A strong squad of 59 North Herts Road Runners made the short trip to Stevenage on a warm and sunny Thursday evening to tackle the final Hertfordshire Division One Mid Week League road race. The team won the race with the men taking top spot and the women coming second. John Auld the club’s team captain said “I’m absolutely delighted with the team’s performance this season. The team spirit was fabulous with Squirrels turning out consistently to run and support each other and the club. Winning the season finale at our host race was fantastic and solidified us as runners up in Division One”. After all four races, Katie Harbon won the Women’s Senior League and Ben Hadman finished second in the Men’s Senior League. Astrid McKeown claimed third in the Veteran Womens 45+ Age category, with Lucy O’Connor 2nd in the Womens 55+ category. Mid week league secretary Pete Sibbett said, “a huge thank you to all those members who gave up running last night to ensure that we put on a safe and enjoyable race, you are star squirrels”. The team are excited for the upcoming Mob Match in Welwyn Garden City on Wednesday which brings all three divisions together, so they can go head-to-head with Division 2 runners up Fairland Valley Spartans who have gained promotion to Division One for the 2024 season, to revive their friendly rivalry! Squirrels storm round the streets of London Katie Harbon and David Edwards headed to London to toe the line with 17,500 other runners at the Asics 10km. The race started on the edge of Green Park, and took in some of the most iconic sites on closed roads, including Westminster Bridge, the London Eye, Piccadilly Circus, Big Ben, and Trafalgar Square, before finishing on Whitehall, just past Downing Street. Katie had a brilliant race and finished 4th female in an incredibly quick time of 36 minutes and 25 seconds. David was pleased to run a personal best time of 41 minutes and 50 seconds and finished in the top 800 males. Five Squirrels in action at Ultra 5km On Sunday, five determined North Herts Road Runners ran the Bedford Ultra 5km in very humid conditions at Box End. Rhia Botha, Kris Whitmore, Mike Philips and Ian Datlen undertook the 5 x 5km. with Steve Brenton running the 3 x 5km race. The event comprised a 5km run on the hour every hour with the total time for all runs added together for a total time. It was a tough course with a soft trail including a few inclines and switch backs, so definitely not for the faint hearted! Rhia was dominant in the female field coming in 7 mins ahead of 2nd place! The men’s competition was more closely fought with 2nd to 5th positions separated by only two minutes. Kris Whitmore was delighted to finish second with a strong sprint finish seeing him gain a position. In the 3x5k, Steve Brenton finished third make and said “It was really different, challenging type of race, and managed to bag my first ever trophy for the shelf!" 5x5km Rhia Botha 1st Lady 1:55:10 Kris Whitmore 2nd Male 1:43:20 Ian Datlen 5th Male 1:45:52 3 x 5km Mike Philips 15th Male 2:03:37 Steve Brenton 3rd Male 1:11:29
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Runners were given the opportunity to run in North Herts Road Runners annual Midsummer Dawn and Dusk Double 5k, allowing runners and their supporters to enjoy the beautiful Norton Common both in the morning and the evening. Eighteen tireless runners completed both the morning and evening editions with Nathaniel Rosa and Astrid McKeown finishing in the fastest times over the two races. Andrew Robson was one of those eighteen, commenting "I ran both the dawn and dusk editions of the First Saturday of the Month finishing in a very consistent 30:09 at dawn and 30:08 at dusk. I enjoyed both races, especially the dusk version which I ran with my daughter Elizabeth. She finished in 30:50, having run off ahead of me on the first lap, and then I caught up on the second time around. Kris Whitmore headed over to our Mid Week League friends, Ware, for their home race of the Ware 10 Mile. Kris described his performance as "frustrating, having let the lead group go at the long downhill so I was running on my own for most of it, finished seventh in 65 minutes exactly." Elwyn Howell completed the Exeter 10k River Run on Friday evening in 45:08 finishing 2nd in his age category on a very humid evening. Four North Herts Road Runners were early risers at the Hitchin Sprint Triathlon on Sunday morning. Starting at 6:30am the conditions were perfect for the excellently organised race by Burnt Hare consisting of 400m pool swim, 20K bike and 5K run around the town. Steve McKeown secured his fourth victory in the main sprint event in a time of 1.00.24. Other Squirrels competing were Shahab Ahmad (1.21.28); Sarah Mitcherson (1.23.32) and Lindsay Cook (1.29.07) all finishing in respectable times. Trophies were presented by TV celebrity and professional boxer Tommy Fury. The event also hosted a smaller Nitro distance race and a Kids Triathlon, highlighting the commitment to encourage both newcomers and children to the exciting world of Triathlon. Elwyn Howell was once again travelling around the country and took the opportunity to compete at The Exeter 10k River Run on Friday evening. He finished second in his age category in 45:08, "on a very humid evening". Parkruns were less frequented than usual due to our double header First Saturday of the Month. Nevertheless, 9 Squirrels took part in 9 different parkruns across the country:
All eyes are now firmly fixed on this Thursday's final race in the Midweek League, with all to run for as North Herts host this fourth and final 10km race!
