Fairlands Valley Spartans

24/06/2026

🔥 From Harlow to the Spine Race, Spartans were everywhere this week!

54 Spartans turned out for the latest Mid Week League race, led by Samuel Paul (36:27) and Georgie Hooper.

In ultra-running news, Darren Wilby completed the epic 268-mile Spine Race, while Jodie Kantas was FIRST WOMAN in the 108-mile Challenger South.

Despite the heat, Spartans also raced at the Bass Belle 10K, Summer Solstice 10K, Herts Hobble and Welwyn 10K. Charlie White set a 1500m PB of 4:41, and Simon Jackson was second overall at Stevenage parkrun in 17:50.

Another brilliant week for FVS! 💙💛

54 Spartans made the trip to Harlow for Wednesday’s mid week road race league event. The 23 Spartan women and 31 men were among 537 who finished the event. This was a nominal 10K with a mixture of road and some quite narrow trail sections. For this event it was positions rather than times that

19/06/2026

🎩🏃 Spartans go posh, smash PBs and conquer ultras!

This week Fairlands Valley Spartans swapped club kit for top hats, gowns and fascinators as the annual Posh 20/20 raised an incredible £550 for EDS Support UK.

Meanwhile, Jodie Kansas took on one of Britain's toughest races, finishing first female and fourth overall in the 108-mile Montane Spine Challenger South. An outstanding achievement! 👏

There were PBs too, with Jay Papa clocking a huge 17:48 at the Marston Forest 5K and Megan Sutton breaking 24 minutes for the first time at Stevenage parkrun.

At St Albans Half Marathon, Nick Gill used the hilly course as marathon training and finished in a strong 1:38:22, while Jim Brown celebrated his birthday by claiming third in his age category.

Another busy week, another brilliant set of Spartan performances. 💚

Very Posh for the 20/20. Thought you saw some very posh people running around Stevenage on Thursday evening? Yes you did. Fairlands Valley Spartans organised their 20/20 run but with a difference. It raised £550 for the EDS Ehlers-Dandos Support UK charity and everyone was encouraged to dress posh ...

14/06/2026

💙🩵 MIDWEEK LEAGUE RACE 2- TRENT PARK 🩵💙

Just over a week ago, Fairlands Valley Spartans turned out in force for Race 2 of the Midweek League at Trent Park! 🙌🏻

With 66 Spartans on the start line (29 women and 37 men), we once again had the biggest club turnout of the evening, with 607 runners representing 18 clubs. Even better, FVS was one of only a handful of clubs to field complete A, B and C teams👏🏻

The 8.5km course featured two laps, plenty of trail sections and four significant climbs in total. Definitely not one for the faint-hearted! ⛰️🔥

🏃🏻David Harris-Cherguit led the Spartans home, finishing 8th overall in 30:19.

🥇 Simon Jackson was next across the line in 31:28, taking 1st place in his age category.

🌟 A fantastic Midweek League debut from new member Molly Shelley, who crossed the line in 41:27, finishing 39th woman overall.

🥈 Charlie Arnold claimed 2nd place in his age category with 43:25.

💪🏻Georgie Hooper was our first female finisher, placing 8th woman overall in exactly 38:00, with Ashley King close behind as 9th woman in 38:18.

🔥 Also dipping under 35 minutes on the challenging course were Jay Papa (32:16), Michael Fisher (33:05), Jonathan Parr (33:08), Charlie White (33:10) and Nick Gill (34:30).

A huge well done to every Spartan who took on the hills and represented the club so brilliantly 💙

12/06/2026

🔥 66 Spartans. One of the biggest turnouts in the league. Again.

Fairlands Valley Spartans brought more runners than any other club to the second Mid Week League race at Trent Park, with an incredible 66 members taking on the challenging 8.5K course.

🏃‍♂️ David Harris-Cherguit led the way with a superb 30:19, while Simon Jackson claimed victory in his age category.

🏃‍♀️ Georgie Hooper and Ashley King both finished in the top 10 women, helping the Spartan women continue their strong league campaign.

Elsewhere, Jim Brown won the V70 category at what may have been the final Hitchin Hard Half, while Brian White and Zoe Newell celebrated parkrun milestones at Stevenage.

From league racing and hard halves to parkruns and track competition, another huge week in Spartan colours. 💚

Another fantastic turnout by Fairlands Valley Spartans at the second Mid Week League event which was in Trent Park on Thursday evening. There were 18 clubs, 607 finishers and 66 of them were Spartans. That’s 29 women and 37 men this time. The Spartans were one of the few clubs with complete “A.....

