Month: December 2019

 

A benign almost balmy Buntingford was waiting for Fairlands Valley Spartans team of thirteen in the Year End ten mile race on Sunday.  The hills were still there but there was no sign of the ice and snow or wind experienced in previous editions of the event.

Spartan ED HARE said it was a great morning to be running and he was looking forward to running the scenic and undulating Buntingford course with Steve Dobner and Alison Shelley.

It was a recovery run for Ed as he had run 18 miles on Friday and finishing today meant that he had run 40 miles for the week which was a personal achievement in itself.  After a steady start Alison was running really well and it soon became a PB (personal best) hunt.  Ed and Steve Dobner were amazed at how strong she was and we kept spurring her on to finish which she did in 1:24:57 a 10 mile personal best for Alison and a course PB for Ed and Steve.

Susan McAneny and Lee Pickersgill both finished in 1:25:45; that’s a 10 mile personal best by two minutes for Susan and one minute for Lee

Nicola Pattman completed her first ever 10 miles at the Buntingford 10.  She was aiming for 2 hours so was very pleased with her time of 1.49.31!  Mo Warrillow ran an excellent 1:27:20.

Jim Brown was the fastest Spartan finishing 194^th out of the 484 finishers in 1 hour 23 minutes 41 seconds.

Many Spartans enjoyed running with and/or in sight of each other.  Seven finished within about two minutes of each other.  Six, Ed Hare; Alison Shelley; Steve Dobner; Susan McAneny: Lee Pickersgill and Tanya Brazier were within one minute.  Eight were in the first half in the race.  Great team work.

Neil Robinson came in with 1:27:39; Ann Tryssesoone with 1:34:38; Karen Liddle with 1:37:13 and Emma Southerington with 2:20:25.

 

Speedy Reeves 10 miles

Michelle Reeves had a great race on Saturday.  She was second lady, eighth overall in 69 minutes 1 second at the Lee Valley 10 mile race.

It was ten laps of the Cycling Circuit outside the velodrome.  Really well organised event by runthrough.co.uk indoor toilets which were clean and no loo queues!

Michelle said she didn’t mind it being laps, just next to the iconic Olympic Velodrome.  Michelle entered on Boxing Day (just two days before the event), so she could be in the running for the club long course championship and was very surprised to have sub-7 minute miles in her legs after the Christmas indulgence!

Wendy and Taher Tharani were at the same venue but for a half marathon.  This was there last event of 2019.  Wendy said, “I’m not sure who thought it was a good idea to run around the Velo park 13 and a bit times? 13 undulating 1 mile loops.”

Wendy finished in 2.05.38 and Taher in a half marathon PB of 2:29:24.

 

Cambridge Christmas 10K

Sally Phillips and Liz Carvell ran the Cambridge 10K on Sunday.

Despite it being a flat course they both found it quite hard as there were lots of twists and sharp turns.  Liz finished in 1:02:58 and Sally in 1:08:06.  Paul Holgate came in with 1:13:37 and Roger Biggs with 1:18:59 saying it was a tricky multi-terrain course

 

Serpentine Jim and Yuko

Spartans YUKO GORDON and JIM BROWN were at the last Last Friday of the Month Serpentine 5K of 2019 in Hyde Park, London.

Yuko achieved an incredible age grading of 96.3%, winning that competition easily by finishing in 21 minutes 20 seconds.

Jim took advantage of the mild, overcast and still conditions to run his fastest road 5K of 2019 with 24 minutes 33 seconds.  It was dry but wet underfoot.  Needing at least six finishes to qualify for the series he managed eleven during the year, the missing one due to collecting his number immediately before the London Marathon.

 

Parkrun Decade Milestone – Grant Ramsay

Spartan Grant Ramsay won the Letchworth Parkrun in a time of 20:32.  A good performance in muddy conditions.

This result meant that Ramsay started the decade with a Parkrun win and ended this decade with a win.

Ramsay’s debut Parkrun, was London Finsbury Park on 2nd January 2010, which he won in 17:03.

A few days earlier Ramsay took part in the Pirton Boxing Day (Early) Race in a time of 16:57. This was over 2.50 miles in difficult underfoot conditions.

 

Spartan Women Second in Cross Country League

Hundreds ran the recent Sunday Cross Country League race in Fairlands Valley Park which was hosted by Fairlands Valley Spartans and 47 of the 445 running were Spartans.  The club had three complete men’s teams and three complete women’s teams; and some runners to spare.  Nineteen clubs competed.

Racing over three laps and about five muddy miles SIMON JACKSON led in the Spartan men in 30 minutes 40 seconds for 18^th place overall.  JON PARR was a few seconds behind in 30:53 with DAN McALPINE third at 24^th in 31:04.  All eight in the “A” team finished in the first one hundred in the race.  The other five were ADRIAN BUSOLINI 34^th in 32:01; KEITH COUGHLIN 37^th in 32:06; PAUL HEWETT 50^th in 32:43; STUART HAYCROFT 73^rd man in 34:01 and GRANT RAMSAY 91^st man in 35:05.

GAIL MACKIE was eighth woman and well up in the whole race coming in at 102^nd in 35 minutes 19 seconds.  MICHELLE REEVES was ninth woman in 35:45; SAM PRETTY 12^th  in 35:57; ALISON WOOD 15^th in 36:24 and TANYA BRAZIER 23^rd in 39:08 made up the rest of the five person women’s “A” team.  They were second out of the nineteen “A” teams in the race and are second in the league after three of the five fixtures.

The Fairlands females “B” team were also second in their category with YUKO GORDON 26^th in 39:59; TRACEY JACKSON 46^th in 41:42; CLAIRE EMMERSON 50^th in 42:01 and FIONA CLARKE 75^th in 44:17 and ALISON SHELLEY 78^th in 44:43.

The Spartan veteran women’s team won their event.

With a better turnout, thirty runners, the men improved to fifth “A” and fifth “B” team.  They are now sixth in the league.

Fairlands Valley Spartans are joint hosts of the Hertfordshire County Cross Country Championships which will be in Fairlands Valley Park on Sunday 5^th January.

