Sunday saw the Frostbite Friendly League’s 30th Anniversary Race get underway.
The first Frostbite run took place on October 30, 1988 and it was this race that saw the very first winners the Riverside Runners.
The Frostbite League was formed as a breakaway from the Today’s Runner League and originally consisted of 11 teams.
There were 179 competitors in that opening race at Bushfield, held over a 5.2-mile course and has grown to 16 teams and an excess of 450 senior runners across six races.
The races are staged at four to five week intervals on a Sunday morning during the winter months from October to March (hence Frostbite).
Each of the six races is hosted by one of the participating clubs. The senior races are all between five and six miles and the junior races are less than 1.5 miles.
The terrain varies from race to race and may be anything from a wet and muddy cross-country to road-running through a town centre.
Each club may enter as many runners as they want into each of the races. Scoring is based on the finish position of each team’s first 10 runners - for senior teams three of which must be male and three must be female.
For junior teams the first five runners to score, one of which must be male and one must be a female.
For both juniors and seniors the remaining qualifying places may be male or female.
Trophies are awarded to the winning, 2nd and 3rd place teams at the end of the series.
This league is open only to senior and junior members of the 16 participating clubs. If you wish to run in any of the races you must be a member of one of the clubs as strictly no guests are allowed.
The emphasis in these races is on participation and enjoyment of all runners whatever their ability or sex and friendly rivalry between clubs.
Fenland Running Club fielded 29 strong runners to kick the season off who all completed the five miles in well under an hour.
First male home was Sean Connolly (15th) in a special 30th Anniversary time of 29:42, followed by Gemma Rose (135th) first female home in a ground breaking 35:51 which supported Fenlands 6th Overall position in the league.
Results:
Sean Connolly 15th 29:42, Andrew Plume 22nd 30:21, Lewis Saunders 24th 30:26, Stuart Follen 42nd 31:50, Paul Griffin 80th 33:55, Andre Pittock 82nd 34:00, Tim Chapman 105th 34:41, Mark Williams 125th 35:28, Gemma Rose 135th 35:51, John Chapman 136th 36:33, Ellen Connolly 162nd 36:45, Jay Gilbert 203rd 38:04, Nicky Jennings 213th 38:31, Jack Griffin 241st 39:28, Tony Foice-Beard 246th 39:38, Maire Kay 249th 39:40, Ian King 298th 42:00, Jac Richards 304th 42:29, Jane Greenwood 320th 43:16, Neil Bailey 323rd 43:23, Adrian Searle 334th 44:15, Larissa Follen 345th 45:12, Carly Read 367th 46:40, Denise Griffin 379th 47:12, Cheryl Chapman 396th 48:18, Sarah Rippon 402nd 48:45, Rachael Nichols 421st 50:48, Stephanie Payne 434th 52:44, Rachel Williams 440th 54:51
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