Stilton 7

Dominic leads the pack!!
Despite 13 runners being in action on Saturday at the Belvoir Challenge there was still a great turn-out of 22 for the second round of the Leicestershire Winter Road Running League, the Stilton 7.
The race, featuring two climbs of Asfordby Hill, was run in dry but cold conditions & it was reigning Club Champion, Dominic Sharman, who set an early marker in this year’s championship, as he led the group home in an excellent chip time of 43:26 for 38^th place out of 460 finishers. Vying for ‘performance of the day’ honours was Louise Insley, who was next back in 44:42 to finish 3^rd in the women’s race & 1^st VW. Making an excellent road racing debut for the Club was John Morgan who just got the better of Andy Windle as they stopped the clock in 45:36 & 45:39 & finishing positions of 65^th & 66^th places respectively with Stuart Halsey, also in the mix, in 73^rd place in 45:53. Andy Orme ran his usual well-paced race as he progressed through the field to finish in a superb 46:18 for 80^th place. One of the runners he passed was Chris Mason, who continued his comeback with 83^rd place in 46:32, before Colin Mee stopped the clock in 47:48. Chris & Colin had the satisfaction of finishing first in their respective age groups. Tom Eyre battled well for his 49:29 with London Marathon bound Nigel Atkins a minute behind in 50:25.  On chip times the hard working James Cobb was next in 53.08 before Caley Parnell, who has a double bill of half marathons planned for spring, showed that her training is going well as she finished in 53:10 for 25^th place in the women’s race. Barry Saunders continued his improvement with 53:25 before Gary Price, running his first road race for some time, was next back in 55:03.  Malcolm Moore crossed the finishing line next but finished behind Tracey Glover on chip times of 55:42 & 55:38 respectively. Tracey showed that she is the most durable of athletes as the previous day she ran the 15 miles route of the Belvoir Challenge. Peter Barsby & Tim Argent continued their good early season form as they finished in 56.06 & 57:19 before Robin Thorne gained more valuable race experience as he stopped the clock in 61:06. Karen Wilks in 62:26 & Alison Shearing, 65:44 gained vital team points in the women’s race before the battling Pauline Cooper in 80:34 completed the finishers for the Club