Pakenham was the location for all the action at the latest Suffolk Winter League Cross Country. Testing out the new course for the first time it was Bethany Wilson representing the Juniors and finishing 6th in the U13 Girls category in a time of 13:40. For the Seniors it was Gary Malliband completing the 5 mile muddy course in 38:06 for 21st in his age group. Sabine Schaefer followed closely in 39:35 for 3rd in her age group.

Sabine Schaefer was the sole TAC competitor in the Go Beyond Events held at High Lodge at the weekend. Sabine was victorious in the 3 lap 15k trail run (although the course was actually closer to 18k) winning the race convincingly in 79:11 claiming 1st female and 4th overall.

The final race of the Ryston Cross Country Winter Series was held 2 weeks ago with regular TAC members participating. In the final Junior race of the series Poppy Findlay finished in 7th in the U9 Girls in 3:48, Jake Dorbin once again took 1st place in the U13 Boys in 11:07, Alfie Findlay in the same age group finished in 4th in 12:16. Bethany Wilson achieved 2nd place in the U13 Girls in 12:42. For the Seniors it was Kevin Vaughan victorious again for the V55 Men in 24:33 and Karl Wright finished 4th in the Senior men in 26:31. All of the these results were collated into the overall series and Thetford Athletics Club were awarded 3rd place in the Visitors Club category. Jack Dorbin took the series win for the U13 Boys with Callum Wing taking 3rd. Bethany Wilson took 2nd place in the series in the U13 Girls and Kevin Vaughan overall 1st in the Mens V55; Kevin was also presented with the award for most Outstanding Performance.

There was a good turnout at the Cambridge Half Marathon at the weekend from Thetford AC. The new course which included views of the Kings College proved fast and flat with many PB’s achieved. Thetford’s first runner to finish was Chris Greenough with a PB in 1:32:14 followed by Gary Malliband also with a PB in 1:36:57. Other Thetford runners included Robert Hamlen 1:38:31, Peter Elliott 1:39:35, Nicola Greenough with a PB 1:41:24, Sam Bellotti 1:41:24, Carri Vendy 2:08:05, Neil Vendy 2:08:09, Wendy Howard 2:14:12 and Ann Kirton with a PB in 2:14:12.

With blue skies and warm light winds Punta Umbria (Spain) was the perfect location for Simon and Charlotte Smith to take part in the 2020 European Duathlon Championships. For Simon is was due to be a double race weekend taking part in both the Sprint race (5k run, 20k bike, 2.5k run) and the Standard distance (10k run, 36k bike, 5k run). The sprint race took part on Saturday with Simon excelling with some superb run and bike splits to finish in 1:01:53 for 16th place in his age group. On the Sunday Charlotte enjoyed the amazing Standard distance course of smooth tarmac and beautiful coastal stretches of road to finish her first GBR experience in 2:09:31 and 4th in her age group. Unfortunately for Simon his second race of the weekend was cut short after sustaining a foot injury during the first run. He later discovered after an X-ray that he had broken a bone.

NATIONAL INDOOR TITLE

The England Athletics National Indoor Track and Field Championships was held in Sheffield at the English Institute of Sport.

Thetford AC athlete Jessica Norkett made the journey to contest the U20 Women’s 1500m.

It proved a successful day for Jess where she was victorious, winning the 1500m National title.

NATIONAL CROSS COUNTRY ACTION

The England Athletics National Cross Country Championships was held at Wollaton Park, Nottingham.

Due to the recent weather conditions and rainfall, the course was tricky to say the least, with parts of the course representing a river.

Thetford AC had two athletes contesting these difficult conditions, both having fantastic races, competing amongst a field of 364 athletes. In the U15 age group James Peck had another great race, finishing in 19th place whilst Ben Peck ran fantastically to finish 2nd and take home the silver medal, following up last years success in the U13 age group.