Week Ending - 2023/06/25

BUSY BADGERS BRILLIANT AT BOSWORTH AND BEYOND

It was a busy week for the north Warwickshire club despite the high summer temperatures as their runners featured at the inaugural Bosworth 5 mile race as well as the Prestwold 10K Leicestershire Road Running League race and a host of other events too. 

The Bosworth race was held on Thursday evening and was comfortably won by Birchfield Harriers and Badgers second claim star man Matt Scarsbrook in 25:10, his second race win in three days after a rapid triumph at the East Midlands Grand Prix series Weedon 10K, a hilly affair on Tuesday evening in 32:14. Backing the Baddesley flyer up at Bosworth was Mr Consistent Dave Hill, who was a clear second in 27:32. The success didn’t end there however as rising star Liberty Underhill confirmed her burgeoning credentials with a superb second place in a new club record time of 35:10, eclipsing the mark set by the brilliant Becky Harris over the quick Joy Cann 5 course in Huncote four years ago. Needless to say, this was also a personal best for the 21 year old speedster. 

Ashley Taylor got in the act too, the Warton based Badger helping himself to a new best of 32:34 as his super season continues apace. Colin Lees rolled back the years with a gritty performance of 36:01 and Suzy Farrell kick started her week to remember with a PB of 39:46. Jamie Lawrence spearheaded a Badger train of three to cross the line including Adrian Parkes and Sharon Jackson, the latter bagging a personal best in 42:33.

Further back, Stephanie White pipped Charlotte Oliver to the place by a single second with Merv Jones and Janet Crumpton also getting in on the action on what was a fabulous evening for the club and race hosts the 1485 Tri Club.

Fast forward a few days and the Prestwold Driving Centre hosted the annual 10K race in temperatures approaching 30 degrees, despite the 10am start. Some 38 Badgers made it to the finish line led home by the returning Ryan Preece who produced an exceptional run in some pretty uncompromising conditions. The power packed 25 year old took 16th place in 36:00 in a field missing some heavy hitters in the Badgers ranks but certainly was not short on quality otherwise with almost 600 athletes involved. The Atherstone man also enjoyed being able to represent the club as half of a father and son combination with his father James Preece making his club debut in a very respectable 52:02, pipping his rapid offspring on wava rating if not overall time.

Next through was a weary Danny Warren, a man in great form right now but definitely no fan of the scorching heat. As ever, he battled gamely to help the team in a valiant 37:04, twenty-seven seconds ahead of Chris Horton who recorded the only diamond level county standard in the race for the club. Badgers were boosted by the return to action of new dad Dave McGowan who finished in 37:45. The heat mean that runners were penalised around two minutes upwards on their finish times which meant that anyone achieving a personal best had run a remarkable race. There were not many, but there were a few. Chris Tweed followed Mark Repton (40:34) over the line in 40:55, a big new best which shows just how much he has improved in the last twelve months but some way short of his capabilities given the impact of the heat - a sub 40 time is a given on a cooler day. These two reliable types both cemented the Badgers scoring six on the day. 

Mark Coggan was next back in 42:54, a terrific effort from him with Ashley Taylor thirteen seconds back in 140th. Sam Starkey slogged it out to squeeze into the vets scoring four ahead of the hard-grafting Jimmy Dewis. Another Jim was next to get back, Jim Cottom this time in a very respectable 45:41. Stefan Martin, Bill Gutheridge, Wayne Repton, Colin Lees and Matt Green all felt much older than their veteran years after the gruelling trudge around the former RAF Wymeswold location but then Mick Bailey arrived back in 51:58 and with it yet another V70 club record for the Kingsbury man and certainly not the last you feel. Dave Purvis was in good form with Simon Payne the first Payne home after the arguably very sensible withdrawal of the experienced Adrian. Andy Altoft and Adrian Parkes did well to get back well within the hour, as did Paul Cooper who clocked his third fastest and you could even say his best 10K ever given how hard it was in the conditions. Lee Millership ran 57:38, another to break the hour while team photographer Terry Taylor put his camera to one side to achieve a big personal goal in completing the event and beginner’s graduate Rick Reilly rounded up the action with a big step up in distance following his successful couch to 5K journey. The men’s team conceded more ground to league leaders OWLS overall leaving them with a mountain to climb if they are to hold on to their title for a fourth successive term. 

