Armstrong eases to Regency win but Kenilworth earn the team honours

Kenilworth claimed the men’s team prize with five finishers in the top ten, while Rich Simkiss was runner-up and there were age category victories for Paddy Roddy and Jim Sawle.

From the start the pace was frenetic and the lead pack contained four Kenilworth Runners - Roddy, Paul Andrew, Simkiss and Chris McCarthy.

Reaching the bottom end of the golf course in the opening kilometres of the race, eventual race winner Matthew Armstrong of Coventry Godiva Harriers and Matt Amos of Nuneaton pulled clear of the rest of the field.

After a steady start, Simkiss felt his legs coming to him in the middle section of the race and ran in third position, bringing with him Leamington C&AC’s Andrew Savery and Andrew.

Determined running in the closing stages of the race saw Simkiss ease clear of Savery, coming home third in a swift 33:04, albeit some way behind Leamington-based student Armstrong, who won in 31:30.

Third would become second for Simkiss as second-placed Amos was disqualified for running under another athlete’s number.

The number, believed to belong to his female partner, had not been officially transferred despite protests suggesting otherwise by the athlete concerned.

With Andrew Savery third, it was Chris McCarthy who ran strongly to claim an excellent fourth, given the same gun time (33:42) has his fifth-placed team-mate Andrew.

Behind Andrew in seventh was Kenilworth Runners’ Sawle, who ran superbly to better his old 10k PB by over a minute, clocking 33:55.

Joining Sawle in the top ten for Kenilworth Runners was Roddy, who finished ninth and claimed the junior prize with an excellent new PB of 34:08.

The first female Kenilworth Runner to finish was Emma Litterick, who ran well to finish 20th lady in 43:32.

With the vast majority marshalling the race, there was only a sparse representation of Spa Striders.

However, Rich Shephard claimed a creditable eighth place in 33:56 with Ian Taylor in 49:05, Emma Caplin in 58:25 and Lucy Blunt in 1:05:56.

Other Kenilworth Runners finishers: 13, Connor Carson (34:51); 20, Stephen Page (36:00); 34, Pete Bryan (37:00); 43, Andrew Holbrook (37:45); 45, Alex Atkinson (37:59); 65, Matt Dyer (38:52); 66, Dave Ramus (38:57); 78, Sean Mitchell (39:14); 83, Matthew Elkington (39:27); 90, Jon Mettyear (39:45); 112, Clive Pearce (40:35); 131, Neil Sheward (41:17); 157, Dave Pettifer (42:10); 182, Gary Morgan (42:52); 193, Chris Simkiss (43:19); 205 (20), Emma Litterick (43:32); 343, Barry Elkington (46:14); 345 (35), Justine Willis (46:10); 366, Robert Willis (46:40); 403, Stephen Payne (46:49); 437, Mark Hall (47:47); 483, Steve Ramus (48:07); 553, Andrew Cheetham (49:17); 602, Claire Goult (49:07); 680, Adair Swan (51:06); 701, Robert Cheetham (51:25); 702, Denise Cheetham (51:25); 713, Martin Broomfield (51:41); 717, Elizabeth Keell (51:57); 749, Samantha Starvis (50:39); 775, Simon Mottershead (51:24); 829, Sheela Kennedy (52:01); 905, Stuart Batchelor (54:08); 920, Chris Butler (53:56); 953, Helen Neal (54:54); 962, Laurence Copeland (54:34); 1,103, Paul Gallagher (57:17); 1,270, Melinda Richardson (59:33); 1,277, Arthur Smith (61:33); 1,299, Mike Shally (62:55); 1,421, Sharon Litterick (63:16); 1,489 Lynda Morris (65:00).

Positions are based on the gun time, but chip times are shown above.