parkrun - Fairlands Valley Spartans

**Team Medals * Handicap 5K**

28 Spartans took part in Thursday evening’s Handicap 5K around Stevenage.

Winner on the night was DAVID PRICE in a time of 24 minutes 34 seconds 3:26 better than handicap with FIONA CLARKE firstfemale in 26:14, 2:46 better than handicap. NICOLA HATHERLY was second female in 34:44 and CAROLYN LINSELL third female in 26:24, while CHLOE CHAPMAN was fourth female in 26:58. MATT CLARKE was 2^nd male in 23:02 with DANNY HUKIN 3^rd male in 18:34 and STUART ARCHER 4^th male in 19:27.

The winners are, in effect, the best improvers. In a handicap event the slowest go off first with the faster ones following according to recent performances. In theory if everyone runs to form they will all finish together. In practice the first ones over the finish line will be those that have improved the most, or those that have slowed down the least.

DANNY HUKIN was fastest on the night with his 18:34 and STUART ARCHER second quickest with his 19:27, while BRIAN WHITE was third quickest in 21:15 and PETE SMITH fourth fastest in 21:40. MARIE COLUCCI was quickest female in 22:56, with TRACEY JACKSON & TRACY PEZ second and third fastest in 23:32 and FIONA CLARKE fourth quickest with her 26:14.

There were Season Best times for Chloe Chapman, Matt Clarke, Danny Hukin, Andy Jay, Marie Colucci, Jane McFarlane, Tracey Jackson, Tracy Pez, Peter Smith, Nigel Strongitharm and Sharon Crowley, and Year Best times for Fiona Clarke, Nicola Hatherly, Stuart Archer, Dean Carpenter, Mark Beasley, Sally Pickles, Nick Kleanthous, Kelly Evans and Dzenana Topic.

The race was in Stevenage on the Fairlands, Verity, Martins, Grace and back to Fairlands Way course with the start near Webb Rise and the finish under Douglas Drive.

The club thanked Paul Holgate, Cathy Craig, Mark Freeman, Angie Keeling and Adrian Busolini for their much appreciated support, assistance and photos which made the event a success.

Spartans at the Stevenage 10K

After months of cancellations and postponements it was great to enjoy the company of others at a “real” race in Stevenage. Twenty Spartans ran the Stevenage 10K on Sunday.

The Spartan men’s team of four consisted of BRIAN WHITE in 42 minutes 21 seconds; LUKE GURNEY 50:12; JAMES McSWEENEY 51:19 and, to his surprise, JIM BROWN in 55:21.

Brian was third runner aged 60 plus and 23^rd out of the 393 finishers. Luke said it was hilly but worth it for the cake and was 100^th. James was 118^th and Jim 171^st.

NICOLA ANDERSSON was the fastest female from Fairlands. She was 168^th in 55 minutes 11 seconds. CAROLYN LINSELL was second woman aged 65 plus and 177^th with her 56 minutes 8 seconds. SARAH ILLINGWORTH was third Spartan woman and 188^th overall with 56:59. Sarah said “It was certainly not a PB (personal best) but given the lack of races over the last 17 months and sporadic training not too bad. Great race, well organised, friendly and only five minutes from my front door. Post race cake is always a bonus!” PENNY SCHENKEL was fourth female from Spartans in 1:02:15. Penny, SUE HAMER and ERICA GRAYSON were 262^nd, 263^rd and 264^th.

CHRISTINE ZVEREV recorded a chip time of 1 hour 8 minutes 40 seconds for the Stevenage 10K. She said, “The course was a bit hilly in places but I still kept the time under 1 hour 10minutes and I did manage a 5K PB of 29 minutes 5 seconds on the way round. That’s a win in my book.”

The County Championships for veteran runners (those aged 35 and over will be in the Standalone 10K this Sunday.

(All the Spartan results from the Stevenage 10K can be found near the end of this release.

Adrian’s Century Run

ADRIAN BUSOLINI ran the Cotswold Way Century, finishing in 25 hours, in ninth place. The Cotswold Way Century is a 102 miler along the Cotswold Way walking path, which runs north to south through the hills and villages of the Cotswolds, finishing outside the Abbey in Bath. It’s incessantly hilly, and navigation requires constant vigilance; however, weather conditions were favourable, there was great camaraderie out on the course, and the vegan chili at Painswick aid station was awesome.

