September. Where has it all gone? And what has happened to the weather? We finally have temperatures that make running seem like an achievable pastime again.

The GBRC chaps have been out and about all over the place over the last month. We have had marathons in the New Forest and Berlin; half marathons in Pleshey, Maldon, Harwich, London and round Mersea; 10k in Langham and Dedham. We have had runners old and new taking part in the Essex Way relays and the Essex Cross Country relays. We even have the winner of the Chappel Ale Trail within our ranks!

There have been some brilliant results all round. It would be nice to namecheck everyone here but it would take far too long to get through so I’ll give you some highlights…

Doug McGillivray has continued his excellent form of late at the Mersea Round the Island race. Adam Waller-Toyne is the king of the beer runs. And new members Paul Brazier and Josh Beaumont have announced themselves in their first appearances in a GBRC vest.

Away from running Don Welsh has once again undertaken the London to Paris bike ride as part of a fundraiser for the Royal British Legion. I’m sure many of you will have seen his updates and fundraising efforts for the Poppy Appeal 2022. Great effort Don!

Looking ahead into October, we have the big one coming up this weekend, the London Marathon. There are a number of GBRC runners who have been lucky enough to get in for this year. We wish them all luck with their running (and their fundraising targets). Captain Fraser Lewis and Vice Captain Paul Davison along with August ROM Tim Clifton are all running for St. Helena Hospice. You may have seen Paul and Tim featuring on the TV this week publicising their cause.

Before the London Marathon, this Saturday, October 1st, GBRC are taking over the Highwoods parkrun in Colchester so feel free to come along and join us. Our members will be filling all the volunteer roles so you’ll get plenty of support out on the course if you run this week.

Other races include the Tiptree 10 mile on Oct 9th, Chelmsford Marathon and Half Marathon on Oct 16th and Wix 5 mile on Oct 30th.

There is also a big GBRC event coming up at the start of November (6th) as we host the first race in the NESS Cross Country League. No doubt this seems like a long way ahead of us, but there is a huge amount of work that goes into staging the event. The committee will be putting out the call for volunteers very soon as we look to secure all the marshalls and other roles that need to be filled. There are a total of 6 cross country races through the winter and marshalling in our own event will count towards the end of season ‘I ran them all’ award for those who take part in all 6 races. The race will once more be held at Hilly Fields and we are looking forward to putting on another excellent, if gruelling, race to set the standard for the rest of the cross country season.

Dates for all cross country races are as follows:
6th November – Hilly Fields
27th November – Halstead
15th January – Springfield
29th January – Harwich
19th February – Hadleigh
12th March – Witham

Finally, our Runner of the Month for September…

There have been some amazing performances this month, but one person stands out for the sheer insanity of what he is attempting. It’s ridiculous to think that as I write this he is barely more than halfway through the challenge that he set himself, and he is still facing another 3 marathons until he can finally have a rest.

‘Normal’ people find themselves signed up for the London Marathon and start to think about how they can best prepare themselves for the day of the race. Paul Davison doesn’t think like a ‘normal’ person! Paul decided that 1 marathon in 1 day didn’t really go far enough so he set himself the challenge of running 7 marathons in 7 days, and making the London Marathon the last of his 7.

As of Thursday night Paul has run 4 marathons in the last 4 days. That is 104 miles. He will be out on Friday morning getting number 5 in the books. 130 miles. He will be out on Saturday morning before parkrun getting some miles in, then running Highwoods parkrun (come along and join us) then running from Highwoods to the gravel track at Colchester Sports Park where he will finish off the marathon distance (come along and join him here too). 156 miles. Then London on Sunday, the 7th and final marathon. 182 miles in 7 days.

Step up (if your legs will allow you to) our September Runner of the Month, Paul Davison, you glorious, crazy idiot!!!!!