The hosts BRJ for the final race of the 2014-15 series set out a compact multi terrain course around Hinchingbrooke County Park. Lots of tight turns and abrupt transitions from tarmac to soft mud made a challenge for the runners. Weather was cool with a strong westerly breeze. A sixth straight win for PACTRAC's emperious Paul Vernon. ER seniors just managed to field and finish a scoring team of 7 men and three ladies. A very sharp run from Robin Webb, and consistent runs from the season's FFL die hards, but the turnout lacked the strength in depth we showed at March, St. Ives (league and championships) and RNR. The result was a slip from 8th to 9th overall.

The ladies race was somewhat lacking in numbers with the minimum three to score just being met. Again much like the junior course there was mud, water, wind and more mud. Fresh from Parliament Hills Samantha was used to the mud but found the flatness of the course meant it was faster than she is used to. Laura and Anita had good strong runs, with Anita getting a new course PB. Senior Ely Runner of the series went to Sadie Spring and Richard Hill.

A good turnout from the junior section of Ely Runners. This was the first race for some of the juniors but the held their own in the sprint start. The course saw them take in mud, waves and spray from the lake and boggy ground over 1.5 miles. We had good finishers from the team, with a spectacular sprint from James Dack to increase his place on the finish line. The prizes for the Frostbite runner of the season were handed out, and after showing great commitment throughout the season Dana Fraser and Sam Evans were awarded their trophies. Free parking was, as warned, inadequate leaving most seniors in local pay and display facilities.

Official Results (Seniors) - ~5miles (XC):

01 Paul Vernon 27:08 (PACTRAC), 23rd Robin Webb 31:25, 32nd Richard Hill 32:13, 35th Conan Fryer 32:23, 46th Caroline Woods 32: 50 (Yaxley), 47th Stephen Howard 32:56, 121st Matthew Mason 36:09, 165th Peter Harris 37:15, 201st Charlie Barker 40:00, 219th Samantha Collins-Shirley 41:01, 326th Laura Hill 50:20, 329th Anita Lewis 51:30

Senior League Positions:

Ely were 12th on the day and finnish 8th overall

Official Results (Juniors) ~1.5miles (XC):

1st Cameron Everist 9:19 (Bourne), 12th Gareth Lewis 10:32, 21st Amy Chalmers 11:01 (Hunts AC), 26th Fletcher Collins-Shirley 11:08, 33rd James Dack 11:17, 35th Aaron Clifford 11:23, 85th Blake Crossman 12:35, 101st Dana Fraser 12:57, 125th Liam Clifford 13:22, 128th Max Miller 13:26, 171st Sam Evans 14:31

Ely were 8th on the day with 230 running points.

Junior League Positions:

8th on the day, finish 7th overall

A cold and windy day made the toughest course on the FFL calendar an excellent cross country test. "Great weather for a great cross country race", according to the league's home page.

Despite the icy conditions, overall attendance was up significantly on last year, including Seventeen senior and ten junior Ely Runners. The course is famed for a cruelly muddy section near the end, but there was plenty more adversity to contend with first. The start is on firm track, but uphill, icy and narrow for the 350 some runners anxious to warm up. The profile rolls up and down twice in a mile before turning into the first mud section. After half a mile this yielded to pitted, pooled and uneven farm track across exposed high ground, almost a mile of bitter headwind before some respite in the form of boggy footpath through forest. The return to firm track heralded the return of the hills; and as they flattened out with the 4 mile mark in sight, runners knew the final test was looming: 400m of Somme- like quagmire through a dark tunnel of undergrowth. A treat included in both senior and junior courses. As the route emerges and turns left (a favorite spectator point) there is a final sting in the tail as the gradient kicks up one last time, and the runners still have 800m to sprint downhill to the line. Further in the case of the juniors. If you enjoyed it or wished you had, the Bourne Wood 10k on 19th April http://www.bournefunrun.btck.co.uk/

Official Results (Seniors) - ~5miles (XC):

19th Richard Hill 32:46 (Scoring Team-M)
27th Conan Fryer 33:25 (Scoring Team-M)
28th Robin Webb 33:27 (Scoring Team-M)
48th Stephen Howard 34:34 (Scoring Team-M)
136th Peter Harris 39:04 (Scoring Team-M)
140th Barry Graves 39:17 (Scoring Team-M)
157th Sadie Spring 39:51 (Scoring Team-F)
158th Robert Haggart 39:52 (Scoring Team-M)
186th Charlie Barker 41:37
239th Nathan Pennington 44:16
249th Samantha Collins-Shirley 44:36 (Scoring Team-F)
274th Sarah Bell 46:29 (Scoring Team-F)
282nd Claire Geary 47:19
284th John Turner 47:33
341st Laura Hill 56:11
350th Anita Lewis 58:10
355th Jon Pennington 1:00:47

There were 365 finishers. The winner was Paul Vernon (PACTRAC) in 28:21. 1st lady (12th overall) was Cat Foley (NVH) in 31:49.

Ely were 12th on the day with 1236 running points.

Senior League Positions:

8th Ely 44

Official Results (Juniors) ~1.5miles (XC):

5th Gareth Lewis 10:33 (Scoring Team)
25th Fletcher Collins-Shirley 11:53 (Scoring Team)
33rd James Dack 12:07 (Scoring Team)
74th Jacob Bell 13:30 (Scoring Team)
93rd Dana Fraser 13:59 (Scoring Team)
94th Blake Crossman 14:02
111th Gemma Bridges 14:45
148th Samuel Evans 15:57
180th Callum Bridges 17:56
181st Libby Bell 18:04

There were 197 finishers. The winner was Joey Croft (Hunts AC) in 10:03. 1st girl (9th Overall) was Megan Ellison (NVH) in 11:02.

Ely were 8th on the day with 230 running points.

Junior League Positions:

7th Ely 40

Official Results (Seniors) - ~5miles (XC):

7th Gordon Irvine 29:27 (Scoring Team-M)
22nd Ross Payne 31:32 (Scoring Team-M)
34th Richard Hill 32:17 (Scoring Team-M)
41st Conan Fryer 32:40 (Scoring Team-M)
45th Ben Cook 32:53 (Scoring Team-M)
52nd Stephen Howard 33:10 (Scoring Team-M)
58th Alex Haggart 33:24 (Scoring Team-M)
65th Lee Thompson 33:39
77th Robin Webb 34:04
86th Mark Bell 34:22
126th Matthew Mason 36:10
168th Sadie Spring 37:57 (Scoring Team-F)
169th Rob Haggart 37:58
173rd Barry Graves 38:09
183rd Ashley Blackmore 38:29
188th Louise Cadogan 38:34 (Scoring Team-F)
201st Peter Harris 38:53
212th Andrew Thompson 39:32
224th Charlie Barker 40:15
240th Martin Courtney 40:50
247th Steve Starr 41:13
249th Nathan Pennington 41:21
261st Ian Keys 41:48
277th Lionel Smith 42:18
289th Nick Dowdy 42:48
307th Samantha Collins-Shirley 43:31 (Scoring Team-F)
313th Pawel Cweirz 43:42
320th Claire Geary 44:22
333rd John Turner 45:01
416th Claire Haggart 52:09
430th Amanda Earlam 54:02
451st Anita Lewis 59:22
455th Jon Pennington 1:03:08

There were 458 finishers. The winner was Paul Vernon (PACTRAC) in 27:56. 1st lady (51st overall) was Caroline Woods (Yaxley) in 33:10.

