Monday 23 September 2013

Northampton Half Marathon


Northampton's first half marathon was greeted by September sunshine making conditions hot for competitors.  The route began with a lap around the town centre before heading towards Hardingstone via Becket's Park and Brackmills.  The first real test came at four miles with a long climb into Hardingstone but the locals were out in force to cheer the field on.

A trip through Wootton was followed by another climb to Great Houghton before returning to Brackmills and then onto a lovely finish at Delapre Abbey with a party to boot.

The marshals were excellent throughout and the event promises to go from strength to strength as it hopes to cement itself on the running map.

For NRR, Simeon Howson ran an awesome 1:25:54 finishing seventh overall.  Stuart Drummond also enjoyed a good run with a 1:39:09 finish and Jim McGowan completed his second half in two weeks in 1:47:28.  Charlotte Yarker was close behind in 1:48:29 and Suzanne Baldwin was the star of the day smashing her PB with 1:56:31.

Richard Franks continued his return from injury in 1:57:38 and Mark Kennedy hit a few problems at mile 10 having to walk the final two to arrive in 2:02:16 (argh).  Inge Flowers (2:11:56) and John Dilworth (2:20:02) completed the line up with a great line up.

7th Simeon Howson 1:25:54
59th Stuart Drummond 1:39:09
131st Jim McGowan 1:47:28
143 Charlotte Yarker 1:48:29
216 Suzanne Baldwin  1:56:31 - PB
229 Richard Franks 1:57:38
278 Mark Kennedy 2:02:16
311 Inge Flowers 2:11:56
404 John Dilworth  2:20:02

Royston Harvest Trail Half Marathon

Darren Byfield and Eamon Kennedy completed the Royston Harvest Trail Half Marathon on Sunday 23rd September in 2:08.  It was a real test but stunning scenery

Parkrun - 21/09/2013

Results for Corby Parkrun, event number 1 - 21/09/2013.
60 Jo LEE 00:24:37

Results for Northampton Parkrun, event number 72 - 21/09/2013.
11 Rosanna ANDREWS 19:01
37 Mark GARRETT 22:37
58 Jim ANDERSON 24:31
93 Jon DILWORTH 26:50
154 Simone SMITH 33:42

Parkrun 14/09/2013

Results for Graves Parkrun
7 Sam BROWN 21:27

Results for Northampton Parkrun
12 Mark KENNEDY 19:54
47 Jo LEE 23:51
113 Jon DILWORTH 28:32

Monday 16 September 2013

Stockholm Syndrome

Pete Moor completed the Stockholm Half Marathon in a fantastic time of 1.36.58

Cheltenham Half Marathon

Roger Taylor completed the Cheltenham Half Marathon in 1:39:29.

123 Roger Taylor 1:39:29

Great North Run


Five NRR members made the long trip north for the Great North Run and enjoyed the promise of a great atmosphere. Matt Brand enjoyed a great run in 1:35:10 and Eamon Kennedy crossed the line in 1:47:08.  Jim Anderson was pleased with a 1:55:49 finish.

Wayne Evans crossed the line in 2:21:49 and charity boys Dave Soloman, Patrick Breydin and Alan Hackett finished in  2:24:21, 2:45:40 and 3:39:16 respectively.

Matt Brand 1:35:10
Eamon Kennedy 1:47:08
Jim Anderson 1:55:49
Wayne Evans 2:21:49
Dave Soloman 2:24:21

Patrick Breydin 2:45:40
Alan Hackett 03:39:16

Cransley

The Cransley Road Race is always popular on the NRR calendar and this year was no exception.

Rosanna ANDREWS was 18th overall on the day in 1:26:39 and regular on the Cransley course, Mark GARRETT finished in 1:36:05.  Darren BALDWIN enjoyed a great run in with a PB of 1:37:35.

Jim MCGOWAN was next to finish in 1:40:37 ahead of Martin ANDREWS in 1:44:32 and Penny ANDREWS crossed the line in 1:46:48 followed by Wendy PARKER 1:49:32.

Darren BYFIELD grabbed a PB with a fantastic run (1:53:18).  Suzanne BALDWIN finished in 2:00:45 followed by Mick CLARKE in 2:03:13.  Andy COTTRELL returned from a short break to finish in 2:05:03 and Glen COUSNER came home in 2:18:35.
Steve Prior and Sally GARRETT completed the 10K in  44:16 and 1:12:19.

Half Marathon
18 Rosanna ANDREWS 1:26:39
43 Mark GARRETT 1:36:05
50 Darren BALDWIN 1:37:35
64 James MCGOWAN 1:40:37
84 Martin ANDREWS 1:44:32
85 Suzanne BALDWIN 1:44:35
95 Penny ANDREWS 1:46:48
101 Wendy PARKER 1:49:32
115 Darren BYFIELD 1:53:18
142 Suzanne BALDWIN 2:00:45
150 Mick CLARKE 2:03:13
153 Andy COTTRELL 2:05:03
172 Glen COUSNER 2:18:35 

10K
Steve Prior  44:16

336 Sally GARRETT 1:12:19

Friday 13 September 2013

Jasmine Completed The Dunstable Cahllenge

Jasmine Banks completed the 20 mile Dunstable Challenge on Sunday 8th September.  A tough route which involves self navigation off road.  Well done Jasmine on completing the course in 3:58:32

Northampton Parkrun 70 - 07/09/2013.

