Thursday 3rd May 2012 at 7:30pm.

Incorporating the Stable & Stud Staff Challenge

Proceeds to Headway Cambridgeshire

Approximately 6k — all off road

Entry Fees
Online entry fee is £8.00 for affiliated and £10.00 for non-affiliated and will close when the race is full or at noon on Tuesday 1st May, whichever occurs sooner.

Full details can be found here

We will be scoring the Grand Prix using the WAVA age grading system. Your result for the race will be your score and will always be marked up to the nearest whole number.  For example, if your mark is 72.13, your score will be 73. You may enter as many of the races as you would like to and all results will contribute to your final score.  Obviously, the more races you enter, the higher your score will be!

To be eligible, you must be a paid up member of the club and must race wearing a club vest. In addition to the 8 races listed below, you have ONE opportunity to play a wild card and have the points from a race of your choice added to your overall score.

In order to have your points counted, you must tell either Debbie (debbie@newmarketjoggers.co.uk) or Mike (mike@newmarketjoggers.co.uk) your race at least 1 week prior to the event and the race must be before 30 November 2012. The league table will be updated and posted on the website so you can all see how you are doing:

See latest results on the Grand Prix page.

Good luck to you all, Debbie & Mike

Race 1
Cross Country (approx 5 miles)
January 22nd
Bury St Edmunds

Race 2
Cross Country (approx 5 miles)
February 19th
Bungay

Race 3
Cross Country (approx 5 miles)
March 4th
Stowmarket

Race 4
Kevin Henry 5km
May 10th
Cambridge Tri Club

Race 5
Kevin Henry 5km
June 6th
Newmarket

Race 6
Kevin Henry 5km
July 5th
Haverhill

Race 7
Kevin Henry 5km
August 2nd
Cambridge & Coleridge

Race 8
Kevin Henry 5km
September 6th
Saffron Striders

Friday the 9th December was the Newmarket Joggers Christmas Party and Presentation of 2011 Awards. As ever there was a great turnout with lots of new members coming along and ensuring the night was a fun one with some of the members showing that their talents are not just in running races but on the dance floor too! The awards were presented by the Club’s original founders Geoff Sale (only Newmarket Jogger to run 50 marathons!) and Tommy Smith, with Brian Munns as Team Captain also presenting.

This year has seen club records smashed so it was no surprise that the award for Newmarket Jogger Performer of the Year went to Matthew Harvey who completed a 2:36 London Marathon and set a new record time at the Newmarket 10k of 33:53 as well as winning the Wymondham 20 mile race and Newmarket Heath Run. A year of truly amazing performances from the Jogger who is the deserved winner of the title for 2011.

Newmarket Joggers Club Member of the Year for 2011 went to Brian Munns, not only has Brian had an outstanding year in his races posting some incredible times, some of his best in recent years, but he’s also been the backbone of the club at training nights week in week out organising runs and schedules as well as motivating members to run in the Cross Country and 5k leagues, in addition he completed a Leadership in Running Fitness course earlier in the year and hopes to go on to complete more courses in 2012.

Female New Member of the Year went to Marjie Davis, Marjie has been so supportive of the club marshalling with her 2 daughters – Charlie and Ruby Rocket at every club race and also competing in her first Cross Country at Framlingham in October, in addition Marjie ran in the 5k League and her support for the ladies team as well as the club saw her as the very worthy winner of award.

Male New Member of the Year went to Alex Cairns, Alex joined the club earlier in the year and has been another member full of enthusiasm for League races and is always very supportive of members at training nights, in addition he’s seen his times improve tremendously and having now joined the committee brings welcomed fresh ideas to the club. Alex is looking forward to competing in his first marathon in 2012 and the club is looking forward to supporting him throughout his training.

Female Veteran of the Year went to Mary Marsh, Mary is an asset to any club; her approach to running is that ‘she loves it’ and whenever you see her at races or club nights she’s full of enthusiasm for whatever lies ahead. She simply loves her half marathons and travels all over the UK to compete in them having a particular soft spot for the Great North Run. She’s a regular at local races and always gives everything her very best putting in great performances personally and at team level.

