Tag: Paris Marathon

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News Race Results

BRIGHTON, PARIS & BOSTON

Fairlands Valley Spartans get around.  They were represented at three marathons – Brighton, Paris and Boston; a half marathon – London Landmarks; and two 10Ks – Guernsey and Flitwick – recently.

Coming Close at the Paris Marathon

MARTIN JACOB and LINDA GEORGE ran the Paris Marathon on Sunday and are super happy with the results.

Linda finished in 4:06:08 and Martin in 4:06:13.

Sub-4 was Linda’s A goal / dream goal, but with flu during marathon week, she wasn’t very hopeful.  4:05 became the next target, and she got pretty close to it.  Martin was her pacer and water boy (as the water stations didn’t have bottles or cups, he was responsible for filling the flask and catching up with me).

The second half was absolute madness – lots of tunnels, uphills, and narrow running space with spectators spilling onto the course.

All in all, a tough but memorable race!

Brighton

Five Fairlands Valley Spartans were among about 14,000 runners who finished the Brighton Marathon.  SHAUNA LAWLESS was 72nd out of the 9,213 women in a great time of 3 hours 24 minutes 58 seconds.  She was in the top ten per cent of all finishers.

BECKY RAYNER slipped under five hours with 4:59:36; LLOYD DIAS was close with 5:01:23 and HANNAH MANTON came in with 6:21:36.

Becky said it was a PB for her at Brighton marathon, 4:59:36.  It was my first time doing this marathon, fantastic support all round the course and hit my target of under 5 hours.  So happy.

LUCY PAUL had a great day running the Brighton marathon with her two eldest children.  She was helping Holly round her first ever marathon and we finished in 5 hours 42 minutes (5:42:33).  Lovely day for running by the sea! 

Boston Fastest For Years

Spartans tackled the flat but rather windy Boston UK Marathon.  Advertised as the flattest marathon in the UK.  SHARON CROWLEY finished in 4 hours 48 minutes 17 seconds and was first in her age group!  Sharon thinks it was her fastest marathon in 16 years. 

TONY VICKERS ran the marathon in 4:23:11 and AMANDA VICKERS the half marathon in 2:39:29.  There were 1020 finishers of the full marathon and 487 of the half.

London Landmarks

Not really “tapering” but JIM BROWN was happy to run the London Landmarks Half Marathon to raise funds for the Stevenage Community Trust.  He was 7,237th out of the 19,870 finishers in 2 hours 6 minutes 54 seconds.

He said it was quite a complex course with a lot of switch backs and zig zags but it visited many of the sights of London including Downing Street, the Tower of London and Trafalgar Square.

The timing was superb.  Finished in sunshine, collected kit from a double decker bus, then heavy cold rain a retreat to a nearby warm café.  Next Jim is down to run the Manchester Marathon only seven days later.  That, said Jim, could be a struggle.  Donations still welcome!

Flitwick

Not travelling quite so far as some other members, nor doing the distance but CHARLES ARNOLD ran the Flitwick 10k put on by Ampthill and Flitwick Flyers.  An undulating course with steep uphills at km 7 and 8 but a lovely decline finish past spectators who were out in force as usual.  Intermittent sunshine with a gusting, cool wind made for difficult conditions.  Suffering with a knee problem which, thankfully, eased off after the first km, he was pleased to finish sub 50 minutes with a chip time of 49:22 and second in his age category. 

Judy in Guernsey

JUDY KING ran the Guernsey Easter Running Festival 10K in 1:02:37

Not a personal best but she went on to run another 10 miles for her long run before the London Marathon, followed by a 30 minute sea swim to cool off her tired legs!  It was mostly around the coast with beautiful views and lovely to run with her sister.

Bedfordshire – Feisty Phoenix

LEE POTTER covered 16.4 miles in the Bedford Feisty Phoenix event.  He said he hit a wall but it was an improvement on the half marathon distance.

