Week Ending - 2024/04/14

RECORDS TUMBLE AS BADGERS SHINE BRIGHT AT STILTON 7

Four new club records were set at the weekend in the second race of the 2024 LRRL season as Badgers built on their excellent work from round one. Leading the way as ever was speed-smith Matt Scarsbrook, who nipped out from a family holiday at Center Parcs to take part in the race and finished a superb second overall in a personal best time of 36:12. This would have been a club record were Scarsbrook not a first claim member of Birchfield Harriers but once again, the Baddesley man showed his class with another top quality run on the undulating circuit. 

Dave Hill was next back in 5th place overall, one of seven Badgers hoping to run the London marathon next weekend. The men’s co-captain stormed home in a superb 38:08 after a difficult couple of weeks with illness. Another rising star giving it their all was Ryan Preece who took a magnificent 7th place in a hard-fought 39:12. The ‘Swede of Speed’ as he is affectionately known at the club, has turned his form around remarkably going into London after an injury-hit end to 2023.

With an abundance of younger talent currently in the club, it might come as a surprise to see someone in their mid-forties being next back in the race but such is the fantastic form that Neil Russell is in, he just cannot be kept out of the scoring six. The Bulkington dad had an exceptional cross-country season and has continued his great form onto the road with a 13th-place finish here in a PB time of 40:54. 

Three seconds behind him came V40 club record holder and fellow keyman, Chris Horton, meaning Badgers had five of the top fourteen in the field, giving the club every chance of securing maximum points for the second race in succession. This impressive achievement was completed just over a minute later as new dad Danny Warren finished in 42:16 (24th place) and the hits kept on coming as the juggernaut men’s vets team of 2024 witnessed a quintet of top-level performers pour through in quick succession. Glyn Broadhurst powered home in a quality time of 42:51 with the industrious London-bound Chris Tweed finishing nine places back in 39th, his time a fine 43:38. Mark Repton weighed in with another fabulous finish, just outside of the top fifty in 45:51 before new signing Eric Fowler became the first of three new club record holders by taking Ian Smith’s long-held V50 mark in 46:20 (gun). The improving Dave Jackson was seconds behind in 64th spot before Ashley Taylor rounded up the B team scorers by finishing in an incredible 90th place!

Stefan Martin produced another reliably consistent showing at the two-lap course with fellow V50 ace Dave Jenkinson taking a new PB home with him thanks to his excellent 50:25. Bill Gutheridge, Wayne Repton, Chris Young and Colin Lees all finished strongly before David Craig crossed the line, keeping a bit in reserve as he bids to tackle the marathon in a week’s time. Dave Purvis has the biggest feet in the club and they helped propel him to record a new PB of 56:34. Rob Crow was less than half a minute from snatching Mick Bailey’s V60 club record with a spirited run of 55:55. Bailey holds nine club records across two different age categories already and here he made it number ten by taking almost two minutes off John Shade’s very best (V70) with sterling run of 57:57. 

Adrian Parkes and Jimmy Dewis ran nicely while Paul Restall, keeping his powder dry ahead of London was still able to chop an amazing six minutes off his time from last year such has been the leap forward in fitness brought on by his marathon training. The one-time 81-minute half marathoner has worked hard to get in the best shape possible ahead of his return to the capital, forty years after his debut. Paul Cooper was another to lose huge chunks of time from his 2023 performance before Pete Greenfield, Kieran Coopey and Carl Ford (PB) crossed the line with young Joe Jenkinson and the young at heart Rick Reilly wrapped up a fine morning’s work for the men. 

There was significant success for the women’s team too, this season spearheaded by the imperious Eleanor Fowler, a real Rolls Royce of a runner, now scoring heavily for the club on the road after a good cross-country campaign. The Higham-based star was able to bag another club record with her time of 49:33, some two minutes quicker than Nivette Chester’s previous club best and with it the V40 record at the same time. Her run was good enough for 12th overall and she was backed up well by Captain Fantastic Megan Griffiths who put in a real shift to take 22nd spot in 52:51, a five-minute personal best and a high positional finish to cement her transition from “one-to-watch” to “solid operator” status. 

Beth Woodward piled into the scoring set-up with a run of 57:20, five minutes up on last year and with plenty of gas in the tank too as the rising star held a bit back ahead of her big race next Sunday. Next back was Grace Barsby (59:41) who has made giant strides in her Badgers career to date. Not long ago she was starting out on the beginner’s programme and within twelve months she is scoring points in the women’s A-team. It is no exaggeration to say that is unprecedented in the history of Badgers and full credit should go to Barsby for her attitude and application. Victoria Jones was the fifth female finisher and the final one to break one hour. Kat Wilson put in a great effort to clock a time of 60:38 ahead of the esteemed Cheryl Dewis, the second-most-capped Badger lady of all time. 

Hannah Coogan, Liz Peel, Alice Belcher and Joanne Crow all did their best with the sun on their backs with Judy Parkes getting on her bike, or off depending on how you look at it, with a classy run of 67:51. Ever-present Clare Whetton did well in breaking 70 minutes and Maggi Savin-Baden achieved a prestigious silver standard time with her gutsy effort of 71:24. Krystal Knight disciplined herself well ahead of her London marathon debut next week while Kate Rathbone, Anne Devenney and Sara Hawkins received the loudest roars of all, Rathbone able to knock six minutes off her 2023 time en route to the line. 

This league fixture clashed with the Manchester marathon which drew four Badgers up north for a 26.2 epic. Mark Cox ran a tremendous 2:53:32, less than two minutes off his personal best. The hard-fitting floor fitter excels over the longer distances and bagged himself another sub-3 time off the back of less-than-perfect training. Luke Neal was going well for most of the race but the final few miles bit hard and ultimately, the Rugby-based Badger crossed the line in 3:04:54, a great time and new personal best, hard-earned in the end.

Matt Green tackled the 30th marathon of his decades-long running career and returned with a personal best at the age of 46, a phenomenal achievement without question. His time of 3:31:15 was arguably the run of the weekend and gives the giant striding nice-guy hope that a sub 3:30 is still a possibility despite his age. Last but by no means least was Jill Miller, in her debut at the distance, running a wonderful 4:42:46. It was the latest milestone in what is building into an exceptional year for her, celebrating her first parkrun win in February and now achieving at the opposite end of the distance spectrum with this epic. 

There was plenty of parkrun action too, the highlights being Holly Smith reaching her 200th appearance, at York and wins for Dave Hill and Megan Griffiths at Perry Hall and Salcey Forest respectively. Jack Burton-Peet, 3rd at Tamworth and Bill Gutheridge, 4th at Aston Hall enjoyed high finishes while Mark Coggan came within three seconds of Martyn Barrett’s legendary V50 club record of 19:03 at Walsall Arboretum. This is the longest standing male record at the club, achieved in 2013 with Barrett scoring a then unparalleled 81% wava rating. For Coggan to go so close proves that all records are there to be broken and maybe even this one might one day be toppled.