Super-vet Alastair Walker steals spotlight at Brampton-Carlisle 10

M65 runner clocks 55:23 for 10 miles into a headwind as overall victories go to Phil Sesemann and Steph Pennycook

70th Brampton to Carlisle 10 mile, November 20

Bruce Tulloh, the 1962 European 5000m champion and later one of Britain’s greatest masters athletes and leading coaches, used to say the sign of a great master was if he could better his age for 10 miles. Obviously that is impossible for a younger vet but very good older athletes can achieve it and Tulloh himself ran 57:47 at the age of 60.

However even Tulloh’s run looks modest in comparison to Alastair Walker as the 66-year-old produced one of the greatest age-related road performances of all time when he not only broke 66 minutes but came close to beating 55 on Sunday.

The distance of 10 miles is no longer competed as much as in the past and has never been an official World Masters Association distance but it is a listed UK best.

However, Walker’s run won’t count as a ‘record’ as it is slightly downhill (especially in the opening miles) and the course is point to point, although that wasn’t a help this time as the race was run into a headwind the whole way.

Despite this his time of 55:23 (55:19 on chip) is a huge advance on what is the best known 10 miles by a M65 of 60:11 by the great Canadian Ed Whitlock and also Briton Ron Lucas in 1991. In addition it apparently makes him the oldest ever athlete to break the hour mark, even if he did so by close on five minutes.

It also is intrinsically superior to the best ever 15km mark of 55:04 by Whitlock as the Scot must have gone through that mark well inside 52 minutes.

Walker, the current World Masters 10km and recent British and Irish Masters International winner, does have experience of competing at this event as he ran way back in 1987 and even took the race to Steve Cram as he finished fifth in 50:24 to Cram’s 49:51.

This time round he followed his race plan from coach Cathy McCourt and put constant 5:30 miles together and only really slowed more towards 5:40 for his last two miles.

It’s worth noting that while Walker is now 66, he was only a few seconds down on the world and UK M60 best of 55:02 by Martin Rees and might well have beaten that time had the wind been in the opposite direction.

He finished 31st and finished well clear of all male athletes aged 50 and over and all the female athletes.

Leeds City AC club members, Phil Sesemann and Steph Pennycook, took the overall men’s and women’s race victories.

The duo are not only medics but previous runners-up and they returned to North Cumbria to take their respective men’s and women’s titles in the 70th running of the race.

Sesemann clocked 48:48, just over a minute slower than his 2019 posting, while Pennycook, who just failed to beat the hour mark last year, showed huge improvement over 12 months later when recording 56:40.

A 714 strong field left Brampton in pleasantly cool, bright conditions after heavy overnight rain.

By the two-mile marker an initial group of ten had been reduced to four, led by North East Project’s Kieran Walker with Sesemann, Birtley AC’s Adrian Bailes, Chorlton Runners’ Gavin Tomlinson and Carl Smith of North Shields Poly in close attendance.

The pace slowed slightly to just under five-minute mile pace between the two and four mile posts.

Walker continued to push on and a 4:50 mile saw just Sesemann with him at five miles, with a 50m gap opening up to Bailes in pursuit.

Sesemann always looked comfortable at his training companion Walker’s shoulder and after the pace had slowed approaching seven miles, the Leeds athlete took off for home, quickly opening up a sizeable gap. It was Sesemann against the clock from there on in, regularly glancing at his watch and putting in a 4:41 ninth mile.

He had 30 seconds in hand over Walker at the line.

Walker’s 49:28 was a 21-second improvement on his third place from last year. Bailes clocked 49:44, Tomlinson 50:09 and Smith 50:27.

In the race for the women’s title, Pennycook had a battle with Fife AC’s Annabel Simpson, holding her off by just five seconds.

Simpson’s time of 56:45 was also a sizeable improvement on her 2019 run of 58:09.

Border Harriers’ under-23 Camilla McKnespiey, women’s winner at the Derwentwater 10 a fortnight earlier, burst through the one hour barrier for a PB of over three minutes, crossing the Eden Bridge finish in 57:43.

