Tag: Resolution 5k

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News Race Results

GOLD, SILVER & BRONZE FOR SPARTANS

There were silver and bronze county medals for Fairlands Valley Spartans on Sunday morning.  24 ran the Hitchin 10K which included the Hertfordshire championships for veteran runners.

In the open race Spartan CHARLIE WHITE was 12th out of the 893 finishers in a new personal best (PB) of 36 minutes 5 seconds.  Charlieā€™s PB was 11 seconds quicker than the St Albans 10K two weeks ago and a 1 minute 17 second improvement since last year.

The fastest female from Fairlands was ASHLEY KING who was in the top 90 runners and in the County championships won a BRONZE medal with 42 minutes 29 seconds (42:29). 

Spartan JIM BROWN was very pleased with himself.  Despite a hard time in the London Marathon heat last Sunday afternoon he won SILVER in the County championships with a reasonable time of 55 minutes 57 seconds.  Thatā€™s second man 70 plus.

There were many great achievements including MEGAN SUTTON improving her personal best by 2 minutes 4 seconds to 56:20 and SAM GENTRY with a new PB of 1:01:08, a reduction of 1 minute 10 seconds.  JUDY KING got under one hour for the first time with her new PB of 27:43. 

SAMANTHA SUTTON ran her fastest 10K since 2021 with 1:19:21.  PENNY SCHENKEL and BECKY RAYNER were other London Marathon finishers who had a good run.  Penny came in with 1:02:42 and Becky with 1:19:21.

The Spartans second woman JO COOKSLEY beat 50 minutes with 49:39.

JACKIE PERRY was second in the women 60 plus age group.  Her chip time was 52 minutes 46 seconds.

To participate in the county championships runners had to be eligible by birth or place of residence.

PosCatPosMFBiBNameCatChip TimeAge Gd
125124409Charles WHITEMV3036:0574.1%
4913453836Adrian DONNELLYMV4040:3171.5%
8815773386Mike GUESTMV5042:3474.2%
895124799Ashley KINGFV3042:2972.8%
117310326Charles ARNOLDMV6044:0880.8%
123431083803Toby ECCLESHALLMV3044:2360.7%
187401633224Danny SCANLONMV4046:4060.6%
237792037296Joseph WASNOCKMV3048:1155.3%
27520477119Jo COOKSLEYFV3049:3961.9%
3902813700Jackie PERRYFV6052:4676.6%
412773253563Matt TUTTONMV4052:5552.1%
48471359883Tim ROBINSONMV5055:0956.6%
50733703663Jim BROWNMV70+55:5765.8%
537221522338Megan SUTTONF2056:2053.1%
57081704142Judy KINGFV6057:4367.0%
605691921605Amy SAWYERFV3058:1551.6%
615324167303Andy JAYMV6059:0155.8%
68469246857Sam GENTRYFV401:01:0854.1%
72242274625Penny SCHENKELFV501:02:4257.4%
723432754944Hazel SMITHFV501:02:4254.7%
72991451196Karl SHREEVEMV501:02:5750..1%
817563433710Samantha SUTTONFV501:08:1849.6%
8811043951589Rebecca RAYNERFV401:19:2139.7%
893104894758Roger BIGGSMV70+1:42:1538.3%

Resolution 5000

Eleven Spartans ran in the Resolution 5000 at Ridlins Track in Stevenage.

Only days after running a full marathon in Manchester SIMON JACKSON was racing round 12.5 laps of the track to be second in the event with 17 minutes 2 seconds.  NICK GILL was fifth with 17:50 and PAUL SHELLEY sixth in 18:05.

GEORGIE HOOPER was the fastest female from Fairlands third woman in the event with 21:15, a new personal best by three seconds.  ANNABELLE WHITE was not far behind in 22:42.

The other Spartans were ROSS GALLAGHER 19:13; PAUL MOULD 19:24; MATT TUTTON in 24:24; MARTIN DUDLEY in 24:32; SHARON CROWLEY in 29:11 and PAUL HOLGATE in 33:12.  There were 58 runners.

