On Sunday 14 July, LBAC held its 5k club championship within the Wardown Park 5k race in Luton. The warm temperature and a fixture clash with several junior events had an impact on entrants, with only six members representing the club in an overall field of 90 people. The course is two and a bit laps using footpaths both inside and around the edge of the park. Whilst it is relatively flat, there is a gradual climb up to the finish which means the course has more ups than downs.

First finisher for the club was Andy Inchley, who towards the end of the first lap was still in the lead group of 5 runners maintaining a very fast pace. Ultimately he slipped back from that group but he held on for 5th with a time of 17:44. Second and third for the club were Gary Stratford and Chris Dimmock, which is a fitting reward for two members who regularly represent the club both in road races and cross country. Gary finished 20th overall in a time of 19:18, whilst Chris was 30th in 20:47.

Behind these, Lynn Boddy and Amelia Wallace were the only two women representing the club. They ran the entire race together, with Lynn just edging ahead on the final climb up to the finish to sneak the club honours. Lynn finished 44th overall (11th lady) in 22:50, whilst Amelia was just one second and one place behind. Last but not least, Dave Adams once again graced us with his presence and he came home in a very respectable 57th place in a time of 24:44. Dave was the second V65 in the Beds County Championship, which was also being held within the race.

All six have earned themselves vital points towards the overall club awards. Three of the club championship road races are already behind us (5k, 5m and 10m), with the remaining ones being the Bearbrook 10k (11th Aug) and Stevenage Half (3rd Nov), whilst any marathon counts. Bearbrook already has a large entry list so we recommend pre-entering to avoid disappointment!

http://www.bearbrookrunningclub.co.uk/Bearbrook10k.php