Quicksilver Brooks leads winners in week eight of #EBStravaChallenge
February 22, 2021 | by Matt Halfpenny
It was a great week of effort as entries flooded in for England Boxing’s Strava Running Challenge over the 5k distance – with congratulations going to Joe Glenwright (Schools), Shae Gowler (Junior), Fred Brooks (Youth), Patrick Devlin (Senior) and James Allen (Coaches and non-boxers) as the respective category winners.
Better weather in week 7 of the challenge – together with a popular distance – brought an increased turnout in participation which, in turn, saw some close competition at each of the top of the leaderboards.
Glenwright (Lambton Street) took top honours in the Schools category with a superb time of 19.26, which was almost a minute ahead of Bradley Smith (Bishop Auckland) in 21.19, just ahead of Charlie Aldous (Barum, pictured below) in third with 21.23.
Mya Ash (Gosport) continued her dominance in the girls’ section, clocking 26.23, ahead of Eden Kilkenny (East Middlesbrough) in 31.03.
A number of other runners impressed by going under 25 minutes, including Aamir Shirazi, Archie Boyne, Frankie Thompson, Harvey Jacques, James Scott, Joe Lane, Mason Warburton, Reggie Baker and Seth Charles.
Gowler, of Peterborough Police, made the step up from 3k to 5k in style as he finished in first place in the Junior category for the second week running.
However, his outstanding time of 18.42, was only four seconds clear of Jamie Bytheway (Redcar), who posted 18.46, while Lewis Smith (Bishop Auckland), with 19.16, pipped Liam Rennocks (Heart of England), with 19.21, for third. Also going under 20 minutes was Connor Yates (Majestic) with 19.53.
For the girls, Peterborough Police’s Emily Anderson came home in 27.15.
Others to go sub-25 minutes were Alfie Baker, Callum Levitt, Corben Beecher, Dan Bower, Donnie Carpenter, Findlay Lloyd, Imraan Shirazi and Tommy Caulfield.
Top Yard’s Fred Brooks (pictured top) recorded the quickest time of the week overall when competing in the Youth category as he sped to a terrific time of 17.19.
That was just less than a minute quicker than Oli Rhymes (Crawley), who had won the 3k mini-challenge in the previous two weeks and recorded a nevertheless excellent time of 18.17, while Callum Preston (Barum) was third with 20.39.
Additional runners to break 25 minutes were Antonio Brien, Archie Greer, Ashton Sims, Dan Jackson, Joe Coulson, Keanu Scowen, Lenny Cheesman and Vinnie Wadey.
Maisie Goodley (Peterborough Police) led the way for the girls as she ran 25.04.
In the seniors category, Patrick Devlin was the winning boxer as the man from Bulmershe ran 19.16.
Not far behind him were Chris Jowers (Army) in 19.33 and Taylor Frisby (Peterborough Police) just two seconds further back.
Jasmine Poole (Downend, pictured right) recorded the quickest female time of the week in the women’s section, with 21.31.
She beat Sarah Dunne (Metro), with 24.05, into second, while Layla-Star Churcher (Berinsfield) was third in 25.50.
For the coaches and non-boxers, the Army’s James Allen was well clear of his rivals with a rapid time of 17.34, as Stephen Lydon (Lambton Street), with 20.28, was second and Andrew Sadler (Market Drayton) in third spot, with 20.51.
For the women, Dee Cowey was again top of the tree with 25.16, ahead of her Market Drayton club-mate Rebecca Jackson, with 26.32, while Vicki Baker (Peterborough Police) was third in 27.45.
England Boxing’s Development Coach Amanda Coulson was delighted to see so many people pushing themselves hard in week 7.
She said: “We expected the competition to be high over the 5k distance and it definitely hasn’t disappointed, with lots of very good times being set.
“Well done to all those who improved on their times across the week and, of course, to those who finished in the top three of their respective categories. I look forward to seeing more top times in the coming week.”
Those who were close to making a top three placing but just missing out will get another chance in this week’s second week of the 5k mini-challenge from 22nd to 28th February (week eight overall).
You can set as many 5k times as you like, but it must be done in one continuous run, automated through Strava or, if on a private treadmill or inputted manually, must be supported by pictorial evidence of the data created.
Please see below the example of Mackenzie Waker for how your 5k should show up on your Strava page.
In the example, the time that will be measured is the ‘moving time’, which in this case would be 28.03.
In order not to lose any time, it is in your interest to make sure that you run as close to 5km as possible. Equally, make sure you run at least 5km, as if you run 4.99k, your time will not count.
To get the best results, follow these pointers:
- Always find an-off road route away from traffic.
- Try to find a route as straight as possible, which prevents loss of time on cornering.
- Try to find a route with little or no inclines that will slow you down.
- Measure out the 5km exactly on a slow practice run, so you know where to start and stop to record the correct distance.
- Don’t forget to stop the timing of your run immediately after reaching 5k!
For the 5k mini-challenge, participants must ensure they have their Privacy Controls under Settings set to ‘Everyone’ both for the Profile Page and Activities in order that results can be viewed.
For avoidance of doubt, you must complete your 5k without stopping and only those who were specifically targeting this challenge, and running no more than 6k, will be considered.
Please note that while boxers’ overall mileage will continued to be displayed on group leaderboards, these results will not be acknowledged on England Boxing promotion and results.
In the meantime, don’t forget to post your best 3k time for week six’s mini-challenge, which finishes on Sunday (14th February).
How to join in
If you want to begin your 2021 by getting in running shape but not entered yet, there is still time to join with Challenges running each week from Monday morning to Sunday evening.
To join in with the England Boxing Strava Running Challenge 2021, first sign up to Strava at https://www.strava.com/, if you haven’t already.
Then head over to the relevant group to complete your registration. Runs will automatically be logged in the challenge once you are registered:
Schools boxers – https://www.strava.com/clubs/englandboxingschools
Junior boxers – https://www.strava.com/clubs/englandboxingjunior
Youth boxers – https://www.strava.com/clubs/englandboxingyouth
Senior boxers – https://www.strava.com/clubs/englandboxingsenior
Coaches and Non-boxers – https://www.strava.com/clubs/englandboxingcoaches
Please state your club and position on your Strava profile. For example, put ‘Army boxer’, ‘Steel City Coach’, ‘Aberfeldy Welfare Officer’ or ‘Wearmouth Administrator’. If you are an official with no specific club, please state your region and role, such as ‘Eastern Counties Judge’.
Should you have any problems with registering, please email: matt.halfpenny@englandboxing.org
Key Information
Important: Please note that boxers and participants taking part are doing so their own risk and must ensure they have adequate footwear and clothing and no injury or health concerns.
It is recommended that participants do not to run alone in the dark or in adverse weather (such as snow or ice) and parents and coaches are requested to monitor the activity of under 18s and ensure that those taking part do not push themselves beyond their running capabilities, while also giving themselves adequate rest. Adults should also be careful to run within their limits and rest when appropriate.
You can also post pics that you’d like to share of you running in your England gear on our Instagram, Facebook and Twitter channels using the hashtag #EBStravaChallenge.
