Fairlands Valley Spartans
A cross country on Parliament Hill is always tough. Usually muddy and the climbs start from the gun. Finishing there in a national championship is a major achievement and Fairlands Valley Spartans finished with complete teams in the men’s and women’s senior championship.
For the men it was a 12 kilometre test while the women ran 8 kilometres (about five miles).
JAYNE RIDDELL was first female for Fairlands. She finished in 56 minutes 38 seconds. HAZEL SMITH was next in 59:33 with SOPHIE PARSON not far behind her in 59:42.
MICHAEL FISHER was first Spartan in the men’s race with 1:01:57 and CHARLIE WHITE next in for FVS with 1:03:14.
Teams of four were needed in the women’s race, six in the men’s competition.
Taming the Baldock Beast
The Baldock Beast is a very demanding half marathon. Hills, off road sections and almost always a strong wind. Seventeen Spartans tamed the beast this year.
NICK GILL said 1:40:38 for me today in one of my favourite races – been doing the Beast since 2013! Completed the race as part of a 16.5-mile training run which included easy, steady and goal half marathon pace… which proved interesting in the uphill sections!
MARTIN JACOB and LINDA GEORGE tamed the beast — they felt strong. Martin had this run planned as part of his training for the South Downs Way 50 race, and Linda jumped in last minute, because she didn’t want to miss out. Linda said Martin ran ahead to take some of the head wind, making it just that little bit easier for me. They took it easy on the uphills, walking them, and ran the flats and downhills. They both finished with the same gun time which is 2:12:25
What can we say about TIM ROBINSON? He ran the national cross country championships on Saturday and then the Baldock Beast on Sunday. He finished in 2:24:09.
GERRY ROSEN finished in 2:24:05. He was totally surprised as he expected to finish nearer to 2 hours 40 minutes. He guesses good training pays off!!
PENNY SCHENKEL was another thinking 2:40 before the start so she was happy with her 2:27:14. The last hundred metres to the finish line was tough.
Bedford 10K
Olivia Hamilton had a great run in the Bedford 10K on Sunday. She was first women 23 – 35 in 46 minutes 16 seconds (46:16) and 39 out of the 285 finishers.
Sophie Parsons was the third female aged under 23 in 58:50. She was 140th so top half overall.
Bedford Half Marathon
Spartan BRIAN WHITE was first veteran man (65-69) in the Bedford Half Marathon with 1 hour 44 minutes 19 seconds. He was 85th in the race. JOSEPH WASNOCK finished in 1:48:45; ANNABELLE WHITE in 1:49:21 and ANN TRYSSESOONE in 1:58:18.
SHE HAMER ran the Bedford Half, in under 2 hours… just, by the skin of her teeth, in 1:59:58. That’s PB (personal best) for her. She’s on a roll. PBs so far this year 5K, 10K and now the half marathon.
Olympic Park Half Marathon
DANNY SCANLON ran his first half marathon in near on 18 months at the Olympic Park Half Marathon.
It was a twisting turning run taking in all of the main Olympic venues.
He managed a 1:38:05 and said it was great to be running a half again!
London Winter 10K
It was fun to run the 10th anniversary of the London Winter Run. PETER SACH did it in 1:04:45.
Royal Norwich
On Sunday Carol Paul ran the Royal Norwich half marathon which was from the royal Norwich golf course. The course was around the country lanes to the north west of Norwich. The course was very undulating and reminded Carol of the Watford half marathon. It was a very blustery day and Carol completed the course in 2:06:13, she was 516th out of 815 runners and was 3rd in the w60-64 age group.
Watford X/C Update
Two weeks after the Watford Half Marathon and it was still chilly and hilly in Cassiobury Park but Fairlands Valley Spartans had a great turnout for Sunday’s cross country league race.
Racing over six miles ADRIAN BUSOLINI was first in for FVS and top 5% in the race with his 37 minutes 32 seconds (37:32) for 15th position. It was tight between MIKE JEFFS 27th in 39:40 and NICK GILL 28th in 39:41.
OLIVIA HAMILTON was first woman for the club in 48:42 with GEORGIE HOOPER and ELLA CERAULO not far behind in 50:19 (171st overall) and 51:05 (182nd).
Olivia was running her first cross country for FVS and it was great to see Ella back.
17 women and 17 men ran for Fairlands Valley Spartans at the event, one of the highest totals for any of the twenty clubs participating.
Their greater numbers and some good performances mean the club has moved up various tables in the league after a slow start.
On the day their combined team was fifth out of 20.
Parkrun Highlights Saturday 22nd February
Despite all the other attractions there were fifty Spartans at parkruns on Saturday 22nd February. 33 were among the 564 parkrunners in Stevenage where SIMON JACKSON was second with 17:32 and STEVE SMITHSON completed his 100th in 39:28.
There was a bit of parkrun tourism with Spartan KIRK NDUGU. He WON the Caffarella run in Rome with 17:10.
YUKO GORDON was first woman in the Great Denham parkrun with 22:47
Stevenage Phoenix Running Club
ATW Bedford Half Marathon
On Sunday 23rd February, Kath Phoenix set off for her first half marathon. The course started and finished on the Bedford Embankment and was a two lap route that ran out alongside the flat, tree lined river Ouse. Then out towards Priory Park and round the lake. “A well organised event and luckily a very flat route!” Kath certainly lived up to her name as she flew through the course and crossed the finish line in 01:44:50, third in her age category and tenth female overall.
London Winter Run 10k
On Sunday 23rd February five phoenixes travelled to London for the much-anticipated London Winter Run. During the 10k route runners passed live music performances, encountered larger-than-life winter characters and saw famous London landmarks. This year, the race celebrated its tenth anniversary with a medal that paid homage to the original 2015 design. Katie Mitham described the event as “a nice flat course with the odd incline, amazing atmosphere but somewhat windy!!” First home was Neal Crawley in 48:40. Martin Harris, John Harris and Katie Mitham ran the course together and the joint effort saw John achieve an impressive PB time of 53:39. Not only did he shave 5 minutes off his previous PB, but he also PB’d in his 5k split! Martin and Katie finished in 53:21 and 53:23 respectively. Kerry Cunnane also celebrated a personal best at the event with a time of 59:23.
The Baldock Beast Half Marathon
Consider the beast well and truly tamed by a group of fiery birds. On Sunday 23rd February 13 Phoenixes travelled to Baldock to take on the hilly half marathon. After being lured in by the promise of a post-run BBQ, the “Beast” turned out to be one of Andy Chapman’s more enjoyable recent runs. “The hills were a given (but not actually as bad as I had feared), the views were great, and the Baldock Events Forum, ably supported by North Herts Road Runners, 2nd Baldock Scouts, a smattering of cheerful local residents, and of course my Phoenix buddies, made the Baldock Beast a pleasure to participate in. The vibe was good, the wind was blowy, and a bacon roll was enjoyed at the end! The sub-2 hour half marathon can wait, but maybe I will have the Beast to thank when that does come along!”
A special mention to Conor O’Neill and Greg Lasenby for their HM personal bests and to Lisa Liversidge whose time broke the FV55 club record in the half marathon distance. Full results below:
Lewis Green 01:43:55
Conor O’Neill 01:44:12
James Woodcock 01:53:42
Bobby Buckley 01:54:15
Katka Laughton 01:56:30
Damla Akkul 01:57:53
Greg Lasenby 02:04:08
Andy Chapman 02:04:33
Emma Mead 02:05:00
Lisa Liversidge 02:15:44
Caitlin Evans 02:16:13
Connie Richardson 02:24:39
Phil Gover 02:26:32
