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

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

Dunstable Downs Challenge 1/2 Marathon

By Matthew Brooks

There I was chilling out on the beach when this email appears in my inbox from James B, ‘I am jogging the Dunstable Downs Challenge…just for training. Gonna be at an easy pace’. Well, they say there’s one born every minute and the sun must have got to my head as I found myself signing up less than 3 weeks before race day not having done any 1/2 marathon training, only to be told afterwards, ‘Did I mention that I can’t map read?’ (It’s a self-navigating route) Doubt and regret were creeping in. read more

Going off-road

Going Off-Road

by Susan Johnson

After several off-road training runs with Tuesday’s B&I group I decided to look for a race that would have at least some off-road element.  On Sunday I ran the Stopsley Trail Race, a 5 mile trail with a 10 mile option too. I was joined by James and Sara Lowe, both also B&I runners.  The race is organised by Stopsley Striders, starting and finishing at the Inspire Sports Centre (and what a stunning facility that is!).

The race starts in the leisure centre grounds with a loop that then takes you out onto a country lane.  Just after a mile the route turns onto a farm track running along the edge of wheat fields. read more

The Off-Road Series is Getting Serious!

The Off-Road Series – some trail blazers and a relay round up.

by James Bell

Blimey, it’s nearly July and already we are seven races into the off-road series. I can say with confidence, there have been some stunning performances and the attendance at most events has been amazeballs. Of course, the majority of athletes have done Rushmere parkrun, and just behind that in terms of attendance has been the Greensand Ridge Relay. Although both events are always popular, some of the front runners in the series have yet to grab some points at Rushmere, take note Ruth Mitchell. That said, Chris Dimmock, Matthew Brooks and Sam Dear are the only ones to have done all three park runs to date and all of these are sitting pretty in the top 10, so it’s worth completing these for the points. read more

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