Tag: Serpentine

LOTS OF SPARTAN BESTS AT HATFIELD

Post author By Peter Sach
Post date December 1, 2025
No Comments on LOTS OF SPARTAN BESTS AT HATFIELD

The Hatfield Five was advertised as fast and flat and despite a cool start it was for many Spartans.

David Harris-Cherguit’s result was 27:35 chip time and 27:38 gun time for a new personal best (PB), ninth place overall and third in the 45-49 age category. He was really pleased.

Nick Gill completed the Hatfield 5 in 28:55, going sub-30 for the first time and shaving almost 2 minutes off his PB (personal best) from the same event in 2022 (30:50). He found it tough, but was pleased with the effort in his first race since the Abingdon Marathon. Nick was 26th overall and third in his age category (M35-39).

Georgie Hooper finished in 34:00 – a big PB of more than 90 seconds (35:31, Hatfield 5 2022). She was third in her age category (W35-39).

GAIL MACKIE was back in 36:26 and new member JODIE KANTAS in 36:51.

LUCY PAUL was hoping for 9 minute miles so was pleased with a 43:17 finish. She thanks SUZY HAWKINS for supporting her near the finish after she had finished in 35:08.

And the Spartans won a county medal. JIM BROWN took SILVER. He was second in the men 70 plus race with 36 seconds to spare ahead of third place AND he achieved his main target of the day to get under 45 minutes which he did with 44:27. Jim said, “Unusually for me I was wearing three layers including long sleeves and gloves but it seemed to be right for the day and I was well happy with an unexpected silver.”

It was the first time LIAM WELLER represented FVS in an event! First time running an event with the club – and he said it was so lovely to have everyone to chat to before and after – and others out supporting on the course. He finished in 33 minutes 12 seconds!

SHARON CROWLEY’s 45 minutes 20 seconds was 8 minutes 32 seconds quicker than last year, BUT looking back through times for 5 mile races, she found it was her fastest for eight years. Obviously she was very happy with that!

LEANNE WILSON breezed around in a new personal best of 45:23. An improvement of 28 seconds.

SAM SUTTON completed Sunday’s Hatfield Five in 45:58 which was a 55 second PB. She commented it was a flat course but narrow and difficult to overtake but she was very pleased with her result! Now Sam has only the Buntingford 10 to go on 28th December and if she PBs that will be a PB in every distance from 5k to half marathon this year.

MATT TUTTON was surprised and pleased that he squeaked under 45 with 44:55.

It was a last marathon paced effort for ROSS GALLAGHER. He finished in 33:05.

After an enforced break PENNY SCHENKEL put on an extra jumper, took it steady and finished in 56:50.

It was a season best’s run for Jane WADEY and she was happy to finish under a hour in 59:11. She said she hadn’t run a 5 mile race since November 2022 and this was her second attempt.

26 Spartans ran and between them achieved eight PBs and nine SBs and seven were new to the distance.

Pos	No	Name	Gun Time	Net Time	Cat Pos
9	599	David HARRIS-CHERGUIT	27:38	27:35	3
26	647	Nick GILL	28:58	28:55	3
28	231	Charlie WHITE	29:09	29:05	6
59	655	Jay PAPA	30:34	30:30	12
121	922	Ross GALLAGHER	33:15	33:05	17
127	593	Liam WELLER	33:22	33:12	20
149	417	Andrew SHAW	33:59	33:35	13
154	615	Georgie HOOPER	34:09	34:00	3
171	641	Charles ARNOLD	34:48	34:28	4
176	138	Tony RANDFIELD	34:59	34:41	5
193	660	Suzy HAWKINS	35:31	35:08	5
210	583	Lewis GREEN	36:12	35:37	29
233	818	Gail MACKIE	36:56	36:26	6
255	331	Jodie KANTAS	37:30	36:51	10
419	892	Jackie PERRY	42:31	42:00	6
457	438	Gemma SMITH	43:51	42:55	28
480	830	Lucy PAUL	44:30	43:17	23
527	863	Jim BROWN	45:42	44:27	6
546	387	Sharon CROWLEY	45:59	45:20	9
566	72	Matt TUTTON	46:29	44:55	53
567	443	Karl SHREEVE	46:31	45:23	61
571	427	Leanne WILSON	46:36	45:23	30
618	198	Samantha SUTTON	48:27	45:58	42
627	621	Vishal SHAH	48:45	48:12	56
833	91	Penny SCHENKEL	59:21	56:50	64
842	97	Jane WADEY	60:35	59:11	65

Serpentine

It was a beautiful bright and breezy Friday lunchtime for the Serpentine Last Friday of the Month 5K in Hyde Park. Some of the pictures make it look like the runners were on a seaside prom on a summer’s day. Spartan JIM BROWN enjoyed his race with a 28 minutes 35 seconds which slightly improved his position in the Last Friday championship table.

The next event will be on Friday 19^th December. That’s a week earlier than usual to avoid Boxing Day.

Bass Belle

PAUL and ALISON SHELLEY ran in the Brainstrust Bass Belle 10 miler on Sunday. That was their fourth time running the race although the last time was back in 2022. It was well organised as always, and they were lucky with the weather! Unfortunately Paul’s Achilles gave up after six miles so he pretty much hobbled to the finish. Alison was 239^th in 1:35:59 and Paul 223^rd in 1:33:52.

Other Spartans ran the Bass Belle mixed terrain event. GRANT RAMSAY 35^th out of 359 in 1:10:54 and MONICA SMITHSON 342^nd in 1:56:16.

The Slopes of Finsbury Park

Four hilly laps constituted the Finsbury Park 10K. JOHN and JACOB NELMS ran together to finish in 56:06 and 56:10. They were 104^th and 105^th out of the 198 finishers.

JAYNE DYMOKE ran the Finsbury Park 5K in 34 minutes 53 seconds (34:53). She was 46^th out of the 83 finishers.

Parkrun Highlights – Saturday 29^th November 2025

It was miserable before the start of Saturday’s Stevenage parkrun which is probably why numbers were reduced to 301 though Fairlands Valley Spartans were up a bit on 26. Spartan SIMON JACKSON was third with 18:57. JULIE MANTON ran her 50^th parkrun in 38:57. LORRAINE HILL was the fastest female from Fairlands in Fairlands with 28:33.

PETER SMITH and SEAN MILLWOOD enjoyed some parkrun tourism at the Carlingwark Loch event at Castle Douglas in Kirkcudbrightshire. Peter came in with 25:17 and Sean in 37:13.

Altogether 42 Spartans were at parkruns. Others included ALICE WELCH and SAM GENTRY at the Bug Hunter Waters parkrun near Northstowe. Alice was round in 25:50 and Sam in 27:30.

Position	Gender Position	FVS parkrunner	Time
3	3	Simon JACKSON	00:18:57
26	23	Stuart ARCHER	00:23:08
32	29	Toby ECCLESHALL	00:23:21
34	31	Tony RANDFIELD	00:23:27
48	43	Charles ARNOLD	00:23:53
53	46	Lee PICKERSGILL	00:24:03
56	49	Paul MAGUIRE	00:24:11
76	65	Daniel VILJOEN	00:25:37
90	75	Peter SACH	00:26:52
91	76	Kris WESTCOTT	00:26:55
116	94	Ryan DUNNING	00:28:12
120	19	Lorraine HILL	00:28:33
161	118	Nick KLEANTHOUS	00:30:10
220	63	Caroline CROFT	00:33:17
228	68	Pamela VILJOEN	00:33:34
239	151	Ahaan SHARMA	00:34:21
240	152	Kartik SHARMA	00:34:22
244	75	Karen ELLIS	00:34:46
245	76	Julie SHADBOLT	00:34:47
248	156	Keith MANTON	00:35:10
264	88	Nicola HATHERLY	00:37:35
266	90	Niki PLUMB	00:38:19
269	92	Julie MANTON	00:38:57
273	95	Penny SCHENKEL	00:39:37
274	164	Michael O’KEEFE	00:39:38
300	114	Callie CHAPMAN	00:58:22

Tags Bass Belle, Finsbury Park 10k, Hatfield 5, parkrun, Serpentine

Club News Race Results

TRENT PARK CROSS COUNTRY

Going to bed with a miserable forecast including light rain 30 Spartans woke up to a lovely morning to tackle the second in the season of cross country league races. This one was in Trent Park near Cockfosters.

