Week Ending - 2020/01/12

BADGERS of the WEEK

Group A

Dave Jackson

Group B

Richard Chester

Group C

Anne Devenney

BADGERS SHINE BRIGHT AT STARLIGHT RELAYS

The final instalment of the 2019/20 Peak Running Starlight Trails Relays took place on Friday and once again, the Badgers men’s team took first place in the off-road competition ensuring a clean sweep of victories across the series and with it the overall series prize. With the hero from the last race, Ryan Bennett, unavailable and Aaron Chetwynd out through illness, Adi Payne was drafted back into the side with Chris Horton retaining his place alongside ever-presents Dave McGowan and skipper Danny Warren. It was Warren who led from the front, setting a terrific example with an opening lap of 11:58 to give his side a 28 second advantage. However, chief rivals Heanor AC sent out the super-quick Joe Rainsford who was significantly faster than anyone else in the entire race and McGowan (12:14) who has been a revelation in the last 12 months, did incredibly well to limit his side’s losses to just 48 seconds at the half way stage. With arguably their two fastest athletes done, it was a big ask for Badgers to claw their way back into the race but former skipper Payne (12:17) produced one of the performances of his career as he took half a minute back on leg three meaning that his side had to recover an 18 second deficit going into the final two mile leg. Horton, on the day before his 45th birthday, still had the pace to catch his man after the first half a mile but a potentially dangerous game of cat and mouse then ensued. At the halfway marker, the Atherstone man made an explosive acceleration to establish a lead which only increased as the race wore on, crossing the finish line 11 seconds clear leaving Heanor trailing in second place.

The other men’s team of Stuart Walton, Richard Chester and the gallant Eamon Thawley (who was forced into running two legs) finished a credible 36th place overall and 23rd best men’s team for the series, while the ladies team saw a good level of success as Steph White and Emma Masser put in good legs before Nivette Chester, another on the double up, saved her best until last, producing the quickest lap of all at the end in 15:10 to earn her side 4th place of all teams and 17th for the series. The mixed side saw consistency of selection throughout the series as husband and wife duo Bob and Anna Dawe once again showed their considerable running prowess, augmented by good work from Cameron Barnes and the experienced Pip Weston. Bob Dawe managed the team’s quickest leg with a rapid 13:30 as his side swooped to a quality 5th place in the mixed team category in both the race and the series. Badgers narrowly missed out on the prestigious combined Club Trophy however due to a nil score in the ladies division at Shipley, when even fielding a team finishing last would have seen them win the award overall by four points.

The second half of the Derby Runner cross country league began on a new course at Groby and the women’s team saw a superb turnout with several runners making their debuts. Cheryl Dewis was first back yet again taking 34th spot in the field overall. Emma Masser has come on leaps and bounds since joining the club and it was no shock to see her place as high as 57th in this race. Veteran Sharon Jackson has been in good form of late and here she helped the team pick up more vital points ahead of XC specialist and former ladies captain Stephanie White. London Marathon bound Lil Souter broke into the top 100 and Judy Parkes, Pip Weston, Nicki Bowman and newcomer Hannah Craig all did well in testing conditions. Emma Thompson made her club debut with a solid performance and new run-leader Jo Davies trudged home unenthusiastically. Mandi Stain and Sarah Reynolds worked hard while Helen Le Grande made an excellent debut in club colours despite the muddy underfoot terrain. The experienced Vicky Cawley was next back, shepherded home by inspirational vice-captain and all-round good egg Ann-Marie Currier. Veteran runners Lisa Barnes and Teresa Satchell rounded up the action after a lengthy delay at the start of the race.

