Off we go! – Beds AAA 10k

Beds AAA 10k – Road Club Championships

Here we are, with the first road club champs race of the 2023 season. It seems like only yesterday we finished Cross Country races and were planning out runs and races across a long, endless summer. Temperatures and rain levels have been up and down since then and we seem to have a month of rain followed by a month of drought with high stifling temperatures or a deluge of washouts, but on we run! Friday 7th July was the Beds AAA 10k which is put on by our County Athletics Association with a helping hand from our very own Richard Inchley and also doubles up at the road County Championship so we do try to support the race as much as possible. Sadly numbers did seem a little down on previous years on what is a nice and fairly fast course. Set along an old railway close to the River Great Ouse and Priory Country Park in Bedford, the course heads East before doing a loop amongst the trees before returning back the way you came in a classic “lollypop” course. The only real hill is up and over the busy A421 but funnily enough you only really notice it on the way back. It was a warm evening as the LBAC athletes gathered in the sportshall of the Athletics Stadium, with lots of talk about how a warm up was totally unnecessary in the current conditions! Fortunately the short distance from here to the start line satisfied both those that were warm enough already and those that wanted to give the legs a quick turnover. At the gun, the runners flew out of the traps disturbing a group of scurrying rabbits and headed off down the course. Sam Dear and Simon Coombes seemed to be pacing and racing each other again after the recent battle at the Marston Forest 5k a month earlier. Tim Inchley, Ruth Mitchell and Warren Rose were also having their own battle around the course, whilst James Lloyd-Knibbs was hoping to give himself a birthday present of running a sub-40 for the first time. Gary Stratford and Amy Farnfield were also pushing for their own fast times. Having gone through 8km/5miles and back over the bridge over the A421, the finish is a long straight that appears to go on forever. Looking up for that final push and it never seems to get close enough to make one! Every single one of our runners finished well however. First home was =&0=& who pushed on in the second half of the race and finished in 35:08 to finish 3rd overall and as first v50 in the County Champs. =&1=& followed not too far behind in 35:42 and 5th place with a big 40 second PB. Third in for the club was =&2=&, fresh from a Carb Loading holiday in Italy, with=&3=& following close behind to finish as first lady for the club in times of 40:26 and 40:36 respectively. Ruth was also 3rd lady overall. =&4=& finished in 40:54 as first v50. =&5=& unfortunately didn’t quite reach his target of sub-40 but will no doubt be successful soon when it’s not quite as hot! He finished in 41:20. =&6=&, who enjoys running in the heat, finished just off her own PB with a time of 44:02 and was first v35 lady in both the County Championships and on the night, whilst also claiming 2nd lady for the club too. =&7=&returned to racing with a time of 45:48. Full results can be found here. Excellent running from all in purple and gold and some great results too to kick off the road running calendar! The next club championship road race is on Saturday 5th August at Great Denham parkrun. It’s free and you can turn up on the day, but you must remember your club vest and your barcode! See you there.

What a weekend

What a Weekend

by Rachel Fawcett

No rest for Leighton Buzzard Athletic Club. Just a week after organizing the brilliant Leighton 10 the club were gearing up for another day of racing starting with the London Marathon. This year it was Billy Mead, Coralie Anderson, Katie Stanton, Michael Furness, Nicola Mellor, Ruth Mitchell and Will Eastman all toeing the line in Greenwich Park. With perfect weather conditions reports of some cracking times started coming back from the Mall. Of note, Billy completed his first marathon in 2:45:46, Mike had a PB of 3:01:56, Will in at 3:11:53, Ruth just behind with 3:14:29, Nicola got 3:17:29, Coralie gained another PB at 3:29:29 and Katie came in at 5:07:34. As we all know, these events don’t happen without some willing manpower getting the runners around and we had our very own Stu Blofeld, Andrea Meek and Carl Meek manning the Lucozade Station getting much needed isotonics down all the runners. With support from BRE, it was great for members of LBAC to give back to the London Marathon community in return all the support our club runners have had from volunteers over the years; it certainly looked like hard graft but a great day. read more

Sandy 10 – 2022 10 mile Road Club Champs

Sandy 10

by Bob Dickinson

After three years away, the Sandy 10 returned this weekend – and with it, the fourth race in this year’s LBAC Road Club Championship series.

Covering the 10-mile distance through the streets and outskirts of the town of Sandy, the course itself is an interesting one. After easing you in gently, the second mile is pretty much ALL uphill, so it can take a while to get find your race pace. It plateaus at the top, and from that point, there are six miles of flat country roads before you can really enjoy the finish with a rapid finish coming back down the hill you started with (if you have recovered by then!). read more

Ridgeway Relay 2022

Ridgeway Relay 2022

by Rachel Fawcett

With the trail running relay season well underway, Leighton Buzzard Athletic Club decided to take on a new challenge; the Ridgeway Relay, a tricky trail route between Ivinghoe Beacon and Marlborough.  So on a sunny, breezy Sunday morning the first runners from the Buzzard Trailblazers (a Mostly Female team) and the Leighton Greensanders (a Mostly Male team), joined 35 other teams to complete this arduous route. Rachel Fawcett and Michael Furness (running a cheeky 06.40 min mile pace) had the early start and the steep initial sprint down the beacon kicking off the race for both teams alongside a feverish WhatsApp conversation (share live location is definitely the way ahead in future relays). They both thoroughly appreciated having James and Ian at the start line waving them off (Ian clearly recognising that the best way to prepare for a 10 mile jaunt on the Ridgeway is with a bike ride up the Beacon). read more

Blisworth 5

Blisworth 5

Club Championship Road Race

Having got back into the swing of things a bit recently with 3 Stag Trophy Races and the Round Leighton Buzzard Relay in the last 3 months, we were finally able to get back to racing Club Championship races, with the first in the road champs this year taking place at Blisworth for the 5 mile distance.

As is often the case at Blisworth the evening turned out to be one perfect for running with an otherwise overcast day turning into some welcome evening sun with very little wind. Those who have done the course though will know that it’s not the weather that you really need to worry about! read more

1 2 3 30