Spartan ANDREW PATTERSON won the Hitchin 5K in 16 minutes 10 seconds.
Other Spartan highlights included – on the basis of one runner one prize MIKE JEFFS took the male 40 plus award with his 18:01. He was eighth overall. BRIAN WHITE was second man 60 plus in 22:28 and ANDY JAY third in 27:36. JACKIE PERRY was second woman 60 plus in 27:36.
MARIE COLUCCI was the fastest female from Fairlands with 23:05 while HARRIET SMITH was not far behind with 23:45.
Pos
CatPos
MF
BiB
Name
Category
Time
Grade
Comments
1
1
1
3739
Andrew PATTERSON
MV40
16:10
86.5%
Winner!
8
2
8
4848
Mike JEFFS
MV40
18:01
76.0%
2nd MV40
29
8
28
4579
Mark COLLINS
MV40
19:49
72.6%
36
16
35
2653
Nick GILL
MV30
19:56
66.8%
87
2
73
2713
Brian WHITE
MV60
22:28
76.6%
2nd MV60
106
6
20
3072
Marie COLUCCI
FV40
23:05
68.9%
116
6
25
3697
Harriet SMITH
FV30
23:45
61.9%
137
37
103
1558
Daniel VILJOEN
MV40
24:25
58.8%
141
2
36
4021
Jackie PERRY
FV60
24:52
76.1%
2nd FV60
194
3
129
2797
Andy JAY
MV60
27:36
57.5%
3rd MV60
257
16
100
1469
Pamela VILJOEN
FV50
30:01
55.7%
306
39
134
1528
Callie CHAPMAN
FV40
32:29
46.3%
345
47
166
3686
Rebecca RAYNER
FV40
37:59
39.9%
Yuko’s A Winner In Berlin
At the Berlin Marathon Spartan YUKO GORDON won her age category, women 70 plus, in 3:34:45.
That makes it her third time winning out of three outings in Berlin.
SIMON FRASER was easily under three hours with 2:48:09 and KEITH HOOKER had an excellent run to come in with 4:12:02. There were tens of thousands of runners.
Great Shelford 5K
CHARLES ARNOLD took his Spartan stripes to South Cambs and the 11th annual Great Shelford 5K. An England Athletics (EA) certified out-and-back road race, flat and picturesque so no excuses for not getting at least a season’s best (SB) of 21:28.
Fairlands Valley Spartans tried something new on Saturday. A one hour time trial at Ridlins Track. How far can you run in 60 minutes? Well for KRISTIAN ATANASOV it was 15.68 kilometres!
Ten kilometres was a neat target for many people but even that represented 25 laps of the track.
There was another stand out performance by YUKO GORDON. Her 12.21 kilometres represented an age grade performance of 104.65%. If it had been an official session that would have been a new British record.
The whole event was organised by BRIAN WHITE who was second overall with 12.58 kilometres (85.65%). The others in the top ten were MATT CLARKE 11.05 kms (65.62%); JIM BROWN 10.82 kms (75.44%); JOHN NELMS 10.63kms (65.62%); MARK FREEMAN 10.55 kms (75.19%); FIONA CLARKE 10.27kms (70.73%); ANDY JAY 10.27kms (67.93%) and JUDY KING 10.01 kms (83.03%). There were 17 runners for this first running of the event.
Position
Name
Total Distance (K)
% Age Grading
1
KRISTIAN ATANASOV
15.68
–
2
BRIAN WHITE
12.58
85.65%
3
YUKO GORDON
12.21
104.65%!
4
MATT CLARKE
11.05
65.62%
5
JIM BROWN
10.82
75.44%
6
JOHN NELMS
10.63
65.62%
7
MARK FREEMAN
10.55
75.19%
8
FIONA CLARKE
10.27
70.73%
9
ANDY JAY
10.11
67.93%
10
JUDY KING
10.01
83.03%
11
LIZ CROWLEY
9.36
57.2%
12
CALLIE CHAPMAN
8.67
55.25%
13
SALLY PHILLIPS
8.6
71.3%
14
PAUL HOLGATE
8.44
61.73%
15
SAM SUTTON
7.72
54.75%
16
SHARON CROWLEY
7.57
69.5%
Vitality London 10K
Spartan CHARLES ARNOLD ran the Vitality London 10K in 46 minutes 51 seconds and BECKY RAYNER finished in 1:23:21.
Charles said, “I took my stripes to the Vitality London 10000 today. Travelling down I encountered torrential rain which had me wondering what to expect on the all road course. Fortunately when I emerged at Green Park the rain had stopped, and, although damp, there were no issues with standing water. We were ushered in our waves onto the Mall and had to wait as the elites and faster waves ahead took off. My target was sub 48 minutes and to achieve a negative split, which was helped as we set off and approached the first pinch point under Admiralty Arch. The course is fairly flat with a small climb up to Holborn Viaduct and from a personal point of view is my PB course from many moons ago. I was running for 48 but saw myself on target for sub 47 so kept pushing to hold that during the final km from Parliament Square up Birdcage Walk to the finish in front of Buckingham Palace, finishing in 46:51, a season’s best.
It is a good event and a good course, well organised (as you would expect from a London Marathon event) and well attended, if a tad expensive (the cost of closed roads in the centre of London!)”
Handicap 5K
Very well done all 22 runners in this month’s Handicap 5k. Paul Holgate organised and thank you to Sharon Crowley, Keith Fenwick and Samantha Sutton for their assistance, support and photography.
Winners were Sally Pickles, 1:16 quicker than last months 5k in 35:49, and David Ackery, 1:31 faster than his previous handicap 5k in 24:56, closely followed by pacing assistants Annabelle White and Amanda & Tony Vickers. Steve Tinsley finished second man, 8 seconds quicker than August in 28:13 and Tim Robinson third man in 27:43 despite starting 1:30 later than handicap! Marleen Van Zwieten was second lady in 40:25 – almost identical to her previous time and Liz Carvell 3rd lady in 31:46, just behind another pacer on the night (Nikki Nation).
The fastest runner on the night was Charles Arnold in 22:59, with Yuko Gordon (23:17) second quickest (fastest lady). Marie Colucci (24:07) was third quickest (2nd fastest lady) and Chris Watling 2nd fastest man in 24:17. David Ackery was third fastest man and Jo Cooksley (25:16) third fastest woman.
Three Peaks Challenge
Barry and Trudie King, Karen Liddle and Tricia Hopper took on the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge on Sat 21 September 2024. The challenge is to complete the three very different, but all tough peaks in a time of 12 hours. Trudie King came in at 9 hours 42 minutes, Barry King in 9 hrs 47 mins, with Karen Liddle and Tricia Hopper in 9 hrs 53 mins. All were very pleased to complete in under 10 hours and enjoyed a well earned pint at the end.
Spartans ASHLEY JOHNSON and ALISON WOOD were series winners in the Hatfield 5K races. Ashley won the women 35 plus category with a total time of exactly 57 minutes for the three 5K races. Her third 5K was her fastest. A new personal best of 18 minutes 46 seconds, an improvement of ten seconds. Alison won the women 55 plus with a total of 1:03:29. Her third race took 20:56.
21 Fairlands Valley Spartans ran in the final event and despite some great runs in race two they achieved four new personal bests. MIKE JEFFS by 3 seconds to 17:34; ANDREA WESTCOTT by 10 seconds to 25:43; and MEGAN SUTTON by another 6 seconds to 26:42, and Ashley.
