE	EMMERSON	1:35:15
358	KAREN	PALMER	1:35:15
359	STEVEN	DOBNER	1:35:15	PB (2:28)
385	PAUL	HOLGATE	1:37:44	SB (3:54)
401	CAROL	PAUL	1:39:05
427	DEBBIE	BLANTERN	1:43:33	First 10 mile race
447	ANGIE	KEELING	1:46:25
480	SHARON	CROWLEY	1:51:56

 

(There were no “chip times” – start line to finish line times available at Buntingford)

 

Parkruns: Christmas Day and Saturday 29^th December

Parkrun	Pos	Gen	Parkrunner	Time	Notes
Cheltenham	290	86	Liz CARVELL	00:30:01
Congleton	82	20	Ros INGRAM	00:24:52
Lymington Woodside	217	122	Darryl STEVENS	00:48:42
Newcastle	44	42	Steve GREEN	00:19:59
Newcastle	176	28	Isabel GREEN	00:24:04
Stevenage	2	2	Jonathan PARR	00:17:51
Stevenage	11	11	Adrian BUSOLINI	00:19:17	PB
Stevenage	13	13	Stuart ARCHER	00:19:25
Stevenage	24	2	Suzy HAWKINS	00:21:17	PB
Stevenage	47	42	John ROXBOROUGH	00:22:43
Stevenage	59	51	Ryan DUNNING	00:23:26
Stevenage	64	53	Barry OSBORNE	00:23:36
Stevenage	65	54	Chris HOLLAND	00:23:38
Stevenage	70	58	Gareth COWELL	00:24:02
Stevenage	71	59	Paul SHELLEY	00:24:03
Stevenage	73	61	Jonathan JONES	00:24:06
Stevenage	99	82	Ken JUDE	00:25:42
Stevenage	108	89	Edward HARE	00:25:54
Stevenage	130	105	Nick GILL	00:27:14
Stevenage	143	115	Steven DOBNER	00:27:36
Stevenage	145	29	Alison SHELLEY	00:27:43
Stevenage	177	45	Debbie BLANTERN	00:29:54
Stevenage	183	48	Carole SHELDRICK	00:30:37	Santa
Stevenage	184	136	Jim BROWN	00:30:42	Santa
Stevenage	185	49	Penny SCHENKEL	00:30:42	Santa
Stevenage	186	137	Paul JENNINGS	00:30:42
Stevenage	187	50	Erica GRAYSON	00:30:43
Stevenage	197	57	Carol PAUL	00:31:00
Stevenage	198	58	Karen BROOM	00:31:00
Stevenage	199	59	Rowena RUTLEDGE	00:31:01
Stevenage	204	144	David SCOTT	00:31:12
Stevenage	208	63	Dzenana TOPIC	00:31:15
Stevenage	206	145	Dave SMITH	00:31:15
Stevenage	210	64	Jenny GARRETT	00:31:20
Stevenage	211	65	Claire EMMERSON	00:31:21
Stevenage	212	147	Darren EMMERSON	00:31:21
Stevenage	220	68	Karen PALMER	00:31:34
Stevenage	227	71	Sharon CROWLEY	00:32:12	10th parkrun
Stevenage	228	157	Roger BIGGS	00:32:15
Stevenage	236	76	Tracy STILES	00:33:20
Street	131	33	Sally MCBRIDE	00:31:49
Torbay Velopark	109	82	Daniel SUTTON	00:27:40
Torbay Velopark	110	28	Verity FISHER	00:27:42

 

Saturday 29^th December

 

Parkrun	Pos	Gen	Parkrunner	Time	Notes
Brandon County Park	33	31	James MCSWEENEY	00:24:22
Brokenhurst	246	150	Darryl STEVENS	00:53:14
Clare Castle	16	16	John ROXBOROUGH	00:22:50
Ellenbrook Fields	174	54	Niki PLUMB	00:34:28
Exeter Riverside	47	42	Adrian DONNELLY	00:24:59
Ford (Ulverston)	46	14	Erica GRAYSON	00:28:46
Panshanger	88	7	Kelly MCHALE	00:25:13
Panshanger	222	172	Tim ROBINSON	00:30:12
Stevenage	1	1	Jonathan PARR	00:17:59
Stevenage	12	12	Danny SCANLON	00:21:03	110th parkrun
Stevenage	35	34	Martin DUDLEY	00:22:41
Stevenage	58	52	Nigel STRONGITHARM	00:23:57
Stevenage	61	55	Jonathan JONES	00:24:02
Stevenage	68	59	Darren EMMERSON	00:24:44
Stevenage	87	11	Kerstin WEINER	00:25:55
Stevenage	89	77	Thomas SAUKA	00:25:56
Stevenage	104	89	Michael O’KEEFE	00:26:48
Stevenage	110	93	David RIDDELL	00:26:55
Stevenage	125	103	Michael ANDREWS	00:27:29	10th parkrun
Stevenage	130	24	Karen PALMER	00:27:49
Stevenage	136	110	Matthew PATTMAN	00:28:11
Stevenage	149	29	Liz CARVELL	00:28:45
Stevenage	163	32	Catherine CRAIG	00:29:56
Stevenage	188	42	Callie CHAPMAN	00:31:36
Stevenage	206	157	Roger BIGGS	00:32:53
Stevenage	230	169	David PATTMAN	00:33:55
Stevenage	231	170	David SCOTT	00:33:55
Stevenage	276	82	Nichola DURENT	00:43:16
Stevenage	277	83	Hayley PEACH	00:43:17
Stevenage	278	84	Maggie MONTGOMERY	00:43:25
Wimpole Estate	266	185	Nick WITCOMBE	00:32:44
Wimpole Estate	267	186	Barry KING	00:32:46

