Eleven brave souls from Grantham Running Club made the trip to Keyworth near Nottingham for the annual Turkey Trot Half Marathon on Sunday 8th December. The well established pre-Christmas race offers a moderately hilly course and is a fundraiser for the 1st Keyworth Scout Group. Conditions on the day were particularly tough as runners endured strong winds and rain otherwise known as ‘Storm Darragh’.
First to finish for GRC was Joe Clarke who’s 1:23:12 is his fastest on record as a UK Athletics registered runner. However, his true PB is a few minutes faster and was achieved when not registered (no doubt in better conditions).
Given the conditions, this was still a more than respectable result – this applies to all runners who finished this race!
Finishing just over 10 minutes later was Gav Meadows who was adding some racing miles to his training for the Funchal Half Marathon in January. He was thrilled with his 1:33:18 result which far exceeded his expectations before the race. This was his fastest half marathon for over 2.5 years and bodes well for the much flatter Madeira race which should have nicer weather!
Closely following was Peter Bonner who was feeling under the weather so ran conservatively and closely monitored his heart rate throughout. He showed his usual grit and determination to finish in 1:34:29. Whilst about 5 minutes slower than his normal expectations for this distance, this was far from a normal day!
First lady for GRC was Catherine Payne finishing in 1:43:29. Another determined effort and another case of being minutes slower than ‘normal’ expectations with good reason!
Next was a miraculous PB for Karl Clark who finished in 1:43:52 bettering his Retford Half Marathon result by well over 1.5 minutes. This was his 4th half marathon of 2024 – his first year as a GRC runner. There is clearly more to come from Karl in 2025 as he gains more race experience.
Jo Grace battled to a 1:50:32 finish – only just over 2 minutes outside her PB set in a much easier environment at the Great Eastern Run 2 months previously.
Chris Masters and Sophie Davies ran together until the last mile and finished seconds apart in 1:52:12 and 1:52:20 respectively. This was a first recorded half marathon result for Chris. Sophie was some way off her best but this applies to most in the conditions.
The same story applies to Craig Drury (1:58:14) and Chris Moore (1:58:22). A tough race where finishing with a respectable time (not breaking records) was the objective. A special mention for Craig who’s festive attire (see photo) can’t have made life any easier.
Rob McArdle started the race not feeling 100% and carrying an injury. After bravely starting the race with a ‘see how it goes’ attitude, he sensibly decided to call it a day after a few miles for fear of making the problem worse. No doubt frustrating but definitely the right call in the circumstances.
Report c/o Gav Meadows
Photo Credit: Tony Jarrow