Male Veteran of the Year went to Paul Holley. Paul has competed for the club all year at the top level winning the veteran trophy at the County League Cross Country Championships in January and going on to run in the Cross Country and 5 Leagues as well as posting a London Marathon time of 2.53 and bettering that in October when he ran in the Loch Ness Marathon to finish in 2.47. In addition Paul posted one of his best half marathon times this year in the Bath Half Marathon crossing the line in 1:13 and currently leads the club 5k Winter Handicap for 2011/2012.

Annual General Meeting Minutes

Chairmans Report

Year End Accounts

Running in the under 11 race which also included some jumps thrown in was Ruby Davis who emulated her father by being left at the start but didn’t let this stop her from  putting in a brilliant race and picking off other competitors throughout also showing some brilliant jumping skills throughout the race.

The Seniors had over 240 competitors line up which is an amazing turnout and shows how highly contested the league is within Suffolk. After watching his son Ryan finish first for the Junior Joggers team gave Paul Holley the incentive to put in a great race and finish 5th overall (1st male veteran) as well as first home for the Senior team to make it a Holley double on the day for the team.  Next for the club was Vincent Coogan who must have the biggest and loudest support team out there with his 3 sons screaming him into the finish as he put in a burst of acceleration in the final lap to record 8th position closely followed by teammate Charlie Fawler in 9th, with 3 top 10 finishes the League could not have started any better for the men.  Other results: Ben Blowes (37), Brian Munns (43), Alex Cairns (53), Neville Clarke (72), Jason Beeton (73), Steve Edwards (77), Jim Wither (91), Adam Etches (113), Clive Purbrook (142), Chris Aylmer (203)

The ladies team had 8 line up and first home for the club recording the fantastic position of 111th overall was Ursula White who as ever put in a perfect performance to lead the ladies on the way, next for the club was Susannah Rush in 151st position with Sue Stoten next in 198th.  Finishing as a trio were new team members Angela Barnes (200), Belinda Schofield (201) and Marjie Davis (202). Diana Thomas was next in 215th position with Lisa Jennings putting in a welcome return to the team to finish in 239th position.

These fine results have given the team the incentive they need to start the league flying and hopefully continue this form throughout to ensure that silverware yet again comes there way at the end of the season in March.

Being new to the event did not deter the Joggers enthusiasm for the race and all 17 who were part of the running team had been to either run or walk their stages beforehand to ensure that they knew the route and what lay ahead. The relay required meticulous planning and it wasn’t just the runners that had to put in hard work as it took a support crew of 6 to timekeep, drive and ensure the runners were in place where they should be and on the line ready to take the baton, in addition the relay is notorious for its strict rules and regulations that have seen many clubs disqualified in the past resulting in non completion.

The support team of Debbie Read, Jim Withers, Carolynn Anderson and Kevin Collins met in King’s Lynn early on Saturday morning to register the team and welcome the first runner, Keith Williams and accompany him to the start. Keith’s stage was 16.81 miles long and started at 9am, Keith is a seasoned marathon runner however he had struggled to incorporate some long runs into his training schedule recently due to work commitments but this did not deter him from running his heart out to finish on top of the cliffs at Hunstanton in a time of 2hrs 14 minutes and get the team off to a flying start before passing the baton to Neville Clarke who had a stage of 14.06 miles in distance again running along the Norfolk Coastal path which Neville is very familiar with being a Norfolk lad.  He put in a great run which was tough in stages as its very open and due to the nature of the race had long stretches where you couldn’t see another runner just endless coastal paths, this didn’t deter him nor put him off his stride as he completed in 1hr 57 secs passing the baton onto Jason Beeton in Burnham Overy,  Jason was using his stage of the relay as a warm up for the following days Great North Run but the 5.76 miles ahead of him was as tough as a half marathon as the route incorporated sand dunes and undulating terrain in parts and in true team spirit Jason didn’t save any of his energy for the following days race as he gave the race his absolute all passing the baton onto Lisa Redman in Wells and clocking a time of 41:59 before jumping into a car to head up to Newcastle.  Lisa’s stage took in 11.14 miles of coastal path as well as a pirate carnival along the way!  Lisa had been suffering with illness prior to the event but she dug deep and put in a brilliant run to finish on the shingle beach at Cley in 1hrs 42 mins rewarding herself with a well deserved paddle in the sea afterwards. Waiting to pick up the baton was Ursula White who had 10.81 miles ahead of her and one of the most notoriously tough stages of the race due to miles of shingle and sand as well as a tough cliff climb, as ever Ursula showed her strength and when the Red Arrows did a fly over just before her stage end at Cromer this gave her another surge of motivation as she finished strongly to pass onto Julie Sheldrick who had a team out in force supporting her including her Mum and dog Marley and she gave everyone something to cheer about as she put in a fabulous run taking minutes off her predicted time and completed her 7.9 miles in a time of 62:53 minutes in the village of Mundesley where Susannah Rush was waiting to undertake the next stage which is 9;24 miles in distance and the exceptional running was obviously infectious as Susannah put in a blinding run and with Jim Withers supporting her on the bike crossed the line in 70:12 minutes recording a new PB for the distance.

