On Sunday, the Suffolk Cross Country Championships were held in the picturesque grounds of
Heveningham Hall, near Halesworth. 
The weather was kind to the athletes but conditions were muddy and slippery and really tested the skills and
endurance of the runners. Representing Waveney Valley Athletic Club in the Under-11 2km and Under-13 3km boys races were brothers William and George Browne, both new to the cross country scene.
William ran a strong race, finishing 9th in a time of 8:56. George, up against an experienced field of  thirty
athletes in his race, did not let his nerves get to him. He started strong and continued to push throughout the race, finishing an excellent 17th in a time of 12:00. A fantastic start for the Browne brothers, and the club looks forward to further races from these talented young runners.
Due to illness and injury, Jamie Besford was Waveney’s only entrant in the Under-15 4km boys race. He started well and continued to keep up the pace and finished a credible 10th in 13:26.  
Harriet Lyman continues to produce impressive performances. In the Under-17 5km women’s race, she finished 2nd in a time of 20:49. 
This Sunday, Haughley Park, Stowmarket is the venue for the third fixture in the Suffolk Winter Cross Country League. From a total of seventeen clubs, Waveney Valley are having a superb season and sit proudly on top of the combined mens and womens A,B and C senior leagues.

Waveney Valley Athletic Club members attended the annual Groggy Doggy cross country races on Boxing Day, in which man’s best friend got to share the limelight with their owners. The races were held on Outney Common in Bungay and there was plenty of mud and water for the competitors to contend with.
One lap of the course was 2.1 miles and in the one lap and dog event Peter Andrews, with Beau, had an very fast run, finishing in third place from over 40 entries in a time of 17:33. Jay Butcher finished in a time of 24:05, Beth Bell 29:15 and Jo Fisk 29:20. In the 2 laps and dog event, covering 4.2 miles, Stuart Spurgeon was placed 9th in 41:49 and Chris Bradford 21st in 46:38. 
One lap, no dog – 24 Cheryl Goymer 28:06. 2 laps, no dog – 5 Matt Jeffries 29:14, 18 Dylan Neeve  34:28, 19 Tim Earl 34:33, 21 Peter Rogers 35:09, 39 Leon Neeve 37:20, 68 Nigel Herrod 40:49, 107 Rebecca Harris 45:40, 113 Suzy Knights 46:43, 114 Stuart Brown 46:48, 141 Jane Hunt 53:47, 142 Rob Knights 53:48. Juniors 13-16 – 3 Harriet Lyman 17:37, 10 Thomas Spurgeon 22:34. 9-12 1.5miles – 11 William Butcher 11:19.
Just before Christmas, Mark Smith journeyed to the south coast to take part in the Portsmouth Coastal Waterside Marathon. From an entry of more than 1,000 runners he finished in 473rd place in a time of 4-09.25.
On Monday, six members competed in the Wymondham 10k. David Mower finished 177th in 46:10, 413 Chris Mills 54:10 PB, 422 Louise Adamson 54:38, 430 Alan Varle 54:56, 480 Jane Hunt 57:47 PB and 611 Angela Mower 1-08.03. 
December 5k parkruns personal bests – Wayne Freeman 20:25, Jon Andrews 23:18, Sue Woolnough 25:49, Jo Fisk 26:13, Oakley Arnould 24:57, Amanda Scarff 26:49, Sarah James 30:47, Angelene Ayers 34:32, Jon Comyn 19:25, Simon Stevens 23:58, Stuart Brighty 26:18, Patricia Tuttle 26:47, Laura Head 31:00, Amie Ogilvie 33:57, Lindsay Howlett 23:44, Charles Hardy 26:29, Lee Roth 26:41, Henry Hardy 31:46, Vaughn Beckham 24:02, Thomas Russell 24:34, Daryl McKeown 24:57, Tina Winney 27:27, George Browne 20:32, William Browne 24:13, Caroline Clamp 30:28, Lisa Cone 30:14, Taela Hodds 36:27 and Mark Thompson 18:42.

