Well, that was a scorcher, wasn’t it? Two weeks of PROPER heatwave conditions are not especially conducive to great running, but you wouldn’t know it from this race report. Despite the less than ideal conditions (and the small matter of a World Cup – let’s not talk about Scotland, thank you) you guys and gals have been out in force. Ultras, ironman-weekends, Parkrun tourism – you name it, we ran it. So, let’s get into it…

Hot Dog! GBRC 3 do Friday 5

A modest but mighty Bentley turnout at Stowmarket Friday 5 saw Martin Cotton and Donna Harris crossing the line together in 49:16, and Mark Harris close behind in 56:19. This was a superbly organised event, where you got a hot dog and a pint of Guinness at the finish line. What more could you possibly want during a heatwave?!

Larina goes above and Beyond

In searing heat, the brilliant Larina Marsh took on the Beyond London Ultra, which is a whopping 55K from Woolwich to Richmond, crossing the line in 8:00:38. A beautiful but brutal route, taking in Crystal Palace and a string of parks Larina admits she’d never heard of before. Her verdict on the ultra crowd is that they’re a “different mindset” entirely. Of course, she’s keen to do it again, suggesting she’s already fully embraced the slightly unhinged ultra mindset!

Orwell that ends well 

It was the 49th Orwell Challenge in Ipswich last weekend, an event that covers a variety of distances for walkers and runners. Organised by the Rotary Club of Ipswich East, it encompasses a number of stunning scenic trail routes along the River Orwell estuary. It also looks and sounds very, very challenging!

Mary Ann Taylor took on the ultra distance, describing it as the hardest thing she’s ever done. After taking a tumble out on the trail, the fact she got back up and finished says everything about Mary Ann’s grit. Tough terrain, brilliant scenery, and checkpoints staffed by Rotary members who kept everyone topped up and cool in punishing heat. Brilliant effort, Mary Ann.

Tim Clifton took on the marathon distance, finishing in 6:05:18. Not his favourite day out by his own admission, but he got it done on what was a much more challenging course than you’d think.  Look out for bit more on Tim’s triumphs in our Parkrun section…

Having a Wales of a time 

Then we head over to Wales for the Long Course Weekend, where four GBRC stars turned in a stunning set of results. A quick Google tells me the Long Course Weekend is one of Europe’s largest multi-sport endurance events, which sounds frankly rather terrifying to me, but it does look pretty special.

Massive shout out to Vicky Presland  and Paul Arnold for their STUNNING efforts over the weekend. Their marathon times (Vicky: 4:31:08, Paul: 5:11:27)  were impressive, but the fact they’d both completed a 2.4-mile sea swim on the Friday and a 112-mile cycle on the Saturday before lining up for the marathon on Sunday is even more impressive.

Kudos also goes to Yolande Arnold who ran a marathon PB of 5:22:00, while Phil Presland took on the half marathon, clocking 1:54:22 for a course PB. A phenomenal weekend all round. Well done everyone!

Parkrun tourism…

Our parkrun roving continues apace, and this fortnight the club even went international:

• Martin Steinwand ticked off his first Dutch parkrun at Kagerzoom, sensibly squeezing it in around a work trip to Leiden. Multitasking at its finest.
• Bee Brent, meanwhile, was off doing university reconnaissance with her daughter and managed to find time for Fitzmaurice Park Parkrun along the way. Apparently there are 15 Parkruns within reach, so future trips are well covered.
• Tim Clifton – he of the Orwell Challenge – notched up his 200th Parkrun at Colchester Castle. Maybe not his smoothest of outings (beer, the heatwave, and a niggling Achilles were not a winning combination) but 200 is 200. Massive congrats, Tim.
• Finally, Donna Harris was up at Great Yarmouth Parkrun having a smashing time on a tough course, rounding off a busy fortnight nicely.

And with that, I’m exiting as quickly as Scotland from the World Cup (what did I expect?!). Keep us posted on what you’ve been up to in our Facebook group and you could also see your name up in lights, accompanied by a terrible pun, in one of our Race Reports.