News Release 17 September 2017

You can’t keep that man NEIL HUME down. Having smashed his 5K PB at Wednesday’s Affinity 5K Road Race in Hatfield (with an electrifying time of 16:24) he warmed up for Sunday’s Round Norfolk Relay — where he ran 18.13 miles through the night in 1:51:25

with a casual parkrun at Heartwood Forest. Here his winning time of 17:28 was a mere training pace by his standards. But more of that later.

HUMAN DYNAMO
Midnight man Neil Hume completes an epic trio of runs

Round Norfolk Relay (RNR)

Billed as “the ultimate club experience” the 2017 GCR team in the RNR made its way up to Norfolk this weekend for the club’s 13th appearance at the event. For JOHN DAVIS (the Shorter) and club captain SEAN BOWEN it was their 10th appearance.

The race started Saturday at 10:30am in Kings Lynn, and progressed over 17 stages, completing a 197-mile circuit of Norfolk. A full report will appear next week.

GCR Runners taking part: 1 SEAN BOWEN (Lead-off Man); 2 ROB CASSERLEY (Duckboard Skater); 3 MICK WISE (Beachcomber); 4 BRAD SMITH (Swamphopper); 5 ALAN ROUTLEDGE (Shinglecruncher); 6 JOHAN PREIS (Golf Ball Dodger); 7 RICHARD SOMERSET(Gas Terminal Inspector); 8 ADAM ROSSINGTON (Windmill Chaser); 9 PAUL GUY (Yarmouth Man); 10 NEIL HUME (Midnight Man); 11 MICHAEL PAINE (A143 Monotony Man); 12 PAUL DAVIES(Long Distance Man); 13 JAN PIOTROWSKI (Ghost Chaser); 14 MALCOLM DOWN (Dawnbreaker); 15 DARREN RILEY(Breakfast Shift); 16 JOHN DAVIS THE SHORTER (Fenland Windbreaker); 17 RUSSELL CASEY (Anchorman).
The excellent Support Crew included CHRIS ELAND (Escort Cyclist, Saturday morning); SANDRA WISE (Escort Cyclist, Saturday afternoon); COLIN EWIN (Escort Cyclist, Saturday evening); SUE FLETCHER (Timekeeper); DEBBIE MORRIS (Timekeeper); JOHN and MAUREEN DICKERSON (Night Escort Vehicle Co-Drivers); TIM COOKE (Escort Cyclist Sunday morning).

Affinity Water 5K Series Race 2

NEIL HUME just missed out on first place after a fast and furious sprint to the line at the second 5k Series race in Hatfield, sponsored by Affinity Water. He finished 2nd, just beaten on the line by winner OLIVER SAVILLE.

But there was some consolation as Hume posted a new PB for the distance (of 16:24), as stated earlier. This was sufficient to grab top spot in the County Vets category, seeing off stiff competition from North Herts Road Runners.

“I been trying to break 16:30 for a while and thought the pancake-flat Affinity course might be the place to do it,” stated the GCR man. “Even though conditions were not perfect I was able to hang to the leading group and drag myself round.” His efforts also helped GCR take the Male Veterans title.

Behind him were BRUCE JUDGE, who finished in 17:21, followed by PAUL GUY 17:47, CHRIS BAYNES 17:54, ROB CASSERLEY 18:07, MARTHA HALL, first GCR lady in 18:50; DANIEL FIGG 18:52; RICHARD SOMERSET 19:07; JOSEPH PRICE 19:20; IAN MUNRO 19:34; KAREN ARCHER 20:46; NIGEL CAVILL 21:42; ANNA

BELLINGHAM 22:11; DAWN FIGG 22:58; HANNAH AHMET 23:16; MICK WISE 23:22; YVONNE JONES 24:26; MAGGIE WRIGHT 26:18; LOUISE SMITH 27:41; KATH EVANS 29:41; DENNIS DRAPER 35:16 and ELEANOR DRAPER 40:36.

George Woods

Great news from GCR’s most senior veteran GEORGE WOODS. We reported back in June that he had sustained a serious injury but now learn that having had a succession of operations and treatments, he is not only back on his feet, but back in training! George is reported to be taking long walks (mixed with some cheeky ‘behind closed doors’ runs). At 87 a recovery of any sort is impressive but to be up and running again is truly inspiring.

Ellenbrook Fields parkrun

With many regulars competing in the Round Norfolk Relay, the ever-impressive HANNAH AHMET skipped effortlessly round Ellenbrook’s puddles to become the first GCR runner home — period! She completed the 5K in 22:37 to finish 19th overall. Behind her were SEAN TAYLOR, in 23:51; RICK HOLE (25:45); GERWYN LLEWELLYN (26:02); SAM SMITH (26:12); JERRY GILBERT (26:41); MAUREEN STEED (30:43); JANE MOLLOY (31:53); JOY ALLEN 34:52 (a new PB), and DAWN REDWOOD (36:47).

Heartwood Forest parkrun

Competing at the new Heartwood Forest location for the first time, NEIL HUME finished in his familiar top podium spot, before heading straight to East Anglia for the Round Norfolk Relay (see earlier). He was followed by DANIEL FIGG, who finished 4th in 19:12, while MAGGIE WRIGHT ran the course in 27:57 and LOUISE SMITH was closely behind in a creditable 28:21 on her first outing at Heartwood.