Ely were 4th on the day with 922 running points.

Senior League Positions:

6th Ely 39

Official Results (Juniors) ~1.5miles (XC):

9th Gareth Lewis 9:22 (Scoring Team)
18th Aaron Clifford 9:52 (Scoring Team)
20th Fletcher Collins-Shirley 9:59 (Scoring Team)
21st James Dack 9:59 (Scoring Team)
35th Angus Hutchison 10:22
40th Sid Enoch 10:34
67th Dana Fraser 11:23 (Scoring Team)
71st Gemma Bridges 11:27
76th Thomas Muncey 11:33
84th Blake Crossman 11:42
118th Samuel Evans 12:29
132nd Ellie Enoch 12:47
163rd Callum Bridges 13:54
171st Holly Dack 14:21

There were 189 finishers. The winner was William Forster (Riverside) in 8:36. 1st girl (8th Overall) was Megan Ellison (NVH) in 9:18.

Ely were 5th on the day with 135 running points.

Junior League Positions:

6th Ely 32

Official Results (Seniors) - 5miles (XC):

9th Gordon Irvine 30:21 (Scoring Team-M)
29th Richard Hill 32:40 (Scoring Team-M)
51st Conan Fryer 33:43 (Scoring Team-M)
67th Stephen Howard 34:38 (Scoring Team-M)
124th Lee Thompson 36:52 (Scoring Team-M)
125th Matthew Mason 36:53 (Scoring Team-M)
183rd Barry Graves 39:06 (Scoring Team-M)
188th Rob Haggart 39:17
198th Andrew Bonner 39:42
216th Louise Cadogan 40:32 (Scoring Team-F)
217th Andrew Thompson 40:33
222nd Sarah Diss 40:48 (Scoring Team-F)
233rd Martin Courtney 41:23
242nd Charlie Barker 41:44
278th Celine Aubry 43:00 (Scoring Team-F)
279th Sam Collins-Shirley 43:00
296th Caroline Brown 44:23
322nd John Turner 46:17
327th Sarah Bell 46:30
334th Claire Geary 46:54
414th Laura Hill 56:16
416th Anita Lewis 57:16

There were 425 finishers. The race was won by Paul Vernon (PACTRAC) in 28:37, with the 1st lady (54th overall) being Tracey McCartney (NVH) in 33:47.

Ely were 12th on the day with 1304 running points.

Senior League Positions:

8th Ely 26

Official Results (Juniors) ~1.5miles (XC):

13th Gareth Lewis 10:31 (Scoring Team)
25th Fletcher Collins-Shirley 11:00 (Scoring Team)
41st James Dack 11:31 (Scoring Team)
49th Angus Hutchison 11:45 (Scoring Team)
52nd Sid Enoch 11:48
87th Jacob Bell 12:54
93rd Gemma Bridges 13:17 (Scoring Team)
106th Dana Fraser 13:37
137th Callum Bridges 14:17
139th Jessica Rahaman 14:20
157th Ellie Enoch 15:23
168th Libby Bell 16:50

There were 176 finishers. The race was won by Cameron Everist (Bourne) in 9:25, with 1st girl (10th overall) being Megan Ellison (NVH) in 9:53.

Ely were 7th on the day with 221 running points.

Junior League Positions:

9th Ely 21

Official Results (Seniors) - 5miles:

2nd Tom Bracegirdle 26:30 (PB)(Scoring Team-M)
4th Alex Tate 26:48 (Scoring Team-M)
14th Gordon Irvine 28:12 (PB)(Scoring Team-M)
47th Stephen Howard 30:29 (MV50 Club Record)(Scoring Team-M)
49th Richard Hill 30:33 (Scoring Team-M)
68th Conan Fryer 31:34 (Scoring Team-M)
73rd Lee Thompson 31:43 (PB)(Scoring Team-M)
85th Graham Chapman 32:15
136th Adam King 33:32
138th Steve Tovey 33:39
149th Matthew Mason 33:55 (PB)
164th Darren Murfitt 34:29
204th Sadie Spring 35:49 (PB)(Scoring Team-F)
243rd Andrew Thompson 36:49 (PB)
245th Peter Harris 36:54
252nd Charlie Barker 37:10
261st Shashi Righton 37:17 (PB)
265th Alex Bartley 37:27 (PB)
300th Celine Aubry 38:40 (PB)(Scoring Team-F)
321st Ian Keys 39:31 (PB)
334th Samantha Collins-Shirley 40:05 (Scoring Team-F)
343rd Claire Geary 40:36 (PB)
360th Nathan Pennington 41:01 (PB)
475th Laura Hill 48:29 (PB)
491st Amanda Earlham 50:07 (PB)
497th Jon Pennington 52:07

There were 26 ER among the 505 finishers. The race was won by Paul Vernon (PACTRAC) in 26:25 with 1st lady (56th overall) being Claire Steels (Bourne) in 30:54.

Ely were 7th on the day with 1095 running points.

Senior League Positions:

5th Ely 21

Official Results (Juniors) ~1.5miles:

27th Aaron Clifford 9:11 (Scoring Team)
31st Fletcher Collins-Shirley 9:14 (Scoring Team)
46th James Dack 9:36 (Scoring Team)
86th Blake Crossman 10:23 (Scoring Team)
101st Dana Fraser 10:46 (Scoring Team)
122nd Gemma Bridges 11:02
123rd Sid Enoch 11:02
164th Callum Bridges 12:13
166th Sam Evans 12:15
208th Ellie Enoch 14:20

There were 215 finishers. The winner was William Forster (Riverside) in 7:55 with Megan Ellison (NVH) 1st girl (14th overall) in 8:45.

Ely were 8th on the day with 291 running points.

Junior League Positions:

10th Ely 12

Official Results (Seniors) - ~5miles (XC):

3rd Tom Bracegirdle 27:31 (Scoring Team-M)
9th Gordon Irvine 28:19 (Scoring Team-M)
14th Kieren Drane 28:34 (Scoring Team-M)
23rd Ross Payne 30:06 (Scoring Team-M)
27th Richard Hill 30:18 (Scoring Team-M)
33rd Robin Webb 30:36 (Scoring Team-M)
34th Stephen Howard 30:42 (Scoring Team-M)
72nd Lee Thompson 32:44
120th Stephen Tovey 34:31
123rd Matthew Mason 34:40
153rd Sadie Spring 35:40 (Scoring Team-F)
159th Alex Bartley 35:54
176th Lionel Smith 36:28
183rd Richard Parker 36:48
187th Andrew Thompson 37:00
197th Peter Harris 37:31
238th Charlie Barker 38:37
266th Nathan Pennington 39:39
302nd Samantha Collins-Shirley 40:56 (Scoring Team-F)
321st Claire Geary 41:59 (Scoring Team-F)
413th Laura Hill 49:33
425th Anita Lewis 51:05
430th Amanda Earlam 53:13
436th Jon Pennington 55:43

There were 24 ER among the 447 finishers. The race was won by Paul Vernon (PACTRAC) in 26:53 with 1st lady (40th overall) being Tracey McCartney (NVH) in 31:01.

Ely were 6th on the day with 1011 running points.

Senior League Positions:

6th Ely 11

Official Results (Juniors) ~1.4miles (XC):

47th Fletcher Collins-Shirley 8:58 (Scoring Team)
57th Angus Hutchison 9:09 (Scoring Team)
90th Blake Crossman 9:45 (Scoring Team)
110th Dana Fraser 10:11 (Scoring Team)
113th Gemma Bridges 10:14 (Scoring Team)
146th Samuel Evans 10:51
154th Callum Bridges 11:00

There were 212 finishers. The winner was William Forster (Riverside) in 7:04 with Megan Ellison (NVH) 1st girl (14th overall) in 8:10.

