The Freethorpe 10 mile road race took place on Sunday and amongst more than 600 runners was a very strong entry from Waveney Valley Athletic Club. 21 club members took part and for many of the newest members it was an opportunity to secure a satisfying debut time at the distance, mindful that the standards awards presentations will take place in the spring. Lloyd Scriven led his clubmates home in a personal best time of 1-05.17 in 40th place followed by Karim Ouaddane in 1-06.00 in 47th. Tim Earl was 53rd in 1-06.42, not far short of his best form, while club secretary Richard Aukland was 61st in 1-07.38. Mike Quantrill finished 122nd in 1-12.32, a personal best, then Bill Kingaby, just a few strides behind, finished in 127th in 1-12.35 and was awarded the third place trophy in his age group. Wayne Freeman, hampered by a calf injury, finished 151st in 1-14.51, Paul Grant was 159th in 1-15.22 and Mark Smith 197th in 1-17.27. Rob Knights, in his first 10 miler, was 224th in 1-18.12, then Caren Elvin and Peter Andrews crossed the finish line together, in 295th and 296th, both in a time of 1-23.28. Becky Langford was 315th in 1-24.29, Lisa Joyce 352nd in 1-27.15 and Jo Fisk 412th in 1-31.02. Suzy Knights, in her first 10 miler, was 437th in 1-32.55, with a first also for Nina Hopson-Pope, finishing 496th in 1-38.33. Jayne Richardson recorded a personal best 1-40.21 in 509th with her husband Alan 510th in the same time. Gavin Hamilton, making his debut for the club, apart from a 5k parkrun, finished 567th in 1-49.05 with his wife Karen 570th in 1-49.18.
Members achieving personal best times at 5k parkruns in January were:- Sarah Phillips 27:26, Mark Colman 24:22, Louise Adamson 25:07, Wayne Freeman 20:48, Rob Knights 21:26, Paul Peek 23:00, Thomas Spurgeon 23:57, Lisa Wilson 28:55, Catherine Fisher 33:10, Gemma Aldred 34:24, Sam Jacks 20:05, Alan Varle 25:15, Jay Butcher 25:23, Jo Fisk 26:38 and Tracie Ashford 28:54. Gavin Hamilton and Mike Illingworth made their first appearances for the club.