It was with shock and great sadness that the club learnt of the death of one of our beloved members Dave Blenkharn. He died out running on Sunday 7th June during his leg of the Builth and district virtual handicap event. He had been a member for a couple of years and always a keen runner he was known to some for much longer. He was a much loved member of the club, always friendly and happy to chat, encouraging other runners and always the gentleman. The Croft Facebook page was filled with comments on how much Dave would be missed and how much he meant to all of us and also by members of other local running clubs. All of our thoughts are with Elaine and their children Chris and Susie at this difficult time.
The Club set up the Bircher Common time trial route a month ago as a way of having a little bit of virtual competitiveness and in the two weeks prior to his death, Dave had run the route three times, so it was only fitting that the next round of the trial over the next two weeks were held in his memory. We also opened up the challenge to non-members of the club to run the route and enter in memory of Dave.
Fifty people took part in the virtual challenge in memory of Dave, including his nephew Angus. Angus is a runner too and was keen to pay tribute to Dave, but as he lives in Glasgow – Bircher was a little far to come. So he ran around a route in Glasgow which included a few hills, and was a little further at 6km and I am honoured to include his results in Dave’s run. Some members of Presteinge Pacers also took part. This was a fitting tribute to how much Dave will be missed.
A few PBs for some of the runners, but a tough route. Well done to everyone who took part. Pictures of some of those taking part below the results, together with a summary of just a few of the comments about Dave off the facebook page (click to enlarge).
Click on arrow at top of column to sort into fastest runner or best PB – Well done to Gemma on a huge 3.19m improvement – virtual choccy bar for you and one for Toby for an amazing time of 22.25.
| Runner | First Attempt | Time | P.B (minutes) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ruth Taylor | 43.21 | ||
| Roxy Woodfield | 29.44 | ||
| Sam Juson | 29.00 | ||
| Bryan Markham | 48.00 | ||
| Toby Austin | 22.25 | ||
| Neil Taylor | 33.14 | 32.08 | 1.06 |
| Bronwyn Preece | 40.28 | ||
| Suzy Siddall | 47.12 | ||
| Roland Preece | 33.41 | 34.01 | |
| Lucy Wilding | 31.45 | ||
| Naomi Perkins | 31.30 | 30.42 | 0.48 |
| Guy Whitmarsh | 35.38 | 34.29 | 1.09 |
| Thea Preece | 36.54 | 38.05 | |
| Nigel Mason | 26..55 | 25.54 | 1.01 |
| Laura Taylor | 37.08 | 37.28 | |
| Mikey Powell | 30.04 | ||
| Steph King | 35.46 | 33.37 | 2.09 |
| Tory Dickinson | 39.39 | 39.20 | 0.19 |
| Sam Harper | 34.27 | 33.33 | 0.54 |
| Carol Powell | 39.21 | 36.37 | 2.44 |
| Hannah Fletcher | 28.56 | ||
| Jo Tilby | 32.50 | ||
| Tim Jones | 32.22 | ||
| Lorraine Guest | 35.14 | ||
| Nigel Taylor | 25.48 | 25.27 | 0.21 |
| Simon Norwood | 26.20 | ||
| Bryan Lloyd (guest) | 34.14 | ||
| Eric Apperley | 26.37 | 26.05 | 0.32 |
| Liza Austin | 33.56 | 33.04 | 0.52 |
| Kelly Bowen | 30.31 | 29.47 | 0.44 |
| Robyn Gore | 28.49 | ||
| Alice Godding | 27.25 | ||
| Theresa Jones | 41.15 | ||
| Scott Jones (slightly different route! 6.16km) | 27.02 | ||
| Claire Preece | 41.46 | 42.53 | |
| Dave Geoge | 29.40 | 26.24 | 3.16 |
| Tom Davies | 42.56 | 48.04 | |
| Louise Reeves | 42.16 | 39.56 | 2.20 |
| Gemma Davies | 43.07 | 39.48 | 3.19 |
| Jo Marriot | 31.42 | 31.07 | 0.35 |
| Matt Moffatt | 27.40 | ||
| Sam Juson | 27.0 | ||
| Bryan Markham | 49.00 | 49.00 | |
| Emma Jones - ( extra loop inside the coppice! 7.4KM) | 42.59 | ||
| Sue Powell | 32.55 | 32.25 | 0.30 |
| Angus Gray (Guest) Virtual route 5.9km | 28.32 | ||
| Steve Mesham (guest) | 27.11 | ||
| Sam Butler (guest) | 23.23 | ||
| Kevin Duggan (guest) | 35.05 | ||
| Bryan Lloyd (guest) | 34.14 | ||
| Carrol Stoker (guest) 7km | 71 | ||
| Mike Blenkinsop. 5.18 mile walk | 108 |
