37th Valencia Trinidad Alfonso Marathon

Ciudad de la Artes y las Ciencias

Grantham Running Club's Gordon Geach travelled to Valencia, Spain for the 37th Valencia Marathon on Sunday 19th November. The marathon route is flat and takes in a lot of the sites of Valencia, both in the new and old parts of the city. The marathon has an early start at 8.30am due to the local climate. The forecast for the day was sunny with blue skies and the temperature creeping to 20 degrees just after midday. Gordon remarked that the organisation of the race was very good from number & bag pickup to the actual event and afterwards.

Gordon after his PB at Berlin in 2012

He admitted his training plan was not quite up to scratch only running 6 miles twice a week. He said his plan was to try and run the marathon like a long, slow Sunday run and that worked till the half marathon point, clocking 1:50:26. But then he said he hit the wall 7 miles too early. 'The second half of the marathon was a world of pain, with my legs hating me all the way to the finish' he said.

Gordon crossed the line in a time of 4:37:40 - a little annoyed he didn't make sub 4:30:00, but glad he had finished. He also commented that the finish at the Arts and Sciences complex was really spectacular. Gordon said "Overall I enjoyed the race and will be doing it again sometime in the future - one for the list if you’ve not done it before. My next marathon is London. I need to do some proper training for it and get my time down significantly. I would hope to attempt break my personal best of 3:20:53."

Position	Time	Name		Category		Grading	Ranking
14698	4:37:40	Gordon Geach		MV55		52.58%	N/A

Shillington Shuffle

GRC's Nick Payne completed the 26 miles (26.8 actual) version of this LDWA event in 5:45:34. It is starts from Barton-le-Clay Village Hall.The route follows mainly field paths, tracks, woods and some roads through undulating countryside with good views from the hills traversed. The £10 non members entry fee included snacks at all the checkpoints and the finishers badge

Derby 10 Mile

Grantham Running Club couple Julie and Robert Braker took part in the Derby 10 Mile on Sunday 12th November. Starting at the Derby County stadium, the course is mostly flat. It runs along the riverbank & through the grounds of Elvaston Castle before returning to the stadium for the finish. Conditions were good for running overall with a slightly chilly wind on the day.
Julie continues to wow her clubmates with her performances and it's no exaggeration to say that she is currently among the best runners in the country within her age category. She crossed the finish line in 1:21:52 placing 1st in the Female Veteran 65 category scoring a whopping 89.82% age grading. Futhermore this result placed her 10th in the UK rankings for this category over the 10 mile distance & will no doubt improve upon the outstanding 24th UK ranking position she held across all distances in the FV65 category going into this race.

Robert's performance was also very impressive. He posted a time of 1:23:21 also securing a UK ranking. He currently sits in 137th position in the UK among competitors in the Male Veteran 65 category for performances over the 10 mile distance. He also narrowly missed out on a 70% age grading scoring 69.81% and placed 1st of all men aged over 65 in this race. No prize was awarded due to the structure of the men's categories being slightly different to the women's but this is still a remarkable achievement.

Position	Time	Name		Category		Grading	Ranking
351	1:21:52	Julie Braker		FV65		89.82%	10
389	1:23:21	Robert Braker		MV65		69.81%	137

North Midlands Cross Country League - Fixture 2

On Saturday 11th November a group of 13 runners from Grantham Running Club travelled to West Glebe Park in Corby to compete in the second fixture of the North Midlands Cross Country League. The course was an enjoyable & undulating mixed terrain affair combining sports fields with woodlands & trails. The weather was very pleasant for the autumn with mild temperatures, very little wind & even a little sun.
The club’s ladies tackled 2 laps which meant a distance of approximately 6km. Sarah High was first home in a time of 28.59 which put her first in her age group. Nicola Cottam was second for GRC in a time of 31.20 followed by Nicola Fahy and Justyna Gill who ran 33.09 and 34.09 respectively. As a result of their efforts the GRC Veteran Ladies are now in 10th place in the league.
The men had a '3 and a bit' lap course to contend with making a distance of approximately 9.5km. The first male GRC finisher was Chris Limmer in 35:44 finishing in 68th position overall. He was followed by Gav Meadows (39:14) with Matthew Williamson (39:38) hot on his heels. Another two GRC runners finishing within seconds of each other were Andrew Pask (40:38) & Peter Bonner (41:01). There were 4 more GRC finishers - Daniel Howson (45:32), Kevin Kettle (45:45), Christopher Toon (46:14) & Andrew McAllister (48:52). The GRC Veteran Men are also now sitting in 10th position in their league.

Seagrave Wolds Challenge

The Seagrave Challenge was devised to encourage exploration of the rolling countryside around Seagrave, and to raise money to help towards the refurbishment and upkeep of Seagrave Memorial Hall and to support other good causes. 

2017 was the 13th consecutive Challenge. They wound the clock right back and will served up a route similar to one of their very first events. The 16 mile route was new but took in the villages of Wymeswold, Rempston, Prestwold, Burton-on-the-Wolds, Walton-on-the-Wolds. Offering some nice views of the lovely Wolds countryside and, with support from local landowners, getting rare access across private land.

This year GRC’s Rob Howbrook took part in a very wet and muddy event finishing in 46^th place out of 586 runners in a time of 2:06:35.

Six Dales Circuit

Reunited with their daughters after the run

Grantham Running Club was represented by Mark Hillson and Paul Rushworth at the annual Six Dales Circuit event. The 25 Mile off road route begins in the sleepy village of Biggin and runners then visit Biggin Dale, Wolfscote Dale, Beresford Dale, Lathkill Dale, Bradford Dale and Long Dale. The weather for the event was ideal with periods of sunshine helping to evaporate the mysterious cloud which hung in the freezing valleys. Traditional Staffordshire oatcakes were served at the half way checkpoint before runners carried on through glorious Lathkill Dale negotiating slippery limestone. Particularly notable this year were the higher than usual number of herons that flanked the river banks.  Paul and Mark climbed a total elevation gain of 2,269ft on the event, they returned to Biggin together in what resulted in a PB time for Mark at his second attempt in a time of 5 hours 18 minutes. Paul recorded his seventh completion.      

