Tag: Hatfield 5K

MEDALS AT HATFIELD BESTS in 5K

Post author By Peter Sach
Post date September 7, 2025
No Comments on MEDALS AT HATFIELD BESTS in 5K

Nikon Z8

Great North Run, Bedford Running Festival, Big Half, a Twenty, 5K PBs, an Enduro, sprinting, jumping, throwing and at least 59 Spartans ran parkruns on Saturday. Fairlands Valley have been busy the last few days.

Many runners were so pleased that the heavy rain during the day stopped before the start of Wednesday’s Hatfield 5K. That meant the daylight lasted a little longer into the evening.

This was race 2 of the series and there were another TEN personal bests plus a season’s best and a county SILVER and BRONZE medal for Spartans.

28 Spartans finished. There were ten new personal bests (PB) for the second week running. A new season’s best (SB) and two county medals.

MIKE JEFFS said after last week’s unforeseen stop by the local authorities this week nothing was going to stop him. He joked “I’d even practiced sliding across the Mrs car bonnet just in case. I set a new PB of 16:55 joining the sub 17 club betting my last time by 13 seconds.

The personal bests were by Mike Jeffs 16:55; Ross Gallagher 17:15; Perri Gently 17:18; Nathan Kirley 17:24; Michael Fisher 17:29; Jay Papa 18:41; Terry Sawyer 19:34; Matthew Jackson 2012; Andy Prior 22:06 and Samantha Sutton 28:55. The SILVER medal was won by Andrew Patterson 16:28 for men 40 plus; the BRONZE by Sharon Crowley 27:55 for women 65 plus and the season’s best was by Jim Brown 27:10.

PL	MF	AG	Name	Cat	Time
8	8	2	Andrew PATTERSON	MV40	16:28
20	19	7	Mike JEFFS	MV40	16:55
26	25	10	Simon JACKSON	MV40	17:10
28	27	11	Ross GALLAGHER	MV40	17:15
31	30	17	Perri GENTRY	MS	17:18
35	34	18	Nathan KIRLEY	MS	17:24
37	36	20	Michael FISHER	MS	17:29
65	61	28	Nick GILL	MS	18:38
66	62	29	Jay PAPA	MS	18:41
92	84	31	Mark COLLINS	MV40	19:30
94	86	32	Terry SAWYER	MV40	19:34
105	95	35	Matthew JACKSON	MS	20:12
111	99	7	Tony RANDFIELD	MV60	20:25
129	112	12	Charles ARNOLD	MV60	21:13
134	116	41	Matthew COOKE	MS	21:23
151	127	25	Andy PRIOR	MV50	22:06
154	26	12	Annabelle WHITE	FS	22:11
155	27	7	Georgie HOOPER	FV35	22:12
176	43	12	Jo COOKSLEY	FV35	23:35
203	56	22	Megan SUTTON	FS	25:31
206	58	13	Hazel SMITH	FV45	25:50
214	151	30	Karl SHREEVE	MV50	27:08
215	152	6	Jim BROWN	MV70	27:10
217	64	16	Sam GENTRY	FV45	27:20
221	67	3	Sharon CROWLEY	FV65	27:55
223	69	17	Samantha SUTTON	FV45	28:36
236	77	8	Liz CARVELL	FV65	31:29
243	82	16	Rebecca RAYNER	FV35	40:16

Famous Fairlands Five at Great North Run

Spartan CHLOE SIMPSON ran the Great North Run in a fantastic new personal best (PB) of 1 hour 42 minutes 59 seconds for the 13.1 miles from Town Moor Newcastle to South Shields. She was raising funds for Guide Dogs.

Also among the 60,000 runners was KELLY McHALE. Her hard work paid off with a tremendous 1:50:31. Kelly is collecting for the British Heart Foundation.

ZOE JACKSON was really happy to finish in just under two hours with 1:59:28. Zoe was sponsored for the Alzheimer’s Society.

So three Fairlands Valley Spartans under two hours. They were 4,569^th, 7,724^th and 12,911^th. All well within the first quarter of finishers. Tremendous.

In addition MICHELLE HOLTON was 23,154^th in 2:17:23 and CHRIS WATLING 28,049^th in 2:26:03.

Bedford Running Festival

Bedford 20

Starting with the longest race, the 20 miles which warmed up as it went on. There were two Spartans. NICK GILL finished 33^rd in 2:27:08 and MARTIN JACOB 114^th in 3:08:14. There were 197 finishers.

Nick said he ran 10 miles easy/steady with Jay Papa and then 15 seconds faster/slower than marathon pace every half mile. Tough going and got warm, but nailed almost every split. Marathon training continues!

