Lincoln Wellington Athletic Club (LWAC) Race 2

First Name Surname Club Gender CAT Gender Category Position 44 19:57 412 Robert Howbrook Grantham Running Club M M50 38 4

Grimsthorpe Gallop

On Sunday 24th June more than 500 people including 8 members of Grantham Running club took part in the newly named Grimsthorpe Gallop (previously known as the Grimsthorpe 10). This event held in the grounds of the beautiful Grimsthorpe Castle, comprised of 4 race distances ranging from 5k, 10k, 10 miles up to half marathon.  In very warm conditions it was difficult to run fast times.

The 4 routes took you past various delights within the private grounds including the castle, lake, tree lined tarmac avenues, ancient woodland along grassed paths and a Victorian railway culvet. The train line no longer exists, but the 10 and 13.1 mile routes travelled along this section and took you to a part of the world generally unseen by the public.  The race started and finished in front of the castle along the driveway, offering a unique venue. It certainly could not be described as flat.

In the longer event, the half marathon, first home was the ever reliable Tony Johnson 4th overall and 1st in his age category with an excellent time of 1:35:18, given the conditions.  He was followed by Roz Grindey and Luke Turner who ran together and were both given the same time of 2:21:39.

In the 10 mile the club was represented by Lucy Hardstaff who finished in 1:42:30.

In the 10K first home was Claudette Joint who finished 13th overall and first lady home in a time of 0:49:31, she was followed by Stuart Baty in 0:53:34 and Emma Weighill in 1:02:23. In the 5k Louise Kennedy finished in a time of 0:36:00 on her return from injury and admitted finding the going tough.

Summer Solstice 10k

Grantham Running Club welcomed nearly 900 runners to their sold-out flagship Summer Solstice 10km event at Long Bennington. The event now in its 9th year has reached cult status on the local running scene and this year it did not disappoint.

Runners and spectators were fortunate to enjoy warm, wind free conditions, making the scenic course even more enjoyable. Local businesses were on hand to help, with one in particular getting involved. The Staunton Arms, one of the landmark locations on the course at 6km, helped cool the runners by placing a water sprinkler by the side of the road.

Despite needing to provide more than 70 volunteers to stage the event, GRC were still able to allow 74 runners to take to the start line. Many of them graduates from the recent 10 weeks to 10km beginners programme.

With a fairly flat fast course which straddles the Lincolnshire/Nottinghamshire border and in great conditions, PBs were a certainty. 

First home in a green vest was the ever-consistent Chris Limmer who finished an impressive 12th place with a time of 36:04, just outside of his PB which he set on this course two years ago. Next was the ever-improving Grant Davies, beating his PB which he set in the Woodhall Spa 10km 3 weeks ago by around a minute with an outstanding 37:58. Back from injury and back amongst the PBs was Matthew Williamson with 39:01.

First lady home, also returning from injury and running her first 10k race was Hannah San Jose with 49:06, a time which even she was surprised with given the amount of training she could do. Suzanne Britz was next with 52:23, closely followed by Julie Braker with 52:25. Julie also returning from injury was first in her V70 age category scoring a national standard age grade score of 85.7%.

A total of 19 PBs were posted by club members which included: Sam Clark (40:49), Stefan Latter (43:56), Kevin Kettle (45:04), Chris Toon (45:41), ), Wayne Baxter (51:41), Robert Braker (50:20), Chris Gearren (52:31), Bianca Parnaby (53:11), Nic Webster (54:22), Tracey Smith (57:27), Kathleen Gray (58:46), Rachel Pattison (1:00:53), Belinda Baker (1:00:44), Jonathan Lill (1:01:43), Amanda Mumby (1:04:53), Suzie Smith (1:06:4) and Vicki Geeson (1:12:14).

Many members made their debut over the 10k distance, including; Joaquim Jeronimo (42:56), Jack Dodwell (45:35), Matt Fryer (46:10), Mark Edwards (50:26), Richard Taylor (51:47), Peter Storey (52:19), Claire Pimlott (56:45), Sophie Wingad (56:52), Vicki Ball (56:56), Emma Weatherhill (57:49), Samantha Clark (59:39), Melissa Hetherington (1:00:04), Rachael Kettle (1:00:40), Vicky Platts (1:02:28), Wendy Fraser (1:08:42), Lyndsey White (1:14:47), Kirsty Carter (1:23:49) and Sharon Wyatt (1:31:32).

