Sun, Sea and Fast Times for the Squirrels

Paula Holm

North Herts Road Runners enjoyed some great results in much improved conditions over the last week.
Just a week after taking part in a tough race at the British Indoor Athletics Championships, David Annetts was back in action at the Enfield Race Walking League 5-mile race. Despite trailing an under-20 athlete for the first four miles, the veteran race walker managed to take the lead in the final mile and won the race in a time of 38 minutes and 53 seconds, gaining a one-second Personal Best time in the process.

David wasn’t the only Squirrel to roll back the years, as Linda Aird went back to her roots to take part in the Harrow Hill 10k. “I've done this one a few times,” said Linda, “the hills don't get any easier.” The race starts in Harrow School's own sports ground, and goes over the hill, taking in some of the beautiful historic buildings - many of them belonging to Harrow School itself. Sadly, Linda didn't have much time to admire these, as she was working so hard just to keep moving forwards at times. However, in beautiful spring conditions, she finished in 55:36, and was the second W55 runner.

Warm weather also played a big part in Paula Holm’s road running at the weekend, when she travelled to South Africa to take part in the Cape Peninsula Half Marathon. Paula wasn’t sure if the purpose of the trip was to enjoy a holiday, to celebrate her impending 40th birthday or to run away from the fact that the birthday was happening at all! The race started in the southern suburbs of Cape Town and following the coast towards Cape Point, taking in beautiful bays and ending in the naval base at Simon's Town. “It was an awesome experience,” said Paula, “and the most beautifully scenic run ever.” Paula was worried about the heat as it was 24 degrees at the 7am start time, but was reassured that the head winds the whole way would be more of an issue, “and they really were; I found myself running on the spot at times.” Despite this Paula ran her race in 1:45:21 and was 184th of 2772 entrants. She even found time for a bit of unscheduled sunbathing at the finish before hitching a lift back to the start with a local running club. Unfortunately they had to wait for the last runner to finish, leaving Paula with plenty of time to get burnt to a crisp.