After two weeks of half marathon excitement Fairlands Valley Spartans had a quieter weekend before a series of five mile races start next Sunday. That doesn’t mean nothing happened and we have:
Olympic Park 10K
Spartan CIARAN McANENY ran the RunThrough 10k at the Olympic Park on Sunday. It was his first 10k in over 13 years yet he finished with a chip time of 38:32, 22nd overall and first man 50 plus. It was 150 kilometres shorter than his last race and no feed stations!
Jay Papa
Mid week JAY PAPA ran the Emirates Stadium 5K in 18 minutes 45 seconds (18:45).
Norwich Half
ROB WRIGHT was amongst more than 2,100 runners in the Norwich Half Marathon. He finished in 1 hour 46 minutes 37 seconds.
Parkrun Highlights – Saturday 22nd November 2025
There was a mega milestone for DARREN EMMERSON at Saturday’s Stevenage parkrun. He caped up for his 250th parkrun which he finished in 29 minutes 34 seconds. In the same event and the same time CLAIRE EMMERSON ran her 200th with parkrun regular Luna the dog.
Probably the horrible forecast but numbers were down a little though still an impressive 385 including 22 Spartans. SIMON JACKSON was top five in 18:37. SAM SUTTON ran a new parkrun personal best (PPB) of 28:12; BECKY RAYNER a new PPB of 32:38; KEITH MANTON improving by a whole minute to a new PPB of 34:48 and MICHAEL O’KEEFE ran his 230th parkrun in 38:45.
Altogether 39 Spartans ran parkruns. Those elsewhere included SUZY HAWKINS (and dog) second woman in 27:11 and YUKO GORDON fourth woman in 27:47 at Letchworth.
JAY PAPA 28:54 and JESSICA CLARKE 28:55 ran the Upton Court parkrun near Slough.
North Yorkshire attracted CHARLIE WHITE and ANNABELLE WHITE who ran the Dalby Forest parkrun, not far from Pickering, in 24:45 and 27:26
GRANT RAMSAY went round the WIMPOLE HALL parkrun in 20:47 and JONATHAN JONES followed him in with 35:18.
Then at Henlow Bridge Lakes PAUL MOULD came with 27:39 and ALICE WELCH with 31:56.
A magnificent seven Spartans had a great time, or times, at the St Neots Half Marathon.
LINDA GEORGE from Fairlands Valley Spartans completed the St Neots Half Marathon on Sunday with a chip time of 1:57:15, which is a 2 minute 43 second personal best (PB) from her 2024 Cambridge Half. This also marks her third consecutive PB in the last three weeks – starting with the cross country race, followed by the FVS 10 Mile Handicap, and now the half marathon.
Linda said a big shout-out to MARTIN JACOB, who paced her throughout the race and finished just behind her in 1:57:16.
Goodness said JIM BROWN. I started further back but finished in 1 hour 57 minutes 6 seconds (1:57:06).
It took me twelve attempts this year to get under two hours now I’ve beaten last week’s time by another 1 minute 11 seconds and looking at the official result it looks like I’ve hit a magic round number age target of 70% which I thought was unachievable.
That’s a new season’s best (SB). Jim’s fastest half in 2024 was 1:58:59 and until now his fastest half in 2025 was 1:58:17. Certainly shows that the Wednesday daylight runs haven’t done any harm. Jim said it was great to have Linda and Martin a few seconds ahead or behind for a lot of the race after the first climb through Abbotsley and me nearly stalling on Pitsdean Road after the brook. To compensate for those climbs the last 5K was wonderful. Despite being tired it took me 27:18 – faster than I’ve run a parkrun this year!
What’s happening? Jim said it’s a pity the year is running out particularly for road races. Maybe I should have lined up a second marathon (quiver, quiver) to make up a bit for the roasting experience in April……
It was BECKY RAYNER’s first time doing the St Neots Half Marathon. She didn’t even remember entering it. In fact she was certain that she hadn’t entered due to the 2.5 hour cut off, which would mean improving on her year’s best from the Stevenage Half just one month ago by over 20 minutes. Imagine her surprise when she realised two weeks ago that she had obviously had a moment of madness and had actually entered.
After being reassured that they were not too strict on the cut off and checking previous years’ results Becky decided to give it a go and just try my best.
