Week Ending - 2025/08/30

SCARSBROOK WRAPS UP BACK-TO-BACK TITLES IN SUPER QUICK TIME 

Nine races were all it took for Badgers legend Matt Scarsbrook to secure another individual title in the Leicestershire Road Running League with a strong showing at the inaugural Mallory Park 5-mile race midweek. Nuneaton Harriers star Harry Robinson, representing Hinckley RC on the night, took the race win in his first league appearance of the season, but Scarsbrook was a comfortable second overall and therefore earned sufficient points to ensure he cannot be caught regardless of the outcomes in the remaining three races of the 2026 season. Whilst his title may look straightforward enough on paper, in reality, it has been anything but plain sailing for the Baddesley Ensor man. He missed the first race of the season with a knee injury but recovered quickly enough to edge the win at the challenging Kibworth 6 race by the slender margin of eight seconds. From there, he slowly rebuilt his form, getting closer to the ultra-dominant force he was in 2025 without quite reaching the exact same heights. 

Part of this can be attributed to the exceptionally hot summer, which has played havoc with most athletes' times. One constant, though, is his ability to tough it out at the head of the field, putting his competition under pressure from the off and having the mental toughness to focus on it thereafter. He is a special talent, and Badgers are fortunate to have him in their ranks. His time at Mallory was 26:09, some way short of his PB, but on a tricky circuit between thunderstorms, times were somewhat irrelevant in the main. Only one Badger, Erica Bassford, weighed in with a PB on the night, her 38:29 being a fitting finish for what has been a stellar season for the pacy 24-year-old. 

Second Badger home was the in-form Mark Cox. The dirty diesel-engined Stoke Golding man put in a Diamond standard effort of 28:42 to make the top 20, and with Danny Warren making his debut for the vets team after turning 40 earlier in the month, Badgers had three back inside 30 minutes. Will Pickering and Adi Payne both made the top 50 and sub-3 marathon merchant Luke Neal operated solidly in 31:20 to give the men’s team a respectable score in the absence of heavy hitters Ryan Preece and Chris Horton. Remarkably, Horton ended up winning the league’s V50 category for the season, backing up his success in 2025, despite not running. With all of his main rivals unable to make inroads into his large points lead, it is now mathematically impossible for him to be caught with three races still to be run. 

Skipper Glyn Broadhurst led the B-team home with a dogged display in 31:29. Lee Taylor went well in 32:28 ahead of marathon ace Mark Repton. Sam Starkey ran his 50th league race for the club, an achievement matched by David Craig as well as the aforementioned Matt Scarsbrook. Matt Green broke 35 minutes as his season continues impressively. Jim Cottom clocked up appearance number 25 with a ship-shape effort, and Dave Jenkinson cashed in on his recent training endeavours with a brisk 36:40.  

Benji Shaw, Wayne Repton, Chris Tweed and Ash Taylor performed heroically, with Mark Brown making his Badgers debut in 42:35. Martin Graham and Marc Corbett battled hard, and Matt Smith and Andy Smith rounded up proceedings for the men. 

The ladies were a little thin on the ground at this evening race, but it was the ever-reliable Megan Griffiths who forged her way home to finish first Badger back in 35:48, 27th place in the race that was won by an exceptional run from West End Runners Claire Frankland. The rapid Susie Stringer was next home, closing the gap between herself and her captain as she crossed the line less than a minute later. Erica Bassford’s fine PB cemented her status as a prominent scorer and the athletic Rachael Browne clocked a quality 40:05 to make the top 100 ladies. Jill Miller, Alice Belcher, Yvonne Faulkner-Grant and Holly Smith all performed well on a difficult night. 

There was a rare club record attempt in Lincoln during the week as Megan Griffiths launched her assault on the V40 mile mark. Susie Stringer set this record two months earlier in a swift 6:17, but newly qualified veteran Griffiths went 8 seconds quicker in 6:09, the second fastest female mile in club history. So far in 2026, six new club record times have been set, with two of those records being in-year improvements over the same distance and age bracket. Glyn Broadhurst ran a fantastic 5:21 and Matt Green a solid 6:00 at the same event. At the Mid Cheshire 5K, Kat Wilson sped to a superb 23:16, a few seconds shy of what would have been a marvellous PB. Her daughter Lilly Wilson did run a PB as she crossed the line jubilantly in 23:33, a terrific effort from the youngster. 

Parkrun saw plenty of action despite the league race. Highlights included Matt Green taking 7th male at Kingsbury, Luke Bennett finishing 6th at Bedworth, Joanne Crow 8th at Barmouth, Meg Griffiths second lady at Rhos on Sea, Wales in 21:43 and Chris Horton first at Bartley Park, Hampshire setting a new age category course record in the process in 17:50. Finally, Glyn Broadhurst ran his 400th parkrun, a superb achievement from the men’s captain. His time of 18:45 wasn’t too shabby either for a bloke in his 50s, and his total is now one of the highest in the club’s history.