Ridgeway Relay 2022

Ridgeway Relay 2022

by Rachel Fawcett

With the trail running relay season well underway, Leighton Buzzard Athletic Club decided to take on a new challenge; the Ridgeway Relay, a tricky trail route between Ivinghoe Beacon and Marlborough.  So on a sunny, breezy Sunday morning the first runners from the Buzzard Trailblazers (a Mostly Female team) and the Leighton Greensanders (a Mostly Male team), joined 35 other teams to complete this arduous route. Rachel Fawcett and Michael Furness (running a cheeky 06.40 min mile pace) had the early start and the steep initial sprint down the beacon kicking off the race for both teams alongside a feverish WhatsApp conversation (share live location is definitely the way ahead in future relays). They both thoroughly appreciated having James and Ian at the start line waving them off (Ian clearly recognising that the best way to prepare for a 10 mile jaunt on the Ridgeway is with a bike ride up the Beacon). read more

Greensand 2021 and a Little History Lesson!

First, a little bit of history.

LBAC has a long history of running the Greensand Ridge. Back in 1987 we set established a record for running the length of the newly established route all the way from Gamlingay. At the bottom of this report there is an extract from a newsletter at the time, with a rare mention for Mrs Inchley (Snr)! This original relay was done in pairs, with a senior club member and a junior on every leg.

This record of just over five hours was then exchanged with a couple of other clubs for a few years, but in the meantime SMOC (South Midlands Orienteering Club) had set up their own relay race between them and some other local orienteering clubs. In these pre-internet days we were unaware of the race, even when Ampthill and Flitwick Flyers became the first running club to get involved in 1991. read more

Blisworth 5

Blisworth 5

Club Championship Road Race

Having got back into the swing of things a bit recently with 3 Stag Trophy Races and the Round Leighton Buzzard Relay in the last 3 months, we were finally able to get back to racing Club Championship races, with the first in the road champs this year taking place at Blisworth for the 5 mile distance.

As is often the case at Blisworth the evening turned out to be one perfect for running with an otherwise overcast day turning into some welcome evening sun with very little wind. Those who have done the course though will know that it’s not the weather that you really need to worry about! read more

Langmay Trophy 2021

Langmay Trophy – 2021

A beautiful Easter Sunday and near perfect running conditions welcomed our competitors to the 2021 Langmay Trophy. It’s a welcome return to some competitive action and the perfect introduction to the new route for this LBAC staple event. A good turn out with a mixture of new members and seasoned runners made for some good racing with some excellent performances across the field.

In terms of pure timing Jordan Clay came across the line first in a very impressive 25.13. Second home was Simon Coombes in 27.45 with Will Eastman third home in 30.14 just pipping Stuart Read at the finish. Fastest lady was Ruth Eastman in 34.45 followed by Amy Farnfield in 35.36, and Amy Inchley in 36.52. read more

LBAC January Challenge

Happy New Year everyone!

We are obviously all looking forward to brighter days ahead in 2021 and the return of “proper” events at some time in the not too distant future. However, we’re not there yet and so we thought we’d try and come up with something to focus on in the dark days of January, particularly for any of you for whom motivation might be a struggle at the moment! read more

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