Week Ending - 2021/04/04
A TRIO OF TRIUMPHS AS MATT, DAVE AND ANNA GO THE DISTANCE
After a long period of scrabbling around trying to find things to report on, the Badgers news desk has been relatively spoiled with newsworthy events this week, including a number of exceptional individual performances in long-distance events.
Last week, Matt Scarsbrook ran an exceptional half marathon time on his own as his entry into the virtual New York half marathon and in a field of over 12,000 runners, the Baddesley speedster finished an incredible 13th overall thanks to his whippet like time of 76:42. Set over the undulating roads of his home turf and the neighbouring villages of Hurley, Wood End and Baxterley, his time truly was a thing of wonder and stands as an exciting indicator as to what he could achieve when the league begins again later on this summer, all being well. Make no mistake, Scarsbrook is set for big things with this kind of form as Badgers, who have been County Champions since 2019, look to defend their rather long-held title.
The Dorney Lake marathon took place at Windsor in a Covid secure setting which saw Dave Hill taking over half an hour off his personal best with a blistering run of 2:43:11. On a flat looped course around the boating lake, he went sub 80 for his first half, setting off with a real show of intent. But a super quick time was not some idle fantasy, as few have put in as much work as Hill over the last two years to raise their game in the running world. The Polesworth man maintained his high tempo deep into the race, only dropping his pace, marginally at that, with the small matter of four miles to go. His previous best time of 3:14:29 at Manchester in 2019 was evidence that he was a more than competent marathoner, but his stunning performance here completely blew that out of the water. His reward was borne of numerous herculean efforts over the last twelve months incorporating day trips to the seaside (on a bicycle) and a noticeable increase in training mileage during the lockdown periods. The signs were clear of his potential last February where he made a great start for Badgers in the Leicestershire Road Running League, with successive top-ten finishes before the shutdown along with a top 15 placing in the Gloucester 20.
To join the exclusive sub-three club in only his second attempt, and by such a margin, is indeed an impressive feat. Of the current Badgers roster, only Ryan Bennett, Glyn Broadhurst and Chris Horton have managed the holy grail of distance running whilst in club colours with a fourth, Stuart Batchelor, also achieving the feat in his youth, several years before the formation of his current club.
Anna Savin-Baden joined Badgers aged 13 and now a University student, embarked on her first-ever marathon distance to raise money for the Alzheimer’s Society charity. Selecting a route around the streets of Bedworth, the 21-year-old became possibly the youngest Badger ever to run 26.2 miles. With proud Badger parents John and Maggi cheering her on, she devised a route to incorporate drinks stations and circulated approximate timings of her passing local points of interest to encourage some support during these Covid hit crowd-free times. Two of her friends were also running with her in order to help raise over £800 for her chosen charity, and after much hard graft, guts and determination, the trio were able to cross the finish line together in a time of 4:52:14, a truly monumental effort for a first attempt.
To put it into context, it was an even quicker time than the 4:53 achieved by the vastly experienced duo of Liz Peel and Karen Thompson who have now chalked up 172 marathons between them. The pair were in action once again over the weekend and have now covered over 4,500 miles in marathons alone, the equivalent of running from Atherstone to Islamabad.
With club training starting once more in April and the prospect of some league races featuring in the calendar come summertime, times are beginning to once again look exciting for the North Warwickshire based outfit.