On road, trail and track (and sometimes in the water): Race Report 17 - 25 July

Good Evening, Race Report Fans! With the Tokyo Olympics now in full swing, I’m delighted to bring you a choice Race Report of all that has been going on over the last couple of weeks.

So, for those of you who may have been living under a rock, one of the major bits of news this week is that parkrun is back in England. After a hiatus of some 16 months, 27 Chiltern Harriers athletes took on the free, timed 5k yesterday - Saturday 24 July - and they didn’t disappoint. There were first place finishes for: Ali Young (20.09 at Rickmansworth); Aran Davidson (17.40 at Bolberry Downs); and Ross Jarman, who also earned himself an all-time parkrun PB (17.21 at South Shields). Meanwhile, there were all-time PBs for Chris Lower (20.22 at Rickmansworth) and Rebecca Lawson (24.26 at Penistone). 

​Sticking on the 5k theme, here’s a special report from our man trackside, Doug Smith:

With no shade from the sun and soaring temperatures, the going was tough at the MK5000 PB Special [on 17 July]. The brutal conditions resulted in lots of non-starters, a high number of non-finishers, and slower times than expected in most of the 14 races. Richard Slade and Aran Davidson both ran in the ninth race of the afternoon, starting at 6:45pm. Despite the conditions, Richard stayed with the pacemaker and took the lead when the pacemaker pulled out. He was passed in the penultimate lap, but held on for second place with a new PB of 15:12.36, taking almost 30 seconds off his previous best. Aran went with the early leaders, drifted back through the pack, but finished strongly in tenth with a time of 15:28.32.

If you want to read more about Chiltern’s successes on the track, including at the last Southern Athletics League match at Horspath, check out Steve’s report here.

Moving from the track to the road (and some nice smooth towpaths), there have been some impressive performances in 10k, half marathon and marathon events over the last couple of weeks. 
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Sarah Quantrill ran away with first place at the Hellfire 10k on 18 July, in a time of 48.26. She was joined by Tom Powell, who was 3rd in his category in a time of 45.48. On 24 July Adam Shute was a brilliant 4th overall and 1st in his category at the RunThrough Newbury Racecourse Half Marathon in a time of 1.22.03, whilst Mike ‘Tiny’ Turney was 3rd in category in the Down Tow Up Flow Half on 25 July (1.27.53). Racecourses seemed to be the theme of the weekend, in fact, with Tom Pickett clocking a time of 3.23.07 at the Running Grand Prix Marathon at Bedford Aerodrome today.

Adam Shute in action

Pretty in pink - Miriam Kempson at the end of Endure 24

Being an inclusive Race Report, we’ll also mention those Harriers taking to the roads in other sports. On 18 July Ed Wright completed the 100k ‘Hemel Hillbuster’ sportive, in a very respectable 3hr52, whilst Amber Stubbings completed her very first triathlon - the sprint distance at the Arctic One Paratri and Tri festival on 17 July - in a total time of 1.44.24.

And now to the trail: Ruth Holroyd kicked off this weekend with the Conti ThunderRun 10k yesterday (Strava time of 1.05.54). Miriam ‘Glorious Leader’ Kempson toughed out the Endure 24 enduro event at Henley (having run a similar event in the same location a couple of years ago). Mim clocked up a brilliant 80 miles (or 16 laps) over the 24 hour period. And finally, in a feat which this trail runner can only gawp at in awe, Rick Clark completed the 50 miles and 10,000ft + of ascent of the Montake Lakeland 50 mile, finishing a staggering 12th in a time of 9.22.55. Those are some serious King of the Mountain points.

A massive well done to all of our fabulous runners!

COMING UP LOCALLY: Bearbrook 10k, the next Gade Valley Marathon Training Run and Southern Athletics League match (Horspath), Burnham Beeches 10k and Half Marathon, and the Coombe Hill Fell Race. Check out the Club Calendar for full details and further events.

AND FINALLY: make sure you’ve got the date of 24 September tattooed on your arm (or inked in your diary for a slightly less drastic reminder) as it is the return of the Club Social. Keep checking here for more details and ticket sales.

Race Report Love,
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The Queen of Mud x

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