Fairlands Valley Spartans
It was seriously hot for the Greenway Challenge in Letchworth. Several of the 17 Spartans grouped up in the sun as they tackled the 13.1 miles multi-terrain event.
Spartan ADRIAN DONNELLY was a bit of a star. He won the men 40 plus category and was fifth overall with 1 hour 38 minutes 41 seconds (1:38:41). NICK GILL and PETE GENTLE came in 36th and 37th in 1:52:59. SUZY HAWKINS was the fastest female from Fairlands in 1:53:59 with TOBY ECCLESHALL not far behind in 1:54:17.
Next came a Spartan quadruplet. ANNABELLE WHITE and ALEX SCOFIELD in 2:08:06 then MARIE COLUCCI and GEORGIE HOOPER in 2:08:17.
FVS club chair TIM ROBINSON was back in 2:43:39 a little in front of another Spartan pair TRICIA HOPPER in 2:45:01 and KAREN LIDDLE in 2:45:04.
A famous Fairlands Five rounded it off for FVS. VICKY ARCHER 126th in 2:51:16 then CLAIRE EMMERSON 127th; HAZEL SMITH 128th; TRACY PEZ 129th and PENNY SCHENKEL 130th all in 2:51:17.
There were 145 finishers.
Five Miles Frazzle but some Spartans top threes.
Some like it hot. Others were not quite so sure at the Phoenix Five mile race in Stevenage. Thirteen Spartans ran. Pretty warm with little shade but a straightforward course from Shephalbury Park to Fairlands Valley Park and back.
MIKE JEFFS and PAUL SHELLEY excelled. Mike was first man 40 plus and fourth out of the 272 finishers in 29 minutes 55 seconds; Paul second man 50 plus and seventh in 31:06.
JESS CLARKE was second senior woman (18-39) and tenth woman overall in 40:44 and LORRAINE HILL third woman 55 plus in 43 minutes exactly.
Lots of room for improvement but JIM BROWN completed a full set of both club championships for this year with 46:20.
Spartans On Track
Fairlands Valley Spartan sent a team of nineteen to the first fixture in the EMAC track and field series this year.
The FVS women’s team of SHARON CROWLEY, YUKO GORDON, CHRISTINE LATHWELL, NIKKI NATION, JOYLYN SANDERS-MULLINS, TESSA STEPHENSON and ALISON WOOD won with 74.0 points compared with 49.0 for second placed Bedford & County.
CHARLES ARNOLD, JIM BROWN, MARK COLLINS, MARK FREEMAN, STEVE FEELY, MIKE JEFFS, STEVE MAYFIELD, ANDREW PATTERSON, GRANT RAMSAY, TIMOTHY SAUNDERS-MULLINS, PAUL SHELLEY and DAVID STEPHENSON were third in the men’s competition with 73.0.
The track was very busy with a number of 1500 metre races. The 1500 features in the Spartans short distance championships. ANDREW PATTERSON won the men 35 to 49 race in 4:23.1; ALISON WOOD won the women 50-59 in 5:56.6; SHARON CROWLEY the women 60 plus in 7:46.0 and YUKO GORDON the women 70 plus in 6:45.7.
There were useful placings by GRANT RAMSAY second man 50 plus 5:21.6; CHARLES ARNOLD second man 60 plus in 6:06.6; CHRISTINE LATHWELL second woman 35 plus in 5:33.5 and JIM BROWN third man 70 plus in 8:11.8. The event was in Sandy on Wednesday evening.
The next two EMAC fixtures will be in Bedford on Wednesday 4th June and in Corby on Wednesday 2nd July. EMAC, Eastern Masters Athletics Club, is for East of England veterans aged 35 plus.
Semington Slog 10K
PETE COOK said the Semington Slog 10K was a lovely sunny outing in the Wiltshire Countryside undulating to start with then a nice flat path along the Kennet and Avon Canal followed by the reason it’s called a slog for the last 5K. He took more than a minute off his personal best (PB) when he finished in 56:35.
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 “It 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!”
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.
Parkrun Highlights Saturday 10th May – including the 400th parkrun in Stevenage
Stevenage parkrun celebrated a major milestone on Saturday morning 10th May. It was be the 400th Stevenage parkrun. So far there have been 132,505 finishes in just under nine years with an average time of 30 minutes 11 seconds.
There was another huge turnout – 653 runners – and 30 of them were Spartans.
Spartan ADRIAN BUSOLINI won the event by a good margin. He ran the 5K in 17 minutes 52 seconds (17:52). That was 54 seconds ahead of his nearest rival.
GRANT RAMSAY was back in the top five at fourth with 19:15.
It was a double century for JIM BROWN. His 200th parkrun on the 400th parkrun. He finished in 28:56. DANIEL VILJOEN ran his 290th in 25:14; MARK BEASLEY his 150th in 25:43 and JAYNE RIDDELL her 110th in 27:03.
Yuko Gordon was second woman and 27th overall in the Letchworth parkrun with 25:04.
Stevenage Striders Running Club
Marlow 5 – 11th May
The Marlow 5 saw a strong Strider presence on a fast, flat course with glorious Thames-side scenery – and sweltering conditions. Standout performances included:
- Chrissie Thomas stormed to a Personal Best in an impressive 42:21, summing it up as “Hot hot hot and a PB!”
