Robert Britten secured top place in the Kettering Town Harriers 5K handicap series for 2009-10 with another solid performance in the final round. Held in hot and humid conditions, his fourth successive top half finish gave him a commanding lead in the final standings, 14 points ahead of previous winner Paul Marlow.
On the night the first two home were newcomers, who are always very difficult to place accurately in the handicap. Sean Gallagher (22.42) and Ade Pendred (20:19) took full advantage of their generous start times.
In third place was Paul Young (20:43) who knocked over 45 seconds off his previous best in the series, whilst Andrew Clawson (18:51) also ran a big PB, dipping under 19 minutes for the first time.
The two most heavily-handicapped athletes, both appearing for the first time in the series, enjoyed their own personal battle. Jonathan Goringe could not quite make up 15 seconds on Jake Waples (16.54) but his time of 16.45 was the fastest of the year, just outside his course record.
Other prizes in the series went to Evelyn Clawson, for top female in the points standings and, for fastest times (minimum of two races), Steve Giles and Yvonne Mehmet.