Categories
5K Series News Race Results Races

VICKY AND MEGAN PB AT HATFIELD

Twenty two Spartans raced in the County 5K open road championships at Hatfield on Wednesday evening.  Eight were rewarded with new personal bests (PBs) so well worth the trip.  ASHLEY JOHNSON was eighth woman in the county and first in her category in the open race with a new PB of 19 minutes 10 seconds (19:10).  ALISON WOOD was also a Spartan category winner with 21:10 and YUKO GORDON was second in hers with 22:39.

VICKY ARCHER took a huge chunk, three minutes, off her 5K personal best when she finished in 23:38.  Meanwhile MEGAN SUTTON wanted to get under 28 minutes and did it with something to spare with her new 27:10 PB, an improvement by 1:19.

The fastest Spartan was MIKE JEFFS 57th out of the 258 finishers in 18:29 with ROSS GALLAGHER close behind in 18:31, a PB by three seconds, and PAUL SHELLEY chasing in with 18:42, a new PB by 21 seconds.

TERRY SAWYER improved by 2:20 to 19:44; ANDY PRIOR by five seconds to 22:42; and MATT TUTTON by 19 to 23:40.

The next Hatfield 5K race is this Wednesday evening 4th September.

Pos.GenCat PosNameCategoryTimeGradeComments
575214Mike JEFFSMV4018:2972.9 % 
595416Ross GALLAGHERMV4018:3173.3 %PB 0:03
66609Paul SHELLEYMV5018:4281.0 %PB 0:21
7991Ashley JOHNSONFV3519:1080.8 %1st FV35.  PB 0:08
928130Terry SAWYERMV4019:4469.3 %PB 2:20
1028732Mark COLLINSMV4019:5370.6 % 
120211Alison WOODFV5521:1084.8 %1st FV55
150332Yuko GORDONFV6522:3996.3 %2nd FV65
15812225Andy PRIORMV5022:4266.7 %PB 0:05
15912311Brian WHITEMV6022:5474.6 % 
1734511Vicky ARCHERFV3523:3864.9 %PB 2:58
17412947Matt TUTTONMV4023:4056.4 %PB 0:19
1915412Kerstin PRIORFV4525:1967.2 %SB 1:07
2096315Andrea WESTCOTTFV4527:0362.2 %SB ?
2126521Megan SUTTONFS27:1053.5 %PB 1:19
2136616Hazel SMITHFV4527:1059.9 %YB 10:45
2321526Jim BROWNMV7028:5561.1 % 
242879Sharon CROWLEYFV6530:2964.6 % 
24816023Paul HOLGATEMV6033:4949.5 % 
2498918Samantha SUTTONFV4534:3246.6 %SB 0:19
2549226Jane WADEYFV5536:3348.8 % 
2569427Jane WHITROWFV5537:3547.5 %SB 2:05

FVS Handicap 5K 29th August

The next evening, Thursday, the club held a 5K handicap race and 17 Spartans took part.

The winners were new members Sam & Perry Gentry, six and a half minutes ahead of handicap in 38:28 followed by Marleen Van Zwieten, beating her handicap by 4:36 in 40:24.  Steve Tinsley finished second man in a year best time of 28:21 with Rose Sutton third lady in a new personal best time of 29:53 and Peter Sach third man in 29:54.

The fastest runner on the night was Nathan Kirley in a new personal best of 19:22, 1:53 quicker than his previous handicap 5k, with new member Michael Fisher second quickest in 21:03 and Craig Bacon third fastest in 22:41.  Judy King was quickest woman in 29:27, 42 seconds faster than her previous handicap 5k, with Rose Sutton second quickest and Liz Carvell third fastest in a year best time of 31:23.

Handicap races are won by the best improvers.  The slower runners, based on previous recent performances, start first and others at intervals based on their results try to catch them before the finish.

Next month’s final evening Handicap 5k of the year will be on Thursday 19th September.

