Categories
Club News Race Results

WARE TENS * EMAC WIN

Fly Team * Challenge Coming

Sunday’s Ware Ten mile race was a tough multi-terrain event with a few hills in the five mile lap.  That didn’t stop Spartan DANNY SCANLON improving his ten mile personal best (PB) by 2 minutes 15 seconds to come 14th out of the 242 finishers and sixth senior man (up to 35) with 1 hour 5 minutes 57 seconds.

Danny said, “I ran the Ware 10 today and finished 14th in a time of 1.05.57, which included a stumble with 500 metres to go!!!   This is a new 10 mile PB, beating my previous 10 Mile PB  of 1:08:12 back in 2018!  It was a well organised race and great to see so many Spartan Stripes out there today!!”

PAUL SHELLEY was next in for the Spartans with 1:14:25, with BRIAN WHITE close behind at 1:14:39 to take second place in the men age 60 plus competition.

MATT CLARKE was another taking a chunk out of his PB, this time 6 minutes 11 seconds, for 1:18:37.  MARK GOODWIN had him in sight at the end, 1:18:54 gave him third place in the men 60 plus category.

The club’s fastest woman was JO BOWDERY in 1:21:54 for sixth senior woman (up to 35).  GRACE COVENTRY was running her first ten mile race and did it with ease finishing in 1:27:53 and tenth female senior.

ANDY JAY and ALISON SHELLEY neatly straddled the mid point in the race.  Andy was 121st in 1:28:30 – a season’s best improvement of six seconds and Alison 122nd in 1:28:31 for sixth in her category.

PAUL HOLGATE, CHLOE CHAPMAN and CHARLOTTE KEARNEY raised a cheer with their sprint finish.  In their first ten miler Chloe was 204th in 1:44:12 and Charlotte 206th in 1:44:13 but Paul just squeaked ahead in 1:44:10 for 203rd.

The other Spartans were DAVID PATTMAN 1:21:19; STEVE DOBNER 1:22:53; JIM BROWN 1:26:00; LEE PICKERSGILL 1:30:00; FIONA CLRKE 1:33:31 and PAUL JENNINGS 1:45:05.

YUKO GORDON ran an amazing age score of 93.5%, was 22nd out of 193 in the whole race and won the women 65 plus category.  She said, “It was lovely, wasn’t it?  The course had a bit of everything and interesting. The atmosphere was one of the friendliest.  I was fourth woman in 48:01.”

KIERAN FEETHAM was leading the 10K for a while but faded in the second half.  However he reduced his season’s best time by 7 minutes 46 seconds and finished twelfth in 46:00.  JONATHAN JONES was 103rd in 1:00:27 and DZENANA TOPIC 144th in 1:07:22.

For many people these were their first open races since February 2020.  Full Spartan results can be found in the table at the end of this release.

 

 

Mid Week League 10Ks

Eighty Spartans helped Fairlands Valley to fourth place in the second Mid Week Road Race League event.  The Spartans contributed 38 of the 142 women and 52 of the 175 men in the race.  There were FIVE Spartans women’s teams and FOUR men’s teams.  Brilliant participation!

Several Spartans achieved in podium positions – SUZY HAWKINS first woman 45 plus, and fifth overall, with 40 minutes 39 seconds; YUKO GORDON first woman 65 plus with 45:18; CLAIRE PULLEN first woman over 55 with 46:28; CAROLYN LINSELL 3rd woman over 65 with 51:48.  The leading senior (20 to 35) was HEATHER JONES with 44:28.

Amongst the men SIMON JACKSON was first man 40 plus and fifth overall in 34:05; BRIAN WHITE was second man 60 plus in 42:30; BARRY OSBORNE first man 70 plus in 46:29 and WILLIAM MORLEY first under 20 in 50:35. ANDREW PATTERSON was the Spartans leading senior man at fourth overall in 34 minutes exactly.

Participation in the Mid Week Road Race League is an important free benefit when members join Fairlands Valley Spartans.

Times for the third race can be recorded between 5th and 18th July or in the club’s “Wave 10K” event on Tuesday 13th July.

All the Spartan times for the second race can be found near the end of this release.

