Week Ending - 2020/05/03

BADGERS NHS 10K TIME TRIAL

With the majority of races on the 2020 calendar suspended until further notice, Badgers took it upon themselves to try and ease the lockdown blues and help maintain fitness by holding a charity 10K time trial event. Runners were asked to be fully compliant with social distancing measures and source a 10K route from their own front door with the obligatory warm up and cool down also permitted. They were given until the end of April to each submit their 10K times and make a donation (minimum £5) to the NHS. So many members took up the opportunity that co-organiser Maggi Savin-Baden had to order an additional batch of bespoke medals for those completing the initiative. So far an impressive £405 has been raised with well over 50 runners getting involved.

In many ways, the times were somewhat academic and were taken on trust but runners like a measure of where they are at and hopefully weren’t let down by their GPS devices. Runners by and large found it harder to perform to the level they would in an actual race when running alone on what was in many respects, the fastest training run they had ever undertaken. Plus, with people running wildly different courses in different weather conditions, it meant that fair comparisons were impossible to calculate. That said, there were some stunning performances, albeit unratified, although steps are been taken to see if more of these events can be conducted and the results count for the club’s annual standard times awards at the end of each season. With many runners taking the opportunity to upload their data to websites such as Strava or Garmin Connect, it enabled other members to share in the success of the event online rather than via the traditional show of support in the form of a Badger roar at the finish area of a league race.

Helen Morgan snook in just under an hour and a half for her run in 89:25 and Eileen McElhone, out of action for several months awaiting surgery hobbled round in a brave 84:25. Nicola Orton, a graduate of the club’s beginners programme completed her very first 10K run in 82:06 and Teresa Satchell bagged herself a time if 76:31. Pun-loving keyworker Dave Bailey managed 73:21 and Anne-Marie Dittman clocked 72:01 for her effort. Newcomer Fiona Reidy ran 68 minutes with Hannah Coogan (67:00) and Leesa Dennis (66:45) also getting it done along with Stephanie Attenborough (66:03). The experienced Vicky Cawley managed 65:31 while Vikki Smith set a time of 65:52. The steady Serena Baker, assisted by her faithful pooch ran 63:56 and Ann-Marie Currier ran a superb 62:25 at the ripe old age of 86. Nivette Chester went off road for her 60:45, the same time as Andy Smith and Holly McClay while outgoing club treasurer Jared Karim achieved 60:30. Hannah Craig ran an hour dead.

A number of runners took part without submitting their times and they included the giant striding pensions advisor Rob Boland, Professor Liz Peel, Eamon Thawley, the courageous Simon Currier, Neil Thorne, Paul Restall, Kate Rathbone and her dad Mick Judd, Anna Savin-Baden, Zoe Cope, Steph White, Paul Cooper, Andy Smith and Holly McClay. Former long serving membership secretary Angela Stallings, still a member but now back resident in the United States, bravely battled her way to a 10K time as she looks to recover from serious illness. With Badgers of all ability levels taking up the challenge, there was a rich range of times across the board. Sarah Vine ran a solid 58:03 and the much loved Judy Parkes a fine 57:26. Kerry Clover clocked 56:33, ten seconds quicker than Maggi Savin-Baden whose 56:13 would warrant a club Gold standard time in normal circumstances, a terrific show from the brilliant baking boffin.

Club coach Clare Whetton is undoubtedly one of the steadiest runners in the club and she rolled back the years with a nippy 55:28, her fitness taking an upward turn as her hairdressing continues some enforced downtime. Pip Weston is soon to enter a new age category but judging from her time of 54:02, you would be easily forgiven into believing it was a lower one than it actually is. Adam McElhone celebrated his birthday last week and managed a time of 54:28. Vicky London (54:38) and Rachael Shelton (53:28) also ran well in their solo attempts. Nicki Bowman was brave, maybe a little too brave as she ran a respectable 53:24 but her bravery earned her the accolade of fastest female overall. The highly respected David Craig clocked 52:27 with Paul Grubb and Ian Orton both dipping under 52 minutes by a few seconds. Evergreen Alan Argyle made 52:29 and the Svengali figure of Ashley T-Dogg Taylor marked his return to action with 50:33.

Eight Badgers ran under 50 minutes and outgoing popular club Chairperson Karen Thompson was possibly one of them, but possibly not either as we don’t know her time. Martyn Barrett ran a solid 49:48 and fellow seasoned campaigner Dave Jenkinson a stoic 49:45 with the reliable Bill Gutheridge chipping in with 49:40, all separately but virtually together. Matt Green was a minute or so quicker in 48:43 and old soldier Mick Bailey once again belying his years with a rapid 49:55.

Pint-sized pool playing performance guru, and prince of tat, Dave Jackson, spent hours strategizing over the event and meticulously planning the most favourable route aligned with the weather conditions of the day and he was rewarded with a post ankle surgery best time of 43:42. Chris Horton went better still and achieved 37:33, two minutes off his very best but still enough to have earned him a Platinum Plus club standard had he not already achieved the mark earlier in the season. Chris Baxter was a little late to the party but squeezed his run in just after the designated cut off but came away with a remarkable 33:56, a fantastic effort from the second claim speedster. Quickest of all was new sensation Matt Scarsbrook who clocked 32 minutes in his run. The local youngster’s time was quicker even than Ryan Bennett’s long standing club record and achieved over a longer distance of 6.8 miles too, a quite unbelievable run.

Plans are already afoot to make these time trials a more regular thing, with due diligence being shown to the rules surrounding social distancing in the current climate so watch this space for more news.