Swansea 10K

Spartan ROBERT EVANS had a good run in the Swansea 10K with 52 minutes 54 seconds.

Parkrun Highlights 18th September 2021

In this week’s roundup of Spartans on the Parkrun circuit, there was a first finisher (event winner) at Exmouth in Devon where Jonathan Parr powered home in a time of 16-46 whilst Steve Wells took on the Great Notley course near Braintree, Essex and tackled the ‘big hill’ twice to finish in third with a time of 20-11

Stevenage Parkrun Results: SAM SIMMONS 21-50 (31st) – Parkrun PB, EVA RAMSEY 23-02 (49th), PAUL SHELLEY 23-14 (56th), ASHLEY KING 23-16 (57th), CLIVE CANNON 23-40 (65th), DARREN EMMERSON 24-44 (83rd), GAIL MACKIE 25-23 (98th), JULIE SIMMONS 26-10 (117th), DAVID PATTMAN 26-52 (137th), STEVE DOBNER 26-52 (138th), JIM BROWN 27-41 (157th), MATT CLARKE 29-00 (183rd), CHLOE CHAPMAN 29-05 (187th), NICOLA ANDERSSON 29-07 (192nd), DEBBIE BLANTERN 29-31 (202nd), STEPHEN SMITHSON 31-51 (254th), FIONA CLARKE 33-28 (281st) and BETH FOLEY 33-34 (286th). In its ninth week back Stevenage parkrun was up to 358 runners.

The Spartans on parkrun away days were:

Brockenhurst (Dorset): DARRYL STEVENS 53-47 (156th out of 156 runners).

Canons Park (North London): TIM SABAN 24-46 (37th out of 192 runners).

Exmouth (Devon): JONATHAN PARR 16-46 (1st out of 313 runners).

Great Notley (Essex): STEVE WELLS 20-11 (3rd out of 221 runners).

Lee-on-the Solent (Hampshire): ED HARE 27-39 (175th out of 418 runners).

Letchworth (Hertfordshire): NICK GILL 21-49 (14th out of 128 runners), GEORGIE HOOPER 25-11 (33rd), CAREN THAIN 38-31 (113th).

Luton Wardown (Bedfordshire): MICHAEL O’KEEFE 28-18 (94th out of 280 runners).

Medina (Isle of Wight), NICK KLEANTHOUS 28-29 (83rd out of 199 runners).

University of Stirling (Stirlingshire, Scotland): STUART STABLES 22-31 (18th out of 131 runners).

The 71^st Fly 5K – Saturday 18^th September.

Four regular Spartans competed in the 71^st run anywhere Fly 5K on Saturday. JIM BROWN was 70^th in 27 minutes 41 seconds; NICK KLEANTHOUS 79^th in 28:23; NICOLA ANDERSSON 86^th in 29:05 and PAUL HOLGATE 97^th in 30:55.

Fly 5K was one of the stars of lockdown keeping runners moving and in touch during the restrictions. The first of the free virtual races was in June 2020.

Entries Open for the Stevenage Half Marathon

With only 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 21^st November (a couple of weeks later than usual).

Entries for the Stevenage Half Marathon are open and you can enter by clicking this link: Stevenage Half Marathon. 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.

Each Year the Spartans nominate a charity to support and the chosen charity for 2021 is Feed Up Warm Up.

