It was fantastic to see so many runners take part on Saturday and the weather played along too. It was a lovely crisp, dry day. To celebrate our 10th year of running the event, we joined forces with the TTP Cambridge Half Marathon to extend the event and create a weekend-long ‘Cambridge Festival of Running.’ It has been a great success.
The Town and Gown 10k race winners this year were:
Men:
- overall winner: Ian Williamson, from the Birchfield Harriers Running Club, with a time of 31:17
- second place: Ryan Prout, from the Thrift Green Trotters Running Club
- third place: Euan Cunningham, from the Cambridge and Coleridge Running Club
Women:
- overall winner – Hannah Lord, from the St Neots Riverside Runners, in a time of 36:36
- second place: Katie King, from St Edmunds Pacers
- third place: Rachel Doherty, from Northamptonshire
This year’s winner in the men’s category, Ian, is a Cambridge-based fitness trainer. He is also a former international 1,500m runner, competing for Scotland on the track before injuries forced him to retire. Following a six-year break, he ran the Cambridge Town and Gown in 2019 with a client, to encourage her to beat her personal best. He enjoyed it so much he signed up to run it again this year. He said it is a superb spectator’s course and for runners also very speedy.
It was the first time that overall winner in the women’s category, Hannah, had raced the Cambridge Town and Gown 10k and she really enjoyed it. A Project Manager for a drug development company, Hannah said the training really helps her to manage the stress that comes with the role.
The course itself was interesting and fairly fast, and it felt like a welcoming and inclusive event. Having just raced the London Marathon, (my first marathon), I wasn’t initially planning to race the 10k, as my legs were still recovering, but I didn’t want to miss an opportunity to run on the streets of Cambridge (and the good coffee to follow). It took me a few miles to get into it, and for the legs to warm up, but I felt fairly strong and was able to push a bit more and I was surprised (but very happy) to cross the line with a 30-second PB.
Adam Moffat, Director of OSB Events, which runs the TTP Cambridge Half Marathon, said,
It was great to partner with MDUK for the first Cambridge Festival of Running and to share the event village.
Dawn Pammenter, this year’s race starter, also ran her seventh Cambridge Town and Gown 10k. She and her Team Jamie run in memory of her son, Jamie, who had Duchenne muscular dystrophy and died in 2018 at the age of just 14.
Cambridge Town and Gown is a great route and MDUK is very close to my heart because of Jamie,
said the long-time Cambridge resident, who works at the university.
MDUK’s Jessie also said:
Huge thanks to all of our partners for making the day such a successful one for all of our runners. To F45, for their on-site warm-up for runners on Saturday, and we also wish them lots of luck with their brand-new fitness studio near Cambridge Station. We’d also like to thank Newton, who provided very generous goody bags. They are a rapidly growing operational improvement consultancy working in health and social care, retail and FMCG, and defence and infrastructure.
A number of other suppliers were integral to getting the event together, so we’d like to say thanks to the Cambridge Half Marathon team from OSB Events, HS Sports, Immediate Care Medical, Cambridge 105 Radio, and our event marshals and race team from Event Staff. Last but by no means least, a huge thanks to our wonderful volunteers who helped with so many aspects of the event for us.
Secure your place to run with us in our 2022 Cambridge Town and Gown 10k by pre-registering here.