Dorney Lake

Three Spartans took part in the iconic 126th Boston Marathon in the USA last week.

The Boston weather can be unpredictable. You can experience four seasons in one day, to the infamous headwind blowing up from the sea to storms and glorious sunshine.

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As far as Boston weather was concerned, MICHELLE REEVES, STUART HAYCROFT and JACKIE DOWNES struck it lucky with glorious sunshine lighting up the New England streets bringing incredible support all the way!

Stuart and Michelle boarded the yellow school buses to transport them to the streets ready to start their race in Hopkinton just after 10am, with Jackie Downes starting after 11:15.

Michelle and Stuart ran the first 20 miles together to the sound of “Way to go Stuart” “Keep it up Stuart” from the crowds, and were focused on taking in the whole experience.

At mile 16, there’s the Newton Hills. A series of mini crests in prime position when a marathon just starts to feel tough, finishing with the infamous “Heartbreak Hill” at mile 20.

Michelle, feeling good after the hills pushed on in the last six miles to finish in 3 hours 6 minutes 21 seconds. A result she was really pleased with after the main goal of “enjoying the experience”.

Stuart finished in 3:18:16, spending a bit longer to high five the crowds who loved the guy with “Stuart” and a Union Jack on his top. Jackie finished in a great 4:15:23.

All celebrated with a pint in the famous Cheers pub after!

Golds Galore at County Track and Field Championships

There were seventeen (17) GOLD medals and one silver for Fairlands Valley Spartans in the Hertfordshire County AAA Veteran Championships at Ridlins on Saturday.

TESSA STEPHENSON and ANDREA WESTCOTT each won three GOLD medals. Tessa in the 100 metres, 200 metres and shot, Andrea in the shot, javelin and high jump.

The other multiple GOLD medal winners were SHARON CROWLEY in the hammer and 1500 metres; JIM BROWN in the 1500 and 5000 metres.

STUART ARCHER won GOLD in the senior men’s 1500 with 5 minutes and half a second (5:00:5), PAUL SHELLEY gold in the male 50 plus 1500 with 5:19.0 and THOMAS SAUKA took silver in the male 45 plus with 5:45.4.

SUZY HAWKINS won GOLD in the women’s 45 plus with 5:46.8; SUSAN McANENY gold in the women’s 40 plus with 6:24.9 and Sharon Crowley taking gold in the women’s 60 plus with 8:14.6.

DAVE STEPHENSON won the male 55 plus 100 metres in 14.2 seconds and CIARAN McANENY won the male 45 plus 5,000 metres in 17 minutes 57.3 seconds.

CAROLYN LINSELL and JIM BROWN provided entertainment for some of the officials and spectators by running sensibly but side by side all the way round 12.5 laps to finish in exactly the same time of 28 minutes 2.8 seconds and win two gold medals in their 65 plus categories in the 5,000 metres.

Birthday Boy at Dorney Lake

Birthday Boy PETE SMITH turned sixty and won his age category at the Dorney Lake Marathon on Sunday. He finished in 3 hours 24 minutes 40 seconds and was 46^th male and 49^th overall.

SAM SIMMONS and CHLOE CHAPMAN ran the half marathon at Dorney. Sam finished in 1:44:49 and Chloe in 2:05:50

Chloe was pleased with that three weeks after the Manchester Marathon.

Chloe and Sam all smiles at Dorney Lake!

Parkrun Highlights 23^rd April

In this week’s roundup of Spartans on the Parkrun circuit, we have members running at home around Fairlands as well as far afield as the weather starts to brighten up and the temperatures are rising.

Stevenage: 311 runners took on the course and GRANT RAMSAY managed to finish fourth with a time of 18:48. Afterwards Grant said: Would have won it if it was not for those meddling kids half my age!! It was my best 5K time since February 2020. With no barriers and water jumps, it was relatively easy compared to last weekend’s 3K steeplechase. 

Other results at the lakes were: Craig Bacon 24-31 (72nd), Darren Emmerson 24-42 (77th), Nick Kleanthous 25-00 (89th), Alison Shelley 26-26 (119th), Nicola Andersson 28-08 (153rd), Debbie Blantern 29-07 (180th), Mark Beasley 30-03 (204th), Chloe Chapman 30-39 (216th), Tracy Haygarth 33-29 (241st), Simon Sypula 38-28 (283rd) and Roger Biggs 50-39 (305th). 

Other away day results:

Panshanger (Hertford, Herts): Mike Reynolds 26-39 (93rd out of 201 runners). 

Letchworth (Herts): Nick Gill 21-44 (14th out of 126 runners), Georgie Hooper 28-10 (66th).

Wimpole Hall Estate (Cambs): David Pattman 28-34 (134th out of 249 runners), Mo Warrillow 28-35 (135th), Steven Dobner 28-36 (136th).

Henlow Bridge (Beds): James McSweeney 26-05 (18th out of 79 runners). 

