Spartan ANDREW PATTERSON won the Hitchin 5K in 16 minutes 10 seconds.
Other Spartan highlights included â on the basis of one runner one prize MIKE JEFFS took the male 40 plus award with his 18:01. He was eighth overall. BRIAN WHITE was second man 60 plus in 22:28 and ANDY JAY third in 27:36. JACKIE PERRY was second woman 60 plus in 27:36.
MARIE COLUCCI was the fastest female from Fairlands with 23:05 while HARRIET SMITH was not far behind with 23:45.
Pos
CatPos
MF
BiB
Name
Category
Time
Grade
Comments
1
1
1
3739
Andrew PATTERSON
MV40
16:10
86.5%
Winner!
8
2
8
4848
Mike JEFFS
MV40
18:01
76.0%
2nd MV40
29
8
28
4579
Mark COLLINS
MV40
19:49
72.6%
36
16
35
2653
Nick GILL
MV30
19:56
66.8%
87
2
73
2713
Brian WHITE
MV60
22:28
76.6%
2nd MV60
106
6
20
3072
Marie COLUCCI
FV40
23:05
68.9%
116
6
25
3697
Harriet SMITH
FV30
23:45
61.9%
137
37
103
1558
Daniel VILJOEN
MV40
24:25
58.8%
141
2
36
4021
Jackie PERRY
FV60
24:52
76.1%
2nd FV60
194
3
129
2797
Andy JAY
MV60
27:36
57.5%
3rd MV60
257
16
100
1469
Pamela VILJOEN
FV50
30:01
55.7%
306
39
134
1528
Callie CHAPMAN
FV40
32:29
46.3%
345
47
166
3686
Rebecca RAYNER
FV40
37:59
39.9%
Yukoâs A Winner In Berlin
At the Berlin Marathon Spartan YUKO GORDON won her age category, women 70 plus, in 3:34:45.
That makes it her third time winning out of three outings in Berlin.
SIMON FRASER was easily under three hours with 2:48:09 and KEITH HOOKER had an excellent run to come in with 4:12:02. There were tens of thousands of runners.
Great Shelford 5K
CHARLES ARNOLD took his Spartan stripes to South Cambs and the 11th annual Great Shelford 5K. An England Athletics (EA) certified out-and-back road race, flat and picturesque so no excuses for not getting at least a seasonâs best (SB) of 21:28.
It was a double win in Hitchin for Fairlands Valley Spartans as ANDREW PATTERSON and ASHLEY JOHNSON won first man and first woman in the Hitchin 5K.
Andrew won the race in 16 minutes 23 seconds. Which was 50 seconds ahead of his nearest rival. And Ashley won the womanâs race in 20:17, again a victory by 50 seconds.
MONICA SMITHSON ran the Hitchin 5K in 32 minutes 17 seconds.
Bedford AutodromeÂ
JIM BROWN ran the Bedford Autodrome 20 miles and improved his “year best” by 15 minutes 29 seconds when he finished in 3 hours 13 minutes 51 seconds.
This was a bit of a leap up after some indifferent half marathons so his plan was to run six “parkruns” in an average of 30 minutes or just under. That he did going through 30K in maybe a second under 3 hours.
Then the last 2.2 kilometres largely into a howling headwind took 13 minutes 51 seconds. He was second in his age group.
Spartan CAROLE SHELDRICK won her category in the Autodrome 10K with 56:38.
Windsor Half
WENDY THARANI was at the Windsor Half Marathon. She said it was a busy event, well organised and well attended. Beautiful scenery through Windsor Great Park, however it is very undulating and felt like more up than down! Big hill at mile 11!
She finished in 2:14:15 (chip time).
Ottawa 10K
Spartan Andy Jay travelled to Ottawa, Canada for a memorial and charity event, raising funds for injured and veteran members of the Canadian armed forces.
With the start and finish in Downtown Ottawa, the race went past famous Landmarks such as Parliament buildings and the famous Chateau Laurier Hotel. The race headed east alongside the Ottawa River before returning for a tough finish up on Parliament Hill.
Andy ran the 10k distance, finishing in 55.17.
