MEDALS FROM HATFIELD - Fairlands Valley Spartans

There were double figure Spartans at four events over the weekend – the Hatfield Five including county championships; Bass Belle 10; Hertfordshire Half Marathon and the Stevenage Parkrun.

Golds and Bronze at Hatfield Five

24 Spartans brought back two GOLDS and a BRONZE from the County Five Mile championships which were held at Hatfield on Sunday.

With a finishing time of 34 minutes 45 seconds ALISON WOOD won GOLD for women 45 plus. The amazing YUKO GORDON won GOLD for women 65 plus with 36:35 and BRIAN WHITE won BRONZE for men 60 plus with 33:55.

And the women’s trio of Alison Wood; Yuko Gordon and Susan McAneny won BRONZE in the team competition.

Mark Goodwin was fourth man 60 plus with 37:02.

In the open race DEAN CARPENTER took 26 seconds off his personal best (PB) with 30 minutes 51 seconds.

JAMES KAY said, “My chip time was 32:38 and a PB. Very pleased considering I collapsed at the Bedford half a few weeks ago.”

SUSAN McANENY and KELLY EVANS ran new personal bests of 39:32 and 40:57. VISH SHAH took 2 minutes 7 seconds off his PB with 41:25 and MARIAN MORLEY improved to 44:17.

LIZ CARVELL took 59 seconds off her PB with 50:43.

PETER CARPENTER had wanted to be under the hour… but did finish without stopping and wasn’t last, main target achieved!

Position	Name	Time	Cat	Comments
52	DEAN CARPENTER	30:51	M40	PB (0:26)
84	JAMES KAY	32:38	Senior	PB
117	BRIAN WHITE	33:55	M60	County Bronze. SB
120	TIM SABAN	33:56	M50	SB
130	ALISON WOOD	34:45	W50	County Gold
137	WILLIAM MORLEY	35:26	Senior	First 5 miles.
140	DANNY SCANLON	35:54	Senior	YB
147	EVA RAMSEY	36:12	Lady
152	YUKO GORDON	36:35	W60	County Gold. YB
167	MARK GOODWIN	37:02	M60	4^th County V60. YB
170	MARTIN WOOD	37:12	M50	SB
192	SAM SIMMONS	37:53	Senior
235	SUSAN MCANENY	39:32	W40	PB
252	JIM BROWN	40:32	M60
261	KELLY EVANS	40:57	Lady	PB (1:46)
270	VISH SHAH	41:25	Senior	PB (2:07)
342	SHERYL HANN	44:13	W60
346	MARIAN MORLEY	44:17	W50	PB (1:21)
401	MONICA SMITHSON	46:31	W50	YB
502	LIZ CARVELL	50:43	W50	PB (0:59)
544	LISA POTTER	53:50	W40	SB
560	SHARON FLAHERTY	54:29	Senior
608	COURTNEY FISHER	59:01	Lady
613	PETER CARPENTER	60:23	M70

There were 641 finishers.

Bass Belle 10 Miles

GRANT RAMSAY ran the Bass Belle ten mile race a minute faster than last year despite picking up a calf injury and having to run in discomfort for the last three miles. His 62:51 was good enough for 10th overall and third man 40 plus. STEPHEN CURRY came in with 1:11:58.

There were new personal bests (PB) of 1:17:31 for DAVID PATTMAN and 1:20:34 for STEVEN DOBNER.

KAREN ELLIS said it was a lovely route. She was happy with her run and her time which was 1:26:32.

ALISON SHELLEY ran the Bass Belle for the second time along with a great gang of Spartans and like several others, got a PB which was 1:27:38.

HAZEL SMITH No official results yet but I have a watch time of 1:31:20 for the 10 miler today.

JULIE SHADBOLT really enjoyed the race. She held a happy pace and was chuffed how she felt and came in with 1:35:14.

“Considering I have hardly trained in a fair few weeks,” said DEBBIE BLANTERN, “due to, literally, a pain in the backside, I was very happy with my time of 01:39:03. I was just 32 secs off my 10 mile PB…so imagine if I’d trained! Watch this space next year. It was a lovely race, perfect weather conditions and beautifully organised. And there was mud, a lot of mud! We love the Spartans!” There was a 1.5 mile off road section to the route based on Bassingbourn.

