Category: Race Report

Get Dirrrty!

Eastern Athletics XC and British & Irish Masters’ International XC

by Pete Mackrell

Last Saturday was evidently a day for dirty running. Close to home, 10 members completed the Dirt Half whilst further away, 10 more were competing in cross country. Of those, a hardy bunch of eight men and one girl made the trip over to Keysoe to participate in the Eastern Athletics Cross Country Championship.

The Eastern Athletic Association is a curious thing; it consists of the geographically diverse counties of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk, Suffolk and Lincolnshire. It organises various events including an annual cross-country championship which dates back to 1937 (for the men, women have been included from 1992!). It used to be a high-profile event and it has some high-profile former winners, however in recent years it has fallen from grace somewhat, participation has dropped and some years it wasn’t held at all. This seems a shame, although perhaps it’s inevitable with so many events on the calendar. read more

Dunstable Downs Challenge 1/2 Marathon

By Matthew Brooks

There I was chilling out on the beach when this email appears in my inbox from James B, ‘I am jogging the Dunstable Downs Challenge…just for training. Gonna be at an easy pace’. Well, they say there’s one born every minute and the sun must have got to my head as I found myself signing up less than 3 weeks before race day not having done any 1/2 marathon training, only to be told afterwards, ‘Did I mention that I can’t map read?’ (It’s a self-navigating route) Doubt and regret were creeping in. read more

Going off-road

Going Off-Road

by Susan Johnson

After several off-road training runs with Tuesday’s B&I group I decided to look for a race that would have at least some off-road element.  On Sunday I ran the Stopsley Trail Race, a 5 mile trail with a 10 mile option too. I was joined by James and Sara Lowe, both also B&I runners.  The race is organised by Stopsley Striders, starting and finishing at the Inspire Sports Centre (and what a stunning facility that is!).

The race starts in the leisure centre grounds with a loop that then takes you out onto a country lane.  Just after a mile the route turns onto a farm track running along the edge of wheat fields. read more

Waddesdon 5k

Waddesdon 5k

by Kate Johnson

I did this race on a bit of whim, Adam Haylock reminded me at parkrun and I thought if I could get a Chip-Sitter it was game on.

Wednesday arrived and Andrew was free in the evening as was Grandma Speedy so we decided to go over to Waddesdon, Speedy would flyer and look after Chip and Andrew would join me in the dash round the grounds.

I had no idea how I might run as anything on an uphill gradient has been a real struggle due to back pain. Waddesdon is a 5km race that is 2.5km uphill and then 2.5km downhill. Very little of it is flat. So that presented a potential problem. I had struggled the night before going uphill. read more

The 2019 LBAC Club Mile

LBAC Club Mile

Another weekend and another club championship race. They seem to be non-stop at this time of year!

This time, it was the mile track race. Open to both Juniors and Seniors to race around in several heats to suit their predicted pace.

First up in Heat 1, it was a real mix of youth and youthful exuberance with a big age range from youngest to oldest. Don’t let that fool you though as there were some pacey people in that heat.

Charlotte Evans just about held off James Parker to finish fastest in the heat with Jeni Read finishing 3rd. read more

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