Nick Malpeli of North Herts Road Runners donned his England Masters vest and headed to compete in the Chester Half Marathon on Sunday, which incorporated the National Championship which meant rubbing shoulders with the best masters in the country.  Nick took the tilte in a personal best time of 78:33, despite quite a climb at mile 12 to return to finish in the city centre.  Nick was delighted with the win, but even more delighted to be presented with his award by Johnny Mellor the elite 2020 British Marathon Champion.
 
Squirrels and the Spartans club together to host first Mid Week League race since 2019!
North Herts Road Runners, also known as the Squirrels and Fairlands Valley Spartans came together to co-host a fabulous return to the Herts Mid Week League road racing series.  Both teams are in the top division and 407 runners converged on Fairlands Valley Park to compete after a two year Covid-induced absence against the five "friendly" rival clubs in the same division.  The NHRR campaign to retain the top spot won in 2019 got off to a flying start with their men's team of 12 runners finishing 2nd and their ladies team of 8 runners 3rd, to put them in 3rd place overall.  Fairlands Valley Spartans finished as 6th men and 5th ladies team to come 5th overall, so everything still to play for in the remaining 3 races.  NHRR's Tom Webb won a hotly contested men's field in a time of 31:25, just 12 seconds ahead of Watford's Oliver Hill.  Karen Townsend raced a stunning debut for NHRR and was their first female home in an impressive 38:11, and eighth female overall.  Men's team captain John Auld said he was "super proud of the whole teams performance - from the direct scoring team and right through the field and loved seeing team mates running for each other."
 Run to the Sea ultra Marathon
On a sunny warm Saturday, Cara Sutton and Sue Foot headed down to the South Down to take part in "Run to the Sea", an ultra-distance 50km multi-terrain point to point route from Horsham to Brighton seafront, second to none for scenery and views.   Cara finished her debut ultra in 6 hours 29 minutes, closely followed by the very experienced ultra-runner in 6 hours 32 minutes.  Cara said "The first half was flat, lulling us into a false sense of security, before we got our first taste of the South Downs with a steep hill that continued for over 1 km. From then on it was hilly, with steep knee straining downhills followed by more glute burning uphills."

Kyle conquers Copenhagen 
Kyle Stout managed a 12 minute PB  at the Copenhagen marathon just 5 weeks after his Brighton marathon.  Kyle said he started to feel fatigued at the 22 mile mark but enjoyed the race in the beautiful Danish sunshine.  

Colchester Stampede - Elwyn Howell
Not content with just one 10km race this week and PB performance at the Stevenage MWL, Elwyn Howell headed off to the Colchester Stampede 10km at the weekend, coming first in his age category in 45:32.
 
Parkruns
We had 29 Squirrels venturing out to 7 different parkruns on Saturday 14th May.  Great Denham saw a mini takeover with Paula H corralling her team mates with the promise of coffee and cake afterwards.  Great team spirits with PBs all round and Stewart Overton won the event in a speedy 16:42.  Tracy said "A beautiful day and a lovely flat course made for great conditions.  With all the excitement I went out fast, way too fast for the first mile in 6:14, but somehow managed to keep the legs going to the end before collapsing in a heap after the finish tunnel" and thanked Paula Holm for helping her up!  Tash was up in Ambleside and took in the 3 lap Rothay parkrun, with some tight muddy bends and soft grass making the going tough!

​The weekend was a double dose of North Herts Road Runners hosted events. Starting with the First Saturday of the Month 5km and followed by the return of the Greenway Challenge on Sunday. Race Director of the Greenway Challenge and club president Lucy Hurley described an awesome weekend off racing and running. Thanking the volunteers, runners and cheerleaders that made the weekend incredibly special.
 
First Saturday of the Month
 
75 runners including 33 squirrels ran the First Saturday of the month 5km round Norton Common. The morning sunshine was broken just before the race started with a rain shower. However, this wasn’t too bad as it was fairly warm still. The rain added some puddles to the course in time for the second lap and gave everybody nice muddy back legs. 
 
