MEN’S TEAM TAKE TAMWORTH TITLE

BADGERS men continue to go from strength to strength after recently being crowned county champions as they took the team award at the nearby Tamworth 5-mile race on Sunday. Once again it was the in-form Danny Warren who led the way with a tremendous run of 28:18 to snatch an unlikely third place from local legend and defending champion Ben Evans. With one hundred metres to go, the 32-year-old somehow managed to find something extra on the home straight of the Tamworth athletics track as with an incredible sprint finish, he turned a twenty metre deficit into the slenderest of leads at the point of crossing the line, the classy Evans having to settle for fourth place and top V40 instead. Team mates Aaron Chetwynd (28:55) and Chris Horton (29:00) followed through in 8th and 9th place respectively to take the team award, which due to an administrative error, was inadvertently handed out to rivals Ivanhoe Runners post-race!

New team manager Matt Tonks, who himself finished in a respectable 32:39, was instrumental in pulling the strings for his team of speedy charges. His predecessor, Adi Payne could only watch on in admiration after being stood sown following the Jimmy Dewis debacle the previous week, when a heavy smoker was able to defeat the veteran triathlete and former Nuneaton Boro star under Payne’s lax stewardship.

Mark Repton ran a quality new personal best in 33:23 as he continues to make big strides forward while the original giant strider, Roland Bulgington, endured a hard day at the office as he battled home bravely in 35:42, lamenting his decision to purchase Aldi Vicks before the race began. Tobey Brain showed great promise as he powered home in an impressive 36:57 just ahead of the experienced Ashley T-Dogg Taylor (37:03). Team Captain Sarah-Jane Chetwynd was first lady back in an impressive personal best time of 44:19, watched from the stands by both her husband Aaron and their young son Finn. Tracy Piper rounded up the action in 56:42.

Two BADGERS made the trip to Warrington to compete in the English Half marathon and both emerged with incredible new bests over the 13.1-mile distance. Sam Starkey took a massive six minutes off his previous best clocking a jaw-dropping 84:16 to confirm his status as one of the club’s fastest runners while for the ladies, the pacy Rachael Shelton showed that she is no slouch either by running a superb 1:50:21. Gavin Crockwell helped himself to a new half marathon best too but this time at Worcester where the Sky-Blues supporting veteran clocked 1:47:42 in one of his very best runs to date.

Several BADGERS took on the off-road Rutland half marathon in, you guessed it, Rutland. In-form Cheryl Dewis led the way with an age category win in the race thanks to her fantastic time of 1:46:02, the Stockingford based hairdresser is enjoying the best season of her career to date which shows no sign of slowing down. She beat 66 other V45 runners to claim her trophy. Eamon Thawley enjoyed a good run out with a solid 2:03 time ahead of the cross-country season, while Simon Gilbert 1:52 and Yvonne Faulkner 2:16 also made the trip. Liz Peel trundled round the marathon course at the same venue to rack up number 47 on her way to a ton. Elsewhere, Ian Orton ran 49:01 in the Handsworth Park 10K while Jimmy Dewis finished a superb third in the Avenger Sprint Triathlon.

As usual, there was a flurry of action at various parkruns across the globe. Richard Hill found himself at Uppsala parkrun in Sweden where he ran 26:53 while Keir Hardy was in the Republic of Ireland at the Oranmore parkrun where he finished a fine fifth in 19:43. His nephew Cameron Barnes recorded an excellent 21:56 with Jo Hardy and Sam Klucis both showing good speed. Jared Karim ran at Oxford parkrun while a handful of BADGERS made the trip to the delightful Bryn Bach parkrun near the distinctly less delightful Merthyr Tydfil in south Wales. Nicola Prestwood was first back, but the star of the show was undoubtedly the classy golf-ace Helena Rean who took yet another V60 club record as she sped round in a terrific 26:41. Kay Whitehead and Bev Spencer were also in attendance to witness the greatness.

Chris Baxter bounced back to form with a fine 2nd place at Conkers, running the quickest time from a BADGER on the day (17:10). Paul Grubb ran a respectable 24:50 at the same event. At Sutton Park, Sam Starkey warmed up for his half marathon heroics by finishing an impressive third in 19:01 with John and Paul Restall both going well ahead of Nicola Stanley and Rachael Shelton. Adam McElhone proved he is not just an authority on poor local parking and dog mess issues but a nifty athlete too as he was first back at Bedworth in just under 27 minutes. Gavin Crockwell, Lucy McElhone, Gail Gunn, Charlotte Phillips and Eileen McElhone all got around too.

Finally, at Kingsbury Water Park, David McGowan was a shining star as he powered home in 5th position in a quality time of 18:40 (PB). Neil Clemons chipped in with a nice little PB of 19:34 in 11th place while Tobey Brain ran a spirited 21:18 (PB). Esther Holyoak was 5th lady back overall in a rapid 21:41 and Ashley Taylor got back in 23:11. Pete Boardman is a man on a mission as he romped to a PB of 24:08 ahead of Lee Millership, Colin Lees and John Hanson. John Devenney put in a great effort in 26:13 with Leesa Dennis dipping under 27 minutes for the very first time in her 77th event. Other runners included Liz Peel, Dave Bailey, Jason Husselbee-Orwin, John Dulson, Karen Missen, Amanda Gould, Tim Gould, Mandy Hanson, Vikki Smith, Anne Devenney and Yvonne Feasey. Teresa Buck and her husband David also went.