Hello ladies. I hope you all had a relaxing/productive Christmas (depending on your preference), and that you’re all ready for another year of running. Whether you’re chasing after big goals this year, coming back from illness or injury, or simply looking to run for the social aspect, we are so lucky that our club caters for all, and in our roles as Ladies Captain and Vice-Captain, Meera and I are here to support you all however we can.

Part of that role is bringing you the latest news and key dates, so please find below the news and notices for this month.

News and notices

GBRC interclub 10-mile race vs Harwich – Sunday 05 January 2025

The organisation has taken place and some of you lovely lot have volunteered to marshal and help with the event, so all we need now is plenty of runners to beat Harwich Runners and retain the interclub trophy!

To take part in this club event (on a fast, flat 2 lap course), simply turn up at Great Bromley Village Hall on Sunday to register from 8.45am to 9.15am, for a race start of 9.30am. Please bring your own mugs for tea/coffee afterwards at the hall, and hope to see a good blue turnout!

GBRC half marathon – Sunday 02 February 2025

We still need volunteers to help with marshalling and other roles at our half marathon in February. I’m sure you’re all aware by now that this is the most important event on the club’s calendar in terms of generating income for the club, which directly translates to many benefits for all members.

If you haven’t already done so, please fill in this form to sign up to help at the event. If you have any issues with the form, please email Mel (Event Director) instead: melparris76@gmail.com

Mel would also love to hear directly from anyone with an in-date Food Hygiene Certificate who would be happy to volunteer in the kitchen. If this applies to you, please email Mel.

Cross country (XC)

The next confirmed fixture in the NESS XC league is taking place on Sunday 26 January, hosted by Harwich Runners. Further information about this race will be circulated closer to the time, but the key information in a nutshell:

• Junior race starts at 10am, senior race starts at 10.45am
• No need to enter in advance – just turn up in club vest/top and run
• Distance is approximately 5 miles for the senior race

Following the cancellation of Gosfield on 08 December and Springfield on 12 January, discussions are underway within the NESS League to determine whether another fixture could be added later in the season, but nothing has been confirmed yet. We will keep you updated!

GBRC NESS XC league race on Sunday 09 March 2025

As it currently stands, the final race in the NESS league for 2024-25 will be hosted by GBRC at Hilly Fields on Sunday 09 March. Please keep the date free, as we will need plenty of volunteers to put on the event safely, as well as fielding a team of runners. An email calling for volunteers will follow in due course.

Other ‘save the date’ dates for later in 2025:

Although these are a little way off at the moment, it’s always useful to have the dates so that you can keep them free in your diaries.

• Friday 04 July – GBRC’s Friday 5 race
• Sunday 06 July – Ipswich Ekiden relays
• Sunday 07 September – Essex Way Relay

Training

Weekly training sessions continue to be posted here on our website and a google form is emailed round to complete. Track sessions on a Thursday continue throughout the winter, and don’t forget our wonderful club night on a Wednesday at Great Bentley. Lights and high-vis are needed for all sessions except track, which is floodlit. A new training schedule for Winter/Spring 2025 will follow soon.

What we did this month

Unfortunately, high winds cancelled the planned XC fixture at Gosfield in December, but you all still found plenty of other opportunities to get out and race.

Some highlights were:

• Anthea Colsell and Mags Komorowska ventured to Turin for the Torino City half marathon.
• Eileen Shadford and Mags represented the ladies at the Essex Vets (40+) XC championships in Epping Forest.
• Caroline Dyer and Sarah Davison found some winter sun and some speedy half marathon times at the Malaga half marathon.
• Sue Wright braved the mud to complete the Hare and Tortoise ‘Rayne’ing Medals half marathon.
• Andrea Markwick rang the PB bell at the Asics London 10k, with a time of 55:50 and a lovely colourful medal to take home.
• Many of enjoyed local Christmas events, including the Twixmas Trail and the spectacular water feature at ‘Runners vs Riders’, both organised by Craig’s Events.
• Yolande Arnold navigated her way round the Elves 11 narrative trail race, with husband Paul.
• Mags, Caroline D, Kelly Hayhoe, Bee Palmer-Barnes and Sammy Cotton ran their boxes off at the Witham Boxing Day 5.

I’d also like to give a big shout-out to Louise Balfour for joining the core team and becoming one of the Run Directors at Clacton parkrun. I’m sure she’ll be seeing many of you on Saturday mornings at the seafront!

Runner of the month

This lady has been on our radar for a while, after a great summer and autumn of running. She has been steadily building back into racing, but seeing her absolute grit and determination to keep pushing herself on the extremely muddy veterans XC course sealed the deal for this month’s accolade. Our runner of the month for December is …

Eileen Shadford!

Congratulations, Eileen. You’ve had a great month and year, and we know there’s more to come in 2025.