Week Ending - 2025/04/06

PB'S GALORE AT DESFORD AND BEYOND

Near perfect running conditions on Sunday triggered an incredible twenty-three personal best performances from Badgers, the majority of whom were running at the Desford 6-mile Leicestershire Road Running League race but not exclusively so. While nobody keeps a record on whether it is the most PB’s achieved across a weekend, it is hard to imagine there being many more occurrences of this magnitude. 

The second instalment of the 2025 LRRL season saw mighty Matt Scarsbrook take a fine second place to follow up on his brilliant win at Kibworth three weeks earlier. His time of 30:50 was one of the few performances that was not a Badgers personal best on the day, but take nothing away from what was another monumentally fast effort. 

Speedy Scarsbrook was not the only Badger in the top ten as veteran aces Chris Horton and Neil Russell continued their fabulous form to finish 6th and 7th respectively. Horton had a day to remember, celebrating becoming only the third Badger to reach one hundred league appearances for the club, then defying nature yet again by hammering home another personal best at the age of fifty. In his 33rd race of this distance, his time of 33:01 was over half a minute quicker than the V50 club record he set last month and helped him achieve the only Rhodium County standard in the men’s race, a quite phenomenal effort. Teammate Russell carried on his sensational form, delivering another big PB, this time by 31 seconds and within touching distance of the club V40 record. His 33:33 ranks as the fourth fastest time in Badgers history for a vet in the six-mile discipline and was good enough for seventh place in the sell-out six-hundred-strong field. The duo were the only two veterans to make the top ten in the race. 

In the ladies’ race, captain Liberty Underhill ran 40 minutes dead to take ninth spot, her highest finish yet in an LRRL event. Not only was her run packed with pace, but it earned her a PB in excess of two minutes and was an incredible 54 seconds quicker than the hitherto incomparable Eleanor Fowler’s club record of 40:54 set at a flatter Swithland 6 course ten months ago. 

The men had work to do to topple table-topping side OWLS, ultimately falling short by just two positions on the day. Nobody could accuse the team of not giving 100%. Fourth scorer Mark Cox, hardly fresh after his trail success on the Saturday, dug deep to snatch a place in the top twenty with his terrific time of 35:29 and Adrian Payne similarly raced well enough to match his personal best in 36:11. Manchester-bound Luke Neal made the top 40 with another spirited run, a PB of 36:37 his reward for another heroic shift. Chris Tweed trotted home two places later in 41st position as the men’s vets team took another solid win to consolidate their place at the top of the vets’ league. Danny Warren is hoping to join the vets’ outfit in 2027, and he returned to action after a rib injury in 37:39.

Sam Starkey was next through in 38:43, and Jack Burton was another runner deep into the top 100 with his time of 38:41 being yet another PB. With key man Glyn Broadhurst keeping his powder dry for a sub-2:45 time at the Manchester Marathon and pacing forty minutes, it was Jimmy Dewis who was next back in 40:42 before the experienced Matt Green crossed the line in 40:59 to help himself to a personal best, despite being 47 years of age. Wayne Repton is no stranger to personal bests since he began his marathon training early last year, the Tamworth-based man rattling off a time of 41:51 to continue his upward curve. Chris Young is another certified improver who is still improving. The Aston Villa fan took 42:41 to get to the line, the fastest of his career to date. String-puller extraordinaire Dave Jackson was next back, beating off a flurry of men in 43:26 with Jim Cottom behind on the gun but ahead on the chip in 43:23 (PB). Bill Gutheridge produced a gutsy effort in 44:12 with Dave Purvis landing a PB of 45:23 ahead of Colin Lees, Simon Payne and Andy Altoft, who all went well. 

The ladies were low on numbers but high on quality as co-captain Meg Griffiths continued her remarkable streak of improvement, born out of dedication and graft, to clock a PB of 43:58 and win a place in the top thirty. The ladies’ team’s rise to prominence once again is in no small part down to Griffiths’ input both as an athlete and a leader. The rapid Rachael Browne capped a superb week with a PB of 46:56 to go alongside her Grand National win and new job. She was almost joined in the top fifty by London-bound Susie Stringer, who ran another PB, this time in 47:22, to wrap up a good result for the ladies, who were able to build on their early lead in division two. Jane Barrett ran a quality 49:09 and the Badgers rising star in the under-23 ranks and quiz queen Megan Church looked good as she produced a superb three-and-a-half-minute personal best to get home in 52:36. The popular Sarah O’Donoghue made a welcome return to action, grafting her way to a splendid 66:59.

The popular Cathedral to Castle 10-mile race attracted a host of Badgers stars this year. The Lichfield to Tamworth route saw Cameronq Barnes improve on his 2023 time, clocking 66:02. Paul Grubb ran well in 82 minutes, getting very close to his ten mile best while Grace Barsby went one better by lopping nine minutes off her PB to finish in 81:42 alongside V40 club record holder for the distance Rachel Crump. Sharon Jackson is in great shape ahead of her upcoming London marathon and cashed in on her new found fitness levels with a PB of 96:24. Paul Restall, Gail Gunn and Clare Carter were all in action as were Terry Argyle, Sarah Reynolds and Rhys Hopwood.

There were personal bests for new signing Erica Bassford who ran a superb 93:10, a minute ahead of yoga queen Angela Cresswell who also helped herself to a fine PB. Sara Hawkins, Kate Rathbone and Trudie Cruddas all ran too.

In the London Landmarks half marathon, Luke Bennett produced a brisk 91:38 to take home shiny new personal best over the 13.1-mile distance. Steph Phillips too ran 2:08:56, her best time yet as did Melissa Moseley in 2:12:55, a fine effort. Over the same

distance in Berlin, Lucy Marchi ran a season’s best 98:13 a fabulous performance, just 35 seconds shy of the brilliant Becky Harris’s long standing club record.

Brighton saw Carl Savage take on the 25th marathon of his career, and here emerged with an excellent time of 3:29:38 after a difficult period, and way quicker than his time in the same event last year. The Buckinghamshire Maverick series saw Mark Cox take third place and with it the V40 prize in the 22K long race, getting back in 1:40:27, a place and two minutes ahead of Adrian Payne, who held on well for fourth. Jimmy Dewis took fourth overall and first vet to finish in the 10K short discipline while Megan Church and Mia Cox both enjoyed solid runs in the medium distance event, finishing well up the field in 1:49:55. 

Parkrun saw some action too, with the highlights including a joint win for captains Megan Griffiths and Liberty Underhill, who ran together at Beacon in Lichfield in 22:09. Sam Starkey took second overall in a brisk 18:15 to mark his 300th parkrun, a terrific milestone from the doting Dad. David Grant finished a fantastic seventh at Newborough Forest in 21:25. Lucy Marchi took 10th lady ahead of her half marathon in Berlin in 23:46, with Jack Burton-Peet (19:43) and Mark Repton (21:00) both making the top ten at Tamworth. Finally, Chris Young, Rachel Crump and Suzy Farrell all placed in the top ten in their gender categories at the pretty Rosliston circuit.