ATHLETICS: Rugby runner crowned British half marathon champion

Emily Waugh receiving her trophy after her Robin Hood half marathon victory

Rugby & Northampton’s Emily Waugh was crowned British champion after a sensational showing at the Robin Hood half marathon in Nottingham last Sunday.

Waugh excelled around the 13.1-mile course and was the first female to cross the line just a second over 1 hour 18 minutes. It secured her 17th place overall in the race, which was designated as the British Half Marathon Championship.

She wasn’t the only R&N athlete to star, however. Alistair McDonnell set a new personal best time of 1:14:49 to finish 10th, a remarkable achievement in the annual event, which featured over 6000 runners in 2017.

Sarah Davis was the first home in the F50 category, with a fine effort of 1:27:05. That time led to her finishing the race as the sixth fastest female and an overall placing of 87th. Jonathan Sarkies (286th - 1:35:33) and Samantha Lee (4910th - 2:46:46) rounded off the R&N efforts.

Elsewhere, a number of the club’s athletes were competing in the Midland Counties Road Relays at Sutton Park, where the Masters Men secured a fine finish of fifth, led by Stephen Marks in a time of 19:36.

Richard Latimer (20:00), Paul Birch (21:11), Jonathan Taylor (22:43), Dean Oldfield (21:05) and Ian Botheroyd (21:35) completed a strong showing by the team.

In the Senior Men’s race, R&N’s ‘A’ string finished 31st out of 101 competing clubs, with the ‘B’ string further back in a respectable 69th spot.

Ben Musgrove (19:32), Adam Wright (20:19), Haydn Arnall (21:38), Joseph Lantsbery (20:50), Finn Hutton (21:53) and Lewis Cherry (21:26) brought the ‘A’ string home.

The ‘B’ string consisted of Vince Carroll 23:32, Michael Andrews, (23:18), Joseph Childs (25:49), Max Chippington (24:36) and Daniel Nikel (23:01), while Alistair McDonnell warmed up for the aforementioned Robin Hood half with a run of 22:27.

Meanwhile, the senior women ended up 21st out of a field of 102. Amy Sarkies (16:39), Zoe Shepherd (18:34), Tori Green (15:59) and Minerva Chesser (20:54) ensured an impressive showing in the four-stage event.