It was a lovely course, and not only did she beat her time at Stevenage by 26 minutes and 54 seconds, but she also beat her PB from 2023 by 11 minutes and 4 seconds! Coming in under the cut off in 2:24:03. Something she did not think was possible. Absolutely over the moon
JAY PAPA was the fastest Spartan with 1:26:31. He was 62nd. Jay said he had a very enjoyable morning. That was his third year doing it. He loves this race. This was his fastest on this course by two minutes and his second quickest half marathon time overall. He was really chuffed with how it went this morning. Felt strong.
ROSS GALLAGHER included his race in a long 21 mile training run and finished 72nd with 1:27:04. And KARL SHREEVE should be very pleased with his 2:11:43.
There were 1015 finishers.
Pos
BiB
Name
Cat Pos
Category
Gun Time
Chip Time
62
879
Jay Papa
33.
MS 17-39
1:26:36
1:26:31
72
1370
Ross Gallagher
1
MV50-59
1:27:08
1:27:04
647
458
Linda George
50.
FV35 -44
1:57:47
1:57:15
648
626
Martin Jacob
120.
MV40-49
1:57:49
1:57:16
655
171
Jim Brown
4.
MV70+
1:58:02
1:57:06
868
1057
Karl Shreeve
144.
MV50-59
2:12:52
2:11:43
956
966
Rebecca Rayner
82.
FV35 -44
2:25:32
2:24:03
Brighton 10K
JODIE KANTAS ran the popular Brighton 10K race in 45 minutes 37 seconds. She was 831st out of the 2933 finishers.
Gerry Goes Ultra for Ultra
GERRY ROSEN had a 32 miles dress rehearsal for the Country to Capital on Saturday. The full ultra marathon event will be 43 miles but he ran from Wendover to West Drayton via Chesham, Chorleywood and Uxbridge fortified with peanut butter sandwiches and sausage rolls with some mud to keep him entertained.
Wish him well for 10th January 2026.
Cross Country Update
Detailed results just released by the Sunday Cross Country League show that Fairlands Valley Spartans maintained their sixth out of 18 position after the second fixture. Their men are sixth and women eighth.
240 men and 173 women ran in the second race. The third race will be in Stevenage on Sunday 21st December.
Two Mikes and a Sharon at Sundon
Sharon Crowley, Mike Crowley and Mike Newbitt, took part in the Sundon Saunter, starting and finishing from Barton -le-Clay. They were pleasantly surprised how firm the ground was after all the rain!
They all completed the long route of 27.89 miles. Sharon and Mike Crowley in 8 hours 35 minutes. Mike Mewbitt in 9 hours 36 minutes.
Parkrun Highlights – Saturday 15th November 2025
Thirty Spartans ran the Stevenage parkrun. After Saturday CLAIRE EMMERSON is only one short of her century so a 100 milestone celebration will be along very soon. JOSHUA WELCH was a first timer with 30:17 and ALICE WELCH also 30:17 ran a new parkrun personal best (PPB). JULIE SHADBOLT ran her 20th parkrun in 36:27.
Julie Manton ran a new Parkrun PPB on Saturday at Stevenage 38.03 with the help of Hannah Manton 38:04 keeping her going! Together with Keith (35:48) it was a family outing. And she said she had loads of support from the lovely FVS Run Together Group too!
Suttons in Hove
Megan, Rose and Samantha Sutton all ran at Hove Promenade parkrun. Both Megan and Samantha got a parkrun 5K PB. Samantha’s was a 58 second PB with a time of 27.37 and Megan’s around 1 and a half minutes with a time of 23.13. Rose ran an excellent time of 32.34 having not run for a couple of months.
HAYLEY PEACH was in Wales running the Aberystwyth parkrun. She was visiting her son at university. This was her second park run here. It’s a pancake flat course on tarmac. She first did the course on 13 September 2025 with a time of 37.35. This week it was a park run pb of 32.10, an improvement of 5 minutes 25 seconds. MICHAEL O’KEEFE pushed the parkrun tourism a little further with 33:34 at the Zuiderpark event in Den Haag.
Altogether there were 57 Spartans running parkruns in the UK and in the Netherlands.
Fairlands Valley Spartans had an early start for their Paul Maguire Handicap 5 mile and Brian Moore Handicap 10 mile races in Stevenage on Sunday morning. BECKY RAYNER and LINDA GEORGE were the main winners.
