Wow, what a busy, busy week it has been for Croft runners! From challenges to time trials to testing out the new athletics track in Hereford, we’ve done it all!
A small but challenging training session awaited our Junior runners on Monday at Wigmore School, with Eric – who was once again joined by Bronwyn and Clare. Their evening was predominantly focused on timed efforts, with a fun little game for our up and coming runners to enjoy at the end. As for our Seniors, training this week was replaced with the Chairman’s Challenge on Tuesday, followed by the annual High Vinnalls Hill Climb Time Trial on Thursday.
The Chairman’s Challenge is a CARC Social Event that was first introduced in 2023 and, with it being a good evening, was brought back again for 2024. The ultimate goal of the challenge is to beat our Chairman – Huw, back to the finish where he would treat you to a pint at the pub in Lingen, if successful. Of course though, this wouldn’t be a Croft Social Evening without a little bit of drama that saw Huw take a wrong turn, eventually coming in last, behind everyone. Let’s just say, his bank account may be screaming at us right now. Regardless, it was a fantastic evening running around the trails and footpaths of Lingen and Kinsham. We’d like to thank Theresa and her family for letting us use their land, as well as The Royal George in Lingen who opened up their doors just for us. Full results can be found below. Well done to all Crofties who took part. Huw’s report is now ready to view here.
Moving onto Thursday and it was time for another annual Croft event – The High Vinnalls Hill Climb Time Trial. Unlike The Chairman’s Challenge, the Hill Climb has been a part of CARC history for many years, with it’s founder, Mark P, rejoining us this year, making it a nostalgic moment for some. The route is roughly a mile and a bit, taking you from one of the lowest points in Mortimer Forest, to around the hairpin bends, which leads to the highest point. The ascent, according to my Strava was around 900ft. As for results, Sue W and Anna would post new PBs, with Grant, Mark, Saffi, Guy and Sue W setting new age category records. Full results can be seen below. Great running all!
On Wednesday, 3 Crofties headed over to Hereford to take part in the first race of the Hereford County Track Championships. This race was 10,000m, which is equal to an eye watering 25 laps of the newly refurbished 400m track. Sam J would finish in 1st position, with Jo M coming in 1st Lady. After his bought of “AWOL-ism” the day before, Huw also took part. Well done, guys!
Sam Juson – 32:34 – 1st Overall
Jo Marriott – 45:33 – 1st (and only) Lady
Huw Williams – 54:55
Saffi was also racing on Wednesday evening, taking part in Cardiff 5k Summer Sizzler. She finished 2nd in the U18 age category.
Saturday was a busy Parkrun day, with Crofties taking part in a range of different Parkruns.
Starting over in Ludlow, it was Croft Junior Jamie to take to the line finishing as first CARC runner. Steph K was our first female. Tom D, Jamie and Neil volunteered. In Hereford, it was Hereford Couriers Running Club’s turn for a takeover and we had Saffi and Jo M running, both finishing in the 22 minutes.
Elsewhere, at the Y Promenâd parkrun in Brecon, Sam J would finish in 1st, over one minute ahead of second place. His time was 16:48. Eric would also finish in 1st, 3 minutes ahead of 2nd place at Groe, with a time of 16:0. Well done lads. Finally, continuing their tour of Parkruns this weekend, Naomi and Henry took part in the Swansea Bay Parkrun.
On Sunday, a group of our runners headed back over to Clun for another race around the hilly Clun countryside at Runningmonk’s Into The Woods 10k. It was a very hot and a very hilly race, with most Sky Blues failing to hide as to how much they actually enjoyed the event. Liza was first Croftie home, with Bronwyn and Steph M following her in. There were also age category wins for Liza and Bronwyn, with Jamie and Sue P finishing 2nd in theres, and Steph 3rd in hers. Full CARC results:
Liza Austin – 1:00:53 – 1st VF60
Bronwyn Preece – 1:06:20 – 1st SF
Steph Main – 1:07:08 – 3rd VF50
Jamie Symonds – 2nd MU17
Amy Purvin – 1:12:25
Sue Purvin – 1:12:25 – 2nd VF60
Lauren Ware – 1:17:06
Tori Dickinson – 1:20:03
Clare Preece – 1:20:54
Reachel Kenny – 1:23:18
Theresa Jones – 1:26:12
Michele Parker – 1:30:35
Paul Parker – 1:30:35
Also on Sunday, Eric headed over to Builth Wells to take part in the Builth Wells Aquathlon. The race consisted of a 400m swim in the local pool, followed by a 3km run around the park. Eric would finish the Aquathlon in first position, with a time of 17:53.
To round out the week, Huw made a trip down to Hampshire on Sunday to take part in The Hart 4 Trail Relay Race. He said: “Not running in a Croft top today unfortunately- team orders!. Running with some old ( now very old) running mates. The Hart 4 – a team of four, running a 4k Forest / Trail route for 4 hours. We managed a rather gentlemanly 11 laps. The top team completed 17! There were 140 teams this year. A lovely relaxed event with ice cream between our time on the trails.“
Brilliant running this week, Crofties! Please remember that our upcoming training sessions will be available to view on our Facebook page every Sunday evening. 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).