Several squirrels ran in the Hitchin Hard Half and 5k races. With the pleasant vibe and good weather - it made for a lovely morning. There were lots of familiar faces both spectating and taking part. 
 Karen Townsend won the 5km race on a lovely route up the Gosmore hills - she came home first, finishing the race in 21:06 ahead of the rest of the field. 
 Running the half were Rachel Arnott, Rhia Botha, Grace Cleary, James Dalton and David Weston.
 Rhia commented afterwards - as the name suggests, it wasn’t an easy race. Rhia finished 5th lady and 1st in her age category with 1:41:33 and enjoyed seeing many squirrels supporting along the route and finish line.
Grace Cleary finished in 1:54 and described the course as picturesque - adding she’ll definitely be entering again. 
 
Springfield Striders Friday Night 5 mile
 
Vincent Wright and his son ran the race near Colchester in Essex. The race included the Essex county championships for the distance. The course was advertised as flat, but that’s not how Vince would describe it. George completed the race in 40:26 setting an under 17 club record. Vince finished in 29:37 setting himself a new personal best time for the distance. 
 
Welwyn 10k
 
Richard and Georgina Barker continued their weekend of hills. After first running park run at Hamstead Heath, they ran the undulating course at Welwyn. With legs that hadn’t recovered yet and the conditions were warm and sunny and there were two significant hills. The more forgiving one being 1 in 9 gradient and lasted an age. Richard completed the run in 47 mins 54 seconds - followed by Georgina in 1 hour 5 mins, 56 seconds.  
 
Parkrun
 
Elwyn Howell finished first in his age category at Stevenage, equalling his fastest run at the event and achieving his highest ever finishing place with 21:54 in 19th.
 
Andreea Weisl-Shaw was also there completing her 6th park run event. Proclaiming it was a great way to kick off the weekend and wearing her NHRR vest for the first time at park run. Considering Andreea wasn’t feeling her strongest, she was pleased to finish close to her personal best in 29:23. 
 
Four squirrels travelled to Gunpowder for 'a brilliant morning of park run tourism’ to join Charlie at her local. Ran as a park run sandwich in their long run with a warm up along the canal path. Ian Datlen continued his strong steak with a time of 19:35 in 8th place. Matt Roberts ran well - as did Shaun Allin. Anna Greetham and Charlie Jones ran together.
 ​Other results as follows…
 
Hamstead Heath: Georgina Barker (32:47), Richard Barker (32:51)
Leamington: John Russell (27:49)
York: Jo Sherry (22:46)
Stevenage: Elwyn Howell (21:54), Barbara Sayers (26:12), Andreea Weisl-shaw (29:23)
Gunpowder: Ian Datlen (19:35), Matt Roberts (21:55), Shaun Allin (23:20), Anna Greetham (24:58), Charlie Jones (24:58)
Stratford-upon-Avon: Ed Price (17:26)
Letchworth: Tracy Pitcairn, 1st (21:36), James Dalton (22:39), Dermal Downing (24:28), Steve Brenton (24:56), Tim Banting (26:22), Andy Grudzinski (28:30), Bob Davis (28:35), Geoff Pettengell (34:01), Philip Flack (36:07)
Great Denham: James Poulton (22:27)
Amsterdamse Bos: Karen Shaw (31:16)
Henlow Bridge Lakes: Stewart Overton (17:57), Jane Clarke (23:54), Rachel Annetts (28:21), Lucy O’Connor (29:40), Anna Gibson (29:40), Brian Judkins (34:35)

On Sunday 19th June, the North Herts Road Runners hosted their popular 5k and 1 mile Run Round the Garden races in Letchworth Garden City, for the first time since 2019.
The fast and flat course through Letchworth town centre is a popular event for those seeking a new 5k personal best time or trying out the 1-mile distance, but also attracts runners of all abilities, with the 1-mile fun run in particular enjoyed by club runners, novices, and children alike.

The squirrels turned out in force on the day, organising, marshalling, and running. It was a beautiful sunny morning with perfect running conditions. In the 5k event, Ian Datlen was first male squirrel home and fifth overall in a new PB of 18:46, closely followed by Daniel Martin (18:56) and William Harrison (19:11), while Karen Townsend led the NHRR ladies home in 19:46, followed by Paula Holm (19:56, and third lady overall), and Rhia Botha (19:59). In the 1 mile event, Ian Datlen was again the first squirrel to cross the line in a speedy 05:39, with Rhia Botha first NHRR lady (06:03) and second overall.

