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Club News Page This is where you find out what there is to know, what's going on in and around the club. For our news archives click on this link Stebbing Cross Country Sunday saw the opening
fixture of the Mid Essex Cross Country League.
Hosted by Grange Farm Trotters and held in the fields around
Stebbing, the challenging course over five miles, was a mix of energy
sapping river crossings, bogs and hills. A good turn out of 22 Trotters
helped the club to it's first victory in over 2 years. Men’s Team Event 1) Grange Farm Trotters, 87
points; Women’s Team Event Combined Team
Event & League Table Positions
BUNGAY
BLACK DOG MARATHON 03/04/2005 Grange
Farm Trotters chairman Rob Gall and captain David Cronk headed off to
Suffolk last weekend to participate in the Bungay Black Dog Marathon. The
race covers the same distance of 26 miles 384 yards as the London Marathon
but in a rural setting without the large crowds. The
route followed two identical laps, each just over 13 miles, which undulate
quite severely for the first five miles before descending into the village
of Beccles and returning along the Waveney Valley along more gently
undulating roads. Unfortunately for the plucky Trotter pair much of this
return part of the lap was accompanied at the weekend by a strong head
wind. Cronk
set out strongly with the intention of completing the course in under 3
hours 15 minutes and having reached the half-way point in 1 hour 32
minutes this looked very achievable but the repeat ascent of the
undulations early on the second lap took their toll and by 19 miles any
hope of achieving the target time was gone.
However, through sheer determination David crossed the finish line
in 3 hours 42 minutes and 30 seconds, some 44 minutes outside his personal
best. Unfortunately Gall faired no better. Having reached half-way in 1 hour and 45 minutes he decided not to proceed onto the second lap, preferring to save his legs for the London Marathon on 17th April where he will launch another assault on the marathon distance, this time accompanied by large crowds and 18 other Trotters
BRENTWOOD
HALF MARATHON 13/03/2005 The
Grange Farm Trotters had a strong turnout for the 25th
Brentwood Half Marathon held last weekend in near perfect running
conditions, cool and cloudy with 12 runners from the Little Dunmow club
taking part. The
course was a fast one and helped several of the runners record new
personal bests over the distance. For the men, first Trotter home was club
captain David Cronk in 74th place and a time of 1 hour 27.53.
Howard Jardine closely followed him in 85, in 1.29.14, just ahead of
Darren Thomas, 88th in 1.29.16. Pru Hayhow led the ladies home
in 259th in a time of 1.40.05. Further
down the field some impressive personal bests were achieved. Katia
Robertson improved on her previous best time by over ten minutes,
finishing 529th in 1.51.35, while Rob Kings, running for sister
club Dunmow Runners, managed to shave an impressive 19 minutes 45 seconds
off his previous best, finishing 468th in a time of 1.49.05.
Other personal bests came from Steve Cardnell, 101st in
1.29.43, John Hardy, 302nd in 1.42.36 and Steve Easom, 408th
in 1.46.50. The race also marked the Trotters debut of new member Sophie
Da Silva who finished 819th in 2.01.32. In total 1209 runners
took part in the race, which was won in a time of 1.12.55. The
full results for the Trotters and Dunmow Runners were 74th David Cronk 1.27.53 85th Howard Jardine 1.29.14 88th Darren Thomas 1.29.16 101st Steve Cardnell 1.29.43 (PB) 235th Nigel Richardson 1.39.03 259th Pru Hayhow 1.40.05 302nd John Hardy 1.42.36 (PB) 320th Chris Hayhow 1.43.10 408th Steve Easom 1.46.50 (PB) 436th Nigel Thomas 1.47.55 468th Rob Kings 1.49.05 (PB) 529th Katia Robertson 1.51.35 (PB) 819th
Sophie da Silva 2.01.32 THE
SAUCONY GRIZZLY, SEATON, DEVON 13/03/2005 Whilst
the road running Trotters tackled the Brentwood half marathon, 5 hardy off
roaders took on the extremely tough challenge that is “The Grizzly” in
Seaton, Devon. About 20 miles of mud, shingle, cliffs and just about every
other natural obstacle made for an exhausting race with even the winner
taking nearly two and a quarter hours. Beautiful weather and the extreme
terrain helped to make this a fantastic running experience for those
taking part. The
Trotters were led home by off road specialists John and Sue Clarke. John
came 590th in a time of 3.24.11, closely followed by his wife
Sue in 604th and a time of 3.24.58. Amanda Bulgin and Karen
Rowntree ran the course together, finishing 1043rd and 1044th
in a time of 3.59.34. 1488 runners took part in this ever popular event. At the same time, there was a “cub” run over 9 miles, which attracted a field of 194 runners. Trotter Tara Corbett finished 51st in 1.38.51.
