Chris Mason

Chris is Good!!!

The running gods were in perfect symmetry on Sunday for the Wilne 10k; nice temperature for running, slight breeze, a flat course with long straights and a high quality field all combined for a barrage of personal bests (PBs) from the 22 from the Club who took part. Jack Leafe led the contingent home with a superb chip time of 36.11 for 41^st place.  James Farmer 37.13 showed that he is returning to something like his best before he joins the student exodus in a couple of weeks-time for his fresher’s year at Aberystwyth.  Tim Rhodes was the first to shatter his distance PB with an excellent 37.56. This performance augurs well for Tim’s autumn marathon double of Berlin and Chester. Club debutant Darren Holmes ran a superb race to stop the clock in 38.10 before Chris Hanman showed exactly what he is capable of crossing the line in a PB of 41.11. Chris Mason finished in 42.53 to secure the MV70 prize with Steve Leafe recording an improved 43.44 before, arguably the performance of the day, from Chris Elsegood, who obliterated his PB with an excellent 44.37. Phil Daws and Paul Glover continued the theme of good performances with 44.59 and 45.21 respectively before Andy Meadows recorded a well-deserved PB of 45.31. Robin Thorne ran solidly for 53.26 before Kev Clarke and Ellie Dickson crossed the line together in 53.55 and 53.56 respectively. Karen Wilks and Emma Sharp gave everything in recording 54.17 and 59.32 before Tracey Glover and Emily Atkins finished together in 61.26 and 61.27 with Becky Atkins close behind in 62.07. Angela Daws continues to improve with every race recording 63.01 here before Mary Sharp and Pauline Cooper gave their usual maximum effort in completing the finishers for the club in 66.13 and 70.17 respectively.

Men’s Club Captain, Andy Orme was also tackling the 10k distance but this time the trail variety in the Sherwood Pines 10k. Andy ran with real distinction finishing in 26^th place in a very respectable 43.37. Andy Lindley, Becky Moult, Romain Chambard and Katie Dennis enhanced their endurance by tackling the South Cheshire 20 recording excellent times of 02.28.17, 02.46.19, 02.46.21 and 02.47.22 respectively.  

Team work pays off!!!

Sunday saw the penultimate leg of this year’s Burton and District Summer League with the 38 Club members, who lined up at the start of the Burton 10k, looking to consolidate their position as leaders of the League’s men’s and women’s team competitions. The Club’s standing locally was re-affirmed as the Club’s men scooped the race’s team prize as they were led home by Liam Bradbury in 4^th place and a distance PB of 35:31. On a course that is noteworthy for the significant early climbing and in far from ideal running conditions, including Liam’s, there were as many as 10 distance personal bests from the Club’s runners. Following Liam home was form man Ross Clarke who finished in a PB of 37:50 for 16^th with reigning men’s club champion Andy Hawtin and youngster James Farmer giving chase in chip times of 38:02 and 38:06 and 17^th and 19^th finishing positions. For James it was a distance PB as it was for Sam Bassett, who had a tight race with Danial Bower, before just losing out in finishing times of 38:24 and 38:28 and positions of 21^st & 22^nd respectively. Dave Hobbs was another to record a well-deserved PB of 39:00 getting the better on this occasion of Chicago Marathon bound Stuart Halsey who stopped the clock here in 40:00.  Next to finish was Jennie Laing who ran superbly for 3^rd place in the women’s race in a chip time of 41:24. Jennie, who has performed so consistently over a range of distances this season, had the dubious satisfaction of finishing behind serial race winner, Charnwood’s Juliet Potter, who in winning the women’s race set a course PB of 37:03. Jerome Jones, Andy Lindley, Barry Ross and Chris Hanman all ran with distinction in recording 43:03, 43:10, 43:18 and 43:36 respectively before Barry Saunders and the improving Ross Ballinger had their own personal battle as they crossed the line in 85^th and 86^th places and finishing times of 45:14 and 45:21. Matt Long continued his upward trajectory in 87^th place in 45:37 with the battling Steve Leafe two places behind in 45:42. One of the Club’s most improved runners, Paul Glover finished in 46:10 getting the better, on this occasion, of Will Hirst in 47:02 and the resolute Katie Dennis in 47:13. For Will it was a welcome return after an injury lay-off and for Katie it was yet another valuable contribution to team points.   Another recording a PB was Chris Elsegood who crossed the line ahead of Phil Daws but recorded an identical chip time of 48:36 with Tony Richards not far behind in a PB of 48:57. James Cobb, Dave Walters, Gary Price and Joe Baldwin all ran with distinction in recording 49:20, 50:19, 51:11 and 52:08 before Katarina Compton scored valuable team points in recording a distance PB of 52:23. John Pegg’s 53:48 led home Club race debutant Sarah Rhodes in 54:16 and Karen Wilks in 54:25 with Sarah Walters continuing the PB theme with a very respectable 54:34. Veteran Kevin Clarke looked very relaxed in recording 55:15 just ahead of a very popular PB of 55:18 from Ellie Dickson. Shannon Hurdman, Emma Sharp and Juliane Walters gave everything as they completed the club’s finishers in 60:21, 61:57 and 69:47 respectively.   

