Waveney Valley Athletic Club runners travelled to Ditchingham on a cool, blustery evening to compete in race one of the Bungay 10k summer series.
This summer’s training programme has been going very well for many of the club members and once again there were new best times recorded despite the windy conditions. From a field of 127 athletes, Lloyd Scriven led his clubmates home,
finishing 14th in a personal best 39:44 with Bob Milner next in 20th in 42:25.
Steve Carruthers was 23rd in 42:35, Mike Quantrill 27th in a personal best 43:18 and Bill Kingaby 34th in 44:36. Ray Knights and Jay Butcher were competing in their
first 10k races and finished 54th in 48:11 and 81st in 53:04 respectively. Cheryl Goymer was 90th, achieving a new best time of 53:51, with a personal best also for Jo Fisk in 97th
with a time of 55:26.
At the Vitality London 10k, in the event which acts as the British 10k championships, Bob and Donna Milner and Graham Jackson competed for Waveney Valley. Bob has steadily improved his times since he joined the club last summer and he crossed the finish line in London in a personal best 40:26, around seven minutes faster than his first 10k twelve months ago. Graham in his first race for club ran 1.11:30 Donna recorded a time of 1.15:37. This popular event had more than 1,000 runners taking part.
At the Mike Groves 10k, which was staged on the former RAF Coltishall base, Bob Milner was in action again, finishing 31st from a field of 317 competitors, in a time of 40:36,
with Matt Baldry 86th in 44:20.
Anyone wishing to enquire about Waveney Valley A.C’s training programme, including for beginners, please contact Alan Fairs for Lowestoft 07879 545477, Richard Aukland for
Beccles 07906 094578 or Michaela Gooch for juniors 07941 423244.

Nine personal best times were recorded by members of Waveney Valley Athletic Club at the third and final race in this years Great Yarmouth promenade 5-mile series. Though most of the club’s leading athletes were unavailable for the final race, almost two dozen existing and new members formed part of a 278 strong field of runners.
Bob Milner, Matt Baldry, Jason Browne, Mike Illingsworth, Duncan Carter, Vicky Wood, Lisa Wilson, Tracie Ashford and Zoe Caston achieved pb’s, while Ray Knights made his debut appearance for the club. Mike Quantrill completed the course with his daughter Bethany, who was running a 5-mile race for the first time.
Harriet Lyman was awarded the first place trophy again in the Junior Girls 15-17 age category to complete a well deserved set of three for the series.
WVAC results- 39 Kyle Bowles 31:51, 60 Bob Milner 32:55pb,62 Harriet Lyman 33:05, 69 Steve Carruthers 33:25, 88 Matt Baldry 34:27pb, 94 Jason Browne 34:38pb, 98 Bill Kingaby 35:01, 104 Mike Illingsworth 35.31pb, 131 Ray Knights 36:50, 145 Steve Gibbs 37:46, 154 Duncan Carter 38:25pb, 174 Rebecca Harris 39:47, 185 Becky Langford 39:49, 213 Vicky Wood 42:51pb, 229 Lisa Wilson 44:08pb, 245 Tracie Ashford 46:25pb, 252 Mike Quantrill 46:45, 259 Zoe Caston 48:10pb and 260 Sarah Phillips 48:11.
Two evenings later, Bill Kingaby was the lone club entrant in the Framlingham ‘ Friday Five ‘ and finished 85th from 304 runners in a time of 34:54.
At Saturday’s Lowestoft 5k parkrun, there were personal bests for Ray Knights 22:33 and Laura Head 31:40 while at the Gorleston parkrun Angie Jeffs ran a new best of 39:32 and Bob Milner 18:57. New member Liam Nudd ran a time of 19:34

More than 100 members of Waveney Valley Athletic Club celebrated at the club’s combined 20th anniversary party and awards ceremony which took place recently.

