Newport Carnival 10K

One of the major events of the Carnival last Saturday was the 10K race organised by Newport and District Running Club and almost 170 athletes from around the local area and the Midlands congregated on Longford Hall.The weather was glorious, but not all the athletes appreciated it once the race got under way.Starting in the grounds of Longford Hall it did not take long for the field to start to spread out and the leading bunch of Chris Bagshaw(Telford), Daniel Lewis (Newport) and Andrzej Swatowski (Rugeley) were already starting to pull away as they progressed along the Longford Road towards the town.The runners received great support as they ran up the High Street and turned into the Wellington Road and by then the heat had started to effect some of the runners and positions began to change with Adams GS teacher Robin Sedman Smith beginning to close the gap on the leaders.Special mention must go to the Three Amigos of Paul Harrison, Stephen Whiles and Paul Dain who for the second year in a row, dressed as Mexicans in ponchos and sombreros and should raise several hundred pounds in sponsorship for a local hospice.By the finish, Chris Bagshaw had pulled away to finish in 33m 54s, 15seconds ahead of Robin Sedman Smith. Andrzej Swatowski was third in35m08s. Claire Martin had an excellent run to overcome the heat of the day to finish 4th overall and first lady in 35m 39s.Thanks must go to all the race sponsors and all those who helped set up,record, marshal and clear up and ensure that everything ran smoothly on the day.

Shropshire 4 Mile

The third race of Telford AC's Sexarathon series took place at the Shropshire Golf and Leisure centre last Wednesday in extremely hot and sultry conditions.Newport and District Running Club again made a major impact in the race fielding no less than forty four runners in an entry of nearly 250.In their now familiar kit, the green machine that is Newport Running Club were among the front runners right from the start, with Dan Lewis rubbing shoulders with the leaders over the first two miles of this four mile race around the golf course and Granville Country Park. They managed to extend a small gap over the last lap, but he still did extremely well to finish in third position in a time of 21m 37s.Ed Jopling was not too far adrift and seemed to be maintaining his good form in the series with a 14th place in 23m 10s and Robin Guy is improving as the series progresses, managing 19th place in 23m 50s. Paul Parkinson had a good run over what was, for him, a new event and he was satisfied with a respectable 25th place in 24m 26s. Noel Hogan and Glenn MacDonald-Jones had a head to head battle all the way round the course with positions changing several times, but Noel just managed to keep ahead in the race for the line to be placed 30th in 24m 55s with Glenn 31st just 3 seconds behind.Another runner who maintained good form was Maurice Reid and saw off some stiff competition to cross the line in 25m 44s and gain 40th place. His efforts were almost matched by Graham Rogers, who put in a massive effort to improve on his previous results and be 54th in 26m 27s.Other Newport Club runners results were:Pete Johnstone 59th 26m 47sIan Kevan 67th 27m 06sBrian Kelson 69th 27m 13sSteve Fowles 70th 27m 15sSandy Mackenzie 79th 27m 43sMark Deighton 84th 27m 53sMandy Purves 91st 28m 03sSelwyn Plant 97th 28m 28sKaren Harvey 102nd 28m 40sBernie Holbrook 108th 28m 52sRodney Jones 112nd 28m 57sGraham Tate 121st 29m 52sRichard Guy 125th 30m 06sRoger Kerr 128th 30m 17sClaire Benbow 130th 30m 19sKevin Bright 135th 30m 35sTony Churm 137th 30m 42sSusan Marshall 140th 30m 45sJudy Clayton 146th 30m 59sSandra Pattinson 156th 31m 22sKevin Nicklin 160th 31m 46s pbOliver Stokes 161st 31m 48sAndrew Bentley 166th 32m 20sHelen MacDonald-Jones167th 32m 22sHelen Hadebe 173rd 32m 50sSandra Dainty 175th 32m 54sEdward Christie 182nd 33m 15sKim Anten 190th 33m 56sTony Hall 198th 34m 25sGraham Kenyon 205th 35m 21sJohn Stokes 207th 35m 41sSonya Phillips 208th 35m 44sPaula Holloway 212th 36m 37sAnne Strowger 220th 37m 22sRachel Stoney 224th 37m 51sJill Kelson 235th 40m 05s