Sunday’s annual Turkey Trot 10-mile road race, organised by Waveney Valley Athletic Club, had a sell-out entry of over 400 competitors, with a total of 375 finishers. It was yet another Turkey Trot race record, beating last years previous highest total of 277 by almost 100.
The race, which started and finished near Sir John Leman High School in Beccles, took in the country lanes round Ilketshall St Andrew and Ringsfield and was staged in pleasantly mild conditions for the time of year.
Joe Skipper, one of the region’s best known athletes, won the race in 2014 and he triumphed for the second time on Sunday. The leading runners by the half way point, which included Skipper, Matthew Jeffries and Lee Cook of Waveney Valley A.C., Matt Pyatt of Ryston Runners and Rob Chenery of Ipswich Jaffa, were all in close contention until Skipper gradually stretched his lead to cross the line in first place in a time of 54:22. Jeffries was second in 54:50 and Pyatt third in 55:54.
Laura Shewbridge of Colchester Harriers A.C. was first lady to finish in a time of 1-04:51, her first victory in the
race. Second was Cat Cummings of Wymondham A.C. in 1-09:11 and third Emma Attwood of Stowmarket Striders in 1-12:05.
Ipswich Jaffa won the men’s team prize and Stowmarket Striders won the ladies.
The fancy dress entries was also a record. The trophies were sponsored once again by Wine Vaults of Beccles and the mens winner was Simon Sparkes, firmly attached to ‘ Clive the bear ‘ with Christine ‘ Christmas cracker ‘ Baker the ladies winner.

Age category winners were: M40 Richard Hayes ( U/A ) 58:46, M45 Adam Howlett ( Framlingham Flyers ) 57:45, M50 Andrew Buck ( Sudbury Joggers ) 1-04:25, M55 Alan Jackson ( Ipswich Jaffa ) 1-09:14, M60 Terry Garrity ( Bungay Black Dog R.C ) 1-17:01, M65 Jim Hayes ( North Norfolk Beach Runners ) 1-17:26, F40 Sarah Proffitt ( Felixstowe R.R.C ) 1-18:13, F45 Karen Archbold ( Lowestoft R.R.) 1-13:42, F50 Ruth Gaunt ( Norwich R.R.)
1-18:26, F55 Jenny Sheahan ( U/A ) 1-21:02, F60 Hazel Garrity ( BBDRC ) 1-21:25, F65 Carole Spong
(Great Yarmouth R.R.).

Waveney Valley A.C. results: 2 Matt Jeffries 54:50, 5 Lee Cook 56:26, 26 Sebastian Lakes 1-03.17, 27 Chris Pimlott
1-03.33, 34 Lloyd Scriven 1-04.18, 36 Dylan Neeve 1-04.25, 51 Daniel Harris 1-06.51, 58 Steve Carruthers 1-08.32, 63 Kyle Bowles 1-09.24, 67 Jon Comyn 1-10.13, 69 Leon Neeve 1-10.29, 76 Bob Milner 1-11.48, 78 Paul Wright 1-12.04, 84 Wayne Freeman 1-12.50, 98 Billy Underdown 1-14.22, 149 Lisa Knights 1-19.44, 186 Joe Mayne 1-23.53, 190 Alan Richardson 1-24.04, 204 Rebecca Harris 1-25.49, 206 David Goosey 1-26.33, 240 Stuart Smith 1-30.57, 249 Jay Butcher 1-31.48, 253 Sarah Norman 1-32.13, 254 Mark Smith 1-32.13, 260 Vicki
Archard 1-32.56, 304 Jane Hunt 1-39.00, 320 Gary Elvin 1-41.48, 325 Beth Bell 1-43.39, 352 Demelza Hammond 1-48.55, 375 Donna Milner 2-03.47.

