Can you really believe that it’s the last week of April? In fact, by the time I post this, it will be May! Where is time going?
Training this week started on Monday with our young Croft runners taking part in their junior session coached by Kelly. This was followed by our Seniors, on Tuesday, running for the first time in 2024 on top of Croft Ambrey – our namesake! Despite a bit of drizzle coming down towards the end of the session, our runners worked extremely hard, enjoying themselves during their long intervals. Thank you to Sam H for taking that session. On Thursday, it was our Away Day Run, this time led by Tim on the hills surrounding All Stretton as we recce’d the upcoming Batch Bash Fell Race, which appears on our Club Championship calendar!
Saturday was a lovely, sunny morning for our Parkrunners. First Croftie over the line at Ludlow, finishing in 5th, was Oliver M, with a new PB of 23:37. Naomi was first overall female. Jamie, Neil and Huw gave up their own time to volunteer. Over in Hereford, Toby and Owen ran, with Toby recording another new PB. Eric, continuing his Parkrun tourism, ran at the Worcester Pitchcroft Parkrun, where he finished 1st in 16:47.
We had several of our walkers out and about on Saturday taking part in a range of events in the area.
First up was our group who walked/ran the Howum 30 Miles in Mid-Wales. Ali B, Joe L, Hayley C and Howard, all took part together, finishing in just over 7 hours!
Our second group was taking part in the Malvern Hills Mayor’s Challenge up over the Malvern Hills. With 11 miles and 17 peaks to contend with, all 6 Crofties (Ali D, Roland, Clare, Heather, Tom and Brian) made it back safe and sound, although slightly sunburned!
Choosing something a little bit more faster paced, Sam J took part in the Brecon Beacons Ultra. Another incredible effort by Sam saw him complete the 33 miles with nearly 8,000ft ascent in just under 6 hours, finishing in 2nd place overall. He said: “Incredible experience for my first Ultra – I was not mentally or physically prepared for that.. but got it done! Defo at the limit of my technical running ability. Fair play to anyone who does them for ‘fun’, new found respect!”
Hayley and Dave Millichap were also in Brecon, taking part in the Half Marathon version of the race. Well done all!
A couple of our fell runners were also out on the hills on Saturday. Flora and Gary took part in the Moel Eilio Fell Race near Caernarfon in North Wales. The 8 mile run saw Flora finish in 01:58:24, with a 3rd in her age category. Gary finished in 02:06:53, with a 1st in his age category.
Elsewhere, also enjoying the sunshiney weekend, were a couple of Social Running Groups!
On Saturday, Anna, Theresa, Carol, Tim W-H and Vanessa, headed over to Hay-on-Wye to recce the Offa’s Dyke route, ready for the 15 mile race in June! Anna, who arranged the outing said, “We all enjoyed our adventure along the Offa’s Dyke path today! The views were incredible and I think everyone agreed they were well worth the little climbs. It was nice for me to get familiar with the route in preparation for the Offa’s Dyke 15 in June. We took our time today but we’ll need to pick our feet up on the day!”
Finally, on Sunday, a second group (and the Croft dogs) went out to run the bluebell lined trails of Shobdon Wood. It’s fair to say that they all enjoyed their morning, although the dogs may have had a little bit more fun than the adults! A perfect Sunday morning, especially for Sam H who is celebrating her birthday! Happy Birthday Sam!
With plenty of races going ahead over the course of this next week, we’d like to wish our runners the best of luck in everything they are taking part in! 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).