PosFirst NAMELast NAMETimeRFPBImprH’CAPAdjTimeH’Cap
1SAMGENTRY38:2815New0:0038:286:32
2PERRYGENTRY38:29167New0:0038:296:31
3MARLEENVAN ZWIETEN40:241780:00(0:01)40:234:36
4STEVETINSLEY28:217YB1:4412:450:0341:093:54
5ROSESUTTON29:5392PB1:0912:150:0942:172:52
6JUDYKING29:27810:4213:000:0142:282:33
7PETERSACH29:54100:5312:45(0:02)42:372:21
8SALLYPHILLIPS37:57146YB4:4542:422:18
9LIZCARVELL31:23113YB0:0611:30(0:02)42:512:07
10NATHANKIRLEY19:221PB0:1523:45(0:05)43:021:53
11MICHAELFISHER21:032New22:000:0543:081:57
12CHARLESARNOLD22:55420:1543:101:50
13SALLYPICKLES37:051246:4543:501:10
14PETECOOK26:5460:0817:000:0143:551:06
15CRAIGBACON22:41321:150:0143:571:04
16JANEWADEY37:241357:45(0:01)45:08(0:09)
17DANNYSCANLON22:59522:150:0145:15(0:14)

Fairlands Five at Big Half

The heat in London made the race that bit harder but a famous five from Fairlands made a really good job of Sunday’s “Big Half.”  STUART MEAD was 958th out of nearly 17,000 runners in 1:30:09; TERRY SAWYER 1,650th in 1:36:26, ROBERT WRIGHT 8,453rd in 2:07:53 and running her first half marathon race MEGAN SUTTON was 10,537th in 2:17:53.  SAMANTHA SUTTON came in with 3:03:41.

Serpentine 30th August

It was warm, sunny with a light breeze and excellent visibility in Hyde Park on Friday.  That enabled JIM BROWN to run his fastest road 5K this year.  27 minutes 23 seconds (27:23) in the Last Friday of the Month event.

Dorney for Alison and Paul

On a warm day ALISON and PAUL SHELLEY ran Sunday’s Dorney Lake Half Marathon and both won their age groups.  Paul in 1:30:46 and Alison in 2 hours 5 minutes 52 seconds.

Speeding Up

MIKE JEFFS is getting his speed back.  He finished the hot sweaty and gruelling Cambridge Biomedical Centre 10K in 39:28.

Parkrun Highlights 31st August Hawaii Five – O

In case of adversity go with the flow, or maybe the wave.  Stevenage parkrun had a hacking attack and found themselves temporarily named Hawaii 5 – O.  They decided to own it and had a theme of Hawaiian wear.  Lots of Spartans joined in with that fun and dug out those shirts, shorts and Hawaiian leis.

24 Spartans ran and three of the top five females were from FVS.  ASHLEY KING first in 20:52; SUZY HAWKINS third in 21:28 and GAIL MACKIE fifth in 22:26.

GRANT RAMSAY maintains his record as a top ten finisher.  This time he was fifth in 18:49.  There were 439 finishers at Stevenage including 174 women.  Local event #362.  Up considerably on the previous week.

Parkrun started at Bushy Park in 2004.  That event ran for the 1,000th time on Saturday and there were thousands of runners.   The 20th anniversary of parkruns will be in October.

Spartans elsewhere included YUKO GORDON with a season’s best 22:18 – that’s 105.01% – at Storeys Field; JOHN HARRIS 23:15; RYAN RIDELL 29:34; GEORGIE HOOPER 30:19 and NICK GILL 30:29 at Letchworth; MATTHEW NEWTON 26:18 at Pymmes; PETE SMITH 26:37 at North Yorkshire Water; DANIEL SUTTON 27:22 at Rutland Water; ANDY JAY 27:42 at Hunstanton Promenade; ANNABELLE WHITE 35:11 and CHLOE CHAPMAN 35:12 at Aldenham; NICOLA PATTMAN 33:25 at Gorleston Cliffs; JONATHAN JONES 37:24 and DZENANA TOPIC 37:25 at Wimpole Estate; and DARRYL STEVENS 44:44 at Banstead Woods.

