Sunday, 3 November 2019

Tony Johnson – November Round Up


Shepshed 7 – Sunday 3 November 2019
The Shepshed 7, held on Sunday 3rd November, is a two lap race held through the Private Grounds of Garendon Park.
Due to the wet weather the start area on the playing fields was very muddy and slippery, with pockets of the picturesque course difficult underfoot.
Tony Johnson was the sole GRC representative at the race, making his seventeenth appearance since 2001. Sensing the conditions on the two lap race were liable to see him covered in mud, Tony made a conscious decision to not ‘push it’ finishing several minutes down on his 2018 time in 49:04. Matthew Kingston-Lee had entered the race but was a non-starter having not recovered from a heavy cold.
The race was won by Simon Birch of Hinckley Running Club in 28:49 with Racehl Felton of Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers the winning woman in 42:00. There were 526 finishers.
Friskney 10K - Poppy Run – Sunday 10th November 2019
2019 saw the usual 5 mile Poppy Run organised by Boston and District AC replaced with a 10K and relocated from Brothertoft to Friskney. As you’d expect for the region the course was very flat and fast, with conditions close to perfect thanks to the lack of any meaningful wind.
In a small field of just 64 finishers, Grantham Running Club’s Tony Johnson had a fine run to finish seventh overall and second V50 in 39:45, just over a minute outside his fastest 10K of the year.
The race was won by Alan Oliver of Sleaford Striders AC in 34:21 with Samantha Cullen of Eye Community Runners the winning woman and fourth overall in 38:41.
St Neots Half Marathon – Sunday 17th Nov 2019
Grantham Running Club’s Tony Johnson made a welcome return to the St Neots Half Marathon on Sunday 17th November. One of his favourite races, the race is somewhat overlooked by members of the club yet is undoubtedly one of the most popular races in the region with the 2018 edition filling its 1750 entries in under six hours.
In ideal conditions for racing, Tony ran another fine race to clock 1:26:30, his third fastest half marathon of 2019 to date.
The race was won by Jamie Hall of Huntingdonshire AC in 1:10:20 with Johanna O’Regan of race hosts St Neots Riverside Runners the winning woman in 1:21:00. There were 1512 finishers.

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