Twenty-five Newmarket Joggers enjoyed a weekend trip to Poland, organised meticulously by club social secretary Sophie Adams. On the agenda was a parkrun on the Saturday at one of two local parkrun venues: Zamek w Malborku (Malbork Castle, 30 miles southeast by train, providing a highly-prized ‘Z’ initial for collectors) or Gdansk parkrun in President Ronald Reagan Park, around 5 miles north of the city centre, near the seafront and beach. On the Sunday morning, the Gdansk Half Marathon was planned for those who were up for the challenge. Others chose to spend the day relaxing, socialising or sight-seeing. On both days, the weather turned out pleasantly cool and sunny and a great time was had by all.
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Zamek w Malborku (Malbork Castle) by Sarah Kinston.
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Left: Angela Drury enjoying the Malbork Castle parkrun; right: Suzanne Bailey & Sarah Kinston sporting moustaches in respect of Men’s Day in Poland; other locals wore various types of fancy dress.
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Left: Rachele, Nicole and Abi enjoying Gdansk parkrun; right: Joggers by the Pope Paul & Ronald Reagan statue in Ronald Reagan Park.
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From left: Rob Pollard, Sarah Kinston and the generous food table after the Malbork Castle parkrun
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Some Joggers were tempted to dip their toes in the sea after the Gdansk parkrun, which was very near the seafront and beach; the copious jellyfish put others off. The sand was fine, deep and soft along the practically deserted beach.
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Gdansk Half Marathon:
On Sunday, nine Joggers opted for the Gdansk Half Marathon, which was run mainly along cordoned-off lanes of dual carriageways surrounding the city. Police traffic control was excellent with full priority given to runners at every junction, especially appreciated by those towards the back of the field.
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Above: The venue for the Gdansk Half Marathon was Polsat Plus Arena, some 3 miles north of the city centre, with the start and finish inside the stadium.
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First home was Jimmy Smith (1:21:35, 36th of 4,289 finishers overall, 3rd of 371 in M45-49), who was right up with the leaders, along with Paul Holley (1:24:25, 85th, 2nd of 78 in M55-59) and Marc Drury (1:27:46, 132nd, 2nd of 217 in M50-54. These top three all did brilliantly in their age groups and would have received trophies had they only been aware of the prizegiving awards after the race.
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Above left: Seven of the Joggers after the Half Marathon; right: Paul Holley (left) & Jimmy Smith (right) early on in the race.
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First female Jogger home was Rachele Cooper (1:55:29, 304th F of 1,315, 65th of 252 in F30-34), who was in great form, followed by Angela Drury (1:56:48, 360th F, 72nd of 195 in F40-44) in a PB time and new member Abi Marson (2:22:12, 1,058th F, 127th of 172 in F18-24), who did exceptionally well in her first ever official race of any distance.
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Rachele Cooper approaching the finish in the stadium and Angela Drury during the race, plus Abi Marson with medal at the end.
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Jon Brooker (1:44:12, 962nd, 11th in M55-59) also did very well in his first half marathon this year and on very little training. Chris Aylmer (2:33:22, 4,133rd, 4th of 5 in M70-74) found it tough against the wind early on but gained ground in the last 3 miles. Greg Davis sadly pulled a muscle in his calf early in the race and sensibly pulled out to avoid further damage. Nicole Smith was unfortunately unable to start due to a sore throat, cough and cold, which a number of Joggers went down with in the following days.
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ROUND UP OF OTHER RACES, Sunday 29th September: In the Windsor Half Marathon, Mark Geddie (1:48:00, 724th of 3,602, 56th of 248 in M50-54) and Wendy Ancill (1:54:18, 178th F of 1,441, 20th of 160 in F50-54) both did very well in their age groups.
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Windsor Castle; Mark Geddie and Wendy Ancill with Windsor Half Marathon medals.
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In the Shelford 5K Fun Run, Barley Woodcock (18:45, 25th of 434 overall, 5th of 36 in M40-44) achieved a PB time, while Andrew Taylor (20:42, 46th, 6th of 17 in M50-54) posted his fastest 5k time this year.
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Barley Woodcock with daughters after the Shelford Fun Run.
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At the Sandringham 10K, Jeremy Reader (49:32, 222nd of 1,354 overall,17th of 62 in M50-54) achieved his fastest 10K time and best age grade of the year at 60.67%, putting him up to silver club standard. He was followed by Jim Withers (1:01:50, 755th, 24th of 39 in M65+) and Alexia Smithson (1:14:16, 591st F of 734, 94th of 108 in F40-44), with Alexia achieving her best 10k time this year.
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Above left: Jim Withers and Jeremy Reader before the Sandringham 10K; right: Jeremy in action and with his medal.
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In the picturesque Bure Valley 10M in North Norfolk, Neville Clarke (1:15:21, 98th of 279 overall, 1st of 3 in M70-74) won his age group trophy with AG 78.9%, followed by Meera Mahadevan (1:27:47, 56th F of 119, 10th of 19 in F45-49), who gained a PB over the distance by about a minute.
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Above: Meera Mahadevan in action during the Bure Valley 10M race, and afterwards with Neville Clarke.
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At the Biggleswade Open Track meeting on Saturday 28th September, 4 Joggers competed. Sophie Blundell U13G posted a 32.9s PB in the 200m- frustratingly just short of the 32.7s needed for a PB Awards Level 3). Her father Phil Blundell M45 gained a 29.2s PB in the 200m and 63.7s PB in the 400m. Amber Smith U13G also posted a big PB of 15.49s (PB Awards level 4) in the 100m. Rio Mcandrew U13B achieved 20.76s in the 75m Hurdles in his first ever attempt. Lots of encouragement for NJ track performers.
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Many thanks for all the photos posted on Strava.
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