What a lovely week it has been for running! The sun has been shinning and Croft runners have been out in force, making the most of the lovely running weather. Shall we take a look at what they’ve been up to?
There was no Junior training this week due to Bank Holiday Monday. Our Senior sessions were full steam ahead as per usual. Tuesday evening saw Tim J take the lead with a short interval session up in Croft Woods. Emma’s session came on Thursday, with longer intervals around the easy access loop at High Vinnalls.
Also on Tuesday evening, Eric and Olivia took part in the Llanfrynach 3 Mile Race. Official results are still pending, but we do know that Eric finished 1st overall and Liv 1st Female Under 23.
There was more racing come Wednesday evening, with the second race in the Hereford Couriers 5k Series. Five Croft runners took part, with our 4 Junior runners all finishing either 1st or 2nd in their age categories! If any Crofties want to sign up for the 3rd and final race in the series, you can do so here. Full CARC results from Race 2:
Saffi Reid – 20:41 – 1st FU13
Oliver Marsh – 21:20 – 1st MU17
Olivia Hayman – 21:21 – 1st FU15
Owen Marsh – 22:38 – 2nd MU15
Angus Kirby – 26:22
Continuing with what has already been a busy week, Saturday proved to be just as, if not more, crazy.
Starting with Parkrun and 7 Crofties turned up to take on Ludlow. Toby was first Croft home in 19th place. Angus, Jamie, Tim W-H and Guy volunteered. Over in Hereford, Sam J, fresh after celebrating his birthday, finished 1st. Saffi also took part. Parkrun tourists this weekend included Eric and Bronwyn who took part in Worcester Wood Parkrun. Eric finished 2nd. Reachel headed to Newtown.
Elsewhere, a group of Croft runners headed over to Clun to take part in this year’s Clun Valley Challenge, with the majority opting to complete the 16 mile route. They would all finish between 4 and 5.5 hours.
Huw was in North Devon this weekend taking part in a 10k trail race. He said: “Coastal Trail runs can be brutal and beautiful. Thankfully I chose the 10k down in North Devon (other distances are Half Marathon, Marathon and 33 mile ‘Ultra’). It was just beautiful. Very grateful to be back doing these things again. Maybe a bit longer next time.”
A few runners also donned their Sky Blue vests to compete in Backyard Ultra Marathons on Saturday. Steve, Joe L and Sarah ran the Backyard Ultra Relay at Eastnor, while Christina ran the Duddy Backyard Ultra in Stroud. Our Eastnor runners said: “Eastnor Castle Backyard ultra 12 hr relay completed! 18 laps, 75 miles as a team! Gold ribbon medal! A very hot day, hard course but great event and good fun!” While Christina said: “I ran 42 miles today! Who knew I could do that?! This was at the Backyard Ultra in Stroud. 4.2 miles on the hour every hour and you seem to get round in 50/55 mins ish and get a little break before you start again in the next hour – and it’s last man / woman standing. I did 10 laps which is a PB for me.”
CARC Junior; Olivia, competed in the Shropshire County Champs on Saturday. She finished 1st in the 300m with a time of 49 seconds, 2nd in the 1500m with a time of 05:49 and 3rd in the 200m with a time of 29.7 seconds.
Cue Sunday and it was yet another manic, but very successful day for the Sky Blues!
Kicking things off was RUN Hereford, with all new 5k, 10k and Half Marathon courses for 2025. This was also the next race in our inter-club championship, so many CARC runners came out to represent the club. Saffi was our sole representative in the 5k, finishing 1st female and 5th overall. 5 Croft runners ran in the 10k, with Angus finishing 5th in his age category. It was a one-two finish for Croft in the Half Marathon with Sam J taking the win, Gareth was 2nd. Fiona was first in her age category. Stay tuned to our Facebook page in the coming days for more pictures! Full CARC results can be found here.
Despite racing a marathon and two 5k races over the course of the past two weeks, Eric was back at it again this weekend taking part in the Caerphilly 10k in South Wales. Looking slightly different, donning the purple vest of the East Wales Regional Team, Eric finished in 11th position with a time of 33:07.
Well done to Steve and Keli P who both took part in a mud runner race down in Eastnor Castle on Sunday. A lovely video of them facing a very muddy puddle can be found on the Relish The Great Outdoors Facebook page.
Elsewhere, Toby A ran the Bristol Half Marathon finishing with a time of 01:25:05.
Rounding off this incredibly busy week are a couple of social runs.
First up, 6 of our lovely Croft ladies are currently in Menorca running the Cami de Cavalls trail. They have so far managed to cover 43 miles over the course of 3 days, with lots of wine and laughter mixed in with the running. Well done ladies!
Finally, Tim, Greg, Emma and Flora headed up to the Long Mynd. “A sunny day was had on Long Mynd too – exploring new trails with Tim, Flora, Greg and Emma, we even had time to visit the pub”
Well done all for another fantastic week. The upcoming training schedule will be live on our Facebook on Monday morning. In the meantime, don’t forget, we’re always on the look out for your race reports for the website, so get posting them on Facebook or send them to either Sam H, Huw or myself (Bronwyn).