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 New York Marathon Three squirrels tackled the challenging Abbott’s World Major New York course. Chris Button was first across the line in 3:35:58 followed by Grace Cleary who smashed the 4 hour mark with a 3:55:08. Nicola Withington gained her 5th World Major Medal commenting that it was her toughest marathon yet with so many uphills and bridges but she loved the energy and had a blast on the course. Flapjacks, pumpkins and more at Halloween First Saturday 5k 46 runners, marshals and helpers enjoyed a beautiful sunny morning for the Halloween edition of the First Saturday of the Month 5k on Norton Common. The monthly event featured Halloween decorations of pumpkins, skeletons and spiders, plus some participants in Halloween-themed fancy dress. There were flapjacks all round at the finish! Steve McKeown was first across the line in a time of 20:40, while Katie Harbon made it a double success for the Squirrels as first lady in 21:48. Other NHRR finishers: Mike Phillips (21:22); Adrian Sherwood (21:53); James Dalton (24:42); Astrid McKeown (24:46); (Kat Burr (24:59); Joanne Hoare (25:20); Caroline Thrussell (25:29); Paula Holm (26:06); Andrew Coates (26:08); Andrew Robson (26:53); Natalie Phillips (28:01); Jane Clarke (28:02); Sophie Prior (28:18); Lucy O’Connor (28:23); Paul Bowal (28:37); Chris Cope (28:46); Adam Wilson (28:55); Dawn Power (29:10); John Auld (30:11); Geoff Davis (32:02); Sue Vaughan (33:04); Alan Hazelhurst (34:17); Ian Sutcliffe (34:40); Philip Flack 35:09). Hertfordshire Half-marathon Chris Stokes recorded an excellent time of 1:36:26 at the Hertfordshire Half-marathon. The 13.1-mile course started and finished at Knebworth House and was rated by Stokes as ‘challenging’. Parkrun Round-up
 Squirrels head to the jungle! Mother and son Paula and Jonah Holm travelled to Bo, Sierra Leone at the weekend, to participate in the Sierra Leone Street Child Marathon—an event that combines endurance with purpose. In the days leading up to the race, they visited schools, small businesses, and community projects funded by the charity, witnessing firsthand the impact of its work. The marathon began at 6am in intense humidity and rising temperatures. The route took runners through vibrant villages and rugged terrain, where locals cheered, children joined in, and aid stations offered coconuts, bananas, and honey. Paula paced her youngest son, Jonah, to complete his first half marathon in an impressive 1:59 before continuing solo for the second lap, supported by the local army for safety, and crossed the finish line in 4:05—becoming the first international runner to complete the course. She described the experience as the most extraordinary, challenging, and rewarding event she has ever undertaken.  Cross Country Season Opener Twenty North Herts Road Runners (NHRR) took part in the first race of the new Three Counties Cross Country season under glorious sunshine, which added to the vibrant atmosphere of the event village. The NHRR women’s team placed 4th, while the men’s team finished 8th. The combined team secured an impressive 4th place overall, behind Stopsley Striders, Rugby & Northampton Academy, and Bedford Harriers. Ben Hadman led the team with a strong 2nd place finish, followed by Wayne Bell in 8Th, Vince Wright 48th, Steve Mckeown 52nd, Matt Sayers 67th, Mike Phillips 68th, Pete Sibbett 92nd and Dave Weston 150th. Also pushing other clubs runners down the pecking order were Richard Webber 178th, John Auld 259th, and Brian Judkins 380th. The women’s scoring team featured standout performances from Hannah Ridley, Astrid McKeown, Natalie Phillips, and Emily Taiano and good races from Lucy O’connor 247th, Mel Flynn 285th, Victoria Markham 299th, Clair Power 300th and Linda Aird 308th. Cross country secretary and men’s team captain John Auld thanked all who turned out for the club.  Marathon Eryri – Britain’s Toughest Road Marathon Several hardy North Herts Road Runners braved the elements to take on Marathon Eryri, widely regarded as the UK’s toughest road marathon. Covering 26.2 miles and over 2,500 feet of ascent and descent, this year’s race was made even more memorable by freezing temperatures, hail, rain, and high winds. Despite the brutal conditions, the squirrels delivered strong performances with Caroline Thrussell – 4:32 (a few minutes faster than last year), Richard Barker – 4:52 and Gregor Bowie – 5:13 (just six days after completing the Abingdon Marathon)!
