Personal best for course

4:00pm Wed Dec 28, 2011

There was an excellent turn-out at the Newark AC Boxing Day handicap at Sconce and Devon Park as competitors worked off Christmas excesses.

John Combie was an easy victor, beating his previous times on the 4km course by some margin. Grahame Kelly was second and under-13 Millie Hall just held on to third.

The next 30 competitiors all finished within two minutes of each other as the handicap worked well.

The fastest times of the day were run by Linton Taylor over four laps, Charlotte Peach for three laps and Jake Ludlam for two laps.

o Newark AC’s A team only just overhauled its B team in the annual Christmas relays, held by Notts AC at Wollaton Park, Nottingham.

The first leg of the race must be run by a veteran and the third by a woman, while the other two are a free choice.

The Newark A team was John Combie, Alexander Combie, Becky Taylor and Daniel Barrie. The B team was Jon Compton, Holly Ward, Ann Kitchen and Craig Fisher.

The race was run in the warmest conditions in memory, with sunshine replacing last year’s snow and ice.

In a competitive race, Compton ran a strong first leg to come in ahead of Combie, and the B team was still leading its club rivals going into the final leg.

However, an excellent run by Taylor had closed the gap and Barrie was able to overtake Fisher to secure club bragging rights.