Hockeys 5K League, Royston Heath, Wednesday 17th August: In the final and deciding fixture of the season, good news to report that Newmarket Joggers’ men’s team managed to secure 3rd place trophy of the 8 competing clubs in the league, with Cambridge & Coleridge AC and Histon & Impington Runners taking 1st and 2nd league positions. Neil Pollard (17:00, 3rd M of 156) put in a particularly good effort, taking the trophy for 3rd best men’s league performance of the series, ably supported by high-scoring team mates James Smith (17:45, 13th M), Paul Holley (18:00, 15th M), Mark Hayward (18:05, 18th M) and Jonathan Ollington (21:09, 63rd M).
Above: The Joggers on Royston Heath for the Hockeys 5K final fixture. Many thanks to the team for the photo.
The women’s team held firm in 7th league position, with excellent runs by our high-scoring female runners: Elke Hausler (23:09, 20th F of 117), Rebecca Oettle (24:07, 30th F), Danielle Jones (25:39, 47th F), Ruth Eberhardt (24:07, 54th F) and Suzanne Bailey (27:57, 62nd F). It’s worth noting that Elke Hausler, Suzanne Bailey, Paul Holley and Jonathan Ollington all fall into the 55-59 age category, so impressive performances indeed. Our combined men’s and women’s team finished 5th in the league. Congratulations to Hannah Parsons and Paul Holley, who were chosen by our club committee and received awards as Newmarket Joggers’ best team members for commitment, contribution and improvement.
Other Joggers earning valuable points for the team were: (female) Nicole Smith (28:50), Sarah Kinston (31:59), Svetlana Zinchenko (32:07), Sarah Martin (34:31) and Caroline Mcintosh (35:12); (male) Samuel Chapman (21:51), Andy Fryatt (22:17), Stephen Cousins (25:02), Brian Munns (25:32), Rob Hawkins (26:20), Malcolm Osbourn (31:49) and Chris Aylmer (32:04).
Dartmoor 50M Ultra, Devon, Saturday 20th August: Paul Holley took on this massive 53.1 mile challenge (from official gpx route map) and did extremely well to come home 2nd of 26 finishers overall and first male veteran in a time of 10:34:32, enduring a total climb of 7,940ft. This was despite his Garmin watch battery dying at about 41 miles, robbing him of pace, distance and mapping data and causing him to go wrong several times.
Above left: Paul Holley with his Dartmoor 50M medal and trophies for 2nd overall and 1st male veteran home; above right: the rugged hills of Dartmoor captured by Paul ‘en route’. Many thanks to Paul for posting the photos.
The Big Pilgrimage 54K Ultra, in Hampshire, going from Southampton to near Portsmouth, Sunday August 21st: Joe Cormack put in a huge effort in this 54.5km race (from official gpx route map) to complete the challenge in 5:33:51, 14th of 63 finishers overall and running at an impressive average pace of 9:53/mi (6:13/km). This was only his second ultramarathon event. He has improved in leaps and bounds over the last couple of years and is now aiming for the Thames Towpath 100K in three weeks’ time.
Above left: Joe Cormack (left) with Jeremy Reader, after the Ferry Meadows 10K in Peterborough earlier this year; above right: Joe’s medal in the Big Pilgrimage. Many thanks to Joe and Jeremy for Strava photos.
Sandringham 24, Sandringham Royal Estate, Norfolk, 20/21st August: James Thomson ran 5 x 5-mile laps of this scenic, wooded, multi-lap course, as half of a 24-hour male pair team called “Hammond Old Boys”. His friend completed 9 laps to make 14 in total in a time of 21:57:25, which included any breaks between laps for rest or sleep. Their fastest lap was 38:28. They were actually the only male pair team in the event, so finished first!