The club were delighted two complete men’s and women’s teams finished. The 18 men and 12 women from Fairlands Valley Spartans were among more than 400 runners on the undulating 4.7 miles (7.58 kilometres) course.

In a very competitive race at the fast end Spartan DAVID HARRIS-CHERGUIT won a top ten place with eighth in just 28 minutes 5 seconds (28:05).

The third Spartan to finish and first female from Fairlands was NATALIE LAWRENCE having a great run for 48^th overall in 31 minutes 21 seconds (31:21).

The second Spartan was MICHAEL FISHER at 23^rd in 29:49.

The women’s “A” team was Natalie (31:21); SUZY HAWKINS (43:39); JACKIE PERRY (44:00); JAYNE RIDDELL (45:04) and LINDA GEORGE (45:52). SAM GENTRY led in the “B” team with 47:24.

The others in the top 100 were ADRIAN DONNELLY (33:11); DANNY SCANLON (33:54) and DECLAN TRAYNER (34:36).

Position	Name	Time	Cat	Comments
8	DAVID HARRIS-CHERGUIT	28:05	M40	Men “A” team.
23	MICHAEL FISHER	29:49	Male Senior	Men “A” team
48	NATALIE LAWRENCE	31:21	W35	Women “A”
74	ADRIAN DONNELLY	33:11	M40	Men “A”
75	DANNY SCANLON	33:54	M40	Men “A”
98	DECLAN TRAYNER	34:36	M40	Men “A”
123	CHARLIE ARNOLD	35:49	M60	Men “A”
134	ANDY SHAW	36:24	M50	Men “A”
139	DELVIN AUBURN	36:35	Male Senior	Men “A”
165	STEPHEN MASSEY	37:50	M50	Men “B”
176	MARTIN WOOD	38:15	M60	Men “B”
198	MATT COOKE	39:05	Male Senior	Men “B”
287	SUZY HAWKINS	43:39	W45	Women “A”
292	JACKIE PERRY	44:00	W55	Women “A”
294	NICK GILL	44:11	Male Senior	Men “B”
303	PETE COOK	44:34	M50	Men “B”
306	MARK FREEMAN	44:50	M60	Men “B”
309	JAYNE RIDDELL	45:04	W55	Women “A”
320	LINDA GEORGE	45:52	W35	Women “A”
341	SAM GENTRY	47:24	W45	Women “B”
359	JIM BROWN	48:51	M70	Men “B”
365	SHARON CROWLEY	49:47	W65	Women “B”
372	SAMANTHA SUTTON	50:02	W45	Women “B”
391	CALLIE CHAPMAN	52:10	W35	Women “B”
398	BECKY RAYNER	56:07	W35	Women “B”
400	PAUL HOLGATE	56:27	M60	Men “B”
401	NICK KLEANTHOUS	57:07	M60
404	JAYNE DYMOKE	59:39	W45
409	MICHAEL O’KEEFE	60:46	M60
410	JANE WADEY	62:58	W55

Bedford

Spartan MELANIE STALEY was 33^rd out of the 267 finishers in the Bedford Half Marathon with 1:38:05 which got her third woman 45 plus. There were three from Fairlands Valley Spartans in the Bedford 10K – ELLOTT WHTE and NATALIE WHITE finished together in 52:35 and LEE POTTER was successful in 1:44:22. 343 finishers in the 10K.

Knebworth House

Nine Spartans ran at Knebworth House on Sunday morning.

Hertfordshire 10K

In the Hertfordshire 10K ADAM HILL was really happy with his result as he was aiming for a sub 1 hour and got a personal best (PB) in for 10K! He finished in 58:20.

The first from Fairlands Valley to finish was CHRIS WATLING with 52:12. ALICE WELCH came in with an excellent 57:21; RYAN RIDDELL with 59:21 and SALLY PICKLES with 64:14.

There were 661 finishers.

Hertfordshire Half Marathon

Over 13.1 miles WAYNE SIMMONS came in with 2 hours 6 minutes 29 seconds (2:06:29) and JESS CLARKE, organiser of the Stevenage Half Marathon, with 2:06:30.

SOPHIE PARSONS finished in 2:12:03 and JUDY KING in 2:21:19.

There were 1271 finishers.

New York Marathon

Paul Shelley reports. We ran NYC Marathon!! Alison and our daughter Molly ran an amazing race, running the whole thing together finishing in 4.29.18. Molly had a 15 minute PB (personal best). I ran in the Abbott world age group championship in 3.29.46, struggled from mile 21, it was brutal from there until park lane. Proud to have collected two medals. Crowds were fab and with our other daughter, Daisy, spectating made it very special. It was let down by the bus queue in the morning one hour and getting through security, another hour which meant I nearly missed my wave. But what an amazing experience.

Yuko Gordon beat four hours with 3:52:47. She was fourth woman 70 plus.

She said she probably shouldn’t have run with her recent injuries (knee and Achilles), too soon after Berlin too, but too much to give away to withdraw so late, particularly all expenses spent were considerable, which are not refundable.

Nevertheless, she’s glad it’s over without dropping out. Yuko said “It was a hell of a battle for me. Marathon is a monster after all. I need some rest before London.”

Serpentine

It was noticeably warmer in Hyde Park than Stevenage on Friday and despite the light rain and breeze JIM BROWN enjoyed the Last Friday 5K run at the Serpentine and the café stop afterwards. He was happy with his 27:37 and improved a little in the year long overall championship table.

MARTIN WOOD was 124^th in 23:08.

Parkrun Highlights – Saturday 1^st November 2025

First parkrun of GMT and there were 501 finishers at Stevenage. There was a Halloween theme and a stripes day for Spartans.

PERRI GENTRY was second at Stevenage with a new parkrun personal best (PPB) of 18:22 and MEGAN SUTTON the fastest female from Spartans with a new parkrun personal best of 24:50. SAMANTHA SUTTON was another with a PPB – 28:55.

The 501 Stevenage parkrunners included 216 women. 17 FVS women and 14 FVS men.

LLOYD DIAS got his Saturday morning parkrun in at Leavesden Country! He clocked a 26:00. It’s a nice, easy course, but it was super slippery out there today – his road shoes were not the best choice. Lloyd to power-walk a few bits to avoid a slide!

53 Spartans ran parkruns around the country. CHARLIE WHITE ran at the Stanborough parkrun. A first timer he was sixth in 19:40. There were 292 runners.

Position	Gender Position	FVS parkrunner	Time
2	2	Perri GENTRY	18:22
27	22	Jay PAPA	21:56
84	65	Martin DUDLEY	24:48
87	16	Megan SUTTON	24:50
89	68	Matt CLARKE	24:52
102	79	Martin JACOB	25:35
109	84	Daniel VILJOEN	25:54
133	98	Darren EMMERSON	26:39
169	128	Ryan DUNNING	27:43
181	39	Susan MCANENY	28:13
208	45	Samantha SUTTON	28:55
216	47	Lorraine HILL	29:08
225	160	Jim BROWN	29:28
250	64	Sarah ILLINGWORTH	30:14
290	89	Sally PICKLES	31:29
303	192	Nick KLEANTHOUS	32:00
307	194	Stephen SMITHSON	32:05
314	101	Alice WELCH	32:19
347	210	Michael O’KEEFE	33:39
357	125	Pamela VILJOEN	33:57
364	130	Caroline CROFT	34:07
365	131	Carole SHELDRICK	34:08
388	146	Jayne DYMOKE	35:20
395	227	Keith MANTON	35:49
424	166	Nicola HATHERLY	38:03
448	182	Annabelle WHITE	40:58
454	187	Nichola DURENT	42:02
455	188	Hayley PEACH	42:03
458	190	Julie MANTON	43:17
464	196	Emma CHAPMAN	47:26
469	252	Roger BIGGS	50:05

Tags Bedford 10K, Cross Country, Hertfordshire Half and 10K, New York Marathon, parkrun, Serpentine, Trent Park Cross Country

News Race Results

FAST FAIRLANDS IN BEDFORD

Post author By Peter Sach
Post date July 27, 2025
No Comments on FAST FAIRLANDS IN BEDFORD

Patrick Anyadi made it back-to-back Handicap 5k victories as he improved his personal best (PB) by 2 minutes 2 seconds (2:02) to finish in 25:33, closely followed by the first lady, Samantha Sutton in a Season’s Best time of 30:12, just two seconds slower than her PB record from 2017. Becca Birt was second lady in her first 5k with a time of 37:25, while Peter Sach finished second man in 25:59 and Jane Wadey third lady with a Year’s Best of 37:38 despite having to stop briefly in the home straight. Karl Shreeve was the third man in a year’s best (YB) 28:02.

