Far and wide

Traveling across both the UK and Europe, NHRR were out in force this week, competing in a variety of events and distances. There were lots of amazing performances on display, many of which were in preparation for spring marathons, particularly London in 4 weeks’ time.

Oakley 20
It was a sunny but chilly March morning when 12 squirrelsheaded north to the town of Oakley nr Bedford, to compete in the Oakley 20 miler. Conditions were pretty good for running, with minimal wind and dry roads, but a variety of hills, both long and short, added challenges of their own. However, nothing deterred our intrepid runners from turning in some impressive performances, most notably Matthew Sayers(MV50) and Sue Foot (FV 70+), who finished first in theirrespective categories, and Caroline Thrussell (FV60) and Rhia Botha (FV35) both coming 2nd in their categories. The full results were as follows:

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Matthew SAYERS​2:03:12
Ian DATLEN​​2:19:55
Rhia BOTHA​​2:24:38
Rachel ARNOTT​2:34:17
Caroline THRUSSELL​2:46:13
Katherine BURR​2:46:23

Richard WEBER​2:49:02 (PB by 4 minutes)
Helen NUTTALL​2:54:59
Anna GIBSON​​3:14:39
Steve BRENTON​3:18:26
Dawn POWER​​3:20:32
Susan FOOT​​3:31:49

The Berlin Half
​Elsewhere, Natalie and Mike Phillips competed in the Berlin Half Marathon, which was also the first race of the super half marathon series. Both turned in outstanding runs, with Nataliefinishing in 01:45:17 and shaving a few seconds off her PB, and Mike crossing the line in 01:35:02. Mike commented that it was the most enjoyable race he had ever done and was well supported throughout.

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Exeter Trail 10k
Heading south on Saturday was Vicki Markham, who run the Exeter Trail 10k, finishing in an excellent 1:02:06. She noted that it was amazing weather for a trail race and was pleased to bump into a fellow squirrel along the way.

Yeovil 10k
Now a resident of Bridport in Dorset, but still a squirrel, was Linda Aird who took part in the Yeovil 10k, finishing in an impressive time of 58:23. Whilst there, she also bumped into former squirrel Elwyn Howell, which was a welcome surprise.Sadly, Linda commented that it would likely be the last time she would don the North Herts Road Runners vest, as she has now moved to sunny Dorset. 

Parkrun Round Up

Henlow Bridge Lakes 
Dave BRAYBROOK ​​25:56
Sarah MILLHOUSE​​ 27:24
Lucy O'CONNOR​​ 28:36
Bob DAVIS ​​​29:18
Rachel ANNETTS​​ 33:29
Aimee FLACK ​​​33:47
Brian JUDKINS ​​​39:06
Annette ENGLAND ​​41:47
Philip FLACK ​​​45:37
 
Stevenage 
John RUSSELL​​​ 25:46
Matthew SAYERS​​ 25:51
Ellie SCOTT ​​​26:25
Andrew COOPER​​ 31:15
Vanessa ROLFE​​ 39:08
 
Letchworth 
James DALTON ​​23:11
Martin JACKSON​​ 23:22
Paula HOLM​​​ 23:44
Ian HARVEY​​​ 24:49
Jon HUNT ​​​24:57
Laura FAIRBANKS​​ 25:30
 
South Oxhey 
Joseph BARKER-SHERRY​ 29:16

Longrun Meadow 
Jim MCCONNEL​​ 19:50

​Black Park 
Eva MCCABE​​​ 24:12 
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Clair 
Kris WHITMORE ​​20:04
Sam WHITMORE​​ 22:29
 
Market Harborough 
Thomas BUZZARD ​​19:06
 
Riddlesdown 
Tracey PALMER ​​44:35
 
Northala Fields 
David BREWER​​ 21:19
 
Great Yarmouth North Beach 
James POULTON ​​53:36
 
Gloucester City 
Craig SNOWDEN​​ 24:14
Ben SNOWDEN ​​24:14
 
Whinlatter Forest 
Daniel WRIGLEY​​ 27:52