What a scorching couple of weeks it has been for the blue army. While most sensible people spent the late June and early July heatwave hiding indoors next to a fan, searching desperately on Facebook Marketplace for a much coveted air-conditioning unit, or melting into a puddle, Great Bentley Running Club was out doing what we do best: conquering races and sweating out our body weight in the name of club points.

Here is how a genuinely massive fortnight unfolded, in order of just how hot it got.

29/06/2026: Harwich 5k Series Race 4

We kicked off this racing block by heading to the coast, hoping for a sea breeze but mostly just getting hit with humid evening air. That did not stop the squad from securing some brilliant times and banking a 1354 massive club points. Matthew Illsley led the charge in a blistering 18:53.94, with Stephen Bullen hot on his heels under the twenty minute mark at 19:41.63.

The rest of the crew absolutely smashed it through the sticky conditions:

Richard Allen (23:35.05)

Dean Pepper (23:43.7)

Inga Hayden-Cooper (24:19.09)

Anna Lyon (24:54.68)

Sarah Blewden (27:04.77)

Harvey Lyon (28:15.79)

01/07/2026: Mendel Riverbank parkrun (Canada Day Special)

Rob Dyer and family took the holiday parkrun schedule to a whole new level by jetting off to Saskatoon. Rob bagged 3rd place overall in 20:57, Caroline took the first lady spot in 24:07, and Sophia grabbed a shiny new PB in 34:29. A brilliant start to the summer holidays.

02/07/2026: JP Morgan Challenge, Battersea Park

Billy Hamilton made his return from a long stint out with an MCL injury (I won’t lie, I had to look it up, and I’m not even the slightest bit envious!) by taking on the JP Morgan Challenge in London. Racing a distance of 5.6k in the heat, Billy clocked an incredible 21:38. That put him in position 222 out of a massive field of 20,000 runners, and he was the third fastest for his company.

03/07/2026: Friday 5 Series, Great Bentley

There is nothing quite like a home race, even if it felt like running through soup. We had a brilliant turnout of blue vests showing everyone how it is done on our own turf with Craig Slocombe (31:47) and Andrew Lanham (31:58) setting a searing pace at the front.

They were followed by brilliant performances right through the field:

Paulus Hughes (33:36)

Gerry Gladden (33:45)

Stefan Hogan-Steele (35:53)

Claudia Keitch (39:07)

Dean Pepper (39:30)

Martin Cottom (43:42)

Sarah-Jane Bennett (44:52)

Donna Harris (44:57)

Jess Gould (45:24)

Paul Smith and Bee Harris, who crossed the line together in 57:32

This also kicked off the first leg of Paul Smith’s first crazy weekend hat-trick, which later included Castle Park parkrun and the upcoming Ekiden relay (more on that event later!).

04/07/2026: Future Outlaw Holkham

A massive shoutout to the fabulous Izzy Day, who completed her very first independent running event over the 3.8km course at Holkham, crossing the line in an excellent 23:20. The future of GBRC is looking very bright indeed.

05/07/2026: Outlaw Holkham Weekend & Felsted 10k

Sunday was an absolute blockbuster day of endurance. Over at the Outlaw 70.3 triathlon, Katie Collin tackled the 1900m swim, 90km bike, and half marathon. After a nightmare build-up involving a late injury and training setbacks, she pulled off an absolute miracle to finish in 6 hours 52 minutes. Katie wanted to say a massive thank you to everyone at GBRC for the guidance and inspiration that got her from not being able to run a parkrun two years ago to a middle-distance triathlete. We are incredibly proud of you, Katie.

Rick Al was also out tackling the Outlaw 70.3 course. Despite a crash on the bike leg, Rick wasn’t deterred from digging deep and getting around the course in a time he was happy with. Brilliant grit, Rick.

Meanwhile, back in Essex, Stephen Bullen was battling a total humidity wipeout at the Felsted 10k. He put in a remarkably tough shift to clock 41:14, earning himself a brilliant 3rd place in the MV50 category.

08/11/2027: Geoff Day 5K

Whilst the results are already published here, I couldn’t continue without a quick midweek celebration for our Geoff Day 5K winners, Flynn and Magdalena. Absolutely superb running from you both. And while it was not strictly a race, we have to give a nod to Paul Carlisle and the legendary giant paella that kept everyone fuelled.

