Category: Club Championship

The sun was certainly beating down on Sunday 9th April at our 4th Club Championship race of the year, in the little village of Hose for the Belvoir Half Marathon. A Spring favourite within the club, the flat-ish course is good for PBs and welcoming for first timers. We had good turnout of 13 club mates take on the 13.1 miles through the villages of the vale of Belvoir. It was close in the men’s race with Chris Jones finishing in a great time of 1:41:39 with Martin Gordon-Kerr not far behind in 1:42:56 . It was even closer in the ladies competition, with Helen Duncan finishing in 1:49:51 just 30 seconds ahead of Emma Potter in 1:50:23. However there were some position changes once age-grading had been applied.

The full results (in order of age-grade) were as follows:

Ladies

Men’s

Congratulations then to Paul Rogerson and Nikki Loomes for great performances in order to take the honours in respect of the Championship points. Special mention should go to Gary Kirk, Hannah Tee and Sam Jeffries. All graduates of last year’s Beginners sessions and have now gone onto completing the Half Marathon distance. I know that this is Gary and Hannah’s first half marathon. Not quite so sure that this was Sam’s first time at this distance but it does make up for her disappointment after having to pull out of last year’s Rutland Half Marathon due to injury. Great achievement guys 🙂

So in the men’s Championship, Sean McAuliffe is still in the lead with Paul and Dave Summers in 2nd and 3rd respectively. Meantime things have the potential to be even more competitive with the Ladies. Currently Helen Duncan is leading on 31 points with Kate Howes just behind. However if Jo Smith, Emma Potter and Nikki Loomes complete some more races then things could get very exciting – keep it up.

The updated Championship tables can be viewed here: Championship Tables

The next Championship Race is the Wymeswold Waddle on Sunday 14.May. See club calendar for more details.

Sunday 26.March saw perfect spring weather conditions and the sun was shining for the latest round of this year’s Club Championship. There were 8 plucky club members that lined up for the start of The Thorney 10k. Sean McAullife (41:44) was once again first home for the club with David Summers (47:34) finishing in 2nd place just a few seconds ahead of first lady home Helen Duncan (47:47). Both Sean and Helen along with Jo Smith received trophies for being first in their respective age groups (brilliant).

The full results (in order of age-grade) were as follows:

Ladies

Men’s

From the Championship standpoint, that’s a clean sweep of wins for Sean as he continues to head up the Men’s table. Dave Summers is clear in 2nd place having run 2 races with Paul Rogerson in 3rd. Kate Howes continues to lead the Ladies championship table having run in each of the 3 races so far, with Helen Duncan and Jo Smith in 2nd and 3rd places respectively.

The next Championship race is one of the favourites of the club calendar – The Belvoir Half Marathon on Sunday 9th April. Details are on the calendar page … but I can confirm that postal and online registration is now closed but you will be able to register on race day starting at 8am (entries permitting).

The updated Championship tables can be viewed here: Championship Tables

The National Watersports Centre at Holme Pierrepont, Nottingham is reknowned for being in a rather exposed location weather-wise and even on a calm day there is always some breeze to be had. So last Sunday’s stiff breeze was always going to present a challenge to the competitors for the Clough/Taylor 10k that involved 2 laps of the Regatta lake and hitting a stiff head-wind at least twice.

We had 5 club mates taking part in the race that formed the 2nd race of this year’s Club Championship. First home for the men was Sean McAuliffe in 44:12 and looking at his Strava data you could tell when he was hitting the wind as his race-pace dropped. First home for the ladies was Kate Howes in 62:16 – well done everyone that took part 🙂

The full age graded results were:

Ladies

Men’s

The updated Championship tables can be viewed here: Championship Tables

What a fantastic club turnout for the first race of the season. 19 club mates toed the start line for last Sunday’s Brass Monkey 10k at Rockingham Motor Speedway at Corby. The conditions first thing that morning were very icy but I’m sure by the time the race got underway the weak winter sunshine had made the conditions not too bad … at least it wasn’t howling a wintry gale and lashing with rain as in past years 🙂

First home for the club was Sean McAuliffe in 41:43. Sean’s showing some great form recently at the parkruns so its great to see that its translating to excellent times at the longer distance. Not far behind Sean was Lara Kristiansen finishing 3rd lady overall in a time of 42:18 – Congratulations both.

