The best of the month’s off-road events
BRIGHOUSE 10km, Yorkshire, April 24
W40 Sally Armitage won outright from a field of 99 finishers as M50 Adam Deavin took second.
Overall:
1 S Armitage (Ilkley, W40) 39:24; 2 A Deavin (M50) 39:47; 3 M Thurman 40:32
Women:
1 Armitage 39:24; 2 S Lewis 45:15; 3 A Kaye 47:09
ANGMERING BLUEBELL TRAIL RUN, Patching, West Sussex, April 24
Overall (10M):
1 O Daniel (Belg) 61:08; 2 D Bailey (Brighton Tri, M50) 61:24; 3 P Newsome (Mid Sx Tri) 61:25
Women:
1 E Clutton (Mid Sx Tri, W35) 63:44; 2 S Charman (Horsh J, W40) 68:14; 3 V Green (York Knaves, W45) 70:09
Overall (10km):
1 J Harwood (Run Ac Worth) 36:30
Women:
1 K Wright (Arena) 44:06
HOOHAAH BARR ELLISON 10km, Childerley, Cambridgeshire, April 24
Overall:
1 J Bosher (Grange F) 36:08; 2 T Farrer (M45) 36:56; 3 C Parson (M40) 39:18
Women:
1 S Tautz (C&C) 45:17; 2 S Warren (W45) 45:25; 3 N Ronco (W45) 45:59
WASHINGTON TRAIL 10km, Tyne & Wear, April 24
Overall:
1 R Andrew (Alnwick, M50) 37:24; 2 S Gibson (Derwent, M40) 37:25; 3 P Kellett (M40) 39:49
Women:
1 B Colman (NSP, W40) 41:13; 2 K Common (Wash, W40) 42:22; 3 B Maw 44:23
CARTOON CAPERS CHALLENGE, Clacton-on-Sea, April 24
Overall:
1 P Conlon (View Tube Runners, M45) 52.7; 2 M Jermakowicz (MRP, W45) 52.7; 3 I Shelley (Vegan, M50) 52.7
Women:
1 M Jermakowicz (MRP, W45) 52.7; 2 P Shrimpton (Riv, W50) 47.4; 3 J Mcelroy (W35) 31.6
IN SEARCH OF THE BLUEBELLS 7.5, Stansted, April 24
Overall:
1 A Goodall (Spring S, M45) 50:51; 2 A Smalls (Col H, M50) 55:56; 3 L Walland (Fulham, W35) 58:38
Women:
1 Walland 58:38; 2 L Higgs (Mid E) 63:06; 3 A Brass (B’cay) 64:19
RODING AROUND MARATHON, Aythorpe Roding, April 24
Overall:
1 C Seymour 4:25:32; 2 B Hayden (Gard CR, W) 4:26:43; 3 K Gard (Mid E) 4:36:34
Women:
1 Hayden 4:26:43; 2 R Havis (L Bad, W45) 4:59:17; 3 G Allen 5:04:40
SAND DANCER 10km, South Shields, April 24
Liam Taylor won this beach race, finishing 45 seconds clear of Conrad Franks.
Claire O’Callaghan won a closer contended women’s race which saw the top four finish between 38 seconds.
Overall:
1 L Taylor (Sund) 32:58; 2 C Franks (Gates) 33:43; 3 G Wallace (B’hill) 34:17
Women:
1 C O’Callaghan (S Sh, W35) 43:47; 2 C Parkin (Low F, W35) 43:56; 3 R Hawdon (S Sh, W35) 44:24; 4 K Hunter (J&H, W35) 44:25
TISSINGTON TRAIL MARATHON, Parsley Hay, April 24
Overall:
1 S Fawcett (Unatt, M40) 2:50:18; 2 C Clifford (Sheff RC, M45) 3:02:28; 3 J Hunt (Spa, M45) 3:17:28
Women:
1 P Downing (Mab, W55) 3:35:34; 2 S Pick (Unatt, W40) 3:44:07; 3 R Hobbs (Tam, W35) 3:44:36
Highland Fling Race inc Scottish Ultra Trail Championships, April 23
The first running of the Highland Fling 53 mile ultra trail race since 2019 was a welcome return to racing for many, held over the first half of the full West Highland Way trail, Adrian Stott reports.
Advance planning form the Autumn had capped the field at 500 compared with the usual 1,000 entry and led to some 400 runners towing the start line at Milngavie.
Rowan Boswood set a good pace with James Turner on the relatively fast 12 mile section to Drymen. While Jo Meek and Chrissie Wellington were evenly matched in the women’s race on that stage.
