Racing Squirrels!

Hitchin 5km
Sunday morning saw a flurry of squirrels at the Hitchin 5km race including father and daughter duo, Andrew and Elizabeth Robson. Andrew’s perfect pacing resulted in a sub-30 time of 29:48 for Elizabeth finishing with a very impressive sprint up Bucklesbury. Andrew finished in 29:49. Philip Flack and Ian Sutcliffe were two of the six M70s racing. Philip was second in his category in 27:52 and Ian ran strongly to record 31:02. Sheila Leavy also took second in her age category race walking to 39:14. Rhia Botha was third female overall in 19:57 and won her age group, casually adding this into her Sunday long run! Steve McKeown also won his age group in 19:37.
​
Full NHRR results:
Steve Mckeown 19:37; Ian Harvey 19:53; Rhia Botha 19:57; Tom Kingham 23:18; Nicole Whitton 26:27; Philip Flack 27:52; Lindsay Cook 29:09; Meyrick Jenkins 29:43; Elizabeth Robson 29:48; Andrew Robson 29:49, Ian Sutcliffe 31:02; Sheila Leavy 39:14.

Berlin Legend
Andreea Weisl-Shaw was the sole squirrel at the Berlin Marathon on Sunday and shared this great report!

‘Ran the Berlin Marathon today (its 50th anniversary edition, a privilege to be a part of it), and got a PB of 4:46:10. Not quite the 4:30 I was hoping for, but I’m still really pleased, because I’ve shaved 12 mins off my London time, in 17 months of training (out of which only the last 5 months really count, as I had a long time off).

Lovely day for running - sunny 15C - and a fantastic event. Felt as busy and as noisy as London, but a lot flatter and the sun made for a fabulous experience. Made some friends while waiting to start, and even at the airport, where we identified each other by our medals. Proves that runners everywhere are a big family and are just generally lovely people to know.
​
I’m so happy that my determination and hard work have paid off, and so grateful to Cara for all her incredible support and coaching the last 5 months. I’m confident I can get better by the next London, and I can’t wait to get back to training - after a rest, of course! And some highly calorific food.’

---

Leighton 10 miles
Four Squirrels headed over to Leighton Buzzard to take on the hilly 10 mile road race. The course was two laps with two hills and a steeper hill to finish. 

​Sam Coxon stormed round to finish third in 55:39 followed by Cam Geekie,19th in 66:08, with Becky Geekie 15th female home in 81:29 seconds. Bev Rimmer was pleased to finish in 97:20 on the back of a 14 mile walk on Friday and Severn Bridge parkrun on Saturday! 

Hannah triumphs at Rat Race Sea to Summit in the Lake District featuring Scafell Pike!
Hannah Keeble joined a group of friends to take on this huge challenge advertised as 31 miles, but then increased to 33 miles on the email confirmation and finally confirmed as 34 miles by a marshal at the start!

They started along the beach at Seascale running 13 miles to the start of the climb up Scafell Pike! Hannah said ‘The weather was horrible, but we made it up! The descent down was mostly by bum - it was so slippy! As we came out of the clouds, we were happy to see the lakes and sunshine in the distance, but in true Rat Race style they turned us away and sent us up again! This time I scrambled up Scafell and there were tears as I have never done anything like that! We came down again, seeing those lakes in the distance only to be sent again up another grassy climb this time, surely that had to be the last one!

​This down was on grass and another 4 miles of marsh land with water and mud halfway up the shins! The final pit stop was 26 miles in where we reached the tarmac, put on the head torches and made our way back to Seascale with the final mile along the beach! Over 34 miles and 14hours I was done! I can’t say I’d ever do it again!!’

---

Special parkrun report from Bev Rimmer
‘It’s certainly been another active weekend for this scampering Squirrel. Friday and Saturday saw a trip to visit friends in Chepstow, and I couldn’t resist popping over to Severn Bridge ParkRun while I was there.

It’s the only ParkRun that spans two countries, and it technically passes through three counties (if you use a bit of creative licence and include the ancient county of Avon). It’s run almost entirely on the bridge itself, so isn’t one for vertigo sufferers. I struggled for pace this Saturday, and finished in 00:29:30. Still, I couldn’t fault the organisation of the event, or the stunning views, so this ParkRun gets a SEVEEEERN from me!’

---

Windsor Half Marathon.
Anna said ‘It was an amazing race with The Tribe Team. Really pleased with how we ran. The course had plenty of hills, an impressive finish and great supporters. Together we raised £355 for Tribe Foundation. Thank you so much to everyone who sponsored us.’
They completed the course in 1:50:47 and fellow club-mate Laura Fairbanks was also running, finishing in a speedy 1:45:01!

Parkrun Action

Bedford: Mark Peter (18:36)
​
Fulbourn Hospital: Georgina Quayle (52:59)

Hackney Marshes: Hannah Bloomfield (27:44)

Heartlands: Tom Barclay (17:42), Ben Sewell (19:11), Sophie Thrussell (21:44), Emma Sandham (28:01)

Letchworth: Lucy Hurley (29:37), Carina Quayle (35:07)

Longrun Meadow: Jim Mcconnel (20:00)

​Luton Wardown: Kris Whitmore (20:08)

Stevenage: Daniel Wrigley (22:30), James Godfrey (24:29), Frances Stanton (25:13), James Poulton (29:10), Ellie Scott (29:55), Helen Giffin (31:33)

Storeys Field: Chris Stokes (20:45), Jon Hunt (22:47)

Thurso: Brian Judkins (36:45)