By this time the support crew, which also included Lynda McCormack, were passing on messages to the other runners who were waiting to take on their stages that the race was well and truly on and this proved infectious as waiting for Susannah at the end of her stage in Lessingham was Adrian Whittle who had 7.52 miles ahead of him and now it was starting to get dark so the support vehicles kicked in and Adrian set off in the shadow of the flashing beacon from the van and took on the road, at one point he was almost carried out by a stag which leapt in front of him luckily Adrian escaped its antlers and didn’t miss a stride as he ran on towards the village of Horsey to pass the baton onto Neil Williamson and record a time of 61:06 minutes for his leg.  Neil took on his stage flying and determined to continue the amazing efforts of his 8 predecessors he didn’t disappoint despite running on roads that minutes earlier had seen flash flooding which he luckily missed along with the fork lightening which could be seen in the distance, Neil ran consistently and with strength covering the 11.3 miles with ease and finished along the promenade in Great Yarmouth recording a stage time of 1hr 25 minutes before passing the baton to Paul Holley who would cross the halfway point in his leg and having been in contact with the support team beforehand was well aware of the great performances recorded in the 12 hours before him. Paul set off through the streets of Yarmouth at a blistering pace which he maintained throughout every mile of his 20.06 mile stage which saw the Jogger overtake 9 other teams and have the support van sign of Slow Moving Vehicle being replaced with Fast Moving Vehicle as it sped along the A143 to the Bungay changeover, Paul came into changeover in a time of 2hrs 6 minutes to pass onto Alan Shand who was waiting eagerly to start his 14.6 mile stage, Alan is a master of long distance events having recently completed the 54 mile Comrades Marathon in May.  Alan was full of enthusiasm as ever and got off to a great start however 7 miles in saw him suffering with stomach cramps but he battled through the pain barrier and found the strength to complete in 2hrs and 7 minutes and handover to Greg Davis who was waiting in Scole and ready to tackle his stage which was 19.67 miles in distance.  Greg had a battle early on with a runner from Bishops Stortford who managed to get past the Jogger in the early stages however this did not deter Greg who maintained perfect pacing throughout and kept the runner in his sights overtaking him easily 3 miles from the stage end and this manoeuvre was met with cheers of delight from his support crew who by this time had been awake for almost 24 hours and were overloading on caffeine and at times hallucinating.  Greg came into Thetford picking up the pace as he looked forward to getting into his car which he hoped would be at the changeover point waiting for him, picking up the pace Greg put in a strong final mile to pass the baton onto Brian Munns and complete in 2hrs 7 minutes. Brian was on the road and off at a rate of knots showing his usual determination and dedication to the team and burning up the miles as he passed along the outskirts of Thetford Forest towards Brandon the Jogger looked comfortable throughout his stage and overtook many other teams as he cruised towards Feltwell in a time of 1hr 30 mins to pass the baton onto Steve Edwards who as dawn was approaching had a leg of 8.8 miles ahead of him, Steve had a great start and was clipping along with ease when completely out of the blue he had to stop due to feeling nauseous which soon passed and saw him take off again and as the early morning mist started to rise he continued into changeover to Noel Benn in a time of 1hr 5 mins. Noel was waiting and ready in Wissington and had Debbie Read cycling along-side as well as an A Team of supporters as other Joggers had stayed on after their stages to cheer the team on.  Noel’s stage was 7.2 miles in distance and he ran with ease through the twisting Fen Roads towards Downham Market, looking confident throughout his stage he finished in 52:32 minutes before passing the baton onto Sue Stoten who had the penultimate stage ahead of her. Sue had been nervous about her stage but she didn’t need to be as she recorded a tremendous time of 48:21 minutes for the 5.49 miles, this was 2 minutes under her predicted time and reiterated the efforts put in by every runner to do their very best for the team.

