RUNNING
PARKRUN JUNIOR 2K
BRJ Juniors were in action at Cambourne & Jubilee Park. At Cambourne, Finley Harrison finished in 7th place / 55 & at Jubilee Park, Alexander Eason was 34th / 54.
PARKRUN 5K
BRJ’ers returned to Bug Hunter Waters (Course Bests for both Aaron Ball & David Spurle & Parkrun #25 for Henry Reeve), Kettering, Pocket, Milton Country, Newtown, Storeys Field, The Plens, Whitley Bay, Woodhouse Moor (3rd place for Keelan Duffy) & York. At Norwich, Adam D’Souza secured another new Club 5K PB, this time by a 2 Sec margin compared to Storeys Field #156 of 31 August. This was PB #16 of 2024.
At a misty & muggy Huntingdon #511, 2 BRJ’ers secured new Club 5K PB’s, these were:
i). Mica Covell – A new Club 5K PB (#5 of 2024) by 31 Secs compared to her previous best from Huntingdon #500.
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ii). Junior Stanley Coe – In his first sub-25 min performance, Stanley achieved a new Club 5K PB (#6 of 2024) by 32 Secs compared to his previous best from Huntingdon #498. Slawomir Dziarmaga completed Parkrun #100.
As a reminder, Huntingdon Parkrun #512 taking place on the 14th September is the “Nominated” event in the Senior Running Champs. BRJ’ers are encouraged to wear Club Vests, in order to both identify themselves to other club members also promote the Club to encourage recruitment of potential new members.
October’s Senior “Nominated” event is the flat & fast Fenland 10M (Wisbech) on the 27th.
Bedford Festival of Running
The 2 day festival included races over 5K, 10K, 1/2 Marathon & 20 Miles. BRJ’ers successfully participated in 3 of these events:-.
Twilight 10K – The 900 finishers included 2 BRJ’ers both securing new Club PB’s. These were:-
i). Robin Cooper – Finished in 78th position in a time of 00:44:31. This representing a new Club 10K PB by a 1 Min 19 Sec margin compared to June’s Bassingboun Belle 10K. This was PB #17 of 2024.
ii). Emily Miller – Finished in 96th position in 00:46:23 representing a Club 10K PB by a 35 Sec margin compared to 2024’s Flaming June 10K. This was PB #9 of 2024. Emily finished in Silver Medal position in her Age Category.
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1/2 Marathon – Kathy Unwin made her Club 1/2 Marathon Debut finishing in position 812 / 869 in a time of 2:39:16.
20M – 4 Club members were amongst the 298 finishers. Jonathan Harding led home the squad finishing just shy of his existing Club PB. Adam D’Souza, Kerry Surkitt & Rachael Dent all made their Club 20 Mile Debuts. For Kerry & Rachael the race constituted a final long distance training run ahead of Octobers’s Stevenage Marathon. The full set of results are
| Race: Bedford Running Festival 20M Date: 8/09/24 Nos of Finishers: 298 | ||||
| Position | Name | Time | Age-Grade % | Notes |
| 35 | Jonathan Harding | 02:18:57 | N/A | |
| 85 | Adam D’Souza | 02:42:50 | N/A | Debut Club 20M |
| 152 | Kerry Surkitt | 03:03:23 | N/A | Debut Club 20M |
| 242 | Rachael Dent | 03:35:30 | N/A | Debut Club 20M |
Sawtry 10M
A total of 7 BRJ’ers were among the 250 finishers in this race which was a qualifying event in the 2024 Cambs AA Road Running League competition. In his Debut Club 10M, Alex Mitton led home the squad in 20th position, closely followed by Coach Paul Mitton. Paul & Neil Whitaker both secured new Club 10M PB’s which were:-
i). Paul Mitton – Finished in 36th position in a time of 1:07:37 representing a new Club 20M PB by a 1 Min 41 Sec margin compared to October 2018’s Fenland 10M (PB #4 of 2024).
ii). Neil Whitaker – Finished in 68th position in a time of 1:13:56 which was a new Club PB by a 43 Sec margin compared to 2023’s Sawtry 10M (PB #1 of 2024).
