Sleaford Half Marathon

GRC perform well despite tough conditions at Sleaford Half

Grantham Running Club members took part in the Sleaford Half
Marathon at RAF Cranwell on Sunday as they continued their spring marathon
preparations. The 13.1 mile course was a tough test in windy conditions with a
challenging 2 mile off-road section to keep the athletes on their toes.

First home for GRC was the incredible, 57 year old Rob Howbrook (pictured) who improved on last years performance by nearly a minute, breaking the 90 minute barrier finishing in 1:29:47. Placed 53rd overall & 2nd in his age category.
Rob continues to amaze fellow club members with his performances regularly in the 80% bracket of the WMA grading system (national standard) and despite his advanced age remains one of the quickest athletes in the club over a variety of
distances.

Second over the line was Gavin Meadows finishing 62nd overall in a time of 1:31:28 narrowly missing out on a personal best. Gavin said 'I was also hoping to keep up with Rob in this race but his cross-country experience really showed in the off-road section - he was gone!'

Other GRC athletes were: Paul Rushworth 1:34:51, Holly Durham 1:35:54 (5th
fastest lady), Paul Davis 1:36:41, Neil Emerson 1:49:10

Photo: Rob Howbrook

Stamford 30k

Grantham Running Club's Brendon and Yvonne Buckley, continued their Spring marathon preparations in Stamford by running the St Valentines 30k. Finishing hand in hand, the golden couple were rewarded with a box of chocolates and a huge round of applause from fellow club members. Proving that age is no barrier the Buckley's, who are preparing for their first marathons in Manchester and London finished with an excellent time of 3:46:45. The hilly course and freezing windy conditions did not deter 17 runners form GRC joining a field of 700 from completing the race, with huge improvements made by many; Veteran, Nev Chamberlain improved on his 2015 time by 9:31 with a speedy time of 2:38:06 and Holly Durham taking over 5mins off her 2014 time with 2:18:52. Six members ran times good enough to score over 70% on WMA grading system with Chris Limmer 1:59:39, Nick Rossington 2:15:45, Mark Wilson 2:16:50, Catherine Payne 2:21:35, Robert McArdle 2:23:33 and Sarah High 2:43:30 all achieving the county level standard. Other results were; Ruth Dunstan 2:50:58, Louise Payne 3:10:16, Gavin Meadows 2:12:38, Paul Rushworth 2:13:46, Andrew Pask 2:14:10, Scott Jones 2:29:17 and Nick Payne 2:29:17.

Photo: Brendon and Yvonne Buckley

Tromso 10k

Grantham Running Club's Andrew MacAllister joined an international field in the Arctic Circle for this years Tromso 10k. With no daylight that far north the race starts in darkness at 15:00 on packed ice running through the Norwegian city's streets. With special ice grips on his running shoes and in temperatures of -8, Andrew MacAllister ran an impressive 48:20. Andrew was later heard to describe the Norwegian city as one of the nicest places on earth.

Picture: Andrew MacAllister

Brass Monkey 10k

Two members of Grantham Running Club, who made the journey to the Rockingham Speedway racetrack in Corby, competed in this years Brass Monkey 10k. On a surprisingly hilly course, the two GRC runners made their way through the strong field of 425 .Gavin Meadows finished in a respectable 48th place with a time of 41:39, whilst his teammate Paul Davis completed the course in 43:35, earning him 61st place.