Sunderland Olympian Aly Dixon, now a W40, clocked 58:39 with Western Tempo’s Rachel Brown home in 59:58.

Eighty six athletes finished under the one-hour mark.

Chorlton Runners trio of Tomlinson, Thomas Charles and Steven Curley won first team prize with an impressive 24 points from Border Harriers’ 40 and Morpeth AC’s 41.

McKnespiey, first W55 Fiona Smith, Victoria Rankin took the women’s team title for Border.

Leading results – men:

1 Philip Sesemann 48:48
2 Kieran Walker 49:28
3 Adrian Bailes 49:44
4 Gavin Tomlinson 50:09 M40
5 Carl Smith 50:27
6 Thomas Charles 50:29
7 Sam Hancox 50:31
8 Lewis Gamble-Thompson 50:44
9 Nicholas Barry 51:02
10 James Douglas 51:44
11 Conan Harper 51:45
12 Matthew Briggs 51:53
13 Nathan Postill 52:02
M40: 2 Steven Curley 52:24
M45: 1 Andrew Heppell 54:52
M65: 1 Alastair Walker 55:23

Women:
1 Steph Pennycook 56:40
2 Annabel Simpson 56:45
3 Camilla McKnespiey 57:43
4 Alyson Dixon 58:39
5 Rachel Brown 59:58
6 Lesley Bell 60:21
7 Lydia Barker-Chapman 60:28
8 Rachelle Falloon 60:58
9 Tracy Millmore 62:47
10 Ellie Reed 63:35

W50: 1 Lisa Finlay 63:56

W55: 1 Fiona Smith 66:39

W60: 1 Roselle Oberholzer 68:58

Brighton 10km, November 20

Overall:
1 Will Bryan Southampton 30:33
2 Gus Withers Leigh-on-Striders 30:40
3 Scott Cousins Springfield Striders M35 31:01
4 Jack Gumm Bath University 31:14
5 Stephen Strange Tonbridge AC 31:22

Women:
1 Naomi Mitchell Reading AC 33:45
2 Harriet Bloor Lewes AC 34:03
3 Helen Hall Winchester & District 34:40
4 Lauren Reed Havering W35 34:57
5 Kate Drew Taunton AC 35:22

Run for all Bury 10km, November 20

Men:
1 Luke Edwards  32:58
2 Paul Cain  33:24
3 Michael Mannings 33:40

Women:
1 Harriet Kirby 44:04
2 Nicola Lloyd W40 44:29
3 Philippa Tooms 45:43

Run for all Bury 10M, November 20

Overall:
1 Kevin Waterhouse M40 57:22
2 Daniel Bird 58:05
3 Michal Blaszczuk 60:38

Women:
1 Jennifer Badger 67:14
2 Purna Lahiri 67:38
3 Stella Blackburn W50 71:16

Derby 10, November 20

There were clear wins for Ben Connor (49:32) and Charlotte Taylor (57:51).

Men:
1 Ben Connor 49:32
2 Dougie Musson 50:55
3 Elisha de Mello 51:09
4 Daniel Haymes 51:17
5 Sam Costley 51:24
6 Max Costley 51:27

Women:
1 Charlotte Taylor 57:51
2 Alice Belcher 58:34
3 Abbey van Dijk 59:49
4 Abbie Pearse 60:31
5 Tracy Hinxman W50 63:32

Gosport Half-Marathon, November 20

Men:
1 Matt SHARP 67:56.5
2 Stephen BLAKE 68:06.2
3 Rob MCTAGGART 70:16.6

Women:
1 Emma JOLLEY 81:37.6
2 Katie ROWLAND 82:23.6
3 Charlie METCALFE 83:09.9

St Neots Half-Marathon, November 19

Men:
1 Adam Tapley Cambridge & Coleridge 71:07
2 Lewis Knight Daventry AAC 72:25
3 Matthew Slater Cambridge & Coleridge 73:16