Danny Scanlon was fastest runner of the night with a Year’s Best 22:19, Craig Bacon second quickest in 23:23 and John Nelms third fastest in a SB 23:24. Megan Sutton was fastest female in 25:45, with Emily Grieves second quickest in 29:18 and Sam Gentry third fastest in 29:22.

There was also a Year’s Best time for Nichola Durent in 43:59.

Handicap races are won by the best improvers not the fastest runners.

22 Spartans ran. The next handicap 5K will be on Thursday evening 21^stAugust.

Position	First Name	Last Name	Time	Race	Fem. Race
1	PATRICK	ANYADI	25:33	5
2	SAMANTHA	SUTTON	30:12	14	4
3	BECCA	BIRT	37:25	18	8
4	PETER	SACH	25:59	8
5	JANE	WADEY	37:38	19	9
6	EMILY	GRIEVES	29:18	11	2
7	KARL	SHREEVE	28:02	10
8	JUDY	KING	30:26	15	5
9	DANNY	SCANLON	22:19	1
10	SAM	GENTRY	29:22	12	3
11	JOHN	NELMS	23:24	3
12	NICHOLA	DURENT	43:59	20	10
13	SHARON	CROWLEY	43:59	21	11
14	LIZ	CARVELL	31:51	16	6
15	TONY	VICKERS	25:14	4
16	TIM	ROBINSON	30:05	13
17	CRAIG	BACON	23:23	2
18	AMANDA	VICKERS	33:34	17	7
19	MEGAN	SUTTON	25:45	6	1
20	MARTIN	DUDLEY	25:57	7
21	CHRIS	WATLING	26:39	9
22	EMMA	CHAPMAN	46:36	22	12

Doug Anderson 5K

Ten Fairlands Valley Spartans enjoyed a fast Wednesday evening in Bedford for the Doug Anderson 5K. The race went so well for MIKE JEFFS that he improved his personal best (PB) by 24 seconds to 17:08 for second man 40 plus. He was only beaten by one second! He was eleventh overall out of the 405 finishers.

ADRIAN BUSOLINI finished with him for twelfth overall and another 17:08.

CHARLIE WHITE came in at 17:21 and NATHAN KIRLEY completed four Spartans under 18 minutes with 17:59.

ROSS GALLAGHER was third man 40 plus in 18:01 and PAUL SHELLEY won the 55 plus category with 18:05. JAY PAPA made it seven Spartan under 20 minutes with his 18:43.

Meanwhile CHARLES ARNOLD was second man 65 plus with 21:54 and JESSICA CLARKE beat 24 with 23:49. With MATT TUTTON finishing in 24:38 all ten were under 25 minutes.

Position	Name	Time
11	MIKE JEFFS	17:08
12	ADRIAN BUSOLINI	17:08
19	CHARLIE WHITE	17:21
29	NATHAN KIRLEY	17:59
30	ROSS GALLAGHER	18:01
32	PAUL SHELLEY	18:05
44	JAY PAPA	18:43
120	CHARLES ARNOLD	21:54
164	JESSICA CLARKE	23:49
191	MATT TUTTON	24:38

Serpentine

Dry, bright, humid and 25 degrees for the Last Friday of the Month 5K in Hyde Park, London. Spartan JIM BROWN completed a series of six this year with 28 minutes 54 seconds (28:54). Now he’s got an opportunity to maybe improve on a couple of the times over the next few months. The next race will be at 12.30p.m. on Friday 29^th August.

Challenge Round Up

131 completed the recent Fairlands Valley Challenge multi-terrain event from Stevenage. 32 of them were Fairlands Valley Spartans. Five distances were offered. The most popular was the half marathon which was finished by 50 people including 14 Spartans. 27 finished the 50 kilometre Ultra event and 21 the marathon.

Arty Spart

The FVS Daylight running group enjoyed a running tour of some of the new underpass art in Stevenage. They run for about an hour at 10a.m. on Wednesdays.

Parkrun Highlights, Saturday 26^th July

There were 460 parkrunners at Stevenage, up 115 on the previous week. 28 Spartans ran the 5K in Fairlands Valley Park.

On his way to second place DAVID HARRIS-CHERGUIT ran a new parkrun personal best (PPB) of 17:09. TONY VICKERS also ran a new parkrun PB (PPB). His was 24:38.

DANIEL VILJOEN ran his 300^th parkrun in 24:40 and ADA JANUSIENE her 20^th in 30:28.

LINDSAY PATEMAN was a first timer with 44:20.

Altogether 50 Spartans ran parkruns those elsewhere included SALLY PICKLES whop ran a new park run PB (PPB) of 32:15 at Panshanger. In addition ADRIAN BUSOLINI ran 17:55 at Endcliffe, Sheffield and SUSAN McANENY ran the Harleston Magpies, Diss event in 25:44.SUZY HAWKINS was in Bude for the Tamar Lakes parkrun which she ran in 23:39.

Tags Doug Anderson 5k, Fairlands Valley Challenge, Handicap 5k, parkrun, Serpentine

News Race Results

PATRICK AND ROSE WIN HANDICAP 5K

Post author By Peter Sach
Post date June 22, 2025
No Comments on PATRICK AND ROSE WIN HANDICAP 5K

A very warm evening made for a difficult run in Thursday’s Handicap 5K but that didn’t stop new member Patrick Anyadi storming round in 27:35, 2:40 better than handicap, to win the event, closely followed by Rose Sutton in a year best time of 29:56, Elizabeth Crowley was second woman in 30:01 and Jane Wadey third woman with 39:06. Karl Shreeve was second man in 28:42 and Matt Tutton third man with 25:13.

Jay Papa was fastest runner on the night in 19:36, with Paul Mould second quickest in 20:46 and Charles Arnold third fastest in 23:07. Marie Colucci was fastest lady with a year’s best (YB) 23:15, with Annabelle White 2^nd quickest (24:35) and Megan Sutton 3^rd fastest in 25:23.

There were also personal bests (PBs) for Alex Scofield (23:43) and Joseph Wasnock (24:05).

In handicap races the slower runners start first and chased by the others starting at intervals based on recent races.

Thank you to Mike Crowley, Mark Freeman, Keith Fenwick, Brian White and Hannah Sypula for their help and support.

The July handicap will be on Thursday evening 24^th July.

