BUMPER BADGER TURNOUT FOR LEAGUE XC EVENT AT HOLLY HAYES

A phenomenal 51 Bagers turned out at the second round of the Derby Runner Cross Country League, held at Holly Hayes Woods near Whitwick. With both men’s and women’s team sitting pretty in their respective divisions, the north Warwickshire based outfit were looking to consolidate their standings on a relatively dry and mild November morning. The table topping men’s side were dealt a hammer blow at the start when one of their fastest runners, Ryan Bennett got called out to work whilst en-route to the venue. Already missing club stalwarts big Dave Jackson and key-man Glyn Broadhurst, the side showed tremendous character not to mention strength in depth as they showed up en-masse determined to give the very best account of themselves.

It was Badger of the Year Aaron Chetwynd who stepped up and led the way back for the club, finishing in an impressive 10^th place narrowly ahead of Danny Warren who despite carrying a knock showed great character. His 10^th place in round one backed up with an 11^th place here showed great consistency of performance. Within seconds, the pacy Jason Molloy (16^th) then led a trio of Badgers home including key men Neil Russell (17^th) and Chris Horton (20^th) before captain Adi Payne showed his own burgeoning credentials by powering over the line in 26^th place. Sam Starkey (50^th) and Neil Clemons (72^nd) completed the counters with classy runs.

Ron Mahoney ploughed through the field to take 79^th place with Jimmy Dewis, Stefan Martin, Mark Repton and vice-captain Rob Boland following in behind. Bob Dawe has been a great asset to the club since his summer signing and he led home a group including Matt Green, Graham Engley, Andy Orchard, Justin Haywood and the improving David Earp. Saul Oxford has long been a vital cog in the cross-country side but due to injury has had to sit this term out, opting to play the role of official photographer instead. He had his work cut out by the water crossing as Ian Orton, Cameron Barnes, Colin Lees, Simon Currier, Paul Grubb and Rob Crow all piled through with serious intent. The robust Eamon Thawley required all his resilience as once again he tumbled through some of the tricky sections, bowed but undefeated. V55 star Paul Restall performed well while other runners included Richard Chester, Jason Husselbee-Orwin and Rob Frost.

The ladies’ side were significantly bolstered by the return of the diminutive yet powerfully built Monika Lampart and she proved her adeptness over the technical course in a great show of high skill and determination. For all her brilliance in 24^th spot, even she could not outperform most improved Badger 2017 Cheryl Dewis who zipped round like her father Ted in his pomp, first back in a terrific 22^nd place. Esther Holyoak was right behind the duo as she battled hard a few positions back in 26^th place with veteran Nivette Chester bagging 36^th spot as the fourth counter.

Nicki Bowman ran well to finish 76^th and seasoned campaigner Stephanie White made an admirable 84^th before Becky Kinson stormed home. Pip Weston made a hugely impressive debut for the club finishing just ahead of the experienced Judy Parkes with fellow newcomer Anna Dawe also going tremendously well in only her second event. Skipper Sarah Jane Chetwynd gave it everything as she led by example in the effort stakes, chased home by Leesa Dennis, Jo Hardy, Lottie Farmer and Rachael Warren. Jo Davies is battling back from injury and managed a safe outing which was great to see with Gail Gunn, Sam Klucis, Lesley Palmer and Lisa Barnes rounding up the action for the plucky ladies’ side.

Even with so many runners representing the club in the league, there were still enough members of the puddle-dodging persuasion racing to earn Badgers the trophy for the best represented club in the Coventry 10K. The Steed of Speed, Gavin Crockwell, was first back in 45:53 closely followed by the resurgent John Hanson in a splendid 46:50. Ladies ace Lorna Jackson has long been one to watch and today was the day she showed why as she hurtled to a new PB time of 51:25. Adam McElhone helped himself to a hard earned PB in 54:27 with the athletic Jenna Davies close behind in 54:54. John Devenney continues to make big strides forward, this time clocking a PB of 56:13 and Dave Buck completed back to back 10K bests with his 58:26. Terry Argyle, Dave Bailey and Yvonne Faulkner all followed through in unison in 59:01 and Nicola Stanley managed an excellent 63:28. Durable training partners Anne Devenney and Mandy Hanson both recorded times of 69:22. Debbie Wilson ran 70:36, Karen Draper 76:10 and Eileen McElhone 76:20 as the black and white attired outfit collected their magnificent trophy.

