| Position | Time | Name | Category | Grading | Ranking | ||
| 666 | 2:49:07 | Yvonne Buckley | FV55 | 48.27% | N/A | ||
| 679 | 2:52:49 | Brendon Buckley | MV65 | 45.77% | N/A | ||
Sunday, 6 May 2018
Keswick Half Marathon
North Lincs Half Marathon
 |
| Ady, Catherine, Matt, Rob and Magaretta |
 |
| Returning from illness |
 |
| PB for Ady |
Five members of Grantham Running
Club travelled to sunny Scunthorpe on Sunday to join over 1500 other runners
in a quality field for the North Lincolnshire Half Marathon. The race was started at 9am by seven year
old Krystal Proctor after winning a competition to design the race t-shirt that
was awarded to all finishers to the
accompaniment of the bagpipes. At the end they were rewarded by a stadium finish.
 |
| Catherine running with the big boys |
Yet
again the evergreen Rob Howbrook and Catherine Payne put in superb performances
with both earning themselves a place on the podium and a trophy each with 2nd place in their
respective age categories with Rob finishing in 91:09 and Catherine
finishing in 96:12.
Matt
Kidd slashed over five minutes from his previous personal best to finish in 91:33 |
| Huge PB for Matt |
| Position | Time | Name | Category | Grading | Ranking | ||
| 122 | 91:09 | Robert Howbrook | MV55 | SB | 79.57% | 135 | |
| 128 | 91:33 | Matthew Kidd | MS | PB | 64.68% | N/A | |
| 191 | 96:12 | Catherine Payne | FV50 | 79.48% | 48 | ||
| 388 | 1:46:18 | Adrian Walker | MV40 | PB | 59.92% | N/A | |
| 1497 | 2:46:19 | Magaretta Murray | FV55 | 49.75% | N/A |
Run For All – GEAR 10k (Kings Lynn)
 |
| Julia with her medal |
Almost 2500 runners were met with the hottest GEA 10K on record and were provided with two water stations on the way round with supporters spritzing water onto the runners to cool them down. The course is scenic, fun, flat and incredibly popular. Julia completed the course in 01:09:03 and plans to return next year, hoping for slightly cooler conditions.
| Position | Time | Name | Category | Grading | Ranking | ||
| 1843 | 1:09:03 | Julia Hallam | FV35 | 44.69% | N/A |
Simplyhealth Great Birmingham 10K
Grantham Running Club’s Louise
Kennedy ran the Birmingham 10K on Sunday 6th May. The weather was very
sunny and hot. Local residents came out in force with hose pipes, cups of
water and water guns. The atmosphere was amazing with over 8000 runners taking
part. Finishers received a medal, t-shirt and goody bag. There was no PB for
Louise in the blistering sun but she made it round in 1:12:43. She plans to
take part again next year in an attempt to beat this time
| Position | Time | Name | Category | Grading | ||
| 5736 | 1:12:43 | Louise Kennedy | FV40 | 43.68% |
Roche Abbey Trail Marathon
New Grantham Running Club member
and serial marathon runner Adam Wasiolka took part in the Roche Abbey Trail
Running Festival on Sunday 6th May. The event was organised by It’s Grim Up
North Running. IGUNR usually organise their races in beautiful places in
Yorkshire & specialise in trail running. There were 5K, 10K, half marathon,
20 mile, marathon & ultra marathon options on offer. Adam, of course, chose
to run the marathon distance.
The
marathon course consisted of four loops around the ruins of Roche Abbey. The
route was a combination of fields and forest paths with some short road
sections. There were a few inclines including one that forced Adam to walk.
There were two aid stations with drinks (water, juice & coke) and food
(fruit, tomatoes, jacket potatoes, sweets and cakes).
Although
it was very hot & Adam’s time was relatively slow by his standards
(4:11:00) he thoroughly enjoyed the event. He said ‘At £29 it was good value
for money with a fun and friendly atmosphere in a beautiful location. I
recommend IGUNR events with no hesitation’. Each finisher received a medal, a
beer and a bar of chocolate.