Women:
1 Johanna O’Regan W35 St Neots Riverside Runners 79:25
2 Hannah Lord Rutland Running & Triathlon Club 81:15
3 Clare Rodseth Bedford Harriers AC 82:29

BIERTON 10km, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, November 20

Overall:
1 J Davis (VoA) 33:51; 2  T Broughton (Thame) 37:31; 3 R Palmer (Bearb, M40) 37:35

Women:
1 M Crowne (Oxf C) 42:12; 2 S Pearce (W40) 45:34: 3 K Lawton (Thame, W50) 48:00

KEMPTON PARK MT 10km, Surrey, November 19

Overall (10km):
1 T Mockett (Rane, M40) 34:55; 2 J Whistler (Rane) 35:04; 3 O Gilroy 35:46

M60: 1 S Schultz (Windle/DEN) 40:54

Women:
1 F Leach (WSEH) 37:54; 2 A Rollason (S Lon) 38:43; 3 M Gajek (Herne H) 39:45

Overall (13.1M):
1 O Garrod (S Lon) 72:22

Women:
1 L Sanderson 88:42

Overall (5km):
1 H Johnston (WSEH) 16:08

Women:
1 J Heller (Cookham) 19:15

KENDAL MOUNTAIN FESTIVAL TRAIL 10km, Kendal, November 19

Overall:
1 R Gollan 37:28
2 T Lamont 38:40
3 O Murphy 39:08
4 R Axe 39:31
5 C Holdsworth 39:36
6 S Stead 40:37

M40: L Beresford 43:43

M50: C Lines 47:47

M60: D Griffin 50:24

M70: O McLaughlin 60:13

Women:
1 H Smith 44:29
2 P Addison 45:18
3 A Rea 50:15
4 M Sellers 50:20

W40: A-M Watson 53:35

W50: C Cullinane 56:47

W60: W Birkett 64:47

GLENTRESS TRAIL HALF-MARATHON AND 10km, Peebles, November 19

Overall (HM):
1 A Rolland 91:50
2 C Scott (Gala, M40) 92:14
3 D Carter-Brown (Peeb TC, M40) 94:21
4 A Bryce (Marines) 96:30
5 D Coombs (HBT) 97:10
6 D Ward (HBT, M40) 98:08

M50: N Purves 1:46:45

Women:
1 J Wilcox 1:45:37
2 K Barden (Gala, W40) 1:54:36
3 L Allen 1:55:55
4 D Challands (Moorf, 40) 1:58:22

W50: S Rolland 2:02:42

Overall (10km):
1 M Likeman (C’land F, M40) 41:23
2 C Reekie (M50) 42:05
3 M Mcgovern (Moorf, M50) 44:28
4 G Haradine 44:34
5 M Karpowicz (P’bello) 45:43
6 N Hope 46:13

M60: N Care 57:28

Women:
1 L Wells-Cole 48:14
2 J Beedie 50:07
3 L Gossage (W40) 51:06
4 K Aubrey (Helm H, W50) 51:43

W60: T Bell 59:53

TWEED VALLEY FOREST ULTRA TRAIL RACES, Peebles, November 20

Overall (65km):
1 A Hilley 5:17:17
2 P Peciura 5:43:05
3 J Wolf 5:44:30
4 L Taylor 5:52:36

M50: D Troman (LTRC) 6:49:07

M70: G Mcgowan 7:42:04

Women:
1 N Duncan (C’thy, W40) 6:35:53
2 H Hindley 6:49:56
3 M Mott (Mary, W40) 7:11:32

W50: J Corris 8:25:23

Overall (50km):
1 A Gray (Penic) 3:58:16
2 A Shanks 4:14:39
3 M Misak (Moorf) 4:23:54
4 J Speirs (Kil’k, M40) 4:36:35

M50: A Doig (RBR) 5:30:13

M60: R Macleod 6:13:30

Women:
1 T Reid 5:03:17
2 S Toppin (M Fuel, W50) 5:08:29
3 C Bruce (HBT, W40) 5:25:59

W60: J Donaldson 5:28:00

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