Peel Road Runners ladies club record holder at all distances, Emma Pick, should have been on the Elite start at the Great North Run this weekend. However due to an injury incurred since her sub-3 hour London marathon, Emma’s training had not been sufficient to enable her to perform at her best over the half marathon distance. Undeterred she ran the shorter distance of the Wilne 10k race near Derby instead. “Lining up in the elite pen, my competitiveness kicked in. I was the first woman through 5k in 17:09 (with a £50 bonus!) and crossed the line in 1st place in a time of 35:00, a 58 second personal best (and £175 prize money!)” Emma said. A brilliant comeback, we say!
On a day of personal bests, Ian Orton joined an estimated 60,000 runners in Newcastle to race the iconic Great North Run beating his own personal best time to finish in 1:39:19, knocking 3 minutes and 5 seconds of his previous fastest time at the distance.
Running a little closer to home, Lee Rickards took on the South Cheshire Harriers 20 mile road race finishing in 2:20:00. The club organised race attracted a strong field of runners and followed an undulating course along country lanes and is seen as perfect preparation for runners taking on an autumn marathon.
Meanwhile, Steph Attenborough and Jo Sharman travelled to the capital city to run the London Big Half half marathon. The race, which is billed as a vibrant and inclusive half marathon celebrating the diversity of London, passed through Tower Hamlets, Southwark, Lewisham and Greenwich. Steph and Jo crossed the finish line together in a time of 2:27:55.
Finally, where would Saturdays be without a weekly fix of parkrun? For many Peelers parkrun has become a ‘must do’ start to the weekend; a chance to catch up with friends, a bit of ‘me time’ away from work or family or an opportunity to push for an improved 5k time. Peelers travelled far and wide this weekend with Garth Cox at Bestwood parkrun, Nottingham crossing the line in a time of 27:08, whilst at Rosliston Emma Pick finished first female in a time of 19:30 and at Conkers, Roger Lloyd finished in 23:51. Kingsbury parkrun saw a good turnout of Peelers with Allen King first home for the club in 22:46, followed by Ben Dorkins (24:16), Simon Gordon (25:14), Darren O’Leary (26:02), Lisa Stretton (27:04), Katie Stretton (27:04), Darren Truman (28:27), Sarah Boffey (28:47), Jackie Tierney (29:57), Neal Dempsey (30:45), Claire Guffick (31:55), Roger Eastaff (31:56), Lee Guffick (32:57), Helen Dempsey (33:47), Emma Whorwood (35:47), Alison Upton (36:08), Wendy Bowyer (38:30) and Stephen Andrews (53:28). Meanwhile running at Tamar Lakes, Bude, Ash Goodman crossed the line in 24:17 and at Leazes parkrun, Newcastle (a warm up for the Great North Run), Ian Orton finished in 50:33. Mick Stevenson completed Warwick Racecourse parkrun in 39:16 and Club Chairman, Mike Shelton, ran Beacon parkrun Lichfield in 20:53. At Abbey parkrun, Leicester Mark Boffey finished in 23:15, followed by Chris Bennett in 23:19. Closer to home at Tamworth Castle parkrun, Tracy Ford was first back for the club in 24:52, followed by Sophie Galloway (25:47), Anne Whitby-Smith (26:07) and Tim Mudd (28:09), whilst at Ingrebourne Hill, Rainham Steph Attenborough finished in 33:19, very closely followed by Jo Sharman in 33:20. Finally, taking the prize for the Peeler running a parkrun the furthest away from Tamworth this week goes to Michael Hughes, taking on the Piramma parkrun in New South Wales, Australia crossing the line in 22:53.