Just a week after completing the Norfolk Coastal Marathon and taking time out to recover from a bruised knee, Ryston’s very own Super Gran Jane Ashby was back in action and back to winning ways at the Bure Valley 10k on Sunday.
The evergreen 75-year-old stormed to victory in the F75 category, clocking 1:26:10, an improvement of six minutes on her previous best, and achieving a remarkable 94% age grading.
Ashby was placed 165th overall in a field of almost 300.
Teammate Max Dinmore also put in a solid performance, running 1:17:20 for 107th place and 27th in the Senior Men’s category.
Closer to home, no fewer than 16 Ryston members tackled the Run Sandringham Half Marathon, held in cool, damp but favourable running conditions.
Leading the club home was Andy Williamson, finishing 11th overall and 8th in the Senior Men’s category with a time of 1:28:24.
There were standout performances throughout the field. Jit Patel (M65) and Gina Hurrell (F60) both won their respective age groups, with Patel achieving a personal best of 1:42:45 and Hurrell clocking 1:53:45.
Chris Vurley also set a new PB, completing the course in 1:46:21, good enough for 14th in the M40 category. Pauline Drewery claimed third place in the F55 group with 2:06:16.
Several other Ryston runners narrowly missed out on podium finishes in their age categories, including Jake Whitehouse (M45), Tony Savage (M60), Julie Walker (F40) and Heather Pocklington (F65).
Among the other finishers were: Whitehouse (1:34:27, 56th), Jurgita Jovaisiene (1:45:41, 12th Senior Female), Savage (1:46:33), Walker (1:47:50), Alex Field (1:49:16), Graeme Reynolds (1:50:01), Jonathan Pentelow (1:50:18), Hurrell, Wiktoria and Irena Marcinek (both 2:00:50), Drewery, Julia Norman (2:11:36), Olivia Chaplin (2:14:24), Wayne and Rebecca Sheppard (both 2:19:52), Andrew Hooks (2:23:50), Emma Wilding (2:37:04), Jacqui Scott (2:37:07) and Pocklington (2:39:23).
Further afield, Chris Chaplin impressed with a strong run at the Ladybower 22k Trail Race in Derbyshire, finishing 13th in 1:42:22.
And earlier in the week, Nathan Stockdale hit a major personal milestone at the RAF 10k Championships at RAF Wittering, breaking the 34-minute barrier for the first time with a superb 33:59.
It capped another busy and successful week for Ryston Runners, with athletes excelling on both road and trail, at home and abroad.
