A mixed batch of events for the energetic Dacorum & Tring athletes

Proving that Dacorum & Tring Road Runners are a multi-talented bunch, this weekend saw club members competing in half marathons, marathons, duathlons, triathlons and swimming events.
Dacorum & Tring athletes were in action across the country over the weekendDacorum & Tring athletes were in action across the country over the weekend
Dacorum & Tring athletes were in action across the country over the weekend

Saturday saw Jan Strachan head to Scotland to take part in the G2E ultra marathon. Following a route of 55 miles from Glasgow to Edinburgh, Jan finished as 6th female and 35th overall in an incredible time of 9 hrs 58.

Hannah Bennet took to the pool on Saturday, to compete in the British Masters Swimming Championships. Smashing her lifetime best in the 200m backstroke, she also came away with a silver medal in the 50m backstroke.

Hannah followed this with a run at the Oakley 20 on Sunday. Combining the race with her training for the Milton Keynes Marathon in May, she still managed to come away with a four-minute PB of 2:52:40.

Dacorum & Tring athletes were in action across the country over the weekendDacorum & Tring athletes were in action across the country over the weekend
Dacorum & Tring athletes were in action across the country over the weekend

Kate Crossland also attempted a double-header, tackling the OneTrue Grit 10k obstacle course on Saturday and Hyde Park 10k on Sunday in a superb 10k time of 52:44.

Meanwhile, a large contingent travelled across the country to take part in the annual Exe to Axe endurance event; competing as solo runners or relay teams over 20 miles of trail on tough, undulating coastline.

There were seven relay teams, with Rob and Matt Salt the first relay team home for the club followed by twins Sam Sullivan and Alison Richardson, Gary Sturdy and Steve Shaw, Steve Russell and Meg Brooks, Kirsty Russell and Jessica Tanner, Michelle Ashwell and David Stears, and Sam Hawkridge, Ken Perry and Ant Gomm running as a trio.

Barbara and Bruce Baker ran the entire route, as did Richard Belsey and Alex Bayliss. Despite being part of a relay team, Alex, Michelle, David and Jessica also decided to attempt the entire 20-mile course.

Dacorum and Tring AC showed their grit at the Exe to Axe raceDacorum and Tring AC showed their grit at the Exe to Axe race
Dacorum and Tring AC showed their grit at the Exe to Axe race

Thanks to some incredible performances from Rob and Matt Salt, Dacorum & Tring retained the relay trophy for the third year running.

Following on from her incredible result in Bedford, Sam Fawcett combined her cycling and running skills once again to finish as first lady at the Windsor Sprint Duathlon, completing the course in 1:22:21.

Attempting his very first triathlon, Casper Du Buisson raced the Chilly Sprint Tri in Luton. Over a 400m swim, 20k cycle and 5k run, Casper finished in 72nd position in a time of 1:34.

Clare Hunt and Kayleigh Halvey headed to Richmond, with Clare taking on the Richmond Half Marathon. Smashing her PB to finish in 1:43:38, Clare knocked an amazing 72s off last year’s time over the mixed terrain course. Also having a fantastic race, Kayleigh ran her first 10k, dipping under the one-hour mark to finish in 58:41.

Dacorum & Tring athletes were in action across the country over the weekendDacorum & Tring athletes were in action across the country over the weekend
Dacorum & Tring athletes were in action across the country over the weekend

Jamie Marlow took on the Reading Half Marathon, knocking seven-seconds off his PB to come home in 1:17:09.

Heading over the channel, there were two athletes taking part in the Paris marathon. Manon Pagniez and Luke Waller were both taking on their first marathons, with Manon finishing in 3:46:00, with Luke clocking 4:53:42.

Finally, hopping over to Berlin, Claire Copperwhite completed the Berlin Half Marathon in 1:59.

Meanwhile, 45 Dacorum & Tring Athletes represented the team at eight different parkruns.

Dacorum and Tring AC showed their grit at the Exe to Axe raceDacorum and Tring AC showed their grit at the Exe to Axe race
Dacorum and Tring AC showed their grit at the Exe to Axe race

First up, a large group travelled to Black park to celebrate Chris Kitchener’s 100th parkrun attempt. The 21 person team smashed out some fantastic results with Richard Brawn first home in a new PB of 19:35. He was ably paced by Jamie Marlow who finished just behind in 19:36.

Richard Bentley was next up in 21:10 with Martin Kerr not far behind in 21:34. They were closely tailed by Thomas Ashton (22:40), Rachel Lewis (23:07), Darren Lewis (23:16). Rasmi Nanda, who is set to complete his 50th park run next weekend, crossed the line in 23:55.

Then came John Stevens (24:18), Richard Stevens (24:29), Elliott Kitchener and Chris Kitchener who finished in 25:36 and 25:37 respectively, Jules Robinson (25:37) and Debbie Kennard, completing her very first park run in 25:38.

Completing Dacorum & Tring’s dominant showing were Penny Wallduck (25:45), Jim Mason (25:52), Henry Ashton (accomplishing his 10th park run in 26:33), Charlotte Ashton (26:34), Esther Hamilton (26:36), Denise Buford (29:29) and Rebecca White (32:02). Robert Davies was also competing in his first ever parkrun at Black Park alongside Wendy Pearson who didn’t have a barcode.

Further afield, a team of D&T’s hardiest endurance athletes headed to the west coast to take on the Exe to Axe 20 mile coastal run and, as a gentle warm-up, took on the Longrun Meadow parkrun in Taunton as well.

Finishing in 25:48 was Matthew David Stears, followed by Jessica Tanner in 26:29, Michelle Ashwell (27:21), Kirsty Russell (28:25) and Rob Deane (28:30). Despite not taking their barcodes, Steve Russell and Steve Shaw also took on the 5k route as a prelude to Sunday’s long distance event.

Up in Leeds, Louise Flower was our lone runner at Woodhouse Moore parkrun finishing in a superb time of 24:47.

Closer to home Matt Hamilton sped around Wycombe Rye for a fantastic 18:31 finish and in Tring Celia Findlay attacked the hilly course to cross the line in 25:51.

Heading over to St Albans, Janice Briggs raced to a 29:50 5k, with Peter Bailey not far behind in 32:33.

Despite the hills, three Dacorum & Tring athletes scored PB’s at Gadebridge parkrun; Jamie Saunders bringing the team home with a new PB of 20:20 and a fourth place to boot. Thomas Durrant also cracked his PB to finish in 21:31. Michael Lamb was next in 23:28 followed by Patrick Mostyn in 24:27.

A new PB from Wendy Durrant saw her cross the line in 25:25 and Andrew Mitchell (25:43), Gwen Mostyn (26:29), Fay Wishart (50:22) and Karen Wishart (50:24) all completed the course in style.

Finally, there were three competitors flying the purple flag at Cassiobury; Duncan Hamilton (20:51), Tim Coysh (21:30) and Douglas Hamilton (21:31).

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