Athletics: PBs and county titles at first Hatfield 5k run

The North Herts Road Runners' men's team were crowned Hertfordshire champions with Mike Roberts leading the way and smashing the 16-minute barrier with a 15:58 finish.

He was joined on the top step of the podium by Sam Coxon (16:02), Tom Barclay (16:16) and Rob Jowett (15:58).

The NHRR ladies’ team placed second in the county standings, with Katie Harbon (17:23), second lady in the race, backed up by Rhia Botha (19:24) and Tracy Pitcairn (21:05).

Some of the Fairlands Valley Spartans at the Hatfield 5k. Picture: MIKE CROWLEY/FVS (Image: Mike Crowley/FVS)

There were 22 Spartans racing the 5k open road championships and eight were rewarded with new PBs.

Ashley Johnson was eighth woman in the county with 19:10 while Vicky Archer took three minutes off her best to finish in 23:38.

Megan Sutton's PB is now 27:10 with Ross Gallagher, the second Spartan to finish, clocking 18:31.

He beat his old time by three seconds while Paul Shelley, 11 seconds behind, moved his best down by 21 seconds.

The other three going faster than before were Terry Sawyer (19:44), Andy Prior (22:42) and Matt Tutton (23:40).

Alison Wood (21:10) was a category winner like Archer while Yuko Gordon (22:39) was second in hers.

The fastest Spartan was Mike Jeffs in 18:29, putting him 57th out of the 258 finishers.

Another draw for clubs was the Big Half in London with five Spartans involved.

The heat and humidity made the race that bit harder Stuart Mead led them home in 958th out of slightly more than 16,000 finishers.

Stuart Mead was 958th out of nearly 17,000 runners, clocking (1:30:09) and he was followed in by Sawyer (1:36:26), Robert Wright (2:07:53), Megan Sutton (2:17:53), in her first half marathon, and Samantha Sutton (3:03:41).

Stevenage Phoenix had three in the capital, at an event that takes the field from Tower Bridge to the Cutty Sark in Greenwich.

Conor O’Neill was the first Phoenician home with a PB of 1:47:48, ahead of Nick West (2:04:40) and Denise Ricot (2:48:11).

Phoenix were busy elsewhere too.

Garry Wallace ran the Port of Dartmouth Royal Regatta Road Race, a 4.5-mile course that started and finished at the Britannia Royal Naval College's main gate.

He was third in his age group in 46:55.

Peter Tungate completed the Rat Race Sea to Summit - Ben Nevis event.

The journey began with a pleasant 4-mile run at sunrise on a compact track, but quickly turned difficult with a 3-mile stretch through boggy marshland.

After the first checkpoint, the route involved a six-mile run on the West Highland Way, offering stunning views of Ben Nevis before the gruelling climb of the mountain itself.

Although the summit was only 18 miles in, the 11 mile descent was equally challenging, with rough terrain making progress slow.

After passing the north face of the mountain, the final stretch involved a tiring four-mile run.

His next challenge is in four weeks - a 32-mile trek up and down Scafell Pike. 

Zoe Shreeve entered the Thorpe Park 10k, a race with the added bonus of theme park rides included in the entry.

She must have been eager to get on the roller-coasters as she finished in a PB of 57:47.

Simona Leadbetter and Katka Laughton of Stevenage Phoenix at the Summertime Windsor Trail Race. Picture: STEVENAGE PHOENIX (Image: Stevenage Phoenix)

The Summertime Windsor trail run saw Katka Laughton and Simona Leadbetter run the 10k distance.

Laughton completed the course in 53:20 and came third in her age category while Leadbetter was home in 1:05:04.

Both Spartans and Phoenix were involved in the Stevenage Parkrun this week, which had a Hawaiian theme after hackers briefly changed the run's Facebook page to Hawaii 5-0

North Herts Road Runners also have a number at the Duck ‘N’ Dash Aquathlon on Norton Common, Letchworth, with Sophie Thrussell turning in a sparkling performance to win the ladies’ race in a superb time of 29:06.

James Keogh maintained his 100 per cent attendance record at the thirteenth iteration of the 400m swim and 5k run event, placing 22nd.