Four North Herts Road Runners tackled stifling heat and challenging hills at the popular Hitchin Hard 10 kilometre race on Sunday. Rhia Botha won the ladies race and came fourth overall in a sizzling 47 minutes and 4 seconds, while Nathaniel Rosa also made the podium, coming third in 44 minute and 11 seconds. Caroline Thrussell was pleased to finish in 54:16 without any niggles and David Weston took the sensible run/walk approach to dip under the hour in 55:06. James Dalton made sure he got value for money as despite being 4th placed at halfway, he ended up running 17km as a marshal mistakenly pointed him on the half marathon route! Nevertheless, he put his best foot forward and finished 17km in an impressive 1:20:05. Half. Both Rhia and James did the 10km as part of their Sunday long run!
Two teams from North Herts Road Runners tackled stifling heat and demanding terrain at the Greensand Ridge Relay - a 34.4-mile, six-stage event starting in Leighton Buzzard and finishing in Northill, Bedfordshire – and still came away smiling. The ‘Faster Squirrels’ were delighted to take third place in the mixed male /female team category with a combined time of 4 hours 22.23. Their excellent result, achieved despite losing a handful of minutes to navigational mishaps on the testing section through Maulden Wood, was built around a tremendous 1.01.53 performance over the 9.1-mile third leg by team captain Katie Harbon. Backing her with determined running were Paula Holm, Ben Ryan, James Walsh and Astrid McKeown, before a strong 30.41 run on the final 4.7-mile leg from Steve McKeown, who described it as ‘a fabulous day, an iconic race in my calendar’. The second team from North Herts – the ‘Fast Squirrels’ – finished in 5.12.20, with first leg runner Jo Harbon enjoying what has become ‘one of my favourite running days’. She handed the baton to Michael Over before Richard Baker, Richard Harbon and Sue Vaughan took over. Matt Ankers rounded their run off in fine style. Elwyn Howell found the weekend’s warm conditions to his liking as he broke his own club record with a rapid 21.12 on the Stevenage Parkrun course, setting a new personal best in the process. Lucy O’Connor and Brian Judkins both braved the ‘very warm and particularly humid’ conditions at the Shuttleworth 10k Hoohah, Lucy reporting she had ‘forgotten how hilly the first 5k are, and there is no shade until later on’. Both ‘managed to scrape through’, with O’Connor taking first place in the F60 category with a 59.38 clocking and Judkins crossing the line in 1.23.39. ‘All worth it for the delicious flapjack at the finish’, according to O’Connor. Chris Cope chose another challenging course for his first ever race in the Cliveden Classic 10k, after his brother ‘with 20-plus years of running experience told me it would be fun’. After tackling ‘not one, but two ascents of a steep set of 172 steps’, Chris said ‘I don’t think “fun” is the word I would use’, but he was still pleased to complete the course in 68.41 and is ‘looking forward to something flatter for race number 2!’ Parkruns were as popular as ever, with 32 Squirrels tackling the classic 5k distance at venues across the country:
This week saw the arrival of some long awaited proper summer weather and the opportunity to race under hot and sunny skies, with some squirrels facing serious tests of endurance. First up was the third Mid-Week League (MWL) fixture in beautiful Trent Park in Cockfosters on Thursday evening, where 57 North Herts Road Runners raced cheered on by a large support squad.
Katie Harbon’s clean sweep of wins continues in convincing style, finishing 90 seconds ahead of the second placed female. In the men’s race, the club had three in the top 10 for the second time this season, with Ben Hadman second, James Fox third and Tom Webb sixth.
Several squirrels also took part in Parkrun events across the country on Saturday; the full NHRR Parkrun results for this week are as follows:
Wednesday evening saw seventy six North Herts Road Runners and their loyal support crew head south on the A1 to St Albans for the second of the four 10km races in this season's 10km Midweek League series. This race proved popular with 455 runners competing along the flat out and back tree lined Alban Way footpath, a disused railway line. NHRR were delighted to finish second overall, behind St Albans Striders on their home turf and well ahead of Trent Park in third. The ladies were third behind St Albans and Trent Park and the men were 2nd to St Albans. Katie Harbon won the ladies race in convincing style, followed home by Astrid Mckeown 19th, Rhia Botha 20th, Rachel Arnott 21st, Tracy Pitcairn 25th, Tash Pitman 26th, Sophie Thrussell 30th and Jane Clarke 39th. The men packed their whole 12 man team into the top 48 to finish a stunning 2nd with St Albans Striders winning. Led by Ben Hadman 3rd and backed up by, Tom Webb 7th, Mike Roberts 10th, Andrew Leach 13th, Wayne Bell 21st, Stewart Overton 23rd, Ed Price 24th, Sam Coxon 26th, Tom Boble 33rd, Tom Barclay 41st, Ben Sewell 47th and Vince Wright 48th. After two races the Squirrels are second in the league, siz points behind St Albans Striders, one point ahead of Orion and three points clear of Trent Park. Head coach Karen Dodsworth commented “It's still all to run for with our next race down at Trent Park”. Both the veteran men and ladies raced hard to finish second, behind St Albans. NHRR vets are joint leaders overall in the vets competition, 4 points ahead of St Albans.