MID
ESSEX CROSS COUNTRY LEAGUE, LITTLE BADDOW 06/03/2005 With
many of their big guns missing, Grange Farm Trotter’s hopes of clinching
second place in the Mid Essex Cross Country League came to nothing in the
final race of the season over some extremely hilly terrain at Little
Baddow on Sunday. The
Trotters just managed to field the minimum seven male runners required,
however an unfortunate clash with Mother’s Day meant only one Lady
runner took part for the club. It was left to club captain and ever
present stalwart David Cronk to lead by example, being the first Trotter
to finish in sixteenth in the men’s race with Dawn Wallace flying the
Ladies flag coming home in a very creditable eighth. The
other Trotters that ran were Steve Cardnell 21st, Peter White
35th, Duncan Anniss 37th, John Hardy 40th,
Steve Wallace 44th and Steve Easom 46th.
Unfortunately for the second race in succession a Trotter suffered a
twisted ankle, Steve Easom the unfortunate victim this time, after he had
been on course for a good placing in the middle of the field. With the men finishing fifth of the five teams taking part and no Ladies team either, it was a disappointing end to the season. Any hopes of overhauling Little Baddow for second place were soon gone, and the result meant Leigh On Sea Striders overhauled the Trotters to push them back to fourth. The final league positions were 1st Springfield Striders 29 points, 2nd Little Baddow Ridge Runners 21, 3rd Leigh On Sea Striders 18, 4th Grange Farm Trotters 17, 5th Mid Essex Casuals 11, 6th Pitsea Running Club 3.
MID
ESSEX CROSS COUNTRY LEAGUE, HADLEIGH 20/02/2005 Grange
Farm Trotter Darren Thomas hit peak form last weekend in freezing
conditions, claiming second place in the Mid Essex Cross Country League
race at Hadleigh, near Southend. A
fast, undulating course with a severe downhill start and the same nasty
hill only upwards to finish held no fear for Darren as he posted one of
his best results of the season. Veteran Howard Jardine was not far behind,
claiming fourth for the Little Dunmow club. In
the ladies race Sue Clarke was also in top form claiming 3rd
position. Unfortunately for the team, she was the only lady runner
representing the club, which meant they suffered heavily on penalty
points. With the men similarly short of the full complement of seven
required the Trotters found themselves placed fourth out of the six teams
competing. With several teams short of runners, host club Leigh on Sea
Striders took full advantage of a full turnout to win the event. The
result leaves the Trotters in third place with one event left at Little
Baddow, next weekend. While the title now looks beyond them, they could
still pip Little Baddow to the coveted runners up spot. The
full results for the Grange Farm Trotters were as follows: For the Men: 2nd
Darren Thomas, 4th Howard Jardine, 16th John Clarke,
27th David Cronk, 40th Steve Easom, 48th
John Hardy. Ladies:
3rd Sue Clarke GREAT
BENTLEY 10 20/02/05 With
several of their club colleagues braving the cross country at one end of
the county, the Grange Farm Trotters road running contingent were tackling
biting cold winds and snow flurries in the Great Bentley 10 at the other. The
conditions did nothing to stop Richard Humphrey’s’ fine form in the
build up to the London Marathon as he shaved over two minutes off his
personal best, finishing 50th in a time of 68 minutes and 45
seconds. Top
Lady Trotter was Tara Corbett who finished 122nd in a time of
77 minutes and 5 seconds The
other Grange Farm Trotters taking part were Karen Rowntree 188th
(84.30) and Amanda Bulgin 237th (90.02). Two members of sister
club Dunmow Runners also took part in the race, Rob Kings finished 156th
in a personal best time of 80.51 with Simon Ashton Jones also clocking a
personal best of 99.07 in 285th place. 317 runners took part in the race, which was won in a time of 53.55 by Navy runner Mark Goodridge.
