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Record-breaking weekend
Runners were in action across road, trail and fell events over the weekend, with a series of standout performances across Yorkshire and beyond, including three club records.
At the Wakefield 5K, Richard Heppenstall led the club home with an excellent second-place finish in 17-04. His performance also secured first place in the men’s over50 category and saw him break a long-standing club record for the distance, which had stood for more than 20 years. Jade Crosby produced a strong run of 19-49 to finish third female overall and first in the senior women’s category, while James Mumford ran 17-27 to place fifth overall and first in the men’s over45 category.
There was further success at the Wakefield 10K where Kelly Howson led the Penistone contingent home in 46-19, finishing second in the ladies over45 category. Sara Wolstenholme continued her fine form with a personal best of 55-57, while Sarah Bradley ran 50-56 and Tracy Woodward 58-39. Barbara Haigh was first in the ladies over75 category, finishing in 1-02-10. Sean Pitt produced another strong road run at the Wilmslow 10K, finishing seventh in a competitive field of 984 runners with 36-00.
In North Yorkshire, Alan Nutton led Penistone home at the Thirsk 10 with a strong 59-26 to finish 41st in a field of 836 runners, while Julia Johnson continued her excellent form to win the ladies over60 category in 1-13-13, setting a new club record in the process. Gemma Nutton also completed the course in 1-21-56.
In the Lake District, Nichola McNally produced an outstanding performance at the Coniston 14, finishing in 1-38-10. She was 95th overall, ninth female and first in the ladies over55 category in a field of 1,143 runners, with her time also setting a new club record for the distance. Richard Cottam also impressed at the Spring Trails Half Marathon in the Forest of Dean, finishing 38th overall in 1-21-50 in a field of 1,074 runners and placing ninth in the men’s over40 category.
Even further afield, John Howsham represented Penistone at the Rome Marathon and produced a determined performance to break the four-hour barrier with 3-59-56 on the busy city-centre course. The run marked a significant return to marathon running following a period disrupted by injury and was a particularly meaningful achievement.
On the fells, Harriet Drouin tackled the demanding Heptonstall Fell Race, completing the tough 14.9-mile course with more than 3,200 feet of climbing in 3-40, while Jon Hallam finished the 21-mile, 4,500 feet Edale Skyline in 4-07.
At parkruns, Penistone runners once again delivered a host of standout performances. Emily Duckett led the way at Penistone with first female place in 22-09, while Hannah Shaw secured third female. Tom Fryers took third overall at Barnsley in 17-17, with Dawn Godley claiming second female place and Ian Neville first in the men’s over60 category. Flynn Rogers produced one of the performances of the weekend with third place overall at Hillsborough in 16-30, recording an excellent 83.03% age grading. There were several milestone achievements, with Russ Lynam and Claire Watts both completing their 50th parkruns at Penistone, Lynam marking the occasion with a personal best. Edward Holley celebrated his 50th parkrun at Cusworth with a lifetime best, while Pete Beever reached his 200th milestone at the same event. Myfanwy Cross also brought up an impressive 300th parkrun at Vicar Water. Further afield, John and Jackie Howsham took part in the Caffarella parkrun in Rome, finishing in 34-25 and 34-21 respectively. The highest age-graded performance of the weekend came from Dawn Broom with 84.18%, followed by Flynn Rogers with 83.03%, Dawn Godley with 82.33%, Ian Neville with 75.27% and Martin Ball with 75.04%.