Week Ending - 2020/10/04
SPIRIT OF LONDON SPREADS FAR AND WIDE
The 40th edition of the rearranged London marathon took place at the weekend, throwing up incredible finishes in the elite men’s race, won by Shura Kitata and an epic battle for second spot in the ladies race by Sara Hall as she finished behind world record holder Brigid Kosgei. Thousands of club runners, unable to race in the capital, still managed to complete their own version of the iconic race as organisers mailed out numbers and tracking devices to enable them to complete their own marathon journeys. Many had raised funds for worthy causes or were fortunate enough to land a place in the hugely over-subscribed event.
Badgers had their fair share of participants with no fewer than eight members completing the arduous 26.2 mile course on more local turf, made all the more challenging by some less than favourable wet weather conditions on the day.
Averil Williams raised over £3000 for the Nuneaton based Mary Ann Evans Hospice charity, an impressive achievement in itself but perhaps not as impressive as her journey to get there. After realising she was too fat for the zip wire at a camping weekend, the determined Atherstone lady set about losing weight. Thanks to the help of friends, family, Slimming World and Badgers, over time she shed more than six stone and was all geared up to tackle her first ever marathon in April. As the coronavirus pandemic took hold and events were cancelled en bloc, she remained determined to achieve her goal and maintained her training throughout the summer in order to take part this weekend. Her time of 5:15:00 was not only a major personal milestone for the popular tutor but was achieved without any walk stops too, an impressive feat as anyone who has run the distance before will tell you.
Dave Hill was the quickest over the weekend running an exceptional time of 3:18:23. The Polesworth based star took the Leicestershire Road Running League by storm prior to lockdown with two top ten finishes in his first two races for the club. Since then, by his own admission, his running has taken second place to cycling – followers of his have seen some truly epic rides over the summer, so to achieve this time, solo, in dismal conditions with limited training shows what a class act he is.
Kerry Clover was another running for charity, Spinal Research, a cause close to her heart and accompanied every step of the way by husband Jason, himself a Badger but not one who had specifically trained for a marathon, they got round the lanes of Warton in an impressive 4:24:20. Being so local they had the advantage of having one or two Badger colleagues out and about en-route offering support along the way. Between them they were able raise in excess of £2300, a terrific effort. Vicky London was one of three Badger Vicky’s to finish the race. She managed a quality 4:27:12 while some distance away in Eton Dorney, the experienced Serena Baker was also taking on the same challenge. Former club secretary Baker, 45, has retired from as many marathons as she has completed over the last eight years and her latest return to action saw her finish, quite coincidentally, just five seconds behind the Clovers in a superb 4:24:25.
Lil Souter has worked hard over the summer months as well as the time preceding it as she set about raising over £1600 for the Wooden Spoon charity, a rugby union based organisation helping disadvantaged and disable children. She too meticulously plotted her own route, taking in water stations set up in readiness and stuck well to the task in hand despite some particularly foul weather, finally crossing the finishing line in 4:37:59, another great effort. Vicky Fowler (7:37:39) and Vicky Jennings were the other two Badgers to cover the marathon distance over the weekend.
Away from the cut and thrust of the marathon, three Badgers were in action elsewhere taking on even greater distances. With the Warwickshire Bear Ultra being scheduled for Sunday but sadly cancelled, competitors did their own thing individually. David Grant ran 38 miles in 6:22, Carl Savage covered 40 miles in 7:54:35 and Stephanie Attenborough the same in a slightly more sedate 9:00.
This week sees the launch of a new inter club competition to fill the void of race cancellations, where almost 100 members will do battle in a team tournament dubbed the Badgers Super League. Eight captains will each lead a team who will have a week to race a specified distance each week. Dave Jackson, Maggi Savin Baden, Hannah Craig and Nicki Bowman are among those in charge of sides along with stars such as Gavin Crockwell, Stephanie White, Adam McElhone and the giant striding Rob Boland. Exciting and fast times await.