LEESA’S LOVING LIFE IN THE FAST LANE

Badgers star Leesa Dennis is going from strength to strength at the moment after she ran back to back PB’s at parkrun on Saturday and followed it up with a super half marathon at Tissington in the Peak District on Sunday. A graduate of the club’s popular beginners programme, the Atherstone based chiropodist has recently signed up for her first marathon at London next April, and she will be hoping her current form continues to stand her in god stead for the big one. The point to point half marathon at Tissington saw her record a time of 2:04:28 for the distance, a tremendous achievement following her stunning 26:05 at Kingsbury parkrun the day prior. She ran alongside several fellow Badgers in scenic Derbyshire, first back being Simon Gilbert in an impressive 1:35:19. Eamon Thawley’s rich vein of form continues as the V50 cross country ace ran a high class 1:51 before Kerry Clover (1:58) and birthday girl Yvonne Faulkner (1:59) both got in within the two-hour mark. Clare Whetton is another set to make her marathon debut at London running in memory of her aunt for the Muscular Dystrophy UK charity and the popular run-leader chalked up a fabulous time of 2:02:08 as she began her route to the capital in style.

The Bournville Leafy 10K is one of the most popular races in the calendar for Badgers club members and this year was no exception as the club won the prize for the best attendance for the second year running. David McGowan was first back for the side running a cracking race to break into the top ten, his time of 39:49 earning him 9^th spot overall. Cameron Barnes (45:35) and Ashley Taylor (46:54) showed great spirit with Adam McElhone (55:04) also going well.

The speedy Charlene Dunn was first back for the ladies running a terrific 55:01 with team-mates Jenna Shaw (55:25), Sarah Vine (55:51), Amy Stredder (56:15) and Judy Parkes (56:14) close behind. The experienced Paul Restall made it back in a creditable 55:40 with Sam Klucis (59:21) and Hannah Coogan (59:55) both breaking the hour. Nicola Stanley has come a long way in a very short time and she performed heroically to record a time of 65 minutes before the durable husband and wife team of John and Mandy Hanson successfully rounded up proceedings over the off-road course.

Men’s team captain Adrian Payne led from the front at the 23K Maverick Snowdon Race, an enduring challenge seeing runners ascend Snowdon itself before negotiating a steep descent back to the finish. The Baddesley based bachelor ran a fabulous 2:22:06 to wind up fourth overall and in a rare reversal of roles, for once had the upper hand over his team mate, the pacy Jason Molloy who finished a fine 6^th in 2:24:36 after his own 4^th place the week before.

Jonathan Vardy tackled the hardcore ROC Mountain Marathon and emerged in 29^th place after a gruelling battle. At the Nottingham Half Marathon, Colin Lees was back to his best with a wonderful time of 1:42:42. He was joined by the indefatigable Liz Peel who clocked a fine 1:57:17 over the distance while John Dulson helped himself to a PB of 2:03:38 and veteran John Devenney followed suit with a quality performance of 2:15:08 to fully earn a PB of his own. The furthest flung Badger was in action at the Great Scottish 10K run in Glasgow, as Vicki Fowler ran 1:18.

Parkrun saw its fair share of Badger action over the weekend. At Kingsbury, there was a bumper turnout on a glorious sunny morning with 26 Badgers enjoying their early 5K fix. Chris Horton led the way in 4^th place overall with an impressive time of 17:13 while team-mates Sam Starkey (18:25) and David McGowan (18:38) also earned top ten finishes in 8^th and 9^th place respectively. Glyn Broadhurst has been a key man for many seasons now and it was pleasing to see him dip under 20 minutes once again as he got home in 19:24. Tim Gould continues to improve as he ran a quality 20:55 while Rachael Shelton again impressed finishing first lady Badger back and 7^th female in the whole field of 377. Dean Bowd clocked 24:38 before the in-form Leesa Dennis amazed everyone yet again with another PB, this time in 26:05 despite running on the slower summer course at the popular water park. Jared Karim, Alan Argyle, Karen Thompson and Fiona Meldrum all got around safely, and Becky Kinson made a long-awaited return to action in 28:47. The experienced Stuart Batchelor led home a swathe of Badgers including Jason Husselbee-Orwin, David Bailey, Vicky Cawley, Matt Green, Amanda Gould, Amber Bradford and Anne-Marie Matthews. Lesley Palmer, Tracy Piper, Peter Black, Nicki Bowman, Claire Bradford, Adam McElhone and Paul Grubb all featured with Eileen McElhone managing a new PB in 38:24. Teresa Buck and husband David also went.

In Switzerland, the intrepid Richard Hill completed a club first by turning out at the Lac de Divonne run, running a healthy 24:50 in the process. Jonathan Davies ran 24:19 at Worcester with veteran Anne Wells managing an impressive 27:15 at the Walsall Arboretum event. The fastest lady over the weekend was Esther Holyoak who ran a rapid 22:19 in finishing a superb 4^th at the Brierley Forest parkrun while Chris Baxter celebrated becoming a Dad for the first time with a 4^th place at Conkers in 17:40 ahead of rising star Lee Millership (23:43) and veteran Karen Missen (29:14).

At Bedworth, David Grant ran a superb PB in 20:35 ahead of the in-form Colin Lees (21:45). Ian Orton is in top form too as the new dad also ran a PB, this time in 21:58. Paul Bruce managed a respectable 26:04. At Sutton Park, Ashley T-Dogg Taylor led the way in 23:33 accompanied by John Hanson, Sarah Vine and Nicola Stanley. Finally, at the unofficial Sunday Bedworth parkrun, Luke Melling ran a brilliant 17:52 over the 5K course which earned the Nuneaton based golf coach a wonderful second place.