Stewart Overton was first home followed by Matt Sayers and John Auld. Astrid Mckeown was first lady followed by Tash Pitman and Paula Holm. 
 
Tash said that in the pre-race catch up we had all said we were taking it easy, ahead of Wednesday’s Mid week League race, but think the excitement of a race saw us all run considerably faster than planned. It was great to run as a team and help each other round. Hopefully good practice for Wednesday.
 
Greenway Challenge
 
Amongst 186 finishers were 17 squirrels that ran the Greenway Challenge which raised money for the Garden House Hospice. The sun was certainly shining down on a beautiful morning and the greenway looked absolutely glorious in the sunshine. There were plenty of lovely distractions including skipping lams, blossom and pretty wildflowers. 
 
First squirrel home was Nick Malpeli finishing in 1:29:26, whilst first Lady home for the club was Rachel Arnott in 1:38:55 closely followed by Tash Pitman in 1:39:02. Nick said that it was very enjoyable and gave a big thank you to the volunteers for another impeccably organised event.
 
Kat Hinitt finished fourth lady with a personal best for the course in 1:45:18. Kat thanked the marshals and expert bakers who supplied the amazing cakes at the end. 
 
Tash said she had the pleasure of running with Ian Datlen and Rachel Arnott. Ian kept them on track, doing his best to make sure they didn’t cut any corners. He also promised to pace us conservatively to keep the legs fresh for Wednesday’s race and he did a pretty good job until the last 2km, where he appeared to smell the amazing display of cake at the finish line and took off like Usain Bolt, with Rachel springing alongside!
 
Ian finished in 18th place in 1:38:53. Rachel finished 19th overall and won the Ladies race in 1:38:55. Tash herself did her best to keep them both in sight and finished in 20th spot, second lady in 1:39:02. The threesome had a great fun run, chatting away and loving the blue skies and lush spring blossom and scents.
 
Parkrun
 
Wimpole Estate: Vince Wright 19:09
Rother Valley: Danielle Lister 28:00
Castle Park: Jo Sherry 25:13
Letchworth: John Russell 25:16, Steve Brenton 27:59
Henlow Bridge Lakes: James Poulton 23:53, Rob Milburn 25:58
Akrotiri: Alice Noakes 23:09

​A bumper weekend of Bank Holiday running saw North Herts Road Runners setting club records and personal bests galore.
 
Hitchin 10k
The Squirrels turned out in force for the Hitchin 10k and came away with a sparkling set of results, new member Ben Hadman taking top spot on the podium with a superb 33:23 and Rhia Botha winning her V30 age category in a new personal best of 43.05. Karen Townsend and Laura Fairbanks also got in on the ‘PB’ party with new best times of 42:03 and 47:30 respectively – Townsend also making a podium appearance as third female finisher and Fairbanks hailing the ‘lovely race with great support’.
 
Super-vet Ian Sutcliffe had been ‘hoping to get under the hour again’ but finished in 1:00:49 for second place in his V70 age group.
 
Other NHRR finishers in Hitchin included Will Harrison in 40:34, David Weston, running ‘undercover having misplaced my club vest’ and finishing in 44:59, Kat Hinitt, who somehow ‘really enjoyed’ her 47:05 performance despite ‘very sore and grazed knees from a nasty tumble a couple of days beforehand’ and Lindsay Cook, ‘very pleased to finish’ in 1:01:48 despite ‘sore knees in the later part of the race’.
 
Shaun Allin was on pacer duties for two friends and came nicely under their 50-minute target in 49:32.
 
Vitality London 10k
Down in the capital, a scurry of Squirrels showed they can hold their own with the biggest running clubs in the land as North Herts placed as 14th team in the prestigious Vitality London 10k. There was a trio of scorching personal bests from Tom Webb – 37th out of 16,000 runners in 31:54, Mike Roberts in 33:30 and Stewart Overton in 34.05. Dervla Downing completed the mixed team with 46:02 to make it a fine day out – ‘great to be pounding the streets of London with Sir Mo’, as Webb reported.
 