CALLIE CHAPMAN ran her best 5K this season by 2:19 with her 31:50; SAMANTHA SUTTON by 12 seconds to 33:03. SHARON CROWLEY was delighted to get under 29 minutes with 28:53, her fastest this year by 15 seconds and JANE WADEY dipped under 35 minutes with 34:57, her fastest this year by 9 seconds.
ANDREW PATTERSON was the fastest Spartan in the race with his 16 minutes 18 seconds (16:18) which got him sixth overall in the race and second in his age group.
7 Spartan men and 8 women completed the whole series. All three had to be completed to count.
Pos
Name
Cat
Total
Race 1
Race 2
R ace 3
Best 2
Comments
5.
Ashley JOHNSON
FV35
57:00
19:14
18:59
18:48
37:46
Winner FV35
12.
Alison WOOD
FV55
1:03:29
21:17
21:08
21:04
42:12
Winner FV55
35.
Andrea WESTCOTT
FV45
1:19:32
27:22
26:16
25:55
52:10
9th FV45
37.
Hazel SMITH
FV45
1:25:09
27:32
25:25
32:13
52:56
10th FV45
39.
Megan SUTTON
FS
1:21:39
27:31
27:11
26:58
54:08
8th senior
47.
Sharon CROWLEY
FV65
1:29:40
30:54
29:33
29:14
58:46
7th FV65
51.
Samantha SUTTON
FV45
1:42:02
34:56
33:41
33:26
1:07:06
54.
Jane WADEY
FV55
1:47:43
36:57
35:32
35:14
1:10:46
Hatfield Series Results – Spartan Women
Pos
Name
Cat
Total
Race 1
Race 2
R ace 3
Best 2
Comments
15.
Mike JEFFS
MV40
53:58
18:34
17:51
17:35
35:25
6th MV40
22.
Ross GALLAGHER
MV40
56:09
18:36
17:59
19:35
36:34
10th MV40
30.
Paul SHELLEY
MV50
57:04
18:46
18:37
19:42
37:22
6th MV 50
43.
Mark COLLINS
MV40
59:17
20:03
19:37
19:37
39:14
61.
Matt TUTTON
MV40
1:12:00
23:59
23:10
24:52
47:09
74.
Jim BROWN
MV70
1:24:10
29:15
27:17
27:39
54:55
4th MV70
Hatfield Series Results – Spartan Men
Stevenage 10K on 15th September
Eleven Spartans kept it local on Sunday and ran the Stevenage 10K.
MIKE JEFFS stormed round the undulating course in 37 minutes 28 seconds which WON his age group and got him fourth overall out of the 305 finishers. BRIAN WHITE was second MV60 in 46:43 while JAY PAPA was ninth senior in 40:23.
Brian said there were ideal cool, sunny and still conditions for a picturesque run around some Stevenage cycle tracks.
Several other Spartans volunteered as marshals.
Runaway Racing
Spartans Ciaran and Su McAneny ran the Runaway Racing Suffolk Coastal 50km on Saturday. Running from Lowestoft to Aldeburgh on the coastal pathway, it was a beautiful, scenic route passing by all the summer beach hotspots! It was Su’s first Ultra and she hit the wall sooner than expected, but dug herself out of it with Ciaran’s support. They Crossed the line together to receive a medal from the mayoress!
Win For Yuko
YUKO GORDON ran the picturesque Pleshey Half Marathon on Sunday in 1:42:02. She won the women 70 plus category. With around 380 finishers the course was mostly on quiet village roads.
There were medals of all colours for Fairlands Valley Spartans at the second in the series of Hatfield 5K races which included the county championships for veterans. ASHLEY JOHNSON won GOLD in the women 35 plus category with 18:56; ALISON WOOD won GOLD in the women 55 plus with 20:53; YUKO GORDON won SILVER in the women 65 plus with 22:19 and the men’s team of JONATHAN PARR (16:40); MIKE JEFFS (17:49); ROSS GALLAGHER (17:56) and GRANT RAMSAY (18:27) won team BRONZE.
22 Spartans ran and there were five new personal bests (PBs) – ROSS GALLAGHER by 35 seconds; PAUL SHELLEY by 11 seconds to 18:31; ASHLEY JOHNSON by 14 seconds; MATT TUTTON by 47 seconds to 22:53 and MEGAN SUTTON took another 22 seconds off her PB from only a week earlier with 26:48. ANDREA WESTCOTT equalled her previous PB of 25:53.
16 of the Spartans who ran in the first race of the series improved on those times including HAZEL SMITH by 2:08 to 25:02; JIM BROWN by 2:01 to 26:54; PAUL HOLGATE by 1:42 to 32:07; JANE WADEY by 1:27 to 35:06 and SHARON CROWLEY by 1:21 to 29:08.
The next Hatfield 5K race is this Wednesday evening 11th September.
Pos
MF
AG
BiB
Name
Cat
Time
Grade
Comments
11
10
4
2200
Jonathan PARR
MV40
16:40
81.1 %
Team Bronze
32
29
12
3991
Mike JEFFS
MV40
17:49
75.8 %
Team Bronze
36
32
14
4400
Ross GALLAGHER
MV40
17:56
75.8 %
Team Bronze (PB 0:35)
55
50
8
5129
Grant RAMSAY
MV50
18:27
80.1 %
Team Bronze
58
52
9
3985
Paul SHELLEY
MV50
18:31
81.7 %
PB (0:11)
70
7
1
3993
Ashley JOHNSON
FV35
18:56
81.9 %
GOLD (F35; PB 0:14)
87
77
34
4517
Mark COLLINS
MV40
19:28
72.1 %
114
21
1
4464
Alison WOOD
FV55
20:53
85.4 %
GOLD (F55)
142
33
2
4249
Yuko GORDON
FV65
22:19
98.0 %
SILVER (F65)
165
123
52
4354
Matt TUTTON
MV40
22:53
58.4 %
PB (0:47)
166
43
10
5116
Marie COLUCCI
FV45
22:57
68.8 %
180
128
27
2202
John NELMS
MV50
23:45
63.2 %
200
63
16
4350
Hazel SMITH
FV45
25:02
64.8 %
2:08 Imp.
210
141
17
5127
Andy JAY
MV60
26:04
60.5 %
212
70
18
4383
Andrea WESTCOTT
FV45
25:53
64.9 %
=PB
216
72
19
4495
Megan SUTTON
FS
26:48
54.2 %
PB (0:22)
218
146
7
4396
Jim BROWN
MV70
26:54
65.6 %
2:01 Imp
237
86
8
4570
Sharon CROWLEY
FV65
29:08
67.5 %
1:21 Imp
244
91
22
2199
Monica SMITHSON
FV55
30:56
58.2 %
246
155
20
4348
Paul HOLGATE
MV60
32:07
52.3 %
1:42 Imp
251
92
21
4589
Samantha SUTTON
FV45
33:15
48.4 %
256
96
24
4367
Jane WADEY
FV55
35:06
50.8 %
1:21 Imp
Bedford Festival of Running
Several Spartans ran a half marathon or 20 miles at the Bedford Festival of Running. Despite a thunderstorm and some long sections of cross country, particularly near the end of the race, many got some really good times.
ANDY PRIOR said, “Myself and Kerstin ran Bedford Half Marathon today, a mixture of Road and trail which was a bit treacherous in the last two miles.
Luckily they were giving alcohol free beer to all finishers which helped with the wait to get away from venue!!!”
Andy finished in 1:43:06 and Kerstin in 1:57:12.