You can read Paul's blog description of the 2012 event here rushirushworth.blogspot.co.uk

Rockingham 10 Mile, Rockingham 10K, Rockingham 5K, and Rockingham Duathlon

With the lure of some of the best race medals on offer anywhere in the land, there was Grantham Running Club representation at all four of the events taking place at Rockingham Motor Speedway on Guy Fawkes Day. With performances almost as spectacular as the fireworks that filled the skies over the weekend, there was much to celebrate for the Green Army at Europe’s fastest racing circuit.

Thankfully the cold, wet and windy conditions that marred the 2016 event were not repeated this year, although the seemingly ever present wind gusting through the circuit meant that the sunny, somewhat chilly afternoon, could not be considered ideal for racing. The running races utilise both the infield circuit at Rockingham and parts of the 1.5 mile outer oval, which famously saw Indycars lap in excess of 210 mph in 2001 and 2002. Racing circuits generally make for great venues to hold running races and Rockingham is no exception, with wide, smooth, traffic-free tarmac, ample parking and toilet facilities.

Kirsty smashes PB

Martin does the10k

In the 5K race, Louise Kennedy made her race debut, finishing a highly commendable seventh in her age category, clocking 33:46. This is eight seconds faster than her best 5K effort at Belton House parkrun. CJ Walker took part in her first 5K race, finishing in 35:10, and there was much delight for Kirsty Carter, who smashed her previous best 5K performance at Peterborough parkun by nearly four minutes, coming home in 36:43. Also making her race debut, Marie Walker finished inside the top 100 in 41:01.

The 10K race, like the 10 mile event, was a round of the inaugural GRC GP Series. Eleven club members finished led home by Martin Carter, whose 50:43 earned him 60^th position overall. He was followed by Claudette Joint (51:16) who was an excellent third in her age category on her race debut and twelfth woman overall and Rachael Smith, who ran superbly to better her old 10K PB by over three minutes - 51:35 also earning third position in her Age Category.  Hot on her heels was John Nevard, making his race debut and finishing in a fine 51:39.

Joe finished in 64:22

Suzanne Britz (53:59) was next to finish, taking a well deserved first position in her Age Category. Hazel Dunthorne made her 10K debut, finishing in 54:49, just ahead of a happy Simon Hartley, who got to ring the PB bell after beating his old best by over three minutes with 55:09. Novice racer Kirsty Truesdale suffered the pre-race nightmare of many a seasoned veteran when her GPS stopwatch showed a low battery warning. She put this first world problem behind her to run a storming 55:21, three minutes faster than her recently set previous 10K best. 

Tracey Smith finished inside the one hour barrier in 59:35, claiming third position in her Age Category. Mark Jessop followed in 61:35, bettering his old PB by an impressive four minutes and Claire Fritz was another to set a big new PB, finishing in 64:58.

Seven GRC members took part in the 10 mile race which incorporated the Northamptonshire 10 Mile Championships. Joe Clarke was first home, finishing thirteenth in 1:04:22 - especially impressive considering it was only Joe’s second race, although he is a seasoned parkrun campaigner. He was followed by the first of the near indistinguishable GRC twins, Matthew Atter, who claimed family bragging rights with 17^th position in 1:05:34 on his 10 mile debut. This was nearly five minutes clear of brother Andy, who nonetheless could return home happy with a four minute improvement over his previous best 10 mile performance, clocking 1:10:13.

MKL on a bike

Andrew Pask finished in 1:07:47, just six seconds down on his 2016 ten mile time set almost exactly a year earlier. Peter Bonner continued his fantastic year of running, surpassing his 10 mile best set in June by nearly three minutes, clocking 1:08:45. Dean Riggall showed a return to form with his 1:11:36, with wife Julie concluding a highly successful day for the club when she recorded her first 10 mile finishing time of 1:36:17.

Earlier in the day GRC Club Chairman Matthew Kingston Lee finished third in the Rockingham Standard Distance Duathlon. It was noted that his 10K run of 35:09, that saw him lead into the transition for the 38km bike leg, was over 40 seconds quicker than the winner of the official 10K race, and his 5K run that followed the bike ride was 13 seconds quicker than the official 5K winner!

Results:

5K

Name	Time	Age Grade
Louise Kennedy	33:46	45.89%
CJ Walker	35:10	43.76%
Kirsty Carter	36:43	40.32%
Marie Walker	41:01	36.71%

Hazel

10K

Name	Time	Age Grade
Martin Carter	50:43	54.09%
Claudette Joint	51:16	61.95%
Rachael Smith	51:35	60.10%
John Nevard	51:39	57.58%
Suzanne Britz	53:59	60.86%
Hazel Dunthorne	54:49	55.87%
Simon Hartley	55:09	55.22%
Kirsty Truesdale	55:21	54.80%
Tracey Smith	59:35	51.46%
Mark Jessop	01:01:35	49.45%
Claire Fritz	01:04:58	47.72%

10 Miles

Name	Time	Age Grade
Joe Clarke	01:04:22	68.95%
Matthew Atter	01:05:34	68.90%
Andrew Pask	01:07:47	66.65%
Peter Bonner	01:08:45	68.18%
Andy Atter	01:10:13	64.34%
Dean Riggall	01:11:36	66.50%
Julie Riggall	01:36:17	52.49%