I make no apologies for leading once again with the ladies, as we had a full complement of them for the first time since Farley Heath last November, and they were our star performers on the night, outscoring the men despite being fewer in number. First home was Aimee Billington, in her first MABAC since Reigate last year and making a very welcome return as the 11th lady overall. For good measure, Aimee brought not one, not two, but three friends to add to the Puffers complement - more below. But just five seconds behind her was Paula Holmes, the timings suggesting it was something of a tussle between the two - maybe a sprint finish by Aimee made the difference? Family groups are something of a Puffers feature and on Tuesday Team Holmes was out in force, our next lady finisher being Esme Holmes, flying the flag for the younger generation. A lady runner in another club, who shall remain nameless, complained after Farley Heath about Esme running with earphones. So, this time Esme ran without earphones and admitted afterwards that she had enjoyed the quiet and the view. It certainly doesn't seem to have affected her performance! (The same nameless lady has complained this time that 'the lady in front of me ...was running on a slight diagonal in front of me which made it very difficult to overtake...' I kid you not). Not far behind Esme was a newcomer, Clare Fineberg, one of Aimee's aforementioned friends. Their respective timings suggest that Esme and Clare are finely balanced in performance terms. I'm sure we could look forward to some interesting tussles between them if they were to come regularly, it would certainly be great to see them. Our fifth lady finisher was Barbara Roussouw (ChatBAR), in a timing very close to last year's, suggesting great consistency in her performances - something I envy as I see my own timings get progressively slower! But there is more to come. For the first time since I started these reports, we had a sixth lady runner, in this case Amy Henley, another of Aimee's friends, so also making her first appearance for us. Before the start Amy was hesitating whether to try the full 5 miles or opt for just one lap. To her credit she went for the full course. Well done Amy, the next MABAC is less of a challenge, so we hope to see you there!
To the men. Greater in numbers than the ladies but up against some tough competition from other clubs. First Puffer home was Craig Waddle. Craig ran an endurance race over the weekend, which might have been enough to justify mere mortals skipping the MABAC to recuperate but Craig turned in a solid performance to finish 41st overall, then promptly changed hats so to speak to photograph the rest of the Puffers team as they came home (some great photos on our Facebook page if you haven't seen them). Next home and not far behind Craig was Ian Turner, in a rare but very welcome turn out for us (I think his last appearance may have been at Windsor in 2024 - do correct me if I'm wrong, Ian). This is another case where I'm sure we could look forward to interesting tussles in future events. Our third male home was another newcomer, who should be credited as a member of Team Holmes, Esme persuading her boyfriend Alfie Day to join her. Alfie took the hills in his stride, finishing in comfortably under 42 minutes in a fine first run. Welcome Alfie, we hope we'll see more of both you and Esme. Ian Holmes was next, rounding out Team Holmes with a steady run, followed by David Rider, as the last of our 'high performance finishers,' as anyone scoring more than 5 points is referred to by the MABAC results keeper. David is another very steady, reliable runner although his time, in common with all three of those who ran on both Tuesday and last year, was slightly down on last year's. Maybe the warmer, more humid, conditions were the reason? The rest of the men's team was composed of Martin Rose, in his fourth consecutive MABAC, who nearly took me by surprise in a strong sprint finish, Laurence Flavell making a welcome return after a long absence and George James who surprised the Windmiler ahead of him - and maybe even himself? - with another strong sprint finish on the home straight. DMV had originally intended to apply a cut-off time at the half way point but withdrew in the face of protests from some other clubs. So I'm delighted to say that all our runners finished within what would have been the cut off time. Well done all.
But there's more. I said Aimee brought three friends. The third was Lisa Ardissone, who opted to join the joggers and walkers, finishing as the 11th lady out of a field of 32, suggesting the potential to do both laps if she can be persuaded to come again. Vicki Francis was our other jogger on the night, in her case to accompany son Danial, one of just four junior runners on the night. The juniors tend to get overlooked in MABAC but they are its future so it's great to see them taking part. And this was the second month running where the Puffers have had a junior runner, so maybe for the next event the mums could liaise and arrange for both Tom and Danial to take part?
MABAC now takes a break until Wimbledon Common on 5th August. This is a new course since last year, with fewer hills than the old one and no narrow footbridge acting as a bottleneck (plus a pub by the finish!) and is another midweek event. Please put it in your diaries if you haven't already done so. It would be great if we can get an even bigger turnout than we managed at Denbies - we are now in something of a tussle in the table with Waverley Harriers, so every runner makes a difference to the points. But before then there's the Holmbury Hill half marathon (aka the Surrey Slog), a beautiful if challenging off-road half marathon on 20th July (There's also a 10 mile option if a half marathon sounds too much). And as Puffers are now members of both MABAC and the ARC (More on that to come in a separate message) you can sign up until the end of June for less than half price, making it fantastic value. Alternatively, if you'd prefer to spend a relaxed Sunday morning in the beautiful Surrey countryside, we could really do with another volunteer to help marshal - if interested do please let me know.
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