There was more positive news in the ladies ranks as a dozen runners got the trip. The side are currently undergoing something of a renaissance with the four scorers at Prestwold all relatively new to the club. In her third race of the week, the indefatigable Liberty Underhill led the side home emphatically with a colossal effort in 47:10, 31st place overall in the race, less than 24 hours after her Maverick podium, more of which later. Suzy Farrell cashed in on her training gains with a big personal best of 49:56, breaching the top 50, another superb effort. Jane Barrett showed her ability with another big performance in 51:21 and Beth Woodward showed real grit as once again she waded into the points with a barnstorming 51:55. Hannah Mayes led the B team home with a wonderful 53:36. She is another graduate of the club’s beginner’s scheme and it is credit to her commitment and mindset that she has made such a successful jump to where her running is now, only months since starting out. 

Megan Griffiths has been a breath of fresh air in the ladies ranks this season, improving the fortunes of the side race after race. Here she suffered more than most in the heat but still managed to battle her way round in 54:20, partly due to her desire to get the job done and also because there was no option to short cut back to the start/finish area! Club secretary and steady cycling loon Judy Parkes was next back in good time followed by the veteran Averil Caton who just keeps getting better and better. The inspirational Sarah Vine was next back with the ever-present Clare Whetton, the determined Kate Rathbone and the well-liked Sara Hawkins all wrapping up one of the most arduous league races in recent memory. 

The action was not limited to these two races. In Cortina, Italy, Mark Cox took on the UTMB  Laveredo Ultra Trail race, covering a whopping 50 miles in the Alps with an elevation profile the equivalent of scaling Snowdon four times over from sea level. Cox is no stranger to these events but take nothing away from the enormity of the challenge, one which the Stoke Golding man rose to impressively finishing 162nd from 882 starters of which 99 didn’t finish due to the toughness of the event.

The Maverick Terrex trail event in the Forest of Dean took place with three Badgers taking part on the Saturday. Star of the show was Liberty Underhill who took third place in the 12K medium distance race in 61:06, a terrific effort in a week stuffed full of races for her which saw her earn a club record, two podium finishes and the distinction of being first Badger back in an LRRL event. Wow! For the men, seasoned campaigner David Craig showed his class with a time of 57:12 to take 12th in the male side of the draw and Adrian Payne also got in on the action with a 21st place finish in the long race coming home in a time just shy of two hours.

Pip Weston celebrated her birthday with a race in the Round Sheffield Run alongside Yorkshire’s own Badger Sharon Jackson. The pair did brilliantly finishing in 2:10 and 2:05 respectively. Finally, Ivana Babicova tackled a tough mudder 10K to wrap up a busy week for the club.It was a busy week for the north Warwickshire club despite the high summer temperatures as their runners featured at the inaugural Bosworth 5 mile race as well as the Prestwold 10K Leicestershire Road Running League race and a host of other events too. 

The Bosworth race was held on Thursday evening and was comfortably won by Birchfield Harriers and Badgers second claim star man Matt Scarsbrook in 25:10, his second race win in three days after a rapid triumph at the East Midlands Grand Prix series Weedon 10K, a hilly affair on Tuesday evening in 32:14. Backing the Baddesley flyer up at Bosworth was Mr Consistent Dave Hill, who was a clear second in 27:32. The success didn’t end there however as rising star Liberty Underhill confirmed her burgeoning credentials with a superb second place in a new club record time of 35:10, eclipsing the mark set by the brilliant Becky Harris over the quick Joy Cann 5 course in Huncote four years ago. Needless to say, this was also a personal best for the 21 year old speedster. 

Ashley Taylor got in the act too, the Warton based Badger helping himself to a new best of 32:34 as his super season continues apace. Colin Lees rolled back the years with a gritty performance of 36:01 and Suzy Farrell kick started her week to remember with a PB of 39:46. Jamie Lawrence spearheaded a Badger train of three to cross the line including Adrian Parkes and Sharon Jackson, the latter bagging a personal best in 42:33.

Further back, Stephanie White pipped Charlotte Oliver to the place by a single second with Merv Jones and Janet Crumpton also getting in on the action on what was a fabulous evening for the club and race hosts the 1485 Tri Club.

Fast forward a few days and the Prestwold Driving Centre hosted the annual 10K race in temperatures approaching 30 degrees, despite the 10am start. Some 38 Badgers made it to the finish line led home by the returning Ryan Preece who produced an exceptional run in some pretty uncompromising conditions. The power packed 25 year old took 16th place in 36:00 in a field missing some heavy hitters in the Badgers ranks but certainly was not short on quality otherwise with almost 600 athletes involved. The Atherstone man also enjoyed being able to represent the club as half of a father and son combination with his father James Preece making his club debut in a very respectable 52:02, pipping his rapid offspring on wava rating if not overall time.

