Northstowe Festival of Running, Cambridgeshire, Saturday August 31st: Neil Pollard (1:15:43, 2nd of 234 overall, 1st of 33 in M40-49) and Hannah Pollard (1:37:46, 6th F of 88, 2nd of 25 in F35-44) both put in top performances in the Northstowe Half Marathon, over an attractive, mainly off-road, route. Their times were a little slower than both achieved in the Cambridge Half Marathon last March, likely due to the off-road nature of the course.
Also putting in excellent efforts in the Half Marathon were: Marc Drury (1:26:16 YB! 9th overall, 3rd of 25 in M50-59), Hanneli Stevenson (1:56:27 YB!18th F, 3rd of 19 in F45-54), Steven Oglesby (1:56:27, 97th, 19th of 33 in M40-49) and Angela Drury (1:58:53 PB! 22nd F, 11th of 25 in F35-44). Angela Drury has been knocking on the door of a sub 2-hour time since 2022 and had every reason to celebrate.
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Above left: Hannah & Neil Pollard after the HM; right: Marc Drury, Angela Drury, Hannah & Neil.
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In the Northstowe 10K event, Adam Maltpress (43:45, 15th of 200 overall, 4th of 31 in M40-49) and Rachael Maltpress (55:41, 32nd F of 109, 10th of 40 in F35-44) both put in very good efforts. Adam was just 1 second quicker than his time in the Brighton 10K last April. His all-time PB appears to be 43:15 in a trail 10k in 2019, so very consistent over the years. Rachael has done a couple of 53-minute 10ks in previous years, most recently in the Ickworth hoohaah 10K in 2022.
E. George Wilkinson (20:29, 6th of 72 overall) joined in the Northstowe 5K, representing first claim club Enfield & Haringey, likely as useful training for his walking events. He recorded his best 5k time this year.
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Above left: Angela celebrating her PB; right: Bib and goody bag by Hanneli Stevenson. Many thanks for photos.
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London Big Half Marathon, Tower Hill, Sunday, September 1st: Three Joggers competed in this race, which attracted a huge turnout of over 16,000 participants, including Mo Farah (4th). Mo’s farewell race will be the Great North Run on 8th September. First Jogger home was relatively new member John Bramhill (1:44:52, 3,088th of 16,391 overall, 151st of 685 in M50-54), in good form for his first race in the club colours. Then came Jonathan Ollington (1:45:48, 3,247th, 61st of 422 in M55-59), with another good age group performance. None other than Caroline Mcintosh (2:37:30, 5,575th F of 7,607, 7th of 14 in F70-74) was the third Jogger to finish, just one week after completing the Helsinki Marathon in Finland; an amazing achievement.
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Above…the scene at the finish of the London Big Half, near the Cutty Sark.
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Cambridge Biomedical Campus 10K/5K/2K Fun Run, Sunday Sep 1st: Three Joggers ran in the 10K. Cerys Bithell (48:37, 38th of 356 overall, 7th F of 169, 3rd of 4 in FU20) ran well in her first 10k of the year, after a football leg injury interrupted her racing plans earlier this year. Helen Hilario (51:08, 9th F, 2nd of 36 in F40-49) also put in a top effort. Cerys’s mother Eleanor Bithell (51:55, 13th F, 3rd of 36 in F40-49) was close behind her friend Helen.
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Above left: Ellie, Cerys & Helen after the 10K; right: Ellie near the start area. Thanks for the photos.
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In the 5K event, Andrew Taylor (21:28, 6th of 173 overall, 1st of 14 in M50-59) did very well to win his age group. He has been specialising in this distance all year.
Barley Woodcock ran in the 2K Fun Run with daughters Iona (15:05) and Isabella (15:06), and also ran in the 5K with Isabella (32:48). A great way to introduce them to the world of running.
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Above left: Barley Woodcock with daughters Iona (left) and Isabella (right). Thanks for the photos.
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London Inter-Club Challenge 3, Hendon Track & Field Open, Sunday September 1st: Three Joggers attended this event. Sophie Blundell U13G completed the 1000m Walk (6:09.18 PB!), where she was the only entrant. She also competed in the Javelin (9.77m, 1st of 2 in U13G, first known attempt) and 800m (3:00.95, 4th of 4 in U13G). Her best 800m remains 2:48.51 this year. Lily-Ann Cooper U15G completed the 3,000m walk (22:59.73, only U15G); her best time remains 22:10.35, earlier this year. In the 100m, Phil Blundell M45 (14.58s, only M45) was close to his PB of 14.4s. In the 400m, he did well to get a PB of 65.37s, worth 74.75% age grade.
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Above top: Sophie and Lily-Ann in the Walk events; bottom left: Sophie (on left in blue) in the 800m; bottom right: Phil in the 100m, Thanks for the photos.