Welcome, Crofties, to the end of another fun, run-filled week. Are you ready for a recap? Let’s go!
Kelly was back alongside Eric coaching our Juniors at Wigmore on Monday. On Tuesday, it was back to the same training ground but this time with Emma at the helm of things, putting our runners through their paces with sprints in the rain! Thursday was at High Vinnalls with a focus on Short Intervals with Tim.
On Tuesday, while some of our runners were busy practicing their sprinting, others were taking on Race 2 of the Bearwood Summer Trail Series. There were some incredible racing by our runners, with Gareth finishing in 1st overall and Jo M taking home 1st female. For Gareth, this win gives him a healthy lead in the Overall Series Results, all with one race to go. Full CARC results from Race 2 are:
Gareth Leek – 39:01 – 1st Overall/1st Male
Jo Marriott – 48:42 – 1st Overall Female
Mark Paviour – 49:30
Roland Preece – 51:57
Dave George – 52:12
Stuart Austin – 53:26
Liza Austin – 55:48
Huw Williams – 59:56
Steph King – 1:00:15
Carol Powell – 1:07:11
Reachel Kenny – 1:10:34
Theresa Jones – 1:11:12
Clare Preece – 1:11:27
Our fell racing superheroes have once again been enjoy the ups and downs of the Shropshire Hill trails. On Wednesday evening, Guy and Gary, along with our Juniors – Taite and Saffi, headed to the Ragleth Inn Fell Race. A past favourite of Croft Ambrey Running Club. Well done to these 4 hardy Crofties! Guy has kindly written a race report which you can read here.
Guy Whitmarsh – 43:01 – 1st MV80
Gary Gunner – 45:35 – 1st MV75
Taite Morgan – 07:46 (Junior) – 2nd MU9
Saffi Reid – 18:33 (Junior) – 1st FU13
With the Shropshire Fell Series now at an end, Guy has kindly sent us the series results.
Juniors:
Taite Morgan – 2nd MU9 – 498 points
Saffi Reid – 1st FU13 – 426 points
Seniors:
Gary Pearson – 4 Races – 290 points
Tim Jones – 4 Races – 236 points
Guy Whitmarsh – 4 Races – 187 points – 1st MV80
Gary Gunner – 6 Races – 147 points – 1st MV75
Sam Juson – 1 Race – 118 points
Flora Gunner – 2 Races – 116 points
“Numerous other Croft Runners ran only one race. It was (the best) 4 to count. Points were calculated assuming 126 runners in a race, and the winner has 126 points, last runner has 1 point. If only 86 runners, then last runner takes away 40 points (126-86), so best to enter races with a small turnout! Guy has included Sam J’s series result because had he done 4 races, he could have accumulated a massive 472 points!”
Onto Saturday and it was off to Parkrun for many of our runners. At Ludlow, it was another win for Eric, who also managed a new PB with a time of 17:10. Steph M was our first female. This week Rob M, Jamie and Guy were volunteering. Over in Hereford, it was also another first and another PB for Sam J. He finished in a time of 16:12. Jo M and Crispin also ran. Elsewhere, Joe L, who seems to be enjoying his new life up in the Scottish Highlands, took part in this week’s Fort William Parkrun. His time was 20:23 and good enough for a 3rd place finish. The Haywards – Mike & Jayne, ran at the Holkham Hall Parkrun in Norfolk. Mike said: “Lovely day for it and we managed to find the only hill in Norfolk!” And, finally, Naomi and Henry finished off their Summer Tour of Away Day Parkruns by taking part in the event at Tonbridge.
Running the fell race on Wednesday didn’t deter Saffi from competing in not one, but two relatively fast 5k’s this weekend. On Saturday morning, it was down to Chepstow to take part in the 5k at the Chepstow Running Festival. Her mum told us: “Chepstow Running Festival for Saf this morning. 5K undulating course and it was a hot on. She absolutely smashed it. Finished 3rd female/9th overall in a field of 72 predominantly adult runners.” On Sunday, she would run a lot closer to home at the Jon Ward 5k Race in Hereford. She was the fourth female to cross the line, and the first FU13. A brilliant performance from the only Sky Blue (although she was wearing her green Hereford & County top) in the field! It’s a wonderful sight seeing our Junior runners going from strength to strength!
A few Crofties took on the challenge of “Race the Train” on Saturday. This was the 39th anniversary of the race, and has, in the past, seen many Crofties take part. In 2024, however, we had the largest Sky Blue representation out on the 14 mile course to date. There were also races of 10k, 5k and 3.5 miles. Official results are yet to be published, but everyone made it back in one piece, although in Huw’s case, slightly muddy after getting stuck in a bog. Well done Crofties!
On the other side of the world, Neil was “Down Under” taking part in the World Duathlon Championships in Townsville, Queensland. Before his challenge, he said on Facebook: “All set now for the World Duathlon Championships here in Townsville, Queensland, Australia (Standard Distance 10/40/5km). Checked out the run course yesterday (slightly undulating) and bike course today, which is fast and flat, with views across the bay to Magnetic Island and out to the Coral Sea. 39 nations represented, with big teams from Australia, New Zealand and USA. Weather is perfect, with blue skies, a light sea breeze and likely temperatures of 18-23C from race start (0750 for old-timers) to race finish. Glad I’m not doing the triathlon. There’s a sign on the beach at the top end of the bike course that says “you are now in crocodile country” – that’s if the sharks and jelly fish have not got you first.” Neil took part in the Duathlon on Sunday, finishing 12th in his age category, with an overall time of 02:43:24.
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).