High Lodge, Thetford Forest, Friday evening, July 10th: Seventeen Newmarket Joggers (NJ) took part in the popular, annual, Wibbly Wobbly Log Jog, which was a winding trail run through Thetford Forest and along gravel tracks, averaging ~5.1 miles on GPS. It was a warm, sunny evening but there was plenty of shade along the route.
Joggers at Wibbly Wobbly Log Jog, front, crouching, from left: Marc Drury, Jeremy Reader, Angela Drury, Ian Butcher; back row from left: Fran Dasseville, Neil Williamson, Helen Hilario, Rob Pollard, Andy Fryatt, Tristram Hilborn, Helen Wass, Gordon Irvine, Jo Bouttell, Chris Aylmer. Not in photo: Liam Elvidge, Lynda McCormack & Jim Withers.
First home for the Joggers was Gordon Irvine (36:30 SB, 11th of 278 overall, 11th M of 110, 2nd of 11 in M45), who seemed to relish the conditions. Then came Marc Drury (41:13, 34th M, 5th of 15 in M50) and Andy Fryatt (41:42, 35th M, 5th of 14 in M55), both with good efforts.
First home for the female Joggers was Helen Hilario (43:00, 10th F of 168, 1st of 28 in F50), who was bang in form and did very well to win her age group. Other female Joggers finishing close up were Angela Drury (51:31, 47th F, 9th of 32 in F45), Helen Wass (52:18, 55th F, 6th of 16 in F60) and Fran Dasseville (52:26, 57th F, 9th in F50).
Other Joggers putting in their best efforts were: Tristram Hilborn (43:40 SB, 6th in M45), Jeremy Reader (44:36 SB, 7th in M50), Liam Elvidge (45:16 SB, 16th in MS), Ian Butcher (48:30 SB, 5th in M65+), Neil Williamson (53:57, 15th in M50, representing 1st claim Orchard Eagles RC), Lynda McCormack (1:00:13 SB, 5th in F65+), Jim Withers (1:03:50, 14th in M65+), Joanne Bouttell (1:04:02, 13th in F60), Rob Pollard (1:05:52 SB, 27th in MS, accompanying his wife Nicola) and Chris Aylmer (1:08:18, 15th in M65+).
Above, from left: Gordon Irvine, Andy Fryatt, Tristram Hilborn, Jeremy Reader, Liam Elvidge.
Above, from left: Helen Hilario, Angela Drury, Helen Wass, Fran Dasseville, Lynda McCormack, Jo Bouttell.
Above, from left: Ian Butcher, Jim Withers, Rob & Nicola Pollard, Chris Aylmer.
Above: Rob and Nicola Pollard relaxing after the run.
Brantham 5M, near Manningtree in Essex, Friday 10th July: Two Joggers competed in this race, which was included in the Suffolk Grand Prix 2026 series of fixtures. Carol Cienna Carter (34:19, 3rd F of 93 overall, 2nd of 70 in F35+) was in immaculate form. Not far behind was her husband Richard Defries (34:42 56th M of 170, 26th of 117 in M40+).
Above: Cienna Carter, 3rd F, after Brantham 5.
Oddly, this race had no older age groups than 35+ for women and 40+ for men, with Carol Cienna currently being in the F55-59 age group for most road races and Richard in the M50-54. However, Carol Cienna finished in podium position in the top three, so did even better than an age group medal. Suffolk County Athletics actually have their own age group trophies that are awarded for the Suffolk Grand Prix fixtures, separately from the overall race medals. No details of those awards are currently available for this fixture.
Lakeland Trails 14K & 23K, Ambleside, Lake District, Saturday, 11th July: NJ Sarah Sales (2:38:04, 102nd F of 127, 23rd of 33 in F50-59) took on the 14K route, while husband Mike Sales (4:18:40, 148th M of 178, 32nd of 35 in M50-59) opted for the 23K. As well as scenic, they were both extremely hilly routes, with the 23K involving 2,776ft of climb, according to Mike’s watch. There was also little shelter from the heat of the sun, so a gruelling challenge. Mike wore a special hat that protected his neck from the direct sunshine.
Above: The start of the Lakeland Trails event, by Mike Sales.
Above: Mike & Sarah Sales at the Lakeland Trails event; Sarah during 14K; Mike finishing the 23K.
Above: Scenery shots of the Lake District around Ambleside, by Mike Sales.
Round the Isle of Wight Run? On Saturday, 11th July it was the official, annual, Round the Isle of Wight Boat Race, where 269 sailing boats, of all shapes and sizes, successfully sailed their way anti-clockwise from the port of Cowes, starting at around 6:00 am and finishing some 6 to 12 hours later, back in Cowes.
NJ Izzy Talbot Price and her good friend Kirsty McDermott had other ideas. They decided to run all the way around the Isle of Wight on the same day, in the opposite direction. That would give them a good view of the boats leading in the race as they came past. So they started at around 6:00am from the seaside resort of Ryde, which is easily accessed by the ferry from Portsmouth and not too far from Cowes. They proceeded in a clockwise direction along the coastal roads and pathways of the Island for a complete circuit of 69.82 miles. This took them only 12h:20m:48s in moving time for an average pace of 10:37 per mile.
There was no slowing down at all during their run; in fact they achieved a negative halfway split of about 20 minutes. Their total elapsed time was 15h:17m:32s, which no doubt included some well-deserved time-out while they passed through Cowes, at the top of the Island, where all the crowds were spectating and celebrating after the finish of the boat race. This was an incredible achievement for both of them. During their run, Izzy took a picture of the boats bobbing on the sea, which is included here. From a distance, the boats resemble shark fins protruding from the water.
There was a connection here to the Donate A Gate charity, which raises funds for replacing stiles with gates along the footpaths of the UK, to make all the footpaths more accessible to everyone. Izzy and Kirsty must have passed through scores of gates on their journey.
Above: Izzy Talbot Price and Kirsty McDermott during their circumnavigation of the Isle of Wight. Note, in the centre photo of the coastline, you can see the boats taking part in the Round the Island Boat Race, bobbing around in the sea.
TRACK NEWS
There was a fixture of the East Anglian T&F League, at Cambridge University Track on Sunday, 12th July, which was attended by Newmarket Joggers. Thanks to all of you who took part. The results will probably take some weeks to appear on Power of 10.
Many thanks for all the photos and Strava posts. Best wishes and hope to see you at the Arkwright & Co/Turners Summer 5K at Carver Barracks on Thursday.
Chris Aylmer