 

Parkrun Highlights 25^th December 2019

All sixty six Fairlands Valley Spartans wanted for Christmas was to join in the festive Parkrun fun at 8 different locations around the country on Christmas day. Even though it’s cold outside, It has been a record breaking Parkrun Christmas at Stevenage, Panshanger and Norwich with Spartans contributing to record number of Parkrunners with respective attendance of 453, 582 and 1358.

It’s the most wonderful time for PBs, milestones and newcomers at Stevenage.

Christmas number one goes to Jonathan PARR finishing as first man with a time of 17:39. The fastest female Spartan this week was Tracey JACKSON who ran her first ever Parkrun in a time of 23:31.

Vicky ARCHER and Karen LIDDLE also stepped into Christmas Parkrun fun, trying out Parkrun for the first time.

Holly jolly PBs were achieved by Adrian BUSOLINI (18:38), Ada JANUSIENE (28:55) and Sally PICKLES (31:17).

Congratulations to runners who achieved milestones this week including Martin BLACKBURN (20^th), Tracy PEZ (50^th) and most notably, Darren EMMERSON who celebrated his 100^th Parkrun in style with chocolate and bubbly after. Special mention to David SCOTT who brought along homemade sausage rolls for the occasion.

 

Parkrun Highlights 28^th December 2019

Fifty Spartans ran the first Parkrun after Christmas. Perhaps still full of Christmas puddings and turkey, there were no PBs achieved this week.

Jonathan PARR was again the fastest Spartan, twice in a week, finishing first with a time of 16:52 at Stevenage. Spartans completed a double at Stevenage with Alison WOOD taking the lady top spot with a time of 21:01.

There were two other top 10 gender position finishes with Ros INGRAM at Kirkwall (5^th, 25:13) and Tracy PEZ at Letchworth (5^th 28:08).

Six Spartans achieved milestone runs this weekend: Sharon FLAHERTY (20^th), Dzenana TOPIC (30^th), Jenny GARRETT (30^th), Tim SABAN (60^th), with special mention to Hilary DAVIES and Matt CLARKE who both ran an officially recognised 50^th Parkruns.  Red T-shirt emails are on their way!

Eight Spartans ran at new venues as far afield as Bangor, Northern Island.  Well done to Andrea WESTCOTT, Grace BROWN, Ryan DUNNING, Jane WHITHROW, Ros INGRAM, John ROXBOROUGH, Debbie BLATTERN and Mo WARRILLOW for trying out new venues.

(You can find all the Spartan parkrun results near the end of this release).

 

Tables

Spartans at the Year End Ten

POSITION	FIRST NAME	LAST NAME	CATEGORY	CAT POS	TIME	COMMENTS
194	Jim	Brown	MV60	7	1:23:41
211	Edward	Hare	Senior Male	45	1:25:06
213	Alison	Shelley	FV45	28	1:25:06	PB (2 min)
214	Steven	Dobner	MV40	57	1:25:07
221	Susan	Mcaneny	FV35	20	1:25:45	PB (2 min)
222	Lee	Pickersgill	Senior Male	47	1:25:45	PB (1 min)
223	Tanya	Brazier	FV35	21	1:25:45
241	Mo	Warrillow	FV45	36	1:27:20
248	Neil	Robinson	MV40	63	1:27:39
311	Ann	Tryssesoone	FV45	52	1:34:38
333	Karen	Liddle	FV55	10	1:37:13
473	Nic	Pattman	FV35	78	1:49:31
481	Emma	Southerington	FV35	81	2:20:25

 

Sunday XC League – Stevenage Result

Fairlands Valley Spartans Women (17 Spartans, 165 finished)

Overall Position	Women Pos.	Name	Time	Comments
102	8	GAIL MACKIE	35:19	“WA” team
113	9	MICHELLE REEVES	35:45	“WA” team
121	12	SAM PRETTY	35:57	“WA” team
132	15	ALISON WOOD	36:24	“WA” team
180	23	TANYA BRAZIER	39:08	“WA” team
191	26	YUKO GORDON	39:59	“WB” team
241	46	TRACEY JACKSON	41:42	“WB” team
253	50	CLAIRE EMMERSON	42:01	“WB” team
302	75	FIONA CLARKE	44:17	“WB” team
309	78	ALISON SHELLEY	44:43	“WB” team
362	107	WENDY THARANI	46:54	“WC” team
398	132	LIZ CROWLEY	51:18	“WC” team
424	151	LINDA NOLAN	56:44	“WC” team
426	152	JANE WHITROW	57:57	“WC” team
433	157	HAYLEY YENDELL	60:29	“WC” team
434	158	TONI NICHOLS	60:32
435	159	NICOLA HATHERLY	60:32

 

Fairlands Valley Spartans first ten men (30 Spartans, 280 finished)

 

Position	Men	Name	Time#	Comments
18	18	SIMON JACKSON	30:41	“MA” team
20	20	JON PARR	30:53	“MA” team
24	24	DAN McALPINE	31:05	“MA” team
34	34	ADRIAN BUSOLINI	32:01	“MA” team
37	37	KEITH COUGHLIN	32:06	“MA” team
50	50	PAUL HEWETT	32:43	“MA” team
75	73	STUART HAYCROFT	34:01	“MA” team
97	91	GRANT RAMSAY	35:05	“MA” team
118	108	MARTIN BLACKBURN	35:52	“MB” team
145	128	BRIAN WHITE	36:57	“MB” team

 

# = Gun to finish times.

 