PositionGender PositionparkrunnerTimeComments
55Grant RAMSAY18:49Top Ten
171Ashley SCHOENWETTER20:52First woman.  40th Parkr.
263Suzy HAWKINS21:28Third woman
415Gail MACKIE22:26Fifth woman
5849Daniel VILJOEN23:45 
8571Lee PICKERSGILL24:52 
8773Toby ECCLESHALL24:55 
9780Darren EMMERSON25:32 
15530Hazel SMITH27:58 
170127Jay PAPA28:14 
198148Tony RANDFIELD29:02 
226160Nick KLEANTHOUS30:07 
23060Claire EMMERSON30:17 
235164Maurice BALLARD30:28 
28485Monica SMITHSON32:48 
288189Paul JENNINGS33:02 
30897Jenny GARRETT33:54 
31099Penny SCHENKEL33:57 
311198Jim BROWN33:57 
318199Paul HOLGATE34:51 
339119Pamela VILJOEN36:07 
348209James SOUTH36:28 
350210Stephen SMITHSON36:41 
437174Sharon CROWLEY01:02:37Volunteer.  70th Parkrun.
Categories
Club News Race Results

STRIPES GALORE!

Big London Half 

Several Spartans ran the Big Half Marathon in London on Sunday. 

Tony and Robert with their medals.

Among them were TONY RANDFIELD and ROB WRIGHT who ran together.  Tony finished in 1:52:13 and Rob in 1:52:19.  They said it was a good race, fairly flat and it’s always great running across Tower Bridge. 

There were nearly 12,400 finishers. 

EMAC Ladies 

The Fairlands Valley Spartans women’s team won BRONZE in the East of England final for track and field athletes aged over 35 (EMAC).  The team included CAROLYN LINSELL, NICKY WILBY, CALLIE CHAPMAN, MARIAN MORLEY, CHRISTINE LATHWELL, FIONA CLARKE, KAREN DODSWORTH, JOYLYN SAUNDERS-MULLINS, YUKO GORDON, ANDREA WESTCOTT and SHARON CROWLEY. 

Andrea Westcott said, “The FVS Women were in the medals at the Eastern Masters final in Bedford on Sunday, finishing third behind Peterborough and Chelmsford in a hotly contested match. The medal positions changed frequently throughout the day, but the Spartans fought bravely and finished strong.” 

Yuko Gordon won Woman of the Meeting 2022!

Oakley 20 

There were two Spartans running 20 mile races on Sunday.  JOHN HARRIS was second man 60 plus at the Oakley 20 with 2 hours 30 minutes 39 seconds and 36th overall. 

JIM BROWN took advantage of a late transfer to run the Bedford Festival 20.   He was third man over 70 and 208th out of the 393 finishers in 3 hours 22 minutes 46 seconds. 

John and Jim

Bedford Festival 

ROSS GALLAGHER ran the Half Marathon at the Bedford Festival.  He ran it in 1:32:50. It was a good race on mixed terrain which he used for some marathon pace training ahead of his run in Chicago on 9th October. 

THOMAS SAUKA ran the Bedford Festival 5K in 21 minutes 49 seconds and was 19th out of 319.  CHRIS WATLING was 49th in 24:24. 

Meanwhile FIONA and MATT CLARKE ran the Festival 10K.  Fiona was 184th in 56 minutes 1 second and Matt 95th in 48:44.  There were 655 finishers.  Fiona said she was very keen to get one of the pink finisher T shirts. 

Fiona and Matt with their medals and Matt modelling the pink t-shirt!

