​Marathon Eryri! 
A scurry of squirrels headed to Eryri National Park (Snowdonia) for the demanding and spectacular Marathon Eryri! With 2,490 ft of elevation gain over 26.2 miles this route encircles Wales and England’s highest peak and is known as one of the hardest races around. The runners were Richard Barker, Alice Noakes, Michelle Grudzinski, Caroline Thrussell, Georgia Head and Gregor Bowie, with great support from Paul Bowal and Georgia Barker. They were fortunate to have a lovely sunny day in a region notorious for its mist and rain. Following a massive climb at mile twenty-two the runners were rewarded at mile twenty-four with a Mexican themed tea and cake aid station.  That’s a long way for a cup of tea!  Unsure about whether they would be able to complete the course due to injuries, Caroline Thrussell and Georgia Head decided to run together and loved the atmosphere and stunning scenery. Both did finish thus making it Georgia Head’s first ever marathon! Congratulations Georgia.
 
Results
Richard Barker 4:45
Caroline Thrussell 4:37:22
Georgia Head 4:37:22
Gregor Bowie 4:53:32
Alice Noakes 4:54:45
Michelle Grudzinski 5:18:58

Ricky Road Run 10 Miler
Richard Weber, Dervla Downing and Lucy O’Connor made their way to warm and sunny Rickmansworth in the Chiltern Hills to take part in the Ricky Road Race 10 Miler. This was Richard’s first time at this event, which this year is celebrating its 40th anniversary. The race starts on a downhill, but not for long. Almost immediately you become aware of the hills, which Richard described as ‘brutal,’ forcing him to stop and walk once he reached the top. Despite the hills it is a lovely route, displaying stunning autumn colours, with pretty country and residential roads from Mill End, through Chorleywood and Little Chalfont and back. This year a revised course, due to road works, meant runners did not have the big climb at mile eight and could instead look forward to the fantastic downhill final kilometre to the finish line. Richard achieved a very respectable time of 1:23:51 given the tough route, and not having managed a long distance run in over a year due to injury. Equally speedy was Dervla, whose time was 1:22:57.  Lucy O’Connor’s time was 1:30:03

Ashridge Canicrossers’ Annual Race
This year’s popular and sold out Canicross race offered two courses - long (13km) and short (8km)- and covered undulating cross country style trails across the Ashridge Estate in the Chilterns. Running the short course, and winning his class was Rob Jowett galloping home in 29:36.
Running the long course with two dogs each was Fiona Baker and Jill Tooley-Boys in 1:16:31 and 1:32:56, coming 2nd and 4th in their class (open).
Running the long course with one dog was Anna Gibson in 1:16:26 and coming third in their class 18-44.
Thanks to the canine companions Mabel, Flora B, Lulu, Bella, Flora G and Rob’s dog for delivering such a strong performance for team NHRR.

Exeter community Halloween 5-mile race.
On a beautiful autumn day Elwyn Howell ran the Exeter Community Halloween 5-miler. Elwyn finished in a time of 37:19, 33rd and was second in his age category.


​Parkrun Roundup

Duxford Dash
Rob Bell  ran the 5k Duxford Dash on Sunday along with other squirrels, braving the 40mph gusting head winds on the exposed runway at Duxford. Despite the weather trying its hardest to slow them all down, Rob was quite pleased after he managed to run a new 5k PB of 28:48. ​

Despite temperatures as low as 5c over the weekend, there was no hiding indoors for North Herts Runners, with a big contingent of club members taking part in a variety of events across Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire, London and even the US.

Chicago Marathon
On the other side of the Atlantic, Tash Pitman, Nicola Withington and Karen Townsend  took part in the iconic Chicago Marathon, which is considered one of the world’s top marathons and one of the six World Marathon Majors. Nicola finished with an outstanding PB of 04:15:59, four minutes quicker than her previous best at Paris.

​Tash brilliantly paced Nicola for a PB and finished in 04:16:07. Nicola said it was the best marathon she had ever done and that Tash was 'officially my hero', also that ‘the atmosphere, organisation and support was phenomenal.’ For Karen, this was her 10th Marathon, her 3rd World Major and she was delighted with her best time of 3:15:11 since becoming a first time Mum in February.

Great Eastern Run
A chilly autumn day proved no obstacle to the contingent of North Herts Runners completing the Great Eastern Run in Peterborough. Starting and finishing at the Embankment, the event is a super flat and fast half marathon around Peterborough City Centre and there were some outstanding times on display. Tracy Pitcairn said that she was very happy to manage a PB of 1:38:34, while Baljeet Sandher commented that it was a second-best time half marathon time of 1:34, noting that they had been ‘blessed with some lovely autumnal sunshine towards the end’. 