Well done everyone. There were some great performances but I do want to mention Jenny Pearson who had a great running weekend, bagging a 10k PB at the Brass Monkey after having achieved a parkrun PB the day before – brilliant stuff 🙂

The rest of the results in age graded Club Championship order were:

Ladies

Men’s

The updated Championship tables can be viewed here: Championship Tables

The next Championship race is The Clough Taylor People’s Run at Holme Pierrepont Nottingham on Sunday 26th February. Details here:
The Clough/Taylor People’s Run

Friday (17.June) was the latest round of the Club Championship at the Beacon Hill Solstice Race. Set in the beautiful grounds of the country park at Woodhouse Eaves near Loughborough, this is a tough 5 miler involving two stiff climbs up the hill (the second highest point in Leicestershire) and a fast 1 mile downhill to the finish.

Unfortunately due to the popularity of this race there was a low turnout from the club due to the race filling up early on the year before more members had chance to enter. In any case first to finish was the club’s sole male participant Martin Gordon-Kerr in 37th place overall in a time of 38:01. Next to finish was Helen Duncan (43:41) followed by Kate Howes (48:35) and Jo Smith (standing in for Tracey Poole) in a very creditable 55:57. Well done everyone 🙂

The final club results were:

Name	Time
Martin Gordon-Kerr	38:01
Helen Duncan	43:41
Kate Howes	48:35
Jo Smith	55:57

Well done everyone 🙂

From the Club Championship standpoint after age-grading was applied, Jo Smith was awarded top marks and is now leading the Ladies championship table from Helen Duncan in second spot. Martin’s performance pushes him in to third place in the Men’s championship.
Championship Tables

The next designated Championship races is the Whissendine 6ix in July to look forward to 🙂

There was a nice turn out on Sunday (08.May) for the May round of the Club Championship at the Wymeswold Waddle – although the ladies certainly out shone the men in terms of attendance.

Helen Pape was first home for the club and 3rd lady overall with a time of 34:28 for the 5 mile up-hill and back down again course. Next to finish was Saya Harvey with Dave Summers the first to finish for the lads.

The final club results were:

Name	Time
Helen Pape	34:28
Saya Harvey	35:23
Dave Summers	37:17
Chris Jones	38:51
Emma Potter	39:31
Sue Fulbrook	40:40
Sue Barrow	42:24
Clare Dorman	43:58
Kate Howes	45:17
Felicity Crotty	46:52
Amanda McPherson	51:34
Jo Smith	51:40

Well done everyone on some excellent running 🙂

These results have caused a shift in both Championship standings. Helen Pape is now leading the Ladies’ Championship (with Jo Smith & Helen Duncan in 2nd and 3rd places) whilst the Men’s Championship is now headed up by Chris Jones (with Paul Rogerson and Simon Murton in 2nd and 3rd spots). You can view the latest Championship Tables here:

Championship Tables

The designated June Championship races (The Beacon Hill Solstice and The Northumberland Coastal Run) are both full up so if you didn’t get an entry it’s too late now – never mind there is always the Whissendine 6ix in July to look forward to 🙂

Last Sunday’s weather was nigh on perfect with a beautiful, bright Spring morning being the back-drop for this year’s Belvoir Half Marathon. There were 10 club mates taking to the roads around Hose Village in the Vale of Belvoir for this race.

First home for the club was Helen Pape with Chris Jones hot on her heels with a strong performance. Club President Paul Rogerson was next home in a very good time “fresh” from his 50k Canalathon a couple of weeks ago. Clare Dorman smashed her HM PB by a whopping 14 minutes(!) showing that her current London Marathon training is really paying dividends.

However the stars of the day awards go to Helen Duncan, Jenny Pearson, Jo Smith and Tracey Poole. This was their very first experience at stepping up to the 13.1 mile distance in race conditions, and all 4 ladies successfully finished and had a fantastic time in the process

The final club results were:

Name	Time
Helen Pape	1:40:09
Chris Jones	1:40:58
Paul Rogerson	1:46:06
David Summers	1:46:29
Helen Duncan	1:53:18
Andrea Gordon-Kerr	1:56:18
Clare Dorman	1:59:21
Jenny Pearson	2:04:53
Jo Smith	2:23:34
Tracey Poole	2:32:34

After the race, Jenny stated that she hadn’t told anyone and only decided on the day to enter and was “so so chuffed” to have completed. Tracey too had the following to say afterwards:

“With the support of Rutland Running & Triathlon Club, … I have just experienced the most amazing achievement of completing my first half marathon. My deepest gratitude goes to [my club mates]. …. my next goal of joining the “puddle club’ and running around Rutland Water (15 miles) this summer.”

Well done everyone on some excellent running and well deserved results 🙂