- Russ Andrews celebrated a triple crown – PB, Course Best, and Season’s Best – in 40:37, knocking over two minutes off his previous 5-mile best.
- Kevyn Hopkins-Hall and Neil McKinnon also both dipped under 42 minutes, with Kevyn finishing in 41:57and Neil in 39:56, both securing new PBs and Course Bests.
- Russell Edwards ran a PB of 53:02, saying he was “super happy” with the result given the heat and praised the “incredible support”.
- Ally Brown and Cathy Godfrey both notched Season or Course Bests in 54:17and 1:03:49 respectively.
- Sarah Goodyear battled through the heat to finish in 1:04:03, pleased to have kept running throughout.
- Carmien Gharbaoui made her debut over the distance in 1:02:44, earning a PB, Course Best, and First-time finish at 5 miles, running a well-managed “jeffing” strategy.
- Paula Heyes rounded off the Marlow crew with a strong 1:03:58, calling the support “the best from the Marshals, the locals and of course the Striders!”
Stevenage Phoenix 5 – 11th May
This local event drew a fantastic turnout from the Striders, with many familiar faces and first-timers tackling the hilly five-mile course.
- Neil Walsh clocked a Personal Best of 39:36 despite tough conditions.
- Helder Soares flew around in an impressive 32:00, securing a Course Bestand improving on last year’s time.
- Keith Dennis (39:35), Archie Brown (44:04), Sarah Dennis (58:11), Danielle Das (49:47), and Teresa Sutherill (47:23) all represented the club strongly, with many bagging Course or Season’s Bests.
- Danielle Lewis completed her first race in over a year in 1:06:00, supported by fellow Strider Maxine. She praised the “lovely support all round”.
- Vicky Phillips returned to form after a marathon slump, finishing in 51:32 and feeling great.
- Rhian Bethell stood out with a string of accomplishments: PB, Season’s Best, Course Best, and her first time at the distance – all in 46:50.
- Richard Longley executed a smart race strategy to secure a PB in 42:17, his third race at the distance.
Europe’s Toughest Infinity – 10th May
Strider Adam Hough took on this punishing 12-hour ultra endurance challenge, completing 51.66km over a mix of 15k and 5k loops in 9 hours. It was his first marathon and ultra marathon – a tremendous achievement under tough conditions. “My body was in pieces,” he said, “but it was absolutely worth it.”
Greenway Challenge – 11th May
Matt Robinson took a relaxed approach to the 12-mile Greenway Challenge, completing the scenic Letchworth route in 1:40:39. He appreciated the low-key vibe and the post-run cake selection – a true Strider priority!
Stevenage Phoenix Running Club
HYROX London
On Monday 5th May, Jodie Kantas took part in HYROX Women’s Doubles in London’s Olympia, with friend Stacey Miles. The event was an enjoyable one but also highlighted to Jodie the importance of strength training for runners. Jodie remarked that “I will definitely keep up the training as I think it is massively helping me in the long term with my running”. HYROX involves running 8 x 1km laps with a strength exercise in between each lap. Exercises include 1000m ski erg, 100m sand bag lunges and 200m farmers carry. Jodie and Stacey completed the event in 01:29:37.
Silverstone Grand Prix 10k
The race is one and half laps of the full Grand Prix Circuit starting on the Wellington Straight and finishing in the pitlane. The smooth tarmac and almost flat course mean that there is real PB potential. On Tuesday 6th May, Bobby Buckley and James Woodcock took part in the race for the second year running and recommends the “great flat circuit round the iconic race track”. James was pleasantly surprised to earn a 5K PB.
The Phoenix 5
On Sunday 11th May, the big day finally arrived, and boy did it deliver. Although this was our second year running the event, a few members of the committee were involved for the first time. The feedback we had on the day was overwhelmingly positive and we hope that everyone enjoyed the day as much as we did. We had 70+ volunteers working hard to make the magic happen, and 272 runners out on the course. Not to mention the dozens of enthusiastic children who ran the mini mile around Shephalbury Park. We’re still totting up the official numbers but we believe we’ve raised over £1000 for our four chosen charities: Knebworth Food Bank, Garden House Hospice Care, Feed Up Warm Up and Essex and Herts Air Ambulance. So a huge thank you to everyone who entered, bought cakes, sponsored the race or came and volunteered on the day.
In addition to our volunteers we also had 11 Phoenixes out on the course, who all ran brilliantly. In third place was Simon Lodge who also nabbed the highest age grade of the race (for the second week in a row) and broke his own MV50 club record. Alex Wasley wasn’t far behind him in 8th place, also breaking the club record, in the MS age category. A special mention to David Poulter who did a fantastic job at being the tail runner and ensuring everyone got home safely, whilst dressed as a phoenix of course. Full results below.
Simon Lodge 29:45 – course best and SB
Alex Wasley 31:13 – course best and PB
Aaron Reynolds (ran for SNHAC) 34:20 – course best and SB
Shaun Pinner 35:30 – PB
Neal Crawley 41:05
Rob Warren 41:23
Greg Lasenby 41:29
Martin Wasley 49:19
Dan Curtain 51:38
Chloe Fox 56:55
David Poulter 1:18:07