His Sunday effort followed the Hatfield 5k on Wednesday pacing Jay to a new 5K PB!

Bedford Half

Another famous five Spartans tackled the Bedford Half Marathon. GEORGIE HOOPER had a great run with 1 hour 53 minutes 41 seconds and was 257^th out of the 1071 finishers. LINDA GEORGE was in the top half with 2:08:28.

JIM BROWN was a bit off delighted with his 2:12:11 but he was second in his age group and well a bit too warm, Considering he failed to get beyond 10K in his last attempt at a half marathon it was progress so he was happy.

Spartan MARIE COLUCCI went round with a friend and came in a with 2:25:10 and JESSICA CLARKE came in at 2:31:19,

The five avoided the pressures of the thousands in the big city half marathons on the same day but there were some trip hazards to look out for.

Twilight 10K

Saturday evening was time for the Twilight 10K at Bedford. CRAIG BACON finished in 46:01. He was 87^th out of 944 finishers.

And JESSICA CLARKE whizzed round the Bedford 5K in 23:53. Fourth in her category and 84^th out of 493.

Big Half in London

More than 17,000 runners were in London for the Big Half on Sunday. Eight of them were Spartans.

First in, and in the first thousand, was SIMON FRASER at 876^th in 1 hour 28 minutes 39 seconds (1:28:39). A well earned sub 90 minutes.

SALLY PICKLES ran a new personal best (PB) of 2:41:27.

Sammie Sutton’s time for Sunday’s Big Half in London was 2.38.10 not a pb but best for the year and for a few years and she managed a 10k pb for the first 10k!

Jane Wadey said it was her first half marathon since October 2024 and her first ever run in London! It was so lovely to be supported by Amanda Vickers who tried her hardest to get us to under three hours but I was in pain from mile 10 / 11 and every time I tried even a jog, my calf muscles flared up in pain. But really enjoyed it and I had several runners from other deaf groups encouraging me as well. (I now have DEAF printed on the back of my vest). Jane finished in 3:19:03.

The other Spartans were Wayne Simmons 1:58:40; Linda Nolan 2:12:10; Vishal Shah 2:39:33 and Amanda Vickers 3:16:51.

Enduro Stampede

Three Fairlands Valley Spartans were at the St Albans Stampede a 12 hour enduro event. TRICIA HOPPER was 31^st, BARRY KING 39^th and KAREN LIDDLE 41^st.

EMAC

Six Spartan women were in Thurrock for the East of England track and field championships for veteran athletes. They were ELIZABETH CROWLEY, SHARON CROWLEY, KAREN DODSWORTH, CHRISTINE LATHWELL, JOYLYN SAUNDERS- MULLINS and TESS STEPHENSON. Organised by EMAC.

Stripey Saturday – Parkrun Highlights, Saturday 7^th September 2025

Another Stevenage Saturday morning with more than 500 people enjoying the local 5K parkrun. First of the month so stripes for Spartans and 41 joined in the fun for 518.

TONY VICKERS ran a new parkrun PB of 23:55 and LINDSAY PATEMAN got a new PPB o 36:42.

At least 59 Spartans ran a parkrun somewhere on Saturday.

Several Spartans helped at Stevenage. The next Spartan “takeover” of Stevenage parkrun will be at 9a.m. on Saturday 13^th September. Takeovers are when a club takes on most of the volunteering roles including marshals and pacers.

Position	Gender Position	FVS parkrunner	Time
7	7	Charlie WHITE	18:42
21	21	Perri GENTRY	20:56
23	23	Jay PAPA	21:00
25	25	Tony RANDFIELD	21:14
35	34	David RIDDELL	22:03
63	60	Matthew COOKE	23:05
66	63	Martin JACOB	23:08
73	69	Daniel VILJOEN	23:34
76	72	Grant RAMSAY	23:37
82	77	Tony VICKERS	23:55
89	84	Martin DUDLEY	24:20
98	92	Darren EMMERSON	24:52
131	12	Natalie WHITE	25:56
149	19	Jayne RIDDELL	26:25
168	144	Mark BEASLEY	27:12
176	151	Ryan DUNNING	27:33
185	27	Carole SHELDRICK	27:45
198	164	Keith ABRAHAMS	27:59
214	37	Claire EMMERSON	28:24
222	181	Peter SACH	28:42
234	189	Jim BROWN	28:54
237	46	Ada JANUSIENE	29:03
287	63	Debbie BLANTERN	30:37
294	224	Chris HOLLAND	30:47
335	241	Kartik SHARMA	32:14
336	242	Ahaan SHARMA	32:14
339	91	Pamela VILJOEN	32:20
384	115	Caroline CROFT	34:26
393	265	Michael O’KEEFE	34:59
399	124	Karen PALMER	35:11
417	271	Paul JENNINGS	35:53
420	272	Lloyd DIAS	36:25
428	144	Lindsay PATEMAN	36:42
439	151	Jayne DYMOKE	37:32
459	168	Tracy HAYGARTH	38:24
474	176	Melody BROWN	40:04
478	178	Hayley PEACH	40:20
483	181	Rebecca RAYNER	41:19
504	299	Roger BIGGS	49:57
517	203	Niki PLUMB	58:39
518	204	Sally PICKLES	58:41