It was cold and misty particularly at the north end of the course but there were some excellent times with Rebecca Rayner winning the Paul Maguire trophy in a new 5 mile personal best (PB) time of 55 minutes 33 seconds (55:33), 4:07 quicker than her previous PB and a massive 12:57 better than handicap.
Second to finish was Amanda Vickers in her first 5 mile race with a time of 54:38, 5:22 better than handicap and third was Jane Wadey in 1:00:05, 4:23 ahead of handicap. Jon Sypula was first man in the five miles with 49:39, 2:07 quicker than handicap, with Danny Scanlon second man, 1:18 better than handicap in a SB 34:13, and Tony Vickers third man with a new PB of 39:12 on his birthday. Fastest runner was Simon Jackson in 29:58, with Danny Scanlon’s 34:13 second quickest and Charlie Arnold’s season’s best (SB) 36:20 third fastest. Alison Wood was the fastest woman in 38:31, with Carole Sheldrick second quickest in 44:43 and Claire Pullen third fastest in 44:58.
Linda George was the winner of the Brian Moore Handicap 10 mile shield in a new PB time of 1:33:32, 2:28 quicker than handicap, with Ann Tryssesoone second lady equalling her season’s best (SB) time of 1:31:27, 1:33 ahead of handicap and Alice Welch 3rd lady in her first 10 mile in 1:34:40. Ralph Dadswell was first man (2nd overall) in a new SB time of 1:08:08, 2:22 quicker than handicap, with Matt Clarke second man in 1:36:10 and Simon Sypula third man in 1:36:07.
Fastest 10 mile time of the day was Ralph’s 1:07:08 with Ross Gallagher second quickest in 1:10:00 despite running half a mile further than intended and Keith Hooker third fastest in 1:14:21. Ann Tryssesoone’s 1:31:27 was the fastest female time with Jayne Riddell second quickest in 1:33:01 and Linda George’s 1:33:32 third fastest. There were 40 runners.
The events pay tribute to Paul Maguire, who won the Spartan of the Year award prior to his passing in 2008 at the age of 42 after a long battle with cancer and Bryan Moore a founding member of Fairlands Valley Spartans who passed away in the 1980s. The event raised funds for the club’s charity of the year – the Willow Foundation.
A massive thanks to Paul Holgate for organising; to Tracy Pez, Michael O’Keefe, Tim Robinson, Penny Schenkel and Jenny Garrett for their excellent organisation with the start and finish, and also to Keith Fenwick, Martin Jacob and Jim Brown for their photography on the day.
In handicap races it’s not the fastest runners who win but the best improvers. The predicted slower runners start first followed at intervals by others based on recent performances.
Subbing at Carver Barracks. Remembrance Half and 10K
Spartan JIM BROWN got under two hours at the Remembrance Half Marathon based at Carver Barracks near Saffron Walden on Saturday.
He said “Whoop. Whoop. I didn’t mess this one up. I wanted to see if I could get under two hours this year despite all those birthdays. This was my twelfth attempt in 2025 but I made it at the Remembrance Runs Half Marathon with 1:58:17. A year’s best by 3:51 which gave me first man 70 plus and 69.55% – a four per cent leap on most other “bests” in 2025. Gave myself a little pat on the head for the pace judging considering a few slopes and a bit of wind. Sunny morning. Conditions suited me. Uncluttered course. Loads of space. Great. 5:36 per kilometre which is almost exactly nine minute miling.”
SIMON HAIGH was second man 55 plus with 1:45:21. There were 110 finishers.
In the Remembrance 10K CRAIG BACON was first man 55 plus with 45 minutes exactly and NICK KLEANTHOUS got under one hour with 59:20. There were 222 finishers.
Gower Trail Marathon
On Saturday new member Andy Shaw and Suzy Hawkins completed the Gower trail marathon.
Suzy said, “The first mile was on the beach, sand dunes, and through rivers, while the second mile took in 577 ft of elevation. This set the tone for the rest of the day. With more than 4000 feet of climbing, knee deep mud, lots of sand and steps. However, the sun was shining and the scenery stunning. We ran together until mile 13 when sandy wet rucked up socks were making my feet incredibly painful, and I planned to withdraw from the race, Andy went on without me leaving me with family who came to support, one of who produced some clean dry socks and wet wipes, allowing me to continue.”
Andy finished 5 hours 11 minutes 49 seconds which gave him second in his age group. Suzy followed him in 5 hours 18 min 27 seconds. She was fourth female.