JIM BROWN needed a 13 mile training run and he got it with 2:02:19 for the 13.1, good enough for third in category, and CONOR ECCLESTON came in with 2:41:41.
Half – 869 finishers
Position
Name
Time
Age
Pace
Comments
125
ANDREW PRIOR
1:43:06
50-59
4:53 m / km
346
KERSTIN PRIOR
1:57:12
50-59
5:33 m /km
450
JIM BROWN
2:02:19
70-79
5:47 m / km
3rd MV70
826
CONOR ECCLESTON
2:41:41
20-29
7:39 m /km
20 – 298 finishers
CRAIG BACON said “20 miles for me at Bedford and finished in 2:44:56. This was a milestone run in preparation for the Stevenage Marathon in six weeks time.
The plan was to run the first seven miles at a steady 9 minute/mile pace, then run the next 7 at 8:30 pace and the final 6 miles at target marathon pace of 8 minutes/mile. Loved the first 7 miles despite the thunderstorm. Nice and easy. Second 7 I discovered that I can’t run at 8:30 pace and ended up with most of it at 8:15 minutes/mile. Last 6 was a slog, including a fair portion of it being off road and muddy due to the earlier rain. However, I managed to be on pace or under for 5 or 6 miles.
Final result was a 13 minute PB (although I’ve only run 1 other 20 mile race, which was 13 years ago). Very happy. Two more big weeks of training and then it’s downhill all the way to marathon day.”
ROSS GALLAGHER was the fastest from Fairlands at 28th out of the 298 finishers, top ten per cent, and pretty much spot on three hour marathon pace with 6:52 per min.
He was followed by PAUL SHELLEY 2:39:30; Craig, SAMANTH TOPHILL 3:05:57 and ALISON SHELLEY 3:33:53.
Position
Name
Time
Pace
Comments
28
ROSS GALLAGHER
2:17:24
6:52 min/mile
78
PAUL SHELLEY
2:39:30
7:58 min/mile
98
CRAIG BACON
2:44:56
8:14 min/mile
PB
154
SAMANTHA TOPHILL
3:05:57
9:17 min/mile
246
ALISON SHELLEY
3:33:53
10:41 min/mile
5K / 10K
On Saturday JAY PAPA ran the Bedford 5K race in 19:07 and was 11th out of the 350 finishers. CHARLES ARNOLD ran the Bedford Twilight 10k in 47:22.
Tremendous Trio at the Great North Run.
The biggest half marathon and three Spartans were at the Great North Run with MIKE JEFFS running an excellent 1 hour 23 minutes 54 seconds (1:23:54 and 587th); CHRIS WATLING 1:57:20 (13,305th) and SARAH ILLINGWORTH 2:14:24 (23,856th). There were 60,000 runners. Mike said, ”The crowds, the atmosphere was electric throughout the whole race even with it hammering it down with rain.”
St Albans Stampede
Karen Liddle and Tricia Hopper took part in the St Albans Stampede 2024; a 12 hour endurance challenge on Saturday 7 September 2024, starting at 9am.
The route is 4.01 miles around Heartwood Forest, Wheathampstead, over varying off road terrain. Karen completed 9 laps (36 miles – 1st female in her age category) and Tricia completed 11 laps (44 miles – 2nd female in her age category) in 10 hrs.56 mins.
A thoroughly enjoyable day with perfect weather conditions, great support from the volunteers and friendly atmosphere
Inter Area Championships
YUKO GORDON represented Eastern Masters at the England Masters Athletics Association Inter Area Championships at Corby on Saturday 7th. She ran 400m, 800m and 1500m and came second in all of them. Eastern Masters won overall championship along with women’s and men’s trophies. Teams came from nine regions including Scotland and Wales.
Round The Garden
JOHN HARRIS did the Run around the Garden 5K in Letchworth.
He was second man 60 plus and 24th in the race with 21:21.
NIKKI NATION won her category with 31:25. There were three other Spartans – BRIAN WHITE 22:58; KEITH ABRAHAM 27:27 and NICK GILL 31:26.
Twenty two Spartans raced in the County 5K open road championships at Hatfield on Wednesday evening. Eight were rewarded with new personal bests (PBs) so well worth the trip. ASHLEY JOHNSON was eighth woman in the county and first in her category in the open race with a new PB of 19 minutes 10 seconds (19:10). ALISON WOOD was also a Spartan category winner with 21:10 and YUKO GORDON was second in hers with 22:39.
VICKY ARCHER took a huge chunk, three minutes, off her 5K personal best when she finished in 23:38. Meanwhile MEGAN SUTTON wanted to get under 28 minutes and did it with something to spare with her new 27:10 PB, an improvement by 1:19.
The fastest Spartan was MIKE JEFFS 57th out of the 258 finishers in 18:29 with ROSS GALLAGHER close behind in 18:31, a PB by three seconds, and PAUL SHELLEY chasing in with 18:42, a new PB by 21 seconds.
TERRY SAWYER improved by 2:20 to 19:44; ANDY PRIOR by five seconds to 22:42; and MATT TUTTON by 19 to 23:40.
The next Hatfield 5K race is this Wednesday evening 4th September.
Pos.
Gen
Cat Pos
Name
Category
Time
Grade
Comments
57
52
14
Mike JEFFS
MV40
18:29
72.9 %
59
54
16
Ross GALLAGHER
MV40
18:31
73.3 %
PB 0:03
66
60
9
Paul SHELLEY
MV50
18:42
81.0 %
PB 0:21
79
9
1
Ashley JOHNSON
FV35
19:10
80.8 %
1st FV35. PB 0:08
92
81
30
Terry SAWYER
MV40
19:44
69.3 %
PB 2:20
102
87
32
Mark COLLINS
MV40
19:53
70.6 %
120
21
1
Alison WOOD
FV55
21:10
84.8 %
1st FV55
150
33
2
Yuko GORDON
FV65
22:39
96.3 %
2nd FV65
158
122
25
Andy PRIOR
MV50
22:42
66.7 %
PB 0:05
159
123
11
Brian WHITE
MV60
22:54
74.6 %
173
45
11
Vicky ARCHER
FV35
23:38
64.9 %
PB 2:58
174
129
47
Matt TUTTON
MV40
23:40
56.4 %
PB 0:19
191
54
12
Kerstin PRIOR
FV45
25:19
67.2 %
SB 1:07
209
63
15
Andrea WESTCOTT
FV45
27:03
62.2 %
SB ?
212
65
21
Megan SUTTON
FS
27:10
53.5 %
PB 1:19
213
66
16
Hazel SMITH
FV45
27:10
59.9 %
YB 10:45
232
152
6
Jim BROWN
MV70
28:55
61.1 %
242
87
9
Sharon CROWLEY
FV65
30:29
64.6 %
248
160
23
Paul HOLGATE
MV60
33:49
49.5 %
249
89
18
Samantha SUTTON
FV45
34:32
46.6 %
SB 0:19
254
92
26
Jane WADEY
FV55
36:33
48.8 %
256
94
27
Jane WHITROW
FV55
37:35
47.5 %
SB 2:05
FVS Handicap 5K 29th August
The next evening, Thursday, the club held a 5K handicap race and 17 Spartans took part.
The winners were new members Sam & Perry Gentry, six and a half minutes ahead of handicap in 38:28 followed by Marleen Van Zwieten, beating her handicap by 4:36 in 40:24. Steve Tinsley finished second man in a year best time of 28:21 with Rose Sutton third lady in a new personal best time of 29:53 and Peter Sach third man in 29:54.
