Brief report of the Essex Road Race at East Hanningfield on Sunday 26th April.

2pm on a drizzly Sunday afternoon saw 38 women racers, some racing for their first time and some seasoned racers, come together to compete at the first ever Essex Roads Women’s Race.

The 70km race took eight laps around a circuit in East Hanningfield, consisting of tight bends and huge pot holes on the technical climb which also marked the finish line for the race. It was the second race within the Women’s Eastern Racing League, a newly established league to give new women racers something to aim for in the East. Read more →

Ipswich Spring Scramble 50 mile sporting road race. Category 2-4. First race of the Women’s Eastern Racing League, a project Francesca Rust is working on to encourage more women to race this year.

Starting from the Gosbeck village hall, Francesca Rust (27yrs) racing for Newmarket Cycling and Triathlon Club joined 39 other riders for her first road race having only been cycling for a couple of years. Read more →

Round 2 of the Suffolk County Athletics Association Cross Country Winter League took place near Woodbridge on Sunday with a small contingent from NCTC in attendance.

The venue, a small village called Sutton on the outskirts of Woodbridge, promised very different conditions than those found at Framlingham in Round 1.

A congested start along a farm track ensured a rapid pace was set from the off, although the energy sapping sandy conditions underfoot ensured that the pace very quickly evened out. Eugene Husband was first out of the blocks from the Newmarket crew with Peter Williams trying to hang on to his shirt tails – a cat and mouse middle section of the race ensued with Eugene emerging the stronger of the two and securing an impressive 55th position in a very large field. Williams was not far behind and rolled over the line in 61st place, with daughter Parris having battled it out with a contingent from Haverhill running Club and crossing the line in an impressive 117th place. Gary Dickinson had a solid race and managed a creditable 198th position with Kate Harman close behind in 216th.

Saturday also saw Sheila Shead brave the frosty Milton Country Park, coming first in her age category at Parkrun with a winter time of 28 minutes 24 seconds.

Keith McCarthy opted for a muddy event this weekend. Walden Tri hosted their Off-Road Duathlon at Carver Barracks (near Saffron Walden) on Sunday.

Recent rainfall made for an interesting off-road event, consisting of a 5km run, 18km bike, 3 km run around the disused airfield. However, the variety of terrains, obstacles and even nearly losing his shoe on the run didn’t slow McCarthy down. His first run took 00:27:29 and covered 6.25km. A swift 40 second transition saw McCarthy out on the bike to complete the section in 01:39:33. Another fast change and McCarthy was back out on the second run. The final 3.25km took 15:51 giving him a total time of 02:24:11 bringing him back in 19th place.

Lisa Redman has once again slipped on her trainers to take on yet another extreme run challenge. This time it was the Kings Forest Ultra 50km/31miles north of Newmarket. Finishing in 5 hours and 32 minutes, Lisa finished 9th lady out of 28 and 53rd out of 103 finishers.

The following weekend Lisa took to the pavement for another Half Marathon in St Neots. The chilly and foggy run set the stage for yet another PB, with Redman coming across the line in 1 hour 44 minutes and 37 seconds.

The Lode Half Marathon this weekend was changed to 11 miles as organisers had to make last minute changes because a rave was taking place on part of the course and the police wouldn’t let competitors run through it.

The 11 miles were flat and fast, taking in part of Lode fen. It was very wet, with a tail wind going out and a head wind on the way back to add extra challenge to the race.

Maxine Lane finished 4th lady and 36th overall in 1 hour 16 minutes 13 seconds. Hayden Marsh was 62nd overall in 1 hour 22 minutes 15 seconds and Crayton McDonald finished 75th overall in 1 hour 24 minutes 40 seconds.

240 runners took part.

NCTC fielded a large contingent as part of the joint Ipswich and Newmarket Triathlon Clubs Cross Country teams on Sunday. Competing against some of the strongest running clubs in the Suffolk area, they contributed to a solid result for the team.

Set in the idyllic grounds of Framlingham Castle, conditions were perfect to take on the challenging three-lap course. With a lung busting climb from the base of the Castle Moat, all members of the club acquitted themselves with a terrific performance.

