News Archive
Huntingdon 10k |
Eye 5k |
A huge team from BRJ took part in the Huntingdon 10k -the first time the race has been staged for many years. A succesful day too for as well as several debuts and PBs Phill Rudd, Paula Elliot, Rachel Real and Viv Parish all scored first places in their respective age categories. |
Just three BRJ runners were in race #2 of 'The Peterborough Grand Prix
5k/3k series' hosted by Eye community runners. On a warm sunny
evening, Andy Barber was 1st home for the club with a time of 20:40
(PB) followed by Lucy Moore 23:28 (Debut - a time just outside Lorna Higgins' club record) and Martin Doig 27:17.
|
Edinburgh Marathon |
Again a very hot day with temperatures up to 25C for this years Edinburgh marathon and again a number of issues surrounding the organisation of this race. With the continued injury of Gilles Corby, Andy Barber and Hugh Williams were the only BRJ runners to venture Up North. Despite the heat and other issues, Andy recorded an huge improvement of 1:11:58 over the marathon PB he acheived as an "Unattached" runner in the May 2008 edition of the Halstead & Essex Marathon. |
East Cambs Half |
Limerick Marathon |
Congratulations to Steve McNicol who won first prize in his age category at this years East Cambs Half Marathon. |
On Sunday May 2nd, Paula Elliott completed her debut marathon in her home city of Limerick, Ireland. In ideal conditions and in a small field of around 800 runners she cruised around the course comfortably in 3:56 aided in no small part by a huge team of dedicated family supporters. Paula enjoyed the experience and is already thinking about her next marathon! |
London Marathon |
|
A Capital performance by the BRJ Runners!!Brighton Marathon |
|
7,500 runners crossed the start line of the first Brighton Marathon in the first 20 mins, amongst them were 17 runners from BRJ. On a spectacular weekend on the south coast club PB's were smashed left right and centre. All the runners took advantage of excellent conditions on a predominately flat course and the majority set new personal best times over the marathon distance at the race.
Additionally, four runners chose the event to make their marathon debuts.
The first BRJ lady to finish was Lucy Moore who finished in 1184th place and also setting a new personal best time by over 4 minutes. Anita Girvan, in 2035th pace and the second BRJ lady to finish, also broke her own personal best by over 11 minutes.Flitwick 10K |
Bungay Black Dog Marathon |
BRJ runner Chris Hemming took part in the Flitwick 10k and finished in 506th place out of 793 competitors in a time of 55:54. |
BRJ Runner Sue Yendley competed in the Bungay Black Dog Marathon and finished in 491st position in a field of 3000 runners. Sue clocked a time of 4:07:01. |
11th April 2010 |
|
Spring
was definitely in the air as BRJ runners took part three different races across the Region.Oakley 20 |
For many of the 28 BRJ runners taking part in this years Oakley 20 it would their final pre marathon race as they round off their preparations over the next few weeks ahead of the big day. And, on what turned out to be an almost perfect day for distance running, there were some stunning debuts over the distance as well as personal bests from Darren Preston, Keith Douglas, Rachel real, Bren Vaughan, Ulf Maske and Nykki Webber. Also Andy Barber and Pieter Severein posted new best times as BRJ runners. |
Tough Guy - The Movie |
Frostbite - Runner of the Series |
Check out the drama as BRJ take on Tough Guy. Copies on DVD including lots of extra photos and uncut video from the day are on sale for £4 with profits going to Kick4Life. To purchase your copy email info@brjroadrunners.org.uk |
|
Congratulations to Rachel Real who was crowned this seasons Frostbite Runner of the Series. Rachel was presented with her award before the start of the Oakley 20 where she recorded yet another personal best beating her previous time by 5mins and 47secs. Dambuster Tri/Ashby 20 |
|
On a cold wet Saturday morning me (Phil), John and Ryan drove to Rutland to do the Dambuster Duathlon which consists of a 10k run 42k bike ride and finished off with a 5k run. The race started at 9am prompt. When we started the 10k run it was drizzling with rain, we ran out along the dam and back to tranistion where we collected our bikes and proceeded to do the 42k bike ride. Whilst we were half way around the drizzle turned to heavy rain. I caught Ryan up half way around, having climbed the Rutland Ripple and I don’t mean the chocolate. I got to the 2nd transition and was surprised to see John just putting on his trainers to start the final run. I rushed to put on my trainers but was unable to catch him. I managed to finish in a time of 2.34.20 and later to find out whilst shopping in Sainsburys that I had won 2nd in my age catergory. John 2.30.25 Ryan 2.39.08Silverstone Half Marathon |
|
With the opening race of the Formula One season in Bahrain, it was rather appropriate that the BRJ Runners headed for Silverstone, "the home of British Motor Racing", for the annual pre-London half marathon. Conditions were bright and dry, the only problem being the gusty wind that is a common feature of this race circuit.Frostbite Race 6 - BRJ |
|
On a perfect Sunday in March, BRJ hosted the sixth and final race in this years Frostbite Friendly League. BRJ runners were out in force too as many new members joined their more season collegues in making it a great day for the club. Thanks go too, to the many friends of the club, who helped prepare for and carry out the many duties required on the day to make our 20th staging of our Frostbite race a huge success.