She was one of 60 runners to descend 1,120 metres below sea level to run 26.2 miles which comprised 11x1.92k out and back repeats in darkness! Sarah said she finished in a 'humbling 4.42 and that mine tunnels aren't flat so it was a brutal 2% incline and 550m of elevation!' She had to wear a protective hard hat with a torch to light up the tunnel!  Stroud Half Marathon and 10k The family trend continued in Stroud where father and son, Kris and Sam travelled to Gloucestershire for Kris's annual half marathon visit to run the 43rd edition and Sam took the opportunity to run in a new 10k edition. Kris reported, 'A challenging course around the Stroud valleys with a few cheeky hills out was my first half marathon race since injury and only the second time doing the distance when in training since the same event last year. Not really knowing what I was capable of, I went out gung ho and held on for a course best of 82:41. Sam in the 10k also chose assertiveness at the start (clearly the Whitmore way) coming in 13th place overall in another consecutive personal best time of 43:01.' Frankfurt Marathon
Rochelle Smith headed to Frankfurt for her debut marathon and reported a great time of 5:35! Stevenage Half Marathon This past weekend was the Stevenage Half Marathon, which took place on Sunday. A few squirrels were present for the race with some excellent results and universal praise for the organisers Fairland Valley Spartans. Sue Foot came first in her age category in 2:16:07, David Brewer came home in a time of 1:35:57 and Mark Larwood clocked a 1:38:23. Sue said of the race, “A really good event along the ups and downs of the Stevenage cycle paths!”. Toronto Waterfront Half Marathon Elsewhere Laurie Scott took on a tough run at the Toronto waterfront half marathon. Clocking 1.57.58 on a windy humid day. Laurie commented “Although not the time I hoped for and I kinda crashed after 10k I managed to hang on ! Lovely well supported race and finished in top 40% for age, gender and overall so not too disappointed”. One Mile at a time! A pair of Whitmores (Kris & Sam) took on the Welwyn Garden City invitation 1 mile time trial at the Gosling track on Thursday night. It was a competitive night under the lights, with Kris and Sam the only squirrels among mostly Garden City Runners and everyone managed under nine minutes. Both ran in the second race Kris coming 10th in 5:33 and Sam 11th 5:43. Looks like the family rivalry is heating up, with Sam ready to usurp Kris and gain the familial bragging rights!  Parkrun Action Richard and Georgia Barker headed to Stanborough parkrun in Welwyn Garden City to celebrate Georgia’s 150th parkrun. Amanda Greig and Andrew Coates were also there, they all shared the obligatory coffee and cake afterwards in Old Welwyn! Georgia said “despite being only Stanborough’s 3rd event but it was well organised with a waterproof mat area to store bags, jackets, etc and friendly support. It’s a 3 lap off road course with a hill at the start that you encounter 3 times and may get muddy in wetter months unless they have a winter course planned but I would definitely revisit.” Ripe for more squirrels to pay a trip to support the new event.
Great Eastern Half, Peterborough With a record turnout of nearly 6,500 runners and a revamped, fast and flat course, our club runners brought the heat to the Great Eastern Half Marathon, and the results speak for themselves!
