Several St Edmund Pacers took part in various events and there were some notable achievements from both the seniors and juniors (writes Julia Jepson).

Winning the men's senior 1500m race was Peter Barker in 4.06 mins. He was followed by team-mate Steve Robinson in third-place (4.22mins).

Angie Alstrachen claimed victory in the ladies' senior 400m event in 70.1 secs and a second-place in the 200m after recording a time of 28.3 secs.

In the junior U-17s 3000m event, Sherilyn Rigby ran a strong race to finish second in 13.02 mins. Clubmate Rebecca Gooderham also achieved second in the U-15 discus following a throw of 14m 36. Rebecca also came 10th in the U-15 1500m.

Rebecca Guy recorded third-place in the U-17 200m in 30.2 secs, and Emma Hatton was fifth in U-15 200m (32.4secs). Emma also competed in the long jump, finishing seventh following a leap of 3m 45.

Also in the long jump, Jessie Gooderham, competed in the U-13 category. She reached 3.48m for fifth-place.

Liam Brophy was the only boy competing for the Pacers, but he can hold his head high after two good results. He came fourth in the U-15s javelin after a throw of 19m 80, before enjoying a great run in the 1500m, achieving a time of 5.39.9 mins and an 11th-place finish.


In the sun on Sunday, seven Haverhill RC members competed in the Halstead marathon.

Competing in their third marathon in three months, Dave and Jackie Dockerill recorded times of 3.40hrs and 4.34hrs respectively.

Ian Longland ran his fourth marathon since March and came 16th (3.12hrs).

Other Haverhill results: Tim Ellis (3.59hrs), Mark Causey (4.05hrs), Ivan Layzell (4.34hrs) and Carl Vella (5.16hrs).


If you ever fancy a running challenge, then Mike Troup highly recommends the Three Peaks Race in the Yorkshire Dales. It is 23.3 miles long and goes up and down 5279 ft, just short of a vertical mile.

Some of the up is too steep for even some of the winning athletes to run and parts require hands, as well as feet to ascend.

From 754 starters, there were 685 finishers and Mike came a respectable 449th, which he tells me is not bad for a middle-aged, late-starting, southern softie!

One of the hardest parts of the race were the descents, which are hard to practice in this area. There were several nasty falls, of which Mike himself did not escape. Thankfully, he landed in mud and did not injure himself.

While on the subject of long-distance races, it seems appropriate to mention the fund raising efforts of Stephen and Tracey Buckle, who both ran in the London marathon for the Anthony Nolan Trust, which raises money for leukaemia sufferers.

Stephen and Tracey completed the course in 4.34hrs and 4.47hrs respectively and together raised £4,400. They raced in memory of Benita Mapes-Smith, who died of the disease in November.

Finally, some results from the Thurston fun run held on May 4.
After an absence of 10 years, the event has been re-established as a fund raiser for the village community.

The event attracted 120 runners, even on a day when several other races were being held. The winning male, from Thurston, was Ed Fry in a suberb time of 40.23 mins on a course nearer to 10.5km, rather than 10km.

His brother Charlie finished behind him in second-place. The leading lady, also from Thurston, was Jackie Morris who stopped the clock in 53.20mins.

The St Edmund Pacers' juniors turned out in numbers to represent their club and help raise cash for a muti-surface sport facility in the village.

Results (all SEP): 6th Alice Maguire, 7th Sherilyn Rigby, 8th Jessie Gooderham, 16th Daniel Whiting, 17th Emily Gooderham, 21st Gaia Johnstone, 31st Rebecca Gooderham and 38th Georgia Whiting.

The event organisers thank Thurston 68 club for marshalling the course and all the businesses who supported it. Almost £700 was raised.

Contact jjulia10@googlemail.com with any results or stories you wish to share.