The fastest runner on the night was Nathan Kirley in a new personal best of 19:22, 1:53 quicker than his previous handicap 5k, with new member Michael Fisher second quickest in 21:03 and Craig Bacon third fastest in 22:41. Judy King was quickest woman in 29:27, 42 seconds faster than her previous handicap 5k, with Rose Sutton second quickest and Liz Carvell third fastest in a year best time of 31:23.
Handicap races are won by the best improvers. The slower runners, based on previous recent performances, start first and others at intervals based on their results try to catch them before the finish.
Next month’s final evening Handicap 5k of the year will be on Thursday 19th September.
Pos
First NAME
Last NAME
Time
R
F
PB
Impr
H’CAP
Adj
Time
H’Cap
1
SAM
GENTRY
38:28
15
New
0:00
38:28
6:32
2
PERRY
GENTRY
38:29
16
7
New
0:00
38:29
6:31
3
MARLEEN
VAN ZWIETEN
40:24
17
8
0:00
(0:01)
40:23
4:36
4
STEVE
TINSLEY
28:21
7
YB
1:44
12:45
0:03
41:09
3:54
5
ROSE
SUTTON
29:53
9
2
PB
1:09
12:15
0:09
42:17
2:52
6
JUDY
KING
29:27
8
1
0:42
13:00
0:01
42:28
2:33
7
PETER
SACH
29:54
10
0:53
12:45
(0:02)
42:37
2:21
8
SALLY
PHILLIPS
37:57
14
6
YB
4:45
42:42
2:18
9
LIZ
CARVELL
31:23
11
3
YB
0:06
11:30
(0:02)
42:51
2:07
10
NATHAN
KIRLEY
19:22
1
PB
0:15
23:45
(0:05)
43:02
1:53
11
MICHAEL
FISHER
21:03
2
New
22:00
0:05
43:08
1:57
12
CHARLES
ARNOLD
22:55
4
20:15
43:10
1:50
13
SALLY
PICKLES
37:05
12
4
6:45
43:50
1:10
14
PETE
COOK
26:54
6
0:08
17:00
0:01
43:55
1:06
15
CRAIG
BACON
22:41
3
21:15
0:01
43:57
1:04
16
JANE
WADEY
37:24
13
5
7:45
(0:01)
45:08
(0:09)
17
DANNY
SCANLON
22:59
5
22:15
0:01
45:15
(0:14)
Fairlands Five at Big Half
The heat in London made the race that bit harder but a famous five from Fairlands made a really good job of Sunday’s “Big Half.” STUART MEAD was 958th out of nearly 17,000 runners in 1:30:09; TERRY SAWYER 1,650th in 1:36:26, ROBERT WRIGHT 8,453rd in 2:07:53 and running her first half marathon race MEGAN SUTTON was 10,537th in 2:17:53. SAMANTHA SUTTON came in with 3:03:41.
Serpentine 30th August
It was warm, sunny with a light breeze and excellent visibility in Hyde Park on Friday. That enabled JIM BROWN to run his fastest road 5K this year. 27 minutes 23 seconds (27:23) in the Last Friday of the Month event.
Dorney for Alison and Paul
On a warm day ALISON and PAUL SHELLEY ran Sunday’s Dorney Lake Half Marathon and both won their age groups. Paul in 1:30:46 and Alison in 2 hours 5 minutes 52 seconds.
Speeding Up
MIKE JEFFS is getting his speed back. He finished the hot sweaty and gruelling Cambridge Biomedical Centre 10K in 39:28.
Parkrun Highlights 31st August Hawaii Five – O
In case of adversity go with the flow, or maybe the wave. Stevenage parkrun had a hacking attack and found themselves temporarily named Hawaii 5 – O. They decided to own it and had a theme of Hawaiian wear. Lots of Spartans joined in with that fun and dug out those shirts, shorts and Hawaiian leis.
24 Spartans ran and three of the top five females were from FVS. ASHLEY KING first in 20:52; SUZY HAWKINS third in 21:28 and GAIL MACKIE fifth in 22:26.
GRANT RAMSAY maintains his record as a top ten finisher. This time he was fifth in 18:49. There were 439 finishers at Stevenage including 174 women. Local event #362. Up considerably on the previous week.
Parkrun started at Bushy Park in 2004. That event ran for the 1,000th time on Saturday and there were thousands of runners. The 20th anniversary of parkruns will be in October.
Spartans elsewhere included YUKO GORDON with a season’s best 22:18 – that’s 105.01% – at Storeys Field; JOHN HARRIS 23:15; RYAN RIDELL 29:34; GEORGIE HOOPER 30:19 and NICK GILL 30:29 at Letchworth; MATTHEW NEWTON 26:18 at Pymmes; PETE SMITH 26:37 at North Yorkshire Water; DANIEL SUTTON 27:22 at Rutland Water; ANDY JAY 27:42 at Hunstanton Promenade; ANNABELLE WHITE 35:11 and CHLOE CHAPMAN 35:12 at Aldenham; NICOLA PATTMAN 33:25 at Gorleston Cliffs; JONATHAN JONES 37:24 and DZENANA TOPIC 37:25 at Wimpole Estate; and DARRYL STEVENS 44:44 at Banstead Woods.
Fairlands Valley Spartans ANDREW PATTERSON competed for Great Britain in the World Masters Athletics Championships this week in Gothenburg. He was ranked 25th going into the heats of the 1500 metres for men 40 plus on Friday. The conditions were horrid with heavy winds and rain. He managed to finish fourth in his heat in 4.19. The top two from each heat went through to the final and the next 10 fastest runners. Andrew sneaked into the final as the 10th fastest. The only Brit to qualify for the final.
Sunday was the final and it was delayed 30 minutes due to thunder and the conditions were still windy when we started. Making the final was a bonus and the aim was to not finish last, and finished in a season’s best 4.17 and 13th. The championship style racing of slowly starting was tough going and Andrew who runs fantastic half and full marathons says he didn’t have the track speed to match his competitors. Overall he said it was a great experience.
Rolling Around A Velopark…
On Saturday 24th August CHRIS WATLING ran the Lee Valley Velo Park half marathon at the Olympic Park in Stratford.
He said it was 13 times one mile laps around a hilly course, with heavy rain from the offset. It was tough, but Chris enjoyed it and finished in 1 hour 53 minutes 46 seconds (1:53:46) exactly half way with 76th out of 152.
Got a few shout-outs from the race organisers in his Spartan vest!
Parkrun Highlights 24th August
It was third again for Spartan GRANT RAMSAY as he finished the Stevenage parkrun in 19:02. Miserable weather and the late summer public holiday probably contributed to keeping the total number of finishers to 327 and that included 22 from FVS.
At Stevenage STEVE PLATT ran his 75th parkrun in 28:44; ALISON SHELLEY her 150th in 30:30; PAMELA VILJOEN her 240th in 38:45 and TREVOR BROOM his 25th in 55:16.
Eleven of the 22 Spartans were under 30 minutes.
Altogether 46 Spartans ran parkruns on Saturday. Spartans elsewhere included JONATHAN PARR who won the Sandringham parkrun in 17 minutes 52 seconds (17:52). JOHN HARRIS was third man at Letchworth in 21:48 with MEGAN SUTTON coming in at 28:35 and GEORGIE HOOPER at 29:33; SUZY HAWKINS was fourth woman at Milton Keynes with 24:44; SIMON HAIGH finished the Gunpowder parkrun in 25:56; LIZ CROWLEY 30:36 at Mile End (London) and SHARON CROWLEY 31:31 at Boston (Lincolnshire); SAMANTHA SUTTON 35:17 and MATTHEW PATTMAN 37:49 at Holkham; and DARRYL STEVENS at Brockenhurst in 47:15.
