It was a weekend of tougher conditions and brilliant running, with our members taking on 10Ks and challenging 30 mile ultras. With winds, muddy trails and plenty of determination, there were some fantastic performances and personal milestones to celebrate.
BATTERSEA MARATHON
The Battersea marathon is a flat and fast course. Starting at the Millennium Arena, the marathon course follows 11 laps of the park before finishing back on the Athletics Track, under the Iconic RunThrough Gantry. Nina Symington Smith raced it on Saturday and after training extremely hard she got a very well deserved PB of 3:25.34. A fantastic time and even more impressive, 1st female V40!! Well done Nina!
DUXFORD DASH 10K
The Duxford Dash is a flat 10K, 5K and 1 mile race on the historic IWM Duxford airfield, giving runners the rare opportunity to race along its famous runway. Conditions were particularly challenging this time around, with brutal winds making for a tough race.
Aidan Kelly took on the 10k distance and clocked an impressive 47:07.
STORT 30
The Stort30 is a 30 mile trail ultra following the scenic River Stort and Lee Navigation to Rye House and back. It was a tough but beautiful day out on the trails, covering 30 miles of countryside, with plenty of headwinds and a few muddy patches thrown in for good measure. The weather brought a bit of everything, from cold and windy conditions to sunshine, but thankfully the rain stayed away.
Noush Springett and Rachael Roughan tackled the course together, finishing in an impressive 5:31. The strong headwinds made things particularly tough in the latter stages, but both dug deep and pushed through to the finish.
They finished 31st and 32nd overall out of 74 runners, placing 4th and 5th female out of 18 and claiming an excellent 2nd and 3rd place in their age category. Fantastic running from both!
This was also a special milestone for Jenny Smith and Jody Smith, who took on their first ever ultra. The cold, windy weather and muddy trails during the first eight miles made for a challenging start, but they stuck with it and made it all the way to the finish. Jenny crossed the line in 6:38:55, with Jody finishing in 7:06:55.
Paul Gerrard also finished in 7:06:55.
Thirty miles is a huge achievement, especially in those conditions, so a massive well done to everyone who took part.