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Club News Race Results

TRENT PARK – MIDWEEK LEAGUE

There was a lot on in the world on Thursday 4th July but 30 Spartans – 19 men and 11 women made it to the final counting event in this summer’s Mid Week League race. 

Run in Trent Park, Cockfosters this was a largely off tarmac event with some grinding climbs in the woods.  It was dry!

On the night the fastest from Fairlands was KIRK NDUGU with 36:47 for 25th place out of the 194 male finishers.  ADRIAN BUSOLINI 38th in 37:56; JONATHAN PARR 41st in 38:02; BRIAN BRACKSTONE 43rd in 38:14 and third man over 50 were also under 40 minutes on the tough course.

108 women finished.  SUZY HAWKINS was the fastest female from Fairlands, 26th woman in 46:56.  YUKO GORDON won her age group with 51:14.  She was 47th woman overall.

The “Mob Match” will be in Welwyn Garden City on Wednesday 10th July.

RaceCatVetNo.TimeNameSurnameCat.M/FFemale Pos.
1431017102046:56SuzyHawkinsV 45F26
193134110051:14YukoGordonV 65F47
2171844107353:19JoCooksleyV 35F59
248109056:55SophieParsonsSF77
2592864107558:37WendyTharaniV 45F82
275327210911:02:36ClaireEmmersonV 45F92
280167610851:03:36JudyKingV 55F96
293208410781:08:06LizCarvellV 55F104
295218610991:10:32MonicaSmithsonV 55F106
299248710861:13:19CallieChapmanV 35F107
301228810791:17:08JaneWadeyV 55F108
RaceCatVetNo.TimeFirst NameLast NameCat.M/FMale Pos
25101436:47KirkNduguSM25
38102837:56AdrianBusoliniSM38
41161898838:02JonathanParrV 40M41
43319102738:14BrianBrackstoneV 50M43
74100241:16JayPapaSM72
127226499645:51MattGiffordV 50M107
131436899746:19AlexeyZherdevV 40M111
1364671101046:41RobertWrightV 40M114
14547598747:11BrianWhiteV 60M119
18089499050:25CharlieArnoldV 60M140
2113811099252:42SimonHaighV 50M156
22663115101154:31MattTuttonV 40M162
249102256:55RyanRiddellSM172
26245130101658:58PeteCookV 50M178
26961329991:00:20JimBrownV 70M180
2714613310241:01:05TimRobinsonV 50M182
2741813410211:02:14NickKleanthousV 60M183
29110261:07:37PeterSachSM188
298201429861:11:37PaulHolgateV 60M192

A Win For Yuko at the Newport Pagnell Carnival 5K

YUKO GORDON won her age group F70 (and 60 & 65 as well) at Newport Pagnell Carnival 5K, near Milton Keynes in 22:20 on Saturday 6th July.  It was a flat fast course over traffic free main road with 500 plus runners.  Crowds were surprisingly big along the course.

After Mount Chingford and the Trent Park Woods recently, she felt this was too good to be true.  However, a fast course is one thing but she said my legs had a problem adjusting to the speed this time.  Still, she was happy with the season’s best.

The Carnival 5K is a uniquely fast and flat 5k road race through the historic market town of Newport Pagnell.  On closed roads in front of thousands, it’s run ahead of the annual town Carnival Parade.  The race finishes on the carnival meadow in the show arena where there’s a day of entertainment and fun.  For the 4th consecutive year, there were two different runs.  One to suit all abilities:  The ‘Serious’ 5K and the family fun 5K.

Ware 10 + 10 – PB for Paul

GERRY ROSEN took part in the Ware 10 (miles).  It was a two lap affair with a nasty uphill first mile.  A tough little cookie.  Gerry was hoping to beat 2hrs and well and truly did it, his time was 1 hour 52 minutes 10 seconds.

The fastest of the eight Spartans was PAUL SHELLEY 20th of the 269 finishers with 1:07:25; third in his age group and a new personal best (PB) by eight seconds.  ALISON SHELLEY was first female from Fairlands at 190th with 1:33:06; ANNABELLE WHITE was 198th with 1:35:09 and FIONA CLARKE 212th with 37:47.

MATT DUTTON took part in the 10 mile race at the Ware festival of running with a chip time of 1:32:56.  His first ever 10 mile race.  Matt said he managed to miss the heavy rain showers but large puddles were an obstacle at mile 1 and 6 guaranteeing wet feet!!

CHRIS WATLING was 112th in 1:21:51 and ROBERT WRIGHT 65th with 1:15:30.

269 finishers.

JANE WHITROW ran the Ware 10K.  She said the event was really well organised with lots of water stations and friendly marshals.  Jane finished 239th in 1:21:17.

PosMFCatPosBibNameCatGunChip
20.1938901Paul SHELLEYMV501:07:271:07:25
65.55232178Robert WRIGHTMV401:15:481:15:30
112.91362127Chris WATLINGMS1:22:091:21:51
188.134458942Matt TUTTONMV401:33:191:32:56
190.5598902Alison SHELLEYFV551:33:281:33:06
198.60158896Annabelle WHITEFS1:35:301:35:09
212.67208906Fiona CLARKEFV451:38:091:37:47
254.160438829Gerry ROSENMV501:52:321:52:10

Race for Life

Some Spartans including JIM BROWN and PENNY SCHENKEL ran the Stevenage Race for Life.  Jim’s event was lucky but Penny’s finished in a downpour.

EMAC – Spartans 2 and 3.

Fairlands Valley Spartans were second and third in the latest Eastern Masters track and field league event.

The FVS women including SHARON CROWLEY, CHRISTINE LATHWELL; MARIAN MORLEY; JOYLYN SAUNDERS-MULLINS; TESSA STEPHENSON and ANDREA WESTCOTT were second with 118 points, just 19 behind the winners.

The men were third in their match with 86.  Their team included CHARLES ARNOLD; MARK FREEMAN; NICK KLEANTHOUS; STEVE MAYFIELD; TIMOTHY SAUNDERS-MULLINS and DAVID STEPHENSON.  

The event included running from 100 metres to one mile (1609 metres); walking 2 kilometres; throwing and jumping.  The league is for male and female veteran athletes aged from 35 upwards divided in various age categories.

The next EMAC track and field fixture is in Sandy on Wednesday evening 31st July.

Parkrun Highlights 6th July

DANIEL VILJOEN achieved a major parkrun milestone on Saturday morning.  His run at Stevenage was his 250th which he finished in 24 minutes 4 seconds (24:04).  There were 19 Spartans among the 363 finishers of the very wet 354th Stevenage parkrun including SIMON JACKSON second in 17:40 and GRANT RAMSAY sixth in 18:57.

ANNABELLE WHITE ran her 150th parkrun in 31:32.

19 of the 363 finishers at a very wet Stevenage parkrun were Spartans.

Spartans elsewhere included SUZY HAWKINS 25:03 at Henlow Bridge Lakes; NICK KLEANTHOUS 33:11 at Tamar Lakes near Bude and CHLOE CHAPMAN 34:05 at Lanhydrock, Bodmin.

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Club News Race Results

RACE FOR LIFE, REMEMBERING CATHY

Lots of Spartans took part in Race for Life on Sunday as part of the Cancer Research fundraising event. 

It is usual to see a lot of Spartans at this event as those that don’t take part offer their marshalling skills to encourage and support others. 

This year saw a larger than normal amount of Spartans take part as they were honouring a beloved Spartan member who we sadly lost earlier this year. The family were out supporting the wonderful charity and so our members also took to the course to support and remember Cathy. 

Cathy Craig was a true inspiration to so many of us. From 5k up to Ultra’s and back down to EMAC, you name it Cathy did it. She was a renowned trophy winner at our annual Presentation Evening and we believe that she may of achieved the whole collection of awards available including the much sought after award of Spartan of the Year at this years ceremony. 

Cathy would always greet everybody with a warm, infectious smile and would always be supportive and encouraging offering lots of runners tips where she could. 

The Race for Life event would have been a day that Cathy loved! Dressing up in tutu’s, coloured wigs and head boppers, she would have been at the front of the queue! 

#bemorecathy 

Supporters and Cathy’s family

EMAC 

The FVS women’s team finished in third place in the EMAC league central division at Bedford on Wednesday.  EMAC run a track and field league for veteran athletes in the East of England.  Cambridge & Coleridge were out in force after their narrow defeat last month, winning on the night with 141 points with Marshall Milton Keynes placed second with 110 points and FVS with 106.  FVS remain top points scorers with 393 points, but it all comes down to the last match in Sandy next month. 

