On Wednesday 14th June 2023 the annual Peterborough GP Series returned to Eye for the first of the 5 races. There were 8 GRC runners amongst the total 347 participants who tackled the out and back route on a hot, sunny evening. The course starts at the Lindisfarne recreational ground before crossing the bridge over the A47 (navigating a barrier), heading along county roads before turning at halfway and running back to the finish line.
First back for GRC was Peter Bonner who set out hard to see how close he was to his best 5k form. Describing the course as ‘hard work’, the heat and route saw Peter finish in a time of 18:58 which he hopes to improve next time.
Next in for GRC was Sam Dodwell who, similarly to Peter, wanted to test his current form and started out fast. Fading a little towards the end, Sam crossed the finish line in 19:42 and he was pleased with this as a benchmark for the rest of the series.
Third GRC runner and securing second place in his age category was Alan Carley. A time of 20:31 gave Alan a season’s best which he was pleased with given the heat and the ‘fiddly’ nature of the course.
First female back for GRC was Catherine Payne in a time of 22:21 which also secured her second in her age category. Echoing the others, Catherine agreed that the course was not the easiest.
Following Catherine was Naomi Rivers who was pleased with a course PB of 24:11 and hopes this is a positive sign for the future fixtures.
Crossing the line in exactly 25:00 was Sylv Hull who was thrilled, given the parkrun style timing and slightly long course. Sylv commented that whilst the hill at the end was a bit sapping, the event was really well supported with a decent sized field of runners.
Despite losing a few seconds navigating the gates and a turnaround point, Zoe Wragg was happy to have recorded 25:40 as a starter to the series which is only 3 seconds away from her current 5k PB.
Also setting a benchmark for the rest of the series was Tracy Webb who finished in 30:45. Sharing the same thoughts as everyone on the heat and the course, Tracy was happy with this time.
The next fixture of the series will be in Stamford on 28th June.