 Manchester Half Marathon Taking part in the largest half marathon in the northwest, our runners joined a record-breaking 28,000 participants on Manchester’s famously fast and flat course and delivered some truly superb performances! Mike Roberts stormed home in a phenomenal 1:10:05 Rob Jowett followed with a brilliant 1:15:57 Dave Edwards powered through to finish in a strong 1:34:17 Oxford Half Marathon Thousands of runners took to the streets for Oxford’s largest-ever half marathon, soaking up the energy of a buzzing crowd and a stunning new route. The updated course treated runners to views of Oxford’s most iconic landmarks including the Sheldonian Theatre, Radcliffe Camera, Bodleian Library, and the Bridge of Sighs, all under glorious autumn skies. Adrian Barnett powered through in 2:15:59 saying that the streets lined with supporters kept the motivation high and the entertainment flowing all the way to the finish line. Royal Parks Half Marathon And last, but by no means least, a huge shoutout to Steve Tracey who took on the stunning Royal Parks Half Marathon to raise money for Alzheimer’s Society and crossed the finish line in a brilliant 1:50:45 Parkrun Roundup
 The 38th Standalone 10K filled the Hertfordshire countryside on Sunday as 1,325 runners took on one of the region’s most popular autumn races. The event is created and delivered entirely by North Herts Road Runners (NHRR) — from course planning to marshalling, registration, results and refreshments — and once again showed why the Squirrels have a reputation for staging a first-class race. Race Director Mike Phillips said the club was “blessed by beautiful sunny weather after the wind and rain of the previous couple of days” and loved seeing “so many smiling faces on the course and around Standalone Farm afterwards.He thanked the 100+ marshals, the race committee and event sponsors — Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation, Sigma Sports, Vutie Beets, E H Crouch, Pinehill Hospital and Lane & Bennetts — for making the day possible and said the incredible feedback from runners captured “what the race is all about.” Almost the whole club was on duty, volunteering at every stage. Only a select group of NHRR’s fastest were invited to run, while the rest ensured a safe, brilliantly organised day. This year’s race shirts turned the field into a striking wave of electric orange, brightening even the breezy bypass. Matt Sayers, who combined racing with helping promote the event, reflected that the bypass “must be brutal for marshals” but said runners felt “kept safe” thanks to their effort. Fellow Squirrel Kris Whitmore added that although it was “bloody windy up the bypass,” the sight of so many teammates out supporting “gave a massive boost and helped make the event safe and fun,” even as athletes produced “blistering times despite the wind” and the club celebrated “a magnificent set of results in the county championships.”
 Racing at the sharp end On the men’s side, Benjamin Hadman led the Squirrels home in 33:25 for 4th place overall, followed closely by Sam Coxon (33:44, 5th) and Thomas Barclay (34:17, 7th). Up front the podium was taken by Oluwatosin Adedeji (Newham & Essex Beagles AC) in 32:04, Mohammed Elbayan (Luton AC) 32:13 and Michael Waddington (Ware Joggers) 32:25. For the women, Freya Weddell (St Albans Striders) took the win, with NHRR’s Katie Harbon a strong 2nd in 36:32, and Stacey Ormerod (St Albans Striders) 3rd with 37:27. The club’s masters impressed too: Andrew Leach and Shahab Ahmad dominated the MV60 field with 35:48 and 35:49, both age-grading over 92%. Matthew Sayers was 2nd MV50 in 36:49 and Kris Whitmore 4th MV50 in 38:49. A special highlight came from Rhia Botha, who ran the 10K at the end of a long training run yet still managed a two-second personal best, finishing 5th woman overall in 39:49. She said it was hard not to give it your all when you have the power of the whole NHRR club behind you, and the superb support along the course helped her PB and powered the NHRR women’s team to silver in the Herts Senior County Championships, while the men’s team claimed both gold and bronze.  