**The Longhorn 2021 (5k, 10k, HM, Marathon, 50k and 60k Ultra)**

Sarah coming in at 2:02:07 and Nev (2:04:14) in the half

The lifting of lockdown restrictions fell perfectly for ‘The Longhorn 2021’ race events to take place on Sunday 18th April. Held in the beautiful grounds of Thoresby Park in Nottinghamshire, the lap event allows for many distances to take place including 5k, 10k, half marathon, full marathon, 50k or a 60k Ultra trail run.

Running over old military roads, cleared tracks through ancient woodland and grassed paths around the country estate, the route involves ‘laps’ of the course depending on the distance selected, which includes a few hills to offer a small challenge in the scenic course. A dry week before meant the trail route remained firm for all those taking part.

13 members of GRC made the journey, taking part in the 10k, half marathon and marathon.

The only member to enter the 4-lap marathon was Warren Stark, who was pleased with his time of 4:08:12, he was especially pleased as with the nature of trail courses saw it measure slightly longer than the famous marathon distance, at 27.2 miles. Had the course been 26.2 miles, it would’ve seen him record a sub 4 hour time.

Sarah High, Nev Chamberlain and Claudette Joint took on the half marathon distance with 2 laps of the course, Sarah coming in at 2:02:07 and Nev (2:04:14) and Claudette (2:04:27) separated by just 13 seconds.

The most popular distance was the 10k, involving 1 lap of the course with 9 members taking part. Again most measured the course long with distances anywhere up to 10.3k.

Sam Dodwell 49:35

Stuart Baty 50:52 *course pb

Dale Towning 53:18

Vicki Ball 53:30

Sylv Hull 55:51

Martin Carter 56:06

Yvonne Buckley 1:10:07

Sammi French 1:10:07 *course pb

Vicky Honey 1:14:53

Vicky unwittingly provided some humour to end proceedings, as her race drew to a close she was mistakenly guided to complete another lap, a quick correction courtesy of help from the Marshall’s saw her end without having to face the possibility of a unplanned half marathon or longer!

With no one speaking a negative word of the day/event and organisation, all who attended were glad to be out ‘racing’ again, it was all rounded off with calorie replenishing cake after! 

Warren finished in 4:08:12

 

Dorney Lake Marathon

 

Massive PB for Ian! 2021 V45 Grantham RC
Event	Perf				Pos				Venue	Meeting	Date
Mar	3:29:37	c			284			92	Windsor	Dorney Lake Marathon	3 Apr 21

 

Lincolnshire Inter-Club Virtual 10K

Grantham Running Club fielded a 32-runner team in the Lincolnshire Inter-Club Virtual 10K. Joined by Stamford Striders, Sleaford Striders, Lincoln & District and Lincoln S&D running clubs, this virtual 10K was a much-needed return to some level of competition. With runners given a two-week window to run the distance on a course of their choosing it really was a tale of two weeks. With the weather on week one being calm and ideal running conditions, week two was the complete opposite. Having to stick to a strict set of parameters, some runners fell fowl of the allowed maximum 30ft net descent rule meaning a time penalty was imposed. Some standout performances in the men’s event included; Sam Jepson-Rivers, Sam Clark and Rick Dobbs. Pairing up in a race like scenario, the two Sams went head-head on an out and back course along Heath Lane near Hungerton. Both men on great form were targeting times that were unimaginable only 12 months ago. With Jepson-Rivers leading the way clocking an outstanding 38:57, sub 40mins was never a problem. Sam Clark ran a huge effort to hang with Jepson-Rivers for his own breakthrough time of 39:42. Also catching the eye was Rick Dobbs who is improving event after event and his latest time of 47:53 makes a mockery of his official PB. Paul Jepson won individual honours, taking the Men’s Veteran 60 title after his impressive 48:50, over 3mins ahead of his nearest competitor. The women were led by Holly Durham who is rapidly returning to top form. Holly’s time of 41:48 was her best time for 3 years and enough to earn her GRC’s top Age Grade score of 74.29% which is comfortably inside the county level standard and placed her as 3rd lady overall. Julie Gilbert and Sylv Hull continue to improve a rapid rate. Julie’s time of 52:42 is nearly 3mins inside her official best and was good enough to score her highest ever Age Grade score. Sylv Hull was delighted with her 53:34 in windy conditions, improving on her official best by nearly 4 mins. Michelle Parczuk and Yvonne Buckley also won individual honours, taking 2nd place in the Ladies Veteran 50 and Ladies Veteran 60 categories respectively. In the team competitions, GRC were beaten to the title by Sleaford Striders but the friendly rivalry was welcomed by all the competing Lincolnshire clubs.

