Gainsborough 10k is well known to be a fast, flat course, and so when the sun finally made a long-awaited appearance on Sunday morning, it was clear that Team Blizard were set to do well at the blisteringly speedy event.

Our own Jenny Blizard recorded her second race win in eight days at Gainsborough, clocking 39 minutes on the nose following her Retford half marathon victory last Sunday, while Clowne’s Gareth Lowe, one of the country's top V40's ever, also won yet again at the challenging Ashby 20m in a superb 1:53.47!



Also impressing was Steve McAleavy, who wasn't far off his PB with a strong 45:24, despite barely being able to train recently! His positive attitude shone through before the race started, proving the power of the mind to push you through against the odds.



Returning to the ladies' race, Scunthorpe’s Lindsey Skinner, Nicola Curtis, Barnsley’s Lisa Skinner and Gainsborough’s Georgina Weston all dipped under the 40 minute barrier, the latter for the first time.

Coached athlete, Scunthorpe’s Matty Smith, put in a superb run to finish third overall in a fantastic lifetime best of 32:56, with our own Dave Tune not far behind in sixth in 34:34!



More PBs were being rattled off by Retford’s Chris Pepper, clocking 38:04, and Scunthorpe’s Steve Fox, who was over the moon with his 39:07: “I have been plagued with injuries since December, so lactate training is still working even when it's not sustained!"

Clowne’s Peter Twigg recorded a massive 36:32 in the unseasonable March heat, while Doncaster’s Warren Clarke also ran well to post a 40:45 result.

Perhaps one of the most impressive results, though, came from Blizard’s masseur Owen James’s wife, Lindsy James, who ran 41:26 alongside Owen - while pushing their young child in a buggy! Lindsy is gearing up for her attack on the buggy world record for the half marathon, which she will attempt at the forthcoming Ramathon event - good luck Lindsy!

Also putting in a storming performance was M55 Frank Thomas from Caistor, whose 44:46 was just 22 seconds shy of his PB, while Doncaster's Martin Hookway did well to post a 42:32 result just a week after completing the gruelling Grindleford Gallop!

Clowne’s SJ Hodson once again did Team Blizard proud when she ran 51:01, as did Rotherham’s top V65, Brenda King, who put in a blinder with 64:39. She said: “I'm over the moon! I won the first lady V65 prize! It was gloriously sunny and not muddy!"

There was no stopping Team Blizard from joining the PB train in races across the rest of the country either, with Shaun Johnson’s 2:51.19 representing a life time best at the challenging Ashby 20m, the scene of Gareth Lowe's majestic overall win.

Danum Harriers' Paula Davies ran a very positive 2:55.28 at the Hull 20m, enthusing: “Hull 20 miler completed today. Last of my long training runs before Manchester marathon, and knocked 25 minutes off my training run compared to last year, so I'm pleased!”

Finally, we're happy to bring you more details from yesterday's superb performances at the Clumber Park Duathlon, which saw Jess Barrington and coached Ironman triathlete Karen Lynch performing outstandingly well once again, alongside coach Jono Frary and fellow elite Team Blizard star, Tom Morris.

Jono summed up their races: “It seems the winter of more running centric focus for myself and Tom Morris has paid off, now just some handwork on the bike and push on the running speed as we get closer to racing season in May.

"We both knocked 35-40 seconds of our 5km in the Duathlon from last year, with Tom at 16:29 and 17:10 for me, and that's really only been a focus since November, but resulted from very targeted run sessions based on our regular lactate testing and zone setting.

"It was a very fast and very competitive field as everyone battled it out for Euro and World qualifiers, with over 500 athletes in our race. We're both now in for the Euros after yesterda,y and Tom got his Age group win! I particulary enjoyed Tom coming past me in the last 1500m of the run, and am pretty confident I said words of encouragement as he went past!”

We are sure you did Coach Frary, well done on a great job not only racing but also coaching your athletes to top performances once again, joining the rest of Team Blizard in another weekend of awesomeness!