It’s Manchester Marathon Week! And, we have some very determined Crofties heading up North to give it a go. More on that later.
The Croft week started off with the club’s AGM meeting, where all things Croft were talked about as well as a lot of food and laughter. It was also a pleasure to welcome some new committee members to the fold. Our full Chairman’s statement can be read here!
But, back to running. Both Senior sessions this week were at Croft Castle with Sam’s Hill Intervals on Tuesday and Clare’s Meet and Retreats on Thursday. There was also plenty of cake with more Croft birthdays to be had! Happy Birthday!
On Wednesday evening, a small group of Croft runners headed over to Hereford to take part in the first race of the Hereford Couriers 5k Series. And, although prizes are awarded after all three races are completed, our Crofties did extremely well.
Hereford Couriers 5k Race One:
Eric Apperley – 3rd (Wave One)
Paul Parker – 3rd Vet 50 Male (Wave Two)
Oliver Marsh – 1st Male U17 (Wave Two)
Jo Tilby – 2nd Vet 40 Female (Wave Two)
Owen Spicer – 2nd Male U13 (Wave Two)
Well done, Crofties!
On Saturday, 21 of our runners took the first steps in learning how to walk properly. Ironically, it wasn’t as easy as perceived, with quite a few Crofties discovering that they had been doing it all wrong! It was Nordic Walking to be far, and it does require a certain technique to gain the benefits. A big thank you to Anna for organising an instructive and enjoyable morning, and also to Ali, at The Walking Hub in Kington, for her tuition.
Onto Parkrun and Toby was first to finish at Ludlow in 21:20 where there were 11 Crofties running and Rob Martin volunteering. Over at Hereford Scott Jones came home first in a stunning time of 16:50. Two of our Juniors – Oli and Owen Marsh were in Wyre Forest while Ted travelled to Nottingham to take part in Rushcliffe parkrun with his Dad. Eric continues his Parkrun tourist trail by travelling to Peel to finish third in a field of 591 participants. Fantastic running everyone.
Some of Croft’s hardy fell runners took part in the Cribyn Fell Race on Saturday. The route was 8.9km and not for the faint hearted, with climbs up to the summits of Cribyn and Pen-y-Fan at a total of 3100ft. Brothers Gary and Pat Pearson finished close together with times of 1:24:08 and 1:24:10, respectively. Not far behind them was Ireland who crossed the line in 1:35:24. The Gunners – Flora and Gary finished in 1:41:31 and 2:05:06.
Now, for the big one – Manchester Marathon, and Croft runners didn’t fail to put in some stellar performances! Sam Juson finished in an incredible 45th position overall with a time of 02:37:24. There was a new marathon PB for Amy Perry in 03:39:04. Thea Preece, embarking on her first marathon experience (while nursing several injuries) finished in 04:09:50. Howard Verran, another coming back from injury, finished in 04:54:27, while first timer Claire Verran pushed through to finish in 05:58:21. Fantastic effort for some fantastic runners! It was unfortunate, however to see a couple of our runners have to pull out due to injuries and illness, but still their Croft support on the sidelines is everything! What an amazing team we have!
Next Saturday we’ll be dedicating Ludlow parkrun to Bryan prior to his funeral at Kingsland Church at 12 noon. Pull on your Croft colours and make this parkrun special. No doubt we’ll be joined by some friends from other clubs. It’s also a Club Championship race, so put your fast shoes on! Clare will be Race Director so you need to be on your best behaviour! Bryan’s daughter, Lisa Juson, has set up a Just Giving page in memory of Bryan. Click here to donate now!
And, that’s it for this week. 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).