As well as filling the field at Tamworth, others in blue headed to the home of the Nanpantan Scouts for the 10-mile adventure of the Charnwood Challenge. Runners (and walkers) tackle the fields across Woodhouse Eaves, the steep ascents of Windmill Hill, Broombriggs and the Beacon before heading back to the finish line.

Five avid explorers got themselves prepared for this one, led out by James Ogilvie who set a club course record for the event, finishing in 1:32:21 for 29th place. Both Rob Slack and Allie Sturla ran their first 10-mile distances as Ivanhoe members, finishing in 1:53:07 and 2:24:12 respectively.

Sandwiching our two debutants was Tim Sturla and Julia Blewitt-Jenkins, finishing in 2:01:06 and 2:23:58. Well done to you all.

Mid-week saw the first hosting of the Dave Denton one mile and 5K events of the autumn/winter season, with the longer of the two distances providing an opportunity for runners to earn points towards the annual club Grand Prix. 🏁

The mile goes off first at 7pm, an opportunity for a gentle warm up, or alternatively give the legs a real spin out. Earning himself the overall win in the 1.6km blast was speedster Matt Pleass 🥇, club course record holder set in 2018, who ran the September edition in 5:08. Gracing the top 10 was Patrick Horn in a magnificent time of 5:49, ahead of Andrew Stanley who ran 6:02 for 16th place.

First Ivanhoe lady was Lindsay Tilbury in 8:19 with partner Paul Woods running alongside in 8:20, Mark Bradford only 10 seconds behind for 40th place. Helen Brandon ran a strong mile to conclude the team in 9:02.

With perhaps just enough time to re-group our superb seven lined up once more for the main event, this time Paul took the Ivanhoe crown 👑 and a personal best running 18:35 for 9th place. Pleass ran 19:03 for 13th and Andrew Stanley ran 19:40 for 15th.

Horn ran strong for a 22:13 finish for 30th, right behind him was Mark in 31st running 22:18. Lindsay and Helen both ran good races on this course they’re both familiar with, completing in 25:05 and 33:12 respectively. Great job team. The next races will be held on Wednesday 12 October. Google “Dave Denton 5K”.

Written by Emily Partridge - last updated on 07/12/2022