In part one we covered our GVH’s on tour at off road events such as park run, cross country and some stunning running in various parts of the Chilterns. But what about our runners who stuck to road races this weekend? They certainly covered some miles just to get to their events.
First stop Cambodia….Phnom Penh 10K
Where Darren Burke has been holidaying with his new GVH running vest it seems …. According to Darren he was doing a bit of souvenir shopping on Saturday afternoon when he noticed a finish line being set up, curiosity got the better of him, so he ventured over so see a sign saying “ Breast Cancer Awareness 10km tomorrow morning”. He bagged himself a place and hey presto ….
No sun lounging for Darren on Holiday!
A hot and steamy 10k under 49 minutes in the bag. Well done Darren!
Meanwhile in Leicester
Priscilla Pathak ran the Leicester Half Marathon, part of the run Leicester festival . A solid time of 2:11:54. brought her home an impressive 16th in her category. Congratulations ! Priscilla suggests that someone need to have a word with the course designer, as a down hill start and an uphill finish is nobodies idea of fun !
Another medal for the collection
Closer to home in London – Sam Sparks sprints to a PB!
The Royal Parks Half Marathon sits as favourite event for many of us. An iconic, picturesque half marathon that tours you around the sites usually only seen in the final stages of the London Marathon – when most of can barely still see straight let alone sight see- passing Trafalgar Square and Westminster Abbey before running up The Mall towards Buckingham Palace. The 2nd half is equally beautiful as it winds you around the Royal parks. Its the perfect early autumn half marathon – look out for the Ballot opening agin soon.
Just four Gade Valley Harriers took on the event this year and they definitely experienced mixed fortune. Kim Morgan lined up on the start line already injured, with a plan to march the route. Roland has a walking pace entry from Cancer UK. Jane P started strongly but retired with a calf injury 5 miles in… Leaving just Sam Sparks to run for glory, and run she did! Well done Sam on a fantastically improved PB of 1:51:34. 14 mins taken of her previous PB !!!
A fantastic PB at the London Royal Parks Half
And finally. GVH on tour, takes on the Chicago Marathon !
With 52,146 ordinary runners, 4 legendary GVH runners and over one million spectators lining street , the 2024 Chicago Marathon was its biggest its is history. Kenya’s Ruth Chepngetich smashed the women’s world record , and became the first woman to a run a marathon in under two hours and 10 mins.
Why Chicago some of us may ask? I suspect the answer is the quest for this six star medal, awarded to runners that complete all of the 6 Abbott World Major Marathons: London, Berlin, New York, Chicago, Boston and Tokyo.
The elusive 6 star medal
It sounds like it was a tough run for all, but despite this, the first of our runners home was Stuart Gallagher in an amazing 3:27:41 to claim his 3rd Star. Tom Langdon, leaving his fancy dress behind this time, crossed the line in 3:58:44 for his 5th star- just Tokyo to go for him now.
Andy and Helen Cook looked to be running steadily together and finished in a very strong 4:39:08 and 4:48:41, both grabbing at least their 2nd star. Nicely done team, Safe travels home! We look forward to hearing more about it
Updates now from Kim on member of the month
Women’s Member of the Month, September
September’s first event was Bedford Running Festival. The event is made up of a 5k and 10k twilight race on the Saturday and the longer Half Marathon and 20-mile distances on the Sunday. This year 3 of the GVH women opted for the Club League 10k twilight event on the Saturday. This is a lovely flat route around the Priory Lake and along River Ouse. Sam and I ran together and came over the line in 52:05. This was Emma’s 2nd 10k run and she came over the line in 1:13:24. The next morning Noami Iles was the only female Harrier to take on Bedford Half Marathon. Naomi completed a very consistently paced run and finished the course in a fantastic 1:54:21. The following week Jane and another 59,999 runners braved the rain for the iconic Great North Run. This is the world’s biggest half marathon taking runners Newcastle to South Shields. Despite the weather the crowds still appeared in the force and cheered Jane over the line in 2:08:22. The month finishes with one more stand out performance that needs a mention. A huge well done to Jenny, who has been picking up her pace over recent months. In July she completed a PB 5K run at Waddesdon and she topped this in the final weekend of September by heading to Cassiobury ParkRun and completing the course in a very speedy 22:33.
And the winner is….
This leads me nicely onto September’s Member of the Month. Once again, this person has been on my radar for a little while. She is nearly always at club sessions on Tuesdays and Thursdays, she is consistent with her running and works hard. Since joining the club, her and her husband have attended lots of GVH league runs and organised ParkRuns. I love seeing newer members becoming so involved and feel we are very lucky to have you. After an incredible performance at Bedford Twilight 10K, well done to our member of the Month for September … Emma Reed.
Mens Member of the Month, September
September started out with the Bedford running Festival with 10 men competing across 4 different distances. Matt Ashby took on the double winning the 5k in 16:47 before going onto come 6th in the 10k 2 hours in 35:41. An incredible achievement. Lewis Ellerby continued his good form with a pb in the 10k of 37:37. Next home with another pb by almost 4 minutes was Rolland Kendal in 40:44. Simon Morris came home in 41:33 with Jack Boughton and Andy Bishop coming in close together in 44:33 and 44:39 respectively. Domonic Hook finished in a great time of 1:15:35. Nick Joseph took on the half finishing in 1:52:20 and Steve Newing the 20 miler finishing in 2:26:26. Another PB for Lewis Ellerby in the Vitality 10k knocking another 27 seconds off with a brilliant time of 37:10. Last minute changes for the next race due to weather conditions with 3 men switching to the Winsor Half. Jack Boughton Home in 1:33:55 a new PB followed by Russell Jones again with a PB in 1:35:17. Rounding out the trio was Rolland Kendal finishing in 1:43:33. The Last Event of the month was north of the border and Phil Mercer was on the look out for Nessy as he took on the loch Ness Marathon fishing in a great time of 4:28:06.
And the winner is ….
September’s member of the month is relatively new to the club but has been working hard in rep sessions as well as temp runs. This has resulted in a new PB for the half Marathon 1:35:17 and Park run 18:54. This months Member of the Month is Russell Jones
Congratulations Emma and Russell