Milton Keynes Marathon
Richard Weber was relieved to ‘finish upright and conscious’ after ‘the hardest race I’ve ever done’ as he made his debut over the 26.2-mile distance at the Milton Keynes Marathon. Lucy O’Connor was only minutes behind as she recorded an impressive new best time of 4:01:00 and Anna Gibson and Greg Bowie finished in 4:35:58 and 4:44:43 respectively.
 
Dave Braybrook tackled the accompanying half-marathon and just ‘enjoyed the run instead of racing, crossing the line in 1:51:04.
 
Great Denham Parkrun
The Road Runners had started the Bank Holiday weekend in style, with 17 members descending on Great Denham Parkrun near Bedford for a ‘Squirrels on Tour’ event in what Dan Mallett described as ‘sunny conditions and a great way to start the weekend’.
 
Katie Harbon set a new club Parkrun record as she crossed the line in 18:10 and first female finisher. Nick Malpeli (second finisher) and Adrian Sherwood also beat their previous Parkrun bests with 17:58 and 18:54 respectively, while Dan Mallett missed a new best time by just a second as he finished in 20:40.
 
Edinburgh Parkrun
Despite being ‘distracted at the start by finding a nice Labrador to stroke’, Tash Pitman still managed to set a new Club Record for the FV45 category with her 20:01 clocking at the Edinburgh Parkrun, taking full advantage of the ‘pancake flat out and back course with a brilliant view of the Firth of Forth on the return leg’.
 
More great results
Just to prove it really was a bumper Bank Holiday weekend of racing, Vince Wright knocked an amazing two and a half minutes off his previous best with 36:07 at the Gear 10k in Kings Lynn, Adam Bowller clocked a superb 16:08 PB at the MK Rocket 5k – ‘an enjoyable race on closed roads, starting in the centre of Milton Keynes and finishing in the stadium’ and Stewart Overton ‘capped off a busy two weeks of races’ with a speedy 16:22 at the Friday Night Under the Lights 5k in Battersea Park.
 
Finally, John Auld returned to his roots to tackle one his favourite races – the Silkstone Shuffle near Barnsley. He put in a ‘good honest effort’ on the ‘multi-terrain course of 3km up a trail hill followed by 4.5km back down, over fields and stiles’, clocking 30:13 for sixth place and just one second behind fifth – a great start as this was the first of a series of three races, with cumulative time deciding the overall standings. 