Panshanger Park parkrun

First GCR home was DOMINIC CHAPMAN, who finished 7th in 19:31, ahead of colleagues, NEIL BRITTAIN (22:30); DAVID ACKLAND (22:47); ALEX YATES (30:18); CATHERINE DANN (33:05) and SUE COVENEY (35:35).

Other parkruns

MAX HOLT ran Moors Valley Country Park near Ringwood, finishing in 20:26, while in Bournemouth CASSANDRA BELCHER joined the vast field, finishing in 28:31. TOM CASSERLEY was in action at Oak Hill in East Barnet, recording a time of 37:41. Westmill Farm in Ware saw the ever-improving TOM WACKETT in acreditable second place, and just failing to dip under the 20 minute threshold, recording a time of 20:07. At Pymmes Park in Edmonton TICHAONEZVI J RUREDZO completed the course in 28:29 while in Stevenage HELEN MOYE ran 24:20. Wimpole Estate in Royston saw STEVEN RIVETT run the course in 26:44, at Preston Park in Brighton LAUREN POTTER finished in a highly creditable 21:18, and was joined by club colleague LYNETTE STEWART, who ran the course in 30:12. Finally at Central Park, Dartford, STEVE and ASA MOBERG GROUT competed for the first time at the venue, finishing respectively in 27:28 and 27:47.

Harvest Trail

We are grateful to MAUREEN STEED for providing this delightful pic of some familiar GCR faces, and also the following info.

“A few hardy GCR’s headed over to
Royston for their annual Harvest Trail
quarter and half marathon event, among
them club stalwarts DENNIS and
ELEANOR DRAPER,” reports
Maureen. “A clue as to the conditions we were to encounter should have been the thickening fog as we approached Royston but the slippery chalk surface on the first hill was still a bit of a surprise!

“Further into the run, with the fog showing no signs of lifting, there were more than a few encounters with that lovely sticky mud that make your shoes feel like lead weights. Unfortunately this is where KAREN ATKINSON had a fall and had to retire early with a badly sprained ankle. However, CHARLOTTE JONES was so intent on not succumbing to the same fate that, while watching out for hostile roots, she missed a marker and did an extra couple of unexpected miles on already tired legs.”

“The weather had improved considerately by the time our heroic team finished in a little over 3 1?2 hours — no mean feat for octogenarians! Some of the earlier finishers waited around to see them cross the line. “In that respect, we were particularly grateful to the ever-smiling KATH EVANS and husband MIKE,” Maureen concludes. Other GCR’s took part, including ASA MOBERG GROUT, but we were unable to provide a comprehensive list at time of going to press.

Sydney Marathon

SIMON WRENN took what he describes as “a sightseeing jogette” around the Sydney Marathon, completing it “in a leisurely 4h 58 minutes.” Don’t tell me anyone who completes a race in 2 minutes under 5 hours doesn’t have their eye on the clock!

Simplyhealth Great Bristol Half Marathon

JAMES HUISH ran the Simplyhealth Great Bristol Half Marathon at the weekend — his first Half ever — and he completed it in a time of 1hr 25m 34s.

He described it as a great route, under the Suspension Bridge, and back through the city centre, with over 10,000 runners taking part.

Having only joined GCR earlier in the year JAMES is a shining example of what GCR can offer new runners. Speaking of his decision, he says, “Joining GCR has certainly

helped me push towards longer distances and generally improve in all departments — especially weekly intervals. So, many thanks to everyone.”

Hercules Festival of Sport

IAN MUNRO finished 2nd in the sprint duathlon at the Hercules Festival of Sport
in St. Albans. “I was meant to be doing the London long-distance one today,” he said,

“but leg niggles meant I had to downsize.” Rutland Marathon

The Rutland Marathon course follows the cycle path around the Rutland Water reservoir. NICK GENEVER completed the 26.2-mile distance in an excellent 3:35:24 — sufficient for 9th place out of 137 in 9th place out of 137 finishers.

Ironman 70.3 Weymouth

DAVE HEAL competed at 70.3 i/2 Ironman Weymouth, finishing in total of 6:52:26. The Sea Swim took him through 1.2 miles of choppy sea in 49:02. The cycle section was over 56 miles on undulating Jurassic countryside, completed in 3:37:58 while the Half Marathon took place on a 3.5m loop circuit around the bay of Weymouth, which he completed in 2:07:55 — for the 70.3 distance total. Reviewing his overall time DAVE said, “I am a happy triathlete and Ironman.”

Richmond Running Festival

ELAINE GILES and TOM ROGERS took part in the Richmond Half Marathon, part of the Running Festival — but no times have been issued.

Chiltern Wonderland 50 Ultramarathon

TIM COOKE completed the Chiltern Wonderland 50 Ultramarathon in a time of 12:36:22.

This is a trail race over a route starting and ending in Goring-on-Thames, hosted by Centurion Running, and is the third in a series of four 50 mile grand slam races in the season. The event is a 50-mile single loop around the Chiltern Countryside, taking in 5600ft of climb and visiting picturesque villages bursting with history (and TV locations). COOKE reports that only 65% of starters completed the event within the time limit.