Frostbite League
2011-12 Season
| RACE 4 - Whitemoor Prison, March - 15/01/2012 | ||
| Individual results | Team results | Photographs: seniors juniors |
Senior Race Report The latest in the Frostbite series of races was hosted at a new venue by March AC. The race took place in the shadow of Whitemoor Prison, with race HQ and refreshments provided at the Prison’s social club. The race started on the access road to the prison, but after a short stretch on tarmac the race turned into the nearby country park and the next 2 miles were run on a ‘there and back’ route over gravel/grass paths made slippery by the thawing overnight frost. The race then returned to the road for a mile before heading out over farm tracks, grassy river bank and finally one last spin back through the country park. On arrival runners were greeted by a still and frosty morning leading to concerns for fingers and toes. Although it was still cold by the time the race started the frost had begun to thaw leaving muddy/slippery conditions on the off-road sections. First home for Ely was the rapidly improving Robin Webb finishing in 35th place in a PB time of 30:20. Next home for Ely was Steve Tovey (31:10), closely followed by Graham Chapman in a new MV55 club record (31:45). The scoring men’s team was completed by Conan Fryer (31:56), Ciaran Murray (33:49), Nick Dowdy (37:41) and Adrian Scaites-Stokes (38:47) with Steve Starr (38:50, PB), Brent Crossman (39:42, 1st 5m) and John Turner (40:49) not far behind. Lesley Wright continued her fine form into the New Year with yet another PB (37:24) and Sarah Edwards made a welcome return to ER colours (38:39). Sadly the lack of a third scoring lady on the day meant the club collected a rather large number of extra running points due to the 421 finishers. Official Results (Seniors) - 5miles(XC): 30th Robin Webb 30:20 (PB) (Scoring Team –M) There were 421 finishers on the day, with the winner being Aaron Scott of NVH in 26:08. Ely Runners were 14th on the day with 1537 running points and have fallen to 11th overall in the league (25 points) with two races remaining. Junior Race Report Some of our top junior runners were absent for the latest Frostbite race due to illness and other race commitments meaning there was a bit more pressure on the juniors present, however they didn't let us down. The race was very fast, with a very hard surface due to the hard overnight frost. The juniors found the course interesting with the Prison looming to the side of them, but found the exit from the Country Park a bit confusing and slightly hazardous as they didn’t know whether to run on the pavement or on the road and there were no marshals to let them know where to go. Anyway, they all got back without any injuries and everyone managed a sprint finish. All in all another good result for the Juniors. Official Results (Juniors) ~1.4miles(XC): 21st Alexander Ellwood 9:10 There were 147 finishers, with the winner being Tim Cobden of C&C in 7:37. Ely Runners were 7th on the day with 228 running points and remain 4th overall in the league (39 points) with two races remaining. Junior League Positions:
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| RACE 3 - Hinchingbrooke Country Park, Huntingdon - 11/12/2011 | ||
| Individual results | Team results | Photographs |
Senior Race Report Twelve members made the short journey to Huntingdon to represent ER in the third Frostbite race of the series held at Hinchingbrooke Country Park. The 5m Cross-Country course is made up of a mixture of muddy trails and gravel paths with only a short half-mile section on tarmac. Conditions on the day were cool with a slight breeze, with a brief shower during the race adding to the wintry feel. The course was wet and muddy in places but not too demanding considering the time of year. Continuing his fine recent form Gary Wilberforce was first home for Ely in 10th place recording a time of 29:13. Further down the field there were fine PB performances from Linden Smith, Steve Starr, Emma Greaves, Sharon Leonard and Anita Lewis on a day when the ladies very much outshone the men. Many thanks to Heidi Uff and Andy Nixon for being stand-in team managers on the day. Official Results (Seniors) - 5miles(XC): 10th Gary Wilberforce 29:13 (Scoring Team –M) There were 370 finishers. The race was won by Aaron Scott of NVH in 26:29. Ely Runners were 15th on the