Kieran Hayles and Holly Archer took the individual honours as a big field of 423 runners tackled the annual Stowmarket Scenic Seven last Sunday, organised by Stowmarket Striders.
Hayles, of Sudbury Joggers, is a prolific racer and a regular supporter of the Great Cornard Parkrun, where he usually finishes first, but he took to the roads in impressive fashion over the traditional seven-mile route from Stowmarket’s Mid-Suffolk Leisure Centre.
Now in the over-35 category, Hayles triumphed in 39mins 45secs on the relatively flat route out to Onehouse and Harleston, a good time in windy conditions. Last year’s winner, Josh Entwistle, had clocked 39:02 and Robert Chenery, the 2015 winner, had posted 38:50.
It has been a busy year for Hayles. He registered a swift 2:44.04 at the London Marathon last April, and was fifth at a competitive Colchester Half-Marathon in 1:16.46. He also finished a runner-up to Thomas Adams at last month’s Martlesham 10K, where he clocked 35:01.
Another familiar face on the East Anglian road circuit, Jim Last, was a strong second to Hayles at Stowmarket.
Last was 25 seconds adrift in 40:10, improving on his third position from this event in 2015, and his seventh slot from 2014.
The consistent Last has broken several Framlingham Flyers club records this year, his first season as an over-40 veteran, highlighted by a swift 2:42.22 at the London Marathon last Spring.
Also over the longer distances, Last was third at last month’s Lowestoft Half-Marathon (1:19.55), while earlier in the year he set 1:14.54 at the Great Bentley Half-Marathon. He was also a runner-up at Friday Five Series races at Stowmarket and Kirton over the summer.
Adam Wade, of Ipswich JAFFA, was third in 40:49, followed by Felixstowe’s Ben Jacobs and his JAFFA team-mate James Hayward.
The talented Holly Archer was three minutes clear in the ladies’ race, finishing a superb sixth overall in a cracking time of 41:16, which set a new course record by an impressive 44 seconds.
Archer, a member of West Suffolk AC, had been based in America in recent years, where she did a sports scholarship at SMU in Texas.
An 800m and 1,500m specialist on the track, Archer was also a member of the West Suffolk team who won the club’s first-ever medals at the South of England Road Relay Championships, staged at Crystal Palace in late September.
Defending champion Odette Robson, who had won the Stowmarket Scenic title for the previous four years, was second in 44:17, followed by Ipswich Harriers’ Alice Goodwin (46:43).
Results
Top 30 men: 1 K Hayles (Sudbury Joggers) 39.45; 2 J Last (Framlingham Flyers) 40.10; 3 A Wade (Ipswich JAFFA) 40.49; 4 B Jacobs (Felixstowe RR) 40.47; 5 J Hayward (JAFFA) 41.12; 6 A Howlett (Fram/Flyers) 41.31; 7 I Old (JAFFA) 42.05; 8 D Solomon (Felixstowe RR) 42.08; 9 M Hayward (Newmarket) 42.14; 10 D Sheppard (Fram/Flyers) 42.28.
11 O Wood (Fram/Flyers) 43.43; 12 D Cook (Felixstowe RR) 43.51; 13 S Brooke (Felixstowe RR) 44.03; 14 J Robson (St Edmund Pacers) 44.06; 15 P Bulacz (Sdbury) 45.00; 16 J Nial (Un, ‘Run for Your Life’) 45.13; 17 I Duggan (Felixstowe RR) 45.21; 18 S Hughes (Stowmarket Striders) 45.34; 19 A Buck (Sudbury) 45.42; 20 R Harper (Felixstowe RR) 45.52.
21 A Frost (Colchester Harriers) 46.12; 22 E Wells (Stowmarket) 46.20; 23 P Osborne (Felixstowe RR) 46.24; 24 C Hann (Sudbury) 46.30; 25 H Beasley (Pacers) 46.31; 26 S Brooke (Felixstowe RR) 46.32; 27 A Allard (Unattached) 46.47; 28 D Ingleby (JAFFA) 46.55; 29 L Allen (Harwich Runners) 46.57; 30 T Haslam (Saxmundham Saxons) 47.00.
Top 20 ladies: 1 H Archer (West Suffolk AC) 41.16; 2 O Robson (Pacers) 44.17; 3 A Goodwin (Ipswich Harriers) 46.43; 4 E Attwood (Stowmarket) 46.46; 5 J Woledge (Pacers) 47.41; 6 N Chapman (Newmarket Joggers) 48.42; 7 J Gooderham (Pacers) 48.45; 8 M-A Tull (Haverhill RC) 49.12; 9 G Porch (Stwmarket) 49.24; 10 T Hamblyn (JAFFA) 50.30.
11 M Narey (Stowmarket) 51.40; 12 M Bell (Un) 52.05; 13 G Leech (Un) 52.34; 14 C Douglas (Stowmarket) 52.35; 15 C Hoblyn (Pacers) 52.43; 16 E Downs (Felixstowe RR) 53.56; 17 L Wallace (Un) 54.10; 18 L Dove (Sudbury) 54.28; 19 N King (Thetford AC) 54.35; 20.
Veteran categories
Male, over-40: 1 Last, 2 Jacobs (prize winner), 3 Cook. Over-45: Howlett, 2 Sheppard, 3 Brooke. Over-50: Solomon, 2 Duggan, 3 Hughes. Over-55: 1 Beasley, 2 A Webber (Stowmarket) 49.37; 3 P Schwer (Felixstowe RR) 53.10. Over-60: 1 B Rogers (JAFFA) 48.37, 2 M Cattermole (‘Run for Your Life’) 49.25; 3 S Pretty (Stowmarket) 50.08. Over-65: 1 P Hymers (Pacers); 2 P Russell (Fram/Flyers) 60.32.; 3 J Price (Sudbury) 61.19.
Female over-40: 1 J Woledge (Pacers), 2 Bell, 3 King. Over-45: 1 Robson, 2 Tuly (prize winner), 3 Leech. Over-50: 1 Narey, 2 Hoblyn, 3 Parker. Over-55: 1 B Godbold (JAFFA) 55.41, 2 D Marshall (Pacers) 56.33, 3 W Hughes (Stowmarket) 61.37. Over-60: 1 J Morgan (Pacers) 56.17, 2 B Schofield (Newmarket) 62.05; 3 B Anderson (Un) 71.19. Over-65: 1 P McCann (Ipswich Triathlon) 63.50; 2 M Pinkney (Ipswich Tri) 66.24; 3 A Huggins (Fram/Flyers) 67.10.
Teams, ladies: 1 Saint Edmund Pacers (Robson, Woledge, Gooderham); 2 Stowmarket (Attwood, Porch, Narey); 3 Felixstowe RR (Downs, Parker, Martin). Men: 1 Ipswich JAFFA (Wade, Hayward, Old); 2 Framlingham Flyers (Last, Howlett, Sheppard); 3 Felixstowe RR (Jacobs, Solomon, Cook).
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