Jenny Garrett, Vicky Archer and Claire Emmerson ran the race together. It was Vicky’s first 10 mile race and they all finished in 1:44:20.

CATHY CRAIG’s time was 1:46:40. She said having just about recovered from an infected Poison Ivy arm and a virus, I just took it easy and enjoyed the race and was pleasantly surprised with my time. Only nine minutes slower than last year. Cathy added it was a nice catch up with my fellow Spartans including my running daughters.

Hertfordshire Half Marathon at Knebworth House

Spartan Tim Robinson was one of ten Spartans who took part in the Hertfordshire Half Marathon on Sunday 24th November. The race starts in the grounds of Knebworth House before heading out to Whitwell and surrounding villages over a very undulating course. He said he ran the first few miles but overconfidence got the better of him during miles 7 and 8 leaving not a lot left for mile 10 and 11 and the climb out of Whitwell. But the last couple of miles saw a recovery and Tim finished in 2:04:35.

Matt Clarke ran the Hertfordshire Half Marathon in 1 hour, 44 minutes, 59 seconds and Jonathan Jones came in with 2:23:45.

SALLY PHILLIPS said her time was 2:54:42. “It was my first ever half marathon which I found had lots of hills, maybe I will pick a flat one next time.”

Silverstone Half Marathon

Perfect weather for Sunday’s Silverstone Half Marathon. With a popular 5k and equally popular 10k also starting at the same time care was required to not let the faster runners drag you off too fast or mess up your pacing when they started accelerating for their finish. Duncan Flounders finished 291^st in a new Year Best time of 1:38:34, 11:31 quicker than his previous best time for 2019, while Richard Cowlishaw was not far behind, 436th in 1:43:06 and Rowena Rutledge was 1,682nd in 2:18:31. Paul Holgate continued his progress in getting his body back up to half marathon distance even with his now long running foot injury, beating last week’s St Neots half marathon time by 6:46 for a new Year Best time of 3:02:01 in 2,035th position. There were 2,055 finishers in addition to the 1,872 10k finishers and 520 5k finishers.

Duncan Flounders 291 1:38:34 YB 11:31

Richard Cowlishaw 436 1:43:06

Rowena Tutledge 1,682 2:18:31

Paul Holgate 2,035 3:02:01 YB 6:46

2,055 finishers (+ 1,872 10k finishers + 520 5k finishers)

Duncan said, “I ran the Silverstone half marathon, finishing in 1hr 38 mins 34 seconds.

It’s a decent event, pretty flat except for a footbridge at about 8 miles! Felt good for the first half but struggled over the last 4K or so, happy to come in under the 1hr 40 mark.”

Yuko is a Record Holder

Fairlands Valley Spartans have a runner in the Age World Record Holders List for 2019. YUKO GORDON has the highest grading for a marathon. At 68 years and 218 days she ran a marathon in 3 hours 19 minutes 37 minutes.

Parkrun Highlights 23^rd November 2019

This weekend saw 28 Fairland Valley Spartans head out to run in Parkrun events around the country. ASHLEY KING ran a PB on the Cassiobury course, coming in as the second woman, in 19 mins and 33 secs. Elsewhere MO WARRILLOW was the 8^th woman to finish the Panshanger run in a time of 25 mins and 30 secs, and in Stevenage GAIL MACKIE was the second woman in 20 mins and 47 secs and EVA RAMSEY the fourth in 22 mins and 41 secs.

Representing the men, STUART ARCHER finished 15^th overall on the Stevenage course in 20 mins and 44 secs and TOBY ECCLESHALL 19^th in 20 mins and 57 secs.

(You can find all the Spartan parkrun results near the end of this release).

