Grantham Running Club take part in the Boundary Run at Cambridge
Three members of Grantham Running Club set out on the Boundary Run.
The event is a not for profit run around the whole (marathon distance) or halfway round the Boundary of Cambridge City – or at least a route close to this.
It is organised each year by the Cambridge University Hare and Hounds Club, which is their name for the cross-country team.
The route means that it is not a formally certified UKA course because there is significant (declared as 30 percent) off-road.
Ros Sadler did the half marathon, supported by her husband and son, who were able to meet her at the sports field where the half marathon finished. She described the course as enjoyably muddy and was happy with her time of 2:21:41.
Peter Bonner and Robert McArdle set out to complete the full marathon distance as part of their training programmes for London and Boston, Lincolnshire, marathons respectively.
Starting at a slightly faster than training pace, all was going well until they encountered the second muddy section, where after a brief run through some woodland they reached a track with a film of clayed mud.
It was at this point that they both realised that their choice of running shoe was inadequate for the terrain.
Indeed, Robert looked at the tread of his shoes afterwards and realised that there was absolutely no lateral grip.
At this point, Robert’s pre-existing injury started to become more of an issue and he had to walk for the first time.
By the time they reached the 10-mile point, Robert was unable to continue running and so walked the final three miles to the half marathon finish, where he was able to get a compensatory medal but had to wait on a cold bus for half an hour before returning to the start point and his warm clothing.
Peter carried on and finished the entire event, walking where necessary to stay upright and with the primary goal having changed from a good, supported training run to getting back without injury.
He did this successfully in 51 seconds outside four hours and was sufficiently strong to recover some of the missed training with a further 20 minute run on the roads around the finish area.
Commenting afterwards, Peter described the conditions as 'unsuitable for road running training' and has decided that those people who were using the event for trail ultras had the right idea.
The marathon was won by Richard Ollington in 2:48:37 and he was also the first person through the half marathon finish.
The first female marathon finisher was Katie Godof in 3:18:50 though she wasn’t recorded at the half marathon finish, with Holly Sprosen being first through in 1:30:17. There were 252 marathon finishers and 293 people were recorded finishing the half marathon.
Peter Bonner was Grantham Running Club's sole competitor in the Maidenhead ten mile race.
The weather for the race was much better than expected, with the very heavy overnight rain having passed over.
There was a noticeable headwind when turning left off the business park access road and onto the first bridleway and the 10 degrees temperature was offset by the high humidity.
The race attracted a high standard of club runner, with 859 finishers.
In both the men's and women's races, the first finisher was a veteran, with Nicholas Torry of Kent AC being the first finisher in 50:56 and Kate Rennie finishing in 60:53, belying her V50 status.
Peter finished in 66:25 which was a personal best by more than a minute from his 2019 Derby race, which pleased him as he was in the middle of a hard training set for the London Marathon in three weeks.
Peter said he was pleased by the result and that, despite the conditions being better than feared, he was glad not to have used the expensive vaporfly shoes.
It’s a race that he recommends for anyone in the area but, because he was driving on to Grantham, he found the return drive a little more challenging than hoped.