Tags Bedford 20, Bedford Half Marathon, Bedford Running Festival, Big Half, EMAC, Great north run, Hatfield 5K, Twilight 10K

News Race Results

TEN PERSONAL BESTS AT HATFIELD 5K!!

Post author By Peter Sach
Post date August 31, 2025
No Comments on TEN PERSONAL BESTS AT HATFIELD 5K!!

28 Spartans beat 30 minutes at the Hatfield 5K on Wednesday evening AND there were ten new personal bests for Fairlands Valley Spartans.

The near perfect running conditions helped CHARLIE WHITE to beat 17 minutes with a fantastic Fairlands 16:59 which got him 20th place overall and a personal best (PB). NICK GILL was just one place behind at 21^st with a new PB of 17 minutes exactly.

Nick said “17:00 for me – 25 seconds quicker than my previous PB on the same course in 2023. Would I liked to have dipped under the 17-minute barrier? Yes! Do I care? No! Delighted with the race and the time, while deep into marathon training. One year ago my longest run on the comeback from injury was 33 minutes, now I’m running faster than ever before. It was a fantastic Spartans turnout with so many incredible performances!”

SIMON JACKSON was close behind at 25^th with 17:04 and MIKE JEFFS made it into the club’s Fab Four at 29^th with 17:11.

MEGAN SUTTON 181^st got under 25 minutes for the first time with a new 5K personal best of 24 minutes 32 seconds.

A “train” of Spartans arrived just after 27 minutes. Four in 15 seconds and in consecutive positions. They were JIM BROWN 209^th in 27:27; PENNY SCHENKEL 210^th in a new season’s best (SB) of 27:34; KARL SHREEVE in 27:40 and SHARON CROWLEY second woman 65 plus in a new SB of 27:42. They were pursued by SAM GENTRY 215^th with a new personal best (PB) of 28:05 and SAMMIE SUTTON 218^th with a new PB of 28:37. CALLIE CHAPMAN 224^th ran her best 5K for several years dipping under 30 minutes with 29:56.

The other PBs were ROSS GALLAGHER 17:24 (a 32 second improvement); PERRI GENTRY 17:29; MICHAEL FISHER 17:39; NATHAN KIRLEY 17:44 and TONY RANDFIELD 20:30.

The fastest female from Fairlands was GEORGIE HOOPER with 20:24.

MARIE COLUCCI 22:11 (SB); ANNABELLE WHITE 22:25; JO COOKSLEY 23:33 (SB) and HAZEL SMITH 26:10 (SB) beat the Spartan rush.

BRIAN WHITE was second man 70 plus with 26:03.

Pl.	AG	Name	Cat	Time*
20	14	Charlie WHITE	MS	16:59
21	15	Nick GILL	MS	17:00
25	7	Simon JACKSON	MV40	17:04
29	8	Mike JEFFS	MV40	17:11
32	10	Ross GALLAGHER	MV40	17:24
35	23	Perri GENTRY	MS	17:29
38	24	Michael FISHER	MS	17:39
41	25	Nathan KIRLEY	MS	17:44
84	25	Kris JEROME	MV40	19:29
112	10	Tony RANDFIELD	MV60	20:30
113	43	Matthew JACKSON	MS	20:27
114	5	Georgie HOOPER	FV35	20:24
128	14	Charles ARNOLD	MV60	21:15
136	45	Matthew COOKE	MS	21:39
145	5	Marie COLUCCI	FV45	22:11
148	17	Annabelle WHITE	FS	22:25
151	22	Andy PRIOR	MV50	22:33
173	10	Jo COOKSLEY	FV35	23:33
181	24	Megan SUTTON	FS	24:32
198	2	Brian WHITE	MV70	26:03
200	14	Hazel SMITH	FV45	26:10
209	6	Jim BROWN	MV70	27:27
210	9	Penny SCHENKEL	FV55	27:34
211	29	Karl SHREEVE	MV50	27:40
212	2	Sharon CROWLEY	FV65	27:42
215	15	Sam GENTRY	FV45	28:05
218	17	Samantha SUTTON	FV45	28:37
224	14	Callie CHAPMAN	FV35	29:56
227	28	Rose SUTTON	FS	30:34
231	28	Paul HOLGATE	MV60	35:17
232	14	Jane WADEY	FV55	37:27
235	16	Rebecca RAYNER	FV35	41:09

