Fairlands Valley Spartans kept it local on a quiet weekend for athletics events.

A total of 32 took part in parkruns but the main focus was on preparing for the cross-country league race in Watford on Sunday with the club holding training runs.

Among the parkrun highlights was a 99th event for Chloe Chapman, one of 23 Spartans at the home Stevenage run.

Of those who ventured further afield, Matthew Newton was eighth at Lowestoft while Grant Ramsay was 10th in Milton Keynes.

 

North Herts Road Runners headed a little bit further away in search of hills.

 

Laura Fairbanks, Anna Gibson and Lucy O’Connor completed the Stamford 30km with the pre-race warning of a very hilly course proving bang on the money.

There was near perfect conditions for running though with O'Connor the first of them home in two hours 45 minutes 44 seconds.

Fairbanks clocked 2:49 while Gibson also finished inside three hours in 2:58:12.

The slightly shorter but no less inclined was the Harrow Hill 10k which saw Linda Aird take part.

The race starts at the Harrow School sports ground and proved as strength-sapping as expected.

And despite it being "a hard slog", Aird managed to get round in 59:38.