Week Ending - 2025/05/11

BOSWORTH MATT-TRICK

For the third year in a row, Matt Scarsbrook romped home to victory in the Bosworth Half Marathon producing a quite dazzling display of distance running in pretty adverse conditions. Leading from the very start, the Baddesley man sped away from the 800 strong field and had the physical prowess and mental resolve to continue almost metronomically to the finish. On such a hot day and over a course strewn with undulations, other runners may have been more inclined to sit back and make a late move for glory. Not Scarsbrook. He backed himself from the off and sent it in such style that his winning time of 69:33 was a course best for him as he stormed to victory by over five minutes.

With the conditions being totally unsuitable for producing personal bests and club records, remarkably there were a small number of PB’s as well as two records to fall on the day. In the ladies competition, in-form Liberty Underhill took over two minutes off the Badgers half marathon record, set by Becky Harris in the same event six years earlier with a stunning run of 95:07. The ladies co-captain led from the front as her team took maximum points from the race to consolidate their lead in Division Two as they aim for promotion into the topflight. She finished in a career best 7th place overall, an exceptional effort and with better weather and a flatter course, it’s hard to see this record lasting long if Underhill can stay fit and focussed over the coming months.

The men’s V50 record of 89:15, set by the legendary Martyn Barrett twelve years ago, was the longest standing male record at Badgers but Chris Horton added it to his growing collection of records with his fastest Bosworth Half to date. The 50-year-old has run every event since 2013 and his hard-fought 79:35 earned him the V50 prize in the race after a titanic tussle with Martin Makin in the closing two miles which was eventually settle by the margin of six seconds. For the record to stand as long as it did is one thing but to then beat it by almost ten minutes on such a hot day is really something else.

The men’s team made a real statement of intent as they too took maximum points from the race to go top of their division. Mark Cox ran a super race in 15th place (80:19), his fastest Bosworth to date. Like so many others, the Stoke Golding man struggled in the second half but it was a testament to his determination and near perfect pacing that he was able to pick runners off in the closing stages and become a big scorer across all three teams, men, vets and mixed.

Neil Russell was next back in a brisk 81:02, another triple scorer who had to dig deeper than ever as the heat sapped the energy out of him and many of those around him. He was the only Badger to earn a Diamond standard and still found his way into the top 20 despite having to incorporate a short respite break along the infamous Gated Road. Adrian Payne was next through in a personal best time of 82:01, a magnificent run and for possibly the first time ever, his finishing meant that the vet men’s team had concluded their scores before the last senior runner came through! Not surprisingly, the vet men won this race at a canter with Payne taking 19th spot with his heroics. Returning skipper Ryan Preece was the sixth counter on the day with his gutsy 82:37, a long slog for the beany-hatted (XXXL) Atherstonian who finished admirably in 22nd place, meaning that Badgers were totally dominant in the teams competitions.

The performances kept on coming however as dozens of Badgers had lined up at the start for what it as close to a local race for them as you can get. Danny Warren ran well in 85:06 to lead the B-team home in 32nd place individually. William Pickering made the top forty with a fine run of 86:11 as his debut LRRL season continues to go really well indeed. Chris Tweed pushed himself hard as always and emerged with a highly creditable time of 90:31 with fellow vet Mark Repton also going well in 91:48 and with it a place in the top 70. 

There was a course best 97:21 for the giant striding Matt Green who finished shortly after Jack Burton-Peet, who pipped the experience Dave Jackson in a sprint to the line. Veteran aces Bill Gutheridge and Stefan Martin both finished in 1:42 with Glyn Broadhurst limping home with a calf problem twelve months after cheating death at the same event in 2024. Wayne Repton, David Earp (course best), newcomer Neil Rose, Kieren Coopey and Brian Pinker all did their best and were hugely grateful to reach the line while Dave Purvis, Rhys Hopwood and former V50 8-mile club record holder Rob Crow also finished strongly. New boy Dan Hilton had a baptism of fire in the LRRL, at least it felt like fire in the conditions, Wayne Fraser, Adrian Parkes and Mark Reynolds, all made it back safely in just over two hours. The popular Peter Mann did superbly ahead of Andy Altoft, Paul Cooper and Matt Smith as 32 Badgers men completed the 13.1-mile course.

The ladies were missing one or two big hitters but such is the strength in depth now of their title chasing side, they were able to rotate selection and still edge out Ivanhoe Runners for top spot in their division on the day. This was obviously in now small part down to the captains, with Underhill’s magnificent club record run leading the way and the heat-averse Megan Griffiths somehow finding a PB time in the gruelling weather, the one benefit to doing all that marathon training but no marathon (due to illness). Her 1:44:11 was good enough for 21st place in the ladies race and she was backed up brilliantly by the long-striding Beth Woodward who dipped under 1:50 for 36th position, another runner who always seems to produce the goods when required. The pacy Susie Stringer completed the scoring four and also enjoyed the distinction of being the only Badger lady of the day to score in every possible team, ladies, vet ladies and mixed. Her 1:52:37 was another terrific effort and good enough for a place in the top fifty overall. Jane Barrett battled hard to earn herself a course best before rising star Megan Church executed a perfect race strategy to romp home in 1:58:48, finishing in super strong style. There were only three PB’s for the women on the day and each were achieved by runners aged 23 or younger as up-and-coming Erica Bassford chipped her best down to a new mark of 2:08:12. The quiz queen bought a splash of co-ordinated colour to the table with her excellent effort. The experienced former Chair Karen Thompson made the top 100 in just over two hours and moments later, Liz Peel notched up another half to her rapidly expanding total. With Suzy Farrell and Steph Nickless both having to dig deep to secure their finishers medals, it was all in all an exceptional day for the club in the most testing of conditions.

Away from the lure of the league, Millie Moseley was in action in the midweek Silverstone 10K, two laps of the famous motor racing circuit, but traffic free! She ploughed home to record a great new PB of 55:58, well worth the trip.

At parkrun, there was yet more success for Mia Cox who took first place in a closely fought contest at Babbs Mill. The youngster edged out two more experienced athletes to take the glory, with just seven seconds separating the top three, a terrific win and new personal best.

There were top ten finishes for Glyn Broadhurst and Megan Griffiths at Oxford, Bill Gutheridge at Kingsbury and Holly Smith at Brunswick Park. Sharon Jackson took 6th at Melton Mowbray and Rachel Crump 4th at Tamworth while Neil Rose ran a PB of 22:00 there too.

Last but by no means least, David Grant produced one of the performances of the year at Long Eaton, with his 21st place finish and time of 19:31. A veteran of well over 100 parkruns, he managed a monumental effort to break into the sub 20 minute club for the very first time at the ripe old age of 50 as well, a personal best by a whopping 40 seconds and living proof that you can still keep improving and achieving if you knuckle down and work. Great running and dedication.