Jack Walters Memorial 10 Mile Road Race, Holme Pierrepoint

Matt, Ben, MKL and Dene on the back row, Tony, Nev and Peter on the front.

Eight members of Grantham Running Club took part in a sultry Jack Walter's Memorial 10 Mile Road Race at HolmePierrepoint on the evening of Friday 16th June. While not as hot as the day that followed, nor as windy as the day before, conditions were less than ideal for distance running with temperatures in the low twenties Celsius and a stiff breeze blowing across the rowing basin.  Despite this there were an impressive four PBs on a night which saw a higher that usual attrition rate due to the hot conditions.

First home for GRC was Matthew Kingston-Lee, who was back to something approaching full fitness having been forced to sit out the recent Woodhall Spa 10K with a calf injury. Matthew ran a strong, tactically smart race, to finish 17thoverall in a quality field and third V40 in a time of 57:41, just 21 seconds outside his PB set in 2013. 

MKL goes over 80% again

"The heat and the wind made that a tough race!" commented Matthew after the race. "I concentrated on making sure I had shelter from other runners in the headwind in the opening stages then worked well with a young runner with whom I shared the pace until around 8 miles. When he tired I pushed on and was able to catch and pass several runners in the closing stages. Given the conditions I rate that as my best ever 10 mile race performance!" 

Next home for GRC was Tony Johnson who again showed great form in his new club colours, finishing fourth V50 in 65:41. He was followed by Matthew Williamson, who put on the club's performance of the night to run a six and a half minute PB, clocking a swift 66:56. He also consolidated his lead at the top of the intra-club Grand Prix series, this race being the sixth round, and Matthew being the only runner to have taken part in all six races thus far. 

Dean Riggall ran a 10 mile PB of 70:21 courtesy of it being his first 10 mile race. He joked afterwards that this PB will stand the test of time as it felt like a marathon, and there won't be a next 10 mile race! Peter Bonner was another runner to claim a PB thanks to having never run a ten mile race before, clocking 71:35. 

There was a fight to the end between another ten mile debutant Nev Chamberlain and Ben Mason, with Nevoverhauling Ben on the finishing straight to finish nine seconds ahead of Ben in 79:35. Unfortunately Andrew Paskfelt out of sorts from the start and was forced to record his first ever DNF, dropping out at 4 miles. Nevertheless he showed great team spirit by putting his own personal disappointment behind him to cheer home his club mates at the finish. 

The race was won in 50:13 by Leicester based Cardiff AC athlete Kevin Seaward, who represented Ireland in the Rio Olympics marathon. The women's race was won by another Rio Marathon Olympian Sonia Samuels, who clocked a new 10 mile PB of 56:54. There were 300 finishers in the race dedicated to the memory of athletics stalwart Jack Walters, who passed away in 2016 having officiated at 100s of events, including every edition of the Notts 10 since it first began in 1972.

Position	Time	Name		Category		Grading	Ranking
17	57:41	Matthew Kingston-Lee		MV40		81.26%	31
52	1:05:41	Tony Johnson		MV50		77.38%	99
63	1:06:56	Matthew Williamson		MSEN		66.31%	1534
89	1:10:21	Dean Riggall		MV40		67.69%	N/A
102	1:11:30	Peter Bonner		MV40		65.56%	N/A
167	1:19:35	Nev Chamberlain		MV55		66.09%	272
172	1:19:44	Ben Mason		MV35		57.89%	N/A