Baldock Rat Run 

The Baldock 5 kilometre Rat Run is a multi terrain run around Baldock, including steps, a low tree to climb under and a dark tunnel to navigate.  It is held in aid of the Garden House Hospice and is a regular event for Spartan Tim Robinson.  The Rat Run is a very friendly, family orientated fun race with many children taking part and loads of activities for the younger children to do while waiting for the runners to finish. 

MATT TUTTON was 68th with a gun time of 31 minutes 6 seconds and TIM ROBINSON 71st with 31:10.  Their chip times were 30:57 and 30:56. 

Timmy the Rat!

FVS Club 5K Handicap 

Hazel (Smith), Abbie (Pez), Mark (Freeman) and Charlie (White) were winners in Thursday’s club 5K at twilight. 

There were 39 finishers in Thursday evening’s Handicap 5k and thank you to Mike Crowley and Jim Brown for their assistance with the start and finish.  The winner on the night was Hazel Smith recovering superbly from her recent injury with an impressive 26:12.  Caroline Zverev finished 2nd lady (3rd overall), 2:32 better than handicap in 37:28 and Penny Schenkel was 3rd lady, 2:28 quicker than her July Handicap 5K time in 31:52.  

Spartans after finishing their handicap 5k runs.

Mark Freeman was first man (2nd overall), 2:14 quicker than July in 25:30, with Chris Watling second man in a new PB time of 23:12, 42 seconds quicker than July, and Steve Tinsley third man in a new PB time 25:48.  Charlie White was quickest runner on the night in 20:03, with Paul Shelley 2nd quickest in a year best time of 20:41, and David Pattman third quickest with 21:34.  

There were only six seconds between the three fastest females.  Abbie Pez was quickest female in 24:05, with Marie Colucci 2nd quickest just 1 second behind in 24:06 and Paula Dunne 3rd quickest with 24:11.  

There were also new PBs for Grant Murphy (28:21), Luke Gurney (23:02) and Derek Cornelius (23:38), while Simon Sypula improved his season best time by 2:45 to 28:18, and Karen Ellis, Tracy Pez, Craig Bacon, Jane Wadey & Martin Dudley were all others to improve on their July 5k times. Total time difference between 4th – 32nd position was just 2:14 and 32 finishers were within 2 minutes of their calculated handicap time. Full results are attached.  The next Handicap 5k will be on the 22nd September. 

Parkrun Highlights Saturday 3rd September 

First Saturday of the month is Stripey Saturday, and twenty four Fairlands Valley Spartan members travelled to 6 different Parkrun venues across the country wearing the Club Stripey vest with pride. 

Stripy Saturday!

Congratulations and well done to Grant RAMSAY who claimed top spot at Stevenage with a time of 18:46, 12 years and 8 months since his first ever Parkrun win at Finsbury Park. Top spots were achieved through his 30s, 40s and now 50s! 

The fastest female Spartan was Gail MACKIE with a time of 22:34, third female at Stevenage.  Adrian DONNELLY achieved a personal best (PB) at Letchworth (3rd, 19:51) completing the Spartans line-up of top ten finishers this week. 

Luke GURNEY also achieved a PB, finishing with a time of 23:00 at Stevenage. 

Tables 

FVS Handicap 5K on Thursday 1st September. 

