Week Ending - 2025/03/16

SCARSBROOK WINS THE KIBWORTH 6

Matt Scarsbrook began the 2025 Leicestershire Road Running League in the best possible style by winning the Kibworth 6-mile race on Sunday. Based on gradient per mile, the race is the hilliest in the calendar and a popular one too that sold out within minutes of going on sale. Roadhoggs star man Mo Hussein was among the 561 strong field all giving chase to the pacy boy from Baddesley who broke clear at the start, sending it through the village of Smeeton Westerby to establish an early lead. Hussein then broke clear of the following pack but try as he might, he could not catch Scarsbrook who maintained his advantage all the way to the line, winning by eight seconds ultimately in a superb time of 31:21, the top two being around a minute and a half clear of everyone else. 

The race was not just a one-man show however as some 51 Badgers tackled the notorious Gumley Hill and its 15% gradient. Key people Chris Horton and Neil Russell joined Scarsbrook in the top ten, the only vets in the race to do so. Horton took nearly six minutes off the club V50 club record in seventh place with his time of 33:32, just two seconds off his personal best on a challenging course and had the added distinction of achieving a Rhodium County standard. Russell just keeps on getting better and better, running superbly to finish ninth overall and the first V40 athlete back. He somehow clocked a personal best time of 34:04, the second-fastest V40 time for the distance in Badger history. The 46-year-old has a real chance to go one better than in 2024 and become only the sixth Badger ever to win an age category in the LRRL. 

One of the club’s newest recruits to the veteran ranks, Adrian Payne, was next through in a gutsy 36:56 to take 34th place, a great return after spending much of the winter hibernating. Manchester marathon-bound Luke Neal cashed in on his improved fitness levels with a hard-earned PB time of 37:28 to become the club’s fifth-scoring male while the returning Will Pickering produced another excellent display to get around in 38:01 (53rd place) a week after making his club debut in the cross country at Bosworth. 

Returning after injury, Chris Tweed finished in a fine 38:28 to ensure the vets team scored maximum points as they prepare to defend their title from 2024. Speedy Sam Starkey followed soon after in 38:49, another experienced runner still delivering the goods for the club in his late forties. In-form Jack Burton-Peet dipped under 40 minutes to make the top one hundred and Luke Bennett produced an impressive run in 42:34. Chris Young ran a PB time of 43:28, another runner in a rich vein of form thanks to his dedication to marathon training. 

Hot on the heels of his sub-three treadmill marathon run in training, key man Glyn Broadhurst wrapped up the B-team scoring by selflessly pacing his good friend Dave Jackson to a sub-44 time, both pipped on the chip by vice-captain and principal quality cake supplier Dave Jenkinson. Wayne Repton, Ash Taylor, Bill Gutheridge, and Dave Purvis (45:40 – PB) all ran solid races before Wayne Fraser led fellow vets Stefan Martin and Adrian Parkes home on a cool morning. New signing Rhys Hopwood made a great impression as he clocked 52:01, finishing ahead of the likes of Paul Cooper, Mark Reynolds, and Andy Altoft. Carl Ford, Rick Reilly and a race-walking Martin Graham rounded up a good morning’s work for the men, who will have their work cut out this season if they want to make it six titles on the spin, main rivals OWLS stacking their side out with a large number of speedy youngsters to take the team win comfortably. 

The ladies have promotion very much on their agenda in 2025 and began their campaign in great style by taking maximum points on the day. Skipper Liberty Underhill led by example with a marvellous run-in 16th place, her time of 43:08 not to be sniffed at. Triathlete Lucy Marchi showed real class with her top-quality effort of 44:02 to make the top twenty overall in the race, proving that the ladies’ team is always stronger with her in it. The constantly improving Megan Griffiths helped herself to a six-mile PB in 44:50, the ladies' co-captain seemingly never out of the points scorers be it off-road or on. 

Cancer survivor Rachel Crump completed the scoring four with a remarkable run of 45:27, taking 11 seconds off Cheryl Dewis’s club record set at a far flatter Swithland course three years earlier, a quite phenomenal run from the hardworking force of nature. Beth Woodward returned to race action after a foot injury and helped herself to a quite brilliant personal best, her time of 48:20 being some six minutes quicker than anything before, making the top fifty in the process. Grace Barsby finished ten seconds later with another high-calibre performance, putting down a good marker for even better things to come this term. 

London marathon bound Susie Stringer made her league debut in a fine 51:53 before Suzy Farrell crossed the line seconds in front of the experienced former club secretaries Serena Baker and Liz Peel. Alice Belcher, vice-captain Sharon Jackson and Megan Church all put in superb shifts and former committee stalwarts Clare Carter and Judy Parkes both ran well to break the hour barrier. 

There was still more to come however as Steph Nickless and Maggi Savin-Baden got round in good time. Danni Gunn built on her good cross-country season to finish strongly while Ivana Babicova, Karen Draper, Kate Rathbone, and Sara Hawkins all ran their hearts out with Esther Parr making her Badgers league debut on the toughest of stages. 

Parkrun saw some action the day before the league race, and it was Jack Burton-Peet who recorded the highest-placed finish of the weekend with his superb third place at Tamworth in 19:15. Mark Repton and Anne Whitby-Smith also made the top ten. At Zuiderpark, Den Haag, Matt Green recorded the highest age grading of his lengthy career in his 20:00 time while Jane Barrett took fourth female in 24:09. Megan Church put in an impressive performance at a testing Babbs Mill circuit, taking eighth female in a stacked field. At Bedworth, Glyn Broadhurst, Megan Griffiths, Liberty Underhill, and Luke Neal all made the top ten in their respective gender categories. Eamon Thawley made more improvements at Conkers.