Posts

Weekend Recap: Deck the Halls

,

Brueton parkrun: Cold enough to make your nose red. Brueton parkrun saw wind cutting through whatever layers you wore in arctic conditions. Freezing temperatures might account for the quick times. Everyone just wanted to get home to the roaring log fire.

Gareth Wainwright was first out of there in 17:18 followed by Gary Polhill who’s 18:27 was a PB. Anthony Dutton ran 19:31 and then some extra laps to keep his toes warm.

Kerry Ann Thompson just missed her PB with a 21:47. Nicky Evans ran a PB of 23:26 and Elaine Callinan clocked 23:31.

In the PB igloo were Gary Polhill and Nicky Evans. They were joined by Lorna Davies in 26:55 and Janice Lisiecki in 25:56 and 27:15 saw Sandra Boot gain entry to the icy party. Another highlight included Linda Whitehead running her fastest time in 3 years.

Bushy parkrun:
John Garside made his Christmas pilgrimage to the holy land. It was a Bushy parkrun for John who ran 21:56 at the parkrun Bethlehem. You can pick which parkrun nativity character John is. Mary? Jesus? Joseph? The Donkey? 

Cannon Hill parkrun:
Johnny Bellman made the short journey across the Birmingham/Solihull border. After having his parkrun passport stamped his result came through as 19:17. Enough for us to let him back across great divide.

Stratford-upon-Avon parkrun:
Kevin Tomkinson took his tourist sleigh to Stratford as he ran 27:40.

/by

Weekend Recap: Kenilworth Half, Keswick Capers and Ann Spits Fire

,

Kenilworth Half:
Warwickshire Road Race fun as Kenilworth Half’s new route rolled into town. Chris Sharp and Amanda O’Leardy took home K&D First Finisher’s honours. Chris was 4th overall while Amanda won her age category. Top running. 

Elsewhere a whole host of K&D turned out. See below for the full results:
Chris Sharp – 1:14:56
Rob Michaelson-Yeates – 1:19:52
Richard Dixon – 1:23:24
Paul Bentley – 1:25:28
Michael Swann – 1:26:41
Tim Price – 1:28:45
Amanda O’Leary – 1:32:34
Monica Green – 1:34:24
Andrew Connors – 1:35:50
Max Mladenovic – 1:36:53
Steve Armstrong – 1:37:26
Max Gimson – 1:41:57
Claire Magee – 1:42:20
James Hillier – 1:48:24
John Garside – 1:49:08
Hannah Gibson – 1:49:31
Rob Houlston – 1:51:17
Paul Winwood – 1:51:34
Mark Owen – 1:53:07
Kevin Boake – 1:56:36
Rob Stewart – 1:58:38
Caroline Edwards – 2:28:18

Derwentwater Trails 15km
Beautiful Keswick was home to the Davies and Whiteheads for the weekend as Tracey, Russell, Linda and Keith all took on the Lakeland Trails 15k event.  Superb views going up hill (except for those behind Russell), and wild times downhill for two premier K&D pairings.

Spitfire 10k
Celebrating a 100 years of the RAF, Ann Spencer-Dowdeswell took on the Spitfire 10k at historic Cosford. Home to the RAF museum and of course former home of indoor athletics in England.

Brueton parkrun:
5 of the first 10 men on Saturday at Brueton were K&D. Gareth Wainwright narrowly missing out on a sub-17 as he ran 17:02. Jack Bristow backed him up in 17:30 and Chris Morgan dropped in an 18:30 in the middle of a training run. 

Jane Hunt’s 23:08 led our women while Sarah Cattell (25:05) and Jan Hornby (26:55) rounded out the top 3 for our women. With a 28:05 run Lyndsey Drakeley set a new PB on Saturday. Great running Lyndsey.

Bushy parkrun:
The pilgrimage for Jo Tork, Steve Marks and Sarah Laxton this week as they ran 33:40, 33:48 and 36:09. The Three also got to celebrate Jo Tork’s 50th parkrun.

Chippenham parkrun:
Darren and Kate travelled all the way to the Cotswolds to visit Darren’s favourite ice cream makers. They stopped off to parkrun too on the Sat. Darren’s lungs continued to fall apart as he ran 21:26 and Kate eased her recent sore foot back into things with a 27:11.