Parkrun Results Wednesday 25^th December

Parkrun	Position	Gender	Parkrunner	Run Time	Comments
Braunstone	105	95	Richard COWLISHAW	00:22:49
Lymington Woodside	216	123	Darryl STEVENS	01:01:03
Stevenage	1	1	Jonathan PARR	00:17:39
Stevenage	7	7	Adrian BUSOLINI	00:18:38	PB
Stevenage	13	13	Martin BLACKBURN	00:19:23
Stevenage	18	18	Dean CARPENTER	00:19:45
Stevenage	28	28	Stuart ARCHER	00:21:01
Stevenage	37	37	Brian WHITE	00:21:31
Stevenage	50	49	Paul SHELLEY	00:22:08
Stevenage	59	56	John ROXBOROUGH	00:22:42
Stevenage	74	69	William MORLEY	00:23:19	20th
Stevenage	75	70	Chris HOLLAND	00:23:21
Stevenage	82	6	Tracey JACKSON	00:23:31	New
Stevenage	84	78	Graham BLACKBURN	00:23:41
Stevenage	88	9	Grace BROWN	00:23:51
Stevenage	90	81	Martin DUDLEY	00:23:53
Stevenage	99	89	Paul MAGUIRE	00:24:10
Stevenage	121	110	Matt CLARKE	00:25:04
Stevenage	160	141	Jonathan JONES	00:26:38
Stevenage	182	30	Georgie HOOPER	00:27:22
Stevenage	183	153	Nick GILL	00:27:22
Stevenage	211	169	Edward HARE	00:28:26
Stevenage	216	44	Fiona CLARKE	00:28:39
Stevenage	219	46	Alison SHELLEY	00:28:43
Stevenage	222	47	Ann TRYSSESOONE	00:28:52
Stevenage	223	48	Ada JANUSIENE	00:28:55	PB
Stevenage	231	179	Ken JUDE	00:29:17
Stevenage	251	188	Jim BROWN	00:30:26
Stevenage	252	64	Penny SCHENKEL	00:30:27
Stevenage	258	68	Monica SMITHSON	00:30:43
Stevenage	265	195	Darren EMMERSON	00:30:51	100th
Stevenage	266	71	Claire EMMERSON	00:30:52
Stevenage	267	72	Vicky ARCHER	00:30:52	New
Stevenage	268	73	Tracy PEZ	00:30:53	50th
Stevenage	269	196	David SCOTT	00:30:53
Stevenage	270	74	Jenny GARRETT	00:30:53
Stevenage	271	75	Debbie BLANTERN	00:30:54
Stevenage	272	197	Andy JAY	00:30:54
Stevenage	273	76	Sofia CARPENTER	00:30:54
Stevenage	274	77	Eva RAMSEY	00:30:55
Stevenage	290	86	Sally PICKLES	00:31:17	PB
Stevenage	300	94	Dzenana TOPIC	00:31:44
Stevenage	309	97	Karen LIDDLE	00:32:31	New
Stevenage	327	109	Maria SWIFT	00:33:14
Stevenage	328	110	Jane WHITROW	00:33:15
Stevenage	331	112	Erica GRAYSON	00:33:26
Stevenage	332	113	Caroline CROFT	00:33:27
Stevenage	360	126	Tracy STILES	00:34:52
Stevenage	361	235	Nick WITCOMBE	00:34:52
Stevenage	390	241	Paul JENNINGS	00:36:13
Stevenage	408	247	Roger BIGGS	00:37:26
Stevenage	435	179	Caren THAIN	00:42:59
Stevenage	450	188	Hazel JONES	00:49:34
Weymouth	130	103	Steven DOBNER	00:24:07
Melton Mowbray	115	88	Daniel SUTTON	00:27:47
Melton Mowbray	159	42	Verity FISHER	00:30:31
Littlehampton Prom	94	31	Karen PALMER	00:29:51
Norwich	183	168	Toby ECCLESHALL	00:21:51
Panshanger	125	107	Mark GOODWIN	00:24:32
Panshanger	168	30	Mo WARRILLOW	00:26:03

 

Spartan Parkrun Results, Saturday 28^th December

Parkrun	Position	Gender	Parkrunner	Run Time	Comments
Bangor, NI	298	113	Andrea WESTCOTT	00:40:42	New venue
Brockenhurst	266	177	Darryl STEVENS	00:43:46
Cassiobury	30	28	Tim SABAN	00:20:36	60th
Cassiobury	92	11	Grace BROWN	00:23:26	New venue
Cheltenham	159	132	Ryan DUNNING	00:25:20	New venue
Hillsborough	262	87	Jane WHITROW	00:33:25	New venue
Kirkwall	19	5	Ros INGRAM	00:25:13	New venue
Letchworth	16	16	John HARRIS	00:24:16
Letchworth	44	5	Tracy PEZ	00:28:08
Panshanger	60	57	Mark GOODWIN	00:24:18
Panshanger	247	79	Maggie MONTGOMERY	00:46:15
Raphael	48	44	John ROXBOROUGH	00:22:20	New venue
Rushmoor	278	67	Debbie BLANTERN	00:29:28	New venue
Rutland Water	240	170	Daniel SUTTON	00:31:03
Rutland Water	241	71	Verity FISHER	00:31:04
Sale Water	64	13	Mo WARRILLOW	00:26:31	New venue
Stevenage	1	1	Jonathan PARR	00:16:52
Stevenage	13	13	Dean CARPENTER	00:19:35
Stevenage	25	1	Alison WOOD	00:21:01
Stevenage	26	25	Elliott WHITE	00:21:04
Stevenage	34	33	Thomas SAUKA	00:21:49
Stevenage	38	37	William MORLEY	00:22:10
Stevenage	43	42	Martin WOOD	00:22:20
Stevenage	46	44	Paul SHELLEY	00:22:31
Stevenage	48	45	Danny SCANLON	00:22:38
Stevenage	56	52	Martin DUDLEY	00:23:12
Stevenage	65	60	Paul MAGUIRE	00:23:27
Stevenage	73	68	Darren EMMERSON	00:24:01
Stevenage	79	74	Nigel STRONGITHARM	00:24:13
Stevenage	116	13	Susan MCANENY	00:26:18
Stevenage	117	104	Ciaran MCANENY	00:26:19
Stevenage	118	105	Jonathan JONES	00:26:20
Stevenage	162	136	James NICHOLLS	00:28:34
Stevenage	166	139	Matt CLARKE	00:28:44	50th
Stevenage	169	141	James MCSWEENEY	00:28:50
Stevenage	188	153	Steven DOBNER	00:29:46
Stevenage	189	36	Alison SHELLEY	00:29:46
Stevenage	190	37	Fiona CLARKE	00:29:49
Stevenage	218	50	Dzenana TOPIC	00:30:57	30th
Stevenage	223	170	David ACKERY	00:31:06
Stevenage	229	56	Jenny GARRETT	00:31:22	30th
Stevenage	230	57	Claire EMMERSON	00:31:22
Stevenage	231	58	Karen PALMER	00:31:23
Stevenage	242	63	Sharon FLAHERTY	00:32:07	20th
Stevenage	267	193	Tim ROBINSON	00:33:26
Stevenage	320	106	Hilary DAVIES	00:36:25	50th
Stevenage	330	113	Helen HARRIS	00:37:27
Stevenage	334	219	Roger BIGGS	00:38:03
Stevenage	369	134	Hazel JONES	00:48:18
Westmill	38	32	Andy JAY	00:28:22

 

Hundreds ran Sunday’s cross country league race in Fairlands Valley Park which was hosted by Fairlands Valley Spartans and 47 of the 445 running were Spartans.  The club had three complete men’s teams and three complete women’s teams; and some runners to spare.  Nineteen clubs competed.

