Parkrun round up for Saturday 30 March below includes Sheila Leavy who said she “speed walked Stevenage parkrun and was pleased with my time although I did get beaten by the fridge!”
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 Oakley 20M 15 squirrels ran the Oakley 20 in the beautiful sunshine through the 'undulating' Bedfordshire countryside. Richard Springall was first home for the club, finishing 13th overall in 2:08:32. Closely followed by a trio of age category winners. Ian Datlen was first V50 finishing in 2:18:10. Rachel Arnott was first V45 finishing in 2:26:03 and Rhia Botha was first V35 finishing in 2:28:35. Rhia commented afterwards that “Oakley 20 was my first 20 mile race and it did not disappoint. The weather was perfect, except for the wind. The atmosphere was great and the marshals and volunteers were so friendly. It made for a great morning. I was very pleased to manage my target marathon pace despite the hills and wind.” The ladies team of Rachel Arnott, Rhia Botha and Laura Fairbanks were 2nd in the team competition. Full results are as follows
Thorney 10 Two Squirrels ventured up the A1 to the historic village of Thorney in northern Cambridgeshire to take part in the Keith Hall Memorial 10k road race. It's a pancake flat L shaped out and back course, renowned for fast times. However the winds on Sunday provided very fast times for the 5km out with a lovely tailwind propelling the runners forward, but the headwind on the way back put a dampener on the hope for fast times. Andrew Leach finished seventh male and first in his veteran 60 age category in 34:38 and Tash Pitman clinched 5th female and first in her veteran 45 age category in 41:23.  ATW Run Fest at Lee Valley Tracy Pitcairn was 1st Lady and 10th overall out of 230 at Lee valley 10k this Sunday as part of the ATW run fest which also included a half marathon option. Tracy’s 10k chip time was 42:46 and due to injuries throughout the Summer, Autumn and Winter, this was her first 10k race since the mid week league last year. Tracey said that “I wanted to give it my best effort but did not expect to be near my best at this time. “ she added that it was a windy day but lovely and sunny. The course was fantastic, starting at the White Water Centre at Lee Valley it was all off road but good quality flat paths through the nature reserve. She would definitely recommend it for next year. Parkrun Roundup Lots of Parkrun action this week with the Harbon's going en masse to Sheringham parkrun to celebrate Jo's new Age Grading.
 The North Herts Road Runners were out in force this weekend, tackling a range of race distances, as well as having a fantastic time celebrating the club’s achievements at their annual awards ceremony on Saturday evening. The squirrels were well represented at the Milton Keynes Festival of Running on Sunday, where several runners embraced the challenge of the 20-mile distance following the previous evening’s awards ceremony celebrations.  John Auld decided that the opportunity to run for more than 3 hours in the fresh air was “the perfect hangover cure”, completing the 20-mile race in 3:11:57. He was joined by Mike Phillips (2:35:49), Ben Ryan (2:44:23), Ian Harvey (2:45:29), Alice Carty (2:50:36), and Stuart Cocks (2:50:38). Meanwhile, Rachel Arnott completed the half marathon in an impressive 1:32:24, while in the 5k race Hannah Ridley was 2nd lady and 13th runner overall, finishing in a fantastic time of 20:11.  Also racing this weekend was newcomer to the club Becky Geekie, who competed in the “rather wet” Essex 20 mile race in a PB of 2:41:57. Ben Sewell (2:19:21), Tom Barclay (2:19:20) and Emma Sandham (2:47:26) also completed the race as part of their marathon training. Whilst further afield Joe Dixon ran his first marathon in Rome, he completed the course in an excellent debut marathon time of 3 hours and 36 minutes, despite the rather warm conditions. Lots of squirrels took part in parkrun events on Saturday, and this week’s full parkrun results for the club are as follows:
With spring marathons looming on the horizon, a lot of North Herts Road Runners are increasing their mileage and taking part in longer distance races of half marathons and 20 milers. The NHRR ladies certainly delivered some female inspiration on the weekend of International Women’s Day and Mothers Day.
 Fresh from her superb Cambridge Half Marathon 6 days previously Katie Harbon was the first runner to cross the line at the notoriously challenging Letchworth Parkrun in an impressive 19:37.  Running conditions were not quite as favourable for those out on Sunday but four NHRR ladies headed up the A1 to scenic Stamford to run the Burghley 7 (miles) which starts and finishes in the very beautiful Burghley Estate and runs through the architecturally magnificent town of Stamford. Linda Aird came 2nd in her age category, Lucy O’Connor had an unfortunate mishap which exacerbated a pre-existing injury while perching precariously on a portaloo five minutes before the race started, but still managed to complete the course. Also receiving the ‘very nice medal’ for this event were Miranda Morgan and Jo Kenlin. It was a shame that it was so wet but otherwise the ladies said they would definitely recommend the Burghley 7. Rachel Arnott ran the Oundle 20 Mile race as a Mother’s Day gift to herself and managed to secure a PB and first place in her age category in a time of 2:27:46, almost 5min faster than her previous attempt at this course. She described it is as ‘a fun run, dodging puddles and potholes while enjoying the countryside views.’