Nick Gill.  17:50 for me at the Resolution 5k – my third fastest over the distance and my quickest on the track. I was aiming for sub-18, so really pleased with the run and how I paced it. Thanks to everyone for the fantastic support!

Ross Gallagher said his 19:13 was a good marker to build on. 

PosNameTimeMFCatPosCatAge Gd
2Simon JACKSON17:0221MV4085.1 %
5Nick GILL17:5053MS73.7 %
6Paul SHELLEY18:0562MV5084.8 %
13Ross GALLAGHER19:13134MV4070.9 %
17Paul MOULD19:24176MV4070.2 %
27Georgie HOOPER21:1533FS70.5 %
35Annabelle WHITE22:4265FS64.9 %
43Matt TUTTON24:243514MV4055.8 %
46Martin DUDLEY24:32382MV6065.8 %
56Sharon CROWLEY29:11111FV6068.3 %
57Paul HOLGATE33:12464MV6051.3 %

MK Marathon Weekend

At about 12 degrees conditions were relatively kind for marathon running in Milton Keynes on May Day Holiday Monday.

A bit of a breeze but TONY RANDFIELD went through 10K in 49:40 and half marathon in 1:45:51 and reached the finish line in 3 hours 45 minutes 29 seconds.  JESSICA CLARKE was through 10K in 1:00:12 and halfway in 2:06:51 and the finish line in 4:34:33.  With a much better run than in Brighton a few weeks ago HANNAH MANTON in was at 10K in 1:23:45; halfway in 2:41:19 and finished in 5:27:05.  There were 1,934 finishers.

Hannah said ā€œIt didn’t quite go to plan despite feeling strong, blisters definitely got the better of me!  Multiple stops were needed to change plasters, and even swap trainers at the halfway point, but I’ll take it as lessons learned and more training towards my ultra in June!ā€

JOHN NELMS was running the half marathon.  He went through 10K in 1:02:45 and finished in 2:02:15.  There were 2,316 finishers in the half marathon.

Medals at Track Championships

Fairlands Valley Spartans came away from the Hertfordshire track championships for veterans with a good crop of medals.  SHARON CROWLEY won GOLD for women 60 plus in the 1500 metres with 7 minutes 44 seconds (4:53.85), a recent improvement of 12 seconds, and SILVER in the hammer with 16.19 metres.

It was GOLD for SIMON JACKSON in the men 40 plus 1500.  It took him just 4 minutes 34 seconds (4:34.25).

PAUL SHELLEY won GOLD in the men 50 plus 1500 metres with a personal best of 4:53.85 and CRAIG BACON took the SILVER with 5:33.86.  That was Craigā€™s first 1500 since 2019.

ANNABELLE WHITE won GOLD in the senior womenā€™s 1500 with 6:13.53.

Moving carefully after the road 10K championships the previous day JIM BROWN won 1500 metres GOLD for men 70 plus.  However it was a bit of a journey.  It took him 8:37.67.

Parkrun Highlights – Saturday 3rd May – 400th parkrun coming up

The FVS ā€œtakeoverā€ of Saturdayā€™s Stevenage parkrun resulted in a large turnout of 598 runners completing the five kilometres around Fairlands Valley Park.  Some were proudly wearing their London Marathon finishers T shirts from six days earlier.

The Spartans provided nearly all the officials, the marshals, all the pacers and the tailwalkers ā€“ and 45 Spartans ran.  PAUL MOULD a first timer was seventh in 19:47 and MIKE JEFFS, also top ten, was eighth in 19:50.  MARTIN JACOB ran a new parkrun personal best (PPB) of 21:52 and MARIE COLUCCI was a top ten woman with 23:41.

LEE PICKERSGILL celebrated a milestone with his 100th parkrun which he finished in 25:23.  There were also PPBs for PETER SACH 27:31 and JUDY KING 28:37.  Judy improved by 36 seconds.

Altogether 75 Spartans were running a parkrun on Saturday morning.  One was enjoying a really memorable run along the city walls at Lucca in Italy.  The Mura di Lucca parkrun.  JACKIE DOWNES finished in 29 minutes 46 seconds.  There were 115 finishers.