Racing over three laps and about five muddy miles SIMON JACKSON led in the Spartan men in 30 minutes 40 seconds for 18^th place overall.  JON PARR was a few seconds behind in 30:53 with DAN McALPINE third at 24^th in 31:04.  All eight in the “A” team finished in the first one hundred in the race.  The other five were ADRIAN BUSOLINI 34^th in 32:01; KEITH COUGHLIN 37^th in 32:06; PAUL HEWETT 50^th in 32:43; STUART HAYCROFT 73^rd man in 34:01 and GRANT RAMSAY 91^st man in 35:05.

GAIL MACKIE was eighth woman and well up in the whole race coming in at 102^nd in 35 minutes 19 seconds.  MICHELLE REEVES was ninth woman in 35:45; SAM PRETTY 12^th  in 35:57; ALISON WOOD 15^th in 36:24 and TANYA BRAZIER 23^rd in 39:08 made up the rest of the five person women’s “A” team.  They were second out of the nineteen “A” teams in the race and are second in the league after three of the five fixtures.

The Fairlands females “B” team were also second in their category with YUKO GORDON 26^th in 39:59; TRACEY JACKSON 46^th in 41:42; CLAIRE EMMERSON 50^th in 42:01 and FIONA CLARKE 75^th in 44:17 and ALISON SHELLEY 78^th in 44:43.

The Spartan veteran women’s team won their event.

With a better turnout, thirty runners, the men improved to fifth “A” and fifth “B” team.  They are now sixth in the league.

 

Parkrun Highlights 21^st December 2019

36 Spartans ran in eight different Parkrun locations on Saturday.  The fastest Spartan was Ella-May HARDS improving her personal best by 15 seconds to 19 minutes 22 seconds which got her first woman and eighth overall out of 212 at Blandford.  Fastest male Spartan this week was Dean CARPENTER [19:25] who was sixth overall in Stevenage.  Gail MACKIE [22:27] was fastest Fairlands female and the fourth lady running in Stevenage.

Two Spartans achieved Personal Best (PB) times, Nigel STRONGITHARM [23:36] in Stevenage and Mo WARRILLOW [25:27].

Special congratulations to Debbie BLANTERN [28:22] running her 50^th Parkrun on her 50^th birthday.

Merry Christmas from the Parkrun reporting team (Karen, Jane, Fiona and Neal)

(You can find all the Spartan parkrun results near the end of this release).

 

Coming Events

The Spartans are growing.  At November 2019 FVS had 346 members, 177 women and 169 men – that’s more than the previous year.

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

• Buntingford Year End ten miles on Sunday 29^th December.
• New Year 10K in Hyde Park on Monday 1^st January 2020.
• County Cross Country Championships in Stevenage on Sunday 5^th January (enter by 11^th December).  Women 8K at `1230; men 12K at 1315.
• Cross Country League Race Four in Watford on Sunday 12^th January.
• Fred Hughes Ten (10 mile race) on Sunday 19^th January.
• Serpentine 5K in Hyde Park on Friday lunch-time 31^st January.
• Watford Half Marathon on Sunday 2^nd February.
• Cross Country League Race Five in Royston on Sunday 9^th February.
• Bramley 20 miles on Sunday 16^th February (entries are open).
• St Valentine’s 30K in Stamford on Sunday 16^th February.
• Baldock Beast on Sunday 23^rd February.
• FVS Champions Night and Dinner on Friday 28^th February.
• Berkhamsted Half Marathon and Five on Sunday 1^st March.
• Hillingdon 20 including Hertfordshire county championships on Sunday 8^th March (entries are open).
• Bedford Autodrome 5K, 10K; Half; 16 miles; 20 miles and marathon on Sunday 22^nd March.
• Victoria Park Five on Saturday 28^th March.
• Oakley 20 on Sunday 29^th March.
• Peterborough Marathon on Sunday 5^th April.
• Maidenhead Easter Ten on Friday 10^th April.
• The 2020 London Marathon is on Sunday 26^th April.
• Bedford Spring Half Marathon on Saturday 16^th May.
• Mid Week Road Race League in Stevenage (FVS) on Thursday 28^th May.
• St Albans Half Marathon (and Stevenage Day) on Sunday 14^th June.

 

Tables

 

Fairlands Valley Spartans Women (17 Spartans, 165 finished)

 

Overall Pos.	Women. Pos.	Name	Time	Comments
102	8	GAIL MACKIE	35:19	“WA” team
113	9	MICHELLE REEVES	35:45	“WA” team
121	12	SAM PRETTY	35:57	“WA” team
132	15	ALISON WOOD	36:24	“WA” team
180	23	TANYA BRAZIER	39:08	“WA” team
191	26	YUKO GORDON	39:59	“WB” team
241	46	TRACEY JACKSON	41:42	“WB” team
253	50	CLAIRE EMMERSON	42:01	“WB” team
302	75	FIONA CLARKE	44:17	“WB” team
309	78	ALISON SHELLEY	44:43	“WB” team
362	107	WENDY THARANI	46:54	“WC” team
398	132	LIZ CROWLEY	51:18	“WC” team
424	151	LINDA NOLAN	56:44	“WC” team
426	152	JANE WHITROW	57:57	“WC” team
433	157	HAYLEY YENDELL	60:29	“WC” team
434	158	TONI NICHOLS	60:32
435	159	NICOLA HATHERLY	60:32

 

Fairlands Valley Spartans first eight men (30 Spartans, 280 finished)

 