Less Than Five Minutes

At the opposite end of the distance scale SIMON JACKSON was fourth overall and first over 20 years in the Peter Lee Memorial 1500 metres at Ridlins with a time of 4 minutes 38.4 seconds.

Parkrun Highlights

Two parkrun milestones for Spartans at Stevenage. 50 parkruns for MATT TUTTON and MAURICE BALLARD.  Matt finished in 29:29 and Maurice in 30:08.  And there were new parkrun personal bests (PPB) for LEE POTTER 33:36 and ANDREW JORDAN 26:09.

CLAIRE EMMERSON was the fastest female from Spartans with her 27:13 and JAY PAPA fourth fastest in the event with 18:30.

There were 496 finishers at Stevenage’s parkrun including 32 Spartans despite many other running attractions over the weekend.

PositionGender PositionFVS parkrunnerTime
44Jay PAPA18:30
2322Steve WELLS21:24
4240Toby ECCLESHALL22:30
6762Matthew COOKE23:55
9079Daniel VILJOEN24:52
10288Paul MAGUIRE25:12
116100Martin DUDLEY25:53
127110Andrew JORDAN26:09
17031Claire EMMERSON27:13
183143Darren EMMERSON27:48
193150Brian WHITE28:07
20441Sarah ILLINGWORTH28:32
205158Ryan DUNNING28:36
21746Alison SHELLEY29:00
233175Matt TUTTON29:29
250184Maurice BALLARD30:08
25661Monica SMITHSON30:22
25762Lindsay PATEMAN30:25
288205Steve PLATT31:37
29278Fiona CLARKE31:44
30987Debbie BLANTERN32:17
313215Jim BROWN32:24
32694Penny SCHENKEL32:38
33297Annabelle WHITE32:45
33499Pamela VILJOEN32:46
341228Nick KLEANTHOUS32:55
357110Caroline CROFT33:29
361235Lee POTTER33:36
365236Stephen SMITHSON33:49
386130Karen PALMER34:45
425254Paul SHELLEY38:02
440163Tracy HAYGARTH39:39
Categories
News Race Results

SPARTANS MAKE PBs AT NEWPORT

In the Newport Marathon a time of 2:48:19 brought a new marathon PB (personal best) for DAVID HARRIS-CHERGUIT.  He said it was a great course, a really well organised race and there was a quality field with great groups to work with on pacing.

David said he was super happy with a new PB, making all the early starts and running up Martins Way worthwhile.

He was bought rapidly back down to earth shortly after finishing by his kids in the Fun Run who both left him for dust!

VICKY ARCHER ran the Newport Half Marathon with an aim to go sub 1:50.  She said Stuart ran with her keeping her on track and was amazing!  They crossed the line in 1:47:42!  That’s a PB of just over 4 minutes. 

Vicky said “1:47 is a time I thought was out of reach a few months ago… hard work and consistency pays off.”

Spartan Six at Flitwick

BRIAN WHITE ran his first race since moving up to the 70 category and met some very good vets at the Flitwick 10K.  He was fourth in his age category on a fairly challenging course in 47 minutes 20 seconds.  The weather was perfect and the race very well organised.

Spartan YUKO GORDON finished first woman 65 plus with 49:16.

She said, “I haven’t trained much for the last three weeks with my injury after the bad fall during the MK 20 Mile race last month and I couldn’t reach my usual racing pace at all today.  Fortunately I won my age group but my time was nearly three minutes slower than two years ago.”

JOHN NELMS and JACKIE PERRY finished together in 54:08 and 54:09.

JIM BROWN set off thinking about a “58” based on recent running so was very happy with 55 minutes 45 seconds.  PENNY SCHENKEL continued her good progress towards the London Marathon with a 6:30 minutes per kilometre run to give her a time of 64 minutes 13 seconds.

PosFirst nameLast nameChip time
140BrianWhite47:20
194YukoGordon49:16
316JohnNelms54:08
317JackiePerry54:09
350JimBrown55:45
548PennySchenkel64:13

April in Paris

Tim ROBINSON ran the Schneider Electric Paris Marathon 2025 in a time of 5:43:33. It’s the 4th time he has completed the Paris Marathon. A beautiful route starting and finishing at the Arc De Triomphe and taking in many famous Paris landmarks. 