SWEATSHOP
NORTH ESEX CROSS COUNTRY LEAGUE, COLCHESTER & TENDRING 06/02/2005 The
Sweatshop North Essex Cross Country League came to a dramatic conclusion
for the Grange Farm Trotters in Colchester. With
the club producing a strong turnout of twelve runners for the event, Steve
Read who finished in an impressive 9th place in the men’s event once
again led the team home. Steve was followed by Darren Thomas in 32nd
and Howard Jardine in 36th. In the Ladies event first Trotter
home was Pru Hayhow in 12th, followed by Katia Robertson in 38th. It
was further down the field, however, where the real drama unfolded.
Darren’s brother Nigel Thomas had only completed half a mile of the race
when he was involved in a collision with another runner causing him to
land heavily on his head. After picking himself up, gutsy Nigel ran the
last four miles to the finish in order to score points for the team.
Paramedics at the finish who took him to hospital in a waiting ambulance
diagnosed him as suffering from concussion. After a short stay in hospital
he was released home later the same day. It wasn’t a great day for the
Thomas family as Darren’s partner Mags Sturgeon was also in the wars,
twisting her ankle within fifty metres of the finish line. Not to be
outdone by her brother in law, she bravely limped over the line to ensure
the ladies team scored full points. The
full results for the Grange Farm Trotters were, in the men’s event:
Steve Read 9th, Darren Thomas 32nd, Howard
Jardine 36th, David Cronk 53rd, John Clarke 87th,
Steve Cardnell 101st, Chris Hayhow 108th, Nigel
Thomas 117th, Steve Easom 123rd. In the Ladies the
finishers were Pru Hayhow 12th, Katia Robertson 38th
and Mags Sturgeon 50th. The
event was the final one in the North Essex League and the day’s dramatic
events meant that Grange Farm came home 8th overall out of the
twelve clubs taking part. This result meant that they finished 4th
in Pool B of the league. Colchester and Tendring who were just pipped to
the title by local rivals Colchester Harriers won the race.
19.5
MILES MEON VALLEY PLOD 13/02/05 Grange
Farm Trotters John and Sue Clarke braved rain, sleet, snow and a constant
biting wind to slither up and down the 19.5 miles of hell in the South
Downs near Portsmouth that was the Meon Valley Plod. The
pair finished the gruelling event in 3 hours and 57 minutes and would have
been considerably quicker had they not had to rescue a collapsed female
runner on an exposed hillside. After a short while the lady became unable
to walk leaving gallant John to carry her on piggy back and in a
fireman’s lift fashion over stiles on a half mile detour to a nearby
church where she was ferried to hospital suffering from mild hypothermia. At
the same time Trotters Pru Hayhow and Steve Cardnell were taking part in
the Rochford 20 mile road race back in Essex. Driving wind and hail
didn’t stop the pair getting round the course in times just over two and
a half hours with Pru just passing Steve in the last mile of the race.
BENFLEET
15 30/01/2005 Several
Grange Farm Trotters took part in the punishing Benfleet 15 mile race on
the last weekend in January. The race featured both on and off road
sections with bracing runs along seawalls struggling against a stiff
breeze sandwiching a 5 mile cross country course over very muddy and hilly
terrain in the middle. First
Trotter home was Darren Thomas in 52nd place in a time of 1
hour 48 minutes and 45 seconds. Darren’s performance was all the more
remarkable given he started late after getting lost en route to the event. Pru
Hayhow led the Ladies home in 135th overall, tenth best Lady in
a time of 2.00.31, closely followed by Sue Clarke who was sixteenth (181st
overall) in a time of 2.06.22. The
other Trotters taking part were Steve Cardnell (78th, 1.52.44),
John Clarke (108th, 1.57.00), Chris Hayhow (144th,
2.01.51) and Tara Corbett (231st, 2.12.40) In
total 452 runners completed the course.