 

Nearly fifty Spartans enjoyed their annual festive social run on the muddy trails of Hertfordshire to the ruins of Minsden Chapel and back on Sunday morning.  With the main group starting from Coreys Mill there was a choice of 5, 8 and 12 mile routes to suit a wide range of abilities.

Have a look at www.fvspartans.org.uk to see what the club are doing over the Christmas and New Year period.  Why not join Fairlands Valley Spartans in 2019?

 

Parkrun Roundup Saturday 22^nd December

Thirty-Five Fairlands Valley Spartans took some time out from the Christmas rush to attend Parkrun events this week. In Stevenage JONATHAN PARR was fourth overall in a time of 18 mins and 02 secs, alongside MICHAEL ANDREWS who ran a PB time, finishing as the 61^st male, in 24 mins and 19 secs. Further afield, YUKO GORDON was the third woman to finish the Ellenbrook Fields event, on her first visit, in 22 mins and 16 secs, and DARRYL STEVENS ran his 100th Parkrun event on the Brockenhurst course in 45 mins and 30 secs.

Landmark runs were also recorded in Stevenage for CHRIS HOLLAND who ran his 75^th outing in 24 mins and 55 secs; BARRY OSBORNE and ALISON SHELLEY completing their 45^th events in 26 mins and 33 secs and 26 mins and 39 secs, respectively; RUTH REILLY finished her 30^th run in 31 mins and 37 secs; and, HILARY DAVIES her 10^th in 35 mins and 28 secs.

Finishing in the top 100 ladies in Stevenage, VERITY FISHER was the 17^th in 26 mins and 02 sec, CATHERINE CRAIG was 42^nd in 29 mins 21 secs, MELANIE BUTT 58^th in 31 mins in 25 secs, and NIKI PLUMB 76^th in 33 mins and 48 secs. Top 100 men saw DANNY SCANLON finish as the 15^th in 20 mins and 47 secs, CRAIG BACON as the 30^th in 22 mins and 08 secs, TIM SABAN in 22 mins and 10 secs, MARTIN DUDLEY in 22 mins and 29 secs, GARETH COWELL in 23 mins and 39 secs, DAVID SCOTT in 23 mins and 42 secs, JONATHAN JONES in 23 mins and 56 secs, STEPHEN SMITHSON in 24 mins and 09 secs, DANIEL SUTTON in 24 mins and 44 secs and CHRIS HOLLAND, finishing 72^nd, in 24 mins and 44 secs.

Outside the local event, KEN JUDE, TIM ROBINSON and ANDY JAY ran times of 27 mins and 31 secs, 28 mins and 06 secs, and 29 mins and 21 secs respectively; ROWENA RUTLEGE completed the Gunpowder course in 27 mins and 21 secs; and, JOHN ROXBOROUGH attending the Bedford course for the first time in 22 mins and 15 secs.

 

Tables

Parkruns Saturday 22^nd December

 