Position	Men	Name	Time#	Comments
18	18	SIMON JACKSON	30:41	“MA” team
20	20	JON PARR	30:53	“MA” team
24	24	DAN McALPINE	31:05	“MA” team
34	34	ADRIAN BUSOLINI	32:01	“MA” team
37	37	KEITH COUGHLIN	32:06	“MA” team
50	50	PAUL HEWETT	32:43	“MA” team
75	73	STUART HAYCROFT	34:01	“MA” team
97	91	GRANT RAMSAY	35:05	“MA” team

 

# = Gun to finish times.

 

Parkrun Results Saturday 21^st December

 

 

Parkrun	Pos	Gen	Parkrunner	Time	Note
Blandford	8	1	Ella-May HARDS	19:22	15 sec PR PB
Stevenage	6	6	Dean CARPENTER	00:19:25
Stevenage	8	8	Martin BLACKBURN	00:19:49
Stevenage	31	4	Gail MACKIE	00:22:27
Stevenage	32	28	Toby ECCLESHALL	00:22:28	75 PR
St Albans	65	63	Luke VINCENT	00:22:33
Letchworth	6	6	John HARRIS	00:22:51
Teignmouth Promenade	29	27	Daniel SUTTON	00:22:54
Stevenage	49	41	Nigel STRONGITHARM	00:23:36	PB
Ellenbrook Fields	33	2	Grace BROWN	00:23:53
Teignmouth Promenade	52	11	Verity FISHER	00:24:27
Stevenage	92	77	David PATTMAN	00:25:56
Stevenage	93	78	Matt CLARKE	00:25:56
Stevenage	94	16	Mo WARRILLOW	00:25:57	125 PR & PB
Stevenage	96	80	Steven DOBNER	00:26:03
Stevenage	100	84	Jonathan JONES	00:26:12
Stevenage	130	108	Luke GURNEY	00:27:44
Stevenage	142	26	Fiona CLARKE	00:28:11
Stevenage	143	27	Alison SHELLEY	00:28:12
Stevenage	144	117	James NICHOLLS	00:28:13
Stevenage	147	29	Debbie BLANTERN	00:28:22	50th PR
Stevenage	148	119	Tim ROBINSON	00:28:23
Stevenage	152	122	Ken JUDE	00:28:43
Stevenage	166	35	Sofia CARPENTER	00:29:39
Stevenage	179	138	Jim BROWN	00:30:07
Stevenage	185	46	Penny SCHENKEL	00:30:21
Stevenage	188	48	Ada JANUSIENE	00:30:38
Stevenage	196	52	Karen PALMER	00:30:54
Panshanger	198	52	Jane WHITROW	00:33:40
Stevenage	237	74	Callie CHAPMAN	00:33:55
Stevenage	238	75	Hazel SMITH	00:33:55
Stevenage	239	76	Tracy STILES	00:33:57
Stevenage	246	80	Chloe CHAPMAN	00:34:17
Stevenage	270	177	Roger BIGGS	00:37:05
Milton Keynes	519	362	Graham HILL	00:39:40
Stevenage	302	117	Hazel JONES	00:54:45

 

A fifth Spartan woman has qualified for the British marathon championships!  An injury meant SUZY HAWKINS couldn’t target the same race as her amazing Spartan friends on the sub 90 minutes mission.  But with a stripey team now entered in the championship start at London she really wanted to be on that start line with them.  The deadline for entries is 31 December, so she thought would give the four laps of the Dorney Lake Half Marathon a go.  Suzy honestly thought “if I do it I have a 1% chance of qualifying, if I don’t zero%.”  It was very windy.  She was amazed and delighted at the pace she managed to maintain and was over the moon to win, and take almost three minutes off her personal best with 1 hour 27 minutes 14 seconds, but it was about joining the amazing women in the first ever Spartans marathon championship team.

Suzy Hawkins, Ashley King, Gail Mackie, Sam Pretty and Michelle Reeves are the famous Fairlands five.  All had to run a half marathon in less than 1 hour 30 minutes by the end of December to qualify for the marathon championships on Sunday 26^th April.

 

Thetford Forest 10K

Rufus and JANE WHITROW ran a 10K race through Thetford Forest on 15 December.  She said it was a fast course; all off road with a mixture of grass, sandy and rocky paths.

It was amazingly dry under foot, Rufus (her dog) didn’t need to be dried off at all.  There was a very civilised 10.30 start for the runners and 11.15 for the Canicross.  The event was based at High Lodge where Go Ape is, the mountain biking centre, café, etc., so great facilities for before and after the race.  The sausage roll got a gold star from Rufus.  This was race 1 in a series.  Races 2 and 3 are January and February.

Jane has space if any Spartan wants to join her for races two and three, with or without dog.

 

Festive Five

SIMON JACKSON did the Festive 5 in Welwyn Garden City on Sunday.  He said conditions were fresh but with a bit of sunshine on the rolling course it was a fun morning.  He started in his Santa hat but by a third of the way round had to take it off.  Simon finished fifth overall in 28:34 and was third in his age group.

Spartan JOHN HARRIS finished in 33 minutes 14 seconds.

 

Pisa Half

Despite a rather indifferent weather report for Pisa, the sun came out, the wind dropped to nothing, and it became a lovely day for running

Starting and finishing with the Iconic Leaning Tower of Pisa in view, ROGER BIGGS completed the Pisa Half Marathon in 2:51:15

 

Parkrun Highlights 14^th December 2019

As the rain fell 34 Fairland Valley Spartans’ headed out to run Parkrun events this weekend.

In Stevenage there was enough of a window in the rain for MICHELLE REEVES to finish first woman and 15^th overall in 21 minutes 17 seconds, VERITY FISHER finished as the 7^th woman overall in a time of 24 mins and 34 secs and ALISON SHELLEY as the 15^th in 25 mins and 41 secs, while DEAN CARPENTER finished 6^th overall in 20 mins and 18 secs in his 30^th parkrun and PAUL SHELLEY as 8^th in 20 mins and 38 secs.

Further afield GRACE BROWN was the fourth woman to finish the Canons Park course in 24 mins and 39 secs alongside TIM SABAN who was 7^th overall in 21 mins and 42 secs.  At Hunstanton Promenade NICOLA KENNEDY finished as the second female in a time of 24 mins and 04 secs.

Other landmark parkruns at Stevenage included CLAIRE EMMERSON running her 70^th in 30:41 and JIM BROWN his 40^th in 31:06.

