Running
Parkrun Junior 2K
BRJ Juniors were in action at 2 venues, At Cambridge Jack Scott, finishing in 3rd position, achieved a new Club 2K PB by a 10 Sec margin. At Jubilee Park, new members Keira & Rhys Coverdale made their Club 2K Debuts.
Parkrun 5K
BRJ’ers returned to Babbs Mill, Corby, Dunstable Downs, Edgbaston, Ferry Meadows, Fountains Abbey, Eastleigh, Hove Promenade (a new Club 5K PB for Alex Mitton by 1 Sec), Millenium Country, Milton Country, Milton Keynes, Poole, Rutland Water & Storeys Field.
Alice Edwards made a Club Venue Debut at Queanbeyan (Canberra, Australia).
At Huntingdon, the Parkrun was being held on the 35th anniversary of the official opening of Hinchingbrooke Country Park. In todays Parkrun, Will Dales finished in 2nd position & Emily Miller made her Club 5K Debut.
London Junior Mini-Marathon
Junior Dixie Swales successfully completed the London Mini-Marathon as part of a Schools (Stukeley Meadows Primary) team. The races were run over a 2.6K distance, starting at Horseguards Parade, heading down Birdcage Walk, passing Buckingham Palace, heading down Constitution Hill then making a U turn towards the Marathon finish line in Pall Mall. Of the 297 finishers in her wave, Dixie finished in position 164 in a time of 00:14:25.
Northstowe 1/2 Marathon
An updated result to last weeks report as Rachael Dent also participated in the event, finishing in position 215 in a time of 2:06:40.
London Marathon
Cold & Windy conditions faced the participants & their supporters. In 2024, there were 9 BRJ’ers among the 53,802 finishers, an event record.
The BRJ squad was led home by Women’s Club Captain ,Felicity Baillie who had qualified to compete in the AAA Club Marathon Championship. I know from previous experience that participants in this competition have access to “creature comforts” in the start assembly area that are unavailable to the Masses such as use of a tented area, separate toilets & a Warm-Up area.
The windy conditions made the task of achieving a PB more difficult, but despite these challenges, Pippa Burns secured a significant 17 Min 18 Sec improvement over her previous Club Marathon PB set at this venue in 2023.
Our lead Man, with a sub-4 hour finish time, was Paul Sowter. This event was not only his Club Marathon Debut but also his Club Debut Race.
2 other members (Jane Ainscow & Ian Percy) made their Club Marathon Debuts & were both using the Marathon to raise money for their favourite charities.
For those members keen to experience competing in the 45th London Marathon in April 2025 the Public Ballot is now OPEN but closes on 26th April. Good luck!
The full set of results, including the scores counting towards the 2024 Senior Running Championships, were:
| Race: London Marathon Date: 21/04/24 Nos of Finishers: 53,802 | ||||
| Position | Name | Time | Age-Grade % | Notes |
| 11617 | Felicity Baillie | 03:34:49 | 63.87% | |
| 15794 | Paul Sowter | 03:47:36 | 57.30% | Debut Club Marathon |
| 16827 | Marco Wassersleben | 03:50:16 | 59.07% | |
| 18822 | Melanie Wiffin | 03:55:27 | 60.61% | |
| 25450 | Ian Percy | 04:14:41 | 55.81% | Debut Club Marathon |
| 27725 | Phillipa Burns | 04:21:54 | 54.97% | PB |
| 36634 | Paul Treadwell | 04:52:15 | 51.90% | |
| 45379 | Dan Ainscow | 05:34:16 | 40.69% | |
| 49592 | Jane Ainscow | 06:06:32 | 42.53% | Debut Club Marathon |