Overall scores looked like this:  

Position Club Points 

1 Sleaford Striders AC 14,811 

2 Grantham Running Club 14,636 

3 Lincoln & District Runners 9,132 

4 Lincs S&C RC 3,827 

5 Stamford Striders 1,425 

Complete GRC results: 

9 Samuel Jepson-Rivers SM 38:57.00* 

11 Joe Diggins M35 39:12.00* 

13 Sam Clark M35 39:42.00* 

17 Andrew Pask M35 40:20.00 

21 Matthew Atter M35 41:42.00 

22 Holly Durham W35 41:48.00 

26 Alan Carley M50 43:13.00 

29 Ben Hatherley M40 43:40.00 

43 Rick Dobbs M40 47:53.00* 

44 Ben Mason M40 47:55.00 

51 Paul Jepson M65 48:50.00 

55 Warren Stark M45 49:35.00 

57 Tommy Napier M55 49:58.00 

58 Vicki Ball SW 49:59.00* 

59 Stuart Baty M45 50:00.00 

60 MichelleParczuk W50 50:19.00 

61 Anthony Boyle M50 51:05.00* 

66 Julie Gilbert W50 52:42.00* 

67 Sarah High W55 52:48.00 

68 Vicki Hardy W35 52:49.00 

70 Dean Riggall M45 53:00.00 

71 Peter Storey M60 53:03.00 

72 Sylv Hull W40 53:34.00* 

76 Rosalind Sadler W45 56:41.00 

77 Kate Marshall W45 56:58.00* 

78 Martin Carter M35 57:15.00 

82 Stephen Fay M55 58:54.00 

84 Yvonne Buckley W60 59:32.00* 

85 Tracy Webb W50 1:01:04.00 

88 Louise Kennedy W45 1:03:18.00* 

93 Julia Hallam W40 1:14:28.00 

94 Vicky Willan W50 1:17:22.00 

*Denotes time good enough for an official PB.

5k Series

Joe - Outright winner

Grantham Running Club got 2021 off to a flyer with their 4-week 5k series. Determined to test themselves despite the latest lockdown restrictions, runners were challenged with improving their 5k times week after week in this virtual series. Often running alone this testing distance provided a good excuse to rediscover some much-needed speed after months without official races.

 The series outright winners were Holly Durham (21:15) and Joe Diggins (18:27). Both runners reaching the county level standard for their age grade with Joe running a time which would easily be an official PB.

The challenge was to improve, and two runners caught the GRC team captains’ eye more than others; Vicky Hardy and Peter Storey. Both runners perfectly captured the spirit of the series with week on week improvements. Vicki who’s all four times represent a giant leap in form, going from 25:41 in week 1 to finish off with 24:41. All times would represent a PB in an official race. Peter is another who’s enjoying his running, using this series as motivation to kickstart his running since Christmas. His week 1 time of 26:06 was impressive for his Veteran 60 age category, but that was just a marker of the improvement to come. Finishing with an outstanding 24:34, Peter is one who will be looking forward to official races starting again.

A total of 38 members were lured into the friendly mid-winter competition when often the weather was against them. Many of them have clearly been working hard to get those times down. Here’s the breakdown of the category winners:

Outright Winners

Ladies – Holly Durham (21:25, week 2)

Holly - Outright winner

Men – Joe Diggins (18:27, week 1)

 Veteran 40

Ladies – Penny Hodges (22:10, week 1)

Men – Ben Hatherley (19:27, week 4)

 Veteran 50

Ladies – Tracy Webb (30:36, week 4)

Men – Alan Carley (21:15, week 4)

 Veteran 60

Ladies – Yvonne Buckley (30:19, week 2)

Men – Paul Jepson (23:35, week 1)

Most Improved

Ladies – Vicki Hardy (25:41-24:41, improved each week)

Men – Peter Storey (26:06-24:34, improved each week)

 Age Graded Winner

Ladies – Holly Durham, 70.46%

Men – Joe Diggins, 73.78%

 Had this race been official, the following runners would have run times good enough to beat their best – Joe Diggins (18:27, week 1), Sam Clark (18:46, week 2), Aaron Smith (18:56, week 2), Mikey Brain (19:39, week 4), Rick Dobbs (21:43, week 3), Wayne Baxter (23:42, week 2), Vicki Hardy (24:41, week 4), Sylv Hull (25:11, week 2), Kate Marshall (28:06, week 3), Louise Kennedy (29:02, week 3), CJ Walker (29:50, week 4).

 Special mention goes to Ben Hatherly (19:27, week 4) and Ben Mason (21:21, week 1) who both ran their fastest times for around 7 years.

