On Sunday 1st October, 14 Joggers turned out for the ABINGTON 10K at Granta Park, southeast of Cambridge. No doubting the 1-2-3 dominance of Cambridge & Coleridge AC men’s team, who made it a 1-2-3 on the podium. However, Newmarket Joggers did the next best thing and made it a 4-5-6, with Robert Dobson (33:39PB, 4th of 248 overall, 2nd of 34 in M40-49) first Jogger home, from Mark Hayward (33:47, 5th, 3rd in M40-49) and Joey Bendall (34:42PB, 6th, 3rd of 58 in M18-39).
Joggers at the Abington 10K at Granta Park. Back row from left: Hannah Pollard, Neil Pollard, Joey Bendall, Robert Dobson, Mark Hayward, Lynda McCormack and Lucy Hartley; front row: Chris Aylmer, Caroline Mcintosh and Sianie Painter. Ellie Bithell, Helen Wass and Lisa Garrand not in photo. Many thanks for the team photo.
First female Jogger to finish was Hannah Pollard (45:45, 11th F of 98, 6th of 27 in F35-44), who was being paced by husband Neil Pollard (45:47, 70th, 18th in M40-49). Then came Eleanor Bithell (47:21PB, 15th F, 4th of 29 in F45-54), gaining a PB by one second compared with the Langtoft 10k last April, followed by Helen Wass (54:55, 40th F, 8th of 20 in F55-64), who recorded her fastest 10k time since 2017.
Above left: Hannah & Neil Pollard at the start; above right: Sianie Painter and her son Callum, with medals. Thanks for the photos.
Other Joggers to finish were: Lucy Hartley (1:00:39, 59th F, 18th in F35-44), in her first race since joining the club; Lisa Garrand (1:01:28, 62nd F, 19th in F35-44); Sianie Painter (1:03:28, 72nd F, 17th in F55-64), who helped pace her son; Lynda McCormack (1:03:42, 73rd F, 18th in F55-64); Chris Aylmer (1:06:14, 227th, 3rd of 5 in M70-79) and Caroline Mcintosh (1:07:48, 88th F, 3rd of 4 in F65-74), the latter knocking nearly 4 minutes off her previous best 10k time this year at Norwich. Jason Beeton (41:01, 32nd, 15th in M18-39) was representing his first claim club Thetford AC and achieved a year best time.
Also on Sunday, in the BAXTER’S LOCH NESS MARATHON, Marc Drury (3:13:01, 115th of 3,502 overall, 16th of 413 in M50-54) and Angela Drury (5:03:46, 846th F of 1,330, 260th of 402 in F40-44) both very much enjoyed the scenic route. Marc was well pleased with his marathon effort, which was very close to his PB of 3:12:14 gained at Manchester in April 2022. His overall position and age group performance were impressive. Angela was going very well in the first half (2h:07m split) but developed very uncomfortable stomach problems in the second half and showed true grit and determination to carry on to the finish.
Above: Marc & Angela Drury at the Baxter’s Loch Ness Marathon. Many thanks for the photos.
Lots of Joggers turned out for club member Nicole Smith’s 100th parkrun 5k, at the Wimpole Estate on Saturday morning. Helping to seal the occasion, her husband Jimmy Smith was first finisher of 331 overall in a time of 17:30. Another club member, Nathan Brown, finished third in 18:34. Nicole herself clocked 27:19 and came 3rd of 27 in her age group. She is enjoying a great year of running.
