Ivanhoe Runners held their annual Adrian Smith 10k handicap event on the familiar trails around Conkers. 25 club members took part in the "closed" event which commemorates a founder club member and raises money for the British Heart Foundation, who benefited by £150 from the event. 

The handicappers set Julie Henfrey off first, and she brilliantly held off all the chasers to win the race with her time of 1.14.46 for the 10k course. Second in the race was Helen Finn, beating her handicap time by over 4 minutes as she clocked 52.50 to clock a personal best time. Kelly Finney returned to club action after an absence, and despite not enjoying the run clocked an impressive 59.48 to clinch third place. Shane Stanton had a good run to beat his handicap by 2.44 to clock 50.16 and finish fourth. 

The handicappers did a good job as runners were now finishing very close together - 5th place went to Roger Beaven who ran 47.38 - his fastest 10k for some time - to finish just one second ahead of Faith Tipper who ran 45.09 to finish 6th and set a new personal best. Close behind, Emily Wideman ran the fastest ladies time of the day, 44.40, to finish 7th (also a personal best), ahead of Grania Towle 8th with 59.59. Louis Barnes enjoyed his run for 9th place in 41.25, knocking nearly a minute off his previous best time, and Chris Finney completed the top ten with a time of 46.11. 

Lindsay Tilbury set a new 10k personal best as she clocked 52.56 in 11th, ahead of three runners in the next 11 seconds - Sophie Cooper 12th in 48.36 in her first 10k with Ivanhoe, Bob White 13th in 47.31 and Judith Webster-Sanders 14th in 53.43. Andrea Trickett was 15th in 48.47, being the last of the runners to beat their handicap times. Recent Ivanhoe addition Andrew Stanley was just 6 seconds outside his handicap as he ran 44.06, finishing 16th, and Patrick Horn was 17th in 43.15. New members Charlene Withnall and Gemma Shaw started together and finished just ten seconds apart in their first 10k with Ivanhoe Runners, Charlene finishing 18th in 57.25 and Charlene 19th in 57.35.

Craig Hinds had a tough handicap but ran a blinder, clocking the fastest time of the day with 37.50, placing 20th. Damon Bland was 21st in 46.32, Sarah Malone 22nd in 54.22 and Richard Trevelyan 23rd in 50.53. Martin Yeomans remarkably did the race after completing his first half-ironman triathlon the day before, which made his 47.05 time look pretty impressive. Matt Pleass had the hardest handicap time on the field, and with no company for the race after Hinds disappeared into the distance, clocked a leisurely for him 41.55. So, another great club event with much fun, fundraising and cake - perfect. 

Written by Kevin Sanders - last updated on 11/09/2017