Mark Harriott was the Club’s sole representative in the Newark Half Marathon but ran with his usual distinction in recording 88:39 for a top 100 finish. Andy Meadows stretched his legs in the Draycote Water Summer Series 10k and recorded a superb 46:28 while Rob Eaton, Tim Rhodes, Shane Chapman and Ralph Huthmacher were experiencing the Dublin craic in the Rock ‘n’ Roll half marathon. While performances may have been hampered by the experience all could wear their post-race green tee shirts with pride as they recorded 84:47, 91:03, 91:15 and 119:52 respectively.    

Andy all the way!!

It’s probably the busiest time of year for local runners with the past fortnight the peak of the racing calendar. For Club members there was a good presence at Friday night’s Colin Potter Memorial 10k, involvement at the inaugural Gunby Gallop and the challenging Ashbourne Half Marathon on Sunday, then last Tuesday the latest leg of the Burton and District Summer League (BDSL), the Worthington 5 followed last weekend by the Snowdon Trail Marathon Brooksies Bash and the Crich Monument Race.

41 members from the Club lined up on the start line for the latest version of the long standing Worthington 5. The current route goes out and back along the Cloud Trail and in humid conditions it was Andy Hawtin who led the contingent home in an excellent 29:48 and 7^th place. Laying an early claim as one of the Club’s most  improved male runners Ross Clarke was next in 30:17 and 11^th place with little separating Danial Bower and Sam Bassett in 30:35 and 30:36 and 16^th and 17^th places and James Farmer and Mark Harriott in 21^st and 22^nd and 30:51 and 30:54. For the Club’s first three finishers their performances clinched the men’s team prize while the group finished first men’s team in the BDSL as they move one step closer to the series title. MV50 Rich Miller was next in a well-run 31:23 before Jenny Laing warmed up for Sunday’s Snowdon Trail Marathon by storming home 1st in the women’s race in a superb 31:47. Louise Insley ran her normally consistent race to stop the clock in 33:27 to finish 2^nd in the women’s race with Christina Hawtin, getting back to her best form, in 3^rd place in 35:14. This secured the trio the races women’s team prize and with the improving Lisa Wright finishing in 36:37 first category place in the BDSL.

In terms of the Club’s overall finishers Nathan Holmes followed Jenny Laing home in 32:03, which confirmed he is well on track for a marathon debut later in summer. Matt Clemson is another who warmed up for the Snowdon Trail Marathon with a pacey 32:53 with Andy Orme, buoyed by being first back for the Club in the Colin Potter 10k, continuing his rich vein of form here with 33:52. Nathan Fagan continued to work back to full racing fitness and autumn’s Berlin Marathon with a solid 33:58 before you could virtually throw a blanket over Romain Chambard, Barry Ross and Andy Lindley as they occupied consecutive finishing places in 34:31, 34:34 and 34:37 respectively. If there was a prize for endurance it would go to Rom, another whose running has gone up a notch lately, as he ran with distinction in the Colin Potter 10k, followed it up approx.36 hours later with the super challenging Ashbourne Half Marathon, sped round the Worthington 5 two days later then had a few days off before donning camelbak and tackling the Snowdon Trail Marathon.