Next through was a weary Danny Warren, a man in great form right now but definitely no fan of the scorching heat. As ever, he battled gamely to help the team in a valiant 37:04, twenty-seven seconds ahead of Chris Horton who recorded the only diamond level county standard in the race for the club. Badgers were boosted by the return to action of new dad Dave McGowan who finished in 37:45. The heat mean that runners were penalised around two minutes upwards on their finish times which meant that anyone achieving a personal best had run a remarkable race. There were not many, but there were a few. Chris Tweed followed Mark Repton (40:34) over the line in 40:55, a big new best which shows just how much he has improved in the last twelve months but some way short of his capabilities given the impact of the heat - a sub 40 time is a given on a cooler day. These two reliable types both cemented the Badgers scoring six on the day. 

Mark Coggan was next back in 42:54, a terrific effort from him with Ashley Taylor thirteen seconds back in 140th. Sam Starkey slogged it out to squeeze into the vets scoring four ahead of the hard-grafting Jimmy Dewis. Another Jim was next to get back, Jim Cottom this time in a very respectable 45:41. Stefan Martin, Bill Gutheridge, Wayne Repton, Colin Lees and Matt Green all felt much older than their veteran years after the gruelling trudge around the former RAF Wymeswold location but then Mick Bailey arrived back in 51:58 and with it yet another V70 club record for the Kingsbury man and certainly not the last you feel. Dave Purvis was in good form with Simon Payne the first Payne home after the arguably very sensible withdrawal of the experienced Adrian. Andy Altoft and Adrian Parkes did well to get back well within the hour, as did Paul Cooper who clocked his third fastest and you could even say his best 10K ever given how hard it was in the conditions. Lee Millership ran 57:38, another to break the hour while team photographer Terry Taylor put his camera to one side to achieve a big personal goal in completing the event and beginner’s graduate Rick Reilly rounded up the action with a big step up in distance following his successful couch to 5K journey. The men’s team conceded more ground to league leaders OWLS overall leaving them with a mountain to climb if they are to hold on to their title for a fourth successive term. 

There was more positive news in the ladies ranks as a dozen runners got the trip. The side are currently undergoing something of a renaissance with the four scorers at Prestwold all relatively new to the club. In her third race of the week, the indefatigable Liberty Underhill led the side home emphatically with a colossal effort in 47:10, 31st place overall in the race, less than 24 hours after her Maverick podium, more of which later. Suzy Farrell cashed in on her training gains with a big personal best of 49:56, breaching the top 50, another superb effort. Jane Barrett showed her ability with another big performance in 51:21 and Beth Woodward showed real grit as once again she waded into the points with a barnstorming 51:55. Hannah Mayes led the B team home with a wonderful 53:36. She is another graduate of the club’s beginner’s scheme and it is credit to her commitment and mindset that she has made such a successful jump to where her running is now, only months since starting out. 

Megan Griffiths has been a breath of fresh air in the ladies ranks this season, improving the fortunes of the side race after race. Here she suffered more than most in the heat but still managed to battle her way round in 54:20, partly due to her desire to get the job done and also because there was no option to short cut back to the start/finish area! Club secretary and steady cycling loon Judy Parkes was next back in good time followed by the veteran Averil Caton who just keeps getting better and better. The inspirational Sarah Vine was next back with the ever-present Clare Whetton, the determined Kate Rathbone and the well-liked Sara Hawkins all wrapping up one of the most arduous league races in recent memory. 

The action was not limited to these two races. In Cortina, Italy, Mark Cox took on the UTMB  Laveredo Ultra Trail race, covering a whopping 50 miles in the Alps with an elevation profile the equivalent of scaling Snowdon four times over from sea level. Cox is no stranger to these events but take nothing away from the enormity of the challenge, one which the Stoke Golding man rose to impressively finishing 162nd from 882 starters of which 99 didn’t finish due to the toughness of the event.

The Maverick Terrex trail event in the Forest of Dean took place with three Badgers taking part on the Saturday. Star of the show was Liberty Underhill who took third place in the 12K medium distance race in 61:06, a terrific effort in a week stuffed full of races for her which saw her earn a club record, two podium finishes and the distinction of being first Badger back in an LRRL event. Wow! For the men, seasoned campaigner David Craig showed his class with a time of 57:12 to take 12th in the male side of the draw and Adrian Payne also got in on the action with a 21st place finish in the long race coming home in a time just shy of two hours.

Pip Weston celebrated her birthday with a race in the Round Sheffield Run alongside Yorkshire’s own Badger Sharon Jackson. The pair did brilliantly finishing in 2:10 and 2:05 respectively. Finally, Ivana Babicova tackled a tough mudder 10K to wrap up a busy week for the club.