​​Milton Keynes Winter Half
North Herts Road Runners celebrated in style at the end of the Milton Keynes Winter Half-marathon after overcoming the ‘beautiful but icy’ conditions to record a string of impressive performances.
 
The standout result came from Caroline Thrussell, whose 1.43.42 saw her claim first place in the F55 category. Jo Sopala also achieved her goal with 2.27.42, reporting it was ‘a tad chilly, but I got my sub-2.30 target, so happy now!’
 
Also representing the Letchworth-based club were Rachel Arnott, finishing in 1.34.28, Dervla Downing (1.43.58), Adam Wilson (1.57.49) and Niccolo Bassani (1.27.57). They were all pleased with their times – especially given the icy conditions, but Thrussell said the ‘The best bit was they gave us Bailey’s at the end!’ Jo Sopala also ran the MK half marathon and knocked a whopping 16 mins off her PB to smash 2.30 with a 2.27.42 finish
 
Telford 10k
Nick Malpeli admitted to feeling ‘a little nervous starting the Telford 10k after a couple of months of not much running’, and had to contend with ‘snow almost from the start, leading to nice cold and damp conditions’. Fortunately he hadn’t lost as much fitness as he feared and crossed the line in 37.17. The flat Telford course is widely regarded as the fastest in the UK and had been selected as the 2022 England 10k Championship, so the resulting high-class field made Malpeli’s fifth place in the V55 category all the more creditable. 

North Herts Road runners hosted the annual Santa Canta 5km run and children's 1km run on Saturday with over 240 runners of all ages taking on the beautiful course, dressed as Santa's, elves, reindeer, Christmas Trees and Angels.

n its 10th year this annual festive run gets better and better and this year was no exception. Over the years the run has raised thousands for local charities. This year the chosen charity was the Stevenage and North Hertfordshire Child Contact Centres. The winners for best dressed runners included two angels, a Christmas tree and a reindeer. 
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Event Manager Richard Harbon said, "What an amazing day. The common was awash with hundreds of runners dressed in all sorts of festive costumes. Thank you to everyone who took part and donated so generously to such a wonderful charity. the money raised will make such a difference to local children. Happy Christmas to one and all."

​View all the photos here - https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjAhK7G