….LET IT STOW, LET IT STOW, LET IT STOW!

Another favourite, local, pre-Christmas race, the Let It Stow Trail Half Marathon, attracted five Newmarket Joggers to Stowmarket on Sunday, 14th December. It was a tough, undulating, circular course, with numerous stiles to negotiate along the winding trails to the north of the town. No snow this year, but plenty of scenic, countryside views to enjoy. There were no age groups included for this race; just overall and gender positions; usual age groups for Newmarket Joggers are shown for comparison.

.

The order of finishing for the Joggers was Chris Underwood M35-39 1:38:29, 14^th of 183 overall; Aaron Self M35-39, 1:57:41, 59th; Nicole Smith F50-54, 2:25:49, 54th F of 79; Sarah Last F50-54, 2:53:56, 71st F; Gillie Green F60-64, 3:19:58, 76th F. It was no half marathon PB course and a number of runners inadvertently got the directions a little wrong towards the finish. However, it was the first known half marathon of the year for Chris Underwood, Aaron Self and Nicole Smith. Sarah Last and Gillie Green have recorded considerably faster half marathon times this year over road routes.

.

Stevenage Winter Half Marathon, Sunday: New member Ian McClements ran as a pacer for a Stevenage Striders friend, clocking 2:27:52 and finishing 299^th of 325 runners overall, 27th in M45-49. He has no known previous form over this distance.

.

HERO, THE GUIDE DOG

.

Newmarket Jogger Richard Defries is in training for the TCS London Marathon 2026, which takes place in April. He will be running with his wife Cienna Carter in support of Guide Dogs UK and plans to wear a special HERO dog suit all the way round. In a pre-race fundraising stint, on Saturday December 13th, he ran at the new 5km parkrun at Frank’s Farm, near Cambourne, dressed as HERO (see photo). He was supported during the run by a loyal band of Newmarket Joggers. He commented that it was not at all easy to see where he was going properly and he will need a lot of practice. Nevertheless, he recorded a very respectable time of 25:23 and managed to raise valuable funds for the charity.

.

NEWMARKET JOGGERS’ CHRISTMAS LIGHTS RUN

.

On Thursday, 11th December, Newmarket Joggers took to the streets of Newmarket and went on a jogging tour of the Christmas Lights on display in the town, including the residents’ displays all around the town, as well as the official ones in the High Street and Town Centre. See below for a few of the many photos taken.

This Thursday December 18th, will be the official Newmarket Joggers ‘Jingle Jog’, where club members are invited to dress up in festive costumes and jog their way around town, stopping off at a few hostelries on the way. It will start and finish at The Racing Centre in Fred Archer Way and there will be prizes for the best costumes.