For most, the awards were for annual achievements including most improved runner and age standards but for one long-serving member, it was an award for his unbroken and loyal 46 years’ service to athletics in the Waveney area.
In November 1970, Brian Boardley, with three like-minded running friends, formed Lowestoft AC. Brian had been a notable athlete in London with a best time of 53:12 for 10 miles but retired from competition through knee
injury seven years after moving to Lowestoft in 1969.
A qualified coach and race timekeeper, Brian was very much involved in the merger between Lowestoft AC and Beccles AC in the spring of 1996 with the new club being called Waveney Valley Athletic Club. He had served as club chairman for Lowestoft AC and has since for Waveney Valley AC.
He received the Chairman’s Lifetime Achievement Award from club chairman Alan Fairs.

On the racing scene, nineteen members competed in race one of the Great Yarmouth Promenade 5 mile series. Top honours went to Lee Cook for a splendid fourth place, and Harriet Lyman who has eased very comfortably up to the five mile distance from 5k’s, winning the Junior Girls 15-17 age group trophy in style.
WVAC results- 4 Lee Cook 27:28, 35 Lloyd Scriven 31:15, 36 Tim Earl 31:20, 41 Sebastian Lakes 31:49, 58 Harriet Lyman 33:10, 75 Bill Kingaby 34:46, 83 Matt Baldry 35:15, 94 new member Grant Rix 36:15, 95 David Mower 36:21, 128 Steve Gibbs 38:10, 156 Becky Langford 39:44, 172 Jay Butcher 41:18, 187 Cheryl Goymer 42:50, 189 Stuart Smith 42:52, 197 Stephanie Pimlott 43:23, 200 Sarah Phillips 43:36, 212 Jo Fisk 44:47, 228 Tracie Ashford 47:43 and 238 new member Zoe Caston 49:33.
On Sunday, five members took part in the Dereham 10-mile road race in very hot and sunny weather. Becky Langford seemed to cope best with the conditions, finishing in yet another personal best time. But the rest of the team found the going very tough in the heat.
Kyle Bowles was competing in his first official 10-mile race but was down on his training times while Mike Quantrill and Jo Fiske were below their recent form. Bill Kingaby was more than ten minutes slower than his previous ‘ ten-miler ‘ back in February, but still managed to win the third place trophy in his age group. When he was called up to receive it however, he was clearly overheard saying it was a miracle. Results- 57 Kyle Bowles 1-13.49, 130 Bill Kingaby 1-22.50, 132 Becky Langford 1-23.02pb, 138 Mike Quantrill 1-23.51 and 279 Jo Fiske 1-46.57. Almost 350 runners took part.
It was a race where all of the competitors truly earned their ribboned medals as they crossed the finish line.

Thirteen members of Waveney Valley Athletic Club ran in the London Marathon:-
Lisa Knights 7th marathon, 4th London. Has run a marathon each year since her first in 2010. Raised money for Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation. Time of 3-32.07. Hasalready entered next years Brighton Marathon.
James Cousins his 6th London Marathon. Raised money for Tommy’s, the baby charity. Recorded a personal best 3-20.23.
Lisa Joyce her first marathon. Said she enjoyed the atmosphere, high-fiving kids and hugging friends. Has raised £700 since February when she learned she was accepted into the SSAFA charity. Time of 4-50.09.
Paul Peek his first marathon, having taking up running just last year. Together with Paul Harrod, raised more than £2,300 for EACH. The two Pauls started at different points
at different times but met at 22 miles and finished together. Paul Peek’s time was 4-03.04. Paul Harrod finished in a personal best 4-09.06.
David Goosey joined Waveney Valley A.C. three years ago to improve his fitness. Running his first marathon, he raised money for Make-A-Wish Foundation. His time 4-15.39.
Rose Nicholson – Her third marathon and second London. Ran a personal best 2-48.16 and is now 22nd in the ladies UK rankings for this year.
Other times for Waveney Valley A.C. members were – Emily Robbins 3-19.34, Caren Elvin 4-29.35, Alan Richardson 5-16.26, Jayne Richardson 5-21.32, Sharni McDonald 5-27.45
and Samantha Catchpole 6-37.57.

