It was a beautiful, sunny evening for the first fixture of the Arkwright & Co/Turners Summer 5K League at Ben’s Yard, near Ely, which took place on Thursday 30th April. It was organised by Ely Runners, one of the eight running clubs in the league, with the other members being: Saffron Walden Striders, Histon & Impington Runners, Cambridge Tri Club, Cambridge & Coleridge AC, Royston Runners, Haverhill RC and Newmarket Joggers AC. There are normally six fixtures per season from April to August, with each one at a different club venue.
Above: Newmarket Joggers at Ely Summer 5K at Ben’s Yard
Official results for the first fixture are not yet available but we have some preliminary details for Newmarket Joggers (NJ): A total of approximately 43 NJs took part, including 15 women and 28 men. Isabelle Talbot Price did brilliantly to finish first female of about 170 and 31st of about 450 overall. Hayley Tatam, Carol Cienna Carter, Helen Hilario, Olivia Carter, Elke Hausler and Ellie Bithell all look possible candidates to figure in the top five female finishers for NJ. For the men, it looks like Sam Sadler did very well to be the highest placed, from a selection of Tom Hemsley (22nd overall ), Barley Woodcock, Richard Defries, Andy Fryatt, Stephen Edwards, Marc Drury, Sergio Pelado, Jon Brooker, James Thomson, Paul Roberts and Jonathan Ollington, but these are only preliminary estimates. We expect to report the official results next week.
The significance of the top 5 female and top 5 male finishers for each club is that these runners score points according to which position they finished within gender, with lower points beating higher points. In addition, all the club’s runners (including the top 5 women and men) score one negative point each, which reduces the total score of the top 5 runners. So all club runners, no matter where they finish, are helping to improve their team’s score. This encourages more members to take part, regardless of speed, and rewards clubs with the highest turnouts.
Breckland 10K, Croxton, near Thetford, Bank Holiday Monday, May 4th: It was perfect conditions for this popular, annual race fixture, with the sun hiding behind hazy clouds for much of the day. Hugh Tawell (33:54 PB, 2nd of 320 overall, 1st of 46 in M Open) put in a tremendous effort to get under 34 minutes for the first time and record the fastest 10K by any club member this year. He was followed by Tristram Hilborn (45:37 PB, 108th, 12th of 23 in M45), who gained a PB by 6 seconds. Then came Martin Smith (46:40 PB, 124th, 14th of 23 in M45), who was very pleased with the result and has been improving steadily all year. Next to finish was Bridget Wallwin (52:02 PB, 52nd F of 127, 6th of 17 in F55), with a great PB run and an excellent result in her age group. To complete 5 out of 5 PBs, Lucy Hartley (58:44 PB, 90th F, 18th in F40) continued her steady progress, undercutting her PB earlier this year, so success all round for the NJs.
Above, the Magnificent 5 x Breckland 10K NJ finishers, from left: Hugh Tawell, Tristram Hilborn, Martin Smith, Bridget Wallwin and Lucy Hartley.
Also on Monday was the MK Marathon/Half Marathon event in Milton Keynes: In the Marathon, Michael McGarvey (4:05:40 PB, 1,173 of 2,208 overall, 83rd of 169 in M50) controlled his pace perfectly to take about 20 minutes off his previous PB; all his splits were very even.
Above from left: at start of Marathon; Michael McGarvey with MK Marathon medal.
GEAR 10K (Grand East Anglia Run), King’s Lynn, Sunday. May 3rd: Jason Beeton (42:38 SB, 218th of 2,790 overall, 57th of 321 in M40), representing 1st claim Thetford AC, achieved his best 10K time this year, and was pleased that his hamstring injury from the Brighton Marathon held up well.
Also on Sunday, the Great Birmingham Marathon/Half Marathon took place. In the Half Marathon, Anna Mayhew (2:00:22, 4,177th overall, 816th F, 9th in F55-59) ran with her son Connor, in his first ever running event. She did very well in her age group to come 9th out of at least 50; unfortunately the total number of men and women in the race and in the age groups does not appear to be fully searchable. She thoroughly enjoyed being in the race with her son and recorded her fastest half marathon time since 2020 at Cambridge.
Above from left: Anna & Connor at the start; with medals; relaxing afterwards
Phoenix Butterfly Run, multi-lap event, Grafham Water, near Huntingdon, Sunday: Ian McClements (2:37:33, 18th of 26) enjoyed another of his favourite Phoenix Running events, opting for an easy-paced 4-lap half marathon distance with his friend Russell from Stevenage Striders. The course was an out & back section of the Grafham Water circular pathway.
Above: Ian McClements with medal; Ian with friend Russell from Stevenage Striders.
ATW Triathlon, Riverside Park, St Neots, Sunday: In his first known triathlon attempt, Barley Woodcock opted for the Standard Triathlon, which included 1.5km swim, 45km bike and 10km run. His total time, including transitions, was 3:15:26, putting him a very respectable 78th of 118 overall and 9th in M45. His split times for swim/bike/run were: 39:01/1:45:22/43:00. It was a top performance in the 10km run, in which he finished 19th of 118. Achieving 43:00 in a 10km, straight after all that swimming and cycling, is impressive. His positions in the swim and bike were 78th and 93rd, showing his relative strengths.
Above: Barley Woodcock after the triathlon.
TRACK & FIELD NEWS
The results of the East Anglian T&F League meeting at Cambridge University Track on April 19th are now up on Power of 10. Some good PBs and age grades were achieved in the track events for the NJs, who combine in this league with Ely Runners:
75m: Oliver Hilton U12M, 12.8s PB, AG n/a
100m: Seb Barrett U14M, 15.6s PB, 73.72%
200m: Shane Mcandrew M35, 25.1s PB, 81.71%; Harvey Thomas U16M, 27.1s, 76.57%; Rio Mcandrew U14M, 31.7s, 68.33%.
300m: Harvey Thomas U16M, 42.9s, 74.97%; Sophie Blundell U16W, 48.2s, 76.35%.
400m: Shane Mcandrew M35, 55.6, 81.83%.
600m: Oliver Hilton U12M, 2:16.2 PB, 63.30%
800m: Rio Mcandrew U14M, 2:47.5 PB, 68.10%; Sophie Blundell U16W, 2:45.2, 75.65%.
1500m: Noah Poujardieu U14M, 5:48.5 PB, 70.01%
100m H: Cerys Bithell U20W, 20.6 PB, 62.33%
High Jump: Rio Mcandrew U14M, 1.20m PB, 57.14%.
Javelin JT600: Harvey Thomas U16M 15.79m PB, 21.39%; Cheryl Thomas W45, 14.98m PB, 27.79%; Marie Poujardieu W40, 12.54m PB, 20.26%; JT500: Sophie Blundell U16W 11.17 PB, n/a.
Many thanks for all the great photos.