Own  Finish   Comp         
Pos NAME SURNAME Time H’CAP Time H’cap PB Impr 
HAZEL SMITH 26:12  12:30  38:42  22 6:18    
MARK FREEMAN 25:30  16:00  41:30  19  3:30  SB 2:14  
CAROLINE ZVEREV 37:28  5:00  42:28  36 18 2:32  PB New 
PENNY SCHENKEL 31:52  11:00  42:52  29 12 2:08  YB 2:28  
JANE WHITROW 35:49  7:03  42:52  33 15 2:11    
CHRIS WATLING 23:12  20:00  43:12   1:48  PB 0:42  
DAVID KENNEDY 23:33  19:45  43:18   1:42    
STEVE TINSLEY 25:48  17:30  43:18  21  1:42  PB 0:20  
ALISON SHELLEY 26:28  17:00  43:28  23 1:32    
10 GRANT MURPHY 28:21  15:00  43:21  26  1:39  PB 1:19  
11 PAUL SHELLEY 20:41  22:45  43:26   1:34  YB 0:03  
12 JUDY KING 36:44  6:45  43:29  34 16 1:16  YB  
13 SALLY PICKLES 36:50  6:45  43:35  35 17 1:10  YB  
14 CRAIG BACON 22:54  20:45  43:39   1:21   0:08  
15 KAREN ELLIS 24:55  18:45  43:40  17 1:20  YB 0:16  
16 ANNA SWANEPOEL 27:56  15:45  43:41  24 1:19    
17 LUKE GURNEY 23:02  20:40  43:42   1:28  PB 0:39  
18 DARREN EMMERSON 25:17  18:30  43:47  18  1:13    
19 JANE WADEY 31:48  12:00  43:48  28 11 1:12   0:57  
20 ABIGAIL PEZ 24:05  19:45  43:50  11 1:10  SB  
21 TRACY PEZ 24:14  19:45  43:59  14 1:01  YB 0:01  
22 MARK GOODWIN 23:44  20:15  43:59  10  1:01    
23 DAVID PATTMAN 21:34  22:30  44:04   0:56    
24 YUKO GORDON 24:24  19:45  44:09  15 0:51    
25 NICK KLEANTHOUS 25:36  18:45  44:21  20  0:39    
26 SIMON SYPULA 28:18  16:03  44:21  25  0:42  SB 2:45  
27 DEREK CORNELIUS 23:38  20:45  44:23   1:07  PB 3:35  
28 PAULA DUNN 24:11  20:15  44:26  13 0:34  PB New 
29 STEVEN DOBNER 22:36  22:10  44:46   0:09    
30 CHARLIE WHITE 20:03  24:43  44:46   0:12    
31 MARTIN DUDLEY 24:46  20:00  44:46  16  0:14   0:20  
32 MARIE COLUCCI 24:06  21:00  45:06  12 (0:06) YB  
33 MONICA SMITHSON 31:18  14:15  45:33  27 10 (0:33)   
34 DZENANA TOPIC 34:30  12:00  46:30  32 14 (1:30)   
35 JONATHAN JONES 32:51  13:40  46:31  31  (1:21)   
36 SUSAN MURPHY 46:45  0:00  46:45  37 19 (1:45)   
36 SHARON CROWLEY 46:45  0:00  46:45  37 19 (1:45)   
38 CHRISTINE ZVEREV 32:45  15:30  48:15  30 13 (3:15)   
39 ROGER BIGGS 50:11  1:15  51:26  39  (6:26)   

Spartans at parkrun on Saturday 3rd September 

Position   Gender Position   parkrunner   Run Time     
Stevenage parkrun         
Grant RAMSAY 18:46 Winner  
16 15 Tony RANDFIELD 21:18 1st VM60  
31 Gail MACKIE 22:34 3rd woman  
36 33 Luke GURNEY 23:00 PB 
46 41 Toby ECCLESHALL 24:26   
55 50 Danik BATES 25:03   
65 59 Darren EMMERSON 25:37   
67 61 Sam SIMMONS 25:47   
68 62 Steven DOBNER 25:48   
82 73 Jim BROWN 26:51 1st VM70  
104 16 Alison SHELLEY 27:57   
120 22 Claire EMMERSON 29:20   
121 97 David PATTMAN 29:21   
122 23 Mo WARRILLOW 29:21   
128 25 Debbie BLANTERN 29:44   
156 41 Monica SMITHSON 31:41   
163 45 Fiona CLARKE 32:27   
221 81 Helen HARRIS 52:11   
Ferry Meadows parkrun         
46 39 Steve WELLS 22:33   
Brockenhurst parkrun         
122 67 Darryl STEVENS 45:54   
Rutland Water parkrun         
136 94 Chris HOLLAND 32:43   
Letchworth parkrun         
Adrian DONNELLY 19:51 PB 
16 16 Nick GILL 23:13   
Squerryes Winery parkrun         
154 87 Peter CARPENTER 41:49   
Categories
Club News Race Results