Waveney Valley Athletic Club’s mens and ladies team scored a notable double success at the Lowestoft 5 mile prom dash on April 3 as they both won first team prizes.
82 runners completed the race with Mike Quantrill 9th in 34:42, Bob Milner 12th in 35:24 and Matt Baldry 22nd in 36:57 the mens team victors and Jay Butcher 45th in 41:46, Suzy Knights 51st in 42:30 and Jo Fisk 57th in 44:22 the winning ladies trio. Also competing for Waveney Valley were Paul Brown 23rd in 36:58, Rob Knights 24th in 37:01, Cheryl Goymer 58th in 44:31, Lisa Wilson 59th in 44:32 and Tracie Ashford 66th in 47:11.
At the Wymondham 20 mile race, also April 3, new member Lee Cook finished a very impressive 4th from a field of 279. A regular on the regional road running scene, he completed the course in a time of 2-01.18. Karim Ouaddane joined the club at the start of the winter cross country season and has become a popular member in club training sessions and races. His recent target had been the Paris Marathon but was then unable to travel so the Wymondham race became a timely alternative. He finished 18th in 2-13.47, knocking eight minutes off his course pb. Long-standing member Alan Richardson was 183rd in 3-11.31.
Three members took part in the recent Trowse 10k. James Cousins was placed 41st in 41:15, Matt Baldry 137th in 47:37 and Jo Fisk 337th in 57:11.

Waveney Valley Athletic Club members toasted success after a busy weekend with top honours going to Matt Jeffries for a highly impressive victory in the Bungay Marathon. Matt, in his debut marathon, completed the tough hilly two lap race in a time of 2-39:30. He also broke the course record, which was set five years ago, by more than three minutes. As the race incorporated the Suffolk County Half Marathon Championships, he was also presented with the winners’ county championship medal. Bob Milner, also running a marathon for the first time, finished a very praiseworthy 44th in a time of 3-33:09. There were 168 runners taking part.
In the Bungay Half Marathon there were 522 competitors with Waveney Valley entering a dozen members. Lee Cook led his team home in third place in a time of 1-15:33. Karim Ouaddane was 16th in a personal best 1-25:44 with a pb also for Chris Pimlott in 18th in 1-26:27. Tim Earl finished in 23rd in 1-27:16, Lloyd Scriven 42nd in 1-32:18 and Sam Jacks, in her debut half marathon was 71st in 1-37:41.
Bill Kingaby finished in 79th place in 1-39:13 and first in the M60-64 age category and won the county title also in the category. Mark Smith was 102nd in 1-42:11, David Mower 138th – 2nd in M60-64 category – in 1-45:44 and Michael Illingworth 153rd in 1-47:29. Stuart Smith recorded a pb time of 2-00:11 in 292nd and Laura Cotton was 293rd in 2-00:18.
In the 10k event Matt Baldry was 25th 46:26, Kyle Bowles 35th 48:06, Alan Richardson 51st 51:19 pb, Philip Worlledge 57th 51:48, Jo Fisk 85th 56:19, Sarah Phillips 98th 57:01
and Jayne Richardson 117th 59:26 pb.
On the same day, three members competed in the Brighton Marathon. Wayne Freeman recorded a time of 3-52:14, Becky Langford 3-53.37 – a personal best by 30 minutes and JoeMayne 4-47:35.
The weekend celebrations had started on the Friday evening with the prize presentation for the Suffolk Winter Cross Country Series at Framlingham Sports Hall. Top awards went to Rose Nicholson and Matt Jeffries who won the league titles. Harriet Lyman was first in the Girls 15-17 age category with 3rd place trophies for Sam Jacks in the Ladies Seniors and Bill Kingaby in the Mens 60-64 categories.