Woodbridge – Cross Country
Waveney Valley Athletic Club senior’s continued their successful start to the Suffolk Winter cross country league, in fielding another strong squad of 51 runners in the second fixture, at Sutton near Woodbridge.
The A combined ladies and men’s team accumulated a total of 2359 points on the day, which resulted in them in moving to the top of the league, they are now 82 points ahead of second place Ipswich Harriers. The club’s B and C teams are also top of their leagues, a brilliant all round team performance from all the seniors, which included a lot of new members competing in their first cross country event.
The one lap course which covered a distance of 4.7 miles, involved runners having to run over some very sandy, undulating health land, which fortunately was relatively dry underfoot, except for one area of sticky mud, which was near the finish of the race. Matt Jeffries was once again the top runner for the club, crossing the line in 3rd place overall, which secured him first place in the senior men’s age group. Just eight seconds adrift was Dominic Oliver who clinched 4th place overall (2nd senior). The rest of the men’s A team packed in well, with all of them finishing in the top 35. Jay Lingwood 25th. Richard Moore 29th (2nd Vet 50). Dylan Neeve obviously found the conditions to his liking in finishing in 30th place overall, which was some forty five places improvement on his performance at the previous race at Framlingham; he was closely followed by Sebastian Lakes 33rd and club captain Chris Pimlott 35th.
In the ladies section, Sam Lines continues to impress in finishing in second place, but was first in the senior ladies age group. Rose Nicholson, still on the come back from an injury put in a solid run to take ninth place overall, was third senior lady. Ann Millett was second in the V60 section and Sarah Norman was third in the V35+ ladies section.
Senior Results:
3rd Matt Jeffries 25:28. 4th Dominic Oliver 25:36. 25th Jay Lingwood 28:43. 29th Richard Moore (V50) 28:48. 30th Dylan Neeve 28:48. 33rd Sebastian Lakes 29:04. 35th Chris Pimlott (V40) 29:05. 42nd Lloyd Scriven (V40) 29:17. 50th Sam Lines (1st senior lady) 29:35. 56th Daniel Harris 29:49. 58th James Drake 29:55. 61st Tim Earl 30:06. 90th Paul Sullivan (V50) 31:25. 91st Steven Carruthers (V45) 31:29. 93rd Jon Comyn 31:32. 107th Peter Andrews (V45) 31:59. 108th Liam Nudd 32:00. 110th Tim Moore 32:05. 112th Rose Nicholson (3rd senior lady) 32:13. 113th Leon Neeve 32:14. 115th Paul Wright (V40). 32:16. 116th Richard Chilvers (V45). 122nd Colin Galer 32:21. 136th Robert Milner 32:45. 160th Mark Smith (V40) 33:58. 163rd Billy Underdown 34:09. 169th Nigel Herrod (V55) 34:25. 182nd Bill Kingaby (V60) 34:51. 191st David Mower (V60) 35:08. 200th Stuart Brown 35:33. 211th Ben Crane 36:04. 234th Stuart Spurgeon (V40) 37:01. 236th Ann Millett (V60) 37:04. 238th Chris Comyn 37:12. 241st Alan Fairs (V45) 37:18. 252nd Simon Stevens (V45) 37:58. 259th Ray Knights (V60) 38:19. 267th Tony Millett (V60) 38:39. 277th Steve Gibbs (V50) 38:57. 278th Sarah Norman (V35) 38:58. 283rd Vladimir Laptikhovsky (V50) 39:06. 287th Kylie Rafferty (V35) 39:16. 289th Anita Drake (V35) 39:21. 310th Roberta Kay ((V50) 40:31. 316th Daryl McKeown 40:46. 324th Alan Varle (V70) 41:10. 350th Karle Howard (V45) 42:24. 361st Louise Harrod (V45) 43:17. 364th James Gooch (V40) 43:54. 397 Kaly Gooch (V50) 48:52. 400th Nicky Illingworth (Lady V40) 49:14.
In the supporting junior race, Waveney numbers were down from the previous race at Framlingham, owing to a lot of them competing the day before in a Suffolk Schools Cross Country Event.
Sam Stevens who is having a excellent winter season, put in another great run to finish in sixth place overall was third in the U15 section with his time of 12:41.
Harriet Lyman, recorded a remarkable double, she finished top in her age group (U17) in the Schools competition the day before, she then went on to win the girls race outright at Sutton with her time of 13:19. Alex Wilson clocked a creditable14:07 in finishing 18th overall (7th in the boys U15). Making her debut in cross country, Oakley Arnould who has competed in several 5km Lowestoft park runs, proved to be just as strong over the mixed terrain at Sutton, took 39th place overall in 16:19 (8th in the Girls U13 section).