Squerryes Winery (Kent): Michael o’Keefe 31-15 (109th out of 145 runners). 

Rugby (Warwickshire): Darryl Stevens 37-01 (125th out of 134 runners).

Fairlands Valley Spartans woke up to sunshine but a moderate breeze from the west for their Bryan Moore Shield and Paul Maguire Memorial 10 and 5 mile handicap road race events in Stevenage on Sunday morning.

48 Spartans took part. 28 in the 10 and 20 in the five mile race. 21 women recorded a time. There were some close finishes between people who may have started more than half an hour apart.

ROBERT EVANS beat his handicap time by a substantial 6 minutes 36 seconds to win the 10 mile Bryan Moore event just 18 seconds ahead of his nearest rival with a net time of 1 hour 30 minutes 24 seconds.

In the five mile race VICKY ARCHER beat her handicap by 2 minutes 14 seconds to win the Paul Maguire trophy. She beat second placed PAUL SHELLEY by just 28 seconds. Vicky completed her run in 45 minutes 46 seconds.

In the ten CHARLIE WHITE came in second with a 6:18 improvement and a total time of 68 minutes 42 seconds. Two others were less than two minutes behind – ANDREW PATTERSON with a fantastic time of 55 minutes 33 seconds, the fastest on the day and an improvement of 5 minutes 27 seconds, 1 minute 9 seconds behind the winner and JIM BROWN improving by 4:41 to 1:26:19 and 1:55 behind Robert.

KELLY EVANS was first woman in the ten and eighth overall. She improved by 1 minute 18 seconds to 1:31:12. TRACY PEZ was second female and tenth overall almost matching her handicap time of 1:22:30 with 1:22:27. SUZY HAWKINS was third and 14^th overall but went round in a rapid 1 hour 11 minutes 21 seconds.

Bryan Moore was a founding, in 1984, and life member of Fairlands Valley Spartans.

First Ten in Ten – Bryan Moore Shield

Position	Name	1^st lap	2^nd lap	Total	Behind Winner
1	ROBERT EVANS	45:01	45:23	1:30:24	Zero
2	CHARLIE WHITE	35:28	33:14	1:08:42	@ 18 seconds
3	ANDREW PATTERSON	27:48	27:45	55:33	@ 1:09
4	JIM BROWN	42:52	43:27	1:26:19	@ 1:55
5	ADRIAN DONNELLY	32:32	34:59	1:07:31	@ 2:07
6	SIMON JACKSON	28:14	29:02	57:16	@ 2:52
7	ADRIAN BUSOLINI	30:00	31:10	1:01:10	@ 4:16
8.	KELLY EVANS (1^st F)	46:46	44:26	1:31:12	@ 5:18
9.	JON SYPULA	46:27	46:36	1:33:03	@ 6:19
10.	TRACY PEZ (2^nd F)	41:50	40:37	1:22:27	@ 6:43
14.	SUZY HAWKINS (3^rd F)	35:23	35:58	1:11:21	@ 7:57

Paul Shelley’s time in the five was 32 minutes 14 seconds. Three others were less than a minute behind the winner – THOMAS SAUKA at 36 seconds with 36:52; STUART ARCHER at 42 seconds in 32:28 and STEVE MAYFIELD at 58 seconds in 38:44.

ALISON SHELLEY was second woman and seventh to finish. She was 2 minutes 17 seconds behind the winner in 41:03. The third woman and tenth overall was PENNY SCHENKEL at 3:03 with 48 minutes 19 seconds.

First Ten in Five – Paul Maguire Memorial Five

Position	Name	Time	Behind Winner	Comments
1.	VICKY ARCHER (1^st F)	45:46	Zero	1^st woman
2.	PAUL SHELLEY	32:14	@ 28 seconds
3.	THOMAS SAUKA	36:52	@ 36 seconds
4.	STUART ARCHER	32:28	@ 42 seconds
5.	STEVE MAYFIELD	38:44	@ 58 seconds
6.	BARRY OSBORNE	35:31	@ 1:15
7.	ALISON SHELLEY (2^nd F)	41:03	@ 2:17	2^nd woman
8.	VISHAL SHAH	46:11	@ 2:25
9.	MICHAEL O’KEEFE	47:35	@ 2:49
10.	PENNY SCHENKEL (3^rd F)	48:19	@ 3:03	3^rd woman

In handicap events estimated times are based on recent performances. The slowest runners start first with others following at intervals that should, in theory, get everyone over the finish line together. First over the line, the best improver, is the winner even if they weren’t the fastest in the race.

This is not an easy event to organise. A huge thanks to STEFFAN FORD and the event team for making it happen. And it raised hundreds of pounds for Feed Up, Warm Up.

Paul Maguire was an inspirational Spartan, a former Spartan of the Year, who passed away a few years ago. He lost a long battle with cancer, still running for several years following his diagnosis, in 2008 at the age of 42.

Chilly looking Spartans at the end of the Handicap races – The sun shone and the wind even helped drive them up the hills!

