6th December
RUNNING
Parkrun Junior 2K
Amy & Katie Lasseter were amongst the field of just 20 brave junior athletes braving the wet & windy conditions at Jubilee Pak. No PB’s were secured.
Parkrun 5K
There were BRJ returns to Crystal Palace, Fulbourn Hospital, Hogmoor Inclosure (Neil Whitaker had a Course PB) March, Storeys Field (Alison Orrell completed Parkrun #200) & Woodhouse Moor. There were no PB’s secured at these events. BRJ’ers (Phil Pearsons, Pat & Peter Jackson) made a club event debut at Doddington Hall. No PB’s achieved.
At Huntingdon, Tim Phillips secured a 18 Sec Club 5K PB (#2 of 2021), Nicki McMahon had a Course PB & Alan Hanibal completed Parkrun #200 followed by the now customary post run visit to Wetherspoons.
Zig Zag Christmas Canters (Hinchingbrooke Country Park)
10K – Felicity Baillie took 3rd place overall (1st Female) of the 39 finishers over a wet & muddy course. Despite these challenges, Felicity secured the Female course record in a time of 00:47:18. Chloe Rudd, in her Club 10K debut, finished in 24th position in 1:12:16. The event comes highly
1/2 Marathon – Sara Graham-Clare finished in Position 37 in 2:49:59
14th December
RUNNINGParkrun 5K
There were BRJ returns to Ashton Court, Lincoln, March & Whittlesey. There were no Club PB’s at any of these events.At Huntingdon, 2 new Club 5K PB’s were secured for Paul Treadwell (by 18 Secs which was Road Run PB #11 of 2021) & Kerry Surkitt (by 16 Mins 7 Secs / Road Run PB #4 of 2021). Keelan Duffy completed Parkrun #250.
Milton Keynes Winter 1/2 Marathon
4 BRJ’ers participated in this local event held in unseasonably warm conditions. Annette Newton secured an Age Category podium position. The results were:-NAME TIME POSITION
Annette Newton 1:51:37 510 (3rd FV65+)
Yvonne Homewood. 2:03:23 797
Melanie Gearing 2:31:52 1,277
Belinda Parker 2:31:52 1,278
CROSS COUNTRYFrostbite Friendly League Event (#3 of 6) – Hinchingbrooke Country Park (Hosted by Hunts AC)Hosted by Hunts AC, the course has been in use since 2008. Although the weather on the day was unseasonably warm, the rain in the proceeding days made certain parts of the course quite slippery, especially for those individuals not wearing Trail Shoes. Sadly, Senior member Neil Whitaker retired hurt as a result.Despite the challenges, there were a total of 527 finishers across both events, 130 in the Junior & 397 in the Senior race. The next event (#4 of 6) hosted by March AC, takes place on the 16th January 2022 starting from March AC’s HQ adjacent to Whitemoor Prison.
Junior 1.5 Miles
A turnout of 11 Juniors (6 Boys & 5 Girls) were amongst the 130 finishers. Our squad finished in 6th position of the 15 teams with 229 Race Points, meaning that after 3 events are placed in 6th position overall on 31 League points, the same as Cambridge & Coleridge in 5th place who have a lower Race Points score. The Club Junior stats were:-
NAME POSITION
Christopher Scott 32 (Debut at Venue & Team Scorer)
Samuel Gibbons 33 (Debut at Venue & Team Scorer)
Freya Harris 41 (Debut at Venue, Team Scorer & 3rd Girl overall)
Henry Reeve 54 (Debut at Venue & Team Scorer)
Thomas Portieri 64 (Debut at Venue)
Leif Meyer 68 (Debut at Venue)
Katie Lasseter 69 (Debut at Venue & Team Scorer)
Ethan Ward 72 (Debut at Venue)
Iris Purser 73 (Debut at Venue)
Amy Lasseter 118 (Debut at Venue)
Nyah Scott 121 (Debut at Venue)
Senior 5 Miles
A turnout of 38 Seniors (25 Men & 13 Women) were amongst the 397 finishers. Our Senior squad finished in a 4th position of the 16 teams with 777 Race Points, their best position so far this season. After 3 events, our Seniors are now placed in 5th position overall on 34 League points, 5 points behind Yaxley. The Club Senior stats were:-
NAME POSITION
