Tag: Beachy Head

Categories
News Race Results

BEACHY HEAD MARATHON

Seven Spartans were on the south coast to tackle Beachy Head on the weekend the clocks changed.

Four did the full Beachy Head Marathon.  ROBERT WRIGHT made it into the top half of the finishers at 430th with 5:26:35; TIM ROBINSON came in with 6:54:56; HAZEL SMITH and NIAMH SMITH, mother and daughter, walked round together in 8 hours and 7 seconds (8:00:07).  There were 1005 finishers.  There is no way times at Beachy Head can be compared with a normal road marathon.

Becky Rayner and Nichola Durent did the Beachy Head Half Marathon for the first time and finished together in 4:08:09.  They said the event was well organised and the marshals and check points were great having drinks and a selection of snacks.

The weather was perfect, clear skies and beautiful views with a bit of wind . 

The first part of the course was up a very steep hill with some steps. This was also the finish back down the hill. Seven Sisters was hillier than they expected but we finished and it was a great day. 

On Saturday CALLIE CHAPMAN ran the Beachy Head 10K in 1:17:39.

Sharon in Snowdon

Well it was certainly challenging weather for Sharon Crowley’s 32nd Marathon Eryri! Torrential rain at times, hail, wind and cold made for difficult running, but Sharon dug deep and finished almost an hour quicker than last year with 5 hours 41 minutes 28 seconds (5:41:28) finishing 7th in her age group. 

Paul Holgate finished in 7:16:22.  He said the 41st running of the Snowdonia marathon, now called Eryri marathon, welcomed some real Welsh weather with wind, rain, hail and bitterly cold.   Paul Holgate in his 35th consecutive time was 39 minutes slower than in 2024.

There were 2,208 finishers.

Charles’ Ten

CHARLES ARNOLD ran the Fenland 10 mile race on Sunday.  It was organised by Fenland Running Club.  This was the 40th year of the event.  The course winds around villages just outside of Wisbech and run on roads which are partly closed for the event.  The course is flat, but when the wind blows, as it was, it can be quite a battle where it is very open. His time was 1:14:31 which got him second in his age category.

Parkrun Highlights – Saturday 25th October 2025

The last parkrun before the clocks changed and there were 477 finishers in the Stevenage parkrun on Saturday.  They included 181 women and 32 Spartans.

It was a tight finish in Stevenage with only 19 seconds between the first four runners.  Spartan CHARLIE WHITE was fourth with a new parkrun personal best (PPB) of 17:53.

TONY RANDFIELD achieved a major milestone, 250 parkruns.  He finished in 24:39.

There was another milestone from KEITH MANTON.  His 50th parkrun with a 36:50 finish.

LUCY KIND was the fastest female from Fairlands with her 27:50 and LINDSAY PATEMAN ran another PPPB.  This time it was 33:07.

Altogether 55 Spartans were at parkruns on Saturday.

Some of those away from Stevenage were GRANT RAMSAY 20:33 at Edinburgh; PAUL SHELLEY 21:47 and ALISON SHELLEY 31:05 at Great Denham; SUSAN McANENY 23:22 and CIARAN McANENY running with an over 80 relative 59:13 at Holy Cross College, Stabane in Northern Ireland; ANDY PRIOR 23:23 and KERSTIN PRIOR 25:52 in Norwich;  MEGAN SUTTON 26:12 and SAMANTHA SUTTON 29:26 in Witney; SUZY HAWKINS 27:26 and ALICE WELCH 30:21 at Henlow Bridge Lakes; JESSICA CLARKE 29:05 at Irchester Country near Wellingborough; NICK KLEANTHOUS 29:39 at Gunpowder, Waltham Abbey; REBECCA RAYNER 36:03 at Eastbourne and DARRYL STEVENS 39:47 at Alderford Lake in Shropshire 39:47.

