Spring Handicap 27th April 2015
It was a bright, dry evening but a chill wind meant that temperatures felt more suitable to a winter handicap than a spring one. The Town Moor hills were in good condition but the route was amended slightly to remove the path through the trees and over the stile.
This slightly shorter route meant that the faster runners had a couple of hundred metres less to work their way through the pack, though otherwise it was a highly competitive finish with the runners fairly well grouped at the end.
John Grimshaw led the pack home from Dave Manners, freed from his duties as handicapper, in second place. Julie Dumpleton had sufficiently recovered from marathon exploits in Barcelona to be first lady home in 3rd place just ahead of Rose Hawkswood.
Matthew Kingston was fastest on the night in an impressive 18:41, followed by Jeremy Smith in 19:18. Third fastest was Roberto Marzo in 19:23, particularly impressive as it was the day after a 3 hour 8 minutes run in the London Marathon!
For the ladies, Heather Steel was fastest in 20:43 ahead of Charlotte Spencer (21:05) and Sarah Kerr (21:25).
The Spring Cup final was contested by Colin White, Sarah Kerr, Elaine Henderson and Michelle Nesbitt-Burrell. Colin was a clear and popular winner on the night.
Colin and Elaine both qualified for the Summer Cup final as well where they will be joined by Mary Martin and Janet Palmer.
