Week Ending - 2019/09/01

KAY LEADS THE WAY AT THE LEICESTER 5K

Badgers star Kay Whitehead rolled back the years at the final instalment of the Leicester Summer Series 5K on Thursday evening. The popular palliative care nurse beat off all comers to emerge first V40 female back in the race in a PB time of 24:10. It meant for a double celebration at Whitehead Towers following her son Blake’s call-up for a county cricket trial as he follows in the footsteps of his sporty dad Matt who enjoyed several seasons at Tamworth CC in his younger days. Kay was not the only lady enjoying success at Victoria Park as the improving Anna Dawe (24:44) managed a new personal best and Serena Baker, a former classmate of Whitehead’s powered home in a 5K PB of her own in 25:29. Published academic and fellow former club secretary Liz Peel, aka the Professor of Pace, was not missing out on the action either as she stormed to a 5K best of 27:11 and when Teresa Satchell finished in 33:09, it enabled her to scoop second place in her age category for the series.

The men fared equally well here too as their handsome trio of Chris Horton, Adi Payne and Dave Jackson snatched first place in the team event. Veteran Horton enjoyed another cracking race as he took 31 seconds off the club V40 5K record finishing second overall in 16:56. Payne’s new lease of life continued as he powered home in 10^th place, his time of 18:21 another PB with the resurgent Dave Jackson clocking a season’s best 18:42. Bob Dawe marked himself as one-to-watch as he went below 20 seconds for the first time, speeding home in 19:46 (PB) ahead of fellow vet, the dependable Matt Green (20:46 – PB). Warton flyer Ashley Taylor, like Jackson, a man on the comeback trail after serious injury, also managed a season’s best, this time in 24:29.

On the same evening, Ashby based firefighter Chris Baxter was pitting his wits against some of the top athletes in the country at the ultra-rapid Mid Cheshire 5K race in Kingsley. While he finished a lowly 59^th in the race, take nothing away from his stunning performance as he romped to a new club record of 16:17 with a run of real intent. There was one more club record this week as the illustrious Helena Rean breezed to a new half marathon best clocking a superb 1:58:33 at the Kenilworth half. What the impressive Rean lacks in judgement of good football teams to support, she more than makes up with in the running stakes as she now holds no fewer than eight age-graded club records at Badgers. Carl Savage was also in action in 1:54:53 and Yvonne Faulkner bagged a long-awaited PB at the distance as she came home in 1:55:24 and newcomer Michael Ball continued his impressive improvement with a PB of 2:21:03 in the same race.

Richard Hill ran a respectable 26:24 at the Great Fjord 10K Run in Bergen, Norway a day after chalking up his 300^th parkrun at Lovstien in the same country, becoming the first Badger to make 300 parkrun appearances. This feat is made even more remarkable given he has also volunteered on well over 100 occasions too. Chapeau.

Wayne Repton attempted a rare double at the Bedford Running Festival, making 52:44 in the 10K on Saturday and following it up with a 1:51:05 in the half marathon distance the following day. At the Bassingham Bash 5-mile race, Neil Clemons was in fine form as he made the top 50 in 31:15. Wife Katy managed a superb 40:27 while over at the Cotswold Trail half marathon, Eamon Thawley and Sharon Jackson both completed the challenging 13.1-mile circuit there. At the Dunstable Downs half, Holly McClay and Andy Smith both enjoyed the scenic course on Sunday morning. Meanwhile, at the Wilne 10K, Sarah Jane Chetwynd was giving it some real effort and to her credit emerged with a richly deserved personal best time of 51:41.

Cameron Barnes was celebrating his 50^th parkrun appearance at Kingsbury Water Park on Saturday morning. The 21-year-old is running better than ever this year and has a very bright future in the sport. He was one of many team-mates at the scenic waterside course and it was Chris Horton in his 99^th Kingsbury parkrun who led the side home, finishing first male and second overall behind Canicross star, Lucy Matthews whose run was boosted by the help of not one but two dogs. He was pushed all the way by Aaron Chetwynd who turned in an excellent performance in 17:02, nine seconds behind his team-mate Horton, who equalled his PB and therefore missed out on what would have been a second vets club record in less than two days. Mark Repton ripped it up in 19:15 with Graham Engley also going sub 20. Adi Payne was brave, maybe a little too brave as he battled home while Tim Gould, Sam Starkey, Matt Green, Matt Jackson and Colin Lees all made it round. David Craig is a man re-born as he stormed to yet another season’s best time, his 21:36 surely the latest marker of things to come. Lee Millership is top of the Badgers Fantasy Football right now and after his 22:17, you can rest assured he will be feeling on top of the world. Mick Bailey is in super form and the old soldier chalked up a truly impressive 22:27 with Mark and Jack Reynolds following through ahead of first Badger female, the in-form Kay Whitehead, Darryl Johnson, Ashley Taylor, Sharon Jackson, John Restall and Rob Crow.

Evie Whitehead was next back chased home by Michael Ball ahead of his half marathon heroics, popular Paul Restall, super Sam Klucis and magical Merv Jones. Terry Argyle, Paul Cooper, Lesley Palmer, Sarah O’Donoghue, Teresa Satchell, Lisa Barnes, Peter Black, Lil Souter, Keir Hardy and Nicola Orton all featured.

On their travels, Gavin Crockwell travelled to Banbury, Charlotte Philllips went to Leamington, Stuart Youngs ran Braunstone along with Andy Smith and Holly McClay while Alan Argyle and Jared Karim were both at Valentines parkrun. Charlene Dunn ran a brisk 24:47 at Long Eaton and John & Mandy Hanson featured at the Eden Project. Matt Heap ran at Lyme Park, Paul Wallace was at Bakewell and Hannah Coogan made the top ten ladies at Clarisford, Ireland. Karen Missen ran the California Country parkrun near Wokingham and Gail Gunn chased Pip Weston around the Linwood course in Scotland. Closer to home, John Dulson, Dave Bailey, John & Anne Devenney were all in action at Rosliston while Adam & Eileen McElhone turned out at Babbs Mill along with Jenna Davies and the steady Zoe Cope.

At Bedworth Ryan Handley was in top form as he bagged a great new PB in 18:48, almost a minute quicker than last week, earning him third place overall. Karen Thompson, Carl Savage and Becky Kinson were also running. Chris Baxter clocked the quickest time of the day for the club making a rapid 16:32 at Conkers, incredibly only good enough for third place such was his competition on the day! Paul Grubb, Sarah Vine and Pete Boardman also attended. At Glossop, Glyn Broadhurst took 5^th and Nicki Bowman 7^th thanks to their times of 19:09 and 24:15 respectively. Richard Hamblett starred at Rutland Water and in the previous week, Sam Starkey produced a cracking 18:30 at Dolgellau parkrun, bagging 2^nd spot overall. Also missing from last week were Matt Tonks who clocked 18:30 as second male finisher at Babbs Mill, Sam Klucis at the same venue, Adi Payne, Terry Argyle and Nicola Stanley who all turned out at Chasewater.