Lincolnshire Cross Country Championships, Biscathorpe

Eleven members of Grantham Running Club made the journey to the Lincolnshire Wolds to take part in the Lincolnshire Cross-Country Championships at Biscathorpe near Louth on Sunday 6^th January. On a cold and overcast morning the runners faced a challenging course that had something for everyone including hills, marshland, stream crossings, and lots of mud.

First to toe the start-line were the Senior and Vet men who would tackle a 10.16 km course. It wasn't

Paul in full flight

long after the starting gun fired that the field encountered their first sticky obstacle in the form of a marshy dip which claimed several running shoes including that of Simon Smith. Unfortunately, Simon was unable to rescue his shoe and had to retire from the race and borrow a spade to dig it from the mud! Simon was more fortunate than Chris Moore, who irretrievably lost his footwear in the deep mud and was also forced to retire.

Setting the pace for GRC were Joaquim Jeronimo and Peter Bonner, running closely together throughout and seemingly having little trouble navigating a route through the water and mud. Joaquim finished in a fine 12th position (42:05) and Peter in 13th (42:24). Next home for Grantham was Paul Davis in 37th place (47:21). The trio of Joaquim, Peter and Paul earned themselves fifth position in the team competition. Also putting in solid performances in the difficult conditions were Chris Toon (43rd, 50:01), Russel Maksymiw (50th, 51:32) and Clive George (53rd, 53:03).

The Women’s Vet event was held later in the day over a 5.82 km course with conditions underfoot deteriorating with each successive race run. From the off it was Caroline Davis who lead the GRC charge making light work of the challenging conditions. Finishing a fantastic 10th place overall

Carline emerges with two shoes (unlike some!)

Caroline completed the course in 29:47. Next in for GRC was Justyna Gill having a great race to finish 25th in a time of 38:05. Hot on her heels were the pair of Donna Hall and Yvonne Buckley who ran the entire race together and looked as though they were enjoying every minute! Both were given a time of 42:42 in 28th and 29th places respectively. Caroline, Justyna and Donna also took 5th position in the team competition.

After the race Caroline Davies remarked: "Having run here before I knew roughly what to expect from the course but the mud this year was quite hard work in places. That said, I think we all enjoyed the event and will probably be back to take part next year."

Virtual Runner Live – Nottingham

Three members of Grantham Running Club welcomed the New Year with their first races of 2019, participating in the Virtual Runner Live event in Nottingham on Sunday 6 January. The annual event, organised by virtual running specialists Virtual Runner, included opportunities to race over 2k, 5k and 10k with participants able to pre-register or enter on the day for their chosen combination of events. The races, commencing in West Bridgford, followed the course of the River Trent, where runners enjoyed superb views of the river along the river paths and popular Victoria Embankment.

First up for the GRC runners was the 10k, with a course which crossed the river several times and took in Nottingham landmarks including Trent Bridge and the Nottingham City Ground. First home for the club was Tracy Webb, in a time of 58:59, followed by Kate Marshall in 01:00:01, and Claire Fritz in 01:05:05. The race was won by Paul Bakewell in 39:35.

After a break for refreshments, the intrepid group were soon ready for their next challenge, the 5k race. Again, the course took in the sights of the Trent up to Trent Bridge, with the views of the river bathed in welcome winter sunshine. Tracy Webb was first again for GRC in a time of 29:18, followed by Claire Fritz in 30:43 and Kate Marshall in 31:36. The race was won by in Damian Nadin in 21:04.

The GRC runners found the day well organised and enjoyed the challenge of competing at both 5k and 10k on the same day, which provided a great start to the 2019 running season.

Winter Enigma Marathon

Nick Payne of Grantham Running Club completed the Winter Enigma Marathon on Saturday 5^th January. This event is based at the scenic Caldecotte Lake in Milton Keynes and consists of 7 ½ laps around the lake.  It was a very cold morning, but the conditions were generally good for running with only a light wind and no rain. The event was well organised with an aid station at the end of each lap offering home-made cakes and fudge.

Nick maintained a consistent pace with each lap being completed in a similar time. Nick finished the marathon in a time of 3:54:58 which placed him a fine twelfth out of fifty seven finishers.  For his efforts, Nick received a finishers’ medal in the shape of a snowman.

Nick commented after the race: “I am pleased to run under four hours in my first marathon of 2019.  It shows that my winter training is going well and will stand me in good stead for longer events later in the year.  Even though running laps can be mentally tough, the lovely scenery helped the laps fly by.”

The race was won by Paul Davies of Centurion Running Club in 03:09:54.

Nottingham 5K Winter Series 3rd Round

Grant finished 5th

The third round of the Nottingham 5K Winter Series at Victoria Embankment on Thursday 3^rd January saw the four Grantham Running Club members who took part all finish in the top ten.

Grant Davies finished fifth in 18:37, followed by sixth placed Joe Clarke (18:45 PB), seventh placed Richard Payne (18:59) and ninth placed Matthew Atter (19:25 PB).  This secured the club the Men’s Team Prize on the evening.

The race was won by Anthony Woodward of Notts AC in 15:24 with Zoe Attenborough the winning woman in 21:36.

Cleethorpes AC New Year’s Day 10K

The Cleethorpes AC 10K takes place on New Year’s Day each year and starts and finishes at the seafront. Just over 400 entrants took to the closed roads for the 2019 edition, completing two small loops before heading away to complete a larger lap. 

Classed on the website as a flat and fast course, Rick Dobbs, who was a local in his youth, booked this as a first race returning from a summer injury. Rick confirmed the course is flat and had potential for being a PB course, finishing with a chip time of 53.39. 

The finishers’ T-Shirt is unique in that each year a band album cover is used. This year’s shirt was the cover of Joy Division’s debut album ‘Unknown Pleasures.’ 

The race was won by Lewis Jagger of Sheffield Running Club in 30:19; Jo Williams of Lothian AC was the women’s winner in 36:48.