Lots of Spartans took part in Race for Life on Sunday as part of the Cancer Research fundraising event.
It is usual to see a lot of Spartans at this event as those that don’t take part offer their marshalling skills to encourage and support others.
This year saw a larger than normal amount of Spartans take part as they were honouring a beloved Spartan member who we sadly lost earlier this year. The family were out supporting the wonderful charity and so our members also took to the course to support and remember Cathy.
Cathy Craig was a true inspiration to so many of us. From 5k up to Ultra’s and back down to EMAC, you name it Cathy did it. She was a renowned trophy winner at our annual Presentation Evening and we believe that she may of achieved the whole collection of awards available including the much sought after award of Spartan of the Year at this years ceremony.
Cathy would always greet everybody with a warm, infectious smile and would always be supportive and encouraging offering lots of runners tips where she could.
The Race for Life event would have been a day that Cathy loved! Dressing up in tutu’s, coloured wigs and head boppers, she would have been at the front of the queue!
#bemorecathy
EMAC
The FVS women’s team finished in third place in the EMAC league central division at Bedford on Wednesday. EMAC run a track and field league for veteran athletes in the East of England. Cambridge & Coleridge were out in force after their narrow defeat last month, winning on the night with 141 points with Marshall Milton Keynes placed second with 110 points and FVS with 106. FVS remain top points scorers with 393 points, but it all comes down to the last match in Sandy next month.
Spartan Women – SHARON CROWLEY, ASHLEY JOHNSON, CHRISTINE LATHWELL, PAULA McMAHON, MARIAN MORLEY, JOYLYN SAUNDERS-MULLINS and ANDREA WESTCOTT
Wins on the night came from Sharon Crowley in the 2km A string walk and W60 hammer throw. Sharon also placed 4th in the W50 100m and 5th in the W60 1500m. Other points came from Christine Lathwell, who placed 5th in the W35 100m after sprinting to the start line having placed 4th in the 2km B string walk. Christine also covered the W35 triple jump, finishing 4th. Joylyn Saunders-Mullins secured 2nd place in the W60+ 100m, 3rd in the W60+ 400m, and 2nd in the W60+ shot put.  Paula McMahon made a mad dash from her car straight to the start line for the W35 400m, changing in to her spikes while the other women were lining up! Despite the lack of a warm up, Paula finished in a very respectable 3rd place. Andrea Westcott placed 2nd in the W50 400m, 4th in the W35 hammer, and 6th in the W35 shot put. Marian Morley started the evening with a new PB in the W50 shot put, finishing 3rd and also placed 3rd in the W50 hammer. Ashley Johnson made a welcome return to the team, running a great W35 1500m and finishing 2nd.
The W35 relay team of Paula McMahon, Christine Lathwell, Ashley Johnson, and Joylyn Saunders-Mullins finished 3rd in the 4 x 200m
The men’s team conststing of CHARLIE ARNOLD, ANTON McCALLA, NICK KLEANTHOUS, STEVE MAYFIELD, MICHAEL O’KEEFE, ANDREW PATTERSON, TIM SAUNDERS-MULLINS and CHRIS WESTCOTT did themselves proud, finishing fourth on the night, just 8 points behind third placed Cambridge & Coleridge.
Wins from Andy Patterson in the M35 1500m and Tim Saunders-Mullins in the M60+ hammer throw combined with points scored by Anton McCalla, Nick Kleanthous, Chris Westcott, Charlie Arnold, Steve Mayfield, and Michael O’Keefe so the Spartans team remain in fourth place overall.
Mid Week League Round Up
Not only did Fairlands Valley Spartans get promoted to the top division in the Mid Week League (see last week’s release) but they had some great individual prize winners.
SAM PRETTY was second woman in the open competition; ASHLEY JOHNSON second in the women 35 plus category; SIMON FRASER third man in the open competition; ANDREW PATERSON WON the men 40 plus category with RICHARD BATE third.
AND Fairlands Valley Spartans were overall winners in the veterans contest.
Ultra 5k
MIKE JEFFS took on the ultra 5k challenge at Box End Bedford. This was a gruelling challenge running a 5k on the hour every hour for five hours. He managed to keep his times consistent which helped him achieve a third place finish. Mike’s first ever podium finish for a running event.
Wendover Woods 100 MilesÂ
Adrian Busolini WON the Centurion Wendover Woods 100 mile event in 20 hours 24 minutes 59 seconds.
With 600m of climb and a mix of terrains, just one lap of this Wendover course is quite punchy. So 10 laps, in conditions only slightly cooler than SDW100, was always going to be a challenge for the 30 souls who toed the start line.
13 of them made it to the end, and Adrian was glad to be the first – not just because that meant he got to take home an almost life-sized Centurion trophy, but because he could catch an hour of rest and a few pretty awesome crepes before the Wendover Weekender kicked off, with Allie talking crewing and The Green Runners demonstrating how to repair shoe uppers. 
It was the first time Centurion had run a camping, talks and general fun & games weekend like this, and they put on a really good show, with the volunteers standing out as usual being the ultra awesome folks they are. Good times, good conversations, and a weekend well spent.
Parkrun Highlights Saturday 8th July 2023
For the full Consolidated Results please click the linkÂ
Personal Best Achievements
ASHLEY JOHNSON was first female at Stevenage in a new parkrun personal best of 20 minutes 21 seconds for her 10th parkrun.
NICK GILL ran his 100th parkrun at Stevenage and did it with a new parkrun personal best of 18 minutes 40 seconds (18:40) which got him a top ten sixth place out of the 406 finishers.
NICOLA ANNDERSSON ran a new parkrun PB of 26:22 in Ballina, Ireland