Race Report 6 - 7 November: from mountains to Marlow, and rainbows to Reading

Good Evening, Race Report fans. Chiltern Harriers have been producing some real fireworks this weekend, both on the trails and on the tarmac.​

Jennifer Webb must be ‘totally addicted to racing’. Not only has she been going from strength to strength, pulling PB after PB out of the bag, but this weekend she did a Lakeland double. Kicking things off with the gruelling weather and climbs of the Hellvellyn 15k trail challenge yesterday, on Saturday 6 November, (1.41.13), she then completed there Derwentwater 10 (mile) today - in an extremely respectable time of 1.36.17 (strava)…. and all after moving house during the week! What a tough tough lady.

Léan Ní Chiobháin was also taking in the mountain air, at Powerscourt Ridge on 6 November - a 10 mile event organised by the Irish Mountain Running Association. She ran under the rainbow to clock a strava time of 1.48.21.

Jen-vellyn Webb

... and Der-Webb Water

Léan on the Emerald Isle

Moving on to the roads, it was a day for half marathons today. Amber Stubbings came away from Reading with a PB of 2.25.49, joining fellow Harrier Rich Lloyd (2.03.52). (Both strava times, official results not yet available.) Jonathan Fenner completed the Hertfordshire Half at Knebworth House in 2.10.03. Meanwhile in Marlow Aran Davidson came home with the win and a course record of 1.14.54; Mike ‘Tiny’ Turney was 3rd in age category in 1.26.50 and David Saul finished in 1.58.03.

Amber earns a half marathon PB in Reading

Aran runs away with the course record at Marlow

Katie (and Fitz) and the Waves

Finally, Rickmansworth parkrun was a great place for all-time parkrun PBs yesterday: Fiona Kelleher (21.38); Christine Taylor (22.38) and Tamsin Finch (24.37) all bagged one on the two-lap course. There were also all-time PBs for Jerry Anderson (17.42 at Wycombe Rye) and Hannah Wardley (18.30 and a first-placed finish at Watersmead Country Park). Katie Royals and Sue Elliott were also first females at Whitstable and Cassiobury (22.34 and 21.40, a course PB, respectively). Finally, Ian Lawson came away from Shongweni parkrun in South Africa with a course PB of 22.41.

Well done, everyone!​

DON’T FORGET: it’s the second round of the Chiltern Cross Country League on Saturday 13 November. CHAC is currently in 1st place, so it would be great to see as many out as possible to support the Club.

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NEWS JUST IN!

I raced in the 45-49 age category at the World Duathlon Championships in Aviles Spain yesterday. It was a sprint distance race with a 5km run, 22km ride and a 2.8km run.

A couple of recent first place parkrun finishes saw me enter the race in good form. A group of eight got away early on the first run, so I grouped up with a couple of other British athletes and a Spaniard behind them. We entered transition about 35 seconds down, with me clocking 16:31 (slightly short of 5km).

We dropped the Spaniard through transition, so the three of us worked together on the bike, but failed to close the group of eight down on what was a nice, flat, non-technical course.

I came out of transition with one of the guys I had been riding with and 5-10 seconds ahead of the other. However, I struggled to get my legs going on the shorter second run, so was dropped by the first guy and passed by the second in the last kilometre. I crossed the line in 11th place in the age-group, closely missing out on a top 10 placing by 8 seconds. Official time was 1:05:59.

On the whole very happy with the result, and especially the first run which is by far my best performance ever over that 5km distance.

A couple of weeks off now (apart from Cross-Country at Teardrops next weekend) before starting the long build to a World Champs and 2 x Europeans next year.

​Neil Turner

Neil's 'Turning' Heads in Spain