 Other results: Andrew Pask (20:08), Sam Jepson-Rivers (20:29), Matthew Atter (20:54), Sam Dodwell (21:42), Naomi Jepson-Rivers (23:19), Michelle Parczuk (23:52), Tommy Napier (24:56), Vicki Ball (25:01), Kristofor Blake (26:21), Nic Webster (27:38), Kathleen Gray (27:50), Ros Sadler (28:19), Yvonne Buckley (30:19), Julia Hallam (31:48), Sara Pask (32:38), Tracey Gell (33:26), Becky Rice (34:35)

Leicestershire 10k

Andrew Pask

Against all the odds this year’s Leicestershire 10k went ahead despite mounting COVID-19 restrictions. Two members of Grantham Running Club made the trip to Prestwold Hall for the event which covered a loop of the former RAF Wymeswold site. In strong winds on the exposed course, runners found it impossible to maintain a constant pace and the varied surface quality only served to upset the rhythm further.

First off in the waved start was Andrew Pask. With ambitions of challenging the 40min barrier Andrew ran a hard race to feel without looking at his watch until late on. With his first glance at the watch at the 8Km marker he was disappointed with what he saw. Picking up the pace immediately he dragged his average pace down to a more respectable level for him only to find a twisty last half a mile, with the finish straight on deep gravel at the front of Prestwold Hall. Andrew finished with a time of 41:07, whilst disappointing for him was still good enough to beat his best time for nearly 2 years.

Peter Bonner

 

Next was Peter Bonner who almost missed the start having slept through his early morning alarm. Starting further back than originally planned, Peter kicked on through the field just pleased to be racing at all on his return to fitness. Peter was also disappointed with his finish time and the quality of the course which he ran in 43:41 some 4:30 slower than his best.

The race was won by Domenic Jones in 31:11 of Rugby & Northampton and Hannah Lord in 37:05 of the Riverside Club. Incredibly there was 588 finishers.

 

Bedford Autodrome Marathon 2020

Three athletes from Grantham Running Club travelled to the Covid Secure Bedford Autodrome Marathon on Sunday 18th with their minds very much on the London Marathon, all for different reasons. 

Experienced marathon runners Catherine Payne and Robert McArdle both came first in their respective age categories and qualified for London 2022, however the performance of the day was from Craig Drury who had won the GRC Club ballot to represent the club at this year’s London race.  Like 45,000 others he had trained hard all winter for a race that never happened only to have to keep his mileage up all summer for an October “virtual” run that ended up being round the roads of Ropsley and Lenton with a few club mates rather than being cheered on by crowds as he finished in the Mall.
In Bedford with the absence of a mass start Craig found it easy to set off at his target pace and decided to ease back on power at the quarter distance mark to preserve energy for what he knew would be a tough last few miles. Ignoring those around him as they sped up or slowed down he controlled his pace and even managed a sprint finish to record a time of 3:49:41, some 29 minutes inside his previous best set at the Eryri Snowdonia Marathon a year ago.

Aiming for a “Good for Age” qualification for the 2022 London Marathon Catherine and Robert were looking to secure the times required for automatic entry as this year qualifying opportunities are very limited due to the pandemic. After eight months without a single race to prepare, both chose a low risk approach to get a “banker” time rather than risk going all out and falling well short. Catherine opted for a negative split, running the first half of the race in one hour forty one minutes before increasing her pace to complete the second half in just under the one forty mark to finish in a time 3:20:44 to place her over 35 minutes inside the current qualifying standard. In a year of reduced racing,  this saw her ranked in the fastest 80 women marathon runners in the UK in 2020 and also 6th fastest in her age group.
Robert was pleased to clock 3:30:08, inside the qualifying time for his London age group by just over 12 minutes following a tough race dropping almost 90 seconds in the final three miles as a precaution to ensure a solid finish. He was rewarded with a UKA ranking of 12th in his age group for the marathon in 2020.

The race was won by Andrew Davies of Stockport in 2:17:12 with Johanna Oregan of St Neots first lady in 2:41:31

Thoresby 10

 

Gerry was first home for GRC

On Sunday 18^th October the Thoresby Estate in Nottinghamshire welcomed more than a thousand runners (both human and canine) from all over the UK for the rare opportunity to run in a multi-terrain trail race. The ten runners from Grantham Running Club had been holding their collective breath waiting to see if the event would be able to go ahead but SBR Events worked incredibly hard to ensure that the day was Covid safe, with staggered starts, social distancing and hygiene measures. A happy side effect of the reduced flow of competitors was that the normally inevitable toilet queues were absent.

 

Runners had a choice of distances around the tracks through the beautiful ancient woodlands and parkland which were just muddy enough to be challenging. It was noticed by everyone that the course was a touch long which made the dash for the finish harder to judge but it was nice to get a little extra distance thrown in for free.

 

In the 10K race, Gerry Hyde was the first back for GRC with a scorching time of 43:43 which earned him first place in his age category and sixteenth overall out of more than four hundred finishers. The winning streak continued as his team TBR also came first. He commented that he enjoyed the challenge of pacing the race and was very pleased to manage a strong finish.

