At 4.30am, I am sitting bleary-eyed, eating my race breakfast of Frosties - as Tony the Tiger would say: “they’re great!” & getting ready to go to Clumber Park for the World Qualifying race for Townsville Australia 2024.
22/04/23: Clumber Park Duathlon report (by Matthew Walley)
This race wasn’t the most local qualifying race, but Oulton Park was on the same day as Venice, so this was my first (& probably only) chance to get into the GBR team for the World Championships next year.
After the 2hr drive I collect my race number & timing chip, get the bike back together after the journey, and make my way to transition to get everything set out. After the bike is all set in transition, I go for a warm-up with my brother & Winnie his dog, who also came along.
The gun goes, and off we go for the 5k run. The 5k has a couple of uphills in there for good measure, but I get into a decent position from the start and get into a nice rhythm to finish in a time of 19 minutes, 36 seconds. By no means my quickest 5k, but good enough to get me back in the top 5.
Transition doesn’t go as smoothly as I would like, as I don’t find my bike straight away, so I have to duck under the transition bar that I rack my bike on, luckily the exercise that Joe gives me to keep me fit also helps me limbo under.
In this race, the bike section is a non-drafting event; this means you have to keep a certain distance between each cyclist. This favours the stronger cyclists and not myself. So I get my head down and just try to keep my legs spinning and knocking down the miles.
After the 20k comes to an end, I’m off the bike and onto the last 2.5k run. My legs feel fresh so I am able to push on the run from the start. After overtaking a couple of people, which is always a good feeling, I finish in a time of 1 hour, 9 minutes, 17 seconds for a finishing position of 55th out of 220 athletes.
I will have to wait for a couple weeks to see if I’ve made the GB Team for Australia next year.
As always thank you to Sophie from SW Sport Performance for the sessions that make the results possible. Joe at Optimal movement for keeping injury free & helping with my limbo technique when I lose my place in transition. Isaac & Winnie for coming with me and driving home (Isaac not Winnie) when my legs don’t feel connected to the rest of my body. Don Whitley for sponsoring me and making it possible to enter these events and get the right people around me to get the result I need.
European qualifier in 3 weeks then an Ultra with my brother and the dogs a week later makes for a busy month but then a few weeks well deserved rest afterwards!
23/4/23: London Marathon
Last weekend, three members of Newport & District Running Club took part in the London Marathon, one of the world’s most popular races. Watched by millions of people on TV, as well as thousands in person, lining the streets of London, this year’s race provided a lot of entertainment, as the women’s race saw the remarkable victory of Sifan Hassan, who had earlier seemed out of contention, and the men’s race saw the course record broken by Kelvin Keptum.
In a field of over 53,000 runners, Newport’s contenders in this year’s race were Robin Guy, who finished in 3,684 position with a time of 3 hours, 5 minutes, 21 seconds, Richard Bennett, who was 13,593rd in a time of 3:47:24, and Jo Lutner, who ran a time of 4:37:14 to finish in29,219th place. After she had finished, Jo sent us this account of her experience:
“What an amazing adventure from start to finish; it's taken 3 years from gaining the club place to crossing the finish line and it lived up to all my hopes and dreams. The organisation from tube staff, marshals, cheer squads, bag drop and collection were flawless: you are looked after every step of the way.
I started at the Blackheath Blue start line wave 14 which meant I didn't start till after 11am. It was a wet start but it didn't dampen the buzz of everyone there. The route takes you around lots of the big sights of London and it truly takes your breath away running past the Cutty Sark, Tower bridge, Canary Wharf, Victoria Embankment Houses of Parliament, Buckingham Palace and then down The Mall to finish.
You have to just keep taking it all in as the sights and sounds as you go around this Iconic course are unbelievable. The noise is deafening. I didn't stop smiling and I haven't stopped since I've been home. If you ever get the chance to do the London Marathon just go for it; it won't disappoint!
27/4/23: Barlaston Ups and Downs
On Thursday evening, three members of Newport & District Running Club took on the final race in the Spring Treble series: the “Barlaston Ups and Downs”. This 4.7-mile race features a huge amount of elevation change, including the first mile down a steep hill, and two laps of Barlaston Downs, before finishing back up the hill that was run down to start with, for a total of 220 metres of climbing.
In keeping with his strong performances all series, Alex Millington led the charge for Newport, taking 4th place overall out of a field of 111 runners with a time of 33 minutes and 5 seconds. Oliver Stokes was next, taking 77th place overall in a time of 46:38, followed by Ralph Humphries, who was 94th with his time of 50:54. In the overall standing of runners who have taken part in all three races, Alex finished in 4th place overall in the series.
26/4/23: Lilleshall 5-Mile
Last Wednesday evening saw the start of this year’s Sexarathon - a popular local series organised by Telford AC, where six races that vary in distance from 5k to 5 miles occur on Wednesday evenings between April and September. The series is always popular with members of Newport & District Running Club, and this year is no exception.
The series starts each year with the Lilleshall 5, a 5-mile race that starts and finishes at Lilleshall Sports Centre, with the route including the main drive towards Newport, and a loop around Pave Lane, before runners head back up the drive to the finish at the Sports Centre. This year, 27 Novaportan runners took to the start line.
