Month: January 2022

Categories
Club News Race Results

YUKO BREAKS UK RECORD

PB FOR ASHELY * BUSOLINI’S ACT OF ATTRITION

Spartan YUKO GORDON broke the British road 5 kilometres age record for women on Friday.  Running at the Last Friday of the Month Serpentine 5K in Hyde Park she finished in 21 minutes 53 seconds beating the previous record for women aged 70 plus of 22:08 set by Angela Copson by 15 seconds.   It was also a race record.  While many runners would be happy with an age related score around 70% Yuko achieved 96.5%! 

There was also a good run by new Spartan ASHLEY JOHNSON who won her category and got a new personal best (PB) of 21 minutes 5 seconds. 

Speedy Spartan Ashley Johnson.

Completely outshone by the two Spartan women JIM BROWN was nevertheless pleased to get under 28 minutes for the first time in what seemed like ages.  In fact with a dash for the line he beat 27 minutes with 26:58.  

Jim was pleased with his time.

The Serpentine 5K is a long established running club event.  Great to enjoy on a Friday lunchtime or if you are after a personal best or even a record it’s accurately measured and properly timed. 

It was a good day to run – mild, dry and with a modest breeze.  The next Serpentine 5K will be on Friday 25th February. 

Adrian’s Arc of Attrition 

Spartan ADRIAN BUSOLINI completed the 100 miles Cornish Coastal Path “Arc of Attrition” ultra marathon in 28 hours 12 minutes 31 seconds. 

Adrian’s amazing weekend in Cornwall!

Here’s his story: 

“I didn’t even know what the Arc was when I added my name to its waiting list sometime last year; it was just “some legendary race” that I should probably run at some point.  So it wasn’t until I was offered a place in November, that I read the website and learned the basics.  January, 100 mile, Cornwall, coast path.  I’d already run part of the route in the 70k Classic Quarter back in May.  I rated that as one of the toughest runs I’d done, and for some reason I assumed I’d likely experienced the worst bits of the coastal path. 

I learned a bit more about it in the weeks preceding the race; notably the infamous Pendeen-St Ives section, and consequently bought an awful lot of new kit. Also, only having 4 aid stations, and 1 drop bag, presented some real challenges for an uncrewed runner like me.  The most kit I’d carried before was during the CCC; but even there, I hadn’t needed to carry 5kg of supplies in a 12l pack.  Water resupply was an open question. 

The weather conditions were described as unusually favourable, and we joked about course PBs on the start line, before the drums rang out and the blue smoke was deployed to signal the start of the Arc. 

The Arc is a bit of a beast.  The section through Lizard to Marazion is technical, tough coastal running. In May, when I ran the Classic Quarter, it was slippery. In January, it’s more slippery. And it’s pretty relentless up-and-down stuff. The downs in particular are awkward; you can’t easily use them to regenerate, as their awkwardness means you’re usually having to break, and thus pummel your quads, which you know you’ll pay for later. 

Marazion to Mousehole (via Penzance) is flat and easy, a nice period to recover & pile on the miles.  But Mousehole to Land’s End is extremely technical.  It’s only runnable in very short bursts.  It was tough in the Classic Quarter, and it’s tougher in the Arc when it’s at night.  In places, one’s foot and entire lower leg disappear into mud. When the shining lights of Land’s End Hotel rise like the sun over the crest of the hills, they act like a beacon of hope in the loneliness of the mizzley night.  At this point, my shoes were full of water, mud, sand, and stones; so my drop bag, and fresh pair of shoes and socks, at Land’s End made the world of difference. 

Pendeen to St Ives is a borderline ridiculous race section.  There’s about 20km of night-time rock-hopping, mud-wading, clambering, scrambling, slipping and sliding.  In places, my knees were swallowed up by the mud. Progress was painfully slow. Meanwhile, time ticks away. 

Arriving into St Ives was a huge relief, where I did my best to dust the worst of the debris from my socks (a lost cause), before getting back to the job of polishing off the last 35km.  An easier section; initially road, then back to the coastal path, interrupted by the infamous “Dunes of Doom”, before I finally focussed back on my finishing time and place, and began to rein in those ahead of me.  I must have gained 5-10 places in the final 10km. 

The finish through Porthtowan, ending with a brilliant hill climb up to the Eco Park, was a thoroughly enjoyable end to what was an extremely tough race.  I got a gold buckle for a sub-30 hour finish, which I’ll take with pleasure.  It was a race I was simply happy to finish uninjured. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for my two pairs of socks:  I fear they are both ‘beyond economical repair’. 

I finished in 28:12:31, putting me around 31st place.” 

Parkrun Highlights 29th January. 

