Chiltern Wonderland 50, Saturday, 21st September, Goring-on-Thames, Berkshire: Newmarket Jogger Jimmy Smith excelled in the third leg of his 4 x 50-mile 2024 Centurion Grand Slam target. He achieved his highest Centurion position of 6th of 239 finishers overall in a time of 8h:23m:41s and was 3rd of 56 in his M40-49 age group. He kept an average pace of below 10 minutes per mile (including any stops), despite the extremely hilly route, which included a myriad of inclines totaling 5,374ft of climb.
His Centurion target is geared towards raising valuable funds for Alzheimer’s Society, a charity dear to his heart as his father has Alzheimer’s Disease. So far this year, he has raised nearly £4,000 for the charity with his own race sponsorship, as well as various ingenious ways of raising funds, such as a navigational trail run he organised in the summer and a raffle competition to guess his time in this race, with a superb hamper offered as the prize. James Smith is fundraising for Alzheimer’s Society (justgiving.com)
.
Above: Jimmy Smith during the race (left) and before the race (right). Thanks for photos.
.
English Schools’ Athletic Association Race Walk Championships, Northwood Stadium, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, Saturday, 21st September: Three Joggers made the long trip to Stoke for the chance to compete in the race walk events, which were held in the same stadium as the combined events, such as heptathlon and pentathlon. Cerys Bithell U17G did very well to win the 3km race walk (17:11.84, 69.88% age grade); Lily-Ann Cooper U15G finished 7th in the 2km race walk (14:02, age grade n/a), while Sophie Blundell U13G came 3rd in the 1500m race walk (9:03, 68.49%). An encouragingly high standard was achieved by our young Newmarket Joggers.
.
Above left: Cerys Bithell with 1st place certificate for 3km race walk (thanks to Phil Blundell); middle: Sophie Blundell in 1500m race walk (thanks to Cerys); right: Cerys on left of photo in 3km race walk (thanks to Sophie).
.
Langham 10K, Essex, Sunday 22nd September: Great news that Jogger Robert Dobson is back in action after many months sidelined by injury. He came 3rd of 387 overall in an impressive time of 33:30, winning an Open trophy despite being in his mid 40s. This was the fastest time in a 10K by any Newmarket Jogger this year. Let’s hope his recovery continues.
.
Also on Sunday was the Vitality London 10,000 (10K), starting and finishing on The Mall, near Buckingham Palace. Two Joggers were among over 15,000 participants competing in the race, which went along closed roads via Trafalgar Square, St Paul’s Cathedral, the City of London and past Big Ben/Houses of Parliament near the finish. Chris Aylmer (1:08:26, 11,312th of 15,102 overall, 52nd of 87 in M70-74) was closely followed by Miranda McWade (1:10:12, 4,888th F of 7,235, 328th of 555 in F55-59). Out of interest, the overall winner of the race was Jack Rowe (29:14), who also won the London Big Half three weeks earlier. Winner of the women’s race, and a remarkable 13th overall, was Eilish McColgan (31:36).
.
Above left: The beginning of the wave start pens in Green Park; right: Nearing the start gate on The Mall.
.
Harvest Trail Half Marathon, Sunday 22nd September, Royston Heath: Andy Fryatt (1:56:01, 24th of 77 overall) recorded a decent time in this tough, hilly, half marathon, which has recently been revived after an absence of some years.
.
Zig Zag Lucky Horseshoe multi-lap event, Barrow, Saturday 21st September: In the 10K event, Suzanne Bailey (1:06:23, 20th of 29 overall, 7th F of 14) ran at an easier pace with a friend, and also accompanied Caroline Mcintosh (2:49:02, 48th of 61 overall, 28th F of 37) for some of her half marathon. This was basically a training run for Caroline, who has the Athens Marathon planned for November.
.
Above: Suzanne Bailey on left with friend Sarah after and during the Lucky Horseshoe 10K. Thanks for the photos.
.
Chariots of Fire, Cambridge city centre and college grounds, Sunday 22nd September: This long established charity race, in aid of MAGPAS Air Ambulance this year, took the form of a 6-person team/6-lap relay, with each lap being ~2.9km/1.8 miles and the total distance ~17.4km/10.8mi. The lap went through the grounds of several Cambridge University colleges as well as along closed or pedestrianised city centre roads. Jogger Sam Sadler entered into a team his father set up some years ago and was running with his siblings. His individual time of 9m 36s over 2.9km gave him his highest age grade of the year at 77.38%, so the family team spirit was good.