Northbrook Results

For a complete listing visit the Results Index

January 2022

Not the Roman IX – 30 JanuaryOTH

30 Natasha White 0:47:47 3rd female, 1st FV 35
77 Tim Ottley 0:53:20  
150 Alan Smith 0:59:19  
176 Simon Aldridge 1:02:00  
191 Claudie Combelas 1:03:34 2nd FV60
284 Chris Archer 1:23:39  

SIMON ALDRIDGE

A 12km Road Race in Stratford upon Avon. Great conditions for running on the day – Tim

A bracing morning to be running 12km (7.46 miles) around the ups and downs around Tiddington. Plenty of logistics to deal with as car park, race HQ and start are all in different places, and the race itself is not for the faint-hearted as it’s on open roads some of which have heavy traffic. Good conditions for running though, with Natasha coming home as 3rd female, Tim and Alan achieving under the hour and Claudie 2nd FV60. Good to see Simon back in the races for the first time this year too.

A shame a customs hold-up meant we went home without the promised memento of socks, but it was a good day to be running – Chris

Bedworth Park 5k – 30 January5K

3 Lee Newark 0:24:31
6 Spencer Davies 0:28:31
11 Tracey Cox 0:35:36

Midlands Cross-Country Championships, Mansfield – 29 JanuaryOTH

Senior Men – 12k
Team Pos – 16th

110 Matthew Hathrell 0:47:27
131 Rory Anderson 0:48:32
139 Tony Forde 0:49:09
169 Terry Moynihan 0:51:06
229 Paul Robbins 0:57:48
243 Tom Miller 0:58:48
257 Lee Newark 1:01:00
263 Spencer Davies 1:03:01
264 David Mills 1:03:04
265 David Tittle 1:03:24
Francis Mason

Senior Women – 8k
Team Pos – 19th

121 Debbie Campbell 0:42:11
142 Joanne Evans 0:44:55
156 Fern Kenny 0:50:05
161 Julie Cozens 0:51:39

15 Northbrookers battled their way North to Mansfield as storm Malik bore down on us. After an attempt at putting up the shelter we decided against it and huddled round our solitary flag, mainly looking for support/shelter to stop being blown away.

Our 4 women were up first and once the battle at the start eased they settled into their runs; 3 laps for the women and the course was bone dry, though it was very windy. At one point there were more pony tails being blown upwards than swinging side to side. Just before our first finisher (Debbie) came through to the finish a marshall was knocked unconscious by a flying tent. We men cheering our women on were nearly flattened by the railings as the wind took them too. 4 in, 4 safe though they were blown from pillar to post.

Then it was the men’s turn. 11 on the start line (Francis had forgotten his timing chip so started a field late). The start was fast, it was a matter of not getting sucked in with the pace. 4 laps through a wind tunnel head on before the challenge of dodging falling branches in the woods. With backs and forwards it was great to see each other briefly, our women were keeping our spirits up from their support positions.

An unfortunate incident on lap one for a collapsed fellow runner from a local club was not a welcome site as he deteriorated every time we passed. The sight affecting all that passed up to 3 times. With an air ambulance trying to land in shifting winds as the tail of the race were trying to run in and ambulances in the woods being dodged, the story was more of the incident than the race.

Well done to the 11 men who finished. This was an event that should have been stopped or at least diverted to save someone’s dignity. Poor display from the organisers – Spencer

SPENCER DAVIES

Ilmington 10k, Tempo Winter Series Race 4 – 23 January 10K

80 Mark Parker 0:50:11  
89 Spencer Davies 0:51:04  
90 Sarah Duffy 0:51:06  
111 Victoria Boyle 0:54:17 3rd FSEN
133 Claudie Combelas 0:56:58
134 Rich Cawley 0:56:58
142 Cliff Evans 0:57:42
143 Joanne Evans 0:57:43
144 Sarah Booker 0:57:51
218 Peter Marshall 1:06:44
246 Chris Archer 1:15:32
256 Kelly Parker 1:21:56  
262 Tracey Cox 1:25:11  
267 Richard Hands 1:35:23  
268 Cath Fenn 1:35:23  

CLIFF EVANS

Happy to help pace Joanne for this one, after a couple of high mileage weeks. It was a chilly race with a cold wind, a couple of quick miles before we got to the hill. Walked most of that and then at 6k started to get back into a good rhythm. Carried that into the hill descent and then it was a case of pushing to the finish.