Pos	FIRST NAME	LAST NAME	Time	H’cap
1	PATRICK	ANYADI	27:35	2:40
2	ROSE	SUTTON	29:56	2:34
3	ELIZABETH	CROWLEY	30:01	2:14
4	KARL	SHREEVE	28:42	1:48
5	JANE	WADEY	39:06	1:24
6	SHARON	CROWLEY	39:06	1:24
7	MATT	TUTTON	25:13	1:17
8	SAMANTHA	SUTTON	32:50	1:10
9	JAY	PAPA	19:36	1:09
10	MEGAN	SUTTON	25:23	1:07
11	YUKO	GORDON	27:07	0:53
12	ALEX	SCOFIELD	23:43	0:47
13	LEE	PICKERSGILL	24:03	0:42
14	JOSEPH	WASNOCK	24:05	0:40
15	RICHARD	MOORE	24:23	0:22
16	TONY	VICKERS	26:44	0:16
17	MARIE	COLUCCI	23:15	0:15
18	PAUL	MOULD	20:46	0:14
19	JUDY	KING	30:35	0:10
20	PETE	COOK	26:23	0:07
21	JON	SYPULA	29:18	(0:03)
22	ANNABELLE	WHITE	24:35	(0:05)
23	PAUL	MAGUIRE	25:58	(0:13)
24	CHARLES	ARNOLD	23:07	(0:37)
25	TIM	ROBINSON	29:41	(0:56)
26	JAYNE	RIDDELL	27:35	(1:20)
27	CRAIG	BACON	24:20	(1:35)

Bedfordshire 10K

The Bedfordshire 10K was held in the evening of the longest day. Largely on cycleways and substantially flat. Four Spartans ran and three got under 39 minutes.

CHARLIE WHITE came in with 36:28.

MIKE JEFFS said it was a hot, sweaty, tough 10K. He didn’t think he’d ever been more exhausted after an event before like he was for this. However he ran a new four second personal best (PB) of 36 minutes 44 seconds (36:44).

ROSS GALLACHER got under 39 for the first time with 38:58, a ten second personal best and third in his age category and GRANT RAMSAY finished in 42:07.

And…. Mike Jeffs won the Shephalbury Park dads race on sports day

Beat the Sunset – Summer Solstice 10K

Two Spartans ran to “Beat the Sunset” in the Summer Solstice 10K on Friday evening. PAUL SHELLEY was twelfth out of the 262 finishers and first man 50 plus with 38:17 while ALISON SHELLEY was 230^th and fourth woman 55 plus with 55:17.

Serpentine Sizzled

Only 27 degrees in Hyde Park on Friday lunch-time. After a cautious first two kilometres in the heat JIM BROWN sped up a bit and was happy to complete the hot and humind Serpentine 5K in 27 minutes 31 seconds.

Longbridge 100 Backyard Ultra. Victory with 23 laps.

Spartan ADRIAN BUSOLINI says Longbridge is a wonderful backyard race with a community ethos and a focus on sustainability. The game is to run a 6.7km course with a lap every hour, every hour, with the victor being the last person standing. For those who have not taken part in a backyard ultra before it is a last-man/woman-standing event where you must begin a new lap on the hour, every hour. The race will only end when there is just one more runner remaining to start a lap.

It was the hottest day of the year, which caused many runners considerable difficulty when the sun rose on the second day. Being quite comfortable in hot conditions, Adrian was able to capitalise on this, knocking out a series of faster laps to stamp his authority on the race. Victory came sooner than he (or perhaps anyone) anticipated, at just 23 laps, in a race that usually runs to about 30 laps. Such was the effect of the afternoon temperatures. 23 laps worked out at 95.84 miles.

It was a great day out with the legendary Jan Voorspoels in support, and such a friendly group of runners, marshals and of course Darren, the race director, and family, in the beautiful setting of the South Downs. If you fancy giving a backyard race a go, I can’t think of a better recommendation than Longbridge.

Welwyn 10K

Sunday morning saw MATT TUTTON run the Welwyn 10K at Panshanger Park in 57:11. He was happy enough as he says he wilts at the first sign of warm weather. Not surprisingly it was hot and very dusty with the wind creating a dust bowl. Very different course conditions to the cold and frosty Panshanger Parkrun he ran in January!

Bass Belle Trail

The Bass Belle 10K is a trail event from Bassingbourn. Five or six degrees cooler than Saturday but still pretty warm.

MONICA SMITHSON’s time was 1 hour 13 minutes for the approximately 10K race.

Herts Hobble

Recently four Spartans enjoyed the Herts Hobble. This is a long distance cross country event from Baldock. KAREN LIDDELL and TRISHA HOPPER finished the 26.8 miles in 7 hours 39 minutes and SHARON and MIKE CROWLEY in 8 hours 27 minutes.

Parkrun Highlights – Saturday 21^st June.

At 9a.m. Saturday morning it was 22 degrees, not the really high temperatures later in the day, as 440 runners lined up for the 406^th Stevenage parkrun. Thirty were from Fairlands Valley Spartans. Indeed three of the first five finishers were FVS. They were KIRK NDUGU second in 17:44; SIMON JACKSON third in 17:55 and PERRI GENTRY fifth in 19:019.

This week GAIL MACKIE was the fastest female from Fairlands with her 27:02.

A total of 48 Spartans ran parkruns on Saturday. Those elsewhere included NICK KLEANTHOUS on the Isle of Wight with 35:02; PETER SACH at Jubilee, Bedford in 28:58 and three at Henlow Bridge Lakes – PAUL MOULD in 21:59; CHARLES ARNOLD in 24:01 and MATT GIFFORD in 25:56.

Position	Gender Position	FVS parkrunner	Time
2	2	Kirk NDUGU	17:44
3	3	Simon JACKSON	17:55
5	5	Perri GENTRY	19:19
68	66	Charlie WHITE	23:59
72	70	Matthew COOKE	24:06
87	83	Pete COOK	25:05
101	95	Daniel VILJOEN	25:41
109	102	Darren EMMERSON	25:59
126	116	Matt TUTTON	26:39
141	130	Toby ECCLESHALL	27:02
142	9	Gail MACKIE	27:02
153	136	Ryan DUNNING	27:25
160	18	Lorraine HILL	27:46
171	20	Linda GEORGE	28:05
190	159	Mark BEASLEY	28:56
194	162	Matt CLARKE	29:01
200	165	Jim BROWN	29:08
202	31	Claire EMMERSON	29:13
220	40	Penny SCHENKEL	29:48
247	52	Fiona CLARKE	30:46
266	201	Maurice BALLARD	31:36
308	79	Pamela VILJOEN	33:18
311	82	Debbie BLANTERN	33:25
320	226	Paul JENNINGS	33:49
352	103	Hilary DAVIES	36:40
372	112	Jane WADEY	38:25
390	255	Lloyd DIAS	40:24
428	271	Roger BIGGS	53:29
435	149	Callie CHAPMAN	58:01
436	150	Chloe CHAPMAN	1:02:57

Tags Bass Belle, Bedfordshire 10k, Handicap 5k, Herts Hobble, Longbridge Backyard Ultra, parkrun, Serpentine, Summer Solstice 10K, Welwyn 10k

News Race Results

20s PLENTY AT OUNDLE

SAMANTHA TOPHILL ran the Oundle 20 mile race on her birthday. Sam finished in 3 hours 14 minutes 8 seconds (3:14:08) and was second in her age group.

Berko is not Flat

After a ceilidh on Saturday evening. JIM BROWN and PENNY SCHENKEL’s long “easy” run turned out to be the Berkhamsted Half Marathon. Not flat! It was a lovely sunny morning but there was still some black ice on the course after the previous night’s low temperatures. There were a record 1400 entries. Jim finished in 2:03:56 and Penny ran her fastest recent half marathon with 2:20:54.

By the Seaside

Spartan ROBERT WRIGHT ran the Great Yarmouth Seafront Half Marathon in 1:37:25.

Burghley Seven

On Sunday morning MATT TUTTON ran the Burghley 7 mile Road Race in a chip time of 58:49 which he was very happy with. He said conditions were perfect under the clear blue sky with the finish outside Burghley House.

John Harris Muddy in Letchworth

JOHN HARRIS was second in the muddy first Saturday in the month 5K race in Letchworth. He finished in 22:24.

Serpentine Last Friday of the Month

It might have been frosty leaving Stevenage that morning but it was sunny, mild and with a light breeze in Hyde Park, London for Serpentine’s Last Friday of the Month 5K. JIM BROWN finished in 28:26.

This was the first of Jim’s races in three days.

Parkrun Highlights Saturday 1^st March – stripey Saturday

There were sixty Spartans at parkruns on Saturday 1^st March – stripes day.

39 from Fairlands Valley won at their local parkrun in Stevenage. SIMON JACKSON was second in 17:21 and GRANT RAMSAY seventh in 19:05.

