There were more than one hundred Spartan races over the Easter period. Yes, including fifty on parkruns and 35 at the club’s free Thursday evening 5K handicap event, more than a hundred Spartan race times were recorded.
St Albans 10K
The St Albans 10K was very well organised and lived up to its flat and fast promise on a beautiful sunny Good Friday morning
GEORGIE HOOPER ran her first race as a Spartan and finished in 49 minutes 11 seconds. JO BOWDERY came in with 51:27 while LOUISE PACK and FIONA CLARKE chased each other round to new personal bests (PB) of 52 minutes 9 seconds.
fter being slightly held back at the start to ease the congestion STEVEN DOBNER was disappointed that the 50 and 55 minute pacers had disappeared into the distance. Still, he managed to catch and pass the 55 minute pacer but couldn’t see the 50 minute pacer, finishing with a new PB time of 52:34. He was a lovely race, without too much travelling, which he would recommend.
ANN TRYSSESOONE was seventh in her category with 50 minutes 37 seconds.
Unfortunately SALLY McBRIDE didn’t have such a great run as she managed to pull her calf. The course was mainly tarmac and pavement, but the last mile was all uphill which didn’t help so she finished with a time of 1:06:43.
ROGER BIGGS was seventh man 70 plus in 69 minutes 40 seconds. Nine Spartan women and three men took part. The others were SALLY PHILLIPS 63:55; TREVOR BROOM 64:50; TRACY STILES 66:16 and EMMA SOUTHERINGTON 68:34.
| Position | Name | Time | Category | Comments | |
| 134 | GEORGIE HOOPER | 49:11 | Lady U40 | 18 | First race as FVS. Female |
| 171 | ANN TRYSSESOONE | 50:37 | W50 | 7 | 7th in category. Female. |
| 184 | MISS JOANNE BOWDERY | 51:27 | Lady U40 | 33 | Female |
| 203 | LOUISE PACK | 52:09 | Lady U40 | 38 | PB. Female |
| 204 | FIONA CLARKE | 52:09 | W40 | 19 | PB. Female |
| 211 | STEVEN DOBNER | 52:34 | M40 | 47 | PB. Male |
| 440 | SALLY PHILLIPS | 63:55 | W50 | 37 | Female |
| 468 | TREVOR BROOM | 64:50 | M50 | 38 | Male |
| 486 | TRACY STILES | 66:16 | W50 | 46 | Female |
| 504 | SALLY MCBRIDE | 66:43 | W40 | 90 | Female |
| 530 | EMMA SOUTHERINGTON | 68:34 | W40 | 100 | Female |
| 538 | ROGER BIGGS | 69:40 | M70 | 3 | 3rd MV70 |
There were 608 finishers.
Hot At Maidenhead Easter Ten
It got too hot for ten miles said JIM BROWN and PENNY SCHENKEL who tackled the Maidenhead Easter Ten on Good Friday. Jim finished 504th out of the 1088 finishers in 1 hour 26 minutes 51 seconds and Penny 731st in 1:36:39.
Boston Two
There were two Spartans in the second Boston Marathon of the last few days. Last Sunday it was the Boston UK Marathon but on Monday STEFFAN FORD and TODD GRAY raced the Boston USA event.
After qualifying Steffan Ford and Todd Gray headed to the holy grail of running venues, the Boston Marathon. The Spartan runners hit the hard course and were welcomed with thunder storms. However, event was on a very tough point to point course in what turned out to be a hot day (both had sunburn). They were very proud to finish the course and cross the Boston Marathon finish line. Steffan finished in 3:17:57 (923 out of 1986 in the M40-44 Age Group) and Todd in 3:31:03 (3481 out of 5089 in his age group). Both took to the Cheers Bar to celebrate their achievements.
Enigma = 58
JOHN NELMS ran his 58th marathon in Milton Keynes on Friday – part of the Enigma running Easter series. This was seven laps of Caldicotte Lake in 3 hours 56 minutes in glorious sunshine. Next up for John is the big one – the Thames Path 100 miler in two weeks.
