Eye 10K / Deepings 10K

Tony Johnson

Grantham Running Club’s Tony Johnson took part in two 10K races in the space of eight days. Firstly he ran in the Eye 10K near Peterborough on Sunday 13th May. The weather was cooler than the previous week & Tony placed 25th overall in a field over 500 clocking 39:30. He was also 2nd in the Male Veteran 50 category.

Tony's Trophy

The following Sunday he took part in the Deepings 10K along with Tracy Webb who ran a solid 1:04:02. Tony crossed the line in 39:22 once again breaking the 40 minute barrier. He also placed seventh overall in a field of 177 and was third in the Male Veteran category

Long Clawson 10K

Stuart Reader

On Sunday 13th May, four members of Grantham Running Club made the short trip across the Vale of Belvoir to Long Clawson for the annual Long Clawson 10K cross country race. The route was a testing one, taking in fields, pock marked by cow hoofs, farm tracks rutted by tractors, bluebell lined woodland trails and a number of slippery stiles.

Brendon

The morning started slightly overcast, but on cue the sun came out almost as soon as the race started. A long slow climb from the start, put paid to any thoughts of a fast time. But the climb brought its own rewards with some of the best views over the Vale that you are ever likely to see. The finishers were greeted by a supportive crowd at the Village Hall, for which the race raised a very creditable £3500.

Yvonne

GRC results:

Stuart Reader 55:16

Simon Smith 56:29

Brendon Buckley 1:16:39

Yvonne Buckley 1:21:36

Ridgeway 40

Nev

Grantham Running Club’s Nev Chamberlain ran his first ultra distance event at last weekends Ridgeway 40. The linear course covers the westernmost 40 miles of the Ridgeway National Trail starting in Wiltshire at Overton Hill and finishing beside the River Thames at Goring in Oxfordshire.

Having never previously run more than 28 miles, Nev settled into a steady pace and was pleased with his finishing time of 8 hours 30 minutes. Afterwards he said that he'd had a couple of miles around the 30 mile mark where he'd struggled but luckily got a second wind and had a decent run into the finish.

Langtoft 10k

Paul, Helen and Nick

Helen's fastest 10k in six years

Three members of Grantham Running Club made the short journey to compete in the Langtoft 10K on Sunday. In a relatively low key event with 350 runners, the GRC athletes enjoyed a well organised road race in high temperatures.

Paul Jepson's first outing for the club

First home for GRC in 30th place was Nick Rossington in a time of 42:18. Nick was pleased with his performance coming two weeks after an equally boiling London Marathon and less than a minute outside his personal best.

Helen Brown in 55:46 was followed home by Paul Jepson in 55.56. In her first run of the season, Helen found the heat quite a challenge but thoroughly enjoyed the event.

Position	Time	Name		Category		Grading	Ranking
30	42:18	Nick Rossington		MV50		73.76%	379
195	55:46	Helen Brown		FV40		56.56%	N/A
196	55:56	Paul Jepson		MV60		61.29%	N/A

Regent's Park Summer 10k Series

#medalMonday

Robert enjoying some shade

To make the most of a planned trip to London Robert McArdle took part in the latest round of the Regent's Park Summer 10k Series in London on Sunday. This event is just like a big parkrun and with it being just a short walk from Kings Cross station is an alternative to the regular events at the Olympic Park. The field was larger than usual as the previous round was cancelled due to the snow and the entries rolled forward ,the irony of that was not lost on the runners as they lined up to race in the soaring temperatures and bright sunshine. With 700 runners trying to start along a two metre wide path it was important to get in the starting pen early, unfortunately this meant the lead runners had to stand beside a very smoky diesel generator and inhale its fumes for even longer than expected as the start was delayed with the last few entry of the day runners were processed. After securing a good starting position Robert was able to make the most of the room he had to complete the first of three laps inside PB pace. As the temperature climbed to 27C the runners weaved to the side of the road shaded by the trees at every available opportunity as they zig zagged their way round the park. It is becoming more fashionable for drinks stops to only provided 15mm of water at the bottom of a large cup making it almost impossible to drink while running and here was no exception! The 700 strong field were a mixed bunch ranging from runners from the top London clubs at the front finishing in the low 30 minutes through to the rear of the field completing the distance in closer to 90 minutes. Lap 2 was where you start to overtake lapped runners which was not a problem as the road on the later part is quite wide. By the last lap Robert’s lack of recent races showed losing almost a minute in the final mile but he was pleased with his performance and is looking forward to his next race at the 5k distance. The post race goodie bag had a decent amount of food as well as some pretty disgusting coconut water, you also got a tube style finishers medal.

Position	Time	Name		Category		Grading	Ranking
95	45:54	Robert McArdle		MV55		71.48%	399