The final leg was down to Vincent Coogan who was at the start of his stage in Stowbridge with his wife Elspeth, their 3 boys and an earwig, as the support crew arrived Vincent did a warm up and as the sun started to burn through Sue came over the bridge down into changeover and passed the baton onto Vincent who took off at amazing speed with Debbie Read frantically peddling to try and keep up with him as his support cyclist.  The final stage is 11.73 miles in distance however this did not deter Vincent who ran at 5:55 min per mile pace to record a total stage time of 69:33 minutes, an incredible feat and great finale to the relay which saw him cross the line on the track at the Lynnsport Leisure Centre in King’s Lynn to the cheers of his fellow club members and family as well as the legendary Dr Ron Hill MBE.

The team completed the 195 miles in a time of 24 hours 42 minutes and 53 seconds, this saw the Joggers as 23^rd overall out of 57 teams, 7^th club team and 2^nd in the newcomer category. The sense of achievement at not only completing the challenge but to do so successfully made up for all the hard work that had gone into organising the event and the lack of sleep which by this time was reaching 36 hours.  This was the silver jubilee for the relay and it’s fitting that the Joggers should be part of such a momentous occasion.  For a small club like the Newmarket Joggers to pull together and compete at the highest level is a massive undertaking and shows how far the club has come in recent years to be able to field a team in events like this and finish with such credibility gaining respect from other clubs who congratulated us on our achievement.  2011 has seen the club go from strength to strength and now as it approaches 100 members it’s hoped that the years that follow will see more successes in individual and team events. What’s been learned over the last 6 months is that as a team the Joggers are up there with the very best due to the commitment the club has from every member to do their absolute best for the team.

The memories of the weekend’s events will live with every member and in true Joggers style the team met up on Sunday night to celebrate and reiterate the stories of the weekend. The photo’s that are now circulating only give a glimpse of the tremendous efforts by everyone but each and every participant, whether running or in the support team, are more than aware of the fact that they have been part of something very special and momentous for the club.

Leg Statistics:

• Jason 8th & 5th senior male
• Ursula was 2nd lady
• Julie was 4th  lady
• Susannah beat all the Senior Ladies and was only beaten by 4 Lady Masters
• Paul 4th overall & 2nd master
• Greg 14th & 8th Master
• Brian 11th & 7th Master
• Sue 14th lady
• Vince 3rd & 2nd Senior Male

You really are the A-Team and I can think of no better final quote for this weekend than that famous phrase from Hannibal – ‘I love it when a plan comes together’

Leading from the onset Newmarket Jogger Matthew Harvey ran an incredible race to finish 1st overall in 33:53, a new course record, Matthew is the first competitor to break 34 minutes and it’s fitting that the course record goes to the host club. The last few months have seen Matthew rack PB’s over various distances from Marathon to 5k and winning podium finishes are becoming something of a habit for the Jogger who set a PB of 2:36 in this year’s London Marathon and a week later went out and won the Newmarket 6k Heath race followed by the Saffron Walden 5k a fortnight later.

Matthew’s parents who helped marshal the event proudly cheered their son home as he took home yet more silverware. The race was extremely competitive with some of the regions finest athletes turning out and Maz Firouzi, Cambridge Tri Club, wasn’t going to make it easy for the Jogger as he ran a very competitive race to finish 2nd in 33:59.

Robert Reason, Harwich Runners 34:03 was 3rd overall. Robin Clifford was the next Jogger to cross the line in 35:23 with team mate Vincent Coogan in 6th place in 36:00, having 3 finishers in the top 6 guaranteed team victory to Newmarket Joggers. The ladies race was won by Sarah Simpson in 42:43 with Gail Pryce, Ipswich Jaffa 2nd in 43:05 and 3rd female was Julie Humphries Alton Runners in 44:23.

Men’s results
1 Matthew Harvey – Newmarket Joggers 00:33:53
2 Maz Firouzi – Cambridge Triathlon 00:33:59
3 Robert Reason – Harwich Runners 00:34:03

Women’s results
1 Gail Pryke – Ipswich JAFFA Female Master 00:43:05
2 Julie Humphries - Alton Runners 00:44:23
3 Emily Godderham – St Edmund Pacers 00:45:46