Week Ending - 2020/07/05

BADGERS OLDIES LEAD THE WAY IN 5K LEAGUE AFFAIR

The second lockdown league race of the season took place over the popular 5K distance at the weekend and Badgers had an increased number of athletes turning out for the event after a relatively sparse showing in round one. And it was the more experienced members of the club who led the way as ten of the twelve points scorers were all veteran athletes (over the age of 40).

Nearly 1000 people signed up to the race which was free of charge and potentially a logistical nightmare for the organisers as some runners took flagrant advantage of the lack of specificity surrounding course regulations, recording some incredible times thanks to some generous downhill gradients, somewhat against the spirit of the event. Badgers however are well-versed in such antics having had to negotiate their recent World Cup campaign. The rules were much more robust at home, however, the situation was out of the club’s control and Badgers by and large gave a decent and honest account of themselves. First man home in 30th place was V45 star Chris Horton who clocked 17:43, almost a minute off his best but a solid effort, nonetheless. First lady was also a V45 runner as Nivette Chester clocked a brisk 22:10 for the black-vested north Warwickshire based side. Veteran Sam Starkey made the top 50 with his fine time of 18:18 and vice-captain Mark Repton again impressed in 18:34. Two key men in the resurgent Dave Jackson and team mate Glyn Broadhurst were next back in 18:47 and 19:06 respectively, both consolidating finishes in the top 100. Shadow Cup winner Rob Boland ran a quality 20:13 with the legendary Martyn Barrett managing a quite superb 21:09 despite being the wrong side of 60 now. A diamond county standard was his deserved reward. The reliable Bill Gutheridge romped back in 22:25 with Wayne Repton (23:02) and key worker Rob Crow (23:05) separated by just three seconds and three places. Jason Clover made a great effort in 24:44 and wife Kerry too featured with her swift 26:01. The ladies began to feature more prominently now as Cheryl Dewis ran 24:24 with seasoned campaigner / occasional horse rider Steph White clocking 25:05. A trio of solid operators then came back in the form of Vicky London (25:42), Pip Weston (25:47) and Nicki Bowman (26:00), who all scored for the side meaning that every lady to do so was a veteran runner. Weston’s time was arguably the standout performance overall as it enabled her to achieve her club platinum standard time, a rare badge of honour in these troubled times. Lil Souter was next back in a gritty 26:16 with the steady Judy Parkes (26:45) and team-mate Sarah Vine (27:24). Andy Smith and Holly McClay ran together in 29:15 with husband and wife duo John and Anne Devenney both going well in 31:35 and 31:52 respectively. The next race comes in a fortnight’s time and will see the 6-mile distance feature for the only time in the series. This will be followed by the iconic mile event, a distance rarely raced but becoming steadily more popular.