Rockingham 10

Scott was first Vet in 41:16

On Sunday 4^th November, fourteen members of Grantham Running Club took part in the fifth and final Rockingham 10 event.  The race, held at the Rockingham Motor Speedway near Corby, offered 5k (1 lap), 10k (2 laps) and 10 mile (3.5 laps) options, taking in the sights and sounds of the race track and offering a pit lane finish in front of the grandstand stadium.  The event was billed as a very fast course offering PB potential and some end of season glory, which was certainly the case for some GRC runners.

In the 5k event, first home for GRC was Tracy Webb who not only achieved a PB of 27:54 but also took  25^th place, was ninth lady and first in her age category. Tracy was followed by Claire Fritz in a time of 30:15 (42^nd); Julia Hallam at 31:56 (58^th); and Amanda Mumby (32:05) and Louise Kennedy (32:06) who crossed the finish line together. Louise was pleased to have beaten her 2017 Rockingham 5k time by 1:40 minutes.  Vicki Geeson finished with a PB and in a time of 33:12, Wendy Fraser in 34:21, and CJ Walker with a much coveted sub-35 personal best time of 34:25.  Melanie Taylor finished in 36:02 and ‘couch to 5k’ graduate Tracy Doughty was pleased to complete her first race in 36:56.

PB and prize for Tracy

In the 10k event Scott Jones finished first for GRC, first in his age group (V40) and seventh overall in a time of 41:46. Stuart Baty finished in a time of 51:16 (61^st), followed by John Nevard in 52:22 (72^nd).  Simon Hartley, suffering from an ongoing heel injury, was disappointed to finish in 1:05:40 which was slower than his previous year’s time for the same race.

There were no GRC runners in the 10 mile race. 

The 5k race was won by Lucy Watts of Wellingborough & District AC in 19:49, with Darren Goode the winning man in 20:19. The 10k race winner was John Uff in 34:58, with Natasha Brown (45:44) of Kettering Town Harriers the winning woman. The 10 mile event victor was Kevin Holland of Crawley AC in a time of 56:09, with Sarah Bird of Redway Runners the winning woman in 1:10:29.

This, alas, will be the last Rockingham 10 event, which was held in conjunction with a popular duathlon that took place in the morning before the running races. After 17 years of operation the Rockingham Motor Speedway will see its last motor racing event later this month having been sold to new investors, who look set to use the venue as a storage facility for de-fleet cars.