Held on the last full weekend in July, the Heckington Show is a quintessentially English Summer event. Saturday 26th July saw 15 members of Grantham Running Club head to enjoy the show and take on the sell-out Heckington 10-mile race, which forms part of the club’s GP series.
The race started off with cooler conditions than previous weeks had seen, much to the relief of every runner. However, this is summer and we were subject to the Great British weather turning on us with the heavens opening. Runners were showered throughout the race, with heavy rain seen by runners, in the latter half of the field.
The race itself begins with two laps of the main grassed arena before heading out into the village and down to Star Fen, repeating the village and fen loops twice, before coming back into the main show arena for the finish.
Unsurprisingly, first back for GRC was Russel Whittaker, who is enjoying a summer of very strong running. Finishing in 1:01:38, earning a small 7-second PB thanks to his consistent pacing across each split.
First lady back for GRC, again no surprise, was the formidable Catherine Payne, crossing the finish line in 1:14:18, achieving her best time in the distance for over 6 years.
Other notable mentions include David Amos-Reeves & Jaimie Lord, who were both racing this distance for the first time. Both Marj Spendlow & Peter Jennings achieved PBs at the distance.
Everyone enjoyed the race and the support shown throughout the course.
Finishers were awarded a race t-shirt, and their race fee included entry into the Heckington Show for the day & evening concert/fireworks show.
Full runner’s details:
Russel Whittaker: 1:01:08
Brian Hawkins: 1:04:21
Dean Riggall 1:07:49
Alan Carley 1:11:28
Catherine Payne 1:14:18
Peter Jennings 1:15:18
Robin Atter 1:16:40
Mark Toms 1:18:58
David Amos-Reeves 1:23:33
Marj Spendlow 1:24:03
Caroline Davis 1:26:38
Paul Davis 1:27:17
Jaimie Lord 1:28:36
Nicci Whittaker 1:35:00
Katherine Thompson 1:38:11
Photos by Free Running Club Photos by Sarah Burton and Oliver Hughes