Parkrun	Pos	Gen	Parkrunner	Times	Notes
Bedford	45	40	John ROXBOROUGH	0:22:15
Stevenage	4	4	Jonathan PARR	0:18:02
	16	15	Danny SCANLON	0:20:47
	32	30	Craig BACON	0:22:08
	33	31	Tim SABAN	0:22:10
	38	36	Martin DUDLEY	0:22:29
	54	48	Gareth COWELL	0:23:39
	55	49	David SCOTT	0:23:42
	61	54	Jonathan JONES	0:23:56
	66	58	Stephen SMITHSON	0:24:09
	69	61	Michael ANDREWS	0:24:19	PB!
	78	69	Daniel SUTTON	0:24:44
	83	72	Chris HOLLAND	0:24:55	75th
	108	17	Verity FISHER	0:26:02
	119	101	Steven DOBNER	0:26:32
	120	102	David PATTMAN	0:26:33
	121	103	Barry OSBORNE	0:26:33	45th
	123	19	Alison SHELLEY	0:26:39	45th
	130	109	Jim BROWN	0:27:11
	152	123	Paul HOLGATE	0:28:10
	167	132	Paul JENNINGS	0:28:41
	180	42	Catherine CRAIG	0:29:21
	209	58	Melanie BUTT	0:31:25
	213	61	Ruth REILLY	0:31:37	30th
	214	153	Nick WITCOMBE	0:31:38
	234	161	Roger BIGGS	0:33:27
	237	76	Niki PLUMB	0:33:48
	248	84	Hilary DAVIES	0:35:28	10th
	289	110	Karen BROOM	0:54:28
Gunpowder	82	20	Rowena RUTLEDGE	0:27:21
Brockenhurst	193	107	Darryl STEVENS	0:45:30	100th
Panshanger	127	108	Ken JUDE	0:27:31
	148	122	Tim ROBINSON	0:28:06
	173	141	Andy JAY	0:29:21
Ellenbrook Fields	29	3	Yuko GORDON	0:22:16

 

Nearly 500 runners from 20 clubs raced around Fairlands Valley Park on Sunday.

Not only did Fairlands Valley Spartans organise Sunday’s cross country league race and provide most of the helpers the club’s racing participation jumped from 45 in the last race to 65 in this home fixture

In their home fixture the whole men’s “A” team were in the top 90 and four in the top twenty.  After three laps and about five miles, or eight kilometres, CALLUM STEWART was the fastest Spartan fifth overall in 27 minutes 50 seconds.  The other top thirty Spartans were DAN McALPINE, 10^th in 28:21; CHRIS WESTCOTT, 12^th in 28:25; SIMON JACKSON, 13^th in 28:25 and JONATHAN PARR, 27^th in 29:10.  PAUL HEWETT was under thirty minutes with 29 minutes 58 minutes and 43^rd.

SUZY HAWKINS was fastest female from Fairlands.  She was tenth out of the 168 women and 130^th overall in 33 minutes 33 seconds.  RHIANNON GRIFFIN’s comeback continues.  Only two weeks after her first race in several years she moved up 37 places and jumped in the women’s “A” team at 297^th in 39 minutes 45 seconds.  She was buzzing afterwards and her enthusiasm infectious.  YUKO GORDON, 203^rd in 36:26; ISABEL GREEN, 220^th in 37:21 and KERSTIN WEINER, 326^th in 40:35 completed the “A” team.  A few seconds later KAREN ELLIS lead in the “B” team with 40 minutes 43 seconds.

Increased participation helped the Spartan men to fourth out of twenty clubs in Sunday’s race, only eight points behind third placed Watford and they moved up to fifth overall in the league after three fixtures.  The women’s “A” team were sixth.

The club and the whole league owe Fairlands Valley Spartans Chair SOPHIE COWAN a huge vote of thanks for making the race happen.  There were 483 finishers compared with 445 at Trent Park on 2^nd December.

The next cross country league race will be in Watford on Sunday 13^th January.  The Spartans will also be represented at the County Cross Country Championships in St. Albans on 6^th January.

All 65 Spartan results can be found near the end of this release.

 

Festive Forest Half Marathon

JAMES McSWEENEY ran Saturday’s Festive Forest Half Marathon in the West Stow Country Park, near Bury St Edmunds in 1 hour 57 minutes 18 seconds.  The event was in aid of St Nichols Hospice Care.  James said, “After not a lot of training the last few weeks (and decent amount of beer in Cologne last week) I was happy enough to get round in sub two hours on a tough course in super cold conditions.”

 

Waterside

MEGAN TAYLOR ran the Waterside 10K road race in 54 minutes 22 seconds.

 

Parkrun Roundup Saturday 15^th December

The cold windy weather didn’t put Spartans off from their weekly dose of Parkrun action.   Jonathan Parr was second at Stevenage in 17:55.

Sean MILLWOOD ran a new PB of 28:55 at Stevenage on his fourth Parkrun.

Nick Witcombe ran his 21st Parkrun at Pocket in St Neots in 32:08.

