It was the annual Cambridge Boundary Run on Sunday March 12th, organised by Cambridge University Hare & Hounds, with options of a half or full marathon route, roughly following the city boundary along pavement, footpath and trail. Jonathan Pye opted for the marathon run, going at a fairly leisurely pace for him, and no doubt enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere of this event as well as the scenery. He finished in a time of 4:44:17, 136th of 187 overall.
On the same day, new member Ian Butcher made the trip to Milton Keynes for the MK Festival of Running. He chose the 20 mile event, possibly for some useful marathon training, finishing in a time of 3:18:14, 422nd of 595 overall and 4th of 7 in M65-69.
Also on Sunday, Marc & Angela Drury found themselves up in the far northwest of England for the Carlisle Half Marathon. Marc was well pleased with his time of 1:30:40, coming home 78th of 677 overall and 27th of 122 in M40-49. This follows some months of niggling injuries stemming from the TCS London Marathon last October. Angela was also very happy with her time of 2:01:06, finishing 109th F of 260 and 31st of 92 in F40-49. They are now both looking forward to competing in the Paris Marathon on April 2nd. We wish them the best of fortune
Marc and Angela Drury had great runs in the Carlisle Half Marathon and are now looking forward to the Paris Marathon on April 2nd. Many thanks for the great Strava photo.
Five Joggers headed for the Burghley 7 road race (7 miles) near Stamford in Lincolnshire, with start/finish in the beautiful surroundings of Burghley House, a grand Elizabethan prodigy house, still home to the Cecil family and designed by architect William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley in the 16th Century. First Jogger to finish was Jan Holmes (1:09:39, 952nd of 1,449 overall, 400th F of 775, 28th of 72 in F55). Then came Bridget Wallwin (1:11:07, 442nd F, 35th in F55), Sarah Kinston (1:19:03, 633rd F, 97th in F45), Pearl Fay (1:20:14, 655th F, 30th in F60) and Jo Bouttell (1:27:54, 663rd F, 57th in F55). All the Joggers thoroughly enjoyed their race and the scenery along the route.
Joggers at the Burghley 7 near Stamford in Lincolnshire. From left: Sarah Kinston, Bridget Wallwin, Pearl Fay, Jan Holmes and Jo Bouttell, with Burghley House in the distance behind. Many thanks for the great photo.
On Saturday 11th March, the Inter-County XC Championships took place at Prestwold Hall in Loughborough, organised by the UK Counties Athletics Union. The Suffolk teams for Loughborough had been selected from the results of the Suffolk County XC Championships on January 8th, at the Royal Hospital School in Holbrook, near Ipswich.
Newmarket Joggers were honoured to have Mark Hayward and Jimmy Smith picked to represent Suffolk County in the men’s senior team at Loughborough. For Jimmy, it was the 5th time he’s worn the county vest. The standard of competition was extremely high in this 12km cross-country race, with a total of 298 top-class runners competing. Hayward and Smith were 263rd and 283rd in 46:09 and 47:35, It was an enormous challenge for the team and they all enjoyed being part of this high-class event. Suffolk finished 27th of 32 counties, with Leicestershire & Rutland coming top. In the women’s senior competition, Suffolk finished 12th of 29 counties, with Surrey taking first place.
The Suffolk senior men’s team at the Inter-Counties XC Championships at Loughborough. Jimmy Smith 4370 and Mark Hayward 4363. Many thanks for the great team photo.
Suffolk Winter XC League 2022-23 UPDATE:
The results of the Bungay Black Dog XC at Southwold on March 5th have now been released. Great news that our Newmarket Joggers & Sudbury Joggers (N&S) men’s A Team (= first 7 to finish in each fixture) have held onto 2nd position of 19 clubs in the league, despite some of our fastest runners being unable to run on the day due to other commitments. The rest of the team really stepped up bravely to fill the void and pulled a rabbit out of the hat.
Our combined women’s and men’s A teams (first 4 women and first 7 men to finish each fixture) have also done well to hold onto 3rd place in the combined table (‘combined’ meaning men’s and women’s team points added together).
Our women’s A team have been improving steadily all season and now stand in 8th position in their table. Our men’s, women’s and combined B and C teams are holding their own across the board, from 5th to 8th positions, showing we have strength in depth and enough in reserve when needed. We obviously need a very good turnout and performance at the last fixture at Horseheath on March 26th to hold onto the podium positions for men’s league table and for the combined league table. The points margins are currently very small, so it will be all hands on deck 🙂
Individually, we have a number of N&S runners who have a good chance to win age group trophies or have already done enough to guarantee a win. To win an age group trophy, a minimum of 4 fixtures must be be completed, with the best 4 to count. Those who cannot complete 4 fixtures have now been removed from the tables. Neville Clarke (M65-69), Paul Holley (M55-59) and Jimmy Smith (M40-44) have all put in great performances and are set to win first place trophies, while Mark Hayward (M40-44) and Belinda Schofield (F65-69) have had an excellent season and are both sure of a podium spot. Sarah Osborne (F Senior) and Piotr Bulacz (M50-54) have also been running in peak form and look set to win trophy places if they can compete in the final fixture. So, there should be plenty to celebrate on the individual front come the end of the season.