It’s official, the clocks have changed and we’re now officially into the Winter months! Will that stop us running? Don’t be silly! Shall we take a look at what our runners have been up to this week?
With the weather a little bit dryer and sunnier, training sessions went ahead without a glitch this week. Our Juniors took to Wigmore School playing field on Monday for theirs, with our Seniors running on Tuesday evening at Shobdon Wood and Thursday evening at Shobdon Church. This week was focused on Short Intervals and Sprints, courtesy of coaches Sam H and Huw.
Fast forward to Saturday and Ludlow Parkrun was still on it’s small hiatus, so several Crofties took the trip over to Hereford to get their Parkrun fix. Simon was first Croft across the line in 21:11, followed by Saffi (who was getting into the Halloween spirit!), in 21:32. This was a new PB for our Junior runner that put her 1st in her age category and 4th female overall. Well done to Steph, Mike H and Frank who also took part. Elsewhere, Joe L ran at Fort William Parkrun in Scotland. He finished in 23:22.
Saturday was a big day for a large group of our runners as they headed up to North Wales to take part in Marathon Eryri. For some, this was a chance to improve on their time from recent years. For others, it was a whole new marathon experience. And, for a select few, it was their first taste of the marathon experience. And, after a lot of tough uphills and downhills, they all seemed very much content as they crossed the finish line with a sense of achievement.
Sam Juson – 02:44:12 – 6th overall
Gareth Leek – 02:56:59
Eric Apperley – 03:07:46
Steve Partridge – 04:02:00
Jo Marriott – 04:07:10- 5th in Age Category
Paul Parker – 04:21:53
Jim Bowers – 04:26:15
Stuart Austin – 04:39:54
Liza Austin – 05:00:33
Bronwyn Preece – 05: 08:14
Thea Preece – 05:08:14
Alison Benwell – 05:12:52
Anna Bromley – 05:32:59
Oliver Cameron-Swan – 06:03:07
Theresa Jones – 06:19:19
And, what makes Marathon Eryri even more the impressive for Liza and Stuart is that, as part of Stuart’s big birthday celebrations, the Austin Family took a hike up Snowdon the following day! Although the mountain railway may have been the easier option, unfortunately for them it was closed! Regardless, it was smiles all around on top of the Snowdon Summit!
While our fantastic Marathoners were busy recovering, 3 fa-boo-lous and spooky-looking Crofties took part in the Halloween 5k Fun Run at Hereford Racecourse on Sunday morning. Saffi, once again on her A-game, finishing 2nd female and 4th overall. Sue P finished 1st VF60 and Amy P 2nd Senior Female.
Saffi Reid – 21:37 – 2nd Female, 4th Overall
Sue Purvin – 29:59 – 1st VF60
Amy Purvin – 34:07 – 2nd SF
Brilliant running this week, Crofties! Please remember that our upcoming training sessions will be available to view on our Facebook page every MONDAY MORNING. 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).