Position
Gender Position
parkrunner
Time
Comments
3
3
Grant RAMSAY
19:02
Third overall
29
26
Paul SHELLEY
22:05
47
43
Toby ECCLESHALL
23:05
64
59
Daniel VILJOEN
23:57
89
80
Darren EMMERSON
25:13
98
88
Ryan DUNNING
25:37
106
96
Keith HOOKER
26:07
147
20
Gail MACKIE
27:42
168
136
Steve PLATT
28:44
75th parkrun
191
147
Jay PAPA
29:27
195
151
Jim BROWN
29:35
209
46
Alison SHELLEY
30:30
150th parkrun
211
157
Pete COOK
30:33
215
48
Annabelle WHITE
30:42
219
51
Claire EMMERSON
30:59
223
54
Ashley JOHNSON
31:05
222
53
Nikki Katherine NATION
31:05
248
70
Caroline CROFT
32:57
263
80
Chloe CHAPMAN
34:29
278
179
Paul JENNINGS
36:21
288
94
Pamela VILJOEN
38:45
240th parkrun
324
191
Trevor BROOM
55:16
25th parkrun
Spartans at Stevenage parkrun #361
STOOP
And four Spartans did the STOOP (Stevenage Outer Orbital Path) walk. All 44 kilometres, or 27 miles, of it.
Spartan DAVID HARRIS-CHERGUIT was third overall in Sunday’s Burnham Beeches Half Marathon with a superb time of 1 hour 17 minutes 33 seconds (1:17:33).
He said the course was scenic, well marshalled and supported and with a couple of challenging hills at mile 6 and 10. It was great to get racing in the new stripes off to a flying start! Great also to see another Spartan at the race.
WENDY THARANI finished in 2:15:36. She said it was the usual undulating and scenic course which she has enjoyed before, two laps, through the woods. Great organisation and lots of great stalls in the race village.
World Masters Athletics Championships, 3000m Steeplechase
Spartan Grant Ramsay represented Team GB in the 3000 metres steeplechase, at the World Masters Athletics Championships, in Gothenburg, Sweden. Ramsay both ran and hurdled well to achieve a season’s best time of 12:30. This also happened to be his best time for well over two years. It was a very strong field and Ramsay had to settle for 18th, which was all in his age category of M50 (men over 50).
Ramsay was pleased with his performance, which involved running at 4:10 per kilometre and to fluently leap hurdles at his age.
Parkrun Highlights 17th August
Two Fairlands Valley Spartans in the top ten and first woman as 27 Spartans were among the 444 finishers of Saturday’s Stevenage parkrun. GRANT RAMSAY was third in 18:32 and PAUL SHELLEY tenth in 20:19. SUZY HAWKINS was first woman with 21:14.
Also at Stevenage MATT TUTTON ran a new parkrun personal best (PPB) of 23:59; JAY PAPA ran his 40th parkrun in 27:48; JIM BROWN won his age group with 27:55; MEGAN SUTTON ran her 20th in a new parkrun personal best (PPB) of 28:29; MATT CLARKE ran his 140th in 29:16 and LLOYD DIAS his 25th in 40:05.
Spartans elsewhere included JONATHAN PARR fourth in 17:23 at Teignmouth promenade parkrun; ADRIAN DONNELLY in 21:08 and MATT GIFFORD 28:16 at Henlow Bridge Lakes; JOHN HARRIS 21:19 and JACKIE PERRY 28:41 at Letchworth; DAVID RIDDELL 25:35 and JAYNE RIDDELL 27:27 at Holkham (Norfolk); GRAHAM BLACKBURN 28:40 at Medina, Isle of Wight in 28:40; ANDY JAY 28:57 at Westmill (Ware); CHLOE CHAPMAN 31:43 at Jersey Farm (St Albans); PAUL JENNINGS 31:48 at Watergrove, Rochdale; JANE WADEY 36:16 at Penrose (Cornwall); DARRYL STEVENS at Brockenhurst (New Forest) in 49:32 and TREVOR BROOM 1:06:13 in the Roding Valley.
Fifteen Spartans were spinning around at Ridlins Track on Wednesday. They were running 12.5 times 400 metres anti-clockwise laps in the Resolution 5K.
It was 1, 2, 3 for the Spartan men 40 plus. SIMON JACKSON was first, third overall, in 16:39 with ANTHONY CAHILL second in 18:06 and ROSS GALLACHER third in a new personal best (PB) of 18:34.
GEORGIE HOOPER was second woman overall with 21:30 and CRAIG BACON second man 50 plus with 21:39, his best 5K since 2021.
YUKO GORDON won her age group with 23:41 – worth 92.8% and KERSTIN PRIOR was first in hers in 26:28.
JANE WADEY was running her first race since being injured in 2023. She was hoping for a better result but it was very hot. She was very grateful for all the club support from other runners though and hope to improve now.
Altogether there were 51 finishers. 51 at a track event makes it pretty busy.
Pos
Name
Time
MF
CatPos
Cat
Age Grade
3.
Simon JACKSON
16:39
3
1
MV40
86.3 %
10.
Anthony CAHILL
18:06
10
2
MV40
75.9 %
11.
Ross GALLAGHER
18:34
11
3
MV40
72.8 %
14.
Jay PAPA
18:59
14
10
MS
67.7 %
23.
Georgie HOOPER
21:30
2
2
FS
69.7 %
25.
Craig BACON
21:39
23
2
MV50
69.7 %
33.
Melvin AUBURN
23:22
30
19
MS
56.2 %
35.
Yuko GORDON
23:41
4
1
FV70+
92.8 %
36.
Brian WHITE
23:59
32
2
MV60
71.8 %
38.
Matt TUTTON
24:50
34
8
MV40
54.4 %
39.
Martin DUDLEY
25:01
35
3
MV60
63.9 %
44.
Kerstin PRIOR
26:28
7
1
FV50
65.1 %
46.
Tim ROBINSON
26:41
38
5
MV50
57.0 %
48.
Paul HOLGATE
33:29
39
4
MV60
50.4 %
50.
Jane WADEY
36:17
11
2
FV50
49.1 %
Resolution 5k
Two Winners at the Grand Prix!
There were four Fairlands Valley Spartans in the GP events at the Bedford Autodrome Running GP on Sunday.
GRANT RAMSAY beat 90 with 1 hour 28 minutes 3 seconds in the Half Marathon with GERRY ROSEN finishing in 2:29:34.
However if you have a two hour milestone in mind JIM BROWN was consistent throughout and finished in 1:59:59 which won the men 70 plus category. YUKO GORDON ran the 10K and was another age group winner with her 47 minutes 2 seconds (47:02). She was seventh woman overall.
Gerry said, “If a certain brand of beer did days like today, this would be one of them, not only did I get to meet royalty today in the shape of Yuko but equally as royal I got to say hello to Grant & Jim. As for the racing and half marathon to be precise, it couldn’t have got it any better then this, well for me anyway !!!
As usual started off too quick, then sense kicked in and I got round, not only in a respectable time, but for me a sub 2h 30, 2 hours 29 minutes 34 seconds to be precise. I’m thoroughly making up for a lost three years, loving it, now for one of my favourite suppers, Chicken Kiev. Next stop on the racing calendar, the Great North Run early next month, oh and this time I’ll do it, having deferred the past 3 times…..”
