Three Fairlands Valley Spartans won major prizes in the Sandy 10 mile road race on Sunday morning. Simon Bell won the prize for first male veteran (40 plus) with a magnificent time of 58:33. He was fourth overall out of 408 finishers. His wife Annette Bel

Three Fairlands Valley Spartans won major prizes in the Sandy 10 mile road race on Sunday morning.

Simon Bell won the prize for first male veteran (40 plus) with a magnificent time of 58:33. He was fourth overall out of 408 finishers.

His wife Annette Bell was first female veteran (35 plus) in 71:26.

Chris King was second female veteran (45 plus) in 71:32 - only one second behind the winner.

Times: Simon Bell 58:33, Andy Garrett 1-06:50, Alan Donald 1-09:01, Annette Bell 1-11:26, Chris King 1-11:32, Jim Brown 1-11:33, Tony Bradford 1-15:21, Paul Maguire 1-17:07, Alison Hopwood 1-22:14, Dave Farthing 1-24:44, Ruth Bradford 1-25:15, Mike King 1-25:23, Tony Osborne 1-25:16, Sara O'Callaghan 1-27:00, Mark Drummond 1-32:42, Ron Cohen 1-36:08, Andrew Manwaring 1-39:56.

The day before, Jim Brown and Paul Maguire were near Chingford for the Orion 15 mile cross-country event and endured much wetter conditions.

Brown was 61st out of the 186 finishers in 2-00:06 and Maguire was 77th in 2:04:56.

It was quite windy and very wet for the Serpentine Last Friday of the Month 5k race.

Brown was running the first of his three races in three days and finished in 20:36. He was 82nd out of 195 finishers.

Four Spartans were at the Caythorpe Canter Off Road Marathon on Saturday.

Times: Mike Newbitt 4-50:51, Roger Biggs and Robert Hardy 5-06:12, Dave Carter 6-10:27.

Biggs, Carter and Newbitt doubled up with the Daffodil Dawdle on Sunday.

They were joined by seven other Spartans and the race was on a loop in the Cambs countryside from the village of Kirtling.

Times: Roger Biggs and Sharon Crowley 5-48:28, Mike Newbitt 5-54:34, Kevin Lawlor, Carol Paul and Dave Paul 6-04:43, Paul Holgate 6-13:24, Mark Sanders and Michaela Sanders 6-52:40, Dave Carter 7-20:30.

Mark and Michaela Sanders were in Utrecht for the Easter weekend and the local marathon.

The weather was mixed - sun, along with rain, snow blizzards, and winds! Mark completed in 4-33:32 and Michaela in 4-54:20.

Andy Garrett and Karen Wells ran the Bath Half Marathon recently.

Garrett finished 387th out of 10,016 in 1-27:52, and Wells was running her first half and completed the course in 2-02:16.

The Folkestone 10 mile race on Good Friday was something of an epic for Paul Maguire.

He nearly impaled himself on a post in the first 50 yards and got hit by a wave in the last 50 yards! Maguire eventually finished in 1-12:14.

North Herts Road Runners were represented at the Sandy 10 on Sunday by 23 athletes.

Some were continuing their preparations for spring marathons, while others were looking for a final test ahead of the national cross-country plate final this Sunday.

Paula Adams took second place overall in the ladies' competition and first place in her age category in a time of 1-07:49.

Keiron McGill led the Squirrels home, finishing 32nd in a new personal best time of 1-04:19.

He was closely followed by Richard Thackeray in 42nd place (1-06:43), Pete Scrowther (59th) and Steve Williamson (96th) were next to finish in 1-08:20 and 1-12:10 respectively.

Stewart Smither (98th) overturned the club's current men's Vet60 age group 10 mile record, something that no member has done for the last 15 years. He completed the course in 1-12:41.

Anna Priestley (203rd) also broke a long standing club record. Her time of 1-20:33 demolished the existing female Vet45 record by more than two minutes.

Her husband, Chris, was also competing and he finished two seconds and one place ahead of his wife!

Mike Mello continued his impressive run of results finishing 108th in 1-13:07.

He headed a small group of tightly packed North Herts finishers, consisting of Norman Leslie (1-13:13), Martyn Annetts (1-13:21), Nathanial Whitley (1-13:46) and Clive Adams (1-14:45).

Martyn's wife, Rachel, was also racing. She posted a time of 1-27:51 and finished in close proximity to Linda Aird (1-30:02) and just behind Ian Sutcliffe and Roger Bamberough, two runners who both recorded times of 1-27:06.

The other finishers were Kevin Kirk (1-16:09), Neil Ward (1-17:17), Colin Calcutt (1-20:11), Brian Bailey (1-21:29), Suzy Trott (1-21:55) and Geoff Pettengill (1-48:52).

Chris Priestley and Martyn Annetts were also in action at the Serpentine Last Friday of the Month 5k.

Martyn was the first finisher for the club, crossing the line in 20:08 to secure 70th place. Chris completed the Hyde Park course in 21:23 and in 100th position.

The trio of Squirrels spending their lunch hour in club colours was completed by Jo Harbon who came home in 23:14.

James Atkins travelled to South London for the Wimbledon 10k and he finished in 15th place in a time of 35:24.

Three members of Hitchin-based triathlon club FVS TRI ran the Sandy 10 mile road race with John Rose home first in 1-10:50.

Kevin Smyth was 100th from the 408 finishers in 1-12:50 and Steve Mussett used the event as his last preparation race for the London Marathon and was pleased with his 1-25:59 for 263rd.

Brian White raced over 16 miles in the Asics Kingston Breakfast run and was first Vet50 in a time of 1-38:25 and 18th overall.

Ironman Rob Wilson travelled to Wilmslow to compete in the half marathon and recorded 1-29:34 for 230th from 3,449 finishers on the gently undulating course.

He is training for probably the world's toughest long course triathlon when he will take on The Norseman event in the summer.

The event starts with a 3.8k Fjord swim, followed by 180k on the bike and then a full marathon with the finish up a mountain!

Rob will join the Hall of Fame alongside Mic Clark and Adam Laycock who both became Norsemen in 2004.

John Burgess is also flying the FVS TRI flag in North America while on secondment in Michigan for a year.

As conditions are still too wintry to compete outdoors, John completed the Ann Arbor YMCA Indoor Triathlon with a 15 minute swim, 15 minute bike and 15 minute run.

With an age group win and third overall on the day, John was pleased to be maintaining his race fitness!

FVS TRI couples Tim Smith and Alison Clayton Smith, Kevin Smart and newest member Suzy Hawkins swapped partners for the day to compete in the Icknield RC two up TT.

The format involved two cyclists working as a team over the 30k route which took in the Chilterns and Dunstable Downs. Alison and Suzy were first female pair in 1-09:13 and Kevin and Tim were fourth overall in 54:51.

Mike Bridge raced the Castle Combe Circuit Race on Good Friday. After working hard to bridge the gap to the leading group, Mike was forced out of contention in the bunch sprint. Despite the terribly windy conditions, the average pace was still 24.5mph.

Simon Patenall completed the Jurassic Coast Challenge which involved nearly 85 miles in three stages over three days.

Day one was 30.5 miles from Lyme Regis to Chickerell covered in 5-15. Day two was a 27 mile romp from Chickerell to Lulworth Cove covered in 5-30 and the final day was a 28 mile leg from Lulworth Cove to Sandbanks covered in 7-03.

Although he vowed never again, he will be racing from Marble Arch to the Arc de Triomphe in September as part of a relay team which takes in a channel swim.