MID
ESSEX CROSS COUNTRY LEAGUE WITHAM 16/01/2005 Grange
Farm Trotters had one of their best results of the cross country season to
date, finishing second overall in the third round of the Mid Essex Cross
Country League held at Witham last Sunday. With
a disappointing turnout for the club in the previous weekend’s North
Essex league race at Hadleigh, which saw the Trotters finish last, the
team responded brilliantly with full turnouts for both men and ladies’
events. Veteran
Howard Jardine was close to his very best form, finishing second on his
return from a hamstring injury. He was closely followed home by fellow
Trotters Darren Thomas in fourth, John Willoughby in tenth and David Cronk
in fourteenth. With John Clarke 26th, Steve Cardnell 29th
and Richard Humphrey 30th also scoring points the men’s team
were placed second behind the Springfield Striders of Chelmsford. Not
to be outdone, the Ladies also had a very strong turnout and also finished
second, very nearly beating the all conquering Springfield Striders. Top
Trotter here was Pru Hayhow who finished third but she was well supported
by Anita Cox in fifth and Sue Clarke in sixth. The
scoring team’s efforts were helped by the non scoring runners who pushed
back opposition runners. For the men these were Chris Hayhow 33rd,
Martyn Bonner 36th, John Hardy 38th, Nigel
Richardson 42nd, Steve Easom 44th, and Peter White
47th. For the Ladies the other runners were Jo Kings 22nd
and Mags Sturgeon 24th. The results leave Grange Farm joint second in the league with three races left to run. NORTH
ESSEX SWEATSHOP CROSS COUNTRY LEAGUE HADLEIGH 09/01/2005 A
poor turnout for the Grange Farm Trotters at the latest round of the
Sweatshop Cross Country League in deepest darkest Suffolk meant for the
first time ever they finished last in a cross country event. With
only six men (a full team is seven) and two ladies (a full team is three)
turning up for the Little Dunmow club, the heavy penalties incurred meant
the team were never going to stand much chance. Those
that did turn out as usual gave their all, with club coach Howard Jardine
leading them home in 46th place for the men. The other male
runners competing were Darren Thomas 62nd, David Cronk 66th,
Steve Cardnell 93rd, John Clarke 95th and Chris
Hayhow 116th. The Ladies competing for the club were Pru Hayhow
in a fine 14th and Sue Clarke 27th.
MID
ESSEX CROSS COUNTRY LEAGUE HIGHWOOD CHELMSFORD 02/01/2005 Grange
Farm Trotter Tom Offord saw in the New Year in winning style, crossing the
line first in the second round of the Mid Essex Cross Country League in
Highwood, Chelmsford. Regular
Grange Farm front runner Steve Read had been running strongly once again
until he followed fellow leader Gary Chandler of Springfield Striders down
a wrong turn, meaning he could only claw his way back to 8th
once back on track. With Chandler and Read out of the way the win was
always on for Offord. The
Ladies team also ran well with Pru Hayhow coming 6th, just
ahead of Sue Clarke in tenth and Dawn Wallace in 15th. Pru had
even stopped to help a female Leigh on Sea runner who had fallen badly and
was overtaken by Gill Carter of Springfield. Gill was very sporting at the
end of the race and swapped finishing disks to give Pru back her 6th
position. Fellow Trotters Richard Humphrey, Chris Hayhow and Dawn Wallace
also sacrificied potentially higher finishing positions to assist the
fallen runner who was in some distress. The
bank holiday weekend and New Year’s resolutions to get fitter no doubt
encouraged a strong Trotter turnout for this race despite icy weather
conditions. The popular course run on Edney Common had a bit of everything
a good cross country race needs: woods, hills, bogs, mud and puddles. With
the men finishing fourth and the Ladies second, the team was placed fourth
out of six, leaving them in third place in the league after two rounds. The
full positions of the Grange Farm Trotters running were, for the men: Tom
Offord 1, Steve Read 8, David Cronk 26, Howard Jardine 27, Steve Cardnell
33, Darren Thomas 36, John Clarke 40, David Kelly 44, Chris Hayhow 49,
Richard Humphrey 51, Nigel Thomas 52, Steve Easom 54, Ben Potts 67 and
Steve Wallace 75, while the Ladies team finished as follows Pru Hayhow 6,
Sue Clarke 10 and Dawn Wallace 15.