Picture: Gavin Meadows

Folksworth 15

Gav racing to the line Grantham Running Club was well represented at this year’s Folksworth 15, with members using this hilly 15 mile race as the first in a series of essential pre-marathon races. A long week of training with many members running in excess of 40miles did not stop the fast times coming in. Manchester Marathon bound Holly Durham was the first GRC lady, returning to excellent form only 8 months after the birth of her 2nd child finishing as the 18th lady overall in an speedy time of 1:51:47. A difficult race to pace, the impressive times kept coming in with Catherine Payne finishing in 1:53:33, 4th in her FV45 age category. Meanwhile, in the men’s race Andrew Pask continued his Rotterdam Marathon preparations, finishing in 74th place overall, first GRC runner with a time of 1:46:57. Brendon Buckley finished  6th in his age category as he builds his race fitness ready for the London Marathon, his first at the age of 66 with a time of 2:51:45. Next up for GRC’s marathon runners is the longer but equally hilly Stamford St Valentines 30k (18.6 miles). Folksworth 15
Overall Place	Gun Time	Name	Pace		Gender	Gender Place	Category	Category Place	WMA	Chip Time
74	1:47:02.5	Andrew Pask	7:08/M		M	63	M Sen	26	64:09%	1:46:57.7
86	1:48:17.4	Gav Meadows	7:13/M		M	74	M Sen	31	63.53%	1:48:12.3
114	1:52:47.9	Holly Durham	7:27/M		F	18	F Sen	8	68.22%	1:51:47.6
118	1:53:02.2	Scott Jones	7:32/M		M	99	MV40	21	63.38%	1:52:56.4
123	1:53:43.0	Catherine Payne	7:34/M		F	21	FV45	4	75.27%	1:53:33.8
138	1:55:58.2	Robert McArdle	7:43/M		M	113	MV55	8	70.23%	1:55:49.1
147	1:57:09.5	Andrew Spencer	7:45/M		M	120	MV50	21	68.17%	1:56:09.8
157	1:58:20.6	Sophie Stanley	7:52/M		F	29	F Sen	10	64.66%	1:57:57.0
201	2:03:47.2	Ben Mason	8:14/M		M	163	M Sen	51	56.63%	2:03:27.4
215	2:06:16.1	Anthony Chamberlain	8:21/M		M	171	MV50	33	63.78%	2:05:16.2
237	2:10:08.0	Neil Emerson	8:37/M		M	183	MV55	10	62.42%	2:09:08.5
241	2:10:43.8	Sarah High	8:40/M		F	56	FV50	5	69.02%	2:09:54.1
319	2:25:16.8	Louise Payne	9:38/M		F	103	FV35	18	53.98%	2:24:25.4
374	2:36:48.9	Nikki Carr	10:24/M		F	138	FV55	10	59.17%	2:35:57.8
375	2:36:49.0	Ruth Dunstan	10:24/M		F	139	FV40	34	50.32%	2:35:53.5
403	2:51:34.6	Yvonne Buckley	11:22/M		F	158	FV55	11	54.12%	2:50:31.8
406	2:52:48.6	Brendon Buckley	11:27/M		M	246	MV65	6	51.58%	2:51:45.9

Folksworth 15

Grantham Running Club was well represented at this year's Folksworth 15, with members using this hilly 15 mile race as the first in a series of essential pre-marathon races. A long week of training with many members running in excess of 40miles did not stop the fast times coming in. Manchester Marathon bound Holly Durham was the first GRC lady, returning to excellent form only 8 months after the birth of her 2^nd child finishing as the 18^th lady overall in an speedy time of 1:51:47. A difficult race to pace, the impressive times kept coming in with Catherine Payne finishing in 1:53:33, 4^th in her FV45 age category. Meanwhile, in the men's race Andrew Pask continued his Rotterdam Marathon preparations, finishing in 74^thplace overall, first GRC runner with a time of 1:46:57. Brendon Buckley finished  6^th in his age category as he builds his race fitness ready for the London Marathon, his first at the age of 66 with a time of 2:51:45. Next up for GRC's marathon runners is the longer but equally hilly Stamford St Valentines 30k (18.6 miles). 

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Portsea twilight 8km

Portsea twilight 8km

'GRC's John Blair was among the 1,100 runners to race through the spectacular Point Nepean national park. A perfect way to begin the New Year. The course is undulating with short ,sharp hills and exquisite natural landscape. John completed the 8km course, in windy conditions but not too hot, in 38min 12 seconds, finishing 182 male and 12th in his age group.

Tadworth 10

Debut 10 Mile for Dobbs

GRC's Rick Dobbs made his 10 mile debut on Sunday, competing at the Tadworth 10. The tough course consisting of 50% road and 50% off road was made even more difficult with the extreme wind and rain on the day. Rick, a graduate of GRC's spring beginners class finished in a respectable 376 out of 591 finishers with a chip time of 1.36.49. The race finished on the famous Epsom racecourse. Rick now has spring Half Marathons in his sights.

Photo: Rick Dobbs

Nene Valley 10 mile Road Race

Nene Valley 10 mile Road Race

Grantham Running Club had four athletes in this twisty urban two lapper round the housing estates of North Peterborough. It is a technically demanding race with tight turns, underpasses and overbridges which prevent the runners getting into any sort of rhythm, all of which was compounded by the high winds. First home for the club was Matthew Kingston Lee who after a swift start found himself running alone and so eased up a bit to allow a group of runners to catch him and offer shelter from the wind. He went through halfway in 28:45, but slowed a little in the second half as the wind and recent injury problems took their toll eventually finishing seven seconds outside the prizes. After the race he commented that “Considering the conditions and lack of running miles under the belt I was fairly pleased with my second fastest ever ten mile race time.". Next home for GRC was Gav Meadows who had exactly the opposite problem with a lot of recent races and a heavy training block still in his legs, he was still delighted with his first performance at this distance. Making up the GRC contingent were injured pair Catherine Payne, who finished as 12^th lady, and Robert McArdle, although both were well down on their best were pleased to complete some race miles as part of their rehabilitation. Full results below;

Matthew	Kingston Lee	M	0:58:08
Gav	Meadows	M	1:12:08
Catherine	Payne	F	1:12:49
Robert	McArdle	M	1:16:59