Week Ending - 2021/06/06

MATT BREAKS 10K CLUB RECORD IN SUPERB NORTHAMPTON SHOW

Matt Scarsbrook has been in great form during the last 12 months but with nearly all races either postponed or cancelled, the Badgers runner has been short of opportunities to test himself against the best. However, as lockdown restrictions begin to ease, more races are being laid on and this weekend saw the high-profile Northampton 10K draw an impressive field of almost 1000 athletes. As is the norm these days, runners were let off in staggered starts according to their predicted finish times to avoid congestion. Scarsbrook soon settled into a good rhythm and was able to hold his pace through to the halfway stage. The second half saw him continue his excellent work, producing a fast finish to take a superb 9th place, just a few seconds behind in-form Coventry Godiva star Namir Batavia. His chip time was an incredible 33:34, twelve seconds inside Ryan Bennett’s hugely impressive club record. To put the old record of 33:46 (set at Silverstone racetrack in 2018) into context, only four Badgers have ever run under 35 minutes and of those only Bennett has been able to break the 34-minute mark. The 10K distance is one of the most commonly run of all road events so to break the record after a long period of race inaction is something truly remarkable and no doubt a sign of even bigger things to come. A local lad, he joined Badgers relatively recently, although he was still at school when the club formed almost ten years ago!

The Maverick Exmoor Trail event took place in some of the most picturesque scenery in the British Isles. Athletes could opt for either a marathon or half marathon distance across breath-taking clifftops on the north Devon coast. In the marathon event, key man Glyn Broadhurst finished 2nd V40 male and 5th overall with a superb time of 4:45:29 with former men’s captain Adrian Payne slipping in behind him and almost giving him a fright in 4:47:15 to take a fantastic 6th position. Newcomer Luke Neal ran a quality 5:19:40 to snatch 12th place overall. Dave Jenkinson won the V50 age category with his determined run of 5:58:35, accompanied for the most part by Cameron Barnes who at nearly half his age completed his very first marathon distance, with 6000 feet of elevation, no mean feat. There were two Badgers featuring in the half marathon distance and no shortage of success there either. Cheryl Dewis continued her great form in 2021 with 4th place and another age category win as she ran a peach of a race in 1:42:53. Nicki Bowman left it late but stormed home strongly in 1:48:41 to finish 7th lady and in doing so became the third Badger to enjoy an age category win in the event, taking the V40 prize.

Russell Lomas was in action at the Tysoe Windmill 10K running 64:42 and the industrious Emma Masser ran 2:07 in the Foxton Trot half marathon. Andy Smith and Holly McClay tackled the Farthingstone Foot Fest 15-mile trail run in Northamptonshire and got home in just under 4 hours after the latter took a tumble. Judy Parkes attempted a sprint distance triathlon in Leeds and finished 7th in her age category, not at all bad for someone who started out on the Badgers beginners programme a few years ago.