I had thought that this sort of circuit or airfield racing could be boring said Jim but it does have advantages like no pinch points or road crossings so it is easier to run steady state throughout. I did not have a significant target in mind but my four 5Ks were all within a minute of each other despite a little bit of breeze and with just over a kilometre to go I realised how close I was to breaking a significant barrier. My acceleration over the last kilometre was almost impressive. So much better to get 1:59:59 than 2:00:00 and not bad for someone who is far from 25 years old.
26 Spartans ran this month’s Handicap 5K. Paul Holgate, Mike & Sharon Crowley and Mark Freeman made it possible.
Winner was Steve Platt in 27:55, 2 minutes 35 seconds (2:35) better than handicap, with Adrian Busolini second, 2:22 ahead of handicap in 17:38 and Simon Jackson third, 2:09 better than handicap in 17:36.
Rose Sutton was first lady, first woman across the line and 1:46 better than handicap in 31:14, with Samantha Sutton second, 1:15 ahead of handicap in 36:09 and new member Megan Coates third, 1:23 better than handicap in 36:22.
Simon Jackson was the fastest runner on the night with his 17:36, with Adrian Busolini second quickest (17:38) and Nathan Kirley 3rd fastest with 19:39.
Samantha Tophill was quickest woman, 25:45, with Megan Sutton second quickest, 28:46 and Rose Sutton (31:14) 3rd fastest.
19 of the finishers were within two minutes of their calculated handicap and the time difference between 1st and 21st position was just 2:26.
In handicap races the slower runners start first at intervals determined by recent performances. If everyone runs to form they will all finish together so the winners are the best improvers.
The last handicap 5k of the year will be on Thursday 19th September.
Pos
F
FIRST NAME
SURNAME
TIME
R
F
H’CAP
ADJ
FINISH TIME
IMPR
COMP. H’CAP
1
STEVE
PLATT
27:55
16
14:30
42:25
0:03
2:35
2
ADRIAN
BUSOLINI
17:38
2
25:00
(0:01)
42:37
2:22
3
SIMON
JACKSON
17:36
1
25:15
42:51
2:09
4
CHRIS
WATLING
23:19
6
19:30
0:21
43:10
0:46
2:11
5
1
ROSE
SUTTON
31:14
20
3
12:00
43:14
New
1:46
6
PETE
COOK
26:47
15
16:30
(0:01)
43:16
0:15
1:43
7
2
SAMANTHA
SUTTON
36:09
23
6
7:15
(0:02)
43:22
1:36
8
NATHAN
KIRLEY
19:39
3
23:45
43:24
1:36
9
3
MEGAN
COATES
36:22
24
7
7:15
43:37
New
1:23
10
MELVIN
AUBURN
24:01
8
19:45
(0:03)
43:43
1:14
11
4
SAMANTHA
TOPHILL
25:45
12
1
18:00
(0:01)
43:44
1:15
12
5
MEGAN
SUTTON
28:46
17
2
15:00
0:01
43:47
1:14
13
CRAIG
BACON
22:35
5
21:15
(0:02)
43:48
1:10
14
MATT
TUTTON
25:11
11
18:45
43:56
1:04
15
CHARLES
ARNOLD
23:43
7
20:15
0:01
43:59
1:02
16
6
GILLIAN
KNOWLES
32:11
22
5
12:00
0:01
44:12
0:49
17
7
LIZ
CARVELL
32:01
21
4
12:15
(0:03)
44:13
0:02
0:44
18
PETER
SACH
30:47
19
13:30
(0:03)
44:14
0:43
19
ROBERT
WRIGHT
22:15
4
22:30
(0:01)
44:44
1:40
0:15
20
LLOYD
DIAS
26:20
13
18:15
0:11
44:46
0:25
21
TIM
ROBINSON
29:06
18
15:45
44:51
0:09
22
DAVID
ACKERY
26:27
14
19:00
(0:03)
45:24
(0:27)
23
BRIAN
WHITE
24:32
10
22:00
(0:02)
46:30
(1:32)
24
8
SHERYL
HOTT
47:53
25
8
0:30
48:23
New
(3:23)
25
9
ROSEMARY
ONABAWORIN
47:57
26
9
0:30
48:27
(3:27)
26
KRISTIAN
ATANSOV
24:11
9
24:30
48:41
New
(3:41)
Spartans Handicap 5k Results
Serpentine
JIM BROWN enjoyed the sunshine in Hyde Park running 28:36 in the Last Friday of the Month 5K. He reports pleasant and sunny conditions and that he’s completed a series of six with an average of 64.0%. The next race will be at lunch-time on Friday 30th August.
Fairlands Valley Challenge
Results from the Fairlands Valley Challenge the previous weekend show that 118 people finished the off road event.
16 completed the 10 kilometres with Spartan MIKE JEFFS first in with 1 hour 7 minutes 18 seconds (1:07:18); 21 finished the 13 miles with Will Mitchell, Gemma Smith, Phil Gover, Jess Clark and Caitlin Evans coming in together with 2:50:46; Alex Statham led in the 25 people in the 18 miles option with 2:45:04; 41 went round 26 miles with Alistair Flowers first with 3:55:43.
15 finished the 50 kilometres with Mark O’Dell first back in 4:53:18. Spartan JAY PAPA completed his first ever ultra in 6:00:17.
Just days after a successful takeover of a Stevenage parkrun Fairlands Valley Spartans ORGANISED and provided dozens of volunteer marshals for Thursday evening’s Relays in the Park in Fairlands Valley.
What’s more 41 Spartans ran. Their successes included WINNING the veteran mixed team with ANDREW PATTERSON (09:39), SAM PRETTY (11:23), ASHLEY JOHNSON (11:29) and JONATHAN PARR (10:05) and their veteran women’s team coming second.
The fastest Spartan over the 3K were Andrew Patterson 10th out of 432 in 9 minutes 39 seconds (9:39) and KIRK NDUGU 15th with 9:50. Both under 10 minutes. Their fastest women were SAM PRETTY 11:23 and ASHLEY JOHNSON 11:29. Both under 11:30.
The Relays in the Park included the Hertfordshire County Championships. Every team – men, women, mixed, open or veteran – had to run four stages of exactly three kilometres.
Pos
Team
Name
Category
Team
Time
10.
35/A
Andrew PATTERSON
MV40
FVS Mix 1
09:39
15.
39/A
Kirk NDUGU
MS
FVS M3
09:50
23.
35/D
Jonathan PARR
MV40
FVS Mix 1
10:05
25.
39/C
Simon JACKSON
MV40
FVS M3
10:05
39.
39/D
Adrian BUSOLINI
MS
FVS M3
10:21
55.
36/B
Charlie COOK
MS
FVS M1
10:36
57.
39/B
Brian BRACKSTONE
MV50
FVS M3
10:38
78.
36/D
Jason ANDERSON
MV40
FVS M1
10:56
87.
36/A
Ross GALLAGHER
MV40
FVS M1
11:02
90.
36/C
Jay PAPA
MS
FVS M1
11:04
109.
35/B
Sam PRETTY
FV35
FVS Mix 1
11:23
119.
35/C
Ashley JOHNSON
FV35
FVS Mix 1
11:29
128.
61/C
Ross GALLAGHER
MV40
FVS M6
11:40
157.
53/D
Ashley JOHNSON
FV45
FVS W1
12:11
162.
95/A
Ralph DADSWELL
MV50
FVS M5
12:17
168.
38/B
Craig BACON
MV50
FVS M2
12:19
172.
38/A
Robert WRIGHT
MV40
FVS M2
12:22
185.