Late January and it was amazingly mild and sunny for the 227th Stevenage parkrun.  Many runners were in shorts and running vests without the extra layers that might be expected at this time of the year.  326 finishers this time including 24 Spartans. 

Altogether thirty-nine Fairlands Valley Spartans ran at Parkrun events around England. 

PB times were recorded at the Westmill course for Danny SCANLON. Danny completed the event in 21 minutes and 36 seconds, finishing sixth overall. 

Also hitting milestones were both MATT CLARKE and TONY RANDFIELD who ran in Stevenage.  Here they completed their 80th and 90th Parkruns respectively, in times of 26 minutes and 47 seconds and 21 minutes and 6 seconds.  MIKE REYNOLDS also hit 80 runs with a time of 26 minutes and 8 seconds at the Panshanger event. 

GRANT RAMSAY was fourth overall in Stevenage in a time of 19 minutes and 15 seconds. 

The next stripy Saturday will be this Saturday 5th February. 

Tables 

Spartans at parkruns Saturday 29th January 

Parkrun Position Gender Position Parkrunner Time 
Stevenage (24 Spartans) 4 4 Grant RAMSAY 00:19:15 
  14 14 Tony RANDFIELD 00:21:06 
  17 17 Martin BLACKBURN 00:21:31 
  56 48 Martin DUDLEY 00:24:18 
  63 54 Graham BLACKBURN 00:24:43 
  95 76 Danik BATES 00:26:12 
  98 79 David PATTMAN 00:26:19 
  110 88 Matt CLARKE 00:26:47 
  131 102 Nick KLEANTHOUS 00:27:32 
  147 31 Debbie BLANTERN 00:28:28 
  165 125 Jim BROWN 00:29:12 
  167 127 Karl SHREEVE 00:29:17 
  228 70 Chloe CHAPMAN 00:32:39 
  229 71 Fiona CLARKE 00:32:39 
  233 74 Tracy HAYGARTH 00:33:04 
  281 105 Mo WARRILLOW 00:36:30 
  282 160 Steven DOBNER 00:36:30 
  309 123 Bonnie BRAZIL 00:40:40 
  323 172 Roger BIGGS 00:51:54 
  325 132 Helen HARRIS 00:55:04 
          
Westmill 6 6 Danny SCANLON 00:21:36 
  32 29 Andy JAY 00:26:41 
          
Dulwich 13 13 Jonathan PARR 00:16:27 
          
Panshanger 72 64 Mike REYNOLDS 00:26:08 
          
Letchworth 15 13 Nick GILL 00:26:08 
          
Kingdom (Penshurst) 82 55 Michael O’KEEFE 00:50:52 
          
Henlow Bridge 14 11 John NELMS 00:22:32 
          
Southall 99 67 Darryl STEVENS 00:38:16 
Categories
Club News Race Results

ABI WINS AT FRED HUGHES

Fairlands Valley Spartans sent men’s and women’s teams to the county road 10 mile championships for veterans in St Albans on Sunday.  Veterans start at age 35 for women and 40 for men with age category breaks every ten years.  The championships were incorporated into the open Fred Hughes 10 race. 

There were 415 women and 410 men in the race. 

Clearly ABIGAIL PEZ could not count towards a veterans’ team but she did WIN the race for women under 20 with a new personal best (PB) of 1 hours 18 minutes 53 seconds.  That’s seven and a half minutes faster than her previous ten miles PB! 

The fastest Spartan was ADRIAN DONNELLY in the first 100 of the 825 finishers with 67 minutes 16 seconds.  At 99th he led in the Spartan men’s team with JOHN HARRIS 135th in 1:09:49; PETE SMITH 193rd in 1:13:01; and MARK GOODWIN 293rd in 1:18:32. 

It was teams of three in the women’s race and YUKO GORDON and ASHLEY JOHNSON were well up there at 54th and 62nd out of 415 women.  Yuko, running against people several years younger than her, was second in the 65 plus category in 1 hour 15 minutes 35 seconds and took SILVER in the County Championships.  She had a higher age related score which was 95.00%!  MARIE COLUCCI impressed at 83rd woman and was the Spartans third counter with 1:18:45. 

A selection of our 10 milers with Abi winning in the first square!

Ten women were running for the Spartans.  The others were TRACY PEZ, 90th woman in 1:19:26; WENDY THARANI 1:31:37; CAROL PAUL 1:35:45; SUE HAMER and ERICA GRAYSON both in 1:42:37 and SHARON CROWLEY 1:51:10. 

The other three men were ANDY JAY 1:31:40; JIM BROWN happy to get round “steady state” in 1:33:48 and recovering after recent mishaps and PAUL HOLGATE 1:49:26. 