Handicap 5K
The first of Fairlands Valley Spartans free Thursday evening handicap 5K races since the clocks changed took place on Maundy Thursday (18th April) and there were 35 runners.
JON SYPULA was the winner on the night in a Year Best (YB) time of 25:55 winning the handicap by six seconds. Second man, in a season best (SB) time of 24:22 was Tony Vickers, in perfect form as he tapers down ready for his London marathon this Sunday, and Stuart Archer beat his personal best (PB) 5k time by 12 seconds to narrowly pip another London Marathon taperer, Michael Andrews to finish third man in 18:57.
The winning woman was Tanya Brazier (third overall), smashing her PB by 3:06 to 22:21, with Verity Fisher second quickest lady in a SB time of 23:21, and Abigail Pez third woman in a new PB of 23:31. Liz Smith, just one second behind in the handicap event, finished in a new PB of her own, 24:52.
Fastest runner on the night was Martin Blackburn in a new PB time of 18:37, with Stuart Archer’s 18:57 second quickest and Adrian Busolini third fastest in 19:42. Tanya’s 22:21 was the quickest female time, with Claire Pullen second fastest in a SB 22:35 and Verity’s 23:21 third fastest.
In all there were 10 PBs, 6 SBs and 11 YBs as Nigel Strongitharm 23:13, Daniel Sutton 21:03, Louise Pack 25:08, Richard Cowlishaw 21:46 and Melanie Butt 30:35 also lowered their PB times. Tracy Pez, Susan McAneny and Tim Robinson were others to record their fastest 5k of 2018 & 2019, and Michael Andrews, Ken Jude, Monica Smithson, Danny Scanlon, David Bowker, Mark Goodwin, Adrian Busolini, John Holmes, Steve Gough and Amanda Vickers also running year best times.
The next Handicap 5K will be on Thursday evening 9th May. Meet at Marriotts Sports Centre at 7p.m. or on the Fairlands Way cycleway near Webb Rise shortly afterwards.
So what’s a Handicap 5K? The slowest runners start first, the fastest at the very end. In between runners set off at intervals based on their recent performances. If everyone runs to form everyone would cross the finish line together. Thus the best improver, not necessarily the faster runner, wins the race. These 5K events are free for all Fairlands Valley Spartans members.
(All 35 times can be found near the end of this release).
More Brighton
JOHN ADAMSON and TONI NICHOLS both also ran the recent Brighton marathon. John finished in 3:58:15 and Toni in 5:28:24.
The others, previously reported, were Gerry Rosen 5:39:31 (PB); Angie Keeling 5:28:31; Rowena Rutledge 6:20:53.
Parkrun Highlights Saturday 20 April
A total of FIFTY (50) Spartans ran Parkrun on Saturday, across 13 separate locations. An incredible 12 PBs (personal bests) were achieved. Jonathan PARR (17:48) was first home at Stevenage and was also fastest male Spartan. The fastest female this week was Georgie HOOPER (23:42) also at Stevenage. First Parkrun congratulations go to Luke GURNEY (27:03). He finished Stevenage, in 131st overall place in a field of 364 runners.