Saturday, 5 May 2018
THAMES PATH 100
Having completed the South Downs 50 mile race in 2016, Grantham
Running Club’s Chris Limmer chose to take on the ultimate challenge of
attempting to complete the Thames Path 100 race over the May day bank
holiday weekend. The race starts in Richmond on Thames in West London
and meanders its way along the river all the way to Oxford, passing many
famous landmarks such as Hampton Court and Windsor Castle in the
process.
The forecast in the build up was not too dissimilar to
the challenging conditions faced by the green and black army of GRC at
the Virgin Money London Marathon in late April and these rather summer
like conditions would take their toll on Chris and a number of others
during the 100 mile event. With a mandatory kit list including 1 litre
of fluid, two light sources and some back up warm gear in case of
emergencies, there was the further additional challenge of carrying
several kilos of additional weight along the river.
At 10am, with the temperature already creeping towards 20 degrees, Chris and 313 other competitors headed out of Richmond and into the unknown.
Chris had done some long runs with walk breaks and these were going to be crucial if he and the other runners were going to succeed on a day where the temperature in the shade was expected to get into the mid 20s. After passing Hampton court (and many a bemused visitor who were seen quickly searching what on earth these runners were taking part in), Chris made it to the first check point in good spirits at 12 miles.
The shade in places had made conditions manageable but the hottest time of day was yet to come. Passing through Staines and then onto the second official check point at 22 miles things were going okay still. The well-stocked aid stations were giving the refreshment and necessary cooling to at least delay the effects of the sun. In the next 8 or so miles, Chris stuck to his run about 20 minutes and then walk for 10 and this got him passed Windsor and into the Dorney check point at just after half past 3. Over 5 and a half hours since the race started.
Just after this aid station, as Chris broke back into a jog/shuffle, a tree root caught him and sent him on a spectacular tumble. Thankfully, with no harm done, he resumed his forward progress and successfully navigated Maidenhead (where he had a slight diversion for a Solero and a big block of ice cubes that were being handed out) and made it to Cookham at 38 miles. In the marathon between the first check point and here Chris gained over 100 places and was still in good spirits despite the dull sense of fatigue which all runners know and recognise regardless of where the edge of their comfort zone lies.
Even though it was now early evening, the heat was starting to take its toll. Between Cookham and Hurley at 44 miles there was little shade. For Chris, mentally and physically, the fact it was still so warm made it really hard especially with over 6 hours on his feet. He was at least keeping up with other runners and the ebb and flow in positions was fairly constant as other competitors chose different points to walk and others whom had begun even more conservatively than Chris during the early afternoon began to get into their stride.
Coming out of the Hurley check point at 44 miles, something wasn’t right. The few attempts at running made his stomach suggest that the sausage rolls/nuts/fruits and other goodies were going to be brought up in the fields lining this section. The seven miles that followed into Henley were to be the final bit of effort from Chris but it was livened up somewhat by the support from random groups of people enjoying a BBQ as the sun set. The respite was temporary though and arriving in Henley 10 and half hours after the start he was broken and suffering the effects of the heat.
It was at this point he chose to retire. Reflecting on his experience less than 24 hours later, he had no doubt that it was the right decision to pull out. “Despite all of the fluids consumed since early afternoon my body was telling me that this was not enough. I know it must seem unusual for a runner to say he is satisfied with a DNF but given the conditions I am glad I didn’t put my body so far into the red it got dangerous. I could have rested for an hour or so but there was no guarantee this would have helped with the effects of so long running in such heat. The support from friends and members of the running club was as amazing as ever. I do think that at some point in the future I will have to go back and complete the remaining sections – even if it is over a couple of days, especially given how much money for charity I have raised.”