Marlay parkrun:
Marlay and Me. Except the dog doesn’t get put down. Siobhan Cotter and Alan Marshall did a spot of touristing running 26:04 and 27:39.

Keswick parkrun:
Two Whitehead’s and a Davies. You bump into K&D everywhere. Russell Davies ran 23:25, Keith Whitehead clocked 26:03 and Linda Whitehead ran 31:01. Was Tracy Davies still in bed?

Stratford-upon-Avon parkrun:
Phil Wood run good. 22:35.





/by

Weekend Recap: parkruns in the sun

,

Brueton parkrun: Chris Sharp’s fast feet posed a fire risk over parched grass on Saturday. His 16:50 meaning Brueton needed a fire extinguisher on hand at the finish line. Behind him Gareth Wainwright ran a swift 17:25 – doing his best to create some breeze for the other runners while Michael Swann ran 18:46 for third K&D. Swan’s can carry 4 1/2 Stone of Ice under their wings. Swan fact.

Monica Green was our first K&D woman in 20:04. Hot Stuff! Flick Sharp followed in the sweaty footprints of Chris in 21:18. Jane Hunt sped to a 23:16, avoiding Chris’ sweaty foot prints. Wise. Hunt Fact: Jane hunt’s wild Pokemon in her spare time. She has a wild Charizard head mounted on her livingroom wall.

Bushy parkrun:
Week 2 of our stealthy K&D Bushy Takeover. It will be ours. Soooon. Jan Hornby (26:55),  Ann Spencer-Dowdeswell (27:32), Katie Price (29:43) and Caroline Edwards (30:32) laid down some secondary foundations. Next come’s the turret…

Stonehouse parkrun:
The Whitehead’s visited Stonehouse. A house. Made of Stone. Who’d have thought it! Novel. Killer Keith clocked 24:25 and Lovely Linda ran 29:09. The nicknames need some work.

Kingsbury Water parkrun:
Mmm water. A scarce commodity this summer. Anthony Dutton led our tour group round in 19:51. He carried a little flag like a Japanese tour guide in London. Kay Adenipekun was next up in 24:12, Paul Winwood ran 24:39, Karen Ratcliffe ran 26:26, Lissy Calvert clocked 31:13, Penny Taylor clocked off at 31:58 while Gail Partridge fell in a lake. Actually she ran 32:32.

Perry Hall parkrun:
The quietest Birmingham parkrun is a hidden gem. Steve Armstrong rolled up like a duke and dropped a 21:03.

Stratford-Upon-Avon parkrun:
Richard attacked the fast, flat SUA parkrun with 21:04 in the shadow of the RSC.

Errdig parkrun:
Errdig is a National Trust Home, famous for its tapestries. I was excited when I heard it was famous for is pastries. I am dissapointed. Pete Austin ran 21:08. We need more pastries.

Tampere parkrun:
Friend of the club Riina Kuuselo ran 20:37. Tampere Fact: Tampere this week hosted the World U20 Champs.

Exmouth parkrun:
Steve Marks ran 33:02. Exmouth Fact: Exmouth Lifeboat Station is #16 of Things to do in Exmouth on Trip Advisor. I’m not saying it’s a naff day out but… another Exmouth Fact: Drowning is #15 of Things to do in Exmouth on Trip Advisor.

/by

Weekend Recap: Northbrook, H&W10k, BBMHM,

,

Northbrook 10k: It’s only 7km uphill… In 28 degree temperatures the WRRL was scorchio. Chris Sharp took the win with a superb 33:50 in difficult conditions. He was backed up by Torsten Roesler in 37:45 and Ed Bower in 43:50. 

Our Women kept the men on their toes as Jane Evans and Rosie Marsh finished 3rd & 4th K&D overall. Jane Evans ran an excellent 39:05 while Rosie Marsh wasn’t too far behind in 42:38.  Jude Mansfield rounded out the top-3 K&D women in 51:14.

