Handicap 10k

 

Grantham Running Club’s handicap 10k race made its post COVID return on Thursday evening. A bumper 44 runners and 15 volunteers descended upon Ropsley to take advantage of its quiet surroundings and picturesque lanes. The undulating 10k course provided a good end of summer test before runners turn their focus on the longer distances.

Runners were given individual start times based on their predicted finish time. Getting the predictions right and with runners running as they are capable of, everyone was planned to finish at 19:30 at the Green Man pub.

In a race where everyone has a chance to win regardless of standard, six were within 10 seconds of their prediction and 17 were within a minute. One runner, Julie Gilbert even hit her prediction spot-on!

The winners on this hot and humid evening were:

1.       Neil Jameson

2.       Sara Pask

3.       Wayne Baxter

London Marathon bound Neil Jameson proved he’s back to full fitness and was able to capitalize on his higher training mileage to post 1:01:48 and take the glory of the race win. In pursuit of Neil was Sara Pask who returned to racing for the first time since 2019. Clocking an impressive 1:02:05, Sara will go into upcoming races full of confidence. Then there was Wayne Baxter who was within a minute of his PB with 52:33. The top 3 runners were never overtaken.

Surprisingly given the tough conditions some more established runners even managed to run their best ever 10k. Joaquim Jeronimo stormed to a 37:29 which would be a 14s PB had this been an official race. The in-form Sam Jepson-Rivers continues to improve at an impressive rate, posting a 38:23 another would be PB. Hannah San-Hose was another who caught the eye; posting 47:03 and beating her prediction by 42s and her official PB by 30s.

Even runners who were not 100% fit or those who should have been saving their legs for Sunday’s Great North Run were prepared to give this tough race a go, making this whole club event a resounding success. It’s nights like these that make being in a running club so special.

Full results:

1	Neil	Jameson	01:01:48
2	Sara	Pask	01:02:05
3	Wayne	Baxter	00:52:33
4	Joaquim	Jeronimo	00:37:29
5	Simon	Allsopp	00:47:57
6	Richard	Payne	00:48:58
7	Tom	Johnson	00:42:03
8	Phillip	Crowcroft	00:48:46
9	Anthony	Boyle	00:51:27
10	Hannah	San Jose	00:47:03
11	Andrew	MacAllister	00:47:38
12	Chloe	Amos	01:06:30
13	Aaron	Smith	00:41:54
14	Paul	Jepson	00:51:07
15	Julie	Gilbert	00:53:19
16	Russel	Whittaker	00:38:59
17	Kate	Marshall	00:57:05
18	Homer	San Jose	00:57:05
19	Darren	Harley	00:42:19
20	Vicki	Ball	00:51:24
21	Andrew	Pask	00:41:32
22	Sylv	Hull	00:54:03
23	Samuel	Jepson-Rivers	00:38:23
24	Tracey	Gell	01:04:17
25	Sarah	Chynoweth	00:43:31
26	Christopher	Armstrong	00:46:01
27	Judi	Allsopp	01:09:35
28	Mark	Hillson	00:50:39
29	Nick	Rossington	00:43:47
30	Kirsty	Dickens	00:48:20
31	Stuart	Baty	00:48:51
32	Sarah	High	00:53:41
33	Simon	Hartley	01:03:35
34	Holly	Wragg	01:09:17
35	Caroline	Davis	00:50:56
36	Wendy	Fraser	01:06:42
37	Robin	Atter	00:43:26
38	Zoe	Wragg	00:58:03
39	Tommy	Napier	00:54:41
40	samantha	French	01:04:45
41	Robert	Howbrook	00:47:19
42	Rosalind	Sadler	00:59:29
43	Andrew	Tattershall	01:00:05
44	Julia	Hallam	01:12:21

 

Report: Andrew Pask