Wonderful wins for squirrels

​Another busy week for North Herts Road Runners saw Adam Bowller win the Sandy 10 and crowned Beds Champion in a PB 54.57 whilst Anna Klucnika stormed to a stunning 1.22.57 PB when finishing 1st lady at the Cheshire Half Marathon.  With the ladies team of Tash Pitman, Rachel Arnott and Tracy Pitcairn winning the silver medal at the Herts 5km champs in Hatfield on Wednesday it was another wonderful week for the squirrels and just reward for their hard work in club training sessions.

Four squirrels finally got to race the Sandy 10 after covid cancelled the 2020 and 2021 events.  Adam Bowller was delighted that a fast last downhill mile enabled him to break the 55 minute barrier and record a 54.57 PB to win the race and the Beds Championships.  V60 Lucy O’Connor also showed sparkling form finishing in 1.21.38 as she prepares for her England Masters debut at the Cheshire Marathon in October whilst Rachel Arnott and Anna Gibson both ran well to finish in 1.11 and 1.31.11 respectively.

Last Wednesday saw the return of the popular Hatfield 5km series after a 2 year absence and the squirrels celebrated it’s return with a host of stunning PBs including an amazing improvement of a minute for Andreea Weisl-Shaw who raced to a 26.36 PB.  Ian Datlen led the club home in a PB 18.17, despite a typically enthusiastic first km, followed by John Auld 19.37 and Dave Edwards who smashed the 20 min barrier with a 19.51 PB.  Ladies’ team captain Tash Pitman clocked 20.02 and Rachel Arnott ran a stunning 20.05 PB. Returning from injury James Walsh was surprised and pleased to run 20.24, followed by Tracy Pitcairn 20.38, Andrew Wallis 20.47, Ian Harvey 20.59, Darren Matussa 21.10, Jane Clarke 23.04, Helen Cairns 23.23, Karen Dodsworth 27.01 and Ian Sutcliffe 28.48.  With the ladies team of Tash Pitman, Rachel Arnott and Tracy Pitcairn scooping the silver medal in the Herts Champs the squirrels are hoping for more success next week in the Herts Vets Champs.

Also in action in the Lake District Mel Flynn, Caroline Thrussell and Paul Bowal took on the tough but stunning Ambleside 25km trail run.  With an elevation gain of 2700 feet and some very difficult technical sections Caroline was delighted to finish in an excellent 12th place 3.34.48 followed by Mel 4.05.15 and Paul 4.44.14.

Tackling the iconic Great North Run Ian Harvey and Dave Braybrook finished within seconds of each other in 1.44.01 and 1.44.42 respectively. Dave said, ‘This was a race of two halves.  I was on track for a good finish but the rolling hills and heat took its toll.  However, the support and atmosphere were amazing and I’d definitely recommend this race’.

Twenty eight squirrels took part in park runs on Saturday. Richard and Georgia Barker raced to 25.54 and 30.31 clockings at Bedford whilst Vince Wright ran a speedy 17.43 at Hastings. James Dalton led his club mates home at Letchworth in 21.00 followed by Ian Datlen 22.25, Charlotte Gibson 23.02, Steve Brenton 23.08, Philip Flack 30.17, Jane Robson 32.08, Geoff Pettengell 33.51, Aimee Flack 34.09 and Branka Moss 39.31 whilst Brian Judkins enjoyed a great run at Great Denham finishing in 32.31.  7 members enjoyed the Henlow Bridge Lakes course with Adrian Sherwood finishing 3rd in 19.47 followed by Dave Braybrook 24.17, Matt Roberts 24.20, Andrew Coates 24.37, Kat Hinitt 25.23, and Rhia Botha and Jane Clarke  both crossing the line in 29.37.

Sophie Thrussell took on the challenge of the St Neots standard distance triathlon including a 1500m swim in the river Ouse, a 45km bike around scenic villages and 10km run in Riverside Park.  In her debut event Sophie swam, cycled and ran superbly to finish 2nd overall in 2.47.30 and win her age category.  

A slight change from our running reports, Amanda Greig took part in the GB open water masters swimming at Lake Bala in Wales. Amanda took the silver medal in her age group and described it as a tough choppy swim.

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