Coming Up Soon – the Stevenage Half Marathon

Organised by a local community running club and with more than 225 entries so far the Stevenage Half Marathon will be on Sunday 19^th October. Entries are open to all aged 17 plus but it will include the Hertfordshire county senior championships.

The two lap course will include Fairlands Valley Park, Grace Way the railway station and other parts of Stevenage. The event HQ will be at Hampson Park Community Centre.

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.

Fairlands Valley Spartans have been organising half and full marathons in Stevenage for more than 40 years. See https://stevenagehalfmarathon.org.uk/

Last Friday

After a satisfying 5K in Hatfield on Wednesday evening Spartan JIM BROWN enjoyed the Serpentine Last Friday of the Month 5K in Hyde Park. After a lot of rain overnight there was one flood on the course but pleasant conditions for the lunch-time event which he finished in 28 minutes 44 seconds. That let him knock off his slowest time for earlier in the year in the best of six in a calendar competition. He is now sitting on 64.1%.

MARTIN WOOD was 126^th in 22:57 and second claim club member RALPH DADSWELL 56^th in 19:47.

Hawaii Five – O Take Two – Parkrun Highlights, Saturday 30^th August

A Hawaii Five – O revival and a beautiful morning brought out 590 parkrunners including 295 women for Saturday morning’s parkrun in Fairlands Valley Park, Stevenage. 33 of them were Fairlands Valley Spartans and it was an FVS one-two at the fast end. ANDREW PATTERSON was quickest in just 16 minutes 44 seconds (16:44) and SIMON JACKSON second in 17:55. This time the fastest female from Fairlands was GAIL MACKIE with 26:07.

SAMMIE SUTTON ran a new parkrun personal best (PPB) of 29 minutes 1 second (29:01) at the Jubilee parkrun in Bedford. NIKI PLUMB completed the same event in 43:27.

Altogether 51 Spartans ran parkruns on Saturday. Some of the others were CHARLES ARNOLD 22:53 and JOHN NELMS 23:34 at Henlow Bridge Lakes; JAY PAPA 23:50 at Huntingdon; MATTHEW COOKE 24:01 and DARREN EMMERSON 25:14 at Pocket; MIKE REYNOLDS 27:05 in Fareham (Hampshire); NICK GILL 27:19 in Letchworth; STEVE TINSLEY 28:50 at Westmill; KEITH ABRAHAMS 29:17 at Blandford; DANIEL SUTTON 30:09 and CHRIS HOLLAND 31:24 at Rutland and DARRYL STEVENS 40:05 at Oaklands College.

Several Spartans helped at Stevenage. The next Spartan “takeover” of Stevenage parkrun will be on Saturday 13^th September. Takeovers are when a club takes on most of the volunteering roles including marshals and pacers.

Position	Gender Position	FVS parkrunner	Time
1	1	Andrew PATTERSON	16:44
2	2	Simon JACKSON	17:55
49	46	Tony RANDFIELD	22:45
69	65	Lee PICKERSGILL	23:29
93	84	Daniel VILJOEN	24:29
128	108	Charlie WHITE	25:40
144	19	Gail MACKIE	26:07
152	126	Toby ECCLESHALL	26:23
164	134	Grant RAMSAY	26:35
173	141	Martin JACOB	26:48
184	149	Andy PRIOR	27:01
195	158	Peter SACH	27:18
202	162	Mark BEASLEY	27:35
203	33	Karen ELLIS	27:38
225	177	Matt TUTTON	28:06
226	178	David ACKERY	28:08
231	182	Ryan DUNNING	28:18
290	66	Kerstin WEINER	29:45
292	215	Nick KLEANTHOUS	29:48
296	71	Harriet SMITH	29:52
315	78	Carole SHELDRICK	30:13
318	81	Ada JANUSIENE	30:23
340	90	Debbie BLANTERN	30:55
395	121	Pamela VILJOEN	32:29
409	266	Chris WATLING	33:08
455	279	Lloyd DIAS	35:08
457	163	Caroline CROFT	35:11
472	175	Annabelle WHITE	35:51
499	194	Karen PALMER	37:51
514	204	Lindsay PATEMAN	38:47
582	308	Roger BIGGS	57:38
584	256	Carolyn LINSELL	57:44
587	258	Linda GEORGE	62:13

Tags Hatfield 5K, parkrun, Serpentine 5K, Stevenage half marathon

Club News Race Results

SPARTANS AT STANDALONE 10K

Post author By Vicky Archer
Post date September 25, 2022
No Comments on SPARTANS AT STANDALONE 10K

A good number of Fairlands Valley Spartans ran the 35^th anniversary Standalone 10K in Letchworth on Sunday.