Ely were 12th on the day with 417 running points.

Junior League Positions:

12th Ely 4

Senior Race Report

After the cancellation of race 5 at Bourne Woods, Sunday saw the '6th' and final race of the Frostbite season at the Oxmoor estate in Huntingdon hosted by BRJ running club. The weather was poor as the seniors departed the Paradise Centre car park and it soon became apparent that worse was to come. On arrival in Huntingdon team manager Alan Rutterford was to be found under a very large unbrella that he wasn't about to share!! The race HQ, and more importantly the toilets, were a good ten minute walk from the start/finsh area which in the rain proved to be a bit of cold walk. The course is set in an urban area on the side of a hill - ok at the bottom at the start but not so good in the pouring rain going up to the top. Alan went walk-about before the senior race started leaving Lesley, in a very large thick coat, and Max with a bag full of discarded kit that might have 'walked off' during the race had it been left. So a couple of minutes before the start it was decided to put it in Lionel's car which was nearest (about 200 yards). Lionel, Lesley and Max sprinted down the road to 'off load' the kit only to be met by the whistle to gather at the start. That was their warm-ups done, although Lionel didn't manage to get his Garmin up and running before the gun went off.

First home for Ely was Robin Webb in 31st in a time of 29.17 (PB) (scoring team -M), next was Max d'Ayala in 49th in a time of 30.27 scoring team -M), next was Maurice Reed (a rare, but welcome appearance) in 62nd in a time of 31.01 (scoring team -M), next was Conan Fryer in 73rd in a time of 31.30 (PB) (scoring team -M), next was Ashley Blackmore in 153rd in a time of 35.49 (PB) (scoring team -M), next was Lesley Wright in 162nd in a time of 36.09 (PB) (scoring team -F), next was Peter Harris in 171st in a time of 36.29 (scoring team -M), next was Lionel Smith in 175th in a time of 36.34 (scoring team-M), next was Melanie Fisher in 194th in a time of 37.14 PB (scoring team -F), next was Adrian Scaites-Stokes in 196th in a time of 37.26, next was Steve Starr in 212th in a time of 38.00 (PB) , next was Sharon Leonard in 216th in a time of 38.07 PB (scoring team -F), next was Brent Crossman in 235th in a time of 39.29 (PB), next was Sarah Edwards in 247th in a time of 40.29. Thanks to all who ran in this race and to Stuart Baumber for braving both the weather and local thugs to take photos (think he might of been safer in the Middle East). The final table left us in 11th out of 16 teams. Eight PBs today, not bad for a terrible weather day, well done everyone.

This year's senior runners of the series were Emma Greaves & Steve Tovey.

Official Results (Seniors) - 5miles:

20th John Uff 28:33 (PB)(2nd Claim; Ran for C&C)
31st Robin Webb 29:17 (PB)(Scoring Team -M)
49th Max d'Ayala 30:27 (Scoring Team -M)
62nd Maurice Reed 31:01 (Scoring Team -M)
73rd Conan Fryer 31:30 (PB)(Scoring Team -M)
153rd Ashley Blackmore 35:49 (PB)(Scoring Team -M)
162nd Lesley Wright 36:09 (PB)(Scoring Team -F)
171st Peter Harris 36:29 (Scoring Team -M)
175th Lionel Smith 36:34 (Scoring Team -M)
194th Melanie Fisher 37:14 (PB)(Scoring Team -F)
196th Adrian Scaites-Stokes 37:26
212th Steve Starr 38:00 (PB)
216th Sharon Leonard 38:07 (PB)(Scoring Team -F)
235th Brent Crossman 39:29 (PB)
247th Sarah Edwards 40:29

There were 366 finishers on the day, with the winner being Sullivan Smith of C&C in 25:17.

Ely Runners were 9th on the day with 1286 running points and remained 11th overall in the league.

Senior Final League Positions:

11th Ely 33

Junior Race Report

Well done to the ten hardy juniors who braved the cold and rain today. The juniors were in 4th equal with Hunts AC going into the last race, with each having beaten the other twice during the series to set up a stressful last race. Coach Alan Rutterford stood in the race HQ after today's race, bored, cold and wet, waiting for the results, and thinking that the juniors had just completed their 3rd Frostbite season. The juniors first ever race was at St .Neots and there were only 2 runners (a team needs 4 boys and a girl) - Alexander Ellwood and Hayley Rutterford ran their socks off and to Alan's surprise the team didn't finish last. That first season Ely's Juniors came 13th of 17 teams. Last year the juniors pushed up to 9th of 14 teams - going into the final race this year the question was whether the juniors were going to finish 4th or 5th. The Juniors were already well ahead of bigger junior clubs in March AC and Bourne, but well behind C&C, Riverside and Werrington. Eventually the results came through that Ely had just beaten Hunts AC on the day and this was enough to secure 4th place overall in the league. WELL DONE juniors.

Official Results (Juniors) 1.5miles:

19th Robyn Seabright 9:30
29th Lewis Leonard 9:49
33rd Alexander Ellwood 9:51
39th James Holland 9:54
48th Fraser Crossman 10:11
70th Axel Grenon 10:41
75th Molly Butler 10:52
84th Esme Wright 11:22
97th Blake Crossman 11:57
106th Jamie Rendell-Read 12:25

There were 132 finishers, with the winner being James McCrae of Werrington in 8:05.

Ely Runners were 4th on the day with 168 running points to consolidate 4th overall in the league.

Junior Final League Positions:

4th Ely 49

Senior Race Report

The latest in the Frostbite series of races was hosted at a new venue by March AC. The race took place in the shadow of Whitemoor Prison, with race HQ and refreshments provided at the Prison’s social club. The race started on the access road to the prison, but after a short stretch on tarmac the race turned into the nearby country park and the next 2 miles were run on a ‘there and back’ route over gravel/grass paths made slippery by the thawing overnight frost. The race then returned to the road for a mile before heading out over farm tracks, grassy river bank and finally one last spin back through the country park. On arrival runners were greeted by a still and frosty morning leading to concerns for fingers and toes. Although it was still cold by the time the race started the frost had begun to thaw leaving muddy/slippery conditions on the off-road sections.

First home for Ely was the rapidly improving Robin Webb finishing in 35th place in a PB time of 30:20. Next home for Ely was Steve Tovey (31:10), closely followed by Graham Chapman in a new MV55 club record (31:45). The scoring men’s team was completed by Conan Fryer (31:56), Ciaran Murray (33:49), Nick Dowdy (37:41) and Adrian Scaites-Stokes (38:47) with Steve Starr (38:50, PB), Brent Crossman (39:42, 1st 5m) and John Turner (40:49) not far behind. Lesley Wright continued her fine form into the New Year with yet another PB (37:24) and Sarah Edwards made a welcome return to ER colours (38:39). Sadly the lack of a third scoring lady on the day meant the club collected a rather large number of extra running points due to the 421 finishers.