 

East of England Track and Field – FVS Ladies Win Again

 

The ladies track and field team extended their lead in the EMAC (East of England veterans) Central division with a convincing win at Cambridge on Wednesday. The team welcomed another new joiner, NIKKI WILBY, who won both the high jump (HJ and pole vault (PV) competitions in the women’s 35 plus (W35) category.  Fairlands Valley Spartans won three 3 HJ events, with ANDREA WESTCOTT in the  W50 (who also won the W35 hurdles) and KAREN DODSWORTH in the W60 age group. Other wins on the night included JOYLYN SAUNDERS-MULLINS, who not only dropped down an age group to race in the W50 200m, but beat everyone in the W35 age category too! Joylyn added to the points tally, finishing a close runner up in the W60 javelin throw (JT).  TESSA STEPHENSON focussed on the 200 metres and won the W60 by a massive margin. SUZY HAWKINS continues to impress in the distance events, easily winning the W35 3K having lead from the start.
MARIAN MORLEY won the W50 JT which is amazing as she only recently started training in that event.  Marian also competed in the W50 high jump (HT), finishing third.

The remaining points were picked up by CALLIE CHAPMAN (second place in W35 200m), YUKO GORDON (competing against younger athletes in the W50 3K and finishing third), SHERYL HANN (second place in  both the W60 3K and 80 metres hurdles), SHARON CROWLEY (second place in both the 1500 metres A string walk and W60 HT), CATHY CRAIG (first place in 1500m B string walk), STEPHANIE BIGGAR recently took up JT and HT and finished third in both events for W35. The relay races made a welcome return to the competition with Suzy, Callie, Nikki, and Cathy finishing second in the W35 category and Tessa, Joylyn, Yuko, and Karen winning the W50 age group.

The men’s team improved on their previous performance, finishing fourth on the night.  JON PARR made his debut for the team, finishing second in the M35 200m. The team welcomed back DAVE BOWKER (3k and 1500m A string walk), BARRY OSBORNE (3k), and GRANT RAMSAY (relay), bolstering the points tally earned by STEVE MAYFIELD (HT and JT) DAVE STEPHENSON (200m and HJ), Andrew Patterson (3k, HT, and HJ), Ron Westcott (1500m B string walk and JT), TIM SAUNDERS-MULLINS (HT) and STEVE GOUGH (JT).  Several of the team also completed events as non-scorers.  The M35 relay team (Jon, Andy, Grant, and Chris Westcott) had a decent crack at the club record, but couldn’t beat the time recorded in 2018

 

Suffolk Trail Festival

JENNY GARRETT, VICKY & STUART ARCHER, NEAL MUGGLETON, KERSTIN WEINER, DARREN and CLAIRE EMMERSON took part in the 24 hour run at the Suffolk Trail Festival this weekend.  They all had a great time clocking up the 5 mile laps.

Stuart completed 10; Neal 9; Claire 7; Jenny, Vicky and Darren 6 each; Kerstin 5 giving a total of 245 miles.

 

Cathy’s Four in Two

CATHY CRAIG fourth event in two weeks was the Holkham 10k and she finished in 1:06:36. It was on an undulating route and it was very humid on the day.  Cathy was quite happy with the result after completing a 55 mile Ultra two weeks ago and being part of the EMAC relay and completing a race walk in Cambridge on Wednesday.

 

Fen Gallop

Spartan JAMES McSWEENEY ran the Fen Gallop 10K on Sunday.

He said, “Really nicely organised race in Willingham, Cambridgeshire. Quite a lot of uneven trails which made it trickier than expected so I was happy enough with my time of 52 minutes 2 seconds.”

 

First Saturday

Following two back to back Marathons in the previous days, JOHN HARRIS incorporated the North Herts First Saturday of the month 5K, as part of an 11 mile progressive run.  He clocked 22.52 for the 5k distance.

 

Entries Open for the Stevenage Half Marathon

Entries for the Stevenage Half Marathon are open.  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 and this year the race will be on Sunday 21st November.

The Stevenage Half Marathon began in 1984 and takes place annually with a full marathon every 10 years (the next Stevenage marathon is due 2024).

Race headquarters is at Ridlins Athletic Stadium, with the race itself comprising of two loops taking in Fairlands Valley Park, Stevenage Showground, before passing Stevenage Football Club before returning to Ridlins Stadium for your second lap and then the race to the finish on the track at Ridlins.

