Fairlands Valley Spartans
Marie, Georgie, Olivia, Sharon, Simon, Paul and Ralph from Fairlands Valley Spartans were all major award winners in the four race Mid Week League series.
On Wednesday evening all the clubs in all three divisions gathered in Welwyn Garden City for the traditional “mob match” and prize presentations.
MARIE COLUCCI had a clear lead in the women 45 plus competition with 12 points compared with her nearest rivals 24 and 26.
GEORGIE HOOPER and OLIVIA LACIGOVA tied in first place for women 35 plus. They were both on 12 well ahead of the third runner with 41. SHARON CROWLEY was first woman 65 plus.
In the men’s senior (20 -34) contest Spartan SIMON FRASER was equal second with 23 points. PAUL SHELLEY was third man 50 plus with 21 and RALPH DADSWELL won the 60 plus with just 6 points (two first places and two seconds).
The Fairlands Valley veterans (i.e. 35 plus) were second in the division two team competition.
The “mob match” is perhaps a little less competitive and a bit more fun than the counting races but nevertheless 53 Spartans ran the race and many gave it a good go on another warm evening.
GEORGIE HOOPER 49:34 and MARIE COLUCCI 50:35 were the first Spartan women to finish. Their “A” team of eight runners was completed by TRACY PEZ 53:35; MEGAN SUTTON 57:18; OLIVIA NATION 57:20; CLAIRE EMMERSON 59:28; JESSICA CLARKE 1:01:05 and JUDY KING 1:02:08. PENNY SCHENKEL led in the “B” team with 1:03:27.
Six Spartan men beat 40 minutes for the nominal 10 kilometres. They were ADRIAN BUSOLINI 36:50; NICK GILL 37:19: MIKE JEFFS 37:24; CHARLIE WHITE 37:39; DAVID HARRIS-CHERGUIT 39:11 and DANNY HUKIN 39:23.
The men’s “A” team of 12 runners was completed by PETE GENTLE 41:02; RALPH DADSWELL third man 60 plus in 41:04; PAUL MOULD 42:47; MICHAEL FISHER 43:04; PAUL SHELLEY 43:21 and TERRY SAWYER 43:25. MARK COLLINS led in the men’s “B” team with 43:39.
Parts of the course were a bit congested for the 637 runners and there were some tricky kerbs but it was a great opportunity for members of 22 running clubs to meet up and enjoy each other’s company.
Now join Fairlands Valley Spartans. Have a look at https://www.fvspartans.org.uk/
Saucony London 10K
Today MATT TUTTON took part in the Saucony London 10K starting outside The Ritz and finishing on Whitehall. He swapped the FVS stripes (temporarily!) for the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity white vest with multi coloured cells. Despite a knee niggle he managed a time of 52:18.
Ultra 5K.
Spartans MIKE JEFFS and DANNY SCANLON ran Sunday’s Ultra 5k at Box End.
Mike said hot sweaty conditions made it difficult but his aim was to keep under 20 minutes for each of them if possible.
This was achieved and he finished second overall and he was also only the second person in the Ultra 5K history to complete all 5x5ks in under 20 minutes!
Danny said it was a tough day in the heat but got the job done! His total time for the five times 5K was 2 hours 12 minutes 37 seconds.
Parkrun Highlights, Saturday 12th July.
Another warm one with about 23 degrees at 9a.m. but there were 459 finishers in Saturday’s Stevenage parkrun. 26 of them were Fairlands Valley Spartans.
The fastest Spartan of the weekend was Pete GENTLE at Hastings with 18:09. Altogether 42 ran parkruns. Spartans elsewhere included Jay PAPA 22:42 and Jessica CLARKE 31:29 at Ferry Meadows (Peterborough); Charles ARNOLD (23:02), John NELMS (23:38); Caroline BARTER (26:44) and Peter SACH (31:44) at Henlow Bridge Lakes; Thomas SAUKA (26:19) at Panshanger (Hertford / WGC); Matt NEWTON (27:02) at Gunpowder (Waltham Abbey); Yuko GORDON (27:59) at Letchworth; Andy JAY (29:21) at Westmill; Hannah MANTON (29:56) at Gorleston Cliffs and Keith ABRAHAMS (36:08) at Lanhydrock (Bodmin).
Back in Stevenage SIMON JACKSON was third in 18 minutes 14 seconds (18:14) MEGAN SUTTON was the fastest female from Spartans with 25:15.
JIM BROWN ran his 200th Stevenage parkrun in 27:59.
Stevenage Phoenix Running Club
MWL Mob Match
On Wednesday 9th July, nine Phoenixes travelled to Welwyn Garden City to take part in the final Mid-Week League race, aptly named “mob match”. This final race is non scoring and a chance for all three club divisions to race together. The evening finished with an awards ceremony for the series. Congratulations to Andy Chapman who achieved a 10km PB without even intending on it.
Graham Eden 44:43
Conor O’Neill 48:51
Jodie Kantas 50:23
Andy Liddle 50:50
Andy Chapman 51:56
Neal Crawley 52:42
Katka Laughton 57:03
John Harris 58:43
Ken Hall 59:50
Live Aid at 40
On Friday 11th July, Sue Leigh travelled to Milton Keynes to take part in the 5km distance of Enigma Running’s three-day extravaganza. Sue ran with her daughter, Charlotte and they both completed the course in 34:29.
Saucony LDN 10k
Ticket sales for this event were in high demand, and you can understand why. The flat London course takes runners past Westminster Bridge, The London Eye, Regent Street, Piccadilly Circus and Big Ben. On Sunday 13th July, three Phoenixes headed to the capital to take part. Aaron Reynolds was first home with a PB time of 40:29. Joanna Heasman and Zoe Shreeve ran together and spurred each other on to finish in 58:23 and 58:42 respectively.
Race for Life Northampton
On Sunday 13th July, Ken Hall took part in the Northampton Race for Life event, in the 5km distance. Ken ran the “nice cross-country run-in Abington Park” in 30:18.
Phoenix Cambridge Goonie Run
Phoenix Running, Cambridge, kicked off its first “movie run” with a classic. Ian Young and Scott Crawford braved the heat and took part in this swashbuckling challenge along the river Great Ouse. The lapped event encourages participants to run as many laps as they can/want to in six hours. Scott Crawford completed 9.8 miles in 01:47:21 and Ian Young ran 13.1 miles 01:49:40. Ian’s time was the fastest half marathon distance of the day.
