Milton Keynes marathon, Regent's Park 10k, YDLL Southern NE

Sparser pickings than usual this time, with the major thrust of the marathon season nearly over (still Edinburgh to come). Three of us competed in the Milton Keynes Marathon, one in the MK Half Marathon, one in the 10k Gaddesden Gallop, and 31 Heathsiders took part in parkruns on Saturday. Late addition: Six of our athletes took part in the Regent's Park 10k on Sunday, with a second place for Adam Kirk-Smith. And another late addition: 20 of our junior athletes took part in the YDLL Southern NE in Eltham, with first places for Liam Garrett, Ruairi McGonogle and Fabienne Weston.

YDLL Southern NE, Sutcliffe Park, Eltham, Saturday May 2.

Heathside’s juniors came 5th out of 7 in this event, with 20 of our under-15s and under-17s taking part – most in several events. There were several excellent performances (with some of our B athletes outpacing our A athletes). Liam Garret was the first under-15 in the 1500 A race with a time of 4:35.54. Ruairi McGonogle was the first under-13 A-race in the 1500 with a time of 5:08.55 and Fabienne Weston was first under 13 in the girls’ javelin, with a throw of 11.3m.

Milton Keynes Marathon, Monday May 4.

Four of us ran in the Milton Keynes marathon and half marathon on Bank Holiday Monday. It’s a tough old boot of a course – extremely undulating with a fat hill at 24m, too many twists and turns and double-backs and a mixture of surfaces (partly off-road). The weather was also variable, ranging from pleasantly warm to hot (in the second half of the race), and from breezy to windy. It was wonderfully supported and marshalled, but all those underpasses and hills don’t exactly make for an ideal course. Not recommended.

Incidentally, the times of the first and second placed men were 2:37.30 and  2:44.01 while the first woman was 2:58.30 – all relatively slow times, which is a reflection not just of the difficulty of the course and the day, but of the overall standard. Most marathon runners prefer London, or Brighton or Paris or Edinburgh.

Anyway, given these conditions, there were no PBs, although Gavin Parish came close. He used the race as a starter pack for the forthcoming Edinburgh Marathon (following in the Jim Connell tradition of running two marathons a month – although in Jim’s case, it was two in five days). Gavin came within 35 seconds of a PB. The missing 35 seconds or more were the result of a decision to stop for a Portaloo pee-break (the moral of this story: never stop to pee in a marathon if you want a PB). His time was 3:39.17 (and he went through the half at 1:46.29). Good luck for Edinburgh, Gavin.

William Wagstaff made a last minute decision to run in Milton Keynes despite not having trained for it. He went through the half marathon mark at 1:42.31 and by then had already picked up a painful leg injury as well as blisters. So he wisely decided to stop at the 16-mile mark.

I also made a late decision to run after badly spraining my ankle four days before the London Marathon (which I didn’t run), making it my first race as a V55. A big thanks to Jackie Wastell who taped up my ankle so well that I had no pain at all despite all those tricky twists and turns, and also to Ruth Miller who gave me the idea and tape. The only trouble I had was with my ‘good’ leg – blisters, arthritic pain and calf cramp over the last four miles. As always, I went off a bit too fast (6:08 for my first mile, which was silly), but after that I came to my senses and went through the half at 1:23.45, finishing in 2:54.53.

James Felstead ran in the half marathon, finishing in 1:35.17. I didn’t get a chance to talk to him afterwards, so I have no more details.

10k Gaddesden Gallop, Sunday May 3.

Rob Bowler had a busy running weekend. He took part in the Gadebridge Park Parkrun on Saturday  and then on Sunday he lined up for the Gaddesden Gallop, a 10k version of the Ridgeway race in October. He came in 12th (49.50) out of 81 finishers and noted that ‘the heavy rain put off many fair weather runners’.

Regent's Park 10k, Sunday May 3

Adam Kirk-Smith came second in this event in a time of 33.48 - which is quick (even though it's a minute off his PB). Alan Smith was the next Heathsider in with a time of 39.30. The first woman home was Sandra Buckton in a time of 46.43.

Parkruns

A grand total of 31 of our runners lined up for 13 Parkruns on Saturday. No wins this time, but two worthy second places. Liam Proudlock showed his immense potential as runner-up in Grovelands in a time of 18.36, and Edward Garrett was runner up in Oak Hill in a time of 18:05.

