Tag: Great Eastern Run

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WILLOW 10K

Great Eastern Run

This year’s Great Eastern Run in Peterborough was a fantastic event for fast times with eleven Spartans joining the fun.

Spartan KRISTIAN ATANASOV blasted round Sunday’s Great Eastern Run taking 3 minutes 58 seconds (3:58) of his half marathon personal best and finishing top 100 with 1 hour 16 minutes 31 seconds.

Kris said “here is a little summary of how I think the race went:

Even before the race started, it felt a bit rushed and a little panicked as I was not at the right pace zone and feared I’d have to start with a lot of traffic ahead of me.  Luckily, I managed to get into a good position less than three minutes before the start was given.

We went with a bit a of an easy start, then got into a good fast paced rhythm, feeling I could sustain a great pace till the end. The fog was ever present on the roads but there was barely any wind, which made the conditions, very good for a PB (personal best) attempt.

My legs started to feel a bit heavy just after the mid point in the race but I was determined to push myself until the end and managed with the uplift from the spectacular audience to finish strongly and grab myself a 3 minutes and 58 seconds improvement in the half marathon.

Overall, had a great time, achieving a new high in my running season, surrounded by amazing Spartan runners and a cheerleader. The event organisation was very much on top, and I couldn’t have asked for much more.”

Club men’s captain MIKE JEFFS was another happy Spartan.  He took 1:06 of his PB to go sub 1:20 (under 80 minutes) with 1:19:16.

Then PETE GENTLE really stirred things up taking 25 minutes 35 seconds (25:35!) off his PB by finishing in 1:27:24.  There was another PB from ANNABELLE WHITE who improved by 2:50 to 1 hour 46 minutes exactly.

After a week off with a niggle ROSS GALLAGHER treated this one as a progression run as part of a Sunday long run.  His chip time was 1:35:48.

A half marathon is never easy but JIM BROWN really enjoyed his run.  OK a bit of misty specs but otherwise the conditions were pretty much spot on for him.  Despite 4,701 finishers and being in “the masses” there were no hold ups, very efficient water stations, no significant hazards, a great running surface and if anything slightly downhill for the second half.

It was possible to run across the start line and keep going at a consistent pace.  28:32 for the first 5K and 28:12 for the last 5K gives some idea.  He finished in 2:02:08.  His best time this year by 1 minute 26 seconds.

Jim said “Of course it might have been nice to have been 129 seconds faster but maybe I can get closer to a significant barrier another time.  Great to be able to walk to Stevenage station get on a train, easy walk to the race start and just run.”

SHARON CROWLEY said it was a chilly morning for the Great Eastern Run in Peterborough, but for her it was almost a 40 minute improvement from her Cambridge Half back in March.  She finished in 2 hours 13 minutes 26 seconds and was very happy with that.

GERRY ROSEN’s time was 2:28:17, beating his Ealing Half time by almost two minutes.  He’s off to the Abingdon Marathon next weekend.

PosFirst NameSecond NameGenCategoryCat PosChip Time
99KristianAtanasovMMO681:16:31.1
169MikeJeffsMM40-44361:19:16.8
322SimonFraserMMO1891:24:03.8
452PeteGentleMM45-49521:27:24.10
814CharlesArnoldMM65-6941:34:30.7
892RossGallagherMM40-441371:35:48.3
1673AnnabelleWhiteFFO1621:46:00.8
2549CarolineBarterFF45631:56:22.3
3006JimBrownMM70-7452:02:08.4
3665SharonCrowleyFF65-69112:13:26.3
4214GerryRosenMM50-542492:28:17.1

Willow 10K at Hatfield

The Willow Foundation is Fairlands Valley Spartans charity of the year and 25 Spartans ran the Willow 10K on Sunday.

A couple beat 50 minutes.  STEPHEN MASSEY with 48:56 and TONY VICKERS who was second in his age category with 49:14.  JO COOKSLEY was second woman 35 plus with 51:12.  ALICE WELCH took a big 4 minutes 20 seconds chunk off her 10K personal best (PB) when she finished in 57:18 and SAM GENTLY took 1:23 off her personal best with 58:38.  Her first time under 60 minutes.  SALLY PICKLES improved by 2:05 to 1:03:19.