​It was a busy week for Stuart Overton who competed in two half marathons. On Easter Monday he travelled up to Lincolnshire to run the Boston Half Marathon finishing in a time of 1:15:44. This was enough for 6th place and 1st V40. Then today (Sunday) he ran the Worthing Half marathon finishing 7th overall and 3rd V40 in a time of 1:16:02. Also running in Boston UK, Greg Bowie ran the marathon, finishing in a time of 4:59.58.
Stuart said, “Both courses are pan flat with the potential for PB and fast times. However. The fens and coast are also prone to some winds which was the case in both. Although not strong they were just enough to dull the legs.”
Andy and Michelle Grudzinski headed over to Coed y Brenin for the Goldrush Trail Race on Saturday. It's an 8.5-mile race with 450m of elevation. As with every event at Coed y Brenin you start going uphill and keep going uphill for what seems like forever. Andy finished in a fantastic 1.32.34 (30th Man) and Michelle came in at 1.36.15 (19th Lady). Michelle said “having pushed hard on the flats and downhill to try and reduce the distance whilst reminding myself that I can't break any bones as I won't have a job in the summer if I do.”
Our new club president Lucy Hurley took part in the Barr Ellison 10k at Childerley.  Lucy finished in a time of 56:53.
James Dalton and Greg Bowie reached the 100 Parkrun’s goal this weekend with both running at Letchworth.  Other notable park runs were Sheila Leavy who ran at Henlow in a time of 47:27 and John Auld who finished 2nd at the Stevenage parkrun with a very impressive 18:16. Full parkrun results are as follows.
Leamington parkrun – John Russell 25:45
Westmill parkrun – Michael Over 21:25, Mike Bullock 27:26
Stevenage parkrun – John Auld 18:16, Ian Datlen 21:20, Ghia Botha 21:22, Mike Phillips 21:46, Eva McCabe 23:20, Natalie Phillips 25:41, Sue Vaughan 28:59
Darlington South Park parkrun – Brain Judkins 33:46
Weymouth parkrun – Brian Bailey 31:06
Panshanger parkrun – Paula Holm 21:39, Richard Harbon 22:02, Helen Harbon 22:21
Rutland Water parkrun – Lindsay Lucas 34:32
Letchworth parkrun – Matt Sayers 18:42, James Dalton (100) 20:49, Tim Banting 25:30, Jegan Simon 27:10, Phillip Flack 28:38, Greg Bowie 28:49.
Henlow Bridge Lakes parkrun – Rachel Annetts 28:22, Sheila Leavy 47:27.
Storeys Field parkrun – Joseph Sherry 30:26
Akrotiri parkrun – Alice Noakes 24:14

The North Herts Road Runners made the most of the gloriously sunny long Easter bank holiday weekend, with several excellent running performances both locally and further afield.
Kicking off the weekend on Good Friday, four squirrels headed down the A1 to run the St Albans Easter 10k. Starting in Highfield Park, the fairly flat single lap race headed out along the disused railway line on the Alban Way, in an out and back route that included several nice stretches of Hertfordshire countryside (as well as a few slightly less appealing sections alongside main roads!) The weather was beautifully sunny and warm (in fact, perhaps a little too warm!) – conditions that the runners had not experienced in recent weeks! Kat Hinitt was first home for the club in 46:36, followed closely by Rikki Clark in 48:09. Jane Robson (1:01:10) and Julie Taylor (1:02:55) completed the quartet, and all four agreed that it was a great start to the bank holiday weekend!

On Saturday, the North Herts Road Runners were well represented at parkrun events across the country. In Letchworth, James Dalton was first squirrel home, finishing seventh overall in an impressive 20:56, while Kat Hinitt was first lady in 23:39, setting a a new PB for this course. Meanwhile, down the road in Stevenage in a crowded field of 301 runners, Tracy Pitcairn was second lady and first in her age category in 20:43, accompanied by Dan Mallett who finished 19th overall in 20:41, coming first in his age category (VM 30-34) and bagging himself a new PB in the process. Ian Sutcliffe opted for Henlow Bridge Lakes for his first ever parkrun event (after “a lot of persuasion” from fellow clubmate Sue Vaughan), finishing in 30:49 and setting a new age-related club record for his age category (VM 75-79). In Devon, Elwyn Howell ran the Teignmouth Promenade parkrun in 22:27, coming second in his age category (VM 60-64). A full list of this week’s parkrun results is at the end of this report.

Finally, on Easter Sunday, while many of us were lazily eating chocolate eggs, Sue Foot headed to Suffolk to run the Risby Marathon. Describing it as “a picturesque out and back route on a mixture of trail and road with plenty of hills to test your stamina”, Sue was pleased to come in eighth place out of a field of just 14 runners.