Official Results (Seniors) - 5miles(XC):

30th Robin Webb 30:20 (PB) (Scoring Team –M)
45th Steve Tovey 31:11 (Scoring Team-M)
57th Graham Chapman 31:45 (MV55 Club Record) (Scoring Team-M)
61st Conan Fryer 31:56 (Scoring Team-M)
96th Ciaran Murray 33:49 (Scoring Team-M)
187th Lesley Wright 37:24 (PB) (Scoring Team-F)
194th Nick Dowdy 37:41 (Scoring Team-M)
221st Sarah Edwards 38:39 (Scoring Team-F)
224th Adrian Scaites-Stokes 38:47 (Scoring Team-M)
227th Steve Starr 38:50 (PB)
243rd Brent Crossman 39:42
260th John Turner 40:49

There were 421 finishers on the day, with the winner being Aaron Scott of NVH in 26:08.

Ely Runners were 14th on the day with 1537 running points and have fallen to 11th overall in the league (25 points) with two races remaining.

Senior League Positions:

11th Ely 25

Junior Race Report

Some of our top junior runners were absent for the latest Frostbite race due to illness and other race commitments meaning there was a bit more pressure on the juniors present, however they didn't let us down. The race was very fast, with a very hard surface due to the hard overnight frost. The juniors found the course interesting with the Prison looming to the side of them, but found the exit from the Country Park a bit confusing and slightly hazardous as they didn’t know whether to run on the pavement or on the road and there were no marshals to let them know where to go. Anyway, they all got back without any injuries and everyone managed a sprint finish. All in all another good result for the Juniors.

Official Results (Juniors) ~1.4miles(XC):

21st Alexander Ellwood 9:10
32nd Michael Ford 9:21
37th Fraser Crossman 9:30
68th Molly Butler 10:18
70th Luke Sturman 10:22
78th Esme Wright 10:33
95th Nathan Pennington 11:14
113th Jamie Rendell-Read 11:58

There were 147 finishers, with the winner being Tim Cobden of C&C in 7:37.

Ely Runners were 7th on the day with 228 running points and remain 4th overall in the league (39 points) with two races remaining.

Junior League Positions:

4th Ely 39

Senior Race Report

Twelve members made the short journey to Huntingdon to represent ER in the third Frostbite race of the series held at Hinchingbrooke Country Park. The 5m Cross-Country course is made up of a mixture of muddy trails and gravel paths with only a short half-mile section on tarmac. Conditions on the day were cool with a slight breeze, with a brief shower during the race adding to the wintry feel. The course was wet and muddy in places but not too demanding considering the time of year. Continuing his fine recent form Gary Wilberforce was first home for Ely in 10th place recording a time of 29:13. Further down the field there were fine PB performances from Linden Smith, Steve Starr, Emma Greaves, Sharon Leonard and Anita Lewis on a day when the ladies very much outshone the men. Many thanks to Heidi Uff and Andy Nixon for being stand-in team managers on the day.

Official Results (Seniors) - 5miles(XC):

10th Gary Wilberforce 29:13 (Scoring Team –M)
14th Ian Day 30:17 (2nd Claim; ran for HuntsAC)
22nd John Uff 30:55 (2nd Claim; ran for C&C)
35th Steve Tovey 31:32 (Scoring Team –M)
184th Lionel Smith 38:18 (Scoring Team –M)
200th Linden Smith 39:22 (PB)(Scoring Team –F)
207th Steve Starr 39:39 (PB)(1st 5m)(Scoring Team –M)
213th Melanie Fisher 39:46 (Scoring Team –F)
214th Emma Greaves 39:47 (PB)(Scoring Team –F)
215th Sharon Leonard 39:48 (PB)
219th John Turner 40:01 (Scoring Team –M)
224th Tom Russell 40:19 (Scoring Team –M)
285th Jon Pennington 45:06 (Scoring Team –M)
340th Anita Lewis 50:59 (PB)

There were 370 finishers. The race was won by Aaron Scott of NVH in 26:29.

Ely Runners were 15th on the day with 1791 running points.

Senior League Positions:

10th Ely 22

Junior Race Report

A healthy contingent of ER juniors attended the 3rd Frostbite race of the series at Hinchingbrooke Country Park in Huntingdon. The course is a single 1.5m loop through woodland starting and finishing near the park’s visitor centre. First home for Ely was Robyn Seabright in an impressive 10:27, the scoring team was completed by Lewis Leonard, Alexander Ellwood, Gareth Lewis and James Holland. The juniors finished 4th on the day, consolidating their overall 4th position in the league standings. Many thanks to Brent Crossman for acting as team manager on the day – and to Jon Pennington for photography and taking charge of the ER sail-flag!!

Official Results (Juniors) 1.5miles(XC):

21st Robyn Seabright 10:27
25th Lewis Leonard 10:39
31st Alexander Ellwood 10:56
34th Gareth Lewis 11:01
37th James Holland 11:04
44th Michael Ford 11:17
53rd Fraser Crossman 11:34
83rd Molly Butler 12:20
101st Milly Day 12:50
114th Nathan Pennington 13:26
122nd Jamie Rendall-Read 14:13

There were 153 finishers, with Thomas Heylen of C&C the winner in 8:53. Ely Runners were 4th on the day with 148 running points.

Junior League Positions:

4th Ely 31

Senior Race Report

The second race of the Frostbite League season took place at Bushfield in Peterborough. The course was slightly modified compared to previous years, with the start slightly further down the road from Bushfield sports centre and the last half-mile re-routed to finish on playing fields behind the sports centre. Otherwise the course followed the same fast, flat route along roads and footpaths as in previous incarnations. There were an impressive 515 finishers, with 21 of these being Ely Runners (including 2nd claim Ian Day running for Hunts AC).

First home for Ely, in 3rd place, was Alex Tate in a time of 25:54. Alex's time was a new PB, a new MV35 club record and also the fastest 5m time ever recorded by an Ely Runner. Next home was the rapidly improving Gary Wilberforce, finishing in 8th place in a new PB of 27:23. Strong performances saw Pete Foody, Steve Tovey, Robin Webb, Max d'Ayala and Tony Kirby-Cook complete the scoring team for men. First home for the ladies was Miranda Paul in 37:24, followed closely by Lesley Wright and Sharon Leonard to complete the full scoring team. There was also a welcome return to competitive action for former ladies captain Natalle Etches.

There were new PBs for 6 ER (Alex Tate, Gary Wilberforce, Tony Kirby-Cook, Tom Russell, Sharon Leonard and Emma Greaves) and Robin Webb, Lesley Wright, Karen Foster and John Foster each completed their 1st races over a measured 5m course. Frostbite regulars Adam Etches, Peter Harris, Ian Blatchford, Lionel Smith and Jon Pennington completed the ER contingent.

Conditions were excellent for running, with runners greeted by a bright sunny morning, only a modest breeze and good conditions underfoot. As usual, many thanks to Frostbite Team Manager Alan Rutterford for all of his support on the day - which included erecting the new and rather swanky ER sailflag near the finish area.