PositionGender PositionFVS parkrunnerTime
44Charlie WHITE17:53
2221Simon JACKSON20:59
2322Danny SCANLON21:01
7165Craig BACON23:39
7569Paul MAGUIRE23:45
9285Daniel VILJOEN24:27
9990Tony RANDFIELD24:39
114101Matthew COOKE25:16
128114Jay PAPA25:29
150132Matt TUTTON26:19
152133Matt CLARKE26:25
18629Lucy PAUL27:50
21735Lorraine HILL28:46
25148Sarah ILLINGWORTH29:34
25549Carole SHELDRICK29:46
26252Claire EMMERSON29:55
282215David ACKERY30:28
29167Fiona CLARKE30:53
312227Steve PLATT31:48
34797Lindsay PATEMAN33:07
35199Pamela VILJOEN33:09
354101Caroline CROFT33:15
362105Penny SCHENKEL33:49
363246Jim BROWN33:50
374111Jayne DYMOKE35:11
378252Michael O’KEEFE36:00
394260Keith MANTON36:50
437153Tracy HAYGARTH40:53
445271Dave PEACH42:06
463277Roger BIGGS50:16
466278Stephen SMITHSON50:35
477281Darren EMMERSON65:50
Categories
News Race Results

BARLEY CROSS COUNTRY

A last minute course change saw 15 Spartans running the second cross country league race near Barley on a sunny Sunday morning.  On a 7.7 kilometre farmland course DAVID HARRIS-CHERGUIT took just 28 minutes 53 seconds to be first finisher for FVS and tenth overall.  ADRIAN BUSOLINI was close behind at eleventh with 29:11; MIKE JEFFS 21st with 30:12; GRANT RAMSAY 27th with 30:24 and DECLAN TRAYNOR 30th with 30:40.  So five Spartans in the first thirty.

Clearly a demanding race programme of three cross country races in four weeks with the Stevenage Marathon in the middle had some impact on participation but those that were there had a great time.  The next cross country will be in Trent Park on Sunday 3rd November.

PositionNameTimeComments
10DAVID HARRIS-CHERGUIT28:53“A” team
11ADRIAN BUSOLINI29:11“A” team
21MIKE JEFFS30:12“A” team
27GRANT RAMSAY30:24“A” team
30DECLAN TRAYNOR30:40“A” team
66ADRIAN DONNELLY33:35*“A” team
73STUART ARCHER34:10“A” team
113BRIAN WHITE36:50*“A” team
131CHARLES ARNOLD37:53 
135DANNY SCANLON38:01 
151MELVIN ALBURN38:35 
180MARTIN JACOB40:09 
187DAVID ACKERY40:38 
254JIM BROWN47:13 
287CALLIE CHAPMAN55:03 

15 Spartans

Marathon Eryri – Snowdon

The 40th running of Marathon Eryri took place on a glorious Autumn day with lots of sunshine and beautiful reflections in the numerous lakes along the course which runs around the Snowdon mountain with three big climbs at miles 2-4 miles; 13-15 miles and 22-24 miles.  Four Spartans took part this year including Paul Holgate running his 35th consecutive Snowdon marathon (every year it has been held since 1988) and Sharon Crowley running her 32nd consecutive Snowdon (more than any other female), while Steph Mayfield and husband Steve (running for his 1st claim club Stevenage & North Herts AC) took part for their very first time.

Results:  Steve Mayfield in a season’s best 3:57:55; Steph Mayfield in 5:19:51; Sharon Crowley in 6:39:47 and Paul Holgate in 6:41:36.

The Coolest Run – Polar Circle Marathon Greenland

JOHN HARRIS ran the Coolest Marathon in the World, and in his opinion the most beautiful.

He said the Polar Circle Marathon in Greenland is a marathon to savour and enjoy, rather than his normal head down run as fast as he can type of marathon.

Apparently it was minus 10 degrees at the start, with the wind across the open spaces making it much colder.

The sun came out later making it the perfect scenic run.

John said the shoe crampons did their job on the Ice Cap and apart from doing the splits after 2K, he managed to stay on his feet.

It was not a flat marathon by any means, with over 1800 feet of climb during the 26.2 miles.   A truly memorable marathon and one John highly recommends.  He finished in 5:34:17

Beachy Head Half Marathon

Tim Robinson ran the Beachy Head Half Marathon on Sunday 27th October.  Usually running the Marathon, he decided to drop down to the half distance following last week’s Stevenage Marathon where he ran 5:02:06 in very poor weather conditions.  Beachy Head felt very tough despite perfect conditions with heavy legs.  

Making the most of the long downhill sections between mile 4 and 8 left enough in reserve for the final 4 climbs over four of the Seven Sisters and the fast downhill off Beachy Head. 2:46:54.