(You can find all the Spartan parkrun results near the end of this release).

Many other Spartans enjoyed the club’s annual off road run to Minsden Chapel.

 

Tables

Parkrun Results Saturday 14^th December

Parkrun	Pos	Gen	Parkrunner	Times	Notes
Grovelands parkrun	155	118	Tim ROBINSON	31:09
Gunnersbury parkrun	456	263	Darryl STEVENS	39:20
Stevenage parkrun	6	6	Dean CARPENTER	20:18	30th parkrun
	8	8	Paul SHELLEY	20:38
	15	1	Michelle REEVES	21:17	1st woman
	22	20	Daniel SUTTON	21:43
	40	37	Thomas SAUKA	22:51
	46	42	Martin DUDLEY	23:20
	71	7	Verity FISHER	24:34
	79	70	Matt CLARKE	24:55
	81	72	Barry OSBORNE	24:58
	82	73	Steven DOBNER	24:59
	84	74	David PATTMAN	25:04
	85	75	Sam SIMMONS	25:10
	88	78	James NICHOLLS	25:18
	93	81	Nigel STRONGITHARM	25:25
	99	15	Alison SHELLEY	25:41
	107	91	Darren EMMERSON	26:13
	125	21	Sofia CARPENTER	27:12
	137	27	Fiona CLARKE	27:47
	165	37	Monica SMITHSON	29:30
	169	132	Nick KLEANTHOUS	29:56
	176	42	Jan FRY	30:31
	180	45	Claire EMMERSON	30:41	70th parkrun
	181	46	Jenny GARRETT	30:42
	182	47	Kerstin WEINER	30:43
	189	140	Jim BROWN	31:06	40th parkrun
	190	50	Penny SCHENKEL	31:07
	192	51	Dzenana TOPIC	31:17
	195	53	Sally PICKLES	31:41
	214	65	Tracy STILES	33:11
Canons Park parkrun	7	7	Tim SABAN	21:42
	28	4	Grace BROWN	24:39
Cassiobury parkrun	183	149	James KILROY	27:33
Hunstanton Promenade parkrun	11	2	Nicola KENNEDY	24:04

 

 

After a very congested start and a lot of surge running to clear some space during the opening three miles, ED HARE completed the Milton Keynes Winter Half Marathon in 1:46:05 which is a 3 minute PB (personal best).  Conditions were wet underfoot and very windy, with a tight technical course which made life tough but he was really pleased to have improved his half time along with some other great runs from fellow Spartans.

STEVE DOBNER’s chip time was 1:49:53.  He said it was not his favourite course as it is very tight to start with.  The organisers tried to fix that this year with Wave starts but sadly the organisation didn’t match the idea.  Luckily the weather held so everyone enjoyed a sunny, if a little blustery run.

Steve set off with Ed Hare trying to hold on to 5 minute kilometres for as long as possible and then holding on to break 1:50.  Ending up  closer than he hoped at 1:49:53 but he was still happy with knocking over seven minutes off his previous personal best.

Rob Evans completed the race in a Season’s Best time of 1:53:12.  This was Rob’s sixth half marathon of the year – returning to running after major foot surgery last year.  Rob has improved his times from 2 hours 15 to 1 hour 53 over the course of 2019!

ALISON SHELLEY reduced her personal best by 22 seconds, getting under two hours for the second time with 1:59:14.  Great weather, great Spartan company and a nice one loop course.

GERRY ROSEN completed the MK winter half in 2 hours 40 minutes 21 seconds.  He said a little hamstring niggle after 9 miles slowed him down !!

 

Adrian Wins Enigma

ADRIAN BUSOLINI: ran 3 hours 5 minutes 50 seconds to secure first place in the Christmas Enigma marathon in Milton Keynes on Saturday, with a personal best (PB) of around 12 minutes.

He said, “After being given race number 1, I knew he had to make a bit of an effort!  It’s my second consecutive win at Caldecotte Lake, so the pressure will be on next time to keep the winning streak running…”

 

On The Road Again

Roger Biggs spent the weekend in Costa Teguise on the lovely Spanish Island  of Lanzarote

On the Friday evening, Roger ran the Santa 5km in 32:26. As runners stood waiting to start, there was an absolute downpour , which abaited as the race started, but left a flooded course

On Saturday it was 10km race, run from the Capital Arrecife to Costa Teguise. Roger completed the distance in 1:17:56.

 

Santa Canta 5K

Several Spartans enjoyed the Santa Canta 5K on Norton Common in Letchworth.  They included YUKO GORDON with 23:39. NEIL ROBINSON in 27:01 and many enjoying the festive fun.

 

Position	First Name	Last Name	Timr
21	Yuko	Gordon	23:39
68	Neil	Robinson	27:01
123	Robert	Evans	30:05
197	Carole	Sheldrick	32:35
200	Caroline	Croft	32:41
217	Sue	Hamer	33:26
218	Erica	Grayson	33:29
219	Megan	Taylor	33:30
229	Cathy	Craig	34:08

 

Parkrun Highlights 7^th December 2019

Spartans participated in parkruns at eight different venues across England.

Jonathan Parr took his winning ways to Millennium Country Park near Bedford.  He was first finisher in 16:50.  The male record at this PR is 16:23

At Stevenage it was stripey Saturday with a strong turnout of 35 Spartans.  Abigail Pez was second female in new PB of 22:24. She was also first in her age group.  Marian Morley also achieved a new PB of 27:07.  She said, “I am so pleased to finish my running year with a PB at the Stevenage parkrun this Saturday.  Couldn’t have made the progress I have without the support of the Spartans team.

I’m taking a short break now and I hope to be out running again in the new year.”

(You can find all the Spartan parkrun results near the end of this release).

 

Tables

Parkrun Results Saturday 7^th December

Southsea parkrun

A total of 416 runners took part.

 

Position	Gender Position	parkrunner	Run Time
412	268	Graham HOARE	01:01:38

 

Westmill parkrun

A total of 53 runners took part.

 

Position	Gender Position	parkrunner	Run Time
46	16	Tracy STILES	00:35:36

 

Stevenage parkrun

A total of 304 runners took part.

