PSA Boxing Day fun run report 2003

A beautiful Boxing Day dawn greeted the organising team as they arrived to set things up for the 2004 Run. –4 oC on the thermometer, but we hoped that wouldn’t put people off.

The parking and registration team did a great job (especially since none of hem had really done this sort of thing before) and we started only a few minutes late with a total of 120 runners.

The competition for the best pre-race excuse was hotly contested with 70 entries.

In the running race, Dil Wetherill tried to set the pace for the first lap (just to show the way), but the proper athletes soon took to the front. After a moments panic - when the leaders tried to miss out the second lap of the recreation ground - things settled down to a pattern. Ian Houston and Alan Turnbull were pulling away after only one lap of the field, with two groups bunched behind, making up the first 15 or so places. As they headed away from the recreation ground, Ian and Alan had pulled out a 3 second gap over the chasing pack – with Andrew Green leading the pursuers. Gavin Davis left the recreation ground in 15 th place, but made good time out along the Icknield Way Path and pulled back 4 or 5 places before the top of Green Ley Hill and the turn on to Hambridge Way.

Big gaps were starting to open up all through the leading runners and it looked like things might stay that way to the finish, until Ken Hoye pulled up just short of the 2 mile marker. At the front, Alan had run away from everyone else, to finish first in a storming time of 18:13, nearly a minute ahead of Ian in second place. The first two were the only ones to get under the benchmark pace of 6 minutes per mile.

Third place went to Andy Wray (whose pre-race excuse “I haven't trained. Drunk too much. Ate too much. Was up all night drinking alcohol, please see the attached note from my Mum” was obviously a big fib). Andrew Green had dropped to 5 th place behind Gavin Elliot (no doubt because “his reindeer were held up in quarantine at the airport and he was running without his support crew”).

Roger Seed had made up one place on the big loop to finish in 6 th place (despite the presence “of a baby and lots of relatives”, which apparently would ensure he didn’t do very well). Gavin Davis had continued to pick off runners and came home in 7 th in just under 20 minutes. Gregor Lloyd-Smith had looked secure in 8 th place as he came back in to the recreation ground, but had to stop as his body rebelled with only a few hundred yards to go. (Gregor didn’t submit an excuse before running, but if he had it would obviously have focused on eating too much the day before and/or trying too hard). This allowed Nick Jones, Dil Wetherill and Chris Green to slip past for 8 th, 9 th and 10 th places respectively. Gregor managed to get going again after a little while, and still managed to be first junior man home in 18 th place overall in a great time of 21:22. Still faster than his previous time in 2003 – which was for a course 0.3 miles shorter!

First Lady home was Alex Rees, finishing in 29 th place overall and in a time of 23:17. Alex’s excuse (“I am tired and ate too much chocolate yesterday) was in a similar vein to Paula Downing’s who finished second (I ate too many mince pies). You heard it here first – chocolate is less bad for you than mince pies!

Third place went to Karen Dodsworth, who may have spoken for many of the women with her excuse (I'm Mrs Claus and I only finished wrapping the presents on Christmas Eve, needless to say Santa couldn't possibly do it!).

In the Junior Men’s race, Gregor was followed home by Josef Rivers - who could obviously have done better than his overall 80 th place, if he hadn’t had to “run with his Dad”. Oliver Rawlins came back in overall 88 th place to be 3 rd Junior Man.

Dark deeds were obviously afoot in the Junior Women’s race. Helen Harbon was first in for the young women in 56 th place overall and in a great time of 29:24. We will never know how well she could have run if she hadn’t had such a traumatic evening the night before – when “a bunch of Saxons invaded my house while I was asleep. They took everything apart from me and I woke up to find my body all cut up and in a thousand pieces”. Her sister Katie didn’t mention what sort of evening she’d had, but came home 2 nd Junior Woman. 3 rd place went to Caroline Willis in a super time of 31:18 (especially since she hadn’t quite made her 9 th birthday. 4 th went to Elita Bhomick who claimed to be held back because she was running with “her elderly mother”. This contrasted somewhat with her mother’s excuse “I am running with children whose brains have been fried by playstation”.

First prize for the best pre-race excuse and the meal for two at the Motte & Bailey went to Ivor Webb of Stopsley Striders – his winning entry showed considerable stamina as it was at least 3 times as long as the next longest. It went like this: I got up at 4am because I thought the race was at Pirton in Gloucestershire. When I arrived I met a man on a horse who said I had come to the wrong Pirton. He said I needed the Pirton in Wiltshire. When I arrived there, I saw a farmer who said he was the Chairman of the Parish Council and that he knew everything that was going on in the village, so it must be Pirton in Hertfordshire - which was only 6 miles from the start of my journey in Luton. So I am tired.

The race raised £240 for the Pirton School Association.

A big thank-you to all the helpers – Jerry & Cheryl, Darren & Marina & Emily, Lucinda, Joan, Neil and Judith & Ben. Also to the Coles who offered us the use of their Orchard as overflow car parking space, which fortunately we didn’t need. And finally to the Motte, for once again providing us with a super prize.

Thanks for coming, we’ve booked the same weather for next year, so get in training now for the 2005 Boxing Day Run!

PS The voting for “should we do medals next year for an extra £1 on the entry” was 34 YES against 10 NO. So we’ll look in to that for next year. Also, we’d be grateful if you’d give the race a rating on the www.runnersworld.co.uk website and/or paste comments in to the forum. We will look at them and try and do better next year.

PPS Lost property: if you’ve lost a hat, contact Dil on 01462-712735.

PPPS A special apology to Caroline Willis, for missing her out of the first version of the results.