For those fancying a change of scenery from the Ashby 20 or miss out on a place, the Bedford Oakley 20 is a good shout. Taking place around the same time as Ashby, it presents a good opportunity for those preparing for the spring marathons. There are 2 laps – a larger loop then smaller loop with a start of 2 laps around a field before heading past the race headquarters heading out towards the Bedford countryside.
It is classed as undulating with what could be called a hill to climb with a welcome downhill. This is where the 2 laps overlap and another 4 miles or so to run past headquarters again for the next short lap.
The sole Grantham Running Club representative was Caroline Davis who found that she initially needed to increase her speed but it looked like she could beat last year’s disappointing time. Her eventual finish time was 2:53:52, about 8 minutes faster than last year. This performance earned her a race hoody whose design took inspiration from the mad March hare.
The winner was Phil Martin from Peterborough & Nene Valley AC in 1:56:08. First lady home was Troi Baxter from Newmarket Joggers in 2:11:18.
Report by Caroline Davis