Following an extended summer stint in Saratoga Springs, the New York State home of thoroughbred horseracing in the United States, NJ Paul Holley was back in the UK to watch the conclusion of the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham.
On Saturday, he fitted the Edgbaston Reservoir parkrun into his schedule, recording an impressive time of 18:50 and finishing 1st of 33 in his M60-64 age group, 33rd of 703 overall. Then, on the next and final day of the European Championships, after watching the finish of the European Marathon event, he was able to take part in the Birmingham Unity 5K, along with 2,740 others. This run went along part of the closed road used that morning in the Marathon event, from Broad Street to Victoria Square. He recorded a time of 19:17, finishing 133rd of 1,431 male runners and 1st of 147 in his M60-64 age category. It was a stage announcement that Paul Holley was back in business.
Above: Start of the Birmingham Unity 5K, by Paul Holley; scenes at the start area.
Above: Shots of Paul Holley in previous races.
For Newmarket Joggers, the big race this week will be the sixth and final fixture of the Arkwright & Co/Turners 5K League, organised by Cambridge & Coleridge AC on Thursday evening, 20th August, at the Genome Campus in Hinxton.
It’s not been an easy season in this league for the Joggers, with the women’s team currently doing best in 4th position of the 8 running clubs in the league, and the men in 6th position in their separate competition. Overall, we stand in 5th position in the women’s and men’s combined table. The shining light this season has been the incredible form of our fastest female runner Izzy Talbot Price, who has been first overall female finisher in every fixture she has entered, despite the dominance of Cambridge & Coleridge runners in this league.
Above: Some shots of Izzy Talbot Price earlier this year, two including Jimmy Smith. Thanks for photos.
Cambridge & Coleridge AC are top of the league in all the competitions and are expected to remain so. However, the final fixture is always an exciting event with plenty of atmosphere and the awards are likely to follow soon after the race.
Let’s get the best turnout we can for Thursday evening!
Chris Aylmer