Our club has enjoyed its most competitive week since the end of last year’s marathon season. Over and between hills, through mud, and with friends, we’ve been taking on worthy challenges that set a high bar for the year ahead, and there’s more to come! Let’s get into your results.
Zurich Seville Marathon – 23 February
On Sunday, Nikki Goodwin opened up her marathon year with a bang. In sunny Seville, she brought it home in 3:24:24, a new PB! Even though she touts it as only “a small PB”, we all know that even small gains mean big effort. Fantastic run, Nikki!
Stelling Minnis 10k – 23 February
Also on Sunday, club runners lined up for the Stelling Minnis 10k. The race, set round the village of Stelling Minnis between Ashford and Canterbury, returned for its 15th edition. Known for its cakes and coffee, it’s a friendly neighbourhood 10k accessible to runners of all skill levels.
Kirsty Wilson came in 1st lady in a time of 44:39, with James Barney finishing first for the club in 41:39, then Martin Salmon in 48:36, Karla Larnder in 52:46, and Sarah Nunn in 55:24 for 14th female, 4th in age category. Hope you all had a slice of cake for us! You earned it.
Hendy Tunbridge Wells Half Marathon – 23 February
Continuing the run of Sunday events, club runners took on the Tunbridge Wells Half Marathon. The former Runner’s World No. 2 half marathon in the UK is hosted by the Tunbridge Wells Harriers and sports an impressive 300m elevation gain around Spring Hill.
Club captain Nick Steele powered through to break the 1:20 barrier in 1:19:57, making 3rd v40 and 22nd overall. Vicky Scott also came through in 1:39:53, and Jason King in 1:42:51. Way to go, team!
Reigate Canicross 5k and 10k – 23 February
Elsewhere, at Gatton Park in Reigate, Jen ‘Twiggy’ Heathfield and Philip Heathfield took on the Reigate Canicross 10k and 5k, respectively. Along with their most faithful running partners, Marley and Banjo, Jenny completed the course in 53:59 for 2nd V40 overall, and Philip completed the 5k in 27:11, also 2nd V40! It’s great to see the whole family make a strong effort!
North Downs Ridge 50k Trail Ultra – 23 February
Sunday’s grandest effort goes to Phil Maull. The ultramarathon is naturally the most expansive and wide ranging of the distance challenges. As Doc Brown says in Back To The Future, “where we’re going, we don’t need…roads.” Let’s hear from Phil who tells us why:
The North Downs Ridge 50K was made tougher this year with a large amount of mud, wind and rain but it’s still a beautiful course! Some issues slowed me down but I was just happy to finish in 7:04:50.
The race leaves Denbies vineyard in Surrey and runs west along the well known North Downs Way National Trail, to the edge of Guildford. This section of the North Downs Way stays up high and runs along the ridgeline of hills that overlook the Surrey Hills and lovely countryside surrounding the villages of Wotton, Gomshall and Shere. You pass the famous Newlands Corner and expansive Albury Downs on your way to the beautiful St Marthas Church and onwards to the edge of Guildford, where after the checkpoint the route is retraced back towards Denbies. Near Denbies the route leaves the North Downs Way and heads north through the village of Westhumble and takes in a scenic loop of the Surrey Wildlife Trust Reserve woodland of Norbury Park before returning to Denbies for the finish!
You make it sound like a walk a park, Phil. Kudos to you on a tremendous experience.
Trek London Half Marathon & 10k – 23 February
This iconic race takes place around Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, beginning and ending at the Olympic Bell itself. “Lots of twists, turns, and loops,” reports Pamela Moore, who brought it in 1:53 for the half, while Clive Allon ran the 10k in 53:30. Both earned 3rd in their age groups! Who says running isn’t romantic?
English National Cross Country Championships – 22 February
The day before all of this fantastic running was something closer to battle – The National at Parliament Hill.
The National is the oldest cross country championship in the world going back to 1876. Its first edition at Parliament Hill goes back to 1950. In that tradition, like the swallows to Capistrano, Krzysztof Klidzia, Tom Bean, and myself traveled to the site for the Senior Mens race.
This 12km event on Hampstead Heath began straight uphill from a running start through a field of absolute muck. Not a square inch of ground wasn’t soaked and sunken from the previous nine races that day, and so the entire course would be. We fought for every step as the start turned into a brawl, jockeying for position amongst the over 1700 runners. We completed three laps – a medium and two large – taking us over and around Parliament Hill, where we were greeted by Kate Evans who marshalled Point E, and, as we later learned, Tony Scott was taking snaps.
I can honestly say I’ve never run a more relentless course. We talk about the old man of distance running, the marathon, and the long game of the ultra, but I can honestly say I’ve never matched this race for technical difficulty or sheer constant effort. Every step, every stride was earned.
The almost superhuman effort of the victors is something else. As for us, we got round and that’s something to celebrate. Tom Bean came in at 56:36, then me (Trevor DeVooght) in 1:06:15, and finally Krzysztof Klidzia in 1:07:29.