Spartan Women – SHARON CROWLEY, ASHLEY JOHNSON, CHRISTINE LATHWELL, PAULA McMAHON, MARIAN MORLEY, JOYLYN SAUNDERS-MULLINS and ANDREA WESTCOTT 

Wins on the night came from Sharon Crowley in the 2km A string walk and W60 hammer throw.  Sharon also placed 4th in the W50 100m and 5th in the W60 1500m.  Other points came from Christine Lathwell, who placed 5th in the W35 100m after sprinting to the start line having placed 4th in the 2km B string walk.  Christine also covered the W35 triple jump, finishing 4th. Joylyn Saunders-Mullins secured 2nd place in the W60+ 100m, 3rd in the W60+ 400m, and 2nd in the W60+ shot put.  Paula McMahon made a mad dash from her car straight to the start line for the W35 400m, changing in to her spikes while the other women were lining up!  Despite the lack of a warm up, Paula finished in a very respectable 3rd place.  Andrea Westcott placed 2nd in the W50 400m, 4th in the W35 hammer, and 6th in the W35 shot put.  Marian Morley started the evening with a new PB in the W50 shot put, finishing 3rd and also placed 3rd in the W50 hammer.  Ashley Johnson made a welcome return to the team, running a great W35 1500m and finishing 2nd

The W35 relay team of Paula McMahon, Christine Lathwell, Ashley Johnson, and Joylyn Saunders-Mullins finished 3rd in the 4 x 200m 

Our EMAC ladies

The men’s team conststing of CHARLIE ARNOLD, ANTON McCALLA, NICK KLEANTHOUS, STEVE MAYFIELD, MICHAEL O’KEEFE, ANDREW PATTERSON, TIM SAUNDERS-MULLINS and CHRIS WESTCOTT did themselves proud, finishing fourth on the night, just 8 points behind third placed Cambridge & Coleridge. 

Wins from Andy Patterson in the M35 1500m and Tim Saunders-Mullins in the M60+ hammer throw combined with points scored by Anton McCalla, Nick Kleanthous, Chris Westcott, Charlie Arnold, Steve Mayfield, and Michael O’Keefe so the Spartans team remain in fourth place overall. 

The EMAC men

Mid Week League Round Up 

Not only did Fairlands Valley Spartans get promoted to the top division in the Mid Week League (see last week’s release) but they had some great individual prize winners. 

SAM PRETTY was second woman in the open competition; ASHLEY JOHNSON second in the women 35 plus category; SIMON FRASER third man in the open competition; ANDREW PATERSON WON the men 40 plus category with RICHARD BATE third. 

AND Fairlands Valley Spartans were overall winners in the veterans contest. 

Trophy Winners!

Ultra 5k 

MIKE JEFFS took on the ultra 5k challenge at Box End Bedford.  This was a gruelling challenge running a 5k on the hour every hour for five hours.  He managed to keep his times consistent which helped him achieve a third place finish.  Mike’s first ever podium finish for a running event. 

Mike with his medal and trophy!

Wendover Woods 100 Miles 

Adrian Busolini WON the Centurion Wendover Woods 100 mile event in 20 hours 24 minutes 59 seconds. 

With 600m of climb and a mix of terrains, just one lap of this Wendover course is quite punchy. So 10 laps, in conditions only slightly cooler than SDW100, was always going to be a challenge for the 30 souls who toed the start line. 

13 of them made it to the end, and Adrian was glad to be the first – not just because that meant he got to take home an almost life-sized Centurion trophy, but because he could catch an hour of rest and a few pretty awesome crepes before the Wendover Weekender kicked off, with Allie talking crewing and The Green Runners demonstrating how to repair shoe uppers.  

It was the first time Centurion had run a camping, talks and general fun & games weekend like this, and they put on a really good show, with the volunteers standing out as usual being the ultra awesome folks they are. Good times, good conversations, and a weekend well spent. 

Adrian looking like he’s just taken a stroll in the park rather than running 100 miles…

Parkrun Highlights Saturday 8th July 2023 

For the full Consolidated Results please click the link 

Personal Best Achievements  

ASHLEY JOHNSON was first female at Stevenage in a new parkrun personal best of 20 minutes 21 seconds for her 10th parkrun.   

NICK GILL ran his 100th parkrun at Stevenage and did it with a new parkrun personal best of 18 minutes 40 seconds (18:40) which got him a top ten sixth place out of the 406 finishers. 

NICOLA ANNDERSSON ran a new parkrun PB of 26:22 in Ballina, Ireland  

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Club News Race Results

EMAC SPARTANS CONTINUE TO SOAR!

The FVS women’s track and field team continued their winning streak in the EMAC (East of England Masters’ Athletics Club) league central division on Wednesday, narrowly beating hosts Cambridge & Coleridge AC by just 3 points!  The team were missing a few key people, so everyone stepped up and competed in more events than originally planned, some for the first time!   

FVS took maximum points in the sprint hurdles, with wins from Paula Dunne (W35 – women aged 35 plus) , Monica Brown (W50), and Sharon Crowley (W60+).  Paula also won the W35 200 metres, clinching the win in the last few metres, finished 4th W35 800m, and placed 3rdin the W35 discus.  Monica Brown won the W50 long jump and W50 high jump, finished 3rd in W50 javelin, and placed 3rd in the W50 discus.   

Sharon Crowley dropped down an age group to cover the W50 200m, finishing in 4th place.  Sharon also finished 2nd in the A string 1.5km walk.  Other points on the night were won by Joylyn Saunders-Mullins (2nd in the W60 200m, W60 javelin, and W60 discus), Yuko Gordon (2nd place B string 1.5km walk and 4th W60 800m), Andrea Westcott (4th placed W50 800m, 4th W35 javelin, 4th W35 long jump, and 2nd W35 high jump).  Sharon Crowley, Yuko Gordon, Paula Dunne, and Andrea Westcott finished the evening 4th in the W35 4x400m relay. 

The men saw an improved performance from last month, with more events covered, and finished in fourth place.  Andrew Patterson won the M35 800m and also finished 4th M35 javelin, managing to get a valid throw at his last attempt.  Anton McCalla returned to the squad, finishing second in M35 long jump, 5th in M35 200m, and 4th M35 discus.  Nick Kleanthous finished 5th M60+ 200m, 3rd B string 1.5km walk, and 5th M60+ discus.  Charlie Arnold finished 4th in the M60+ 800m and M60 javelin.  Michael O’Keefe finished 5th in the A string 1.5km walk, 6th M50 javelin, 4th M50 discus, and 5th M50 long jump.  The men’s relay team finished 5th

St Albans Half Marathon 

It was approaching 30 degrees as four from Fairlands Valley Spartans tackled the hot and hilly St Albans Half Marathon on Sunday morning. 

Jim Brown said, “It’s a good event but a challenging course in the best conditions.  This was not the day for running a new fast time.  I finished in 2 hours 8 minutes 14 seconds and top half with 810th out of the 1692 finishers which is not bad considering I was also third veteran aged over 70.  Almost 27 minutes quicker than 2022.” 

Nicola Andersson said, “The race was hot and hilly.”  Nicola came in with 2:28:37. 

Spartans LINDA GEORGE and MARTIN JACOB finished in 2:19:43 and 2:20:14. 

100 Miles On The South Downs Way 

ADRIAN BUSOLINI ran the South Downs Way 100 mile trail event at the weekend.  That’s the entire South Downs Way national trail from Winchester to Eastbourne.  He was fifth in 18 hours 12 minutes 41 seconds. 

Parkrun Saturday 10th June 2023 

Please click the link for the Consolidated Results for the 10th June 2023 for all Spartan runners

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Club News Race Results

SPARTANS MASTER TRACK & FIELD 

The Spartans women’s team smashed it at the first EMAC fixture of the year which was at Milton Keynes on Wednesday evening.  They scored 143 points way ahead of the home club Milton Keynes with 88. 

The FVS team of six men came a very creditable fifth with several taking part for the first time. 

13 Spartans travelled to Milton Keynes on Wednesday evening to compete in the first EMAC league match of the season.  A minute silence was held before the competition began, and the team wore ribbons to remember Cathy Craig who was a much loved member of the team. 

In fitting tribute to Cathy, the women’s team romped to victory on the night, beating arch rivals Marshall Milton Keynes by nearly 60 points.  The team welcomed newbie Paula McMahon, who covered the women 35 plus 100 metres ( with 4th place) and WON the W35 400 metres!  Other wins on the night came from Joylyn Saunders-Mullins (WON W60 100m by a massive margin, and also took second place in W60 shot put), Christine Lathwell (WON W35 3k, also 2nd place W35 triple jump), Andrea Westcott (WON W50 400m, WON W50 high jump, and WON W50 triple jump, and was also 4th place W35 hammer, and 4th place W35 shot put), Yuko Gordon (WON W60 3k and B string 1m walk), Sharon Crowley (WON W60 hammer, and was also 3rd place W60 400m, 2nd place A string 1m walk, and 2nd place W60 triple jump), Marian Morley (WON W50 shot put – just missing out on a PB (personal best) by 4cm, also 2nd place W50 hammer). 

Following a tactical decision by the captain, Joylyn, Yuko, Sharon, and Andrea ran unopposed in the W50 4 x 100m relay to gain maximum points. 

The men finished in a respectable fifth position, with newbies Michael O’Keefe and Charlie Arnold covering multiple events, but points went begging due to a lack of throwers and jumpers this time.  Wins on the night came in the M60 hammer and the M35 3k, with other points scored in M50 100m, M60 100m, M35 400m, M60 400m, M60 3k, A string and B string 1m walk, M35 hammer, M50 shot put, and the 4 x 100m relay. 

Parkrun Results

Please click this link for the Consolidated Results for the 13th May 2023

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Club News Race Results

LOTS OF SPARTAN ACHIEVEMENTS!