Waveney Valley Athletic Club were rewarded at the 2016 Suffolk Sports Awards for their hard
work and dedication. The club, and its longest serving member Brian Boardley, were amongst several high calibre nominations, which led to an assessment panel, which included local authorities, Suffolk County Council and Suffolk Sport, having to make some very hard decisions. 
The event was sponsored by Archant, Harrod UK, Radio Suffolk and Suffolk Sport and the ceremony was held at the Trinity Park Conference Centre in Ipswich. Waveney Valley A.C had been shortlisted in the club of the year category and Brian for the Unsung Hero Award. 
To the delight of club members present, Brian won the Unsung Hero Award, for the volunteer who has made the most outstanding contribution to local sport . His service to athletics in Lowestoft and the Waveney area has spanned almost 50 years and he is well respected by his colleagues and athletes. 
From the eight awards presented at the event, the very next was for the Club of the Year, for clubs which hold a
Clubmark or equivalent NGB accreditation and have worked hard to encourage members of the community into their sport.
Waveney Valley received the runners-up award, second to Ipswich Harriers Athletics Club. 
On the recent road racing scene, twenty members competed in the Southwold 10k, results: 20 Lloyd Scriven 40:03, 32 James Drake 41:23, 43 Steve Carruthers 42:33, 54 Peter Andrews 43:12, 56 Bob Milner 43:23, 112 Matt Baldry 46:26, 197 Rob Knights 49:46, 229 Lindsay Howlett 50:49, 234 Ray Knights 50:51, 239 Suzy Knights 51:06 pb, 294 Laura Cotton 52:49, 340 Louise Adamson 54:21, 352 Alan Varle 54:42, 364 Chris Mills 55:18 pb, 395 Jo Fisk 56:38, 477 Amanda Scarff 1-00.04, 545 Beth Bell 1-02.43, 580 Nicky Illingsworth 1-04.06, 625 Claire Green 1-06.38, 680 Donna Milner 1-14.37.
Other results: Lincoln Half Marathon – Karle Howard 1-55.23, Rockingham 10k (Corby) – Rob Knights 48:38, Karle Howard 53:23 pb, Stowmarket Scenic 7 – Louise Adamson 1-00.54, Alan Varle 1-02.06, Hadleigh 10m – Alan Richardson 1-27.00. 
5k parkrun personal bests: Olivia Gelston 36:38, Emma Branch 36:53, Colin Galer 20:33, Rebecca Harris 23:47, Sarah Norman 25:20, Lee Roth 27:00, Lisa Cone 30:41, Harriet Lyman 19:23,
Andy Ayers 22:15, Simon Stevens 24:18, Daniel Critoph 26:46
and Nicky Illingsworth 30:30.

Waveney Valley Athletic Club had a record number of senior athletes competing together at a race, with 54 members turning out for the first meeting of the Suffolk Winter Cross Country League, at Framlingham.
Waveney fielded some very strong teams, which resulted in the A ladies and men’s combined team finishing in 2nd place overall, just 2 points adrift of league leaders Ipswich Harriers. The B and C teams finished top of their section. An excellent all round team effort from all Waveney runners.
The 3-lap senior course that was held in the grounds of Framlingham Castle, which involved runners having to contend with running up and down the steep paths leading in and out of the moat several times.
Matt Jeffries was in fine form, being the lead runner home for the team, in clocking 25:09 in 2nd place overall, and top in his age group. Dominic Oliver was in the top 10 finishers in crossing the line in 6th place overall in 25:51. The rest of the A team runners all finished in the top 40 placing’s. Lee Cook 16th (27:18). Mark Thompson making a welcome return to the sport and the club was 24th with 27:58. Also making a comeback was Richard Moore who showed his class in finishing in 35th place overall but more importantly was top in his age group V50+.
Close on his heels and recording the same time of 28:38 was Jay Lingwood. Not far behind was Sebastian Lakes who clocked 29:03 in 40th place. In the ladies section Sam Lines carried her rich vein of form from the road to the cross country in being the third lady but first in her age-group in finishing in 63rd place overall in 30:14. Rose Nicholson, who is recovering from an injury, put in a steady performance finished 69th place overall, was fourth lady and 2nd in her age group with her time of 30:41. Jessica Vincent was third lady home for the club, recorded 37:08, crossing the line just two places behind was Lisa Knights who clocked 37:16.
Other notable performances, Alan Varle competing in his first cross -country race finished top his age group V70+. Ann Milett 1st in the V60+ age group.