NORTH
ESSEX SWEATSHOP CROSS COUNTRY LEAGUE HYLANDS PARK CHELMSFORD 19/12/2004 Grange
Farm Trotters were out in pre Christmas action at the latest round of the
North Essex Cross Country League hosted by Chelmsford club Springfield
Striders. The race was held at Hylands Park and was a fast one despite
containing a couple of ditches and 2 stream crossings. Once
again Steve Read led the Grange Farm contingent home in the men’s event
finishing in 8th position, this time followed home by Tom
Offord in 18th. The remaining male runners were David Cronk 75th,
John Clarke 95th, David Kelly 113th, Richard
Humphrey 118th, Steve Easom 138th, and Peter White
158th. Ned Davies started the race and was running in a strong
position behind Steve Read however he failed to finish due to a bacon
sandwich that disagreed with him. There were 176 male competitors in
total. In
the Ladies event unfortunately there was only one Trotter competing. Sue
Clarke came home in 22nd place out of 69. As
a result, the lack of a Ladies team cost the Trotters heavily in penalty
points and they finished 12th overall out of the 12 teams
competing, which now puts them in joint second place in Pool B of the
league, with 14 points to the leaders Halstead’s 27.5. WITHAM
BOXING DAY 5 MILE ROAD RACE 26/12/2004 Freezing
cold weather and the festivities of the day before didn’t stop 3 hardy
Grange Farm Trotters and 4 members of fellow Dunmow running club the
Dunmow Runners from turning out for the Boxing Day 5 mile road race held
annually at Witham. A
very fast course with a long downhill finish meant that several of those
running recorded personal best times over the distance, making it worth
getting out of bed on such a cold morning. First
Grange Farm Trotter home was Richard Humphrey, in 70th place
with a time of 33 mins and 4 seconds, knocking 55 seconds off his previous
personal best. He was followed home by fellow Trotters Steve Cardnell in
116th (35.32) and John Hardy in 131st (36.24),
another personal best. For the Dunmow Runners Richard Percy was 214th
(40.42), Sarah McLagan was 246th (42.19), Simon Ashton Jones
was 266th (43.36 – another personal best) and Darren McLagan
was 270th (44.01). A large turnout of 367 runners took part.
THE
“WE’RE ALL CRACKERS” CHRISTMAS TRAIL RACE SILVER END 27/12/04 New
Year Bank
Holiday Monday saw a few more Trotters shaking off the Christmas cobwebs
with a Christmas trail run through the countryside around the Western Arms
pub in Silver End. The
event consisted of 3 mile, 6 mile and 9 mile individual races with a 3 by
3 mile lap relay run. As usual in trail race events, the runners were
following a set of printed course directions making it a cross between
cross country and orienteering. All proceeds were donated to the RNIB There
were only two teams taking part in the relay race that was won by the
Trotters team of Howard Jardine, Sue Clarke and John Clarke in a time of 1
hour 18 mins and 30 seconds, a full 15 minutes ahead of their rival team
from Springfield Striders. Steve
Cardnell flew the flag for the club in the individual 9mile race,
finishing 23rd in a time of 1 hour 26 mins and 30 seconds. 42
runners took part in this race. Former Trotters Yan Stile and Trevor
Hammond, now running for the Mid Essex Casuals finished joint seventh out
of 26 runners in the 6 mile race in a time of 1 hour 3 minutes and 40
seconds GRANGE
FARM TROTTERS PRESS RELEASE 13/12/2004
MID
ESSEX CROSS COUNTRY LEAGUE STEBBING 12/12/2004 Grange
Farm Trotters Running Club hosted the opening round of the Mid Essex Cross
Country League this weekend and home advantage proved decisive for Trotter
Steve Read who won the event in style. The
race was held over a series of fields, bogs, ditches and small rivers on
private land in the village of Stebbing, the venue having switched from
its previous home in Little Dunmow due to the building of the A120 through
the middle of the course. The new course could only be described as being
devised by an evil genius, with a knee deep bog within yards of the start
line, several deep ditches and at least one waist deep stream to cross en
route during the slightly less than five mile duration. The
daunting conditions held no fear for Read though who led the field home.