Seventeen Spartans enjoyed the first in the series of 5K races at Hatfield on Wednesday evening and five of them came away with new personal bests (PB) for the distance.  Three achieved new season’s bests (SB) and one ran his fastest time this year. 

SIMON JACKSON was third veteran runner and sixth overall taking six seconds of his lifetime best with 16 minutes 34 seconds.  KELVIN BEYIOKU took a significant 44 seconds of his PB with 17:37.  PAULA DUNNE took a 55 seconds chunk off her best time with 23:16; NICK KLEANTHOUS 39 seconds off his with 24:13 and JANE WADEY improved her PB by six seconds to 31 minutes 28 seconds. 

RICHARD BATE ran a new season’s best of 18:21; ANDREA WESTCOTT of 27:32 and CATHY CRAIG was delighted to get under 30 minutes with 29:15. 

Steadily coming back from injury BRIAN WHITE finished in 22 minutes 34 seconds.   

YUKO GORDON was the race winner based on age grade.  She scored a massive 92.7%.  She was also first woman aged over 70 with her 22 minutes 56 seconds. 

EMAC (Eastern Masters) 

Last week we announced that the Fairlands Valley Spartans women came third in the East of England (EMAC) final.  Here’s the full story: 

Thirteen FVS women travelled to Bedford on Sunday (4th) to compete in the Eastern Masters Athletic Club final.  Despite injuries, illness, and absences, brilliant team spirit meant all events were covered and resulted in an unexpected third place behind Peterborough/Nene Valley (1st place) and Chelmsford AC (2nd place).  Medal positions changed throughout the day, and FVS were originally awarded joint second, only to discover the following day that the scores were incorrect. 

Yuko Gordon won an individual award for her outstanding 99.5% age graded 1st place performance in the women 60 plus (W60) 3k race and she also won the W60 800m. 

Christine Lathwell dominated the W35 distance events, winning the 800m, 500m, and the 3k!  Monica Brown excelled in the W50 jumps, winning long jump, triple jump, and high jump.  Monica also dropped down to cover W35 shot put, finishing in third place. 

Our wonderful EMAC ladies!

The other win on the day came from Nikki Wilby (W35 high jump, also 5th place 400m hurdles, and 2nd place pole vault).  With some team changes needed along the way, other points on the day were scored by Fiona Clarke (W35 5th place 100m, 6th place 200m – PB!, 4th place long jump – PB!, and 3rd place triple jump), Callie Chapman (W35 5th place 400m – PB!, 5th place hammer throw, and 6th place discus), Andrea Westcott (W50 4th place 100m, 2nd place 200m, 8th place 1500m, 3rd place 300m hurdles, and 5th place shot put), Carolyn Linsell dropped down to W50 (8th place 400m and 7th place 800m), Marion Morley (W50 8th place 3k, 6th place hammer throw, and 4th place discus), Karen Dodsworth (W60 6th place 100m, 2nd place discus, 4th place long jump, and 4th place triple jump), Sharon Crowley (W60 6th place 200m, 5th place A string 2k walk, 3rd place 300m hurdles, 4th place hammer throw), Joylyn Saunders-Mullins (W60 3rd place shot put and W50 2nd place javelin), Cathy Craig (a brave 3rd place B string 2k walk). 

The W35 relay team finished in 5th place, with W50 team finishing 3rd in their race.  The team enjoyed thoroughly well deserved bubbles and cake at the end of a very long day. 

Great North Run 

Six Spartans ran the biggest half marathon in the world.  They were in Newcastle for the Great North Run.  ADRIAN DONNELLY excelled with 1 hour 26 minutes 7 seconds which gave him 691st out of more than 35,000 finishers.  STEVE DOBNER came in with 1:48:17; DAVID PATTMAN 1:49:09; MO WARRILOW 2:05:33; ROGER HARDMAN 2:14:31 and SUE HAMER 2:43:06. 

Dave, Mo and Steve with the Angel of the North

Budapest Half Marathon 

ROB WRIGHT went international at the weekend and enjoyed the Budapest Half Marathon which he completed in 2:17:08. 

Rob in Budapest before his race.

Sandy 10 

Several Spartans kept it more local and ran the Sandy 10 (miles) race.   

SAMANTHA PRETTY-CONNORS who sped round in 71 minutes exactly won the women 35 plus award.  CLAIRE PULLEN came in fast with 77:37 followed by BRIAN WHITE 79:19; and ANN TRYSSESOONE 88:23.  JIM BROWN was second 70 plus in a year’s best 88:56 with JACKE DOWNES in 1:30:49; TRICIA HOPPER in 1:31:09 and CAROL PAUL 1:41:21. 

Montane Dragon’s Back Race 

Six days running 380 kilometres off road down the spine of Wales.  Spartan ADRIAN BUSOLINI was running the Montane Dragon’s Back Race from Conway Castle to Cardiff Castle. 

Adrian was 69th out of the 102 finishers with a total time of 79 hours 8 minutes 14 seconds.  His longest day was 15 hours 21 minutes 43 seconds.  Many starters of this incredibly tough event did not finish. 

Adrian said, “Six days.  Trods, bogs, and bushwhacking, over some of the toughest peaks and ridges in Wales. 

Scrambling, high exposure and fear.  Self management, injuries and fatigue.  Downpours, hail and high winds.  Isolation.  Dejection.  Self doubt. 

Cameraderie, friendship and community.  Encouragement, assistance and a shared goal.  Learning, growth and transformation.  Fresh perspectives.  Stoicism.  Self confidence. 

What an extraordinary group of people – participants, volunteers and staff – to invest a week with.  Words can’t do it justice, but this truly was time well spent. There was also some running.” 

Amazing challenge as always Adrian!

Milton Keynes Marathon Prep 20 Miles 


Two Spartans, WENDY THARANI and YUKO GORDON ran the new format of events organised by Marshall Milton Keynes Athletics Club.  This was a 20 mile marathon preparation event consisting of 4 laps each of 5 miles around Willen Lake, its surrounding village roads and towpath along the Grand Union Canal. It wasn’t totally flat as it was a mixture of usual MK undulations but it was pretty and interesting. 
Yuko finished 26 seconds outside of the women 70 plus (W70) UK all time best time of 20 miles in 2:46:12 but she ran only to check her present fitness and wanted to build up some mileage this week before the London Marathon, so didn’t taper.  

Wendy came 174th in 3:52:07 and after a summer of wonderful adventures consisting of epic bike rides and climbing mountains (alongside running) she was very pleased to complete the race.  

Tables 

Spartans at the Hatfield 5K race (race 1 in a series of 3). 

Place Name Time Cat M/F Cat Pos Grade Comments  
6. Simon JACKSON 16:34 MV40 85.3% 3rd Vet.  PB (0:06)  
16. Oluwatobi Kelvin BEYIOKU 17:37 MS 15 72.8 % PB (0:44)  
31. Richard BATE 18:21 MV40 29 10 73.6 % SB  
41. Grant RAMSAY 19:03 MV50 39 11 76.5 %   
62. Tony RANDFIELD 20:29 MV60 55 79.9 % 3rd V60  
84. Brian WHITE 22:34 MV60 73 74.5 % YB (0:44)  
88. Yuko GORDON 22:56 FV65 12 92.7 % % winner  
89. Mark GOODWIN 22:58 MV60 77 71.3 %   
98. Paula DUNNE 23:16 FV35 19 63.6 % PB (0:55)  
111. Nick KLEANTHOUS 24:13 MV60 84 10 65.1 % PB (0:39)  
153. Jim BROWN 27:04 MV70 98 63.8 %   
156. Andrea WESTCOTT 27:32 FV45 57 17 60.0 % SB (0:45)  
164. Catherine CRAIG 29:15 FV65 61 70.3 % SB (1:14) Sub 30  
165. Nikki NATION 29:44 FV55 62 12 59.7 %   
170. Sharon CROWLEY 30:24 FV55 66 14 63.3 %   
171. Jane WADEY 31:28 FV55 67 15 55.8 % PB (0:03)  
178. Roger BIGGS 43:38 MV70 107 41.9%   

Parkrun – 10th September

For the consolidated Parkrun results please follow this link – Parkrun Results

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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

RETURN OF THE 5K

The Spartans club handicap 5K returned on Thursday evening and there were 41 runners.   

Running round the Fairlands, Grace, Martins, Verity, Fairlands Ways course the winner on the night was a very quick SIMON FRASER in a new PB (personal best) time of 16:48, with CHRIS WATLING second in 23:54 and ADRIAN BUSOLINI third in 17:52. 

ANNA SWANEPOEL won the women’s handicap with a new personal best (PB) of 27 minutes 48 seconds.  PENNY SCHENKEL was second across the line with a year’s best 34:20 and KAREN ELLIS just two seconds behind third with a year’s best (YB) 25:11 which was 1:42 quicker than her previous fastest 5K time this year. 

Fastest runner on the night was Simon Fraser with Adrian Busolini second quickest in 17:52 and Charlie White third quickest (19:18).  GRANT RAMSAY continued his return to form at fourth fastest with 19:22.  Tracy Pez was quickest female (24:15) with Karen Ellis second quickest and Nikki Wilby, 25:41, third quickest. 

Before and after the 5K handicap event

In handicap races the slower runners, on recent performance, start first and if everyone runs exactly to form they will all finish together.  So a pursuit race and the best improver wins. 