Senior results:
2nd Matt Jefferies 25:09. 6th Dominic Oliver 25:51. 16th Lee Cook 27:18.24th Mark Thompson (V40) 27:58. 35th Richard Moore (V50) 28:38. 37th Jay Lingwood 28:38.40th Sebastian Lakes 29:03. 48th Chris Pimlott (V40) 29:33. 54th Martin Horlock (V40) 29:54. 56th Lloyd Scriven 30:03. Ist lady for club Sam Lines 63rd in 30:14. Close on her heels in 64th place was Graham Watering (V40). 68th Daniel Harris 30:25. 69th Rose Nicholson 30:41.71st Tim Earl 30:49. 75th Dylan Neeve 30:58. 99th Paul Sullivan (V50+) 31:49. 103rd Peter Andrews (V45) 31:53. 119th Liam Nudd. 32:36. 122nd Jon Comyn 32:39. 130th Steven Carruthers (V45) 32:58. 133rd Jason Browne (V40) 33:05.134th Paul Wright (V40) 33:07. 148th Leon Neeve 33:48 149th Nigel Herrod (V55) 33:49. 156th Richard Chilvers (V45) 34:00. 157th Colin Gater 34:02 162nd Robert Milner 34:14. 190th Chris Bradford 35:29. 202nd Mike Illingworth (V45) 35:59. 206th David Mower (V60+) 36:03. 225th Jessica Vincent 37:08. 227th Lisa Knights (V40) 37:16. 256th Alan Fairs (V45). 38:42. 261st Vladimir Laptikhovsky (V50+) 38:59. 265th Ann Millett (V60) 39:13. 288th Rob Knights 40:39. 301st Tony Millett (V60). 41:22. 303rd Sarah Norman (V35) 41:27. 305th Jay Butcher (Vet Lady 35+) 41:33. 312th Karle Howard (V45) 41:41. 346th Cheryl Goymer (V50). 43:17. 350th Alan Varle (V70) 43:36. 355th Joe Mayne (V50) 43:56. 357th Stephanie Pimlott (V35) 44:01. 362nd Gary Elvin (V40). 44:09. 374th Stuart Smith (V55) 44:54. 383rd James Gooch (V40) 45:48. 411th Sarah Phillips (V45). 48:57. 412th Paul Peek (V55) 48:58. 414th Kaly Gooch (V50) 49:16. 422nd Tracy Soanes (V45) 50:34. 439th Amie Ogilvie 59:08. 440th Alan Richardson (V65) 59:10.

In the junior race, as well as the more experienced middle distance runners the team also included several members who usually compete in sprint and throw events in the track and field season. So most of the squad used the cross-country race as part of their strength training during the winter period and they handled the tough terrain very well and recorded some very creditable times.
The junior middle distance runners were to the fore for the club, with Jamie Besford (U15) finishing strongly to secure 11th place overall with 10:17, only one second adrift was Sam Stevens in 12th. Harriet Lyman finished first in the U.17 age group, in finishing in 29th place overall with 10:57.