No promises, but I may just find myself back there. It’s not often you run a race with such a legacy and a history. It feels good to connect with it somehow.
parkrun
Folkestone parkrun
The club saw some serious PB action at parkrun this week! We all love that parkrun is a run and not a race, but that doesn’t mean we can’t compete with ourselves, and that’s what these runners did. Club captain Catherine O’Conner, first finisher Jon Eaton, Bec Powney, and young master Slingsby all got round in record time. And well done to all of you who get out and get moving every Saturday morning. You know I have a soft spot for all of you who make our local event such a success week after week, so thank you for coming out.
| Position | Parkrunner | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jon EATON | 00:17:33 (PB!!!) |
| 2 | Simon RAMSAY | 00:17:40 |
| 3 | Guy SLINGSBY | 00:17:55 (PB!!!) |
| 4 | Prakash GURUNG | 00:18:05 |
| 5 | Harry WALL | 00:18:22 |
| 6 | Nicholas BRYANT | 00:18:24 |
| 7 | Ian MERRICK | 00:19:08 |
| 8 | Deborah JEFFERY | 00:19:20 |
| 11 | Andrew FLETCHER | 00:19:44 |
| 14 | Derek MATCHAM | 00:19:49 |
| 15 | James BARNEY | 00:19:57 |
| 17 | Tristan BRUCE | 00:20:10 |
| 18 | Rob COLLIER | 00:20:13 |
| 22 | Manda GURUNG | 00:20:22 |
| 26 | Bec POWNEY | 00:20:42 (PB!!!) |
| 30 | Jacob HENWOOD | 00:21:08 |
| 29 | David WEEKES | 00:21:08 |
| 33 | Stephen DEEMING | 00:21:15 |
| 34 | Catherine O’CONNOR | 00:21:17(PB!!!) |
| 42 | Miles GAWTHORP | 00:22:38 |
| 53 | Phil HAINES | 00:23:29 |
| 55 | Kev HOWSE | 00:23:53 |
| 56 | Adam WARD | 00:23:55 |
| 57 | Simon COFFEY | 00:23:57 |
| 63 | Stuart ERSKINE | 00:24:10 |
| 64 | Paul BARTLETT | 00:24:11 |
| 65 | Luke HICKS | 00:24:12 |
| 83 | Philip MAULL | 00:25:15 |
| 85 | Anthony SCOTT | 00:25:16 |
| 100 | Layla DMONTE | 00:26:01 |
| 124 | Brian AUSTIN | 00:27:07 |
| 129 | Jane WREN | 00:27:21 |
| 130 | Marie BRAZIER | 00:27:25 |
| 142 | Diane PARSONS | 00:28:17 |
| 143 | Jennifer HEATHFIELD | 00:28:18 |
| 154 | Trudi CURD | 00:28:39 |
| 158 | Deirdre COOMBS | 00:28:42 |
| 160 | Brian DAVIS | 00:28:48 |
| 164 | Richard FOWLES | 00:29:02 |
| 169 | Rosie SMISSEN | 00:29:09 |
| 177 | Neil ADAMS | 00:29:26 |
| 178 | Paul HANNAY | 00:29:27 |
| 183 | Rachel YORKE | 00:29:39 |
| 182 | Clive ALLON | 00:29:39 |
| 184 | David BOTTING | 00:29:42 |
| 202 | Alan RANDALL | 00:30:17 |
| 206 | Debbie FOWLES | 00:30:26 |
| 210 | Rebekah NEWTON | 00:31:22 |
| 232 | Lauren HART | 00:32:44 |
| 252 | Gary BRAZIER | 00:34:04 |
| 284 | Helen MERRICK | 00:39:33 |
| 285 | Kate LANCEFIELD | 00:39:34 |
Hanley parkrun
| Position | Parkrunner | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 14 | Darren CREW | 00:21:06 |
| 47 | Jody STOAKES | 00:24:57 |
Nostell parkrun
| Position | Parkrunner | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 105 | John O’HARA | 00:27:36 |
Dartford Heath parkrun
| Position | Parkrunner | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 27 | Caroline CURTIS | 00:28:59 |
Dover Waterfront parkrun
| Position | Parkrunner | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 20 | Karla LARNDER | 00:22:42 |
| 24 | Martin SALMON | 00:23:12 |
Jersey parkrun
| Position | Parkrunner | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Nassour HARLUN | 00:17:53 |
Sutcliffe parkrun
| Position | Parkrunner | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 198 | Andrew TREMAIN | 00:30:55 |
Ōrākei Bay parkrun
| Position | Parkrunner | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 159 | Adam HUGHES | 00:31:26 |
Ingrebourne Hill parkrun
| Position | Parkrunner | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 7 | Henry AXON | 00:19:21 |
| 63 | Amy OWEN | 00:26:47 |