Here we are. Your FINAL Weekly CARC Update for 2024! (I’m taking a break over Christmas, I deserve it ok! *inserts winky face emoji here*) Of course, there will be a Christmas/New Year Special in early 2025 as there are plenty of socials and races in the diary over the festive period. But, before all that, let’s have one last look at what our runners have been up to this week!
Our Juniors took to Wigmore School Playing Field for their final session of the year. As did our Seniors, who headed to Shobdon on Tuesday for a hill session and Kinsham on Thursday for Christmas Strava Art before letting lose at our annual Christmas Gathering. That’s right, after spending some time in Theresa’s field running the outline of a Christmas Tree, our runners headed to the village hall where there was plenty of food, games, music and mulled wine for all! And, in the usual Croft fashion, it was pure chaos. Good chaos, of course! Thank you to our members; Ali B, Anna, Michelle, Theresa and Clare for putting on a fantastic evening. Pictures can be found across our social media channels!
On Tuesday evening, instead of taking part in the usual training, 3 of our runners chose to take part in Terry’s Townbrook Terror! This was a Christmassy fell race of 2.63 miles distance and 535 total ascent. Flora said: “It’s a short distance race and there are 40 runners taking part. It’s really good fun , most of the runners are dressed up except me. I did only manage to wear a Christmas jumper. This is my first time racing at night, luckily it’s a short distance. I find it difficult to see clearly especially going down the hill. Overall I did enjoy it I might do it again next year if I’m still fit.”
CARC results:
Tim Jones =35:37 finished in 24th place and came 2nd in his age category.
Flora Gunner = 39:18 finished in 27th place, it’s only me in my age category.
Janet Hill=49:34 finished in 36 place and came 1st in her age category.
Saturday was a busy, busy day for many Crofties, especially at Ludlow Parkrun where 4 of our runners featured in the Top 6 – Eric in 1st, Steve 3rd, Oscar 4th and Lucy A in 6th and 2nd female. Also, well done to the runners who managed to run in festive gear. The weather was pretty mild for a December morning! Elsewhere, Saffi was taking part in a bit of Parkrun tourism, making her debut at Worcester Pitchcroft, where she would finish first female and first in her age category. She would also take part in Hereford’s Junior Parkrun on Sunday, finishing 1st overall.
Over in Shropshire, some of our runners were taking part in the Marches Long Distance Walking Association’s Wandering Wintertime Wobble. Starting at 8:30am on Saturday morning at Norbury Village Hall, the 20 mile, circular route would take runners and walkers through the Shropshire countryside and Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Well done to our Fell Runners who also took to the trails on Saturday morning, taking part in the Skirrid Xmas Hill Race at the Skirrid Inn on the Hereford to Abergavenny road. This was a 5.7km “out and back” kind of race with a 450m climb. Tim J would be first Croftie home. However, Flora would take home the win in the FV60 age category, with Guy and Gary picking up 2nd and 3rd respectively in the MV70+ category. You can read Guy’s race report here. Full CARC results:
Tim Jones – 41:09
Flora Gunner – 44:40 – 1st FV60
Guy Whitmarsh – 49:10 – 2nd MV70+
Gary Gunner – 50:05 – 3rd MV70+
Sunday would be the Santa Run in Hereford, in aid of St Michaels Hospice. Despite being more of a “fun run” than an actual race, Saffi, dressed in her best Santa gear, was out to impress. Out of 300+ runners, she would finish in 3rd overall and 1st female, completing it in 21 minutes. Oh, and did we mention, she ran this less than an hour after her first place finish at Junior Parkrun. Phew.
Well done team for another fantastic week! There will be no training sessions for the next couple of weeks but there are some planned social runs. Details can be found on Facebook and this week’s Newsletter. 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).
MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR ALL