Grantham Running Club members race Langtoft 10k
The final Sunday in April dawned warm and sunny as large numbers of runners from Grantham Running Club made their way the short distance past Bourne to the lovely village of Langtoft.
The playing fields were hosting the 31st edition of what is becoming an increasing rarity – a well-organised volunteer-led road race with its roots in the local community.
The fundraising volunteer nature of the event did not show in the organisation, which was excellent, nor the results, which were supported by professional chip timing.
It did show in the friendly volunteers, whether that was the smiling teenagers handing out numbers at the start, the supportive marshals around the course or the very enthusiastic commentator taking part in his final event. It also showed in the relatively large number of people who came out of their houses to watch as the runners passed by.
The main 10k event was preceded by a 3km fun run, which added to the family atmosphere and meant that all ages could take part and enjoy the event. There was also a sizeable contingent who clearly had not recovered from Easter, with multiple runners in both races dressed as chickens and eggs.
The first runner back for Grantham Running Club was Peter Bonner in a personal best of 38min 11sec, knocking 50 seconds off his previous best from Doncaster in the autumn. Peter was particularly pleased with this because it came just two weeks after he achieved a marathon PB, breaking the three hour mark for the first time. After the event, Peter was enthusiastic about the flat, friendly course and recommends taking part in the next event.
Also particularly happy with their run were two other achievers of personal bests. Holly Wragg knocked two minutes off her result from Doncaster last year and was particularly pleased with the day. Laura Pigott continued her run of improving races over the last year, having knocked more than 10 minutes off her results since July.
The first GRC woman home was Penny Hodges in a time of 44:41 which was also a season’s best, spurred on by Tony Johnson, followed closely by Paul Davis, chasing her in the final stages through the village. The next two women home were Rachel Hamilton and Nicola Rushton-Lichfield, who ran most of the way together but struggled with the heat (Rachel) and a blister (Nicola).
Twenty-one runners achieved season best results at the race.
GRC results: 13 Peter Bonner 38:11, 34 Robin Atter 41:18, 35 Sam Dodwell 41:19, 42 Daniel Pearce 41:40, 47 Alan Carley 42:27, 56 Stefan Latter 43:06, 65 Robert Howbrook 43:56, 72 Penny Hodges 44:41, 73 Tony Johnson 44:46, 79 Paul Davis 45:21, 86 Rachel Hamilton 45:47, 87 Nicola Ruston-Litchfield 45:48, 108 Ben Mason 47:59, 113 Stuart Reader 48:21, 118 Robert McArdle 49:06, 122 Caroline Davis 49:17, 124 Simon Allsopp 49:27, 127 Paul Kelly 49:51, 141 Naomi Rivers 51:19, 146 Martin Rodell 51:33, 158 Richard Litchfield 53:00, 160 Tommy Napier 53:03, 163 Paul Jepson 53:15, 164 Wayne Baxter 53:29, 165 Marjorie Spendlow 53:32, 169 Zoe Wragg 53:41, 173 Chris Smith 54:00, 174 Sinead McDonnell 54:13, 175 Richard Urquhart 54:15, 179 Holly Wragg 55:02, 182 Zane Wojtowicz 55:14, 189 Emma Duncan 55:43, 199 Martin Carter 56:57, 202 Laura Pigott 57:15, 216 Kate Marshall 58:59, 236 Clare Smith 1:02:25, 254 Judi Allsopp 1:05:11, 255 Emma Hopkinson 1:05:14, 258 Wendy Fraser 1:05:41, 268 Christine Sawyer 1:08:55, 277 Yvonne Buckley 1:12:23, 281 Brendon Buckley 1:15:15.