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

 

Tables

 All 65 Spartans in Sunday’s Cross Country

Position	Name	Time	Comments
5	CALLUM STEWART	27:50	“A” team
10	DAN McALPINE	28:21	“A” team
12	CHRIS WESTCOTT	28:23	“A” team
13	SIMON JACKSON	28:25	“A” team
27	JONATHAN PARR	29:10	“A” team
43	PAUL HEWETT	29:58	“A” team
75	RICK PEARCE	31:26	“A” team
82	MARTIN BLACKBURN	31:40	“A” team
84	DAN HUKIN	31:47	“B” team
99	ALEX DUNNETT	32:20	“B” team
111	STUART ARCHER	32:40	“B” team
112	MIKE GREEN	32:44	“B” team
115	ADRIAN BUSOLINI	32:50	“B” team
117	RICHARD SPRINGALL	33:00	“B” team
122	STEVE GREEN	33:03	“B” team
129	SUZY HAWKINS	33:33	10th woman.  “FA” team
131	PAUL SHELLEY	33:49	“B” team
156	NICK GILL	34:42	“C” team
185	JOHN HOLMES	35:47	“C” team
186	THOMAS SAUKA	35:50	“C” team
202	YUKO GORDON	36:26	29th woman.  “FA” team
219	ISABEL GREEN	37:21	37th woman.  “FA” team
221	STEVE MAYFIELD	37:25	“C” team
253	ANDREW HIBBERT	38:40	“C” team
283	NIGEL STRONGITHARM	39:27	“C” team
296	RHIANNON GRIFFIN	39:45	Up 37 places.  “FA” team
299	DAVID PATTMAN	39:53	“C” team
304	GRAHAM BLACKBURN	39:59	“C” team
314	RYAN DUNNING	40:17	“D” team
325	KERSTIN WEINER	40:35	“FA” team
334	KAREN ELLIS	40:43	“FB” team
335	ANDREW SMITH	40:45	“D” team
341	CLAIRE EMMERSON	41:12	“FB” team
343	TIM ROBINSON	41:20	“D” team
344	ED HARE	41:19	“D” team
353	TONY VICKERS	41:58	“D” team
354	DAVID SCOTT	41:42	“D” team
357	ROS INGRAM	41:45	“FB” team
368	ALICE POOLE	42:09	“FB” team
370	ANN TRYSSESOONE	42:08	“FB” team
376	SAM SIMMONS	42:22	“D” team
377	KELLY EVANS	42:34	“FC” team
378	STEVE DOBNER	42:25	“D” team
382	ANDY JAY	42:51
385	KELLY McHALE	42:45	“FC” team
397	MICHAEL O’KEEFE	43:29
401	LISA GRAY	43:39	“FC” team
406	JULIE SHADBOLT	44:17	“FC” team
410	SIMON SYPULA	44:21
424	JIM BROWN	45:46
434	ROB SHAW	46:10
437	PAUL HOLGATE	46:46
441	SOPH GEORGIOU	47:15
446	MONICA SMITHSON	47:55	“FC” team
448	KARL SHREEVE	48:36
449	ROWENA RUTLEDGE	48:36	“FD” team
453	HAYLEY YENDELL	49:22	“FD” team
461	SHARON CROWLEY	50:04	“FD” team
462	KAREN PALMER	50:10	“FD” team
463	CAROLINE CROFT	50:11	“FD” team
466	KAREN BROOM	51:15
467	ELIZABETH CROWLEY	51:15
468	TAHER THARANI	51:23
480	STEVE GOUGH	53:46
481	IRIS HORNSEY	53:50

 

There were 483 finishers compared with 445 at Trent Park on 2^nd December.  Team results should be announced by the league organisers in the next few days.

 

Parkruns Saturday 15^th December

 

Grovelands parkrun, Enfield

A total of 138 runners took part.

 

Position	Gender Position	parkrunner	Run Time
45	43	Tim ROBINSON	00:24:05

 

St Albans parkrun

A total of 335 runners took part.

 

Position	Gender Position	parkrunner	Run Time
69	57	John ROXBOROUGH	00:23:04

 

Stevenage parkrun

A total of 205 runners took part.

 

Position	Gender Position	parkrunner	Run Time
2	2	Jonathan PARR	00:17:55
20	18	Chris HOLLAND	00:22:16
25	23	Martin DUDLEY	00:22:36
39	33	Gareth COWELL	00:23:50
44	36	Stephen SMITHSON	00:24:14
64	10	Verity FISHER	00:25:52
65	55	David PATTMAN	00:25:54
66	56	Daniel SUTTON	00:25:55
71	58	Michael O’KEEFE	00:26:26
76	63	David SCOTT	00:26:35
91	17	Karen PALMER	00:27:13
110	88	Steven DOBNER	00:28:36
111	23	Alison SHELLEY	00:28:41
116	91	Thomas SAUKA	00:28:50
119	93	Sean MILLWOOD	00:28:55
123	95	David ACKERY	00:29:13
127	98	Paul HOLGATE	00:29:25
132	32	Karen BROOM	00:29:31
166	47	Nicola HATHERLY	00:32:35
172	50	Niki PLUMB	00:34:12
203	71	Catherine CRAIG	00:48:15

 

Gunpowder parkrun

A total of 162 runners took part.

