It was another busy week for the Sky Blues, from training to races to our annual Winter Awards Evening – where everything Croft was celebrated. But before our runners could let their hair down, presuming they have hair, running shoes were tied on tightly and plenty of feet were thundering along the hundreds of running routes throughout North Herefordshire and beyond!
As per usual, training kicked off the week with the Juniors at their Monday session, followed by the Seniors on Tuesday and Thursday.
Plenty of Croft runners took part in “Parkrun Saturday,” including a small few who played everyone’s favourite game – Parkrun Tourist. But, closer to home, in Ludlow, it was Toby leading the pack of Crofties over the finish line, finishing in second with a new PB.
Elsewhere, there were several Parkrun debuts. Anna and Vanessa took on Riverside Walk in Hay, Sam J finished second at Wyre Forest and Eric finished first on his first time around Shrewsbury. Well done all!
Also on Saturday, Louise P, Ali B and Michelle all took part in the Nant yr Arian Silver Trail Half Marathon near Aberystwyth. Lou finished in 02:50:49, Ali in 03:37:45 and Michelle in 03:37:46. Ali also finished 2nd in her age category. Well done all!
Sunday was the turn of the Juniors, with Taite and Ted running at the Hereford Junior Cross Country. Both boys ran spectacularly finishing in 3rd and 4th, respectively. Well done, lads.
Also on Sunday, 6 Crofties – Nigel, Stuart, Liza, Anna and Tim, headed off to the Forest of Dean for their Spring Half Marathon. Everyone ran well getting the times they hoped for.
Another Sunday race saw 3 Croft runners take on the Welshpool 10k, with Jamie, Amy P and Sue P taking part. There was also a new 10k PB on the cards for Jamie, as well as a 3rd place finish for Sue in her age category. Incredible running!
CROFT WINTER SOCIAL AND AWARDS EVENING 
Wow! What a brilliant evening it was for our annual Winter Social and Awards Evening! With a wonderful venue and scrumptious food – courtesy of our hosts at Newton Court, as well as plenty of awards, games and prizes, it was an evening we won’t be forgetting in a hurry.
A big thank you to Club Chairman; Huw, and Social Events Secretary; Liza, for putting on a great event.
We’d also like to give our winners a massive round of applause. This includes Gareth Leek and his 3:02 marathon time, followed by a first place finish at Tenbury 10k less than one week later. As well as Hayley Colebatch and her stunning 15 mile Offa’s Dyke Race. A full list of winners can be found below!
There was also a special thank you to Kelly and Eric for all of their hard work with our Junior runners. They will both be receiving a £50 sportshoes voucher. And not to mention, the touching moment where Eric handed over his XC Men’s Team Captaincy to Sam Juson.
Thank you Crofties for all your hard work and excellent running. Let’s make 2024/2025 even better!
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).