Week Ending - 2025/09/20

BADGERS OUT IN FORCE AT BELVOIR CASTLE

It was very much a case of Badgers being out in force at the Belvoir Castle-located Equinox 24 running event over the weekend, with members past and present taking turns to complete as many 10K laps as possible in a 24-hour period. There was success for Adrian Payne and Megan Griffiths, who ran the second-fastest 10K night laps in their respective genders, and as veteran athletes, both finishing first in their age bracket. Payne’s speedy 39:12 marked him out as one to watch in the upcoming cross-country season, while Griffiths continues to ride the huge wave of joy that she has seemingly been on since committing to join the club several seasons ago, continuing to go from strength to strength each year. Her 45:51 was good enough to bag her a nice wooden trophy to match her male compatriot’s. 

The team events saw Erica Bassford underpin a brave show from her quintet including Bryany Sherwood, Joe Jenkinson, Danny Warren and Megan Church. Warren managed the second-quickest hill climb of the entire event, good going for a veteran, let that be known, and even Church’s shorts-based wardrobe faux pas could not deter the side from notching up an impressive 21 laps between them. 

The septet of Emma Masser, Carl Ford, Jill Miller, Sharon Jackson, Marc Corbett, Andy Altoft and Janey Barrett completed a superb 24 laps as a collective, and Anne-Marie Matthews showcased her skills in the daytime 10K race. Stefan Martin and Matt Green both battled away in the solo runners competition, a gruelling and grim affair that sees misery permanently etched across the faces of all participants regardless of ability or position. Emma Masser also triumphed in the Asti/Beer Mile novelty race, dressed as Wonder Woman (it says here).

Also tackling long distances were an intrepid trio of Badgers taking on the UTMB 50K Sky Trails event in Slovenia. After months of grafting around Hartshill Hayes in preparation for the severe gradients of the beautiful yet mountainous course, Ryan Preece needed every ounce of his renowned grit to become the first Badger back in 7 hours 18 minutes for 146th place on the day. Just over an hour behind him, V55 star Dave Jenkinson rolled home in 8:21, a quite monumental effort, landing himself a high finish of 5th in his age category. Somehow, he found the energy to accompany his daughter Imogen in the 10K two days later, when lesser men would have still been struggling for any kind of mobility whatsoever! And sub-three marathon ace and coffee club stalwart Luke Neal had his work cut out on the steep ascents and sharp descents to get home in a creditable time of 9:37, wearier than ever before in his storied career, a lesson in determination and doggedness. 

Closer to home, Neil Rose (38:46) and Wayne Repton (37:10) both ran well at the Tamworth 5 race, and in the lovely Lake District, Liz Peel recorded her 84th career half marathon, this time in Keswick. Danni Gunn made her trail race debut with a challenging affair at the Heights Ultra Trail Wessenden 27K race in Yorkshire, completing her race successfully in 4:43:02.

Parkrun saw less action than usual, with just three top ten finishers. Rachael Browne, who was seventh at Tamworth Castle; Laura Starkey, a speedy fourth at Rother Valley; and Suzy Farrell, who was the first female at Babbs Mill near Chelmsley Wood. 

Next week sees the penultimate LRRL fixture taking place, the Markfield 10K, followed immediately by the season closer at Rotherby in the first week of October. With many of the leagues already decided, it could be a great opportunity for those still in contention to further their ambitions in what are often reduced fields for the league.