GRANT RAMSAY was fastest of the 29 Spartans. He was 35^th out of the 820 finishers in 39 minutes 29 seconds. ADRIAN DONNELLY also beat 40 with 39 minutes 41 seconds. The third Spartan was DANNY SCANLON in 41:22 and fourth DEAN CARPENTER in 44:22.

JOHN HARRIS was third man 60 plus in 44 minutes 58 seconds.

Three Spartan women beat 50 minutes. TRACY PEZ in 48:14; MARIE COLUCCI in 48:29 and PAULA DUNNE who improved by 55 seconds to 49:26.

There were personal bests by STEVE DOBNER, by 20 seconds to 46:44, and LUKE GURNEY, by 1:07, to 47:10. MARTIN DUDLEY improved his season’s best (SB) by a significant 2 minutes 12 seconds to 49 minutes 54 seconds.

JIM BROWN was delighted to improve his 10K time by nearly five minutes in a week to 53 minutes 11 seconds. His best 10K this year and good enough for second in his age group.

MICHAEL O’KEEFE and NIKKI NATION improved their season’s best (SB) times to beat the hour with 58 minutes 10 seconds and 59 minutes 54 seconds respectively.

Well done JON FILBY (47:17), MARK LACY (54:15) and ABIGAIL WHITROW (81:48) who were running their first 10K races.

Position	Name	Time	Comments	Grade
35	GRANT RAMSAY	39:29	5^th MV50	77.59%
39	ADRIAN DONNELLY	39:41		73.64%
54	DANNY SCANLON	41:22	YB (1:35)	69.01%
93	DEAN CARPENTER	44:22		67.88%
113	JOHN HARRIS	44:58	3^rd Vet 60	73.97%
116	NICK GILL	45:10		60.21%
152	STEVEN DOBNER	46:44	PB (0:20)	??
159	LUKE GURNEY	47:10	PB (1:07)	56.99%
172	JON FILBY	47:17	1^st 10K	60.77%
188	TRACY PEZ	48:14	4^th FV45. YB (0:06)	69.97%
197	MARIE COLUCCI	48:29	5^th FV45	66.76%
219	PAULA DUNNE	49:26	PB (0:55)	61.84%
234	MARTIN DUDLEY	49:54	SB (2:12)	65.85%
289	BEN SNOWDEN	51:41		55.40%
333	JIM BROWN	53:11	2^nd Vet 70. YB (2:10)	68.50%
370	MARK LACY	54:15	1^st 10K	55.35%
430	ANN TRYSSESOONE	56:04		65.64%
489	MICHAEL O’KEEFE	58:10	SB (0:09)	56.05%
495	ANDREA WESTCOTT	57:41	SB	59.36%
507	ANDY JAY	58:13		55.36%
534	NIKKI NATION	59:49	SB	62.50%
611	MONICA SMITHSON	62:46		58.91%
658	SHARON CROWLEY	64:59	YB (0:22)	62.50%
660	JANE WADEY	65:03		55.80%
759	MO WARRILOW	74:10		45.29%
801	JANE WHITROW	81:28		44.68%
802	ABIGAIL WHITROW	81:48	1^st 10K	36.38%
817	PAUL HOLGATE	86:34		39.65%
819	ROGER BIGGS	94:08	YB (2:59)	40.74%

Goodwood Marathon

Spartan SIMON FRASER had a great run in the Goodwood Marathon. He was second man 35 plus and eleventh overall in a fantastic sub three time of 2 hours 52 minutes 35 seconds.

The Great Bristol Run

JOHN NELMS travelled to his home city of Bristol to run the Big Bristol half marathon. A really well organised event on a fantastic city course with big supporting crowds helped him finish in 1:53:51

Norfolk Coastal Marathon

THOMAS SAUKA did the Norfolk coastal marathon on Saturday, he found it tough as he did not had a great lead up to this. Tom said he had a niggle with his left leg feeling tight which stopped him running properly in the last six miles but never the less he prevailed and finished 76^th in 5:16:15 official time, that’s another great trail marathon ticked off. It was flat but challenging as well

Hatfield 5K – race three

After the three races in the Hatfield 5K series Spartan TONY RANDFIELD was a trophy winner. Third in the men 60 plus category. He ran 20 minutes 9 seconds on Wednesday evening for a score of 81.3%. The fastest Spartan was NICK GILL with a new personal best of 19 minutes 8 seconds – an improvement of 39 seconds.

