Stephen Williams 10K (Sunday 18th July): Organised by St Edmund Pacers in Thurston, Suffolk, this race attracted 7 Joggers. Promising new member Jonathan Pye was first home in 39:06, 19th of 298 runners overall, his first known 10K on record and an excellent effort in the very hot conditions. Next for the Joggers’ came ace veteran Neville Clarke (46:29, 80th, 2nd of 10 M65), Brian Munns (48:12, 98th, 10th of 31 M55), Clive Purbrook (51:15, 128th, 4th M65), Ruth Bell (51:29, 131st, 19th of 100 F [female runners]), Andy Hayward (58:07, 188th) and Jim Withers (58:39, 195th, 8th M65). Ruth Bell is another promising new member and the only female Jogger in the race, putting in a very competent performance.
Above left: Ruth Bell (on left) with friend. Above right: A great shot of Andy Hayward
putting in a strong effort at the finish. Thanks for sharing your photos on Strava.
Aldi Chester 10K (Sunday 18th July): Mark Hayward put in a great effort in the heat, to clock 36:44, 34th of 2,243 finishers overall. This was just outside his best 10K of 2021 (35:43), at Snetterton Race Track last April.
Bedford 10K (Sunday 18th July): This was Simon Harris’s first race since the Cambridge Half Marathon in March 2020, just before the first lockdown. He did very well under the hot conditions to finish in 39:06, 11th of 348 runners overall, 2nd of 42 in M40.
Vitality London 10,000 in Hatfield Park (Sunday 11th July): This race had been postponed from the late May Bank Holiday weekend and moved to Hatfield Park in Hertfordshire. The temperature was reasonable at around 18°C. Two Joggers enjoyed the scenery along this fairly tough, undulating, partly wooded route, mostly along hard paths. Anna Mayhew was first home in a creditable 57:51, 17th of 71 in F50 and 152nd of 608 female runners. Then came Chris Aylmer in 1:02:05, 5th of 16 M70, 850th of 1,430 finishers overall.
The start of the first wave of the Vitality London 10,000 in Hatfield Park. Photo by Chris Aylmer
Hatfield House, in full view of the runners at the 9K mark of the Vitality London 10,000. Photo by Chris Aylmer.
Race To The Stones (Saturday 10th July): Marc Drury took on this massive 100km challenge all in one day, without the option of an overnight stay. He did an impressive time of 11:55:20, putting him 105th of 1,494 competitors, 209 of whom failed to finish. That represented a very decent pace of 7:09/km (11:30/mi) over the whole race, including any stops. The route, which included 3,704ft of climb, started in the village of Lewknor, Oxfordshire and led to the ancient Avebury Stone Circle in Wiltshire some 62 miles away. Some amazing scenery and the three Castles of Uffington, Liddington and Barbury were encountered on the way.
Thetford Summer Trail 10K (Thursday 8th July at High Lodge, Thetford Forest): Clive Purbrook was the first Jogger to finish this tough trail course in a quick time of 51:01, 25th of 67 overall and 2nd M65. Then came Sarah Kinston (1:07:02, 21st F) and Lisa Ann Garrand (1:09:11, 22nd F).
Virtual Kevin Henry 5K League (10th – 13th June): Newmarket Joggers continued their upward trend in the June virtual Kevin Henry League fixture, the third of 6 virtual fixtures, where individual club members run over a local 5K route of their choosing and send in their results to the league organiser. Joggers had their best result so far, with the men finishing 3rd of the 8 clubs and the women 6th. They now stand a combined 5th of 8 in the League after 3 fixtures, with the men 4th and the women 6th. Top 5 male Joggers were: Jimmy Smith 16:56, 6th of 220 male runners, Mark Hayward 17:31, 9th, Paul Holley 17:55, 16th, Jamie Rule 19:05, 30th, and Jonathan Pye 19:23, 34th. Top 5 women were: Hannah Parsons 22:07, 20th of 209 female runners, Olivia Carter 23:22, 29th, Ruth Bell 23:34, 30th, Ellie Margetts 23:39, 32nd and Elke Hausler 24:04, 37th. Well done for a great performance and turnout by the whole team.
Run Newmarket 5K (began Sunday 4th July @ 11:15am): Great news that this 5K is back and is being organised by the same generous group of volunteers, but is no longer called the Great Run Local. The Great Run organisation (who put on the Great North Run and a growing number of other ‘Great’ UK races) relinquished their sponsorship of GRL soon after the first lockdown. The run is still being timed using a phone app but there is currently no way to check the results online. The times will be called out as runners pass the finish line, or runners can simply time themselves on watches. If you would like to check your result online or the results of others, it might be necessary to join the Run Newmarket Strava Club, so that the 5km Strava segment time could be used for all who run the route and choose to make their activity public. Jimmy Smith set the fastest Strava segment time so far for a Newmarket Jogger, with his 18:33 on 11th July. Then come Jason Beeton on 21:17, Mark Hayward on 21:18 and Jonathan Ollington 22:31. For the Joggers’ women, Nicole Smith leads on 26:29, from Angela Brennan 31:23, Sarah Kinston 34:10 and Lisa Ann 34:47. Well done all those runners. Other Joggers may have done quicker times if their activities are not uploaded or not visible on Strava.
Some of Sianie’s Run Group after the Run Newmarket 5K on 18th July. Thanks to Lisa Ann for posting the photo on Strava.