Serpentine

After a careful first kilometre following his recent marathon Spartan JIM BROWN ran the Last Friday of the Month 5K in 27:49.  That slightly improved his average in the series to 64%.

The next Serpentine lunch-time run in Hyde Park will be on Friday 29th November.

Ricky Road for Matt

MATT TUTTON ran the Ricky Road 10 mile as part of Team KitAid.  He said it was a lovely run in the Autumn sunshine, through countryside and by houses he could only afford through creative means.  There were a couple of unwelcome hills and a long descent towards the finish line.  In the Chilterns who’d thought.

Matt also decided to break a habit of a lifetime as he approached the finish line … with a smile!  He finished in 1:32:03.

Parkrun Highlights 26th October – Spooky

Compared with the previous week the numbers jumped up by nearly 200 as 527 ran the spooky Stevenage parkrun on the Saturday before Halloween.

There were 27 Spartans with GRANT RAMSAY first in at sixth with 18:35.  GAIL MACKIE was fastest female from Fairlands, 12th woman in 25:33.

CAROLINE CROFT ran her 90th parkrun in 34:49 and despite taking a black cat and an enormous spider round with him JIM BROWN still managed to be first man 70 plus with his 34:50.Altogether 47 Spartans ran parkruns.  Those elsewhere included WILLIAM MORLEY 19:33 and STEVE WELLS 21:05 at Storeys Field (Cambridge); ALISON WOOD 23:57 and MARTIN WOOD 26:11 at Barnstaple; JACKIE PERRY 26:41 at Colby; MIKE REYNOLDS 26:45 at Panshanger; SUZY HAWKINS 28:49 at Henlow Bridge Lake; MATT CLARKE 29:55 at Rickmansworth; NIKKI NATION 30:03 at South Norwood; and NICK KLEANTHOUS 31:29 at Eastbourne

Categories
Club News Race Results

Hills Upon Hills at Beachy Head!

Nine Spartans tackled the hilly Beachy Head Marathon on the south coast on Saturday.  Here are some of their stories: 

Steve Dobner – “Dave, Mo and I signed up this year and we joined the rest of the Spartan crew at the start line. I can honestly say it was the most enjoyable and breathtaking run I have ever done. The event is fantastic with amazing marshals and excellent checkpoints offering water, bananas, chocolate, one even had sausage rolls and hot cross buns with tea and coffee. On finishing you return to the local school for a free hot meal – baked potatoes and beans for me. 
The route was simply stunning, brutal in places but worth every step. The 170 Steps of Doom are an interesting challenge and the Seven Sisters are brutal (plus I’m sure there were more than seven). It was great to see some of our other local clubs with Royston Runners also well represented.  I cannot recommend this event highly enough and we were so lucky as the weather was amazing.” 

Tim Robinson – “The day before had seen thunder, lightning and heavy rain which meant the clay/chalk mix of the South Downs made for difficult progress in parts.  Being both sticky and slippery at the same time particularly around the 15 mile mark where there were several tricky puddles.  A warmer than usual day also meant slower progress.  Running mostly as a group made the event more fun.  Each runner has different strengths, some being quick uphill, some being quick downhill, and some needing rests at different places which means notions of a quick time are sacrificed at the expense of camaraderie and a good day out. 

The group fragmented slightly towards the end, catching each other at checkpoints and steep hills and all but 3 finished within 20 or 30 minutes of each other. 

THOMAS SAUKA and ROBERT WRIGHT finished together in 6 hours 10 minutes 58 seconds and said they are looking forward to going back next year. 

Steve, Dave, Mo and Tim on the rolling hills and Tom with his medal!

Mother and Daughter run the Beachy Head Marathon 

Hazel Smith (daughter) and Cathy Craig (mum) started the Beachy Head Marathon together, running, walking chatting and singing.  At 10 miles Cathy felt ill and decided she wanted to do the rest alone as the hills were tough and nutrition wasn’t helping.  One of the toughest UK marathons was certainly living up to its name! 

Both ran/walked the rest of the way.  Hazel met company and chatted and ate her way to the end.  Cathy had a few breaks, lying at the top of a hill for a rest and taking a seat at a pit stop, being unable to eat. 