247 participants completed the run today

30 Peter MOOR 20:00
32 Mark KENNEDY 20:24
40 Mark ROSE 20:46
73 Martin ANDREWS 22:26
109 Sarah JONES 24:22
110 James ANDERSON 24:23
150 Jo LEE 26:40
177 Jon DILWORTH 28:38

Monday 9 September 2013

Alice, Alice...who is Alice?

Mark and Sally Garrett travelled up North to find some more proper hills.  They completed the Alice's Run 10K Multi-Terrain, Mytholmroyd, Yorkshire. 

Mark finished in 37th place in 47:31 and sally was 175th in 80:09.

Monday 2 September 2013

Moulton 10K Report


Northampton Road Runners Moulton 10k Sun 25th Aug

260 runners descended on Moulton for Northampton Road Runners 2013 Moulton 10k on Sun Aug 25th.

The field included runners from as far apart as Scotland and Devon. Ideal conditions failed to make this race which is possibly the toughest 10k course in this area any easier and all of the runners knew that they had been in a hard race.

Only 9 seconds separated the 1st 3 runners to finish with Northampton based MKAC runner Matt Clarke winning in 35-10 only just ahead of Wootton Road Runners Matthew Howes and Dan Siddons from Serpentine, London.

Local star Rachel Cave was 1st lady home in 39-21 followed by Cambridge runner Katie Sherwood and host club Northampton Road Runners star junior Rosanna Andrews.

It was good to see the best number of junior (15-19) athletes competing we have ever had and Matt Tyler of Team Balancise and Jade Watson from Peterborough collected the trophies in this category.

Rushden based Team Balancise won the Team Award and Glenn Morris won the award for the 1st resident of Moulton or Pitsford, the villages through which the race runs.

These events however are not just about the trophy winners and throughout the field runners of all ages and abilities were breaking PBs, setting goals and giving their all helping to make the event another great success.

 

The Beast

The Beast is another race that regularly appears on the NRR race calendar and a trio made the trip to Dorset to attempt to tame the aptly named course.

Starting at Corfe Castle, the half marathon route takes a loop around the top of the picturesque village with a huge downhill then climb within the first mile.  Runners then head towards the coast but not before another climb up a rocky trail through dense woodland lasting from mile three to mile five.  The views are worth it as Corfe Castle is seem below the fields at the top of the ascent.

After a huge downhill stretch, the first mini climb up beach steps leads to a beautiful view over the sea from the cliffs along a coastal path.  After another climb comes the biggest challenge, a 200ft drop downs steps to sea level before climbing up the other side, impossible to run it.

The route then heads back to Corfe with more climbs, more woodlands trails, more dense undergrowth and a few styles to hop over before a great welcome in front of the castle ruins.

Mark Kennedy was first home for the club in a time of 1:51:08 and Ronnie Ambrose soldiered around carrying an injury finishing in 2:11:29.  Wendy Parker was close behind in 2:11:33.  NRR friend and old member Alan Burgess also finished in 2:00:46.
 

115 Mark Kennedy 1:51:08
177 Alan Burgess 2:00:46
249 Ronnie Ambrose 2:11:29
250 Wendy Parker 2:11:33

Results for Northampton Parkrun 69 - 31/08/2013

Results for Northampton Parkrun 69 - 31/08/2013
 221 participants completed the run today.

18 Peter MOOR 19:58
26 Gary MCDANIELS 20:44
66 Sarah JONES 23:31
123 Mick CLARKE 26:57
134 Jo LEE 27:30
153 Jon DILWORTH 29:17
191 Simone SMITH 33:37

More Race Feedback

Hi

I came from London last weekend to take part in the Northampton 10k and wanted to say how much I enjoyed the event. It was a brilliantly organised day, the marshals were fabulous, and the post race home made flapjacks were far superior to any goody bag that get handed out at some of the bigger events. It was a pleasure to take part in a small local event, made even more enjoyable by the fact I raced a PB. 

My only complaint is that there were no small t-shirts left when I crossed the finish line.

Thanks to all the organisers for a great day.

Many thanks,
Rebecca


**********************************************************

Hi Mark

I just wanted to say thanks for Sunday. It was the first organised run in which I have participated and it was a great experience. The whole event was superbly well organised. The marshals did their job superbly and were very encouraging too. I really felt as though I was a part of a special day. My 3 year old daughter loved the flapjack and I am really pleased with my commemorative vest.

Race wise, it was so tough. After 6k I was on course to break by 50 minute target time, but the last 4k was torture, especially the Spectacle Lane hill. Still, it has given me a benchmark, and one which I will aim to improve upon next year.

I will be recommending this race to other runners that I know.

Many thanks

Nick

**********************************************************

Hi Mark,

Thanks for the quick reply and for updating the results sheet. The 3 of us who travelled down from South Derbyshire all really enjoyed the race, well organised and a pleasure to run. The ford is a unique feature, not had one in a race before. I’ll keep an eye out for the pictures.

Cheers,
Paul