Turner and Boswood remained in contact with each other for the next 20 miles along Loch Lomond side to Inversnaid. The more technical top section of the loch side trail saw Boswood open a lead and at the Beinglass Checkpoint he was 12 minutes ahead of Josh Bakker-Dyos who had moved into second with Robbie Dunlop In third.
The positions were to remain unchanged to the finish with Boswood, the winner of the full West Highland Way race in 2019, taking the win and with it the Scottish Ultra trail title.
He reached Tyndrum in 7:15:52 with Scottish athletes Bakker-Dyos in 7:28:48 and Dunlop in 7:42:58 filling the podium.
In the women’s race, GB ultra international Meek, with her extensive Ultra distance experience, proved the stronger on the loch side section to open up a good lead on former international Ironman champion Wellington.
Meek finished in an excellent 8:24:32 with Wellington in 8:40:10.
Jacqueline MacIntyre (8:47:33) finishing in third place claimed the Scottish title.
Aoife Ni Mhaoileoin of Cairngorm runners and Jan Dawson of Penicuik took the Scottish silver and bronze medals.
Overall: 1 R Boswood Cairn 7:15:52; 2 J Bakker-Dyos RN 7:28:48; 3 R Dunlop Dund 7:42:58
Women: 1 J Meek 8:24;32; 2 C Wellington 8:40:10; 3 J MacIntyre 8:47:33
Scottish Athletics Masters Championship
Men
1 S Morrison Moray Road Runners 8:21:01
2 D Ward HBT 8:34:40
3 C Barnett Orkney AC 8:37:45
Women:
1 J MacIntrye 8:47:33
2 J Dawson PenicuikHarriers 10:39:04
3 L Parker Maryhill Harriers 10:41:41
SCOTTISH TEAM: 1 Ayr Seaforth; 2 Garscube; 3 Bellahouston Road Runners
WOMEN SCOTTISH TEAM: 1 Portobello; 2 Penicuik
CLOWBRIDGE 5km, Burnley, April 21
Overall:
1 T Corrigan (RVH, M35) 17:03; 2 M Driver (Holc) 17:53; 3 J Cleaver (Ross, M40) 17:56
Women:
1 E Richardson 20:59; 2 R Cleaver (Ross, U13) 22:01; 3 S Burns (W60) 22:12
LEWES 10km, East Sussex, April 18
James Baker followed up his victory in the Goodwood Running Grand Prix Marathon, on April 3 with a win in the Gosport evening 5km on the 12th and now is up to 994 overall individual race wins after his this one at Lewes, Martin Duff reports.
He said: “I recovered really well from the Marathon after another good week.”
The 45-year-old also notched up his 12th Parkrun win of the year on Easter Saturday and Baker remains undefeated in this series in 2022. He added: “I took two seconds off my course record at the Bognor Parkrun with a lot of lapped runners to dodge and I felt I could have broken 16 minutes if the last 400m wasn’t so narrow & congested.”
Baker first won this Lewes race in 2002 and, talking of his win Baker said: this was my tenth win here. I controlled it from the start and just ran each mile a bit faster than Toby Meanwell to pull further ahead. I think neither of us were running on fresh legs as I did a workout yesterday and he did a long run.
Baker has also lined up another possible attempt to close in on 1000 lifetime wins: “I made a last-minute entry yesterday for the Three Forts Marathon. 27.2 miles, on May 1 and will try to win it without taking too much out of myself.
Overall:
1 J Baker (Chich R, M45) 34:56; 2 T Meanwell (Lewes, M40) 35:49; 3 D Beaumont (Hove) 38:27
M50: 1 C Gilbert (Lewes) 38:01
M55: 1 S Gregory (P’slade) 39:43
Women:
1 P Brook 40:12; 2 G Moffatt (P’slade, W55) 43:14; 3 A Robinson (Worth, W35) 44:39
MORTIMER 10km, Berkshire, April 18
Overall:
1 N Milnes 39:37; 2 C Callow (King’s Hth, M50) 40:22; 3 G Suter 40;33
Women:
1 K Lysons (Clap) 40:53; 2 C Pusey (Burn J, W50) 43:40; 3 C Searle (Perham, W55) 46:35
MAN V HORSE SCOTLAND, Dores, April 17
Overall (24km, runners only, age not declared):
1 P Paterson 1:48:37
2 A Sparks 1:55:02
3 C Marwick (W) 1:55:08
Women:
1 Marwick (1:55:08)
2 S Evans 1:59:51
3 V Thomson 2:13:53