 

Position	Gender Position	parkrunner	Run Time
82	62	Paul JENNINGS	00:28:15

 

Panshanger parkrun

A total of 344 runners took part.

 

Position	Gender Position	parkrunner	Run Time
252	75	Tracy STILES	00:32:05

 

Pocket (St Neots) parkrun

A total of 115 runners took part.

 

Position	Gender Position	parkrunner	Run Time
90	58	Nick WITCOMBE	00:32:08

 

Spartan YUKO GORDON travelled a long way to Telford in the West Midlands to run a 10K race.  One of three selection races for next year’s 10K Masters England team.  This was her 17^th race in past 15 weeks, which included two full marathons and two overseas races in Tokyo and Lisbon as well as representing England in a masters’ international cross country in Wales.  She won all except one.

Yuko won her category, women 65 plus (W65) but was disappointed with her time of 44 minutes 45 seconds in very wet condition.  She felt tired from the beginning, not surprisingly but controlled the pace well to finish by out-kicking a younger opponent in the final 80 metres.

 

Seven at Festive Five (Miles)

STEVE GREEN ran his fastest five mile run this year.  33 minutes 16 seconds at the Festive Five which he says was organised superbly by Garden City Runners with all the profits going to Isabel Hospice.   He was 20^th overall.

ERICA GRAYSON said the marshals did an amazing job ensuring the traffic was well managed for the runners.   She said there were lots of friendly festive runners, even a water station half way and added though was no bling but a chocolate  Father Christmas on finishing.  Best of all she beat here personal best by 63 seconds to finish in 43 minutes 10 seconds.  All that followed by coffee and cake.   A great morning and home by 11am.

STEVE GREEN was 20^th in 33:16; CHRIS HOLLAND 36^th in 36:51; ERICA GRAYSON 81^st with a new personal best of 43:10; KAREN PALMER 45:20; LINDA NOLAN 45:39; ROWENA RUTLEDGE 51:37; and CATHY CRAIG 52:26.

 

Stevenage Santa Scamper

Sunday 9th December saw the Stevenage Santa Scamper 5K.  A fundraiser for the Garden House Hospice care in Letchworth.  DAN HUKIN finished 1^st male in 18:41.

JULIE SHADBOLT and KAREN ELLIS had a lovely social run in Santa outfits for the festive season.  The event was well organised with marshals offering lots of encouragement!

 

Milton Keynes Winter Half Marathon

In the Milton Keynes Winter Half Marathon Edward Hare was 909th in 1:57:47; Robert Wright 1,258th 2:08:00 after a slow congested first four miles; Maggie Montgomery 1,965th 3:17:52 (“Not sure I’m ready but let’s get the bling”).  There were 1,977 finishers

 

Cross Country – Home Fixture This Sunday

Fairlands Valley Spartans host this Sunday’s cross country league race.  About five hundred runners are expected in Fairlands Valley Park, south of Six Hills Way, for a 10.30a.m. start.  Only members of clubs affiliated to the league can race but there’s nothing to stop you joining Fairlands Valley Spartans now.  Go to www.fvspartans.org.uk

The race will be over 4.9 miles/8K of park land.  The course is a three lap course around the showground side of Fairlands Valley Park.  Trail shoes are recommended for the grass surface.

Fairlands Valley Spartans women’s “A” team jumped up to fourth place out of twenty in the second race and are now matching the club’s men who are sixth overall after two events.  The women veterans are in the medal range with third place.  Both women and men are only a small number of points away from moving up more positions and could do that at the next league race which will be a home fixture; in the south end of Fairlands Valley Park this Sunday morning 16^th December.

 

Result from Lanzarote.

Roger BIGGS was on the lovely Spanish Island of Lanzarote, for a 10 kilometre event alongside the annual marathon.

The 10km event (which was actually 10.7km), started in the Capital Arrecife, and finished in Costa Teguise.  On a lovely sunny day, Roger completed the over-distance event in a time of 1 hour 16 minutes 28 seconds.

 

Parkrun Roundup Saturday 8^th December

Melanie BUTT achieved a new parkrun PB this week.  Melanie was one of 15 Spartans to run at Stevenage and finished in a new best time of 31:19.