Stevenage parkrun celebrates a major milestone on Saturday morning 10th May.  It will be the 400th Stevenage parkrun.  So far there have been 131,852 finishes with an average time of 30 minutes 11 seconds.

PositionGender PositionFVS parkrunnerTime
77Paul MOULD19:47
88Mike JEFFS19:50
4239Martin JACOB21:52
4441Jay PAPA21:58
5047David RIDDELL22:09
9180Tony RANDFIELD23:23
9886Ross GALLACHER23:29
10710Marie COLUCCI23:41
11397Charlie WHITE24:17
118101Martin DUDLEY24:25
135115Daniel VILJOEN25:03
146125Lee PICKERSGILL25:23
149127Darren EMMERSON25:25
158135Mark BEASLEY25:36
167144Matthew COOKE25:56
172149Ryan DUNNING26:01
218183Steve TINSLEY27:27
222186Peter SACH27:31
234192Charles ARNOLD27:45
26948Judy KING28:37
278218Vishal SHAH28:43
29859Claire EMMERSON29:16
30362Carole SHELDRICK29:29
30866Jessica CLARKE29:35
33676Sophie PARSONS30:47
339251Ryan RIDDELL30:52
35086Pamela VILJOEN31:10
35589Debbie BLANTERN31:15
361258Steve PLATT31:23
36697Nikki NATION31:30
376105Annabelle WHITE31:45
385265Nick KLEANTHOUS32:11
386111Elizabeth CROWLEY32:13
426275Paul HOLGATE33:35
435141Yuko GORDON33:58
478171Hazel SMITH36:00
482172Hannah MANTON36:08
498298Maurice BALLARD37:24
526307Lloyd DIAS40:02
552216Melody BROWN42:50
581235Emma CHAPMAN49:20
583325Roger BIGGS50:02
590242Rebecca RAYNER54:56
597248Alison SHELLEY62:10
598249Sharon CROWLEY62:12
Categories
News Race Results

BOOST AT TRENT PARK CROSS COUNTRY

28 Fairlands Valley Spartans ā€“ eleven women and 17 men ā€“ turned out for the third cross country league race in four weeks.  Thatā€™s a much stronger womenā€™s team than last time and helped the clubā€™s performance.  The race was in Trent Park.

This Sunday DAVID HARRIS-CHERGUIT ran 19 seconds faster than seven days earlier and moved up from 10th to sixth overall.  This time ADRIAN BUSOLINI was one second faster with his 29:12 and he was 15th.

TRACEY JACKSON led in the Spartan women with her 39:33 with YUKO GORDON second in 40:40.

It seemed warmer and drier in Trent Park than previous years.

The Spartan men improved to fourth out of 20 in the menā€™s race at Barley only a week ago.

The next Cross Country League race, race four, will be in Stevenage on Sunday 15th December.

Spartan One Two At Bedford

Spartan ASHLEY JOHNSON was first female in Sundayā€™s Bedford 10K with a brilliant sub 40 time of 39:50 chip time and Spartan MARIE COLUCCI was sixth with 48:52.

Ashley and Marie were first and second in the women 40 plus category and 11th and 34th out of all the 263 finishers.

Ashley said, ā€œIt was a twisty, turny course.  Some muddy, cross country parts.  So not as fast as Iā€™d hoped but a win is a win.ā€

Knebworth ā€“ A Win by 15 seconds and Penny was Early

Six Spartans ran the Hertfordshire Half Marathon from Knebworth House.

Spartan KRISTIAN ATANASOV had a top ten run finishing in 1:20:33.  He was ninth out of 1,362 finishers and second senior male.

CHRIS WATLING said it was a tough course, very undulating.  He didn’t feel overly prepared for today coming off the back of two injuries and only two x 5km treadmill runs during recovery over the last two weeks, but he was very happy with his time!  1:53:45.

Chris added it was good preparation for the Baldock Beast in Feb!  Great event and support. Good to see a few Spartans out there today too! 

JIM BROWN reckons heā€™s still trying to get out of marathon mode and didnā€™t think there was a sensible chance of getting under two hours on the rolling course but, but with a reasonable last four kilometres he got sight of the leading runner in his category, caught him after going through the gate into the grounds of Knebworth House and dug in to be first man 70 plus by a margin of 15 seconds.

