Markfield 10k Race Report

Andy's the Top Man
An unusual occurrence faced the 457 competitors in the fourth race in this year’s Leicestershire Winter Road Racing League at Markfield on Sunday……warm weather. All be it this was slightly tempered by a strong wind which, combined with a challenging 10k course, meant really fast times were at a premium. Andy Hawtin though confirmed that he is currently the Club’s best race performer with a superb 47^th place finish in a chip time of 38.55. Not far behind was Chris Mason, who warmed up for next Sunday’s London Marathon with a time of 39.59, which was good enough for 64^th overall and the 1^st MV60 place. Again Colin Mee and Chris Gunstone were close with Colin just edging it on this occasion with 41.17 and 84^th place to Chris’s 41.31 and 92^nd place. Andy Orme backed up his previous day’s Parkrun PB of 19.45 with a very solid 41.58 and 99^th place, confirming at the same time the benefits of moving from a burger to a sushi diet. Also following on from a Parkrun PB was the quickly improving Jack Leafe who just managed to hold off a concerted effort from dad Steve to finish in times of 43.44 and 43.56 respectively.
Ray Udall completed the team finishers with a typically hard fought 44.49 which just edged out the recently injury prone Gavin Horton in 46.07. Gavin showed his usual grit and determination by making a desperate dive for the line to secure his finishing place. Another London Marathon bound runner, Rob Lower was next to finish in 46.07 followed by Christina Cooper, whose 51.52 was good enough for 52^nd place in a very competitive women’s race. Gary Price, trying to shake off the effects of a cold before next week’s Marathon, finished next in a well run 51.54. Inge Moore and Carolyn Ife’s finishing times of 58.38 and 60.49 respectively indicate that some close inter club rivalry may be on the cards as the season progresses. Cath Johnson ran well for 70.24 and will be well pleased with her significant victory over club stalwart Roger Barraclough’s 81.18. As the race progressed a number of runners were affected to greater or lesser degrees by an accident involving a cyclist taking part in a nearby triathlon. Steve Fowler and Dave York were most affected as they stopped to offer assistance and their times of 70.24 and 72.39 reflected this.