 

Next back for GRC was Russell Maksymiw who also had an excellent run, managing even to knock two minutes off his (very quick) time at Caythorpe 10k the previous week. His time of 45:06 netted him 23^rd place overall and fourth in his age category.  Sam Dodwell followed a couple of minutes later, taking part in his first race in six months. A fast start took its toll in the middle of his race but he managed to regain momentum in the latter half to finish in a respectable time of 47:53 and 41^st overall.

 

Martin Carter finished next, 131^st, in a time of 56:10 which exceeded his expectations having mentioned at the start that anything under an hour would be a good result given his lack of racing this year.  Dale Towning followed soon in 151^st past the finish line in 56:53, which was a touch behind his time in 2019 due to having to nurse an injured calf muscle. Despite his disappointment, he thoroughly enjoyed the run.

 

Chasing Dale down was Sylv Hull who was very pleased to better her 2019 time by over two minutes to come in at 57:50 which left her in 158^th overall position and ninth in her age category.  Sam French was next in a time of 1:20:51, which was not her fastest race but one of the most enjoyable with many compliments for her brightly coloured leggings which clearly cheered up all those around her.

 

Three GRC ladies took on the longer ten mile race. First back was Katie Bland who finished in a very respectable 1:35:02 which brought her neatly halfway up the field – 134^th out of 238 runners. Next was Kate Marshall who has spent much of 2020 battling a knee injury which has seen her training mileage seriously curtailed. Though she didn’t feel race fit and had to deal with a throbbing knee towards the end, Kate was not unhappy with her time of 1:46:40. Having never raced this distance on a multi terrain course (which generally tend to be tougher than roads), Kate was happy with how close her time was to her road PB. Kate finished 191^st, with Tracy Webb following a couple of minutes after in 1:48:55, which netted her ninth place in her age category and 202^nd overall.

 

All the runners were full of praise for the organisers and marshals who had clearly worked incredibly hard to make the event happen safely. The support and atmosphere around the course was fantastic, as was the setting. A particular highlight for runners was catching a glimpse of the adorable Longhorn calves in the fields as they passed.

 

A super wooden medal and free event photographs made this event one that everyone thoroughly enjoyed and would definitely return to next year. All agreed that it felt like a real treat to be able to run in a race with club mates once again.

 

Kate Marshall with a throbbing knee

Race report c/o Sylv Hull. Photos: SBR Events / Mark Dewhurst Photography

Mallory Park 5K

Aaron Smith, Andrew Pask, Peter Bonner, Naomi Jepson-Rivers, Sam Jepson-Rivers and Vicki Ball

The Mallory Park 5K drew some of the finest athletes from across the country including 7 from our very own Grantham Running Club.  With entry limited to men who could run sub 20mins and ladies 24mins, the pressure on some runners to perform was clear. The race was held under strict COVID-19 conditions with the races staggered in ‘heats’ based on predicted finish time and start lines releasing groups of 6 at a time.

First off were the two GRC ladies, Naomi Jepson-Rivers and Vicki Ball with the early 09:00 start. Both ladies were looking to capitalise on the absolute perfect conditions on this flat, 3 lap course around the famous racetrack. Setting a fast early pace the ladies were keen to commit early. Together for the first mile, then Naomi pulled away holding the electric early pace slightly better. Hanging on and continuing to push as hard as possible, the ladies saw out the remaining two or more miles to set huge PBs and justify their place on the start line in this high quality field. Both ladies were delighted with their times and rightly so - Naomi’s time of 22:49  was over 1 min faster than her best set in 2019 and Vicki’s 23:45 was a 40s improvement on her best.

Next up were the 4 men proudly wearing the GRC green vest. Leading the pack off 20s ahead was Sam Jepson-Rivers who was quietly confident of a sub 19min run. Then it was Aaron Smith and Andrew Pask followed by Peter Bonner 10s behind. As with the ladies race, the first mile pace was a little ambitious for most runners all trying to cash-in on a Lockdown spent training hard.  Sam, confident from the offset was never going to be caught. His blistering pace was held throughout earning him a coveted time of 18:40 and placing him very much within the GRC elite. Next was the fast improving Aaron Smith in his first 5k race. Aaron’s time of 19:10 was an outstanding debut over the distance and will certainly run much faster in races to come. Then the consistent Andrew Pask crossed the line with 19:33 to post his 2^nd fastest time over the rarely run distance for him. Next was Peter Bonner who’s returning to fitness with a fine 20:01.

The mens race was won by Harry Leleu of Chichester with a time of 14:07 and the ladies was won by Aimee Pratt of Sale Harriers with 15:53.