Vitality Westminster Mile
JONATHAN PARR was fifth in the Vitality Westminster Mile with 4 minutes 42 seconds.
Parkrun Saturday 23rd September
Michael OâKeefe ran a new course PB at Letchworth with 29:05
At Stevenage there was a new parkrun PB for William Morley 19:52; Claire Pullen ran her 50th parkrun in 24:41; and Grant Ramsay was sixth at Stevenage on his 100thparkrun with 19:26
Nine Spartans raced round Hitchin in the townâs 5K race. Only a week after running a fast time in the London Marathon it was won by FVS own ANDREW PATTERSON in 16 minutes 2 seconds.
HARRIET SMITH was the second woman 20 plus and fastest female from Fairlands in 23 minutes 51 seconds.
ADRIAN DONNELLY was 15th in 20:01. The other Spartans were SAM SIMMONS 21:06; MARC RIDLEY 23:06; DAVID KENNEDY 23:23 NICK KLEANTHOUS 26:54; MATT TUTTON 27:24 and MONICA SMITHSON 30:32. There were 228 finishers.
Runners at Hitchin 5k
Willow 10K
Spartans DANNY SCANLON, JIM BROWN and JUDY KING made the short trip to Hatfield for a 10K race. This was a friendly multi-terrain charity event for the Willow Foundation in the picturesque grounds of Hatfield House. Danny was 10th in 44 minutes 3 seconds, Jim finished 60th in 55:37 and Judy came in 184th with 1:16:10. There were 211 finishers. Judy said her run has really boosted her confidence for future races including the Great South Run (10 miles) and the Stevenage Half Marathon on 6th November. Willow organises special days for seriously ill young adults.
Danny and Judy at the Willow run
Royal Parks Half
CRAIG BACON finished the Royal Parks Half Marathon in less than 1 hour 40 minutes with 1:39:23.
VISHAL SHAH did the run round London in 2:13:52 and CALLIE CHAPMAN finished in 2:47:19.
Craig, Callie and Vish with their medals
Chicago Marathon
Spartans DUNCAN FLOUNDERS and ROSS GALLAGHER were in Chicago for the marathon. Duncan ran a couple of events for the first time in a long time this weekend.
He finished the Chicago 5K in 26 minutes 29 seconds (26:29) and then the full Chicago Marathon in 3 hours 53 minutes 14 seconds (3:53:14).
Duncan said, âThe marathon was an awesome experience despite being two years late. Crowds lined the course for pretty much every step of the way and they were all amazing. The whole city heats up for this for days beforehand and it didn’t disappoint. Lots of fun, the inevitable pain around 30k but managed to work through that and actually enjoyed the last few kilometres. Great event.
ROSS GALLAGHER completed the Chicago marathon in a time of 3:08:43.
Target was a sub 3:10 so he was delighted to walk away with 3:08 and a 15 minute PB from London 2022.
Ross said, âAfter a chilly start the sun came up for what were perfect running conditions. Great crowd and support which were particularly needed for the last three miles ‘these felt much longer than just a park run’.âŻ
International Spartan Ross!
Tring Ridgeway Run
On Sunday 9th October Tim Robinson ran the 40th Tring Ridgeway Run. A 15km trail run in the Chilterns organised by Tring Running Club who organise several very good races throughout the year in the Chiltern Hills. The race starts in Tring and heads up to the Bridgwater Monument on the Ashridge Estate before winding through the woods down to Steps Hill and over Pitstone Hill back to Tring for a total ascent of around 750ft. The ascent to the Bridgewater Monument was fairly steady going but once into the woods the constant up and down meant several walk breaks and there was a strong headwind on Pitstone Hill despite the sun. Tim took advantage of the long downhills to make up for lost time and finished 256th in a time of 1:35:45.
Tim enjoying the rolling hills!
Maverick Lincolnshire
JANE WHITROW and her dog Rufus had a day trip out to do a 10kâŚactually a 10.5k Canicross run at the beautiful Grimsthorpe Castle park. It was the first Maverick event for them â they loved it and the alcohol free cold beer at the finish was very welcome!
Official time was 1 hour 17 minutes on a beautiful and âundulatingâ course.