In addition ANN TRYSSESOONE was not eligible for the Spartan teams but finished in 1 hour 26 minutes 40 seconds. 

All this on the undulating roads and lanes to the south west of St. Albans including Potters Crouch, Chiswell Green and a favourite climb up past mile six to the edge of Bedmond.  So good to see this classic club organised race back. 

These were the mildest conditions many veterans of the Fred Hughes Ten could remember.  It’s usually notorious for icy patches, snowing during the event, freezing winds or just chucking down large amounts of very cold rain. 

The next county road championships will be at the Watford Half Marathon on Sunday 6th February. 

(The Spartans results table can be found near the end of this release). 

Spartan Women Jump In Cross Country 

Much greater participation helped boost the Fairlands Valley Spartans women’s team to fourth out of nineteen clubs in the latest cross country league race which was at Watford.  They won the veteran women’s team race. 

This time there were five Spartan women in the top fifty and eighteen running.  They were twelfth, eleventh and eleventh in the first three races so this is a tremendous improvement.  The women’s “A” team were CHRIS LATHWELL, SUZY HAWKINS, TRACEY JACKSON, YUKO GORDON and HAZEL SMITH. 

The Spartan men were seventh at Watford with JONATHAN PARR in the top ten out of 405 finishers.  In the combined scores over the series so far the Spartans are seventh.  The final event will be on Therfield Heath, Royston on Sunday 13th February. 

A WIN for Jonathan – RunThrough Olympic Park 5k 

On Saturday morning Spartan JONATHAN PARR WON the Olympic Park 5K with a time of 16 minutes 9 seconds. 

Another great win for Jonathan!

Ciaran At Peddars 

CIARAN MCANENY got fifth place overall at the 48 mile Peddars Way Ultra in a time of 6 hours 52 minutes. 

The race follows the Peddars Way Trail from Knettishall Heath, just north of Bury St Edmunds, to Holme-next-the-Sea on the North Norfolk coast; on a mix of forest path, bridleways and road. 

Beautiful, crisp, sunny weather kept the trails firm and the late morning sun was just warm enough to make for comfortable running temperatures. 

All went to plan in terms of pacing and nutrition with Ciaran finishing 24 minutes faster than his previous outing on the course. 

Ciaran was very happy and, after missing most of last year’s racing due to niggling injuries, it was great to be back on such a nice course and in a really well run and friendly event  

Ciaran still smiling after an impressive 48 miles!

Fast Five for Feetham 

Three laps 33:40 52nd out of 680. 

KIERAN FEETHAM did the Romsey 5 mile race on Sunday.  Although it’s classed as multi-terrain with a 700 metres non-tarmac section for each of the three laps it’s flat and fast. 

The race was delayed by 15 minutes and Kieran had to warm up again as it was cold.  He said he found a good group to stay with for the first three miles but then unfortunately got held up trying to pick his way through some back markers and lost that group.  So he ended up on his own into a headwind.  The last mile marker was in the wrong place so Kieran was slightly panicking why it was taking so long to complete it but he was happy to hold on for a new PB (personal best) of 33 minutes 40 seconds.  An improvement of 1 minute 42 seconds.   He was 52nd out of the 680 finishers. 

Speedy Kieran with his well earned medal!

Parkrun Highlights 22nd January 2022 

Yet another record was set at Saturday’s Stevenage parkrun.  This was the 27th since parkrun restarted for the 200th local run and this time there were 365 finishers.  The highest number since lock down.  Despite some holding back for a ten mile championship race on Sunday twenty five Spartans completed a Parkrun this week, on a cold, crisp, sunny morning. 

GRACE COVENTRY ran a parkrun personal best (PB) of 24 minutes 22 seconds at Stevenage, also taking the title of fastest Spartan lady this week.  GRANT RAMSAY was the fastest Spartan crossing the line at 19:24 at Stevenage. 

Some of our Stevenage Parkrunners.

DARRYL STEVENS ran at Great Salterns Parkrun, Portsmouth, for the first time finishing with a time of 40:00.  Astonishingly, this was the 94th venue he has tried out! 

ANTON McCALLA (27:46 at Market Harborough) and PETER CARPENTER (44:29, Squerryes Winery) completed their first parkruns of the year. 

JIM BROWN (28:45) won his category and KARL SHREEVE (28:47) achieved a year best at Stevenage. 

Although there were no official milestones achieved by members this week, three Spartans have reached 70 runs at Stevenage with LEE PICKERSGILL finishing at 24:23, TRACY HAYGARTH at 31:51 and HELEN HARRIS finishing at 52:44. 