Official Results (Seniors) - 5miles:

3rd Alex Tate 25:54 (PB)(MV35 Club Record)(Scoring Team -M)
8th Gary Wilberforce 27:23 (PB)(Scoring Team -M)
24th Ian Day 29:06 (2nd Claim - Ran for Hunts AC)
27th Pete Foody 29:16 (Scoring Team -M)
53rd Stephen Tovey 30:41 (Scoring Team -M)
56th Robin Webb 30:51 (PB)(1st 5m)(Scoring Team -M)
82nd Max d'Ayala 31:37 (Scoring Team -M)
104th Tony Kirby-Cook 32:30 (PB)(Scoring Team -M)
139th Adam Etches 33:42
187th Peter Harris 35:24
215th Ian Blatchford 36:17
242nd Tom Russell 37:05 (PB)
243rd Lionel Smith 37:15
247th Miranda Paul 37:24 (Scoring Team -F)
251st Lesley Wright 37:40 (PB)(1st 5m)(Scoring Team -F)
302nd Sharon Leonard 39:52 (PB)(Scoring Team -F)
303rd Emma Greaves 39:53 (PB)
357th Natalle Etches 42:12
367th Jon Pennington 42:37
371st Karen Foster 42:46 (PB)(1st 5m)
377th John Foster 43:08 (PB)(1st 5m)

There were 515 finishers. The race was won by Aaron Scott of NVH in 25:15

Ely Runners were 7th on the day with 1133 running points.

Senior League Positions:

7th Ely 20

Junior Race Report

Ely Runners juniors recorded their best ever result in the monthly Frostbite league. Thanks to a record turn out and some particularly fast times by Dylan Campbell, Alex Ellwood, Michael Ford (who all finished together), Robyn Seabright and James Holland the team managed to come home in 4th place on the day and moving them up to 5th place in the league.

Official Results (Juniors) ~1.5miles:

19th Dylan Campbell 9:40
20th Alexander Ellwood 9:50
21st Michael Ford 9:51
28th Robyn Seabright 10:02
29th James Holland 10:07
55th Molly Butler 10:52
66th Adrian Chalmers 11:00
76th Fraser Crossman 11:14
86th Luke Sturman 11:31
98th Esme Wright 11:56
99th Nathan Pennington 11:59
121st Jamie Rendell-Read 12:42

There were a record 172 finishers, with James Downing of HuntsAC the winner in 8:26. Ely Runners were 4th on the day with 117 running points.

Junior League Positions:

5th Ely 20

Senior Race Report

The 2011-2012 Frostbite Friendly League season kicked off with the traditional season opener at Priory Park in St Neots. The opening race had been due to switch to a new venue this season but last minute complications meant Priory Park and hosts Riverside Runners came to the rescue once more. Runners were greeted by an unseasonably hot and sunny day - provoking suggestions the league was going to be more sunburn than frostbite this season. The senior course was the traditional three-lap affair, with the juniors racing over a one-lap ~1.4mile course. The recent hot and sunny weather resulted in conditions being rather firm underfoot with very little mud in sight. Twenty senior members started the race - sadly, in his first race in Ely colours, Tom Bracegirdle had to pull out with a hamstring injury when handily placed in the top 5. I'm sure we all wish Tom a speedy recovery. Overall the senior team put in a solid display with some highly credible individual performances. Alex Tate came home in a clear 1st place some 40s ahead of his nearest rival. The course at St Neots is ~5m - but as Alex was nearly 90s inside the MV35 club record for 5m we're already looking forward to an 'official' club record in the next race at Bushfield. There were also fine first performances over the distance by Gary Wilberforce, Tom Russell, Samantha Collins-Shirley, Sharon Leonard and Anita Lewis.

Official Results (Seniors) - ~5miles (XC):

1st Alex Tate 26:27 (Scoring Team -M)
12th Gary Wilberforce 28:23 (PB)(1st 5m)(Scoring Team -M)
24th John Uff 29:54 (2nd Claim; ran for C&C)
26th Ian Day 30:11 (2nd Claim; ran for Hunts AC)
30th Pete Foody 30:31 (Scoring Team -M)
59th Max d'Ayala 32:21 (Scoring Team -M)
61st Stephen Tovey 32:24 (Scoring Team -M)
92nd Alex Seabright 33:50 (Scoring Team -M)
120th Tony Kirby-Cook 35:01 (Scoring Team -M)
149th Kevin Fox 36:19
161st Lionel Smith 36:57
169th Ian Blatchford 37:21
183rd Peter Harris 37:50
208th Miranda Paul 38:44 (Scoring Team -F)
234th Adrian Scaites-Stokes 39:49
238th John Turner 40:07
257th Tom Russell 41:21 (PB)(1st 5m)
261st Samantha Collins-Shirley 41:33 (PB)(1st 5m)(Scoring Team -F)
265th Emma Greaves 41:45 (Scoring Team -F)
267th Sharon Leonard 42:02 (PB)(1st 5m)
344th Jon Pennington 47:10
379th Anita Lewis 51:57 (PB)(1st 5m)

There were 399 finishers.

Ely Runners were 7th on the day with 1109 running points.

Senior League Positions:

7th Ely 10

Junior Race Report

Official Results (Juniors) ~1.4miles (XC):

18th Dylan Campbell 8:19
25th Alexander Ellwood 8:29
28th Lewis Leonard 8:34
30th Robyn Seabright 8:38
77th Esme Wright 10:02
97th Nathan Pennington 10:47
116th Jamie Rendell-Read 11:20
135th Abbie Ashman 12:12

There were 153 finishers, with James Downing of HuntsAC the winner in 6:57. Ely Runners were 6th on the day with 198 running points.

Junior League Positions:

6th Ely 9

Senior Race Report

A late change in venue saw the 6th and final Frostbite race of the season return to Hinchingbrooke Country Park. Before the start of the senior race chairman Stephen Howard paid tribute to Ely Runner Diana Gipp who had sadly passed away a few days previously. After Stephen’s words there was an enthusiastic and well respected round of applause in Diana’s honour. The senior course was a 3-loop affair similar to that used for the 3rd Frostbite race of the season – only in reverse. The seniors came into the final leg of the series on level points with Bushfield and so needed a strong final round to retain their position in the league. The race was won by Michael Moore of Werrington in 31:16. First home for Ely was junior runner Charlie Price finishing in an impressive 5th place in 32:57 just ahead of 2nd claim Ely Runner John Uff (running for 1st claim C&C). Charlie’s exploits were all the more impressive in light of his 1st place finish at the Cambridge Parkrun the previous day. Charlie was closely followed home by Max d’Ayala (13th) and Ian Day (16th), with Peter Gipp (35th), Jose Perez (72nd), Stephen Howard (90th) and junior Alex Seabright (124th) completing the scoring team for the men. The ladies were lead home by club captain Heidi Uff (145th) with Lesley Wright, on her debut (223rd), and Susan Graves (260th) completing the scoring team. There were also strong performances from Charlie Barker (127th), Peter Harris (134th), Ray Harding (136th), Lionel Smith (146th) and the ever improving Jon Pennington (199th). Ely Scored 1004 points and were eighth out of 17 teams on the day, remaining eighth out of 17 teams overall with 57 points. The weather was cool but calm, although conditions underfoot were rather muddy. Many thanks. Special thanks to Steve Tovey and Tony Hall for marshalling; to junior secretary Lesley Wright for running at short notice to complete the scoring team; and to Susan Graves for running despite a bad foot injury. After the event Max d’Ayala and Heidi Uff were chosen as the male & female ‘runner of the series’ for Ely.

Official Results (Seniors) - ~5.4miles (XC):

5th Charlie Price 32:57 (Scoring Team –M)
7th John Uff 33:03 (2nd Claim – ran for C&C)
13th Max D’Ayala 33:30 (Scoring Team –M)
16th Ian Day 34:07 (Scoring Team –M)
56th Peter Gipp 37:15 (Scoring Team –M)
72nd Jose Perez 38:03 (Scoring Team –M)
90th Stephen Howard 38:44 (Scoring Team –M)
124th Alex Seabright 40:18 (Scoring Team –M)
127th Charlie Barker 40:27
134th Peter Harris 40:50
136th Ray Harding 40:54
145th Heidi Uff 41:44 (Scoring Team –F)
146th Lionel Smith 41:45
199th Jon Pennington 44:55
223rd Lesley Wright 46:36 (Scoring Team –F)
260th Susan Graves 50:10 (Scoring Team –F)

There were 331 finishers.