Sussex Beacon Half Marathon |
|
In preparation for the Brighton Marathon in April, Keith, Lucy and Steve travelled down to the south coast to take part in the Sussex Beacon half marathon. It was also an opportunity to see some of the marathon course and the Brighton area. Conditions on the day were pretty grim, with a strong wind and heavy showers of rain and sleet. At times it brought back memories of ToughGuy! Keith came in first in 1:34:29, Steve finished in 1:42:03 and Lucy battled through the rain to finish in 1:51:43. The conditions and the congestion at the start pushed out all our times, so we're all hoping for better things on our return in 2 months time.......KeithPMRT Presentation |
BRJ Road Runners has presented local charity Pidley Mountain Rescue Team with a £2,400 fund-raising cheque. The club handed over the cheque to Pidley Mountain Rescue's Trevor Peacock and Paul Treadwell at a presentation evening generously hosted by the Axe and Compass pub in Hemingford Abbots. "BRJ's generous donation will have a fantastic impact on our work in providing local disabled children and adults with much-needed specialised equipment to encourage their independence and mobility. Thank-you to all those club runners for their incredible efforts throughout the year," says Pidley Mountain Rescue's chairman Trevor Peacock. |
Stamford 30k |
It doesn't matter how many times you do the Stamford 30k, as many of the runners from BRJ who took part again in this years race will no doubt tell you, it never gets any easier. Nevertheless there were some great PB's and debut performances recorded over the notoriously hilly Lincolnshire course. Alex Tindall led the charge in his first runnng of the race whilst there were PB's from Andy Matson, Steve Dockerill and Nigel Maggs. Other BRJers making their debuts were Pieter Severein, Claire Ashton, Dan Avondoglia, Paula Elliot, Rachel Real and Hugh Williams. Post race refreshments in a local hostlery proved a perfect way to begin the recovery process. Full Results View photos |
Frostbite Race 5 - Bourne |
|
With a number of runners still recovering from last weeks Tough Guy event coupled with seasonal colds and injuries, BRJ fielded a somewhat smaller team than usual for the traditionally hilly, muddy Bourne Race. Nevertheless, there were some fine performances with Darren Preston and Michael Wenn returning home one and two for the club.
Tough Guy ladies Rachel Real, Kristine Cornelius, Lucy Moore and Sue Yendley all managed good performances despite the fatigue resulting of last weekends events.Tough Guy - THEY DID IT! |
|||
Sixteen runners of the BRJ RRC, together with their families and supporters traveled to Perton near Wolverhampton on 31 January to compete in the 2010 Tough Guy event.