Thus SIMON FRASER was first across the line 36 seconds of CHRIS WATLING.  Chris finished 12 seconds ahead of ADRIAN BUSOLINI in third even though Chris’ net time was 23:54 and Adrian’s 17:52 

The next handicap 5K will be on Thursday 1st September 2022 and it would be fantastic if the Spartans can get even more than 41 taking part next time. 

A big thank you to helpers and supporters: Vicky and Stuart Archer and boys; Sharon and Mike Crowley; Jan and Nick Fry; Tony Randfield; Hannah Sypula and Tony Willson. 

EMAC – East of England track and field hit by downpour 

Still smiling even though they got wet!

The last Eastern Masters central division competition at Bedford on 20th July was cut short due to a downpour which left the track and field completely flooded and unsafe.  Some events took place before the heavens opened, with our women’s team completing another clean sweep, this time in the distance hurdles – W35 400m Nikki Wilby, W50 300m Andrea Westcott, and W60 300m Sharon Crowley. 

Stephanie Biggar won the W35 javelin competition, marking her last appearance for the team with a new PB!  Christine Lathwell also scored top points, winning the W35 mile in horrendous conditions with race bibs disintegrating before crossing the line!  Monica Brown won the W50 long jump, making a brave return to the event that caused her injury last year.  Other points scored on the evening – Wendy Tharani (third W50 mile), Carolyn Linsell (third W60 mile), Marian Morley (second W50 javelin), Joylyn Saunders-Mullins (second W60 javelin), Fiona Clarke (fourth W35 long jump and a new PB!), and Karen Dodsworth (second W50 long jump).  Tracey Jackson was due to make her debut for the team, but the weather had other ideas!  

The Spartans keep going no matter what!

The men’s team had wins from Chris Westcott (M35 mile) and Grant Ramsay (M50 mile) with other points from Pete Smith (second M60 mile and second M60 300m hurdles), Anton McCalla (third M35 discus), Nick Kleanthous (fifth M50 discus), Ron Westcott (third M60 discus) 

The final will be held at the Bedford International stadium on Sunday 4th September.  The Spartans women’s team will be attempting to retain their championship title. 

Three in Three for Jim 

It was three 5K races in three days for JIM BROWN.  His second was at the Serpentine Last Friday of the Month 5K in Hyde Park on a dry, sunny, warm with a light breeze Friday lunch time.  He finished in a reasonable 27 minutes 8 seconds and was second in his age group.  His first was the Spartans handicap 5K on Thursday evening and his third in the Stevenage parkrun where his previous exploits came to haunt him a bit in the last 1.5 kilometres. 

Parkrun Highlights Saturday 30th July 

GRANT RAMSAY wearing his Team GB top from the recent world masters championships WON the Stevenage parkrun in 18 minutes 21 seconds. 

Fairlands Valley Spartan members were out in force on Saturday with thirty seven members taking part at ten different parkrun venues across the country.  It was a bumper weekend of achievements with personal bests, year bests, first finishes and top tens. 

Stevenage Parkrun winner Grant and Sam celebrating coming 50th in his 50th Parkrun!

Congratulations to Sam SIMMONS running his 50th Parkrun at Stevenage, coincidently finishing at 50th place with a time of 23:45.  Congratulations also go to Adrian DONNELLY (19:58 at Stevenage) and Michael O’KEEFE (27:18 at Henlow Bridge Lakes) who both achieved personal bests this weekend. 

Grant RAMSAY was fastest at Stevenage, coming first with a year best (YB) time of 18:21. Alison WOOD and Sam PRETTY (who made her debut at Stevenage Parkrun) took home first and second lady with times of 21:42 (YB) and 21:55 respectively. 

There were three other top ten finishers this week, with Adrian DONNELLY fifth, Ashley KING eighth lady both at Stevenage (25:15) and Karen ELLIS sixth lady at Sheringham (26:41 YB). 

Four more year bests were achieved with Chloe CHAPMAN (27:15) and Claire EMMERSON (27:20) both running at Stevenage, Peter CARPENTER (43:17) at Squerryes Winery and Maria SWIFT (29:13) at Sandringham. 

Stevenage Parkrunners (part photo credit to Keith Fenwick)

25 of the 229 finishers at Stevenage were Spartans.  Last but not least, five Spartans reached unofficial milestones with Nicola PATTMAN completing her 20th Parkrun, Jonathan JONES (80th), Alison SHELLEY (90th), Thomas SAUKA (110th) and Martin DUDLEY (150th) all at Stevenage. 

Tables 

All the Spartan handicap 5K runners in finish line order 

Pos NAME SURNAME Time Fem. Pos Comments Speed Pos F. Speed Pos 
SIMON FRASER 16:48   PB (0:03)  
CHRIS WATLING 23:54   First 10K 10  
ADRIAN BUSOLINI 17:52   YB (New)  
ROGER HARDMAN 28:30   SB (0:01) 24  
ANNA SWANEPOEL 27:48  First 10K 22 
GRANT RAMSAY 19:22     
JOHN NELMS 24:05    11  
JIM BROWN 34:20    36  
PENNY SCHENKEL 34:20  YB (New) 37 12 
10 KAREN ELLIS 25:11  YB (1:42) 16 
11 JON SYPULA 26:17   SB (New) 19  
12 BRIAN WHITE 23:18   YB (1:04)  
13 MICHAEL O’KEEFE 28:24    23  
14 LUKE GURNEY 23:41   PB (2:41)  
15 MARK GOODWIN 23:43     
16 CRAIG BACON 23:02     
17 CHARLIE WHITE 19:18     
18 NICOLA NATION 29:30  SB (0:31) 26 
19 TIM ROBINSON 24:54   SB (0:15) 14  
20 NIKKI WILBY 25:41  SB (1:50) 18 
21 TRACY PEZ 24:15  YB (New) 13 
22 STEVE PIKE 29:32   SB (New) 27  
23 GRANT MURPHY 29:40   First 10K 29  
24 JANE WADEY 32:45   34 10 
25 MARK FREEMAN 27:44   SB (New) 20  
26 CHLOE CHAPMAN 27:45  YB (0:30) 21 
27 MARTIN DUDLEY 25:06    15  
28 NICK GILL 21:52     
29 AMANDA VICKERS 39:34  SB (New) 39 14 
30 VISHAL SHAH 25:12    17  
31 SALLY PHILLIPS 34:59  10  38 13 
32 DAVID KENNEDY 24:13    12  
33 MONICA SMITHSON 30:32  11  31  
34 ANNABELLE WHITE 33:53  12  35 11 
35 JONATHAN JONES 31:57    32  
36 TONY ARGYROU 32:07   SB (New) 33 
37 KELLY EVANS 29:55  13 YB (New) 30 
38 YUKO GORDON 29:36  14  28 
39 ANDY JAY 28:56    25  
40 SUSAN MURPHY 45:20  15 First 10K 41 15 
41 ROGER BIGGS 43:47    40  

All the Spartan parkrun results 

Position   Gender Position   parkrunner   Time   Comments 
Stevenage parkrun (25 FVS)         
Grant RAMSAY 18:21 YB 
Adrian DONNELLY 19:58 PB 
12 12 Tony RANDFIELD 20:26 1st in age group  
15 Alison WOOD 21:42 First woman and YB 
20 19 William MORLEY 21:53 First SM 18 – 19  
21 Sam PRETTY 21:55 First visit to Stevenage PR 
28 25 David PATTMAN 22:49   
30 27 Steven DOBNER 22:58   
42 38 Thomas SAUKA 23:35 110th 
48 43 Martin DUDLEY 23:49 150th 
50 45 Sam SIMMONS 23:54 50th 
66 Ashley KING 25:15   
70 60 Toby ECCLESHALL 25:32   
75 65 Nick KLEANTHOUS 25:47   
79 67 Darren EMMERSON 26:03   
88 74 Simon JACKSON 26:31   
89 15 Alison SHELLEY 26:42 90th 
95 17 Chloe CHAPMAN 27:15 YB 
96 18 Claire EMMERSON 27:20 YB 
99 81 Jim BROWN 27:34 1st in age group 
130 33 Debbie BLANTERN 29:29   
159 113 Jonathan JONES 31:27 80th 
177 54 Marian MORLEY 33:29   
187 60 Nicola PATTMAN 35:04 20th 
227 87 Helen HARRIS 54:36   
Sheringham parkrun         
64 Karen ELLIS 26:41 YB 
Clair parkrun (W. Sussex)         
116 77 Darryl STEVENS 37:15   
Panshanger parkrun         
67 57 Mike REYNOLDS 25:20   
Rutland Water parkrun         
62 48 Chris HOLLAND 25:33   
Squerryes Winery parkrun         
152 91 Peter CARPENTER 41:37 YB 
Land’s End parkrun         
83 23 Mo WARRILLOW 29:35   
Henlow Bridge Lakes parkrun         
62 54 Michael O’KEEFE 27:18 PB 
102 26 Monica SMITHSON 32:49   
121 40 Tracy HAYGARTH 37:08   
Sandringham parkrun         
87 19 Maria SWIFT 29:13 YB 
Southport parkrun         
45 39 Matt CLARKE 24:14   
91 19 Fiona CLARKE 27:18   
Categories
Club News Race Results

SPARTAN EMAC WOMEN WIN AGAIN!