The full NHRR parkrun results for this week are: EDEN PROJECT Steve Brenton 21:29; STEVENAGE Daniel Mallett 20:41, Tracy Pitcairn 20:43, Phil Hunt 24:33; WIMPOLE ESTATE Michael Banister 19:05; DELAMERE Joseph Sherry 25:43; POOLSBROOK Brian Judkins 34:42; MERSEA ISLAND William Harrison 19:19; LETCHWORTH James Dalton 20:56, Mike Phillips 22:47, Andrew Underhill 22:48, Kat Hinitt 23:39, Georgina Quayle 24:41, Natasha Pitman 25:55, Philip Flack 29:41, Brian Bailey 32:38, Carina Quayle 32:43; SIZEWELL Nick Malpeli 19:35; TEIGNMOUTH PROMENADE Elwyn Howell 22:27; RHEINAUE: Steve McKeown 20:11, Astrid McKeown 20:51; HENLOW BRIDGE LAKES Lucy O’Connor 24:35, Rob Milburn 26:00, Rachel Annetts 29:43, Ian Sutcliffe 30:49, Sue Vaughan 30:51.

Thanks to Kat for writing this weeks report. 

​
It was another wonderful Marathon weekend for North Herts Road Runners with debut performances and PBs as the sun shone at the seaside.

First home for the club, making his marathon debut was Sam COXON in 3:00:22. Speaking after the race he said he was happy to complete his first marathon, but was disappointed to so narrowly miss out on a sub 3-hour time. He really enjoyed the support around the course and found the weather conditions almost perfect, but a little too sunny! Kyle STOUT came in at 3:42:08, not the time he was hoping for, but a superb PB all the same. Anna GREETHAM, the only female squirrel, enjoyed her first marathon performance, smashing a sub four hour marathon with a time of 3:55:21. Matt ROBERTS came in just behind his team mate and running partner in a very respectable 3:56:26.
Before commencing cheering duties, three squirrels raced in the 10km event ahead of the marathon start, with Ian DATLEN leading them home with a well deserved PB of 39:07. He was closely followed by the ladies, Rhia BOTHA in 43:47 and Charlie JONES in 49:09. Fish and Chips and ice creams on the beach were the perfect refuel for the runners and cheer squad alike.
​
Closer to home the Squirrels were out in force at April’s ‘Run of the Month’ – the Flitwick 10km. The Club’s Russ Hagan completed the course in 49:44 and spoke of his delight at eventually being able to race this event following injury and covid cancellations in previous years and described it as “undulating - like a  Blackpool Rollercoaster for the second half.” Three Road Runners were first in their Age Groups with Natasha PITMAN taking the 1st V35 in 41:36, Astrid MCKEOWN 1st V45 in 43:31 and Sue FOOT 1st V65 56:18. The Ladies team of PITMAN, MCKEOWN and Rachel ARNOTT 44:23, took first place in the team competition, whilst the men’s team of Adam BOWLER 34:22, John AULD 37:55 and David EDWARDS 42:52, took second. Auld spoke of the lovely conditions for racing with “minimal wind and gorgeous sunshine”. Andrew PORTER, returning from injury, finished in 01:01:35 and Miranda MORGAN completed the course in 01:04:35
 
Further North, three squirrels travelled to the sunny Cambourne 10km where Elwyn HOWELL was delighted to top the 1st V60 podium with his time of 46:19. Other finishers for the club were Laura FAIRBANKS 48:28, Scott REED 55:39 and Phillip FLACK 01:03:32.

​What a weekend for North Herts Road Runners. Manchester marathon was all the talk, with rumour's that club records were out to be broken and many squirrels out to break their own PB in one of the UK's premier running events, famous for its fast, flat and friendly route. Six squirrels in total headed up to Manchester to see if they had what it takes to defeat a distance renowned to put up the ‘runners wall’. With the current marathon club record standing at 2:32:57, it was a case of go hard or go home for Tom Webb who was the first NHRR ever to clock up a marathon time under 2 hours 30 mins. This was his debut marathon and Manchester served up perfect conditions for Tom who was cheered on by family and members of NHRR who travelled up to support, and he was delighted to clock 2:27:41.
Next in for North Herts Road Runners was Darren Sunter. Considering Darren has had 5 months out due to injury and cramp creeping in at 23 miles, it was a dream day which saw Darren finish in 2:31:58. Darren explained that the hills of Altrincham made the back section of the course tough, and with a superb first 10 miles, hilly mid-section, and then a new lease of life at 20 (albeit complimented by cramp), Darren left everything on the course to finish with a new V40 club record. And that’s not all. NHRR also saw Matt Sayers break his own club record in the V45 category, storming to victory in a time of 2:38:37, and Ben Sewell who blew his PB out the park by a massive 10 minutes, finishing the course in 2:43:58. Shaun Allin and Dave Braybrook defeated the course, both achieving PB’s of 3:25:03 and 3:45:01. Dave exclaimed he had to dig deep after mile 23 and was delighted with his time.