11/07/2026: Milestone parkruns

At the Walton Prom parkrun, it was a proper family celebration for the Briggs crew. Jonathan Briggs celebrated an unofficial but brilliant milestone 200th parkrun, while Master Briggs hit his official junior 10th milestone. Lisa Briggs noted that the club should probably look into buying one the on-brand beach huts.

12/07/2026: Paul Smith’s Double Hat-Trick

Not content with one hat-trick of events the weekend before, Paul Smith went and did it again. This weekend he ticked off the Brantham Friday 5 mile, Great Dunmow parkrun, and then made the spectacularly questionable decision to run both a 5k and a 10k at Colchester Sports Park just ten minutes apart. Absolute madness, Paul, but well done.

The Grand Finale: The Ipswich Ekiden Relay 11/07/2026

Now for the main event. The annual Ekiden relay is always a highlight of the summer calendar, but running it during an insane heatwave takes things to a whole new level of endurance. We had a massive contingent turn up to tackle the grass tracks, supporting each other through every single blistering leg.

Here is how the individual legs shook out:

5k Leg

Charlie Keitch led the 5k runners home in 20:54, closely followed by a stacked group of Bentley vests: Paulus Hughes (21:25), Paul Davison (21:31), Stefan Hogan-Steele (22:05), Tom Higgins (22:35), and Christopher Thornton (22:51). Magdalena Komorowska ran a fantastic 23:58, with Paul Arnold (24:50) and Scott Young (25:44) putting in great shifts. Deborah Hollidge crossed in 26:41, followed by Sarah Davison (28:21), Leoni Harvey (28:32), Daniella Harris (28:38), Emma Gladden (28:44), Mary Taylor (28:57), Melanie Moore (29:20), Antoinette Wilson (29:28), Yolande Arnold (30:12), Rosie Youngs (31:28), Fiona Gosling (32:00), Bee Harris (33:23), Lorraine Adams (34:12), and Karen O-grady bringing it home in 39:15.

7.2km Leg

Flynn Eyre absolutely flew through his leg, recording an incredible 25:36. Paul Davison doubled up with a 29:33, followed by strong performances from Tomasz Komorowski (34:23), Claudia Keitch (36:02), Hien Hoang (36:46), Anna Lyon (37:08), Helen Carey (38:15), and Eileen Shadford (39:20).

10km Leg

Tackling 10k in that heat is a monumental ask. Andrea James put in a superb performance to finish in 41:28, just seconds ahead of Matthew Illsley (41:37) and James Eyre (41:39). The rest of the crew showed immense determination: Gerry Gladden (45:28), Lisa Briggs (46:38), Paul Hollidge (48:13), Jonathan Briggs (52:07), Tom Higgins (52:15), Paul Carlisle (53:01), Jessica Gould (53:48), Lou Balfour (56:08), Martin Cotton (56:25), Mark Harris (1:02:30), Tim Clifton (1:03:17), Andrea Markwick (1:03:22), and the multi-event king Paul Smith closing it out in 1:04:32.

Final Team Standings

When the dust settled and the final batons were passed, our rainbow array of teams put up some phenomenal final times:

GBRC Yellow Team (Mixed): 8th in category, 27th overall -02:57:21

GBRC Orange Team (Men’s Open): 17th in category, 34th overall – 03:01:53

GBRC Purple Team (Mixed): 63rd in category, 135th overall – 03:46:20

GBRC Pink Team (Mixed): 66th in category, 138th overall – 03:47:28

GBRC Red Team (Mixed): 78th in category, 153rd overall – 03:53:39

GBRC Green Team (Mixed): 88th in category, 171st overall – 04:03:50

GBRC Grey Team (Mixed): 89th in category, 172nd overall – 04:04:25

GBRC Blue Team (Mixed): 90th in category, 173rd overall – 04:04:35

What an unbelievable collective effort. To get eight full teams organised, let alone running hard in weather that felt like the surface of the sun, is exactly what makes Great Bentley Running Club so special. Rest up, and enjoy the cooler climes we seem to be enjoying more this week!