Ely Runners were 8th on the day with 1004 running points.

Senior League Positions:

8th Ely 57

Junior Race Report

Ely Runners Junior team completed a strong season in the Frostbite Winter League with an excellent final round performance at Hinchingbrooke Country Park. The juniors competed on an undulating and muddy ~1.5m course. The race was won by Guy Kendal of Cambridge and Coleridge in 8:03. First home for Ely on his Frostbite League debut and in an impressive 16th place was Aiden Merry in 9:17. Aiden was closely followed home by Michael Ford (17th), Robyn Seabright (23rd) James Holland (31st), Esme Wright (45th), Alexander Ellwood (50th), Fraser Crossman (55th), Molly Butler (56th) and Nathan Pennington (75th). The juniors finished fifth of 13 teams on the day with 127 points and remained sixth of 13 teams overall. Junior coach Alan Rutterford declared himself ‘delighted’ with the performance of the juniors on the day and also throughout the whole Frostbite season. Results as follows:

Official Results (Juniors) - 1.5miles (XC):

16th Aiden Merry 09:17
17th Michael Ford 09:19
23rd Robyn Seabright 09:33
31st James Holland 09:45
45th Esme Wright 10:26
50th Alexander Ellwood 10:34
55th Fraser Crossman 10:40
56th Molly Butler 10:43
75th Nathan Pennington 11:18

There were 138 finishers, with Guy Kendal of C&C the winner in 8:03. Ely Runners were 5th on the day with 137 running points.

Junior League Positions:

6th Ely 46pts

Senior Race Report

On a mild but windy day in February the Frostbite League travelled out of Cambridgeshire to the most attractive venue for the series. As the name suggest the Bourne Woods course is set within historic woodlands. On this day in addition to the many runners there were a number of activists handing out ‘save our forests’ leaflets to all so it felt quite crowded!

The woodland course is entirely off road, starting out deep in the forest. Runners following the undulating paths were shielded from the wind by the tree cover for the first couple of miles. At about mile 3 the course became muddier and more exposed before turning back into the forest to wind its way to the finish. Conditions underfoot were quite good; there were a few muddy patches but nothing too slippery.

The Ely senior contingent this year was somewhat depleted but despite that there were a number of excellent runs, especially from the two ladies, Heidi Uff and Claire Van Leersum. Meanwhile for the men Jon Pennington recorded a fine PB and the ever improving Alex Seabright and Matt Holmes battled well. They both finished just ahead of Adam Etches who bravely finished despite being hampered by a painful knee. Well done Adam on keeping going to the end.

Many of the Frostbite regulars were also present. Lionel Smith ran exceptionally well to be in the top 7 scoring men ahead of Martin Courtney and John Turner. At the sharp end of the race Max D’Ayala had an excellent run as did Steve Tovey despite a long pre-marathon training run the day before. .

Official Results (Seniors) - 5miles (XC):

13th John Uff 29:52 (2nd Claim – ran for C&C)
20th Max D’Ayala 30:31 (Scoring Team –M)
37th Steve Tovey 32:18 (Scoring Team –M)
71st Stephen Howard 33:54 (Scoring Team –M)
119th Matt Holmes 35:55 (Scoring Team –M)
122nd Alex Seabright 35:59 (Scoring Team –M)
123rd Adam Etches 36:02 (Scoring Team –M)
159th Heidi Uff 37:40 (Scoring Team –F)
179th Lionel Smith 38:30 (Scoring Team –M)
241st Jon Pennington 41:52 (PB)
265th Martin Courtney 43:26
270th John Turner 43:36
321st Claire Van Leersum 47:17 (Scoring Team –F)

There were 383 finishers.

Ely Runners were 14th on the day with 1534 running points.

Finally a big thank you for Frostbite Team Captain Alan Rutterford for his efforts collecting numbers at the finish and supporting runners as they came in.

Senior League Positions:

8th Ely 47

Junior Race Report

On a mild but windy day in February the Frostbite League travelled out of Cambridgeshire to the most attractive venue for the series. As the name suggest the Bourne Woods course is set within historic woodlands and on this day in addition to the many runners there were a number of activists handing out ‘save our forests’ leaflets to all.

Ely Runner Juniors were out in force at the Bourne Woods Frostbite. Fully nine runners competed and between them they achieved a great result just outside the top three teams, the highest finish for an Ely Junior Team so far.

Well done to all runners for their efforts and also to the many parents and supporters who turned out to offer encouragement.


Official Results (Juniors) - 1.5miles (XC):

19th Robyn Seabright 12:00
21st Michael Ford 12:05
31st James Holland 12:41
39th Esme Wright 12:57
40th Alex Ellwood 13:05
45th Adrian Chalmers 13:19
49th Molly Butler 13:26
59th Nathan Pennington 13:45
62nd Fraser Crossman 13:47


There were 115 finishers, with James McCrae the winner in 10:20. Ely Runners were 5th on the day with 156 running points.

Junior League Positions:

6th Ely 37pts

Senior Race Report

There was a fine representation from Ely in the Senior Frostbite race at Ramsey. As usual the course started with a lap around the grounds of Ailwyn School before disappearing out into the countryside for a loop of the nearby farm before returning to the school grounds for the finish. The temperature was a mild 12 degrees C. It was also windy and there were a few muddy patches underfoot on the course. The wind was helpful to runners on the first half of the race but was into their faces for the returning miles. The headwind, together with the heavy ground made the run in to the finish quite tough.

Particularly pleasing about the race was the large number of Ely Ladies who responded to the call to attend.

Claire Van Leersum, Emily Knight, Felicity Chivers, Linden Smith, Melanie Fisher and Susan Graves turned out to run today - which, including ladies captain Heidi Uff, gave us seven ladies in total - a record in recent years!

The efforts of all, whether on the scoring team or not, are hugely appreciated and every runner's attendance makes a difference to the club's
overall score.

Thanks to Linden for the post-race banana cake and flapjack (delicious!) and to Sarah Edwards, who is currently on the recovery bench, but made her
presence felt with her enthusiastic support!

The men also turned out in decent numbers for Ely as well. Once again Max D’Ayala came home first for Ely although improving Charlie Price once again ran a well-judged race to finish only a couple of places further back. With Adam Etches , Steve Tovey and Stephen Howard getting back to race fitness there were good runs from Peter Harris, Kevin Fox and Ian Blatchford. David Mould won his own private battle with Charlie Barker and Matt Holmes whilst Frostbite Regular Lionel Smith put in another fine run. Completing the excellent turnout from Ely were Stuart Baumber, Andy Nixon, John Pennington and John Turner.

