Tom Adams cruised to victory at the annual Martlesham 10K road race on Sunday, leading from start to finish over the traditionally fast, flat four-lap course.
Fresh from his summer success on the roads, when he was crowned Friday Five Series champion, Adams was soon into his stride leaving a field of 438 (in the 10K) trailing in his wake.
The 17-year-old, whose five-mile victories over the summer were at Kirton, Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket, in addition to a third spot at Framlingham and fifth slot at Great Bentley, had a lead of 45 seconds by the finish.
Adams clocked 34mins 16mins, a personal best for 10K at only his third attempt at the distance, with Sudbury Joggers’ Kieran Hayles second in 35:01, and his young Harriers’ team-mate Alex Tripp third with 35:27.
“Conditions were ideal for running. There was not much wind, and I basically went clear from the start,” explained Adams, who is a second year A-level student at Suffolk One.
“I was surprised that no one went with me. I went off at what I thought was a decent pace, having already run one lap as a warm-up.
“No one responded, so I just decided to increase the gap and keep going. In the end, it was more like a time-trial than a race.
“Being a four-lap race, I was soon lapping runners. I tried to keep the pace consistent, although it was tough to keep my concentration on the third lap,” added Adams.
He took a chunk off his previous best, which stood at 35:18 from his fourth spot at the previous month’s Framlingham 10K, having also competed in the Alton Water 10K earlier this summer, where he clocked a winning time of 35:30.
Adams also had a fruitful summer on the track, setting a personal best of 9mins 02.17secs over 3K at Watford only a month ago.
He explained: “It was good to get a PB over 3K, although I had been hoping to break nine minutes.
“Now I’m looking forward to running my first cross country of the season, at the Suffolk Area Schools at Royal Hospital School on Thursday.
“I’m also planning to do a 10-mile road race, at Hadleigh later in the year,” added Adams.
There was a very familiar face leading home the ladies in the 10K at Martlesham, with Odette Robson winning by more than three-and-a-half-minutes.
Robson, an over-45 veteran from Saint Edmund Pacers, shows little sign of slowing down as she won the title in a commanding 38mins 01secs. She was only beaten by 18 men.
Like Adams, Robson had also dominated on the Friday Five Series over the summer, winning all five races.
She was also fresh from winning the Simplyhealth Great East Run, staged over the half-marathon distance in Ipswich (1hr 23mins 31secs) only a fortnight earlier.
Robson has now completed a hat-trick of Martlesham 10K crowns, having won in 2013 (38:07) and in 2014 (with a PB of 36:49).
Emma Attwood, of Stowmarket Striders, was a runner-up to Robson in 41:32 on Sunday, with Ipswich Harriers’ Marian Patten completing the top three in 41:50.
In the male veteran stakes, the consistent Jim Last, of Framlingham Flyers, was first home in 36:12. He has enjoyed a very productive year.
Elsewhere, Ipswich Harriers enjoyed a one-two in the supporting Martlesham 5K road race, which attracted a field of 148 runners.
Tai Elvin-Andrews was 13 seconds clear in a winning time of 17:03, with his club-mate Jack Grady taking second spot in 17:16.
Both are specialist 800m runners on the track, having competed at under-17 level during the summer.
Elvin-Andrews clocked a PB of 2:05.9 over 800m at the Anglian Schools Championships in June, while Grady set a PB of 2:01.3 over 800m (at Ipswich) and 54.7 over 400m (at Chelmsford)..
Steve Cooper, an over-45 veteran representing Blackheath & Bromley Harriers, posted 17:28 in third, while Felixstowe Road Runners’ Jon Glanfield also ducked under 18 minutes (17:57).
Ipswich JAFFA registered their own one-two in the ladies’ event. Rachael Hamblyn was first in 21:02, with Jasmine Bilner second in 21:50.
An encouraging 104 tackled the Martlesham Fun Run, most of them very young athletes. Ross Hammond was first home over the 2.5K distance in 10:34, followed by the Framlingham Flyers duo of Brandon Barber (11:14) and Tiggy Robinson (11:19).
The races started and finished on the grass area on The Green at Martlesham Heath, and were sponsored by Barker Gotelee Solicitors.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here