The inaugural Mallory Park Winter Series attracted a number
of Grantham Running Club’s athletes keen to set fast times on the smooth tarmac
at this iconic racetrack. With three distances on offer this event was aimed at
beginners and experienced participants alike. With the courses of 1 mile,
5k and 10k officially measured and certified with UK Athletics the runners were
there not only to set PB’s but to climb as high up the National rankings as
possible.
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| PB for Flash |
The first race was the one mile with conditions perfect for
fast running with no wind to speak of, the only issue was that such an early
start left the surface of the blacktop a bit greasy which would ultimately cost
the runners around 10 seconds. First home for GRC and in second place was
Samuel Jepson-Rivers in 5:27 accelerating through the field in the final 600m
to not only knock 16 seconds off his previous best but to earn his first every
UKA ranking as a male senior. Next home was Rob Howbrook in 3rd
position also with a PB in 5:31 an improvement of 5 seconds on his July race at
Lincoln and good enough not only to rank him 9th in his age group in
2019 but an amazing 18 on the all-time list. In fifth place Peter Bonner’s 5:37
was just shy of his best but he was also entered in the 5k race starting twenty
minutes later. In 10th position and lady’s runner up Catherine Payne
was also a few seconds outside of her best time set earlier in the season but
still retains her ranking of number seven. The final GRC runner was Robert
McArdle also setting a fairly soft PB as he had only ever run the distance once
before but his mark of 6:29 was good enough to rank him well inside the
top 50 for his age group. Overall 80% of the registered athletes taking part
recorded Personal Bests which shows the advantage of not having to dodge pot
holes and the undulations left by utility service repairs.
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| PB for Paul |
As you would expect there was now a lot of pressure of the
5k field to perform given the previous
times and they certainly took up the
challenge. First home for the Green and Black army was Joaquim Jeronimo with a
hard won PB of 17:35 to claim the final podium place. The next pair of GRC
runners were Penny Hodges with her best 5k time for 5½ years in 21:40 alongside
pacer Peter Bonner. In arguably his best ever race Paul Jepson knocked over 80
seconds off his Season’s Best to set a new PB of 23:11 and earn his highest
ever ranking with UKA. The next runner home was Naomi Jepson-Rivers slicing a
full 30 seconds of her previous PB to go sub 24:00 by 3 seconds. First timer
Martin Carter clocked 25:18. Tracy Webb’s time of 28:05 was her fastest ever on
an official course and she was closely followed by Kate Marshall setting a 12
second PB to finish in 28:10. The final GRC runner Vicky Willan was making her
debut at the distance but was delighted to clock 28:47 beating the sub 30:00
target she had set for herself based on the many parkruns she had completed. |
| PB for Kate |
With over 75% of the 5k runners setting PB’s the pressure
was on for those patiently waiting for the 10k to start and ready to grasp the
challenge was GRC’s Jason Walker. In only his second ever 10k race he had to confidence
to move up to second position in the first kilometre sticking to his race plan
and although he was eventually caught and passed by more experienced runners in
the final straight he was able to hold onto fourth place and smash his previous
best by over 90 seconds to finish in 42:27. Next home and returning from injury
was Robert Braker who was pleased to be able to push it all the way to finish
in 52:06. The final GRC finisher was Simon Hartley setting a Season’s best as
he knocked 30 seconds off his Silverstone time from September. Julie Braker
also continued a pleasing comeback from serious injury but did not record a
time for a decent run due to a mix up in race signage.
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