ROUTE FOR 2023-24
The course, expertly designed by Neil Pollard, is on the Rowley Mile service roads; a 5km route consisting of a double out & back loop over hard path. Meet point and race finish is in the car park area. Race start is at the top of the entry drive to the Rowley Mile racecourse, just off Hamilton Road.
Hi-Viz must be worn and it is highly advisable to wear a head or chest torch.
LINK FOR ENTRY:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1VEYqU-Eo3kCm3CRMM6v3mH5F_uqduU11L1pFYDGe5AM/edit#gid=832596558
It is now the winter! so please wear hi viz and if possible head torch
Results for NJ 5k Handicap on November 7th
NJ 5k Handicap Table 2023 Nov 8
There’s a simple rule for Handicap starting times. It means no one will start in a faster group than their average time. If your current average time (for up to your last 3 runs) is e.g. 24 something (24:00 to 24:59), you get a 25 min start. If it is 25 something you get a 26 min start etc. There will be times when one runner is 59 seconds better off than another runner but that is inevitable whatever system we choose, as we start in one minute intervals. Count your lucky stars and have some sympathy for the other runner! Next time it could be you. N.B: From May 2023, your current average time is based on (up to) your last three Handicap runs since October 2022. It was previously based on all your handicap runs since October 2022. If no Handicap runs since October 2022, opening handicaps have been based on your average time in the Handicap the previous winter. If no Handicap runs last winter, your best performance in 5K club races this year, over road surfaces or multi-terrain (not track, which tends to be faster), or over other distances if necessary, will be used as a guide. From winter 2022-2023, for reasons of sustainability, trophies will not be awarded for 1-2-3 places every month, although prizes are planned for the series as a whole. Junior Joggers will be welcome to take part and non-member parents may run with their children for support, though their times and positions will not count in the Handicap. Please let us know if there are any unforced errors in the calculations: chris.aylmer@newmarketjoggers.co.uk
REPORTS:
Tuesday November 7th: A well deserved and long awaited Handicap win for Cerys Bithell (20:14), who still remains at a good handicap mark for December, after making a good recovery from her earlier asthma problems during the summer months. In second place came the fast-improving Nicole Smith (24:17), who achieved her quickest known 5k time since clocking 23:59 in a parkrun in 2017. In third place was Robert Dobson (16:18), one of this year’s new members, who also achieved the fastest time by anybody in the Handicap this year, so he is going great guns.
The fastest three female runners this month were Lilian Corbett (19:43), Cerys Bithell (20:14) and Ellie Bithell (22:15). They are all having a great year of running. For the men, the top three on speed were Robert Dobson (16:18), Jimmy Smith (17:04) and Sam Sadler (17:58). Well done all those speedy runners and everyone else for their participation in this club race, which acts as a very useful time trial to gauge training progress.
Thanks to volunteers Christine Shand, Angela Brennan, Ruth Eberhardt, Stuart Janes, Caroline Freeborough, Caroline Mcintosh, Sarah Osborne, Jenny Osbourn, Marie Rollinson, Marc Drury, Andy Fryatt, Brian Munns, Malcolm Osbourn and anyone else who may have been left out in error.
Tuesday October 3rd: A big handicap win for senior Alan Shand (30:27), who is coming back from injury and making excellent progress. In well-deserved second place came junior Lily-Ann Cooper (41:03), generously supported by junior Sophie Blundell, who walked with her all the way as a pacer. In third place was new senior member Caroline Freeborough (31:18), who has improved a lot from her first run of 33:20, just two months ago.
The fastest female runner this month was junior Lilian Corbett (19:41), who has re-found the extra speed she had earlier in the year. Next fastest was the talented junior Cerys Bithell (24:04), who has been rather blighted by asthma over the summer period but will surely be back to her best soon. Then came the accomplished veteran F65+ Belinda Schofield (26:19); great to see Belinda back in the fray, especially with her favourite XC races coming up soon.
Fastest for the men was senior Sam Sadler (18:03), who has been in great form this year, over short and long distances. Then came senior Daniel Tee (19:29) in what is believed to be a PB 5k time. Although cycling is currently his strongest discipline, Daniel has been hard at work improving his running speed this year, regularly participating in parkruns and club races. Shane Mcandrew (19:39 PB too?), is also going through a purple patch and may be benefiting from all his track work.
Summer 5k Handicap, Tuesday 5th September:
Weather very warm….