Community spirit and charity Post-race, Jo from The Studio, Letchworth provided sports massages for donations to NHRR’s charity of the year, GRIT – Growing Resilience in Teens. Greg Rose, one of the few club members running rather than volunteering, described the Standalone as “a well-organised, fun and friendly event as always,” although he ruefully admitted he “realised too late” he might have broken 55 minutes after finishing in 55:03. Celebrity surprise Adding a touch of showbiz sparkle, EastEnders stars Adam Woodyatt (Ian Beale) and Jake Wood (Max Branning) joined the field and both dipped under the hour — Woodyatt in 58:55and Wood in 59:31 — delighting runners and spectators. A race built by volunteers The Standalone 10K isn’t just about fast times — it’s a celebration of teamwork and community. From the first road sign to the last results upload, NHRR members create a safe, welcoming and brilliantly run event year after year. Here’s to another year of Standalone magic — and to every volunteer who made the 2025 edition, with its sea of electric-orange T-shirts, truly unforgettable. Squirrels on marathon duty in Chester
While most members were busy hosting Standalone, several Squirrels headed north for longer challenges: Metric Marathon (26.2 km):
Full Chester Marathon (42.2 km):
 Vitality 10k Daniel Wrigley ran the flat and fast Vitality 10K in London taking in sights such as the Mall, Trafalgar Square, St Paul’s Cathedral and Big Ben before finishing in front of Buckingham Palace. Daniel said the event had a great atmosphere with 20,000 runners and plenty of support on the route! He managed a 10k PB of 45:57, beating his time for the same event last year by 2 minutes. Baxters Loch Ness Marathon Richard Webber, Lucy O'Connor and Mel Flynn travelled North, across the border, to take on the awesome Baxters Loch Ness Marathon. They described it as a truly beautiful course, with an amazing backdrop, but a series of challenging undulations and hills which pushed them to their limit. Richard was delighted with his time of 3:55:39 (not quite a PB but very close to his other 2 marathons from 2022). Lucy finished in an impressive 4:07:18 while Mel, running her first marathon for over a decade, finished in an excellent 4:44:37 (a 43 minute PB!). They all highly recommend the event agreeing it was one of the best races they have ever done, despite being rather sore afterwards.  River Ness 10k Whilst not matching the challenge facing the Loch Ness marathoners, Brian Judkins and Linda Aird took part in the River Ness 10k today. In brilliant highland sunshine, and with stunning views of the surrounding hills, this well organised and supported point-to-point race started from Inverness Royal Academy - an initial uphill had them wondering if more was in store, but the route proved to be a fast one, with lots of lovely downhill running, and a largely flat second half as we headed back into Inverness along the beautiful River Ness. Linda commented that as value for money goes, this race delivers with a very nice t-shirt, medal (with lovely tartan ribbon) and a full goody bag with Baxter's soups, Erdinger beer, Taylors coffee bags and fruit. She was pleased to finish in her fastest 10k time for this year in 58:01. Brian also had an enjoyable run, clocking 1:16:34.  Hitchin 5k Twelve squirrels stayed local, taking on the twists and turns of the Hitchin town centre 5k in good running conditions. Saskia Thompson finished first in the F20 Age category and fourth overall with a time of 21:08 while in the team competition Ben Snowden (20:11), Ian Harvey (21:11) and James Dalton (21:12) placed third while Steve McKeown (19:53), Sam Whitmore (20:03) and Darren Matussa (20:09) came second. Sam Whitmore's 20:03 was a personal best by some margin and also a club record in the MU19 category. Lindsay Cook was one of those who took part in Hitchin 5km today, despite being beaten by all 3 of her children, she was pleased with her fastest 5km since 2016 of 28:33.