The route is completely road or cycle way based, so there are no muddy sections to worry about and is completely signposted and marshalled so you can be sure of a warm welcome and encouragement all the way around the 13.1 miles.

Although designed as a charity fundraising event, the course is officially measured and previously has hosted the Hertfordshire Road Running Half Marathon and Marathon championships, attracting some of the top local elite athletes and the occasional World Record Holder.

The event is a charity fundraiser, with volunteers from Fairlands Valley Spartans Running Club, The Rotary Club of Stevenage, Grange Rotary Club, Stevenage Scouts and Stevenage Air Cadets giving their time freely to make the event a huge success.  All proceeds go to local charities.  The 2019 event provided in excess of £3000 in donations to worthy causes and the Spartans hope the Stevenage Half Marathon 2021 is even more successful.

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

To enter have a look at https://stevenagehalfmarathon.org.uk/

Before that the club’s Fairlands Valley Challenge (off road) is coming up fast and will be on Sunday 18th July.  It’s a classic trail event with several distance options – half marathon, 18 miles, marathon or a 50 kilometre ultra.  See http://www.fvchallenge.org.uk/

 

Flying On Number 59 – Spartans Have A Team

Fairlands Valley Spartans had a team compete in Saturday morning’s Fly 5K inter-club competition.  This was the 18th inter club event and was part of the 59th Fly 5K.

The team were NICOLA ANDERSSON 85th out of the 185 finishers in 27 minutes 19 seconds – she was eighth in her age category; MARIAN MORLEY 97th and third in her category with 28:11; PENNY SCHENKEL 104th equal in her 30th Fly 5K with 28:33 and top ten in her category; JIM BROWN also 104th equal in his 40th Fly 5K – he was second in his category; NICK KLEANTHOUS 130th in 30:03 and PAUL HOLGATE 141st in 31:33.  To qualify the club had to have at least six finishers including at least one woman and one man.  FVS had three of each.

The club were sixth in the event which attracted 185 runners from dozens of clubs.

 

(Not) Parkrun

In addition to those using the same effort to record Fly 5K times on Saturday mornings some other Spartans ran (not) parkruns on other days.  For example this week JIM BROWN ran a 25:53 during a longer event on Sunday morning; NICK KLEANTHOUS 29:21 on Thursday; ALISON SHELLEY 29:42 and PAUL JENNINGS 34:39 both on Saturday.

(Not) Parkruns can be run on any day of the week.

 

Racing Round England

The Spartans have a winner in their Bristol to Bristol virtual run, cycle and walk challenge around the coasts and borders of England.  PENNY SCHENKEL crossed the finish line during the Spartans Wave 10K run on Tuesday 25th May with all 2,970 kilometres done.  She was seventh overall in the whole country with a total time of 170 hours 25 minutes and 12 seconds.

She was 434 kilometres ahead of JIM BROWN (2536) and 789 ahead of BRIAN WHITE (2181).  At 7.15p.m. on Monday 21st June JIM BROWN ran across the virtual finish line in Bristol to claim second place.  He was tenth overall in 231 hours 7 minutes and 54 seconds.

The Spartan podium is almost complete.  By Sunday 4th July third placed BRIAN WHITE was on 2509 kilometres and in Widnes but SHARON CROWLEY was not far behind.  She’s in Southport with 2450.

The other ten Spartans are still clicking up the kilometres and have until December to finish the event.  Many other clubs are participating in the Virtual Coast Challenge.

 

Tables

All Eighteen Spartans in the Ware 10 (ten miles):