It’s stripy Saturday on Saturday, 5th February. 

Tables 

Spartans at the Fred Hughes 10 (including a county championship). 

Pos Name Time Category Cat Pos Gender Gen Pos % Comments 
99 Adrian DONNELLY 1:07:16 40 – 49 28 Male 86 68.68  
135 John HARRIS 1:09:46 50 – 59 13 Male 117 76.11  
193 Peter SMITH 1:13:01 50 – 59 28 Male 159 72.29  
235 Yuko GORDON 1:15:35 65 + 2 Female 54 95.00 Second in category 
252 Ashley JOHNSON 1:16:37 35 – 44 22 Female 62 66.71  
293 Mark GOODWIN 1:18:32 60 – 69 9 Male 214 70.55  
299 Marie COLUCCI 1:18:45 35 – 44 33 Female 83 65.76  
303 Abigail PEZ 1:18:53 Under 20 1 Female 85 62.91 PB (7:30).  Under 20 winner. 
313 Tracy PEZ 1:19:26 45 – 54 26 Female 90 67.76  
547 Andy JAY 1:31:40 50 – 59 97 Male 340 56.29  
555 Wendy THARANI 1:31:37 45 – 54 67 Female 211 58.79  
586 Jim BROWN 1:33:48 60 – 69 19 Male 353 61.71  
610 Carol PAUL 1:35:45 55 – 64 32 Female 252 64.76  
702 Sue HAMER 1:42:37 45 – 54 109 Female 318 53.99  
703 Erica GRAYSON 1:42:37 45 – 54 110 Female 319 54.63  
762 Paul HOLGATE 1:49:26 60 – 69 35 Male 400 50.75  
776 Sharon CROWLEY 1:51:10 55 – 64 64 Female 374 57.51 First ten mile race in 3 years. 

These are chip times, the time from when the runner crosses the start line to when they cross the finish line.  Gun times are “bang” to finish line and it can take those at the back several minutes to start. 

Spartans at parkruns Saturday 22nd January 

Stevenage parkrun         
Position   Gender Position   parkrunner   Run Time     
9 9 Grant RAMSAY 19:24   
78 72 Lee PICKERSGILL 24:22 70th 
79 7 Grace COVENTRY 24:23 PB 
152 125 Wills JENNINGS 27:47   
166 136 David PATTMAN 28:17   
168 137 Nick KLEANTHOUS 28:20   
180 141 Jim BROWN 28:45 1st in category 
182 142 Matt CLARKE 28:46   
183 143 Karl SHREEVE 28:47 YB 
228 57 Caroline CROFT 30:37   
232 59 Fiona CLARKE 30:53   
234 60 Chloe CHAPMAN 30:58   
235 165 Stephen SMITHSON 31:00   
239 63 Claire EMMERSON 31:06   
256 73 Tracy HAYGARTH 31:51 70th 
344 196 Steven DOBNER 41:15   
345 137 Mo WARRILLOW 41:15   
362 202 Roger BIGGS 49:42   
364 149 Helen HARRIS 52:44 70th 
Gunpowder parkrun         
Position   Gender Position   parkrunner   Run Time     
175 67 Karen BROOM 39:54 First parkrun since 2019 
Letchworth parkrun         
Position   Gender Position   parkrunner   Run Time     
10 9 Nick GILL 22:40   
32 4 Georgie HOOPER 26:55   
Squerryes Winery parkrun         
Position   Gender Position   parkrunner   Run Time     
89 49 Peter CARPENTER 44:29 First parkrun in 2022 
Great Salterns parkrun         
Position   Gender Position   parkrunner   Run Time     
212 127 Darryl STEVENS 40:00 New venue (of 94) 
Westmill parkrun         
Position   Gender Position   parkrunner   Run Time   Comments 
7 7 Danny SCANLON 22:01   
Market Harborough parkrun         
Position   Gender Position   parkrunner   Run Time     
117 86 Anton MCCALLA 27:47 First parkrun in 2022 

  

Categories
Club News Race Results

SPARTANS IN CASSIOBURY

Fairlands Valley Spartan JONATHAN PARR was in the top ten for a cross country race for the second week in a row.  Last week he was eighth in the county championships.  This time he was seventh in the cross country league fixture in Cassiobury Park, Watford covering the six undulating miles in 36 minutes 12 seconds. 

The club had a good turnout of 24 men and 18 women in the race of nineteen clubs and 405 runners.  That meant they had three men’s and three women’s teams finish the race.  League teams consist of eight men and five women. 