Keelan Duffy 24 (Debut at Venue & Team Scorer)
William Dales 27 (PB at Event & Team Scorer)
Marcela Gracova 53 (Debut at Venue, Team Scorer, 3rd Female overall & New Club Female Champion for this Venue)
Sebastian Burley 74 (Debut at Venue & Team Scorer)
Paul Mitton 81 (PB at Venue & Team Scorer)
Stuart Hathaway 85 (Team Scorer)
Jonathan Harding 86 (Debut at Venue & Team Scorer)
Felicity Baillie 87 (Debut at Venue & Team Scorer)
Alex Mitton 90 (Debut at Venue & team Scorer)
Tim Legge 109 (Debut at Venue)
Tim Phillips 135 (Debut at Venue)
Jim Hopkins 146 (PB at Venue)
Richard Orrell 155
Nicki McMahon 170 (Debut at Venue & Team Scorer)
David Ward 175 (Debut at Venue)
Gilles Corby 176
David Newton 191
Ian Wilson 194
Ruth Foster 211
Heledd Marshall-Roberts 216 (Debut at Venue)
Simon Lumley 219
Alison Orrell 226 (PB at Venue)
Steve Dockerill 228
Stephen Rochford 231 (Debut at Venue)
Anthony Foster 238 (Debut at Venue)
Mike Gullis 256
Alan Hannibal 257
Thomas Brand 274
Alice Edwards 286
Peter Jackson 287
Lisa Shacklock 294 (Debut at Venue)
Alexandra Smart 300 (Debut at Venue)
Clive Best 317 (PB at Venue)
Kate Ruddock 334
Michael Shaw 340
Anna Best 376
Jane Ainscow 386 (Debut at Venue)
Alice Noyes 395The full list of results can be found at:-
http://www.frostbiteleague.org.uk
20th December
RUNNING
Parkrun Junior 2K
Katie Lasseter in a return to Jubilee Park was the sole BRJ Junior in action. No PB was secured.
Parkrun 5K
There were BRJ returns to Fountains Abbey, March, Pocket, Rutland Water, Storeys Field & Whittlesey. No PB’s were secured at these venues.
At Kettering, Keelan Duffy put in yet another strong performance (00:16:35) to take the Runner-Up position. This was a new Club 5K by a margin of 27 Secs (#8 of 2021). Keelan moves up to 4th place in the list of fastest BRJ Men over 5K, some 30 Secs behind 3rd placed John Uff. Wiliam Dales, still improving after a recent injury, took the 3rd place overall, just shy of his current Club PB.
At Teignmouth Promenade, Tim Phillips made a BRJ debut earning a 1 Min 18 Sec Club PB (#3 of 2021).
At Huntingdon, Gerry Pye secured a 3 Sec Club PB (#3 of 2021), Iain Drylie made his Club 5K Debut, whilst Rebecca Ainscow achieved a course PB.
Olympic Park 10K
Felicity Baillie continued her excellent run of form, completing this race as Runner-Up Woman in a time of 00:39:21 in position 17 overall of the 215 finishers. Her new 10K time represented a 2 Min 36 Sec improvement compared to that set at Bedford back in September. This PB was #7 of 2021 promotes her to Runner-Up position in the 2021 Woman’s “Most Road Run PB’s” competition & now just 1 PB shy of the current leader, with just a few days to go before this competitions conclusion.
Felicity is now 3rd fastest BRJ Woman over 10K, beating Shelley Duffy’s time by 9 Secs & is now just 44 Secs behind the time set by the current 2nd place holder (Sabrina Crothall).
Waterside (Grafham) 10 Miles
Foggy, damp & cold conditions faced the 141 finishers in a course centred on Grafham Water. New member, Joseph Emery, lead home the BRJ squad in 5th place, just failing to secure a Age Category podium place whilst Tom Brand also made his Club 10 Mile debut. The summary of the BRJ results is:-
NAME TIME POSITION
Joseph Emery 1:02:31 5 (Debut Club 10M)
John Parker 1:19:57 53
Tom Brand 1:38:37 116 (Debut Club 10M)
Gerard Baker 1:39:27 122
26th December
RUNNING
Parkrun 5K
Colin West was the sole BRJ’er to participate at Peterborough & there were Club venue debuts at Itchen Valley Country Parkrun (Jane, Jules & Tony Farrow) & also at Troon (Scotland) for Maureen Wickson. No Club PB’s were secured at these venues.
At a muddy Huntingdon, Keelan Duffy achieved a Course PB & Freya Harris completed Parkrun #150.
