Another successful Leighton 10!

Sunday 18th September 2016

After months of planning and organising, Leighton Buzzard Athletic Club held the 35^th Leighton 10 road race on Sunday 18^th September. As in previous years, the runners were treated with near perfect conditions for a 10 mile race with almost no wind and cool and dry weather

As well as all the 241 happy, smiley runners and the clapping, cheering marshals LBAC would like to thank in particular Methi, Mama Rosa’s and Waitrose for providing local runner and team prizes, Tesco’s for the post-race bananas, Chevron for the finish cones Elevations for the PA System, Vandyke school for the use of their hall and carpark as Race HQ and Benedicts for the much-needed catering at the end of the race.

The route starts at Vandyke school before heading out to Heath and Reach, moving into Buckinghamshire to Great Brickhill before heading back to Leighton Buzzard via Heath and Reach, taking in a few of the local hills to make the course interesting and offer great views across the countryside.

The fastest local lady and the fastest local man prizes went to Johanna Sharples who finished in 1:12:00 and Tom Kimber with a time of 1:03:32.

LBAC had 6 runners of Leighton Buzzard Athletic Club competing on the day, with Sam Nicholas first home with his first ever 10 mile race in a time of 1:09:55. Stuart Dimmock (1:11:58) powered up the hills next with Johanna Sharples close behind followed by Ruth Mitchell, Mark Adkins and Modupe Oshikoya. Ruth and Modupe have both joined the club in the last 12 months having started out at the beginners’ sessions on Tuesday evenings. These sessions were made specifically for people new to running or looking to improve and their times and efforts prove that they really do help!

Jim Buttleman led home the team of 26 Leighton Fun Runners in a time of 1:08:43 who finished 4^th in the team competition. Dunstable Road Runners finished 2^nd with 46 runners finishing the course and were led home by Lee Murphy in 1:03:27. The overall team prize however was taken by Marshall Milton Keynes whose team was led back by Dan Webber in 58 minutes and 57 seconds and their team closed in 68.

The overall race was won by Matthew Bennett all the way from Southampton AC in a time of 55:45 which didn’t quite beat the course record, followed closely by Kenneth Nugent (56:33) and Simon Beedell (56:38) of Woodford Green AC.

The ladies race was won by Wendy Webber of Marshall Milton Keynes in 1:04:44 with Rebecca Mayles (1:06:12) from Redway Runners finishing second and Jenny Copnall John (1:07:54) in third.

Congratulations to all the runners, especially those who ran 10 miles for the first time, or achieved a PB on what is quite a tough (but rewarding!) course. We’ll hopefully see you all next year!

Thank you too, to all those from LBAC and beyond who helped with the organisation of the event and made sure that it happened with any major problems. Special thanks to Chris Dimmock as Race Director. Remember that the money raised from this event goes straight back into the club and allows us to take part in various competitions throughout the year, but most importantly it allows us to keep our juniors section alive and thriving. Any help you can offer in 2017 will be greatly received. From marshaling or mile markers on the day to promotion and prizes beforehand it all helps.

Thank you also to David and Alex Killick for hosting the post-Leighton 10 BBQ, which helped round the day of nicely and was as always full of fantastic food.

See you all at a training session or Cross Country soon!

 

Results are available at www.leightonbuzzardac.co.uk with photos on the Facebook page at www.facebook.com/LeightonRunning (soon!)

The club can also be found on twitter @LeightonRunning with a dedicated Twitter page for the race @TheLeighton10. And newly on instagram also @LeightonRunning

Men’s results

1	Matthew Bennett	Southampton AC	55:45
2	Kenneth Nugent	–	56:33
3	Simon Beedell	Woodford Green AC	56:38

Women’s results

1	Wendy Webber	Marshall Milton Keynes	1:04:44
2	Rebecca Mayles	Redway Runners	1:06:12
3	Jenny Copnall John	–	1:07:54