SPARTANS RUNNERS UP

Mid Week League

Fairlands Valley Spartans were runners up in the 2021 series of Mid Week Road Race League 10K races. They were comfortably in second place in the top division with 27 points and a score of 1,624 positions. Trent Park won with 31 points and a score of 1,158 while North Herts were third with 25 points and a score of 1,850. (A low score is a good score as, for example, first place scores only one point). The Spartan men WON while the club’s women were second.

The result was confirmed in the fourth race when the Spartans men and women were both third but overall the club came second. FVS kept up their participation rates compared with other clubs. There are six clubs in division one. In race four 21 of the 76 women were Spartans and 36 of the 94 men were from the Stevenage based club.

Spartan highlights from race four included SIMON JACKSON second overall in 34 minutes 51 seconds; ANDREW PATTERSON third overall in 35:13 and ADRIAN BUSOLINI sixth overall in 36:16.

BRIAN WHITE was first man over 60 with 44:26; BARRY OSBORNE first man over 70 with 44:36 and WILLIAM MORLEY first male under 20 with 55:12. SIMON JACKSON was also second man over 40.

In the women’s race YUKO GORDON was in the top ten and first over 65 with 46 minutes 19 seconds and CAROLYN LINSELL second over 65 with 57:25.

JO BOWDERY was eleventh in 46:58 and TRACY PEZ fifteenth in 48:40. ZOE JACKSON just missed the top twenty at 21st in 51:46.

As the league has not had any massed start races this year all these times were recorded virtually; in the Spartans specially organised wave 10K event or in open and accurately measured 10K races.

24 Spartans ran all four midweek 10K races.

(Look near the end of this release for tables giving results for all 57 Spartans).

Big Half

In the Vitality Big Half Marathon YUKO GORDON was first in her age category, 70 plus, with 1 hour 38 minutes 35 seconds.

Spartan ASHLEY JOHNSON ran an excellent 1 hour 42 minutes 21 seconds in the event which attracted nearly 10,000 runners.

MARIAN MORLEY was running her first race in London and her first half other than the New Forest Virtual Half Marathon in 2020.

She said it was really enjoyable and finished in 2 hours 7 minutes 36 seconds which is a half marathon personal best (PB) and added there was good entertainment on the route and quite a few spectators.

SUE HAMER and ERICA GRAYSON finished together in 2:15:55.

Entries Open for the Stevenage Half Marathon

Entries for the Stevenage Half Marathon are open. This club and community event has a history going back 37 years and is organised by Fairlands Valley Spartans. With a break due to Covid 19 in 2020 it’s back for 2021. This year the race will be on Sunday 21st November (a couple of weeks later than usual).

To enter have a look at https://stevenagehalfmarathon.org.uk/

Tessa Takes Gold at National Championships

In a very close race, TESSA STEPHENSON became National 200 metres Gold Medallist in the race for Women aged 60 to 64 at the British Masters Championships, held in Derby at the weekend. After trailing the leader all the way, Tessa raised herself to take the lead in the last few metres in a time of 32.58 seconds. Earlier in the day, she had finished in sixth place in the 100m in a time of 15.86 seconds, using this as a warm up for her preferred event. In the category for men aged 55 to 59, her husband DAVE competed in the 400 metres finishing in second for the Silver Medal in a time of 65.45 seconds.

At the same championships GRANT RAMSAY was third man 45 plus in the 3,000 metres steeplechase with 12 minutes 10.84 seconds.

Parkrun Highlights 21st August 2021 – fifth week back

Stevenage Parkrun hit a new post lockdown record with 341 finishers in the fifth week back. 24 of them were Spartans.