Pos Name Cat Cat Pos Time Grade FVS
14. Danny SCANLON MS 6 1:05:57 68.3% PB (2:15) & 6th MS
39. Paul SHELLEY MV50 10 1:14:25 67.3% YB (New)
41. Brian WHITE MV60 2 1:14:39 76.4% 2nd MV60
56. Matt CLARKE MV40 13 1:18:37 62.1% PB (6:11)
59. Mark GOODWIN MV60 3 1:18:54 70.2% 3rd MV60 & YB
73. David PATTMAN MV40 14 1:21:19 57.1% YB (New)
77. Jo BOWDERY FS 6 1:21:54 60.6% 6th FS & SB (New)
86. Steven DOBNER MV40 18 1:22:53 57.9% YB (4:29)
110. Jim BROWN MV60 6 1:26:00 68.4% YB (1:40) 6th MV60
119. Grace COVENTRY FS 10 1:27:53 56.1% 10th FS 1st attempt
121. Andy JAY MV50 25 1:28:30 59.1% SB (0:06)
122. Alison SHELLEY FV45 6 1:28:31 64.9% 6th FV45
130. Lee PICKERSGILL MS 42 1:30:00 50.1% YB (New)
151. Fiona CLARKE FV35 16 1:33:31 55.7%  
203. Paul HOLGATE MV60 10 1:44:10 53.7% SB (New)
204. Chloe CHAPMAN FS 17 1:44:12 47.4% First attempt.
206. Charlotte KEARNEY FS 18 1:44:13 47.3% First attempt.
208. Paul JENNINGS MV40 33 1:45:05 45.6% PB (2:15)

 

MWRRL – All 38 Spartan Women (38 women out of 142)

 

SCOTT’s TRAVEL MIDWEEK ROAD RACE LEAGUE – DIVISION 1 FVS
RACE 2 – Virtual 10k – 14th-27th June 2021 159
Pos Cat Vet Time Name Surname Cat. Club M/F 8 Team 4
5 1 3 40:39 Suzy Hawkins V 45 FVS F 5 A 3 1st Vet 45
16     44:28 Heather Jones S FVS F 16 A  
17 7 10 44:40 Michelle Reeves V 35 FVS F 17 A 10
20 1 12 45:18 Yuko Gordon V 65 FVS F 20 A 12 1st Vet 65
22 1 14 46:28 Claire Pullen V 55 FVS F 22 A 14 1st Vet 55
25     47:38 Joanne Bowdery S FVS F 25 A  
25 9 17 47:38 Marie Colucci V 35 FVS F 25 A 17
29     49:01 Gail Mackie S FVS F 29 A  
34 10 22 49:48 Tracy Pez V 45 FVS F 34 B 22
36 11 24 50:22 Claire Emmerson V 45 FVS F 36 B 24
38 11 25 50:30 Zoe Jackson V 35 FVS F 38 B 25
48 3 35 51:48 Carolyn Linsell V 65 FVS F 48 B 35 3rd Vet 65
52 14 39 52:14 Wendy Tharani V 45 FVS F 52 B 39
56 20 42 53:21 Vicky Archer V 35 FVS F 56 B 42
58     53:45 Charlotte Smith S FVS F 58 B  
61 17 45 54:01 Jenny Garrett V 45 FVS F 61 B 45
64 19 47 55:51 Debbie Blantern V 45 FVS F 64 C 47
69 22 52 56:26 Nicola Andersson V 45 FVS F 69 C 52
72 23 55 56:49 Alice Poole V 35 FVS F 72 C 55
74 7 57 56:54 Helen Harris V 55 FVS F 74 C 57
89 31 70 59:55 Penny Schenkel V 45 FVS F 89 C 70
89 9 70 59:55 Celia Taylor V 55 FVS F 89 C 70
92 33 73 1:00:00 Mo Warrillow V 45 FVS F 92 C 73
97 5 78 1:01:41 Jan Fry V 65 FVS F 97 C 78
100 36 80 1:02:00 Dzenana Topic V 45 FVS F 100 D 80
104 28 84 1:02:54 Linda George V 35 FVS F 104 D 84
105 15 85 1:02:56 Monica Smithson V 55 FVS F 105 D 85
107 29 87 1:03:30 Christine Zverev V 35 FVS F 107 D 87
118 34 98 1:06:54 Angie Keeling V 35 FVS F 118 D 98
119 18 99 1:07:00 Marian Morley V 55 FVS F 119 D 99
122 35 102 1:07:58 Toni Nicholls V 35 FVS F 122 D 102
128 36 108 1:12:00 Callie Chapman V 35 FVS F 128 D 108
131 42 110 1:15:25 Nicola Hatherly V 45 FVS F 131   110
132 25 110 1:15:25 Judy King V 55 FVS F 132   110
133 43 112 1:16:13 Hazel Smith V 45 FVS F 133   112
139 28 118 1:21:44 Sharon Crowley V 55 FVS F 139   118
141 46 120 1:33:00 Anne-Marie Neatham V 45 FVS F 141   120
142     1:53:00 Elizabeth Crowley S FVS F 142   0