Tables
Handicap 5K
| Pos | M/F | NAME | SURNAME | Own Time | R | F | PB | H’CAP | Finish Time | Impr |
| 1 | 1 | JON | SYPULA | 25:55 | 27 | YB | 3:00 | 41:46 | 3:29 | |
| 2 | 2 | TONY | VICKERS | 24:22 | 21 | SB | 17:30 | 41:52 | 2:34 | |
| 3 | 1 | TANYA | BRAZIER | 22:21 | 10 | 1 | PB | 19:45 | 42:05 | 3:06 |
| 4 | 3 | STUART | ARCHER | 18:57 | 2 | PB | 23:30 | 42:15 | 0:06 | |
| 5 | 4 | MICHAEL | ANDREWS | 22:46 | 12 | YB | 19:30 | 42:15 | 0:21 | |
| 6 | 2 | VERITY | FISHER | 23:21 | 14 | 3 | SB | 19:00 | 42:20 | 0:14 |
| 7 | 3 | ABIGAIL | PEZ | 23:31 | 15 | 4 | PB | 19:33 | 42:31 | 1:57 |
| 8 | 4 | LIZ | SMITH | 24:52 | 25 | 7 | PB | 17:45 | 42:37 | 0:18 |
| 9 | 5 | TRACY | PEZ | 23:38 | 18 | 5 | SB | 19:33 | 42:38 | 1:04 |
| 10 | 5 | KEN | JUDE | 24:46 | 24 | YB | 18:00 | 42:47 | 1:11 | |
| 11 | 6 | CLAIRE | PULLEN | 22:35 | 11 | 2 | SB | 20:15 | 42:49 | 1:02 |
| 12 | 6 | NIGEL | STRONGITHARM | 23:13 | 13 | PB | 19:45 | 42:58 | 0:30 | |
| 13 | 7 | SUSAN | McANENY | 24:26 | 23 | 6 | SB | 18:30 | 43:00 | 0:36 |
| 14 | 8 | MONICA | SMITHSON | 28:09 | 30 | 9 | YB | 15:00 | 43:07 | 0:35 |
| 15 | 7 | TIM | ROBINSON | 23:31 | 16 | SB | 19:45 | 43:15 | 0:08 | |
| 16 | 8 | DANIEL | SUTTON | 21:03 | 6 | PB | 22:15 | 43:18 | 0:03 | |
| 17 | 9 | MARTIN | BLACKBURN | 18:37 | 1 | PB | 24:45 | 43:23 | 0:18 | |
| 18 | 10 | DANNY | SCANLON | 20:26 | 4 | YB | 23:00 | 43:25 | 0:00 | |
| 19 | 9 | LOUISE | PACK | 25:08 | 26 | 8 | PB | 18:15 | 43:27 | 0:14 |
| 20 | 11 | DAVID | BOWKER | 20:30 | 5 | YB | 23:15 | 43:44 | ||
| 21 | 12 | MARK | GOODWIN | 22:16 | 9 | YB | 21:30 | 43:46 | 0:26 | |
| 22 | 13 | STEVE | SMITHSON | 23:35 | 17 | 20:15 | 43:50 | |||
| 23 | 14 | NICK | KLEANTHOUS | 26:09 | 28 | 17:45 | 43:52 | |||
| 24 | 15 | JONATHAN | JONES | 24:26 | 22 | 19:30 | 43:55 | |||
| 25 | 16 | ADRIAN | BUSOLINI | 19:42 | 3 | YB | 24:15 | 43:57 | ||
| 26 | 17 | JOHN | HOLMES | 21:49 | 8 | YB | 22:15 | 44:04 | ||
| 27 | 18 | RICHARD | COWLISHAW | 21:46 | 7 | PB | 22:30 | 44:17 | New | |
| 28 | 10 | MELANIE | BUTT | 30:35 | 31 | 10 | PB | 13:45 | 44:20 | 0:40 |
| 29 | 19 | PAUL | JENNINGS | 26:23 | 29 | 18:00 | 44:24 | |||
| 30 | 20 | RYAN | DUNNING | 23:52 | 19 | 21:00 | 44:52 | |||
| 31 | 21 | MARTIN | DUDLEY | 24:06 | 20 | 21:00 | 45:06 | |||
| 32 | 22 | STEVE | GOUGH | 31:24 | 32 | YB | 13:45 | 45:09 | ||
| 33 | 23 | ROGER | BIGGS | 32:05 | 34 | 13:15 | 45:19 | |||
| 34 | 11 | DZENANA | TOPIC | 31:48 | 33 | 11 | 14:00 | 45:45 | ||
| 35 | 12 | AMANDA | VICKERS | 37:31 | 35 | 12 | YB | 8:30 | 46:01 |
Parkrun Results – Saturday 20th April.