Tony looking very pleased with his trophy – well done Tony!

There were also PBs by PAULA DUNNE who improved by 22 seconds to 22:53 and was fourth in the series for her category; GEORGIE HOOPER by 11 seconds to 23:13 and JANE WADEY by 13 seconds to 31:15.

MARK GOODWIN ran a season’s best of 22:33. There were also season’s bests from ANDREA WESTCOTT 26:09 and NIKKI NATION 28 minutes exactly.

Club Handicap 5K

In a very busy week for racing 28 runners finished Thursday evening’s Handicap 5K.

Winner on the night was Penny Schenkel, 2:03 quicker than her handicap in a year best time of 29:57, closely followed by the first man to finish, Chris Watling, 2:00 ahead of handicap in 24:15. Amanda Vickers (aided by Sharon Crowley) was second lady 1:50 better than handicap in a season best time of 37:40, followed by Anna Swanepoel in a new personal best time of 27:27. Andy Jay was second man 1:34 quicker than handicap in 26:56 and Matt Tutton was third man, 1:15 ahead of handicap in 29:45.

Pete Smith was quickest runner in 21:48 with Luke Gurney 2nd fastest, 23:19 and Chris Watling 3rd fastest, 24:15. Karen Ellis was quickest lady in 25:14 with Harriet Smith second fastest in 25:27, 20 seconds quicker than her previous season best and Tracy Pez third fastest in 26:57.

Judy King and Sally Pickles both beat their previous fastest 5k of this year and there were also improvements by Monica Smithson, Michael O’Keefe and Roger Biggs.

Total time difference between the 1st and last finisher was less than 3 minutes and all runners finished within 2:03 of their handicap. Thanks to Paul Holgate and Mike Crowley for organising the event.

Spartans at the start of the Club Handicap

Parkrun – 24th September

For all the Spartan Parkrun results please head to the following link – Spartan Parkruns 24th September

Tables

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

Pos	Name	Time	Cat	Cat Pos	Grade	Comments
46	NICK GILL	19:08	MS	18th	67.6%	PB (0:39)
60	TONY RANDFIELD	20:09	MV60	3rd	81.3%	3^rd category in series
89	MARK GOODWIN	22:33	MV60	8th	72.6%	SB (0:10)
94	PAULA DUNNE	22:53	FV35	5th	64.5%	4^th in series. PB (0:22)
97	GEORGIE HOOPER	23:13	FV35	6th	63.6%	PB (0:11)
117	NICK KLEANTHOUS	24:26	MV60	12th	64.6%
132	ANDREA WESTCOTT	26:09	FV45	10th	63.2%	SB (1:23)
147	NIKKI NATION	28:00	FV55	10th	63.4%	SB (0:02)
148	MICHAEL O’KEEFE	28:07	MV50	24th	55.2%
154	SHARON CROWLEY	30:09	FV55	13th	63.9%
155	JANE WADEY	31:15	FV55	14th	56.1%	PB (0:13)
160	PAUL HOLGATE	35:52	MV60	18th	45.9%
164	ROGER BIGGS	46:49	V70	4th	39.1%	4^th category in series

