On Sunday Spartan YUKO GORDON beat the Stamford 30K course record by more than 27 minutes!!Ā She won the women veteran 65 plus age category by covering the 18.63 miles in 2 hours 25 minutes 33 seconds ā the previous record was 2:52:14.Ā She was faster than the male 65 plus winner by 14 minutes.Ā Freezing cold and windy condition over the hilly course but the superbly organised race made runners enjoy the annual St Valentineās event.
Bramley 20
With the London Marathon just ten weeks away Spartans are beginning to clock up some 20 mile races.Ā TODD GRAY and JIM BROWN fought the winds at the Bramley 20 with Todd finishing in 2 hours 20 minutes 36 seconds and Jim in 2:46:17; seven minutes quicker than his time at the distance in 2017.Ā Todd was 97th and Jim 313th out of the 684 finishers.
Jim has qualified with a āGood For Ageā time for the Big Half in London so heāll be giving that a go on 4th March.
Love Welwyn Garden City 10K
Thirteen Spartans loved the Welwyn 10K and despite the cold and windy conditions three came away with new lifetime personal bests and a win.Ā New member DANNY SCANLON benefited from training with the Spartans to run a new PB of 41 minutes 19 seconds; LEE PICKERSGILL ran a PB of 49 minutes exactly and CAROLE SHELDRICK beating her PB by nearly a minute with 53:28.Ā ERICA GRAYSON ran her fastest time for the event 55:10 and would probably have dipped under 55 minutes if it had not been for congestion and some problems with traffic.
ANN TRYSSESOONE won the womenās 50 plus race with 49:39.
TIM SABAN came in with 41:46; ANDY JAY with 48:51; SIMON SYPULA 50:54; SAM SIMMONS 54:38; KAREN BROOM 1:06:23; ELLA GOVER, enjoying her first race in an FVS vest 1:07:00; WAYNE McMILLAN 1:07:02 and TREVOR BROOM 1:18:07.
Lee Valley Indoor Meet
GRANT RAMSAY was at the Lee Valley Indoor Meet.Ā He was second in the 3,000 metres covering 15 laps of the tight 200 metre track in 9 minutes 49 seconds and fourth in the Dream Mile with 5 minutes 49 seconds.
Coach to London
Do you have an entry to the London Marathon on 22nd April 2018? Ā Have you thought how you will get to London from Stevenage on the big day? Fairlands Valley Spartans have a coach from Stevenage and there are spare places. Ā The cost is just Ā£10. Ā If you would like to join us, please contact Roger Biggs on roger@thebiggs.net.
Parkrun Highlights
CRAIG HALSEY was quickest Spartan of the day, finishing second at Stevenage in 17:00. Behind Craig no less than four Spartans achieved new course PBs round the Fairlands Valley layout. Ā STUART ARCHER has been flying in training and set a new best here of 19:20 to finish in 6th place as second Spartan man home. Ā JONATHAN JONES set a new course best of 24:52 while for the women KAREN PALMER and HAZEL JONES set new course bests of 25:46 and 38:38 respectively.
NICK GILL was third Spartan man to finish in 22:43. Ā First woman for FVS was CLAIRE EMMERSON who has also been running noticeably well in training, and was third here in 23:22, while VERITY FISHER was 8th in 25:24 as she completed her 200th parkrun.
Elsewhere TIM SABAN was first finisher at Canons Park in 21:16, while there were new course PBs for DAVE SMITH at St Albans (19:58), and JOHN WALSH at Cambridge (31:53).
Coming Events
Many Spartans will be enjoying a busy programme of races, social and training events over the next few weeks including:
- Serpentine 5K on Friday 16th February (please note change of date).
- Cross Country League at Royston on Sunday 18th February.
- Fairlands Valley Spartans Champions Night on Friday 23rd February.
- National Cross Country Championships, Parliament Hill Fields on Saturday 24th February.
- Baldock Beast on Sunday 25th February.
- UKA Club Run at Fairlands Valley Spartans on Thursday 1st March.
- Welwyn Half Marathon on Sunday 4th March.
- Big London Half Marathon on Sunday 4th March.
- Milton Keynes 5K and 10K on Sunday 11th March.
- Finchley 20 miles (including Herts County) on Sunday 18th March.
- Oakley 20 miles on Sunday 18th March.
- Serpentine 5K on Friday 23rd March (please note change of date).
- Orion 15 classic cross country at Chingford (Epping Forest) on Saturday 24th March.