It was a hilly course but SAM SUTTON ran her second fastest 10K with 1:02:02 at the Willow 10K.

HAZEL SMITH said it was a lovely route, and it was great to support the club’s charity of the year!

Hazel finished third in her age category and 97th overall with a chip time of 55 minutes exactly.

PositionNameTime (Chip)Time (Gun)Category
52STEPHEN MASSEY48:5649:03M35
57TONY VICKERS49:1449:21MV55
70JO COOKSLEY51:1251:18F35
84JAYNE RIDDELL53:1753:25F55
97HAZEL SMITH55:0055:14F50
109LINDA NOLAN55:4355:56F60
125ALICE WELCH57:0457:18FOpen
133DAVID RIDDELL58:2358:39MV60
137SAM GENTLY58:3858:53FV45
156TIM ROBINSON59:561:00:08MV55
181SAM SUTTON1:02:021:02:16FV50
193SALLY PICKLES1:03:191:03:34FV60
200JOLYON BLAND1:03:571:04:24M35
212NICK KLEANTHOUS1:05:061:05:29M60
235LIZ CAVELL1:08:051:08:20F65
254AMANDA VICKERS1:10:181:10:30F50
266JAYNE DYMOKE1:12:371:12:56F45
267SALLY PHILLIPS1:13:311:13:45F60
282JANE WADEY1:16:441:16:58F55
300BECKY RAYNER1:20:581:21:54F40
316NIKI PLUMB1:25:071:25:21F45
322LEE POTTER1:28:571:29:53M35
326EMMA CHAPMAN1:31:511:32:22F35
327JANE WHITROW1:38:521:39:43F55
328ABBIE WHITROW1:38:521:39:43FOpen

Lucy in Budapest

LUCY PAUL joined Fairlands Valley Spartans two months ago.  She’d taken most of last year off running and was just building up again by herself.  She says the Tuesday intervals and last Sunday’s 10 miler with the club have definitely improved her running and increased my confidence.  She finished the Budapest marathon on Sunday in 4:31:42.  Now she’s looking forward to lots more running with FVS. 

Manchester Half

Spartan KEITH HOOKER ran the Manchester Half Marathon on Sunday.  His previous personal best was 1 hour 41 minutes.  Now it’s 1:35:32.

Bournemouth 10K

Lovely weather and no hills for the Bournemouth 10K said PETE COOK.  He finished in a season’s best 52:14.

Back in the Spartans

NATALIE LAWRENCE was first woman and eighth out of the 260 runners in the Love Luton Runfest Half Marathon on Sunday.  Her time was 1:23:51!

Running the River

The Run the River 10K saw MATTHEW NEWTON finish in 49 minutes 33 seconds (49:33).  He was 55th out of the 284 finishers in the multi-terrain event along the Lee Valley,

Here Comes The Stevenage Half

Organised by a local community running club, Fairlands Valley Spartans, and with more than 350 entries so far the Stevenage Half Marathon will be on Sunday 19th October at 10a.m.  Entries are open to all aged 17 plus but it will include the Hertfordshire county senior championships.

The two lap course is on tarmac on the town’s famous cycleways.  It will include Fairlands Valley Park, Grace Way, the railway station and various points of interest around Stevenage.  The event HQ will be at Hampson Park Community Centre.

Each year the event supports a charity.  This time it’s the Willow Foundation.

The event is fully licenced, chip timed and with an accurately measured course.  It will be held under UKA (United Kingdom Athletics) rules.  UKA 29379 with certificate of course accuracy 24/258.

This is the real thing.  Fairlands Valley Spartans have organised the Stevenage Marathon and Half Marathon since 1984.  There will be dozens of volunteers from FVS and local organisations such as the Scouts.  Can you come and stand / wave / cheer / point on 19th October?  Contact shm@fvspartans.org.uk

The Half Marathon race is open to all entrants aged 17 years or older on race day.  The course is suitable for racing wheelchairs. 

Fairlands Valley Spartans are delighted that SK Plumbing and Heating; ASK Physio; Andy Prior Personal Training; the Alternative Catering Company; and RHG Insurance are sponsoring the half marathon this year.

