There was a record turnout of 27 runners for the first event in the 2012 Handicap Series. This is the 24th year of the traditional club event which first saw light of day on 12th April 1989 over exactly the same accurately measured 5 mile course. Only 8 runners took part in the inaugural event, but the first 5 runners home that night were quicker than anyone in this race ! Tom and Bryan featured in that 1989 event with Tom recording 30.14 and Bryan 31.46. Both have competed ever since and featured again in 2012.
A heavy shower coincided with the start of the race but this did not dampen the spirits of the runners and some excellent performances were recorded. Gavin led from the start and sliced a huge chunk from his already impressive PB. This will be a big confidence boost for him as he has, occasionally, struggled in training over the winter and it bodes well for a successful summer campaign. Gavin’s time of 30.49 was tantalisingly close to entering the top 20 all-time rankings, being just 2 seconds shy of Dave Ameghino’s 20th place. Next time, Gav ! There was another welcome return to form as Simon worked his way through the field to take 2nd place. Simon has been plagued by persistent niggling injuries since his last Ironman Triathlon performance and was unsure of his ability to run quickly. He started off cautiously and, as the confidence grew, increased the pace until he crossed the finish line with an obvious expression of delight on his face as he exclaimed “I’m back!”. We hope that this is the start of a lengthy injury-free spell of good form. Just 5 seconds adrift of Simon there was an outstanding debut from new member Mark Lamonby who, despite having run the Worcester Half Marathon just 2 days previously, still ran strongly to demonstrate that there is lots of potential there waiting to be released. Stuart finished 4th and finally recorded a time that does his talent justice. Hopefully he, too, can remain injury free as he builds up to another international triathlon age-group appearance.
There were several good tussles further down the field with some promising runs from people making their debuts over the course and a couple of notable female PBs. Mark P. was pleased to hold off the advances of the fast-closing Sue D. whilst new member Paul battled hard to repel the sprint finish of Daren. Liza, the Austin Princess, celebrated a family double as she joined her husband in recording a massive PB and climbed to 15 = on the female all-time listings, whilst Sam demonstrated her impressive improvement by knocking almost 2 minutes from her previous best to enter the top 20 at no. 18 with a bullet (anyone understand that reference ?).
A final mention to El Presidente Bryan who, as well as running way back in the first ever event, became the oldest runner (in his 72nd year – he doesn’t look a day over 80) to complete the course. Long may he reign. Thankfully his elderliness was counterbalanced by the welcome sight of a number of fresher young members making their first appearance in the long-established series.
The 2nd event in the series will be held on Tuesday 15th May where the runners will be handicapped based on the times recorded in this first race, with runners who did not run in this event receiving a handicap based on an average of last season’s times.
RACE 1 |
17th April 2012 |
||
RUNNER |
TIME |
||
1 |
GAVIN WRIGHT |
30.49 |
P.B. By 38 secs. |
2 |
SIMON NORWOOD (MV40) |
31.10 |
|
3 |
MARK LAMONBY |
31.15 |
Debut |
4 |
STUART AUSTIN (MV45) |
31.31 |
P.B. By 1 min. 29 secs. |
5 |
RICHARD HORNSBY |
32.58 |
|
6 |
NIGEL MASON |
33.50 |
|
7 |
PATRICK PEARSON (MV40) |
33.55 |
|
8 |
MARTIN WILLIAMS (MV40) |
34.08 |
|
9 |
MARK PAVIOUR (MV45) |
34.40 |
|
10 |
SUE DAVIES (FV45) |
34.47 |
|
11 |
PAUL PRICE |
35.15 |
Debut |
12 |
DAREN LINCOLN (MV40) |
35.17 |
|
13 |
ROB LLWELLYN |
35.25 |
Debut |
14 |
GARY GUNNER (MV65) |
35.37 |
|
15 |
JON BRIGGS (MV40) |
35.48 |
Debut |
16 |
ASHLEY COOKE (MV55) |
36.13 |
|
17 |
ANGUS HOLMES |
37.11 |
Debut |
18 |
TOM DAVIES (MV60) |
38.07 |
|
19 |
FRANK LUSCOTT (MV55) |
38.23 |
|
20 |
ADAM KENNERLEY (MV45) |
38.36 |
|
21 |
RUTH STAFFORD (FV35) |
39.23 |
Debut |
22 |
LIZA AUSTIN (FV45) |
39.30 |
P.B. By 50 secs. |
23 |
SAM HARPER (FV35) |
41.00 |
P.B. By 1.min. 48 secs. |
24 |
RACHEL NELSON (FV40) |
42.56 |
|
25 |
BEN MARSH |
43.02 |
Debut |
26 |
SUE POWELL (FV50) |
43.53 |
Debut |
27 |
BRYAN MARKHAM (MV70) |
46.30 |
|