From fast 5k races to walks of epic proportions and other beastly races as well the runners of great Bentley Running club have given me plenty to report on which means I won’t need to mention the weather in my opening paragraph, whoops too late…………
Harwich 5K series
It was race number two in the Harwich 5k series and nearly twenty of you headed to the coast to take part. There were some fantastic times recorded and looking at the current leader boards there are a couple of Bentley blues near the top, with three more races to go could we see another Benley victory this year?
Micky Edwards 5K series
It was also race number two in our very own 5k series and instead of battling up and down a windy coastline this race is round the country lanes of Great Bentley with the added bonus of getting cheered along by fellow members of GBRC. Even if you don’t fancy racing its worth coming along just to run a great 5k route and enjoy a cuppa afterwards. This year there is an added bonus with a prize for the most improved runner from the previous race and also Tom’s random dice of destiny! At the start of each race Tom will roll his dice and if the number rolled tallies with your previous weeks finishing position you win a bonus spot prize from the bountiful boot bag of booty, so you could win simply by just turning up! To see the current standings please click the link below.
Kirton 5 Miler
Kirton is a small village just outside of Felixstowe and was the site of the first race of this year’s Friday 5 series. The course is enjoyable and slightly rolling with a long gravel section at the start just to take the edge off your racing legs. It was the first day of the Bank holiday heatwave and some of the residence of Kirton were stood at the end of their gardens with hosepipes to cool off the runners. Four of us from Bentley had entered the race and our finish times are as follows,
- Paul Smith 49mins 18secs
- Charlie Keitch 34mins 22secs
- Steve Bullen 31mins 47secs
- Jon Mann 30mins 11secs (course and 5 mile PB)
Hunnypot 100
Off to Kent now to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the publication of Winnie the Poo and what better way to do it but with a 100 mile race. The route takes in some of the places mentioned in the stories such as, Pooh Sticks Bridge, The Enchanted Place, 100 Acre Wood and Eeyore’s Gloomy Place, it also has some crazy elevation totalling 11250ft. This year was particularly tough as nearly 40% of the starting field failed to finish due to extreme heat and tough conditions, this wasn’t the case for Tomasz Komorowski, Fiona Goslig who both completed this amazing challenge, to quote Pooh himself,
“You’re braver than you believe, stronger than you seem and smarter than you think”
Outlaw Nottingham
Outlaw Nottingham is a half Ironman event, but don’t be fooled by the ‘half’ part it’s still an absolute beast of a challenge, made up of a 1.2mile swim, 56 mile bike ride and a half marathon distance run. Club chairman Paul Arnold took on this beast of a challenge and did so in an impressive pb time of 5hrs 51mins 18secs, fantastic achievement Paul.
Edinburgh half marathon
All the way up the end of the country to Scotland where Sarah Blewden took on the Edinburgh half marathon in an impressive time of 2hrs and 14mins, well done Sarah.
Stort 10
This popular 2 lapped trail run which takes runners on farm tracks, footpaths and woodland trails with the odd short section of road is where Paul Smith set himself the goal of completing the 10 mile distance in under 2 hours. Despite not feeling great he achieved his goal in a time of 1hr 53mins 59secs, a great time Paul.
Framlingham Friday 5
The second race in the Friday 5 series took place at Framlingham and whilst Ed Sheran was nowhere to be seen the equally famous Donna Harris, Martin Cotton and Paul Smith were. After getting home and checking his results Paul was delighted to discover he achieved a 5 mile pb. Their race times are as follows,
- Paul Smith 47mins 55 secs (5 mile pb)
- Donna Harris 44mins 3secs
- Martin Cotton 42mins 19secs
Manchester 10K
The Manchester 10k boasts a vibrant atmosphere and scenic city route and is ran on the same day as the Manchester half marathon with local papers stating that there were approximately 38,000 people due to run across both distances. Two of those runners were Lorraine Adams and Donna Parker-Evans who looked like they had a fantastic time.
Newmarket half marathon
Giddy up we’re off to the races, well Jess Gould was when she ran at the Newmarket half marathon on Sunday. The race starts and finishes at the iconic Newmarket Racecourse and the route itself is described by the organisers as undulating and scenic as it goes through the Suffolk countryside. There was no long face for Jess as she galloped round in a time of 1hr 59mins 16secs, a great time Jess you have definitely earnt yourself some sugar cubes
Parkrun round up
- After dropping Tom off to start his 100 mile walk Mags dropped into Cyclopark Park where she came in first lady.
- Bee Brent experienced her first late start at Grovelands Parkrun having forgotten her shoes.
- Martin Cotton and Donna Harris both bagged pb’s at Pont Y Bala Parkrun.
- Whilst in Irland head coach Caroline ran at the Fairview Park run.
- Over in Polland Tom and Mags ran at the Gdynina Parkrun.
- Paul Smith completed his 16th different Parkrun location at Burnham on Crouch Parkrun and he has ran at every Parkrun in Essex.
- On a their way to the Manchester 10K Larraine Adams and Donna Parker-Evans stopped by the Bury St Edmunds Parkrun.
Great Bentley Running Club 