The FVS Ladies continued their winning streak in the Eastern Masters Athletics league meeting in perfect conditions at Cambridge on Wednesday evening.  The team of 14 greatly outnumbered the opposition, allowing everyone to focus on one or two events instead of having to cope with multiple shoe changes!  FVS had a clean sweep in the high jump competition, with Nikki Wilby (W35), Monica Brown (W50 – also second place shot put), and Karen Dodsworth (W60) all winning maximum points for the team.  Karen also claimed first place in W50 400 metres and placed second in W50 triple jump.  Other wins on the night came from Andrea Westcott in the W50 100m (also second place hammer throw with a PB!), Tessa Stephenson W60 100m, and Wendy Tharani W50 1500m.  Having such a large contingent ensured every event was covered. Important points were scored by Callie Chapman (fourth place in both W35 100m and 400m), Carolyn Linsell (second place W60 400m), Fiona Clarke (second place in both W35 1500m and her first ever triple jump competition!), Cathy Craig (third place W60 1500m), Sharon Crowley (fourth place 2k walk ‘A’ and second place W60 hammer), Yuko Gordon (third place 2k walk ‘B’), Stephanie Biggar (third place W35 hammer and fourth place shot put), and Joylyn Saunders-Mullins finished in second place in a hotly contested W60 shot put.  As always, the relays rounded off the evening with W35 team of Monica Brown, Callie Chapman, Fiona Clarke, and Nikki Wilby finishing in third place.  The W50 team of Carolyn Linsell, Andrea Westcott, Tessa Stephenson, and Wendy Tharani were unopposed, finishing in first place. 

A selection of our fab ladies at EMAC!

The men’s team had fewer competitors, seven, available but TIM SAUNDERS-MULLINS, STEVE MAYFIELD, DAVE STEPHENSON, NICK KLEANTHOUS, CHRIS WESTCOTT, GRANT RAMSAY and PETE SMITH still managed a credible fourth place finish.  Tim Saunders-Mullins won the M60 hammer throw by a huge margin, with other points from Steve Mayfield (4th place in M35 100m, shot put, triple jump, and high jump then moving to his own age group to finish 4th in M50 hammer!), Dave Stephenson (3rd place in both M50 100m and 400m), Nick Kleanthous (5th place M60 100m, 2nd place 2k walk ‘A’, and 4th place M60 shot put), Chris Westcott (3rd place in both M35 400m and 1500m), Grant Ramsay (2nd place in his new age group M50 1500m), and Pete Smith (2nd place M60 1500m, 5th place M50 triple jump, 2nd place M60 high jump).  The relay team finished in 4th place, just pipped to the line by 0.3 seconds! 

Not forgetting our amazing men!

The ladies team have now secured their place in the final but will still be aiming for another victory in Bedford net month on Wednesday 20th July! 

Two Wins At Welwyn  

There were eleven Spartans and two wins at the Welwyn 10K. 

MARK GOODWIN was really pleased and surprised by achieving first place in his age category.  He managed a negative split, rare for him, due to the challenging hill in the first half of the race.  Mark WON the Vet 60 competition with 48 minutes 1 second. 

JIM BROWN’s second half was 1 minute 39 seconds faster than his first, so another negative split, and he WON the 70 plus category by three minutes with 56 minutes 56 seconds. 

VISH SHAH came in with 53 minutes 53 seconds and new member HARRIET SMITH raced round in an excellent 54 minutes 27 seconds.  She was in the top half of the field, 160th out of 355. 

Smiles at Welwyn!

There was a new personal best (PB) for MICHAEL O’KEEFE – 61:42. 

JANE WADEY said it was tough but pleased to complete her first ever measured and chip timed 10K race in 67:09. 

It was a very hot run at the Welwyn 10K said CHRISTINE ZVEREV.  Sadly not the sub 60 she was hoping for but Christine said it was beautiful nonetheless.  She came in with 67:47. 

JANE WATT, 68:26, thought it was a lovely course.  Bit hot in places but it is June. 

LUKE GURNEY 63:01; NICOLA HATHERLY 74:00 and JUDY KING 74:55 completed the Spartan eleven. 

Hitchin Hard Half 

ROBERT WRIGHT took the Hitchin Hard Half Marathon at an easy pace and finished in 2.06.10.  There were 149 finishers. 

Race To The Tower  

SHARON CROWLEY ran a 52 mile Ultra, the Race to the Tower, which she finished in 19 hours 57 minutes 7 seconds at 4:30am.  It’s a tough and very hilly event in the Cotswolds, some of it quite steep.  She kept a good pace throughout and only slowed down a little near the end when it was dark.  She said she needed her poles for both up and down the hills.  She was supported by Mike, who was a great help, especially close to the end. An amazing achievement.  

Sharon said it was one of the hardest things she’s ever done! 

Amazing Sharon has done it again!

Serpentine 

It was bright dry and windy for the Serpentine Last Friday of the Month 5K in Hyde Park where runners were entertained by the warm up for the BST festival.  Jim Brown was 105th and second in his category with 27:20.  He is twelfth in the year long series. 

Windy maybe but it was quite neat as it was headwind where there was shelter but tailwind out in the open on the back straight.  The race was won in an eye watering 14 minutes 58 seconds!  The Serpentine 5K is now in its 30th year with a celebration to come in October. 

Run Orwell 

DAVE SCOTT took part in the Run Orwell event near Royston today, and although he’d planned for the 10k, because of the heat he made the decision to do the 5k distance instead. 

It was a small event, with around 120 participants across both distances.  It was mixed terrain, including some sections across private farm land which were scenic but tough!  It was very much a social run for Dave, so he took it relatively easy and finished in 34:17. 
 

Parkrun Highlights  

The purple start and finish signs made a welcome return to Stevenage parkrun for the first time since March 2020.  There were 238 runners including 14 Spartans. 

It was a busy week for Spartans participating across 11 different venues including home base at Stevenage.  JONATHAN PARR was first at Stevenage (17:16).  He was exactly one minute ahead of his nearest rival. 

JIM BROWN won the category by three seconds with a little scamper to the line ahead of a Garden City Runner with the two of them 105th and 107th out of 238 in the race.  Jim’s time was 27:14, slightly faster than the Serpentine 5K the day before. 

Lots of “First timers” this week: ROGER BIGGS at Eastbourne (44:51), the Pattmans ran in Lowestoft (David 23:04 and Nicola 35:03), MO WARRILOW and STEVE DOBNER ran together at Jersey Farm (Mo 29:27) (Steve 29:28) and YUKO GORDON was at Henlow Bridge Lakes (25:11). 

There were new parkrun course PBs for PAUL MAGUIRE at Exmouth (23:48), MICHAEL O’KEEFE at Henlow Bridge Lakes (28:35) and NIKKI NATION at Stevenage (32:29), 

ANDY JAY was at Westmill (28:32), JAMES MCSWEENEY at Littleport (25:04) and DARRYL STEVENS at Brockenhurst (35:46). 

CATHY CRAIG ran a virtual parkrun in 31:51 to help celebrate her son’s 100th

Tables 

Spartans at the Welwyn 10K 

Pos Gender Cat Pos Name Category Chip Age Grade Comments 
82. 74 Mark GOODWIN MV60 48:01 70.1% 1st V60 
157. 137 44 Vishal SHAH MS 53:53 49.7 %  
160. 21 Harriet SMITH FS 54:27 54.4% New 
197. 164 Jim BROWN MV70 56:56 62.4 % 1st V70 
255. 197 56 Michael O’KEEFE MV50 1:01:42 51.5 % PB 
266. 203 62 Luke GURNEY MS 1:03:01 41.7 %  
299. 88 17 Jane WADEY FV55 1:07:09 52.9 % First 10K race 
304. 93 35 Christine ZVEREV FV35 1:07:47 44.8 %  
313. 100 37 Jane MCFARLANE FV35 1:08:26 45.5 %  
338. 117 30 Nicola HATHERLY FV45 1:14:00 43.9 %  
342. 120 23 Judy KING FV55 1:14:55 49.2 %  

Number of records: 355 

The full Spartan result for Stevenage parkrun is below: 

Position   Gender Position   parkrunner   Run Time   
Jonathan PARR 00:17:16 
42 39 Sam SIMMONS 00:23:29 
53 48 Toby ECCLESHALL 00:24:09 
57 51 Matt CLARKE 00:24:13 
62 54 Brian WHITE 00:24:32 
105 87 Jim BROWN 00:27:14 
116 22 Ashley SCHOENWETTER 00:27:49 
132 28 Fiona CLARKE 00:28:45 
139 31 Debbie BLANTERN 00:29:04 
153 41 Monica SMITHSON 00:30:20 
180 60 Nikki Katherine NATION 00:32:29 
197 67 Samantha SUTTON 00:33:37 
203 133 Stephen SMITHSON 00:34:56 
230 138 Paul HOLGATE 00:42:04 
Categories
Club News Race Results

ADRIAN TOP TEN AT BROAD OAK

Hatfield Broad Oak 

In a time of 36 minutes 35 seconds Spartan ADRIAN BUSOLINI was tenth out of 989 in the Hatfield Broad Oak 10K on Friday.  He was sixth senior (17 to 39). 

