Wymondham NYD 10K, Wymondham, Norfolk, Jan 1st 2022: Two Joggers had a crack at this race. Mark Hayward put in a tremendous performance, with an all-time PB of 35:16, putting him 9th of 470 runners overall and 2nd of 44 in M40. That’s the way to start the New Year. Alan Thornhill M70+ did well to clock 1:01:33 and finish 377th, despite being held back by crowding in the early stages.
Sublime Peterborough NYE 10K, Ferry Meadows 31st Dec 2021: Five Joggers took part in this annual race, which had to be cancelled in 2020 due to Covid-19. Much of the course was over rough, gravelly paths with a lot of mud, mixed in with soggy, fallen leaves, so fairly challenging conditions. Neil Pollard put in a fine effort to finish in 38:15, 23rd of 875 runners overall and 3rd of 54 in M40. Next came Jeremy Reader (49:45, 217th, 23rd of 73 in M45), Joe Cormack (243rd, 24th of 44 in M35), Claire Gaskell (51:30, 54th F of 434, 11th of 46 in F35) and Chris Aylmer (1:06:07, 679th, 4th of 6 in M70+). For Joe and Claire, it was their best age graded performances of 2021, with Claire reaching silver club standard, so plenty of encouragement for 2022.
Above left: Jeremy Reader at Ferry Meadows race briefing. Above right: Queue for rolling start.
Suffolk Running Centre (SRC), Barrow, Bury St Edmunds: It was the Christmas Triple Tipple event at the SRC from Tuesday 28th to Thursday 30th December 2021. A combination of Ultra, Marathon, Half Marathon and 10Ks were on offer over the three days, along measured road courses surrounding the village of Barrow, with a little tipple offered at the end of the races as a reward. Lisa Jennings completed three very evenly paced Half Marathons in 3 days, in times of 2:40:19, 2:40:17 and 2:51:54, a great achievement over a variety of hilly courses. Emma Reader (1:16:17) completed a 10K on Day 1, while Caroline Macintosh (1:16:32) opted for a 10K on Day 3, both possibly using the events as motivation for extra training miles, in preparation for longer races in the spring. Caroline has the Boston Marathon (US) in her sights for April 2022.
Haverhill XC, Suffolk Winter League, Horseheath, 19th Dec 2021: Newmarket Joggers (NJ) join together with Sudbury Joggers (SJ) in this league to form team Newmarket & Sudbury (‘N&S’). The full results are now out. In the 3rd fixture, our men’s first team continued to perform well and have moved up from 5th position to 4th position of the 17 competing teams, on a total of 7,729 points. That’s only 216 points behind the leaders Saint Edmund Pacers (SEP), with Felixstowe Road Runners (FRR) and Stowmarket Striders (SS) in 2nd and 3rd places. In the women’s competition, our first team have moved up from 9th to 8th of 15 competing teams, on 1,901 points, 440 points behind leaders SEP. Our combined men’s and women’s first teams remain in 5th position of 17 in the League on 9,550 points, 656 points behind leaders SEP. Overall, we are gradually edging up, little by little, bit by bit. Our second (B) and third (C) teams compete for separate prizes within their own divisions against their counterparts from other clubs. The main focus of the competition is naturally on the first team results, with some clubs not fielding enough runners for B or C teams.
Above left: Jimmy Smith 2nd from left. Above right: Andy Fryatt nearest camera. Thanks to Nicole Smith for these great action photos.
In the individual age group competitions Jimmy Smith NJ (1st of 29 in M40), Paul Holley NJ (1st of 42 in M55) and Neville Clarke NJ (1st of 20 in M65) are all still leading their age groups. Others doing well are Charles Hann SJ (3rd of 42 in M55), Jackie Hann SJ (4th of 31 in F55), Clive Purbrook NJ (4th of 20 in M65), Piotr Bulacz SJ (5th of 40 in M50), Mark Hayward NJ (5th of 29 in M40) and Charles Jones NJ (6th of 30 in M60).
Haverhill XC Team Members: Our men’s first team on 19th December comprised: James Smith NJ 9th of 162 male runners overall, Paul Holley NJ 12th, Joey Bendall NJ 19th, Mark Hayward NJ 31st, Piotr Bulacz SJ 35th, Jonathan Pye NJ 48th and Charles Hann SJ 53rd. Our women’s first team: Olivia Carter NJ 11th of 80 female runners overall, Annie Morris NJ 30th, Jackie Hann SJ 32nd and Bridget Wallwin NJ 59th. Men’s B team: Sam Sadler NJ 54th, Andy Fryatt NJ 78th, Charles Jones NJ 95th, Ben Cuthbert SJ 96th, Neville Clarke NJ 102nd, Tom Elton NJ 121st and Brian Munns NJ 125th. Women’s B team: Suzanne Bailey NJ 67th, Sianie Painter NJ 69th and Jo Bouttell NJ 76th. Men’s C team: Jeremy Reader NJ 129th, Robert Hawkins NJ 139th, Alan Thornhill NJ 154th and Chris Aylmer NJ 159th. Nicole Smith NJ kindly helped with team registration/position sheets as well as taking some great action photos and providing some delicious homemade cakes. Emma Reader NJ was there to support the team.
