Week Ending - 2024/12/15

HEED THE SPEED OF TWEED

BADGERS veteran ace Chris Tweed has been actively running for many years now. Still, he continues to improve even into his forties and at Telford on Sunday, he took a whopping two and a half minutes off his 10K personal best to break forty minutes for the very first time. The Telford 10K is a fast affair and attracts many elite runners from across the country to the point that a handful of athletes broke thirty minutes yet still did not make the top 50! Tweed ran aggressively from the start with high hopes of dipping underneath the 40-minute mark. His form in recent seasons indicated that there was a good chance of achieving the aim but ultimately it’s something you still have to go and do. In a frantic race, Tweed got home in a superb 38:24 cementing his status as a key man in the Badgers vet men team for 2025. In a later wave, Liz Peel rolled back the years with a brisk 55:59 in what was likely to be her final 10K as a V40 runner, as she moves up a bracket before the end of this month. Peel has run some of her best 10K times for many years in 2024 and will no doubt look to build on this foundation in 2025. 

The Chasewater 10K attracted a handful of Badgers, Jim Cottom leading them home in a fine 47:07 and the elfin Rachael Browne speeding around in 52:29. John Devenney and Esther Parr were also in action as was Anne Devenney who won a prize for the best festive costume in the race. Paul Grubb was another fancy dress runner, donning his Grinch suit as he ran the Lichfield Kindness Happy Hat Dash fun run. 

At the Litton Christmas Cracker Fell Race, Adrian Payne showed Danny Warren a clean pair of heels so to speak as he ran 60:49 in the Peak District event to lead the 4-race series at the halfway stage (v40). He took an excellent 12th overall and with Warren running on gamely in 18th in 62:38, it was a good morning’s work for the New Street posse. Jill Miller tackled the Sherwood Pines Duathlon, her first and finished in 1:54.

Parkrun saw a real diverse set of results and locations covered. At Zuiderpark, The Hague (Netherlands), Sara Hawkins (33:12) and Juliette Trollope (33:46) made it a trip to remember by both taking huge chunks off their respective parkrun PB’s, almost two minutes apiece. With Peter Mann, Claire Bradford, Fiona Reidy, Anne-Marie Matthews and Vicki Brunsdon all running to complete their Alphabet challenge it was a good, if somewhat lengthy trip. Danni Gunn was in action in South Africa and closer to home Mark Repton took 9th place at Tamworth in 20:22. Bill Gutheridge, Glyn Broadhurst and Megan Griffiths all made the top ten at Kingsbury, Horspath and University Parks respectively. Last but by no means least, there was a ladies' 1-2 at Holbrooks parkrun in Coventry where Suzy Farrell sped home first of all in 27:11 and up-and-coming Megan Church achieving a career-high 2nd place in 28:00. Mark Cox took second overall in 20:25 with Colin Lees also making the top ten.