Please visit https://stevenagehalfmarathon.org.uk/ for more information and to enter.  Standard entries are only ÂŁ30.  There’s ÂŁ2 discount for members of UKA affiliated clubs.  Don’t delay enter today.

This will be a great local event for spectators.

Bristol and Bath Railway Marathon

Tricia Hopper ran the Bath & Bristol Railway Marathon on Sunday 12 October organised by Relish Running.  It was a mostly flat, tarmac out and back route.  An enjoyable and friendly run in perfect conditions.

Parkrun Highlights – Saturday 11th October 2025

A new parkrun, Stanborough, has been welcomed to the Hertfordshire family of parkruns but there were still 447 parkrunners at Stevenage on Saturday morning.  35 were from Fairlands Valley Spartans.

Spartan GAIL MACKIE was first woman with 22 minutes 19 seconds.  HAYLEY PEACH ran a new parkrun PB with 35:55.

PositionGender PositionFVS parkrunnerTime
33Simon JACKSON18:29
1414Grant RAMSAY20:29
1818Danny SCANLON21:08
361Gail MACKIE22:19
4742Matthew COOKE22:39
7568Daniel VILJOEN24:14
10089Stuart ARCHER25:01
10593Darren EMMERSON25:13
10710Claire PULLEN25:21
136117Matt TUTTON26:23
147127Matt CLARKE26:51
167141Jim BROWN27:58
21039Lorraine HILL29:21
22945Ada JANUSIENE29:51
23046Fiona CLARKE29:52
285197David ACKERY31:49
300204Matthew NEWTON32:27
312210Kartik SHARMA33:02
313211Ahaan SHARMA33:03
320214Luke SILVER33:45
32492Pamela VILJOEN33:56
338100Lindsay PATEMAN34:37
352109Penny SCHENKEL35:36
357112Hayley PEACH35:55
358113Caroline CROFT35:57
359114Carole SHELDRICK35:58
372120Jenny GARRETT37:37
373121Julie SHADBOLT37:38
394134Tracy HAYGARTH39:18
400244Paul JENNINGS39:57
408143Melody BROWN41:16
429256Roger BIGGS50:32
435159Nikki NATION52:50
436258Tony RANDFIELD53:01
442163Bonnie BRAZIL57:06
Categories
Half Marathon News Race Results Races

WET, WINDY, WONDERFUL STEVENAGE MARATHON

Despite strong winds and rain more than 700 runners completed Sunday 40th anniversary Stevenage Marathon and Half organised by Fairlands Valley Spartans.

From the start at the corner of Grace Way and Martins Way to the finish in Hampson Park it was a windswept run, particularly going south with some black numbers in the wind speeds in the weather forecast, and undulating but there were some fantastic runs.

The marathon was won by Stephen Buckle from St Albans in 2 hours 40 minutes 32 seconds (2:40:32) but, by 14 seconds, Fairlands Valley Spartans’ Suzy Hawkins was first woman in 3:32:21.

And the Spartans were third and fourth in the men’s race.  David Harris-Cherguit third in 2:50:20 and Adrian Busolini fourth and first senior (over 18) in 2:55:17.

There were 303 finishers in the marathon and 413 in the half.  The Spartans were wearing their stripes with pride – 38 first claim Spartans finished the full 26.2 miles marathon and 30 the half marathon.

ALISON and PAUL SHELLEY were incredible.  They ran the Chicago Marathon last week and came home to run Stevenage this week.  Just home so sending our results although pretty sure you will have them all.

Alison said, “That was pretty brutal today – tough course and tough conditions on tired legs.  But we are super proud to have both completed the decennial FVS Stevenage Marathon as a ‘Chicago Chaser’!!!”

Paul’s time was 3:42:06 and Alison 4:54:22. 

Despite the conditions there were marathon personal bests by CRAIG BACON 3:39:10; MARTIN JACOB 3:57:30 and GERRY ROSEN 5:33:36

There was a clean sweep GOLD, SILVER and BRONZE for Fairlands Valley Spartans in the County team championships for veteran men (over 40s) and veteran women (over 35s). 

