Week Ending - 2024/08/11

BADGERS MEN SEAL FIFTH SUCCESSIVE TITLE AT JOY CANN 5

Badgers enjoyed a real bumper evening at the Enderby-based Joy Cann 5 race, culminating in a fifth successive Leicestershire Road Running League title for the men’s team, a second title for the vet men’s team, five new club records and a fistful of personal best performances. Leading from the front yet again was the incomparable Matt Scarsbrook who finished second overall in a PB time of 25:06, beaten only by an athlete of such high quality, that he matched the course record in his winning run. 

Captain Marvel Ryan Preece was next home in a PB time of 26:46, one of four Badgers to hit a prestigious Diamond standard and beat some notable names in his superb 9th place finish. Four places behind him came Chris Horton in 27:06, taking almost a minute off his own long-standing club record and one of just three Platinum standards alongside Scarsbrook and the in-form Neil Russell who was eleven seconds behind in 27:17 (17th place - PB). The Bulkington-based Russell picked up an age group prize but was hugely unlucky not to end up with the club record having sped home 43 seconds quicker than the mark set back in 2019. As well as underpinning the club’s league title success, this first-finishing quartet also picked up a prize for the second-fastest men’s team on the day behind a super-strong West End Runners side.

Danny Warren took 42nd place and Glyn Broadhurst zipped past a handful of teammates on the run to the line to take 47th in 29:38 and effectively seal the league for his club. Adrian Payne and Mark Cox were mere seconds behind the key man and new signing Mark Jarvis made his league debut in a Diamond standard 29:44 to wrap up the vets league for Badgers. This meant that the side had an unbelievable NINE runners inside 30 minutes for the five-mile distance.  

A resurgent Dave Jackson led the vet men's B team home after enjoying a stint in the senior men’s team, the former 5-mile joint club record holder rolling back the years with a polished 30:17. He, for one, was followed by Mark Repton and Ashley Taylor, the latter helping himself to a PB of 31:35. Jack Burton-Peet ran well once again in 32:59 before Eric Fowler clocked 33:45 to earn yet another club record, this time at the V60 mark along with a Diamond standard. Remarkably, Wayne Repton did not run a PB for once but Dave Purvis did in 35:33 with Dave Jenkinson doing similarly seven seconds later both chasing the Badgers vest of teammate Bill Gutheridge who went well in 35:25. 

Veterans Jim Cottom, Colin Lees, David Grant, Rob Crow and Paul Cooper all gave strong showings. Mick Bailey, at 71 years of age, improved his own V70 club record with an excellent effort of 40:34. Peter Mann, Lee Millership, Nick Miles and Kieran Coopey (43:08 – PB) all chipped in with Andy Altoft, Peter Greenfield, Terry Argyle, Alan Argyle and a race-walking Martin Graham all wrapping up a great night’s work for the men. 

The ladies were not to be outdone either as for the second race in succession, their burgeoning team bagged the maximum points on offer with a resounding display of pace and panache. Eleanor Fowler once more led the way with a dual club record-breaking 33:44, the fastest in Badgers history, never mind the V40 category. New signing Sara Wilson impressed again with a quality 35:07 and Lucy Marchi, in 33rd place ran a quite magnificent 35:23, both rising stars recording 5-mile personal bests, a feat matched by skipper Megan Griffiths in 35:35 as she continued her brilliant season by wrapping up the scoring four for the ladies on the evening.

There was still plenty of quality to come and more than capable back up in the form of Stacey Horner who ran a swift 36:36 ahead of veteran aces Suzy Farrell (38:35) and Victoria Jones (41:20). Grace Barsby went five seconds quicker than Jones but finished a place behind her on the gun due to the difference in start times while the experienced vice-captain Sharon Jackson ran a PB of 41:40. Joanne Crow became the most capped Badger lady of all time outright and celebrated in style with a PB effort of 41:53, a terrific time for the determined veteran. The returning Nicki Bowman looked good as she, Rachael Browne, Steph White and Hannah Burgess all produced excellent runs. 

Marathon running mates Liz Peel, Karen Thompson and Serena Baker all finished together with Sarah Reynolds, Yvonne Faulkner-Grant, Maggi Savin-Baden and Anne Devenney following soon afterwards leaving Ivana Babicova and Sara Hawkins left to receive the loudest roar of all as the eighth LRRL race came to a jubilant close, the ladies side now moving into second place in division two with momentum on their side as they aim for a promotion into the top flight for 2025.  

With the league race falling on a Wednesday evening, there were additional opportunities for Badgers to race again at the weekend should they so choose and a handful duly did. Not only that but there were two race wins in amongst the action, notably from their talisman Matt Scarsbrook, who travelled to Solihull in the hope of defending his half-marathon title from 2023. With a PB of 69:05, the combination of a warm day and an undulating course did not bode well for an improvement on his very best, but such is the rich vein of form Scarsbrook is in right now, he nudged his PB on by four seconds to a fabulous 69:01 after dominating from gun to tape, ultimately winning out by a massive margin of three minutes. Surely there is still more to come from the Baddesley man given optimal race conditions, such as in the Great North Run where he will feature again in September. Joanne Crow played a blinder by running a quality 1:59:09, he first sub-two for five years, paced beautifully by her husband Rob. Dave Purvis rounded out the Badgers contingent and cashed in on the fitness gained from his marathon training by smashing out a PB of 1:47:57. 

Chris Horton travelled to Colchester for the ATW Colchester Friday Night Run, one-mile race, a precursor to a series of elite level 5K races incorporating the Essex Championships. Horton’s participation had a significant impact on both the average age of the racers as well as the average finish time, and he quickly drew out a big lead which he extended all the way to the finish, crossing the line in a superb 4:53, over half a minute ahead of second. While he comfortably achieved the club standard time he was seeking, he missed out on improving his own club record by just one second, ruing the fact that the temperature and wind conditions probably cost him enough to make the difference. That said, he emerged with a career-high wava rating of 87.23%, the highest of anybody in Badgers history. 

Liz Peel and Serena Baker tackled the 20-mile Birmingham Canal Canter in a time of 4 hours 36 minutes. There was plenty of parkrun action too with top ten finishes for Aaron Chetwynd, Mark Cox, Mark Jarvis, Mark Repton, Holly Smith and Bill Gutheridge with Glyn Broadhurst and Megan Griffiths also achieving the feat in Milan following a three-hour drive from base camp to make the event.