RUNNING
Parkrun Junior 2k
In the extreme heat, Junior BRJ’ers were in acton at 2 venues;
Jubilee Park – Iris Purser took 1st place overall finishing just 2 Secs shy of her current Club 2K PB time. Hannah Lasseter, in 7th place, secured a new Club PB by just 1 Sec. Her 6th PB of 2023 places her in 2nd place in the Junior Girl’s “Most Running PB’s” competition for 2023 behind current leader Iris Purser. Alexander Eason completed Parkrun #125.
West End – Issac Friswell took the Runners-Up position just 10 Secs shy of his current Club 2K PB time.
Parkrun 5K
There were BRJ returns to Armley (1st place for Keelan Duffy), Conwy, Ferry Meadows, Fountains Abbey, Pocket, Storey’s Field, University of Northampton & Whitley Bay.
BRJ’ers made Venue Debuts at Cusworth Hall for Kerry Duffy, Thorp Perrow for Phil Pearsons, Andrew Stevenson & Chloe & Ian Wilson & Trentham Gardens for David Spurle.
At Huntingdon, Bryn Jones secured an 8 Sec Club 5K PB, which was #2 of 2023
Arkwright 5K Series (Race 6)
The final race of the Summer Series took place at Therfield Heath. 310 finishers braved the wet & windy conditions & saw Mark Sampson secure another top 10 performance in 5th position in a time of 00:17:33.
Shelford 5K
A total of 376 runners completed this local event. The sole BRJ competitor was Junior, Jack Hutchinson. Despite the very warm conditions, Jack secured position 72 (1st Boy U11) in a finish time of 00:22:52 & achieving a massive Club 5K PB by a margin of 5 Mins 43 Secs compared to his run at Huntingdon Parkrun in June 2023. Jack’s 5th PB of 2023 puts him as Joint Leader alongside Isaac Friswell in the Junior Boy’s “Most Running PB’s” competition.
Great North Run 1/2 Marathon
15 BRJ’ers travelled to Newcastle for this Annual iconic event & all were among the 43,559 finishers & all ahead of the remarkable 102 year old man a blind man that completed the distance. The group had a wide range of expectations from finishing quickly to finishing laden down with buckets of money. Hot conditions met the early finishers, but a deluge was experienced by the less swift & the subsequent flash flooding severely affected many of their homeward transport plans.
Will Dales led home the BRJ squad finishing just outside the time he set back in 2022’s GNR. Our leading lady was Kerry Surkitt. Ian Percy continued his recent run of form by securing a 2 Min 9 Sec Club 1/2 Marathon PB (#5 of 2023) compared to his previous best set at Kimbolton back in 2022. Andrew Stevenson made his Club Debut at the distance. The full suIte of results are
| Race: Great North Run 1/2 Marathon Date: 10/09/23 Nos of Finishers: 43,559 | ||||
| Position | Name | Time | Age-Grade % | Notes |
| 139 | William Dales | 01:18:59 | N/A | |
| 3251 | David Ward | 01:44:13 | N/A | |
| 7773 | Jessica Barrett-Drylie | 01:55:59 | N/A | |
| 8513 | David Barrett-Hague | 01:57:32 | N/A | |
| 8854 | Ian Percy | 01:58:12 | N/A | PB |
| 10125 | Kerry Surkitt | 02:00:21 | N/A | |
| 10484 | Ian Wilson | 02:01:07 | N/A | |
| 12275 | Andrew Stevenson | 02:04:33 | N/A | Debut Club 1/2 Marathon |
| 16318 | Chloe Wilson | 02:11:34 | N/A | |
| 27305 | Kate Ruddock | 02:30:10 | N/A | |
| 27334 | Claire Few | 02:30:12 | N/A | |
| 27339 | Sue Yendley | 02:30:13 | N/A | |
| 43208 | Alan Hannibal | 04:00:15 | N/A | |
| 43213 | Geoff Hopcraft | 04:00:19 | N/A | |
| 43214 | Nigel Maggs | 04:00:20 | N/A | |
BRJ Ouse Valley Way Marathon
The 2 races available (Full Solo Marathon & Marathon Relay) were both point-to-point courses starting from Earith to St Neots along the Ouse Valley Way, with a changeover point in the relay at Godmanchester. Competitors in both events were not only facing a challenging, but scenic, mixed terrain course but very hot & then very wet & windy conditions that were not conducive to long distance running. Unsurprisingly, with the predicted heat there was a significant number of no shows & despite the provision of additional water & a plethora of encouraging Marshals a number of retirements were seen including for some BRJ participants.