Spartans Handicap 5K

Pos	First Name	Last Name	Time	Speed Pos	Fem	Comments	Impr	Time	Com Hcap
1	PENNY	SCHENKEL	29:57	17	6	YB	1:55	42:57	2:03
2	CHRIS	WATLING	24:15	3				43:00	2:00
3	AMANDA	VICKERS	37:40	26	14	SB	1:54	43:10	1:50
4	SHARON	CROWLEY	37:41	27	15			43:11	1:49
5	ANNA	SWANEPOEL	27:27	11	4	PB	0:21	43:12	1:48
6	ANDY	JAY	26:56	9			2:00	43:26	1:34
7	TRACY	PEZ	26:57	10	3			43:27	1:33
8	HARRIET	SMITH	25:27	6	2	SB	0:20	43:42	1:18
9	MATT	TUTTON	29:45	16				43:45	1:15
10	JUDY	KING	35:37	22	10	YB	1:07	43:52	1:08
11	LUKE	GURNEY	23:19	2				44:04	0:56
12	MARTIN	DUDLEY	25:04	4				44:04	0:56
13	MARK	FREEMAN	25:54	7				44:09	0:51
14	KAREN	ELLIS	25:14	5	1			44:14	0:46
15	PETER	SMITH	21:48	1				44:18	0:42
16	MONICA	SMITHSON	30:41	18	7		0:37	44:26	0:34
17	TONY	VICKERS	27:58	13	5	SB		44:28	0:32
18	MICHAEL	O’KEEFE	28:03	14			0:14	44:33	0:27
19	TIM	ROBINSON	28:07	15				44:37	0:23
20	SALLY	PICKLES	36:32	24	12	YB	0:18	44:47	0:13
21	VISHAL	SHAH	26:38	8				45:08	(0:08)
22	ELAINE	LEDGER	35:14	21	9	New		45:14	(0:14)
23	ROGER	HEAD	34:50	20		YB		45:20	(0:20)
24	JANE	WADEY	31:54	19	8			45:24	(0:24)
25	NICOLA	HATHERLY	35:52	23	11	YB		45:37	(0:37)
26	CRAIG	BACON	27:55	12				45:40	(0:40)
27	JANE	WHITROW	36:42	25	13			45:42	(0:42)
28	ROGER	BIGGS	45:50	28			4:21	45:50	(0:50)

Tags Club Handicap 5k, Goodwood, Great Bristol Run, Hatfield 5K, Norfolk Coastal Marathon, Standalone

Club News Race Results

A BUSY SPARTAN WEEK!

There has been lots of wins for our members over the last week as lots of medals and prizes have been won.

All these Spartans won gold, silver, bronze county medals or other prizes – JIM BROWN, CATHY CRAIG, PAULA DUNNE, JOHN HARRIS, DAVID HARRIS-CHERGUIT, GEORGIE HOOPER, SAM PRETTY, GRANT RAMSAY, TONY RANDFIELD and JANE WADEY.

The medal haul started at the Hatfield 5K on Wednesday evening which included the county championships for veterans and continued into the Stevenage 10K on Sunday.

Stevenage 10K

Fourteen Spartans tackled the undulating Stevenage 10K and they won lots of medals. The event included the Hertfordshire 10K championship for veterans and the team of David Harris-Cherguit (36:48); Grant Ramsay (39:42); John Harris (41:56) and Tony Randfield (42:17) won the team event and GOLD medals.

Helped by Jane Wadey improving her personal best (PB) by two minutes to 64:41 the Spartan women BRONZE medals with Georgie Hooper (49:27) and Paula Dunne (50:21) also in the team.

Georgie, Paula and Jane proudly showing off their medals.

Jim Brown won the 70 plus trophy in the open event and the County GOLD medal with 58 minutes exactly.

SIMON FRASER was the fastest Spartan in the open race. He was fourth overall and second senior with 35:06.

Hatfield 5K

Spartan participation in the second race of the Hatfield 5K series was high and members managed to bring home some medals!

A selection of Spartan runners before the race.

The fastest Spartan was SIMON JACKSON who came seventh overall in 16 minutes 38 seconds and the fastest female was PAULA DUNNE in 23:15.

The race included the Hertfordshire County Championships for veterans in which JIM BROWN won the GOLD medal for men 70 plus with 27 minutes 17 seconds and CATHY CRAIG the BRONZE medal for women 65 plus with 28:29.

NIKKI NATION ran a new season’s best of 28:11, a minute quicker than the previous week.

New Forest Half Marathon

DARRYL STEVENS went for a run in the New Forest the New Forest Half Marathon, and finished in 2 hours 48 minutes 39 seconds.

Parkrun Highlights Saturday 17^th September

 Congratulations to Nigel Strongitharm running a new PB of 24:59 at Bolberry Down parkun in Devon.  

Yuko Gordon ran a new PB of 24:01 coming 21^st on her 21^st parkrun at Henlow. 

For the full Parkrun results please go to their website by clicking the following link – Parkrun Results 17^th September

Tables

Hatfield 5K (race 2 in a series of 3).