Tables

Handicap 5K in Stevenage on Thursday 16^th September

Pos	FIRST NAME	LAST NAME	OWN TIME	R	F	H’CAP	TIME	COMP H’CAP	PB	Impr
1	DAVID	PRICE	24:34	12		17:00	41:32	3:26	PB
2	FIONA	CLARKE	26:14	15	4	16:00	42:17	2:46	YB	1:52
3	NICOLA	HATHERLY	34:44	26	13	7:30	42:20	2:46	YB
4	CAROLYN	LINSELL	26:24	17	6	16:15	42:33	2:21
5	CHLOE	CHAPMAN	26:58	19	8	15:45	42:43	2:17	SB	0:33
6	MATT	CLARKE	23:02	7		19:45	42:45	2:13	SB	0:13
7	DANNY	HUKIN	18:34	1		24:15	42:51	2:11	SB
8	STUART	ARCHER	19:27	2		23:30	42:59	2:03	YB	0:22
9	ANDY	JAY	23:46	10		19:30	43:19	1:44	SB	1:40
10	DEAN	CARPENTER	21:53	5		21:30	43:23	1:37	YB
11	MARK	BEASLEY	25:39	13		18:00	43:41	1:21	YB	0:04
12	MARIE	COLUCCI	22:56	6	1	20:45	43:42	1:19	SB
13	SALLY	PICKLES	36:12	27	14	7:30	43:43	1:18	YB
14	JANE	McFARLANE	27:42	21	9	16:00	43:45	1:18	SB
15	TRACEY	JACKSON	23:32	8	2	20:15	43:47	1:13	SB
16	TRACY	PEZ	23:32	9	3	20:15	43:48	1:13	SB	1:09
17	PETER	SMITH	21:40	4		22:15	43:56	1:05	SB	0:54
18	NICK	KLEANTHOUS	25:58	14		18:00	43:58	1:02	YB	0:04
19	BRIAN	WHITE	21:15	3		22:45	44:00	1:00
20	VISHAL	SHAH	27:26	20		16:30	44:19	1:04
21	NICOLA	ANDERSSON	26:21	16	5	18:00	44:22	0:39
22	NIGEL	STRONGITHARM	24:07	11		20:15	44:22	0:38	SB	0:33
23	STEPHANIE	BIGGAR	36:45	28		7:45	44:30	0:30
24	JUDY	KING	33:29	25	12	11:30	45:05	0:01
25	KELLY	EVANS	26:54	18	7	18:30	45:24	(0:24)	YB
26	DZENANA	TOPIC	31:52	23	10	14:45	46:37	(1:37)	YB
27	SHARON	CROWLEY	32:20	24	11	14:45	46:53	(2:05)	SB	2:21
28	TIM	ROBINSON	28:29	22		18:45	47:13	(2:14)

Stevenage 10K – Sunday 19^th September (394 finishers)

Post	Cat	Name	Cat	Gun Time	Chip Time	AGrade	Comments
23.	3	Brian WHITE	MV60	0:42:22	0:42:21	81.9%	3MV60 3^rd Team
100.	29	Luke GURNEY	MS	0:50:45	0:50:12	52.6%	3^rd Team
109.	25	Nigel STRONGITHARM	MV50	51:20	50:03	62.7%
118.	33	James MCSWEENEY	MS	0:52:00	0:51:19	51.8%	3^rd Team
168.	19	Nicola ANDERSSON	FV45	0:55:34	0:55:11	62.4%
171.	11	Jim BROWN	MV60	0:55:45	0:55:21	61.6%	3^rd Team
177.	2	Carolyn LINSELL	FV65	0:56:31	0:56:08	73.7%	2FV65
188.	21	Sarah ILLINGWORTH	FV45	0:57:12	0:56:59	59.9%
219.	51	John HARDING	MS	0:59:38	0:58:24	44.8%
255.	19	Paul HOLGATE	MV60	1:02:30	1:01:56	54.4%
262.	36	Penny SCHENKEL	FV45	1:02:59	1:02:15	55.0%
263.	37	Sue HAMER	FV45	1:03:01	1:01:50	54.3%
264.	38	Erica GRAYSON	FV45	1:03:01	1:01:49	55.7%
296.	19	Monica SMITHSON	FV55	1:06:14	1:05:30	55.7%
313.	23	Angie KEELING	FV35	1:07:54	1:06:40	46.2%
320.	26	Toni NICHOLS	FV35	1:08:35	1:07:20	45.2%
326.	27	Christine ZVEREV	FV35	1:09:12	1:08:40	44.4%
337.	54	Tracy HAYGARTH	FV45	1:11:15	1:10:31	49.2%
342.	56	Carole SHELDRICK	FV45	1:12:03	1:10:49	45.9%
344.	24	Karen PALMER	FV55	1:12:03	1:10:50	50.5%

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 100^th 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 28^th 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 4^th 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 50^th Fly 5K on Saturday. This was the 69^th Fly 5K. There were 147 runners from 38 clubs. He was second in his category and 53^rd overall in 26 minutes exactly

PENNY SCHENKEL was 79^th in 28:54 and PAUL HOLGATE 103^rd 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 21^st November