day with 1791 running points. Junior Race Report A healthy contingent of ER juniors attended the 3rd Frostbite race of the series at Hinchingbrooke Country Park in Huntingdon. The course is a single 1.5m loop through woodland starting and finishing near the park’s visitor centre. First home for Ely was Robyn Seabright in an impressive 10:27, the scoring team was completed by Lewis Leonard, Alexander Ellwood, Gareth Lewis and James Holland. The juniors finished 4th on the day, consolidating their overall 4th position in the league standings. Many thanks to Brent Crossman for acting as team manager on the day – and to Jon Pennington for photography and taking charge of the ER sail-flag!! Official Results (Juniors) 1.5miles(XC): 21st Robyn Seabright 10:27 There were 153 finishers, with Thomas Heylen of C&C the winner in 8:53. Ely Runners were 4th on the day with 148 running points. Junior League Positions:
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| RACE 2 - Bushfield, Peterborough - 6/11/2011 | ||
| Individual results | Team results | Photographs: seniors juniors |
Senior Race Report The second race of the Frostbite League season took place at Bushfield in Peterborough. The course was slightly modified compared to previous years, with the start slightly further down the road from Bushfield sports centre and the last half-mile re-routed to finish on playing fields behind the sports centre. Otherwise the course followed the same fast, flat route along roads and footpaths as in previous incarnations. There were an impressive 515 finishers, with 21 of these being Ely Runners (including 2nd claim Ian Day running for Hunts AC). First home for Ely, in 3rd place, was Alex Tate in a time of 25:54. Alex's time was a new PB, a new MV35 club record and also the fastest 5m time ever recorded by an Ely Runner. Next home was the rapidly improving Gary Wilberforce, finishing in 8th place in a new PB of 27:23. Strong performances saw Pete Foody, Steve Tovey, Robin Webb, Max d'Ayala and Tony Kirby-Cook complete the scoring team for men. First home for the ladies was Miranda Paul in 37:24, followed closely by Lesley Wright and Sharon Leonard to complete the full scoring team. There was also a welcome return to competitive action for former ladies captain Natalle Etches. There were new PBs for 6 ER (Alex Tate, Gary Wilberforce, Tony Kirby-Cook, Tom Russell, Sharon Leonard and Emma Greaves) and Robin Webb, Lesley Wright, Karen Foster and John Foster each completed their 1st races over a measured 5m course. Frostbite regulars Adam Etches, Peter Harris, Ian Blatchford, Lionel Smith and Jon Pennington completed the ER contingent. Conditions were excellent for running, with runners greeted by a bright sunny morning, only a modest breeze and good conditions underfoot. As usual, many thanks to Frostbite Team Manager Alan Rutterford for all of his support on the day - which included erecting the new and rather swanky ER sailflag near the finish area. Official Results (Seniors) - 5miles: 3rd Alex Tate 25:54 (PB)(MV35 Club Record)(Scoring Team -M) There were 515 finishers. The race was won by Aaron Scott of NVH in 25:15 Ely Runners were 7th on the day with 1133 running points. Junior Race Report Ely Runners juniors recorded their best ever result in the monthly Frostbite
league. Thanks to a record turn
out and some particularly fast times by Dylan Campbell, Alex Ellwood, Michael
Ford (who all finished together), Robyn Seabright and James Holland the team
managed to come home in 4th place on the day and moving them up to 5th place in
the league. 19th Dylan Campbell 9:40 There were a record 172 finishers, with James Downing of HuntsAC the winner in 8:26. Ely Runners were 4th on the day with 117 running points. Junior League Positions:
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| RACE 1 - Priory Park, St Neots - 2/10/2011 | ||
| Individual results | Team results | Photographs: seniors juniors |
