Fairlands Valley Spartans
There were silver and bronze county medals for Fairlands Valley Spartans on Sunday morning. 24 ran the Hitchin 10K which incorporated the Hertfordshire championships for veteran runners.
In the open race Spartan CHARLIE WHITE was 12th out of the 893 finishers in a new personal best (PB) of 36 minutes 5 seconds. The fastest female from Fairlands was ASHLEY KING who was in the top 90 runners and in the County championships won a BRONZE medal with 42 minutes 29 seconds (42:29).
Spartan JIM BROWN was very pleased with himself. Despite a hard time in the London Marathon heat last Sunday afternoon he won SILVER in the County championships with a reasonable time of 55 minutes 57 seconds. That’s second man 70 plus.
There were many great achievements including MEGAN SUTTON improving her personal best by 2 minutes 4 seconds to 56:20 and SAM GENTRY with a new PB of 1:01:08, a reduction of 1 minute 10 seconds. JUDY KING got under one hour for the first time with her new PB of 27:43.
SAMANTHA SUTTON ran her fastest 10K since 2021 with 1:19:21. PENNY SCHENKEL and BECKY RAYNER were other London Marathon finishers who had a good run. Penny came in with 1:02:42 and Becky with 1:19:21.
The Spartans second woman JO COOKSLEY beat 50 minutes with 49:39.
JACKIE PERRY was second in the women 60 plus age group. Her chip time was 52 minutes 46 seconds.
To participate in the county championships runners had to be eligible by birth or place of residence.
Resolution 5000
Eleven Spartans ran in the Resolution 5000 at Ridlins Track in Stevenage.
Only days after running a full marathon in Manchester SIMON JACKSON was racing round 12.5 laps of the track to be second in the event with 17 minutes 2 seconds. NICK GILL was fifth with 17:50 and PAUL SHELLEY sixth in 18:05.
GEORGIE HOOPER was the fastest female from Fairlands third woman in the event with 21:15, a new personal best by three seconds. ANNABELLE WHITE was not far behind in 22:42.
The other Spartans were ROSS GALLAGHER 19:13; PAUL MOULD 19:24; MATT TUTTON in 24:24; MARTIN DUDLEY in 24:32; SHARON CROWLEY in 29:11 and PAUL HOLGATE in 33:12. There were 58 runners.
Nick Gill. 17:50 for me at the Resolution 5k – my third fastest over the distance and my quickest on the track. I was aiming for sub-18, so really pleased with the run and how I paced it. Thanks to everyone for the fantastic support!
Ross Gallagher said his 19:13 was a good marker to build on.
Parkrun Highlights Saturday 3rd May – 400th parkrun coming up
The FVS “takeover” of Saturday’s Stevenage parkrun resulted in a large turnout of 598 runners completing the five kilometres around Fairlands Valley Park. Some were proudly wearing their London Marathon finishers T shirts from six days earlier.
The Spartans provided nearly all the officials, the marshals, all the pacers and the tailwalkers – and 45 Spartans ran. PAUL MOULD a first timer was seventh in 19:47 and MIKE JEFFS, also top ten, was eighth in 19:50. MARTIN JACOB ran a new parkrun personal best (PPB) of 21:52 and MARIE COLUCCI was a top ten woman with 23:41.
LEE PICKERSGILL celebrated a milestone with his 100th parkrun which he finished in 25:23. There were also PPBs for PETER SACH 27:31 and JUDY KING 28:37. Judy improved by 36 seconds.
Altogether 75 Spartans were running a parkrun on Saturday morning. One was enjoying a really memorable run along the city walls at Lucca in Italy. The Mura di Lucca parkrun. JACKIE DOWNES finished in 29 minutes 46 seconds. There were 115 finishers.
Stevenage parkrun celebrates a major milestone on Saturday morning 10th May. It will be the 400 Stevenage parkrun. So far there have been 131,852 finishes with an average time of 30 minutes 11 seconds.
Stevenage Phoenix Running Club
Resolution 5000
On Wednesday 30th April, five phoenixes donned their running vests and shades and headed to Ridlins Athletics track to take part in the resolution 5k chip timed event. First to set off was Martin Wasley who ran 27:45 and was happy with how comfortable he felt on the last few laps. Next up was Andy Chapman, John Harris and Ashley Bates. Andy ran his second best 5k time in 23:08, however this was a 5k PB for his chip timed races. John Harris knocked almost two minutes off his 5k time by running 24:30 and Ashley Bates snuck in with a sub 25 at 24:59. Last up was Simon Lodge, who was 4th overall and claimed the highest age group of the night. Simon ran a season’s best time of 17:41 and broke the MV50 club record.
Burnt Hare, Hitchin 10k
The force was strong on Sunday 4th May as 18 Phoenixes headed to neighbouring town Hitchin, for the Burnt Hare 10km event. Unlike the stormtroopers, four members did not “miss their shot” at a personal best.
The morning started with the children’s golden mile, which saw Katie Mitham and Martin’s Harris’ daughters embark on their first race. It’s safe to say it won’t be their last, as they crossed the finish line full of smiles and holding hands. Next up was the 10km race, which started with a 1km loop of the town, before heading out into local villages, and then finishing in Hitchin’s vibrant market square. Runners were greeted by the sound of the “Somewhere 2 Sing choir” as they crossed the finish line, and of course, the race would not be complete without a Star Wars themed medal. Well done to Graham, Melissa, Zoe and Emma for their PBs.
Alex Wasley 38:33
Aaron Reynolds 42:04 – Ran for Stevenage North Herts AC
Graham Eden 44:00 PB
Richard Moore 49:05
Ben Murphy 50:02
Nicholas West 51:08
Katie Mitham 54:09
Mel Tanti 54:09 PB
John Harris 55:37
Caitlin Evans 56:36
Zoe Shreeve 56:41 PB
Joanna Heasman 57:44
Ian Young 57:44
Connie Richardson 1:01:52
Simona Leadbetter 1:01:52
Martin Wasley 1:02:01
David Poulter 1:02:32
Emma Wick 1:09:00 PB
Isle of Wight ultra challenge
Great challenges need great settings, and they don’t get much better than the stunning Isle of Wight coastal path. On 3rd-4thMay Peter Tungate took on that challenge by running 106km and setting a 50km PB on day one with 07hrs 35mins. Pete was still smiling at the 100km mark, joking that there was “only a ParkRun and a bit to go” he later added that “it was a very well organised event. The pit stops were unbelievable and the scenery around the coast was stunning”.