38/D
Danny SCANLON
MV40
FVS M2
12:33
193.
37/B
Ryan RIDDELL
MS
FVS Mix 2
12:40
195.
37/A
David RIDDELL
MV50
FVS Mix 2
12:40
201.
53/B
Alison WOOD
FV45
FVS W1
12:45
220.
53/C
Suzy HAWKINS
FV45
FVS W1
13:04
234.
38/C
Andy PRIOR
MV50
FVS M2
13:20
238.
56/B
Liam HERBERT
MV40
FVS M4
13:23
257.
53/A
Marie COLUCCI
FV45
FVS W1
13:38
283.
61/A
Ben TORREGGIANI
MV40
FVS M6
14:14
302.
61/B
David ACKERY
MS
FVS M6
14:38
310.
95/D
David ACKERY
MS
FVS M5
14:53
313.
95/B
Martin DUDLEY
MV60
FVS M5
14:56
320.
56/C
Lloyd DIAS
MS
FVS M4
15:03
327.
37/D
Sophie PARSONS
FS
FVS Mix 2
15:12
355.
37/C
Jayne RIDDELL
FV55
FVS Mix 2
15:46
356.
95/C
Vish SHAH
MS
FVS M5
15:48
359.
61/D
Peter COOK
MV50
FVS M6
15:50
360.
56/A
Simon SYPULA
MV50
FVS M4
15:50
367.
56/D
Nick KLEANTHOUS
MV60
FVS M4
16:01
386.
88/D
Megan SUTTON
FS
FVS W2
16:52
398.
41/C
Peter SACH
MS
FVS Mix 3
17:44
403.
41/D
Judy KING
FV55
FVS Mix 3
18:03
407.
88/C
Rose SUTTON
FS
FVS W2
18:10
414.
41/A
Liz CARVELL
FV55
FVS Mix 3
19:03
415.
41/B
Paul HOLGATE
MV60
FVS Mix 3
19:03
429.
88/A
Sally PICKLES
FV55
FVS W2
21:45
430.
88/B
Samantha SUTTON
FV45
FVS W2
21:47
FVS 3k Relay Times
Three Gold Medals
Three Fairlands Valley Spartans won GOLD medals in the County 10K track championships on Wednesday night.
After 25 laps YUKO GORDON won GOLD for women 70 plus in 47 minutes 24 seconds (47:24.70); DAVID BOWKER won GOLD for men 65 plus in 48:09 and JIM BROWN won GOLD for men 70 plus in 53:50.
No hills and no wind. What was there not to like said Jim. A great outing for three Spartan veterans.
Memorial 5K
Also on Wednesday MATT TUTTON ran his fastest 5K this year with his 24:49 at the Doug Anderson 5K in Bedford. JAY PAPA beat 20 with 19:21; CHARLIE ARNOLD came in with 22:52 and PAUL HOLGATE with 32:20.
St Albans Summer 10K
JIM BROWN ran the St Albans Summer 10K in exactly 56 minutes (56:00). Good enough for third place in his category.
Three Events Organised in Nine Days
Not only did Fairlands take over the local parkrun on Saturday 13th July and organise the Relays in the Park on Thursday 18th July then they organised the Fairlands Valley Challenge off road event on Sunday 21st July. More on the challenge soon.
Co-ordinated by JANE WADEY Fairlands Valley Spartans organized another really successful take over of the Stevenage parkrun on Saturday. Take overs are when one organisation takes on most of the volunteer roles at a parkrun.
There were 477 finishers including 39 Spartans. The Spartan pacers helped to get 25 people to new parkrun personal bests. They included CHRIS WATLING with a new PPB of 23:01 and DAVID ACKERY with 24:44. ASHLEY JOHNSON one of the pacers celebrated her 20th parkrun with 23:52. MARK BEASLEY ran his 130th in 25:46; MARIE COLUCCI, another pacer, her tenth with 27:41; and new member Rosemary ONABAWORIN her first in 42:24.
There were 477 finishers including 39 Spartans. Many other Spartans were marshals, helping to set up the event, volunteering in all sorts of ways.
Jim and Yuko win in League
YUKO GORDON and JIM BROWN were prizewinners in Division One of the Mid Week League. Proving that Fairlands Valley Spartans just keep going they both won the oldest categories with Yuko winning the series for women aged 65 and over and Jim winning for men aged 70 plus. There were 14 MV70s.
The awards were made after the “Mob Match” 10K in Welwyn Garden City in which 21 Spartans raced.
The fastest Spartan in the mob match was KIRK NDUGU, 17th in 36:13; with ADRIAN BUSOLINI and BRIAN BRACKSTONE not far behind with 36:59 (24th) and 37:23 (27th). WENDY THARANI was the fastest female from Fairlands with 59:35 chased in by CLAIRE EMMERSON who finished in 59:39.
Race
First Name
Last Name
Time
Gen Pos
Cat
Vet
Cat.
M/F
Improve
Team
17
KIRK
NDUGU
36:13
17
S
M
0:19
1
24
ADRIAN
BUSOLINI
36:59
23
S
M
0:57
2
27
BRIAN
BRACKSTONE
37:23
25
3
12
V 50
M
0:51
3
71
JAY
PAPA
41:47
64
S
M
4
99
ROBERT
WRIGHT
44:07
83
31
49
V 40
M
2:34
5
158
CHARLIE
ARNOLD
48:27
122
12
78
V 60
M
0:32
6
186
SIMON
HAIGH
50:19
134
25
90
V 50
M
2:23
7
210
DAVID
ACKERY
52:12
150
S
M
0:24
8
236
MARTIN
DUDLEY
54:04
161
21
114
V 60
M
0:09
9
240
DARREN
EMMERSON
54:19
163
32
116
V 50
M
10
253
PETE
COOK
55:27
169
34
121
V 50
M
3:31
11
262
JIM
BROWN
56:28
174
5
125
V 70
M
3:49
12
282
WENDY
THARANI
59:35
98
32
70
V 45
F
283
CLAIRE
EMMERSON
59:39
99
33
71
V 45
F
2:57
284
TIM
ROBINSON
59:40
183
42
134
V 50
M
0:36
300
NICK
KLEANTHOUS
1:01:07
186
25
137
V 60
M
1:07
306
JUDY
KING
1:02:14
116
19
81
V 55
F
1:22
323
LIZ
CARVELL
1:05:44
126
23
90
V 55
F
2:22
329
SHARON
CROWLEY
1:08:48
131
9
95
V 65
F
335
JANE
WADEY
1:15:12
134
25
98
V 55
F
1:56
Mob Match 10k Results
Parkrun Highlights 13th July (#355)
Altogether 59 Spartans ran parkruns on Saturday. Spartans at parkruns elsewhere included JAY PAPA 19:49 at Congleton; CHLOE CHAPMAN 27:07 at Kings Lynn; PETE SMITH 28:15 at North Yorkshire Water Park; DZENANA TOPIC 37:38 and DARRYL STEVENS 46:05 at the Wimpole Estate; and TRACY HAYGARTH 40:31 at Westmill.
There was a lot on in the world on Thursday 4th July but 30 Spartans – 19 men and 11 women made it to the final counting event in this summer’s Mid Week League race.
Run in Trent Park, Cockfosters this was a largely off tarmac event with some grinding climbs in the woods. It was dry!
On the night the fastest from Fairlands was KIRK NDUGU with 36:47 for 25th place out of the 194 male finishers. ADRIAN BUSOLINI 38th in 37:56; JONATHAN PARR 41st in 38:02; BRIAN BRACKSTONE 43rd in 38:14 and third man over 50 were also under 40 minutes on the tough course.
