Week Ending - 2025/01/25

BADGERS BRAVE THE DES FORD 5 RACE

The 2026 Leicestershire Road Running League began at the weekend with the first race in a series of twelve, spanning ten months of the year, the Des Ford 5 at Desford. Replacing the Des Ford 6 at the eleventh hour, thirty-seven Badgers made their way to the start line to take on the reduced distance five-mile affair, shortened from the advertised six, through some of the finest cycle paths and country lanes the local area has to offer. Some were brave, others were maybe a little too brave. At its full extension, the course stretches out to the historic village of Kirkby Mallory and incorporates stunning rear views of some of the largest warehousing complexes in the west Leicestershire region, as well as a finish area as desolate and featureless as they come. The curved run-in is a photographer’s nightmare, as permanent Heras fencing provides a fittingly miserable and yet the only possible backdrop for keen lens-folk trying to get their shots of athletes straining for the line. Maybe it is all part of a back-handed way of getting runners to go quicker, who knows. 

The race itself saw inspirational Badgers chairperson Danny Warren leading from the front. The in-form Baddesley man finished tenth male in 28:14 and was first Badger back in a road league race for the first time in several seasons. Last year’s overall league Champion Matt Scarsbrook, was out of action but watching avidly from the sidelines as he recuperates from a knee problem. On a recent trip to Edinburgh, former captain and next man through, Ryan Preece, confused several local physicians he met by telling them he had “knee problems”. Notwithstanding, Preece dug in deep and tailed the in-form Warren by just eight seconds at the end of an epic encounter, the duo split only by the debuting Alan Smith, whose West End Runners team took an unexpected win in the men’s team competition ahead of OWLS, with Badgers third by just three positions. 

Chris Horton finished 15th overall after spending the first couple of miles in the mixer, his brave time of 28:50 the only Platinum County standard of the day. The Des Ford course has not always been a happy hunting ground for veteran hunk Adrian Payne. It was here in the Steve Morris 5 last season where he applied a self-inflicted hammer blow to his V40 podium hopes. Today he got back within 30 minutes to help the vet men place second in their defence of the crown they secured in 2025, but he will feel his performance didn’t reflect his current form or fitness, and succinctly described the effort on his own Strava as “Meh”.

New Captain Glyn Broadhurst was back in the points as he sped through in 30:35, his penultimate LRRL race as a V45 athlete, assuming he is selected for the Kibworth 6 in March. Chris Tweed produced a fine showing, bagging a gold standard as he roared home to a tumultuous reception, two places ahead of training partner Luke Neal, who, like many others, ran a course best on debut. Mark Repton was next home in a brisk 31:17 and in doing so became the seventh successive sub-three marathon Badger to finish, showcasing a real strength in depth within the men’s team. (It would surely have been eight had Danny Warren tried his hand at the distance previously).

Lee Taylor battled hard to give the Badgers B-team a boost; his 33:23 a good benchmark for even better things to come this term. Matt Green broke 35 minutes in his excellent run before Jim Cottom, fresh from celebrating his 250th parkrun in Bath the day before, crossed the line in 35:34, for one of only a small handful of personal bests on a cold wintry day. Dave Jenkinson led the V55 element home in 35:57, treating all and sundry to some beautiful home-made chocolate brownies afterwards (Badger of the Year right there). Dan Hilton weighed in with a new five-mile personal best with his gutsy 36:12, alongside veteran team-mates Neil Rose, Bill Gutheridge and David Purvis. Wayne Repton capped his 50th league appearance for the club with a solid effort of 37:39, and arguably the best darter in the club, Paul Grubb, was just seven seconds shy of breaking forty minutes in his final season as a forty-something. 

Adrian Parkes, Ashley Taylor and Mark Reynolds all followed in quick succession, with new recruit Martin Stefanovic, Joe Jenkinson and Marc Corbett all battling hard.

The ladies finally gained promotion to the topflight last season, and they were missing a few of their heavy hitters in this year’s opening fixture. But as ever, it was captain reliable Meg Griffiths who led her team home, running a personal best at the age of 39 to finish 22nd in the event, her time a fabulous 35:50. Rachael Browne also ran a new best, her 37:48 following fast on the success of her outstanding parkrun win at Kingsbury the week before. Emma Masser’s return to the club at the age of 44 was seen by many as some smart recruitment on behalf of the vet ladies squad, yet the young-at-heart Masser has surpassed all expectations and once again parachuted herself immediately into the points for the senior women, never mind the vets! Her 38:16 was an unconfirmed PB at the time of writing, not helped in the slightest by the fact that the Power of Ten website is currently being rebuilt. 

At 23 years of age, Erica Bassford was the youngest member of the female Badgers ranks at Desford, but she really impressed with a massive PB time of 39:02, cashing in on the fitness gains earned from her current gruelling marathon training schedule and making the scoring four for the first time. Jane Barrett put in a good show, her race number of 67 being the envy of primary school children everywhere, probably. The athletic Kat Wilson is enjoying something of a renaissance and showed what rewards some dedicated training can bring as she helped herself to a top quality new PB of 42:31. Krystal Knight was another on board the PB train, getting home in a fine 45:40 before Bryany Sherwood determinedly matched the feat in 46:24. Judy Parkes grabbed a super Bronze standard with Sharon Jackson returning from illness, Sara Hawkins clocking a particularly impressive sub-hour time and Stevie-Lea King managing similarly in 59:24 to wrap up a steady set of performances from the Badgers racing set. The ladies’ brave effort leaves them sixth out of eight provisionally after one race, safe from relegation. A season of consolidation could be in on the cards in the topflight before splashing out on some high-profile big-money signings in 2027. Maybe.

In other races, Mia Cox performed superbly out of her age group in the Midlands Cross Country at the weekend, competing stoically against girls two years older and more than holding her own. She then romped to a first place at junior parkrun in Nuneaton on Sunday, with younger brother Marcel going strongly in 12th.

There were some notable parkrun efforts with Claire Bradford’s 37:03 representing her fastest time for nine years. Terry Taylor and Lil Souter both ran their quickest times for some time, while there were milestones made for Jim Cottom (250) and Vicki Brunsdon (150), the latter placing in the top ten with Anne-Marie Matthews in Danes parkrun, Lithuania. Jack Burton-Peet took 5th at Tamworth, Nivette Chester 3rd at Kingsbury, and Suzy Farrell fifth at Bosworth. 

In Barmouth, Wales, Rob Crow finished 6th in 25:51 with wife Jo grabbing her highest ever placing with second in 27:30, a terrific achievement after years of knocking on the podium door. One thing’s for sure; they would quite literally raise the roof at Baddesley Club if she ever returned with a first, and her teammates would love it, love it, if she could do exactly that in the future.