Rotterdam

DAVE COOK said he was disappointed with his run at the Rotterdam Marathon but he was still well under three hours with his 2:52:21.

In the same race MICHAEL FISHER struggled to hold his pace for the first 10km and then it got better.  Felt warmer than forecasted so water was a must.  The fast start punished him from 34 kilometres onwards so he held himself slightly to ensure that he could still hit my targeted time.  He got it right with a PB improvement of 11 minutes and a Sub 2 run of 2 hours 57 minutes 13 seconds (2:57:13).

Euro Matt

On Saturday MATT TUTTON ran the Half Marathon at the European Running Championships in the small city of Leuven in Belgium.  The atmosphere was fantastic, course was flat and the weather was very warm but beautiful.  He beat his previous PB and finished in 2 hours 1 minute and 22 seconds. Not enough to finish in top 25 Brits to score points although we finished 5th so no additional medal to bring home.  It is a great weekend with 10k and marathon on Sunday.  He was looking forward to watch both elite and recreational runners come through.  Next edition will be in Belgrade in 2027.

Ultra Spartans.

Ciaran McAneny raced in the UKA 2025 British Championship 24 hour race on the track at Crawley from noon on Saturday until noon on Sunday.

In a race that started fast and saw many contenders burn their matches early in warm weather; Ciaran kept control of his early pace to move up through the field as others dropped out.

Spartan Ciaran was one of three runners who closed in on the lead as the day progressed.  He made his way into second, until the closing stages when he started to struggle to maintain pace and eventually came away with a British Championship Bronze Medal and a distance of 201.3 kilometres.

The race itself was won outright with an astonishing run by Sarah Webster who finished with a distance of 243.4km and a new British Women’s 100 mile record of 14:05 along the way.

On Saturday, MARTIN JACOB ran his first 50 mile ultramarathon – the South Downs Way 50.  He was initially worried it might be a very warm day, but it turned out to be a pleasant day for the run. There were a few brutal hills along the way, but aside from those, he enjoyed every bit of the race.  He finished in 11:30:47, with a strong sprint at the end. Super happy with the result !

Sharon and Mike Crowley took part in Capital Challenge, a self navigated long distance walk north and south of the River Thames.  On a very warm day and after almost 28 miles they finished in 9 hours 15 minutes.

Ibiza Marathon, Saturday

JAY PAPA was 76th out of 1,042 finishers in Saturday’s Ibiza Marathon with his time of 3 hours 22 minutes 21 seconds (3:22:21).

Hyrox Harris

JOHN HARRIS completed the Warsaw Hyrox in 1 hour 26 minutes 40 seconds (1:26:40). 1-26-40 finishing 6th V60 at his first attempt.  Hyrox is an indoor fitness competition combining eight kilometres of running with eight functional workout stations.

Club Championships Are Go

The Fairlands Valley Spartans club championships last all year and started on 1st January 2025.

There are long and short distance options.  For the long it will be the best of three out of 10 miles, half marathon, 20 miles and full marathon (42.2 kilometres).  For the short the best of three out of 1500 metres, 5 kilometres, 5 miles and 10 kilometres.  Counting races must be licensed with a certified accurate course – there are hundreds to chose from.

By the end of March, the first quarter, only PENNY SCHENKEL had completed a female three distance series so she is leading the women’s long distance series with 56.4%.  BRIAN WHITE is leading the men’s long distance with 74.9% while JIM BROWN is second on 66.0%.

This won’t last for long as many other Spartans had already recorded two fast times for either the long or short distances.

Parkrun Highlights – Saturday 12th April

Over 500 parkrunners again at Stevenage parkrun on Saturday morning with 501 finishers.  24 were Spartans. 