Their fastest woman was CHRIS LATHWELL, 45th overall in 40 minutes 22 seconds.  She was fifth woman out of 169.  Next came SUZY HAWKINS, 124th in 45:17 and TRACEY JACKSON, 186th in 49:31.  YUKO GORDON was 198th in 50:12 and HAZEL SMITH fifth counter for the women’s “A” team in 225th with 51:57.  This time the Spartans had five women in the top fifty female runners. 

In addition to Jonathan Parr the Spartan men had a strong team this time with ADRIAN BUSOLINI 17th in 37:58; KELVIN BEYOKU 39th in 39:47; GRANT RAMSAY 61st in 41:48; STEVE WELLS 104th in 44:10; DANNY SCANLON 106th in 44:17; STUART ARCHER 121st in 45:13 and NICK GILL in 46:48. 

(All 42 Spartan times are near the end of this release.  The team scores will be released by the league later this week). 

Parkrun report for 15th January 

34 Spartans took part across nine different parkuns including the Spartans’ homebase of Stevenage. 

Grant and Ashley both clocking fantastic times!

Numbers at Stevenage were still high with 27 Spartans contributing to a new post lockdown record of 353 people taking part.  GRANT RAMSAY was fifth overall in 19 minutes 13 seconds; ASHLEY JOHNSON was second woman and got a new parkrun personal best (PB) of 21:48 as did NICOLA ANDERSSON with 26:34.  MO WARRILLOW was absent from her marshal position of “Mo’s corner” as she was running her second parkrun after returning from injury.  She finished in 46:52 which was great after such a long absence from running.  JIM BROWN reached an unofficial milestone of 70 parkruns.  

It may of been damp and foggy but the weather doesn’t put the Spartans off from what they do best!

MARTIN WOOD was a “first timer” in Sheffield at Endcliffe parkrun (22:53) for his 15th parkrun.  Another first timer, CATHY CRAIG joined a large field of 546 runners at Bournemouth parkrun (31:04).  Cathy said, “I was second in the WV65 age group with a time of 31:04.  Due to temporary works on the path, the course had been changed this week to a mainly off road one which had teething problems – a long bottleneck after half a mile.  They are likely to reroute again to avoid this problem.” 

Smiles all round at Stevenage Parkrun.

DARRYL STEVENS was “tail walker” at Brockenhurst (47:09).  MIKE REYNOLDS was at Panshanger (29:37); JOHN HARRIS was fifth at Letchworth (22:41),   

Fred for the Championship 

Fairlands Valley Spartans will be sending mens and womens teams to the county road 10 mile championships for veterans in St Albans this Sunday.  Veterans start at age 35 with category breaks every ten years.  The championships are incorporated into the open Fred Hughes 10 race. 

Tables 

All 42 Spartans at the cross country league race in Watford on Sunday 16th January. 

Position Name Official Time Gender / Cat Comments 
7 JONATHAN PARR 36:12 MS MA 
17 ADRIAN BUSOLINI 37:58 MS MA 
39 KELVIN BEYOKU 39:47 MS MA 
45 CHRIS LATHWELL 40:22 W45 FA.  5th woman. 
61 GRANT RAMSAY 41:48 M40 MA 
104 STEVE WELLS 44:10 M50 MA 
106 DANNY SCANLON 44:17 M40 MA 
121 STUART ARCHER 45:13 MS MA 
124 SUZY HAWKINS 45:17 W45 FA..18th woman. 
141 NICK GILL 46:48 MS MA 
142 WILLIAM MORLEY 46:57 MS MB 
182 MARTIN WOOD 49:14 M50 MB 
186 TRACEY JACKSON 49:31 W45 FA.  34th woman. 
198 YUKO GORDON 50:12 W65 FA.  41st woman. 
216 DAVID KENNEDY 51:25 MS MB 
218 MARK GOODWIN 51:31 M60 MB 
225 HAZEL SMITH 51:57 W45 FA.  49th woman. 
228 DANIEL BATES 52:16 MS MB 
232 MATT CLARKE 52:29 M40 MB. 
254 LUKE GURNEY 54:00 MS MB 
261 DARREN EMMERSON 54:23 M50 MB 
293 TIM ROBINSON 56:34 M50 MC 
304 NICK KLEANTHOUS 57:15 M50 MC 
306 CAROLE SHELDRICK 57:22 W45 FB 
307 MARK FREEMAN 57:35 M60 MC 
319 WENDY THARANI 58:27 W45 FB 
330 FIONA CLARKE 60:05 W35 FB 
337 NICOLA ANDERSSON 61:14 W45 FB 
359 MARIAN MORLEY 64:33 W55 FB 
360 JIM BROWN 64:36 M60 MC 
361 JENNY GARRETT 65:20 W45 FC 
362 VICKY ARCHER 65:20 W35 FC 
371 KEN JUDE 66:21 M50 MC 
374 JONATHAN JONES 66:59 M50 MC 
380 SHARON CROWLEY 68:38 W55 FC 
381 JAMES KILROY 68:52 M40 MC 
384 PAUL HOLGATE 69:29 M60 MC 
392 CHRISTINE ZVEREV 73:03 W35 FC 
393 SHERYL HANN 73:04 W55 FC 
395 MONICA SMITHSON 73:25 W55  
398 CALLIE CHAPMAN 74:24 W35  
403 NICOLA HATHERLY 78:41 W45  

