Week Ending - 2023/03/19

PODIUM CITY FOR BADGER BOYS

Badgers runners took three podium places at events across the Midlands at the weekend, a feat made all the more impressive given that over 90% of those in action were concentrated at one race, the Kibworth 6 in the Leicestershire Road Running League. Dave McGowan led the way on Sunday morning at the 20-mile Twin Lakes 20 in Milton Keynes. Using the race as part of his London marathon prep, the Baddesley man was delighted with his performance as he continues to improve on the form built up since the turn of the year. He stormed home in a personal best time of 2:02:11 in third place, sandwiched between Tamworth AC veterans Rob Dyjak and Gordy Smith, two real top-quality athletes. Dave Hill has been in outstanding form of late and he grafted his way to a superb second-place finish at the unusual distance of 15 miles in the Geoff Smith 15 over in Banbury. His time of 1:26:25 was pretty good going considering the elevation encountered on the course. 

Elevation was something on offer in abundance at Kibworth where Badgers once again had a good percentage of the sell-out 600-strong field and it was their flying machine Matt Scarsbrook who stormed home in second place in a mesmerising time of 31:11. With some gradients reaching 12% incline, his pace across the six-mile distance was truly remarkable. He and race winner Mo Hussein of Roadhoggs finished over two minutes ahead of the rest of the field as they look set to dominate in 2023 as they did the year before. 

Ryan Preece is a Grade A solid operator, not short on self-belief and he slogged his way into the top ten with a combination of pace and panache. The mathematics graduate took  9th spot with a fine run of 34:14, half a minute ahead of the in-form Danny Warren who rolled back the years with his time of 34:48 in 12th. Next home was another solid operator in the form of Chris Horton. He was a doubt leading up to the race after suffering a hamstring tear shortly after the Stilton 7 but some dedicated rehab enabled him to make the start line, albeit undercooked, and do his best for the team. He returned in 36:27, 25th place and enjoyed the rare distinction of scoring for all three possible teams, the men, the vet men and the mixed side. 

New signing Leonids Klimovs showed what a quality athlete he is with an exceptional debut, straight in the points with a fearless run of 37:26, holding off the experienced Adrian Payne (a veteran of 94 Badgers league races now) in a thrilling finale. Both made the top 40 although with Hill, McGowan, captain Mark Cox and Neil Russell amongst others, absent, Badgers were edged out of the team competition by their most dangerous rivals OWLS of Oadby and Wigston. 

When it comes to bravery, there are few more lionhearted than key man Glyn Broadhurst. The multiple sub-3 marathon man has been beset with injury problems since falling off a ladder last year and here he was operating effectively on one good leg, but with the vets' team already missing Dave Jackson, Chris Tweed and the aforementioned Russell, Broadhurst manfully stepped up to the plate to deliver the goods for his team and subsequently spend the next week recovering all over again. His 38:19 was, in context, without doubt, one of the runs of the day. Mark Repton will soon be a welcome addition to the Badgers vets team, the Dosthill flyer ran a super 39:00, eight seconds ahead of fellow Tamworthian Sam Starkey who once again gave 100% on an unforgiving course.

Carl Savage was one of three former men’s captains in action and he ran another good race to make the top 100 in a time of 40:31. Ashley Taylor is a different dog to the one that ran a PB of 45:28 at Launde two years ago. Here, he tore it up in 42:58, a big new best although not as big as Dave Jenkinson’s who went seven minutes under his old mark in 44:49. Newcomer Ollie Wheldon ran nicely in 44:10 as his running career continues to move in the right trajectory and the reliable Matt Green (44:39) took his tired legs back out racing again not long after a brutal marathon training run two days earlier, chipping in as fourth scorer for the vet men in the process. Colin Lees, Stefan Martin and Wayne Repton all dug deep before 8 mile club record holder (v50) Rob Crow crossed the line ahead of fellow veterans David “DC” Craig, Pete Coogan, Peter Mann and Lee Talbot. There were still more men to come though, as mentioned earlier with the club’s excellent attendance at these events continuing. One-mile record holder Adrian Parkes got home in 51:11 with Lee Millership putting in a determined sprint finish soon afterwards before Paul Cooper and Simon Currier courageously completed either side of the hour mark. 

The ladies were rocked by the late withdrawal of Laura Starkey shortly before the start but Liberty Underhill, in her first season with the club, showed her undoubted potential with her best league run to date, leading the ladies' team home in 47:29 and helping herself to a well-deserved place in the top fifty to boot. Megan Griffiths was only seconds behind in 47:43, another in the top fifty with another new recruit Kat Wilson showing some great pace as third scorer in 51:01. Like Horton in the men’s earlier, Wilson, along with team-mate Nicki Bowman, gained the distinction of scoring for all three teams, something not to be sniffed at. Bowman ran an excellent 52:10 and is approaching the form of old that saw her winning races such as the Abbott Trail 5K for example.  

Sharon Jackson has been in excellent form in 2023 and here she continued to make hay, the hard-working vice captain, always noticeable with her strikingly colourful leggings, clocked 52:48 for a top ten age category placing. Debutante Anne-Whitby Smith produced the highest-graded female run of the day with a silver standard in 52:47, a great start for her, one of only a handful of runners not to walk up the steepest part of Gumley Hill. Beth Woodward has impressed in training of late and here she took her good form on the road, storming back in 54:37. Hannah Coogan’s face was etched in agony as she strained every sinew to get over the line in 54:57, just ahead of the classy Judy Parkes who herself is rapidly closing in on her 50th appearance. 

Mandy Stain produced one of the runs of the day for the ladies' side, clocking a terrific 56:53 on what is widely regarded as the toughest of all the courses on the 9-race calendar this year. She finished 34 seconds ahead of the industrious Jo Davies and with committee members Clare Whetton and Ann-Marie Currier plus Kate Rathbone and Ivana Babicova both giving their all, the Badgers eventually had some 41 runners complete the rollercoaster race of Kibworth.

Elsewhere, Angela Stallings ran 2:05 in the Mountain to Sea 10-mile trail race in North Carolina earning the much-loved former Membership Secretary second place in her age grouping. Justin Haywood performed pacing duties in the Villamoura Diabetes 10K in a hot and sweaty Algarve.

There was plenty of action at parkrun but being as I am supposed to be doing a set of accounts before I go to bed and it’s already twenty past ten and I didn’t get a full night’s kip yesterday, I shall keep it brief in so much as to mention Adam McElhone who ran another 5K PB, this time at Babbs Mill in 23:10, a top ten finish too. A sub-23 time is easily possible given that Babbs Mill is far from the quickest course in the area. Well done too to Maggi and Anna Savin-Baden who finished 9th and 11th respectively at Newent parkrun in the Forest of Dean.