Coming Events

Many Spartans will be enjoying a busy programme of races, social and training events over the next few weeks:

Serpentine 5K in Hyde Park on Friday 29^th November.
Bedford Harriers Half Marathon on Sunday 1^st December.
Cross Country League Race Two in Trent Park on Sunday 1^st December.
FVS AGM and London Marathon draw on Tuesday evening 3^rd December.
Finsbury Park 10K on Sunday 15^th December.
Cross Country League Race Three in Stevenage (FVS) on Sunday 22^nd December.
Witham Boxing Day Five on Thursday 26^th December.
Serpentine 5K in Hyde Park on Friday 27^th December.
Buntingford Year End ten miles on Sunday 29^th December.
New Year 10K in Hyde Park on Monday 1^st January 2020.
County Cross Country Championships in Stevenage on Sunday 5^th January.
Cross Country League Race Four in Watford on Sunday 12^th January.
Fred Hughes Ten (10 mile race) on Sunday 19^th January.
Watford Half Marathon on Sunday 2^nd February.
Cross Country League Race Five in Royston on Sunday 9^th February.
Bramley 20 miles on Sunday 16^th February (entries are open).
St Valentine’s 30K in Stamford on Sunday 16^th February.
Baldock Beast on Sunday 23^rd February.
Berkhamsted Half Marathon on Sunday 1^st March.
Hillingdon 20 including Hertfordshire county championships on Sunday 8^th March (entries are open).
Oakley 20 on Sunday 29^th March.
Peterborough Marathon on Sunday 5^th April.
Maidenhead Easter Ten on Friday 10^th April.
The 2020 London Marathon is on Sunday 26^th April.

Tables

Bass Belle Ten Miles

Position	Name	Time	Comments
10	GRANT RAMSAY	1:02:51	3^rd MV 40. YB
37	STEPHEN CURRY	1:11:58
71	DAVID PATTMAN	1:17:31	PB
101	STEVEN DOBNER	1:20:34	PB
149	KAREN ELLIS	1:26:32
155	ALISON SHELLEY	1:27:38	PB
188	HAZEL SMITH	1:31:20	YB
235	JULIE SHADBOLT	1:35:14	YB
266	DEBBIE BLANTERN	1:39:03
293	CLAIRE EMMERSON	1:44:20
294	JENNIFER GARRETT	1:44:20
295	VICKY ARCHER	1:44:20	First 10 miles
308	CATHY CRAIG	1:46:40
347	CALANTHA CHAPMAN	1:56:41
	BARRY KING	?
	PAUL SHELLEY	?

Spartans at the Hertfordshire Half Marathon

Position	Name	Time	Comments
190	JOSEPH DOVE	1:39:36	3^rd MV55
323	MATT CLARKE	1:44:59
512	LUKE SILVER	1:52:04
520	ROBERT WRIGHT	1:52:09
851	LUKE GURNEY	2:02:34
914	TIM ROBINSON	2:04:35
1305	CHARLOTTE KEARNEY	2:22:54
1317	JONATHAN JONES	2:23:45
1513	KAREN BROOM	2:51:04
1524	SALLY PHILLIPS	2:54:42	First half

Parkrun Results Saturday 23^rd November

Parkrun	Pos	Gen	Parkrunner	Times	Notes
Southampton parkrun	135	126	Daniel SUTTON	22:07
	489	101	Verity FISHER	28:45

St Albans parkrun	197	31	Jo BOWDERY	26:19

Stevenage parkrun	15	14	Stuart ARCHER	20:44
	17	2	Gail MACKIE	20:47
	19	17	Toby ECCLESHALL	20:57
	29	27	Thomas SAUKA	21:48
	39	4	Eva RAMSEY	22:41
	40	36	Dean CARPENTER	22:42
	46	41	Craig BACON	23:03
	49	44	Darren EMMERSON	23:08
	51	46	Martin DUDLEY	23:13
	57	51	Chris HOLLAND	23:35
	69	60	Matt CLARKE	24:02
	89	77	Steven DOBNER	25:18
	90	78	David PATTMAN	25:18
	106	91	James NICHOLLS	25:52
	156	30	Carole SHELDRICK	27:32
	184	44	Sofia CARPENTER	29:05
	204	151	Tim ROBINSON	30:04
	216	59	Debbie BLANTERN	30:45
	237	168	David ACKERY	31:51
	241	72	Sally PICKLES	32:11
	250	76	Dzenana TOPIC	32:55

Brockenhurst parkrun	210	116	Darryl STEVENS	49:26

Panshanger parkrun	84	8	Mo WARRILLOW	25:30

Cassiobury parkrun	9	2	Ashley SCHOENWETTER	19:33	PB!

Letchworth parkrun	111	39	Grace BROWN	54:50