Week Ending - 2021/03/14

BADGERS WORKING HARD AHEAD OF ASHBY 20 EVENT

With a full year having passed since the first lockdown and with it the abandonment of almost every race in the calendar as we knew it, Badgers have been knuckling down to some decent training ahead of the 2021 Ashby 20 race this weekend. The event has been a popular staple of the last thirty years, often used as a good run out ahead of one of the many springtime marathons that once populated the calendar. With over 1000 entrants, the race attracts folk from far and wide and usually sells out within minutes. Despite this, Badgers have always fielded a large contingent each year even managing a top ten placing when Damo Taylor finished sixth back in 2016.

Last year was sadly called off and this year, runners are invited to take part in their own virtual event, running the requisite distance of 20 miles on a course of their own choosing before it is hoped that normal service may resume in the future. So far Badgers have 27 runners signed up including former club chairperson Karen Thompson, most improved Badger of 2020 Carl Savage, Vikki Smith and brothers Alan & Terry Argyle.

Marathon running Liz Peel does not feature on the list, however, she is back running once again after an ankle injury and also doing her bit to raise some funds for charity. The eminent professor at Loughborough University is part of a 160 strong team of staff, students and alumni all doing their own little bit to try and raise £10,000 for student mental health. At the time of writing the team were on the cusp of hitting £16,000 of sponsorship, a tremendous effort in troubling times.

Peel managed to run a 20-mile training run of her own at the weekend, readying herself for another marathon once the chance arises as she battles on towards 100. She was not the only Badger putting in a shift during the week as Mark Cox clocked a savage 70k training run ahead of his Ultramarathon campaign while Glyn Broadhurst and Matt Scarsbrook were smashing out half marathon times that most in the club could only dream of. Veteran ace Broadhurst ran a magnificent 81 minutes in his training run, his work ethic really paying dividends as he has driven his fitness forward during lockdown. Always one to keep an eye on his diet, the Wood End man has now put the chips away and instead favours a portion of salad to go with his Carling suppers. The impressive Scarsbrook has youth on his side and ran an incredible 78 minutes over a pretty challenging course. Many at the club are excited to see a return to racing, not only for themselves but to see exactly what this young man is capable of, a real talent with immense potential, that’s for sure.

In other news, one of the club’s top V40 stars, Neil Russell became a dad for the first time. Work commitments in the past have meant that he’s only able to make sporadic appearances at club training but that said he has been one of the club’s most consistent points scorers in both cross country and road leagues in recent years, picking up individual awards for efforts in the process. Everyone at the club wishes him and his partner Nicole huge congratulations on the birth of their baby boy.