 

Position	Gender Position	parkrunner	Run Time
6	6	Dean CARPENTER	00:19:42
8	8	Martin BLACKBURN	00:20:06
15	14	William MORLEY	00:21:08
20	19	Thomas SAUKA	00:21:28
26	25	Chris HOLLAND	00:22:17
30	2	Abigail PEZ	00:22:24
36	34	Craig BACON	00:22:49
44	41	Martin DUDLEY	00:23:20
66	58	Darren EMMERSON	00:24:50
67	59	Lee PICKERSGILL	00:24:52
72	9	Tracy PEZ	00:25:08
80	69	Paul SHELLEY	00:25:38
82	71	Matt CLARKE	00:25:41
83	72	Daniel SUTTON	00:25:44
86	75	Edward HARE	00:25:50
94	81	James NICHOLLS	00:26:00
100	85	Barry OSBORNE	00:26:11
114	18	Sofia CARPENTER	00:27:00
117	20	Marian MORLEY	00:27:07
125	24	Ann TRYSSESOONE	00:27:40
139	30	Fiona CLARKE	00:28:17
140	31	Claire PULLEN	00:28:18
149	115	David PATTMAN	00:28:53
150	116	Steven DOBNER	00:28:54
151	117	Nick KLEANTHOUS	00:28:55
174	47	Jenny GARRETT	00:30:03
177	50	Claire EMMERSON	00:30:16
178	51	Verity FISHER	00:30:16
190	58	Ada JANUSIENE	00:31:00
191	133	Tim ROBINSON	00:31:00
198	62	Sally PICKLES	00:31:41
216	72	Callie CHAPMAN	00:33:24
222	78	Mo WARRILLOW	00:34:05
227	82	Chloe EMMERSON	00:34:19
228	146	Andy PRIOR	00:34:20

 

Panshanger parkrun

A total of 280 runners took part.

 

Position	Gender Position	parkrunner	Run Time
219	152	Andy JAY	00:31:59
232	75	Jane WHITROW	00:33:31

 

Evesham parkrun

A total of 103 runners took part.

 

Position	Gender Position	parkrunner	Run Time
28	24	Nigel STRONGITHARM	00:24:19

 

Ellenbrook Fields parkrun

A total of 204 runners took part.

 

Position	Gender Position	parkrunner	Run Time
6	6	John HARRIS	00:19:51
204	86	Grace BROWN	00:49:58

 

Letchworth parkrun

A total of 70 runners took part.

 

Position	Gender Position	parkrunner	Run Time
20	3	Jo BOWDERY	00:27:39

 

Millennium Country parkrun, Forest of Marston Vale

A total of 99 runners took part.

 

Position	Gender Position	parkrunner	Run Time
1	1	Jonathan PARR	00:16:50

 

There were great runs by Fairlands Valley Spartans women with the whole “A” team beating 37 minutes for 4.8 miles on a typical liquid mud Trent Park cross country course.

The women’s “A” team were second out of the twenty clubs on the day and are second in the league after the first two events.  The FVS women’s “B” team were also second in their category and are also second overall.  The Spartan veteran women improved to second in this race and now very close to second in the overall standings.

494 men and women finished the tough race and ELLA-MAY HARDS was 80^th out of all of them and third out of the 186 women in 32 minutes 45 seconds beating all but three Spartan men; next came a Spartan rush with SUZY HAWKINS, 132^nd in 34:46; MICHELLE REEVES 135^th in 34:55 and GAIL MACKIE 138^th in 35:03.  ALISON WOOD was fifth counter at 189^th in 36:56.  Four out of the first eleven women were Spartans.

Men’s team consisted of eight runners and SIMON JACKSON lead them in at 15^th in 29:38; next came CHRIS WESTCOTT 30^th in 30:18; ADRIAN BUSOLINI 58^th in 31:41 and in the top 100 and under 32 minutes.  STUART ARCHER was 123^rd in 34:17.

There were no less than five Spartan women’s teams in the race!  The FVS “B” team was led in by YUKO GORDON at 235^th in 38:36; followed by RHIANNON GRIFFIN 239^th in 38:38; TRACEY JACKSON 272^nd in 40:10; CLAIRE EMMERSON 310^th in 41:52 and LAUREN ING 326^th in 42:32.

25 Spartan women and 18 men completed the race.  The third race in the Cross Country League will be hosted by FVS and will be in Stevenage on Sunday 22nd December.

Spartan Women (25) – teams of five:

 

Overall Position	Name	Time	Cat.	Comments
80	ELLA-MAY HARDS	32:45	SW	3rd woman.  W “A” team
132	SUZY HAWKINS	34:46	W35	9th woman.  W “A” team
135	MICHELLE REEVES	34:55	SW	10th woman.  W “A” team
138	GAIL MACKIE	35:03	SW	11th woman.  W “A” team
189	ALISON WOOD	36:56	W45	W “A” team
235	YUKO GORDON	38:36	W65	W “B” team
239	RHIANNON GRIFFIN	38:38	SW	W “B” team
272	TRACEY JACKSON	40:10	W45	W “B” team
310	CLAIRE EMMERSON	41:52	W45	W “B” team
326	LAUREN ING	42:32	SW	W “B” team
340	KELLY McHALE	43:07	W35	W “C” team
354	KAREN ELLIS	43:31	W45	W “C” team
379	FIONA CLARKE	44:38	W35	W “C” team
392	WENDY THARANI	45:56	W45	W “C” team
393	KAREN DODSWORTH	46:00	W55	W “C” team
418	SHERYL HANN	48:28	W55
430	JULIE SHADBOLT	49:27	W45
436	VICKY ARCHER	50:37	W35
437	MO WARRILOW	50:40	SW
456	LIZ CROWLEY	53:08	SW
462	SUE HAMER	54:13	W45
463	HAYLEY YENDELL	54:13	W35
464	SOPHIE COWAN	54:23	W35
471	ROWENA RUTLEDGE	55:28	W45
475	SHARON FLAHERTY	56:52	W35

 

Spartan men (18) – teams of eight:

Overall Position	Name	Time	Category	Comments
15	SIMON JACKSON	29:38	M40	M “A” team
30	CHRIS WESTCOTT	30:18	M40	M “A” team
57	ADRIAN BUSOLINI	31:41	SM	M “A” team
123	STUART ARCHER	34:17	SM	M “A” team
143	BRIAN WHITE	35:20	M60	M “A” team
160	TOBY ECCLESHALL	35:56	SM	M “A” team
161	THOMAS SAUKA	35:56	M40	M “A” team
227	MARTIN WOOD	38:14	M50	M “A” team
236	PETE SMITH	38:39	M50	M “B” team
253	NICK CROWLEY	39:26	SM	M “B” team
273	CRAIG BACON	40:15	M40	M “B” team
285	MATT CLARKE	41:04	M40	M “B” team
311	STEVE DOBNER	44:54	M40	M “B” team
400	LUKE GURNEY	46:51	SM	M “B” team
401	TIM ROBINSON	46:59	M50	M “B” team
453	KEN JUDE	47:28	M50	M “B” team
455	TY THARANI	54:32	M50
476	ED HARE	56:57	SM

 

Spartans Run in the Sun at the Valencia Marathon

Five Spartans ran in the sun at the Valencia Marathon on Sunday.

