Great running and PBs for Verna Burgess and Jon Randall at the Serpentine 5k last Friday of January:

Well done Jon:

“So happy! Broke sub-19 on a 5k for the first time today @ the Serpentine last Friday of the month 5k. 18:59! Just got in there!”

Verna tells:

“I was very pleased with 21.17 and 5th lady although there were only about 20 ladies running or 10% of the field. Quite low I think , can’t think why…. Did not realise this was a PB !! Just checked and yes by 4 seconds – a bit closer to sub 21 mins for 5k.”

A week earlier Jon Randall had a wet and windy Brixton 10k:

“In contrast to yesterday being my fastest race, I thought I’d post about last weekend’s race at the Brixton 10k which was one of my slowest. After not enjoying recent races – where I’ve forced a fast pace and felt like most of it was a struggle – I decided to try a more comfortable pace to get some racing experience where I felt stronger throughout.

The course was 3 laps of hills in the cold, wind and rain and finished at the top of a hill and across a mud track! Much tougher conditions than I was expecting from a London park! Came in 29th with 41:34, which relative to my other 10k times left me feeling disappointed, even though it had been my aim to ease up.

A learning curve for me to be less tough on myself. The highlight of the race was being cheered on by two vegans in the park, which made it all worthwhile!”

Jon at the Brixton 10k

An excellent run from Darren Spindler at the Freethorpe Ten miler coming 14th of 327 with 1:01:10. A week earlier Chris Caps finished in 1:17 at the Canterbury Ten miler bouncing back well from his chest infection the previous week. A new PB for Yasmin Inglis at the Northampton parkrun 25th Jan finishing 5th lady and 2nd in her category – there’s a growing VRUK presence at this parkrun, potentially 7 members.

Follow these links to reports on last week’s haul of VRUK PBs at the Watford Half and Alex’s 2 day Pilgrim Challenge ultra.