Week Ending - 2019/07/14

MARK’S MADE IT (ONTO THE PODIUM) WHILE JUDY PARKS HERSELF INTO THE RECORD BOOKS

Badgers star Mark Repton’s super season continued apace as he made the podium at the Draycote Water 5-mile race on Sunday. The 35-year-old was the fortuitous beneficiary of a club London Marathon place earlier this year after Ashley “T-Dogg” Taylor unfortunately broke his vertebrae and was confined to a neck brace. After training diligently for months for the event, the dad of two, similarly to his team-mate, has not looked back. He used his opportunity to help raise several hundred pounds for MacMillan Cancer Support, despite not needing to do so and since then his running has gone up a level, if not two. He has achieved personal bests across a range of distances and on Sunday, it was his five mile time that was the latest to see a marked improvement as he lopped some three minutes off his previous best at the distance to finish in 30:22 and 2nd place overall in the race, his first ever podium spot.

Repton wasn’t the only Badger making waves as three team-mates made the long trip up to Humberside to run the Skirlaugh 8-mile race during the week. It was Chris Horton who was first back taking 7th place in the event in 47:12 and with it, a cash prize for finishing first V40 on a damp and muggy evening. Former pool-playing Royal Marine, Dave Jackson toughed it out to take home a time of 53:18 on his quest for gold while the popular Judy Parkes overcame a bout of pre-race nerves to annihilate her PB by over three minutes, finishing in a tremendous time of 70:20. The well-respected Tamworth based athlete wrote herself into the club record books for the first time as she secured the fastest ever 8 mile time by a V50 lady at Badgers, a tremendous accolade for the mum of two who began her running career on the Badgers beginners programme some years ago.

Chris Baxter was another enjoying more success as he took on the Worthington 5 race near Ashby and finished 3rd in a strong field with his rapid time of 27:56. Aaron Chetwynd came 5th in the Newport Pagnell Carnival 5K running a speedy 17:56 and Danny Warren was another to hit the top ten in a race as he plundered 6th at the Coventry Northbrook 10K, with a brisk 35:29. The clean-panted Baddesley man secured his highest finish in the event after being a regular in each of the last five years. Pacy newcomer Stephanie Norman ran a highly respectable 47:13 and dashing doctor Emma Vardy, a handy 51:05 in the same race.

There were still more top ten finishers as multi-sport icon Ron Mahoney clocked a hugely impressive 93:25 to bag 10th place in Wyre Valley trail half marathon near Bewdley, picking up an age category win in the process. Fellow veteran Matt Green also ran, coming through in 1:50:07 another good performance from the popular long-striding strider.

Badgers teams were in action too and made the top ten at the Sphinx One Mile Relays in Coventry during the week. The mixed team of Ryan Bennett, Glyn Broadhurst, Nicki Bowman and Nivette Chester took second place by just 13 seconds with a combined time of 24:44 and the men’s side of Si Gilbert, Gavin Crockweck and Jon Vandy taking 9th place in 18:25. The ladies trio of Kay Whitehead, Monika Lampart and mile specialist Evie Whitehead went better still as they bagged 5th place in their category in 21:09. The club field three more mixed teams with Carl & Esther Holyoak pairing up with Steph White and Stef Martin to finish 13th in 27:40, with Ben Spencer, Matt Jackson, Carl Savage and Yvonne Faulkner finishing just ahead of John Hanson, Kay Whitehead, Emma Vardy and Richard Chester.

Mark Cordiner-Barton tackled the notorious Race To The Stones 50 mile race and got back in a time of 14 hours six minutes, a phenomenally long run. At the inaugural Cadair X trail half marathon in Abergynolwyn, Wales, Nivette Chester missed out on an age category win by an agonising two seconds as she clocked 3:11:34 over some tough terrain, with husband and wife duo Bob and Anna Dawe both going well in 3:24:23 and 3:31:50. Simon Gilbert finished in the top quartile of runners at the hugely challenging Snowdonia Trail Marathon, coming home in 6:10 in a draining event while Richard Hill managed a quality 56:14 in the Bromsgrove Timberhonger 10K trail race over the same weekend.