Chris Mason and Glenn Smith were separated by a mere 2 seconds as they finished in 34:57 and 34:59 with Ross Ballinger continu ing to progress with 35:50, Nigel Atkins and Barry Saunders stopped the clock in 36:02 and 36:36 with Andy Windle easing round in 37:22. In a night of good performances Becky Moult ran well for 37:24 with Kevin Clarke, Paul Glover, Nikki Reeves, Tony Richards and Tracey Glover pushing her all the way home as they recorded 37:28, 37:32, 37:32, 37:57 and 37:57 respectively.   Hazel O’Brien did well to duck under the 40 minute barrier with 39:55, getting the better on this occasion of Phil Daws, Gary Price and Mark Murkin as they finished in 40:06, 40:11 and 40:31 respectively. John Pegg was next to cross the finish, conveniently located in the Malt Shovel pub car park, in 41:45 before Emily Atkins continued her series pre-eminence in the FU20 category as she finished in 44:19 before Ellie Dickson, Tony Phillips, Becky Lenaghan, Emma Sharp and the determined Pauline Cooper gave maximum effort in the humid conditions to complete the Club’s finishers in 44:36, 46:44, 48:48, 50:09 and 55:50

Jenny takes some catching!!!

Sunday saw the latest leg of this year’s Burton and District Summer League over the stiles and the off road terrain of the Gate Gallop 10k. The Club were again out in force with 38 runners lining up on the start line. In a day of great performances it was the Club’s women who were to the fore with the resilient Jenny Laing finishing 1^st in the women’s race in a superb chip time of 42.01 and leading the team, also comprising Christina Hawtin (3^rd place in 46.04) and Lisa Wright (6^th place in 48.36) to the women’s team prize. Katie Dennis and Tracey Glover were 7^th and 8^th in the women’s race in 49.21 and 50.42, performances that scooped well deserved 1^st Female Senior and 1^st FV45 prizes. Amy Brookes ran well for her 60.55 as did Becky Lenaghan, Emma Sharp, Jane Ward-Stanton and the improving Shannon Hurdman, who recorded chip times of 64.11, 64.57, 65.49 and 66.43 respectively.  New to the distance, Angela Daws did brilliantly to finish in 69.52 with Becky Atkins, Ellie Dickson and Emily Atkins finishing in close order in 71.01, 71.09 and 71.09. The battling Pauline Cooper completed the Club’s finishers in the women’s race with a very respectable 75.39.

There were also some terrific performances in the men’s race with the standout one being a 2^nd place finish for Jack Leafe in a superb 37.36. A performance that was given added credence by the fact that Jack completed the Cumbria Way walk during the week. Next back was James Farmer in 38.57 for 9^th place and 1^st Men’s U20. James was one of many of the Club’s athletes who took part in Friday’s inaugural Fractured Marathon at Calke Abbey and confirmed his terrific promise with the fastest leg at this well-received event. In 18^th place was Rich Miller in a chip time of 40.48 and again a popular 1^st place in the MV50 category. Nathan Holmes, in one of a number of stand-out performances, made light of the uneven terrain as he warmed up for an autumn marathon debut in the New Forest with 41.26. The endurance prize though went to Sam Bassett who after a 3 hour marathon on Friday night powered around a far from easy course here in 41.40. On very much local terrain Mark Harriott showed his terrific consistency to record 42.15 with the triathlon training Matt Clemson running well to record 43.27. Tim Rhodes battled round in 44.37 with Andy Lindley, another who completed a marathon on Friday night, then leading a group comprising the returning Nathan Fagan, Romain Chambard and Chris Mason home in 45.36, 45.44, 45.45 and 45.48 respectively. For Chris it was a winning debut in the MV70 category. The yellow vests then crossed the finish line in even tighter order with Nigel Atkins (47.05), Andy Orme (47.22), Steve Leafe (47.34), Ross Ballinger (47.59), Paul Glover (47.59) and Ian Archer (48.07) all finishing within 10 finishing places of one another. Kev Clarke looked relaxed in recording 51.19 with Tony Richards not far behind in 52.52. As was the pattern in the men’s race Gary Price, Mark Murkin and Malcolm Moore in recording 53.38, 53.41 and 53.45 finished in consecutive finishing positions. Last but not least Phil Daws, who paced his wife around this far from easy course, finished in 69.53.

9

Heading up to the Peak District last Sunday, four members of SDRR took on the challenging Buxton Half marathon. The route which was ran in wet and gusty conditions saw a field of 420 runners take on a significant 1,500 ft of climb over the 13.1 mile road race.

First home for SDRR was Mark Harriott finishing in 38^th place in a very competitive field with 1h 35m 33s securing him 3^rd MV50.  Following closely behind and adding to an impressive season of half marathon results was Dave Hobbs in a time time of 1hr 39m 32s for 65^th place. David Renshaw was the next home in 2h 20m 51s taking 304th with DavidLunn making a return to Buxton in 2h 20m 51s and an impressive 351st position.

