Another week may be over, but at least the sun is FINALLY shining! Let’s take a look at how our runners enjoyed the week now that Summer seems to have arrived.
Our Junior runners kicked off the week with their training session at Wigmore High School. This was followed by our Senior session on Tuesday as they took on the hills of Wapely Wood. On Thursday, 40+ Crofties and friends turned out for our annual memorial run for the wonderful Dave Blenkharn. The sun shone down on Bircher Common as our runners ran the 3.7 mile route that has become an integral part of Croft history in recent years. At the finish line there was plenty of sweet refreshments kindly donated by Dave’s wife, Elaine. Thank you to everyone for joining us for a fantastic evening, and thank you to Elaine for her incredibly kind gesture.
It was a big week for Greg as he took on the Challenger North as part of the infamous Montane Spine Summer Event. This is a 160 mile race along the Pennine Way from Hardraw to Kirk Yetholm. Greg started on Monday, with the motivation to conquer the challenge after attempting it twice in the past couple of years. He was still going on Wednesday, despite the mental challenges he was facing along the way. He said on Facebook: “After some really tough hours earlier today I’ve regrouped and on the move again. 123km done! Once more into the night.” Come Friday morning, Greg had reached that all important finish line, finally conquering one of the hardest challenges in the UK. Amazing job, Greg! You can read his report that he has kindly written for us here.
Jo M also took to racing mid-week, taking part in the Malvern Joggers 10k on Wednesday evening. She told us: “A gem of a race on a glorious mild evening – Malvern Joggers 10k in aid of the Malvern Dementia Centre. This should be a Club Champs race next year? Multi terrain – a bit of everything: hills, common, woods & cow s**t. We even had some sunshine & veggie chilli at the end. Great support, met some lovely people & even picked up FV55 age cat which was a nice bonus.” Jo finished in 54:23.
Parkrun Saturday and Crofties were out running at several Parkruns in the local area and beyond. Steve P was first Croftie home at Ludlow Parkrun this week, finishing 2nd in 21:26. Joe L joined him in the top ten. Naomi was first Croft female, while Mike H continued his strong Parkrun form with a new Ludlow PB. Tom, Jamie, Guy and Huw were volunteering. Scott and Theresa were running at Hereford Parkrun, with Scott finishing in the top five. In Hay-on-Wye, Gary made his debut at Riverside Walk Parkrun with a time of 28:25.
Over at Groe Parkrun, it was Eric who came home first across the line. His time was 15:57. Alison A also took part. Elsewhere, it was a first place finish for Sam J, as he made his debut at the Severn Bridge Parkrun. His time was 15:51.
Also on Saturday, Clare and Heather took part in the Rotary Walk Across Wales. This was 16 miles from Aberhafesp to Montgomery, with Clare describing it as “a lovely scenic walk with a few hills thrown in at the end!” They finished the challenge in just over 6 hours! Well done, ladies!
Trail and fell races seemed to be popular on this particular Saturday.
The Millichaps – Hayley and Dave, were over in the Black Mountains taking on the Black Mountains Half Marathon, hosted by Trail Events Co. Hayley posted on our Facebook page: “Dave and I took on the tec black mountains half, and a bit more, marathon. Dave ran and I was back running ( and there was lots of running on this one, except for the very steep hill or two). Absolutely fantastic route, lots of climbs and technical descents. Dry underfoot for a change , apart from a few muddy sections and water crossings. The views from the top are outstanding, made better as we had lovely sunshine. Definitely one of my favourites.”
Slightly further north in Snowdonia, Gary P, Patrick P and Tim J all took part in the 24 mile Snowdon SkyRace. Despite having to run 24 miles, runners were also faced with nearly 11,000 feet of ascent and only 12 hours to get to the finish line. All three achieved this feat. Gary finished in 08:41:38, Patrick in 09:54:35 and Tim in 10:20:57.
Another Croftie choosing to take on a long-winded challenge this weekend was Ali B, as she tackled The Epona 100 – a 100 mile ultra race, taking in the beautiful scenery that is Offa’s Dyke, Cambrian Way and Beacons Way. Ali started her race bright and early at 6am on Saturday morning before becoming the 5th female to cross the line on Sunday evening. Well done, Ali!
Rounding out the week was Flora and Gary as they ran Moel y Gamelin Fell Race. Both Flora and Gary came first in their age categories, finishing in 02:02:23 and 02:36:31, respectively. Flora said: “It’s very hot today we’re both exhausted after the race. I forgot how bad the hills when I did it last year. Overall it’s a great race well organised.”
Great job 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).