Duxford Dash attracts some keen Joggers on a wet and windy Sunday

On a decidedly dismal, wet and windy Sunday, the local Duxford Dash running event still managed to attract some keen Joggers. The wind gusts were particularly forceful, sweeping unabated across the exposed airfield course at Duxford Aerodrome.

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In the 5K race, Andrew Taylor (21:31, 10^th of 216 overall, 1^st of 14 in M50-54) did very well to win his age group, while new member Karl Coutts (23:27, 20^th , 4^th of 18 in M40-44) was also in good form. For the women, Sarah Last (31:54, 25^th F of 102, 2^nd of 7 in F50-54) put in one of her best 5K times this year, followed by a sound effort from Gillie Green (41:12, 95^th F, 3^rd of 5 in F60-64).

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In the 10K race, Jeremy Reader (49:36, 124^th of 622 overall, 12^th of 40 in M50-54) was only marginally outside his best time this year and is in good current form.

Meanwhile, up in York, the Yorkshire Marathon fortunately went ahead in drizzly rain and an average 20mph wind, despite the Great South Run (10M) in Portsmouth having been cancelled due to high wind gust forecasts. 5,329 finishers crossed the finish line in the marathon, plus another 3,254 in the Yorkshire 10M race, which started at the same time as the marathon race; a further 468 relay marathon runners made a total event participation of 9,051, so quite some crowd of runners making its way from the University of York, around York Minster, and then on a long loop through the surrounding villages, all on roads completely closed to traffic.

Newmarket Jogger Chris Aylmer (5:45:22, 5,117th of 5,329 overall, 15^th of 17 in M70-74) came close to his target time zone of 5:30-5:40, though was completely spent by the end. He was not aware of any strong wind gusts or any particularly challenging headwinds, perhaps shielded by buildings and tree-lined roads for much of the way. Whereas the wind was SE, most of the roads were heading NE or SW which might also be a factor. The route was gently undulating with plenty of bends and turns to avoid monotony. The local spectators and marshals were all very encouraging, with a lot of music stands along the way to keep up the spirits.