When finished, Hazel walked up the big hill again to meet Cathy near the finish.  Cathy ran down but took a tumble at the bottom. 

Quite a few sweary words left Hazel’s mouth as she then attempted to run down to check on Cathy – having visions of her getting that close and not being able to finish! 

Cathy lay there for a bit then got up and seemed to turn into tigger, bouncing along and working the crowd up to cheer her through the finish line – super strong finish!! 

Hazel and Cathy safely at the bottom of the final big hill!
Position Name Time Category 
723 ROBERT WRIGHT 6:10:58 MV40 
724 THOMAS SAUKA 6:10:57 MV40 
786 DAVID PATTMAN 6:22:36 MV40 
792 STEVE DOBNER 6:24:03 MV40 
805 MO WARRILOW 6:25:51 LV45 
834 TIM ROBINSON 6:31:16 MV50 
903 TONY RANDFIELD 6:47:42 MV60 
933 HAZEL SMITH 6:53:26 LV45 
1114 CATHY CRAIG 8:05:51 LV55 

GERRY ROSEN said the Beachy Head 10K was a tough race to return to racing after 10 months out due to illness and work.  He finished in 1 hour 29 minutes 22 seconds. 

Abingdon Marathon

After a dry Saturday Spartans Fiona Clarke, Matt Clarke, Karen Ellis and Chloe Chapman ran the Abingdon marathon on a very wet Sunday. 

The weather forecast was awful, thunder and lightning forecast for the duration they would be running.  It was a soggy start and rained heavily – there were huge puddles all round the course, fortunately the weather broke and they ended their runs in sunshine. 

Chloe, Matt and Fiona finished strong and still smiling!

They were all unsure how they’d get on as on top of the weather Karen had recently been unwell, Chloe had just had covid and Fiona and Matt hadn’t be able to train for about a month.  But they all dug deep and got it done.  Karen finished in 4 hours 19 minutes 45 seconds; Chloe in 4:49:13; Fiona in 5:05:07 and Matt in 5:05:08. 

Karen after finishing the race in an amazing time!

Cross Country – Cheshunt 16th October 

A full table of results following the first Cross Country race of the season is now available. Full team results available to download here Cheshunt Results.

Position Firstname Lastname Time Gender Cat Team 
25 Adrian Busolini 00:31:10 M SM AM 
30 Charlie White 00:31:43 M SM AM 
38 Grant Ramsay 00:32:23 M V50 AM 
65 Paul Hewett 00:33:28 M SM AM 
75 Stuart Archer 00:33:52 M SM AM 
96 Danny Scanlon 00:34:51 M V40 AM 
151 Steven Dobner 00:37:12 M V40 AM 
152 David Pattman 00:37:13 M V40 AM 
157 Brian White 00:37:25 M V60 BM 
176 Steve Mayfield 00:38:20 M V50 BM 
192 Thomas Sauka 00:39:13 M V40 BM 
204 Luke Gurney 00:39:51 M SM BM 
232 Darren Emmerson 00:40:57 M V50 BM 
251 Zoe Jackson 00:41:54 F FV35 AF 
267 Kelly McHale 00:42:34 F FV35 AF 
301 Nick Kleanthous 00:44:45 M V60  
314 Mark Freeman 00:45:56 M V60  
318 Tim Robinson 00:46:26 M V50  
322 Tony Vickers 00:46:34 M V50  
336 Simon Sypula 00:47:49 M V40  
346 Claire Emmerson 00:48:15 F FV45 AF 
347 Vicky Archer 00:48:22 F FV35 AF 
356 Michael O’Keefe 00:48:49 M V50  
371 Grant Murphy 00:50:53 M V50  
392 Jane Wadey 00:55:15 F FV55 AF 
394 Sharon Crowley 00:55:51 F FV55  
395 Cathy Craig 00:56:30 F FV65  
405 Callie Chapman 01:01:07 F FV35  
406 Hazel Smith 01:01:07 F FV45  

Parkrun Personal Best and Consolidated Results – Saturday 22nd October 

Sam SIMMONS ran at the Stevenage Parkrun and achieved a personal best, finishing 10th male in 21:26 – Well done Sam! 

Please click the link to see all the consolidated results for the Spartans – Consolidated Parkrun results 22nd October