Chris raised nearly £600 for CALM and Macmillan as part of his challenge. To put some perspective on how challenging conditions were for competitors in this years Thames Path 100, in 2017 when the event took place in near perfect running weather there were 88 out of 297 whom didn’t finish. By the time the runners reached the 71 mile checkpoint this year over 120 runners had dropped. With over 60 of these (or just shy of 20% of the starters dropping out at Henley including Chris). 181 finished (58%) with many of the favourites pre race getting into difficulties and having to retire. For Chris it is now rest/recovery/rehydration before focussing on the big things away from running. Namely his forthcoming wedding in August!
 |
| Chris before the start |
At 10am, with the temperature already creeping towards 20 degrees, Chris and 313 other competitors headed out of Richmond and into the unknown.
Chris had done some long runs with walk breaks and these were going to be crucial if he and the other runners were going to succeed on a day where the temperature in the shade was expected to get into the mid 20s. After passing Hampton court (and many a bemused visitor who were seen quickly searching what on earth these runners were taking part in), Chris made it to the first check point in good spirits at 12 miles.
The shade in places had made conditions manageable but the hottest time of day was yet to come. Passing through Staines and then onto the second official check point at 22 miles things were going okay still. The well-stocked aid stations were giving the refreshment and necessary cooling to at least delay the effects of the sun. In the next 8 or so miles, Chris stuck to his run about 20 minutes and then walk for 10 and this got him passed Windsor and into the Dorney check point at just after half past 3. Over 5 and a half hours since the race started.
Just after this aid station, as Chris broke back into a jog/shuffle, a tree root caught him and sent him on a spectacular tumble. Thankfully, with no harm done, he resumed his forward progress and successfully navigated Maidenhead (where he had a slight diversion for a Solero and a big block of ice cubes that were being handed out) and made it to Cookham at 38 miles. In the marathon between the first check point and here Chris gained over 100 places and was still in good spirits despite the dull sense of fatigue which all runners know and recognise regardless of where the edge of their comfort zone lies.
Even though it was now early evening, the heat was starting to take its toll. Between Cookham and Hurley at 44 miles there was little shade. For Chris, mentally and physically, the fact it was still so warm made it really hard especially with over 6 hours on his feet. He was at least keeping up with other runners and the ebb and flow in positions was fairly constant as other competitors chose different points to walk and others whom had begun even more conservatively than Chris during the early afternoon began to get into their stride.
Coming out of the Hurley check point at 44 miles, something wasn’t right. The few attempts at running made his stomach suggest that the sausage rolls/nuts/fruits and other goodies were going to be brought up in the fields lining this section. The seven miles that followed into Henley were to be the final bit of effort from Chris but it was livened up somewhat by the support from random groups of people enjoying a BBQ as the sun set. The respite was temporary though and arriving in Henley 10 and half hours after the start he was broken and suffering the effects of the heat.
It was at this point he chose to retire. Reflecting on his experience less than 24 hours later, he had no doubt that it was the right decision to pull out. “Despite all of the fluids consumed since early afternoon my body was telling me that this was not enough. I know it must seem unusual for a runner to say he is satisfied with a DNF but given the conditions I am glad I didn’t put my body so far into the red it got dangerous. I could have rested for an hour or so but there was no guarantee this would have helped with the effects of so long running in such heat. The support from friends and members of the running club was as amazing as ever. I do think that at some point in the future I will have to go back and complete the remaining sections – even if it is over a couple of days, especially given how much money for charity I have raised.”
Chris raised nearly £600 for CALM and Macmillan as part of his challenge. To put some perspective on how challenging conditions were for competitors in this years Thames Path 100, in 2017 when the event took place in near perfect running weather there were 88 out of 297 whom didn’t finish. By the time the runners reached the 71 mile checkpoint this year over 120 runners had dropped. With over 60 of these (or just shy of 20% of the starters dropping out at Henley including Chris). 181 finished (58%) with many of the favourites pre race getting into difficulties and having to retire. For Chris it is now rest/recovery/rehydration before focussing on the big things away from running. Namely his forthcoming wedding in August!
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