Well, Sunday has come around once again, and that only means one thing, so sit back, relax and enjoy. (Maybe with a glass of wine, or two!)
Before we dive deep into this past week, let’s take a step back to the week before, where we *may* have missed a few of our runners achievements!
First up was a few of our Fell runners; Saffi, Patrick, Gary P, Flora and Gary G. On Saturday was Pen y Fan Fell Race. Saffi won the U13 age category in her race. Gary G came 2nd in his age category. Sunday saw the Fan y Big Horseshoe Race on Sunday 7th July. Gary P finished in 01:41:57 and Flora in 02:06:13. Elsewhere, The Millichaps; Dave and Hayley, took on the Eryri Long Half Marathon on Saturday 6th July in brutal weather conditions. Hayley said: “Great event as always, and my favourite part, fantastic fully stocked checkpoints.” Saffi also took part in races in Porthcawl on the Sunday, finishing 6th in her age category in the Future Challengers Mile before, coming home 1st Female/2nd Overall in the 1 Mile Fun Run. Great running, all!
Back to this week, where once again our Juniors kicked everything off with Kelly and Eric leading the helm over in Wigmore. For our Seniors, on the cards was a Social Run around Lingen on Tuesday and Short Intervals at Shobdon Church on Thursday. On Tuesday, two groups set out and about around the village of Lingen. Kelly led the runners, while Theresa led the walkers. Check out both groups getting that all important picture at the Cole’s Hill Toposcope!
Wednesday was the 3rd race in this year’s Hereford and Borders Cross Country League. It took place at Weston’s Cider and was held by Ledbury Harriers. It was another 1-2 finish, with Sam Juson taking his 3rd victory of the league. Gareth Leek crossed the line in 2nd, with Scott Jones also appearing in the Top 5. As for our ladies, it was a 1-2 with Hannah Fletcher and Lucy Austin finishing close together. Oli Marsh won the Junior race. These fantastic efforts, from all Croft runners, have pushed us into 1st position in the team standings, with only seconds separating us from second place! With only 1 race to go, that’s a little bit closer to home, we hope to have an amazing Sky Blue turnout. We’ve got this, Crofties!
Junior Race:
Oliver Marsh – 18:35 – 1st & 1st MU17
Senior Race:
Sam Juson – 26:51 – 1st Overall
Gareth Leek – 28:27 – 2nd Overall
Scott Jones – 29:24
Joseph Lynch – 32:29
Steve Partridge – 33:59
Hannah Fletcher – 35:16 – 1st Female Overall
Lucy Austin – 35:54 – 2nd Female Overall
Jo Marriott – 39:54
Jo Tilby – 40:19
Kelly Bowen – 41:49
Liza Austin – 42:02
Oli Cameron-Swan – 45:41
Huw Williams – 47:40
Steph King – 47:40
Sue Wood – 49:25
Alison Davies – 50:15
Anna Bromley – 50:41
Crispin Marriott – 50:55
Lisa Gray – 54:45
Theresa Jones- 56:54
Ian Price – 01:04:13
Croft Team 1 – 1st Overall – Sam Juson, Gareth Leek, Scott Jones, Hannah Fletcher, Lucy Austin, Jo Marriott
A small group of runners were missing from this week’s XC as they were taking on the Stiperstones Fell Race in Shropshire. Saffi and Taite ran in the Junior Races, with Saffi coming first in her age category. Guy and Gary G won their age categories. Full race reports, written by both Tim J and Guy can be read here.
Parkrun Saturday seemed to be contained to just Ludlow and Hereford for Croft runners this weekend. Eric took home the win at Ludlow, with Sam J repeating this at Hereford. Also, an amazing run fro Jo M earned her the 1st female position and a new PB of 22:26 on the Hereford course. Joe L also ran like the wind at Hereford and was rewarded with a new PB of 19:10. Eric, Tom D, Tori, Frank and Guy volunteered at Ludlow.
Also on Saturday, Flora was out in the mountains taking part in the Four Fans Fell Race. She said on Facebook: “It was supposed to be 11.2 miles (the distance) but it depends on which route you take. Because it’s not marked, you can choose, as long you visited all the checkpoint’s. I was not planning to do this race because they reversed the course since I did it with Emma , Greg and Jo, plus I’m not good in navigating. My friend Nikki did recce it, so she suggested that we run together . It’s not a long distance but challenging for me. Hills not runnable, going down steep hills quite difficult. Bushes and grass are over grown you can hardly see where you put your feet down. Poor Nikki tumbled few times, I managed to avoid that but I did trip over and end up on top of the mud on the flat surface . Overall It’s a great race and I did enjoy it . There are 12 males and 6 females runners all together . This is my time result = 3:35:45.” Good job, Flora!
On Sunday, there were a couple of races on going in the local vicinity, including the Ludlow 10k, which this year included a 5k and a Half Marathon alongside the 10. Croft Junior, Owen M, took part in the 5k, finishing in 2nd place overall. In the 10k, fellow Juniors, Oliver S and Jamie brought it home for CARC, finishing 1st and 2nd in the MU17 age category, respectively. Frank and Reachel finished 3rd in their age categories. There was a great result for Sam J in the Half Marathon, winning the race with nearly a six minute lead to 2nd place. Joe L finished in 4th overall and 3rd in his age category. Bella would also finish 3rd in her age category. Thank you to Owen and Oliver’s mum, Rowena, for sending us some snaps! Full CARC results:
5k:
Owen Marsh – 32:48 – 2nd Overall and 1st MU15
10k:
Oliver Marsh – 57:47 – 1st MU17
Jamie Symonds – 01:00:31 – 2nd MU17
Nicola Luscott – 01:10:16
Frank Luscott – 01:11:43 – 3rd MV65
Reachel Kenny – 01:15:34 – 3rd FV55
Half Marathon:
Sam Juson – 01:15:53 – 1st Overall and 1st SM
Joe Lynch – 01:34:28 – 3rd SM
Bella Evans – 01:50:27 – 3rd SF
Elsewhere, Eric took part in the Mick Morris 10km in Torfaen, Wales, finishing 2nd with a new 10k PB of 31:20.
Steph K was also busy on Sunday morning, running the Lundy Island Half Marathon. No results for this race have become available while writing.
Another smashing 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).