Parkrun report by Danik Bates

Steve Wells was the only Spartan to manage a sub-20-minute 5km on Saturday morning at the course in Stevenage whilst Suzy Hawkins was spot on twenty minutes. 341 runners took part in this week’s event. 

Results: STEVE WELLS 19-52 (10th), SUZY HAWKINS 20-00 (13th), BARRY OSBORNE 21-26 (32nd), JAMES MCSWEENY 23-53 (71st), MARTIN DUDLEY 24-07 (79th), CLIVE CANNON 24-29 (92nd), DARREN EMMERSON 24-40 (102nd), KAREN ELLIS 25-29 (118th), SAM SIMMONS 25-55 (132nd), NICK KLEANTHOUS 26-14 (139th), JIM BROWN 26-34 (144th), DANIK BATES 26-38 (147th and with a stroller), NICOLA ANDERSSON 27-26 (164th), STEVEN DOBNER 27-46 (172nd), DAVID PATTMAN 27-47 (173rd), TOBY ECCLESHALL 28-04 (180th), PAUL HOLGATE 29-47 (200th), FIONA CLARKE 32-11 (241st), MATT CLARKE 32-12 (242nd), CHLOE CHAPMAN 32-28 (244th), TRACEY STILES 32-56 (247th), HILARY DAVIES 33-01 (248th), BETH FOLEY 34-30 (267th) and SHELBE MOONBEAM 41-27 (312th). 

Away days: 

Upton House (near Poole, Dorset): JOHN ROXBOROUGH 26-29 (128th), KEN JUDE 26-47 (138th). There were 337 runners.

Wimpole Estate (Cambs): BARRY KING 28-38 (144th), NICK WITCOMBE 35-47 (242nd). There were 295 runners.

Rutland Water (Rutland): DANIEL SUTTON 25-56 (90th), VERITY FISHER 32-18 (197th). There were 265 runners.

Millennium County – Forest of Marston (Beds): MICHAEL O’KEEFE 29-02 (68th). There were 129 runners.

Littlehampton Promenade (West Sussex): DARRYL STEVENS 36-53 (162nd). There were 179 runners.

CAROLYN LINSELL enjoyed her first run in her Spartans stripes! She ran the Hunstanton Promenade parkrun was first in her age group and took two seconds of her parkrun PB with 25:57.

A total of 33 Spartans.

Flying On Number 66 and 67

In anticipation of Sunday’s celebration numbers were down a bit for Saturday’s 66th virtual Fly 5K. However there were 151 runners including three Spartans. JIM BROWN was 68th and second in category with 26 minutes 34 seconds; NICOLA ANDERSSON 78th in 27:24 and PAUL HOLGATE second in his category and 99th with 29:46.

Fly 67 was the live celebration on Sunday. It was at Drift Limits, Bovingdon near Berkhamsted on Sunday 22nd August to bring people together who had not seen each other through months of virtual racing. The same three Spartans took part. NICOLA ANDERSSON in a new Fly 5K personal best of 25:43; JIM BROWN in 26:04 and PAUL HOLGATE in 29:36.

Fly 5K was one of the stars of lockdown keeping runners moving and in touch during the restrictions.

Sharon Sprints for Bronze in the Virtual Coast Challenge

After nearly 3,000 kilometres SHARON CROWLEY “sprinted” for club bronze in the Virtual Coast Challenge. She “crossed the line” in Bristol on Tuesday evening having followed an anticlockwise route starting from Bristol and following the coasts and borders of England. As she completed the 2,970 kilometres fourth placed BRIAN WHITE was on 2,921.7 kilometres, less than 50 behind.

The other Spartans through the 2,000 kilometre mark by Tuesday evening were JON SYPULA 2,327.2; KEN JUDE 2,255.6; CATHY CRAIG 2,191.9; HAZEL SMITH 2,174.8, LIZ CROWLEY 2,083.4 and PAUL HOLGATE on 2011.3. They and four other Spartans have until the end of the year to finish the event but the “podium” is complete.