Hungarton 7

Richard Payne

The seventh race of the inaugural Grantham Running Club Grand Prix series took place on Wednesday 5th July in the village of Hungarton in East Leicestershire. Despite the route changing over the years and arguably becoming less undulating, the hills that make up the course still provide a stern challenge over the 7 mile race. Conditions too have a habit of making the race feel far longer and this year was no exception with temperatures still above 20 degrees Celsius when the race began at 7:15. Thankfully there were water stations for the runners and they were located at the end of two of the more severe sections of up-hill running.

Chris Limmer

GRC had 4 runners taking on the race and they joined nearly 600 other runners in a race popular with many of the Leicestershire clubs and the hardy foursome didn't disappoint with really good performances in the conditions.

The ladies only had one member taking part and Sarah High didn't let them down. Finishing well in the top half of the runners in the vet 50 category she ran an excellent 1:00:47. This despite the warm conditions taking their toll over the course of the race.

Sarah High

First in for the men was Richard Payne who mastered the conditions to beat his expected time of 49 minutes to finish in 106th place in 48:54. Richard showed no signs of fatigue after his excellent performance at the summer solstice 10km and continues to improve. Not far behind Richard and another person whom achieved what they set out was Peter Bonner. Finishing in 176th in a chip time of 51:42. Much like Richard, Peter showed the kind of form that has seen him perform admirably at other races in the Grand Prix series.

A few minutes behind Peter was Chris Limmer. After a minor operation only a few weeks previously Chris wasn't expecting to run. However, having missed the deadline to pass his number to another club mate he decided to give it a go. Taking it steady and enjoying a route he was familiar with he finished in a chip time of 52:50.

Report: Chris Limmer