Junior results:
11th Jamie Besford (U15) 10:17. 12th Sam Stevens (U15) 10:18. 29th Harriet Lyman (U17) 10:57. 40th Alec Wilson (U15) 11:31. 57th Chase Hodds (U13) 12:33. 62nd Abeni Beckham (U13) 12:50. 73rd Tobias Scriven (U15) 13:13. 74th Benjamin Cone (U13) 13:13. 75th Naomi Boots (U15) 13:13. 76th Nathan Littlejohns 13:21. 79th Vaughan Beckman (U13) 13:29. 82nd Mason Hodds (U17) 13:37. 83rd Lily Collins (U17) 13:39. 90th James Russell (U17) 14:32. 96th Ethan Hodds (U13) 15:08.

Running a marathon can be a tough challenge in sport, but when that distance includes encircling the highest peak in England and Wales, the race becomes even more demanding.  On October 29, Waveney Valley A.C. members Lisa and David Joyce joined more than 2,000 runners to put their stamina to the test in the Snowdonia Marathon, which started and finished in the village of Llanberis. The steepest climb in the spectacular route on Mount Snowdon, of around 1,200ft, appeared in the later stages of the event before the descent to the finish.
Lisa, who was getting over a head cold before the race, was forced to stop at the 17 mile point and was wrapped in a foil blanket temporarily before resuming to finish in a time of 5-37.18. It was her third marathon and she described it as by far her toughest ever race. 
It was her husband David’s first marathon and he completed the race in a time of 4-37.30. 
At the Trowse 10k, held on the same weekend, Ray Knights finished 215th in a time of 50:50, Jo Fisk was 350th in 56:05 and Chris Mills 480th in 1-06.18. At the Holt 10k, Bill Kingaby, recovering from hamstring problems, was 124th from a field of just under 400 competitors in 46:38. The race was the final in the 10-race Leathes Prior Norfolk Grand Prix 2016 series and he has finished second in his age group.
At the Martlesham 10k, Peter Andrews recorded a personal best 42:30 while in the 5k event Alan and Jayne Richardson also achieved pb’s of  24:32 and 27:40 respectively. Amie Ogilvie, in her first 5k, finished in 35:02. On Sunday, three club members took part in the inaugural Bure Valley 10 mile race. David Mower was 95th in 1-17.39, Lisa Knights 98th in 1-18.08 and Angela Mower 241st in 1-54.03. 
Personal best times recorded at the 5k parkruns: Tina Winney 28:26, Sam Stevens 18:38, Peter Andrews 20:28, Benjamin Cone 21:19, Billy Underdown 21:33, Nathan Littlejohns 22:53, Beth Bell 27:07, Jon Comyn 19:32, Leon Neeve 19:59, Oakley Arnould 25:46, Sue Woolnough 25:54, Stephanie Pimlott 26:03, James Gooch 27:14, Lee Roth 27:15, Jayne Richardson 27:16, Rebecca Clough 31:04, Steve Carruthers 20:54, Paul Brown
> 22:35, Jon Andrews 23:41, Alan Richardson 23:45, Simon Stevens 24:58, Amanda Scarff 27:49, Laura Head 31:04, Jane Spendlove 34:20, Claire Parfrey 30:04, Amie Jane Williams 27:37 and Mark Thompson 18:46.

