The days are shortening, and darkness begins to reign over light, naked trees shiver against a backdrop of palest grey as winter tightens its Icey grip over the land. Some grit their teeth stand fast and carry on with unflinching determination while some of us jet off to Spain.

Starting with the hardy ones amongst we go to Suffolk where men’s team Captain Charlie Keitch ran the Hadleigh Hares 10 mile race. Anyone who has raced at the Hadleigh XC will know that the area is surprisingly hilly and this 10 mile race is no exception consisting of two rather lumpy 5 mile loops. Even after a big week of training mileage Charlie completed the course in a solid time of 1hr 10mins and 48secs.

Slightly closer to home and slightly muddier was another 10 mile race this one was the Colchester Kawasaki 10 mile charity trail race for North Essex and Herts Air Ambulance. Malcolm Statham and Dave Allen came 3^rd and 4^th respectively in this race, great work gents I hope to see you sporting the Beanie hats you got at the next training session. Malcolm actually went onto race at the Hadleigh Hares 10 mile the very next day, sterling stuff Malcolm.

Adding even more mud into the equation ladies team captain Meera and ladies vice team captain Lisa went to Writtle for an Essex league Cross Country fixture. The course was suitably muddy as any Cross Country should be with a well laid out course. They put in a strong performance coming in 25^th and 48^th out of a field of 138 runners in the ladies senior race.

The Flitch way is a disused branch line that used to run between Braintree and was closed way back in 1969. It’s where the Hare and Tortoise running company hold their “Rayne-nig” medals event twice a year at the old Rayne railway station. They set up a 5k looped course along the old rail line meaning you can choose how far you wish to run, Sue Thomas went for the half marathon distance and despite the mud she still did it in 2hrs 39mins, well done Sue.

Back to Suffolk now and for one of the Zig Zag running companies events, these guys put on quite a few races throughout the year and most them have a theme and this one, the Christmas Canter marathon  was no exception. Tim Clifton, club chairman Paul Davidson and Rob Dyre all went for a cold, wet and windy canter. Tim suffered a groin strain but continued to canter and finished in a time of 5hrs there’s no stopping you Tim, I hope your on the mend now.  Both Rob and Paul went round the course in about 4hrs which considering their Hyrox antics of late is a great finishing time.

Much further afield but still very chilly club secretary Magdalena Komrowska and Anthea Colsell travelled to Italy for the Torino city hall half marathon. This point to point race winds through the historical town of Torino with the breathtaking sites of the Swiss Alps in the distance, the scene was so nice it inspired Anthea to stop mid race and take pictures. Mag’s completed the course in 1hr 42mins and Anthea who’s had not raced a half marathon in two years finished in a superb 2hrs 6mins both great times considering the countless miles you both walked sightseeing the previous days.

Getting warmer and moving now onto Spain Craig Mitchel decided to celebrate his 50^th year with a half marathon in Benidorm in fancy dress none the less. This race actually takes place in the early evening and gives runners the chance to run the full distance of the Benidorm coastline as the sun slowly sets. Being in fancy dress didn’t slow Craig down and he completed the course in 1hr 42mins. Rachel Rodgers also ran the course, and she did so in a time of 2hrs 28mins.

Whilst still in Spain but further up the coastline both myself and Dan Palmer ran the Valencia marathon. Valencia is an amazing city, and the course does not disappoint either, it is pancake flat and run entirely within the city offering you some amazing sites along the way. This is definitely one race I would recommend to anyone wanting to take on the challenge of a marathon. I completed the course in 3hrs 10mins 40secs which was a few second shy of my pb but Dan on the other hand blew his completely out of the water coming in at 4hrs 24mins 43secs a staggering 1hr 11mins quicker than his previous time, great work Dan!

It wouldn’t be a race report with out at least one Parkrun mention, on Saturday 23^rd of November a few of us went to Bury st Edmunds for the monthly GBRC Parkrun tourism. The course was an off road, two lap course round Nowton park. We all enjoyed the course and most of us managed to remain upright during the run, I won’t mention any names. A post run coffee was enjoyed by all and this Saturday (7^th) we do it again at Cudmore Grove in East Mersea, hope to see some of you there.