LINDA GEORGE and JUDY KING both ran new parkrun personal bests. Linda in 27:03 and Judy in 29:13.

PETE COOK ran his 30^th parkrun in 25:50. HANNAH MANTON ran her 25^th in 33:01; and PAUL HOLGATE his 80^th in 35:49.

Despite a large turnout of 581 runners ALISON SHELLEY and JIM BROWN worked their way through and helped each other to their fastest parkruns so far this year. Jim coming in with 28:14 and Alison with 28:29.

Spartans elsewhere included MATTHEW NEWTON at Ingrebourne Hill parkrun (Rainham) which he finished in 19:57; JESSICA CLARKE and JAY PAPA at England’s most easterly town, Lowestoft, where they finished in 22:30 and 23:31; ANDY JAY on Tooting Common in 28:51 and SAMANTHA SUTTON and MATTHEW PATTMAN were in Cheshire completing the Delamere parkrun in 42:11 and 53:03.

Tags Berkhampstead Half Marathon, Burghley, Great Yarmouth, Letchworth 5K, Oundle, parkrun, Serpentine

Club News

SPARTANS END YEAR WITH BUNTINGFORD TEN

Post author By Peter Sach
Post date December 29, 2024
No Comments on SPARTANS END YEAR WITH BUNTINGFORD TEN

New Fairlands Valley Spartans club captain MIKE JEFFS ran a new personal best of one hour and just 31 seconds (1:00:31) in Sunday’s Buntingford 10. He was fourth man 40 plus and 38^th out of the 524 finishers. Mike said he took on the very difficult hilly End of Year 10, beat his ten mile personal best (PB) by 1 minute 28 seconds with a start line to finish off the year beating PBs in 1500 metres; 5k; 10k; 10 miles; half marathon and full marathon.

A great turnout of 27 Spartans tackled the race on a chilly, misty but calm and dry morning.

DAVID HARRIS-CHERGUIT said his time on Sunday was 1:05:22 which had to be dug deep for and it was great to see so many Spartans racing.

PAUL SHELLEY was third man 55 plus with his 1:03:57 and NICK GILL came in with 1:06:34. Nick said he was very happy with a season’s best and getting closer to his 1:03:59 PB at the 2023 Buntingford 10… maybe he can beat that in 2025!

YUKO GORDON was second woman 70 plus with 1:18:09 and a 96.55% age score.

The race incorporated the British Masters Athletics Federation championships and the Hertfordshire championships for seniors (18 plus).

Fairlands Valley did well amongst those running in the county championships. Paul Shelley was fastest man 55 plus with his 1:03:57; Jo Cooksley fastest woman 35 plus with her 1:28:37 and Jim Brown fastest man 70 plus with 1:32:02. Also Mike Jeffs was second fastest 40 plus with 1:00:31 and Wendy Tharani third fastest woman 50 plus with 1:34:07.

There were five Spartan personal bests (Mike Jeffs, Paul Shelley, Charlie Arnold 1:17:11, Keith Hooker 1:18:50 and Annabelle White 1:25:20) and three season’s bests (Sam Tophill 1:28:06, Tim Robinson 1:31:33 and Penny Schenkel 1:43:22) in the race.

Position	First name	Last name	Net time	category
38	Mike	Jeffs	1:00:31	MV40
66	Paul	Shelley	1:03:57	MV55
77	David	Harris-Cherguit	1:05:22	MV45
90	Nick	Gill	1:06:34	MV35
97	Adrian	Donnelly	1:07:43	MV45
170	Jay	Papa	1:15:01	MSEN
189	Charles	Arnold	1:17:11	MV65
204	Yuko	Gordon	1:18:09	FV70
217	Keith	Hooker	1:18:50	MV45
290	Annabelle	White	1:25:20	FSEN
317	Samantha	Tophill	1:28:06	FV55
322	Jo	Cooksley	1:28:37	FV35
353	Tim	Robinson	1:31:33	MV55
355	Jim	Brown	1:32:02	MV70
369	Wendy	Tharani	1:34:07	FV50
376	Ann	Tryssesoone	1:34:34	FV55
379	Thomas	Sauka	1:34:27	MV45
399	Alison	Shelley	1:37:18	FV55
420	Karen	Liddle	1:39:57	FV65
439	Megan	Sutton	1:42:15	FSEN
451	Penny	Schenkel	1:43:22	FV55
504	Sharon	Crowley	1:57:00	FV65
505	Paul	Holgate	1:58:20	MV65
510	Rose	Sutton	2:01:46	FSEN
511	Samantha	Sutton	2:01:47	FV45
517	Rebecca	Rayner	2:08:25	FV40
525	Nichola	Durent	2:27:01	FV45

Gerry’s Frozen Phoenix

On Sunday Spartan GERRY ROSEN took part in the ‘Frozen Phoenix’ a running event organised by Phoenix Running

Gerry said it was his sort of event. Low key, turn up, grab your ‘ankle’ timing chip and away you go. It was an out and back of 1.6 miles each way alongside the River Thames, totally pan flat, he completed six laps and a bit more for a total of 20 miles in a respectable time of 3 hours 48 minutes.

He said you can take your own supplies or use what’s provided and Gerry said it was very well stocked, all those household sweets we love and know, right up his street, and they know their runner. ‘Would you like some crisps’ he was asked after he finished, very welcome.

Gerry will be back there after his holiday for the annual doughnut dash on the 12th January and as you might guess there’s doughnuts which he guesses can be eaten during the run……

50 Plus Spartans At Record Breaking Christmas Day Parkrun

We said watch out for the special on Christmas Day and wow. The record for Stevenage parkrun was broken by 107 as 750 enjoyed the festive fun on Wednesday morning.

The 750 included more than 53 Spartans including PAUL SHELLEY who achieved a major milestone with his 100^th parkrun which he ran in a celebratory 34 minutes 51 seconds.

THOMAS SAUKA ran his 160^th in 26:13 and WILLIAM MORLEY his 30^th in 19:42. He was 15^th in the race.

ANNABELLE WHITE was the fastest female from Spartans with her 23:37.

Misty, Mild and Still at the Serpentine

It was misty, mild and still in Hyde Park as Spartan JIM BROWN tried to up his pace a little for the first time in weeks at the Last Friday of the Month 5K. He was reasonably successful for the first 3K and finished third man 70 plus in 28:30. Jim was keen to take part and finish as he became one of only three runners to do all of the twelve races in the Serpentine series this year. The lunch-time event continues to amaze in many ways. The winner finished in 14 minutes 56 seconds and the first woman in 17:04!

Parkrun Highlights – Saturday 28^th December

After a wonderful record breaking Christmas Day 467 ran parkrun on a grey Saturday morning 28^th December.

41 Spartans ran parkruns on Saturday 28^th. The majority, 26, were at Stevenage.

ASHLEY JOHNSON was second woman and first Spartan in 20:01, just eighteen seconds behind the first woman. They were 11^th and 12^th in the race. That was Ashley’s 25^th parkrun.

Other mini-milestones included MIKE REYNOLDS running his 220^th parkrun in 28:57; PAUL JENNINGS his 190^th in 29:46 and HILARY DAVIES her 60^th in 36:20.

Elsewhere TIM ROBINSON was at Panshanger running his 190^th parkrun in 33:24 and ANDY JAY at Westmill for his 160^th parkrun which he ran in 30:24.

Santa Canta

Some Spartans including Mike Jeffs as The Grinch, Callie Chapman, Nick Gill, Ross Gallagher and Georgie Hopper ran the postponed Santa Canta in Letchworth. The storm got in the way the previous weekend.

Spartans Star in Herts Annual Runners Awards

Fairlands Valley Spartans did well in the Herts Annual Runners Awards with someone nominated in every category.

Mike Jeffs won male runner of the year. The Stevenage Marathon, organised by Fairlands Valley Spartans, was second in race of the year. Keith Fenwick was second in volunteer of the year. Yuko Gordon was second and Ashley Johnson third in female runner of the year.

