RACE REPORT

Mansfield Half Marathon - Sunday 27th June 2010

Hot weather and football reduced on the day entries.

On the hottest day of the year the organisers noticed on the day entries were down at the Mansfield Half Marathon from previous years.

Dave Lisgo, of the Half Marathon Organising Committee, said: "The town again turned out for this event. The park is an excellent venue with the track used as the finish for the half marathon and the fun run. We normally have about 250 entrants on the day but had less than 200 today. I think a lot of people maybe knew it wasn't going to be a PB [personal best] day when they looked out of the window and gave it a miss but we are very pleased with how it all went again."

The race is sponsored by chad.co.uk, Mansfield Building Society and availablecar.com.

Susan Partridge caused an upset in the women's race when she beat the two favourites, Yimenshu Taye (winner of the Redcar Half Marathon) and Genet Measso (winner of the Cambridge Half Marathon) who could only finish fourth and fifth in the gruelling conditions.

Susan is preparing for the European Championships next month when she will run the marathon. She managed 78:45 which is six minutes slower than her best but said she found the hills to be tougher than the hot conditions. She was followed by followed by Matlock's Christine Howard in 84.30, who was also first lady veteran home, and Central AC's Alison Doherty third lady in 85.57.

Jean N'dayisenga won the men's race. He broke away after around four miles to coast home in 69mins 18secs as the sun beat down on the runners.

"It was very hot out there and there are big hills so it was not a good time for me," said N'dayisenga. "It was difficult but once I decided to go after four miles it was easy for me."

He was followed in second place by Sheffield's Ed Mitchell in 71.01 and then Mansfield Harrier James Mee flying the local flag in 74.45.

The morning heat was searing well before the runners assembled at the start. And, although N'dayisenga was there alongside him, Mitchell was the early surprise leader.

Although he is unattached and has only been competing for two years, Mitchell already has an impressive CV building with half marathon wins at Grantham, Liversedge, and Friskley, a second at Leeds, a third at Sheffield and fifth as the classic in Bolsover.

He was eighth in last year's Mansfield race and was away well today. However, N'dayisenga soon showed him a clean pair of heels and disappeared into the distance.

"We ran together for the first three miles or so," said Mitchell. "But we got to a hill, he showed more pace than me and pulled away to leave me on my own.

"I just let him go as I was happy with second place.

"I was three minutes outside my personal best but it was very hot out there. But I felt I worked as hard as I have done in every other race. It was really tough with the hills and the heat. You really felt the heat after the nine mile mark."

Perhaps the most remarkable story of the day was that of fourth-placed Tom Boardman who actually started the race three minutes late.

"I missed the start after getting lost on the way from Manchester," he said. "I decided to tempo-run and managed to catch everyone and finish in 74 minutes. But I would have loved to have seen where I would have finished if I had made the start with everyone else."

Following on from the main race was the Mansfield Fun Run, over one and a half miles, sponsored by Howarth Timber and Building supplies.

As usual, this provided a massive colourful spectacle as hundreds of people of all ages, shapes and sizes did their bit.

The serious ones at the front took off quickly and first home was Thomas O'Mara, who had entered on the day.

But further back were those jogging at a gentle pace along with those pushing prams and pushchairs and many walking dogs or simply walking round. There was also a wheelchair race for the disabled.

Many of the fun runners were raising money for charity with some in fancy dress on a day in which that looked to be the last thing anyone would want to run in.

Mansfield Town FC mascot Sammy the Stag must have felt the heat more than anyone in his outfit.

We also had Spiderman, Power Rangers, a crusader, a large contingent of Robin Hood and his merry men with a banner saying Kirkby Team Shelley Ward and various schools and football teams all in kit.

With the England game ahead in the afternoon, many were dressed in England supporters' gear including wigs.

All in all the morning was another great success, giving serious runner and the general public the chance to be part of the town's biggest annual sporting event.