Strong performances across the board

Manchester Marathon
The spring marathon season continued in fine style at the Manchester Marathon, where Rhia Botha produced a superb run, storming home in a time of 3:08:52. Her strong performance saw her place an impressive 17th in her age category from a huge field of 1,126 F35 competitors. Also taking on the Manchester challenge was Ben Snowden, who showed great grit and determination to cross the line in 3:48:33, battling through cramp along the way to secure a wellearned finish.

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Chiltern Ridge Classic 50km
​Meanwhile on Saturday saw Mark Larwood step up to a completely new distance as he completed his first ultramarathon at the Chiltern Ridge Classic 50km. The scenic but demanding route followed the Ridgeway National Trail from Berkhamsted to Wendover, with a demanding1,000 metres of elevation gain. Mark described it as “a challenging course, but with beautiful sunshine and spectacular views,” and he clearly rose to the occasion, finishing 49th overall out of 305 runners and 15th in his age category in a strong time of 5:13:37.

Northstowe Half Marathon
Over at the Northstowe Half Marathon, now in its fifth year, Daniel Wrigley tackled the course he described as “very flat and enjoyable,” though he noted that the extensive use of trails and field paths made it tougher than expected. Daniel said he was pleased with his run, recording a time of 1:48:36, which ranks as his thirdfastest half marathon to date. Issac also ran the Northstowe half marathon today! Lovely sunshine but a bit windy, with a large narrow trail section. 1:32:07, 9 seconds too slow to catch up to my PB. I was happy to see at the finish line a fellow NHRR!

Full results:
Shahab Ahmad 27:47
Mel Flyn 41:36
Lucy O’Connor 42:34
Brian Judkins 1:01:07

Dunstable 5 Miles
At the Dunstable 5 Miles, (which also incorporated the Beds AAA County Championships), it was business as usual for the lightningfast Shahab Ahmad, who claimed victory as first across the line in an outstanding 27:4, finishing over two minutes clear of the secondplaced male. There were also excellent agegroup performances from Mel Flyn, who finished second in the FV35 category, and Lucy O’Connor, who finished in second place in the FV65 category. Results of the County Champs are yet to be announced.

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Cambridge Biomedical Campus 10K
Finally, at the Cambridge Biomedical Campus 10K, race-walker Sheila Leavy delivered a fine performance, shaving 11 seconds off her personal best to finish in 1:18:40.

Congratulations to all our athletes who raced this weekend; a fantastic set of performances on all fronts.

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Parkrun Results

​ARU Writtle
David BREWER​​, 20:19

Brook Leys
David ANNETTS​​, 27:50

Burgess
Georgina QUAYLE​​, 1:00:21

Castle Park
Daniel WRIGLEY​​, 24:55

Frank’s Farm
Jon HUNT​​​, 24:55
Matt ANKERS​​​, 23:40
Richard HARBON​​, 26:01
Siobhan WALSH​​, 34:33

Harlow
Bev SHONE​​​, 38:33

Jamaica Pond
Neill WITHINGTON​​, 36:35

Letchworth
Michael OVER​​, 23:08
Tracy PITCAIRN​​, 23:18
James GODFREY​​, 23:29
Paula HOLM​​​, 23:41
Ian DATLEN​​​, 23:41
Jane CLARKE​​​, 25:35
Natalie PHILLIPS​​, 25:42
Ellie SCOTT​​​, 25:55
Viv LUCAS​​​, 27:02
Gregor BOWIE​​, 28:06
Frances STANTON​​, 28:33
Lucy HURLEY​​​, 28:43
Steve BRENTON​​, 29:09
Dawn POWER​​, 29:13
Paul BOWAL​​​, 30:53
Alice NOAKES​​, 30:54
James POULTON​​, 34:28
Natasha PITMAN​​, 52:05

Longrun Meadown
Jim MCCONNEL​​, 18:57

Luton Wardown
Chris POWELL​​, 22:36
Craig SNOWDEN​​, 22:37

Morden
Philippa HARDCASTLE​, 26:45

Progression
Tracey PALMER​​, 46:56

Rothamsted Park
Verity HAGUE​​​, 24:35
Joseph BARKER-SHERRY​, 27:26

Southwark 
Kris WHITMORE​​, 19:07
Sam WHITMORE​​, 21:11

Stevenage
Matthew SAYERS​​, 18:45
Oliver BABIK​​​, 18:53
Sarah MILLHOUSE​​, 26:28
Barbara SAYERS​​, 29:06
Andrew COOPER​​, 30:28
Emily YOSSARIAN​​, 50:40

Walton Promenade
John RUSSELL​​, 25:26

​Henlow Bridge Lakes
Martin JACKSON​​, 23:09
Grant BARNES​​, 24:45
Chris COPE​​​, 25:09
Dave BRAYBROOK​​, 25:24
Andrew COATES​​, 25:31
Bob DAVIS​​​, 29:09
Inari SAARINEN​​, 30:28
Helen HARBON​​, 31:33
Jo HARBON​​​, 31:36
Philip FLACK​​​, 41:57
Annette ENGLAND​​, 44:29