Asda Foundation City of Lincoln 10K

An impressive 43 members of Grantham Running Club took part in the Asda Foundation City of Lincoln 10K on Sunday 7^th April. The event, which was a half marathon prior to 1997 and is in its twenty-third year as a 10K race, is one of the most popular road races in the region with over 4,500 runners of all abilities crossing the finishing line.

In contrast to the 2018 edition of the race which was initially cancelled due to snow and ice then rescheduled for a blisteringly hot Sunday in July, conditions were ideal for racing in 2019: a little chilly, but dry and with very little wind come the 11am start. The race commenced on Riseholme Road and ran around many of the residential streets of Lincoln with the finish line moving this year to Northgate, with the spectacular backdrop of Lincoln Cathedral and Castle nearby.

The event was generally considered to be well organised but unfortunately many were affected by the decision to drastically reduce the width of one of the roads less than half a mile from the start. The result was that most runners came to a complete stand still twice while they tried to get through the bottleneck, hampering many runners’ prospects of achieving their quickest possible time.

Unaffected by the delays and finishing an excellent 32^nd overall, Ian Williams was the first Grantham Running Club finisher. Bettering his previous 10K PB set at the very windy Oundle 10K in January by two minutes, Ian clocked an outstanding 34:47 to become the second fastest GRC runner of all time over 10K and only 37 seconds shy of the club record held by Matthew Kingston-Lee.

Following Ian was Grant Davies, who rued an over exuberant open mile run at sub-34 minute pace but rallied well to finish 85^th in 37:30, just 17 seconds shy of his 10K PB, but frustratingly seven seconds slower than at the recent Gainsborough & Morton 10K held in poorer conditions. Joaquim Jeromino was the third runner to break 40 minutes which he managed in an official 10K race for the first time, knocking an impressive two minutes off his PB to finish in 38:11. ‘Flash’ finished 46 seconds clear of Joe Clarke who ran well to come home just 22 seconds outside his PB in 38:57.

Robert Howbrook was the fifth GRC runner to break 40 minutes, his superb 39:45 just 18 seconds outside his 2016 PB and quick enough to win the MV60 age category. Rob’s age grade of 83.98% is the highest age grade set by a male GRC runner, 0.06% higher than the previous best set by a Matthew Kingston-Lee at the 2018 Great Eastern Run.

Making it a very good day for the Williams’ family, Ian’s wife Claire Williams was the first GRC woman to finish in a fine 51:33. She was followed by the ever improving Naomi Jepson-Rivers, whose 54:34, shaved another sixteen seconds off her recently set 10K PB.

Despite the aforementioned issues with the bottleneck near the start of the race, a further fourteen personal bests were set by GRC runners on a great day for racing. They were: Stewart Pick, 45:20; Sam Dodwell, 45:47; Stuart Baty, 47:16; Martin Rodell, 48:23; and  Neil Jameson, 59:31, by the male contingent, and for the GRC women: Tracy Smith, 55:35; Tracy Webb, 57:41; Belinda Baker, 58:34; Sylv Hull, 58:53; Claire Fritz, 1:02:29; Suzanne Hardy, 1:02:41; Amanda Mumby, 1:04:42; Amy Jameson, 1:07:12;and Vicki Geeson, 1:09:23, all came home with new personal best 10K times.

The race also saw Tracey Gell and Gillian Cardus, 2018 GRC Couch to 5K graduates, take part in their first 10K road race, They were delighted with their times of 1:07:08 and 1:08:30 respectively. Vicki Hardy also took part in her first race as a GRC member posting a fine first 10K race time of 57:08.

All participants received an excellent goody bag, including a medal, technical T-Shirt, protein bar, chocolate bar, High 5 Gel, High 5 electrolyte drink, protein milk shake and some vouchers.

The race was won by Lucian Allison, from Lincoln Wellington AC in a new PB and course record time of 29:29, with club mate and Lougborough University Student Abbie Donnelly the women’s winner in 34:30.

Full Grantham Running Club Results:

GRC Position	Position	Name	Chip Time	Notes
1	32	Ian Williams	34.47	PB
2	85	Grant Davies	37.30
3	95	Joaquim Jeronimo	38.11	PB
4	126	Joe Clarke	38.57
5	161	Robert Howbrook	39.45	1st MV60
6	493	Kevin Kettle	44.44
7	545	Russell Maksymiw	44.51
8	581	Stewart Pick	45.20	PB
9	607	Sam Dodwell	45.57	PB
10	776	Stuart Baty	47.16	PB
11	931	Martin Rodell	48.23	PB
12	1177	Tommy Napier	50.29
13	1205	Paul Jepson	50.52
14	1274	Claire Williams	51.33
15	1662	John Nevard	53.32
16	1625	Naomi Jepson-Rivers	54.34	PB
17	1820	Vicki Ball	55.06
18	1855	Tracey Smith	55.35	PB
19	1853	Nichola Webster	55.35
20	2047	Vicki Hardy	57.08
21	2211	Tracy Webb	57.41	PB
22	2267	Belinda Baker	58.34	PB
23	2394	Sylv Hull	58.53	PB
24	2450	Kathleen Gray	59.05
25	2451	Sue Swann	59.06
26	2524	Neil Jameson	59.31	PB
27	2908	Jon Whittaker	01:01:49
28	3218	Emma Weatherhill	01:02:20
29	2909	Claire Fritz	01:02:29	PB
30	3120	Suzanne Hardy	01:02:41	PB
31	2893	Kate Marshall	01:02:49
32	3066	Yvette Taylor	01:03:54
33	3150	Edina Burns	01:04:42
34	3321	Julia Hallam	01:04:42
35	3322	Amanda Mumby	01:04:42	PB
36	3490	Tracey Gell	01:07:08
37	3497	Amy Jameson	01:07:12	PB
38	3628	Gillian Cardus	01:08:30
39	3694	Fiona Vaughan	01:09:16
40	3699	Vicki Geeson	01:09:23	PB
41	3880	Judi Allsop	01:10:25
42	3842	Simon Hartley	01:12:42
43	3977	Louise Kennedy	01:13:41