Elsewhere there was yet more action, none further distance wise than at the Rother Valley marathon where the incomparable Karen Thompson chalked up marathon number 52 alongside brainbox Liz Peel who was marking her 49^th 26.2-mile jaunt. The pair returned in 4:58:38. Veteran academic Maggi Savin-Baden was with them yet had the presence of mind to refrain from such long distances, sticking to the 10K event which she duly completed in 57:40. In Market Harborough, Sam Starkey took a quality 9^th place in the five mile Tunnel Vision night race clocking 31:41 with Badgers team-mate Rachael Shelton also performing well in 41:29. Chris Baxter meanwhile tackled the Derby Midweek 5K and took a great third place in a rapid time of 17:00. Yvonne Faulkner and Kerry Clover ran together at the Rutland Water 10K, both coming back in 58:24 while Holly Matts and Andy Smith tackled the Dusk ‘til Dawn night run near Bridgnorth.

Parkrun was once again awash with Badgers plying their running trade. At Kingsbury Water Park, a whopping 34 Badgers were running in the bumper field of 468. For the second successive week, Chris Horton (16:58) led the charge with another tremendous sub-17 time to secure him his 15^th win at the lakeside venue. Team mate Adrian Payne finished a close second in 18:11, a new personal best for the popular poster boy of men’s division. Sam Starkey was at it again, this time digging deep to edge a thrilling sprint finish and with it take 4^th place in 18:46. Mark Repton just missed his PB by seconds in 19:37, a feat mirrored by Matt Jackson in 20:01 a place behind in 14^th. Tim Gould is on the up as he ran 20:16 and David Earp is reaping the rewards of his increased mileage managing an excellent 20:26 and Matt Green edging back to his very best in 20:36. Once again, it was Paul Grubb who stunned onlookers by recording his third big PB in as many weeks. The dart playing bowls hero recorded a magnificent 22:31, incredible given that he had not broken 24 minutes in over 150 attempts until a few weeks ago. Rachael Shelton was first female back in a quality 23:33 with Pete Boardman looking sharp in 24:02. The svelte Serena Baker ran 25:02 before veteran Judy Parkes broke her long-standing PB in 25:20, ably assisted by the Right Honourable Gavin Crockwell, a wonderful moment for the mum of two.

Other runners included Darryl Johnson, Sharon Jackson, Leesa Dennis, the returning Shaun Coyle and an improving Jason Husselbee-Orwin. Evie Whitehead continues to build on her recent good form while John Hanson received a standing ovation at the start as the event marked his 250^th appearance – a great achievement for a man synonymous with Kingsbury parkrun. Yvonne Faulkner, John Dulson, Stuart Batchelor, Amanda Gould, Nicola Stanley, Dave Bailey, Mandy Hanson, Paul Cooper, Terry Argyle, Peter Black, Anne Marie Matthews, Claire Bradford and Sharon Whitehead were the other Badgers to star on the day.

Richard Hill enjoyed a more low-key reception for his nonetheless superb achievement of having participated at 100 different parkruns worldwide as both he and Jared Karim marked the second running of the Jersey Farm parkrun near St Albans. There was a trio of PB’s at the War Memorial Park in Coventry as Jonathan Vardy piled round in a brisk 18:21 to earn himself 4^th place on the day overall. Wife Emma got in on the action too with her best ever time of 24:04 while the up and coming Charlene Dunn secured the hat-trick, with a terrific return of 24:48, great times on a course not renowned for rapidity.

Elsewhere, Stuart Walton made a tentative return to action at Rosliston while Jonathan Davies ran at Worcester. Jenna Davies enjoyed a bit of seaside fun as she ran along the promenade at Minehead in Somerset. Katrina Dawson was the sole Badger in action at Conkers. Colin Lees and Ian Orton made the trip to Brueton Park, both breaking 23 minutes. Long Eaton saw Chris Baxter aiming to back up his midweek success over 5K, the shaven headed speedster making 17:09 and a respectable 4^th place in a field that saw fellow Badgers Graham Engley (20:36) and Alan Argyle (23:53) in action. Finally, at Bedworth, David Craig was first Badger back with Pam Bridgwood also getting round safely.