Langtoft 10k

 

The final Sunday in April dawned warm and sunny as large numbers of runners from Grantham made their way the short distance past Bourne to the lovely village of Langtoft. The playing fields were hosting the 31^st edition of what is becoming an increased rarity, a well-organised volunteer-led road race with its roots in the local community.

The fundraising volunteer nature of the event did not show in the organisation, which was excellent, nor the results, which were supported by professional chip timing. It did show in the friendly volunteers, whether that was the smiling teenagers handing out numbers at the start, the supportive marshals around the course or the very enthusiastic commentator taking part in his final event. It also showed in the relatively large number of people who came out of their houses to watch as the runners passed by.

The main 10k event was preceded by a 3 kilometre fun run, which added to the family atmosphere and meant that all ages could take part and enjoy the event. There was also a sizeable contingent who clearly hadn’t recovered from Easter, with multiple runners in both races dressed as chickens and eggs.

The first runner back for Grantham Running Club was Peter Bonner in a personal best of 38:11, knocking 50 seconds off his previous best from Doncaster in the Autumn. Peter was particularly pleased with this because it came just two weeks after he achieved a marathon pb, breaking the 3 hour mark for the first time. After the event Peter was enthusiastic about the flat, friendly course and recommends taking part in the next event.

Also particularly happy with their run were two other achievers of personal bests. Holly Wragg knocked two minutes off her result from Doncaster last year and was particularly pleased with the day. Laura Pigott continued her run of improving races over the last year, having knocked over ten minutes off her results since July.

The first GRC woman home was Penny Hodges in a time of 44:41 which was also a season’s best, spurred on by Tony Johnson, followed closely by Paul Davis, chasing her in the final stages through the village. The next two women home were Rachel Hamilton and Nicola Rushton-Lichfield, who ran most of the way together but struggled with the heat (Rachel) and a blister (Nicola).

Twenty-one runners achieved season best results at the race, though as one of them said, it’s hard to feel that the race is an achievement when you get overtaken by a man dressed as a chicken!

A full list of GRC runners and their times is below.

The race was won by Joe Wilkinson from Bingley Harriers who finished with a time of 31:18, some 2 and a half minutes ahead of the rest of the 290 runners. Scott Cameron finished second and local resident Thomas Preston who is just 16 years old came third with an amazing run to take the prestigious title of first Langtoft resident.  The first woman home was Chloe Tyler from Peterborough and Nene Valley athletics club with an impressive time at 39 minutes.

In the 3K race, Toby Staines from Peterborough and Nene Valley athletics club took the honours in front of Edward Joyce from Corby athletics club and Jake Henson from Stamford striders.  Local Bourne Town Harriers runner Leah Graham was the first female home ahead of a field of 156 runners.

 

Position	Time	First name	Last name
13	00:38:11	Peter	Bonner
34	00:41:18	Robin	Atter
35	00:41:19	Sam	Dodwell
42	00:41:40	Daniel	Pearce
47	00:42:27	Alan	Carley
56	00:43:06	Stefan	Latter
65	00:43:56	Robert	Howbrook
72	00:44:41	Penny	Hodges
73	00:44:46	Tony	Johnson
79	00:45:21	Paul	Davis
86	00:45:47	Rachel	Hamilton
87	00:45:48	Nicola	Ruston-Litchfield
108	00:47:59	Ben	Mason
113	00:48:21	Stuart	Reader
118	00:49:06	Robert	McArdle
122	00:49:17	Caroline	Davis
124	00:49:27	Simon	Allsopp
127	00:49:51	Paul	Kelly
141	00:51:19	Naomi	Rivers
146	00:51:33	Martin	Rodell
158	00:53:00	Richard	Litchfield
160	00:53:03	Tommy	Napier
163	00:53:15	Paul	Jepson
164	00:53:29	Wayne	Baxter
165	00:53:32	Marjorie	Spendlow
169	00:53:41	Zoe	Wragg
173	00:54:00	Chris	Smith
174	00:54:13	Sinead	McDonnell
175	00:54:15	Richard	Urquhart
179	00:55:02	Holly	Wragg
182	00:55:14	Zane	Wojtowicz
189	00:55:43	Emma	Duncan
199	00:56:57	Martin	Carter
202	00:57:15	Laura	Pigott
216	00:58:59	Kate	Marshall
236	01:02:25	Clare	Smith
254	01:05:11	Judi	Allsopp
255	01:05:14	Emma	Hopkinson
258	01:05:41	Wendy	Fraser
268	01:08:55	Christine	Sawyer
277	01:12:23	Yvonne	Buckley
281	01:15:15	Brendon	Buckley