Week Ending - 2025/02/09
BADGERS BRAVE THE MUD AT HOLLY HAYES WOOD
The fourth of six Derby Runner cross-country league races this season took place at the technically challenging Holly Hayes course near Coalville on Sunday with Badgers once again putting in a decent shift on the two-lap Wood-based venue. For the men, Danny Warren made the top ten for the third race in succession with a hard-fought effort on a course ideally tailored to his wide-ranging running skill set. Veteran ace Adrian Payne cemented his status as a key man in proceedings with a battling 20th place, craggy bachelor showing his impressive credentials close to the heartland of the famed Hermitage twins. Mark Cox and Glyn Broadhurst both trucked around either side of 40th place and the craggy Jimmy Dewis performed well in 79th spot. Jim Cottom continued his good form with another scoring effort, backed up by the improving Chris Young who is enjoying a performance boost borne of his current London marathon training. Long-striding Matt Green chipped into the scoring eight, still churning out the good performances in his late forties.
Vice-captain Dave Jenkinson was next home for the men with Simon Payne, Eamon Thawley and Peter Greenfield all getting around in one piece, something that unfortunately couldn’t be said for ladies skipper Liberty Underhill who took a tumble when placed well, causing her to abandon the race with a sore shoulder. It was a hammer blow for the ladies' side, whose talismanic leader was well on track for a woodland-based PB after a promising opening. Veteran star Rachel Crump took cherge of affairs in her absence, storming home caked in mud in a club-leading 18th place. Right behind her in 20th and 21st places was the pace of Sara Wilson and co-Captain Megan Griffiths, two rising stars both deep into a marathon training block. With Underhill out for the count, it was the determined Rachael Browne who stepped up just a day after her parkrun heroics, to round out the Badgers scoring with a great run full of grit.
One to watch Grace Barsby has enjoyed a super season to date and here she sped her way into the top 50 with another brilliant run. Janey Barrett was a handful of places behind her with a typically belligerent effort, while old stagers Stephanie White and Liz Peel chalked up yet another league appearance in their long Badgers careers. Megan Church gave a marvellous account of herself in tough conditions and Danni Gunn likewise before the improving Sara Hawkins returned to the biggest roar of the lot. In the junior race, Mia Cox ran a quality effort to the delight of her proud Badger dad, Mark.
In midweek, Carl Savage ran the 23rd marathon of his career and Liz Peel her 65th half marathon at the Rhino Challenge in Rugby.
At parkrun, there was a major milestone, a massive PB and a new club record as once again Badgers displayed their running talents in abundance. At the Cambridgeshire-based Bug Hunter Waters parkrun, Rachael Browne recorded her 300th event with a rip-roaring 22:46 to take third female, her fastest time in six years as well as the fifth fastest 5K of her career. With Matt Green 10th male and Janey Barrett 8th female, it couldn’t have gone much better for the club but with Megan Griffiths storming to a superb first place female overall in 22:30, it appears it did!
Juliette Trollope (30:09) was one of a handful of Badgers on tour in Poland, at the Zamek parkrun and paced by the incomparable Peter Mann, the V50 runner took three minutes off her old best, an enormous amount of improvement to leave her sitting on the cusp of a once unthinkable but now very realistic sub 30 time.
At a testing Sandwell Valley course, Chris Horton took three seconds off his V50 club record with a clear win in 18:08. Imperfect gradients and ground meant that he had to go at full tilt to better the record and thereby continue his unbeaten streak in 2025. This result means he is now ranked in the top fifty V50 athletes in the UK, something he will hope to build on and consolidate as the season progresses.
There were top-five finishes for Colin Lees and Suzy Farrell at Battlestead Croft parkrun near Burton, Eamon Thawley ran his best time this year at Conkers in 26:59, while Mark Cox made the podium at Kingsbury finishing third in 20:07. Rachel Crump was fifth female at Conkers with Mark Repton getting narrowly edged out of the win at Tamworth, having to settle for second in a swift 19:27.