Here Comes The Stevenage Half! It’s on 21^st November

The Stevenage Half Marathon is almost full.

Entries for the Stevenage Half Marathon are open but going fast! To secure your place please follow this link to enter Stevenage Half Marathon

Fast Parr At Dorney Lake

JONATHAN PARR came second at the Dorney Lake 5K Sunday morning with a time of 16 minutes 20 seconds.

The Last Fly

The last Fly 5K in the current series will be the 80^th on Saturday 20^th November. This virtual free run anywhere event on a Saturday morning helped to get a lot of people through lockdown when all events were cancelled. More than 15,000 Fly 5K runs have been recorded since the series was launched. There will be a Christmas edition and a real reunion in 2022.

This time JIM BROWN was third in his age category with 26 minutes 43 seconds. Wonder how many people will register with Fly 5K and run on the 20^th.

Knebworth House

Five Spartans were at the Knebworth House events.

Luke casually showing us all how a PB is achieved!

ROBERT WRIGHT; LUKE GURNEY, MARK WILLIAMS and new member TONY RANDFIELD ran the Hertfordshire Half Marathon. Tony was 80^th out of the 1,065 runners with a new personal best (PB) of 1 hour 35 minutes 54 seconds. He was second man 60 plus. Robert was 190^th in a new course best 1 hour 43 minutes 55 seconds and Luke was 477^th in a new PB of 1:56:08. Mark Williams ran round the half at what he called a gentle pace for 1:58:46 and was 559^th but then he had run the Thames Meander Marathon the previous day, Saturday, which he finished in a new personal best of 3 hours 46 minutes 1 second.

JANE McFARLANE was encouraging friends new to running and ran the 10K in 68 minutes 20 seconds. The Stevenage Half Marathon is on Sunday 21^st November.

Tony and Robert proudly showing off their medals after both getting a PB!

Parkrun Highlights

On Spartan stripey Saturday, the first Saturday of November, thirty Fairlands Valley Spartans ventured out to represent their club at Parkrun events around the country.

EVA RAMSEY was the first female to finish the Stevenage course in 22 minutes and 42 seconds, closely followed by ASHLEY JOHNSON, running her second Parkrun, who was the fourth in a time of 23 minutes and 2 seconds. ANDREW MCGUINNESS was the fastest of the 23 Spartans, finishing in 22 minutes and 18 seconds.

Continuing the trend, in Letchworth GEORGIE HOOPER was the third female to finish with a time of 26 minutes and 22 seconds. A Top 20 finish was also recorded by TIM SABAN in 23 minutes and 48 seconds on the Bideford course (19th male).

CATHY CRAIG did the Brockenhurst parkrun, a New Forest trail which is described as undulating. Although there were lots of horses hanging around at the start, luckily none were actually on the gravel path route. Since she was on my holidays, she just walked up the hills, and finished first in her age group in 32 minutes exactly.

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

Tables

Spartans at parkrun on Saturday 6^th November:

	Position	Gender Position	Parkrunner	Time
Stevenage parkrun	30	29	Andrew MCGUINNESS	00:22:18
	35	1	Eva RAMSEY	00:22:42
	45	4	Ashley JOHNSON	00:23:03
	54	48	Martin DUDLEY	00:23:46
	71	59	Lee PICKERSGILL	00:24:53
	75	63	Tim ROBINSON	00:25:09
	76	64	David PATTMAN	00:25:11
	87	73	Chris SAUNDERS	00:25:49
	90	75	Danik BATES	00:25:54
	94	79	James SOUTH	00:26:11
	106	86	Jim BROWN	00:26:44
	108	87	Nick KLEANTHOUS	00:26:51
	110	89	Mark BEASLEY	00:26:54
	119	25	Fiona CLARKE	00:27:14
	120	94	Matt CLARKE	00:27:14
	127	96	Barry OSBORNE	00:27:35
	139	36	Nicola ANDERSSON	00:27:57
	179	125	Paul JENNINGS	00:29:32
	199	63	Caroline CROFT	00:30:59
	201	64	Debbie BLANTERN	00:31:04
	233	85	Theresa KEAST	00:32:49
	237	88	Beth FOLEY	00:33:03
	304	129	Helen HARRIS	01:03:44

Houghton Hall parkrun	79	56	Michael O’KEEFE	00:28:33

Brockenhurst parkrun	118	31	Catherine CRAIG	00:32:00

Pomphrey Hill parkrun	230	134	Darryl STEVENS	00:40:29

Lee-on-the-Solent parkrun	183	136	Edward HARE	00:27:53

Bideford parkrun	21	19	Tim SABAN	00:23:48

Letchworth parkrun	24	3	Georgie HOOPER	00:26:22
	25	21	Nick GILL	00:26:22

Golds Galore at County Track and Field Championships

Birthday Boy at Dorney Lake

Parkrun Highlights 23rd April

Parkrun Highlights 23^rd April