Henlow 10

Four members of Grantham Running Club headed to mid-Bedfordshire to take part in the RAF Henlow 10 Mile Road Race, which, somewhat unusually, took place at lunchtime on Thursday 15^th November.

MKL picking up the prize for third

The Henlow 10 was first run in 1952 as a challenge between runners from RAF Cardington and RAF Henlow. In its heyday during the mid 1980s the race took on the mantle of the RAF 10 Mile Championships and a new course was established to cater for the 800+ runners who would take part, including some of the country’s very best runners. It was at this race in 1986 where current GRC member Chris Armstrong, representing RAF Lossiemouth, ran an outstanding 52:37 to finish twelfth, a time that would have seen him comfortably win in 2018. In 2000 the route was changed again to its current form, beginning at the historic Old Warden Aerodrome Shuttleworth and meandering its way along undulating country lanes through a number of small villages to end at the airfield within the RAF Henlow Military Base.

With RAF Henlow set to close in the next couple of years the 2018 RAF Henlow 10 will certainly be one of the last editions of the race in its current form, if not the last. Conditions would have been ideal with unseasonably warm temperatures for mid November; the steady southerly breeze was unfortunate given that the point to point course had runners heading in a mostly southerly direction.

Pasky RAF team prize winner

First home for GRC was Matthew Kingston-Lee, who bounced back from the disappointment of a lacklustre performance at the Leeds Abbey Dash to finish third overall (and first civilian) in a time of 57:50. After the race he commented: “I was pleased with that, especially considering it was only 30 seconds outside my PB and after three or so miles it was a fairly lonely race, with only my watch to keep me company – and the constant headwind! It was an honour to receive the award for finishing third at a race which has seen so many great runners over the years.”

Ian Williams, sixteenth in 1:04:07 and Andrew Pask, thirtieth in 1:08:32 were both representing RAF Coningsby at the race and were delighted to win the men’s team prize for the first time in the base’s history. It was Ian’s first attempt at a ten mile race; Andrew was a little down on his PB set earlier in the year, finding the constant undulations and the headwind particularly challenging. 

Sandwiched between the two was Peter Bonner, who ran another fine race to better his old PB by 41 seconds, clocking 1:08:04 and claiming twenty-seventh position. 

The race was won by Steven Robinson of Helptson / RAF Wittering in 56:22, with the women’s race won by Helena Schofield of Lincoln Wellington / RAF Waddington in 1:04:42. There were 125 finishers.