The first Newport runner, in 26th place overall, was David Clarke, who ran a time of 29 minutes, 23 seconds. Alex Millington was next, running a time of 30:15 to finish 34th overall. Robin Guy clocked 31:20 to finish 51st, and Tom Pope was 101st in a time of 34:46. Alex Cochrane ran a 5-mile PB of 35:46 to take 124th position, just ahead of Phil Dolding, who was 126th in 35:50. Andrew Wilmot ran 36:10 for 129th place, followed closely by Phil Link, who was 131st in 36:12.
Pete Johnstone took 170th spot with his time of 38:38, followed by Oliver Stokes, who was 178th in 00:39:03 and Graham Rogers, who took 206th position in a time of 40:53. Carrie Stokes was next for Newport, running a time of 40:53 to take 207th place, just ahead of Kirsty Greenhead, who was 213th in 41:04. Ralph Humphries finished in 44:09 to take 256th place, whilst Helen Mason was 272nd in 45:40. Tracy Hartridge clocked a time of 46:12 to secure 285th place, whilst Louise Patterson ran a PB of 48:02 to take 304th, and Anne Strowger stopped the clock at 49:05 to place 311st and also win her category.
Anne Richards finished 322nd with her time of 51:28, just ahead of Mathew Richards, who was one place behind in 51:29. Matthew Humphries placed 326th with his time of 51:58, whilst Amy Hughes was 332nd in 52:49. Petra Leach was 341st in 54:17, just ahead of Liz Holbrook, who was 342nd in a time of 54:30. Steve Cannon clocked 56:51 to finish 355th, whilst John Stokes tok 357th place in 57:16.
The next race in the series will take place on Wednesday 17th May in Dawley (the 5k “Phoenix Flyer”).
30/4/23: Newport 10k
It’s been almost a four-year wait, but on Sunday at 11am, 122 runners set off on the lap of the Longford Hall playing fields that made up the first kilometre of the Newport 10k, and signalled the return of the Newport 10k to the local racing calendar for the first time since June 2019.
The Newport 10k has a varied history. It previously existed as part of the town’s carnival, with runners running through the town centre as part of the event, before the race was rebooted in 2018 with a route that took in a tour of Edgmond and some of the tracks around the south end of the Harper Adams campus. For 2023, some modifications were made to the 2018 course, whilst remaining broadly similar.
The race starts and finishes just in front of the new Lynn James Pavilion at Longford Hall, part of Haberdashers Adams, the local boys’ Grammar School. Runners first complete a lap of the playing fields, before heading across farmland towards Edgmond. After passing through the village, the route takes runners up to Harper Adams, before heading back to the start via another pass of Edgmond village.
The recent rain made for tough conditions, with some of the already narrow footpaths turning very muddy, to add to the elevation challenges provided by some of the footpaths around Edgmond (the race features over 100 metres of climbing), as well as the kissing gates and stiles that must be navigated along the route.
Even as the volunteers and runners arrived at Longford on Sunday, it was raining. Thankfully, the rain cleared up just in time for the first event of the day - the fun run for children aged 3-14. 21 youngsters completed a 1-kilometre lap of the fields to rounds of applause from everyone watching, and around an hour later, the main event, the 10k, was started by event organiser Jenny Williams. The rain set in again before the race finished, but it didn’t seem to dampen the spirits of the runners, spectators and volunteers.
The first runner to navigate the tough conditions was Andy Dunkerley, who completed the course in 42 minutes, 3 seconds. He was closely followed by second placed Jonathan Tindall of Telford AC, who was just 7 seconds back. Alex Millington, the leading runner from host club Newport & District RC was a further 6 seconds behind in third. The leading female runner was Sarah Mackness of City of Stoke AC, who finished 7th overall in a time of 47:28. Lauren Morley of Shrewsbury AC was second, and 9th overall, with a time of 49:45, whilst the female podium was rounded out by Emily Smith, who was 14th overall in 50:53.
It being their home race, there was a good contingent from Newport & District Running Club. David Clarke just missed out on a podium place, as he took 4th place in a time of 43:28, whilst Ashley Moore was 6th in 46:20. David Brown took 16th place, not far ahead of Phil Dolding, who was 18th in a time of 51:50. Aaron Nicholas was next for Newport, 24th overall with his time of 52:46, whilst Phil Cross finished 34th in 55:34, and Alex Cochrane was 40th (and first under-20 finisher) in 55:56.
Neil Fairbrother placed 43rd in a time of 56:49, 4 places ahead of Rik Skingsley, who clocked 57:23. In 57th place was Gary Mountford with his time of 59:42, with John Metzger just 1 place back in 1:00:21. Phil Hardy was 74th in a time of 1:03:33, followed by Ralph Humphries, who was 76th in 1:04:04. Emily Holland took 100th place in 1:10:53, whilst Sally Morgan was 108th in 1:16:38 and Anne Strowger took 111st, and first in her category, with a time of 1:18:46.
NDRC's next race will be the Tibberton Trot, which takes place at 11am on Sunday September 10th - entries open now at https://www.avtiming.com/tibberton