3rd January 2022
RUNNING
Parkrun Junior 2k
Freya Harris was the sole Junior BRJ’er attending a 2K Parkrun, winning the Jubilee Park event.
Parkrun 5K
BRJ’ers made returns to Buckingham, Dunstable Downs (where Colin West completed Parkrun #300), Ferry Meadows, Hereford, March, Northampton, Pocket, South Manchester, Whittlesey & Wimpole (Kerry Surkitt secured a Course PB). No PB’s were secured at these events.
At Great Denham, Keelan Duffy got his 2022 running campaign off to a cracking start by securing a second Club PB in 2 days by 10 Secs (down to 00:16:25). Keelan remains as the 4th fastest BRJ Man over 10K, but now just 21 Secs behind 3rd place John Uff. At a muddy Huntingdon, William Dales took the overall win, Heledd Marshall-Roberts made her Club 5K debut & Kevin Ryan completed Parkrun #50.
Peterborough New Years Eve 10K
As was the case in both 2019 & 2020, COVID saw the cancellation of the traditional Ely NYE event. Thankfully, the Peterborough event avoided cancellation despite the rapidly increasing infection rates. There was a very early start & the heavy downpour before race start made the off road section of the course somewhat muddy. Despite these challenges, the BRJ squad delivered outstanding individual performances, several Debut Club 10K runs, Age Category podium positions & success in all 3 team prize categories.
From the 875 finishers, the increasingly speedy Keelan Duffy secured a top 10 position, representing a 54 Sec Club 10K PB & moving him into 10th place in the list of Fastest BRJ Men over the distance. Equally quick Marcela Gracova was 3rd Woman home overall finishing just outside her Club PB. Unluckiest BRJ’er was Paul Mitton who finished 4th in his age category, but did enough to feature in 2 of the 3 Team prize categories. The detailed stats are:
INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
NAME TIME POSITION
Keelan Duffy 00:35:48 10 (PB – #9 of 2021)
Marcela Gracova 00:39:44 38 (3rd Woman & 1st FV35-39)
Paul Mitton 00:41:19 56
Jonathan Harding 00:42:08 68( Debut Club 10k)
Alex Mitton 00:43:34 85
Felicity Baillie 00:44:40 109
Richard Orrell 00:47:59 170
Sebastian Burley 00:48:04 175 (Debut Club 10k)
Gilles Corby 00:48:22 183
David Newton 00:48:49 196 (2nd MV70-74)
Heledd Marshall-Roberts 00:49:56 222
Ian Wilson 00:50:37 233
Annette Newton 00:51:41 274 (1st FV65-69)
Alison Orrell 00:53:06 306 (2nd FV55-59)
Kerry Surkitt 00:53:37 322 (Debut Club 10K)
Paul Treadwell 00:53:41 327
Stephen Rochford 00:53:58 336
Gerard Baker 00:58:52 482
Clive Best 00:58:56 484
Kevin Ryan 00:59:03 490
Richard Stevens 1:00:02 514
Rae Maynard 1:02:48 589
Tom Brand 1:03:12 603
Colin West 1:04:39 642
Anna Best 1:04:47 649 (3rd FV65-69)
Samantha Healey 1:11:12 748
Michelle Caspersz 1:14:05 802
Rebecca Carmody 1:14:06 803
TEAM RESULTS
TEAM POSITION TEAM MEMBERS
Women’s 2nd Marcela Gracova, Felicity Baillie & Heledd Marshall-Roberts
Men 3rd Keelan Duffy, Paul Mitton & Jonathan Harding
Overall (Mixed) 3rd Keelan Duffy, Marcela Gracova & Paul Mitton
10th January
RUNNING
Parkrun 5K
There were BRJ returns to Brundall, Bury Field (Kerry Surkitt secured a 24 Sec Club 5K PB), Cassiobury, Coldhams Common, Storeys Field & Whittlesey. Great Denham, alongside Storeys Field, is proving to be the venue to achieve a PB time & despite the breezy conditions, this was the case for the in-form Felicity Baillie who finished as 1st Woman securing a 42 Sec Club PB. This PB reinforced her position as the 4th fastest BRJ Woman over 5K, but is now just 12 Secs behind 3rd placed Shelley Duffy.
At Huntingdon, Diane Shutt made her Club 5K debut & Gerard Baker completed Parkrun #150.
Cambs XC Champs
BRJ’ers competed in last weekend’s County Cross Country Champs. Results to follow.