Many squirrels also achieved impressive personal bests in the 5k race, including Tracy Pitcairn (20:15), Elwyn Howell (21:24), Andrew Weisel-Shaw (27:18, which was about a minute quicker than she’d hoped for), and Rhia Botha, whose time of 19:59 secured her first official sub-20 minutes 5k. Botha explained “Today was my first opportunity since joining the club to actually run this race and I couldn’t be happier with my new PB! Such a fantastic atmosphere and so well organised. Today I am a very proud squirrel!” Paula Holm, who also ducked under the 20 minute mark for the first time, agreed: “It was fabulous to work with such a great bunch of squirrels, pushing each other on and to be encouraged by such amazing marshals along the route.” Jon, Sue, and Jillian Boys attended the race as a family and by all accounts it was a successful morning out. Jon, for whom the race was his third 5k event since a heart attack in 2020, was pleased with his time of 42:17, while Sue won her age category in 36:06, and Jillian sped home in 24:31. Meanwhile, Linda Aird also ran the “tough but enjoyable” 5k event – her first proper race for nearly 3 years – and was very happy to finish well under 30 minutes in 27:35, adding “It was so lovely to be able to wear my NHRR vest again in an actual race!”

NHRR will now look ahead to their annual flagship race, the iconic Standalone 10k, this autumn. The 35th Standalone 10k is on Sunday 25th September starting from Standalone farm in Letchworth, Herts. Entries are now open at  http://www.nhrr.org.uk/standalone-10k.html


Meanwhile, in a busy weekend of running for the club, on Friday, Stewart Overton travelled down to Walthamstow for the annual Fast Friday 10000 event that doubles up as the English National 10000 championships. He took part in the fourth race of the evening, and even though this did not start until 8:30pm the high temperatures on the track (30 degrees Celsius) meant that any time goals had to be readjusted.  He was pleased to finish in an impressive 36:02, and said he would recommend the race as either a participant or spectator, with “lots of supporters taking advantage of the trackside bar with ice cold beer and wine!”
​
On Saturday, a team of six NHRR ladies piled into a campervan and headed to Leighton Buzzard for the annual Greensand’s Ridge Relay: a relay race comprising 6 segments and covering a total distance of 34 miles in Bedfordshire. Paula Holm ran the first leg, which she completed speedily despite getting a bit lost and seeking help from some local youths, and successfully handed the baton to Jo Harbon. Katie Harbon, Helen Harbon, Sue Vaughan, and Jane completed the team, and despite having to contend with pouring rain and a tough uphill ridge climb (taken on expertly by Helen Harbon), the ladies did brilliantly, winning the silver medal and a very well-deserved podium finish!
 
Five squirrels made the journey to Wales on Saturday to run in the Coed y Brenin train half marathon. Adam Wilson said ‘it’s the best half marathon I’ve ever done in the glorious Welsh mountains. Well done to  Katherine Burr, Helen Cromack, Andy Grudzinski, Dawn Power, Caroline Thrussell and Adam Wilson.
 
The full NHRR parkrun results for this week are: STEVENAGE Vincent Wright 19:15, James Poulton 22:51; QUEEN’s PARKRUN BELFAST Joseph Sherry 22:53; CLACTON SEAFRONT John Russell 25:10; LETCHWORTH James Dalton 21:48; Tim BANTING 26:13; Brenton 26:40;Geoff Pettengell 34:54; HENLOW BRIDGE LAKES Mike Phillips 21:24, Dave Braybrook 23:25, Jillian Boys 26:00, Matt Roberts 26:54, Rhia Botha 27:53, Andrew Coates 27:57, Natalie Phillips 28:42; AKROTIRI Alice Noakes 23:30.

The third midweek league race was at Chingford on Wednesday evening. On a tough course with two challenging hills, 19 ladies and 31 men ran - with others there in support. Both teams were missing a few regular scorers, but the ladies managed another great result - holding onto 3rd spot, behind Trent Park and St Albans. The vet men finished 2nd again, closely behind St Albans. The full men's team finished 5th, giving the combined NHRR team 4th place overall on the evening. This leaves us nicely in 3rd place overall after 3 races. Katie Harbon was first sow squirrel and also won the ladies race. Stewart Overton was first boar squirrel home. For full results see Midweek Road Race league results (runherts.com)

Silkstone Shuffle
After competing in Wednesdays midweek league race, John Auld went on to compete in the Silkstone shuffle series on Thursday night.  It was the 22nd time  he had run the shuffle  and it was tough, with harder course conditions than in April - hotter, longer grass and more boggy.  He finished 7th on the day.  However, because there were a few missing from the first race, he is now placed 1st overall in the series! 14 seconds ahead of 2nd place and 19 seconds ahead of 3rd.

St Alban’s Half Marathon
Elwin Howell raced in the 5K at this event finishing in a time of 24:10 on another challenging hilly course.  This meant he was first in his age category and 31st overall.  The hills of Epping forest midweek league match stood him in good stead for this race and he finished the midweek league race in 49:47.
Also in St Albans, taking part in the Half marathon was Dan Mallett who described the conditions as “hot and hilly” which affected the speed of his performance a little.  He finished in a time of 1:57:48.  Steve Tracey also competed and completed the course in a time of 1:46:55.