PETE COOK made into the top 100 at Stevenage parkrun and ran another parkrun personal best (PPB).  This time it was 24:51.  He was 26 seconds behind TANYA BRAZIER who also ran a new PPB, for her it was 24:25.

It was a double century for ROGER BIGGS.  He ran his 200th parkrun in 48:33.  LORRAINE HILL ran her 350th in 26:16.

CHARLIEV WHITE was the quickest Spartan at Stevenage with 18:09 and JO COOKSLEY the Fastest Female From Fairlands with 24:16.

SIMON JACKSON did 16:56 at the Great Denham park run on Saturday.  PAUL SHELLEY ran the same event in 17:41.

PositionGender PositionFVS parkrunnerTime
55Charlie WHITE18:09
2827Tony RANDFIELD21:17
5452Toby ECCLESHALL23:01
845Jo COOKSLEY24:16
886Tanya BRAZIER24:25
9379Chris WATLING24:38
9882Pete COOK24:51
11090Stuart ARCHER25:15
127104Darren EMMERSON26:01
13414Lorraine HILL26:16
235172Kartik SHARMA29:12
248181Thomas SAUKA29:34
25253Claire EMMERSON29:46
25958Penny SCHENKEL30:08
26966Hannah MANTON30:35
274189Peter SACH30:53
30187Debbie BLANTERN31:44
31896Fiona CLARKE32:30
319205Matt CLARKE32:31
321206Maurice BALLARD32:32
420159Tracy HAYGARTH37:49
426163Hilary DAVIES38:04
481200Nichola DURENT46:01
487257Roger BIGGS48:33
Categories
Club News Race Results

1500m, BRIGHTON MARATHON AND LLHM!

Six Fairlands Valley Spartans accepted an invitation from Stevenage and North Herts Athletics Club to join them at their open track event. 

Spartan SIMON JACKSON won the men’s 1500 metres race at the SNHAC Track Open event at Ridlins on Saturday afternoon.  He finished in 4 minutes 38.61 seconds.  NICK GILL was next in for Fairlands Valley with 5 minutes 3 seconds exactly. 

PETER ORTON came in with 5:49.93; NICK KLEANTHOUS, running his first 1500, with 6:34.47 and JIM BROWN was first in his category with 8:08.62. 

In the women’s race JANE WADEY, also running her first 1500, was sixth with 9:12.89. 

Jane said that it was her first attempt at 1500m and although it was hard, she was pleased in the end as she managed my best pace yet. 

Brighton Marathon Weekend 

Spartans STEVE DOBNER and DAVE PATTMAN ran the Brighton Marathon on Sunday. 

Steve said it was pretty chilly on arrival but the sun came out to warm the day.  Lots of hairpin turns and hillier than they anticipated. 

He was really pleased to complete it in 3:47:33 for a 25 minute PB and achieving a sub 4 after struggling for the last 3 or 4 miles. 

Dave Pattman came home in 3:52 and said with his sub 4 he is retiring from marathons – well until he runs Beachy Head in October. 

Steve and Dave mid race!

Paris Marathon

MIKE JEFFS took part in the Paris marathon on Sunday. He said that the event was incredible, really well supported and organised.

He completed the course in 3:13:18 taking 11 mins off his PB. Leading up to the day he had struggled with his knee but on the day it played ball and he was able to take in the sites and keep a good pace. He now has 3 weeks to rest before doing it all again in London!

International Spartan Mike!

London Landmarks Half Marathon 

Spartan CHRIS WATLING finished the London Landmarks Half Marathon in (what he called) a respectable 1.55:02 

He said it’s a race he’s always wanted to do and he thoroughly enjoyed it! 

Chris looking fresh pre race.

Danny Scanlon finished the Landmarks in 1:30:21. 

Danny with his LLHM medal!

Sandy 10 

CLAIRE PULLEN finished in 1 hour 18 minutes 18 seconds for 84th place.  JIM BROWN and TRICIA HOPPER raced together over the last mile with Jim finishing 172 in 1:31:15 and Tricia 173rd in 1:31:17.  SHARON CROWLEY came in with 1:47:55 and PAUL HOLGATE with 1:49:50. 