Almost fifty members of Waveney Valley Athletics Club competed in road races over the last couple of weeks, at events as far apart as Great Yarmouth and Amsterdam. 
The East Coast 10k, held at Great Yarmouth attracted, as expected, the club’s biggest entry with 38 members taking part on a very windy Sunday morning.  
The race provided an opportunity for one of Waveney Valley’s leading runners, Samantha Lines ( formerly Jacks ) to put her hard training to the test and she produced an excellent performance to finish first lady in a personal best time of 40:20, in 30th place overall. First to finish for the club was Sebastian Lakes in 18th in 38:56. Other placings:- 40 Tim Earl 41:21, 57 Bob Milner 42:52, 59 Jon Comyn 43:01, 64 Peter Andrews 43:35, 65 Steve Carruthers 43:30, 73 Wayne Freeman 44:14, 92 Daniel Harris 45:34, 111 David Mower 47:00, 160 Rob Knights 49:56, 172 Andy Ayers 50:44, 178 Kylie Rafferty 51:17, 184 Joe Mayne 51:41, 186 Lindsay Howlett 51:41, 190 Rebecca Harris 51:52, 200 Paul Harrod 52:27, 201 Ray Knights 52:14, 211 Stephanie Pimlott 52:46, 214 Sarah Norman 52:47, 224 Jon Andrews 53:26, 250 Stuart Smith 54:40, 269 Vicky Wood 55:36, 278 Sue Woolnough 55:55, 286 Patricia Tuttle 56:42, 287 Lisa Wilson 56:44, 288 David Goosey 56:50, 298 Samantha Claxton 57:38, 301 Jane Hunt 57:50, 308 Sarah Phillips 58:40, 366 Gavin Hamilton 1.03:05, 387 Rebecca Clough 1.05:15, 388 Amanda Scarff 1.05:26, 403 Angela Mower 1.07:47, 404 Kevin Stolworthy 1.07:53, 432 Justine Gillings 1.12:46, 435 Jane Spendlove 1.15:04, 441 Donna Milner 1.16:42 
Five members travelled to Amsterdam, two taking part in the city marathon and three in the half marathon. Becky Langford was delighted with another strong long distance race. Achieving her third marathon personal best in a row, she finished in a time of 3.41:26. Jason Browne, in his debut marathon for the club, clocked a very creditable time of 3.32:37. In the half marathon Karle Howard ran 1.56:40, Suzy Knights 1.59:59 and Jo Fisk 2.08:01.
At the Saxmundham 5 mile event, 15 year old Harriet Lyman, competing in her first race as a senior, finished 35th in a time of 35:03 and was awarded the prize for third lady. Alan Richardson was 99th in 43:21, Jayne Richardson 144th in 50:16 and Amie Ogilvie in her first 5 mile race, was 177th in 1.02:01.

A dozen members of Waveney Valley Athletics Club competed in the Nicholsons Lowestoft Half Marathon. For some, it was their first race at the distance. Others, including long-serving member Alan Richardson, have chalked up several half marathons and he had one of the stand-out performances, finishing first in the M65+ age group in 126th place overall in a time of 1:54.08. 
261 athletes completed the race with Dylan Neeve the first to finish for Waveney Valley, in 14th place in 1:31.21. 28th was Daniel Harris 1:35.12, 44th Mike Quantrill 1:38.52, 45th Jon Comyn 1:39.07, 50th Jason Browne 1:40.23, 82nd Becky Langford 1:47.39, 95th Steve Gibbs 1:50.17, 132nd Vladimir Laptikhovsky 1:55.06, 158th David Lewis 1:58.47, 192nd Lisa Joyce 2:07.20, 211th Daryl McKeown 2:15.21. 
On Sunday Matt Baldry took part in the Plusnet Yorkshire Marathon, one of the UK’s largest, in the City of York. It was his debut marathon and he finished in a time of 3:53.42, in 1,118th place from more than 4,000 runners. Also on Sunday, David Mower finished in a time of 1:44.43 at the Peterborough Half Marathon. 
At the last two 5k regional parkruns, there have been personal best times recorded by:- David Mower 20:52, Benjamin Cone 22:02, Thomas Spurgeon 22:37, Vaughn Beckham 24:18, Abeni Beckham 24:46, Cheryl Goymer 25:02, Vicky Wood 25:12, Sue Woolnough 26:30, Gavin Hamilton 28:24, Angela Mower 31:38, Sebastian Lakes 18:02, Billy Underdown 21:51, Tina Winney 28:40, Jane Spendlove 34:36, Caroline Clamp 31:35 and Mark Thompson 18:53.