The male winners were DAVID HARRIS-CHERGUIT (2:05:20), CRAIG BACON (3:39:10), PAUL SHELLEY (3:42:06) and MARTIN JACOB (3:57:30).  Silvers went to LIAM HERBERT (3:57:47), ROBERT WRIGHT (4:17:32), MATT GIFFORD (4:18:40) and MATT CLARKE (4:49:11) and Bronzes to MARTIN DUDLEY (4:53:19), JIM BROWN (4:55:05), TIM ROBINSON (5:02:06) and PAUL HOLGATE (6:10:35).  (Teams of four).

The women team winners were:

GOLD – SUZY HAWKINS (3:32:25); CLAIRE PULLEN (4:08:04) and SAM TOPHILL (4:19:44).  SILVER – ALISON SHELLEY (4:54:58); TRICIA HOPPER (4:57:06) and LINDA GEORGE (5:11:37).  BRONZE – KAREN LIDDLE (5:17:15); FIONA CLARKE (5:23:06) and SHARON CROWLEY (6:14:16).  (Teams of three).

Fairlands Valley Spartans are a local community running club in Stevenage and are celebrating their 40th anniversary this year.  The half is organised every year but the full 26.2 miles marathon is a bit special.  It only takes place every ten years.

Apart from 68 finishers FVS organised the event including dozens of volunteers including marshals, lead bikes and finish funnel.

Big thanks to the Hertfordshire Sports Partnership and the University of Hertfordshire who brought 14 volunteers – mostly overseas students and UH staff.  Ten different nationalities.  John O’Callaghan from HSP said, “Great event despite at times, atrocious weather conditions.”  The Hertfordshire Sports and Active Recreation Partnership are one of the Mayor’s good causes this year.

ALL the proceeds from Sunday’s events will go to charity.  This year it is Pancreatic Cancer UK which was chosen by the club in memory of a much loved member.

There was huge Spartan success in the Hertfordshire County Marathon Championships. 

The Spartan men won GOLD and BRONZE in the male senior (over 18) team county championships.  The club’s women won GOLD and SILVER in the female senior team competition.

LINDA GEORGE (5:11:37) won BRONZE for women 35 plus; SUZY HAWKINS (3:32:25) for women 45 plus; CLAIRE PULLEN (4:08:04), Sam TOPHILL (4:19:44) and ALISON SHELLEY (4:54:58) GOLD, SILVER and BRONZE for women 55 plus; and KAREN LIDDLE (5:17:15) and SHARON CROWLEY (6:14:16) GOLD and SILVER for women 65 plus).

DAVID HARRIS-CHERGUIT (2:50:20) was GOLD for men 40 plus and JIM BROWN (4:55:05) GOLD for men 70 plus.

Civic Team

Irrespective of time JIM BROWN was delighted to finish the Stevenage Marathon.  It was his first marathon back in 1994 and this time he became the first Stevenage Mayor, as Mayor, to complete the Stevenage Marathon.  And he won a County GOLD medal for his age group.  Jim got round in 4:55:05.  He was lead bike in 2014.

The Mayoress, Penny Schenkel, was the lead bike this time.

Stevenage Half

There were 413 finishers in Sunday’s 40th anniversary Stevenage Half Marathon.  It was won by BEN TACEY in 1:13:48.  FREYA WEDDELL from St Albans was first woman with 1:20:02, more than ten minutes ahead of her nearest rival.

SIMON FRASER was the first Spartan finisher.  Sub 90 minutes with 1 hour 28 minutes 17 seconds (1:28:17) for 17th position.

YUKO GORDON was the fastest female from Fairlands.  She won her category and a county GOLD medal with 1:45:44.

There were new personal bests from DAVID ACKERY 2:01:52; JUDY KING 2:22:51; SAMANTHA SUTTON 2:46:29.

There were some great Spartan results in the county half marathon championships for veteran runners, part of the race.  The women’s team consisting of Yuko (above); JAYNE RIDDELL 1:57:51 and SUE HAMER 2:05:00 won SILVER only one point behind the gold medallists AND SARAH ILLINGWORTH 2:17:53; Judy (above) and JO COOKSLEY 2:27:25 won BRONZE in the female veterans’ team championship (women over 35, teams of three).