PENNY SCHENKEL was early.  Clearly delighted she beat her predicted time by more than 28 minutes and finished in 2 hours 31 minutes 55 seconds (2:31:55).  The London plan is clicking in.

MARK COLLINS was 80th in 1:33:47 and CLAIRE EMMERSON finished in 2:15:05.

New York Marathon ā€“ a Spartan in the Big Apple

Spartan ROSS GALLAGHER ran the New York Marathon in 3 hours 2 minutes 43 seconds (3:02:43).

He ran on Sunday to complete his Abbott World Marathon Majors 6 Stars. 

Ross said it was a fantastic race and up there with some of the best crowds at any race with the Bronx a personal favourite.  The bridges were just as tough as people say… and he thought parks were flat… Central Park isn’t. 

Resolution Track 5K

Five Spartans were among the 39 runners who went 12.5 times round Ridlins Track on Wednesday evening.  This was the Resolution 5K, a guaranteed no hills event.

After spinning around for 19 minutes 15 seconds JAY PAPA was the first Spartan to finish.  SIMON JACKSON wasnā€™t far behind in 19:27 then MATT GIFFORD 20:49; BRIAN WHITE 22:31 and KARL SHREEVE in 27:12.

PosMFCatPosNameCatTimeAge Gd
773Jay PAPAMS19:1566.7 %
10104Simon JACKSONMV4019:2773.9 %
19196Matt GIFFORDMV5020:4972.5 %
26241Brian WHITEMV6022:3176.5 %
353010Karl SHREEVEMV5027:1256.4 %

39 ran.

Parkrun Highlights 2nd November

Exactly the same number of runners, 527, finished the award winning Stevenage parkrun this week as the previous Saturday.  There were 227 women and 300 men.

This time Spartan GRANT RAMSAY was well in the top ten at fourth with his 18:33.  KAREN ELLIS was fastest female from Spartans with 25:38.

PAUL SHELLEY has just one parkrun to go before a major milestone.  He finished his 99th in 24:49.  MARTIN JACOB ran his 20th in 26:20.

So far there have been 117,694 finishes by 15,674 different people at the 371 Stevenage parkruns.  They won the top award at the Recent Stevenage Together awards.

Spartans running parkrun 5Ks elsewhere included SIMON JACKSON 19:59 at Great Denham; ADRIAN DONNELLY tenth at Henlow Bridge Lakes in 22:15; YUKO GORDON 23:09 at Storeyā€™s Field; SUZY HAWKINS was first woman at Wendover Woods in 23:34; MEGAN SUTTON 27:07 and SAM SUTTON 32:45 at Bedford; LUCY FIELD 27:43 at Sandhurst Memorial; CHRIS HOLLAND 30:20 at Rutland Water; CHLOE CHAPMAN 30:57 at the Pocket parkrun; and STEVE SMITHSON who was the lonesome Spartan at Panshanger.  He said he had a slightly slippy and challenging powerwalk.  He finished in 255th place out of a field of 317 parkrunners in 34:13

Recently Spartans ASHLEY JOHNSON and NIKKI NATION ran the South Norwood parkrun.

South Norwood parkrun ran an event for Black History Month and one of the local running groups called Emancipated Run Crew did a take over. 

Ashley was first woman out of 82 in 20:47 and NIKKI NATION 28th in 30:03.  215 ran and Ashley as fifth overall!

An official ParkRun film crew were there and they interviewed both Nikki and I.

Itā€™s on Facebook if you want to watch it: 

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/4Q61SH4SanLStP7y/?mibextid=WC7FNe

Categories
Club News Race Results Races

SPINNING AROUND AT THE RESOLUTION 5K

Fifteen Spartans were spinning around at Ridlins Track on Wednesday.  They were running 12.5 times 400 metres anti-clockwise laps in the Resolution 5K.

It was 1, 2, 3 for the Spartan men 40 plus.  SIMON JACKSON was first, third overall, in 16:39 with ANTHONY CAHILL second in 18:06 and ROSS GALLACHER third in a new personal best (PB) of 18:34.

