A TRIO of high quality Stratford Athletic Club runners demonstrated their current form in the Northbrook 10k – part of the Warwickshire Road Race League – as they achieved outstanding results, writes Danny Tolhurst.
Zoe Chandler was the 1st Woman, Tim Hutchinson finished 9th and won the M45 prize and Graham Taylor ran another excellent race.
This was Tim’s sixth race in the past month and he is getting fitter and faster all the time. During the ten days building up to this event, Tim ran a sparkling race in the Ryton Pool 5 and made his track debut with a fine 5,000m performance. He continued his upward curve here and was delighted with his run.
“The race, organisation and atmosphere were great. This was my debut on this course but fortunately Graham Taylor gave me a great summary of what to expect. I was very chuffed to achieve another PB, especially on a reasonably undulating course,” he said.
“It was undoubtedly the wettest race I’ve ever run, with a huge deluge for the middle part of the race. From about halfway Zoe and I ran fairly closely which helped both of us to keep the pace going, especially as she had dropped her watch.
“Over the last kilometre Zoe opened up a 5-10m gap with a group of four others. I thought the finish positions were set, however over the last 500 metres I found some extra speed. I managed to pass all but one member of the group to finish 9th overall and win the M45 category – my fifth prize in a row.”
Zoe ran a marvellous race and finished 65 seconds clear of the second female athlete.
She said: “I’m absolutely over the moon with my run. Due to my watch falling off I had no idea of my time until finishing, which meant it came as a lovely surprise.
“The course was interesting with lots of hills and we endured a heavy shower at one point, but it remained good fun. Well done to Tim for catching me on the line!”
Graham is never far away from Tim during a race and, although he was slightly disappointed with his time, he was still 90 seconds faster than last year. Graham thinks his training could have been better recently and he looks forward to clocking up a greater number of miles before his next race.
The race was won by Martin Whitehouse of Notts AC in 32.43.
Results: Tim Hutchinson – 9th, 36.27 (1st M45); Zoe Chandler – 12th, 36.30 (1st Woman); Graham Taylor – 22nd, 37.28.
Junior Run results: Spencer Corder – 1st, 6.33; Alex Adams – 3rd, 6.49; Adam Taylor – 8th, 7.13; Edie Hutchinson – 12th, 7.23; Finlay Hutchinson – 22nd, 7.25.
OSCAR Barbour is having a terrific year of racing and the talented U17 athlete continued his recent run of success with a scintillating victory in the Evesham 10k.
Oscar won by 27 seconds from Marcus England of Cheltenham Harriers and was ecstatic to lift the enormous winner’s trophy.
Rob Minton showed the exquisite combination of speed and endurance that has become his trademark and he picked up a well deserved third place. Next across the line for the club was the ever-enthusiastic Steve Baker.
Steady improvement is the name of the game for Paul Jefferies, who is thoroughly enjoying his training and racing at the moment.
Sheila Barbour made it an even better day for the family by finishing 2nd Woman with a typically resolute and determined run.
Roger Wilson returned to competitive running after a lay-off with a barnstorming performance. With this race under his belt, it will be exciting to see what Roger can do in the coming months.
David Jones simply found Roger’s pace too hot when he glided past him on one of the inclines, but David was pleased to run more than 30 seconds quicker than the only his other appearance in this race in 2012. David is now looking forward to testing himself with some track races, including a mile at the famous Roger Bannister Track in Oxford.
Dave Maundrell reported that he ran the first two miles too quickly and had to dig deep to secure a time he could be happy with, whilst two of the club’s most redoubtable athletes – Kate Sergent and Martyn Sergent – had superb runs and looked in top form.
Michael Oliver was not enamoured with the twists and turns on the course but he stuck to his task admirably.
The first woman to finish was was Shona Crombie-Hicks of Bourton Road Runners in 38.56.
Results: Oscar Barbour – 1st, 35.34; Rob Minton – 3rd, 36.25; Steve Baker – 37th, 42.19; Paul Jefferies – 41st, 42.28; Sheila Barbour – 49th, 42.59 (2nd Woman); Roger Wilson – 104th, 46.14; David Jones – 112th, 46.35; Luke Watkins – 120th, 47.23; Dave Maundrell – 214th, 52.12; Andrew Turner – 216th, 52.21; Rebecca Pridham – 257th, 54.48; Kate Sergent – 301st, 56.23; Jane Fradgley – 321st, 57.19; Jason Fretter – 325th, 57.33; Michael Oliver – 342nd, 58.29; Martyn Sergent – 385th, 1:01.01; John Butler – 415th, 1:03.23; Natasha Watkins – 424th, 1:03.57; Clive Shepherd – 460th, 1:06.33.
STRATFORD AC’s small squad battled hard at the penultimate Midland Track & Field League fixture at Leicester to secure many noteworthy results as numerous impressive debuts were made.
Paula Williams and Amanda Evans were on the go for almost the entire day and both women did the club proud with a series of performances that were spirited as well as accomplished.
Sarah Wheeler demonstrated her great racing brain with a PB in the 1,500m and a fine run in the 800m. Tas Pope’s fine debut in the 400m hurdles along with a glorious run in the more familiar 3,000m showed her commitment and class are still major assets.
The main man in the field events was Paul Hawkins, whose efforts in the hammer, shot, javelin and discus gained valuable points for the team, whilst Nye Davis achieved two PBs in the 800m and 400m, which were all the more impressive due to being set in such a short space of time.
Tim Hutchinson, Alex Grant and Chris Bartlett also made excellent contributions and the team will go into the final fixture of the season at Solihull on August 9 knowing they will have to fight incredibly hard for every second and centimetre if they are to avoid relegation from Division Five.
Stratford AC currently sit bottom of the table, one point behind Royal Sutton Coldfield AC and two behind Corby AC and Leicester Coritanian AC.
THE STRATFORD AC U11s and U13s enjoyed success in their final Quadkids fixture at Solihull as the year 3/4 girls and boys won the league.
The year 5/6 girls also won their age group in the league while the year 5/6 boys were only just beaten by Solihull & Small Heath AC.