With only two men going under 4 hours and one woman going under 5 hours this was never going to be a PB course. There were 98 finishers.
New York Marathon – Missed in Some Reports Due to Time Difference.
Paul Shelley reports. We ran NYC Marathon!! Alison and our daughter Molly ran an amazing race, running the whole thing together finishing in 4.29.18. Molly had a 15 minute PB (personal best). I ran in the Abbott world age group championship in 3.29.46, struggled from mile 21, it was brutal from there until Park Lane. Proud to have collected two medals. Crowds were fab and with our other daughter, Daisy, spectating made it very special. It was let down by the bus queue in the morning one hour and getting through security, another hour which meant I nearly missed my wave. But what an amazing experience.
Yuko Gordon beat four hours with 3:52:47. She was fourth woman 70 plus.
She said she probably shouldn’t have run with her recent injuries (knee and Achilles), too soon after Berlin too, but too much to give away to withdraw so late, particularly all expenses spent were considerable, which are not refundable.
Nevertheless, she’s glad it’s over without dropping out. Yuko said “It was a hell of a battle for me. Marathon is a monster after all. I need some rest before London.”
There were 59,000 finishers.
Parkrun Highlights – Saturday 8th November 2025
Nine Spartans enjoyed a trip to the Henlow Bridge Lakes parkrun and five of them ran new parkrun personal bests.
The Fairlands Five were MEGAN SUTTON 25:44; SAMANTHA SUTTON 29:36; KEITH MANTON 34:33; NICOLA HATHERLY 36:22 and NIKI PLUMB 39:43. SALLY PHILLIPS and HAYLEY PEACH were first timers with 34:52 and 40:00 exactly. SALLY PICKLES 34:46 and JULIE MANTON 40:33 completed the outing.
25 Spartans ran at Stevenage where there were 515 parkrunners including 203 women. Two Spartans were in the top ten. SIMON JACKSON third in 18:47 and KIRK NDUGU seventh in 19:31. CAROLE SHELDRICK was fastest female from Fairlands with 27:22.
Going to bed with a miserable forecast including light rain 30 Spartans woke up to a lovely morning to tackle the second in the season of cross country league races. This one was in Trent Park near Cockfosters.
The club were delighted two complete men’s and women’s teams finished. The 18 men and 12 women from Fairlands Valley Spartans were among more than 400 runners on the undulating 4.7 miles (7.58 kilometres) course.
In a very competitive race at the fast end Spartan DAVID HARRIS-CHERGUIT won a top ten place with eighth in just 28 minutes 5 seconds (28:05).
The third Spartan to finish and first female from Fairlands was NATALIE LAWRENCE having a great run for 48th overall in 31 minutes 21 seconds (31:21).
The second Spartan was MICHAEL FISHER at 23rd in 29:49.
The women’s “A” team was Natalie (31:21); SUZY HAWKINS (43:39); JACKIE PERRY (44:00); JAYNE RIDDELL (45:04) and LINDA GEORGE (45:52). SAM GENTRY led in the “B” team with 47:24.
The others in the top 100 were ADRIAN DONNELLY (33:11); DANNY SCANLON (33:54) and DECLAN TRAYNER (34:36).
Position
Name
Time
Cat
Comments
8
DAVID HARRIS-CHERGUIT
28:05
M40
Men “A” team.