NHRR were also represented at the Reading Half Marathon, where Katie Harbon ran a superb time of 1.20.18, a PB of 2 minutes and sixth women overall in a field of 19,500 runners. Missing the club record by only 2 seconds, Katie enjoyed competing in such a big field and although it was mainly flat, the two hills at mile 2 and 8 were challenging.

Elsewhere saw Russ Hagen compete in the London Landmarks Half whilst raising vital funds for the Brain Tumor Charity. The LLH is an iconic event, passing iconic London sights along the way and priding itself on being the only half marathon to go through both the City of London and City of Westminster. Russ explained that it’s an amazing event with around 17,000 runners making their way through the West End, Westminster and the City; it’s like a London city tour without the open top bus. Running down Chapleside as the Bow Bells peeled out was inspirational as explained by Russ who finished in a great time of 1:50.

Michelle Grudinski got her second best time ever at the Paris marathon and came in in 4:29:02. Following her previous being only 6 days ago, Michelle was delighted with her time and loved the course.

​​Locally, the First Saturday of the Month 5k proved to be as popular as always with 62 people coming out on a cold but beautiful morning to run round the 2 lap course on Letchworth Common. April also saw many children run round the 1k course which is a new, but fabulous, addition to the FSoTM5k. The next 5k will be on the 7th May so see you there! 

​Veni, vidi, vici

Andy and I headed to Rome for a weekend of sun, sightseeing, eating (yummm gelato) and, oh, we squeezed in a little marathon so we could sweep up any bits we missed on the tours!

Our pre event carb loading was taken very seriously with the local delicacies of pizza and pasta aiding our preparation. I swear that gelato is also a carb and ensured it played a starring role in the menu choices🐷

The pre-race organisation left something to be desired so it was with some trepidation that we left our hotel at some insanely early time on Sunday morning (seriously, who steals an hour of sleep from athletes the night before a marathon 🤬?) Feeling less like gladiators and more like plebeians we gathered under the colosseum to await our destiny...

We had already decided to run our own "race" and split up ready to see what the Parcae had waiting for us...

I think Andy rather hoped that the streets would be lined with Cognac like the last Marathon he ran but it wasn't to be... it was lined with cobbles 😱

It appears that Jupiter took pity on the plebeians and sent them some celestial help!

Andy came in with an excellent time of 4.33.07, a 16 minute marathon PB and after 23 further attempts (at marathon and marathon + attempt 24) Michelle finally broke her PB set in her first ever marathon by 22 minutes coming in at an unexpected 4.08.44!

Michelle intends to start Paris next weekend with an éclair in one hand and a bottle of sprite in the other and take it easy sightseeing and eating en-route!

