We are extremely sad to hear of the passing of Peter Radcliffe, former chairman of Bedford and County AC who through his dedication and hard work helped many people within the club and wider athletics community. Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this time.
Bedford and County AC’s Senior Men finished in fourth spot in the Virtual National Road Relays, and the club’s Age Graded team finished one place higher to take third.
The ingenious virtual road relays were the brainchild of club member, Massi Dendani, who tweeted the main distance-running coach at rivals Tonbridge AC to see if they wanted to go head-to-head. Things then snowballed – over 5000 runners across the UK entered, with around 130 men’s teams and 125 women’s teams taking part.
The virtual relays were fully compliant with social distancing regulations. Each leg had to be run solo between Saturday 4th April and Wednesday 8th April. Competitors were told not to drive anywhere to run, and were instructed to avoid busy places and park run routes. Nearly all runners these days have GPS running watches made by the likes of Garmin and Tom Tom. Each athlete had to find their own 5 kilometre course close to home, record their leg on their watch, upload it to the popular Strava or Garmin websites, and send a link to the organizers via the Open Track athletics website, which collated the results. There were even time penalties for significant negative elevation (defined as 30 feet or more in the course of the leg). The virtual relays also raised over £9,000 for NHS staff and volunteers caring for Covid-19 patients, as competitors supported linked JustGiving appeal in aid of the Association of NHS Charities.
The Bedford and County Men’s A team finished fourth with a collective time of 2:58.45, narrowly missing out by only ten seconds to rivals Tonbridge, who took third place. The scorers were in finishing order: Daniel Jarvis (4th), Matt Leach (25th), Aaron Scott (31st), John Eves (57th), Darren Deed (91st), Ben Alcock (98th), Alfred Yabsley (116th), Ben Davies (119th), Jack Goodwin (127th), Ed Blythman (169th), Andrew Headley (176th), and William Mullins (232nd).
The Men’s B team finished a respectable 38th, recording 3:17:56. The scorers were: Paul Mizon (239th), Harry Brodie (260th), Matt Bray (277th), James Minter (412th), Michael Harrison (471st), Will Mackay (491st), Craig Emmerson (634th), Charlie Palmer (685th), Richard Laursen (753rd), Jamie Webster (1025th), Erwan Weber (1047th), and Ewan Wilson (1306th).
The Women’s A team finished in 15th spot in the six to score competition with an overall time of 1:53:29: The scorers were Rebecca Murray (702nd), Alice Burgin (1552nd), Sue Bosher (1831st), Natasha Peters-Cooper (1900th), Ellie Still (1976th), and Tia Wilson (2286th).
The virtual nature of the event also encouraged the organizers innovate by calculating the clubs with the best age-graded team. Age grading works by allocating a percentage score to each athlete based on how close their performance is to the world-best for their age. On this measure, Bedford and County AC finished third – the age graded team had an average of 88.43%. The scorers were Daniel Jarvis, Darren Deed, John Eves, Aaron Scott, Matt Leach, Rebecca Murray, Ben Alcock, Alfred Yabsley, Ben Davies, Jack Goodwin, Ed Blythman, and Andrew Headley.
Dan Jarvis was the top-ranked individual Bedford athlete, finishing fourth fastest overall with a wonderful time of 13:47, and an age grading of 94.2 %. Rebecca Murray was the 10th fastest Senior Woman in 16:43. Matt Leach (25th fastest in 14:28), and Aaron Scott (29th fastest in 14:33) also made the overall top 50.Other notable individual performance included:
The virtual relays enabled competitive sport to blossom, raised money for the indispensable NHS, and fully complied with all social distancing regulations.
Unfortunately, in light of the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, there have been further cancellations of events beyond the official suspension of athletics competition (currently set at 30th June).
The cancellations are:
• All Eastern Masters Athletics Club (EMAC) League matches, including the September Final at Bedford.
• The British Masters Athletics Championships that were due to take place at Bedford in mid-August.
• The July National Athletics League match.
In more positive news:
• The August National Athletics League match is still provisionally on with the possibility of two additional NAL matches in mid-August and early September respectively - The exact format of these matches is still being decided.
• The August and September EMAC League dates are being held for open meetings, should circumstances allow.
• A number of Bedford and County athletes are taking part in the British Milers Club Bannister Mile Virtual Time Trial between 4th and 6th May. Good luck to those taking part.
In addition to the fixtures metioned previously, the fixtures below have also been cancelled. We will update this section with the latest fixture cancellations due to Coronavirus when we get them.