Pos	Name	Ca	M/F	Cat Pos	Time	Chip	Age Gd	Comments
7.	Simon JACKSON	MV40	7	5	16:38	16:38	85.1%
62.	Grant RAMSAY	MV50	54	19	19:47	19:44	73.8 %
67.	Danny SCANLON	MV40	58	19	19:54	19:49	68.4 %
71.	Tony RANDFIELD	MV60	62	5	20:02	19:55	82.0 %
98.	Peter SMITH	MV60	82	8	21:26	21:20	74.0 %
107.	Brian WHITE	MV60	86	10	22:10	22:08	76.2 %
121.	Mark GOODWIN	MV60	96	12	22:43	22:35	72.3 %
126.	Marcus RIDLEY	MS	98	23	23:02	22:51	56.1 %
134.	Paula DUNNE	FV35	32	9	23:24	23:15	63.5 %
146.	Susan MCANENY	FV45	39	15	23:46	23:37	65.9 %
154.	Nick KLEANTHOUS	MV60	110	16	24:17	24:05	65.3 %
190.	Andrea WESTCOTT	FV45	68	22	26:51	26:33	62.0 %
198.	Jim BROWN	MV70	125	3	27:29	27:17	63.4 %	Gold
205.	Nikki NATION	FV55	79	18	28:17	28:11	63.0 %	SB
209.	Cathy CRAIG	FV65	81	4	28:51	28:29	72.0 %	Bronze
221.	Sharon CROWLEY	FV55	90	22	30:00	29:39	64.8 %
227.	Jane WADEY	FV55	94	24	32:12	31:51	54.7 %
232.	Paul HOLGATE	MV60	135	27	35:01	34:39	47.3 %
237.	Roger BIGGS	MV70	136	8	43:30	43:07	42.3 %

Stevenage 10K

Pos	Name	Cat	5K	Time	Age Gd	Comments
4.	Simon FRASER	MS	17:23	35:06	76.2 %	2^nd senior
9.	David HARRIS-CHERGUIT	MV40	18:06	36:48	76.8 %	Team
18.	Grant RAMSAY	MV50	19:18	39:42	74.8 %	Team + 4^th MV50
26.	John HARRIS	MV60	20:25	41:56	77.3 %	Silver + Team
29.	Tony RANDFIELD	MV60	20:16	42:17	79.6 %	Bronze + Team
50.	Brian WHITE	MV60	22:25	45:38	75.9 %
75.	Mark GOODWIN	MV60	22:56	47:37	70.6 %
82.	Nick GILL	MS	24:47	48:34	54.5 %
84.	Marcus RIDLEY	MS	23:07	48:48	54.2 %
89.	Georgie HOOPER	FV35	24:09	49:27	61.0 %	Team + 4^th FV35
94.	Paula DUNNE	FV35	24:23	50:21	60.0 %	Team + 5^th FV35
175.	Jim BROWN	MV70+	28:13	58:00	61.4 %	Gold
195	Michael O’KEEFE	MV50	27:55	1:00:16
235	Jane WADEY	FV55	31:10	1:04:41	55.7%	Team & PB (2 min)

Tags Hatfield 5K, New Forest Half Marathon, Stevenage 10K

Club News Race Results

LOTS OF SPARTAN ACHIEVEMENTS!

Post author By Vicky Archer
Post date September 11, 2022
No Comments on 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.

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 691^st 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.

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 69^th 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.”

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 174^th 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	6	3	85.3%	3^rd Vet. PB (0:06)
16.	Oluwatobi Kelvin BEYIOKU	17:37	MS	15	9	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	3	79.9 %	3^rd V60
84.	Brian WHITE	22:34	MV60	73	5	74.5 %	YB (0:44)
88.	Yuko GORDON	22:56	FV65	12	1	92.7 %	% winner
89.	Mark GOODWIN	22:58	MV60	77	7	71.3 %
98.	Paula DUNNE	23:16	FV35	19	6	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	5	63.8 %
156.	Andrea WESTCOTT	27:32	FV45	57	17	60.0 %	SB (0:45)
164.	Catherine CRAIG	29:15	FV65	61	5	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	9	41.9%

Parkrun – 10th September

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

Tags Budapest, Dragons Back Race, EMAC, GNR, Hatfield 5K, MK 20, Sandy 10

Famous Fairlands Five at Great North Run

Bedford Running Festival

Bedford 20

Bedford Half

Twilight 10K

Big Half in London

Enduro Stampede

EMAC

Stripey Saturday – Parkrun Highlights, Saturday 7th September 2025

Goodwood Marathon

The Great Bristol Run

Norfolk Coastal Marathon

Hatfield 5K – race three

Club Handicap 5K

Parkrun – 24th September

Tables

Stevenage 10K

Hatfield 5K

New Forest Half Marathon

Parkrun Highlights Saturday 17th September

Tables

EMAC (Eastern Masters)

Great North Run

Budapest Half Marathon

Sandy 10

Montane Dragon’s Back Race

Milton Keynes Marathon Prep 20 Miles

Tables

Parkrun – 10th September

Stripey Saturday – Parkrun Highlights, Saturday 7^th September 2025

Parkrun Highlights Saturday 17^th September