24 Spartan men.  18 Spartan women.  405 finishers.  169 women.  FA means women’s (female) “A” team and so on. 

Fairlands Valley Spartans at the Stevenage parkrun 

A total of 353 runners took part.  27 Spartans. 

Position   Gender Position   parkrunner   Run Time   
5 5 Grant RAMSAY 19:13 
26 2 Ashley JOHNSON 21:48 
37 32 Tony RANDFIELD 22:48 
66 60 Martin DUDLEY 24:28 
80 72 Nigel STRONGITHARM 25:02 
81 73 Lee PICKERSGILL 25:03 
82 5 Grace COVENTRY 25:05 
96 84 Vishal SHAH 25:44 
115 9 Nicola ANDERSSON 26:34 
130 14 Ann TRYSSESOONE 27:06 
134 111 Matt CLARKE 27:09 
139 114 David PATTMAN 27:14 
144 119 Tim ROBINSON 27:22 
150 121 Nick KLEANTHOUS 27:35 
161 131 Jim BROWN 28:02 
188 35 Fiona CLARKE 29:19 
206 40 Chloe CHAPMAN 30:08 
207 156 Karl SHREEVE 30:12 
213 45 Charlotte KEARNEY 30:48 
215 159 Stephen SMITHSON 31:02 
222 48 Caroline CROFT 31:29 
226 51 Tracy HAYGARTH 31:39 
281 83 Bonnie BRAZIL 35:38 
336 121 Mo WARRILLOW 46:52 
337 199 Steven DOBNER 46:52 
    
345 202 Roger BIGGS 49:07 
Categories
Club News Race Results

COUNTY CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS

Spartan JONATHAN PARR was a top ten finisher in Sunday’s Hertfordshire County Cross Country Championships for seniors (aged 20 and over).  Fifteen Fairlands Valley Spartans tackled the championships which were at Stanborough Park, Welwyn Garden City.   

Our County Men’s runners looking fresh before the race.

The county championships are a real step up in standard and this was a chance for Spartans to test themselves against many of the best in Hertfordshire. 

First the women went on an eight kilometres (about five miles) course.  NICOLA ANDERSSON was the fastest female from Fairlands with 43 minutes 38 seconds and in 53rd place.  Next came LINDA NOLAN 67th in 51:45.  SHARON CROWLEY came in 71st with 55:23; CATHY CRAIG 73rd with 57:23 and NIKKI NATION 74th in 60:43.  Women’s teams consisted of the four fastest runners. 

Our county lady runners having fun!

The men raced 11.25 kilometres (about seven miles) over five full laps.  Jonathan Parr came in eighth in 46 minutes 48 seconds.  Six men counted towards the team championships.  Despite missing some of their faster runners the Spartans men’s team were 13th. 

PAUL HEWETT was 58th in 53:45 and STUART ARCHER 69th in 55:16.  The other “counters” were JOHN HARRIS 90th in 58:57; MARK WILLIAMS 99th in 60:13 and MARTIN WOOD 111th in 63:25.  There were 127 finishers. 

A selection of the stripy men in action!

(Result tables towards the end of this release). 

There’s another opportunity to try cross country this weekend.  The league race at Watford on Sunday morning 16th January. 

Victoria Park Half 

Both GERRY ROSEN and ROB WRIGHT competed in the Victoria Park Half Marathon on Sunday.  Gerry said it wasn’t pretty. Rob helped get him round after a non existent few weeks running.  They both finished in 2 hours 39 minutes 26 seconds. 

Tony at the Essex Run Fest 

New member TONY RANDFIELD ran the 5K at the Essex Runfest at Carver Barracks, Debden near Saffron Walden.  He was fourth on chip time with 21 minutes 50 seconds and first in the men 60 plus category.  There were 27 finishers.  Tony said icy conditions prevented a really fast time but it is a flattish and fast course normally. 