Hull Half Marathon
Rachel Arnott ran the Hull 1/2 marathon in 1:34:47 making her the 2nd Vet lady and 8th female. It was a very flat course which she was grateful for after Wednesdays MWL 10km! She commented that it was, “Not the most scenic race but great atmosphere and incredibly well organized for quite a big field.”
 
Shuttleworth 10K Hoohah
 Brian Judkins and Lucy Hurley travelled the short distance to the picturesque Shuttleworth Park to take part in the 10K Hoohah.  Lucy finished in a time of 1:10:30 and Brian in 1:12:48.  

Saturday saw North Herts Road Runners celebrate the Platinum Jubilee in true Royal Style as a carnival atmosphere descended upon our much loved Norton Common. Ladies Captain Tash Pitman exclaimed “I’ve never seen such an array of Royal Pageantry, from Royal Squirrel to Queen Bee, Freddie Mercury to the Queen’s Guard and Boudicca to the Dancing Queen”.  There were royal masks and union jacks a plenty with bunting and scones to greet all runners and spectators.

The race was won by North Herts Road Runner’s own Stewart Overton dressed in red, white and blue, finishing in a time of 17:58. Katie Harbon was first lady (and second overall) in a time of 18:11 with her very own Corgi (Collie) Daisy accompanying her!
The 5km was followed by a children’s Fun Run for all the Princesses and Princes with chocolate corgis for all finishers.

Donations for the seasonal scone feast, cakes and hot drinks were collected for the club’s Charity of the year – the Stevenage and North Hertfordshire Child Contact Centres.

Sunday 19th June sees the return of Run Round The Garden - Letchworth Garden City’s 5km race, go to http://www.nhrr.org.uk/run-round-the-garden.htmlto book your place in this fabulous closed road event.
​
Squirrels were also representing the club at Parkruns across the Globe; LETCHWORTH – Bob DAVIS 27:45, Steve BRENTION 28:40, Jegan SIMON 30:16, HENLOW BRIDGE LAKES – James, POULTON 23:35, Rob MILBURN 24:04, LEAMINGTON - John RUSSELL 32:21, ST ALBANS – Danielle LISTER 27:42, MERSEA ISLAND – William Harrison 20:07, LOUIS TRICHARDT – Chloe LUCAS 25:23, BERKELEY GREEN – Lorna CHAMBERS 26:59, MARKSHALL – Jane CLARKE 24:29

​On Wednesday (25th May) 64 North Herts Road Runners headed to St Albans to take part in the flat and fast second of the four 10k races in the mid-week league. Under the wooded canopy of the Alban Way a field of 446 athletes took on the out and back course starting and finishing with a lap of the grassy Highfield Park in St Albans. With an increase in numbers from the previous race and a similar number of squirrels to Fairlands Valley Spartans toeing the line, it was all or nothing for every single runner. The course was considered tough, with one of the Squirrels before the race claiming “The really long straight old railway path gives me nightmares!”.

This didn’t stop a fantastic performance for both clubs with North Herts matching their position at Stevenage with the Men finishing second, behind home team St Albans Striders, and the Ladies finished third, behind a strong Trent Park and St Albans. After 2 races, defending champion squirrel Tom Webb looks to retain his title, and Katie Harbon also enjoyed a strong run, placing 2nd and 3 minutes faster than her previous best at this course in 2019. North Herts ladies Captain Tash Pitman was “delighted the ladies finished 3rd, behind the two strongest teams from my 15 years’ experience in the Mid-Week League."

Four days after taking part in the mid-week league, Vince Wright headed to Kempton Park to take on the 10k around the horse racing track in West London. The course was mainly tarmac but there were also some sections of gravel and a small section of sand, so not ideal, but Vince continued his spree of great racing and finished 6th overall and second in his age category in a time of 37:04.
​
Elsewhere, Anna Gibson and Sue Foot ran the Greensand 50k. This is an ultra-trail run around lovely Bedfordshire countryside, starting and finishing at Shuttleworth. Anna said the conditions were great for her first ultra-race, and the race organisation was excellent. Anna Gibson finished in a great time of 6:11:47 and Susan Foot in 6:23:07.


Parkrun was very popular again this week with squirrels competing at Stevenage, Letchworth, Bedford, Ken Woods and Henlow Bridge Parkrun.
Stevenage - Jane Clarke 41:26 and Tracey McCreath 33:27
Letchworth - Matt Sayers 19:13, James Dalton 20:50, Peter Clarke 21:42, Steve Brenton 24:06, Ian Datlen 24:17, Jegan Simon 26:20, Jennie Fraser 26:48, Paul Bowal 27:02, Aimee Flack 31:15 and Philip Flack 31:16.
Bedford - Tash Pitman 20:38.
Ken Woods - Joe Sherry 23:23.
Henlow Bridge- Ed Price 18:17, John Auld 19:31, Mike Phillips 21:10, Rob Milburn 25:17, Matt Roberts 25:39, Rhia Botha 25:39, Anna Greetham 26:55, Natalie Phillips 27:26 and Sue Vaughan 30:04.  

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.