12/06/2026

💙🩵 Run the Wade 5K 🩵💙

A couple of weeks ago, 12 Spartans made the trip to Biggleswade for the Run the Wade 5K and came away with some fantastic results on a seriously warm day! 🔥☀️

Our men secured 1st Team, while the women finished an impressive 2nd Team. 💪🏻

🥉 Charlie White led the Spartans home and finished 3rd overall in a brilliant 17:36. The course may have been flat, but with gravel trail sections and plenty of gates, it was by no means a fast one!

The winning men’s team was completed by:
💙 Ross Gallagher – 18:41
💙 Pete Gentle – 19:20

Our fantastic women’s team of:
💙 Georgie Hooper – 21:58
💙 Alice Welch – 23:23
💙 Katie Barnard – 25:34

secured 2nd place for the Spartans. 👏🏻

A special mention goes to Jay Papa, who celebrated 4 years of sobriety in incredible fashion by running from Stevenage to Biggleswade before even starting the race! 🩵 Covering almost 18 miles in total, it was an amazing way to mark such a significant milestone. 👏🏻💙

Also worth mentioning are Vish and Toby, who took on the 10K event. We all agreed that heading out for that second lap would have taken some serious mental strength on such a warm day! 💪🏻👏🏻

With a fantastic atmosphere in Biggleswade Market Square and plenty of Spartan stripes on show, it was a great morning of racing, supporting and celebrating together.

Well done everyone! 💙🩵

Jones’ Fitness

06/06/2026

💙🩵 Midweek League Race 1- Hemel Hempstead 🩵💙

A couple of weeks ago, Spartans turned out in force for the first Midweek League race of the 2026 season in Hemel Hempstead, with an incredible 67 Fairlands Valley Spartans crossing the finish line. It was the biggest turnout of any club on the night! 💪🏻

The undulating 10K course around Grovehill provided a tough test, but there were some fantastic performances across the board.

💙 Women’s Team Success

Our women had an outstanding evening, securing a hard-fought 2nd place team finish. The competition was incredibly close, with Spartans edging ahead of Watford by just one point, 196 to 195! 👏🏻

Leading the way was Gail Mackie, who finished as the 3rd W35+ runner, while Claire Pullen claimed 3rd W55+ honours. 💙

💙 Men’s Team

David Harris-Cherguit was first Spartan home in a superb 36:59, leading the men’s team on a strong evening of racing.

💙 Age Category Success

💙 Charles Arnold, 2nd M70+

This fantastic turnout was a brilliant start! Thank you to everyone who raced, supported and represented the club so proudly in Hemel! 💙🩵

📸- Keith Fenwick

05/06/2026

🎉 Happy 10th Birthday, Stevenage parkrun! 🎉

What a celebration with 639 finishers, 54 volunteers, a choir, the Mayor, an MP and hundreds of supporters helping mark a decade of Saturday morning running.

Spartans were right at the heart of it, with four runners finishing in the top ten:
🥉 Kirk Ndugu – 17:17
🏃 Simon Jackson – 17:56
🔥 Jay Papa – 18:09 (new PB)
💪 David Harris-Cherguit – 18:47

There were more PBs for David Bennett-Halliday and Jay Papa, milestone runs for Tracy Haygarth (200), Sarah Thomas (10), Lindsay Pateman (30) and many more.

Meanwhile, Yuko Gordon claimed victory in the latest FVS Handicap 5K, continuing her comeback from injury, while Melvin Auburn set the fastest time of the evening with a superb 22:05 PB.

Spartans at the Stevenage parkrun tenth birthday celebrations 639 finishers, 54 volunteers, a 35 plus strong choir, a Mayor, an MP and loads of family, friends and other spectators. What a fantastic way to celebrate Stevenage parkrun’s tenth birthday and it was great for Fairlands Valley Spartans ...

03/06/2026

03/06/2026

🏃🏻‍♀️🌍 Happy Global Running Day! 🌍🏃🏻

Running is great, but running with a club makes it even better. 💙🩵

From track sessions, intervals and hills to social runs, race days and everything in between, being part of a running club is about so much more than running. It’s the encouragement when things get tough, the familiar faces at the start line, the post run chats, and the friendships that are built.

Whether you’re chasing a new PB, taking on a new distance, or simply turning up and getting it done, there’s always someone alongside you to support and celebrate every achievement.

Today we’re celebrating the power of running together and the amazing community that makes every run that little bit more enjoyable.

Happy Global Running Day to all our runners, volunteers, and
coaches. Here’s to many more miles together! 🏃🏻🏃🏻‍♀️💙🩵

📸- Keith Fenwick

01/06/2026