Week Ending - 2023/10/01

BADGERS BAG HEADLINES AS HEADLINES ARE BAGGED

Badgers were in action at home and abroad as the autumn came sharply into focus at the weekend. In the Rugby half marathon, Mark Cox let rip and produced a sensational 6th place finish in a personal best time of 79:28, his first competitive half for four years it must be said but take nothing away from what was a fantastic run. The hard-hitting floor-fitting phenomenon from Stoke Golding led home a trio of Badgers, with new boy Luke Neal cashing in on his good form with a PB of his own on what is not renowned to be a particularly fast course. The Rugby resident banged out a brilliant palindromic time 83:38 to finish in 7th place overall before old stager Jimmy Dewis rolled back the years with a gutsy 1:43:08, ensuring an early trip to the bar for the lads. 

Ladies vice-captain Sharon Jackson made the journey to Inverness to race the Loch Ness marathon, an undulating point-to-point event taking in some of the finest scenery in the British Isles. After battling her way back to the city centre in five hours, four minutes and 29 seconds, the Nuneaton mum crossed the line in delight with her achievement, as well as helping to raise over £1000 for charity in memory of her beloved father in the process. In Valencia, Spain, Pete Mann and Fiona Reidy ran the 15K race held there at the weekend. 

The Dovedale Dash attracted a fistful of Badgers and perhaps unsurprisingly it was the speedy Stefan Martin who led the side home in a quality 40:30. Several miles of muddy terrain provide the ideal warm-up to the forthcoming cross-country season and with Jill Miller going well alongside Colin Lees (43:50), there was plenty to cheers about in the Badger ranks. Paul Cooper went through in 53 minutes ahead of mud-lovers Stephanie White and Eamon Thawley. Matt Smith got in on the action too in 62:22. 

In the Bournville Leafy 10K, Dave Purvis clocked an excellent 50:30 ahead of seasoned campaigner Paul Restall (57:47) and the improving Kate Rathbone who ran a personal best in 75:23. And stepping well out of her usual comfort zone was Pip Weston, who finished 30th from 160 runners at the Lake District based Two Valleys half marathon, a challenging affair by all accounts, in a superb 2:40. 

Parkrun saw a number of excellent individual performances as well as a couple of significant milestones achieved. At Market Bosworth, Joanne Crow clocked up her 100th event while Mark Cox stormed around in a marvellous 18:46 to take second overall. Suzy Farrell finished first female in a high class 24:38 with Jo Hardy also making the top ten. Sam Starkey, Matt Green and Jane Barrett all made the top ten at the University of Northampton parkrun with Starkey’s time of 19:42 good enough for fourth overall. 

Yvonne Faulkner notched up her 100th different venue with a trot out at Thames Path parkrun while Oaklands saw a handful of Badgers gaining new 5K personal bests. Bill Gutheridge ran a magnificent 20:32 to take seventh overall while Jill Miller (4th female) ran 24:06 and Ross Kilburn managed a career-best 26:57. And over at Kingsbury Water Park, Dave Jackson completed the 200th parkrun of his storied career. For all his jokery and blokery, it’s easy to forget just how good a runner he is. With a personal best of 17:27 and with a list of wins stretching well into double figures, the former multiple club record holder is forcing his way back into form after injury, celebrating his milestone achievement with a sub-20 time of 19:43 in 7th position. One place ahead of him was Chris Tweed, who narrowly missed out on a PB by just two seconds, finishing in 19:14. The Johnny Sins lookalike is one of the hardest men in Badgers and it is undoubtedly only a matter of time before he smashes yet more things in his wake, specifically the 19-minute barrier. Meg Griffiths made the top ten with her time of 23:25, another great effort from the newly elected club captain.