Stephen Fay was the lone runner representing Grantham Running Club in the RAF Shawbury 10k race on Sunday 27th February 2022 in aid of the RAF Benevolent Fund.
253 runners lined up at the start line braving the chilly wind and benefiting from a warm up from an RAF physical training instructor, prior to a Juno helicopter flying overhead signalling the start of the race.The flat course consisted of two sunny and windy laps around the perimeter of the base mainly on the concrete runway, with an enthusiastic crowd & a cheering RAF mascot giving support at the half-way mark. The windy conditions presented difficulties at times for all the runners, however everyone running battled through, dug deep and all finished the race.
Stephen came in 109th on 54:48 minutes, ninth in his age category and achieving a personal best of nearly three minutes on his previous 10k time. It must have been the joining instructions that he received that insisted that everyone runs hard on the day & being photographed alongside a Red Arrow display plane, that spurred him on to a PB.
The men’s race was won by Jack Hindle of Blackburn Harriers & AC in a time of 33:20 and the women’s race was won by Alexandra Walkley in a time of 40:09.