Folksworth 15

Gav found it tough

A total of ten members of Grantham Running Club took to the starting line at the Folksworth 15 on Sunday. The fifteen mile road race, which is organised by Yaxley Runners and Joggers, is the first of three races regularly used by local athletes to prepare for a spring marathon. The course is an undulating two laps, starting in Folksworth village and passing through the villages of Morborne and Caldecote. 

Andrew first home for GRC

An unexpected deterioration of the weather just before the 11:00 start almost led to its cancellation but after consulting those at the registration desk the Race Director reluctantly decided it was safer to let the race go ahead as many of the runners intended to run it regardless and his reasoning was it was safer to do it with the marshals and medical personnel in place. By the time runners started their second lap the wind had picked up significantly meaning a brutal and very chilly headwind on the long, gradual climb out of Morborne. He also contemplated bringing them in after the first lap but reckoned most of them would just try and finish the race anyway!
The weather conditions meant PB's would be hard to come by and most runners would end up a few minutes slower than in previous years. It was snowing at the start and things only got worse from there.

A PB for Peter but at a cost

First to finish for GRC was Andrew Pask crossing the line in 50th position overall. He recorded a time of 1:45:39 - very impressive indeed given the conditions. Closely following was Gav Meadows who had led the way for GRC until the extremely tough second Morborne hill climb took its toll. He clocked 1:45:56 and placed 52nd overall. Both runners averaged a few seconds over 7 minutes per mile - close to the pace they hope to maintain at the Rotterdam Marathon in April.
Next to finish was Peter Bonner who had an eventful race to say the least. He suffered a nasty fall after overcooking it on a downhill section early in the race but despite this he still managed to knock over five minutes off his PB. It was only after he was accosted by the medics at the finish line he realised the extent of his injures being unable to feel any pain due to the cold.

Catherine - First in her age category again

Exactly two minutes behind Peter was Catherine Payne finishing first in her age category and 13th lady with a time 1:51:59, some 45 seconds behind the time that secured her the prize last year. Robert McArdle returning to long races after a nine month injury lay off with an ankle injury and was relatively pleased with his worst time ever on this course as he did not suffer any ill effects from the distance. Mark Hillson was next to finish, as he continued his preparations for the London Marathon, with a solid 2:03:05, followed by Penny Hodges (2:05:18) who placed 7th in the Female Veteran 35 category.
All three remaining runners produced creditable performances on a day when just getting over the finish line was an achievement. Caroline Davis put her recent injury concerns behind her posting a time of 2:15:32.  GRC's two club entrants to the London Marathon were next home Liam Vincent clocked 2:17:36 despite feeling under the weather before the race. Gordon Geach was the final GRC runner home in 2:34:23 and made no secret of the fact that he hadn’t enjoyed the conditions at all but after the cancellation of the Turkey Trot everyone was glad to be racing again.
 

Position	Time	Name		Category		Grading
50	1:45:39	Andrew Pask		MV35		65.35%
52	1:45:56	Gav Meadows		MV35		65.54%
80	1:49:59	Peter Bonner		MV40	PB	65.08%
89	1:51:59	Catherine Payne		FV50		78.25%
118	1:57:14	Robert McArdle		MV55		70.66%
169	2:03:05	Mark Hillson		MV45		61.09%
182	2:05:18	Penny Hodges		FV35		62.21%
249	2:15:32	Caroline Davis		FV45		62.30%
262	2:17:36	Liam Vincent		MV40		53.30%
360	2:34:23	Gordon Geach		MV50		52.21%