Week Ending - 2025/10/12

BADGERS ROUND OFF THE LEAGUE SEASON IN STYLE

The final race of the 2025 Leicestershire Road Running League took place at the weekend in the east of the county at the Rotherby 8. Eight miles of undulating rural roads were navigated in visibility conditions best described as mediocre, as early morning thick fog failed to clear throughout the day. With many of the leagues already decided, there perhaps wasn’t as much to play for on the day, but that did not stop the Badgers men from enjoying their best result of the season to round up a phenomenal sixth straight county title. The vet ladies were one of the few groups with an incentive to go all out, needing to have the better of rivals Wigston Phoenix in order to secure the final promotion spot to division one, and the rarity of the eight-mile distance meant that there were good opportunities for personal bests and club records.

As has been the case for six of the eleven league races this season, Matt Scarsbrook was the winner. The Baddesley man has been in scintillating form for most of the year and has had the speed and consistency to hold off serious challenges from the likes of Mo Hussein and Harry Robinson, amongst others. From the start, he launched himself away from the rest of the 478-strong field to assume a lead that only ever continued to grow. When he reached the finish line 42 minutes and eight seconds later, he crowned his best year yet in Badgers colours, before dashing straight off to put a shift in at work!

Next over the line was Danny Warren, running his first personal best time over any distance for over two years with a well-paced and rapid 45:25. It completes a remarkable transformation from the club chair who began the season out of form, struggling to train and failing to make the top fifty in his opening race at Desford. Yet within eight months, he had become a key part of the Badgers league-winning squad, culminating in a brilliant fifth-place finish here at Rotherby. His result is testament to his ability to trust the time-honoured process of discipline, steady building and keeping turning up, not solely his undoubted natural talent.

Outgoing captain Ryan Preece has endured a stop-start season, punctuated by injuries and setbacks, but here he once more gave 100% with the league already in the bag. Even an 80% fit Preece is likely to do some damage in these events, and his gutsy 7th place effort of 46:30 enabled him to take 7th place in the overall individual standings in the league too, a point ahead of teammate Warren in 8th. 

Chris Horton completed the full set of league races for the year and picked up yet another prize for being first V50 back in the field, in 9th place, nine seconds behind his captain. While very much under the weather, he was still able to take almost ten minutes off the V50 club record and therefore complete a clean sweep of age group records in Badgers. He now holds every club record at both V40 and V50 levels, from mile to marathon, a fantastic achievement. 

Crossing the line in 47:09 and therefore earning himself a big new PB was Adrian Payne. The amiable veteran ace slugged it out in the hope of overhauling John White in the individual rankings and ended up taking home a cash prize for being the first V40 athlete to finish, as well as beating former GB star Gemma Steel, who won the ladies' race at a canter. 

When Mark Cox finished soon after in 47:50, it meant that the Badgers’ scoring six had all finished within the top 16, with four in the top ten, easily their most dominant display to date! Next back in 50:14 was the club’s very own pocket rocket, Dave Jackson, who wrapped up the scoring for the Champions-elect men’s vets team. Chris Tweed has been at every Rotherby 8 race since its inception, and in the fog, he sped his way to a course best time of 50:43 for his sins. Incoming captain Glyn Broadhurst was back in action after a spell on the sidelines. On his 98th appearance, the Man United man ran a solid 51:06, leading the way for a slew of fellow vets to populate the top quartile of the overall results. Sam Starkey, fresh from helping his young son Ryan make the top ten at Melton Mowbray junior parkrun, raced home in 53:30. Matt Green weighed in with yet another PB, backing up his inclusion on the shortlist for this season’s improver of the year. His 54:49 was good enough for a place in the top 100, too.

Wayne Fraser has been around the block but that did not stop him putting together a wonderful PB display of 57:27, alongside vice-captain Dave Jenkinson who also ran a personal best in 57:24. Stefan Martin battled hard to achieve a silver standard time with his quality run of 59:08.  Bill Gutheridge celebrated his entry into next year’s London Marathon with a sub-hour effort before newcomer Michael Garrett crossed the line in 59:49. Paul Cooper produced a big new PB and David Craig chalked up his 46th Badgers league race. In-form Mark Reynolds ran 65:41. Andy Altoft and Jimmy Dewis both ran well, Joe Jenkinson recorded a huge new personal best in 70:36, while Matt Smith also ran a PB.  Former 8-mile club record holder (v50) Rob Crow sacrificed personal ambition to help pace his wife, Joanne, around the course.

Jo was one of dozens of ladies turning out on the last race of the season, over half of whom were veterans hoping to get the club over the line into a secure promotion spot. Leading the line was the captain, Megan Griffiths, who plundered her way to a hard-fought PB time of 59:48 and 28th place in the race. At her current rate of improvement, it is conceivable to see her mounting a serious challenge to Becky Harris’s long-standing club record of 59:26 in the future. Susie Stringer was next back in 61:19, scoring heavily for the vet ladies and knocking more than six minutes off the V40 club record set by Nicki Bowman here in 2021. A fantastic end to a superb first full season at the club. 

Rachel Crump has been battling a back issue for some time, but answered the call to arms for the vet ladies. Even a well below par Crump is a phenomenal athlete. She somehow ran 62:51 for the ladies-only gold standard in the race and eclipsed Cheryl Dewis’s club record for the V50 bracket. Cold weather specialist Jane Barrett ran a fine new PB to ensure her side gained promotion at the expense of long-term incumbents Wigston Phoenix. Her time of 65:30 was eleven seconds ahead of another improver in the form of the speedy Hannah Burgess, who was another to produce a PB. 

The legendary Cheryl Dewis returned for the sake of the team and ran another sparkling time to show real solidarity to the cause while Yvonne Faulkner-Grant (71:39 PB), Joanne Crow and Sharon Jackson all made sure the vets had a bumper turnout. Alice Belcher achieved a personal best, as did youngster Erica Bassford, coming through in 70:38. 

One notable runner missing the race and therefore relinquishing the chance to have competed at all eleven events was Dave Purvis, who travelled to Chicago in order to run the marathon there. On a warm day, he finished in an excellent 3:36:35, giving him a PB by one minute from the time he set at Berlin last autumn. 

Summary of LRRL success 2025

Men's team - CHAMPIONS

B-team - CHAMPIONS

Vet men's team - CHAMPIONS

B-team - CHAMPIONS

Women's team - Division 2 CHAMPIONS

Vet women's team - 2nd (Promoted)

Mixed team - CHAMPIONS

Individually, Matt Scarsbrook overall winner.

Chris Horton winner of the V50 category.

Mark Cox 2nd place in the V40 group.