Cross Country

The team results are in and as predicted by the much greater Spartan participation and performance the club did much better in the recent cross country league race. On the day the men’s “A” team were third out of 20 clubs and the “B” team were also third in that category. The men’s masters (veterans) were second. In the series the FVS men have moved up to fifth and the male masters up to third.

The women’s team were ninth out of 20 clubs on the day helping to give the club a combined fifth that morning.

Tags Buntingford 10, Cross Country, Frozen Pheonix, parkrun, Serpentine

Club News Race Results

SPARTANS WIN AT HITCHIN

Post author By Vicky Archer
Post date April 30, 2023
No Comments on SPARTANS WIN AT HITCHIN

Fairlands Valley Spartans WON the team prize at Sunday’s Hitchin 10K road race plus ANDREW PATTERSON was second man and ASHLEY JOHNSON second woman overall.

Only a week after an outstanding run in the London Marathon Andrew was second in the race with 34 minutes 26 seconds, a new season’s best by 1 minute 22 seconds.

Ashley was second woman overall, first in her age category and ran a new 10K personal best (PB) by 38 seconds with 41 minutes 59 seconds (41:59).

The other Spartan team counters were DAN HUKIN 13^th overall in 38:05, his best this year, and fourth in age category, and DANNY SCANLON 41^st in 41:05, a season’s best by 2 seconds. The FVS team won by 1 minute and 1 second.

PENNY SCHENKEL expected she was going to take 70 minutes but took 1 minute 48 seconds off her season’s best time when she finished in 1:00:27.

JIM BROWN said he was pleased to finish the Hitchin 10K only 28 seconds outside his best time of the year with 56:06.

MICHAEL O’KEEFE was another Spartan who ran at London. He maintained a sensible 10 minutes per mile pace and finished the 10 kilometres (6.2 miles) in 1:00:06.

JANE WADEY said she was pleased with her results. 65:40 was just 38 seconds short of her PB despite running with a sore ankle.

(Photo Credit, Main Photo – Marie Colucci)

County Track and Field Championships

There were eight members of the club at the County Track and Field Championships for veterans at Ridlins on bank holiday Monday.

In the 1500 metres MO WARILLOW won GOLD in the women 45 plus race with 6 minutes 57.56 seconds (6:57.56); SHARON CROWLEY won GOLD in the women 55 plus event with 8:06.10; PAUL HOLGATE won GOLD in the men’s 60 plus category with 8:23.88 and JIM BROWN won GOLD in the 70 plus race with 7:47.26.

DAVID PATTMAN won 1500 metre SILVER in the MV40 category race with 5:37.81 and STEVEN DOBNER MV40 BRONZE with 5:43.94. THOMAS SAUKA just missed out on the medals with 5:50.56.

In the sprints DAVE STEPHENSON won the men 60 plus 100 metres in 14.2 seconds and the men 60 plus 200 metres in 29.45 seconds.

SHARON CROWLEY took SILVER in the hammer with 16.32 metres.

Serpentine

Jim Brown ran Friday’s Serpentine 5K in 27 minutes 54 seconds (27:54). He was second MV70.

Parkrun Highlights Saturday 29^th April 2023

For the Consolidated Results from last Saturdays Parkrun please click the link.

Tags County Track and Field Championships, Hitchin 10K, Serpentine

Club News Race Results

SPARTANS RUN AT TRENT PARK

Post author By Vicky Archer
Post date October 30, 2022
No Comments on SPARTANS RUN AT TRENT PARK

Trent Park Cross Country – Three Top Tens for Spartans and Women Move Up

Despite trees being blown down by strong winds a few days ago the cross country league fixture in Trent Park, near Cockfosters went ahead. This was the second race in this season’s series and Fairlands Valley Spartans increased their turnout compared with race one. This time 34 Spartans, 19 men and 15 women, enjoyed the mud. A total of 492 including 212 women from 21 clubs competed.

Three Spartans achieved three top ten positions. SIMON JACKSON 10^th overall for the five miles in 28:23 – he was also second man 40 plus; CHRISTINE LATHWELL second woman in 30:34 – and first woman 45 plus and MICHELLE REEVES eighth in 32:16. YUKO GORDON was first woman 65 plus and 48^th woman in 38:16.

A stronger turnout this time meant the Spartan women moved up from 11^th to sixth place. Their “A” team was completed by GEORGIE HOOPER 49^th woman in 38:18 and TRACEY JACKSON 60^th in 39:42. The “B” team was led in by KELLY McHALE, 61^st in 39:47 with HARRIET SMITH 82^nd in 41:19 and PAULA DUNNE 85^th in 41:25 not far behind.

The men were 12^th this time. Next in after Simon were GRANT RAMSAY 66^th overall in 31:49; DANNY SCANLON 115^th in 33:53; PETE SMITH 167^th in 36:11 and NICK GILL 168^th in 36:15.

Full results can be downloaded here: Trent Park XC results

Snowdon Marathon

2022 was the 37^th running of the popular Snowdon Marathon, considered to be one of the best marathons in the UK despite the difficulty of the course with three BIG climbs and a very technical off-road section between 22 – 25 miles that sees many runners lose their footing and cross the finish line covered in mud. Heavy rain at the beginning and finish together with strong winds ensured this year’s race was as tricky as usual if not trickier but that did not prevent the two Spartans taking part continuing to add to their long runs of consecutive finishes in the years that the race has gone ahead. SHARON CROWLEY who has run more Snowdon marathons than any other female finished her 29^th Snowdon marathon in 6 hours 32 minutes 25 seconds (6:32:25) for 1520^th position while PAUL HOLGATE finished 1591^st with 7:17:44 in his 32^nd Snowdon marathon. (He’s run every year that the race has taken place since 1988).

There were 1,601 finishers from the 2,500 runners that entered.

Sharon with her 29th medal for Snowdon Marathon!

John Harris Selected for England

On the strength of his performance in the recent York Marathon Spartan JOHN HARRIS has been selected for England.

Next year he will be running in the England Masters Marathon Team based on his recent marathon qualifying time and top three placing. He has trained all year for this and is so pleased to make the team. The representative race will be at the Chester Marathon next October.

Serpentine Thirtieth Anniversary 5K

There have been lunch-time 5Ks in Hyde Park, London since October 1992 and the thirtieth anniversary fell on Friday. Spartan PENNY SCHENKEL was delighted to improve her 5K time to 27 minutes 52 seconds (27:52). JIM BROWN went round in 27:10.

Cockbain’s Track 100

ADRIAN BUSOLINI ran the Cockbain’s Track 100. He said he was running in circles for no particular reason. Due to lack of fitness, he had planned to DNS (not start), but at the last minute decided to show up to ‘run for a few hours’. A few turned into 23.

Adrian ran 100 miles, that’s 403 laps of the 400 metre track, in 23 hours 8 minutes 59 seconds. He was 14^th out of the 21 that finished, 51 started.

Adrian back out doing what he does best… long distances, although in circles this time!

Hertfordshire Half and 10K

Spartan JOHN NELMS ran the Hertfordshire Half Marathon, starting and finishing at Knebworth House, in 2 hours 8 minutes 54 seconds. He was 538^th out of 900 finishers.

JANE McFARLANE was encouraging a friend to a new personal best in the Hertfordshire 10K and was 333^rd out of the 501 finishers in 61 minutes 42 seconds.

Parkrun Highlights 29th October 2022

Alison SHELLEY and Jim BROWN reached their 100 Parkrun milestones on the Stevenage course in 32 minutes and 46 seconds and 32 minutes and 47 seconds respectively. They enjoyed running around in their “100” capes on what was the nearest Saturday to Halloween. At the same location, Matt TUTTON ran a PB time of 27 minutes and 23 seconds.

For the full consolidated results for the 29^th October please click this link – Consolidated Results for 29^th October 2022.