GEORGIE HOOPER was second woman overall with 21:30 and CRAIG BACON second man 50 plus with 21:39, his best 5K since 2021.

YUKO GORDON won her age group with 23:41 – worth 92.8% and KERSTIN PRIOR was first in hers in 26:28.

JANE WADEY was running her first race since being injured in 2023.  She was hoping for a better result but it was very hot. She was very grateful for all the club support from other runners though and hope to improve now.

Altogether there were 51 finishers.  51 at a track event makes it pretty busy.

PosNameTimeMFCatPosCatAge Grade
3.Simon JACKSON16:3931MV4086.3 %
10.Anthony CAHILL18:06102MV4075.9 %
11.Ross GALLAGHER18:34113MV4072.8 %
14.Jay PAPA18:591410MS67.7 %
23.Georgie HOOPER21:3022FS69.7 %
25.Craig BACON21:39232MV5069.7 %
33.Melvin AUBURN23:223019MS56.2 %
35.Yuko GORDON23:4141FV70+92.8 %
36.Brian WHITE23:59322MV6071.8 %
38.Matt TUTTON24:50348MV4054.4 %
39.Martin DUDLEY25:01353MV6063.9 %
44.Kerstin PRIOR26:2871FV5065.1 %
46.Tim ROBINSON26:41385MV5057.0 %
48.Paul HOLGATE33:29394MV6050.4 %
50.Jane WADEY36:17112FV5049.1 %
Resolution 5k

Two Winners at the Grand Prix!

There were four Fairlands Valley Spartans in the GP events at the Bedford Autodrome Running GP on Sunday.

GRANT RAMSAY beat 90 with 1 hour 28 minutes 3 seconds in the Half Marathon with GERRY ROSEN finishing in 2:29:34.

However if you have a two hour milestone in mind JIM BROWN was consistent throughout and finished in 1:59:59 which won the men 70 plus category.  YUKO GORDON ran the 10K and was another age group winner with her 47 minutes 2 seconds (47:02).  She was seventh woman overall.

Gerry said, ā€œIf a certain brand of beer did days like today, this would be one of them, not only did I get to meet royalty today in the shape of Yuko but equally as royal I got to say hello to Grant & Jim.  As for the racing and half marathon to be precise, it couldnā€™t have got it any better then this, well for me anyway !!!

As usual started off too quick, then sense kicked in and I got round, not only in a respectable time, but for me a sub 2h 30, 2 hours 29 minutes 34 seconds to be precise. Iā€™m thoroughly making up for a lost three years, loving it, now for one of my favourite suppers, Chicken Kiev.  Next stop on the racing calendar, the Great North Run early next month, oh and this time Iā€™ll do it, having deferred the past 3 timesā€¦..ā€

I had thought that this sort of circuit or airfield racing could be boring said Jim but it does have advantages like no pinch points or road crossings so it is easier to run steady state throughout.  I did not have a significant target in mind but my four 5Ks were all within a minute of each other despite a little bit of breeze and with just over a kilometre to go I realised how close I was to breaking a significant barrier.  My acceleration over the last kilometre was almost impressive.  So much better to get 1:59:59 than 2:00:00 and not bad for someone who is far from 25 years old.

Categories
Club News Race Results

HALF MARATHON JOY

It was a lovely sunny morning in Stevenage on Sunday and Fairlands Valley Spartans welcomed hundreds of runners to the Stevenage Half Marathon on their new route from Hampson Park.Ā 

Photo Credit – Keith Fenwick and Annabelle White

Spartan ANDREW PATTERSON won the race by 51 seconds with 1 hour 12 minutes 45 seconds and took GOLD in the Hertfordshire County Championship.  ADRIAN BUSOLINI was third and won BRONZE in the county event with a new personal best of 1:15:46, an improvement by 10 minutes 40 seconds. 

Photo Credit – Keith Fenwick and Annabelle White

In the womenā€™s competition ASHLEY JOHNSON took BRONZE with 1 hour 32 minutes 49 seconds and was second in her category.  That was a new personal best (PB) for Ashley by 4 minutes 43 seconds. 

