Week Ending - 2023/01/08

STARRY NIGHT FOR STARLIGHT STARS

BADGERS of the WEEK

Mark Coggan

Lee Millership

Beth Woodward

Badgers men’s trio of Danny Warren, Dave Hill and Ryan Preece stormed to take first place overall in this season’s Peak Running Starlight Trails series, three night-time races, each consisting of four two-mile off-road legs. For the second race in succession, Danny Warren stepped up to the plate as the quartet were a man down, running a double leg to see his side cruise to a comfortable second-place finish on the night beaten only by Belper Harriers who fielded the renowned Sam Moakes, a 14:20 5K runner, who unsurprisingly blitzed the field individually, twice at that!

Badgers only had to finish within a place of Belper going into the race as they had built up a 2-point lead beforehand and Warren’s two legs of 11:09 and 10:49 were class bookends on either side of quality legs from Hill (11:07) and Preece (10:54). The third place were three and a half minutes back meaning that the lads in black and white took the coveted men’s division prize for the first time since 2020, by a single point.

The club’s other team performed heroically too, finishing sixth on the night and fifth overall in the series as the improving Chris Tweed, veteran ace Sam Starkey and rising star Cameron Barnes battled their way through the dark Calke Abbey park, aided and abetted by the craggy Adrian Payne who manfully stepped into the breach when team-leader Dave Jackson had to withdraw late on with a badly bruised cloaca.

Holly and Andy Smith were in action up in the Lake District as they ran 2:22:00 in the North Lakes half marathon and even further afield, Angela Stallings ran 47:38 in the 7K Little River Trail Run in Rougemont, North Carolina, USA.

Parkrun saw a number of star turns as Holly Smith piled her way into the top ten at Oaklands with husband Andy as ever in full support. Another Badger couple, John and Anne Devenney ran at Beacon parkrun in Lichfield with Merv Jones and Leesa Dennis going well at Northampton, in tour this time with Janet Crumpton and Karen Draper. Saran Reynolds was back in the game at Conkers with Paul Grubb and Natasha Hole also running and Dave Grant and his wife Yvonne were another couple in action, this time at Telford.

The non-spectacled Dave Jackson travelled to Walsall Arborectum and emerged with his fastest 5K of the year so far as he beat off 98.2% of the opposition to finish 6th in 19:28, the second highest placed Badger male (v40) of the weekend. Mark Repton took third at a wet Kingsbury Water Park with Sam Starkey finishing a place behind and Bill Gutheridge helping himself to yet another top ten finish also. Megan Griffiths was the highest placed of all Badgers as she came second lady in 23:36, a quality performance from her. Matt Green ran his 200th Kingsbury parkrun, a terrific tally, especially given his gargantuan workload in a voluntary capacity alongside this. Mick Bailey ran his last race as a V60 competitor, as the club watch and wait to see which V70 club record tumbles first.

Jo Hardy, Jo Davies and Kerry Clover travelled to Rugby to run their event and Sharon Jackson ran a fine 26:28 at Concord parkrun in Sheffield, ten seconds quicker than Adam McElhone’s effort at Babbs Mill. Rachael Shelton took third place at Sandwell Valley while half a dozen Badgers ran at the fledgling Market Bosworth parkrun, skipper Mark Cox leading the way in 22:19. Old soldiers Colin Lees and Eamon Thawley also ran as did Lisa Barnes, mother of Badgers rising star Cameron.