Better late than never, it’s your Captain’s newsletter for April. Remember April?  Well, before we remind you about all the fantastic running feats you achieved, let’s crack on with some reminders about what’s coming up.

Parkrun tourism

Let’s get the bad news out of the way first. I’m afraid our planned trip to Chelmsford parkrun on Saturday 16 May is cancelled. Sorry for the late notice. Jon and I will get more dates out to you all ASAP.

Social Walking Group

Our first social walk is taking place from 11am at Nayland Village Hall on Sunday 17 May. It’s for club members as well as friends, family and dogs apparently. What about cats on leads? Full details are available in our WhatsApp group.

Micky Edwards

It was great to see so many of you at our first Micky Edwards race of 2026.  31 of you took on our lovely flat course and the results from the baseline run are available now.

The next race in the series is on Wednesday 20 May when the handicap start will kick in. You can find full details on our website. This is where the fun really begins so it would be great to see another bumper turnout. Everyone is welcome, whether you ran in the baseline or not.

I also want to say a huge thank you to everyone who volunteered for the baseline event. If you’d like to volunteer for the race on 20 May, or for any of the other dates in the series, please email me to let me know.

Great Bentley Trail Runs

Rodger’s Trail runs return in June and we’ll be sharing more details ASAP.  In the meantime, for those of you who don’t know your LHFE from your WMSP, you can still practice using last year’s final set of instructions to complete a lovely seven (ish) mile route from Holbrook.

Great Bentley Friday 5

Our very own Friday 5 returns on Friday 3 July.  We need all the help we can get from members to help put on a successful race, so please don’t enter the race yourselves. If you do want to race a 5 miler there are plenty of other flat (ahem) courses to choose from in the series that you can enter instead and if we have enough volunteers for our own race, we’ll be holding the usual ballot for club places.

Ekiden

This year’s Ekiden relays are taking place on Sunday 5 July. The relays, which are organised by Ipswich Jaffa RC, see teams of six complete a marathon.  Whether you’re aiming for a competitive team, happy to run any leg, or simply want to be part of the day by supporting or marshalling, we’d love to have you involved. Please complete our online form to get involved.

Geoff Day Memorial 5K

This year’s Geoff Day Memorial 5k will be on Wednesday 8 July. It’s time to see where all that training over the Geoff Day series has got you, to remember one of our club’s all-time greats, and to have a good old catch up. 

XC Runners of the Year

Finally, don’t forget to vote for our Ladies and Gents Cross Country Champion of the Year.  You can see who did what on our handy spreadsheet and you can cast your votes online. The deadline for votes is Sunday 31 May.

Men’s Runner of the Month

It has been another busy month for the men of GBRC, and it’s been great to see so many of you out racing. April gave us a bit of everything, including the return of club favourites like the Easter Bunnies and the excitement of spring marathon season.

A few things that stood out for me were:

• Tim Clifton’s visit to Futako-Tamagawa parkrun in Japan;
• Scott Young’s fourth place finish (alongside Claudia Keitch) at day 2 of Essex Trail Events’ Easter Eggstravaganza;
• The sheer number of you taking on the Little Bromley 10K;
• Standout performances from Gerry Galdden and Stefan Hogan-Steele at the Manchester Marathon;
• Richard Allen’s PB performance of  4:16:47 at the Belfast City Marathon.

Of course, there’s one little marathon we haven’t mentioned yet, which also brings us nicely onto our men’s Runner of the Month, Martin Cotton.

Martin produced a gritty run at the London Marathon, battling through a tough day to come away with a well-earned personal best in 5:03:42. Anyone who’s done the race before will know it’s far from straightforward, so to dig in, keep going and still come away with a PB is a brilliant achievement.

Well done, Martin, you are our Men’s Runner of the Month for April.

And now it’s over to Donna and Lou to announce our…

Lady’s Runner of the Month

Donna and I would like to congratulate all our inspiring ladies, who have proven what hard work, consistent training and determination can achieve. Well done, ladies.

Kicking off this amazing month was Rosie Youngs, who ran the Colne Engaine 5-mile race. Mary Ann Taylor was in action at the Brighton Marathon (4:44:02), and Magdalena Komorowska achieved a 2 mins 15s PB at the Battersea Half Marathon. Meanwhile, Sarah Blewden ran the Ibiza Half Marathon, and Anna Lyon ran the Norfolk Half Marathon.

The PB bell was ringing out for our “Blue Belles” at the Little Bromley 10k, with some incredible performances: Ellie Moor (47:30), Rachel Taylor (48:53), Inga Hayden-Cooper (50:12), Donna Harris (50:13), Lou Balfour (51:51), Bev Shotley (52:26), Larina Marsh (55:47), Helen Coe (57:14), and Ella Harris (1:00:42).

Three of our ladies were in action at the Manchester Marathon: Emma Gladden, running her first marathon with a PB in 4:39:45; Lucy Moynihan, who ran a PB in 4:19:47; and Kathy Bishop, who also achieved a PB (3:49:55).

Yolande Arnold ran the Tissington Trail Half Marathon in Derbyshire, finishing in an amazing time of 2:08:55. Maddy Allen completed the Ultra X Spring Trail 50km, her first ultra. Another inspiring lady, Sarah Evans, was first lady at the Zig Zag Running 10k event, finishing with a huge PB of 42:49.

Well done and congratulations to all our ladies who ran either in London or “My Way”. You should all be so proud of your achievements:

• Cheryl Congram (My Way) – 4:28:02.
• Andrea Markwick (My Way) gained an incredible 20-minute PB, finishing in 4:47:38.
• Lisa Briggs – 3:43:52.
• Milly Presland – 4:22:27.
• Ellie Moor – 4:23:22.
• Helen Coe – 5:24:33.

This brings us to our Runner of the Month!

This lady is more than just a fast runner. She is a supportive teammate who brings energy and encouragement to our training sessions, embodies the spirit of running, and proves that consistency, hard work and dedication really do pay off. She is a true role model within our club. She smashed her half marathon PB this month, then went on to achieve an outstanding marathon PB (3:32:44) in London. Having already gained a good-for-age place, this performance now places her in 7th position in the all-time top 10.

Congratulations Magdalena Komorowska, you are our Ladies Runner of the Month for April.