The females from Fairlands excelled in the County team competition.  Ashley, GABRIELLE Oā€™BRIEN (1:44:32) and PAULA McMAHON (1:53:09) won GOLD with 17 points which was five ahead of Garden City Runners who were on 22.  Three runners for womenā€™s teams. Paula improved her half marathon time by 4 minutes 49 seconds. 

Photo Credit – Keith Fenwick

It was SILVER for the Spartan men with GRANT RAMSAY (1:28:57) and NICK GILL (1:29:17) joining Andrew and Adrian to score 25 points, just four behind the winners.  Four runners for menā€™s teams. 

Photo Credit – Keith Fenwick

MARTIN JACOB and LINDA GEORGE both ran new half marathon personal bests.  Martin with 1:46:33 and Linda with 2:06:33. Martin said it was a wonderful day for a run.  Well marshalled route!!!  Six Hills Way was tough, but I managed to compensate for that in the down hills. 

Martin was five minutes faster than his Cambridge half in 2020.  Linda improved her time by two minutes. 

An amazing finish for both Martin and Linda!

JIM BROWN was second male 70 plus with 2:03:26. 

Photo Credit – Mike Jeffs and Annabelle White

21 Spartans were running and, as the event was organised by the club. Andy Prior was the Race Director and dozens more volunteered to make sure the race was a success ā€“ marshals, lead bike, water station, baggage, etc. 

The event raised money for the Essex and Herts Air Ambulance. 

Our amazing marshals and Paramedic Perry from Essex and Herts Air Ambulance
You can always rely on our marshals for smiles, encouragement and a fab playlist!
Pos Cat M/F Name Cat Time Halfway Comments 
1 1 1 Andrew PATTERSON MV40 1:12:45 36:01 Winner 
3 1 3 Adrian BUSOLINI MS 1:15:46 37:24 PB (10:40) 
18 6 17 Grant RAMSAY MV50 1:28:57 43:45 SB 
20 10 19 Nick GILL MS 1:29:15 45:07 ā€Æ 
31 2 3 Ashley JOHNSON FV35 1:32:49 46:10 Third woman.  PB (4:43) 
37 17 34 Stuart ARCHER MS 1:35:01 47:47 SB 
49 10 46 Craig BACON MV50 1:39:50 49:14 ā€Æ 
73 5 8 Gabrielle OBRIEN FS 1:44:21 52:00 ā€Æ 
85 25 75 Martin JACOB MV40 1:46:43 53:41 PB (4:57) 
106 34 92 Liam HERBERT MS 1:50:53 54:00 ā€Æ 
125 6 21 Paula McMAHON FV35 1:52:30 56:27 PB (4:49) 
162 9 131 Stephen HARRIS MV60 1:59:14 58:05 ā€Æ 
182 11 147 Martin DUDLEY MV60 2:02:56 56:33 ā€Æ 
185 2 148 Jim BROWN MV70+ 2:03:26 1:01:28 2nd MV70 
189 50 152 Chris HOLLAND MV40 2:04:30 59:02 SB 
197 55 159 Jon SYPULA MV40 2:06:19 1:00:53 SB 
198 12 39 Linda GEORGE FV35 2:06:33 1:02:33 PB (1:54) 
225 12 175 Nick KLEANTHOUS MV60 2:10:17 1:04:25 ā€Æ 
233 59 181 Dave ACKERY MS 2:14:25 1:03:18 ā€Æ 
244 17 57 Wendy THARANI FV45 2:20:25 1:05:58 ā€Æ 
268 51 201 Tim ROBINSON MV50 2:40:15 1:17:10 ā€Æ 

Resolution 5K 

Eight Spartans ran the Resolution Track 5K on a very wet Wednesday evening at Ridlins Track, Stevenage.   

After the 12.5 laps SIMON JACKSON was second in 16 minutes 58 seconds and GEORGIE HOOPER first woman and 17th overall with 21 minutes 18 seconds, a new personal best (PB) by a massive 1 minute 55 seconds. 

ALEX ZHERDEV improved his PB by 21 seconds to 21:20. 