David Mower achieved an excellent performance at the Barcelona Marathon recently, knocking more than five minutes off his previous fastest time to record a personal best 3-47.23 in his fourth marathon.
David’s impresssive run adds to the sizeable list of p.b’s he has attained in recent years over a number of different distances. His son Chris, who lives and works in Bury St Edmunds and is a member of Bury Pacers, added to the family success story by running a time of 2-58.56 in the same race, also a personal best.
At the Broadland Half Marathon on March 13, five club members were in action. Mike Quantrill finished 79th out of 378 finishers in a time of 1-36.43. Rob Knights was 227th in 1-58.28, Alan Richardson 231st in 1-58.52, Suzy Knights 279th in a personal best 2-06.26 and Cheryl Goymer 317th in 2-13.03.
Five members also competed in the Colchester Half Marathon. Almost 2,500 runners took part with Lloyd Scriven having a very strong run to finish 47th in 1-24.58. Caren Elvin and Peter Andrews recorded a time of 1-54.03, finishing in 1,015th and 1,016th. Nina Hopson-Pope was 1,735th in 2-10.28 and Philip Worlledge 1,841th in 2-12.46.
Bob Milner took part in the Silverstone Half Marathon in Northamptonshire and completed the race in a time of 1-39.45 and on March 20 Kyle Bowles finished in 28th place from almost 300 competitors at the Mad March Hare 10k at Coltishall in a time of 40:55.
At the Lowestoft parkruns, there were personal best times recorded during March by Thomas Spurgeon 22:46, Vladimir Laptikhovsky 23:46, Sarah Phillips 26:29, Gerard Gibson 28:07, Wayne O’Neill 30:37, Tracie Ashford 27:47, Cheryl Goymer 26:46, Lisa Wilson 27:13, Bob Milner 20:51, Matt Baldry 22:13, Nathan Littlejohns 23:28, Jay Butcher 24:30 and Laura Head 33:51. Making their debut at the event for the club were Daniel Harris 19:34, Samuel McDonald 31:05, Rachel Hogg 34:23, Katherine Moore 30:42 and Taela Hodds 34:07.

Fifteen members of Waveney Valley Athletic Club travelled to Beyton, near Bury St Edmunds on Sunday to compete in either the Tarpley 20 or 10 mile road races organised by Bury Pacers. Most club members tackled the longer distance, providing the opportunity to build race stamina and fitness for forthcoming spring marathons.
286 runners completed the 20 mile race with Lisa Knights first for the club, finishing 99th in a time of 2-40.05. Becky Langford was next in 150th in 2-52.44, around 40 minutes quicker than her time at last years race due to injuries from a fall off her bicycle. Wayne Freeman, trying to shrug off a calf injury before a marathon next month, was 155th in 2-53.05. Joe Mayne, Paul Peek and new member Lindsay Howlett chose to stay as a group to give each other encouragement and finished together with times of 3-02.34 for Joe and Paul and 3-02.35 for Lindsay. Lisa Joyce was 207th in 3-09.32, three and a half minutes quicker than her time last year. Patricia Tuttle and David Goosey also started and finished together, in 224th and 225th in 3-13.58 as did Jayne and Alan Richardson in 280th and 281st in 3-45.53. For some of the club members, it was their longest road race to date.
There were 305 runners in the 10 mile event with Waveney Valley’s four representatives all finishing in the top half of the field. Bill Kingaby, on his 64th birthday, finished 51st – 2nd in age category – in 1-12.17. Matt Baldry was 73rd in a personal best 1-17.50. David Mower was 112th in 1-22.53 and Paul Harrod 115th in 1-23.02.
Becky Langford, Wayne Freeman, Joe Mayne will be taking part in the Brighton Marathon on April 17 and David Mower in the Barcelona Marathon later this month. Tim Earl ventured to Woodford Green in Essex on Sunday to compete in the Roding Valley Half Marathon. From a field of 571 runners, he finished in 46th place in a time of 1-28.17.
On February 21, Rose Nicholson was placed 165th in a high calibre field of well over 2,000 in the Wokingham Half Marathon in Surrey. Her time was 1-21.47, her fastest for five years.