Jonathan PARR was first male at Hermanus in 19:12, while Emma NEWBERRY was first lady in Stevenage in 22:44.  Other top gender positions in went to Stuart ARCHER 6^th 20:40 at Stevenage, Kelly McHALE 6^th 25:53 at Panshanger, Hannah NEALE 7^th 23:55 at Coldhams Common in Cambridge, John NELMS 9^th 21:08 at Great Denham.

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

 

Tables

 

Festive Five

 

Position	Category Pos.	Name	Category	Gun	Chip	Graded
20.	8.	Steve GREEN	MV40	0:33:18	0:33:16	71.6%
36.	14.	Chris HOLLAND	MS	0:36:55	0:36:51	59.8%
81.	10.	Erica GRAYSON	FV45	0:43:22	0:43:10	62.1%
104.	17.	Karen PALMER	FV45	0:45:32	0:45:20	61.2%
111.	7.	Linda NOLAN	FV55+	0:45:56	0:45:39	65.3%
166.	36.	Rowena RUTLEDGE	FV45	0:51:50	0:51:37	51.3%
171.	18.	Cathy CRAIG	FV55+	0:52:42	0:52:26	63.4%

 

Parkruns Saturday 8^th December

 

Parkrun	Pos	Gen	Parkrunner	Time	Notes
Barclay	48	14	Rowena RUTLEDGE	00:31:21
Coldham’s Common	74	7	Hannah NEALE	00:23:55
Great Denham	10	9	John NELMS	00:21:08
Hermanus	1	1	Jonathan PARR	00:19:12
Letchworth	66	46	Paul JENNINGS	00:33:39
Melksham	98	66	Darryl STEVENS	00:36:26
Panshanger	45	42	Mark GOODWIN	00:23:54
Panshanger	69	6	Kelly MCHALE	00:25:53
Panshanger	202	56	Nicola HATHERLY	00:35:29
Panshanger	203	57	Niki PLUMB	00:35:48	Course PB
Pymmes	17	17	John ROXBOROUGH	00:23:20
Stevenage	6	6	Stuart ARCHER	00:20:40
Stevenage	23	1	Emma NEWBERRY	00:22:44
Stevenage	24	23	Martin DUDLEY	00:22:52
Stevenage	63	56	Michael O’KEEFE	00:26:16
Stevenage	69	62	David SCOTT	00:26:40	90th Parkrun
Stevenage	70	63	David PATTMAN	00:26:42
Stevenage	107	90	Paul HOLGATE	00:28:04
Stevenage	120	21	Verity FISHER	00:28:46	240th Parkrun
Stevenage	121	22	Alison SHELLEY	00:28:47
Stevenage	134	29	Monica SMITHSON	00:29:10	20th Parkrun
Stevenage	141	33	Claire PULLEN	00:29:38
Stevenage	161	43	Melanie BUTT	00:31:19	PB
Stevenage	169	49	Ida LEO	00:31:48
Stevenage	171	50	Sally MCBRIDE	00:31:51
Stevenage	230	88	Nichola DURENT	00:43:56
Westmill	13	12	Jonathan JONES	00:26:17
Wimpole Estate	140	117	Barry KING	00:27:36
Wimpole Estate	258	176	Nick WITCOMBE	00:35:59	Course PB

 

The Spartan women nudged in front of the men for participation at Sunday morning’s cross country league race in Trent Park, Cockfosters.  There was a great turnout of 24 FVS women, up six on the Cheshunt Race, and 23 men.

NATALIE LAWRENCE was the highest scoring Spartan completing the wet, undulating 4.8 mile course in 32 minutes 10 seconds for third woman and 67^th overall out of the 445 female and male finishers.  SUZY HAWKINS was eighth woman, and second female 35 plus in 34:25.

Two Spartan men beat thirty minutes.  CHRIS WESTCOTT was tenth in 29:16 and DAN McALPINE 15^th in 29:41.

YUKO GORDON 36:40; ISABEL GREEN 37:42 and CLAIRE EMMERSON 41:03 completed the women’s “A” team.  They were 26^th; 36^th and 65^th overall.

RHIANNON GRIFFIN says she really enjoyed get thoroughly muddy in her comeback race after about five years away.  She led in the women’s “B” team with 43:24 minutes for 93^rd woman with KAREN ELLIS 94^th six seconds behind.  LISA GRAY was also top 100 in 98^th with 44:02.  The other “B” team counters were ZOE JACKSON 104^th in 44:40 and WENDY THARANI 112^th in 45:36

The Spartans finished an amazing four complete women’s teams and still had some to spare.  The “C” team consisted of ALISON SHELLEY 120^th in 46:07; LIZ SMITH 121^st in 46:20; HAZEL SMITH 131^st in 48:40; JENNY GARRETT 132^nd in 48:41 and PENNY SCHENKEL 140^th in 50:31.

