Week Ending - 2025/06/08

BADGERS BOUNCE BACK AT SWITHLAND

After narrow team defeats at the West End 8 a week earlier, Badgers returned to winning ways at the Swithland 6 race this weekend, adding bouncebackability to their ever-growing list of qualities. The men’s team took top spot to extend their lead at the top of a close division one, while the ladies finished second to increase their already dominant position atop division two. The vet men recovered after their minor blip at West End to all but seal the title with four races still to go, and the mixed team need just one more win their first ever title.

Leading the way as ever was the incomparable Matt Scarsbrook, who was embroiled in a ding-dong battle with Hinckley’s Harry Robinson. Unfortunately for the Baddesley man, he had to settle for second place by a mere seven seconds, his time of 30:57 some way off his absolute best for the distance but still streets ahead of everyone else at his club. With Scarsbrook’s long-term nemesis Mo Hussein finishing fourth, it helped to bolster the 28-year-old’s position in the individual league standings. 

Liberty Underhill led the way for the ladies’ team with another magnificent display of pace. Her time of 40:30 was a well-earned club record for the 23-year-old co-captain, eclipsing the mark set by Eleanor Fowler in the same race twelve months earlier and saw her reach the giddy heights of 11th place overall. 

Chris Horton has been the second Badger back in every road league race so far this season, and he continued this streak with another terrific run of 33:33, taking 10th place and winning a share of the prize money for finishing first V50 in the 650-strong field. It was the only Rhodium standard achieved by a Badger on the day and was one second short of matching his V50 club record set at Kibworth earlier in the campaign. 

Mark Cox produced a blistering run-in 19th place with his 34:29 and was a key component in the success of the winning men’s quartet on the day as he scored in for all three possible teams, men, vet men and mixed sides. Danny Warren is returning to some of his very best form and produced a solid display in 34:36 to cement his place in the scoring six, backed up by Ryan Preece (35:00) and Neil Russell (35:13), both returning after long and short-term injuries. Crucially, Adrian Payne, the ultimate team man, crossed the line four seconds behind Russell in 31st place to clock a new PB and further improve the Badgers advantage, not least in the vet men competition where their collective score must surely rank as one of the best in the league’s long history. 

Next through were three more quality vets, as Chris Tweed (37:33), Dave Jackson (39:02) and Sam Starkey (40:00) all finished within 40 minutes, with Matt Green completing the quartet needed for the B-team with a brilliant new personal best of 40:56 at the age of 47. Such is the strength in depth of vets at the club, their B-team would be ahead of most clubs’ A-teams this season, let that be known. 

There were good runs from Jack Burton-Peet (40:52), Chris Young (42:13), Wayne Repton (42:21 – course best), Bill Gutheridge and Stefan Martin. Dave Purvis produced another personal best in 45:12 with a bronzed Colin Lees, David Craig, Mark Reynolds, and Paul Cooper (48:42 – PB) all delivering the goods. V60 ace Rob Crow produced a superb silver standard run in 48:50 with Adrian Parkes and Andy Altoft also going well. 

The ladies' side seems assured of promotion to the top flight next season following another heavy points haul in the race. Liberty Underhill’s pyrotechnics set the tone for the team with the ever-reliable Meg Griffiths trundling over the line in a fabulous 44:11 to make the top 30 overall. The 38-year-old has been improving constantly since joining the club, and now, under the coaching tutelage of Glyn Broadhurst, her running has gone from strength to strength. Susie Stringer is flying high in the V40 age bracket right now and bolstered her status with another class run in 46:15, a big personal best for the new recruit. 

Completing the scoring four for the ladies was the impressive Grace Barsby, who put a real shift in to get home in 46:55, another personal best performance in what is shaping up to be an excellent season for her. Jane Barrett ran well to lead the B-team home and score points for the vet ladies side, and an improving Yvonne Faulkner-Grant backed up her recent parkrun PB from the prior week with a huge PB run of 49:02 at the age of 49, incredibly, bettering her old best by 8 minutes. 

The pacy Erica Bassford ran a determined 50:41, and it was great to see Kat Wilson back in action after a spell on the sidelines, the speedy Nuneaton-based athlete clocked 52:37, the same time as the experienced marathon centurion Karen Thompson. Former footballer Alice Belcher ran a great new PB in 52:49 with Suzy Farrell, Sharon Jackson, and debutante Bryany Sherwood all going strongly. 

Seasoned campaigners Pip Weston (53:29) and Maggi Savin-Baden (58:05) showed their finesse with top-quality silver county standard runs. Only Liberty Underhill, with her club record effort, was able to match this elevated level of achievement within the female contingent of the club; terrific feats by all. 

The ladies were not done there, however, as Judy Parkes breezed by, followed by Joanne Crow and Steph Nickless, who helped herself to a well-deserved personal best time. The final Badger through produced one of the performances of the morning as Sara Hawkins swiped an incredible 11 minutes off her personal best in one fell swoop, thanks to her amazing run of 68:49, a huge level of improvement in real and percentage terms. 

There was still some activity away from the league race as a slew of talent made their way over to Kenilworth for the Two Castles 10K, linking Warwick and the aforementioned Warwickshire town. Brian Pinker was first back for the club in 53:02 while Clare Carter ran strongly in 57:45. Jill Miller, Anna Savin-Baden (68:14), Karen Draper and Charlotte Oliver all ran, as did Pete Mann, Eve King, and Fiona Reidy. 

Liz Peel and Serena Baker were in action at the Swansea Half marathon, crossing the line in a respectable 2:10, and Ivana Babicova tackled the undulating Church Stretton 50K ultra, getting back wearily in a time of 8:24. 

Parkrun saw plenty of action with highlights being Yvonne Faulkner-Grant’s fifth place finish at Crosby, a week after her stunning PB of 24:16 at the speedy Long Eaton circuit. Carl Ford was another to PB with his 27:39 at Rugby. There were top ten finishes for Sam Starkey (5th) and Charlene McGowan (4th lady) at Kingsbury Water Park, where Bill Gutheridge celebrated his 200th parkrun appearance. Suzy Farrell at Babbs Mill, Mark Repton at Tamworth and Glyn Broadhurst at Coronation Park, Swadlincote, all made the top ten while Liberty Underhill took first female for another week with her 22:11, co-captain Megan Griffiths a minute plus behind in 4th, also at Coronation Park. At Skatas, in Sweden, Rick Reilly was first Badger back and undisputably the furthest flung Badger of the weekend with his solid effort.