Official Results (Seniors) - 5.1miles (XC):

10th John Uff 31:05 (2nd Claim – ran for C&C)
27th Max D’Ayala 32:37 (Scoring Team –M)
29th Charlie Price 32:43 (Scoring Team –M)
49th Adam Etches 34:13 (Scoring Team –M)
50th Steve Tovey 34:20 (Scoring Team –M)
60th Stephen Howard 34:48 (Scoring Team –M)
115th Peter Harris 37:05 (Scoring Team –M)
125th Felicity Chivers 37:40 (Scoring Team –F)
126th Kevin Fox 37:47 (Scoring Team –M)
127th Ian Blatchford 37:49
138th David Mould 38:07
147th Charlie Barker 38:21
148th Matt Holmes 38:29
153rd Lionel Smith 39:06
157th Stuart Baumber 39:14
177th Mel Fisher 39:57 (Scoring Team –F)
198th Andy Nixon 40:58
199th Heidi Uff 40:59 (Scoring Team –F)
220th Linden Smith 42:05
241st Jon Pennington 42:55
258th John Turner 44:18
269th Susan Graves 45:03
288th Claire Van Leersum 45:59
305th Emily Knight 47:15

There were 389 finishers.

Ely Runners were 6th on the day with 957 running points.

Senior League Positions:

8th Ely 43

Junior Race Report

There was a fine representation from Ely in the Junior race around the grounds of Ailwyn School Ramsey, with twelve entrants, several of whom were running in their first Frostbite League races.

Frostbite regular Robyn Seabright was first home for Ely followed by Charlie Staaf 26th and Alexander Elwood 34th next.

Frostbite debutants James Holland and Michael Ford both put in fine performances as did Nick Staaf, Esme Wright and Molly Butler. Newcomer Adrian Chalmers had a great run in his debut race (he had reached the minimum age for this race one day before!). Fraser Crossman and Nathan Pennington both cracked the 12-min barrier ahead of Louis McGee. Well done to Louis and everyone who turned out for this race and thanks to all parents and supporters for the warm encouragement.

Club Coaches Alan Rutterford and Lesley Wright were very pleased with the turnout and the teams score, well done everyone.

Conditions were a mild 12 degrees C, windy but dry on the all grass course.


Official Results (Juniors) - 1.75miles (XC):

21st Robyn Seabright 10:17
26th Charlie Staaf 10:31
34th Alex Ellwood 10:52
36th James Holland 10:53
50th Nick Staaf 11:16
52nd Michael Ford 11:16
57th Esme Wright 11:22
58th Molly Butler 11:24
65th Adrian Chalmers 11:40
69th Fraser Crossman 11:46
73rd Nathan Pennington 11:58
116th Louis McGee 14:00

There were 138 finishers, with James Downing of Hunts AC the winner in 8:27. Ely Runners were 6th on the day with 167 running points.

Junior League Positions:

7th Ely 28pts

Senior Race Report

The day before the Frostbite Race on Hinchingbrook Park the course was thick with mud, and the event threatened to be a tough muddy slog. However as race day dawned the grassy meadow at the start was frosted white and the muddy course had pretty much solidified. Runners were left with a tricky call for the best footwear. Some chose spikes and clattered noisily along the road section. Some chose trail shoes where a few icy patches made for a few wobbly moments. The rest chose road shoes and they found the softer sections awkward! In truth it probably didn’t matter much what footwear people chose. Times as a whole were a minute or two faster than last year as runners negotiated their way around the combination of paths roads and grassland up and down the hills and through the trees. Perhaps the uncertainty of the conditions kept many away; the field was down by nearly 30% and sadly for Ely a number of their leading runners were missing as were most of their ladies. Despite the disappointing turnout there were a number of fine performances. Max D’Ayala clattered along happily to a fine finish position just outside the top ten and first time racer Charlie Price ran a canny race, starting slowly and picking his way through the field as the race progressed to finish with a fine 22nd place. Steve Tovey showed signs of rekindling his early year form, and Tony Kirby Cook, Jose Perez, Matt Holmes, Alex Seabright and Ian Blatchford all posted fine times and places. There were strong determined finishes too from Lionel Smith, Andy Nixon and Jon Pennington but unique on the day was Emily Knight. Emily was the entire ladies senior team by herself and she ran her heart out for the cause, putting on a fine sprint to the finish in front of her cheering Ely Supporters. Sadly the lack of another two ladies for Ely and League stalwarts missing through injury, illness or christmas duties meant Ely were destined to score badly in the team event and so it was. On the day Ely Seniors came a disappointing 11th with 1359 running points and are now 8th in the League at the halfway point of the season. Thanks as ever go to Tony Hall for logistics and runner support at the finish and to Club Coach Alan Rutterford for acting as team captain on the day.

Official Results (Seniors) - 5miles (XC):

11th Max D'Ayala 29:51 (Scoring Team –M)
13th John Uff 29:59 (2nd Claim – ran for C&C)
22nd Charlie Price 31:09 (Scoring Team –M)
47th Steve Tovey 32:24 (Scoring Team –M)
57th Stephen Howard 33:08 (Scoring Team –M)
78th Tony Kirby-Cook 33:43 (Scoring Team –M)
102nd Jose Perez 34:41 (Scoring Team –M)
128th Matthew Holmes 35:45 (Scoring Team –M)
130th Alex Seabright 35:48
133rd Ian Blatchford 35:55
158th Lionel Smith 37:20
186th Andrew Nixon 38:48
250th Emily Knight 43:11 (Scoring Team –F)
256th Jon Pennington 43:46


There were 329 finishers.

Ely Runners were 11th on the day with 1359 running points.

Senior League Positions:

8th Ely 31

Junior Race Report

The day before the Frostbite Race on Hinchingbrook Park the course was thick with mud, and the event threatened to be a tough muddy slog. However as race day dawned the grassy meadow at the start was frosted white and the muddy course had pretty much solidified. Times as a whole were faster than last year as runners negotiated their way around the combination of paths roads and grassland up and down the hills and through the trees. Like the Seniors, Ely Juniors suffered on the day due to illness and injury. The lack of a full scoring team impacted their ability to make progress in the team competition but at least those present ran their hearts out and managed some fine individual performances. As usual Robyn managed a fine high finish position and Alex, Fraser and Molly ran in their own closely fought ‘battle of Ely’, spurring each other on.


Official Results (Juniors) - 1.5miles (XC):

15th Robyn Seabright 10:51
39th Alexander Ellwood 11:53
44th Fraser Crossman 12:05
46th Molly Butler 12:06

There were 99 finishers. Ely Runners were 9th on the day with 298 running points.

Junior League Positions:

7th Ely 20pts

Senior Race Report

On Sunday the Frostbite League rolled into Peterborough for the second race of the winter series. As usual the race route took in cycle paths and quiet urban roads around Bushfield in Peterborough. This race often produces the largest entry of the series and this year once again there were well in excess of 500 runners present. Before the start Frostbite Secretary Adrian Jarvis reported the sad news of two Frostbite Runner fatalities at the recent Great Eastern Run – as a mark of respect he requested a round of applause lasting one minute to celebrate the life of those departed. Thunderous applause rang out for the full minute as the gathered runners paid their respects to their fellow sportsmen. The race began with the usual chaotic sprint along the quiet roads cheered on by the many spectators. There were 24 Ely Runners in the assembled field with a number of 1st timer Frostbite runners amongst them. First home for Ely was Alex Tate, although his sprint for home was not helped by a painful stitch down the last mile. Ian Day continued his fine recent run of form with a strong finish in 12th, ahead of Stephen Pettit who at least had the consolation of a new PB and Club MV45 record. Stephen’s was one of three Club Records set on the day – congratulations also to Alex Seabright and Peter Harris for their new club marks. There were also a good number of new PBs – Kieren Drane, Kevin Fox and Jon Pennington lowered their existing marks whilst Sarah Edwards, Jodie Johnson and Jason Pattison recorded their first 5m time on their Frostbite debuts. On the day Ely Seniors were lacking one or two of the faster runners in both the mens and ladies teams to challenge for top honours, finishing in a slightly disappointing 8th place overall with 1037 running points. Despite that they still retained fourth place in the league with 24 points. Well done to all runners and supporters and thanks to Club Coach Alan Rutterford for his encouragement for all his charges. Conditions were damp underfoot and the recent leaf-fall made the cycle paths a little slippery. Weather was quite cool but bright with no wind. .