Parkrun Roundup
 Letchworth 5K and 1M The sun shone on Broadway Gardens as the town centre was taken over by runners for the much loved annual Letchworth 5K and 1 Mile races hosted by Love Letchworth and supported by the town’s running club North Herts Road Runners. There were 182 finishers in the mile/fun run and 281 in the 5k. NHRR made a clean sweep on the women’s 5K podium with Rhia Botha first in 19:28, Tracy Pitcairn second in 19:41 and Hannah Ridley third in 20:11, while Rob Jowett also impressed with second place overall in 16:34, just three seconds behind the winner. Babs Sayers raced to 1st V50 in 25:14 and Sue Foot scooped 1st V70 in 28:00. We also had Phil Flack 1st V70 and Ian Sutcliffe set a V80 CR of 33.03! In the mile race it was another NHRR clean sweep for the women, with Rhia again leading the way in 5:46, followed by Ridley in 5:51 and Pitcairn in 5:52. Shahab Ahmad claimed second place overall with a rapid 5:07, while Craig Cartier clocked 5:18 for a personal milestone, calling it a “last-decade PR” and claiming 1st V40. Anna Priestley was 1st V60 and Sheila 1st V70. Rhia also broke the women’s mile course record, collecting a £30 prize for her efforts. Rhia used the races as part of her 20-mile marathon training run, described it as “an amazing morning with a phenomenal event” where her whole family and many friends took part. Lots of squirrels opted for the 5k and delivered great results including Ben Snowden in 19:50, Steve McKeown in 19:52, Ian Harvey in 20:29, James Godfrey in 20:47, James Dalton in 21:13, Mark Wilding in 21:59, Tom Kingham in 21:58 (PB), Daniel Wrigley in 22:16, Laura Fairbanks in 22:19, Andrew Wallis in 22:56, Joanne Hoare in 23:13, Hannah Gardner in 23:50, Nikki Wright in 24:58, Dan White in 24:54, Barbara Sayers in 25:14, Luna Miao in 26:16, Victoria Markham in 26:42, Hannah Bloomfield in 30:12, Mary-Jane Finlay in 30:17, Natalie Fiddy in 30:29, Carina Quayle in 32:29, Rina Dayalji in 32:45, Ian Sutcliffe in 33:03, Tracey McCreath in 33:09, Farzana Bhatti in 36:08, Brian Judkins in 36:04 and Susan Foot in 28:00. The shorter one-mile race saw further NHRR success, with Andrew Wallis in 7:01, Anna Priestley in 8:59, Nikki Wright in 9:37, Farzana Bhatti in 11:05, Sheila Leavy in 11:59 and David Edwards in 16:05.
followed by Natasha Pitman who was thrilled with 3:42:14 to comfortably secure a World Major age group qualifying time, David Weston who exceeded his planned target with 4:22:21, and Dave Braybrook who bravely battled a groin injury from 28km to finish in 4:54:47. They united with the incredible Yuko Gordon from Fairlands Valley Spartans to get some last minute tips on pacing strategy to deal with the heat. Yuko won her FV70 age group in an impressive 3:52:28 Triathlon Away from the running circuit, Craig Cartier completed his first standard triathlon at Reading, finishing in 2:45 to comfortably beat his sub-3 hour target and winning his 40–45 age group. Parkrun Roundup There were many more excellent performances, with a full club presence across 20 different events, from Brentwood to Buncrana. North Herts Road Runners were once again well represented across the country at Saturday’s parkruns.
 Stevenage Menzies 5k, 10k and Mini Mile Fairlands Valley played host to the Stevenage Menzies 5k, 10k and Mini Mile on Sunday, with a new course promising speed and excitement. North Herts Road Runner Kris Whitmore confirmed the 5k lived up to its “flat and fast” billing, while the 10k added a twist with Stevenage’s signature underpasses. Runners could choose to tackle either distance—or both—with the children’s Mini Mile providing a well-timed breather for the double racers. In the 10k Shahab Ahmad stormed to second place in 35:20, narrowly missing the win by two seconds and earning second in age grading. Kris Whitmore clocked a season’s best of 37:51, finishing 9th overall and first in the MV50 category. Hannah Ridley made a strong comeback from injury, finishing as second lady in 43:53. Sam Whitmore impressed in his debut 10k with a 44:07 finish and a personal best. Dervla Downing comfortably dipped under 50 mins in 49:39 followed by Tracey McCreath in 70:52. In the 5k, Tom Kingham took on the 5k finishing in 22:28, then four hard core squirrels (James Dalton (21:24 / 45:00), Dan Wrigley(23:48 / 46:31), Danny Alden (36:00 / 46:02 - clearly keeping something back to secure a season's best in the 10k) and Sheila Leavy (38:00 / 78:51)) opted to take on both events.  