- County Cross Country Championships for Veterans at Royston on Sunday 25th March.
- Maidenhead Easter Ten on Friday 30th March.
- Sandy Ten on Sunday 8th April.
- London Marathon on Sunday 22nd April.
- Flitwick 10K on Sunday 29th April.
- Stirling Marathon on Sunday 29th April.
- EMAC track and field event one on Wednesday 2nd May.
- County 1500 and veteran track and field championships on Monday 7th May.
- Pednor Five including county championships for veterans on Monday 7th May.
- Mid Week Road Race League 10K in Epping Forest on Thursday 10th May at 7.30p.m.
- Mid Week Road Race League 10K in St. Albans on Thursday 24th May.
- EMAC track and field event two on Wednesday 6th June.
- Welwyn 10K including senior county championships on Sunday 24th June.
- EMAC track and field event three on Wednesday 4th July.
- Fairlands Valley Challenge off road on Sunday 15th July.
- EMAC track and field event four on Wednesday 1st August.
- Standalone 10K on Sunday 7th October.
- Peterborough Half Marathon (GER) on Sunday 14th October.
- Stevenage Half Marathon on Sunday 4th November.
- St Neots Half Marathon on Sunday 18th November.
Tables
Spartans at the Love Welwyn Garden City 10K:
| Position | Name | Time | Comments |
| 181 | ERICA GRAYSON | 55:10 | Event PB |
| 97 | ANN TRYSSESOONE | 49:39 | 1st FV50 |
| 17 | DANNY SCANLON | 41:19 | Lifetime PB |
| 155 | CAROLE SHELDRICK | 53:28 | Lifetime PB |
| 82 | ANDY JAY | 48:51 | |
| 85 | LEE PICKERSGILL | 49:00 | Lifetime PB |
| 21 | TIM SABAN | 41:46 | 4th MV50 |
| 115 | SIMON SYPULA | 50:54 | |
| 168 | SAM SIMMONS | 54:38 | |
| 324 | KAREN BROOM | 1:06:23 | |
| 329 | ELLA GOVER | 1:07:00 | |
| 330 | WAYNE McMILLAN | 1:07:02 | |
| 379 | TREVOR BROOM | 1:18:07 |
Full Spartan Parkrun results from Saturday 19th February:
| parkrun | Pos | Gen | parkrunner | Time | Notes |
| Grovelands | 79 | 66 | Tim ROBINSON | 00:26:52 | |
| Cannock Chase | 27 | 25 | Mark BEASLEY | 00:22:35 | |
| St Albans | 40 | 39 | Dave SMITH | 00:19:58 | Course PB |
| Cambridge | 347 | 257 | John WALSH | 00:31:53 | Course PB |
| Gunnersbury | 193 | 36 | Kelly MCHALE | 00:26:11 | |
| Stevenage | 2 | 2 | Craig HALSEY | 00:17:00 | |
| Stevenage | 6 | 6 | Stuart ARCHER | 00:19:29 | Course PB |
| Stevenage | 26 | 25 | Nick GILL | 00:22:43 | |
| Stevenage | 28 | 27 | Martin DUDLEY | 00:22:56 | |
| Stevenage | 33 | 3 | Claire EMMERSON | 00:23:22 | |
| Stevenage | 38 | 35 | Chris HOLLAND | 00:23:31 | |
| Stevenage | 48 | 44 | Clive CANNON | 00:24:25 | |
| Stevenage | 55 | 50 | Jonathan JONES | 00:24:52 | Course PB |
| Stevenage | 64 | 8 | Verity FISHER | 00:25:24 | |
| Stevenage | 65 | 57 | Darren EMMERSON | 00:25:24 | |
| Stevenage | 68 | 9 | Karen PALMER | 00:25:46 | Course PB |
| Stevenage | 89 | 75 | David SCOTT | 00:26:53 | |
| Stevenage | 116 | 24 | Monica SMITHSON | 00:28:26 | |
| Stevenage | 150 | 111 | Steven DOBNER | 00:29:54 | |
| Stevenage | 227 | 87 | Hazel JONES | 00:38:38 | Course PB |
| Stevenage | 230 | 90 | Emma POULTER | 00:39:34 | |
| Stevenage | 235 | 94 | Caren THAIN | 00:41:14 | |
| Canons Park | 1 | 1 | Tim SABAN | 00:21:16 | |
| Rushmoor | 482 | 288 | Darryl STEVENS | 00:41:09 |