Marathon Relay – 5 Pairs team started the event but sadly 1 team from BRJ failed to finish. Nicki McMahon, was the fastest BRJ finisher for her 1/2 Marathon (2:02:35) .
The stats for the BRJ teams were:
Position Combined Time Name (1/2 Marathon Time)
3 4:26:10 Amanda Roland-Convey (2:03:37) Annette Newton (2:22:33)
4 6:06:21 Darren Butler (2:52:01) Matthew Pendlebury (3:14:20)
Full Solo Marathon
Only 1 BRJ’er, Frank Holmes, finished the course. From 56, Frank finished in position 16 in a time of 4:51:24. An Age Graded score of 47.49% counts towards the 2023 Senior Running Champs.
MULTI-SPORTS
St Neots Standard Distance Triathlon
Gilles Corby was the only BRJ’er among the 310 finishers operating in hot conditions & covering the 1500 Metre Swim, 40K Bike & 10K Run in a total time of 3:00:07.
Outlaw X Half Ironman
Caroline Tiller travelled to Thoresby Park to participate in her Debut 1/2 Ironman distance Tri, finishing in position 402 / 420 in 7:43:24. Her individual phase stats were:
Swim (1.2m) – 00:59:08
T1 – 00:08:20
Bike (56.8 Miles) – 3:46:46
T2 – 00:04:07
Run (13.1Miles) – 2:45:03
Ironman (Wales) Triathlon
A great report from John Clark from his recent experience of his Debut Ironman Distance Tri …
“After a 4.15am alarm we gathered amongst the 2,000 competitors on North Beach in Tenby in perfect conditions, with hardly a breath of wind, and a very calm sea. The crowds even at this early hour were amazing, and hearing the Welsh national anthem before the start really gave goosebumps. The 3.9KM (2.4 Mile) swim was 2 laps with an Aussie exit, and I completed my first lap in 43 mins, which i was very pleased with. My final swim time was 1.37 so I was a little disappointed with my second lap, but later found out that this was due to the tide changing.
There was a 1KM run to transition up the famous zig zags and through the crowds. My transition of nearly 20 mins was slow as I had decided to do a full change to cycling kit, rather than use a tri suit.
The bike phase of 180KM (112 Miles) was amazing and horrible in equal measures, with some spectacular scenery and more amazing crowds, especially going up Heartbreak Hill on the first lap (by the time I got there for the second time, most had moved back to Tenby for the run!). A picnic of pork pies and coke, plus seeing my wife at the top boosted me for the final push. The stretch from about 130 to 160KM was very tough, with a lot of climbing but few supporters in this stretch. I completed the ride in just over 8 hours, which was at the lower end of where I hoped to be, but I felt I got my pacing right, and also eat and hydrated according to my race plan.
T2 was slow again as I changed in to running kit, including my BRJ top.
The 42KM (26.2 mile) marathon was 4 laps, with a long up hill stretch at the start of each lap. I generally ran the flat and downhill sections and walked up hill and aid stations, which seemed to work, and I felt good throughout. The crowds again were amazing, especially in the town, and lots of people had clearly taken up residence outside the pubs!
I completed my first ‘official’ Ironman in a total time of 15:30:04. but to be honest, I was never concerned about my time, I just wanted to get round. An absolutely amazing event, with crowds that I’ve never experienced in any other race. After the finish I said ‘never again’, but thoughts have already turned to where and when the next one might be……….”
John’s phase stats were:
Position 1,330 of the 1,624 that finished under the 17 hour limit required to be declared an “Ironman”. Nearly 300 did NOT finish the course.
Swim – 1:37:02
T1 – 00:19:39
Bike – 8:06:55
T2 – 00:11:47
Run – 5:14:22
The Brutal Extreme Ironman Triathlon
Simon Moore took part in this Full Solo Extreme Ironman Tri based in Llanberis, North Wales. The Bike & Run courses were hilly with the run phase concluding with an accent of Mount Snowdon. The extreme course & heat meant that only 34 finished the course, with Simon taking 8th position & 1st in his age group in a total time of 14:53:20. His impressive individual phase stats were:-
Swim (2.4 Miles/ 4 Laps) – 1:20:44
T1 – 00:10:09
Bike (112 Miles / 4 Laps) – 6:58:41
T2 – 00:10:40
Run (15 Miles / 3 Laps) – 02:50:02
Run up Mt Snowdon (11.2 Miles) – 3:23:04