Written By Michelle Grudzinski 

​
Andy and Michelle Grudzinski of North Herts Road Runners headed to Rome to take part in the marathon setting out like gladiators from the majestic Colleseum before charging round the ancient city soaking up all of the stunning historic architecture.  Andy came in with an excellent time of 4 hours 33 mins and 7 seconds, beating his previous best time by 16 minutes.  Michelle was delighted to better her best time which was set in her first ever marathon by 22 minutes, finishing in 4 hours, 8 minutes and 44 seconds. 
Meanwhile closer to home Jo Sopala and Lindsey Lucas begrudgingly remembered the clocks had sprung forward to drive to Hoohah Thetford Forest 10km, through Britain's largest lowland pine forest.  Lindsey "really enjoyed running on trails through the forest as it was lovely and peaceful."  As usual her running partner Jo Sopala was by her side keeping her going for the first part and they finished with big smiles on their faces with Jo recording 72:28 and Lindsey 73:36.
Even closer to home, Russ Hagan and Kat Hinitt ran the 10km option in the Lee Valley Run Fest with a flat course on the trails around Lee Valley Park and Watersports Centre offering potential for fast times. Russ set a great new personal best time of 49:41 and Kat was motivated to set a speedy pace as car troubles meant she was racing to catch an AA man!
 
 
NHRR finishers at parkrun events: 
 
Letchworth parkrun 
Daniel Martin 19:23; Ian Datlen 19:35 ; James Dalton 21:11; William Harrison 21:16; Daniel Mallett 22:49;  Paul Bowal 28:09; Bob Davis 29:07; Lucy Hurley 29:32; Jennie Fraser 29:57, Philip Flack 29:59
 
Stevenage parkrun
Sue Vaughan 28:33
 
Henlow Bridge Lakes parkrun
James Poulton 24:19
 
Upton Court parkrun
Joseph Sherry 26:11 
 
Wimpole Estate parkrun
Vince Wright 19:47; Kat Hinitt 23:53; Andrew Coates 24:07; Anna Gibson 24:15;  Lucy O’Connor 25:03; Jillian Boys 25:37; Russ Hagen 27:09; Brian Judkins 33:16
 
Queenstown parkrun (New Zealand)
Tash Pitman 20:29 - first lady

​Kat Hinitt's adventurous spirit saw her venture up to Northamptonshire to race in the Stanwick Lakes Spring Run on Sunday.  Kat chose to race the 10km distance and said, "The 10km race was two laps around the picturesque country park, taking in views of the pretty lakes.  The course was fairly flat and straightforward, apart from some unexpected water crossings in the form of very large puddles which took me by surprise!".  It was Kat's first 10km for some months and she was pleased with her time of 47:24, and delighted to be 4th lady and 11th finisher overall.  
 
 
Meanwhile Vince Wright headed over to Hastings to compete in his sixth Hastings half marathon and took an astounding 5 minutes off his course best to finish in 83:24, ranking 44th overall and 4th in his age group.  Vince reported, "The Hastings half marathon is the hardest half I have done with over 850 ft of ascent. The first 6 miles mainly up hill and then down for the next 5 with 2 miles along the seafront to the finish. Apart from the sun being out the whole time, the conditions were perfect with an unusual Easterly tail wind to the finish."
 
Meanwhile over at Saturday's 5km parkruns, we had 19 squirrels taking part in 9 different events, with Tracy Pitcairn running strongly to be crowned first female at the lovely hilly Letchworth parkrun in an impressive time of 21:22.  Mark Vaughan ventured slightly further away to the popular fast Great Denham parkrun and secured 3rd place on the podium in 17:10 as his return to form continues.
 
 
NHRR finishers at parkrun events: 
Clapham Common parkrun
Scott Reed 27:41
 
Great Denham parkrun
Mark Vaughan 17:10; Sue Vaughan 29:27
 
Letchworth parkrun 
Daniel Martin 20:38; James Dalton 21:22; Tracy Pitcairn 22:22; Corne Swart 27:05; Alan Hazlehurst 28:15; Philip Flack 33:38 
 
Lyme Park parkrun
James Keogh 22:09
 
Norwich parkrun
Ellie Scott 31:23
 
Riverfront parkrun
Brian Judkins 32:01
 
Rutland Water parkrun
Joseph Sherry 23:51
 
Stevenage parkrun 
Tracy McCreath 31:29; Kelly Hanlon 39:55 
 
Wimpole Estate parkrun 
Jillian Boys 24:50; Lucy O'Connor 25:38; Anna Gibson 29:19
 

 
Written by Tash