Joanne took 4 minutes out of her previous course best averaging a fantastic 8.57 per mile – Cliff

Leicester City 5k Winter Series Race 3 – 20 January 5K

5 Matthew Hathrell 0:18:08 2nd MSEN
31 Spencer Davies 0:24:18 1st MV45
38 Claudie Combelas 0:26:06 2nd FV60
47 Chris Archer 0:30:31 1st MV60

It was one-two across the board for the Northbrook contingent with trophies for age category wins for Spencer and me and a good stretch of the legs after the previous night’s trip to Salcey Forest. It’s a good little run in Victoria park, mostly well-lit with a cheeky 200m in the dark for those who neglect to bring a light.

Return match in February – Chris

Gato Sports Headtorch 10k – 19 January 10K

1 Matthew Hathrell 0:40:01
28 Spencer Davies 0:51:36
44 Claudie Combelas 0:57:00
59 Caroline Hughes 0:58:51
72 Peter Marshall 1:00:46
118 Chris Archer 1:14:40

A lovely night out in Salcey Forest, Northamptonshire and an excellent overall race win by Matthew.

We’ll be back on 24th Feb for the final one in the series – Chris

Bedworth Park 5k – 16 January5K

3 Lee Newark 0:23:39
6 Spencer Davies 0:25:59
13 Tracey Cox 0:37:11

Birmingham & District Invitation Cross-Country League Div 3 Race 3 at Droitwich – 15 January OTH

Men’s ‘A’ Team 8th – 396 points, Overall 8th – 1091 points
Men’s ‘B’ Team 7th – 843 points, Overall 5th – 2516 points

27 Stuart Lumsden 0:40:31
46 Matthew Hathrell 0:41:59
65 Tom Mitchell 0:43:19
83 Terry Moynihan 0:44:25
85 Mike Wheeler 0:44:31
90 Richard Bruce 0:44:39
101 Robin Aston 0:45:40
103 Rory Anderson 0:45:47
142 Steve Turvey 0:47:57
151 Tommy Dempsey 0:48:36
165 Sean Duffy 0:49:28
181 Anthony Hughes 0:50:39
188 Paul Robbins 0:51:13
189 Mark Baker 0:51:26
193 Tom Miller 0:51:36
194 Francis Mason 0:51:39
198 Kyle Beddoe 0:52:06
203 Richard French 0:52:23
206 Lee Newark 0:52:32
211 Mark Parker 0:52:58
214 Kevin Coughlan 0:53:29
216 Spencer Davies 0:53:42
224 Adrian Lowe 0:54:50
238 David Mills 0:56:23
242 Simon Aldridge 0:57:02
246 David Tittle 0:57:22

Full results on Bham League web site

Midland Women’s Cross-Country League Race 3 at Abington Park, Droitwich – 15 January OTH

71 Tori Boyle 0:34:25
81 Emily Drage 0:35:17
110 Joanne Evans 0:37:15
123 Caroline Hughes 0:38:01
139 Claudie Combelas 0:39:58
159 Fern Kenny 0:42:02
162 Julie Cozens 0:42:08
172 Rebecca Barber 0:43:39
173 Tracey Jefferson 0:43:40
209 Kelly Parker 0:50:53
213 Tracey Cox 0:54:29

Round Sheffield Run – 10 JanuaryOTH

67 Claudie Combelas 2:20:00

CLAUDIE COMBELAS

A run in pairs with my friend Justine who now lives in Sheffield.

