Autumn Handicap, 29th October 2013

By Dave Kear

On a day when there were severe storms in the south, the runners for the handicap were fortunate in only having to face a gentle but chill breeze as they made there way along the Quayside path.

Luke Jones scored an emphatic victory to lift the ‘Cup’ – finishing over two minutes ahead of the rest of the field.  Second place went to Bob Richards, with Jonathan Gilroy claiming the third spot.

Sarah Bowen was the first lady home, followed by Debbie McRory and Janet Palmer.

There was very little difference between the best recorded times of the evening – Roberto Marzo, Matthew Kingston & Paul Robinson recording 24:53, 24:57 & 24:58 respectively.

Heather Steel was the fastest of the ladies (27:11), followed by Kate Sergeant (27:58) and Sarah Bowen (28:57).

Ben Hull came out a clear leader in the ‘Aggregate Points’ table (last four handicaps) to take home the ‘Shield’.  A model of consistency and sustained effort, Ben now faces future competition from Tom Tinsley and Paul Robinson, with several of the newer members to the club moving up the chart as a result of their steady improvement in performance.

The club owes another debt of thanks to all those who helped out on the night, and in particular to Lorna, who organised another good post-run get together for us all at the Junction.

The next club handicap will be held towards the end of January, once again on the Quayside course.  In response to several requests from individuals over the years, I think it is probably time to do away with the circuit of the grassy knoll, where the lighting and slippery conditions have often been tricky to negotiate.  We’ll have a new solution for the ‘turn around’ next time…but you’ll have to come along and run to find out what it is!

Look forward to seeing you all then.

Results and aggregate points table here.