Serpentine 5k 

Last Friday of the Month Serpentine 5K in Hyde Park, London.  Spartan JIM BROWN was first man 70 plus in 28 minutes 29 seconds (28:29). 

Parkrun Highlights

For all the Spartan Parkrun results from the weekend please click the link – Consolidated Parkrun Results 1st April 2023

Categories
Club News Race Results

CROSS COUNTRY IS BACK !

 

Cross Country is back and despite many other races elsewhere 27 Spartans, 15 men and 12 women, ran the first Sunday League fixture of 2021 at Cheshunt on Sunday morning.  A little bit of rain loosened up what is usually a very dry event at the start of the season. 

The fastest Spartan, eleventh of about 400 runners, was JONATHAN PARR who raced around the just under five miles event in 28 minutes 48 seconds.  Four other Spartans were in the top one hundred overall.  They were ADRIAN BUSOLINI (25th in 30:31); STEVE WELLS (81st in 32:53); DANNY SCANLON (88th in 33:18); and GRANT RAMSAY (98th in 33:41).  The men’s “A” team of eight was completed by JOHN HARRIS (36:04); TOM SAUKA (37:03) and TOBY ECCLESHALL (37:50). 

It was teams of five for the women’s race and the Spartans “A” team were CHRISTINE LATHWELL (32:30); TRACEY JACKSON (38:19); WENDY THARANI (43:44); NICOLA ANDERSSON (45:06) and PENNY SCHENKEL (47:47). 

FVS men at cross country (teams of eight): 

Overall Position Name Time Comments 
11 JON PARR 28:48 A team 
25 ADRIAN BUSOLINI 30:31 A team 
81 STEVE WELLS 32:53 A team 
88 DANNY SCANLON 33:18 A team 
98 GRANT RAMSAY 33:41 A team 
145 JOHN HARRIS 36:04 A team 
164 TOM SAUKA 37:03 A team 
178 TOBY ECCLESHALL 37:50 A team 
213 DAVE PATTMAN 39:35  
214 STEVE DOBNER 39:36  
290 ANDY JAY 43:19  
303 NICK KLEANTHOUS 44:26  
336 JIM BROWN 47:36  
351 KEN JUDE 48:29  
368 SIMON SYPULA 51:30*  
Steve and Dave enjoying the mud!

FVS women at cross country (teams of five): 

Overall Position Name Time Comments 
74 CHRISTINE LATHWELL 32:30 A team 
195 TRACEY JACKSON 38:19 A team 
293 WENDY THARANI 43:44 A team 
309 NICHOLA ANDERSSON 45:06 A team 
341 PENNY SCHENKEL 47:47 A team 
371 CATHY CRAIG 53:19 B team 
375 SHARON CROWLEY 54:33 B team 
384 CALLIE CHAPMAN 57:11 B team 
385 KAREN ELLIS 57:11 B team 
386 HAZEL SMITH 57:11 B team 
387 BETH FOLEY 57:11  
390 JANE WHITROW 59:27  
Callie, Hazel & Karen are all smiles as usual!
  • The next cross country league race will be in Trent Park, North London on Sunday 12th December. 

Chelmsford Marathon 

PETE SMITH said the Chelmsford Marathon was a well organised race, great marshals (like ours) a touch undulating and with a few tight turns, but generally a good course.  Pete was well happy with his 3 hours 26 minutes 24 seconds.  MARIE COLUCCI just wanted to get round but got a brilliant 4:03:10. 

Marie & Pete both ran a fabulous marathon!

Paris Marathon 

JOHN NELMS travelled to Paris to run his 102nd lifetime marathon and his 16th and probably last of 2021. 

Hot, sunny and surprisingly humid conditions slowed the times and he finished in a comfortable 4 hours 19 minutes.  A beautiful course passing most of the famous Parisian sights and a VIP tent at the finish line (thank you Tom Robinson ) 
 

Bedford Autodrome 

STUART ARCHER ran Bedford Autodrome on Sunday.  He did the half marathon distance in 1:29:15, under one and a half hours.  He said that it was a breezy course but he enjoyed it and even got a picture with the Stig afterwards. 