23
MICHAEL FISHER
29:49
Male Senior
Men “A” team
48
NATALIE LAWRENCE
31:21
W35
Women “A”
74
ADRIAN DONNELLY
33:11
M40
Men “A”
75
DANNY SCANLON
33:54
M40
Men “A”
98
DECLAN TRAYNER
34:36
M40
Men “A”
123
CHARLIE ARNOLD
35:49
M60
Men “A”
134
ANDY SHAW
36:24
M50
Men “A”
139
DELVIN AUBURN
36:35
Male Senior
Men “A”
165
STEPHEN MASSEY
37:50
M50
Men “B”
176
MARTIN WOOD
38:15
M60
Men “B”
198
MATT COOKE
39:05
Male Senior
Men “B”
287
SUZY HAWKINS
43:39
W45
Women “A”
292
JACKIE PERRY
44:00
W55
Women “A”
294
NICK GILL
44:11
Male Senior
Men “B”
303
PETE COOK
44:34
M50
Men “B”
306
MARK FREEMAN
44:50
M60
Men “B”
309
JAYNE RIDDELL
45:04
W55
Women “A”
320
LINDA GEORGE
45:52
W35
Women “A”
341
SAM GENTRY
47:24
W45
Women “B”
359
JIM BROWN
48:51
M70
Men “B”
365
SHARON CROWLEY
49:47
W65
Women “B”
372
SAMANTHA SUTTON
50:02
W45
Women “B”
391
CALLIE CHAPMAN
52:10
W35
Women “B”
398
BECKY RAYNER
56:07
W35
Women “B”
400
PAUL HOLGATE
56:27
M60
Men “B”
401
NICK KLEANTHOUS
57:07
M60
404
JAYNE DYMOKE
59:39
W45
409
MICHAEL O’KEEFE
60:46
M60
410
JANE WADEY
62:58
W55
Bedford
Spartan MELANIE STALEY was 33rd out of the 267 finishers in the Bedford Half Marathon with 1:38:05 which got her third woman 45 plus. There were three from Fairlands Valley Spartans in the Bedford 10K – ELLOTT WHTE and NATALIE WHITE finished together in 52:35 and LEE POTTER was successful in 1:44:22. 343 finishers in the 10K.
Knebworth House
Nine Spartans ran at Knebworth House on Sunday morning.
Hertfordshire 10K
In the Hertfordshire 10K ADAM HILL was really happy with his result as he was aiming for a sub 1 hour and got a personal best (PB) in for 10K! He finished in 58:20.
The first from Fairlands Valley to finish was CHRIS WATLING with 52:12. ALICE WELCH came in with an excellent 57:21; RYAN RIDDELL with 59:21 and SALLY PICKLES with 64:14.
There were 661 finishers.
Hertfordshire Half Marathon
Over 13.1 miles WAYNE SIMMONS came in with 2 hours 6 minutes 29 seconds (2:06:29) and JESS CLARKE, organiser of the Stevenage Half Marathon, with 2:06:30.
SOPHIE PARSONS finished in 2:12:03 and JUDY KING in 2:21:19.
There were 1271 finishers.
New York Marathon
Paul Shelley reports. We ran NYC Marathon!! Alison and our daughter Molly ran an amazing race, running the whole thing together finishing in 4.29.18. Molly had a 15 minute PB (personal best). I ran in the Abbott world age group championship in 3.29.46, struggled from mile 21, it was brutal from there until park lane. Proud to have collected two medals. Crowds were fab and with our other daughter, Daisy, spectating made it very special. It was let down by the bus queue in the morning one hour and getting through security, another hour which meant I nearly missed my wave. But what an amazing experience.
Yuko Gordon beat four hours with 3:52:47. She was fourth woman 70 plus.
She said she probably shouldn’t have run with her recent injuries (knee and Achilles), too soon after Berlin too, but too much to give away to withdraw so late, particularly all expenses spent were considerable, which are not refundable.
Nevertheless, she’s glad it’s over without dropping out. Yuko said “It was a hell of a battle for me. Marathon is a monster after all. I need some rest before London.”
Serpentine
It was noticeably warmer in Hyde Park than Stevenage on Friday and despite the light rain and breeze JIM BROWN enjoyed the Last Friday 5K run at the Serpentine and the café stop afterwards. He was happy with his 27:37 and improved a little in the year long overall championship table.
MARTIN WOOD was 124th in 23:08.
Parkrun Highlights – Saturday 1st November 2025
First parkrun of GMT and there were 501 finishers at Stevenage. There was a Halloween theme and a stripes day for Spartans.
PERRI GENTRY was second at Stevenage with a new parkrun personal best (PPB) of 18:22 and MEGAN SUTTON the fastest female from Spartans with a new parkrun personal best of 24:50. SAMANTHA SUTTON was another with a PPB – 28:55.
The 501 Stevenage parkrunners included 216 women. 17 FVS women and 14 FVS men.
LLOYD DIAS got his Saturday morning parkrun in at Leavesden Country! He clocked a 26:00. It’s a nice, easy course, but it was super slippery out there today – his road shoes were not the best choice. Lloyd to power-walk a few bits to avoid a slide!
53 Spartans ran parkruns around the country. CHARLIE WHITE ran at the Stanborough parkrun. A first timer he was sixth in 19:40. There were 292 runners.
