A host of top performances and PB times by Newmarket Joggers over the weekend

Starting with the Chester Marathon on Sunday 5th October, Oliver Daykin (2:43:10 PB, 45th of 6,698 overall, 24th of 2,093 in M18-34) and Kirsty McDermott (2:49:25 PB, 98th overall, 4th F of 1,800, 2nd of 257 in F35-39) were both in absolute top form. In his 3rd marathon to date, Oliver shaved 1m:39s of his previous best time in Edinburgh earlier this year, while Kirsty took over 21 minutes off her previous best time, gained in the Solway Coast Marathon 2024 in Cumbria (known as a flat and fast road route). This was the second fastest marathon time ever recorded by a female Newmarket Jogger, after Troi Baxter’s 2:45:56 in Valencia 2024.
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Above left: Kirsty McDermott after the Chester Marathon; right: Rory King, 1st place in Abington 5K..

Turning to the Abington Festival of Running on Sunday, Hugh Tawell (34:26, 1st of 228 overall, 1st of 39 in M20-39) was in top form and led the field home in the 10K event, while Rory King (17:17 PB, 1st of 78 overall, 1st of 4 in MU20) did likewise in the 5K event, with a big PB for him.
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In the 10K, second Jogger to finish was Mark Hayward (35:13, 2nd overall, 1st of 31 in M40-49), followed by Tristram Hilborn (45:43 SB, 45th, 14th in M40-49), Brian Munns (54:08 SB, 121st, 9th in M60-69), Stephen Cousins (56:53 SB, 142nd, 12th in M60-69), Helen Wass (56:14 SB, 38th F of 99, 3rd in F55-64), Jim Withers (1:04:10 SB, 195th, 4th in M70-79), Lynda McCormack (1:08:49 SB, 86th F, 4th in F65-74).
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In the 5K, second Jogger home was Andrew Taylor (21:24, 16th overall, 4th in M50-59), followed by top age group efforts from Neville Clarke (23:22, 23rd, 1st of 3 in M70-79) and Lorraine King (26:29 PB, 7th F of 33, 1st of 4 in F55-64).
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Also on Sunday was Bidwell’s Cambridge Town & Gown 10K, a very popular, annual race in aid of Muscular Dystrophy UK. The route went through the centre of Cambridge and along by the River Cam. The sheer number of PBs recorded was impressive.
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Above: Start of Bidwell’s Cambridge Town & Gown 10K in Victoria Avenue.
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First Jogger to finish was Ross Birkett (35:52 PB, 22nd of 3,216 overall, 18th of 801 in MO), from Sarah Osborne (38:49 PB, 107th overall, 8th F of 1,677, 4th of 932 in FO), both in tremendous form. Next came Barley Woodcock (39:29 PB, 127th, 20th of 308 in M40-49) and Andy Fryatt (41:51 PB, 227th, 25th of 273 in M50-59), followed by Karl Coutts (45:57 SB, 451st, 78th in M40-49) and Dan Bainbridge (50:29 PB, 887th, 405th in MO). Lisa Beeton (53:16 PB, 335th F, 227th in FO), was accompanied by her husband Jason to a great new PB, representing 1st claim Thetford AC. Then came Francine Dasseville (55:24 PB, 485th F, 57th  of 274 in F50-59), Jo Bouttell (57:10 PB, 617th F, 22nd of 98 in F60-69), Angela Underwood (1:01:00 PB, 886th F, 540th in FO), Lucy Hartley (1:03:25 SB, 1,041st F, 219th in F40-49), Sarah Kinston (1:04:58, 1,112th F, 158th in F50-59), Chris Aylmer (1:07:54, 2,675th, 15th of 26 in M70+) and Caroline Mcintosh (1:13:34, 1,474th F, 10th of 15 in F70+).
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Above, from left: Barley Woodcock; Andy Fryatt and Francine Dasseville; Dan Bainbridge with friend; Jo Bouttell & Sarah Kinston.
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Six Joggers opted for the Saxon 5M race (5 miles) at Saxmundham on Sunday, where lots more PBs were achieved. First Joggers home, and running together, were Richard Defries (33:31 PB, 16th of 213 overall, 4th of 33 in M50-59) and Carol Cienna Carter (33:31 PB, 17th overall, 2nd F of 97, 1st of 25 in F50-59), with a great top-three finish for Carol. Then came Stephen Edwards (34:40, 22nd, 2nd of 28 in M60-69) and Marc Drury (35:17, 29th, 6th in M50-59), with good efforts, followed by Helen Hilario (36:54 PB, 7th F, 2nd in F50-59) and Angela Drury (44:19 PB, 38th F, 15th of 30 in F40-49). Helen was deservedly awarded the F50-59 trophy with Carol in podium position.
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Above: Joggers at Saxmundham: Marc Drury, Stephen Edwards, Angela Drury, Helen Hilario, Cienna Carter and Richard Defries.
Above, from left: Cienna Carter receives 2nd place female finisher trophy after Saxon 5M; right: Helen Hilario with 1st F50 trophy.
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In the popular, annual, Standalone 10K at Letchworth on Sunday, Colin Almond (1:04:57, 1,132nd of 1,325 overall, 139th in M50-59) put in a good effort.
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TRACK NEWS
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Now the results are complete on Power of 10, we can report how the Joggers got on at the East Anglian Track & Field League (EAL) Final on Sunday, September 21st at Bury St Edmunds. In this league, Newmarket Joggers join forces with Ely Runners to form team ‘Ely Composite’.
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Combining all age group tables for male and female, Ely Composite finished 9th of 16 teams in the EAL this year, with City of Norwich at the top, from Ipswich Harriers (2nd) and Cambridge & Coleridge (3rd). Their best position was 6th of 16 in the U17M table,
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Probably more relevant to this report are the individual achievements of Newmarket Joggers in the EAL final.
In the 100m, Rory King MU17 posted 14.2s, slightly above his 14.19s PB achieved earlier this year.
In the 200m, Rio Mcandrew  MU13 clocked 34.7s, which is regarded as a non wind-assisted PB by Power of 10, compared with his wind-assisted PB of 32.67s earlier this year. Lorraine King W55 did well to clock 39.5s in the 200m, though 38.9s is her current PB.
Moving to the 400m, Cerys Bithell FU20 was in top form and gained a PB of 61.7s. Shane Mcandrew M35 recorded 57.5s, just 0.1s outside his PB.
Shane Mcandrew did well in the 800m, gaining a PB of 2:13.0, as did Lewis Stinger U13M, with a time of 2:43.8 PB. Cerys Bithell FU20 had less luck, recording 2:26.7, compared with her PB of 2:21.2.
Cerys Bithell also took part in the 1500m, gaining a season’s best 5:25.8, compared with her PB of 5:09.5 last year.
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In the field events, Cerys Bithell FU20 tried out the Long Jump, recording 4.15m, slightly below her 4.37m PB earlier this year. Rio Mcandrew MU13 did well to post a 5.62m PB in the Shot Put, while Cheryl Thomas W45 did likewise in the Javelin Throw, achieving 12.58m PB.
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Thanks for all the photos on Strava, which are much appreciated.