Harbon wins Bedford 10 and smashes 10-mile club record

​North Herts Road Runners’ Katie Harbon led the squirrel’s home at the Bedford 10 mile race on Sunday, winning the women’s event, scoring a brilliant new PB for the distance, and breaking the club’s existing 10 mile women’s record in the process.
Harbon crossed the line in a superb 1:00:28. She described the fast and flat course as having “virtually no ups or downs, but the wind was tough in places” and added that she was “delighted” with her result. Fellow squirrel Andreea Wiesl-Shaw also took part in the race, which comprises a single-lap course that starts on the Bedford Embankment and finishes with a lap of Priory Park. She achieved a fantastic new PB of 1:35:22, knocking 4 minutes off her previous time for this distance, adding “It was a lovely morning for running and the course is beautiful, so great fun to run”. Elwyn Howell continued his recent string of strong performances, with a new PB of 1:16:21 and finishing third in his age category. Melanie Flynn added to the bounty of new PBs for the club, crossing the line in a brilliant 1:26:21, and was also full of praise for the event: “I’d highly recommend this race which was a nice flat, traffic-free course with some scenic riverside paths.” Other squirrels who completed the race were Dave Braybrook (1:17:32), Anna Gibson (1:26:36), and Bev Rimmer (1:35:04). 

Opting to race in warmer, sunnier, and more exotic climes, Michelle Grudzinski and Jennie Fraser headed to Morocco for the Marrakesh Marathon. Michelle explained that their (rather enviable) pre-race prep consisted of “hot air ballooning over the Atlas Mountains, haggling in the souks (we both now have some lovely leather slippers), cake eating and dodging snake charmers!” The race was apparently very well organised, and was a certainly an interesting experience according to Michelle: “We spotted sheep, camels, donkeys, horses, peahens, and peacocks on our urban safari, not the sort of thing we see on the streets of Letchworth!” However, the calm and organised start made way for a rather chaotic finish, especially in the last 3 miles which involved “dodging cars, bikes, trees as the roads opened, a bit of off road running through rocks, stopping for directions at junctions as we and our surrounding runners were looking for the finish.” Despite having little race strategy and forgetting to buy snacks for the route, the duo were delighted to finish together in an impressive time of 4:42.
​
Closer to home, Stewart Overton and Darren Matussa raced in the Serpentine 5k in Hyde Park, London, on Friday. They both achieved impressive sub-20 times, with Overton finishing in 17:10 and Matussa in 19:34.