Robin Hood Marathon Race Report 2015

Robin Hood Marathon Race Report

Grantham Running Club's Gav Meadows completed his first marathon on Sunday - the Robin Hood Marathon in Nottingham. Gav, 34, only started competing in races in December last year. However, he has been running fairly consistently since he began training for his 4 year stint in the army at 18 years of age.

He has put in a lot of hard training since committing to this race in March, clocking up a total of 525 miles. This included several preparation races & events both locally & in the challenging hills of the Peak District. He also cross-trains by swimming once a week & lifting weights regularly at the gym.

He completed the 26.2 mile course in 3 hours 23 minutes 4 seconds finishing 139th in a field of 1238 competitors. Gav said 'Considering that this was my first marathon, I'm very happy with my performance overall! I wanted to finish quicker than 3:30 & managed to achieve that goal. However, this was definitely a learning experience! I made some mistakes & I will be making some changes for my next marathon.'

'For the first 18 miles I felt like I was running at a comfortable pace that I would be able to maintain for the whole race. I was averaging about 7:15 per mile. Then, at mile 19, fatigue hit me like a punch in the face! It was so unexpected! The last 8 miles were incredibly tough & my pace dropped right off. Although I did manage to pick it up again for the last mile! I need to learn to curb my racing instincts & pay more attention to my watch!'

'I will also be making some significant changes to my training next time around. My longest training run was 20 miles &, in hindsight, that's definitely not enough! In future I will be training up to 23 miles.'

On completing Sunday's race, Gav made the decision to commit to a spring marathon in 2016 & he also intends to complete one later in the year. He has already entered the Barcelona Marathon in March & plans to travel around Europe & the rest of the world incorporating marathons into his holidays. He said 'Now that I have this unquenchable thirst for competing in races & events I can't think of a better way to travel & see the world! After all, most major cities have a marathon so I can pick & choose my destinations! I just wish that I'd decided to do this ten years ago!'

Gav ran Sunday's race for Dementia UK & you can still sponsor him at uk.virginmoneygiving.com/gavsmarathon  So far he's raised over £200 & is hoping to clear £300 in the next few weeks.

Woodhall Spa 10k & Derby Half Marathon

Woodhall Spa 10k

The Woodhall Spa 10k is one of the largest races in the county attracting over a thousand runners to the main event, this fast course appeals to runners in good shape as it offers one of the summer’s top Personal Best Chances. The seven runners from Grantham Running Club were led home by Rob Howbrook slashing a full two minutes of his previous best and coming with 3 seconds of winning his age group medal. He was followed closely by Chris Armstrong who is showing signs of regaining his best form with his fastest time for 10k in several years. Scott Jones was not far behind recording a season’s best and his second fastest time ever. For Andrew MacAllister it was a case of another race and yet another PB as he lowered the time he set in May.  Janette Dunderdale made an impressive debut for GRC in her first road race with Super Vet Brendon Buckley taking an astounding 5½ minutes off his previous best! Full results below;

Pos.		Name	Chip Time	Cat. Pos.
52		ROBERT HOWBROOK	00:39:28	3	PB	81.73%
68		Christopher Armstrong	00:40:21	10		75.47%
113		Scott JONES	00:42:07	24		67.97%
274		ANDREW MACALLISTER	00:47:21	16	PB	68.12%
387		JANETTE DUNDERDALE	00:51:08	22	PB	60.82%
504		LUCY ROBERTS	00:54:42	19		62.02%
592		BRENDON BUCKLEY	00:57:01	31	PB	60.68%

Derby Half Marathon

A strong performance by GRC’s runners at Sunday’s half marathon from saw the ladies team finish in sixth place in a very strong field and despite the heat all three ladies and Super Vet Paul Durham smashed their PBs, in Paul’s case by just under 11 minutes.

			Chip Time		WMA
Penny	Hodges		1:39:39 PB		67.14%
Catherine	Davies		1:45:28 PB		62.97%
Ruth	Dunstan		1:47:47 PB		62.69%
Paul	Durham		1:48:38 PB		67.94%

Grunty Fen Half Marathon, Witchford, Cambridgeshire,

Matthew Kingston-Lee celebrated his fiftieth half marathon in style with a new Personal Best and a seventh place finish at the 25^th Grunty Fen Half Marathon on Sunday 13^th September 2015. His time of 1:14:46 betters his old best of 1:15:29 set at last year’s Robin Hood Half Marathon. It sets a new Grantham Running Club record and will be his final race before he embraces the dubious honour of becoming a veteran runner.

Conditions in Witchford, Cambridgeshire, could hardly have been better for the 13.1 mile race, with temperatures in the mid-teens and, mercifully, barely a breath of wind on a mostly flat fenland course, which is often compromised by strong winds.

Matthew, who is in a block of heavy training for the forthcoming Chester Half Marathon in early October and had finished third in a Lincolnshire Services 10K race just four days earlier, was further compromised with a bout of catarrh, which was thankfully not too serious, but bad enough just to take the edge off his peak performance.

With this in mind, Matthew ran a solid, but controlled, race, passing halfway in 37:10 and staying strong all the way to the finish, culminating in a sprint to the finish line to finally break the 1:15 barrier.

The race was won by Aaron Scott of Notts AC in a new course record of 1:08:04. The winning lady was Felicity Milton of Woodford Green Essex Ladies, who clocked 1:19:57. There were 455 finishers.