The first day of Spring, meteorological – we’ll come to the astronomical in three weeks, saw many Spartans at races or on club training runs.
Southwold
BECKY RAYNER completed the Southwold Half Marathon, finishing with a chip time of 2:18:39. That’s a 5 minutes 24 seconds improvement on her PB (personal best).
She said this was her first time doing this race. It was a mixed terrain course incorporating roads and tracks around Southwold and the nearby village of Walberswick. Very picturesque, well supported and a very well organised event with the bonus of a cookie and a donut at the finish line. What’s not to like?
London Half
LEE POTTER celebrated the first day of meteorological Spring with a 25 minutes 4 seconds personal best at the London Half Marathon based in the Queen Elizabeth Park. Only a week after his previous best at the Baldock Beast he finished in 2 hours 32 minutes 53 seconds.
Great Yarmouth
It was Great Yarmouth for JESSICA CLARKE where she ran the half marathon in 1:52:21.
Berkhamsted Half Marathon
Completing the Half Marathon fun ANDREW SHAW ran the Berko Half. The Berkhamsted Half was Andy’s third go at racing over the half marathon distance. It is a hilly course but take in some spectacular views of Ashridge House. Andy really enjoyed completing the event and was chuffed to finish in 1:35:23, a 9 minute PB that he attributes to joining FVS and the Tuesday evening intervals.
He was 176th out of the 1263 finishers. It’s lumpy but great once you get to nine miles!
Wanna Half? Entries have OPENED for the Stevenage Half Marathon which will be on Sunday 18th October.
Friday Fun
JIM BROWN ran the Last Friday of the Month 5K. A nice little trundle around Hyde Park on Friday after some difficult running weeks.
First kilometre took a nervous 5:59 but Serpentine 5K completed in 28:40. Jim says this is a friendly lunch-time race with a very convenient café. Nice open start so you can go as fast, or not, as you like.
Parkrun Highlights
Fairlands Valley Spartans were second and third in Saturday’s Stevenage parkrun. KIRK ran the 5K in 17:50 and SIMON JACKSON in 17:58. Simon got the highest age grade score on the day, 82.10%.
Despite the very wet morning there were 510 finishers including 210 women and 29 Spartans. KAREN ELLIS was the fastest female from Fairlands in 27:36 which gave her 150th overall.
There was a new parkrun personal best for LINDSAY PATEMAN, 31:49.
51 plus Spartans ran a parkrun on Saturday. Those elsewhere included their furthest from Fairlands runner MIKE REYNOLDS who ran the Wanaka parkrun on the South Island of New Zealand in 27:55 and ADAM HILL in Poland running the Krakow parkrun in 23:38.
HAYLEY PEACH improved to 30:04 at the Albert parkrun in Middlesbrough with ANDREW SMITH finishing in 30:05.
BECKY RAYNER ran the notoriously hard Great Yarmouth North Beach parkrun, all on sand, in 48:59; NIKKI NATION was on the High Peak trail completing the Black Rocks parkrun in 35:18 and ROWENA ROUTLEDGE at the Penrose parkrun, Helston in Cornwall with 31:46.
Not quite so far away CHARLES ARNOLD finished the Jubilee parkrun in Bedford with 24:23; WILLIAM MORLEY was sub 20 with 19:18 at Coldham’s Common near Cambridge and ALICE WELCH ran the Pocket parkrun at St Neots in 31:29.
GRANT RAMSAY ran the Wimpole Estate event in 22:55 with JONATHAN JONES in 35:13. JOHN HARRIS and LEWIS GREEN went round the Letchworth parkrun in 24:34 and 25:17. JAY PAPA and JESS CLARKE were glowing after their Sizewell parkrun with 26:55 and 28:38.
Stripes on Saturday next Saturday as it will be the first Saturday of the month.
| Position | Gender Position | FVS parkrunner | Time | |
| 2 | 2 | Kirk NDUGU | 17:50 | |
| 3 | 3 | Simon JACKSON | 17:58 | |
| 94 | 80 | Daniel VILJOEN | 25:54 | |
| 111 | 92 | Paul MAGUIRE | 26:20 | |
| 150 | 24 | Karen ELLIS | 27:36 | |
| 159 | 126 | Andrew JORDAN | 27:57 | |
| 184 | 142 | Ryan DUNNING | 28:39 | |
| 191 | 37 | Alison SHELLEY | 28:49 | |
| 210 | 46 | Lorraine HILL | 29:19 | |
| 254 | 185 | Jim BROWN | 30:33 | |
| 257 | 60 | Sarah ILLINGWORTH | 30:36 | |
| 276 | 199 | Keith HOOKER | 31:11 | |
| 294 | 75 | Lindsay PATEMAN | 31:49 | |
| 305 | 81 | Debbie BLANTERN | 32:10 | |
| 354 | 235 | Keith MANTON | 33:53 | |
| 357 | 109 | Callie CHAPMAN | 34:04 | |
| 365 | 114 | Pamela VILJOEN | 34:17 | |
| 386 | 123 | Nicola HATHERLY | 35:03 | |
| 398 | 254 | James SOUTH | 35:26 | |
| 402 | 255 | Paul HOLGATE | 35:39 | |
| 408 | 135 | Niki PLUMB | 35:48 | |
| 409 | 136 | Sally PICKLES | 35:49 | |
| 463 | 170 | Julie MANTON | 40:32 | |
| 465 | 172 | Tracy HAYGARTH | 40:46 | |
| 483 | 187 | Rosemary ONABAWORIN | 45:01 | |
| 499 | 283 | Thomas SAUKA | 52:24 | |
| 510 | 201 | Sharon CROWLEY | 64:07 |