Forty-eight Newmarket Joggers among 9,400 in Cambridge Half Marathon

Cambridge Half Marathon, Sunday Oct 17^th: This is the most popular club race of the year for Newmarket Joggers and they turned out in numbers. The race is normally held in March but was postponed this year due to Covid-19.

The first 3 Joggers home were Jimmy Smith (1:17:29, 56^th of 9,400 overall, 6^th of 814 in M40-44), Jonathan Pye (1:23:36, 201^st overall, 37^th of 758 in M30-34) and Troi Baxter (1:26:20, 312^th overall, 17^th F of 3,922, 5^th of 587 in F25-29).

Above: All the fun of the fair at the start wave gates 🙂

Above: Some of the Joggers pictured before the race. Thanks to Bridget for the photo on Strava.

Jimmy Smith, who clocked 1:17:39 in his only other attempt at this race in March 2020, has held onto his form tenaciously, in virtual club races throughout the pandemic and also in live races after the easing of restrictions, so fully deserves his excellent performance this year. Recently joined club member Jonathan Pye has a PB of 1:18:39 for this race in 2018 but, understandably, his form may have been slightly derailed due to the pandemic. This result gets him right back on track and shaves over 6 minutes off his previous half marathon time earlier this year. Interesting that he ran without a watch, yet paced himself perfectly. Recently joined member Troi Baxter is having a tremendous year of running, with seemingly effortless PBs over marathon (Berlin & London) and half marathon (London Big Half) distances in 2021. This race brings her another PB by over 3 minutes and a formidable 17^th place among 3,922 female finishers. She loves her running and thinks nothing of putting in 50 miles per week training, which seems to have given her the utmost confidence in her ability.

Second female Jogger home was Hannah Parsons (1:38:31, 135^th F, 10^th of 475 in F45-49). She has been on a steep upward trend since joining the club 3 years ago, and achieved a PB by nearly 2 minutes, beating her previous best in the Cambridge Half in March 2020. Third female jogger was Helina Salo (1:41:08,192^nd F, 45^th of 587 in F25-29), who has quickly established herself as one of the club’s top female runners after only recently joining. In fourth for the women came Sarah Boneham (1:46:11, 353^rd F, 20^th of 378 in F50-54), who has been in great form since the reinstatement of real, live races. Third and fourth male Joggers home were James Walker (1:30:04, 560^th, 96^th of 819 in M35-39) and Stuart Sowerby (1:31:20, 638^th, 57^th of 729 in M45-49). Walker picks and chooses his races very carefully, beating his time in this race last year by over a minute for a new PB. Sowerby is a consistently high achiever in his age group, coming close to his 1:29:34 in the same race last year.

 

Above Left: Isabel Vicente had fun and drew lots of cheers in fancy dress. Above Centre: Bridget Wallwin enjoys a great HM debut. Above Right: A well-deserved PB for Andy Fryatt. Thanks for the great Strava photos.

Claire Acklam (1:48:47, 464th F, 2^nd of 78 in F60-64) deserves a special mention here. She joined the club as a novice runner in her late fifties about 2 years ago (now in her 60s), and it was soon obvious that she had a natural talent for running, of which she had never been aware. She has been pushing out impressive 24 to 25 minute club 5K runs ever since, but this was her first ever entry into an officially organised race, and at a half marathon distance to boot. She basically “smashed it” at the first attempt and achieved her highest ever age grade of 77.40% to put her second highest of all our female club members. That is extraordinary progress.

A list of all the other Joggers, who did the club proud, in order of finishing: Andy Fryatt M50 1:33:03 PB, Adam Maltpress M40 1:34:19 PB, James Thomson M35 1:35:22, Jonathan Ollington M50 1:35:39 PB, Richard Jones M55 1:41:57, Phil Blundell M45 1:43:33, Jon Brooker M55 1:43:55, Shane Basing M35 1:44:18 PB, John Reeve M25 1:44:53 PB, Clive Purbrook M65 1:46:19, Ellie Margetts F40 1:48:08 PB, Jeremy Reader M45 1:48:43, Ruth Bell F25 1:50:02 PB, Marc Walker M50 1:51:42 PB, Claire Gaskell F35 1:52:28 PB, Vanessa Allen F45 1:54:19 PB, Andy McKeague M35 1:55:45 PB, Miles Johnson M65 1:55:54, Ellie Bithell F40 1:56:51, Lisa Johnson F25 1:58:39 PB, Robert Hawkins M55 1:58:50 PB, Matt Askham M55 1:59:58 PB, Rachael Maltpress F40 2:01:34 PB, Melanie Tindale F40 2:02:36, Baz Colley M50 2:04:30, Robert Kingsley M45 2:05:47 PB, Bridget Wallwin F50 2:07:03 PB, Jan Holmes F55 2:09:13, Lynda McCormack F60 2:12:05, Paul Roberts M40 2:13:26 PB, Suzanne Bailey F55 2:15:48 PB, Chris Aylmer M70 2:17:11, Jo Blackstock F30 2:18:22, Adam Orriss M30 2:23:50, Brian Rice M55 2:24:00 PB, Mary Marsh F65 2:30:52, Alexia Smithson F35 2:38:17, Karyn Smith F50 2:41:57 PB, Isabel Vicente F50 3:24:52 (in fancy dress).

Above left: James Thomson in full flow. Above centre: A surreal Ruth Bell. Above right: Brian Rice, Robert Kingsley and Bridget Wallwin. Thanks for sharing photos on Strava.

Other Races Roundup

SRC Born to Run Multi-Loop Half Marathon, Sun Oct 17^th, Barrow: Ruth Eberhardt (1:50:38, 1^st finisher of 21 overall) was in electric form, claiming first place and maintaining almost level splits over a very hilly, double-loop course, with 661ft of climb. Ruth has been firing on all cylinders in recent months, which is great to see. Cambridge Town & Gown 10K, Sat Oct 16^th: Andrew Taylor (42:42, 82^nd of 954 overall, 19^th in M40-49) put in his first known 10K of the year and a speedy one too. Emma Reader (1:11:10, 402^nd F) was over the moon with her run, her fastest 10K time for several years. That’s helped to erase any negative thoughts after her London Marathon race three weeks ago. Duxford Dash 5K & 10K, Sun Oct 17^th: Wayne Hargreaves (26:57, 29^th of 113 overall) was happy to achieve his sub-27 target in the 5K event. In the 10K, Sarah Martin (1:02:30, 71^st F of 134) enjoyed her first 10K of the year, while partner Baz was enjoying himself in the Cambridge Half. Endurance Life Trail 10K, Sat Oct 16^th, Dunwich: Clive Purbrook (50:49, 24^th of 143 overall) couldn’t resist this warm up race before the Cambridge Half next day. It must have been tough going, along the beach and over the sand dunes. Blickling Half Marathon, Sun Oct 17^th: Neville Clarke (1:41:48, 83^rd of 509 overall, 1^st of 12 in M65) put in his best half marathon time this year and is in great form.