Week Ending - 2022/10/02

MARATHON EFFORT FOR BADGERS

Some 23 Badgers turned out across the two big marathon events of the weekend, the MBNA Chester marathon and of course the televised TCS London marathon with over £20,000 being raised for a host of good causes along the way. The race in the capital saw arguably the largest turnout from Badgers since the club’s inception with sixteen athletes taking the trip around the city from Greenwich Park to The Mall. First back in a mind-blowing time of 2:44:30 was Dave Hill. This was his fourth fastest marathon in his relatively short career but what made the achievement all the more impressive was that it came fresh off the back of a 2:43 time at Berlin only a week earlier! Next over the line was a fellow “good for age” entry, Glyn Broadhurst. The former vets club record holder put in a typically gutsy performance to finish in 3:06:43 after enduring a torrid second half of the race.

Former men’s captain Carl Savage was the third Badger to finish, and the first fundraiser, in a quality time of 3:35:38 after another hard-fought second period. His vice-captain Dave Jenkinson has been in good form lately and he crossed the line minutes later in 3:41:01 to become one of just four Badgers to break four hours on a damp afternoon. His time was a marathon PB, a terrific achievement for the 50-year-old.

Mick Bailey turns 70 early next year but he produced yet another superb run in 4:17:15. Like Bailey, fellow Blues fan Rob Boland was using the opportunity of running the race to raise money for charity even though they had won places through the general ballot. Boland, a veteran of at least one other London marathon produced a great display to finish in 4:22:43, amazing considering his massively hampered training schedule.

Liz Peel was next back in a time of 4:27:48. In her 101^st and final marathon, she finally got to experience the thrill of London and bagged her fastest time for several years. As a member of the 100 Marathon Club, Peel has completed more marathons than all of her teammates in London combined but from here on in, she aims to focus on the half marathon distance.

Paul Cooper helped himself to the biggest PB of the day with his time of 4:37:10, over an hour faster than his old best. Yes, an hour! Andy Smith, not to be confused with the other Andy Smith, took advantage of a ballot place and battled his way round to a time of 4:53:53 despite nursing a hip problem over the final few miles.

Next back was marathon debutante Amy Currier. The big-hearted Hartshill runner earned herself a rare palindromic time of 5:00:05, a great effort from her although she would later rue stopping for a six-second photograph with Badgers supporters on the approach to Tower Bridge. Not only did she raise nearly £2,500 for the charity Headway but she did so wearing shorts that ended up resembling cheese wire after her epic 26.2-mile trip.

Fellow first-timer Karen Draper defied illness on the day to be next through in 5:44:18, another great effort from someone who has come on leaps and bounds in recent years. She raised more vital cash for the Royal British Legion and fellow fundraiser Ivana Babicova crossed almost immediately afterwards in 5:46:54 to earn herself a deserved medal and help her chosen charity, Epilepsy Action UK. The well-liked Dordon man, Terry Argyle, battled bravely with a sore back to get home in 6:19:33.

Mother and daughter Maggi and Anna Savin-Baden were next back, in tandem, in 6:15:18 raising between them over £3,500 for their respective good causes, another excellent effort, especially from the junior member of the duo who was very much under the weather with a stinking cold. Husband and wife duo Luke and Chelsea Miles clocked 6:17:29 apiece before Juliette Trollope became the final Badger to finish, in 6:33:50, as well as being the highest individual fundraiser with a staggering total of nearly £3,000.

The Chester marathon saw eight Badgers racing, seven in the full distance and another, Megan Griffiths, in the 16-mile Metric marathon held simultaneously. First back was the speedy Sam Starkey who ran an excellent 3:16:12. While he was slightly disappointed with his race, cramp issues putting paid to his sub-3 dreams 30K in, his wife Laura was in superb form, completing her first marathon in an exceptional time of 3:48:37, within touching distance of a Good For Age qualification despite not being 100% fit with a leg problem. Whether she would have taken advantage of a place at London remains to be seen as she, perhaps sensibly, announced her retirement from marathon running immediately after the race!

Chris Tweed was another Chester runner who had high hopes beforehand and he was not to be let down, scooping a personal best to the tune of 3:18:42. Not long ago, the Polesworth man felt he may never break four hours for the distance but a combination of hard work and high mileage has helped him drag his time down by almost half an hour on this occasion. Matt Green has run Chester more times than West Bromwich Albion have secured league wins since last May, although if this were only his second time, which it wasn’t, that statement would still hold true. The long-striding run-leader clocked a very respectable 3:37:21 with Andy Altoft making his first attempt at the distance, hanging on to finish in 4:43:27. Finally, Averil Caton and Christine Morris completed the course together in 5:36:09 to realise a long-held dream. In the metric race, Megan Griffiths went well in 2:30:32, her longest run to date.

The Big Bear Yeti Challenge took place at Kingsbury Water Park midweek with Emma Masser winning out with a magnificent first place finish covering a whopping 53K on the day. Not only was she the leading lady but was fifth overall, a place ahead of fellow Badger Wayne Repton who ran 48K in sixth. Liz Peel and Stephanie Attenborough also took part, the latter ahead of another marathon later in the week, this time at Eton Dorney where she finished in 5:21:28.

Over shorter distances, the cross country Dovedale Dash went ahead with Cameron Barnes (35:06) and Colin Lees (44:20) showing their skills. Newly elected ladies vice-captain Sharon Jackson was the first Badger back at the Tough Runner Leeds 10K in 61:38. Parkrun saw Eileen McElhone scoop a huge new PB. The Atherstone runner used her new streamlined look to wallop a massive 3 minutes off her previous best with a terrific 30:50 at Telford. Elsewhere, David Jackson kept his pecker up with a top three finish at Kingsbury, making the podium with a late spurt. Rachael Shelton was the third lady in 24:56 and Cameron Barnes 8^th overall in 20:53. Colin Lees also made the top ten at Babbs Mill.