Week Ending - 2019/06/30

BADGERS TRIUMPHANT AT ENDURE 24 EVENT

Badgers supplied the lion’s share of an eight-man team who travelled to Leeds at the weekend for the annual Endure 24 event where runners take it in turns to complete as many five-mile laps as possible over 24 hours. Not only did the team storm to victory in the men’s team category, they broke the course record for distance covered, not just at the Leeds circuit but at any Endure event across the UK since its inception. Six of the team were part of the winning combination last year at Conti Thunder Run in Catton Park with Chris Horton coming in for Adi Payne and Peel Road Runners ace Ash Baldwin replacing the versatile Nicki Bowman.

The team were spearheaded by the lightly raced, Damo Taylor, who revels in this kind of environment. The Polesworth-based endurance athlete set the tone from the off with a blistering first lap of 29:16, a brave run given it was the hottest day of the year so far and from that point on the side never looked back. While the temperatures soared, the pace did not relent as the speedy Gordy Smith, at 48, the elder statesman of the side, piled on the punishment before handing over to in-form Peel star Baldwin. Who's addition to the team was a major coup and with Danny Warren, Ryan Bennett and Aaron Chetwynd backing him up, everything was looking good for the team, nicknamed The Village People for the event. Badgers key-men Glyn Broadhurst and Chris Horton selflessly bore the brunt of the peak afternoon temperatures in order for their younger counterparts to make hay later and by the halfway stage at midnight, the side were already over ten miles ahead of second place. With the race effectively in the bag barring a freak injury, the team kept motivated by hunting down the course record of 42 laps (210 miles) which was broken when the indefatigable Baldwin completed his 6^th lap. The overall record for any team was 46 five mile laps and when Warren, Bennett and Chetwynd all dug deep to complete a staggering 30 miles apiece while still maintaining a quick pace, they were able to get a tired Broadhurst back out on the course for an historic record-breaking 47^th lap before the finish, meaning the team had accumulated a whopping 235 miles between them.

The second round of the Leicester Summer Series 5K took place at Victoria Park midweek and saw two more club records fall as the unstoppable Helena Rean improved her own V60 best to 26:34, scooping the age category prize on the night too and Martyn Barrett took over three minutes off the men’s V60 record with his effort of 20:55, proving that pound for pound he is still one of the best runners in the club he was an original member of. There were notable performances from Mark Repton (18:46 - PB) and Cameron Barnes (19:34 – PB) while Keir Hardy (18:44) ran a fantastic PB to break into the top ten alongside former captain Adi Payne who ran a rapid 18:32. Men’s vice-captain Dave Jackson clocked a season’s best 19:22 while Roy Cape managed a solid 22:13. Jody Parkes took an age category win with her 26:41 and Ashley T-Dogg Taylor continued his comeback with 25:34 while Teresa Satchell bagged herself a new PB in 32:31. Popular nurse Jenny Davies had to go it alone with her usual sidekick Chloe Zope currently side-lined but still emerged in credit with an excellent 26:34.

The Gate Gallop in Amington attracted a handful of Badgers with Sam Starkey leading the way in 16^th place (40:35). Rachael Shelton was first back for the ladies, clocking 51:19 and Craig David running a respectable 44:59. The experienced John Hanson produced a run of real rapidity in 51:18 while fellow veterans Eamon Thawley (56:18), John Restall (57:13) and Dave Bailey (64:06) all performed well. Lil Souter (60:52) and Karen Missen (69:39) also had good runs.

On their travels, Ian Orton ran 1:54:15 at the Humber Bridge marathon while Jo Hardy earned herself a quality new PB of 43:56 at the Harborough 5-mile race during the week. Her cousin Yvonne Faulkner ran 2:11 alongside new signing Carl Savage at the Compton Verney half marathon. And furthest away of all, globetrotting Abbie Liddle ran the Lewa Safari marathon once again in Kenya, beating her time of last year with a magnificent effort of 4:35:57.

At parkrun, Badgers were well and truly out in force at Bedworth on Saturday as they pulled together to help promote the upcoming Atherstone 10K race. Neil Clemons was first back in 19:25, 7^th position overall ahead of a resurgent David Jackson in 19:34. Windmill Road duo Matt Tonks and Keir Hardy both ran sub 20 times in 10^th and 12^th place respectively with Keir’s nephew Cameron Barnes sandwiched between with a brisk 19:52. Newcomer Ryan Handley made his debut in a breezy 21:04 with Roland Bulgington, Colin Lees, Carl Holyoak and David Craig all going well. Esther Holyoak was 6^th lady overall in 23:12, just ahead of Craig while fellow ladies Katy Clemons, Nivette Chester, Evie Whitehead and Becky Kinson also impressed. The experienced Alan Argyle notched up his 233^rd parkrun and husband and wife duo Bob and Anna Dawe ran alongside Ashley Taylor, John Dulson, Clare Whetton and popular club Chairperson Karen Thompson. Other runners included Terry Argyle, Dave Bailey, Michael Ball, Adam McElhone, Lisa Barnes, Leesa Dennis, Paul Cooper, Vikki Smith, Anne Marie Matthews and Charlene Dunn.

At Kingsbury Water Park, Chris Baxter was back to his best as he dominated proceedings in 16:35, his 16^th first place finish there. Graham Engley, Tim Gould, Matt Green, Lee Millership, Bill Gutheridge and Wayne Repton all ran too. Sarah Vine was first home for the ladies in 26:30 with Fiona Meldrum, Paul Restall, Amanda Gould, the super-steady Serena Baker, Nicola Stanley, Mandy Hanson and Teresa Satchell all attending. Iwona Jedro, Liz Peel, Alex Ladkin and Sharon Jackson rounded up the action.

At Moors Valley, Richard Hill added yet another venue to his already impressive and comprehensive list and Stuart Walton powered his way round the scenic Rosliston course. At Rushcliffe, Paul Wallace flew the flag and Mick Bailey was the sole Badger in action at Burnham and Highbridge. Mick Judd and Katrina Dawson ran at Stratford with Chris Upton turning out at Sutton Park. Mark and Sarah Reynolds travelled to Penrose in Cornwall for their parkrun fix and Sam Starkey flew round the Beeston course in an impressive 18:59 to claim 7^th place. John Hanson ran a fine 22:13 at Dishley and Eamon Thawley, Jared Karim, Carl Savage and Yvonne Faulkner made their way to Hanley, getting safely round without mishap.