​Results as follows:
Sam Coxon                          (01:11:43.6)
Elliot Jackson                     (01:17:50.3)      
Shaun Allin                          (01:21:21.3)      
Oliver Parsons                   (01:24:09.2)      
Michael Banister               (01:26:35.2)      
Baljeet  Sandher               (01:34:43.5)      
James Godfrey                  (01:36:27.2)      
Tracy Pitcairn                      (01:38:34.1)      
Eleanor Street                    (01:45:34.3)      
Meyrick Jenkins                (02:15:47.8)

London Royal Parks Half Marathon
Elsewhere, three North Herts runners made their way to our wonderful capital to complete the iconic Royal Parks Half Marathon, winding their way through eight beautiful Royal Parks along with over 17000 other runners. Laurie Scott commented that it was a ‘beautiful cool clear day’ and & a beautiful course, which took several iconic London Landmarks such as Buckingham palace, Westminster Abbey, The Mall & Trafalgar Square. He completed the race in his third best ever time of 1:55:56, in the busiest field he had ever ran in. Results below:
 
Richard Barker                   (02:24:53)
Georgia Barker                  (02:24:53)
Laurie Scott                         (01.55.56)

Willow 10k charity run
Closer to home, two Squirrels took part in the Willow 10k, a fundraising event for the Willow Foundation, which helps young adults take much needed time out from the reality of living with serious illness. Taking place in the picturesque grounds of Hatfield House, there were two great performances on display:

​Adrian Barnett                   (00:52:51)
Nick Walker                        (01:13:31)

Tring Ridgeway
Nathaniel Rosa took on the Tring Ridgeway 2024. Nat finished 14th overall out of 497. Next year, Nat says, he will heed a fellow clubmate's advice and start at the front row, as there is no overtaking opportunity for a kilometer-long section near the beginning. Nat described the run as fantastically fun, quite technical and unforgiving, hilly terrain that in sections demanded sustained, absolute attention - which he really enjoyed.

Parkrun
Bev Rimmer continued her Parkrun tour of the East of England, with a trip to Coldham Common in Cambridge. Despite what she described as ‘Arctic conditions’ she said that she had ‘stoically faced 2 laps of the fields, avoiding hazards of rabbit holes, tree roots, and two awkwardly-pitched tents at the side of the route’, finishing in an excellent 00:31:26.

Other results are as follows:-

North Herts Road Runners put on their flagship race, the Standalone 10k on Sunday, which also happened to be the Herts County Champs 10km. Standalone Farm was buzzing before and after the race with runners, supporters and sponsor stalls from local businesses enjoying the blue skies and friendly atmosphere.  There were around 135 volunteers, something that didn’t go unnoticed by the runners who sang the praises of NHRR saying how encouraging and plentiful the marshals were, which not only helps keep them safe, but also helps to distract them from the ‘pain’. The Letchworth Army Cadets were also out in force to support the event.

Over 1500 runners entered the popular race, with nearly 1300 completing the course on the day. Mike Phillips, making his debut as Race Director said "This race couldn't happen without the amazing Race Committee Team who put in so much work and effort in the run up to the race, and all the fantastic members of the club for marshalling and making the course safe for every runner." Phillips thanked the sponsors and the local community for all their support and is already planning ahead for next year. 

This year also saw the return of a childrens 800m fun run which took part during the main race. This was enjoyed by many. The club charity, Headway Herts had a stall selling cakes to raise awareness of the important work they do for those with head injuries.

The club is also excited to take feedback from the first wheelchair athlete to participate in the race, which will allow them to understand options for the future.

Each year NHRR select a small team of runners to represent the club. The racing teams did the club proud by winning the Open and Herts County Veteran team prizes. Ladies winning team was made up of R Rhia Botha (40:32), Hannah Ridley (41:48), Helen Nutall (43:55) and Tracey Pitcairn (44:27). The men’s winning team was Andrew Leach (34:34), Shahab Ahmad (35:32), Matt Sayers (35:51) and Stewart Overton (37:23).
​
Mike Roberts (33:25) and Rhia Botha were 5th male and female in the open race, Botha securing first place in her age category for the Ladies Herts County Champs, with Nutall and Pitcairn taking second and third. Leach, Ahmad and Sayers also secured first, second and third in their respective age categories.  
Hannah Ridley, Helen Nutall, Tracey Pitcairn, Natalie Phillips and Rhia Botha ran in the ladies team and Andrew Leach, Matt Sayers, Vince Wright, Stewart Overton, Shahab Ahmad and Mike Roberts ran for the men. There were also two ‘golden ticket’ winners who were given the opportunity to run, Georgia Barker and Saab Bharaj.

Cambridge Bidwells 10k
​Further afield Georgina (49:29) and Carina (1:07:55) Quayle, along with David Weston (44:39) ran the Bidwells Cambridge 10k. 

Chester Marathon
Vanessa Rolfe took on the Chester Marathon after suffering a very bad back spasm resulting in no running at all 2 weeks prior to this event. Her stubbornness got her through the course from start to finish in a time of 6:11:02. She achieved what she had set out to do, which was to complete a marathon before she turns 70yrs old this coming December. An amazing achievement. 

FSOM 
North Herts Road Runners hosted their monthly First Saturday of the Month on the beautiful Norton Common, giving many of their member who would be on marshalling duties, the opportunity to race over the weekend. 

Parkrun Results
Some club members chose to celebrate Parkrun's 20th Birthday by heading to their local or favourite course. Finishers include;