Liam sets the standard

There was again a significant contingent of the Club’s runners on the start line of the revamped Derby Half Marathon with Liam Bradbury leading the way home with a superb 6^th place finish. Liam’s chip time of 01.14:36 also achieved the championship qualifying standard for next year’s Virgin Money London Marathon. One of the Club’s busiest runners, Rob Eaton, was next to finish in 01.21:17 followed by the Club’s group of ‘twentysomethings’ comprising Ross Clarke, Sam Bassett, Ben Holmes and, making his racing debut for the club Danial Bower, who recorded terrific chip times of  01.23:05, 01.23:23, 01.24:08 and 01.24:27 respectively. Times and performances that secured the quartet positions well within the race’s top 40 finishers. James Farmer battled in next in 52^nd place in 01.25:54 before Emma Pick, running in the colours of her first claim club Peel RR, stormed home in 01.26:04 for a brilliant 2^nd place finish in the women’s race. Rich Miller, also in action for his first claim club, gave his usually consistent performance in stopping the clock in 01.26:42, a performance that secured 3^rd place in his age category. There was then something of a gap to the next finisher for the Club, Romain Chambard in 01.33.42 but this in no way diminishes a superb effort. The same could be said of Paul Glover and Katie Dennis, who have both kicked on to another level after April’s Manchester Marathon, to record 01.38:53 and 01.39:07 here. Virus hampered Club Captain Andy Orme was next in 01.40:34 with Ian Archer and Tracey Glover not far behind in 01.41:27 and 01.42.17 respectively. On the comeback trail, Adrian Leigh was next in 01.45:36, with Sarah Rhodes also running well to record 01.49:47 before Ellie Dickson and Andy Meadows crossed the line together in 02.05:39. John Pegg recorded a hard running 02.13:44 before Emma Sharp and Chris Elsegood gave everything to complete the Club’s finishers in 02.20:49 and 02.26:43 respectively.

Liam leads the way!!!!

Burton AC hosted the latest leg of this year’s Summer League and the Club’s runners were out in force with 40 amongst the races 259 finishers. In good running conditions Liam Bradbury again led the contingent home in a superb 6^th place in 58:19. The 2 lap, 10 mile course, with plenty of sharp turns, particularly around the Washlands, is not notoriously fast but Andy Hawtin’s 16^th place in 62:46 was probably his best distance performance for some time. There then followed a group of young runners, many of whom have benefitted from marathon training, who are pushing each other with their race performances. This group comprised James Farmer in 18^th place, Ross Clarke in 19^th, Sam Bassett in 20^th and Ben Holmes in 24^th. Their chip times of 62:56, 63:16, 63:51 and 65:22 respectively confirmed how important this group is to team performances. Rich Miller and Christian Glover finished closely in 65:47 and 65:58 with Nathan Holmes stopping the clock in 67:51. Mikey Walters and Men’s Club Captain, Andy Orme were separated by a second as they recorded 70:24 and 70:25 with their times just edging both into the top 50 finishers. It also took a distance PB and a sprint finish from Mikey to clinch the narrow victory. Chris Mason was next across the line in 71:21 with Rom Chambard, Steve Leafe and the improving Paul Glover giving everything to finish in 72:53, 74:11 and 74:31 respectively. Paul’s improvement was highlighted by this being a distance PB. The race also acted as the Midland Masters 10 mile championship and Matt Long clinched the silver medal in the MV45 category with 75:25. Nigel Atkins, and the Club’s first woman finisher, Christina Hawtin finished closely in 75:30 and 75:33. Ian Archer, Barry Saunders and Chris Elsegood raced home in 76:10, 76:59 and 78:29 before the determined Katie Dennis in 78:46 got the chip time verdict over Ross Ballinger in 78:50.  Tracey Glover ran well for 79:24, edging out the returning Adrian Leigh in 79:44. Nikki Reeves, another who has had a very busy marathon running spring, finished in 80:33 with James Cobb close behind in 80:40. The strong running Dave Walters in 81:31 led a group home including Mark Murkin, John Pegg, Diane Finch and Ellie Dickson who recorded 84:42, 90:27, 91:10 and 91:59 respectively. Joe Baldwin, Tony Richards and super vet Graham Blackshaw gave everything for chip times of 92:33, 93:01 and 94:25 before Rebecca Lenaghan in 97:30 led a group home including Sarah Walters in 105:42, Emma Sharp in 110:10, Anna Casey in 113:15 and debutant Shannon Hurdman in 118:56, who gave maximum effort to complete the Club’s finishers in this well organised, long standing race.

