Big Flat Runway 10

 

For his return to racing after the Covid enforced hiatus Peter opted for possibly the most exposed circuit in England along the runway at Elvington Airfield near York. His plans for a relaxed start with even paced miles were thrown into disarray when he noted that a 2k stretch into the wind was around 30 seconds slower than the same effort gave him with the wind behind him. He was pleased to be able to accelerate up to parkrun pace for the final 5k overtaking the only two runners in sight on the last bend before the lonely mile long sprint to the finish. Delighted to get that first race back without any setbacks Peter has races planned for May where he is hoping to regain the sort of form he had in early 2020.

Caythorpe Dash (5k and Half Marathon)

 

Tracy and Kate

	56.		Claudette Joint	F		Grantham Running Club	2:01:11
	67.		Kate Marshall	F		Grantham Running Club	2:03:58
	99.		Tracy Webb	F		Grantham Running Club	2:24:30

 A cool but sunny spring day provided ideal running conditions for the 25th Caythorpe Dash on Sunday 25th April.  A total of 157 runners took part on the day, competing across 5k or Half Marathon distances. Starting and finishing in Caythorpe village, the well organised and COVID secure format was a welcome return to racing for many after a long winter of lockdown,  and also enabled runners to support the local area,  with the event raising over £2,900 for the Caythorpe & Frieston Playing Field Committee.  

 

Stuart

Stuart Baty, accompanied by an excited Oscar, took on the 5k Canicross option, a multi-terrain run up and down the Lincolnshire ridge with great views of the Trent valley.  Stuart and Oscar enjoyed the event enormously and lead the small Canicross field to finish in 26:03.

 

The Half Marathon course offered entrants a multi-terrain run through the picturesque Lincolnshire countryside,  taking in tracks, bridle paths, footpaths and minor roads in the beautiful, rural Trent valley.  A trio of runners from Grantham Running Club rose to the challenge and the elevation gain to take on the Half. First home for the club was Claudette Joint, who completed the tough trail course in an excellent time of 02:01:11. Claudette noted  'the Caythorpe Dash was a tough but interesting half marathon. I loved the varied terrain and we had perfect weather for it. The race was incredibly well organised. I will look forward to running again next year.'

 

Next in was Kate Marshall whose time of 02:03:58 was more than 6 minutes faster than her previous fastest road Half Marathon time. Although the multi-terrain format means this does not represent an official personal best, Kate was very pleased with the improvement which had come from a long winter of marathon training. Completing the trio for GRC, with a time of 02:24:30, was Tracy Webb, who enjoyed the scenic course and was pleased to be racing once more.

 

The runners reflected that although the COVID secure format of staggered small start groups of 6 changes the dynamic of competing against others, and it was at times a solitary run, they were all pleased that such races were once more possible and thank the organisers for putting on such a safe and enjoyable event. 

A cool but sunny spring day provided ideal running conditions for the 25th Caythorpe Dash on Sunday 25th April.  A total of 157 runners took part on the day, competing across 5k or Half Marathon distances. Starting and finishing in Caythorpe village, the well organised and COVID secure format was a welcome return to racing for many after a long winter of lockdown,  and also enabled runners to support the local area,  with the event raising over £2,900 for the Caythorpe & Frieston Playing Field Committee.  

 

Essex Marathon

 

When a running event leads its publicity with the name of the course measurer you get an idea of the type of runner they are trying to attract. In the case of the Essex Marathon at Saffron Walden last weekend they named Hugh Jones as the man with the trusty bike. Among Hugh’s credits are not only measuring the London Marathon, where he is a former winner of the same event, but of the 2012 Olympic one.  To meet the Covid secure conditions required for the license he had to design a route within the confines of Debden Airfield, an old RAF base from the Second World War. He managed to get the runners to trace the shape of a bomber aircraft over the multi-lap course and with the Race Director issuing warnings in advance not to use GPS devices to question the accuracy of the distance. As well as the usual UK Course Measures certificate there was the additional AIMS certificate for those wanting to use their time to gain entry to Boston or Berlin.

The course traced the shape of a bomber

There were two athletes from Grantham Running Club taking part, Catherine Payne on the tenth
anniversary of her first ever marathon and the experienced Robert McArdle joining her for what was only their second race in over a year. The rolling start format which spread the starting times over a two hour period meant they only had each other to assist with the pacing over the first half of the race and without any recent racing experience coupled with the optical illusions of the gradient changes on the runways pacing was the biggest challenge of the day. Conditions underfoot would have been frightening for anyone with expensive carbon plate shoes as the surface looked to have broken up since the end of the cold war and railway ballast chunks of debris littered the course in certain parts.

Although both of the GRC runners faded in the final laps they were happy to hold on for respectable times to start their delayed season. Catherine Payne’s 3:24:30, whilst well short of her recent best was good enough for an age grading of over 84% and more importantly a number one ranking in her age group with UK Athletics. Robert’s 3:36:03 gave him just over the 71% in his age grading and a top ten ranking.

Oundle 10K

 Michelle Parczuk said afterwards "I think I was the only green shirt at the Oundle 10K today given the other races on. Great to be racing again and really lovely race atmosphere in the sunshine. Really pleased with 49.20, not quite a PB" but close Michelle was 19th lady overall and 5th in her age category and scored a WMA age grading of 69.65%. Her runbritain ranking is expected to be comfortably in the top 30 for her age group in the UK.

Mallory Park Races

Andrew Pask, Sam Jepson-Rivers, Sam Clark and Aaron Smith

 On the first big weekend since lockdown restrictions lifted enough, Grantham Running Club sent a team of 6 to compete in the Mallory Park Races in Kirkby Mallory. With 5k races taking place on the Saturday and 10k on Sunday there was something available for all appetites.  Both days benefiting form beautiful spring weather, ideal for racing with very little wind runners were aiming for a fast early season opener.

Opting for the 5k race Alan Carley and Stuart Baty were the first to don the famous green vest of GRC. Trying to capitalise on some good virtual racing form, Alan Carley led the way on the 3 lap course. His finish time of 20:22 was his first attempt at a road 5k but was good enough to beat his 5,000m best on the track by over 1min and give him a UK ranking of 54 for his age category. Next across the line was Stuart Baty with a superb PB time of 23:04, beating his previous best set in 2018 by a huge 30s.

In the Sunday 10k race four members were looking to prove a successful winter spent training hard. Sam Jepson-rivers was the hot favourite having ran so strongly over the lockdown virtual series. His 6 lap race could not have been executed any better. Resisting the urge to start too fast, he expertly paced himself to a 1min PB with an eye-catching 38:54, giving him a UK ranking of 469 over the distance. Next was arguably the performance of the day, Aaron Smith. Pacing this race like a man who’d been competing for years when in fact he’s only taken up running in the past 2 years. His confident approach to this distance earned him a whopping 5min PB with a time of 39:42, earning him his first UK ranking over 10K. Then followed Sam Clark and Andrew Pask who were both hoping for faster finish times. Sam crossed the line in 40:18. Although still an official 40s PB and whilst his time was still impressive, his time did little to reflect the sub 40 time that he clocked on the winter virtual series. Andrew also hoping to run better, had aspirations of pushing much closer to the 40min barrier but his 40:40 time is still his best since 2018.

With races very much back on, runners will be looking to build on their Mallory performances in the coming weeks. 

Report: Andrew Pask