First-timer and new senior member Francine Dasseville (29:01) pulled off a big Handicap win, just ahead of senior Andy Fryatt (21:26) in second. The latter has made an incredible recovery after suffering a minor stroke earlier in the year and is almost back to his best, which is great to see. In very well deserved third place came Malcolm Osbourn M75+ (28:30), who has found some brilliant form this year and now moves up to gold club standard on 66.96% age grade. Lily Ann Cooper (41:38), who finds it faster to walk than run, did very well to take 4th position and was supported by Sophie Blundell from the start. Sophie has won the Handicap no less than 3 times this year and is having a great season, improving her running times steadily.
Looking at the fastest female Joggers, the top 3 were junior Lilian Corbett (20:02) from senior Ellie Bithell (22:14) and junior Cerys Bithell (24:30). All three have had a great season this year, though Cerys has unfortunately been suffering a little from asthma in recent weeks. For the men it was senior Mark Hayward (16:39) in top gear, with his fastest Handicap performance this year, followed by seniors Sam Sadler (18:06) and Daniel Tee (19:29). All three have been working hard this year to improve their performances.
Summer 5k Handicap, Tuesday, 18th July:
A tremendous run by new junior Esther Eaton (26:28) to win the July Handicap at the age of only 8, in her very first attempt at the race. This effort earns her 70.15% age grade, putting her in platinum standard and currently 15th in the NJ top twenty women’s achievements this year. Next came senior Brian Munns (24:44) in a very well deserved 2nd position, during a difficult year for him on the health front. Third was the consistent and improving senior Shane Mcandrew (19:53).
The speedsters for the female runners this month were the impressive juniors Cerys Bithell (20:02) and Lilian Corbett (21:41), from the equally impressive senior Ellie Bithell (21:56). For the male runners the seniors had their way, with Jimmy Smith (17:06) taking the honours from Sam Sadler (17:24) and Shane Mcandrew (19:53). Some great performances there.
Many thanks to all who took part and special thanks to all the volunteers.
Summer 5k Handicap, Tuesday June 20th:
Well, on a perfect summer evening, junior Sophie Blundell has done it again!. She has now won the Handicap three times in succession, each time taking about a minute off her previous time. Well done, Sophie! Next came junior Harvey Thomas, who also continues to improve steadily, working on his speed most weeks in the Run Newmarket 2K on Sundays. He is now on the verge of a sub 20-minute 5k. In bronze position was senior Lisa Garrand, and well deserved too. She has been improving steadily in all her recent runs and races after taking some time out following the birth of her baby.
Fastest female this month was again Sarah Osborne on 19:16, followed by the ultra consistent Lilian Corbett (20:40) and none other than Sophie Blundell (24:24). For the male runners, fastest was Mark Hayward on 17:08, followed by Chris Balmer (17:19) and Paul Holley (17:25).
Well done all those runners and everyone else who took part, with special thanks to those who volunteered. The volunteers are highlighted in green in the table. Let us know if you have been missed off the list.
Winter 5k Handicap, Tuesday April 4th:
At last, no need for torches. Conditions ideal (dry, ~11°C) and lots of good times recorded.
Congratulations to Handicap winner Rupert Wordsworth-Clarke (aged 12), who was certainly a dark horse in the race! His only other entry this season was in October last year when he recorded 27:03, so he has made big progress since then, to record a time of 23:21. Big improvers do well in this race format and rightly so. Second in the Handicap was Lewis Stinger (aged 9) who has also made huge progress, taking nearly 3 minutes off his previous best time to clock 22:56, from 4 appearances in the race. Then came senior Jo Bouttell, who is also on a roll, achieving a Handicap podium place for the third time in her last 4 appearances (including a win in January). She has certainly been putting in a lot of training work this year and deserves her success.
Looking at the speedsters, senior Neil Pollard entered his first race of the series and promptly recorded the season’s fastest time by a male runner of 16:40. Seniors Jimmy Smith (16:51) and Paul Holley (16:55 ) were hot on his heels though, and fully deserve their 2nd and =3rd best times of the season, along with =3rd Dan Hutchison, who recorded 16:55 last month.
For the female runners, senior Sarah Osborne (already in the lead last month with her 19:38 time) put her stamp on the fastest time of the season by recording 19:06 in the final fixture. Next fastest on the day was senior Hannah Pollard (21:15), who has made great progress and is almost back to her best after a long period of injury. Then came junior Cerys Bithell (21:36) who has performed at a high calibre over the whole season. The 2nd fastest time of the season went to Lilian Corbett (19:52), who was the fastest female in the first 5 fixtures and a model of consistency throughout the series. Cerys Bithell (20:41) deservedly took the third fastest time of the season.
