Bad weather but still some fine runs

Lloyd Kempson ran PB of 32:33 to finish 117th in a star-studded field at the Trafford 10k in Manchester.

Philippa Taylor was hindered by an overcrowded start and had a rare off-day, finishing 337th. But the 49 year-old England international comfortably won her age group.

Simon Bell, Ruth Jones and Barry Warne were all several minutes below their best in a windswept, twisty and hilly Milton Keynes 10k.

Despite the assorted hazards all three Harriers placed well. Bell finished 19th, and second Over 50, while Jones was 48th and first Over 35 lady. Warne was just behind in 52nd place out of 1,300 runners.

Yvonne Scarrott was also hampered by the conditions in the 5k race at Milton Keynes. Despite this the diminutive 50 year-old Harrier ran a dogged race, finishing 25th out of almost 500 runners.

Peterborough AC’s Steve Hall took 18th place in Sunday’s Newton’s Fraction Half-Marathon at Grantham with a time of 1:24.00.

Seventy-three year-old Eye Community Runner Terry Fone continues to defy the aging process and clocked a time of 1:48.25 as he won the Over 65 prize.

Thorney’s Richard Coles is in the driving seat after taking the runners-up spot in the March leg of the Harrier 5k Handicap League.

With only the April race to come, Coles has a clear lead in the standings, and his time of 20:02 was an improvement of over two minutes since the first race in October 2016.

Athletes from host club Nene Valley Harriers were prominent with Luke Myers winning in a time of 19:04.

The fastest runs of the night were recorded by Nene Valley athletes. James Mcdonald was the quickest man with an 18:41 clocking, while Sophie Wilkinson-Hargate ran 20:38 as the fastest lady.

Wilkinson-Hargate is lying third in the standings and is one of three athletes who could lift this season’s crown, along with Martin Glendenning of Bushfield Joggers and series leader Coles.

Nene Valley Harrier Michael Channing led home the Cambridgeshire team with an excellent run at the Essex 20-Mile Road Race in Langham last Sunday. The Yaxley-based runner clocked 1:57:23 on a tough course as the men’s team finished fourth out of eight counties.

Hunts AC’s Ty Farrer (2:01:05) and Werrington Joggers’ Paul Halford (2:02:30) completed the scoring team.

Nene Valley’s Sophie Wilkinson-Hargate (2:41:55) and PAC’s Sarah Caskey (2:44:00) also ran for Cambs, but the county were unable to challenge as three runners were required to score.