The men’s team saw the return of the talismanic Ryan Bennett, the marathon club record holder and a man who revels in adversity. He gutsed it out for a fantastic 9th place overall as he begins to find his way back to his very best form, he is still the only club member to have won one of these races. Road star Dave McGowan stepped up to the plate with a determined 14th place finish on unfamiliar terrain while new dad Danny Warren tried hard back in 23rd spot. Gordy Smith has been a familiar face on the Midlands running scene for many years now and here he made his long-awaited Badgers debut having been second claim and then out with injury for a prolonged period. The 48-year-old bounced back into action with a quality run to take 25th place on the day, five places ahead of snow-sports specialists Adi Payne and the hard-hitting Mark “Coxy” Cox who both ran great races. Neil Clemons continues to improve as he made the top 50 while key man Glyn Broadhurst, Mark Repton, Matt Jackson, Cameron Barnes and Stefan Martin all worked extremely hard over the six-mile course.

Dave Jenkinson led home a number of team-mates including Jack Reynolds, Colin Lees, Rob Crow, Ian Orton and Mick Bailey. Rob Boland joined an exclusive brigade of only a handful of Badgers to have raced in 50 or more league events as he brought up his half century in style. Skipper Simon Currier continued his good form and with Mark Reynolds, Paul Grubb and the ever-present Eamon Thawley, it was a job well done by the guys in black and white (with brown patches). In the junior event, Mia Cox ran a superb race as she continues to impress all, particularly her proud Dad Mark, who was watching the action unfold first-hand.

Away from the muddy action, marathon enthusiasts Karen Thompson, Liz Peel and Alan Argyle all completed the 26.2-mile Langsett Loop marathon, itself characterised by significant amounts of muck. The intrepid trio have now clocked 72, 72 and 34 marathons each respectively. At the Draycote Water 10k, the popular Richard Hamblett returned to action with a respectable 63:57 in blustery conditions.

Parkrun saw more than a smattering of action on Saturday morning as Dave Hill helped himself to a superb first place finish at Kingsbury. His finish time of 18:24 was too quick for everyone else as he continues his excellent form at the start of the year. A resurgent Sam Starkey was hot on his heels, breaking 20 minutes with ease in his 19:24 to take 5th place. Mark Repton, Carl Holyoak, Lee Millership, Bill Gutheridge, Mick Bailey and Paul Wallace all went well as did Esther Holyoak, Mark Darby, Darryl Johnson and Liz Peel. Matt Jackson and mum Sharon got round the 5K course in a smidgeon under the half hour mark while Rachael Shelton, John & Mandy Hanson and David “DC” Craig all added another notch on their prolific tally of KWP runs. Nicola Orton, Helen Morgan, Matt Green, Vicki Fowler and Sue Thould also ran.

At Bedworth, Chris Horton (17:52) was denied a birthday victory by the slender margin of twelve seconds thanks to top local star Chris Jordan. Stefan Martin was in good form too as he finished 13th in a pacy 21:35. Star of the show however was the much-loved Gail Gunn who celebrated her 100th parkrun in her own inimitable style. David Grant and Gavin Crockwell were both in close attendance with Anne Marie Matthews also getting round.

Elsewhere, Chris Upton and Karen Missen were both in action at Cannock Chase while Merv Jones and Leesa Dennis tried their luck at Braunstone. Genial giant Stu Walton was first Badger back at Rosliston and Lesley Palmer enjoyed the coastal delights of Minehead. Jenna Davies was smashing it out of the park in Northampton and Wayne Repton went well at Perry Hall too. Jared Karim and Richard Hill were both running at Rushmere. At Babbs Mill, Graham Engley took fifth place in 20:58 with Paul & John Restall featuring as well as Dean Bowd. Colin Lees and Ian Orton were 10th and 12th respectively at Oaklands while Holly McClay and Andy Smith got round safely at Brixworth Country Park.

Finally, there was a good club showing at Conkers where Dug Ladkin was first back for Badgers. The pacy Karen Thompson continued her excellent 2020 form by storming round to be first female Badger back, yet again, while brothers Terry and Alan Argyle along with Paul Grubb and Dave Bailey all gave a good account of themselves. Jason Husselbee-Orwin clocked up another appearance ahead of Sarah Vine, Alex Ladkin and the irrepressible Nicola Stanley to round matters up.