Waveney Valley Athletics Club member Beth Bell competed in her debut half marathon at the weekend in Ely. Finishing in a time of 2 hours 17 minutes. Beth started training at the Beccles beginners sessions earlier in the year and has tackled most of the shorter distances since then. Achieving many personal bests since her first race. She was accompanied by Rob Knights, who was given the same finish time. Beth’s mother Jo Fisk also took part, clocking 2 hours 10 minutes. 
Three members took part in the Great North Run on September 11th. Matt Baldry finished in 1:40:12, Bob Milner in 1:36:07 and Jo Fisk in 2:15:19. On the same day Paul Peel and Sarah Philips ventured to South London to take part in the Beckenham Half Marathon. Paul ran a time of 2:16:40 Sarah 2:16:44. 
At the Ipswich Half Marathon on September 18th, Liam Nudd finished 149th from an entry of more than 1,000, in a time of 1:41:48. Alan Richardson recorded a personal best 2:00:49, finishing in 514th place. On Sunday, Lisa Wilson joined a field of almost 300 hundred runners at the Jolly Jaguars 10K, held at Coltishall, and finished in a time of 55:43, in 161st place.
Members that have achieved personal best times this month at the 5k parkruns are :- Peter Andrews 21:30, Jon Andrew 24:21, Oakley Arnould 25:53, Abeni Beckham 29:58, Michaela Gooch 29:59, Sam Stevens 18:56, Billy Underdown 22:20, Ella Newman 26:49, Jayne Richardson 27:45, Samantha Claxton 27:56, Donna Milner 35:32, Amie Jane Williams 28:28, Michael Illinsworth 21:55 and Alan Richardson 27:36.

Waveney Valley Athletic Club member Suzy Knights achieved her best ever 5k time at the Gorleston
Parkrun on Saturday. In-form Suzy, a club member for around three years, knocked more than one and a half minutes off her previous best time to record a new pb of 24:22. One of Waveney’s most competitive sportswomen, Suzy, who is also a member of Beccles Triathlon Club, completed her weekend by
taking part in a Fritton Lake swimming event on Sunday where she took on the challenge of all three distances on the event list, swims of 5k, 3k and 1.5k. Her clubmate Jo Fisk, competing in her first open water swim event, completed the1.5k course.
Club members who also recorded personal best times over the last two parkruns were Sam Jacks 18:50, Thomas Russell 26:35, James Russell 27:59, Lee Roth 29:05, Tina Winney 29:23, Sam Stevens 19:11, Vaughn Beckham 25:08 and Oakley Arnould 27:48.
Chris Pimlott competed in the Dereham 5k on August 28 and finished in 36th place in a time of 18:48 and on Sunday Mark Smith journeyed to Wiltshire for the Chippenham Half Marathon and finished 645th from a field of almost 1600, in 1.56:08. At the Framlingham 10k on Sunday, Alan Richardson, returning from injury, was pleased to complete the race in a time of 53:48, in 173rd place from 293 runners.

Waveney Valley Athletic Club’s Matt Jeffries achieved yet another road race success with an emphatic victory in the Great Yarmouth Half Marathon. Bradwell-based Matt, who lives just a few roads away from the race HQ at Ormiston Venture Academy, made full use of the familiar district and led from start to finish to win in a personal best time of 1.12:25. Matt has been one of the club’s star performers this year, with county titles at various race distances amongst his achievements.
There were nine other Waveney members from the big field of 355 athletes. Scores race organiser Timothy Earl finished 25th in a time of 1.27:54 and club secretary Richard Aukland ran a personal best 1.28:25 to finish 29th. Paul Wright was 96th in 1.40:10, Jason Browne 111th in 1.41:52, Stuart Brown
119th in 1.42:42, Mike Quantrill 136th in 1.45:52, Bill Kingaby 145th in 1.46:04, Becky Langford 159th in 1.48:07 and Vladimir Laptikhovsky 223rd in 1.57:39.
A number of members have achieved personal best times at this months regional 5k parkruns to date. They are Sebastian Lakes 18:57, Andy Ayers 23:08, Samuel McDonald 28:57, Gill Johnson 29:24, Lee Roth 29:58, Beth Bell 28:00, David Goosey 23:46, Dylan Neeve 19:01, Peter Rogers 20:24 and Tracey Peak 30:39. Diane Harvey 35:08, Darren Vince> 33:34, Thomas Russell 28:15, Tina Winney 30:41 and Amie Williams 29:26.