16th January
There were BRJ returns to Brandon Country Park, Great Denham (1st place for Keelan Duffy), March (a Course PB for Jules Farrow), Storeys Field & Watermead Country Park. At Pocket (St Neots), Kerry Surkitt secured a 40 Sec Club 5k PB, her 2nd of 2022.
At a very muddy & foggy Huntingdon, Samantha Healey completed her Parkrun Century (a significantly higher number than the majority of the Batsmen in the England Test Cricket squad) & Anthony Foster completed #150.
Enigma Winter Run Marathon
On 9th January & as part of a personal challenge to run 100 Marathons, Kerry Surkitt completed Marathon #99 finishing in position 20 of the 45 finishers in a time of 4:56:05. Kerry has become the 1st BRJ’er to record a score (50.73) in the 2022 Senior Running Champs by virtue that in addition to the specified “Nominated” events that are listed in the BRJ website, 1 full Marathon distance event can be accepted as part of the 4 events required to qualify for a champs finish position.
Cambridgeshire County Cross Country Champs (Priory Park, St Neots)
After a enforced delay of 1 year, Junior & Senior BRJ’ers took the opportunity to represent the club at this county level competition. The good weather put in an much welcome appearance but participation numbers were much lower in all races compared with previous years. This meant that apart from the Senior Women’s Masters event BRJ had insufficient entrants to secure a team result. All of the various courses would be familiar to those that have competed in the St Neots Frostbite Friendly League fixture. Thanks go to Paul Mitton for managing the logistics on behalf of the BRJ squad. Our results were:-
Under 11 Girls (1.7K / 20 Finishers)
16 Nyah Scott 00:09:53
18 Lia McMahon 00:11:06
Under 13 Girls (2.9K / 29 Finishers)
7 Freya Harris 00:11:42
Under 15 Boys (4.8K / 25 Finishers)
23 Henry Reeve 00:24:37
Under 20, Senior & Masters Women (5.8K / 48 Finishers)
29 Heledd Marshall-Roberts 00:28:03
34 Alison Orrell 00:28:44 (3rd FV55 – Bronze Medal)
37 Alice Edwards 00:29:40
NOTE: The squad finished in 4th Position in the Women’s Masters competition just 1 position behind the Bronze Medal Team
Under 20, Senior & Masters Men (10K / 88 Finishers)
18 Keelan Duffy 00:39:42
50 Paul Mitton 00:47:07
54 Alex Mitton 00:47:54
75 Gilles Corby 00:53:38
|
Where’s the Finish Marathon
After a delay of just 7 days since completing her last Marathon, Kerry Surkitt successfully met her goal of completing 100th Marathons before her 50th Birthday, in fact she was 49! The COVID Lockdown meant that she had to significantly alter her schedule meaning that in the run-up to Marathon #100 Kerry completed an incredible 40 marathons (mostly Trail Runs) in a 9 month period & completed her challenge just 2 days after her 49th birthday. Kerry finished this Marathon in position 30 ot the 42 finishers in a time of 5:51:22 (43.27% Age Grading). Her achievement qualifies her as a fully fledged member of the exclusive 100 Marathon Club. To my knowledge, Tony Cotton is the only other BRJ member of this Club with a tally of 150 Marathons.
Frostbite Friendly League Event #4 – March
Event 4 (of 6) was hosted by March AC. Both courses were centered on the farmland & Nature Reserve surrounding Whitemoor Prison. The weather was less cold than in previous days & thankfully the notorious Fen Winds stayed away. Both Junior & Senior Frostbites were “Nominated” events in the 2022 Club Annual Running Championshps (details of which are shown in the BRJ website). The finishers Running Champs scores acheived at this Frostbite are shown in the results as a Age Graded Percentage.
Junior (1.5 Miles)
Our Junior squad of 7 athletes comprised 3 Boys & 4 Girls, just over the minimum number of the 5 required to constitute a scoring team. Despite representing her School the previous day in the County Cross Country Champs, Freya Harris had a determined run to lead home our squad, although her finish time fell just outside her PB at this venue. Our 1st Boy home, Josh Spavins, finished just 10 Secs behind Freya. There were no PBs & all but Freya made their Venue Debut.
Our Junior’s finished in 6th position on the day with 198 Race Points (31 better than event #3) placing them in 5th position in the league table, an improvement of 1 place since event #3 & just 3 League Points behind 4th placed Ely.
Senior (5 Miles)
The Senior squad of 24 comprised 13 Men & 11 Women. The squad were again led home by Keelan Duffy in 7th who, along with Paul Mitton, Felicity Baillie & Alex Mitton secured Venue PBs. A large number of members made their Venue Debut including our lead Woman, Marcela Gracova (34th / 2nd Woman overall) & brand new member Laurence Raven.
Our Seniors finished in 5th position on the day with 696 Race Points (81 better than event #3) & putting them into 4th position in the league table, a 1 place improvement. Our Seniors now have 46 League Points which exactly matches Riverside Runners in 3rd place & PANVAC in 5th. C&C in 6th follow with 45 points which essentially means that any of these 4 teams can claim the Bronze medal position at event #6. A good attendance & team result at the next fixture at Bourne Woods would give us a significant possibility of snatching the Bronze Medal.
Race: Junior Frostbite #4 – March AC (1.5 Miles) Date: 16/01/22 Nos of Finishers: 118 |
Position |
Name |
Time |
Age-Grade % |
Notes |
23 |
Freya Harris |
00:10:03 |
72.24% |
Team Scorer |
26 |
Joshua Spavins |
00:10:13 |
69.49% |
Debut @ Venue- Team Scorer |
32 |
Henry Reeve |
00:10:26 |
62.52% |
Debut @ Venue- Team Scorer |
58 |
Katie Lasseter |
00:11:47 |
62.97% |
Debut @ Venue- Team Scorer |
59 |
Matthew Ainscow |
00:11:48 |
53.06% |
Debut @ Venue- Team Scorer |
106 |
Rebecca Ainscow |
00:13:54 |
50.41% |
Debut @ Venue |
111 |
Amy Lasseter |
00:14:17 |
50.83% |
Debut @ Venue |
Race: Senior Frostbite #4 – March AC (5 Miles) Date: 16/01/22 Nos of Finishers: 357 |
Position |
Name |
Time |
Age-Grade % |
Notes |
7 |
Keelan Duffy |
00:30:31 |
69.85% |
PB @ Debut-Team Scorer |
34 |
Marcela Gracova |
00:33:52 |
72.74% |
Debut @ Venue-Team Scorer |
51 |
Paul Mitton |
00:35:39 |
66.95% |
PB @ Debut-Team Scorer |
54 |
Sebastian Burley |
00:36:18 |
58.82% |
Debut @ Venue-Team Scorer |
55 |
Tim Legge |
00:36:19 |
63.65% |
Debut @ Venue-Team Scorer |
63 |
Felicity Baillie |
00:36:37 |
66.36% |
PB @ Debut-Team Scorer |
73 |
Alex Mitton |
00:37:01 |
57.63% |
PB @ Debut-Team Scorer |
86 |
Laurence Raven |
00:37:45 |
58.10% |
Debut @ Venue-Team Scorer |
96 |
Tim Phillips |
00:38:09 |
64.13% |
Debut @ Venue-Team Scorer |
112 |
Gilles Corby |
00:39:09 |
65.18% |
|
132 |
Richard Orrell |
00:40:14 |
64.00% |
|
151 |
David Newton |
00:41:01 |
73.02% |
|
172 |
Phillip Graham-Clare |
00:42:18 |
62.49% |
|
177 |
Heledd Marshall-Roberts |
00:42:22 |
57.91% |
Debut @ Venue-Team Scorer |
198 |
Alison Orrell |
00:43:43 |
67.82% |
|
218 |
Alice Edwards |
00:44:44 |
60.95% |
|
233 |
Annette Newton |
00:45:53 |
76.14% |
|
237 |
Lisa Shacklock |
00:46:20 |
60.94% |
Debut @ Venue |
247 |
Claire Ashton |
00:47:25 |
56.84% |
|
265 |
Mike Gullis |
00:48:49 |
55.14% |
|
269 |
Dan Ainscow |
00:49:04 |
47.86% |
Debut @ Venue |
289 |
Juliet Aungier |
00:51:23 |
48.20% |
|
337 |
Michelle Caspersz |
00:57:42 |
50.14% |
|
343 |
Jane Ainscow |
01:00:03 |
44.88% |
Debut @ Venue |
NEXT FROSTBITE EVENT (#5) – 6th February at Bourne Woods (North Peterborough) – In most years, BRJ goes into event #5 at Bourne Woods in a good position to compete for a top 3 place, but historically BRJ has low attendance numbers in both the Junior & Senior events at this venue meaning that any League Points deficit from event #5 is too large to be recoverable at the competition final event, which BRJ’s hosts at Huntingdon on the 13th March 2022.
Having increased numbers of Junior & Senior members representing our club at event #5, whatever your performance level, would give BRJ a far better chance of securing Bronze medal position. Looking forward to your support.
January 25th
RUNNING
Junior Parkrun 2K
Jubilee Park – New member Tom Sheldon made his club 2K debut finishing in Runner-Up position in 00:09:21.
Parkrun 5K
There were BRJ returns to Doddington Hall, Ferry Meadows, Harwich, Kings Lynn (Mark Jackman completed Parkrun #200), March (Course PB for Jules Farrow), Market Harborough, Portobello (Edinburgh), Whittlesey, Wimpole & Woodhouse Moor. No PB were secured at these venues.
At Storeys Field, Richard Orrell secured a 3 Sec Club 5K PB & there was a BRJ Venue Debut at the Centennial Parkrun (Sydney, Australia).
At Huntingdon, despite frosty & foggy weather it was conducive to PBs, which in order of merit were Joseph Emery (by 41 Secs), Diane Shutt (by 1 Min 2 Secs) & Heledd Marshall-Roberts (by 1 Min 3 Secs). Tim Legge made his Club 5K debut.
The Wrangler Marathon
Just 7 days after completing her 100th Marathon & her 3rd in a period of just 3 weeks, Kerry Surkitt completed #101, finishing in a time of 5:47:58 (43.70% Age Graded Score) in position 16 of the 24 finishers.
MULTI-SPORTS
Essex Duathlon (Standard Distance)
On 9 January, Joseph Emery completed this Standard Distance Duathlon finishing in the Runner-Up place (of 27) in a time of 2:06:15 & 1st in his Age Category. His individual stats were:-
Run 1 (10K) – 00:38:55
T1 – 00:02:24
Bike (40K) – 1:03:29
T2 – 00:01:26
Run 2 (5K) – 00:19:59
1st February
RUNNING
PARKRUN JUNIOR 2K
Katie Lasseter was the sole BRJ’er recorded, finishing in 3rd place at Jubilee Park.
PARKRUN 5K
BRJ’ers returned to Clare Castle, Henlow Bridge Lakes, Pocket, Storeys Field, Woodhouse Moor (Course PB for Keelan Duffy) & York.
There were 3 BRJ venue Parkrun debuts at Broadwater (Alice Noyes), Lota, Brisbane Anna & Clive Best) & Belvoir Castle (Kerry secured a 48 Sec Club 5K PB, her 3rd PB of 2022).
At a windy Huntingdon, Nigel Maggs completed Parkrun #125.
8th February
RUNNING
PARKRUN 5K
BRJ’ers made returns to Bury Field, Doddington Hall, Grovelands, March & Whittlesey. No Club PB’s were achieved at these venues.
There were 4 BRJ Venue debuts at Lytham Hall (Maureen Wickson), Strathclyde, Scotland (Stuart Turner), Torvean, Scotland (Stuart Ainsworth) & Wynnum Brisbane, Australia (Anna & Clive Best).
At Huntingdon, new member Ian Lasseter made his Club 5K debut & a Frostbite debut the following day, William Dales completed Parkrun #100 & both Mel Gearing & Alice Noyes #250.
FANCY DRESS FROLIC MARATHON
Kerry Surkitt completed her 4th full Marathon of 2022 finishing in 12th position of the 18 participants in 5:28:12 (46.33% Age Grading).
FROSTBITE FRIENDLY LEAGUE
Round #5 (of 6) hosted by Bourne Town Harriers took place at what turned out to be a sunny Bourne Woods. This Frostbite venue has been in use since 1996, but for 2022 on-going Forestry Work necessitated a slight diversion to the usual routes. The couple of spells of rain a few days before race day made the course slippery in places, but was far less muddy as in most previous years, excepting of course for the diversion section!
The final event of the 2021/2022 Frostbite Season takes place on Sunday 13th March at Jubilee Park, Huntingdon. The season closer is historically hosted by the BRJ & as it is our “Home” fixture, it would be great to have maximum attendance by both Junior & Senior members. In addition, your Frostbite Officer (Claire Few) will almost certainly require your assistance with the logistics involved in staging this event so you should watch out for a communication from Claire. Many of these logistic tasks would be particularly suitable for those members that may not wish to take part in the run itself which has the benefit of freeing up those members that would prefer to participate.
JUNIOR
Of the 90 finishers, BRJ fielded 5 athletes (3 Boys & 2 Girls). The club is indebted to Emily Marshall-Roberts who chose this event to run both her Frostbite & Club debuts to make up the minimum number required to obtain a team score. Despite her dirty new trainers, she was still smiling during her sprint to the finish.
In a reverse of Race 4’s finish positions, Josh Spavins out-sprinted Freya Harris to become our lead finisher. Freya was again 2nd Girl overall & was rewarded with a venue PB by a margin of just over 1 minute. The remainder of the squad debuted at this venue. The respective finish positions for both Henry Reeve & Katie Lasseter mirrored those of Race 4.
Our squads efforts secured 8th position on the day, meaning they go into Race 6 in 6th place overall in the League Table & just 2 League Points behind 5th place Yaxley who were 3rd on the day. A good Junior turnout will give a great chance of overtaking Yaxley at the final event of this season.
SENIOR
Of the 303 finishers, the BRJ squad comprised 20 (12 Men & 8 Women). Keelan Duffy was again the lead BRJ finisher & his 8th place finish was even more remarkable as he failed to bring his Trail Shoes thus lost traction & a few race positions, during the diverted section of the course. Despite these challenges, Keelan secured a 2 Min venue PB. Although Will Dales found his debut at the course quite tough, his reward was an excellent top 30 finish. From the remaining Men scorers, Alex Mitton, Paul Mitton & Richard Orrell all secured venue PB’s. Neil Whitaker, thankfully shook off the leg injury that forced him to withdraw from Race #4, to feature amongst the scorers,
Marcela Gracova was again our lead Woman & was also 1st overall in what was her venue debut. Marcela’s time places her as fastest BRJ Woman for this venue surpassing the previous best set by Shelley Duffy back in 2019 by 2 Mins 2 Secs. Felicity Baillie, and the ever improving Heledd Marshall-Roberts, put in string performances & replicated their finish positions as Team scorers at Race 4.
Juliet Aungier, Tom Brand & Ian Wilson all secured venue PB’s. The “unluckiest” BRJ’er was Ian Lasseter who missed out as a Team scorer on his club debut by just 2 Secs.
Our squad secured a well deserved 4th place on the day & so remain in 4th position in the League Table. After Race 4, Riverside Runners were in the bronze medal position on 46 points and PANVAC in 5th wth the same points number. At Bourne, Riverside finished in 6th place thus relegating them to 5th position in the League Table behind BRJ. PANVAC must be keen to secure the bronze medal at Race 6 & fielded a particularly strong team, finishing in 2nd place at Bourne & now sit 3rd in the League Table. For BRJ to steal the bronze place at Race #6 & replicate last seasons finish position, BRJ must finish a minimum of 3 places above PANVAC. This gap will not be easy to close, but is entirely possible if we get a good turnout from across the membership.
Race: Junior Frostbite #5 – Bourne Town Harriers (1.5 Miles) Date: 6/02/22 Nos of Finishers: 90 |
Position |
Name |
Time |
Notes |
21 |
Joshua Spavins |
00:09:34 |
Debut @ Venue + Team Scorer |
24 |
Freya Harris |
00:09:40 |
PB @ Venue + Team Scorer |
32 |
Henry Reeve |
00:09:54 |
Debut @ Venue + Team Scorer |
53 |
Katie Lasseter |
00:11:01 |
Debut @ Venue + Team Scorer |
88 |
Emily Marshall-Roberts |
00:14:32 |
Debut @ Venue + Team Scorer |
Race: Senior Frostbite #5- Bourne Town Harriers (5 Miles) Date: 6/02/22 Nos of Finishers: 303 |
Position |
Name |
Time |
Notes |
8 |
Keelan Duffy |
00:29:35 |
PB @ Venue + Team Scorer |
26 |
William Dales |
00:32:23 |
Debut @ Venue + Team Scorer |
28 |
Marcela Gracova |
00:32:27 |
Debut @ Venue + Team Scorer + 1st Woman |
49 |
Paul Mitton |
00:34:25 |
PB @ Venue + Team Scorer |
50 |
Sebastian Burley |
00:34:29 |
Debut @ Venue + Team Scorer |
64 |
Felicity Baillie |
00:35:43 |
Debut @ Venue + Team Scorer |
85 |
Alex Mitton |
00:37:02 |
PB @ Venue + Team Scorer |
95 |
Neil Whitaker |
00:37:48 |
Team Scorer |
109 |
Richard Orrell |
00:38:46 |
PB @ Venue + Team Scorer |
111 |
Ian Lasseter |
00:38:48 |
Debut @ Venue |
134 |
Heledd Marshall-Roberts |
00:40:08 |
Debut @ Venue + Team Scorer |
142 |
Ian Wilson |
00:40:46 |
PB @ Venue |
157 |
David Newton |
00:41:55 |
|
188 |
Alison Orrell |
00:44:00 |
|
203 |
Alice Edwards |
00:45:06 |
|
207 |
Annette Newton |
00:45:33 |
|
208 |
Thomas Brand |
00:45:33 |
PB @ Venue |
214 |
Mike Gullis |
00:46:10 |
|
232 |
Claire Ashton |
00:47:47 |
|
238 |
Juliet Aungier |
00:48:48 |
PB @ Venue |
14th February
RUNNING
PARKRUN JUNIOR 2K
Freya Harris led home all of the participants in Huntingdon’s Jubilee Park event.
PARKRUN 5K
BRJers returned to March, Mile End, Millennium Country Park (Forest of Marston Vale), Minnipi (Course PB for Anna Best), Portobello (Edinburgh), Potternewton (Course PB for Keelan Duffy), Rutland Water, Sandringham (Melanie Gearing & Alice Noyes completed Parkrun #250), Sheringham, Whittlesey & Wimpole. No Club PBs were secured at these events.
At Ferry Meadows, speedy Marcela Gracova led home the Women’s contingent in a spectacular time of 00:18:39 & securing a 7 Sec Club 5K PB. Her new time promotes her to Club Women’s 5K Distance Champion, bettering the time set by former member Sabrina Crothall at this venue in November 2019 by 3 Secs.. Marcela is also a BRJ Distance Champion at 5 Miles, 10K & 10 Miles.
At Huntingdon, 1st Woman home, Felicity Baillie secured a Course PB, Ian Lasseter a 44 Sec Club 5K PB & Kathryn Heath completed Parkrun #50.
Cancer Research London Winter Run 10K
Colin West was amongst the 8,703 finishers. The race started at Trafalgar Square and featured a tour of some of the landmarks of Central / City of London such as Covent Garden, Mansion House & St Paul’s Cathedral & finishing in Whitehall. Colin finished in a time of 1:04:08 in position 5,205.
Valentine’s Challenge 10K
Sara Graham-Clare completed her Debut Club 10K finishing in position 24 of the 29 finishers in a time of 1:21:52.
Stamford 30K
With the withdrawal of Gilles Corby due to injury, Paul Mitton & Simon Moore were the sole BRJers amongst the 459 finishers to tackle this 18.6 Mile long undulating rural course. Coupled with the windy, wet & cold (6 degrees) conditions. Simon finished in 84th position in a time of 2:13:03 that was short of his Club PB set in 2015.
Paul, who is in training for May’s Shakespeare Marathon (Stratford-on-Avon), overcame the strong headwinds in the second half of the race to finish in 92nd position. His time of 2:14:51 represented a Club PB by a margin of 2 Mins 37 Secs over the time he set here in 2020.
Valentine’s Challenge Marathon
Kerry Surkitt completed her 5th full Marathon of 2022 finishing in position 15 of the 27 finishers in a time of 5:12:20 (43.55% Age Grading).
22nd February
RUNNING
PARKRUN JUNIOR 2K
Freya Harris led the field home at Jubilee Park
PARKRUN 5K
There were BRJ returns to Gt Yarmouth North Beach, Irchester Country, Lota (Course PB’s for Anna & Clive Best), Lymington Woodside, Portobello & Potternewton. No PB’s were secured at these venues. At Storeys Field, Richard Orrell secured a 2 Sec Club 5K PB, his 2nd at this Parkrun course in 2022.
BRJ’ers made club debuts at Markshall Estate (Pat / Peter Jackson & Phil Pearsons) & Wollaton Hall (Kerry Surkitt & Colin West).
At Huntingdon, Susana Gago Cortes made her Club & Parkrun debut.
Hampton Court 1/2 Marathon
Felicity Baillie was amongst the 1,478 finishers that braved the wind & rain of Storm Eunice. Felicity finished in 247th position in a time of 1:33:48.