Training for the Ashby 20
Northbrook’s Natasha White raced her way into the Club’s record books with a superb 2h:16m:28s finish at the Ashby 20 mile race on 20 March, taking more than 4 minutes off her previous appearance there and nearly 3 minutes off the women’s previous record for the distance set twelve years previously by Becky Smith.
Commenting on the race, Natasha said “It was a cold start to the day on race morning but having done the race before I was looking forward to it. I spoke briefly to a couple of other Northbrookers beforehand and then headed up to the start.
The first mile is a quick one as it’s downhill, so I had to remind myself to chill out and not go off too fast, which you really shouldn’t do in a 20-miler. Then it’s up and down the rolling hills, nothing too severe but you do notice them. Get to the end of the first 10-mile lap and start it over again.
The second lap definitely feels hillier, especially the final big climb at mile 19. The support is really good, and the locals and marshalls are really supportive and friendly.
It’s a strange distance to ‘race’ as its just a marathon training run but by the time you finish you’re grateful not to have to run another 6.2 miles.
I was 4th female on the day and pleased to beat my previous effort there by 4 minutes. You get a pretty decent goodie bag and a handmade cheese batch (they call it a cob but it’s definitely a batch).”
See Northbrook Ashby 20 results
Not content with this performance Natasha then went on to smash the women’s club Marathon record with a 2h:59m:07s finish in the Boston Marathon in Lincolnshire on 18 April, beating the previous record set by Amanda Deavy in 2015 by over 2 minutes.
See Northbrook Boston Marathon results