Squirrels sizzle in scorching sun

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.

The Squirrels put in another fantastic performance. They won the overall race with the Men in first place and Women in second. After three races they are second overall, 5 points behind St Albans Striders and 5 points ahead of Trent Park. Both Vets men and women’s teams finished third, and are still first overall after three races, just one point ahead of Trent Park! The team’s consistency from the strength and depth of the number of runners has been stand in the league.

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.

On Saturday, which was the hottest day of the year so far, three North Herts Road Runners opted to run an ultramarathon (of course!), participating in the Greensand Country Ultra Trail 50k. Richard Weber, Cara Sutton, and Anna Gibson all completed the race in the extremely challenging hot conditions. Weber, for whom it was his first time tackling the 50km distance, questioned “Why did I pick the 10th June (the hottest day of the year so far) to do my first ultra? It was the hardest race I've ever done by quite some margin - it was actually 31°C at its peak.” He did however admit that the race was “a wonderful route, with lovely scenery and very well organised”, and woke up the next day really glad he had done it – always a positive sign! He thanked several of his fellow squirrels for their support, which no doubt helped him to complete the epic run in 7:22:00. Cara Sutton and Anna Gibson ran together, finishing in 7:39:05.

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Sunday was another hot day, and two squirrels headed over to St Albans to take part in the annual half marathon there. With both running and walking events on offer, Rachel Arnott entered the  running race, which she completed in a superb 1:37:20 and was 5th lady overall and 3rd in the female vet category. She described the race as “beautiful but challenging” and added that “the biggest reward was definitely the ice lolly at the finish!” Meanwhile, Sheila Leavy, who has taken to race walking following a hip operation, did the walking half marathon, which started in cooler conditions at 8:30am. Sheila said “I was enjoying myself and keeping up a steady pace until I hit the wall at about 10 miles, but I dug deep and with the help of some banana gels was able to finish in 3:19:23.”

Several squirrels also took part in Parkrun events across the country on Saturday; the full NHRR Parkrun results for this week are as follows:

Aldenham: Kris Whitmore (19:33);

Castle Park: Anna Greetham (25:34), Matt Roberts (25:34), Michael Over (25:35), Natalie Phillips (31:38);

Durham: Elwyn Howell (21:58);

Great Denham: Richard Barker (22:41);

Henlow Bridge Lakes: Stewart Overton (18:04), Tom Webb (19:06), Chris Stokes (21:28), Dave Braybrook (23:28), Sarah Mitcherson (25:02), Daniel Mallett (25:59), Lucy O'connor (26:48), Bob Davis (28:15), Brian Judkins (36:28);

Letchworth: James Dalton (20:48), Ian Harvey (21:55), Daniel Martin (23:24), Joe Dixon (24:08), Nick Walker (28:48), Jo Harbon (32:06);

Somerdale Pavilion: Lorna Chambers (27:09);

St Albans: Jon Hunt (23:01), Richard Harbon (23:19);

Stevenage: Darren Sunter (16:45), Russell Hagan (27:12), Andrew Coates (28:10), Andrew Cooper (29:52), Andreea Weisl-shaw (32:01), Hayley Cocks (50:47); Sunny Hill: Tracey Palmer (33:38);

​Westmill: Paula Holm (24:54).