Tables

Spartans at Trent Park Cross Country – Combined Results

Pos	Name	Last Name	Age Group	Time	Comments
10	Simon	Jackson	V40	28:23	10th overall. MA
37	Christine	Lathwell	FV45	30:34	2nd woman. FA
66	Grant	Ramsay	V50	31:49	MA
75	Michelle	Reeves	FV35	32:16	8th woman. FA
115	Danny	Scanlon	V40	33:53	MA (men’s “A” team)
167	Pete	Smith	V60	36:11	MA
168	Nick	Gill	SM	36:15	MA
192	Steve	Mayfield	V50	36:50	MA
199	David	Pattman	V40	37:05	MA
216	Steven	Dobner	V40	37:47	MA
220	Thomas	Sauka	V40	37:54
235	Yuko	Gordon	FV65	38:16	1st VW65. FA
236	Georgie	Hooper	SL	38:18	FA (women’s “A” team)
262	Luke	Gurney	SM	39:17
267	Tracey	Jackson	FV45	39:42	FA
268	Darren	Emmerson	V50	39:46
269	Kelly	Mchale	FV35	39:47
313	Harriet	Smith	SL	41:19
318	Paula	Dunne	FV35	41:25
336	Rob	Wright	V40	42:07
355	Nick	Kleanthous	V60	43:08
363	Mark	Freeman	V60	43:18
377	Claire	Emmerson	FV45	44:15
378	Tim	Robinson	V50	44:17
401	Tony	Vickers	V50	46:01
407	Andy	Jay	V50	46:12
411	Michael	O’Keefe	V50	46:25
440	Grant	Murphy	V50	48:37
446	Mo	Warrillow	FV45	49:01
474	Cathy	Craig	FV65	53:53
476	Carolyn	Linsell	FV65	54:07
481	Jane	Wadey	FV55	56:39
490	Callie	Chapman	FV35	01:00:44
491	Hazel	Smith	FV45	01:00:44

Tags Cockbain's Track 100, Herts Half, John Harris, Serpentine, Snowdon Marathon, Trent Park XC

Club News Race Results

SPARTAN EMAC WOMEN WIN AGAIN!

Post author By Vicky Archer
Post date June 26, 2022
No Comments on SPARTAN EMAC WOMEN WIN AGAIN!

The FVS Ladies continued their winning streak in the Eastern Masters Athletics league meeting in perfect conditions at Cambridge on Wednesday evening. The team of 14 greatly outnumbered the opposition, allowing everyone to focus on one or two events instead of having to cope with multiple shoe changes! FVS had a clean sweep in the high jump competition, with Nikki Wilby (W35), Monica Brown (W50 – also second place shot put), and Karen Dodsworth (W60) all winning maximum points for the team. Karen also claimed first place in W50 400 metres and placed second in W50 triple jump. Other wins on the night came from Andrea Westcott in the W50 100m (also second place hammer throw with a PB!), Tessa Stephenson W60 100m, and Wendy Tharani W50 1500m. Having such a large contingent ensured every event was covered. Important points were scored by Callie Chapman (fourth place in both W35 100m and 400m), Carolyn Linsell (second place W60 400m), Fiona Clarke (second place in both W35 1500m and her first ever triple jump competition!), Cathy Craig (third place W60 1500m), Sharon Crowley (fourth place 2k walk ‘A’ and second place W60 hammer), Yuko Gordon (third place 2k walk ‘B’), Stephanie Biggar (third place W35 hammer and fourth place shot put), and Joylyn Saunders-Mullins finished in second place in a hotly contested W60 shot put.  As always, the relays rounded off the evening with W35 team of Monica Brown, Callie Chapman, Fiona Clarke, and Nikki Wilby finishing in third place. The W50 team of Carolyn Linsell, Andrea Westcott, Tessa Stephenson, and Wendy Tharani were unopposed, finishing in first place.

The men’s team had fewer competitors, seven, available but TIM SAUNDERS-MULLINS, STEVE MAYFIELD, DAVE STEPHENSON, NICK KLEANTHOUS, CHRIS WESTCOTT, GRANT RAMSAY and PETE SMITH still managed a credible fourth place finish. Tim Saunders-Mullins won the M60 hammer throw by a huge margin, with other points from Steve Mayfield (4^th place in M35 100m, shot put, triple jump, and high jump then moving to his own age group to finish 4^th in M50 hammer!), Dave Stephenson (3^rd place in both M50 100m and 400m), Nick Kleanthous (5^th place M60 100m, 2^nd place 2k walk ‘A’, and 4^th place M60 shot put), Chris Westcott (3^rd place in both M35 400m and 1500m), Grant Ramsay (2^nd place in his new age group M50 1500m), and Pete Smith (2^nd place M60 1500m, 5^th place M50 triple jump, 2^nd place M60 high jump).  The relay team finished in 4^th place, just pipped to the line by 0.3 seconds!

The ladies team have now secured their place in the final but will still be aiming for another victory in Bedford net month on Wednesday 20^th July!

Two Wins At Welwyn

There were eleven Spartans and two wins at the Welwyn 10K.

MARK GOODWIN was really pleased and surprised by achieving first place in his age category. He managed a negative split, rare for him, due to the challenging hill in the first half of the race. Mark WON the Vet 60 competition with 48 minutes 1 second.

JIM BROWN’s second half was 1 minute 39 seconds faster than his first, so another negative split, and he WON the 70 plus category by three minutes with 56 minutes 56 seconds.

VISH SHAH came in with 53 minutes 53 seconds and new member HARRIET SMITH raced round in an excellent 54 minutes 27 seconds. She was in the top half of the field, 160^th out of 355.

There was a new personal best (PB) for MICHAEL O’KEEFE – 61:42.

JANE WADEY said it was tough but pleased to complete her first ever measured and chip timed 10K race in 67:09.

It was a very hot run at the Welwyn 10K said CHRISTINE ZVEREV. Sadly not the sub 60 she was hoping for but Christine said it was beautiful nonetheless. She came in with 67:47.

JANE WATT, 68:26, thought it was a lovely course. Bit hot in places but it is June.

LUKE GURNEY 63:01; NICOLA HATHERLY 74:00 and JUDY KING 74:55 completed the Spartan eleven.

Hitchin Hard Half

ROBERT WRIGHT took the Hitchin Hard Half Marathon at an easy pace and finished in 2.06.10. There were 149 finishers.

Race To The Tower

SHARON CROWLEY ran a 52 mile Ultra, the Race to the Tower, which she finished in 19 hours 57 minutes 7 seconds at 4:30am. It’s a tough and very hilly event in the Cotswolds, some of it quite steep. She kept a good pace throughout and only slowed down a little near the end when it was dark. She said she needed her poles for both up and down the hills. She was supported by Mike, who was a great help, especially close to the end. An amazing achievement.

Sharon said it was one of the hardest things she’s ever done!

Serpentine

It was bright dry and windy for the Serpentine Last Friday of the Month 5K in Hyde Park where runners were entertained by the warm up for the BST festival. Jim Brown was 105th and second in his category with 27:20. He is twelfth in the year long series.

Windy maybe but it was quite neat as it was headwind where there was shelter but tailwind out in the open on the back straight. The race was won in an eye watering 14 minutes 58 seconds! The Serpentine 5K is now in its 30^th year with a celebration to come in October.

Run Orwell

DAVE SCOTT took part in the Run Orwell event near Royston today, and although he’d planned for the 10k, because of the heat he made the decision to do the 5k distance instead.

It was a small event, with around 120 participants across both distances. It was mixed terrain, including some sections across private farm land which were scenic but tough! It was very much a social run for Dave, so he took it relatively easy and finished in 34:17.

Parkrun Highlights

The purple start and finish signs made a welcome return to Stevenage parkrun for the first time since March 2020. There were 238 runners including 14 Spartans.

It was a busy week for Spartans participating across 11 different venues including home base at Stevenage. JONATHAN PARR was first at Stevenage (17:16). He was exactly one minute ahead of his nearest rival.

JIM BROWN won the category by three seconds with a little scamper to the line ahead of a Garden City Runner with the two of them 105th and 107th out of 238 in the race. Jim’s time was 27:14, slightly faster than the Serpentine 5K the day before.

