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