Leicestershire Half Marathon

8 members of the Grantham running club made their way to the stunning Grade 1 listed Prestwold Hall in the heart of the Leicestershire Wolds to challenge themselves in the half marathon. 

 The course started and finished in front of the Hall and was a mixture of undulating country roads and tracks and a couple of loops of the old airfield to test your mental strength. 

First home was Russell Maksymiw who was taking part in his first half marathon since 2018 and finished in 1:42:07, beating his PB by over 9 minutes. He was closely followed by Dale Towning who continued his fine run of achievements with an impressive time of 1:46:13 which knocked a massive 23 minutes off his PB. 

In only his second race since joining the club, Jonathan Whittaker proved his son wrong by finishing in under 2 hours with a time of 1:56:00. 

Daniel Wallace was next back, his time of 2:00:42 setting the benchmark for the next 3 half marathons he's planning to do this year. 

The next 2 ladies home graduated from the GRC Beginners course of 2022 and have definitely caught the running bug! Emma Bannister crossed the line in 2:05:12 and Debbie Bennett (Debbs Jones) in 2:07:53. Shortly in after Debbs was Nic Webster in a time of 2:08:15.

And on her return to fitness the ever-improving Catherine Wallace finished the course on 2:17:46

 There were 1056 participants, Male winner; Ben Connor 1:04:57. Female winner; Lily Partridge 1:14:34.

 

 

Brighton Half Marathon

On Sunday 26^th February GRC dipped its toe into the freezing English Channel. Club member Andrew MacAllister took part in the Brighton Half Marathon with his son Joe. Joe lives in Shoreham by Sea but many club members may know him from a few guest appearances at GRC training runs.

 The weather was bitterly cold, not helped by a brisk northerly wind that increased throughout the morning, thankfully no rain despite the forecasts of slight snow flurries!

 The start and finish line was on the iconic seafront road, Madeira Drive, just east of the Palace Pier, with the route for the 10,000 entrants taking in many of Brighton’s visitor highlights such as Brighton Marina, Preston Park, Brighton Pavilion, the i360 tower, West Pier and Hove Lagoon.

 Andrew’s plan was to start at a steady pace and continue that throughout. However, maybe influenced by his now traditional race prep bottle of red wine the night before, he had a start line epiphany and somehow thought it would be a great idea to go for the “crash and burn” technique. Exhibiting a great pace to about mile 9, then hanging on for dear life until the finish line.

The end result for Andrew was a fine time of 1:46:48.

 One unusual sight was charity runner, Royal Marine Sam Hammond, AKA Man v Fridge or 'Fridget Jones', who ran the race carrying a 26kg fridge on his back, to claim a Guinness World Record of 2:04:13.

 

Stamford Valentines 30k

10 members of Grantham running club took the short trip down the A1 to take part in the Stamford Striders' Valentine's 30k,held on Sunday, February 12th. The race is run each year on the Sunday closest to St Valentine's Day. It is recognised nationally as a tough event, with lots of hills, providing a good training race for those planning a spring marathon, and with GRC members busy training for marathons in Edinburgh, London and Manchester, the race gave them an ideal opportunity to test the marathon legs in a 30k race.

The race starts outside Stamford Welland Academy in Green Lane, The on-road route then heads up to Little Casterton and to Ryhall and Careby, before heading west to Holywell and Pickworth. It then returns through Great Casterton, Tolethorpe to Stamford. Runners received great support while out on the route from people who came out of their homes to cheer, as well as marshals from Stamford Striders running club.

The well-loved athletics event saw nearly 500 runners race 18-miles around the Stamford and Rutland countryside.

First home for GRC is an impressive time was Joaquim Jeronimo 2:00:18 and a PB.  Next back was Peter Bonner 2:08:20, also a PB.  Following was Robin Atter in 2:18:29  who had been paced by the experienced Chris Limmer, gaining himself a new PB.  Chris crossed the line in 2:18:51. Dean Riggall was next back for the club at 2:29:57. Peter Jennings, first time running a race of this distance finished in 2:41:24. Caroline Davis completed in 2:42:21.

Warren Stark was next in 2:47:46, closely followed by Craig Drury in 2:48:48 and Sarah High in 2:50:42.

The was won by Robert Byers, from Sheffield’s Steel City Striders in 1:47:33. Ladies winner was Kanina O'Neil 2:03:28 of March AC.

Pictures c/o David Babbs

 

Skegness 10k

On Sunday 5th February four runners from Grantham Running Club headed to the coast to race in the Skegness 10k.

 The race is organised by Skegness Coasters Running Club and is held at Butlins on the flat and on traffic-free roads within the resort.  The race was well supported with 400 runners turning out on a sunny morning by the sea. Proceeds from the race go to local charities and to cover the cost of next year’s event.

 First back for the club was Daniel Pearce in 40:04, setting a new PB by 40 seconds and finishing in 34th place. Pleased with his performance and only just missing out on a sub 40 he hopes to break that barrier soon.

 Next home for GRC was Robin Atter in 40:29, finishing in 38th place He was happy with his time and also hopes to break sub 40 in the future. 

 Paul Jepson also had a great race, coming in at 49:00, giving him an age grading of 72.23% and a season best.

 Next back was Zane Wojtowicz. A fairly new member to GRC, Zane's previous 10k time set at the Lincoln 10K  in 2022 was 52:05. She has been running with the club and the training showed on the day with a fantastic time of 50:31 which gave her a PB and 24th female.

 All runners received a medal, Skegness 10k water bottle and a Butlins tote bag. The four members made the most of being at the coast on a sunny day, enjoying food and the seaside after.

 The overall winner was Ryan Page of Lincoln Wellington in 32:25.  First lady was Sophie George of Lincoln Wellington in 39:13.

 

Rauceby Ripper

Saturday, 4th February 2023 saw the annual return of The Rauceby Ripper. A multi terrain race consisting of mud, sand, gravel, a little bit of road and freshly ploughed fields. The race was well organised by Sleaford Town Runners with great support around the course by their members. 

In a field of 250 runners 6 members of GRC took part, some for the first time whilst others were seasoned veterans, knowing what to expect from the course.

Conditions on the day were good and dry which definitely helped with finish times.

First across the line for GRC, and his first time taking part, was Russel Whittaker who finished in 6th place overall with a chip time of 58:02 placing him first in his age category and being rewarded with his first trophy! Very well done! 

Peter Bonner credits the Ripper as his favourite race of the year and was 2nd across the line for GRC. Finishing in 1.00.01, so close to breaking the hour mark, he finished in the top 10. Peter has run the Ripper multiple times before and just keeps getting quicker and stronger with every year. 

Peter was followed by Paul Davis who put in a strong effort finishing in 1:16:42 beating his 2022 time by an incredible 10 minutes!

Nicci Whittaker was the first female across the line for GRC finishing her first Ripper and longest ever race in 1:18:08. Surprising herself with her performance she even managed to get a 10km pb of 53.35!

Sarah High was next across the line placing 2nd in her age category in 1:18:43. This was Sarah's first Ripper and, in her words, "she didn't hate it, she would definitely do it again and recommends it all who likes cross country".

Caroline Davis quickly followed finishing in 1:18:48. A seasoned Ripper runner Caroline settled into the race, enjoying it and kept a strong pace throughout the course.

All GRC'ers agreed the atmosphere was fantastic with many of the marshals around the course in costume... think Sherlock and the Ripper.

At just £18 to enter, The Ripper is excellent value, with the 2023 race selling out in just 3 hrs! A race that is highly recommended by all who took part! 💚🖤💚🖤��🖤