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Tiptree take 5th team at Braintree 5

The inaugural Braintree 5 saw a strong turnout from Tiptree Road Runners, with some excellent individual performances that placed the club in 5^th place in the team event, ahead of many much larger clubs. James Haskey-Jones was first home for Tiptree in a time of 30:01 that improved his personal best by 30 seconds and gave him 12^th place in the race. Simon Morgan’s run of 31:43 placed him 35^th while Laura Shewbridge took 7^th place in the ladies event with a time of 32:41. Mark Brewer continued his comeback with a first road race in an encouraging time of 34:50. Vince Monk showed that he had recovered after a difficult run in the tough Orion 15 to clinch second place in the V60 category with a time of 35:27. Malcolm Bailey came home in 35;57, followed by Matt Davey, making his debut on the road for the club with a time of 36:04. Jim Slater’s run of 36:34 gave him 4^th V60 place, while Phill Clarke ran a steady 36:52. Beckie Ivory made her club debut at 5 miles with a strong-finishing run of 38:18, followed by Ian Linton running his fastest time for 7 years in 38:25 and Matt Kett in 39:01. Helen Ivory’s time of 39:29 gave her 3^rd spot in the F55 category. Carolyn Bownes ran 42;30, followed by Tina Clarke in 42;46. Roger Duffield ran 43;53 to win the V70 category, with Barry Dobson (44;34) and Dawn Shilling (45:50) completing the Tiptree team.

Top 30 place for James at Orion 15

James Haskey-Jones continued his outstanding season by finishing in 30th place in the Orion 15, one of the classic cross-country races. The race which takes in 15 miles of muddy tracks and serious hills through Epping Forest is reckoned to be one of the toughest courses in the country, with heavy overnight rain making the conditions even more diffiicult for all competitors. James' time of 1:49:30 was more than 4 minutes faster than his previous run in similar conditions two years before. Most of the other Tiptree competitors were making their debut at this race. Simon Morgan had a strong run to finish in 1:57:57 in 67th place. Vicky Sheldon's run of 2;12;20 gave her 23rd spot in the ladies event, while Phill Clarke, who probably preferred the drier conditions at last year's Orion, finished in 2;l4;13, followed by Malcolm Bailey in his debut at 2;16:41. Anthony Knight, 2:25:43, and Ian Linton, 2;27:14 were also first timers. Vince Monk, 2:31:03, and Jim Slater, 2:31:26, found the strength-sapping conditions took their toll in the later stages of the race. Carolyn Bownes and Tina Clarke were unlucky just to miss the cut-off tiime at the 10 mile point and had to leave the race, but both put in creditable performances up to that stage.

Fast times at Brentwood

The Brentwood half-marathon saw a series of fast times by Tiptree runners. Alex Jamieson, back to running after a long absence, ran a very encouraging 1;26;43, not far from his personal best. Laura Shewbridge posted another fast run with a time of 1;32:28, while Paul Dellar set a personal best, finishing in 1;33:14. Ted Skinner completed the Tiptree squad with a run of 1:37;15.

Strong running at The Grizzly

Twenty three TRRs made the trip to Devon for the Grizzly and the Cub. In a field of nearly 1500 finishers, Laura was 138th and 7th lady, with Simon finishing in 148th spot. Good team running throughout the field and some superb stamina from Tina, Carolyn and dawn who were on the run for over 5 hours. in the Cub, Ted finished 29th in a 300 strong field. Full TRR places and provisional times on the results page.

James' warm-up recipe for the Essex 20

James warmed up for the Essex 20 with an early morning Aquathon - 400 metre swim, plus a 5K run in 19:52. He then travelled to Great Bromley and completed the 20 in 2;16:32, 10 minutes faster than he ran the same course last year. A few weeks ago, James did a similar morning double before the Great Bentley half-marathon where he set a PB. Does this tell us something about proper warm-ups!! Greg and Martin opted for a more conventional warm-up, with Greg finishing in a strong 2;17 to set a new personal best by six minutes and Martin not far from his best in 2;36:24.

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