We have all probably been more than a little disappointed over the last few weeks as Coronavirus has wreaked havoc on athletics, just as it has on many aspects of life: all competition suspended, the club shut down, groups not meeting. Tuesday and Thursday training nights have become just like any other nights of the week – quiet nights in. It’s particularly difficult, of course, that none of us know when athletics, or life in general for that matter, will get back to normal. Many club members will have been working hard during the winter to achieve goals they have set themselves for the summer, only to find their plans put on hold for who knows how long, and the championships they have been building up for cancelled. Coaches, parents, team managers, officials, club volunteers, and of course the athletes themselves will all be feeling this.
Based on England Athletics instructions, and for the safety of all involved, all Athletics League fixtures and all other club fixtures, including road relays, cross country races, the Southern Athletics League, the National Athletics League, the Eastern Young Athletes League, the Youth Development League, the Eastern Master League, all championships and all other competitions have now been cancelled through to the end of May, and the National Athletics League match on 14th June has also been cancelled. Other fixtures due in June must also be in considerable doubt.
Following the announcement by the government on the 16th March there will be no training at Bedford International Athletic Stadium until further notice.
The advice from England athletics is as follows:England Athletics advises that all face-to-face activity such as club training sessions, events, competitions, club committee and face-to-face meetings, athlete camps, running groups and social events should be suspended until at least the end of April. Statements from the Southern and National Athelitics Leagues on upcoming events are below.
Following the guidance from England Athletics this morning, suspending all athletics activity until the end of April, the Southern Athletics League has decided to cancel all activity during this period. The May fixtures must also be in considerable doubt, but the Southern League awaits will await further guidance and clarification before cancelling the May fixtures.This means that sadly, the Southern Athletics League home fixture that was due to take place on 18th April has been cancelled.The guidance from England Athletics is available at: https://www.englandathletics.org/athletics-and-running/news/coronavirus-statement/
Following discussions with Board Members it has been agreed that the 1st NAL fixtures due to have taken place at various venues over the weekend on Saturday & Sunday 3rd & 4th May 2020 are now all CANCELLED. The decision is in line with guidance provided by the UK Government, UK Athletics and the National Governing bodies of England, Scotland and Wales. The NAL will continue to monitor and review government advice and provide updates on its likely impact on the League’s activities in the months ahead. The Board is mindful that this will be a disappointing decision for some but everyone should understand that the sole reason for this decision is the threat the Coronavirus poses to the health of athletes, officials, members, team managers & coaches, volunteers, supporters and sports centre staff whose safety and well-being are our paramount concern.
Promising young high jumper, Gracie Wall, added another national title to her collection at the England Athletics Under 15 Championships in Sheffield on 22nd February. Gracie, who is coached by Barry Johnson, went into the championships top of the 2020 national rankings, having leapt higher than any other under 15 girl so far this year. Her jump of 1 metre 62 centimetres claimed victory against nineteen competitors who had travelled from as far afield as Glasgow, Cardiff and Norwich for a shot at the national gold. Gracie’s indoor success during the winter should give her confidence as she prepares for the summer season.
Well done to all the Bedford and County athletes who took part in the National Cross-Country Championships in Nottingham on 22nd February.
17 year old Raphael Bouju, Bedford and County sprinter, won a silver medal at the Dutch Indoor Championships in the 60m sprint. He ran a personal best of 6.70, which is the same time that achieved second place in the British Championships last weekend. In addition his time improved his Dutch U20 record.
After five gruelling rounds, the Chiltern Cross Country League reached its muddy conclusion at Campbell Park, Milton Keynes on Saturday. Bedford and County finished in second place overall, just behind Marshall Milton Keynes.
Bedford & County athletes brought home a rich haul of medals from the East of England Indoor Athletics Championships held at Lee Valley on 8th and 9th of February.
Congratulations to Matt Bergin, who equalled his own 5k club road record on Friday 14th February. Running for Ireland in the Armagh International, Matt completed the course in a blistering 13:47, equalling the mark he set in Ipswich in May last year. He came sixth overall, and was the first Irishman home.
In the same race, Bedford’s Paul Mizon finished 102nd in 14:43, and Jake Barraclough finished 168th in 15:12.
Congratulations to Josh Lunn on his international debut!
Josh has been running with increasingly well over the last few months, and was rewarded on Sunday 2nd February with his first international vest, competing for a 7 strong England team in the Granollers Half Marathon in Barcelona. On a tough, undulating course Josh battled hard to finish in 11th place in a time of 67:12.