Jenny Laing meanwhile was enjoying the more refined air of the Lake District as she tackled the Windermere Marathon and, has become almost routine, pulled out a 03:19 performance, which clinched the runners up prize in the women’s race. Jenny also had the added thrill of this being presented by fell running legend Josh Naylor.

Busy, busy, busy!!

It was one of the busiest Sunday’s of the season for the Club with racing action on three fronts and those not running helping to stage the first race in this year’s Burton and District Summer Road Racing League at Conkers. In almost perfect running conditions it was an excellent start to the season for the Club with both men’s and women’s teams finishing on top of the pile. It was a particularly solid performance from the Club’s women with Jenny Laing, after leading for most of the deceptively challenging 5 miles, finishing 2^nd in 31:29, Louise Insley, stopping the clock in an excellent 34:17 for 3^rd and Christina Hawtin running well for 4^th in 35:02. While it was frustrating for Jenny to lose out close to the finish she had the satisfaction of knowing it took a distance PB from Peel’s Emma Pick to take the spoils. Great team support was also provided by triathlete Lisa Wright in 37:59, the improving Hazel O’Brien in 39:12 and a promising debut from Katarina Compton, who stopped the clock in 40:47. Becky Lenaghan, Mary Sharp, Anna Casey and Pauline Cooper also figured prominently as they recorded 45:41, 51:14, 53:06 and 54:26 respectively.   

Men’s Club Captain Andy Orme did well in getting a strong men’s team on the start line with Chris Pearson, James Farmer and Rob Eaton packing brilliantly in 5^th, 6^th and 7^th places in times of 28:48, 29:14 and 29:49 respectively. Stuart Halsey was next in a well-run 31:17 for 15^th with relative newcomer Nathan Holmes gaining more valuable racing experience in recording 32:19. Seeing the benefit of an unbroken run of training, Matt Clemson recorded 32:31 with Nathan Fagan crossing the line in 25^th place in 33:20. Chris Elsegood, another who is working hard to improve, finished in 36:53 with James Cobb and Paul Hudson next home in 38:08 and 39:01. Three of the Club’s most experienced athletes Gary Price, David Lunn and the evergreen Tony Phillips, gave their usual maximum effort in completing the Club’s finishers in the men’s race in very respectable times of 41:45, 44:13 and 45:14.

For 12 of the Club’s runners it was the culmination of hard post-Christmas training and for some, their first attempt at tackling the 26.2 miles of the marathon, with the first major British marathon of the spring in Manchester. Dave Clarke and Sam Bassett both managed to duck under the magical 3 hour benchmark with Dave recording 02:56:59 and Sam 02:59:32. However, there was mixed emotions from the duo with Dave slightly disappointed with his time and Sam extremely happy to achieve his goal. Ben Holmes ran well for his chip time of 03:09:45 with Tim Rhodes, on home territory, one of a number to overcome the usual mix of illness and injury, to achieve a distance PB of 03:27:45. Ultra-distance specialist Andy Windle recorded 03:30:51 with Paul Glover and Romain Chambard close on 03:38:20 and 03:39:32 respectively. Tracey Glover and Barry Saunders also finished relatively closely on 03:47:25 and 03:49:25. Marathon debutant Katie Dennis did brilliantly to finish in 03:54:50 as did Andy Meadows and John Pegg as they recorded 04:03:10 and 04:48:58.

There was a much different challenge on offer in the Derby 10k but for a number of the Club’s runners the challenge was accepted with PB performances. This was particularly the case with Ross Clarke and Ross Ballinger who were elated to record distance PBs of 37:53 and 45:08 respectively. Lizi Hunt and Holly Holland ran superbly in recording 46:17 and 47:52 with super vet Graham Blackshaw stopping the clock in 53:54 and Philip Hughes in 63:09 completing the Club’s finishers on a very busy running day

BST starts with a bang!!!!