The event itself is not really a race but a test of personal endurance and was made more difficult by the weather on the day which freezing cold with outbreaks of sleet. This meant that the ice that had formed on the water obstacles never thawed. After eight mile of mud, barbed wire, broken ice, freezing water and fire the first BRJ solo entrant to finish was Michael Wenn and the first team to finish consisted of John Wright, Lucy Moore and Keith and all the BRJ runners finished the course without any mishaps or injuries. View Alison's photos View Phill's photos |
|||
They call it Toughguy and they mean it. To finish this course you have to be physically tough to navigate the various obstacles which work every muscle in your body, but the physical effort is dwarfed my the mental resilience required to do all this at incredibly cold temperatures. Huge inch thick shards of rock hard ice smash into your shins as you career deeper into the water on feet that you ceased to have any feeling in half an hour ago and slowly your lungs begin to contract in terror as the water rises up to your chest. Only your mind can force you to do the unthinkable and submerge yourself fully in the stinking murk to go under a bridge, secure in the knowledge that you'll have to do it three more times and then use hands which are as numb as your feet to climb out shivering uncontrollably and then ascend a 40 foot high wooden frame to rope walk across another icy lake and a potential plunging return to the depths. Face challenges like this for three hours and you will understand that anyone who gets a Toughguy finishers medal will have well and truly earned it. Keith's story... |
|---|
|
With all the talk of death warrants and hypothermia and broken limbs, we began to think that the pre-event literature was a bit over the top and it couldn't really be that hard and serious, could it? Well actually yes, it was every bit as hard and serious as they make out. Within half a mile of the start we were in freezing cold water up to our thighs, with blocks of ice providing an additional hazard, and there was still 3 hours to go. Each obstacle on its own, on a warm, dry day, would be challenging. But they came at us relentlessly, one after the other, while we were getting colder and colder and it became a question of survival, endurance and a determination to just keep going to the end. The spirit was fantastic at all levels - within our own little team of three, within the BRJ runners as a whole, with the BRJ supporters and also amongst all the competitors. A great day out, and a great experience!
Folksworth 15 |
|
The Folksworth 15 is traditionally the first long race for many runners in training for a spring marathon. Coming so early in the season the hilly course always provides a serious work out for those taking part. Twenty three runners from BRJ completed this years infamously tough race, including a number of debutants at the distance.Frostbite Race 4 - Ramsey |
A bright winter’s day greeted the 39 senior and 4 junior runners of BRJ RRC at Ramsey on Sunday 14th Jan for the fourth race in the season’s Frostbite series. The weather conditions on the day were ideal for running a fast time; however, the runners were slowed down by the muddy and water logged ground. |
Cambs Cross Country 2010 |
Sunday 10 January saw the BRJ make it's return, after 6 years absence, to taking part in the Cambridgeshire Cross Country Championships. |
BRJ Club Championship 2009 |
Congratulations to Tony and Esther Cotton who kept it the family, taking the top honors in BRJ's first ever Club Championship event. |
SANTA RUN |
|
Well done to all who braved the cold to take part in the Santa run round Grafham.Frostbite Race 3 - Hinchingbrooke |
|
It was a case of dodging the showers for the 39 seniors and 5 junior runners who took part in race 3 of this seasons Frostbite series.Tough Guy |
|
On the Sunday after Boogie Nights, twelve BRJ recruits headed for Bassingbourne Barracks for Tough Guy training with Steve Burton. Nobody (apart from Steve) knew what we were actually letting ourselves in for. Scaling walls, jumping ditches, balancing on the top of walls, traversing Burmah bridges and swinging on the overhead bars was just the start. Pushing tyres, carrying tyres, carrying people, press-ups, situps and then we were off out into the country. “!! Incoming !!” and we were flat on our fronts – funny how the enemy always seemed to strike when were over a big muddy puddle! After a four mile cross country run, and doing press-ups in a pond, we were back at the assault course ready for our final timed run. The showers were very welcome after all of that, before we headed off to the Queen Adelaide in Croydon for lunch and refreshments.Hereward Relay |
BRJ road running club fielded 5 teams in this year’s Hereward Relay. The teams, each consisting of 4 runners, cover the distance of 36.5 mile in the four stages of the relay from Peterborough Cathedral to Ely City football ground where they finished in front of the football stand. |
