Results: Road season off to a flier with PBs galore

As the mud and guts of a hugely successful cross country season starts to fade into the background, Heathsiders took to the roads in large numbers over the past week and a bit. And, looking at this quickfast set of results, I think it’s fair to say that a few months worth of dragging ourselves through parks and fields that would sometimes have shamed the Somme has left many of us looking in pretty good nick for the challenges ahead over the Spring and Summer. For both the women and the men there were more PBs than you can shake a stick at over a range of distances and podium finishes aplenty, whether real or metaphorical. Here’s the round-up:

Gravesend Floodlit 10k

Pete Bakewell got out and about enough to feature twice in this week’s report and his first mention is for perhaps his most impressive run in Gravesend, where he finished first (a portent of things to come in the road relays…?) a full minute and a half ahead of his nearest rival in a great PB time of 36:42.

Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park 10k Series

There were four representatives of the famous blue, red and gold vests at the latest of the monthly QEOP races and amazingly everyone finished inside the top 30. Andy Barnes grabbed a podium finish (there actually is one here) as his PB of 34:15 ensured he was 3rd overall while Anna O’Hare also took home honours for being first woman. Behind them were Alan Latham, who was 1st V45 and Colette Monahan’s improvement continued as she was 2nd lady behind Anna while also grabbing a PB to boot.

Self Transcendence 10k, Battersea Park

Another London 10k saw four more Heathsiders and four more excellent results as Jonathan Hopkin carried his impressive cross country form straight onto the roads with a PB time of 36:23. Not far behind him were Adam Mitchell and Rebecca Piggott, who was also 2nd lady, and Jake Spencer continued his Paris marathon prep with a tidy time as well.

Dambuster Duathlon, Rutland Water

John Driscoll was back and making a welcome return to action after an extended lay off and from his account it sounds like a very promising run (and bike):

‘After being out from running for almost 7 months, I took part in the Dambuster Duathlon up and around Rutland Water this weekend. Forecasts had been for sleet and competitors were pleasantly surprised to find it was dry with a wind chill factor of 'only' -6.

I wasn't too sure of my stamina so snuck in behind a gaggle of runners for the first 10km doing my best to stay out of the wind and came in just under 39 mins. The 42km bike leg started off well and at the 20k point was up 6 minutes year on year but died in the second half and gave it all back. Surprisingly I recovered on the final run and managed a smidge over 18 mins for the 5km and pretty much collapsed as I crossed the line!

Overall about a minute slower and 5 places lower than last year but with two more races to go plenty of room for improvement - not least on transitions where I was very rusty and had a lot of glove and shoe 'faff.'

Mornington Chasers Winter Series 10k, Regents Park

Three Heathsiders were spotted at the last winter version of this ever popular event and all three came back with bright and shiny new PBs. David Fallon was first home, dipping below 40 minutes for the first time, while Race Reporting's own Gabi Johnson impressively led the standings for the V45 ladies. And last of the three, but certainly not least, was Frances Powrie, showing great progress as she knocked over a minute off her previous PB which had only just been set in January.  

Greenwich Meridian 10k, Greenwich Park

Yet another 10k in the capital this weekend saw just two Heathside runners although there was more success as Leigh James finished 13th overall but had no hint of bad luck as she ended up being 3rd lady. Katherine Vinnicombe also ran, finishing in 56th place.

Berkhamsted Half Marathon

Having run this one last year I know what a lovely course it is and by all accounts it was a beautiful morning for it. Fresh from his 10k success in Gravesend, Pete Bakewell notched up another PB as he finished in a time of 1:23:26 - although he wasn’t actually the first Heathsider home since he turned up late and had to play catch up. First to cross the line on the day was actually Daniel Johns, who finished 40th overall in 1:23:58. Elinor East, Joe Derrett, Louisa Pointon, Daniel Wrapson and Laura Boothman also ran and a stop press late addition to the results is well worth a mention as home town favourite Robert Bowler finished 90 seconds quicker than in the 2015 edition and secured an overall half marathon PB as well.

MK Festival of Running, Milton Keynes

Dan McKeown and three other Heathsiders popped up to the home of roundabouts, concrete cows and soulless football clubs to take part in two simultaneous events over half marathon and 20 mile distances. Dan was alone in taking on the longer race but mentioned that: ‘thanks to the overlapping course, I got a pretty good look at Jonathan Powell leading the Heathside contingent in the half marathon with a PB. Expect more from him in races which don't have a big thug of a hill in the last mile.’ Patrik Ujlaki also had a good run, finishing just a minute behind, with Craig Sparkes completing the quartet.  

Thames Riverside 20

Also taking on a 20 mile distance this weekend was Nick De Sausmarez, who clocked in at under 2hrs 40 and, if my complex calculations on this Post-It are correct, finished as 3rd V50.

Parkruns

Plenty of Saturday morning action across London (and further afield) as usual, Joanna Brown deserves a mention for being 1st female at Ally Pally and Alex Galloway’s Finsbury Park PB took him agonisingly close to going sub 17 minutes for the first time. Full results here:

http://www.parkrun.com/results/consolidatedclub/?clubNum=2017&eventdate=2016-03-05

Full classified results:

Morningston Chasers Winter Series, Regent's Park 10k

21st David Fallon 39:12  (PB)

95th Gabi Johnson 46:27 (PB)  14th woman, 1st V45

172nd Frances Powrie 51:32 (PB)

Gravesend Floodlit 10k, Thursday 3rd March

1st Pete Bakewell 36:42 (PB)

Queen Elizabeth Park 10k Series, Stratford, Saturday 5th March

3rd Andy Barnes 34:15 (PB)

17th Anna O’Hare 38:52 - 1st lady!

23rd Alan Latham 39:33 - 1st V45

29th Colette Monahan 40:25 (PB) - 2nd lady

Self Transcendence 10k, Battersea Park, Saturday 5th March

30th Jonathan Hopkin 36:23 (PB)

40th Adam Mitchell 37:13

42nd Rebecca Piggott 37:25 - 2nd lady

59th Jake Spencer 39:21

Dambuster Duathlon, Rutland Water, Saturday 5th March

90th John Driscoll 2:19:24 - 10km run 38:50; T1 1:55; 42km cycle 1:18.59; T2 1:34; 5km run 18:06

Berkhamsted Half Marathon, Sunday 6th March

39th Pete Bakewell 1:23:26 (PB)

41st Daniel Johns 1:23:58

160th Elinor East 1:37:23

167th Robert Bowler 1:37:58

178th Joe Derrett 1:38:01

214th Louisa Pointon 1:39:50

240th Daniel Wrapson 1:40:59

728th Laura Boothman 2:08:06

Greenwich Meridian 10k, Greenwich Park, Sunday 6th March

13th Leigh James 39:53 - 3rd lady

56th Katherine Vinnicombe 49:41

MK Festival of Running, Milton Keynes, Sunday 6th March

20 miles

78th Dan McKeown 2:20:49

Half marathon

55th Jonathan Powell 1:25:56

62nd Patrik Ujlaki 1:26:57

193rd Craig Sparkes 1:36:31

Thames Riverside 20, Bishop’s Park, Sunday 6th March

89th Nick De Sausmarez 2:39:11