Results:

YDLL Southern NE, Sutcliffe Park, Eltham, Saturday May 2

Under 15 Boys

100m A 7th, Omor Blone – 13:62

100m B 5th Merlin Reeves Dyer – 14.79

200m A 6th Omor Blone 27.90

200m B 5th Issac Tibbett – 28.86

300m A 5th Merlin Reeves – 52.40

1500m A 1st Liam Garrett – 4:35.54

Discuss A 4th Liam Garrett – 12.03

Javelin A 7th Merlin Reeves Dyer – 7.53

Long jump A 6th Issac Tibbbett  - 4.23

4 x 100m 4th (Merlin  Reeves, Issac Tibbett, Liam Garrett, Omor Blone) – 61.35

Under 13 Boys

100 A 5th Izaiah Palmer – 14.89

100m B 3rd Elienne Munday – 15.48

200m A Izaiah Palmer – 31.86

200m B 3rd Ruairi McDonagle – 30.90

800m A 6th Oliver O’Connor – 2:58.87

1500 a 1st Ruaiiri McGonable – 5:08.55

1500 B 3rd Arthur Reed – 5:42.75

75m Hurdles A 2nd Orrin Ross – 17.41

75m Hurdles B 1st Elienne Munday – 16.20

Javelin A 2nd Orrin Ross – 19.23

Javelin B 2nd Arthur Reed – 6.72

Shot Putt A 6th Oliver O’Connor – 3.91

Shot Putt B 5th Arthur Reed – 2.53

Long jump A 4th Oliver O’Connor – 3.49

Long jump B 2nd Ruairi McGonogle – 3.07

4 x 100m 4th (Iziaah Palmer, Arthur Reed, Ruairi McGonogle, Iziaah Palmer) – 65.66

Girls Under 15

100m A 7th Sylvia Allan – 14.84

100m B 6th Ella Conlan – 16.16

200m A 6th Shornay Hayde – 30.51

200m B 3rd Aohyah Lakeman – 30.57

300m A 4th Naomi Conlan – 49.33

300m B 4th Kimberley Owen – 52.99

800m A 5th Ella Conlan – 2:54.56

800m B 3rd Sylvia Allan – 2:45.25

1500 A 6th Phoebe Crockford – 5:35.20

1500 B 2nd Rachel Finke – 6.53.90

75m H A 5th Naomi Conlan – 16.70

75m H B 1st Ella Conlan – 16.10

Discuss A 4th Aohyah Lakemon – 12.40

Discuss B 3rd Sylvia Allan – 9.41

Javelin A 2nd Phoebe Crockford – 17.71

Javelin B 3rd Rachel Finke – 7.57

Shot Putt A 7th Shornay Hayde – 4.64

Long jump A 4th Phoebe Crockford – 3.86

Long jump B 4th Aohyah Lakemon – 3.76

4 x 100m 4th (Kimberley Owen, Sylvia Allan, Shornay Hayde, Aohyah Lakemon) – 59.9

4 x 300m 5th (Phoebe Crockford, Ella Conlan, Rachel Finke, Naomi Conlon) – 3:39.6

Girls Under 13

75m A 5th Fabianne Weston – 12.43

75m B 5th Alice Chambers – 14.34

150m A Rose Garrett – 24.10

150m B Lorna Dumbleton – 25.10

800m A 6th Martha Lucas – 3:10.14

800m B 3rd Lorna Dumbleton – 3:26.84

1200m A 4th Frankie Ewens – 4:35.0

1200m B 2nd Rose Garrett – 4:47.60

70m H A 3rd Frankie Ewens – 17.71

70m H B 1st Alice Chambers – 18.00

Javelin A 1st Fabienne Weston – 11.30

Javelin B 2nd Martha Lucas – 6.99

Shot Putt A 5th Fabienne Weston – 4.)5

Shot Putt B 5th Lorna Dumbleton – 3.23

Long Jump A 5th Rose Garrett – 3.27

Long Jump B 5th Martha Lucas – 2.65

4 x 100 – 5th (Frankie Ewens, Alice Chambers, Lorna Dumbleton, Rose Garrett) – 66.06

Milton Keynes Marathon, Monday May 4 (1,617 starters & 1,558 finishers)

19th Gavin Evans – 2:54.53 (2nd V50)

289th Gavin Parish – 3:39.17

DNF William Wagstaff (injured)

Milton Keynes Half Marathon, Monday May 4. (1,699 starters & 1,677 finishers)

132. James Felstead – 1:35.17

10k Gaddesden Gallop, Sunday May 3 (81 finishers)

12th Robert Bowler – 49.50

Regent's Park 10k, Sunday May 3

(chip times) 

2nd Adam Kirk-Smith - 33.48

23rd Alan Smith - 39.30

81st Elliot Reed - 44.58

104th Sandra Buckton - 46.35 PB

108th Elizabeth Beard - 46.35

200th Gabrielle Johnson - 51.26