Official Results (Seniors) - 5miles:

4th Alex Tate 26:23 (Scoring Team –M)
12th Ian Day 28:11 (Scoring Team –M)
14th Stephen Pettit 28:25 (PB, New Club MV45 Record, Scoring Team –M)
17th John Manlow 28:41 (Scoring Team –M)
22nd John Uff 28:58 (2nd Claim – ran for C&C)
24th Kieren Drane 29:07 (PB, Scoring Team –M)
28th Max D'Ayala 29:18 (Scoring Team –M)
60th Adam Etches 30:44 (Scoring Team –M)
89th Graham Chapman 31:46
92nd Stephen Howard 31:58
127th Alex Seabright 32:59 (PB, 1st 5m New Club JM Record)
145th Peter Harris 33:32 (New Club MV60 Record)
157th Kevin Fox 33:45 (PB)
166th Charlie Barker 34:07
171st Sarah Edwards 34:16 (PB, 1st 5m, Scoring Team –F)
187th Matthew Holmes 34:30
191st Ian Blatchford 34:35
215th Lionel Smith 35:28 (PB)
323rd Andrew Nixon 39:13
329th Melanie Fisher 39:21 (Scoring Team –F)
378th Natalle Etches 41:21 (Scoring Team –F)
396th Jodie Johnson 41:56 (PB, 1st 5m)
434th Jason Pattinson 44:30 (PB, 1st 5m)
435th Jon Pennington 44:31 (PB)

There were 533 finishers.

Ely Runners were 8th on the day with 1037 running points.

Senior League Positions:

1st C&C 33pts
2nd Nene Valley Harriers 31
3rd Werrington 31
4th Ely 24

Junior Race Report

There were eight Ely Juniors at the second Junior Frostbite Race of the Series at Peterborough. Conditions were damp underfoot and the recent leaf-fall made the cycle paths a little slippery. Weather was quite cool but bright with no wind.

Robyn Seabright finished as first Ely girl home, with Fraser Crossman next home for Ely.

Esme Wright led home a close grouping of Ely Runners all of whom finished well inside the top half of finishers. Well done to all runners and supporters and thanks to Club Coach Alan Rutterford for his encouragement of all his charges.



Official Results (Juniors) - 1.38miles:

22nd Robyn Seabright 09:01
29th Fraser Crossman 09:17
48th Esme Wright 09:45
55th Alexander Ellwood 9:52
58th Molly Butler 9:53
59th Sebastian Pettit 9:54
61st Nathan Pennington 9:55

There were 137 finishers. Ely Runners were 7th on the day with 217 running points. Post Race Note: Although Ashley Pettit ran a fine race, managing to pull away in the final stages to come home ahead of the field by six seconds in 7:14 it subsequently turned out that he was ineligible to race as a junior. Well done Ashley – you now have a perfect racing record of wins in the Frostbite Junior League forever!

Junior League Positions:

7th Ely 15pts

Senior Race Report

There were 24 Ely Runner seniors at the first Frostbite Friendly League Race of the season. Due to building work at the nearby school the course was slightly different to previous years, being wholly contained within the park. Otherwise it was business as usual with familiar soft grassy fields underfoot and low hanging branches through the trees for three laps. Parts of the course through the woods were narrow and muddy which made overtaking difficult and the park does have a number of challenging climbs and descents on each lap.

Although rain threatened to arrive throughout it did stay away for the duration of the race. Conditions were very mild for the time of year but rain from earlier in the week made the ground heavy underfoot. The trees of the park mostly provided cover from the strong gusty winds.

Unlike previous years Ely managed to field a good number of faster runners and were rewarded with three men in the top ten and seven in the top twenty-four. Alex Tate just managed to hold off Craig Holgate to be first home for Ely, with Stephen Pettit a few places down. There was also a full contingent of ladies with new ladies captain Heidi Uff leading home Frostbite first timer Linden Smith. Mel Fisher made a very welcome guest appearance from up North and Natalle Etches left other half Adam holding the baby as she ran.

At the end of the day Ely finished in a creditable 4th place in the league – their best start to a Frostbite season for a number of years. Well done to all who competed and thanks to acting senior team captain Alan Rutterford and friends, supporters and Ely Juniors who offered loud encouragement to all. There were 414 finishers.

Official Results (Seniors) - 5miles (XC):

3rd Alex Tate 27:56 (Scoring Team – M)
4th Craig Holgate 28:27 (Scoring Team – M)
9th Stephen Pettit 29:16 (Scoring Team – M)
15th John Uff 30:03 (2nd claim – ran for C&C)
16th Ian Day 30:13 (Scoring Team – M)
19th Max d’Ayala 30:25 (Scoring Team – M)
20th Kieren Drane 30:28 (Scoring Team – M, PB)
24th John Crisp 30:49 (Scoring Team – M)
46th Steve Tovey 32:25
62nd Stephen Howard 33:19
77th Tony Kirby-Cook 33:51
96th Barry Woodward 34:40
134th Kevin Fox 36:08
142nd Ian Blatchford 36:25
149th Peter Harris 36:43
187th Heidi Uff 38:18 (Scoring Team – F)
194th Lionel Smith 38:38
207th Linden Smith 39:10 (Scoring Team – F)
208th Andy Nixon 39:11
212th Stuart Baumber 39:17
237th Mel Fisher 40:02 (Scoring Team – F)
251st Adrian Stokes 40:39
328th Natalle Etches 46:22
344th Jon Pennington 47:18

There were 414 finishers.

Ely Runners were 4th on the day with 726 running points.

Senior League Positions:

1st Nene Valley Harriers 531 running pts
2nd C&C 596
3rd Werrington 706
4th Ely 726

Junior Race Report

As Ely juniors start their 2010-2011 Frostbite League campaign it is perhaps a good time to remember that one short year ago two Ely Juniors competed in the very first Frostbite race. This year there were 9 Ely Juniors racing and they all ran their hearts out.

The 1.5 mile course was a single lap of Priory Park. The heavy going and hills made it a tough course, but it was an uncommonly mild day and at least the rain held off.

Ashley Pettit, running in his first Frostbite race, had a tough battle at the front of the field, but managed to keep ahead of his Hunts AC rival to win. Congratulations to him for being the first Ely Junior to win a Frostbite Race! Robyn Seabright finished second for Ely, ahead of Alex Ellwood, a veteran from that first race a year ago.

Well done to all who competed and thanks to junior coach Alan Rutterford and secretary Lesley Wright and the parents and supporters who turned out to cheer everyone on!


Official Results (Juniors) - 1.5miles (XC):

1st Ashley Pettit 07:19
27th Robyn Seabright 09:08
33rd Alex Ellwood 09:23
50th Fraser Crossman 09:55
54th Dylan Campbell 09:59
56th Sebastian Pettit 10:03
58th Nathan Pennington 10:05
61st Esme Wright 10:09
69th Molly Butler 10:24

There were 129 finishers. Ely Runners were 6th on the day with 165 running points.

Junior League Positions:

6th Ely 8pts