Cambridge Boundary Run
Three of Grantham Running Club’s distance runners took part in last weekend’s Cambridge Boundary Run to sharpen up for the April road marathons. This 26.2 mile route traverses roads, footpaths and trails, and incorporates some beautiful and not-often-seen areas of the city. It has about a third of the distance a very muddy off road and there are several reasonably sized hills on the course – significant enough to surprise those who are used to the flat terrain of Cambridge.
The three athletes used different strategies to get the most from their day. Ultra-runner Paul Rushworth who was short of miles following a recent illness blasted the first half of the course to work on his speed and relaxed the final 13 miles as he concentrated on getting some time on his feet finishing in 3:43:43. Treating the event as a progression run, to aid recovery in next for next week’s race, Catherine Payne and Robert McArdle started steadily accelerating from the mid-point overtaking almost 10% of the field in the second half finishing at above the pace they would expect to run a standard marathon in. Catherine’s time was 3:52:09 with Robert clocking 3:52:25
(photo attached Left to right Robert McArdle, Paul Rushworth, Catherine Payne)