Sunday 22 January 2017

Folksworth 15


First outing for long sleeved top

Eighteen members of Grantham Running Club made a great start to the 2017 road racing campaign with a strong showing at the Folksworth 15 mile race on Sunday 22nd January. Runners were treated to blue skies, albeit with temperatures barely above freezing for the popular early season test for distance runners.
First home for GRC was Matthew Kingston-Lee, who bettered his previous best time set in 2014 by eighteen seconds, finishing seventh overall, and second V40 finisher, in 1:28:21. He commented afterwards: "It was a fairly lonely race to be honest. I passed a runner at two miles, pulled clear, but barely saw another competitor for the rest of the race. All I had to keep me concentrated was my watch and the support of the marshals and spectators."
Some of the GRC runners
Some of the GRC team

Chris Limmer followed in 1:32:09, pleased with thirteenth place and a time several minutes better than his pre-race prediction. Also happy with his run was Gav Meadows – 1:44:34 was four minutes faster than his effort in 2016, Matthew Williamson was thrilled with 1:47:33 – the furthest he has ever raced and Andy Atter showed great form as he concentrated on marathon pacing, yet still clocked an assured 1:48:23. Rob McArdle (1:54:30) was a fine fifth in the V55 category, just beating home Pete Bonner (1:55:25), who a day earlier celebrated his 200th parkrun finish at Belton House.​

Holly Durham was the first of five female GRC finishers, clocking an excellent 1:49:58, which placed her fourteenth female and fourth in the FV35 age category. She was followed by Catherine Payne (1:51:13), who ran superbly to be seventeenth female and first in the FV50 age category.
Injury meant a DNF for Jaime
SJ Willis (2:00:38) was ninth in the FV35 category; Sarah High (2:05:00) a highly creditable fourth in FV50; and Caroline Davis was tenth in FV45, clocking 2:10:21.
Other GRC finishers: Paul Davis – 1:53:33; Ben Mason – 2:00:34; Gordon Geach – 2:05:22; Andrew Spencer – 2:05:24; Neil Emerson – 2:10:57; Liam Vincent – 2:14:07.
The race was won for the fourth year in succession by Aaron Scott of Lincoln Wellington AC in 1:19:16, with Suzy West of Eye Community Runners the first woman to finish in 1:37:45. There were 426 finishers.

(Member of the month in red)



Position Time Name
Category
Grading
7 01:28:22 Matthew Kingston-Lee
MV40
81.04%
13 01:32:09 Christopher Limmer
MSen
74.21%
70 01:44:35 Gav Meadows
MSen
66.05%
88 01:47:34 Matthew Williamson
MSen
63.58%
94 01:48:24 Andy Atter
MSen
63.45%
108 01:49:59 Holly Durham
FV35
69.58%
113 01:51:14 Catherine Payne
FV50
77.82%
128 01:53:34 Paul Davis
MV45
66.23%
134 01:54:31 Robert McArdle
MV55
71.70%
143 01:55:26 Peter Bonner
MV40
61.55%
182 02:00:35 Ben Mason
MSen
58.45%
185 02:00:38 Sarah Willis
FV35
63.95%
223 02:05:01 Sarah High
FV50
72.88%
229 02:05:23 Gordon Geach
MV50
63.75%
230 02:05:25 Andrew Spencer
MV50
63.73%
257 02:10:21 Caroline Davis
FV45
64.80%
263 02:10:59 Neil Emerson
MV55
62.12%
280 02:14:08 Liam Vincent
MV40
54.26%

Sunday 15 January 2017

Four Villages Half Marathon


4 Village socks
Grantham Running Club's Paul Rushworth travelled to Helsby to take part in the Four Villages Half Marathon. The scenic road race, through rural countryside, passed through the Cheshire villages of Dunham on the Hill, Mouldsworth, Manley, Alvanley before returning back to Helsby. The race, accurately measured at 13.1 miles and with 560' of climbing took place in wintry conditions. Runners had to contend with driving rain, sleet and high winds on the most exposed parts of the course. The year 2017 marked the 34th running of the popular event. There were over 2500 runners taking part. Paul returned home in 1 hours 42 minutes and 09 seconds giving himself plenty of room for improvement ahead of the spring racing season. Runners were rewarded with a goody bag that included a pair of green 'Four Villages Half Marathon' socks, a Mars bar and a fruit drink. The free hot drinks adjacent to the finish were more welcome in the wintry conditions.

Position Time Name
Category
Grading AG Ranking
507 01:42:09 Paul Rushworth
MV40
   60.87%        N/A