PB & county points at Blaisdon, and Hail Steve
- brian17harris
- Jul 20
- 5 min read
Tuesday 15th July – Gloucestershire AAA road series update
The Blaisdon 10k hosted by the Forest of Dean AC is one of the smaller and furthest afield races in the Glos AAA road series. Like most of the races, this out and back course includes some hills, which for the positive-minded gives you a lovely flying start, or for the half-empty of us, holds a sting in the tail.
Most of the club’s small core of regular road racers this season were there, one notable exception being Karen Higuera whose broken arm sustained whilst running the CW Relay means she’ll unfortunately be out of action for several AAA races.
Rich Allen, in training for an Ironman, was first member home and 1st V40 in an impressive PB of 35.46, improving on both his Bourton and Sizzler times despite the “lumpy” course.
Congratulations Rich!
Andy Duff, taking time off from his TT cycle racing schedule and with York marathon round 3 months away, with hindsight enjoyed the horse-free course to put in a decent 42.58 to build on. Also winning best strava tag line for the night – “Run Forest Run” ;-)
Especially given his intervening time off with injury, as well as being a year older, James Widdowson improved considerably on his time here last year. He credited his self-designed pair of DJ-themed socks (Ed. apologies James for thinking they were cake-themed…).
The ladies race was closely fought, with less than 30 seconds separating the first 5 home (spotted by DW). Kate Jacobs had another great race to finish 2nd lady (and unsurprisingly 1st V45) in 38.31, improving by 12s on her recent Frampton 10k time despite the addition of the hills. Well done Kate!
Keen not to lose too many county points, Kate Kilby was taking it very easy as she recovers from a hip problem. Fortunately, the hip was ok, and despite taking it easy (for her) she still came 2nd in her age group, netting a valuable 9 points.
After the Blaisdon results the county series is exactly half way through. Here’s how our runners are doing
· Kate Jacobs – 1st Lady in both Open and LV45 – having not missed a single race, and without wishing to tempt fate, Kate looks to be in a very strong position, hoping to go one better than last year. Stay fit Kate!
· Rich Allen – 3rd in V40 – it’s very close between the top 3 in this category and Rich has beaten the other two in the last 2 races, so he could reasonably hope to improve on 3rd by the end of the series, if his triathlon commitments permit.
· Andy Duff – is lying 3rd rather than 4th in V45 by virtue of completing the minimum 5 races to qualify (he has only missed one so far).
· Karen Higuera is currently 3rd in FV60 despite she only having raced 4 times (unbeaten). Fingers crossed she can race the last few events as she is clearly the fastest in her age group.
· Kate Kilby – 2nd FV65 – she has only dropped one point from her 4 races (once the online table is corrected) whilst the current leader has run 5, so Kate has one in hand.
1 Alister Liscott (Stroud & District AC) 33.15
9 Rich Allen (Cirencester AC) 35.46 – 1st V40
20 Kate Jacobs 38.31 – 2nd lady / 1st FV45
54 Andy Duff 42.5 8
77 James Widdowson 47.34
101 Kate Kilby 52.18 2nd FV65
124 finished www.fodacac.org.uk
CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP UPDATE
After Blaisdon, there are just four fixtures to go (Bugatti 10k, Angels 10k, Sharpness 4m, Bourton HM), and there is still all to play for in the mens’ standings.
Winner in 2023, James Widdowson leads with 97 points, having already logged the max 6 scores, but with two races in hand both Rich Allen (78) and Andy Duff (76) could still catch him up.
The “K3” ladies top the ladies standings. Kate Jacobs is already unbeatable with a max 120 points, with Karen Higuera next on 67 and Kate Kilby on 51. But with 19 points for a “win” [ignoring Kate J ;-) ], several ladies could easily move up the standings.
Wednesday 16th July Lake 62 Aquathlon
Ann Sherrington was in action again and shared this report
“I did another very enjoyable LPS evening event Lake 62 Aquathlon last night - 400m swim, 4.6k run. Beautiful conditions in the lake and a nice temperature for the run. Good turn out and great support. Best of all, I did a big PB for this event with an overall time of 34.48 (2min 16 sec PB), swim time of 8.35 (45 secs PB on a previous wetsuit swim) and a 24.59 run which is a 1 min 4 secs PB. Hopefully I can repeat it on another day! Martin Pitts {Ed. – former member with 20 references in the index to “Roman Steps”} who swims with us on a Sunday night was also there doing the Tri. It was great to have some Ciren company and he had a great race!”
Congratulations on your PB Ann !
1 Ben Nield (Clayton-le-Moor Harriers) (8.41; 17.58) 28.20
5 Ann Sherrington PB (Cirencester AC) (8.35; 24.59) 34.48
5 finished www.lpsevents.co.uk
SATURDAY 19th July Parkruns
Thursday runners stalwart Steve Hale (not Hail, sorry) ran at Stonehouse for the third week in a row and scored another massive PB of 23.17, knocking almost a minute off his best set recently in New Zealand, and clocking a shade under 75% on an age-graded basis. Steve’s best parkrun time throughout 2023 and 2024 was only 24:56.
Many congratulations Steve (again). [Ed. – I think Steve’s continued progress is off only 2 runs a week, plus building work!].
There were no PB’s or milestones at Ciren this weekend, but of those members who are happy for us to report their results, first in just inside 23 minutes were beautifully kitted out son and mum duo Brecon and Jo Musk (see below)
Cirencester: 34 Brecon Musk (J) 22.57, 35 Jo Musk 22.58, 49 Rachel Ranger 23.50,78 Jonathan Higgs 25.50, 104 Rachel McAdam 27.20, 125 Alan McAdam 28.36,132 Jocelyn Randall 28.52, 146 Tom Morgan 29.24, 165 Kirsty Leggate 30.43,172 Amanda Naylor 31.09, 243 finished.
Tetbury: 24 Paul Timms 23.47, 143 finished.
Stonehouse: 14 Stephen Hale (PB) 23.17, Richard Edwards 28.03, 72 finished.
Chippenham: 4 Oli Campbell 18.00, 172 James Hunton 32.02, 237 finished.
Three Brooks, Bradley Stoke, Bristol: 289 Ruth Fulford 33.54, 395 finished.
Banbury: 44 Martin Croucher 23.44, 254 finished.
AND FINALLY - BETTER THAN A PARK RUN
Fancy a drinking event with a half marathon thrown in ? Don't mind fancy dress? Then mark next year's calendar for the Ciderthon in Henley. Here's the official blurb
"A half marathon and 5K where you sample different ciders along the way! Enjoy multiple tasters along the route – and more at the finish line. Set amidst the beautiful Thames Valley, the Ciderthon is a truly unforgettable experience. With plenty of laughs, festival vibes - and great cider - it’s a party from start to finish!"
Sister and brother Angela and Ben Hilditch didn't mind looking like Wallies, and Angela summed it up "13.5 miles, 12 cider stops, many hills, one brilliant day!". They can't have been taking the mid-course drinking seriously enough as they finished together well up the field ;-))
1 Mike Liddell (Royal Navy AC) 1.43.21 (chip 1.43.17)
88 Ben Hilditch (Cirencester AC) 3.04.29 (3.03.27)
89 Angela Hilditch 3.04.29 (3.03.27)
449 finished www.ciderthon.com
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