Yateley 10K series race 3

The highly popular Yateley 10km Wednesday evening road race series concluded last week and once again Farnham Runners turned out in force, picking up prizes in a number of categories. Although the heatwave conditions experienced in the 2nd race weren’t quite repeated, a hot, humid evening meant most runners again found the going tough and had to settle for finishing times some way below their best. Times given are chip times.

Leading the club’s runners home on the night was Julian Mann (36.58) placing 16th out of 855 finishers (4th M40). While it didn’t quite match up with his 36.07 from the first race it certainly compensated for a below par run in the 2nd event. This result was enough to secure Julian an excellent 1st place in the M40 age category for the series and repeat the success enjoyed by fellow club member Graham Wilton twelve months earlier.

Next home was Sarah Hill (38.39, 2nd W35). This capped a fine series of runs from Sarah which saw her claim a top three finish in the W35 category in all three of the races. Sarah also claimed 2nd place overall in the same category for the series.

Just three days after completing the tough Milland Valley Trail half marathon, Jane Georghiou (44.51) displayed admirable powers of recovery as she took top honours in finishing 1st W55 on the night and for the series.

While times for most runners were down on their best, one club member notably managed to buck the trend. On the night of his 40th birthday, Chris Cramp (46.03) was able to celebrate in style by taking more than a minute off his previous personal best. This was a fine performance given the difficult conditions, a diet recently over-supplemented by chocolate birthday cake and a lung capacity which required him to take 3 attempts to blow out all his birthday candles.

Other results: Steve Murphy 42.32, Tim Cummins 43.05, Paul Beesley 44.05, Nick Hill 44.06, David Armstrong 45.38, Frances Britain 45.59 (8th W35), Simon Brander 48.01, Nicholas King 49.20, Howard Inns 51.15, Wendy Carley 56.39, Julie Russ 59.14, Guy Highfield-Robert 1.04.04.