Week Ending - 2022/07/24

THREE BADGERS CLOCK UP 280K AT CONTI 24

Hot weather at the start of the week stifled many people’s appetite for racing at the weekend but not the three Badgers who took part in this year’s Conti 24-hour event at Catton Park near Alrewas. In the past, the club have sent over several teams for the popular endurance event but this year, there were just three solo runners doing their best to notch up as many 10K laps as possible within the 24-hour time limit running from noon until noon.

Rachel Crump showed what a competitor she is by banging out her target 12 laps by 5am, for a total distance of 120K. At this point, she was leading the entire field in the female solo category but stopped to put her feet up and grab some well-earned kip! She still finished in the top ten when the race ended seven hours later, with teammate Clare Whetton still chugging around clocking up an impressive 80K worth of distance over an elongated period. Battered and bruised, the glamourous hair stylist immediately sought the attention of club foot expert Leesa Dennis to attend to her tattered trotters, at mates’ rates of course! The steadfast Eamon Thawley was the third of the trio to complete an epic adventure, the former run-leader managing another superb 80K haul in his first race for some time.

There were some significant milestones achieved at parkrun on Saturday morning too. Andy Smith ran his 250^th event at Killerton and also his 100^th with his newly graduating wife Holly. Paul Grubb managed his 200^th parkrun as some 45 Badgers descended upon Kingsbury Water Park for the welcome return of former membership secretary and USA member Angela Stallings, a hugely popular lady who was a vitally important cog in the Badgers machine in the early years as the club grew exponentially. Mark Repton (4^th) and Danny Warren & daughter Orlagh (6^th) enjoyed top ten finishes while Dave Purvis helped himself to a PB in 22:32.

At Burnham on Sea, Chris Tweed cashed in on his marathon training mileage by running a PB in 18:42 for 6^th place and Sam Starkey ran an incredible 18:45 in 5^th at Perry Hall while pushing son Ryan in his buggy. Mum Laura was not wanting to be outdone however as she scooped the honour of finishing first female overall in a superb 22:14.