Week Ending - 2020/02/16

STORM DENNIS A MENACE BUT SOME PARKRUNS PREVAIL

The weekend weather scuppered the two big events that were scheduled to draw a large section of the club as Storm Dennis wreaked havoc with the running calendar as well as much of the UK landscape. Both the League cross country fixture at Bagworth Heath and the Village Bakery Half Marathon in Wrexham fell victim to the elements leaving only a handful of parkruns deemed safe enough to run before the worst of the storm arrived.

Bedworth parkrun has close ties to Badgers as a number of members were part of the core team to set the event up exactly two years ago. Not only was Saturday’s event the second anniversary but it coincidentally represented the 100th running of the popular event which has seen numbers grow from just over 100 initially to close to 400 here. At the front of the field once again was Badgers stalwart Chris Horton who took first place at a parkrun for the 40th time of his career and the sixth at the Miner’s Welfare Park. His time of 18:11 was his slowest yet but very respectable given the dismal conditions of the day. Next back was the hardworking Gavin Crockwell who paced 24 minutes to perfection. He was one of several pacers for the event including Paul Cooper (in his 50th parkrun), Gail Gunn and Anne-Marie Matthews. Ashley T-Dogg Taylor ran a solid 5K with David Craig seven seconds behind his marathon bound teammate. Lil Souter is off to London in April and her recent training showed signs of paying dividends as she emerged back 8th female in 25:37. Paul Hadland is similarly London bound and he clocked 27:14 ahead of Terry Argyle, Dave Bailey and the slimline Zoe Cope.

There was mild celebrations over the border in Wales where Dave Jackson marked his return to action after a six month hiatus. The former pool playing elite performance director beat off every single competitor bar one at the Groe parkrun in Dyfed, finishing in an impressive second spot in a class field, his time 20:11. The Babbs Mill parkrun went ahead despite the weather and it was the reliable Bill Gutheridge who pulled out all the stops with a terrific run of 21:59 which was enough to earn him 7th place overall, his highest positional finish to date. Ian Orton sped round in 23:30 with Wayne Repton (24:21), Dean Bowd (24:51) and Mark Robinson (35:54) all making it round.

At Walsall Arboretum, veteran Merv Jones was first Badger back in a brisk 25:53 with Karen Thompson (26:06) and Clare Whetton (27:35) both going well in far from perfect conditions. Matt Green ran a solid 23:17 at Sutton Park and Mick Bailey sought solace in Somerset contesting a still blowy Burnham and Highbridge parkrun in 24:52. Stephanie Attenborough ran 31:13 at Oaklands and Rushcliffe saw the appearances of Holly McClay and Andy Smith.

The seemingly indestructible Conkers course saw Alan Argyle clock 27:52 ahead of the Reynolds family consisting of Mark, Sarah and Jack as well as Katrina Dawson. Ian Orton (23:30) and his pal Colin Lees (22:45) both went well at Cannock Chase while in-form Graham Engley ran a rapid 21:05 and the experienced Paul Restall bashing out a respectable 27:01. At Woolaston Hall, David Grant recorded a fine 21:26, leaving a breathless Yvonne Faulkner and a wearisome Jared Karim trailing in his wake.

Elsewhere, Wayne Repton took part in the Leicestershire based Naseby 1645 race on Sunday and completed the challenging 16.45 mile course in a battling 2:29:19. This represented the furthest distance he has ever run to date.