The Spartan veterans were also second in the veteran men’s championship with SILVER going to TERRY SAWYER (1:38:45), BRIAN WHITE (1:43:58), MATT TUTTON (2:02:17) and BEN TORREGIANI (2:03:12) (males over 40, teams of four).

Jayne won individual bronze for women 55 plus and BRIAN WHITE individual silver for men 60 plus with his 1:43:58.

303 finishers in marathon – 38 first claim Spartans; 413 finishers in half – 29 first claim FVS.

Super PB in Amsterdam

Spartan ANDREW PATTERSON ran a new marathon personal best in the Amsterdam Marathon.  A fantastic 2 hours 34 minutes 9 seconds.  A personal best by more than two minutes.  He was top 100, 95th out of 16,763 finishers.

SIMON JACKSON did 2.46.10 at the Amsterdam marathon on Sunday.  He finished sixth in his age group and said there was amazing crowd, nice course and a good weekend with friends.

Go Georgie at the Abingdon Marathon

Spartan GEORGIE HOOPER ran the Abingdon Marathon and broke her personal best by 43 minutes!!  She finished in 3:46:02.  CHARLES COOK ran the same race in 3:02:53.

York 10 Miles

CHRIS WATLING ran the York 10 miler for the third year in a row. 1.24:24 

Results Out For Cross Country

The official results are now in for last week’s cross country, the first league race this season.  Only six clubs beat 1,000 points and FVS were sixth out of the 20 clubs with 880 making them the best club from Stevenage.  The Spartans three leading women were TRACY PEZ 19th in 38:14 for the 7.6 kilometres; ZOE JACKSON 37th in 40:42 and ELODIE MOAKES in 41:56.  The club’s leading three men were GRANT RAMSAY 25th in 30:33; JAY PAPA 40th in 31:46 and ADRIAN DONNELLY 53rd in 32:48.

The club were delighted to finish two complete teams in both the men’s and women’s races.

There were 288 finishers.  109 women and 178 men.  The next cross country league race will be near Royston on Sunday 27th October.

Ashley Beats 20 Year Record

Spartan ASHLEY JOHNSON beat a 20 year record at the Great Eastern Run.  Her 1 hour 24 minutes 25 seconds beat the club record for women 35 plus and was a personal best by 33 seconds.

Chicago Extra

There was a big personal best (PB) of 10 minutes 6 seconds (10:06) achieved by PAUL SHELLEY at the Chicago Marathon. ALISON SHELLEY said it was definitely was Fairlands Fortitude for her – She said she couldn’t fuel enough and hit the wall but still super proud of the finish and time, coming back from injury, after a one year deferral.

Alison continued.  “An amazing experience and trip, having both qualified for ‘good for age’ entry  â€Šand we wore our FVS stripes with pride!”

Paul went through half way in 1:31:42 and maintained that pace to finish in 3 hours 3 minutes 30 seconds (3:03:30).  Alison went through a half marathon in 2:08:12 and then demonstrated Fairlands fortitude to finish in 4:28:14.

Parkrun Highlights 19th October

Yuko beat 100%.  Yes Spartan YUKO GORDON beat an age related score of 100% at Saturday morning’s Stevenage parkrun.  Her 23:24 gave her a score of 100.07%.

The weather and the Stevenage marathon the following day kept the numbers down a bit but there were still 337 runners including 16 Spartans at the Stevenage parkrun. 

Categories
Club News Race Results

CROSS COUNTRY LAUNCHES

The cross country league season started off surprisingly early in the year on what seemed like a summer’s day but thirty Spartans travelled to Cheshunt to enjoy the sunny conditions.  

The team results won’t be available for a while but the Spartan women’s “A” team consisted of ZOE JACKSON 251st overall in 41:44; KELLY McHALE 267th in 42:35; CLAIRE EMMERSON 347th in 48:13, VICKY ARCHER 348th in 48:15 and JANE WADEY 392nd in 55:17. 

The men’s teams consisted of eight runners.  First in for the Spartans was ADRIAN BUSOLINI 25th in 31 minute 9 seconds.  CHARLIE WHITE 30th in 31:40 and GRANT RAMSAY 38th in 32:21 were next in.  They were supported by PAUL HEWETT 65th in 33:27; STUART ARCHER 75th in 33:50; DANNY SCANLON 96th in 34:49; STEVEN DOBNER 151st in 37:11 and DAVID PATTMAN 152nd in 37:14. 

