Leighton Buzzard Athletic Club

Three LBAC members took on the hills of the Watford on Sunday morning. With the weather set at a comfortable ten degrees, but with a bit of a breeze to work against it was reasonable conditions to take on the tough course.

Club captain Tom May feasted on a whole Werthers Original for breakfast, but it didn't stop him heading off for a fast start down the slope in Cassiobury Park which he knows well from Chiltern Leagues down the years. Having decided to go for a steady start and pick up the pace, Amy Inchley covered the first mile in 7.30, about a minute quicker than planned! Amelia Wallace was running on home turf, having been brought up in Watford and was therefore much more sensible over a route she knows only too well. read more

Twenty people made it out to Parsons Close for the first of two February Stag Trophy races. On a mild, but windy night there were a large mix of performances with four PB's but also a few coming back from a small running sabbatical over the last couple of months.

On the night, Amy Inchley smashed her PB to take the 25 points available for first home in 17.45 with Craig Nelson and Dan Webb chasing her home to also record PB's of 14.51 and 16.40 respectively. Andy Inchley ran the fastest time of the season so far to take fourth in 13.41, with Fred Watt just behind in 16.22. Current leader, Steve Orlando was scuppered a little by Dave's harsh handicapping after his rapid improvement, but still ran his fourth consecutive PB to pick up twenty points. read more

Saturday saw the infamous running of the Southern Counties Cross-Country Championships at Parliament Hill Fields in Hampstead Heath. It is infamous for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it is the longest championship cross-country on the calendar, with women covering five miles and the men nearly nine! Secondly, it is usually the muddiest race of the year!

This year however, whilst the route and distance were unchanged the underfoot conditions were the best seen by your correspondent (although there are rumours that it was similar in a recent year not attended!). It was very confusing not to have to wade through ankle deep mud for an hour, up and down the hills of Highgate. Please do not misunderstand. This was not a dry course, and for the uninitiated Southern Champs runner it was hard going, but most know what it can be like! read more

Having been entered in the Luton Marathon in December, Warren Rose was very disappointed to hear that it had been cancelled two days before the race, due to the freezing conditions we were experiencing in this part of the world at that time. Having put in the months of training towards his target of ducking under 3.30 he decided to enter the Gloucester marathon instead and keep his traing going for a few more weeks.

The Gloucester marathon also risks the potential horrible conditions of January weather and like Luton is a three lap course but takes in flat rural Gloucestershire, rather than the delights of North Luton. read more

On Sunday Gail Duckworth made a trip up to Shropshire to compete in the Telford 10K. Gail, who was ranked as the number one F55 5000m runner in the world in 2010 with a time of 19.22, was aiming to duck under the 40 minute mark over the longer distance.

At the Standalone 10K in October she was just outside the 40 minute mark and so targetted Telford to beat the time. She completed the course in a fantastic 39.34 to finish as the 10th lady and beat the world's best 10K track time from last year. Not a bad start to the year! read more