Results:
Chris Sharp – 33:50
Torsten Roesler – 37:45
Jane Evans – 39:05
Rosie Marsh – 42:38
Ed Bower – 43:50
Adam O’Nions – 44:10
Steve Armstrong – 44:14
Ian Naisbitt – 47:19
Gary Welsh – 47:49
Phil Wood – 48:44
Mike Durkin – 48:46
Mark Owen – 49:32
Martin Hancock – 50:17
Jude Mansfield – 51:14
Rob Stewart – 52:12
Paul Winwood – 52:31
Kay Adenipekun – 52:55
Graham Edwards – 54:51
Isabel Arthur – 65:53
Caroline Edwards – 66:34
Paul Jeffrey – 66:50

Birmingham & Black Country Half Marathon

A Saturday point to point half for Ann Spencer-Dowdeswell and Claire Maggs. Ann ran a 2:14:06 while Claire ran 2:36:39 enjoying the run along the superb Midlands canal network.  Shame they can’t take selfie’s though. Read more

/by

Weekend Recap: Max Ultra and a Right Royal Half

,

Endurancelife Ultra:

Congratulations to Max Mladenovic who completed his first ever Ultra. Max is on a mission training for Comrades in South Africa and as part of his training completed the ultra in siberian like conditions. He still ran in shorts though. Nobbly Knees galore going red raw in the cold. 

Max completed the Endurance Life Sussex 36 mile Ultra in 5:56.

Hampton Court Half:

With snow causing a raft of cancellations around the country one of the only runs that survived was the Hampton Court Half.  Of course K&D were represented there.

Simon Bentley enjoyed a strong 1:22:25 run in dodgy conditions and a day after spending hours in Sutton Park in the bitter cold. Impressive as he returns to his blisteringly fast ways. The long suffering protege of Simon’s, Rachel Aston skated round in 1:57:33. They were followed by Amanda Crees who forgot her K&D buff in the big freeze but still managed a 2:22:48.

Brueton parkrun:

Brueton surprisingly escaped the big freeze. It’s ability to become soggy even in mild conditions can be a pain at freezing point but our runners were able to get a good, if bracing, run out. With 24 K&D runners in Sutton numbers were down but they were led round by Paul Bentley in 19:22. Behind him Lloyd Barton and Steve Armstrong made welcome appearances on the K&D podium. Lloyd clocked 21:34, just pipping Steve in 21:38.

Flick Sharp made another welcome return, enjoying her first post-baby K&D topper. Dipping under 24 Flick ran a 23:58 to take the headlines. Continuing the baby theme Mary Heald pushed her’s to a 24:26. Sarah Cattell rounded out the top 3 in 24:35.

There was a PB for Gareth Lloyd on his third parkrun – running 30:17. He can now start eyeing that 30 min barrier with intent! Just behind Gareth was Kelly Cridland, on her second parkrun she ran 32:12. Well done team!

Bushy parkrun: 

Pre-Hampton Court Half we found Amanda Crees making the pilgrimage to Bushy. Amanda ran 30:14 at the spiritual home of parkrun.

Coventry parkrun:

Simon Battson swapped his usual KIngsbury home for Coventry.  He ran 25:47.

Cannon Hill parkrun:

Ainsley Wainwright ran a very swift 20:52 at Cannon Hill. 

Shrewsbury parkrun:

Ann Spencer-Dowdeswell made a trip to the land of Shrews. She clocked 28:45.

/by

Weekend Recap: Sent to Coventry, Ladies owning Brueton PB’s

,

Coventry Half Marathon

You know you are getting towards business time when the half marathon’s start coming thick and fast. Coventry Half saw the now annual mass migrations of Knowle & Dorridge athletes into Coventry City Centre. Howling winds met the squad virtually the entire way round the course; making the route’s first 10 miles uphill even more challenging.

Darren John led the eight K&D runners round the course finishing in 11th place overall and recording a new PB of 1:18:05. Kathy Bailey was first K&D lady home; she also won her age group. Congrats to Kathy! Congrats also go to James Taylor, Clare Carmen and Tanya Cronin who all ran PB’s on a tough day out on the roads.

Full Results:

Darren John – 1:18:05 (PB)
Richard Dixon – 1:26:26
James Taylor – 1:27:06 (PB)
Kevin Boake – 1:34:48
Kathy Bailey – 1:42:36
Sarah Cattell – 1:53:41
Clare Carmen – 2:03:00 (PB)
Tanya Cronin – 2:24:04 (PB)

Russell Davies also ran Coventry Half in 1:32 but showed up as a DNF. We assume it was a faulty chip issue!

Brueton parkrun

With a number of runners saving their legs for Coventry and various other races in the coming weeks you might have expected a smaller field at Brueton. If so you’d have been very wrong. Congratulations to the parkrun core team at Brueton who handled a record 501 finishers this weekend!

Read more

/by