A very pleasant morning greeted 261 runners to Bedford Parkrun this morning. With Pete Jones volunteering our sole runner was Sian Jones and her time of 38.38 was good enough for 243rd place.
Saturday, 11 July 2015
Standard Chartered City Race - 09.07.15
On Thursday evening 11 of my colleagues and I joined 4573 runners to take part in the annual Standard Chartered City Race. This is a 5K race around the streets of the City of London and it starts and finishes on Moorgate.
It was a very warm evening and the sheer number of runners made it very hard to run normally as they acted like rolling road blocks.
I managed to finish in a time of 22.06 and that was good enough for 895th place.
Chris
It was a very warm evening and the sheer number of runners made it very hard to run normally as they acted like rolling road blocks.
I managed to finish in a time of 22.06 and that was good enough for 895th place.
Chris
Friday, 26 June 2015
Bedford Parkrun - 20 June 2015
A rather dismal morning did not stop 257 runners gathering in Bedford Park for the weekly 5K Parkrun.
From our group there were 2 participants and their times were:
Liam Ko 98th in 25.33
Sarah Eke 202nd in 32.55
Well done both.
From our group there were 2 participants and their times were:
Liam Ko 98th in 25.33
Sarah Eke 202nd in 32.55
Well done both.
Saturday, 20 June 2015
Marston Forest 5K - 19.06.15
A small group of us went over to Marston Forest Park for the annual Friday evening 5K race. Conditions were beautiful for being out and about on a summer's evening but a bit warm for a running race. There was also a lot of dust thrown up during the race from the path surface.
There was a good turnout with many of the local running clubs well represented which resulted in some very fast time. The male winner clocked a mightily impressive 15.35 and the female winner clocked a time of 17.32.
Keira Murphy took part in the children's 1K race and looked to be running strongly with her friend Millie.
In the adult 5K race there were 356 runners and our results were:
Chris Wright 82nd in 21.20
Pete Jones 188th in 25.22
Jason Murphy 318th in 33.46
Sian Jones 349th in 38.37
Well done all.
There was a good turnout with many of the local running clubs well represented which resulted in some very fast time. The male winner clocked a mightily impressive 15.35 and the female winner clocked a time of 17.32.
Keira Murphy took part in the children's 1K race and looked to be running strongly with her friend Millie.
In the adult 5K race there were 356 runners and our results were:
Chris Wright 82nd in 21.20
Pete Jones 188th in 25.22
Jason Murphy 318th in 33.46
Sian Jones 349th in 38.37
Well done all.
St Albans Half Marathon - 14th June 2015
For the second consecutive year Liam & I, along with 2,489 other entrants, tackled the above half marathon event.
Compared to the heat of last year the cool damp conditions at the start of this race was a welcome relief. In fact the whole race was run in nearly ideal weather conditions.
If I had to complain I'd moan about the long queues for baggage drop and toilets, that were so bad that the race start was delayed by 10 minutes by which time we had already given up on the pre race loo visit.
The course itself is quite undulating with very few flat parts but had decent support from the public, was well marshalled and had plenty of drink stations.
We had mixed fortunes in the race.
I bettered last year's time by 3 minutes despite walking on 3 separate occasions finishing in 1492nd place in a time of 2:00:29. At the half way point I was in 1380th place in 57:21 so a disappointing 2nd half to the race.
Liam had issues in that he had hardly trained since the MK marathon in late May and in the days prior to this race he had been off work unwell. Consequently Liam finished a disappointing (by his standards) 1992nd place in 2:14:16 some 30 minutes slower than in 2014. At the half way point Liam had clocked 59:19 in 1607th place so also a disappointing second half.
The burgers we consoled ourselves with after the race plus medal, finishers technical t-shirt & goody bag nearly made it worthwhile.
Les
Thursday, 11 June 2015
Run Bedford 10K - 07.06.15
Pete, Steve & I took part in the first ever running of the Run Bedford 10k Road Race. The course started and finished on The Embankment and took runners around some of Bedford's finer streets. The course was pancake flat and on closed roads.
The start / finish location, great weather and the Kite festival (also in Russell Park) gave the event a real party atmosphere.
Given that it was the first such event there were no problems with the organisation. There was ample free car parking just a few minutes walk from the start / finish in Aspects Leisure Park.
Surprisingly there was only 433 starters for the event with all but 4 finishing. Having said that the field was of a good standard with all of Bedford's running clubs as well as Ampthill & Flitwick Flyers in attendance and a good turnout from Bedford Parkrun.
Steve was hampered by a calf injury for a good proportion of the race but still managed to leave Pete & I in his wake.
Steve came 170th in a time of 50:02 and was 20th in "our" age category.
I finished in 51:29 in 207th place and 24th in our age category.
Pete finished in 228th place in exactly 53 minutes and was 26th in our age category.
Les
Sunday, 7 June 2015
Stratford Tempest Sportive - 06.06.15
On Saturday morning I had a break from the normal Parkrun and went off up to Warwick to take part in the Wiggle organised Stratford Tempest Sportive.
There were 3 distances on offer - Short @ 65 miles, Standard @ 82 miles and Epic @ 100 miles. The Standard and Epic also had the "pleasure" of including in their route a hill by the name of Saintbury Hill. This has been the venue for 2 national hill climb championships so it gives you an idea of what is involved. Over a mile long with an average gradient of 9% and up to 18% at its steepest. Despite the name there is nothing saintly about it.
I opted for the Standard distance and my friend Andy was intending to do the same but ended up doing the Short ride instead.
The sun was out when we arrived but there was a very strong wind from the South West that was quite chilly so the weather was much colder than it appeared and the winds also made things interesting when blowing across the route and challenging when cycling into it.
There were 1500 people taking part in the event so the start area was a bit chaotic and the food stops were very busy but well stocked, not that I stopped long at any of them.
I managed to get round the 82.1 mile course in a time of 5h 03m which equates to an average speed of 16.0mph which I was pleased with given the distance involved and the 3,681 feet of climbing. Wiggle work their awards for the sportives on average speed over the whole event and I was very happy to achieve the top Gold standard for the event.
Overall a long and challenging ride but very satisfying to get up Saintbury Hill without stopping and still having a bit in the tank at the end.
Chris
There were 3 distances on offer - Short @ 65 miles, Standard @ 82 miles and Epic @ 100 miles. The Standard and Epic also had the "pleasure" of including in their route a hill by the name of Saintbury Hill. This has been the venue for 2 national hill climb championships so it gives you an idea of what is involved. Over a mile long with an average gradient of 9% and up to 18% at its steepest. Despite the name there is nothing saintly about it.
I opted for the Standard distance and my friend Andy was intending to do the same but ended up doing the Short ride instead.
The sun was out when we arrived but there was a very strong wind from the South West that was quite chilly so the weather was much colder than it appeared and the winds also made things interesting when blowing across the route and challenging when cycling into it.
There were 1500 people taking part in the event so the start area was a bit chaotic and the food stops were very busy but well stocked, not that I stopped long at any of them.
I managed to get round the 82.1 mile course in a time of 5h 03m which equates to an average speed of 16.0mph which I was pleased with given the distance involved and the 3,681 feet of climbing. Wiggle work their awards for the sportives on average speed over the whole event and I was very happy to achieve the top Gold standard for the event.
Overall a long and challenging ride but very satisfying to get up Saintbury Hill without stopping and still having a bit in the tank at the end.
Chris
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