Plenty to report, so maybe best to start with the longest race distance and work downwards.
On Sunday, March 16th, two Joggers opted for the traditional, annual, Cambridge Boundary Marathon, organised by Cambridge University Hare and Hounds (CUHH), which followed a mixed-terrain route along the approximate boundaries of the city. It was a fairly laid-back affair, unlike the TTP Cambridge Half Marathon the week before. Mark Geddie (4:16:56, 158th of 308 overall) was first Jogger home in his first race of the year, followed by Suzanne Bailey (5:19:01, 280th, 74th F of 81), who ran-walked the second half. Wendy Ancill originally intended to do the marathon but decided to call it a day at the half marathon point, clocking a very decent 1:51:05 and finishing 145th of 450 overall, 34th F of 187. NJ Chris Howell (1:49:52, 134th overall) also did well in the Half Marathon. There were no age categories in this event.
Above left: Mark Geddie in Cambridge Boundary Marathon; right: Suzanne’s new True Motion Hybrid running shoes, which she recommends. Thanks for the photos.
On the same day, Anna Mayhew took part in the Rome Marathon in Italy, as one of a relay team of four female runners called ‘LRG Gladiators’ from Let’s Run Girls. They finished in 4:29:41, with Anna’s quarter marathon leg timed at 1:08:21. There were 768 relay teams of 4, totaling 3,072 participants, so a useful way to boost entry numbers in the marathon, which attracted over 21,000 runners.
Above left: Anna Mayhew’s LRG Gladiators. with Anna on left; right: The Rome Marathon 2025. Thanks for photos.
Also on Sunday, three Joggers: Carol Cienna Carter, Hugh Tawell and Jimmy Smith, were honoured to be called up at short notice to represent Suffolk in the Essex 20M Inter-County Championship race at Carver Barracks, which was included as a sub-competition within the main Essex 20M open race. This was just one week after Carol and Hugh had put in huge efforts in the Cambridge Half, and only 3 weeks since Jimmy and Carol had completed the Tarpley 20M, so it was a big ask. For women’s and men’s teams, the aggregate time of the first three for each county was used for scoring, with lowest winning. Carol Carter (2:21:20, 40th F of 168, 3rd of 17 in F50) posted a great PB time to finish 3rd female for Suffolk, taking about a minute off her time in the Tarpley 20M, with Suffolk (6:55:31) finishing 7th of 8 counties and the winners Hertfordshire on 6:21:57. Hugh Tawell (1:56:50 PB, 24th of 466 overall) finished 1st male for Suffolk in his first time under 2 hours, with Jimmy Smith (2:06:11, 56th, 7th of 49 in M45) in 3rd place; Suffolk men’s team (6:07:53) finished 7th, with Essex the winners on an incredible 5:16:14. All three Joggers can be proud of their excellent performances for Suffolk.
Above: Hugh Tawell, Carol Cienna Carter & Jimmy Smith, representing Suffolk in Essex 20M. Thanks for photo.
Next to report are several spring half marathons, all on Sunday 16th March. Three Joggers were among 11,126 participants in the Bath Half Marathon in Somerset. First home was the in-form Jan Holmes (2:09:25, 7,004th overall, 2,341st F of 5,084, 25th of 86 in F60-64), followed by top efforts from Jo Bouttell (2:38:15, 4,331st F, 62nd in F60-64) and Pearl Fay (2:51:26, 4,713th F, 32nd in F65-69).
From left: Jo, Jan & Pearl after Bath Half; Jan Holmes; Pearl Fay; Jo Bouttell. Thanks for photos.
In the Colchester Half Marathon, Liam Elvidge (1:49:16, 975th of 2,816 overall, 539th of 1,062 in SM) showed total consistency by taking just 11 seconds longer than in the same race in last year, his only previous half marathon. Then came Chris Aylmer (2:38:44, 2,648th, 5th of 6 in M70-74), who was never happier to see the finish line.
Above from left: Liam Elvidge (to right); Liam (to left); Chris Aylmer, in Colchester Half. Thanks to Paul Holley and Liam.
In the High Lodge Half Marathon over trails, Hanneli Stevenson F45 (1:51:43, 51st of 187 overall, 11th F of 91) put in a very good performance and is in top form this year.
Above Hanneli Stevenson in High Lodge HM; the bib and medal. Thanks for photos.
In the Milton Keynes Half Marathon, 2nd claim member Lisa Beeton (2:01:51, 499th of 912 overall, 120th F of 354, 46th of 119 in F35-39) was in good form and slashed nearly 9 minutes off her previous PB, according to Power of 10.
Moving down in distance, Meera Mahadevan F50 ran well in the inaugural Wickersley 10K, near Rotherham in south Yorkshire, clocking 51:43 and finishing 241st of 815 overall, 36th F. No age group details were available. Meanwhile, new member Matthew Wisbey (M30-34) took on the Debden 5K at Carver Barracks, clocking 21:10 and finishing 23rd of 93 overall in his first known road race.
Above left: Matty Wisbey on the right, with friends; right: Debden 5K/10K medal. Thanks for photos.
English Schools Athletic Association Cross-Country (XC) Championship Finals at Ardingly Showground in West Sussex, Saturday, March 15th: Three junior Joggers were honoured to be chosen to represent their schools and counties in the ESAA XC Championship Finals, after reaching the necessary standards in the county and regional stages of the competition. Cerys Bithell and Lilian Corbett represented Cambridgeshire in the Senior Girls category (~17 to 18 yrs), while Harvey Thomas represented Suffolk in the Junior Boys category (~13 to 14 yrs). The Senior Girls XC race was over 4100m (4.1km), while the Junior Boys race was over 2850m (2.85km, oddly a lot shorter than in previous rounds), with the top 6 of each county to score. The standard of competition was extremely high.
Cerys Bithell (15:30, 1st for Cambridgeshire, 96th of 302 overall) and Lilian Corbett (18:14, 8th for Cambridgeshire, 279th overall) both put in top efforts against very tough opposition, with Cerys enjoying a particularly good race and achieving her highest age grade of the year at 76.99%. In the Senior Girls competition, Cambridgeshire finished 25th of 37 counties, with Sussex the winners. Harvey Thomas (09:50, 7th for Suffolk, 240th of 334 overall) also achieved his highest age grade this year from his time in this race, so was firing on all cylinders in a top class race. Suffolk finished 31st of 41 counties for Junior Boys, with Staffordshire the winners.
Above left: Harvey Thomas; right: The Senior Girls’ Cambridgeshire team: Lilian No. 52, Cerys 53.
Above left: Cerys, Harvey & Lilian; right: Harvey finishing his race. Thanks to Cheryl Thomas for photos.