Two members of NCTC headed down to Redbridge CC lower circuit crit race for 4th cat woman riders which is basically for woman that have never raced before,with 42 riders and racing for roughly 45 minutes Sophie Millar-Lee and Kerry Brown were nervous waiting for the race to start. Sophie got the better start and sat in the middle of the first group after gaining confidance moved further up the group and even found herself leading, Kerry Brown for most of the race found herself leading the second group, there was drama at the finish line when 3 riders crashed but the Sophie and Kerry did brilliant to finish in the middle of the pack.

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 →

On a cold morning, threatening rain and blowing a gale, Clumber Park near Mansfield hosted the British Duathlon Championships. Newmarket Cycling and Triathlon Club had one athlete, Gordon Irvine, contesting this year in the Sprint event covering 5km run, 20km bike and a final sharp 2.5km finishing run. 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 →

The Annual Newmarket Cycling and Triathlon Club Awards on 24th January was an opportunity for members old and new to get together and celebrate the continued success of our local club.

The night began with a sit down meal at the Rosery Hotel, Exning. Following on, Dave Peck (President) gave a short but substantial speech on snippets of history for the Club, celebrating some long standing members and their accolades of years gone by. 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.