Fellow Trotter James Whalley was not far behind in third place in only his
second race for the club. The other male Trotters running were David Cronk
(20th), John Clarke (22nd), Stephen Cardnell (30th),
Richard Humphrey (33rd), Chris Hayhow (34th), Rupert
Bulgin (35th), Duncan Anniss (42nd), John Hardy (45th),
Steve Easom (46th), Peter White (55th) and Tim
Rowntree (58th). Howard Jardine retired hurt with a pulled
hamstring shortly after the start. The
Ladies team also put in a strong performance with Pru Hayhow once again
leading them home in 4th place. Sue Clarke was not far behind
in 7th while the rest of the ladies running for the Trotters
were Karen Rowntree (13th), Dana Wallace (16th),
Sandra Smith (26th) and Pat Sams (28th) Both
the Men’s and Ladies Teams finished third, giving the club an overall
third place out of the five teams taking part. Springfield Striders won
the event. SWEATSHOP
NORTH ESSEX CROSS COUNTRY LEAGUE GODFIELD NR HALSTEAD 05/12/04 The
previous weekend saw the Trotters in action in the tougher North Essex
Cross Country League, this time hosted by Halstead Athletics Club. The
course was typical cross country, lots of hills up and down through fields
and woodland and was very, very muddy. With
several of the Trotters out of the country, it was a depleted team,
however some fine individual performances meant the club was well
represented. Seventeen
year old Ned Davies made his cross country debut in style, finishing 17th
in a highly competitive men’s field, the five mile course being the
furthest he had ever run before. Ned led the male Trotters home, the rest
of the team being made up of John Willoughby (53rd), David
Cronk (81st), Darren Thomas (87th), John Clarke (92nd),
Richard Humphrey (98th), Duncan Anniss (134th) and
Steve Easom (140th) The
Ladies team was also depleted however Sue Clarke and Tara Corbett did them
proud finishing 17th and 18th respectively. Karen
Rowntree was not far behind in 28th while Pat Sams was another
cross country debutant, finishing 61st. ESSEX
VETS CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS CLAYFORD WOODFORD 04/12/04 John
and Sue Clarke had been in cross country action the previous day at the
Essex Vets’ Championship run at Clayford near Woodford. In
a competitive field and tough conditions John finished as 81st
male over a 10km distance in a time of 45.03 while Sue finished 31st
in the female event over a 5 mile course in a time of 40.24
BISHOPS
STORTFORD 10 MILE ROAD RACE 21/11/04 A
few weeks earlier several Grange Farm Trotters were out in road running
action at the Bishops Stortford 10 mile race. Steve
Read led the way for the Trotters once again, finishing in 5th
place in a time of 58.15. The rest of the Trotter contingent taking part
were David Cronk (100th, time 69.28), Steve Cardnell (113th,
70.39), Richard Humphrey (120th, 71.11), John Hardy (164th,
74.01), Steve Easom (251st, 78.06), Chris George (383rd
85.24) and the only lady Trotter Pat Sams (525th, 100.55).
Special mentions should go to John Hardy and Pat Sams who both recorded
Personal Bests on their first attempt at racing this distance. GRANGE
FARM TROTTERS PRESS RELEASE 25/10/2004
MARATHON
MAN’S MAGNIFICENT MILESTONE PETER
CLEGG’S 100TH MARATHON Local
runner Peter Clegg joined an elite band of athletes to have completed 100
marathons as he finished the Abingdon marathon in a time of 3 hours 41
minutes last weekend. Clegg,, 54, who is a member of Little Dunmow running
club, Grange Farm Trotters, had been injured since completing his 99th
marathon back in July, but summoned all his reserves of stamina to finish
the event with only three weeks prior training. Clegg
only found out he had a place in the race on the Saturday morning, with
the race on the Sunday and no entries allowed on the day. The Internet had
come to Peter’s rescue as he put out an appeal to members of the 100
Marathon Club who then contacted Runner’s World magazine and someone who
could no longer run the race responded sending the number in the post
which arrived just in time. It
was a fitting event to complete the century, as almost exactly 5 years
earlier Abingdon had seen Clegg reach the half century in the same event.