The run is 11 stages around Sheffield taking in all of its parks and woodland areas. You had to dib in and out at each section. Justine had not run since lockdown so she was somewhat worried. She did really well though and we completed the 15 miles together in 3h:20.

Note that the finish time is actually for the 12 miles which were running.

Cannock Chase Trig Points – 9 JanuaryOTH

  Cliff Evans 2:40:00

I was pleased to discover that the Fell Runners Club stage an annual Fell Race that wasn’t 100’s of miles away. I love Cannock Chase, there can’t be many places as close that have that sort of scenery and at £14 with refreshments and map included, I thought looked like a bargain.

The organiser Bob provided me with some pre-race advice on navigation and the whole event had that “friendly club race” atmosphere. Delays on the M6 meant I had just enough time to mark my route out and get to the start for the briefing. I had one friendly greeting from a former Northbrooker, Kev and we were off.

My concerns about getting lost meant I went out quite hard to stay within the pack but this soon spread out as people headed off on their pre-determined routes so I was forced to run hard to keep people in view. After 3 miles I was able to catch up with a runner called Melissa (who turned out to be the over 60 female winner) and she kindly shared a few directions which got me to the final outward checkpoint at 8 miles.

Feeling a little more confident that I could find my way back alone I decided to push on and pick a few runners off but by 10 miles my harder than planned start meant that getting to the finish became my only ambition. I got in just over 2hrs 40mins (which was a lot quicker than I felt I’d run) and after cheering a few runners in I hobbled my way to the registration center and was treated to a choice of cakes and a hot drink.

A tough course with a lot of hills and uneven terrain, but a super atmosphere and very rewarding.

 

CLIFF EVANS

Bedworth Park 5k – 9 January5K

1 Craig Slyde 0:24:05
2 Spencer Davies 0:24:27

Draycote Water 10k – 9 January10K

  Peter Kirkhope 0:46:33
  Lee Newark 0:47:06
  Sarah Duffy 0:47:06

Winter Enigma 2, Milton Keynes – 9 JanuaryOTH

  Duncan Gordon 6:16:01

Hip still aching from yesterday so had an easy one, thanks to Charlie for keeping me company and getting me round.

Winter Enigma 1, Milton Keynes – 8 JanuaryOTH

  Duncan Gordon 4:41:19

Not the best weather for a jaunt around TBL, but felt good for the first half. Had an ache so slowed up ready for tomorrow. Great to see so many runners out.

Alsager 5 – 6 January5M

  Mike Wheeler 0:31:41

Seven Sins and Immortal, Forest of Dean – 1/2 January

Seven Sins 1 JanuaryOTH

  Matthew Hatthrell 1:03:32  
  Claudie Combelas 1:40:02 2nd FV60-69

Seven Sins 2 JanuaryOTH

  Chris Archer 1:46:40  

Immortal 2 JanuaryOTH

  Matthew Hatthrell 2:14:01  
  Claudie Combelas 3:06:01 1st FV60-69

 

COVID put paid to two thirds of the planned Northbrook presence at this three-day event in the Forest of Dean. Claudie, Matthew and I were the last Northbrookers standing and went down there on Saturday.

Claudie and Matt took on the 7 Sins on Saturday: seven trail hills in 7.3 miles with lots of mud underfoot. Matt was 4th Male and Claudie 14th Female and 2nd Female 60-69, having added an extra mile due to a sign going missing. So far so good.

Off to the pub in Chepstow, Wales for our overnight stay to return on Sunday. Claudie and Matt set off on the Immortal: the 7 Sins route run both ways. As they both reached the turnaround, I set off on my 7 Sins race. Matt completed in 2:14:01 to gain 3rd Male (tee-shirt!); Claudie came as 2nd Female and earning 1st Female 60-69 in her third race in three days (Peterborough 10km on 31st December).

Smiles and congratulations all round, we headed back with a well-earned brunch en route. An excellent race in a beautiful forest. Despite problems with YPB race organisation before, this one went very smoothly and is recommended – Chris

 

CHRIS ARCHER