Parkrun report for 8th January 

In this week’s roundup of Spartans on the Parkrun circuit, two Spartans get a top ten place finish at Stevenage – GRANT RAMSAY fifth in 19 minutes 35 seconds and DANNY SCANLON 10th in 20:10.  ASHLEY JOHNSON was third woman at Stevenage in a course PB (personal best) of 22:06.  STEVE WELLS just missed out on a sub-20 minute time at Poole.  

A few Spartans enjoying a damp Parkrun!

Stevenage Parkrun Results where 326 runners including 31 Spartans took part.   GRANT RAMSAY 19 minutes 35 seconds (5th), DANNY SCANLON 20-10 (10th), ASHLEY JOHNSON 22-06 (32nd and third female finisher, plus course PB), TONY RANDFIELD 22-52 (38th), SAM SIMMONS 24-13 (60th), HAZEL SMITH 24-14 (61st, 5th female and 1st in her age category), MARTIN DUDLEY 24-30 (70th), DARREN EMMERSON 24-40 (72nd), MARIAN MORLEY 26-23 (106th and course PB), NICK KLEANTHOUS 26-39 (111th), MATT CLARKE 26-55 (114th), LEE PICKERSGILL 27-21 (124th), NICOLA ANDERSSON 28-18 (138th), DEBBIE BLANTERN 28-46 (154th), GRACE COVENTRY 29-00 (167th), SUSAN MCANENY 29-08 (168th), ZOE JACKSON 29-08 (169th), JIM BROWN 29-30 (175th), MIKE REYNOLDS 29-32 (176th), CLAIRE EMMERSON 31-08 (212nd), DAVID SCOTT 31-08 (213th), CAROLE SHELDRICK 31-43 (224th), CAROLINE CROFT 31-46 (226th), CHARLOTTE KEARNEY 32-42 (240th), PAUL JENNINGS 32-59 (243rd), CALLIE CHAPMAN 34-11 (255th), MO WARRILLOW 39-39 (302nd), STEVEN DOBNER 48-48 (322nd), DAVID PATTMAN 48-48 (323rd) and ROGER BIGGS 49-42 (324th). 

Smiles and concentration all the way for the Spartans – was good to see some returning for the first time since injury.

Away days:  

Poole (Dorset): STEVE WELLS 20-08 (26th out of 508 runners).  Brockenhurst (Hampshire): DARRYL STEVENS 46-56 (124th out of 124th runners).    

Tables 

Hertfordshire Cross Country Championships 

Women (8 kilometres – 5 miles).  Teams of four. 

Position BiB Name Unofficial Time 
53 621 NICOLA ANDERSSON 43:38 
67 626 LINDA NOLAN 51:45 
71 623 SHARON CROWLEY 55:23 
73 622 CATHY CRAIG 57:23 
74 625 NIKKI NATION 60:43 

74 finishers 

Men (11.25 kilometres – 7 miles).  Teams of six. 

Position BiB Name Unofficial Time 
8 448 JON PARR 46:48 
58 444 PAUL HEWETT 53:45 
69 439 STUART ARCHER 55:16 
90 443 JOHN HARRIS 58:57 
99 454 MARK WILLIAMS 60:13 
111 455 MARTIN WOOD 63:25 
112 451 TOM SAUKA 64:08 
125 450 TIM ROBINSON 73:35 
126 446 ANDY JAY 73:54 
127 450 JONATHAN JONES 74:46 

127 finishers.  13th team. 

Categories
Club News Race Results

RUNNING INTO 2022

Four Fairlands Valley Spartans took on the New Year’s Eve 10K race at Peterborough.  A congested start and muddy course slowed times but STEVE WELLS was second male 60 plus and 60th overall in 41 minutes 40 seconds; JOHN HARRIS 97th and fourth male 55 plus in 44:15; MARIA SWIFT 439th overall in 58:22 and PAUL HOLGATE 670th in 1:06:00. 

There were 875 finishers.  John Harris ran 2001 miles in the year 2021. 

Steve crossing the finishing line!

Parkrun Highlights on New Year’s Day 1st January 2022 

New Year’s Day 2022 and a lovely morning brought forty-five Fairlands Valley Spartans out to the first Parkrun events of the year. 

JONATHAN PARR was first overall to finish the Stevenage course in a time of 16 minutes and 59 seconds, closely followed by GRANT RAMSAY and DANNY SCANLON with times of 19 minutes and 41 seconds and 20 minutes 8 seconds respectively.  ASHLEY SCHOENWETTER was the second female at the event in 21 minutes and 39 seconds, and YUKO GORDON third woman in 23 minutes and 33 seconds. 

Parkrun winner Jonathan!

Yuko won her age category as did CATHY CRAIG with her 34 minutes 16 seconds and JIM BROWN with his careful return to racing 29 minutes 56 seconds. 