GRANT RAMSAY was 23rd in 38:09 and MATTHEW NEWTON 101st in 44:11. 

The Hatfield Broad Oak 10K is back for the first time since 2019.  Not in its usual Bank Holiday Monday slot the change of date to a Saturday and then a Friday may have reduced participation a little but pre-Covid this was a very popular event for Fairlands Valley Spartans including the opportunity to get a 10K time on a measured fairly fast course. 

The County 10K championships will be in Welwyn on Sunday 26th June. 

Women Win at Milton Keynes 

The FVS ladies track and field team continued to dominate the central EMAC (Eastern Veterans) division with another impressive win on Wednesday evening at Milton Keynes.  Two more new joiners, and near perfect competition conditions, helped the team beat rivals Marshall Milton Keynes by an impressive 15 points.  Newbies Michelle Reeves (3rd place W35 800 metres) and Fiona Clarke (3rd place W35 long jump and 4th place 200 metres) really enjoyed their return to track competition after a number of years.  Wins on the night came from Tessa Stephenson W60 200m (by a massive margin!), Monica Brown W50 80mH and javelin, Sharon Crowley W60 80mH (also 2nd place A string 1k walk), Nikki Wilby W35 pole vault, and Andrea Westcott W50 long jump (also 2nd place 800m).  Helping the team to victory with all important points were Marian Morley with a superb sprint finish to clinch 2nd place W50 200m (also 2nd place discus), Cathy Craig 3rd placed W60 800m and finished 1st place B string 1k walk, Stephanie Biggar 2nd place W35 javelin with a new massive PB! also 2nd place discus throw, Joylyn Saunders-Mullins 2nd place W60 javelin, Karen Dodsworth 2nd place W60 discus and 2nd place long jump.  Both Cathy and Sharon were competing in new events for the first time (800m and 80mH respectively), showing that it’s never too late to try new things. 

EMAC Ladies

The evening was rounded off by 4x400m relays, with W35 team of Nikki, Fiona, Andrea, and Michelle finishing in second place and W50 team winners Tessa, Joylyn, Karen, and Cathy. 

The men’s team finished fourth in a highly competitive league fixture with another decent turnout and a new joiner to the squad.  Steve Feely dropped down an age group to compete in the M35 javelin (4th place) and discus (3rd place), while Pete Smith and Steve Mayfield were vying for the busiest man on the night award, covering 11 events between them!  Points were earned by Anton McCalla – 4th place M35 200m and 2nd place long jump; Steve Mayfield – 2nd place M50 200m, 4th place in javelin, discus, long jump, and M35 pole vault; Nick Kleanthous – 5th place M60 200m, 4th place discus, and 4th place 1k A string walk; Chris Westcott – 2nd place M35 800m; Pete Smith – 2nd place M60 800m, 3rd place in 100mH, javelin, long jump, and 4th place pole vault. 

The 4x400m relay team of Grant, Anton, Pete, and Chris finished in fourth place. 

Stockholm 

JOHN HARRIS ran the Stockholm Adidas 3 Mile Race.  This was on a scenic undulating course in the heart of Stockholm, finishing on the track in the Olympic stadium.  He was 13th on 20:02 (20 minutes 2 seconds). 

John at the finish line

Parkrun Highlights Saturday 4th June 

Jubilee weekend has seen Fairlands Valley Spartan members travelling far and wide, with 35 members running at 11 different venues across the country.  It was also the first Parkrun of the month, with all the Stripes out in force for Stripey Saturday. 

Adrian DONNELLY ran a Personal best of 20:24, coming 5th at Oldbridge, Ireland. 

Three other runners achieved top 10 positions, with Grant RAMSAY 3rd at Stevenage (18:41), Nick GILL 5th at Letchworth (20:58) and Kelly McHALE 8th lady at Whitehaven, Cumbria (25:14). 

A special mention goes to Darryl Stevens who has completed 200 Parkruns, astonishingly running in 105 different venues over 6 years.  He achieved this milestone at Somerdale Pavilion with a time of 36:45 at this parkrun in Keynsham near Bristol. 

Tables 

Spartan parkrunners on Saturday 4th June: 

Stevenage parkrun         
Position   Gender Position   parkrunner   Run Time    Comments 
Grant RAMSAY 18:41   
19 18 Tony RANDFIELD 21:20   
31 27 Paul SHELLEY 22:47   
39 34 Danik BATES 23:04   
53 47 Toby ECCLESHALL 24:05   
54 48 John NELMS 24:18   
56 50 Ryan DUNNING 24:26   
73 62 Martin DUDLEY 25:46   
82 70 Nick KLEANTHOUS 26:02   
84 72 David PATTMAN 26:08   
86 73 Steven DOBNER 26:09   
109 18 Alison SHELLEY 28:00   
111 93 Matt CLARKE 28:15   
113 19 Mo WARRILLOW 28:21   
119 21 Fiona CLARKE 28:44   
122 23 Debbie BLANTERN 28:49   
127 103 Jim BROWN 29:08   
139 30 Monica SMITHSON 30:18   
152 38 Chloe CHAPMAN 31:30   
151 37 Annabelle WHITE 31:30   
158 43 Jane WADEY 32:01   
177 52 Samantha SUTTON 33:56   
181 124 Stephen SMITHSON 34:19   
204 132 Simon SYPULA 38:59   
212 133 Roger BIGGS 45:59   
Darlington South Park parkrun         
233 73 Tracy HAYGARTH 32:20   
Edinburgh parkrun         
306 192 Kartik SHARMA 30:15   
Henlow Bridge Lakes parkrun         
69 51 Michael O’KEEFE 30:43   
Holkham parkrun         
176 97 Paul JENNINGS 32:40   
Letchworth parkrun         
Nick GILL 20:58   
Littleport parkrun         
33 27 James MCSWEENEY 25:33   
Nant y Pandy parkrun         
28 24 Paul MAGUIRE 24:22   
Oldbridge parkrun         
Adrian DONNELLY 20:24 PB 
Somerdale Pavilion parkrun         
103 66 Darryl STEVENS 36:45 200th, 105 venues 
Whitehaven parkrun         
34 Kelly MCHALE 25:14   
Categories
Club News Race Results

WOMEN’S TEAM WIN AT MK TRACK

Thirteen Spartans STEPHANIE BIGGAR, MONICA BROWN, CALLIE CHAPMAN, SHARON CROWLEY, KAREN DODSWORTH, YUKO GORDON, CHRISTINE LATHWELL, CAROLYN LINSELL, JOYLYN SAUNDERS-MULLINS, TESSA STEPHENSON,WENDY THARANI, ANDREA WESTCOTT and NIKKI WILBY started the track and field season by WINNING at the first league event on Wednesday.  

The FVS Ladies track and field team kicked off their defence of the EMAC (East of England) title in style on Wednesday night.  Thirteen team members travelled to Milton Keynes and won the competition, beating rivals Marshall Milton Keynes by an amazing 13 points.  Other teams in the division struggled to field full teams on the night, but that does not detract from the brilliant performances of FVS.  The team welcomed newcomers Wendy Tharani (second place W50 3k) and Carolyn Linsell (third place W60 3k).  Wins on the night came from Tessa Stephenson (W60 100m and 400m), Christine Lathwell (W35 3k, also 3rd place W35 400m), Sharon Crowley (W60 Hammer Throw, also second place 1 mile walk A string), Monica Brown (W50 Shot Put and W50 High Jump), Joylyn Saunders-Mullins (W60 Shot Put), Andrea Westcott (W50 Triple Jump, also 2nd place W50 100m and 2nd place W50 Hammer Throw), Karen Dodsworth (W60 Triple Jump, also 2nd place W50 400m), Nikki Wilby (W35 High Jump, also 3rd place W35 Triple Jump).  Valuable points were also picked up by Callie Chapman (4th placed W35 100m), Yuko Gordon (1st place 1m walk B string), Stephanie Biggar (3rd place in both W35 Hammer Throw and W35 Shot Put). 

An exciting 4x100m relay event rounded off the evening with Carolyn, Sharon, Karen and an excellent last leg by Monica just pipping Milton Keynes to the finish line by 0.2 seconds in the W50+ race.  The W35 team of Nikki, Tessa, Callie, and Christine finished second in the W35 event. 

The FVS Men’s team were bolstered by newcomers and returners, finishing in a very respectable fourth place on the night.  Wins from Tim Saunders-Mullins (M60 Hammer Throw) and Anton McCalla (M35 Triple Jump, also 4th place M35 100m, 5th place M35 Shot Put).  Points were also scored by newbie Nick Kleanthous (5th place M60 100m and 400m, 3rd place 1mile B string walk, 4th M60 Shot Put), Chris Westcott (2nd place M35 400m and M35 3k), Pete Smith (2nd place M60 3k and M60 Triple Jump, 3rd place M60 High Jump), John Harris (3rd place 1m A string walk, 4th place M35 High Jump), Steve Mayfield (3rd place M50 Hammer Throw, 4th place M50 Shot Put, and 4th place M50 Triple Jump).  The men’s relay team finished 4th

EMAC in action!