It was the turn of the latest batch of beginners to graduate from the club’s successful thrice yearly programme and as a result Kingsbury Water Park was awash with club members on Saturday as over sixty club members turned out to fly the flag including Gavin Crockwell fully resplendent in Badger costume. With a huge number of runners in attendance yet again, it was perhaps surprising that it concluded with a Badgers 1-2 as Chris Horton (17:07) and Sam Starkey (17:25) showed the way for the rest of the 613 strong field. Starkey’s time was a huge PB, the first time he had broken the elusive 18 minute barrier. Old soldier Glyn Broadhurst ran bravely in 7thto collect the V40 prize while the improving Dug Ladkin broke 20 minutes for the very first time running 19:45. Keir Hardy performed well in 19:53 while Martyn Barrett lowered his own V60 club record down to an incredible 20:04, his third record in the last two weeks. Only three Badgers have ever recorded a WAVA score in excess of 80%, Barrett being one of them, and with Horton reaching similar heights moments before, this became the first occasion where two Badgers have achieved the holy grail in the same event. Graham Engley ran well to make 20:05 with Ben Satchell bagging himself a new PB in 20:24. Tim Gould, Bill Gutheridge, Lee Millership, Pete Coogan and Mick Bailey flew round with David Grant, Darryl Johnson, John Dulson (24:39 – PB) and Adam McElhone (24:41 – PB) all enjoying good runs. Nicki Bowman finished 6th lady with her pace-packed performance of 23:48. John Restall rolled back the years in 24:41 and Colin Lees got round safely, encouraging youngster Evie Whitehead on her way to a terrific new PB of 24:53 as her great season goes from strength to strength. Other runners included David Craig, Becky Kinson, Mark & Sarah Reynolds, Paul Wallace, Sharon Jackson, Alan Argyle, Harry Chesters, Ashley Taylor, Cameron Barnes and the steadfast Eamon Thawley. The two Jo’s, Hardy and Davies finished side by side with Nicola Stanley, the doughty Jenny Davies, Michael Ball, Amanda Gould, Becca Shand, Brett Daley, David Simpson and Lisa Barnes all performing admirably. The semi-legendary Jason Husselbee-Orwin closed in on his 200th parkrun ahead of Paul Cooper, Abbie Smith, Peter Black, Melanie Hewitt, Vicky & Aiden Jennings, Sarah Simpson, Vikki Smith, Mia Walker, Susan Thould, Clare Whetton and Karen Draper who all gave a great account of themselves. The experienced Anne-Marie Matthews ran alongside an emotional and proud Rob Crow who saw daughter Molly achieve her hard-earned 5K target. Vicki Fowler, Alex Ladkin, Matt Green and Jacqui Bembury rounded up a fabulous morning’s work for the team in black and white.

Elsewhere, Mr Kingsbury parkrun himself, John Hanson took himself over to Alvaston clocking a rapid 22:39 while Paul Restall marked his 150th parkrun by making the top 20 at the Etna parkrun in southern Italy. The esteemed Richard Hill clocked up another appearance at Brueton with Fiona Meldrum getting involved at Perry Hall. Popular Badgers chairperson Karen Thompson recently celebrated her 100th event and on Saturday she made it 101 with a swift trot around Rosliston with Stuart Walton in hot pursuit. Lesley Palmer recorded a great new PB of 30:02 at Teignmouth Promenade with Wayne Repton turning out at Andover, the first time for any Badger. Finally, at Bedworth, new boy Ryan Handley was in the thick of the action as he sped to a fine 5th place overall in 19:16, with Dave Jackson getting round safely in 22:17 ahead of a resurgent Zoe Cope and the galloping Gail Gunn.