Senior Race Report The 2011-2012 Frostbite Friendly League season kicked off with the traditional season opener at Priory Park in St Neots. The opening race had been due to switch to a new venue this season but last minute complications meant Priory Park and hosts Riverside Runners came to the rescue once more. Runners were greeted by an unseasonably hot and sunny day - provoking suggestions the league was going to be more sunburn than frostbite this season. The senior course was the traditional three-lap affair, with the juniors racing over a one-lap ~1.4mile course. The recent hot and sunny weather resulted in conditions being rather firm underfoot with very little mud in sight. Twenty senior members started the race - sadly, in his first race in Ely colours, Tom Bracegirdle had to pull out with a hamstring injury when handily placed in the top 5. I'm sure we all wish Tom a speedy recovery. Overall the senior team put in a solid display with some highly credible individual performances. Alex Tate came home in a clear 1st place some 40s ahead of his nearest rival. The course at St Neots is ~5m - but as Alex was nearly 90s inside the MV35 club record for 5m we're already looking forward to an 'official' club record in the next race at Bushfield. There were also fine first performances over the distance by Gary Wilberforce, Tom Russell, Samantha Collins-Shirley, Sharon Leonard and Anita Lewis. Official Results (Seniors) - ~5miles (XC): 1st Alex Tate 26:27 (Scoring Team -M) There were 399 finishers. Ely Runners were 7th on the day with 1109 running points. Junior Race Report Report........ 18th Dylan Campbell 8:19 There were 153 finishers, with James Downing of HuntsAC the winner in 6:57. Ely Runners were 6th on the day with 198 running points. Junior League Positions:
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2010-11 Season
| RACE 6 - Hinchingbrooke Country Park - 6/03/2011 | ||
| Individual results | Team results | Photographs: seniors juniors |
Senior Race Report A late change in venue saw the 6th and final Frostbite race of the season return to Hinchingbrooke Country Park. Before the start of the senior race chairman Stephen Howard paid tribute to Ely Runner Diana Gipp who had sadly passed away a few days previously. After Stephen’s words there was an enthusiastic and well respected round of applause in Diana’s honour. The senior course was a 3-loop affair similar to that used for the 3rd Frostbite race of the season – only in reverse. The seniors came into the final leg of the series on level points with Bushfield and so needed a strong final round to retain their position in the league. The race was won by Michael Moore of Werrington in 31:16. First home for Ely was junior runner Charlie Price finishing in an impressive 5th place in 32:57 just ahead of 2nd claim Ely Runner John Uff (running for 1st claim C&C). Charlie’s exploits were all the more impressive in light of his 1st place finish at the Cambridge Parkrun the previous day. Charlie was closely followed home by Max d’Ayala (13th) and Ian Day (16th), with Peter Gipp (35th), Jose Perez (72nd), Stephen Howard (90th) and junior Alex Seabright (124th) completing the scoring team for the men. The ladies were lead home by club captain Heidi Uff (145th) with Lesley Wright, on her debut (223rd), and Susan Graves (260th) completing the scoring team. There were also strong performances from Charlie Barker (127th), Peter Harris (134th), Ray Harding (136th), Lionel Smith (146th) and the ever improving Jon Pennington (199th). Ely Scored 1004 points and were eighth out of 17 teams on the day, remaining eighth out of 17 teams overall with 57 points. The weather was cool but calm, although conditions underfoot were rather muddy. Many thanks. Special thanks to Steve Tovey and Tony Hall for marshalling; to junior secretary Lesley Wright for running at short notice to complete the scoring team; and to Susan Graves for running despite a bad foot injury. After the event Max d’Ayala and Heidi Uff were chosen as the male & female ‘runner of the series’ for Ely.
5th Charlie Price 32:57 (Scoring Team –M) There were 331 finishers. Ely Runners were 8th on the day with 1004 running points. Junior Race Report Ely Runners Junior team completed a strong season in the Frostbite Winter League with an excellent final round performance at Hinchingbrooke Country Park.
The juniors competed on an undulating and muddy ~1.5m course. The race was won by Guy Kendal of Cambridge and Coleridge in 8:03. First home for Ely on his Frostbite League debut and in an impressive 16th place was Aiden Merry in 9:17. Aiden was closely followed home by Michael Ford (17th), Robyn Seabright (23rd) James Holland (31st), Esme Wright (45th), Alexander Ellwood (50th), Fraser Crossman (55th), Molly Butler (56th) and Nathan Pennington (75th).
