Round 3 of the GRC Grand Prix took place at the Retford Half Marathon. On a rainy day, runners were left considering their life choices at the start but this was all forgotten as soon as the race got underway. Over a rolling course on closed roads, club organised races are becoming rare over this distance.
Gavin Potter wearing race number 666 ran like a man possessed. Smashing his PB by 3 minutes despite being in the middle of a tough marathon training block. His time of 1:20:24 is a massive confidence booster and will be one he’ll certainly target come the autumn.
Next was Andrew Pask who enjoyed the rain and ran his best race for about a year to clock 1:28:33. Then it was Alan Carley, a man who just randomly ran a marathon last week in training decided to attempt the half marathon race distance for the first time in 4 years and it worked out pretty well. He beats his previous best by over 1 min.
Cameron Hoggan took his running to another level, beating his previous best by well over 7mins. An outrageous achievement for a man who’d been racing for 6 years. Exiting times ahead for Cameron!
Then came our first lady Holly Durham who has eyes on the marathon distance so targeted her planned marathon pace for this race. Shooting for 7:30/mi Holly couldn’t resist going just a nudge faster but still ran a comfortable and controlled race to finish with 1:36:27. Holly was closely followed by club legend Catherine Payne who ran her best half marathon for 4.5 years to clock an impressive 1:37:31, ranking her 29 in the country.
Then came another club legend; Paul Davidson wearing the vest of our friends at Grantham Athletics Club but also a member of GRC. Rolling back the years, Paul ran his best half marathon for 12 years to clock 1:44:47.
New member Karl Clark made his debut in the green and black vest. At his first attempt at the distance, he clocked an impressive 1:45:34.
Craig Drury expected to be near to the 2hr mark but was pleasantly surprised with his time of 1:52:53. Hot on his heels was Jo Grace who ran a 1min PB to clock 1:52:58 in what looks like her favourite distance. They weren’t waiting long for Sarah High who ran her best HM in 6 years to clock 1:55:41.
So, it’s fair to say Round 3 of the GP Series was successful for everyone who give it a go. Next up is the Lincoln 10k in April.