Happy Sunday and welcome to another edition of the Weekly CARC Update. There has, as always, been a lot of action here at Croft Ambrey Running Club this week and we’re here to fill you in!
This week, our Juniors got to have a go with a meet and retreat session. Joining forces in pairs, they would each run a length of the Wigmore School rugby pitch, before meeting half way around and running back the way they came. This is perfect training in the continuation of their pacing and endurance skills. As for our Seniors, it was another hill session at Shobdon Wood on Tuesday, led by Sam, followed by Tim’s long interval session at High Vinnalls on the Thursday.
It was a mid-race week for Saffi on Thursday evening, heading down to Weston-Super-Mare, where she finished 2nd in the 1 Mile Junior Prom Race.
Parkrun Saturday, and we welcome a new local Parkrun to the roster; Queenswood Country Park Parkrun near to Leominster. It’s been a while in the making and their first outing this weekend was deemed a success (we’ll take a tiny bit of credit for that as our own Sam J was Run Director!). With the inaugural run only announced a couple of hours before hand, although several Croft runners were in on the secret, 4 Sky Blues headed over to give it a go on the day. Jamie was first Croft home in 26th place, with a time of 27:45. He was followed in by Angus and the Haywards. Angus told us that it “was a great event” and that he thinks it’ll “do well.” Unfortunately, with a new Parkrun being so close to home, our favourite; Ludlow, was going to take a bit of a hit attendance wise, with only 56 runners taking part. Ouch. 8 of these were Crofties. First runner home for our club, and first female overall, was Natalie. She finished with a new PB of 24:34. First Croft male was Junior runner; Henry in 27:29. Casper and Richard volunteered. Another one of our Junior runners led the way for Croft over in Hereford this weekend. Saffi, with a new PB, finished first female overall, recording a time of 21:12. Lou P also ran at Hereford, finishing in 28:09.
Please remember that next weekend is our annual Ludlow Parkrun Takeover and Food Bank Collection. We know the new Queenswood Parkrun may be tempting but we ask that Croft runners come out to Ludlow to support our club and Ludlow Parkrun.
Aside from Parkrun, there was plenty of racing on Saturday also.
Starting off with our fell runners, who were down on Abergavenny, taking on the Blorenge Fell Race. This race is described as offering “an authentic fell running experience with its mix of technical ascents and thrilling descents, making it an exciting yet accessible challenge for those looking to test their limits while enjoying the beauty of the mountain landscape.” Flora was our first runner home, finishing in 71st position and first in her age category. Tim J was next in 86th. There was also a first place age category finish for Gary.
Flora Gunner – 55:27 – 1st F60
Tim Jones – 01:01:38
Gary Gunner – 01:11:18 – 1st M70
Down in South Wales, Kath ran the Machen Trail Run, which came in at around 14.5 miles. She told us: “It was so muddy for a lot of the run which felt like running on sand so a good workout for the calf’s! Wooded single tracks, open moors, streams & lovely views of surrounding Welsh hills.” She finished in 2:36:00, 8th female and 2nd in her age category.
Rounding out our Saturday was Eric who was representing East Wales at the Inter-Regional XC at Dolerw Park in Newtown. He took part in the final race of the day; the Senior Male race at 9.5km, where he finished 33rd in a competitive field, with a time of 33:43.
Nash and Boraston 10k Dash, a firm favourite among Crofties, took place on Sunday. The weather stayed lovely, with over 20 Croft runners taking part. Unfortunately, we are unable to bring you any results as of yet. Please stay tuned to our Facebook page where we should have them in the coming days!
Well done all! Please remember that if you would like your race and achievements included in the weekly report, please get them to me (Bronwyn) by 6pm at the latest. Any that come in after, I cannot promise they will be included. The upcoming training schedule will be live on our Facebook on 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).