 

MWRRL – All 52 Spartan Men (52 men out of 175)

SCOTT’s TRAVEL MIDWEEK ROAD RACE LEAGUE – DIVISION 1 FVS
       
RACE 2 – Virtual 10k – 14th-27th June 2021 448
Pos Cat Vet Time Name Surname Cat. Club M/F 12 Team 6  
4     34:00 Andrew Patterson S FVS M 4 A    
5 1 1 34:05 Simon Jackson V 40 FVS M 5 A 1 1MV40
10     34:53 Jonathan Parr S FVS M 10 A    
20     36:37 Adrian Busolini S FVS M 20 A    
25     37:15 Alexander Boddy S FVS M 25 A    
43     39:51 Danny Scanlon S FVS M 43 A    
44 16 22 40:07 Jason Anderson V 40 FVS M 44 A 22  
53     40:49 Todd Gray S FVS M 53 A    
57 22 32 41:08 Adrian Donnelly V 40 FVS M 57 A 32  
60 24 35 41:15 Stuart Haycroft V 40 FVS M 60 A 35  
63 11 37 41:18 Steve Wells V 50 FVS M 63 A 37  
64     41:19 Nick Gill S FVS M 64 A    
69 28 41 41:43 Danny Hukin V 40 FVS M 69 B 41  
75 2 47 42:30 Brian White V 60 FVS M 75  B 47 2MV60
84     43:44 Sam Simmons S FVS M 84  B    
87 31 54 44:19 David Pattman V 40 FVS M 87  B 54  
91 23 57 44:45 Pete Smith V 50 FVS M 91  B 57  
95     45:50 Toby Eccleshall S FVS M 95  B    
98 1 63 46:29 Barry Osborne V 70 FVS M 98  B 63  1MV70
99     46:31 David Price S FVS M 99  B    
101 4 65 46:37 Mark Goodwin V 60 FVS M 101  B 65  4MV60
104 37 67 46:46 Jon Sypula V 40 FVS M 104  B 67  
107 26 70 47:04 Craig Bacon V 50 FVS M 107  B 70  
112     47:55 Lee Pickersgill S FVS M 112  B    
113     47:58 Stuart Archer S FVS M 113  C    
113     47:58 Ben Peachey S FVS M 113  C    
118     48:41 Martin Blackburn S FVS M 118  C    
121 6 79 49:21 Mike Reynolds V 60 FVS M 121  C 79  
122 30 80 49:22 Nigel Strongitharm V 50 FVS M 122  C 80  
123     49:24 Martin Jacob S FVS M 123  C    
124 31 81 49:29 Darren Emmerson V 50 FVS M 124  C 81  
126     49:33 Luke Gurney S FVS M 126  C    
128 32 83 49:53 Martin Dudley V 50 FVS M 128  C 83  
129 33 84 49:56 Andy Jay V 50 FVS M 129  C 84  
130 44 85 50:19 Steven Dobner V 40 FVS M 130  C 85  
131     50:32 Terry Sawyer* S FVS M 131  C    
133 1   50:35 William Morley U 20 FVS M 133 D    1MU20
137 47 90 50:56 Matt Clarke V 40 FVS M 137  D 90  
138 35 91 50:59 John Harris V 50 FVS M 138  D 91  
140 9 93 51:12 Jim Brown V 60 FVS M 140  D 93  
141 36 94 51:34 Graham Blackburn V 50 FVS M 141  D 94  
142     51:37 James McSweeney S FVS M 142  D    
147 37 97 52:22 Ken Jude V 50 FVS M 147  D 97  
150 39 100 52:37 Tim Robinson V 50 FVS M 150  D 100  
151 40 101 52:42 Nick Kleanthous V 50 FVS M 151  D 101  
157     55:31 Edward Hare S FVS M 157  D    
160 13 108 57:44 Steve Pike V 60 FVS M 160  D 108  
162 44 110 59:28 Karl Shreeve V 50 FVS M 162  D 110  
165 52 113 1:00:17 Kartik Sharma V 40 FVS M 165   113  
167 47 115 1:01:18 Jonathan Jones V 50 FVS M 167   115  
169 14 117 1:02:16 Paul Holgate V 60 FVS M 169   117  
173     1:07:38 John Harding S FVS M 173    

Leave a Reply