A few of our Spartan parkrunners

The 39 Spartans at Stevenage contributed to a post lockdown record of 351 parkrunners in Fairlands Valley Park. 

Festive holidays meant a first time visit to Thetford for JAMES MCSWEENEY who completed the run in 25 minutes and 50 seconds, and to Haverhill for BARRY OSBORNE who ran the course in 25 minutes and 57 seconds. 

The first Saturday of the month meant that the club stripes were out in force!

(Parkrun times for all 45 Spartans can be found near the end of this release). 

Flitch Way for Tim 

On New Year’s Eve TIM ROBINSON took part in the Flitch Way Marathon.  The trail Marathon followed the Flitch Way from Felsted Eastwards to Rayne, then west as far as Takeley Street and back to Felsted.  Following a lot of rain the old railway track was extremely boggy in parts, particularly miles 13 to 20.  Although the warmest New Year’s Eve on record meant less layers the track seems flat but rises and falls continuously and is very wearing on the legs.  Tim finished in 43rd place with a time of 5:25:07. 

Tim looking as fresh as a daisy after his marathon!

Magnificent Seven Spartans Complete the Coasts and Borders 

By the deadline of 31st December seven Spartans had completed the virtual challenge to run the coasts and borders of England, a total of 2,970 kilometres “starting” and “finishing” in Bristol. 

They were PENNY SCHENKEL who finished in a moving time of 170 hours 51 minutes 5 seconds; JIM BROWN; BRIAN WHITE; PAUL HOLGATE; CATHY CRAIG: LIZ CROWLEY and SHARON CROWLEY. 

This was one of the virtual events that kept Spartans going during the pandemic restrictions. 

The Spartans of the Month for December were VICKY ARCHER and HAZEL SMITH.  Vicky, FVS Vice-Chair, for all her work on Spartan social media and Hazel for encouraging so many people during training sessions and at cross country. 

Tables 

Spartans at parkruns on New Year’s Day: 

Parkrun Position Gender Position Parkrunner Time 
Stevenage 1 1 Jonathan PARR 00:16:59 
  4 4 Grant RAMSAY 00:19:41 
  9 9 Danny SCANLON 00:20:08 
  25 2 Ashley SCHOENWETTER 00:21:39 
  28 25 Thomas SAUKA 00:22:10 
  34 30 Sam SIMMONS 00:22:58 
  43 3 Yuko GORDON 00:23:23 
  58 50 Nigel STRONGITHARM 00:24:15 
  60 52 Martin DUDLEY 00:24:26 
  67 59 Darren EMMERSON 00:24:53 
  85 69 Danik BATES 00:25:30 
  119 22 Ann TRYSSESOONE 00:27:00 
  134 27 Nikki WILBY 00:27:31 
  138 105 Vishal SHAH 00:27:38 
  156 115 Nick KLEANTHOUS 00:28:39 
  174 46 Fiona CLARKE 00:29:40 
  175 122 Matt CLARKE 00:29:41 
  177 47 Andrea WESTCOTT 00:29:44 
  178 124 Jonathan JONES 00:29:45 
  179 48 Debbie BLANTERN 00:29:46 
  185 127 Jim BROWN 00:29:56 
  187 52 Nicola ANDERSSON 00:30:10 
  193 132 James SOUTH 00:30:20 
  197 57 Chloe CHAPMAN 00:30:24 
  198 134 Tim ROBINSON 00:30:27 
  202 60 Hazel SMITH 00:30:39 
  203 61 Claire EMMERSON 00:30:41 
  204 62 Jenny GARRETT 00:30:42 
  229 75 Harriet PACE 00:31:51 
  233 148 Paul HOLGATE 00:32:12 
  238 151 Paul JENNINGS 00:32:40 
  242 83 Monica SMITHSON 00:33:07 
  243 153 Stephen SMITHSON 00:33:12 
  258 94 Karen PALMER 00:33:54 
  265 98 Catherine CRAIG 00:34:16 
  266 99 Sharon CROWLEY 00:34:18 
  337 146 Helen HARRIS 00:44:49 
  348 185 Roger BIGGS 00:49:42 
  349 186 Steven DOBNER 00:49:53 
          
Houghton Hall 84 57 Michael O’KEEFE 00:30:50 
     
Lymington Woodside 128 76 Darryl STEVENS 00:42:03 
          
Thetford 16 12 James MCSWEENEY 00:24:50 
          
Haverhill 9 6 Barry OSBORNE 00:25:57 
          
Teignmouth Promenade  50 41 Andy JAY 00:24:03 
          
Hunstanton Promenade 10 2 Nicola KENNEDY 00:22:30