The MK 5k PB Special road race lived up to its name on Friday 21st August, as five competitors from Bedford and County Athletics Club achieved personal bests over the fast 5000 metre course.

James Minter on his way to a PB at Milton Keynes (photo by Matt Bray)

Bedford has now been removed from the government's Covid 19 watch list, and so training resumes from Tuesday club 25th August.  Please see the Small Group Training article for information about how to book training sessions.

Congratulations to Belinda Sergent, who has broken Bedford and County's long-standing Women's Triple Jump record.  Competing in Bournemouth on 9th August, Belinda jumped 11.74m (as well as a longer, windy, 11.80m leap).  This exceeded the previous club record of 11.54m, set by Andrea Hall back in 1998.  Belinda has been aiming for the record for some time.  Her new PB represents a considerable improvement on her previous best - which was 11.38m, and moves her into this year's national top thirty.

Sadly, in light of the Bedford being added to to the government's Covid 19 watch list as an area of concern, the club has decided to suspend all training until 25th August.  The situation will then be reviewed - please keep an eye on the website for announcements.

The committee understands - and indeed shares - the disappointment that the many club members who were enjoying the return to training will feel.  However, action now, together with increased vigilance,  may help to forstall the town being subjected to a local lockdown, and the difficult decision to suspend training was taken in this context.  The current positivity rate in Bedford stands at 2.3%, and is rising, and cannot be attributed to any single cause.  Bedford Borough Council has asked the town to avoid gatherings, as early action now may help to prevent a worse problem later.  We hope club members will understand why it was necessary to suspend training, and can be assured that we will do everything we can to resume training when the situation allows.  For more information about the context in which this decision was taken, see this news article from Bedford Borough Council, and Bedford Borough Council's most recent Covid 19 update.  Also see, Public Health England's latest Covid 19 Surveillance Report, in which Bedford is listed as an area of concern.

There were some excellent results for Bedford and County athletes in the Bedfordshire AAA Virtual 10 K race that was held between 13th and 19th July.

Rebecca Murray won the ladies race in 37:41 and was fourth fastest overall, whilst Sue Bosher was second in the ladies race and the faster F35 in 39:52.  Penelope Francis was the fastest Under 20 Woman in 55:47.  Emma Coombes completed the course in 52:41, Maddie Brodie ran 54:50, and Claire Perusko (47:08) was the fastest F50.

A big well done to Darren Deed, who came first in the M40 category in the England Athletics Virtual 5k Road Running Championships in a time of 14:48.  Darren also finished in 13th place overall in a field of over 1700 runners.  Ewan Wilson also had a good run, finishing 19th in the M45 category in 17:01.  The event took place between 11th and 13th July.  All competitors ran solo on their chosen 5k route, recording and submitting their times electronically.