Cottenham Fun Run 2023 – the results are in!
After a break of three years, Bank Holiday Monday 8th May saw the return of the ever popular Cottenham7K Fun Run complete with a safer and mainly off-road route and a new start and finish taking place directly outside the Village Hall.
Heavy rain in the days prior leading to flooding along the route had threatened the race, but thanks to a last-minute change to the closing stages of the route and with the help of a couple of local allotment holders placing barrows of wood chippings on the worst of the puddles the race was declared good to go.
The weather on the morning of the race was ideal for running with no rain forecast and just a slight cool breeze. Local fitness instructor, Bob Celentano, from C-Fit led the warm up and over 100 runners of all ages lined up at the start while the volunteer marshals were briefed and made their way to their bases around the course.
At 11.00am, supported by their carers, the children from Sunflowers Care Home sounded the klaxon and the runners were off. They enjoyed using the airhorn so much that the organisers decided to let them take it home with them, but only if they promised to come back and start next year’s race!
With medals up for grabs for the fastest men, women, veterans (over 45s) and school-aged children the runners embraced the challenge and within 25 minutes the first runners were starting to re-enter the recreation ground. The support from the spectators, including the local Guides who helped with refreshments and were the ‘official’ cheerleaders, was fantastic and there was a real community atmosphere. The runners also reported good support along the route too in Cottenham and Rampton.
The winners and runners-up in each category were:
1st Senior Male – Alfie Pipe 24:23
1st Senior Female – Channa Van Leijsen 32:46
1st Veteran Male – Rob Davis 28:28
1st Veteran Female – Fiona Downie 36:08
1st Junior Male – Adam Wright 30:36
1st Junior Female – Amelie Crawford 36:01
In addition to the category medals, the Linda Faben Award was introduced for the first time this year and will be awarded annually in Linda’s memory. Linda, who sadly passed away in April this year, was the Treasurer of Cottenham Primary School PTCA and dedicated huge amounts of her time supporting young people and their families. Through her work with the primary school she managed to combine two of her passions: sport and inclusion. The shield, was presented by Linda’s husband Nigel, to Logan McGinn for demonstrating the attributes, which Linda held dear, of determination and resilience and will be housed in the trophy cabinet in the entrance hall of Cottenham Primary School. Well done Logan!
The full results can be viewed here