The juniors finished fifth of 13 teams on the day with 127 points and remained sixth of 13 teams overall. Junior coach Alan Rutterford declared himself ‘delighted’ with the performance of the juniors on the day and also throughout the whole Frostbite season. Results as follows:
16th Aiden Merry 09:17
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| RACE 5 - Bourne Woods - 06/02/2011 | ||
| Individual results | Team results | |
Senior Race Report On a mild but windy day in February the Frostbite League travelled out of Cambridgeshire to the most attractive venue for the series. As the name suggest the Bourne Woods course is set within historic woodlands. On this day in addition to the many runners there were a number of activists handing out ‘save our forests’ leaflets to all so it felt quite crowded!
13th John Uff 29:52 (2nd Claim – ran for C&C) There were 383 finishers. Ely Runners were 14th on the day with 1534 running points. Finally a big thank you for Frostbite Team Captain Alan Rutterford for his efforts collecting numbers at the finish and supporting runners as they came in. Junior Race Report On a mild but windy day in February the Frostbite League travelled out of Cambridgeshire to the most attractive venue for the series. As the name suggest the Bourne Woods course is set within historic woodlands and on this day in addition to the many runners there were a number of activists handing out ‘save our forests’ leaflets to all. 19th Robyn Seabright 12:00
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| RACE 4 - Ramsey - 16/01/2011 | ||
| Individual results | Team results | Photographs: seniors |
Senior Race Report There was a fine representation from Ely in the Senior Frostbite race at Ramsey. As usual the course started with a lap around the grounds of Ailwyn School before disappearing out into the countryside for a loop of the nearby farm before returning to the school grounds for the finish. The temperature was a mild 12 degrees C. It was also windy and there were a few muddy patches underfoot on the course. The wind was helpful to runners on the first half of the race but was into their faces for the returning miles. The headwind, together with the heavy ground made the run in to the finish quite tough.
10th John Uff 31:05 (2nd Claim – ran for C&C) There were 389 finishers. Ely Runners were 6th on the day with 957 running points. Junior Race Report There was a fine representation from Ely in the Junior race around the grounds of Ailwyn School Ramsey, with twelve entrants, several of whom were running in their first Frostbite League races. 21st Robyn Seabright 10:17
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| RACE 3 - Hinchingbrooke, Huntingdon - 12/12/2010 | ||
| Individual results | Team results | Photographs: Juniors |
Senior Race Report The day before the Frostbite Race on Hinchingbrook Park the course was thick with mud, and the event threatened to be a tough muddy slog. However as race day dawned the grassy meadow at the start was frosted white and the muddy course had pretty much solidified. Runners were left with a tricky call for the best footwear. Some chose spikes and clattered noisily along the road section. Some chose trail shoes where a few icy patches made for a few wobbly moments. The rest chose road shoes and they found the softer sections awkward! In truth it probably didn’t matter much what footwear people chose. Times as a whole were a minute or two faster than last year as runners negotiated their way around the combination of paths roads and grassland up and down the hills and through the trees. Perhaps the uncertainty of the conditions kept many away; the field was down by nearly 30% and sadly for Ely a number of their leading runners were missing as were most of their ladies. Despite the disappointing turnout there were a number of fine performances. Max D’Ayala clattered along happily to a fine finish position just outside the top ten and first time racer Charlie Price ran a canny race, starting slowly and picking his way through the field as the race progressed to finish with a fine 22nd place. Steve Tovey showed signs of rekindling his early year form, and Tony Kirby Cook, Jose Perez, Matt Holmes, Alex Seabright and Ian Blatchford all posted fine times and places. There were strong determined finishes too from Lionel Smith, Andy Nixon and Jon Pennington but unique on the day was Emily Knight. Emily was the entire ladies senior team by herself and she ran her heart out for the cause, putting on a fine sprint to the finish in front of her cheering Ely Supporters. Sadly the lack of another two ladies for Ely and League stalwarts missing through injury, illness or christmas duties meant Ely were destined to score badly in the team event and so it was. On the day Ely Seniors came a disappointing 11th with 1359 running points and are now 8th in the League at the halfway point of the season. Thanks as ever go to Tony Hall for logistics and runner support at the finish and to Club Coach Alan Rutterford for acting as team captain on the day.