Congratulations to those runners and well done by all the participants in the Handicap, Special thanks to all the volunteer helpers who made this event possible.
Winter 5k Handicap, Tuesday March 7th:
Weather: Around 3°C, dry with a full moon, not too windy; ideal running conditions.
Another great performance by junior Sophie Blundell to finish first in the Handicap for the second time in succession. She took 51 seconds off her previous best time and has steadily improved from her first run of 30:33 last October, down to 25:55 in March, without missing a single race. That’s how to do it. Well done also to senior Pearl Fay, who finished in 2nd place, taking over 2 minutes off her previous time in January. In well-deserved 3rd place came senior Alan Thornhill in his first Handicap run of the season. He has been finding some excellent form recently in 5k parkruns and in the Run Newmarket 5k and has upped his age grade to over 65% this year (gold club standard). A great run also by 4th-placed junior Harvey Thomas, who nearly made the top three. He is improving by leaps and bounds.
Looking at the fastest female runners, senior Sarah Osborne put in a tremendous run of 19:38, which puts her into the lead for the fastest run of the season. Sarah has been improving rapidly in recent months. Then came the super-consistent junior Lilian Corbett on 19:53, just one second outside her best time so far and the first time she has been bettered on time in her 6 outings in the Handicap. In third place for speed, and very well deserved, was junior Cerys Bithell on 20:41, believed to be an all-time PB for her by 54 seconds. Cerys has certainly been putting everything into her running this year and has been doing lots of Run Newmarket 5k runs.
For the men, senior Dan Hutchison was in brilliant form, coming home in 16:55 and making it a dead-heat between his time and Jimmy Smith’s effort in February for the fastest of the season. There could be a showdown in April! In second place on time was junior Sean Rollinson (19:30), who has been the model of consistency throughout the season, putting in great efforts month after month. In third came senior Stuart Sowerby (19:42) just ahead of junior Jack Stearn (19:45), the latter putting in his first impressive appearance of the season.
Thanks to all the runners for making it a great race and to all the volunteers and helpers for their vital contribution.
Winter 5k Handicap, Tuesday February 7th:
Another very cold and dark night, with temperatures hovering around freezing. Surface conditions dry, with no ice hazard.
A great golden handicap win for junior Sophie Blundell, who has been steadily improving her position all season and finally made it to the front. Well done to senior Jo Bouttell for promptly following up last month’s win with a silver 2nd place; not an easy feat. In bronze position came junior Oscar Fenton, with his third podium finish in a row: 1st, 3rd, 3rd….that’s the way to do it!
In the fast lane for the female runners, junior Lilian Corbett (19:52) just managed to keep top spot for an amazing fifth time in a row, by one second from senior Sarah Osborne (19:53), so quite nip & tuck between those two, although they were running off different handicaps in this race and not fighting it out on the line. They are 1st and 2nd in the fastest women’s times recorded this season. In third place on time came senior Rebecca Oettle (21:03), showing well in her first run this season.
The fastest male runners were the senior trio of Jimmy Smith (16:55), Mark Hayward (17:03) and Paul Holley (17:14), with only 19 seconds between the three of them. Jimmy recorded the fastest men’s time this season. There is normally a male and female trophy winner for fastest times at the end of the season. Well done junior Sean Rollinson (19:27) who was 4th fastest male runner in his best time this season and first under 20 minute run. Junior Harvey Thomas put in a tremendous effort to finish in 21:47; a big PB for him. He’s favourably handicapped for the March fixture.
Thanks to all participants for making it such an exciting race and to all the volunteers for their valuable assistance.
Winter 5k Handicap, Tuesday January 3rd:
Weather dry but freezing cold; fortunately no surface ice.
A well deserved 1-2 for seniors Jo Bouttell and Svetlana Zinchenko, who have not made the top three in recent memory. Junior Oscar Fenton maintained his excellent form from December to come in third, despite his lower handicap. A near miss from the top three by first-timer Louise Cooper, while junior Sophie Blundell continued to improve her finishing position in 5th place.
In the speedster arena, junior Lilian Corbett clocked 21:13, finishing top female runner in the NJ Handicap for a phenomenal 4th time in a row this season. Hot on her heels were senior Sarah Osborne (21:34) and junior Cerys Bithell (22:48), both highly consistent performers.