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

Tables

Spartans at the Stampede

Pos	Race No	Name	Laps	Dist Done	Time	Fastest Lap	Slowest Lap	Average Lap	Start
18	27	Tricia HOPPER	11	44	11:14:14	00:44:46	01:39:58	01:01:17	08:59:59
29	36	Adrian BUSOLINI	9	36	06:16:34	00:27:25	01:15:52	00:41:50	08:59:59
40	28	Karen LIDDLE	8	32	11:14:14	00:49:27	02:38:26	01:24:16	08:59:59
41	26	Barry KING	8	32	11:14:16	00:49:28	02:38:27	01:24:17	08:59:59
43	50	Yuko GORDON	7	28	04:35:53	00:37:57	00:41:48	00:39:24	08:59:59
54	58	John NELMS	7	28	06:16:58	00:38:44	01:13:54	00:53:51	08:59:59
55	52	Hazel SMITH	7	28	06:17:00	00:39:51	01:11:50	00:53:51	08:59:59
59	16	Sharon CROWLEY	7	28	06:57:07	00:49:28	01:09:07	00:59:35	08:59:59
65	37	Claire EMMERSON	6	24	06:17:00	00:40:06	01:29:12	01:02:50	08:59:59
66	29	Neal MUGGLETON	6	24	06:17:01	00:40:08	01:28:58	01:02:50	08:59:59
69	54	Jacqueline DOWNES	6	24	07:03:46	00:39:49	03:05:09	01:10:37	08:59:59
76	49	Sue HAMER	5	20	04:27:02	00:47:40	01:07:12	00:53:24	08:59:59
77	48	Erica GRAYSON	5	20	04:27:03	00:47:40	01:07:11	00:53:24	08:59:59
79	38	Darren EMMERSON	5	20	04:39:20	00:39:53	01:16:15	00:55:52	08:59:59
82	56	Jenny GARRETT	4	16	04:47:47	00:40:06	02:10:23	01:11:56	08:59:59
83	41	Gerry ROSEN	4	16	05:12:52	00:46:47	02:10:30	01:18:13	08:59:59

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, 4^th September

	Position	Gender Position	Parkrunner	Time
Rosliston
	164	95	Darryl STEVENS	00:41:40	New Venue

Stevenage
	9	1	Suzy HAWKINS	00:19:38	PB
	53	46	Andrew MCGUINNESS	00:23:24
	61	52	Barry OSBORNE	00:23:45
	67	56	James MCSWEENEY	00:24:05
	70	59	Clive CANNON	00:24:20
	93	74	Toby ECCLESHALL	00:25:40
	96	77	Thomas SAUKA	00:25:55
	98	79	Jim BROWN	00:26:00
	107	87	Nick KLEANTHOUS	00:26:34
	116	18	Caroline BARTER	00:27:07
	141	25	Penny SCHENKEL	00:28:33
	151	31	Gail MACKIE	00:29:28
	155	33	Debbie BLANTERN	00:29:42
	163	39	Fiona CLARKE	00:30:12
	164	117	Matt CLARKE	00:30:13
	217	67	Georgie HOOPER	00:33:06
	218	142	Nick GILL	00:33:07
	255	72	Beth FOLEY	00:33:28
	244	84	Carole SHELDRICK	00:34:31
	245	85	Caroline CROFT	00:34:32
	246	86	Karen PALMER	00:34:33
	269	99	Shelbe MOONBEAM	00:37:00

Houghton Hall
	83	67	Michael O’KEEFE	00:27:55

Wimpole Estate
	259	65	Sally PHILLIPS	00:34:59

Letchworth
	84	58	John Harris	00:30:42	60th
	120	44	Caren THAIN	00:36:53

Team Medals * Handicap 5K

Spartans at the Stevenage 10K

Adrian’s Century Run

Swansea 10K

Parkrun Highlights 18th September 2021

The 71st Fly 5K – Saturday 18th September.

Entries Open for the Stevenage Half Marathon

Tables

St Albans Stampede

Fairlands Fantastic 4 at the Stampede

Bedford Twenty and Half

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

Parkrun Highlight 4th September 2021

Fly 5k

Entries Open for the Stevenage Half Marathon

Spartans at the Stampede

Spartans at Parkruns, 4th September

**Team Medals * Handicap 5K**

The 71^st Fly 5K – Saturday 18^th September.

Parkrun Highlight 4^th September 2021

Spartans at Parkruns, 4^th September