(All the Spartan times and the team results should be included in next weeks news!) 

A selection of our Cross Country Spartans in the sun!

International Selection and a Record for Yuko 

There was an amazing double for YUKO GORDON at the weekend. 

There was a selection race for the England Team for the Masters International Cross Country at Markeaton Park, Derby on Saturday afternoon.  YUKO GORDON won her age group and was selected to represent England for the forthcoming international championships to be held in Dublin in November. 
 
Returning from Derby late in the evening, she finished a quick pizza dinner and had a short sleep before heading south for another race, the Great South Run ten miles in Portsmouth on Sunday morning. 
 
Yuko said, “I anticipated a very exciting event by just looking at the number and colourful coffee coupons they sent me and it was as fantastic as I had expected.  Number 1 reason for that was the sheer number of loos, absolutely no queues!  Car parking space for any thousands of cars in the waterfront adjacent to start/finish area.  The course was truly flat, my racing form has been this season only around 8 minutes per mile pace even at Parkruns but the course tuned my legs into 7:20 minutes pace while I kept worrying if I’m over pacing but I managed the even pace till the end after all.  I went through 5K and 10K both in my season’s best time.  My 74 minutes 7 seconds (74:07) gives me the UK’s all time best record for a woman aged over 70. 
If I put more effort into Tuesday club sessions and had no selection race the day before, I might be able to improve more, hopefully. 
I’m glad to know that I am finally recovering from the lengthy distraction of a hamstring injury and Covid.” 

Spartan legend that is Yuko!

Great Eastern Run 

The Great Eastern Run is a popular half marathon in Peterborough which attracts over 2000 runners.  This year, its 30th year, 2301 finished 

DAN HUKIN said his confidence was a bit low as he had not run for 10 days prior to the race with a small injury but decided to go for it anyway, he suffered towards the end but hung in there for a new PB with an official chip time of 1:21:17.  He was 72nd overall. 

STEVE WELLS was 289th and fourth man 60 plus in 1:31:58. 

JIM BROWN decided to go into the sub two hour starting area and thought if he could maintain an average of nine minutes per mile he should come under the 2 hours.  He did with 1 hour 57 minutes 25 seconds and was second man 70 plus. 

Running the furthest distance that he’s done in a while was PAUL HOLGATE and he came in with 3:15.13. 

Paul enjoying his first half marathon in a while.

York Marathon  

Spartans NICK GILL and JOHN HARRIS ran the York Marathon. 

Nick Gill improved his marathon personal best (PB) by a massive 21 minutes with 3 hours 21 minutes 58 seconds.  His previous best was 3:43:27 at the Great Welsh Marathon in 2019. 

Nick ran with John Harris for the first half and then Adrian Sherwood from NHRR from mile 14 until mile 21
 when he got cramp! 

He had been running at 3:15:00 pace and feeling good, but his legs had other ideas.  A painful finish after getting cramp in the other leg at mile 24 meant he had to walk, but was able to get going again and was super happy with the time. 

JOHN HARRIS said his York Marathon was a marathon of two halves.  He ran well for the first half then an ankle injury hampered him in the second half.  However he still finished in 3:37:08 which is a Good For Age qualifying time. 

Nick and John at York

Great South Run 

The Great South Run is a ten mile race in Portsmouth. 

In addition to YUKO GORDON’s record breaking 1:14:07, PHILIP POTTER finished in 1:20:29.  JUDY KING 2:08:31; NICOLA HATHERLY 2:08:43 and SALLY PICKLES 2:11:16 all three ladies had a fabulous day and love their new medals! 

Our Starter ladies proudly showing off their medals!

Birthday Half 

ABBIE WHITROW celebrated her 21st birthday by running her first half marathon in Amsterdam!  She finished in 3 hours and 37 seconds (3:00:37) with JANE WHITROW (3:00:36). 

International Spartans Jane and Abbie!

Parkrun

For all the Parkrun Spartan results from the weekend please follow this link – Parkrun 15th October 2022