| Parkrun | Pos | Gen | Parkrunner | Time | Notes |
| Bedford | 16 | 2 | Suzy HAWKINS | 20:06 | |
| Rickmansworth | 7 | 39 | John ROXBOROUGH | 21:59 | PB |
| Westmill | 6 | 15 | Barry OSBORNE | 22:23 | PB |
| Westmill | 36 | 29 | Andy JAY | 25:51 | |
| Westmill | 40 | 31 | Steven DOBNER | 26:24 | PB |
| Poole | 597 | 430 | Edward HARE | 31:17 | |
| Stevenage | 1 | 1 | Jonathan PARR | 17:48 | Fastest male at Stevenage |
| Stevenage | 5 | 5 | Martin BLACKBURN | 18:53 | PB |
| Stevenage | 26 | 25 | Danny SCANLON | 21:11 | |
| Stevenage | 32 | 30 | Toby ECCLESHALL | 21:45 | PB |
| Stevenage | 59 | 52 | Martin DUDLEY | 23:22 | |
| Stevenage | 60 | 53 | Graham BLACKBURN | 23:24 | |
| Stevenage | 61 | 8 | Georgie HOOPER | 23:24 | PB |
| Stevenage | 63 | 55 | Matthew GILL | 23:33 | |
| Stevenage | 87 | 77 | Jonathan JONES | 24:51 | |
| Stevenage | 90 | 80 | Darren EMMERSON | 24:55 | |
| Stevenage | 98 | 87 | Nigel STRONGITHARM | 25:23 | |
| Stevenage | 119 | 104 | Barry KING | 26:28 | PB |
| Stevenage | 129 | 113 | Chris HOLLAND | 26:56 | |
| Stevenage | 131 | 115 | Luke GURNEY | 27:03 | 1st Parkrun |
| Stevenage | 143 | 20 | Sarah KENDALL | 27:24 | |
| Stevenage | 148 | 23 | Fiona CLARKE | 27:27 | |
| Stevenage | 185 | 33 | Carol PAUL | 29:01 | |
| Stevenage | 198 | 160 | Simon JACKSON | 29:19 | PB |
| Stevenage | 202 | 161 | Kartik SHARMA | 29:36 | |
| Stevenage | 210 | 166 | Steve ELDER | 29:51 | |
| Stevenage | 212 | 46 | Debbie BLANTERN | 30:01 | |
| Stevenage | 215 | 168 | Jim BROWN | 30:10 | |
| Stevenage | 216 | 48 | Penny SCHENKEL | 30:16 | |
| Stevenage | 220 | 170 | David SCOTT | 30:20 | |
| Stevenage | 221 | 51 | Claire EMMERSON | 30:20 | |
| Stevenage | 222 | 52 | Ada JANUSIENE | 30:21 | PB |
| Stevenage | 240 | 177 | Nick WITCOMBE | 31:13 | |
| Stevenage | 242 | 64 | Angie KEELING | 31:14 | |
| Stevenage | 254 | 70 | Dzenana TOPIC | 31:57 | |
| Stevenage | 262 | 190 | Roger BIGGS | 32:30 | |
| Stevenage | 334 | 124 | Hayley PEACH | 39:30 | |
| Stevenage | 335 | 125 | Nichola DURENT | 39:44 | PB |
| Stevenage | 336 | 211 | Dave PEACH | 39:44 | |
| Stevenage | 337 | 126 | Caren THAIN | 39:49 | |
| Gunpowder | 187 | 81 | Rowena RUTLEDGE | 32:40 | |
| Brokenhurst | 341 | 216 | Darryl STEVENS | 36:17 | |
| Linwood | 85 | 23 | Verity FISHER | 27:25 | |
| Linwood | 86 | 63 | Daniel SUTTON | 27:26 | |
| Hove Promenade | 232 | 177 | Michael O’KEEFE | 27:03 | PB |
| Grey Goose | 71 | 52 | Stuart HAYCROFT | 34:39 | |
| Ellenbrook Fields | 115 | 26 | Karen PALMER | 26:07 | |
| Letchworth | 17 | 17 | Adrian DONNELLY | 21:58 | |
| Letchworth | 41 | 40 | Thomas SAUKA | 25:21 | |
| Littleport | 2 | 39 | James MCSWEENEY | 22:35 | PB |