Top performances by Newmarket Joggers in Tarpley 10M/20M event

On Sunday, February 23rd, nineteen Newmarket Joggers turned out at Beyton School Campus, near Bury St Edmunds, for the popular, annual, Tarpley 10M/20M event. The two races, organised by Saint Edmund Pacers, are named after one of the club’s late and highly revered founders (Bert Tarpley) and are ideal preparation for spring half and full marathons.

In the Tarpley 10M race, Rob Dobson (54:48 PB, 2^nd of 351 overall, 1^st of 20 in M45-49) put in a huge effort to set a new PB by over 3 minutes. Close behind came Mark Hayward (56:11 SB, 4th, 1^st of 21 in M40-44) and Joey Bendall (58:36 PB, 7th, 3^rd in M40-44), the latter running his first ever race over this distance. These three Joggers took the first men’s team prize and were the only team with all three members breaking an hour.

For the female Joggers, Abigail Marson (1:37:27, 89^th F of 167, 3^rd in FU21) put in a big effort in her first known attempt at this distance. She was followed by Caroline Mcintosh (1:59:40, 157^th F, 7^th in F70+) and Gillian Green (2:17:46, 165^th F, 14^th in F60-64).

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Other male Joggers putting in big efforts were: Andy Fryatt (1:10:08, 41st, 2^nd of 23 in M55-59), Richard Defries (1:13:21, 57th, 7^th of 26 in M50), Liam Elvidge (1:24:19, 135th, 31st in MS), Robert Pollard (1:24:37, 138th, 32nd in MS) and Chris Aylmer 1:56:09, 330th, 8^th in M70+).

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In the Tarpley 20M race, Jimmy Smith (2:06:53, 12^th of 328 overall, 3^rd of 35 in M40-44) put in perfectly even splits and looked completely relaxed in his first road race for some while. Next, came Carlos Campon-Alonso (2:21:53, 56th, 6^th of 35 in M50-54) in great form, followed by our first female finisher Carol Cienna Carter (2:22:24, 3^rd F of 115, 1^st of 15 in F50-54). This was an extraordinary run by Carol, who not only won her age group but also finished in the top three female finishers for a podium place. Other Joggers putting in excellent efforts were: Marc Drury (2:32:16, 97th, 12^th in M50-54), Meera Mahadevan (3:15:24, 87^th F, 12^th in F50-54), Angela Drury (3:31:36, 106^th F, 25^th in F40-44), Alan Shand (3:44:28, 319th, 6th in M65-69) and Jan Holmes (3:54:08, 113^th F, 6^th in F60-64).

Lifestar Malta Marathon, Mdina to Valletta, Sunday, February 23rd: Eleanor Bithell (3:43:55 PB, 418^th of 1,095 overall, 49^th F of 256, 6^th of 45 in F45-49) thoroughly enjoyed this marathon, which started high up in the hills and dropped around 650ft to the finish by the sea, though there were a few climbs to negotiate. The weather appeared ideal; reasonably cool with bright sunshine.

London Winter Run 10K, London, Sunday: Six Joggers made the trip for this huge event, which helps raise funds for Cancer Research. The race started in Pall Mall, headed for the City of London and returned to Horse Guards Parade, off Whitehall.

In great form was Rory King U17 (36:57 PB, 128^th of 19,814 overall), with Suzanne Bailey F60 (59:53, 8,334th) first female Jogger to finish. Then came Sarah Kinston F50 (1:04:10, 11,921st), Sarah Last F50 (1:05:34, 12,709th), Sarah Martin F45 (1:07:00, 13,475th) and Jo Bouttell F60 (1:08:27, 14,359th). Nearly all achieved their highest age grades of this year and all enjoyed the great atmosphere. There were no age groups or gender placings given out in the results.

Above: London Winter Run 10K medal; Sarah Kinston’s Bib & medal; Sarah Kinston, Jo Bouttell, Suzanne Bailey and Sarah Martin to the right, with a friend or family on the left. Thanks for the photos.

CROSS-COUNTRY & TRACK NEWS

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CROSS-COUNTRY:

Great news that Junior Joggers Cerys Bithell (Cambridgeshire), Lilian Corbett (Cambridgeshire) and Harvey Thomas (Suffolk) have all been chosen to represent their respective counties in the finals of the English Schools National Cross-Country Championships, which will take place at the  West Sussex Showground on Saturday, March 15th. Good luck to them all.

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TRACK:

1. Harvey Thomas U15 did well in the indoor i800m at the Lee Valley Open on Wednesday 19^th February, clocking a PB of 2:21.98s and earning an age grade 78.35%.

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2. Edson George Wilkinson (13:50.51 SB) competed in the 3000m Race Walk event at the UK Indoor Track & Field Championships at Birmingham on Sunday 23rd February. This effort earned him a bronze medal and an age grade of 75.98%, his best so far this year. George helps to coach race walking technique at NJ training sessions.

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3. Elke Hausler was in top form all weekend. She competed in the British Masters Athletics Federation (BMAF) T&F Championships on the weekend of February 22/23. On the Saturday, she achieved a new PB in the W60 800m (2:44.36), taking 2.1 seconds off her previous PB gained 3 weeks before in Austria, and finishing 2nd of 4 in W60 with a silver medal; her age grade for this event was an impressive 92.23%. On Sunday, she ran in the W60 1500m and achieved a 2.17s PB of 5:39.23, gaining a silver medal and a brilliant age grade of 96.22%. She also had a go at the W60 400m and won a bronze medal with a time of 1:13:22 (88.65%). There’s no stopping Elke now. Her husband Michael won the gold medal in the M65 shot put, so a great weekend for both of them.