The course is flat and fast – proved by the elite winning time of 2.03.51 making this the sixth fastest course in world.

Richard Kennedy led the blue stripes home in his fantastic first sub 3 hour in 2.58 and Nicola smashed her personal best (PB) with 3 hours 22 minutes.  New Spartans Natalie and Elliot White both finished in 3.58.  John Nelms plodded around as usual enjoying the sights and the sun and crossing the line in 4.18.  (Lifetime marathon 76 and his 31st in 2019).

Nicola Kennedy ran a massive new PB (personal best) of 3:22:35 and Richard Kennedy snuck under three hours for the 1st time with a 2:58:53.

Richard said it was a great event with good support and one of the best finish lines in the world!

 

Bedfordshire Harriers Half Marathon

The Bedfordshire Harriers Half Marathon is an attractive club organised rural race in Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire which starts and finishes in the village of Wootton.  From a high point in Cranfield at 9 miles it dives down to the finish.

PAUL MAGUIRE had an excellent run to finish in 1 hour 43 minutes 19 seconds.

JIM BROWN said the air in his lungs was so cold in the first mile that it actually hurt but got going to run a negative split with 1:53:03 while LIZ SMITH was just behind with 1:53:28 having started near the back of the race.

 

Fantastic Fairlands Women Qualify For Marathon Championships

A first for Fairlands Valley Spartans.  A team of women have qualified for the British Marathon Championships which will held at the London Marathon on 26^th April.

However the fastest half, by more than ten minutes, was run by a female member of Fairlands Valley Spartans.  SAM PRETTY ran the Gosport Half Marathon in 1:29:40.  She says it’s a popular fast event and conditions were perfect.  Although Sam says it was hard as she was not race fit she was on a mission – to qualify for the London Marathon Championships.  Her sub 1:30 did that and she’ll be joining GAIL MACKIE and MICHELLE REEVES on the start line in April – the first time the Spartan women will have a complete team of three in the British Marathon Championship.

Fairlands Valley Spartans have a runner in the Age World Record Holders List for 2019.  YUKO GORDON has the highest grading for a marathon.  At 68 years and 218 days she ran a marathon in 3 hours 19 minutes 37 minutes.

 

Serpentine

It was cool but dry for the Serpentine 5K run in Hyde Park on Friday.  Jim Brown finished in 25:07 and now has a score of 67.5% in the series.

 

Parkrun Highlights 30^th November 2019

36 Spartans ran in eight different Parkrun locations on Saturday.  Fastest Spartan this week was Jonathan PARR [17:23] taking first place in Exmouth.  Fastest lady was Jo BOWDERY [23:25] running at Wimpole Estate.  Gail MACKIE [23:28] was first lady at Stevenage.

Three personal best (PB) times were achieved; Steven DOBNER [21:56] at Gunpowder Park, Dan SUTTON [23:28] in Milton Keynes and Mo WARRILLOW [25:22] at Panshanger.

Congratulations to everyone!

(You can find all the Spartan parkrun results near the end of this release).

 

Tables

Parkrun Results Saturday 23^rd November

Parkrun	Pos	Gen	Parkrunner	Time	Note
Exmouth Parkrun	1	1	Jonathan PARR	17:23
Stevenage	3	3	Dean CARPENTER	19:33
Gunpowder Park	26	26	Paul SHELLEY	21:50
Gunpowder Park	27	27	Steven DOBNER	21:56	PB
Stevenage	22	22	Andrew MCGUINNESS	22:19
Stevenage	28	28	Danny SCANLON	22:43
Stevenage	29	29	Thomas SAUKA	22:46
Wolverhampton	50	44	Matt CLARKE	23:04
Wimpole Estate	44	5	Jo BOWDERY	23:25
Milton Keynes	7	46	Daniel SUTTON	23:28	PB
Stevenage	36	1	Gail MACKIE	23:28
Stevenage	37	36	Toby ECCLESHALL	23:29
Stevenage	39	38	Chris HOLLAND	23:34
Wolverhampton	78	12	Fiona CLARKE	24:59
Gunpowder	52	6	Alison SHELLEY	25:13
Panshanger	84	8	Mo WARRILLOW	25:22	PB
Gunpowder	56	49	James NICHOLLS	25:28
Stevenage	99	84	Darren EMMERSON	26:30
Stevenage	103	16	Susan MCANENY	26:46
Stevenage	104	88	Lee PICKERSGILL	26:47
Stevenage	126	102	Nick KLEANTHOUS	27:54
Stevenage	136	27	Sofia CARPENTER	28:32
Stevenage	146	31	Claire EMMERSON	28:55
Stevenage	147	32	Jenny GARRETT	28:56
Stevenage	160	36	Jan FRY	30:25
Gunpowder	133	47	Rowena RUTLEDGE	31:23
Stevenage	181	47	Debbie BLANTERN	31:24
Panshanger	218	47	Monica SMITHSON	31:58
Stevenage	191	140	David ACKERY	32:17
Stevenage	195	53	Nicola HATHERLY	32:35
Stevenage	196	143	Tim ROBINSON	32:36
Milton Keynes	325	85	Verity FISHER	32:49
Stevenage	219	151	Roger BIGGS	35:13
Panshanger	248	69	Tracy STILES	35:31
Stevenage	262	94	Caren THAIN	42:13
Ellenbrook Fields	293	114	Grace BROWN	55:33