 It was a special day for the squirrels with records broken and a life saved at the Cambridge Half Marathon. They fielded their biggest ever squad with 52 runners racing and two long standing club records shattered: Astrid McKeown’s time of 1:31:24 took almost 7 minutes off the previous best veteran female 50 record; Andrew Leach’s 1:13:51 beat the previous best veteran male 60 time by more than 18 minutes. The first female squirrel over the line was Katie Harbon, 8th female in a field of 12,000 runners in an impressive 1:17:31. First male home for the club was Mike Roberts, 50th in a personal best time of 1:10:49. Experienced squirel Phil Hunt summed up the conditions, “Other than a quagmire on Midsummer Common at the start, the weather was perfect, cold and bright.” There were at least 9 female and 12 male personal best times with the biggest improvement from Nicola Withington taking a massive 27 minutes off her previous best time to finish in 1:56:58. Eight other females followed suit setting personal best times. Rhia Botha achieved her first sub 90 minute half marathon and a huge PB of 1:28:10 and said she was “surrounded by the most amazing team mates. Jane Clarke finished an impressive 5th in her age category and took over 5 minutes off her previous best time in 1:31:46. Claire Fisk was next in 1:38:41 and Katrina Slisane looked strong in 1:40:16. Emma Sandham and Alice Carty looked in great fitness for their spring marathons in 1:42:24 and 1:43:39 respectively. Natalie Phillips 1:47:22 and Jenna Manggos 2:01:18 who said “Fab run today at Cambs half with Richard Springall. Thanks to Rich for running it with me, shaving nearly 8 mins off last year's time.”  Among the men setting personal best times were a closely packed group led in by Tom Barclay in 1:13:59, Ben Sewell 1:14:53, Matt Sayers 1:14:54 and Shahab Ahmad 1:15:44 who said “50+ second PB, but really wanted to give a massive shout out to the NHHR crew - on course support, fellow runners in the race and during training but mainly the coaches for their unwavering support and commitment. Karen's enthusiastic support during training and David Annetts in particular for his commitment on and off the Brandles Loop!” Elliot Jackson bettered his time by almost 10 minutes in 1:18:44, while Ian Datlen was delighted to improve by 2 minutes in 1:21:45 and followed by bests from Ollie Parsons in 1:22:27 and Shaun Allin in 1:25:00. Mike Phillips took 7 minutes off his previous best in 1:28:23. Next PB was Mike Over who was delighted with 1:31:03 and Lee Varley in 1:32:34. The club’s Helen Nuttall was a true hero on the day by sacrificing her own race to provide essential CPR along with two other doctors to a fellow runner who had collapsed at the 12.6 mile mark. Thankfully they revived the young man and he was taken off in an ambulance and reports received he made a good recovery.  Full results: Female: Katie Harbon 1:17:31 4th F25, Rhia Botha 1:28:10 PB, Astrid Mckeown 1:31:24 V50 club record and 3rd FV50, Jane Clarke 1:31:46 PB and 5th FV45, Natasha Pitman 1:38:15, Claire Fisk 1:38:41, Katrina Slisane 1:40:16 PB, Caroline Thrussell 1:40:54, 4th FV60, Emma Sandham 1:42:24 PB, Alice Carty 1:43:39 PB, Natalie Phillips 1:47:22 PB, Helen Cairns 1:48:46, Nicola Withington 1:56:58 PB, Helen Nuttall 1:57:39, Shauna Lawless 2:00:05, Jenna Manggos 2:01:18 PB, Emily Yossarian 2:14:26, Andreea Weisl-shaw 2:32:02, Tracey Mccreath 2:34:57, Clare Hooley 3:01:37, Farzana Bhatti 3:28:28, Male: Mike Roberts 1:10:49 PB, Andrew Leach 1:13:51 V60 club record and 1st V60, Thomas Barclay 1:13:59, Benjamin Hadman 1:14:04, Ben Sewell 1:14:53 PB, Matthew Sayers 1:14:54 PB, Shahab Ahmad 1:15:44 PB, Rob Jowett 1:18:15, Elliot Jackson 1:18:44, Michael Banister 1:21:10, Ian Datlen 1:21:45 PB, Oliver Parsons 1:22:27 PB, Vincent Wright 1:23:15, Shaun Allin 1:25:00 PB, Mike Phillips 1:28:23 PB, James Keogh 1:29:46, Michael Over 1:31:03, Ian Harvey 1:31:46, Lee Varley 1:32:34, James Dalton 1:37:21, John Auld 1:38:05, Ben Ryan 1:38:52 PB, Kris Whitmore 1:44:13, Matt Farr 1:49:35, David Weston 1:49:37, Phil Hunt 1:55:24, Richard Springall 2:01:19, Geoff Davis 2:15:32, Jeff Salter 2:18:23, Philip Stapleton 2:22:41,Andrew Porter 2:34:23
 First Saturday of the Month The Common was the muddiest on record on Saturday morning and John Auld our mud loving men’s team captain and cross country rep said, “Perfect conditions and not sure I could design it any better. What a fun course to run in the puddles. And fantastic morning with the team.” John won the event and Becky Geekie was the first lady home. John Auld 22:18,Steve McKeown 23:42,Peter Clarke 23:50,James Dalton 24:10,Dave Braybrook 24:44,Richard Harbon 25:32,Becky Geekie 26:15,Joanne Hoare 27:00,Dervla Downing 27:23,Grace Cleary 27:38,Viv Lucas 28:28,Georgia Head 29:32,Caroline Thrussell 29:46,Katie Palmer 30:13,Andrew Robson 30:19,Helen Cromack 30:33,Helen Harbon 30:51,Anna Priestley 33:09,Helen Giffin 34:45,Philip Flack 37:07 Parkrun Roundup
Dunstable Downs: Meyrick Jenkins (36:10) Letchworth: Steve Brenton (25:50) Preston: Lindsay Cook (31:51) Stevenage: Chris Stokes (21:19), Jon Hunt (23:06), Barbara Sayers (29:18), Ellie Scott (29:18) Teignmouth Promenade: Elwyn Howell (22:27) |
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