Members of Waveney Valley Athletic Club, both junior and senior, continue to show their support of the Lowestoft parkruns, held every Saturday on the seafront and promenade. Dozens of members have competed since the event started in October, with Harriet Lyman in particular becoming a dominant force in the 5k races. Known affectionately as Hatty by her clubmates, 15 year old Harriet is the leader in the JW11-14 and JW15-17 age categories and is the overall ladies course record holder in the event with a time of 19:51. Members that have achieved personal best times in February are: Sarah Phillips 26:49, Nathan Littlejohns 24:06, Gavin Hamilton 28:36, Gracie Parr 27:58, Lisa Wilson 28:08, Gerard Gibson 28:59, Tracie Alford 28:18, Catherine Fisher 32:04, Gemma Aldred 33:53, Chris Bradford 19:35, Matt Baldry 22:15, Thomas Spurgeon 23:51 and Jayne Richardson 28:12. Wayne O’Neill 33:38 and Seth Frankland 28:00 made their debut appearances for the club.
At the Gorleston event, Angie Jeffs has lowered her best time to 40.37.
Two club members competed in the Valentines 10k held at Easton, near Norwich recently. 430 runners completed the race with Mike Quantrill finishing in 91st place in a time of 43:42 and Vladimir Laptikhovsky 206th in 50:57.

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.

Christmas and New Year period had a variety of events to choose from, with members of Waveney Valley Athletic Club attending several in the region.
The annual Groggy Doggy races, in which man’s best friend shared the limelight with their masters, were organised by Bungay Black Dog RC and held on Outney Common in Bungay. There were awards for runners both with and without their dog, plus best fancy dress and the muddiest competitor. In the 9-12 age group race, Thomas Spurgeon was 8th in a time of 10:48 and in the 13-16 age race Tai Elvin-Andrews was 2nd in 17:11 and Tobias Scriven 9th in 23:46. In the 17 years and over one lap event plus dog, James Gooch was 12th in 26:53, Michaela Gooch 13th in 26:54 and Vicki Fairs 20th in 39:03.
The 17 and over 2 lap race plus dog saw Stuart Spurgeon finish 6th in 41:57 and Chris Bradford 9th in 43:32. In the 17 and over 2 lap race without a four-legged friend, third was Joe Skipper in 29:10, 28th Lloyd Scriven 36:24, 34th Peter Andrews 37:30, 37th Nigel Herrod 37:56, 39th Tim Earl 38:16, 133rd Alan Fairs 51:05 and 139th Caren Elvin 52:10.At the Hadleigh 10m race, 307 athletes competed with Wayne Freeman placed 54th in a time of 1-10.57. Lisa Knights was 107th in 1-16.20 and Alan Richardson 190th in 1-27.40. In the supporting 5m event Jayne Richardson finished 74th in 48:41 with Angela Mower 115th in 55:13 accompanied by her husband David 116th in 55:14.
On New Years Eve at the Marham 10k, David Mower was 21st in 44:22 with Matt Baldry 25th in a personal best 45:18, Sarah Phillips 81st, also a pb, in 57:47 and Angela Mower 104th in 1-06.39.
At Wymondham AC’s New Years Day 10k, Rose Nicholson finished 28th overall – and 2nd lady – from almost 700 entries in a time of 37:42. Rob Knights was 281st in 48:29, Louise Adamson 380th in 52:09, Suzy Knights 387th in 52:19, Alan Varle 392nd in 52:42 and Jo Fisk 481st in 56:38.
The regional 5k parkruns have kept many of Waveney Valley’s members busy on Saturday mornings. At the Lowestoft event there have been personal bests during December for Stuart Spurgeon 22:44, Sarah Phillips 27:59, Tracie Ashford 29:37,Laura Head 35:14, Jamie Besford 19:49, Matt Baldry 22:22 and Lisa Wilson 29:20. Gemma Aldred recorded 36:19 on her debut run for the club.