The other Spartan times were MATT TUTTON 25:03; SHARON CROWLEY 28:19; KARL REEVE 31:24; ROGER BIGGS 38:35 and PAUL HOLGATE 40:23. Simon got the highest age score with 84.0% followed by Georgie on 70% exactly and Sharon on 69.5%. 

Still smiling despite the lovely weather!

Parkrun Saturday 21st October 

For the Consolidated Results please click the link 

Categories
Club News Race Results

RESOLUTION 5K, ENGLAND MASTERS, 10K’s, 10 MILES and MORE!

A sunny summerā€™s evening brought perfect conditions for the Resolution 5K event at Ridlins track in Stevenage and nine Spartans were there to enjoy it. 

For those keen to judge their pace there was a timing mat and clock after two hundred metres and then every 400 metres for the 12 full laps. 

NICK GILL was first in for the club at third overall and first male senior with 18 minutes 3 seconds (18:03).  MIKE JEFFS was second male senior with 18:26. 

Nick and Mike in action! – Photo Credit Keith Fenwick

ASHLEY JOHNSON was first woman in the race with 19:31.  Not only did YUKO GORDON win her category but she did it in 22 minutes 22 seconds achieving an amazing age graded score of 96.8%. 

Ashley and Yuko – Photo Credit Keith Fenwick

JIM BROWN won his category with 27 minutes 13 seconds (27:13).Ā  Ā 

Spartan times at the Resolution 5K: 

Pos MF CatPos Bib Name Cat Time Age Gd 
3. 3 1 286 Nick GILL MS 18:03 72.3 % 
6. 6 2 1299 Mike JEFFS MS 18:26 72.9 % 
14. 1 1 1286 Ashley JOHNSON FV35 19:31 79.0 % 
33. 4 1 5559 Yuko GORDON FV65 22:22 96.8 % 
39. 32 3 5889 Nick KLEANTHOUS MV60 26:02 61.4 % 
43. 33 1 5780 Jim BROWN MV70+ 27:13 64.8 % 
49. 16 5 212 Sharon CROWLEY FV65 29:59 65.6 % 
50. 34 4 5943 Paul HOLGATE MV60 30:38 54.6 % 
52. 35 2 5742 Roger BIGGS MV70+ 41:23 45.2 % 

England Masters Inter Area Track & Field Challenge 

Spartan YUKO GORDON was in Nuneaton to run the 1500 metre at the England Masters Inter Area Track & Field Challenge.  Representing the East of England she won the women 70 plus race in 6 minutes 18.26 seconds (6:18.26). 

Summer 10K 

MATT TUTTON ran the London Summer 10k.  The three laps of the outer path of Regents Park. Running conditions were great and the course was flat.  Perfect for a PB which he achieved with a new personal best of 54 minutes 25 seconds (54:25). 

Stopsley 10 Miles 

Fairlands Valley Spartan DANNY SCANLON ran the Stopsley 10 Mile Trail race recently. 

He finished with a chip time of 1 hour 14 minutes 11 seconds for an 11th place finish.  The course was a tough two laps with a very steep hill in each lap!ā€Æ 

DAVE PATTMAN and MO WARRILOW ran the Stopsley 5 Mile Trail Run.  The chip times were 35:41 for Dave, and 47:00 for Mo. 

Burnham Beeches Half Marathon 

WENDY THARANI took on the Burnham Beeches Half Marathon and completed it in 2:13:15. She said that the course was rather undulating but lovely through the beechy woodland. There were lots of ridiculously expenses houses including Dorney Wood which is traditionally the Chancellor of the Exchequers country residence. The race was well organised with lots of friendly marshals. 

Wendy after finishing Burnham Beeches

Schierker Sommerlauf Trail Run 

JIM BROWN and PENNY SCHENKEL took part in the Schierker Sommerlauf trail run in the Harz area of Germany. 

They tackled the hauptlauf which consisted of two 4.2 kilometre laps so giving a total of just over five miles.  Each lap started with a 1.2 kilometre tough climb into the countryside, a real lung buster.  There were 350 metres of climbing in the race. 

Jim and Penny finished together in 56 minutes 36.4 seconds. 

