Week Ending - 2021/05/23
ANOTHER CLUB RECORD FOR CHERYL DEWIS
Badgers ace Cheryl Dewis added another club record to her name, just three weeks after claiming the ladies V50 5K best, she took on the seldom raced one mile distance at the Chase The Sun race series at Prestwold near Loughborough on Thursday. The motor race track hosted four races on the evening ranging from 10 miles at the longest down to the speedy mile but weather conditions were truly appalling with gale force winds and heavy rain scuppering all hopes of fast times. The location of the course, a former airfield, is such that it is particularly exposed to the wind and as a result, a number of runners pulled out on the night but not brave Cheryl. The 2018 most improved Badger has not raced an official mile for the club before so went into the race as something of a novice, despite her experience over longer distances which are more her forte. A small but youthful field assembled and after a fast start, Dewis settled down into a more conservative pace. In hindsight, she probably held too much back as in the final third, she ratcheted the pace up several notches and finished with a flourish, crossing the line in second place in a time of 7:19. This was good enough to claim the age grade club record yet still some 18 seconds short of Rachael Warren’s overall best of 7:01. It speaks volumes for Dewis’s character when she showed up for the race in conditions that were as poor as they get weather wise. Husband and coach Jimmy Dewis, a former Nuneaton Borough FC star, was due to pace his wife but felt he could not handle the bleak weather situation and withdrew from the race, citing a pulled fetlock as his excuse.
Former men’s captain and proud macho man, Adrian Payne, who once served in Afghanistan, was another that couldn’t stomach the idea of competing in such foul conditions. Claiming to be “brave but not that brave”, the Baddesley bachelor opted for a spectating role. Casually armed with a Bounty bar and a flask of hot chocolate, he watched the action unfold from the comfort of his car to save getting cold, wet and windswept.
The weekend was meant to see the conclusion of the virtual Leicester Runners based 5K series but due to the number of races now approaching, the decision was made to cancel altogether, organisers feeling that the public’s appetite for virtual races had dwindled significantly. Two Badgers, namely Leesa Dennis and Karen Draper still went ahead and ran great times anyway in 27:02 and 27:25 respectively. However, more welcome news was afoot as entries opened for the first of five races scheduled to make up this year’s shortened league season in the LRRL (Leicestershire Road Running League). The Prestwold 10K opened up its allocated 600 places which saw 95% go in the first 24 hours of being on sale with Badgers making up almost 10% of the entries. The race is a popular one hosted by Barrow runners, largely flat with a swooping finish and great for spectators to spread out on the long approach to the line. The date is the 27th June for the season opener, athletes then need to wait until the 4th August for the hugely popular midweek affair, the Joy Cann 5 in Huncote. The next event, the Launde 6, has only been run once in the past and the fact that Badgers won the team event that day will stand them in good stead as the course is a real challenge with its many steep gradients and ski-slope finish. To wrap things up, the Desford 5 moves from its usual early spring slot to early September before the final race, the inaugural Rotherby 8 hosted jointly by Wreake Runners and Anstey running clubs. All are subject to the rules and regulations of the time of course.
As the season is short, the format for teams has been altered and there will be no promotion or relegation with a hope to return to normality in 2022. Individually, Badgers have a number of good runners looking to test themselves after emerging from lockdowns as leaner, meaner and faster runners. Karen Draper is one to watch after seeing some incredible improvements in the last 12 months. Newcomer Laura Bingham signed a lucrative contract after joining the club from Hatton Darts and she is another with excellent credentials which will undoubtedly bolster the ladies side. In the men’s team, Dave Jackson is likely to once again be a leading light, as he turns in one great training performance after another it seems. The popular red wine guzzling car-booter has bravely battled back to form after terrible injuries in recent years. He underwent ankle surgery in 2018 yet such is his self-effacing nature, he barely mentioned anything at the time to his teammates that there was indeed a problem, much like the shin injury he picked up last week and rib injury the week prior.
Elsewhere, Karen Thompson and Liz Peel notched up another marathon at the COD running organised “Emergency Marathon” in Shropshire. The indefatigable Carl Savage accompanied them for the 26.2 mile journey which was completed in 4:47:25. The incomparable Serena Baker was in attendance for much of the route while Ann-Marie Currier did similarly as part of a different team in their virtual marathon attempt over the weekend.