BADGERS DUO TRIUMPH AT HOPWAS 5K RACE

Young looking BADGER veterans Chris Horton and Nicki Bowman enjoyed a rare double at the weekend as they finished first man and lady in the popular Simon’s Heroes Abbott Trail 5K Race. Set through some hilly terrain through the scenic Hopwas Woods near Tamworth, heavy overnight rain was not able to dampen spirits on an excellent day for the event and the runners. 43-year-old Horton took an emphatic first place, winning by almost three and a half minutes from Lichfield RC’s Ed Coppinger while Bowman, 42, had a much closer call, hanging on bravely in the closing stages to snatch victory by a matter of metres. BADGERS key-man Glyn Broadhurst was in it to win it and ended up grabbing 9th place as he helped pace Bowman over the challenging off road course. Yvonne Faulkner and Mandy Restall followed through before Luke and Chelsea Miles got home side by side.

There was more success in the 10K event too as men’s captain Adi Payne (40:57) powered home in the closing stages to pip Peel’s Martin Hollamby and take second place, both runners almost a full three minutes behind winner and fellow Peel Roadrunner Ashley Baldwin who won the race comprehensively. David McGowan was next back for the club in 43:16 and with it fifth place while Colin Lees rolled back the years in 13th place (48:17) and Ian Orton safely made the top 20 in 49:11. Cheryl Dewis dug deep to finish second lady overall in a superb time of 49:19 with Tim Gould (49:39) and David Earp (51:34) in close pursuit. 50-year-old David “DC” Craig took 50th place in 53:40, proving once again that he has got this. Fellow vet Nivette Chester ran 54:55 through the rain with her BADGER cohort Alan Argyle (55:19) not far behind. Seasoned Steph White (55:45) and the plucky Lee Millership (56:24) powered home with trail specialist Eamon Thawley enjoying the terrain to clock an impressive 56:38. Jason Clover (57:57), Charlene Dunn (58:05) and Judy Parkes (57:58) all ran hard to break the hour mark as did club stalwarts Richard Hill in 58:53 and Leesa Dennis in 59:42. Newcomers Bob and Anna Dawe again showed great heart in running 60:37 with Kerry Clover managing 61:54 as she got back to proudly watch daughter Ellie presenting the finishers with their well earned medals. Jenna Shaw, Zoe Cope and Paul Restall rounded up a bumper morning for the fabulous event.

There was the usual buzz of activity at parkruns around the area. Danny Warren stormed to a second-place finish at Kingsbury Water Park in 17:43, incredibly his lowest placing in over a year! Cameron Barnes is enjoying a purple patch at the moment as he strode to another PB, this time in 21:35. Gavin Crockwell ran a gallant 22:29 and Tim Gould 22:35 just ahead of Colin Lees (22:58). Rachael Shelton romped to a superb third place in the ladies’ division with a rapid time of 23:31, John Restall and Adie Kirkham behind her either side of 25 minutes. The popular Rachel Crump made a tentative return to action with her run of 26:01 while Adam McElhone, Pete Boardman, Dave Bailey, Terry Argyle and Amanda Gould all going well. Lisa Barnes helped herself to yet another PB, this time in 34:09 as did Tracy Piper in 34:51. Anne Devenney, Pam Bridgwood, Peter Black and Karen Draper all got round in one piece before Eileen McElhone set a new PB in 39:07. Next through was Mandy Hanson while Judy Parkes and Leesa Dennis ran alongside new graduates of the BADGERS beginners programme, Dianne Stevenson and Ernie Beesley as they successfully completed their course. Lucy McElhone made it round as did Teresa Buck.

Elsewhere, Chris Baxter finished 4th at a windy Long Eaton parkrun in 17:08 and Mark Repton 9th at Torbay Velopark (19:47). Darryl Johnson was the sole BADGER in action at Conkers running 23:55 with the intrepid Richard Hill and Jared Karim travelling to Dishley near Loughborough for the debut event there. Holly Matts and Andy Smith travelled to Rugby parkrun, Karen Thompson, Matt Tonks and Karen Missen made it to Cannock Chase and Jonathan Davies his local Worcester course. Finally, at Bedworth parkrun, Robert Boland tore it up in 6th place with a cracking time of 20:14. Globe-trotting Maggi Savin-Baden concluded her world tour in grand style by running 27:47 at the Miners Welfare park with Charlotte Phillips, Paul Cooper and Richard Hamblett all able to join her in what must undoubtedly have been the high point of a fabulous month seeing sights around the world.