Bo Mead made her Club 10M Debut, whilst Amanda Roland-Convey & Annette Newton, both in the final stages of their training for October’s Chicago Marathon, alongside David Newton, secured Age Category podium positions. The full set of results are
| Race: Sawtry 10M Date: 8/09/24 Nos of Finishers: 250 | ||||
| Position | Name | Time | Age-Grade % | Notes |
| 20 | Alex Mitton | 01:04:25 | N/A | Debut Club 10M |
| 36 | Paul Mitton | 01:07:37 | N/A | PB |
| 68 | Neil Whitaker | 01:13:56 | N/A | PB |
| 129 | Amanda Roland-Convey | 01:24:49 | N/A | 2nd FV50-54 |
| 154 | Annette Newton | 01:28:05 | N/A | 1st FV70+ |
| 182 | David Newton | 01:34:06 | N/A | |
| 248 | Bo Mead | 01:53:27 | N/A | Debut Club 10M |
Great North Run (GNR) 1/2 Marathon
A total of 8 BRJ’ers ventured to Newcastle to compete amongst 45,798 finishers in rainy, but mild conditions. Several of the squad were raising money for the MNDA charity but other than sporting the Charities T-shirts they were not adorned in fancy dress as was the case in many previous years & in 2024 it also lacked the participation of several Club GNR regulars such as Stan Cragg, Alan Hannibal & Geoff Hopcraft .
BRJ was led home by Seb Burley with Jess Barrett-Drylie our leading lady. Despite the conditions & the large number of competitors, Andrew Stevenson secured a new Club 1/2 Marathon PB by a significant 14 Min 8 Sec margin based on his performance at 2024’s Cambridge 1/2. (PB #4 of 2024). The full set of results are
| Race: Great North Run 1/2 Marathon Date: 8/09/24 Nos of Finishers: 45,798 | ||||
| Position | Name | Time | Age-Grade % | Notes |
| 1479 | Sebastian Burley | 01:30:11 | N/A | |
| 3647 | Andrew Stevenson | 01:38:45 | N/A | PB |
| 11732 | Jessica Barrett-Drylie | 01:55:00 | N/A | |
| 13213 | Ian Wilson | 01:57:10 | N/A | |
| 14000 | Nigel Maggs | 01:58:24 | N/A | |
| 20984 | Megan Wilson | 02:09:29 | N/A | |
| 21066 | Karen Gilchrist | 02:09:37 | N/A | |
| 23090 | Chloe Wilson | 02:13:10 | N/A | |
Cambs AA Road Running League Competition 2024 – POSITIONS UPDATE
Based on finish results from the Sawtry 10M race, The Competition Manager (Ty Farrer) has updated the current finish positions for BRJ which are, as follows:
INDIVIDUAL COMPETITION
Women 45-54 – Second Place – Amanda Roland-Convey
TEAMS COMPETITION
Men – 6th place (up from 7th)
Women – 3rd place
The final event in the 2024 Competition is the Fenland 10M taking place on the 27th October 2024. This race is also the Cambs County 10 Mile qualifier.
MULTI-SPORTS
Bournemouth International Standard Distance Triathlon
The event represented a GB Age Qualifier for the 2025 European Champs. The Swim phase, started & finished from the West side of the Pier, followed by a bike route through the New Forest & then a run along the Promenade. David Ward was among the competitors, finishing in position 150 / 337 in a time of 2:28:81. His phase stats were:
Swim (1500m) – 00:25:29
T1 – 00:02:00
Bike (40K) – 1:10:58
T2 – 00:01:36
Run (10K) – 00:46:06
Vitruvian Middle Distance Triathlon
The events were based in, & around, Rutland Water. Paul Fullalove was the sole BRJ competitor finishing in position 366 / 553 in a time of 5:51:55. His phase stats were:
Swim (1.2 Miles ) – 00:35:01
T1 – 00:04:32
Bike (55 Miles) – 2:49:17
T2 – 00:03:06
Run (1/2 Marathon) – 2:19:57