Sheila Leavy’s return to running continued at Henlow Bridge lakes for her first trail parkrun since injury. Sheila finished in 41:47 and was smiling all the way round the 2.5 lap course. James Dalton ran a personal best time at Letchworth parkrun where he is one of the regulars, either volunteering or running most weeks. He finished in first in 20:11. Helen Cairns celebrated her 25th parkrun milestone at Letchworth, a day before tackling the London Ride 100! Mike Over ran another PB of 19:44 at Stevenage and first in his age group.
Malpelli returns to form at Chester Half Marathon Nick Malpelli took part in his second England Masters representative race of the year at the Chester Half Marathon and after "an interrupted training block" decided to target a time of 1 hour and 25 minutes. Nick said "it was a lovely day in Chester, pleasantly warm, no wind. As the race went on I managed to maintain my position in the field, but also tried to keep something back for the uphill finish I remembered from last year." He finished in 1:23:25, eleventh in his male veteran 55 age group and pleased with his performance. Completing Parkruns this week 32 NHRR squirrels appeared at 12 different parkruns. At Storeys Field parkrun Mike Over celebrated his 50th parkrun milestone with a parkrun PB! Sheila Leavy was pleased with her fastest walking 5km PB at Stevenage parkrun in 40:51!
Letchworth parkrun James Dalton 21:13, Joe Dixon 22:18, Steve Brenton 24:19, Philip Flack 29:04, Jane Clarke 29:07, Helen Cairns 29:08
Coldham’s Common parkrun Georgina Quayle 24:44 Henlow Bridge Lakes parkrun Stewart Overton 18:04, Tracy Pitcairn 22:15, Anna Greetham 26:03, Matt Roberts 26:04, Tim Banting 27:28, Anna Gibson 27:52, Bob Davis 28:45, Joseph Barker-Sherry 30:12 Talkin Tarn Country Park parkrun Dawn Power 28:18
Copenhagen Marathon Over in Denmark Karen Townsend completed her 8th Marathon in an excellent time of 3:13:05 in unseasonably hot weather!
NHRR's very own Greenway challenge was on Sunday and race director Lindsay Cook "thanked everyone who made the event so successful with an amazing team effort from all those who helped organise, marshalled, and ran". The greenway is home to many black squirrels and 17 of the clubs members participated round the self-guided event in perfect conditions, although Saturday's rain made it muddy underfoot in places. Squirrels claimed victories in both the female and male categories with Dervla Downing completing the course in an impressive 1 hour and 47 minutes and Stewart Overton finished in great form just 2 weeks after his London Marathon race in 1 hour and 21 minutes. Vanessa Rolfe ran her 2nd event since September 2021, and was "over the moon to just simply complete the course as I’ve only been running for 8 weeks & no longer than 6 miles". She dipped well under 3 hours mark finishing in 2:52:31. Hayley Cocks finished in 2 hours 54 minutes and her summary was "it was very humid,forgot how hilly it is and that I've not done any distance for over a year and was super pleased to over-take a few people and to stay in front!". Full results: Stewart Overton 01:21:23, Ian Datlen 01:32:40, James Keogh 01:34:07, James Dalton 01:34:44, Lee Varley 01:39:12, James Johnston 01:41:44, Simon Clapham, 01:44:07, Dervla Downing 01:47:19, Stuart Cocks 01:47:59, Joanne Hoare 02:05:51, James Humphrys 02:06:02, Jillian Tooley-Boys 02:07:16, Grace Cleary 02:12:21, Nicola Withington 02:12:46, Vanessa Rolfe 02:52:32, Tracey Mccreath 03:01:03, Farzana Bhatti 03:01:04, Hayley Cocks 02:56:41 In Marathon and Half Marathon action We had Rachel Arnott at the Milton Keynes marathon on the Early May Bank Holiday Monday in an impressive time of 03:20:46, to finish 10th lady and 2nd in her age category, gaining qualification for the English Masters Representative Marathon in October. Then across the pond Laurie Scott completed the Toronto Marathon in 4:18:48 which he described as a "nice marathon, well organised and the world's biggest heaviest medal". Frances Stanton returned close to her home town with James Godfrey to run The Richmond Ranlegh Harriers Half Marathon. James still heavy legged from his marathon debut agreed to pace Frances round who said "It was a picturesque flat course round Hampton court and Thames River path and due to solid pacing I finished in a time of 1:58:36 achieving my goal to finish in under 2 hours for the first time in 4 years!"
Completing Parkruns this week, NHRR squirrels appeared at 8 different parkruns:
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