Running Through May: Race Highlights

Ipswich Twilight 5k – 3rd May

The Ipswich Twilight 5k, hosted by Ipswich JAFFA Running Club, made a fantastic return this year with its scenic two-lap course along the Ipswich Waterfront. Six of our runners took part and put in brilliant performances – well done to Rory Hanley, Harriet Simm, Ben Roper, Helen Moss, Fiona Holland, and Barbara Jousiffe. A special congratulations to Fiona and Barbara who both came first in their respective age categories and each earned a well-deserved £10 prize!

Breckland 10k – 5th May

Nathalie Hooper was our sole representative at the picturesque and mostly flat Breckland 10k in Croxton, Norfolk. With the cool Bank Holiday weather and a very fast field, Nathalie secured an impressive 3rd place in her age category. Fantastic effort!

Colchester 10k – 11th May

Fiona was back out racing at the ever-popular Colchester 10k, which starts and finishes at Abbey Field and winds through the garrison tracks. The heat proved a tough challenge, and Fiona admitted she might have preferred a cycle ride instead – but still a great effort racing back-to-back weekends!

Club 5k – 9th May

The first of our Club 5k events kicked off with a great turnout and some healthy competition – especially between the men! It was brilliant to see a mix of returning and new faces, and we’re looking forward to more participation throughout the summer.

Bury to Clare Challenge – 18th May

A highlight of the month – the scenic and undulating Bury to Clare 18-mile challenge saw superb performances from our team. Kevin Long, a recent addition to the Club, absolutely stormed the course, finishing first in 2:09:50. Hot on his heels, Adam Chamberlin finished in 12th, and with Alli Maclean completing the trio, they secured a fantastic 2nd place team finish. Huge congratulations to all three!

Kirton Friday 5 – 23rd May

The popular Friday 5 Series kicked off in Kirton with a sold-out event and dry weather creating a dusty start. Stuart Price, still flying high after his London Marathon run, finished 11th, closely followed by Kevin Long in 16th. Strong runs came from Alli Maclean, Nathalie, James Watson, Fiona, and Jo Sargent.

It was also great to see our some of our juniors running on the night too. Lydia Farmer and Rosalie Van Aswegen in the Year 4 and below and Nevaeh Maclean, Josiah Todd and Elsie Price in Years 5 to 10. A great start to the series!

Edinburgh Marathon – 25th May

Kitty and Kay took part in the Edinburgh Marathon. Kays training had gone really well until her last long run when her calf became tight and so her tapering hadn’t gone to plan. Kitty’s training had also been hampered by a turned ankle at the start of training so her longest training run had been 14miles only 2 weeks before the big day! Neither of them really knew how they were going to fair for the 26.2miles.

The weather was forecast for sunshine and heavy showers so they were pleasantly surprised when they were on the start line needing sunglasses. It was a little blustery but all in all not too bad.

They started at the University and headed through the city predominately downhill for the first mile or so. The route then went out along the coast passing through small towns and villages with lots of supporters along the way. Kay had an awareness of her calf throughout but no pain and managed to keep a steady 9min/mile pace for the first 18miles. They had a couple of “moments” of rain along the way but nothing much. At 18miles the course u-turned, went through some park land and then they were heading back the way they came but against a head wind, which made running hard work and the pace slowing. At around 20/21 miles the sky got darker and it began to spot with rain. They had a torrential hailstorm which lasted for about 2mins completely soaked them! The final few miles were tough but the support from the crowds was amazing and Kay came across the finish line in a time of 04:09:27.

Kitty’s race was quite similar and she felt really comfortable up until the turn around at mile 18. The gravel road through the park and then the head wind with hail and rain made the last 8.2miles challenging and quite brutal at times. Thankfully wearing their sunnys meant that their eyes were shielded and they could see where we were going through the hail! Although Kitty’s pace was slowing it hurt more to walk than run so she pushed through and came over the line in 4:32! Elated and hardly believing that she’d done it! Along with this she managed to raise over £700 for the Army Benevolent fund. They had a fantastic weekend in Edinburgh and finished off by pampering themselves with a sauna, steam room and swim and a bottle of fizz to celebrate their achievements and Kays birthday!

Framlingham Friday 5 – 30th May

The second Friday 5 in Framlingham brought the heat, but our runners weren’t deterred. Stuart and Kevin continued their top form, finishing 11th and 18th respectively. New member Val Gladwell made a fantastic debut, finishing 1st in the FV50 category, while another newcomer, Sam Ashdown, impressed with a great time. Kudos to Alli, Paul Lacey, Nathalie, Fiona, and Jo for rounding out a strong team performance.

Good to see our juniors Lydia and Rosalie back with Lydia coming in 2nd in her age category. In the older category we had Joel Farmer and Felix Clover putting in sterling efforts.