For the men, senior Sam Sadler (19:14) made the top spot for the second time this season, followed by the ultra consistent junior Sean Rollinson (20:14), with senior Adam Maltpress (21:17) in 3rd. Well done everybody and especially all the loyal helpers and volunteers who are shown in green on the results sheet.
Winter 5k Handicap, Tuesday December 6th:
Weather cold and the ground a little damp, with a modest northerly breeze; temperature hovering just above freezing, avoiding any ice hazards.
A fine Handicap golden win for new junior club member Oscar Fenton; a real dark horse in this particular Newmarket race, who clocked 25:44 and finished 1m:26s in the lead. Then came fast-improving junior Alfie Norman (34:10) in silver 2nd position, taking an amazing 3 minutes off his time last month. In bronze 3rd place, junior Alexander Balmer continued his remarkable improvement in speed for the third month in a row. His last three times have been: 27:43 (37th), 24:50 (1st) and 21:26 (3rd). He’s still managing to keep nicely ahead of his handicap and who would bet against him making the top three in January?
Looking at the quickest runners, junior Lilian Corbett (19:57) achieved the fastest female time for the third month in a row and a 5k PB in the process. Her times show absolute consistency: 19:58, 20:14, 19:57. Second and third fastest were senior members Sarah Osborne (21:39) and Ellie Bithell (23:17), who are both in great form. For the senior men, Jimmy Smith (17:21) came out top on time, with Paul Holley (17:34) and Sam Sadler (17:56) second and third.
Noting some other juniors who have improved steadily over the first three Handicap races: Sophie Blundell 30:33, 29:53, 29:44; Imogen Stephens 31:30, 30:09, 28:53; Oliver Cleary 24:29, 22:31, 21:40. That’s the way to go!
Thanks to all who took part and special thanks to all the volunteers.
Winter 5k Handicap, Tuesday November 1st:
Well, the weather was dark, wet, wild and windy; ideal for witches on broomsticks. Fortunately, most of the rain had fallen in the hour before the race. A great Handicap gold finish by junior Jogger Alexander Balmer (24:50), who improved by nearly 3 minutes on his time in October. Then came another junior, Oliver Cleary (22:31), for his second silver finish in succession, taking nearly 2 minutes off his time last month and managing to keep well ahead of the handicapper. Great to see female juniors Louisa Smith (39:32) and Rose-Dawn Smith (39:33) claiming 3rd (bronze) and 4th positions in their first attempt at the course. The senior Joggers received a right drubbing this month in the Handicap race.
Fastest female runner was again junior Lilian Corbett (20:14), who continues in superb form, from talented new senior Jogger Sarah Osborne (22:06) and up-and-coming junior Cerys Bithell (22:39), who continues to improve with every run. Mark Hayward (17:50) saved the day for the seniors with his lesson in fast running, backed up by 2nd fastest Sam Sadler (18:45) and 3rd fastest Chris Underwood (20:05). Thanks to everyone for making it a fun race and special thanks to all the volunteers.
An extraordinary feat by junior Kai Hall. He finished in exactly the same time as last month (24:59) and in exactly the same position (25th). What were the odds on that? Maybe something to do with Halloween…..
Winter 5k Handicap, Tuesday October 4th:
A big win for Joe Cormack (20:08) in the Handicap race. He has improved his 5km time by around 6 minutes since last winter (and every other distance up to 100km!), so a well deserved first place. Then came two Junior Joggers: Oliver Cleary (24:29, aged 10) and Lewis Stinger (26:34, age?) in 2nd and 3rd. Well done those two youngsters😁. It’s great to see the Junior Joggers joining in the Handicap with the Seniors.
Fastest female this month was another Junior Jogger Lilian Corbett (19:58, aged 15). This was a huge 5km PB for Lilian, who has been improving rapidly this year in parkruns and Run Newmarket. Fastest for the men was Sam Sadler (17:49), who is right back in his best form. He recorded 17:33 in the Hockeys League earlier this year, which was his best time for the club since 2018.
NJ Winter Handicap Table 2021-2022 FINAL
For those in the club who participated in the 5k Handicap competition last winter, your starting handicap is based on your average time of all your runs in the 2021-2022 fixtures, which is given in the table shown above for the 2021-2022 season. If you had no runs, it’s based on an estimate of your current form for the club in 2022, where possible, over 5km. Once you have run once, you create your own handicap from your average times recorded in the Winter 5k each month. For some members with no previous races for the club, we may ask you to give an honest assessment of your approximate likely time.
Archived results can be found below: