Parkruns

As I write this race report covering the last few weeks. I think Donna Parker Evans takes first place in the furthest away parkrun at Cottesloe Parkrun in Perth, Australia. It was an 8am start running in heat and on a Beach!! Well done Donna and have a great holiday!

Donna Parker Evans

In second place were the Presland’s completing a very quirky Parkrun outside Exeter at Greendale Farm Shop! Apparently a very twisty, bumpy, lumpy course around the farm with views of Alpacas, Llamas and Highland Cows and wait for it an Ostrich!!

Phil and Vicky Presland

A huge congratulations goes to our new lady Sarah Evans who ran Colchester Castle parkrun with a massive PB of 40 seconds completing this in 19:40. An incredible time on that course Sarah well done. Clearly you are a lady to keep our eye on and welcome to the Club.

Sarah Evans

And just as I wrote the above Sarah goes and smashes out another PB 19:34 this time at Felixstowe alongside Coach Craig who ran 18:59. Well done Sarah (again!)

Sarah and Coach Craig

There was a great turn out for the Bentley tourists to complete the B at Burnham on Crouch. This Parkrun is held on the Dengie peninsula and it certainly looked like they were being tourist’s that day with the lovely sunny weather and a run along the river. Next month is C and you will be heading to Chiltern Fields.

London Landmarks Half Marathon.

This race is one that is on my bucket list. The route is on closed roads in Central London and is the only half marathon to go through both the City of London and City of Westminster passing by several famous landmarks.

The lovely Karen O Grady was in action at this race where she knocked 25 mins (yes 25 mins!!) off her time from last year. She ran for Tommys her chosen charity and finished in a whopping time of 2:55. Well done Karen and I must say you certainly get the prize for the most colourful outfit!

Karen O Grady

Robbie Lee was also in action at the race and finished in an amazing time of 1:42:44. Well done Robbie what a fantastic run.

Prague Half Marathon

Mags Komorowska travelled to Prague for a long weekend to compete in the Prague Half. The route goes through some city landmarks and according to Mags there was not a single pothole to deal with! Another amazing run from Mags completing this in 1:43:06.

Mags with her lovely medal

Brighton Marathon

Ash Cole was in action at the Brighton Marathon completing his first ever marathon and despite suffering from severe calf cramp from mile 13 Ash finished in a whopping 4:32:00. Well done and massive Congratulations Ash (those track nights, and long Sunday runs certainly paid off!) Best you missed my whistle!!

Ash Coles

Dave Wrights 15 mile and 7.5-mile Race

We saw several blues in action at this popular local event run by our Coach Craig Mitchell. The race is a great one for anyone training for an upcoming Marathon. The 15-mile race is 2 laps around the quiet countryside (and lumpy in places!) of Essex and surrounding villages of Langham and Boxted and you also get the choice to run the 7.5-mile event which is 1 single lap of the same course.

This year’s 15-mile male team prize went to our very own “Bentley Boys” Jon Mann, Justin Hayhoe and Dave Allen. Amazing well-done guys.

Jon Mann 1:40:26, Justin Hayhoe 1:47:59 and Dave Allen 1:51:55.

Tim Clifton, Mags Komorowska, Larina Marsh, Kelly Hayhoe and Debbie Smith also took on the 15 miles. According to Larina she felt great the whole way round despite the very windy conditions that day! She covered up her watch and just ran to how she felt. Well done to you all, excellent running and good luck with all your marathon training.

Mags

Larina Marsh

These 3 lovely ladies took on the 7.5-mile race. Lindsey Allen, Donna Parker Evans and Maddie Clifton and they featured in the local paper recently. Well done ladies, awesome running.

Maddie Clifton, Lindsay Allen and Donna Parker Evans

Bromley 10k

The weather was perfect for the Bromley 10k which certainly helped with our Blues impressive finishing times. See below:

A special mention to Gavin Byrne who finished in 34:59:82 which places him in the GBRC all time top 10 in 8^th position. Well done Gavin and Good Luck for the Manchester marathon next weekend.

Gavin Byrne

Another special mention and congratulations to Charlie Sharp who completed his first ever 10k at this race. Despite having never raced further than 5k he set himself a target of 50 mins and smashed it finishing in 47:27:25. Well done Charlie and well done to Lorna (Mum) for supporting him on her bike!

Charlie Sharp

Mark Harris

Donna Harris

The Dream Team!

Flynn Eyre

Ladies Captain (Meera) with flying feet

Sammy Cotton

Mark Crittenden striking a pose!

Dave Jones

Helen Coe and Nicky Steadman

Martin Cotton

What a smile- Tonie Wilson

RunThrough – Victoria Half, and 10K

The “formidable four” Martin and Sammy Cotton, Mark and Donna Harris took part in this event on Good Friday. Mark was the 2hr 40 mins pacer for the half while Donna was the 65 mins pacer for the 10k. Martin joined Mark running the half while Sammy joined Donna on the 10k event. The route takes you through Victoria Park which is known for it’s flat, easy terrain making it an excellent choice if you are chasing a PB. Judging by the photos a good day was had by all. Well done, rest those legs now Mark in preparation for Manchester!!

Pacer Mark Harris and Martin Cotton

Obviously very pleased with their well deserved medals!

10k Pacer Donna Harris with Sammy Cotton

RNLI Station to Station-Harwich to Walton

Everyone that knows Larina Marsh knows that she loves a different type of challenge and in preparation for her upcoming marathon herself, Andrea and Piers Markwick took part in the RNLI Station to Station event.  This is a predominantly off-road event organised by Harwich Runners raising funds for the RNLI in memory of John Teatheredge who dedicated his life to the RNLI.

Leg 1 starts at Harwich RNLI to Great Oakley (8 miles), Leg 2 goes from Great Oakley to Beaumont Jetty (3.5 miles) and Leg 3 goes from Beaumont Jetty finishing at Walton RNLI (8 miles) Total mileage 19.5 miles!

Well done you 3 amigos, amazing running and Good Luck Larina at Milton Keynes marathon in a couple of weeks.

Larina Marsh, Andrea and Piers Markwick

Finally, I would like to finish this report by wishing all our runners who are competing in either London or Manchester marathon on 27^th April a massive Good Luck. You have trained so hard, have a great race but most importantly enjoy the day and soak up that atmosphere! It’s only 26.2 miles (42km)!!