There were many other great performances by Spartan men including PAUL HEWETT 41^st overall in 31 minutes exactly; RICK PEARCE 66^th in 32:08; MARTIN BLACKBURN 82^nd in 32:47; ADRIAN BUSSOLINI 93^rd in 33:07; TODD GRAY 105^th in 33:50 and STEVE GREEN 107^th in 33:58.

BEN NABUDERE enjoyed his first ever race for the club.  After finishing in 48 minutes 30 seconds he said he found the climbs hard and the slippery descents tricky but can see how he can improve next time.

Altogether there were 445 finishers; 171 women and 274 men.

Fairlands Valley Spartans women’s “A” team jumped up to fourth place out of twenty in this second race and are now matching the club’s men who are sixth overall after two events.  The women veterans are in the medal range with third place.  Both women and men are only a small number of points away from moving up more positions and could do that at the next league race which will be a home fixture; in the south end of Fairlands Valley Park on Sunday morning 16^th December.

(Times for all 47 Spartans can be found at the end of this release)

 

Olympic Park 10K

Sadly not a personal best for JENNY GARRETT on Saturday but 53 minutes 39 seconds was a great time for a very wet and windy but fairly flat three lap 10K course of the Olympic park

 

Bedford Harriers Half

783 ran the Bedford Harriers Half Marathon on Sunday.  The race started and finished in Wootton with a wonderful descent after passing through Cranfield at about nine miles.

RICHARD SPRINGALL was 39^th in 1:28:55; EDWARD HARE 517^th in 2:02:02 and ROGER BIGGS 770^th in 2:40:30.

 

Santa Canta 5K

CAROLE SHELDRICK and CAROLINE CROFT ran the NHRR first Saturday of the month 5K at Norton Common, Letchworth, which this month was the Santa Canta 5K raising money for Tracks Autism.

They said, “We had so much fun, there were some amazing costumes, hot drinks and mince pies, plus a medal.  It was brilliantly organised by NHRR”

Sadly for Caroline Crofty, No Mr Whippy to be seen.  They both ran it in 31 minutes  33 seconds.

Lee PICKERSGILL ran the same wet and muddy 5K in 24:38 which was 1 minute 20 seconds faster than last year.  He says trail shoes definitely helped.

 

Serpentine

It was bright, mild but breezy and wet underfoot for the Serpentine Last Friday of the Month 5K in Hyde Park.  JIM BROWN finished in 24:52, an average pace of just under 8 minutes per mile.  There were 290 finishers.

 

Parkrun Roundup Saturday 1^st December

A wet start to December saw 28 Fairlands Valley Spartans brave the conditions to attend weekly Parkrun events across the country.

In Stevenage, JONATHAN PARR ran a time of 18 mins and 15 secs finishing 2nd in the field, quickly followed by DANNY SCANLON in a time of 19 mins and 59 secs, finishing 4th. KERSTIN WEINER was the 5th woman to finish in 24 mins and 41 secs, with CLAIRE PULLEN coming in as the 6th in 25 mins and 14 secs, and ALISON SHELLEY as the 9th in a time of 25 mins and 14 secs. DAVID PATTMAN finished his 40th Parkrun in 26 mins and 27 secs, PAUL HOLGATE his 21st in 29 mins and 53 secs, and STEVEN DOBNER his 45th in 30 mins and 13 secs.

At the same event, top 100 finishes were recorded for MARTIN DUDLEY in 23 mins and 16 secs, JAMES MCSWEENEY in 23 mins and 31 secs, RYAN DUNNING in 24 mins and 51 secs, NIGEL STRONGITHARM in 25 mins and 5 secs, DAVID SCOTT in 25 mins and 13 secs and THOMAS SAUKA in 28 mins in 35 secs. While finishing in under 40 mins were ROWENA RUTLEDGE in 30 mins and 19 secs, TIM ROBINSON in 30 mins and 48 secs, IRIS HORNSEY in 31 mins and 36 secs, ROGER BIGGS in 32 mins and 21 secs, JONATHAN JONES and HAZEL JONES in 37 mins and 11 secs, HAYLEY PEACH in 37 mins and 41 secs and CALLIE CHAPMAN in 37 mins and 48 secs.

Trying out new Parkruns for the first time, JOHN ROXOBOROUGH ran the Northala Fields course in 22 mins and 51 secs, while PAUL MAGUIRE completed Fell Foot at Newby Bridge in 24 mins and 20 secs. The Guildford event was finished by DANIEL SUTTON and VERITY FISHER in 24 mins and 22 secs and 26 mins and 46 secs, respectively, and TRACEY STILES ran in Chester in 31 mins and 42 secs. DARRYL STEVENS finished the Marlborough Common course in 38 mins and 25 secs.