First across the line from the Newmarket contingent was Peter Williams in 46th place with his daughter Parris not far behind in 115th place. Lee Dickinson was next home in 176th place with brother Gary not far behind in 204th; new member Trevor Sallis had a great first run and was snapping at Gary’s heels in 209th place.

Ladies Kate Harman and Lisa Redman battled it out throughout the 4.5 mile effort with Kate taking the honours in 229th place and Lisa close behind in 231st. It was a great mornings work from the club who look forward to repeating their effort at the next fixture in the Suffolk Cross Country Winter League at Woodbridge on 6 December.

Two club members battled it out at the Althorp Duathlon this weekend. With Karl Proctor taking on the Sprint distance and Clare Fleming storming through the Olympic distance, the pair gave fellow competitors a run for their money at the European Championship Qualifier for 2015.

Despite poor conditions and a tough 5km run, 20km bike, 5km run, Proctor dominated his age category (v45-49) and came 24th overall finishing in 1:27:07. His triumph has resulted in qualifying to represent GB in his age category at the European Championships which will be held in Horst (Holland) in 2015.

Fleming came up trumps once again in the 10km run, 40km bike, 10km run, and secured third in her age category despite being given wrong directions on the bike leg, covering more km than required. Finishing in 2:56:56, Fleming has qualified for the World Championships in Spain, April 2015 but now has the tough decision on whether to run the London Marathon which is on the same day!

Kate Harman came back to Triathlon with a vengeance at this weekends’ HaverTri in Haverhill. 2010 saw Harman sustain an injury which put a stop to her competing for the past four years. Getting back into the swim of it, Harman took to the pool for the 400 meters in a modest approach. Exiting in 7 minutes 49 seconds, Harman was onto the bike leg after a swift 49 second transition. Fellow club members were chasing the fresh legged Harman out of the pool, Gillie Green (11:20), Pearl Fay (11:56), Sheila Shead (12:34).

After just two minutes on two wheels, Harman was the leading lady. Thriving in the competition, Harman maintained the lead through the 20km bike section coming in at 00:46:46. It was wheel to wheel between Fay and Shead with Fay coming off the bike 00:57:04 and Shead hot on her wheels in 00:58:13. Green came in at 01:05:11 after unfortunately taking a wrong turn costing her approximately four minutes. But with another swift transition for Harman, our returning triathlete was out on the 5km run. Suffering from stitch in the first 1km, Harman pushed on but unfortunately was overtaken by two ladies. Despite not being able to settle into the distances, Harman made an incredible comeback with a finishing time of 01:26:58 seconds, securing 3rd lady and 9th competitor overall. The tracking trio came in on form within their age category (51+) Shead at 01:49:44 coming 2nd , Fay 01:50:38 (3rd ) and Green 01:57:51 (5th).

Ollie Trent also took on Havertri Super Sprint (200m swim, 8km bike, 2.4km run), performing exceptionally well securing 1st place in a time of 36 minutes 57 seconds.

Ian Storey was the only NCTC member to take on the Sprint+ which consisted of 600m swim, 40km bike, 10km run. Coming 3rd in his age category, Storey finished in a very respectable 03:17:51sec.

Oulton Park Sprint

Taking on his first Duathlon at the weekend, new club member Karl Proctor performed well at the Oulton Park Sprint Xtra Mile event held at the Race Track. The duathlon started off with 4.3km run around the racetrack, a swift transition in the pits before 5 exhilarating laps (21.55km) on the bike and finished with another 4.3km run. Proctor finished in a respectable time of 01:06:06, coming 5th in his age group (45-49) and 28th overall. As the Duathlon is a GB Qualifier, Proctor waits anxiously for an update as to whether he has secured a place.

Great Notley Duathlon

After retiring from Triathlon, Maxine Lane, true to form took on the Great Notley Duathlon in Essex. Starting off with a 4km off-road run, Lane got in to her stride coming into the first transition in 00:16:54. With a swift transition, Lane was out on her wheels with perfect race conditions and destroying the two-lap course at an average speed of 21.2mph. Coming in three minutes under the course average Lane was back out on the second run. Even with tired legs from her triumph at Ely Half Marathon last weekend, she still managed to knock 24 seconds off her first 4km. Finishing in 01:13:26, Lane was on the podium once again with 3rd lady.