Age group handicap leaders
At the beginning of July we announced the new upgrades to the handicap scoring system that included, by popular demand, age group rankings.
One month on we thought we'd have a quick look at runners leading the way in the veteran categories:
Men 35 - Nicholas Torry, With a handicap score of MINUS 4.5, Nicholas is 1st male over 35 and is also ranked number 1 in his postcode area. A member of Serpentine, he races predominantly on the road and track. His latest performance was 14:18.38 for the 5000m on the track.
Women 35 - Jo Pavey. Jo is currently on MINUS 1.1 although she has been as low as MINUS 2.7. With only one performance in 2013 her handicap score has taken a bit of a hit recently.
Men 40 - Anthony Whiteman. Anthony's handicap score is MINUS 5.2. Not surprising for a 40 year old who can still run a sub 4 minute mile!
Women 40 - Hayley Haining. Hayley ran 2:36:52 at the Virgin London Marathon this year and this took her handicap score to MINUS 0.3. With only one race (a 5 miler in 27:18) it's slipped slightly to MINUS 0.1 but still keeps her in the lead.
Men 45 - Gordon Lee. Gordon has a handicap score of MINUS 1,8 and is also ranked 1st in his postcode. He runs for Leicester on the track and the road and recently clocked 25:24 at the Notts Riverbank 5.
Women 45 - Philippa Taylor. With a handicap of 2.5, Philippa runs track and road for Nene Valley. She ran 2:50:39 at the Virgin London Marathon this year.
Men 50 - There are currently 5 men in the MINUS figures in the M50 category. Andrew Green of Warrington is having a particularly good summer and is leading this category with a score of MINUS 1.9. He is 5th overall in his postcode area. His 15:47 for 5k at Lymm has set the bar at a high level for other M50s aiming to be top of this category.
Women 50 -Like Andrew Fiona Matheson is blazing a trail in the women's 50 category. She is ranked 2nd in her postcode and 1st woman. Her handicap score is 2.2.
Men 55 - George Thompson has a score of 1.6. He runs for Border on the road and track.
Women 55 - Fiona Kennedy has a handicap score of 5.5. She is ranked 6th in her postcode overall and 2nd woman. With a time of 38:51 at the Bupa London 10,000 in May, she hit an all time best handicap score for the past three years. Just to prove that age is no barrier!
Men 60 - Martin Rees ran a world best time of 32:54 at the Bristol 10k and so it is no surprise that his handicap score is below scratch at MINUS 1.3. It has actually gone down since Bristol after running a stunning leg 16 at the Welsh Castles Relay!
Women 60 - Christine Kilkenny ran 70:10 at the Meerbrook 15k last weekend and took her handicap score from 10.1 to 9.4
Men 65 - Ben Grant ran 37:59 at the Harrogate 10k last weekend and took his score from 6.1 to 5.3
Women 65 - Angela Copson runs for Rugby and Northampton on the road and track and has a score of 9.4.
Men 70 - Victor Shirley recently ran 32:54 at the Withernsea 5 taking his handicap score from 7.5 to 7.2. He followed this up with a 20:01 at the Doncaster Town Centre 5k event.
Women 70 - Val Naylor runs on the road for Sutton-in-Ashfield and has a score of 14.7
Men 75 - George Smith has a handicap score of 10.3. He is ranked 16th in his postcode area!
Women 75 - Joan Royal runs on the road for the Dorset Doddlers. Her handicap score is 19.4
Men 80 - Patrick Green has a handicap score of 14.6 and is rankied 16th in his postcode area.
Women 80 - Louise Gilchrist has a handicap score of 24.2. She is ranked 35th in her postcode and 13th woman.
Men 85 - Steve Charlton has a handicap score of 19.9 and is ranked 10th in his postcode area,
Women 85 - Caroline Parish has a handicap score of 23.1. She achieved a three year best score of 22.6 at the Leeds Half Marathon this year with a time of 2:02:51
Men 90 - Len Creo has a score of 35.4. He is a regular at the Forest of Dean parkrun where he consistently runs sub 40 minutes.
Women 90 - Mary Lowther has a score of 35.8 from the Plymouth Half Marathon in 2010.
We will watch the rankings with interest over the next few months to see if there are any new kids on the block!