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 7th place. Laying an early claim as one of the Club’s most improved male runners Ross Clarke was next in 30:17 and 11th place with little separating Danial Bower and Sam Bassett in 30:35 and 30:36 and 16th and 17th places and James Farmer and Mark Harriott in 21st and 22nd 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 2nd in the women’s race with Christina Hawtin, getting back to her best form, in 3rd 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
