Fairlands Valley Spartans won SILVER medals in the team competition at the Hertfordshire County 5K championships for senior men on Wednesday 30th August.
The medal winning team was ANDREW PATTERSON (15:59); JONATHAN PARR (16:18); KIRK NDUGU (16:31) and NICK GILL (17:46). With 52 they were only four points behind the gold medal winners.
It was a season’s best (SB) for Andrew and Kirk, a year’s best (YB) for Jonathan and a personal best for Nick.
The championships were included in the Hatfield 5K which was completed by 14 Spartans.
MIKE JEFFS came in with a new PB of 18:02; MATT TUTTON with a new PB of 24:37; ANDY JAY with a season’s best 24:49 and SHARON CROWLEY with a season’s best of 28:59.
| Place | Name | M/F | Cat Pos | Cat | Time | Age Grade | Comments |
| 5. | Andrew PATTERSON | 5 | 1 | MV40 | 15:59 | 85.2 % | Team silver SB |
| 8. | Jonathan PARR | 8 | 7 | MS | 16:18 | 82.3 % | Team silver YB |
| 11. | Kirk NDUGU | 11 | 10 | MS | 16:31 | 80.0 % | Team silver SB |
| 35. | Nick GILL | 33 | 25 | MS | 17:46 | 73.3 % | Team silver PB |
| 43. | Mike JEFFS | 40 | 29 | MS | 18:02 | 74.2 % | PB |
| 79. | Grant RAMSAY | 69 | 12 | MV50 | 19:34 | 75.1 % | |
| 174. | Matt TUTTON | 130 | 51 | MS | 24:37 | 54.0 % | PB |
| 177. | Andy JAY | 131 | 34 | MV50 | 24:49 | 62.7 % | SB |
| 178. | Nick KLEANTHOUS | 132 | 14 | MV60 | 24:49 | 63.8 % | |
| 199. | Michael O’KEEFE | 141 | 37 | MV50 | 26:35 | 58.6 % | |
| 209. | Jim BROWN | 145 | 5 | MV70 | 27:09 | 64.4 % | |
| 226. | Sharon CROWLEY | 78 | 7 | FV65 | 28:59 | 67.0 % | SB |
| 243. | Paul HOLGATE | 155 | 22 | MV60 | 39:29 | 42.1 % | |
| 244. | Roger BIGGS | 156 | 10 | MV70 | 42:37 | 43.4 % |
Bedford Running Festival
In the half marathon JIM BROWN was 307th out of the 684 finishers with 2 hours 1 minute 34 seconds. He was second in his category just 27 seconds behind the winner.
In the Bedford 20 DAVID HARRIS-CHERGUIT was ninth overall and seventh in the 40-49 category in 2 hours 8 minutes 13 seconds.
He said the weather was hot! Great support on route and it was good to see Stevenage being represented by Spartans, Striders and Phoenix running clubs.
Baldock Rat Run
Tim Robinson took part in the fifth Baldock 5k Rat Run, an off road fun run raising fund for Garden House Hospice. He finished 64th out of 88 finishers in a time of 29:21. He has run in all 5 events now and is a regular but difficult to spot.
UTMB (Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc)
ADRIAN BUSOLINI said “My journey to UTMB started in 2019 with my running a section of the UTMB course, and falling in love with the Chamonix Valley. In 2021, I ran the UTMB CCC, which is more or less the second half of the UTMB course. I finally obtained my UTMB spot in 2022 based on my category placing in Val d’Aran. 
For us based in Hertfordshire, training for something like UTMB is not easy, as we have no comparable terrain nearby. My lack of specific training is probably what held me back in this race.
Regardless of my result, the experience of participating in a race as famous and competitive as UTMB is extraordinary. Between bumping into many friends and acquaintances in Chamonix, experiencing the otherworldly level of support in St Gervais les Bains and Les Contamines, or just soaking up the sight of Mont Blanc from every angle. The UTMB is a tough, technical race, but one to savour.” Adrian took 30 hours 21 minutes 21 seconds for the 160 kilometres.
Duck and Dash
NICK KLEANTHOUS said it was a great weather for Sunday’s Duck n Dash involving 400 metres of Letchworth outdoor pool followed by a 5K hilly trail run around Norton Common. Tracy Haygarth found me before the start and we talked while waiting for our swim as swimmers went off at 15 second intervals. It was Tracy’s first event and without her Garmin on did amazing. It was very well organised and the support was fantastic. Hope to be back next year!
Summer Nuts Challenge
STEVE PLATT tackled the two muddy, wet and obstacle filled laps of the Summer Nuts Challenge on Saturday 2nd September. The 15.69 kilometres OCR (British Obstacle Sports) event took 3 hours 39 minutes 21 seconds.
Parkrun Saturday 2nd September 2023
Click the link for the Consolidated ResultsÂ