John Fraser 10 & the Wilne 10k

PBs galore!!!
Club members were spread, almost equally, across 2 races on Sunday. The Club Championship race, the John Fraser 10 miler & the Wilne 10k, which also hosted the Midland Masters Championship, the County & Midlands Championship & the inter area challenge. Both races took place in warm, calm conditions, although the terrain of the John Fraser 10 was typical Leicestershire ‘rolling’ countryside while the Wilne 10k was virtually flat. Andy Hawtin gained vital Club Championship points in the John Fraser 10 by being 1^st back for the Club in a chip time of 66.20 & 54^th place out of 460 finishers. Shane Chapman & Chris Crosby were not far behind & only separated from one another by one finishing place as they stopped the clock in 66.51 & 67.05 & 61^st & 62^nd places respectively. Andy Orme, just missed out on the sub 70 min. benchmark, with his chip time of 70.03 while Christian Glover’s 70.34 was a significant & well earned PB. Christina Cooper, continued her impressive season, with a chip time of 70.46 & a superb 6^th place in a competitive women’s race. The next two to cross the finish line were Gary Price & Tracey Glover, who were both rewarded for their efforts with PBs of 76.24 & 77.36 respectively. There was then a tight inter-club battle between Sam Skidmore & Laura Storer with Sam edging it ‘gun to tape’ although on chip times Laura was quicker on 86.22 to Sam’s 86.40.
The Wilne 10k is now one of the top 10k races in the country, a fact exemplified by the very competitive field. It was a particularly big day for Louise Insley, whose excellent form this season was recognised by her selection for the ‘north’ in the open age category in the inter area challenge. Louise’s chip time of 38.22 was good enough for the 1^st WV40 place in the Midland Masters Championship & helped the north to 1^st place in the inter area challenge.  Very close on chip times was Paul Chapman & his 38.25 for 124^th place overall out of 858 finishers was a PB for the distance. Chris Gunstone, making his way back after injury, was next back in 41.49, which secured him 3^rd place in the MV55 category in the Midland Masters Championship. Chris Hughes is another who seems to be improving with every race & his 42.24 was a well earned PB for the distance. Steve Leafe, who can always be relied on to give 100%, was next to stop the clock in 44.53 with Inge Moore, giving her usual battling performance, recording 57.27.