108 women finished. SUZY HAWKINS was the fastest female from Fairlands, 26th woman in 46:56. YUKO GORDON won her age group with 51:14. She was 47th woman overall.
The “Mob Match” will be in Welwyn Garden City on Wednesday 10th July.
Race
Cat
Vet
No.
Time
Name
Surname
Cat.
M/F
Female Pos.
143
10
17
1020
46:56
Suzy
Hawkins
V 45
F
26
193
1
34
1100
51:14
Yuko
Gordon
V 65
F
47
217
18
44
1073
53:19
Jo
Cooksley
V 35
F
59
248
1090
56:55
Sophie
Parsons
S
F
77
259
28
64
1075
58:37
Wendy
Tharani
V 45
F
82
275
32
72
1091
1:02:36
Claire
Emmerson
V 45
F
92
280
16
76
1085
1:03:36
Judy
King
V 55
F
96
293
20
84
1078
1:08:06
Liz
Carvell
V 55
F
104
295
21
86
1099
1:10:32
Monica
Smithson
V 55
F
106
299
24
87
1086
1:13:19
Callie
Chapman
V 35
F
107
301
22
88
1079
1:17:08
Jane
Wadey
V 55
F
108
Race
Cat
Vet
No.
Time
First Name
Last Name
Cat.
M/F
Male Pos
25
1014
36:47
Kirk
Ndugu
S
M
25
38
1028
37:56
Adrian
Busolini
S
M
38
41
16
18
988
38:02
Jonathan
Parr
V 40
M
41
43
3
19
1027
38:14
Brian
Brackstone
V 50
M
43
74
1002
41:16
Jay
Papa
S
M
72
127
22
64
996
45:51
Matt
Gifford
V 50
M
107
131
43
68
997
46:19
Alexey
Zherdev
V 40
M
111
136
46
71
1010
46:41
Robert
Wright
V 40
M
114
145
4
75
987
47:11
Brian
White
V 60
M
119
180
8
94
990
50:25
Charlie
Arnold
V 60
M
140
211
38
110
992
52:42
Simon
Haigh
V 50
M
156
226
63
115
1011
54:31
Matt
Tutton
V 40
M
162
249
1022
56:55
Ryan
Riddell
S
M
172
262
45
130
1016
58:58
Pete
Cook
V 50
M
178
269
6
132
999
1:00:20
Jim
Brown
V 70
M
180
271
46
133
1024
1:01:05
Tim
Robinson
V 50
M
182
274
18
134
1021
1:02:14
Nick
Kleanthous
V 60
M
183
291
1026
1:07:37
Peter
Sach
S
M
188
298
20
142
986
1:11:37
Paul
Holgate
V 60
M
192
A Win For Yuko at the Newport Pagnell Carnival 5K
YUKO GORDON won her age group F70 (and 60 & 65 as well) at Newport Pagnell Carnival 5K, near Milton Keynes in 22:20 on Saturday 6th July. It was a flat fast course over traffic free main road with 500 plus runners. Crowds were surprisingly big along the course.
After Mount Chingford and the Trent Park Woods recently, she felt this was too good to be true. However, a fast course is one thing but she said my legs had a problem adjusting to the speed this time. Still, she was happy with the season’s best.
The Carnival 5K is a uniquely fast and flat 5k road race through the historic market town of Newport Pagnell. On closed roads in front of thousands, it’s run ahead of the annual town Carnival Parade. The race finishes on the carnival meadow in the show arena where there’s a day of entertainment and fun. For the 4th consecutive year, there were two different runs. One to suit all abilities: The ‘Serious’ 5K and the family fun 5K.
Ware 10 + 10 – PB for Paul
GERRY ROSEN took part in the Ware 10 (miles). It was a two lap affair with a nasty uphill first mile. A tough little cookie. Gerry was hoping to beat 2hrs and well and truly did it, his time was 1 hour 52 minutes 10 seconds.
The fastest of the eight Spartans was PAUL SHELLEY 20th of the 269 finishers with 1:07:25; third in his age group and a new personal best (PB) by eight seconds. ALISON SHELLEY was first female from Fairlands at 190th with 1:33:06; ANNABELLE WHITE was 198th with 1:35:09 and FIONA CLARKE 212th with 37:47.
MATT DUTTON took part in the 10 mile race at the Ware festival of running with a chip time of 1:32:56. His first ever 10 mile race. Matt said he managed to miss the heavy rain showers but large puddles were an obstacle at mile 1 and 6 guaranteeing wet feet!!
CHRIS WATLING was 112th in 1:21:51 and ROBERT WRIGHT 65th with 1:15:30.
269 finishers.
JANE WHITROW ran the Ware 10K. She said the event was really well organised with lots of water stations and friendly marshals. Jane finished 239th in 1:21:17.
Pos
MF
CatPos
Bib
Name
Cat
Gun
Chip
20.
19
3
8901
Paul SHELLEY
MV50
1:07:27
1:07:25
65.
55
23
2178
Robert WRIGHT
MV40
1:15:48
1:15:30
112.
91
36
2127
Chris WATLING
MS
1:22:09
1:21:51
188.
134
45
8942
Matt TUTTON
MV40
1:33:19
1:32:56
190.
55
9
8902
Alison SHELLEY
FV55
1:33:28
1:33:06
198.
60
15
8896
Annabelle WHITE
FS
1:35:30
1:35:09
212.
67
20
8906
Fiona CLARKE
FV45
1:38:09
1:37:47
254.
160
43
8829
Gerry ROSEN
MV50
1:52:32
1:52:10
Race for Life
Some Spartans including JIM BROWN and PENNY SCHENKEL ran the Stevenage Race for Life. Jim’s event was lucky but Penny’s finished in a downpour.
EMAC – Spartans 2 and 3.
Fairlands Valley Spartans were second and third in the latest Eastern Masters track and field league event.
The FVS women including SHARON CROWLEY, CHRISTINE LATHWELL; MARIAN MORLEY; JOYLYN SAUNDERS-MULLINS; TESSA STEPHENSON and ANDREA WESTCOTT were second with 118 points, just 19 behind the winners.
The men were third in their match with 86. Their team included CHARLES ARNOLD; MARK FREEMAN; NICK KLEANTHOUS; STEVE MAYFIELD; TIMOTHY SAUNDERS-MULLINS and DAVID STEPHENSON.
The event included running from 100 metres to one mile (1609 metres); walking 2 kilometres; throwing and jumping. The league is for male and female veteran athletes aged from 35 upwards divided in various age categories.
The next EMAC track and field fixture is in Sandy on Wednesday evening 31st July.
Parkrun Highlights 6th July
DANIEL VILJOEN achieved a major parkrun milestone on Saturday morning. His run at Stevenage was his 250th which he finished in 24 minutes 4 seconds (24:04). There were 19 Spartans among the 363 finishers of the very wet 354th Stevenage parkrun including SIMON JACKSON second in 17:40 and GRANT RAMSAY sixth in 18:57.
ANNABELLE WHITE ran her 150th parkrun in 31:32.
19 of the 363 finishers at a very wet Stevenage parkrun were Spartans.
Spartans elsewhere included SUZY HAWKINS 25:03 at Henlow Bridge Lakes; NICK KLEANTHOUS 33:11 at Tamar Lakes near Bude and CHLOE CHAPMAN 34:05 at Lanhydrock, Bodmin.
