Welcome chaps to the September newsletter. Apologies, I seem to be getting later and later with these. I’m hoping to avoid the humiliation of missing an entire month.
Summer is finally over. It must be, because we no longer have any of Rodger’s trail runs to complete. Although nobody seems to have mentioned that to the weather, which ahs been spectacular even as we go through October. After I write this I expect that we might wake up to snow tomorrow morning just to prove me wrong.
You’ve been busy again with parkrun tourism happening in Clare Castle, Groleston Cliffs, Great Cornard, Groe, Keswick, Sheringham, Watermeadows and Whitley Bay. That is quite the spread across the country. I’m sure there will have been others that I have missed.
In racing terms, you have been out atCraig’s latest 600m eliminator, Langham 5k, Colne Engaine 5 mile, Essex Cross Country Relays, Dedham 10k, Langham 10k, Felixstowe Coastal 10 mile, Essex Way Relays, Pleshey Half, Keswick Half, Big Half, Ipswich Half, Thaxted Trail Half, The Rebellion 6hr event, Berlin Marathon and the Thames Path 100k. The array of times (both fast and slow) and distances (both long and short) continue to be an inspiration and you should all be very proud of getting out there and enjoying all of these events.
Trainign wise, you continue to work hard at the variety of hill/track/interval/social sessions that the club puts on. Please continue to engage with the weekly email and sign up for the sessions that you will be attending. This sign up process is a big help for the coaches who can then plan sessions around the expected numbers.
What’s Coming Up?
- It’s nearly cross country time!!!!!!!!!! First cross country of the year is hosted by SPrinfield Striders on 29th October. For those of you who have done XC before, you know how great it is, so I will see you there. For those of you who haven’t done XC before, get some trail shoes and get to the start line. It’s a totally free race for you as the club covers the entry fee. We always have a great turn out, the bakers among us go wild and the selection of cakes afterwards is mind boggling. Oh, and it’s always wet and muddy and freezing cold, or too hot and massively windy, and there’s hills, and you might fall over in the muddy water, or cross the finish line without your shoes on because they came off in the mud. In short, it is brilliant. Be there! (If you need extra info you will have probably already seen an email from Vicky Presland, she needs some details from you if you didn’t run XC last year).
- Our XC race is on 10th December. We host this at Hilly Fields in Colchester. It is quite the organisational feat and we will be looking for volunteers to fill the variety of roles needed on the day to put on a smooth race. We’ll also be needing people to run, but don’t worry there’s still a volunteering role available prior to running.
- Awards Night is happening on 16th December at the hall in Great Bentley. This year we are going with a bring your own food and booze option. There will be a whole host of awards given out, music and dancing (and usually some high quality singing towards the end of the evening. Details of awards night will have already been emailed to you by Mags, please respond if you plan on coming along. *****VOTING FOR AWARDS NIGHT***** Mags has also emailed everybody regarding voting for awards. This is your club and this is your opportunity to recognise fellow club members who have achieved something amazing over the course of the year. Please take the time to have a look at the voting categories and respond to Mags so that she can count up the votes. You don’t necessarily need to vote in every category, so don’t feel like you can’t contribute if you are unable to fill in all the boxes. Vote where you can, or where you want to and take part in the process.
Runner of the Month
There were a number of options for Runner fo the Month (can I claim that I have been agonising over this decision for the last week, hence the tardiness of the newsletter). The winner this month has been a member of GBRC for years and you will not find a nicer chap. You will no doubt have seen all sorts of photos of him while he is out and about running trails with the rest of his crazy gang. He has recently had to take the very difficult decision to retire from running, and I know that Mark, Leoni and Emma will miss him out on the trails.
Neil Robins, take a bow, Runner of the Month for September. There will always be a cup of tea and biscuit for you on a Wednesday night, and I hope we will still see you at all the important GBRC occasions like Awards Night, the best Half Marathon in East Anglia, the Friday 5 and the XC. It’s been a pleasure running with you.
Great Bentley Running Club 