Hadman strides to victory at Hatfield 5k Season Finale North Herts Road Runners Ben Hadman ran a personal best time of 15:15 to clinch victory at the season finale held on Wednesday, September 10th and was joined in his celebrations by teammates celebrating a successful series with NHRR collecting an impressive haul of five individual and two team prizes across the three races. In the individual standings, Rhia Botha secured 3rd female overall, Tracy Pitcairn claimed 1st FV35, and Rachel Arnott took 3rd FV45. On the men’s side, Tom Barclay finished 3rd overall, while Matt Sayers earned 2nd MV50. NHRR also dominated the team competitions, with both the female team (Rhia Botha, Tracy Pitcairn, Rachel Arnott) and male team (Tom Barclay, Abdullah Athar, Matt Sayers, Kris Whitmore) delivering strong performances to take home team honours. Further afield: David Brewer was happy with his time of 45.41 at the Sandridge 10k, a mainly off road trail run. Daniele Socci completed the Dunstable Downs Challenge Half Marathon in 1:56:04, commenting, ‘As the name suggests it was a proper challenge.Hills, and muddy plowed fields, where the only option was to walk to avoid injuries— tougher than expected but proud to finish it.’ Ben Snowden raced in the Northampton Half Marathon in 1:35:39, and finished 12th in the MV45 category, just narrowly missing out on a PB by 40 seconds, but was pleased with his time on a tough, relatively hilly course. He said, ‘It’s a well organised event, nice track, some interesting steps at around 8k but you do have option to run round them.’ Parkrun roundup:
 Duck and Dash The Annual Duck and Dash race featured many squirrels, competing both as individuals and relay teams. As always it celebrates the local Lido and this year was blessed with beautiful sunshine, which really showed it at its best. The race consists of 400m swimming followed by a 5k run around Norton Common. In the individual event NHRR was represented by Andrew Robson (43:38), Elizabeth Robson (45:18), Lucy Robertson (<37mins), and James Keogh (32:46). Whilst in the team event NHRR took 1st, 2nd and 3rd place - with Katie and Jo Harbon winning in 29:39, 2nd place Jon Hunt and Grant Cameron in 32:30, and Amanda Greig and Andrew Coates came 3rd with a time of 32:34  Bedford Running Festival The annual Bedford Running Festival over the hot weekend provided plenty of options covering 5km to 20 mile races all starting and finishing by Bedford's beautiful embankment. The half marathon option attracted 6 squirrels with Ian Datlen first home in 1:35:04, followed by Chris Stokes 1:42:15; Rachel Arnott fourth in her age category 1:42:19, Tash Pitman also fourth in her age group 1:45:32, Andrew Wallis 2:11:03; Brian Judkins 3:04:16. Richard Webber took part in the 20 miler as part of his training for the Loch Ness Marathon and finishing in a time of 2:53:55, Richard was joined by Rhia Botha who clocked in at 2:26:35, Lucy O’Conner (3:30:25) and Mel Flyn (3:48:35). Elsewhere Conor O'Hara-Barrett did the Bedford Twilight 10k in a time of 36:45. The festival was a brilliantly organised event and a real family atmosphere in the park with face painting and rides to entertain all the children. It was a hot day so it is was great to see so many squirrels have such great races, as quite a few other runners did not finish in the 26c heat.
Finally Vanessa Rolf completed the Northstowe Half Marathon in a time of 2:53:42, which made her 3rd in her age category. 5k Racing The Vets County Championships took place on wednesday at The Hatfield 5k, and NHRR had some great results both in the individual and team categories. In the women’s race Rhia Botha was 1st in FV35 with Tracy Pitcairn coming in 2nd. In the men's race Matt Sayers was 3rd in his age category. Whilst in the Vets team events the ladies team of Rhia Botha, Tracy Pitcairn and Rachel Arnott finished 1st, and the Men came in 3rd with Matt Sayers, Kris Whitmore, Mike Phillips and Mike Bannister making up the team. Outside of the Vet’s Championships Ben Hadman also won the open race.
Parkrun action this week
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November 2025
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