Parkrun Saturday 19th August 2023 

KIRK NDUGU won Stevenage Parkrun in a new parkrun personal best of 17 minutes 20 seconds.Ā 

For the Consolidate Results please click the link.Ā 

Categories
Club News Race Results

RESOLUTION 5K, MANCHESTERĀ & FLITWICK 10K

Wednesday 12th April saw the return of the evening Resolution 5K on Ridlins track, Fairlands Valley Spartans won it and recorded no less than eight new personal bests (PBs). 

The Spartans won with Simon Fraser 3rd in 16:27, Jonathan Parr 4th in 16:45, Kelvin Beyioku 6th in 17:54 and Ashley Johnson first woman and 27th overall in 20:19.  Teams consisted of the first three men and first woman finishing from each club.  Simon improved his PB by 21 seconds and Ashley hers by 46 seconds. 

Spartan PAULA DUNNE was the third woman overall in 21:39, a new personal best by 1 minute 14 seconds. 

NICK GILL was seventh in the race in 17:59, a new 5K personal best by 1 minute 8 seconds.  He said the support in the stands and on the track made a real difference and helped him get over the line in just under 18 minutes with the help of a sprint finish.  MIKE JEFFS came in next in 19:11 and DANNY SCANLON in 19:25. 

There was another PB by NICK KLEANTHOUS with 24:04.  He said it was a well organised event and a very big turnout for FVS.  Lots of runners stayed until the end to support later runners.  Lovely to see this and the support from non runners alike. 

Sharon, Liz & Jane followed by some of the Spartan supporters!

JANE WADEY equalled her 5K personal best with 31:31 which was set in May 2022.  HAZEL SMITH was very pleased with her 24:22. 

That was cold said JIM BROWN who went round the 12.5 laps in a steady 27 minutes 57 seconds. 

FVS also achieved the highest number of finishers.  The top three clubs were FVS 24; North Herts Road Runners 14 and Stevenage Phoenix 11. 

Manchester Marathon 

Spartan SIMON JACKSON ran a new personal best at the Manchester Marathon.  His 2:44:12 beat the very significant 2 hours 45 minutes target. 

Simon said ā€œA new PB which Iā€™ll take at 47 and after a lot of years of running.ā€ 

Spartans LINDA GEORGE and MARTIN JACOB did their first full marathon at Manchester on Sunday. 

Martin said the last six miles were a real struggle.  The training sessions and the long Sunday runs with Fairlands Valley Spartans really helped me to push the boundaries and achieve a sub 4 hour timing. 

Martin Jacob finished in 3:59:57 and Linda George in 5:00:23 

VICKY ARCHER ran her first road marathon in Manchester finishing in 4.19.09. 

She smashed her 4:30 goal and it was also a personal best from her last one on file which was 5:40 (although that was a trail marathon when doing the challenge a couple of years ago). 

Martin, Vicky & Linda all enjoying the buzz of Manchester!!

Flitwick 10K 

Spartan YUKO GORDON showed the way at the Flitwick 10K.  She won the women 65 plus category in 46 minutes 33 seconds, was 85th overall out of 424 finishers and received a lovely gold medal. 

HAZEL SMITH did 52:47 for 178th. 

JIM BROWN was very pleased with his efforts at Flitwick.  He finished in 55 minutes 38 seconds, 1 minute 13 seconds faster than on the flatter St. Albans 10K two weeks earlier.  He said the first kilometre winding up through a housing scheme felt hard but he ran a negative split, second half faster than the first by 34 seconds, came second in his category and just in the first half of the race. 

Calderdale Hike 

Mike and Sharon Crowley took part in the Calderdale Hike on Saturday, based at Sowerby. They completed the 26 miles, with some 3600 feet of climb, in 8 hours 26 minutes.ā€Æ The weather was unexpectedly lovely, with lots of sunshine and minimal breeze. 

Sharon and Mike on their hike.

Parkrun Highlights Saturday 15th April 2023 

Congratulations to Spartan TRACY HAYGARTH who was at Stevenage to run her 100th parkrun.  She finished her celebration run around Fairlands Valley Park in 34:07. 

Tracey in her 100 Parkrun cape!

For all the Spartan Parkrun results please click the link – Consolidated Parkrun Results 15th April 2023