The runners set off at 9.00 from outside Peterborough Cathedral in near ideal conditions, however the weather varied throughout the long day with the forecasted wind and rain never being far away and the sun making the occasional appearance.St Neots 3K |
Hell Runner 09 |
Four BRJ runners took part in the St Neots 3K. Joanne Wenn made her debut for the club alongside Amy Hughes who was running for the first time over the distance. |
As you can imagine it was an early start on Sunday to travel to Longmoor for Hellrunner - down South! Once we got there was shocked to find out that over 5000 people would be racing! We managed to get near the front where the 8ft Devil sent us off! Horn went and through the red mist came the masses! All going good till 2 mile point when I went through a puddle but realised it was deeper than that and crashed head first into mud twisting my ankle. Fought through the next 8 miles of mud, hills lakes, bogs and sinking sand to complete my first Hellrunner! Time was 1.28 and came in first 400, so chuffed. Saw Gordon Ramsey come over line and grabbed him for photo shoot, he had no choice as he was hanging ha ha! What an experience and definitely recommend it to BRJ. Would like to thank all who sponsered me for Help the Heroes, talking to the other lads who ran we might have raised over £1000, so well done. Steve B |
St Neots Half Marathon |
|
Forty five runners from the Club took part in this year’s St Neots Riverside Half Marathon organised by Riverside Runners.Frostbite Race 2 - Bushfield |
|
A bright sunny day greeted us for the second race in Frostbite series of the season. The race was run from the Bushfield Sports Centre in Peterborough and had a record field of 493 and 136 junior competitors. Thirty four senior runners together with 3 juniors turned out for the BRJ club. However, despite a very under strength team, the club runners dug deep to produce a very respectable result.Ballbuster Duathlon |
|
John and Keith took part in the Ballbuster duathlon on Saturday 7 November in perfect conditions – cool, dry, still and with autumn sunshine. This was the 20th time this annual event has taken place, and the organisation could not be faulted. The format is based on an 8 mile loop round and up and down Box Hill in Surrey – one lap running, three laps on the bike and a final run lap. John was the first home for the BRJ in a time of 3h 27m 13s, 121 out of 380 finishers. He was 11 in his age class out of 52 – a superb performance. Keith, in his first ever run/bike event finished in 3h 45m 20s in 225 place. He overtook over 50 runners on the last run leg – clearly there’s a bit of work to be done on the bike/transitions! We had a great day and it’s one of those events that should be on every runners/bikers ‘to do’ list. Special thanks are due to Janice and Sandra for getting up at 4am to come and support us! Stevenage Half |
|
Only Sue Yendley of the 3 members of the club scheduled to run the Stevenage Half Marathon braved the very wet and very very windy conditions on the day. Sue came in in just under 2 hours despite the atrocious weather.Fenland 10 & Great South Run |
|
Sunday 25 October: on a dry sunny autumnal day eight members of the BRJ Running Club headed out to Wisbech for the Fenland 10 having gained an extra hour in bed full of energy. It was almost perfect conditions for running there was a head wind after six and a half miles making the last three and half miles to the finish more difficult.RNR - Revisited |
|
Been there, got the T-shirt. Now see the video!Great Eastern Run |
Almost half the club turned out for this years Great Eastern Run, one of the most popular local races run round the streets of Peterborough. |
Jez Bottley completes The Isle of Wight Marathon |
It took me about a week to come down from the high of running the London Marathon this year, the buzz was fantastic and I decided at that point I wanted to do another one before the year was out but the question was, which one? Having found a calendar of possible events one stuck out because I grew up there, the Isle of Wight. |
Frostbite Race 1 - St Neots |
A strong squad at the first race of this seasons Frostbite campaign saw BRJ come in 7th place in the senior race and 10th in the junior. |
Oxford to Cambridge Bike Ride |
In glorious September weather, three BRJ members completed the 90 mile Oxford to Cambridge bike ride. Conditions were chilly and overcast in Oxford when we set off just before 9, but within an hour the sun came out, the hills started and it was t-shirt conditions. After one stop for a cup of tea at 35 miles, and a lunch stop at 65 miles we were heading back into Cambridgeshire. For two of us this was about the time that we crossed the ‘comfortable' threshold into the ‘this is getting hard' area, but the hills ceased and we all arrived at Midsummer Common for refreshments at Fort St George. All that was left was to get back to Huntingdon - fortunately we didn't have to bike it, as a contingency plan for transport by car was in place! Keith's Oxford to Cambridge photos |