Stuart was all smiles after meeting The Stig!

Oxford Half 

Spartan RICHARD COWLISHAW completed the Oxford Half on Sunday in 1 hour 33 minutes and 32 seconds.  That’s his fastest ever competitive half marathon.  He was 491st out of 12932 runners. 

Richard said, “This is one of the best half marathons I have run.  It was flat, perfect weather, great crowds and a good wide route, with a park run towards the end.  I would recommend this event to anyone.” 

Cambridge Half 

CAROLYN LINSELL ran the Cambridge Half Marathon in 2 hours 26 minutes 12 seconds.  Carolyn said, “On Sunday I ran my fourth Cambridge Half Marathon with my friend Hannah Morgan Gray (we ran the virtual VLM – Virtual London Marathon together  two weeks ago).  We were going well when Hannah felt a niggle in her ankle/foot & we had to slow right down & she had to walk several times.  I kept running & zig zagging as I promised we would run this together & I would not leave her.” 

Great South Run 

JENNY GARRETT ran the Great South Run ten miles event in 1 hour 31 minutes 33 seconds. 

She said there were perfect running conditions on Sunday with lots of support around the whole course and it was nice to be out showing off the Spartan stripes.  ED HARE finished in 1 hour 26 minutes 17 seconds and JONATHAN JONES in 2:00:51. 

Inspired by the London and Manchester Marathons?  Here Comes The Stevenage Half! 

Inspired by the London and Manchester Marathons?  Now you can be one of hundreds running in Stevenage on Sunday 21st November as entries for the town’s half marathon are open. 

With only five weeks 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 (a couple of weeks later than usual). 

Entries for the Stevenage Half Marathon are open.  Go to https://stevenagehalfmarathon.org.uk/  This club and community event has a history going back 37 years and is organised by Fairlands Valley Spartans.  With a break due to Covid 19 in 2020 it’s back for 2021.   

Parkrun report for Saturday 9th October 2021 

In this week’s roundup of Spartans on the Parkrun circuit, SUZY HAWKINS just missed out on a sub-20 minute at Stevenage and was second female to finish (finishing eight seconds behind the first female runner). 

Stevenage Parkrun Results where 327 runners took part.  SUZY HAWKINS 20-05 (8th), ASHLEY SCHOENWETTER 22-14 (24th and 4th female), CRAIG BACON 23-38 (47th), MARTIN DUDLEY 23-48 (51st), HAZEL SMITH 24-22 (63rd), DANIK BATES 25-14 (83rd and with a buggy), MATT CLARKE 26-46 (126th), NICK KLEANTHOUS 27-34 (137th), JIM BROWN 28-01 (141st), PENNY SCHENKEL 28-11 (142nd), TOBY ECCLESHALL 28-35 (150th), CHLOE CHAPMAN 28-42 (155th), ERICA GRAYSON 29-13 (172nd), JO BOWDERY 29-18 (176th), STEVE SMITHSON 29-34 (184th), PAUL JENNINGS 30-16 (195th), TRACEY HAYGRATH 31-34 (231st), CAROLINE CROFT 31-41 (237th) and BETH FOLEY 33-53 (266th).  

Parkrun Away days:  

Gunpowder (Waltham Abbey): STEVEN DOBNER 23-34 (40th out of 152 runners), DAVID PATTMAN 23-34 (41st).  

Letchworth (Hertfordshire): NICK GILL 21-48 (12th out of 94 runners), GEORGIE HOOPER 26-01 (38th). 

Panshanger (Hertford): MIKE REYNOLDS 25-06 (62nd out of 207 runners).  

Rushmere (Bedfordshire): MICHAEL O’KEEFE 29-31 (73rd out of 141 runners).  

Rutland Water (Rutland): DARRYL STEVENS 41-39 (210th).