Bedford 10K 

Spartan DAVID HARRIS-CHERGUIT WON the Run Bedford Super Fast 10 kilometre race in 35 minutes 7 seconds, a new 10K PB (personal best)and a first place result for Spartans. 

He says his training is clearly paying off and looking good for the Edinburgh Half Marathon at the end of the month and that it was great to see fellow Spartan KELVIN BEYIOKU, who had another great run after the Hitchin 10km last week.  Kelvin was third in 37:04. 

Super speedy’s – Kelvin and David.

Greenway Challenge 

Fifteen Spartans ran the Greenway Challenge Half Marathon from Standalone Farm, Letchworth on Sunday. Nearly all the 13.1 miles were off road.    

Their fastest was ADRIAN DONNELLY fourth overall in 1 hour 28 minutes 29 seconds. 

Next in was JOHN HARRIS, second male 50 plus in 1 hour 33 minutes 16 seconds for 11th place.  NICK GILL came in with 1:42:27 then TONY RANDFIELD who was first man 60 plus with 1:48:01. 

TRICIA HOPPER and CLAIRE PULLEN were Fairlands first females in 2:17:00.   

SAM SIMMONS and MARCUS RIDLEY came in 87th and 88th with 1:56:51 and 1:56:53. 

Attempting his first long run after an encounter with Omnicron at the start of April JIM BROWN carefully paced himself round in 2 hours 9 minutes 17 seconds. 
CLAIRE EMMERSON, WENDY THARANI, TIM ROBINSON, SIMON SYPULA and VICKY ARCHER all ‘skipped’ around the greenway in about 2 hours 20 minutes. 

Vicky said, “We never set out to ‘race’ today.  The aim of the game was to be chatty and have some fun which we achieved beautifully!  The sun shone and we had a lovely morning out with cake at the end.” 

SAMANTHA SUTTON enjoyed a lovely morning with 2:53:15. 

Wendy, Claire, Tim, Simon and Vicky enjoyed the sun!

Pednor 

DARREN and CLAIRE EMMERSON took part in the Pednor Five road race on Holiday Monday.  In the Chilterns and not flat Darren was 109th in 39 minutes 59 seconds and Claire 151st in 43:27.  There were 197 finishers. 

Darren and Claire leaving the Chiltern hills behind them on Bank Holiday Monday.

Stort Five 

DAVE PATTMAN and STEVE DOBNER ran the Stort5 on Sunday.  Dave finished sixth overall and second in his age category in 39:39 and Steve was ninth and fourth in his age category in 41:36. 
The course is almost completely off-road and luckily the farmer had kindly rolled a section after the rain this week to take away the worst of the ruts.  Beautiful morning but you cannot really takes your eyes off the ground as it was so uneven so Steve said he had I no idea what the countryside looked like.  A brilliant relatively local event. 

Fun in the sun – Steve and Dave.

Blesma 11K 

After a delay of six months NICOLA ANDERSSON, CAROLYN LINSELL and KAREN ELLIS ran their 11K for the Blesma charity on Saturday morning.  Their total time, they ran together, was 1 hour 8mins and 56 seconds for the 6.81 miles. 

Saturday morning’s stripey running at Stevenage parkrun concluded the Blesma 11k with Nicola, Carolyn, and Karen incorporating parkrun (no.95 for Nicola) with medal presentation at the finish.  lt’s a first having medals at parkrun… 

The charity run was last November for Remembrance Sunday but Carolyn unfortunately broke her foot a few days beforehand.  Karen then kindly stepped up to run this with Nicola instead.  When Blesma heard about Carolyn’s accident etc. they kindly sent a third medal for Karen back in December. 

Several months on with Carolyn fully recovered and still improving on her stamina and strength they chose Saturday… They raised a total of £151 for Blesma The Limbless Veteran’s and want to thank those again who donated.  After all this time it was lovely to give Karen her medal for running the 11K a second time with us, a total of two and a bit parkruns runn in one. 

The girls finally with their medals!

John runs another 100 

JOHN NELMS finished his fifth 100 mile event Sunday on the Centurion running Thames Path 100.  Starting in Richmond, London at 0930 Saturday morning, John ran / walked through the day and night to finish in Oxford at 1100 Sunday morning. 

Amazing John still smiling after 100 miles!

Parkrun Highlights 7th May 

Fairlands Valley Spartan members were out in force wearing their club vests on the first Parkrun of the month, aka Stripey Saturday. Thirty two members took part at six different venues across the country. 

JANE WADEY ran a personal best (PB) of 32:28 at Stevenage after joining FVS in January this year.  She has improved her 5K time by 8 minutes since her first Parkrun in August 2021, crediting track training and Monday starters sessions which helped her achieve this amazing improvement. 

There were a few Year Best achieved this weekend, including MARTIN DUDLEY (23:49), SALLY PHILLIPS (34:01), SAMANTHA SUTTON (34:27), JAMES MCSWEENEY(24:04) and MICHAEL O’KEEFE (32:19) having ran their best times for this year. 

The title of fastest Spartan in Stevenage went to GRANT RAMSAY, crossing the line at 18:59 at Stevenage and fastest female Spartan of the week was ALISON SHELLEY (26:54) both at Stevenage.  The fastest Spartan anywhere was CHRIS WESTCOTT running in Bangor, Northern Ireland with 18:26.  Also running in Bangor ANDREA WESTCOTT finished in 28:35. 

Although there were no official milestones achieved by members this week, MATT CLARKE has completed his 90th and TIM ROBINSON his 170th Parkrun at Stevenage. 

Parkrunners.

Tables

Spartans at the Greenway Challenge 

Position Name Time  
ADRIAN DONNELLY 1:28:29 3rd MV40 
11 JOHN HARRIS 1:33:16 2nd MV50 
31 NICK GILL 1:42:27  
45 TONY RANDFIELD 1:48:01 1st MV60 
87 SAM SIMMONS 1:56:51  
88 MARCUS RIDLEY 1:56:53  
127 JIM BROWN 2:09:17  
145 TRICIA HOPPER 2:17:00  
146 CLAIRE PULLEN 2:17:00  
157 VICKY ARCHER 2:21:15  
158 CLAIRE EMMERSON 2:21:15  
159 WENDY THARANI 2:21:15  
160 TIM ROBINSON 2:21:16  
161 SIMON SYPULA 2:21:16  
186 SAMANTHA SUTTON 2:53:15  

Spartans at parkruns 

Position   Gender Position   parkrunner   Run Time   Comments 
Stevenage parkrun (26 Spartans)         
Grant RAMSAY 18:59   
49 44 Martin DUDLEY 23:49 YB 
65 58 Sam SIMMONS 24:34   
101 87 Tim ROBINSON 26:06 170th 
116 18 Alison SHELLEY 26:54   
119 98 Matt CLARKE 27:03 90th 
126 103 David PATTMAN 27:15   
127 104 Jim BROWN 27:19 2MV65 
140 111 Mark BEASLEY 28:16   
152 32 Debbie BLANTERN 29:00   
153 33 Fiona CLARKE 29:01   
159 119 Steven DOBNER 29:35   
160 37 Mo WARRILLOW 29:37   
181 130 Stephen SMITHSON 31:32   
184 50 Carolyn LINSELL 31:58  
185 51 Nicola ANDERSSON 31:59   
186 52 Karen ELLIS 31:59   
190 56 Tracy HAYGARTH 32:14   
194 58 Chloe CHAPMAN 32:26   
195 59 Jane WADEY 32:28 PB 
199 62 Caroline CROFT 32:55   
214 71 Sally PHILLIPS 34:01 YB 
217 72 Samantha SUTTON 34:27 YB 
243 149 Tony RANDFIELD 42:54   
249 151 Roger BIGGS 47:13   
264 103 Helen HARRIS 56:01   
Brockenhurst parkrun         
84 55 Darryl STEVENS 43:01   
Bangor parkrun         
Christopher WESTCOTT 18:26   
110 23 Andrea WESTCOTT 28:35   
Littleport parkrun         
36 30 James MCSWEENEY 24:04 YB 
Henlow Bridge Lakes parkrun         
56 35 Michael O’KEEFE 32:19 YB 
Westmill parkrun         
24 22 Andy JAY 26:01   

26 Spartans out of 268 at Stevenage. 

Categories
Club News Race Results

100 FOR JOHN AT THE STAMPEDE

Spartan JOHN NELMS has run one hundred marathons. That’s 100 full marathons of 26.2 miles (42.2 kilometres) or even longer Ultra Marathons. He ran his 100th at the St Albans Stampede on Saturday. John was escorted across the finish line by his wife Sharon and son Jacob then welcomed to the 100 Club reception by a large number of Spartans.

St Albans Stampede

Altogether twenty Spartans completed at least four four mile laps at the St Albans Stampede.

The Stampede was a 12 hour event around a four mile loop. Runners completed as many laps as they could within the time limit.

TRICIA HOPPER was the leading Spartan with an incredible 11 laps (44 miles).

ADRIAN BUSOLINI ran nine laps or 36 miles in 6 hours 16 minutes 34 seconds while KAREN LIDDLE and BARRY KING did eight (32 miles). Not surprisingly four Spartans did seven as that got them past the significant 26.2 miles. They were YUKO GORDON, JOHN NELMS, HAZEL SMITH and SHARON CROWLEY.