His back injury was aggravated during the run and after 12 miles his right
leg went to sleep but he struggled gamely on without stopping and managed
to keep his record of completing all his road marathons in under 4 hours
intact. It
all began back in April 1992 when Clegg’s first experience of marathon
running was the same as many people’s, the London. And just like many
other first time marathon runners he claimed he’d never do another one.
However unlike most other people, by the end of that year Peter had
completed 5 marathons. “I
don’t know when I decided to do another one but I know it was fairly
soon afterwards that I entered the New York marathon which is held in the
Autumn” claims Peter. “I didn’t have a clue how to train properly
for a marathon so I thought the best way was probably to run a few in the
meantime” Except
Clegg kept on running. He has now run marathons in 11 different countries
around the world, in locations ranging from the Spain to Sweden and
Estonia to the USA. He managed 50 marathons in 7 and a half years before
upping the pace and finishing the second 50 in just 5 years. The last 5
years even included a 13 month break from marathons. “ I just went off
the idea”, claims the unassuming Clegg, “ I’d sort of lost
momentum” Fellow runner Howard Jardine refired his enthusiasm ,
persuading Clegg to join him in the Copenhagen marathon and he was back on
the trail again. When
asked why he did it, Clegg pauses for thought, “You never suddenly
decide, I must do a hundred marathons, it just sort of gains momentum. I
remember meeting a couple of runners when I did my second marathon and
asking them how many they’d done. I was pretty impressed when they said
85 and 93 so I suppose that’s when I first thought it was possible.
There is a point when you start to realise that 100 marathons is feasible
but it was never really an aim as such” Clegg’s
favourite marathon was Los Angeles in 1998 which he completed in 3 hours 9
minutes and got a mention in the local press for finishing in the top 400.
“It was perfect running conditions on a testing course”. His fastest
event was Antwerp in Belgium which he ran in 1997 in a time of 3 hours 8
minutes. The hardest? “On road I’d say Snowdon, while off road it
would have to be the Rottingdean Windmill Marathon. It has absurd hills,
inclines that nobody runs and you get vertigo just walking up” 84
of Clegg’s marathons have been on the road while he has run 16 off road.
His next target is to reach 100 road marathons, and is hoping to complete
his next in three weeks’ time “so long as the back holds out” As the
conversation draws to a close, Clegg has some final words of praise for
his fellow runners “Can I just say thank you for all the fantastic
support and encouragement I have received from all the members of the
Dunmow Runners and Grange Farm Trotters clubs, I’m sure I couldn’t
have done it without them” OTHER
TROTTER NEWS While
Peter was completing his 100th marathon, last Sunday other
members from the club were taking part in two very different events on
opposite sides of the country. Tiptree
was the venue for 5 and 10 mile road races, with two Trotters running in
the 5 mile event. John Hardy clocked up another superb personal best time
of 35.28 while Katia Roberston finished in a very respectable 41.03. In
the ten mile event Clive Steward ran his first race after being knocked
over by a car a few months back and returned to form with a time of 1 hour
6 mins and 5 seconds. Next finishers from the Trotters were Steve Cardnell
1.09.40, Rob Gall 1.16.18, Nigel Thomas 1.16.46 and Rachel Offord 1.18.47 Meanwhile
several other members of the club were trying their hand at extreme off
road running, taking part in the Saab Salomon Hellrunner on the South
Coast. Described as a long version of cross country with a lot more water,
sand and hills this was the inaugural event which it is hoped will become
an an annual feature in the calendar. Darren
Thomas was first Trotter home in 48th place in a time of
1.11.16. Chris Hayhow finished in 1.23.46, Yan Stile and Trevor Hammond
got round in 1.33.07 and new Trotter Pete White made his debut for the
club at this event in a time of 1.34.33. For
the ladies Pru Hayhow was a couple of minutes behind husband Chris,
finishing in 1.25.35. Tara Corbett and Amanda Bulgin ran round together
finishing in 1.41.10 and 1.41.12 respectively.
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