I cannot believe that the next time I write a newsletter Christmas 2022 will have been and gone! This year has flown past for me, which apparently is a sign of getting old. I will take this opportunity therefore to wish all of the ladies squad a very merry Christmas!
News and Notices
Awards Night
If you are attending awards night this weekend (3rd December) please don’t forget to take with you: £5, whatever you wish to drink, utensils for eating and drinking and a dessert. I would also take some dancing shoes.
Unfortunately I am unable to attend, but I will be thinking of you guys from where I am. Have fun!
If you have not signed up, I am afraid to say the guest list is now closed (as we have to plan for catering purposes), so please don’t just turn up.
Post Awards Night run
If you are attending the run-after-the-night-before please take with you a plate, cutlery and a mug if you want breakfast. Mags has said even if you haven’t signed up you can still attend this run – for this do just turn up!
Fish and Chips run
The week before Christmas we hold our fish and chips run. This year it is the evening of 21st December. It is a short run around the village to take in the Christmas lights, followed by a get-together in the hall with food form the Fish and Chip van.
Please see the FB event in our group to see the price list for the Fish and Chips… and let Marion know what you would like if you plan to go!
Buffs
I have a new stock of GBRC running buffs now available. You may remember that these are not part of the official club kit, but purchased as one-off orders when enough people ask for them. If you would like one please let me (Meera) know, they are £6.20 each.
To get one FB message me; email me or speak to me. I struggle to get to training in the week, but I have ways of getting things to people and would make this happen!
Essex County Champs Cross Country
I am collecting names for entry into the Essex Championship XC. The race is on January 7th in Basildon.
This is a county champs race, but it is open to all abilities and if you complete is, the sense of achievement it really great.
For more information see here: https://essexaa.activetrainingworld.com/tc-events/essex-cross-country-championships/
And if you want to be entered contact me (Meera) by 15th December.
GBRC Half Marathon
Our half marathon is on 5th February. We have a full entry list and so we will need many volunteers to ensure that everyone has a great race!
Please let Scott know if you can marshal.
I can’t express strongly enough how important it is that we get enough volunteers to help at the half. The money we make from entry fees enables our low annual subs. Without the half marathon being a success each year we would not be able to cover the clubs XC fees (you know at other clubs members have to pay to run NESS), entry into Ekiden, entry into the road relays and various other events as well as the cost of coaching equipment and learning. So please do put your hand up to help out!
GBRC 10-Mile Race
We put on our 10-miler in January as a club run, and a friendly competition between us and Harwich. The more runners we have out, the greater our chance of beating Harwich (again!) is. So keep the date free if you can and get that training in over the coming weeks.
If you can’t run, we will of course need a few marshals so let Tom know if you can help out.
Info about the 10 miler is here: https://gbrc.org.uk/our-races/10-mile-inter-club-road-race/
Training
As we go into winter please remember to take care when training!
Taking care means: wearing reflective clothing so you can be seen; wearing layers to protect your muscles as you train; and if you need, take lights/headtorches out with you.
Taking care might also mean you need to go a little slower, or modify your training a bit.
At the club we are trying our best to ensure sessions we put on are as safe as possible during these three dark months. As such two weeks a month on a Wednesday night will be indoor sessions (boot camp / yoga) since there are limited winter options in the village. We will also have no Friday morning run in January and February. Other evening sessions will be at locations chosen for their lighting/safety.
Our Ladies Squad
A warm welcome to new ladies in our squad this month: Andrea Markwick; Louise Norton; Sarah-Jane Bennett. I hope you are settling in at GBRC and enjoying it so far!
What we did
This month our ladies have been out in force at Hare & Tortoise events; Stebbing; Stowmarket; Malaga; New York; the Peak District; an airfield in Essex somewhere and Sundon. Well done ladies, that’s a lot of places…
We also had some fab team spirit at our XC on Hilly Fields (thank you so much to the volunteers!) and at Halstead’s XC. Traditionally at XC GBRC is the largest squad on the field and at Halstead we kept this tradition!
To read more about what we have got up to, see the race reports here: https://gbrc.org.uk/category/race-reports/
Inspirations
Each month I hope to highlight some ladies that have personally inspired me for the dedication they put into their training, the fears or obstacles they overcome and their courage to take on new challenges:
This month I want to highlight:
Vice Cappy Lisa for overcoming a variety of nerves this month and getting a half marathon PB as well as two really strong XC performances on some really tricky terrain. Well done Lisa; I always knew you had it in you.
Mags Komorowska for her 1st place finish at the 6 Dales LDWA event. She ran with hubby Tom and from what I can tell had a really enjoyable day. Mags has also thrown herself into XC (despite what must be some very tired legs from recent marathons) and has also had two really strong performances with her position at Gosfield being higher than last season.
Anthea Colsell has been back in the racing field with a half marathon in Spain. This was her first race since 2019 and she focused on the first 10 miles knowing that once she got there, she had the strength to finish the last 3. Well done Anthea, 2hrs 14 is a great time!
Another member who travelled for their running fix: congratulations to Sammy Cotton who ran with hubby Martin at the New York Marathon. Sammy finished in 5hrs 36 and was still smiling at the end (according to the photo on FB anyway…)
Anna Lyon has also been running some pretty speedy parkruns with her most recent at Tamar Lakes being her 50th(red t-shirt time!). She has had top 5 finishes as Clacton and Harwich this month – well done Anna!
Bev Shortley braved some appalling weather, had to remove her glasses and still finished the Billericay 10km in less than an hour despite, presumably not being able to see. Well done Bev!
Runner of the month
So we come to Runner of the Month… This month we had a good debate, and would like to put our hands together for someone who has come through a tough period of running. Covid took the wind from her sails over the past 2 years, and at time the stresses of daily life have impacted her training. However this month she had a performance at Stebbing 10 which wasn’t that far away from her PB of 2019. This person also ran her fastest parkrun since 2019 this month and was our 8th lady home at Gosfield XC. Congratulations to our Runner of the Month, Sarah Davison!
Great Bentley Running Club 