The weather was set fair and the mud of cross country was firmly forgotten as 20 runners from the Club joined 550 others in tackling the third race in this year’s Leicestershire Road Running League, the Desford 5. In common with most Leicestershire courses ‘undulating’ was the name of the game. Current Men’s Club Champion and Chairperson, Andy Hawtin led the group home with an excellent chip time of 30:10 for 35^th place with London Marathon bound Jenny Laing showing she is in excellent form with 31:22 for a superb 4^th place in the women’s race. Nathan Holmes was next across the line in a well-run 32:52 with Louise Insley close behind in 33:16, which was good enough for 1^st in her age group and 5^th place overall. Andy Orme was his normal ultra-consistent self as he stopped the clock in 33:53 with strong man Romain Chambard and the improving Matt Long recording 34:40 and 35:25 respectively. In one of the performances of the morning Kev Clarke rolled back the years in recording 36:01 with Ross Ballinger and Chris Elsegood showing no ill effects from the recent Ashby 20 with solid 36:52 and 37:42 performances.   Hazel Ferris and John Pegg had the closest inter-club battle as they recorded chip times of 39:24 and 39:28 respectively with Joe Baldwin also in close attendance on 40:02. Gary Price and Mark Murkin gave everything in recording 42:46 and 43:36 with Becky Lenaghan, Emma Sharp, Anna Casey, Helen Clarke and Pauline Cooper all relishing the return to tarmac and sunshine as they recorded excellent times of 47:32, 49:40, 51:10, 52:16 and 54:16 respectively.

Stuart Halsey, Emily Atkins and Becky Atkins were in running action much further afield on Saturday in one of the most scenic races in the country, the Coniston 14. Stuart, one of the top MV50 vets locally ran well for a chip time of 1:31:34, with daughter edging out mum in the battle of the Atkins with excellent times of 2:20:04 and 2:30:23 respectively.

Farmer ploughs through the bog!!!

It’s been a long season but Sunday’s Derby Runner Cross Country race at Bosworth Battlefield brought this year’s Leicestershire based campaign to a fitting climax. Next Sunday at Sinai Park, Burton sees the final fixture in this year’s Staffs/Derby’s version of the league. The Club’s man of the moment, James Farmer continued his upward trajectory as he led the Club’s contingent home in the men’s race with an excellent 20^th place finish. Next home was Rob Eaton in a hard run 55^th place after he’d tried to wear Farmer out by running to the venue with him. Shane Chapman, who has had a really consistent series, collected the 69^th place token with endurance triathlete Christian Glover not far behind in 73^rd place. Club Captain, Andy Orme in 121^st managed to hold off the challenge of a resurgent Matt Long in 136^th with Nigel Atkins and Chris Elsegood running well to complete the men’s team finishers in 140^th and 164^th respectively. Tom Eyre and Mark Nixon had the closest inter-club finish as they finished in 218^th and 220^th places with Mark Murkin in 229^th and Robin Thorne in 249^th giving everything as they completed the Club’s finishers in the men’s race.

Christina Hawtin ran superbly to lead the Club’s women home in 24^th with Nikki Reeves in 55^th, Lisa Wright in 69^th and U20 Emily Atkins in 93^rd completing the team finishers in the women’s race with Rebecca Lenaghan giving her usual maximum effort to finish in 126^th. A number of the Club’s women were amongst those forced to stop as they retrieved lost shoes in a section of shin deep mud.

In many ways sections of mud for some of the Club’s runners were a minor test of their endurance because the day before at least four who raced the cross country had tackled the 15 mile version of the 2019 Belvoir Challenge. With 15 mile and 26 mile versions on offer and checkpoints offering refuelling options, including home-made cake and jelly babies, the approach to the challenge varies with some treating it as important training for spring marathons while others used it as a challenging social run. In the 15 mile version Christian Glover emphasised his current peak condition as he finished 9^th overall in an excellent 01:51:22. Andy Lindley finished in 02:33:55 with Chris Hanman, Chris Elsegood and Nikki Reeves close behind in 02:34:22, 02:37:39 and 02:42:07 respectively. There then came a group comprising Lisa Wright (02:44:51), Sam Skidmore (02:44:53), Romain Chambard (02:44:55) and Becky Moult (02:44:57) who crossed the line together.

London Marathon bound Jenny Laing warmed up for her main spring training focus with a 3^rd place finish in the women’s race of the 26 mile option in a superb 03:52:35. Tracey and Paul Glover also enhanced their endurance with excellent times of 04:50:19 and 04:50:25 respectively. Gary Price, who relishes this type of event, recorded 05:35:01 with Alison Shearer and Carolyn Ife sharing the cake and the pain as they crossed the line together in 07:21:46 and 07:21:49 respectively.

Kat Smith was back on home soil as she tackled the Cambridge Half Marathon and should be well pleased with her chip time of 02:09:12.

Last but not least South Derbyshire’s ‘man for all seasons’ Mark Harriott, was on the other side of the world tackling one of world’s marathon majors, the Tokyo Marathon. Needless to say this most consistent of runners recorded an excellent time of 03:05:25.