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

 

Tables

Cross Country times for all 24 Spartan women:

Overall Position	Name	Time	Comments
67	NATALIE LAWRENCE	32:10	3rd woman.  “A” team.
118	SUZY HAWKINS	34:25	8th woman (2FV35).  “A” team.
186	YUKO GORDON	36:40	26th woman (1FV65).  “A” team.
209	ISABEL GREEN	37:42	“A” team
271	CLAIRE EMMERSON	41:03	“A” team
334	RHIANNON GRIFFIN	43:24	“B” team.  Comeback
336	KAREN ELLIS	43:30	“B” team
345	LISA GRAY	44:02	“B” team
351	ZOE JACKSON	44:40	“B” team
361	WENDY THARANI	45:36	“B” team”
376	LIZ SMITH	46:20	“C” team
377	ALISON SHELLEY	46:07	“C” team
394	HAZEL SMITH	48:40	“C” team
395	JENNY GARRETT	48:41	“C” team
407	PENNY SCHENKEL	50:31	“C” team
414	SOPHIE COWAN	51:09	“D” team
416	HAYLEY YENDELL	51:19	“D” team
417	LIZ CARVELL	51:25	“D” team
418	SUE HAMER	51:56	“D” team
420	SHARON CROWLEY	52:33	“D” team
424	SALLY PHILLIPS	52:53
428	CATHY CRAIG	53:31
436	PETA WILSON	54:59
437	CALLIE CHAPMAN	55:00

 

Cross Country times for all 23 Spartan men:

Position	Name	Time	Comments
10	CHRIS WESTCOTT	29:16	“A” team
15	DAN McALPINE	29:41	“A” team
41	PAUL HEWETT	31:00	“A” team
66	RICK PEARCE	32:08	“A” team
82	MARTIN BLACKBURN	32:47	“A” team
93	ADRIAN BUSSOLINI	33:07	“A” team
105	TODD GRAY	33:50	“A” team
107	STEVE GREEN	33:58	“A” team
116	NICK GILL	34:20	“B” team
123	PAUL SHELLEY	34:51	“B” team
212	DARREN EMMERSON	38:30	“B” team
224	MARK GOODWIN	39:12	“B” team
263	JAMES McSWEENEY	40:39	“B” team
273	DAVID PATTMAN	41:20	“B” team
285	TOM SAUKA	41:38	“B” team
320	TIM ROBINSON	43:13	“B” team
325	JONATHAN JONES	43:19
342	ANDY JAY	43:48
374	STEPHEN DOBNER	46:18
391	BEN NABUDERE	48:30
393	KEN JUDE	48:36
410	PAUL HOLGATE	50:50
426	TAHIR (TY) THARANI	53:26

 

Men’s teams consist of eight runners; women’s of five.

445 finishers; 171 women and 274 men.

 

Parkruns Saturday 1^st December

Parkrun	Pos	Gen	Parkrunner	Times	Notes
Guildford	43	39	Daniel SUTTON	0:24:22
	89	17	Verity FISHER	0:26:46
Chester	178	51	Tracy STILES	0:31:42
Stevenage	2	2	Jonathan PARR	0:18:15
	4	4	Danny SCANLON	0:19:59
	23	21	Martin DUDLEY	0:23:16
	25	23	James MCSWEENEY	0:23:31
	34	5	Kerstin WEINER	0:24:41
	36	31	Ryan DUNNING	0:24:51
	40	35	Nigel STRONGITHARM	0:25:05
	43	38	David SCOTT	0:25:13
	44	6	Claire PULLEN	0:25:14
	56	50	David PATTMAN	0:26:27	40th run
	76	9	Alison SHELLEY	0:28:12
	82	72	Thomas SAUKA	0:28:35
	108	87	Paul HOLGATE	0:29:53	21st run
	111	89	Steven DOBNER	0:30:13	45th run
	115	25	Rowena RUTLEDGE	0:30:19
	120	91	Tim ROBINSON	0:30:48
	129	33	Iris HORNSEY	0:31:36
	133	99	Roger BIGGS	0:32:21
	161	108	Jonathan JONES	0:37:11
	162	54	Hazel JONES	0:37:11
	165	56	Hayley PEACH	0:37:41
	166	57	Callie CHAPMAN	0:37:48
Northala Fields	25	24	John ROXBOROUGH	0:22:51
Fell Foot	37	33	Paul MAGUIRE	0:24:20
Marlborough Common	59	40	Darryl STEVENS	0:38:25