Lots of “First timers” this week: ROGER BIGGS at Eastbourne (44:51), the Pattmans ran in Lowestoft (David 23:04 and Nicola 35:03), MO WARRILOW and STEVE DOBNER ran together at Jersey Farm (Mo 29:27) (Steve 29:28) and YUKO GORDON was at Henlow Bridge Lakes (25:11).

There were new parkrun course PBs for PAUL MAGUIRE at Exmouth (23:48), MICHAEL O’KEEFE at Henlow Bridge Lakes (28:35) and NIKKI NATION at Stevenage (32:29),

ANDY JAY was at Westmill (28:32), JAMES MCSWEENEY at Littleport (25:04) and DARRYL STEVENS at Brockenhurst (35:46).

CATHY CRAIG ran a virtual parkrun in 31:51 to help celebrate her son’s 100^th.

Tables

Spartans at the Welwyn 10K

Pos	Gender	Cat Pos	Name	Category	Chip	Age Grade	Comments
82.	74	1	Mark GOODWIN	MV60	48:01	70.1%	1^st V60
157.	137	44	Vishal SHAH	MS	53:53	49.7 %
160.	21	8	Harriet SMITH	FS	54:27	54.4%	New
197.	164	1	Jim BROWN	MV70	56:56	62.4 %	1^st V70
255.	197	56	Michael O’KEEFE	MV50	1:01:42	51.5 %	PB
266.	203	62	Luke GURNEY	MS	1:03:01	41.7 %
299.	88	17	Jane WADEY	FV55	1:07:09	52.9 %	First 10K race
304.	93	35	Christine ZVEREV	FV35	1:07:47	44.8 %
313.	100	37	Jane MCFARLANE	FV35	1:08:26	45.5 %
338.	117	30	Nicola HATHERLY	FV45	1:14:00	43.9 %
342.	120	23	Judy KING	FV55	1:14:55	49.2 %

Number of records: 355

The full Spartan result for Stevenage parkrun is below:

Position	Gender Position	parkrunner	Run Time
1	1	Jonathan PARR	00:17:16
42	39	Sam SIMMONS	00:23:29
53	48	Toby ECCLESHALL	00:24:09
57	51	Matt CLARKE	00:24:13
62	54	Brian WHITE	00:24:32
105	87	Jim BROWN	00:27:14
116	22	Ashley SCHOENWETTER	00:27:49
132	28	Fiona CLARKE	00:28:45
139	31	Debbie BLANTERN	00:29:04
153	41	Monica SMITHSON	00:30:20
180	60	Nikki Katherine NATION	00:32:29
197	67	Samantha SUTTON	00:33:37
203	133	Stephen SMITHSON	00:34:56
230	138	Paul HOLGATE	00:42:04

Tags EMAC, Hitchin Hard Half, Race to the Tower, Run Orwell, Serpentine, Welwyn 10k

Club News Race Results

SPARTANS MIDWEEK IN ST ALBANS

Post author By Vicky Archer
Post date May 29, 2022
No Comments on SPARTANS MIDWEEK IN ST ALBANS

Sixty seven Spartans made the trip to St Albans on Wednesday evening for the second Mid Week League race of the season. There were 447 finishers with 25 women and 42 men from FVS.

Some of the notable performances included TONY RANDFIELD first man 60 plus (MV60) in 43:01; PETE SMITH second MV60 in 43:07. CAROLYN LINSELL second FV65 in 61:37 and SUZY HAWKINS in a fantastic 40:58, a personal best (PB) by 18 seconds, for third woman 45 plus.

Suzy was the fastest female from Fairlands at 13^th out of 176 women with GABRIELLE O’BRIEN second from the club and 28^th in 43:20 and MICHELLE REEVES third and 33^rd woman in 44:06.

Happy chatting Spartans before the race.

ABBIE (daughter) and TRACY (mother) came in together with 48:31.

KELLY McHALE continues to improve. She made it into the “A” team with a sub fifty 49 minutes 16 seconds cutting 1:41 off her personal best. GEORGIE HOOPER also beat fifty with 49:56.

The quickest Spartan was SIMON JACKSON in 34:08 for 16^th out of 271 men with SIMON FRASER not far behind at 23^rd in 34:58 and ANDREW PATTERSON 31^st in 35:48.

Seventeen Spartans smashed their personal bests (PB) for 10K and ten were running their first ever 10K race. The personal bests included ADRIAN BUSOLINI taking his 10K down to 36:05; KELVIN BEYIOKU down to 36:23; DANNY HUKIN down to 37:08; ROSS GALLAGHER down to 39:07 and STUART ARCHER down below 40 for the first time with 39:29. The table at the end of the release notes all the PB details along with everyone else’s results.

The Spartans had more than enough for three men’s teams of 12 runners and three women’s teams of eight runners. Everyone of the 67 Spartans contributed.

The next mid week race will be in Epping Forest, near Chingford on Wednesday evening 8^th June.

Smiling on the start line – Always time for a quick photo!

Edinburgh Marathon and Half Marathon

What an emotional rollercoaster the past few months have been said Spartan MIKE JEFFS. What started out as a way just to keep fit grew legs quite rapidly with him entering his first race doing the Hertfordshire 10K 18 months ago all the way to doing his first ever marathon at Edinburgh in 3:24:02.

DAVID HARRIS-CHERGUIT got a great result in the Edinburgh Half Marathon with a new personal best (PB) of 1 hour 16 minutes 25 seconds for 51^st overall and 8^th in the 40 to 44 age group.

There was also a PB for CRAIG MARTIN who ran the Edinburgh Half in 1:36:29. His previous PB was 1 hour 43 minutes.

MARIE COLUCCI smashed the Half in 1 hour 43 minutes 03 seconds! After what she admitted was a grumpy start to the day this was a much better run than she was expecting and came in the top 5% of her age group!

Buxton Half

Eighth place in 1:23:58 was SIMON FRASER’s reward for battling some really tough hills, up and down, in the Buxton Half Marathon. He said there were lots of beautiful running miles.

Serpentine

JIM BROWN ran the Last Friday of the Month 5K in Hyde Park (Serpentine) for the last time before going up an age group. He was delighted to finish in his best time (YB) this year – 26 minutes 26 seconds.

Once again the top end standard was very high. Jim was 165th out of 194. It was dry, sunny, mild, with a medium breeze and the race followed with a lunch-time ice cream by the lake.

The Coaching Team Gets Even Stronger

Another boost to an already fantastic Fairlands coaching team. After six months of studying, JOHN HARRIS has qualified as a UKA Endurance Level 4 Coach. That’s the highest possible UKA Coach qualification. Well done John!!

Parkrun Highlights Saturday 28^th May

Stevenage parkrun’s sixth birthday brought out several Spartans in fancy dress. There was a total of 253 runners. The 21 Spartans included GRANT RAMSAY fifth in 18 minutes 21 seconds and ALISON SHELLEY ninth woman in 25:52.

Stevenage Parkrun including the standard active wear of Where’s Wally and a Chicken!

PAUL MAGUIRE said he had a great run in Liverpool. He ran the Princes parkrun, appropriately alongside many Penny Lane Striders, in 24 minutes 22 seconds and was 140^th out of 451. He said it was a lovely route around the park and by the lake and that he kept it steady and felt strong.

ANY JAY was 62^nd out of 99 at Westmill, Ware in 30:55.

Away day Parkrun fun for the Evolve team!

Tables

Midweek Road Race League Race 2. St Albans 10km. Wednesday 25^th May 2022

Race

Pos

Cat

Vet

No.

Time

Name

Surname

Cat.

M/F

Own Time

Impr

1055

34:08

Simon

Jackson

V 40

34:08

0:32

1065

34:58

Simon

Fraser

34:56

2:15

1053

35:48

Andrew

Patterson

V 40

35:48

1084

36:05

Adrian

Busolini

36:05

0:19

1067

36:25

Kelvin

Beyioku

36:23

0:18

1073

37:09

Danny

Hukin

V 40

37:08

0:50

1074

38:24

Grant

Ramsay

V 40

38:23

1057

39:08

Ross

Gallagher

39:07

0:19

1071

39:29

Stuart

Archer

39:29