Other results; Richard Payne (39:42), Matthew Atter (39:48), Matthew Kidd (40:09), Stuart Sinclair (40:24), Andrew Pask (40:57), Nick Rossington (41:54), Scott Jones (41:54), Ian McBain (43:53), Nev Chamberlain (48:00), Stuart Baty (49:11), Paul Jepson (50:02), Martin Carter (50:36), Tommy Napier (51:23), Marc Tremain (51:56), Adam Kettle (52:18), Rick Dobbs (52:48), Gavin Skinner (53:16), John Nevard (53:41), David Lewis (54:13), Hazel Dunthorne (55:55), Hayley Staff (57:08), Jon Whittaker (57:43), Nicola Fahy (58:52), Simon Hartley (1:03:50), Lucinda Gamble (1:04:31), Yvonne Buckley (1:04:46), Janette Dunderdale (1:05:00), Claire Fritz (1:05:25), Amanda Hetherington (1:06:56), Mark Jessop (1:08:21), Julia Hallam (1:09:20), Chloe Amos (1:10:21) and Viv Durham (1:19:26).

Peterborough Grand Prix Series - Eye

GRC's Rob Howbrook was the club's sole entrant to round two of the popular Peterborough Grand Prix Series. Despite it being a testing course with two bridge crossings of the A47 he recorded his fastest time for over a year with a 19:08 which consolidated his lead in his age category with two down and three to go. With three to count Rob needs a good result at Stamford to secure his position as number one. His WMA score at 83.1% was the best by a male runner at the club this year narrowly beating his own mark set in May and repeated earlier this month.

Melton Mowbray Road2Recovery Half Marathon

Tony, Emma and Simon

Three members of Grantham Running Club took part in the Melton Mowbray Road 2 Recovery Half Marathon at Eye Kettleby on Sunday 10th June. After an overcast start the sun soon came out making for a warm run over the 13.1 miles.

The course was undulating with a tough hill at the 9 mile point. All three GRC participants opted for the half marathon but there were also 1 mile, 5K and 10K options available. GRC results: Tony Johnson 1:27:32 - 3rd place, Simon Smith 1:47:37, Emma Weighill 2:09:48.

Position	Time	Name		Category		Grading	Ranking
3	87:32	Tony Johnson		MV50		77.82%	245
28	1:47:37	Simon Smith		MV50		62.75%	N/A
73	2:09:48	Emma Weighill		FSEN		50.84%	N/A

Clumber Park 10K Trail Race

Several members of Grantham Running Club took part in the Clumber Park 10km Trail Race on Sunday. The race promised a friendly run with a 2km race for kids beforehand around the scenic National Trust parkland.

Chris Limmer

Chris Limmer was hoping a for a time of 38 minutes after strong showings in the weekly 5km parkruns recently and he set off within sight of the leading pack. In 3rd place at 3km he faded during the middle of the race as the undulations and high pollen count began to cause his pace to slow slightly. Over the final couple of kilometres though he did manage to push on to the finish nicking 5th place in the process. With a time of 37:10 he was really pleased with the time and position.

Also having fantastic runs were some of the GRC women who took on the undulating course in the Nottinghamshire countryside. First home was Lucy Hardstaff in 53:22 who was really pleased to be within a minute of her PB despite limited training over the past few weeks.

Following behind were two GRC members who supported each other and ran together throughout. Tracy Webb took over 2minutes off her previous best for the distance and Kate Marshall took a massive 3mins and 30 seconds off her previous 10km best. They crossed the line almost simultaneously with times of 61:53 and 61:54. All four members felt the friendly atmosphere and scenic course made it one to go back to in the future.

Van Elnor Trail Races

On Saturday nine members of Grantham Running Club took part in the inaugural Van’Elnor Trail Race held at Millside Wigwams in Barkston. This locally organised, national supported event had two races, a 10k and a 5k, and attracted over 200 runners. For a comparatively small event it was extremely well organised with chip timing, scanned print out of your result at the end and free event photos. 

In overcast but warm and muggy conditions the undulating course was an interesting mix of the edges of fields, farm tracks, dirt roads, a wooded area and even stepping stones over a stream. The organisers aim is to make it an annual event and have already pencilled in a date for next year. All those that took park commented on the organisation and friendliness of all those involved and are looking forward to next years event

In the 10k first home for the club was Stuart Baty in a time of 54:17 which was good enough for 62nd place overall. He was followed by Nicola Fahy (1:03:46), Sue Swann (1:05:16), Simon Hartley (1:07:16), Yvette Taylor (1:12:51) and Angela Carr (1:15:19). In the 5k race the club was represented by Tracey Webb (35:25), CJ Walker (44:06) and Angela Wilson (46:38).