On Friday evening, Joggers kicked off the weekend at the Ickworth Sunset Chase in Ickworth Park, near Bury St Edmunds. In the 5K event, Sarah Last (30:30 SB, 24th of 58 overall, 12th F of 41, 1st of 2 in F50-54) put in her best 5k time this year and was close to her all-time PB of 30:20, achieved in the very same race last year. Gillie Green (39:39, 34th F, 4th in F60) also put in a good effort. In the 10K event, Paul Roberts (48:43, 34th of 284 overall, 6th of 17 in M45-49) was well up with the pace and had no trouble beating the sunset.
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On Saturday, Cienna Carter and Richard Defries took on the stunningly beautiful but extremely hilly Swiss Peaks Trail Marathon, which went from Morgins to Le Bouveret, Lake Geneva, Switzerland. The route involved 8,136ft of climb, though it did drop about 3,000ft in overall altitude from start to finish. The major climbs were in the first 30km of this rather long 45.9km ‘marathon’ course. Cienna (9:32:01, 369th of 471 overall) and Richard (9:32:02, 370th overall) kept together all the way and took time to enjoy the views, still finishing well within the 15-hour cut-off time.
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ON SUNDAY, JOGGERS FOUND SIX RUNNING EVENTS:
Sarah Osborne was in unstoppable form in the Bewl Water Swim-Run 10K near Tunbridge Wells in East Sussex. This event involved alternating swims and runs all the way through, with 6 swims (no more than 400m) and 7 runs (no more than 2km). Sarah (1:21:54, 1st of 66 overall, 1st F of 25) finished over 4 minutes ahead of the field and over 9 minutes ahead of the next female participant. Her form has come on in leaps and bounds this year.
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Four Joggers were among the huge field of over 17,000 in the London Big Half, which started near the Tower of London and went on an out & back excursion to Canary Wharf, before making a regal crossing of Tower Bridge and heading southeast to the finish at The Cutty Sark. First NJ home was Jonathan Ollington (1:47:43, 4,027th of 17,193 overall, 95th of 468 in M55-59), who did very well in his age group. Next came Jo Bouttell (2:21:14 PB, 4,125th F of 7,695, 57th of 167 in F60-64), who absolutely ‘smashed it’ with a huge PB of about 16 minutes; she is having a great season at all distances from 5k to marathon. Then came Caroline Mcintosh (2:52:02, 6,583rd F, 14th of 25 in F70-74) and Pearl Fay (2:57:34, 6,859th F, 47th of 63 in F65-69), both with very good efforts and consistent pacing. This was Pearl’s NJ Women’s Grand Prix wild card, keeping her safely in current 4th position.
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Three Joggers were among more than 46,000 fellow participants in the Great North Run, which followed a half marathon course from Newcastle-upon-Tyne to South Shields on the east coast. First of the Joggers home was Jeremy Reader M50 (1:54:30 SB, 9,803rd of 46,201 overall) in his best half marathon time this year. Then came Mike Sales M55 (2:14:11, 21,290th) and Sarah Sales F55 (2:22:23 SB, 26,006th), who have been loyal entrants into this race for many years and continue to enjoy the event and put in very good times, despite concentrating mainly on trail running these days. Apologies that gender and age group positions are not easily searchable in the GNR results.
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In the Run Norwich 10K, Barley Woodcock (40:52 SB, 211th of 7,797 overall, 15th of 442 in M45-49) set his own course record after 3 attempts at this race and did very well in his age group. Down in Suffolk, in the Framlingham 10K, Oliver Daykin (36:04 PB, 6th of 372 overall, 4th of 65 in MS) shaved 9 seconds off his 10k PB, despite the tough course, which climbs up the steep, cobbled Framlingham High Street three times in two-and-a-half laps. In the Sawtry 10M race, near Peterborough, Mark Hayward (57:32, 2nd of 311 overall, 2nd of 27 in M40-44) achieved an excellent result, though not quite as fast as his effort in the Tarpley 10M earlier this year (56:11).
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As an interesting conclusion, NJ Kirsty McDermott and club Chair Jimmy Smith set themselves an extraordinary challenge on Saturday: To run all the way from Norwich Station to Ipswich Station, some 50 miles away. They did this with nonchalant ease, at a relaxed pace (for them) of around 9:30/mi in 7h:57min, excluding a few stops along the way for refreshment. It was quite some achievement. This challenge adds to Kirsty’s London Tube challenges, where she runs from one end of the line to the other, past all the individual stations. It could start a craze….London to Edinburgh next?
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Many thanks for all the photos, which help to bring this report alive.