11th Max D'Ayala 29:51 (Scoring Team –M) Ely Runners were 11th on the day with 1359 running points. Junior Race Report The day before the Frostbite Race on Hinchingbrook Park the course was thick with mud, and the event threatened to be a tough muddy slog. However as race day dawned the grassy meadow at the start was frosted white and the muddy course had pretty much solidified. Times as a whole were faster than last year as runners negotiated their way around the combination of paths roads and grassland up and down the hills and through the trees.
Like the Seniors, Ely Juniors suffered on the day due to illness and injury. The lack of a full scoring team impacted their ability to make progress in the team competition but at least those present ran their hearts out and managed some fine individual performances. As usual Robyn managed a fine high finish position and Alex, Fraser and Molly ran in their own closely fought ‘battle of Ely’, spurring each other on.
15th Robyn Seabright 10:51
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| RACE 2 - Bushfield, Peterborough - 7/11/2010 | ||
| Individual results | Team results | Photographs: Juniors |
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On Sunday the Frostbite League rolled into Peterborough for the second race of the winter series. As usual the race route took in cycle paths and quiet urban roads around Bushfield in Peterborough. This race often produces the largest entry of the series and this year once again there were well in excess of 500 runners present. Before the start Frostbite Secretary Adrian Jarvis reported the sad news of two Frostbite Runner fatalities at the recent Great Eastern Run – as a mark of respect he requested a round of applause lasting one minute to celebrate the life of those departed. Thunderous applause rang out for the full minute as the gathered runners paid their respects to their fellow sportsmen. The race began with the usual chaotic sprint along the quiet roads cheered on by the many spectators. There were 24 Ely Runners in the assembled field with a number of 1st timer Frostbite runners amongst them. First home for Ely was Alex Tate, although his sprint for home was not helped by a painful stitch down the last mile. Ian Day continued his fine recent run of form with a strong finish in 12th, ahead of Stephen Pettit who at least had the consolation of a new PB and Club MV45 record. Stephen’s was one of three Club Records set on the day – congratulations also to Alex Seabright and Peter Harris for their new club marks. There were also a good number of new PBs – Kieren Drane, Kevin Fox and Jon Pennington lowered their existing marks whilst Sarah Edwards, Jodie Johnson and Jason Pattison recorded their first 5m time on their Frostbite debuts. On the day Ely Seniors were lacking one or two of the faster runners in both the mens and ladies teams to challenge for top honours, finishing in a slightly disappointing 8th place overall with 1037 running points. Despite that they still retained fourth place in the league with 24 points. Well done to all runners and supporters and thanks to Club Coach Alan Rutterford for his encouragement for all his charges. Conditions were damp underfoot and the recent leaf-fall made the cycle paths a little slippery. Weather was quite cool but bright with no wind. .
4th Alex Tate 26:23 (Scoring Team –M) Ely Runners were 8th on the day with 1037 running points. Junior Race Report There were eight Ely Juniors at the second Junior Frostbite Race of the Series at Peterborough. Conditions were damp underfoot and the recent leaf-fall made the cycle paths a little slippery. Weather was quite cool but bright with no wind.
22nd Robyn Seabright 09:01
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| RACE 1 - Priory Park St. Neots - 3/10/2010 | ||
| Individual results | Team results | Photographs: Juniors Seniors |
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There were 24 Ely Runner seniors at the first Frostbite Friendly League Race of the season. Due to building work at the nearby school the course was slightly different to previous years, being wholly contained within the park. Otherwise it was business as usual with familiar soft grassy fields underfoot and low hanging branches through the trees for three laps. Parts of the course through the woods were narrow and muddy which made overtaking difficult and the park does have a number of challenging climbs and descents on each lap.
3rd Alex Tate 27:56 (Scoring Team – M) Ely Runners were 4th on the day with 726 running points. Junior Race Report As Ely juniors start their 2010-2011 Frostbite League campaign it is perhaps a good time to remember that one short year ago two Ely Juniors competed in the very first Frostbite race. This year there were 9 Ely Juniors racing and they all ran their hearts out.
1st Ashley Pettit 07:19
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