On Saturday Richard Newbert ran the Ladybower 54k in the Peak District as a way to mark being in his 50th year. It was his longest race to date and with 1100m of ascent he didn’t make it easy for himself. The weather was mostly cool and sunny. Richard was justifiably pleased with his time of 6 hours 34 minutes, which placed him well within the top half of the 447 runners, especially as niggles hampered his training this summer. He is now enjoying the post run high and wondering what to do next!

Eschewing the quiet hills, Shawn Imeson had a busy weekend pounding the streets of London. He ran the Vitality Westminster Mile in St James’s Park in a speedy 6 minutes 57 seconds then he joined over 17,000 runners for the Vitality London 10k which he completed in 52 minutes 29 seconds.

298 runners took part in the Sutton on the Forest 10k on Sunday. Runners usually arrange themselves at the start line so that the faster runners are at the front. It didn’t quite work for this race leading to congestion at the start for those who didn’t move far enough forward. Despite this, Simon Jones ran an excellent race crossing the finish line in 40 minutes 8 seconds, placing him 11th overall and 2nd M55. Paul Simpson was next in 43 minutes 51 seconds. Lucy Saggers’ time of 49 minutes 12 seconds placed her 2nd F55 and Serena Partridge was 2nd F50 in 52 minutes 18 seconds. Nicola Thorpe was next in 56 minutes 1 second followed by Alice Hayter in 56 minutes 19 seconds.

The much awaited Summer Series Fell Race results are out with Pickering Ladies Team coming 2nd, a tremendous achievement for a relatively small running club. Congratulations to the individuals who achieved top placings: Lynn Humpleby 2nd F45, Lucy Saggers 3rd F50, Nicola Thorpe 1st F55 and Paul Smith 3rd M65.

October and November tend to be busy marathon months as, hopefully, the weather is neither too hot or too cold! Graham Robinson will, once again, be running York Marathon with his oxygen tank on his back raising funds for Asthma and Lung UK. Nick Cousins will be raising money for Day One Trauma Support by running the Athens Marathon. Both have JustGiving pages.