Six laps (24 miles) were completed by CLAIRE EMMERSON, NEAL MUGGLETON and JACQUELINE DOWNES. SUE HAMER, ERICA GRAYSON and DARREN EMMERSON did five (20 miles) while JENNY GARRETT and GERRY ROSEN did four (16 miles).

(Times for all the Fairlands Valley Spartans can be found in a table near the end of this release).

Fairlands Fantastic 4 at the Stampede

There was also a relay team, the Fairlands Fantastic Four at the St Albans Stampede. In the four person team relay event TRACY PEZ (4 laps), ANDY JAY (4), CHRIS HOLLAND (4) and TIM ROBINSON (5) came in 12th out of 28 teams. A total of 17 laps with a time of 11 hours 50 minutes 5 seconds.

The course was four mile lap over undulating off road terrain. Chris started the team off with his first lap under 36 minutes followed by Tim with another 36 minutes lap. Then Andy Jay, who is training for the Manchester Marathon ran four consecutive laps in just under three hours through the hottest part of the day. The team took a short break to greet John Nelms as he finished his 100th marathon, before resuming with more laps. Tim finished his last running lap at 7:50 and it was agreed that two more sub 40min laps would not be achievable to finish before 9pm. The decision was taken to walk one final lap all together as a team by torchlight. Tracy, Chris and Tim completed the lap to finish just inside the cut off – in time for pizza and beer refreshments. A superb local event, recommended.

Bedford Twenty and Half

In the Bedford Running Festival ALISON and PAUL SHELLEY ran their first official twenty mile race. Paul finished in 2 hours 49 minutes 43 seconds and Alison in 3:15:07. They said it was a tough, hot race. DANNY SCANLON was 28th in 2:23:21 and DAVID PATTMAN ran a new personal best (PB) of three hours and thirty seconds (3:00:30).

STEVEN DOBNER came in with 3:03:18; MATT CLARKE with 3:15:43 and FIONA CLARKE with 3:23:12.

In the Bedford “Spring” half marathon KAREN ELLIS said she started too fast but she was third in her age category with 2:07:54.

Spartan Ladies Finish On Top – East of England Track and Field

The Fairlands Valley Spartans women’s team consisting of SUZY HAWKINS, CHRISTINE LATHWELL, STEPHANIE BIGGAR, CALLIE CHAPMAN, ASHLEY JOHNSON, NIKKI WILBY, MONICA BROWN, MARION MORLEY, ALISON WOOD, ANDREA WESTCOTT, TESSA STEPHENSON, CATHY CRAIG, JOYLYN SAUNDERS-MULLINS, KAREN DODSWORTH, SHERYL HANN, IRIS HORNSEY, SHARON CROWLEY and YUKO GORDON have WON their division in the East of England track and field league for veterans (35 plus, EMAC).

Spartan Ladies sealed victory in the EMAC Central Division on Wednesday by winning the last league fixture at Milton Keynes. It was a close run thing, but gutsy performances and the return of two stalwarts saw the team win on the evening by 4 points and take the division by a 77 point margin.

Christine Lathwell and Alison Wood both returned from injury to run the mile, with Christine finishing second woman 35 plus (W35) and Alison winning the W50. Cathy Craig won the W60 mile race after warming up with a victory in the W60 300 metres hurdles! Sharon Crowley also used the hurdles as a warm up, finishing second in the W50 before throwing the hammer and finishing third W60.

Joylyn Saunders-Mullins and Tessa Stephenson continue to dominate the sprint events, both winning the 200m and Joylyn once again dropping an age group to compete in the W50 category. Joylyn also scored points in the javelin, finishing 2nd in W60 with a throw that would have won the W50 category! 

Regular training sessions at the track are paying off for Stephanie Biggar, who threw personal bests (PBs) in both hammer (second place) and javelin (third place). Marion Morley also threw a new PB in the hammer (second place) and also finished second in the javelin.

Other individual points were won on the night by Nikki Wilby, who stayed true to form by winning the W35 high jump, and Callie Chapman, who finished second in the W35 200m. 

The ladies relay teams – Nikki, Callie, Cathy, Christine and Tessa, Sharon, Marian, Alison rounded off the evening in style, winning both races and setting us up nicely for the final on 25th September.

A slightly depleted men’s team battled bravely, finishing fourth on the night and fourth overall in the Central Division. Wins on the night came from DAVE STEPHENSON (M50 200m) and TIM SAUNDERS-MULLINS (M60 hammer). Other points were scored by ANTON McCALLA (third placed in M35 200m, javelin, and triple jump), GRANT RAMSAY (4th placed M35 mile), BARRY OSBORNE (3rd placed M60 mile), PAUL HOLGATE (5th placed M60 200m and 4th placed M60 mile), STEVE GOUGH (4th placed M50 javelin).  The relay team finished 4th.

Parkrun Highlight 4th September 2021

Thirty three Spartans headed out to run at seven different Parkrun venues.

Congratulations to SUZY HAWKINS who got a new PB at Stevenage with a time of 19:38. Suzy also claimed the titles of the Fastest Lady at Stevenage and the Fastest Spartan of the week.

DARRYL STEVENS was in Rosliston (Swadlincote) to try out Parkrun at a new venue to him.

There were no official Parkrun milestones this week but JOHN HARRIS has reached an unofficial milestone of 60 Parkruns at Letchworth.

PETE SMITH was sixth at the East Brighton parkrun in 23:34 and STEVE WELLS won the Ferry Meadows parkrun in 19:49.

Well done and congratulations to all.

Fly 5k

JIM BROWN ran his 50th Fly 5K on Saturday. This was the 69th Fly 5K. There were 147 runners from 38 clubs. He was second in his category and 53rd overall in 26 minutes exactly

PENNY SCHENKEL was 79th in 28:54 and PAUL HOLGATE 103rd in 31:04.

Entries Open for the Stevenage Half Marathon

Only just over two months to go to the Stevenage Half Marathon it’s time to start getting ready and entered. This year the race will be on Sunday 21st November

Entries are open and so please follow the link to enter: Stevenage Half Marathon

Tables

Spartans at the Stampede

PosRace NoNameLapsDist DoneTimeFastest LapSlowest LapAverage LapStart
1827Tricia HOPPER114411:14:1400:44:4601:39:5801:01:1708:59:59
2936Adrian BUSOLINI93606:16:3400:27:2501:15:5200:41:5008:59:59
4028Karen LIDDLE83211:14:1400:49:2702:38:2601:24:1608:59:59
4126Barry KING83211:14:1600:49:2802:38:2701:24:1708:59:59
4350Yuko GORDON72804:35:5300:37:5700:41:4800:39:2408:59:59
5458John NELMS72806:16:5800:38:4401:13:5400:53:5108:59:59
5552Hazel SMITH72806:17:0000:39:5101:11:5000:53:5108:59:59
5916Sharon CROWLEY72806:57:0700:49:2801:09:0700:59:3508:59:59
6537Claire EMMERSON62406:17:0000:40:0601:29:1201:02:5008:59:59
6629Neal MUGGLETON62406:17:0100:40:0801:28:5801:02:5008:59:59
6954Jacqueline DOWNES62407:03:4600:39:4903:05:0901:10:3708:59:59
7649Sue HAMER52004:27:0200:47:4001:07:1200:53:2408:59:59
7748Erica GRAYSON52004:27:0300:47:4001:07:1100:53:2408:59:59
7938Darren EMMERSON52004:39:2000:39:5301:16:1500:55:5208:59:59
8256Jenny GARRETT41604:47:4700:40:0602:10:2301:11:5608:59:59
8341Gerry ROSEN41605:12:5200:46:4702:10:3001:18:1308:59:59

There was also a four person relay team consisting of CHRIS HOLLAND (4); ANDY JAY (4); TRACY PEZ (4) and TIM ROBINSON (5) who completed a total of 17 laps in 11:50:05.

Spartans at Parkruns, 4th September


PositionGender PositionParkrunnerTime
Rosliston





16495Darryl STEVENS00:41:40New Venue






Stevenage





91Suzy HAWKINS00:19:38PB

5346Andrew MCGUINNESS00:23:24

6152Barry OSBORNE00:23:45

6756James MCSWEENEY00:24:05

7059Clive CANNON00:24:20

9374Toby ECCLESHALL00:25:40

9677Thomas SAUKA00:25:55

9879Jim BROWN00:26:00

10787Nick KLEANTHOUS00:26:34

11618Caroline BARTER00:27:07

14125Penny SCHENKEL00:28:33

15131Gail MACKIE00:29:28

15533Debbie BLANTERN00:29:42

16339Fiona CLARKE00:30:12

164117Matt CLARKE00:30:13

21767Georgie HOOPER00:33:06

218142Nick GILL00:33:07

25572Beth FOLEY00:33:28

24484Carole SHELDRICK00:34:31

24585Caroline CROFT00:34:32

24686Karen PALMER00:34:33

26999Shelbe MOONBEAM00:37:00






Houghton Hall





8367Michael O’KEEFE00:27:55






Wimpole Estate





25965Sally PHILLIPS00:34:59






Letchworth





8458John Harris00:30:4260th

12044Caren THAIN00:36:53