Saturday brought parkrun tourism and a handful of PBs. Steve Osmond and Mitch Timms went to Banbury parkrun for the first time, Alex Bartlett was on the run at Wormwood Scrubs for the first time, and there were PBs for Ian Cunningham at Leamington and Lacey Abbott, Chloe Ferguson and Alexander O’Brien at Coventry.
Jackie & Chris have provided the following report:
The first of the Thursday night handicaps once again brought good weather. Chris and Wayne arrived first to set up the course, I arrived a little later just as all the runners were beginning to turn up. Thursday night handicaps have always been very popular and this year’s race was no exception. There were 48 people running, which included 1 junior and 1 guest.
First over the line was Peter Whitehouse, one of our newer members (as Sphinx tradition dictates he has been informed that he won’t win again!!). Peter was over 4 mins ahead of the second runner, Will Robertson and Narinder Bains came in 3rd. On the night there were 7 first timers and 12 p.b’s.
After the run we all met up at a new venue for this event, the Roseycombe, where we were made very welcome and provided with plenty of healthy chips and sandwiches.
Thanks to everyone that helped on the night, or offered to help. We had loads of people volunteer, and even if we didn’t need you this time everyone is appreciated. We can’t run the handicaps without you.
Jackie and Chris
Mitch has provided the following report:
Ironically, the closest venue in the EMGP Series saw a much reduced Sphinx turn-out at the Rugby 6 last night, with only four of us making the short trip to Ashlawn Rugby Club. It poured down from about 7.00 p.m., but then, just as we were hauled into the road by Stuart ‘Traffic Cop’ Harris, the rain stopped and conditions, though muggy, were nigh-on perfect for the race.
Respectable times for the four of us (Jamie pulled up with a muscle spasm, but still managed to finish at pace) and Uncle Tom finished 3rd in his category. Must mention Tom’s vest, which was probably older than he was, from a long defunct running club, Rugby AC. That apart, not much to write home about.
Next race Friday 20th May Blisworth 5: meet at club at 5.50 p.m. https://www.woottonroadrunners.co.uk/index.php?page=fri5series
Lisa has provided the following report:
With early weather reports of a scorcher of weekend we always knew Bosworth Half was going to be a challenging one for 6 sphinxes.
A pleasant change from the usual smell of deep heat and body odour came in the refreshing form of the sweet smell of Sun cream.
As Sphinx and friends prepared to take on this partially scenic course we soon felt like we were out on license when we were handed timing chips in the form of an ankle tag.
This felt the norm for some, others not so much!!! The real battle of Bosworth came in the form of a struggle with the rising heat as we made our way around the undulating course. Water stations could have been better with a queue at the first one not another till 6 but they won us back around with electrolyte and a wet sponge at 10. Pre race we had agreed a post race pint and dinner and this played a prominent part in getting us around. As we came into the finish we were almost over shadowed by The battle of the beards as we were cheered over the line by Kevin and The Legend that is Imran. Imran’s head could only intensify the heat as it doubled as solar panel. Race aside it was a fantastic day out!
Mitch has provided the following report:
So, so proud of my daughter Katie (and her boyfriend Tom) on completing her first ever half-marathon today; all the more so because conditions were at their worst, with blazing sunshine, a serious lack of shade, temperatures touching 25 degrees and not a breeze in sight. And the route itself was,,,,, well, if you like running around ring- roads and through housing estates and have an intense dislike of the colour green, it was ideal, otherwise…. However, the advantage of such a course was easy access and good vantage points for the spectators, and the good folk of Leeds came out in their thousands to watch and cheer. Indeed, we have to thank one local resident who kindly allowed all four of us to access her lavatory – albeit in her flat at the top of three flights of stairs! A better one of the ‘big city’ halves with excellent organisation throughout, great support en route and a nice medal, loud t-shirt and decent goody bag at the finish, Pity the course itself was so uninspiring, but you can’t have everything I suppose…..
Laura has sent the following race report:
The inaugural Cannock Chase Half took place on one of the hottest days of the year so far (typical) with thermometers hitting what felt like 30 degrees (though was probably more like 20). The race started on Milford Common, with plenty of parking and plenty of toilets (no queuing, what luxury!).
According to the website, the route covers “68sq kms of prime forest and heathland trails with rare and endangered birds. There’s also a herd of approx 800 fallow deer so keep your eyes open as you go. ”
We certainly didn’t see any deer (no doubt they were in the shade, sensible) but could hear the birds in this scenic and peaceful area. No traffic noise, no roads, only cyclists, walkers and some kind of shooting event unnervingly near by.
The race started in three waves, with those expecting to finish between 1hr30-2hrs going in waves 1 and 2, and everyone else in wave 3.
The course started on a narrow uphill and just kept going up for around 6 miles. We started to lose count of the steep humpback hills (7? 8?) with some so steep and shale-y that we could only shuffle up and shuffle back down again. It was well worth the climbs (?) as we were rewarded with some fantastic views at the top and respite for our legs with some pleasant downhill. We also spotted a trig point at one of the peaks – I only this week learnt what they are and where there is one in Coventry (ask Helen King next time you see her).
A welcome water crossing at miles 2.5 and 7 kept us cool only for a short while as there were long stretches of neither uphill nor downhill in full sun. To our relief, the final mile was very much downhill and we sprinted over the finish line feeling like winners. And what do winners eat? Wimpy Burgers! Yes they really do still exist, apparently there are still 93 across the UK, one of them on Milford Common so we had a post-race treat of an ice lolly and a burger (in that order).
There were some issues with water stations (positioning and lack of water), these will hopefully be ironed out for next year’s race. And maybe if it were slightly cooler, that would help! There was a nice medal and a Decathlon-sponsored goody bag for all finishers, which topped off an enjoyable day out in a beautiful location. This race filled up very quickly when it opened in October, so be sure to sign up early to avoid disappointment 🙂
Mitch has sent the following report from the Rushcliffe parkrun and there were PBs at Coventry for Lore Paterson, Lisa Abbott and Imran Ali.
En route to Leeds for their half-marathon tomorrow, Jackie and I dropped off at Rushcliffe Country Park in Nottingham for our Saturday morning Park Run fix. Just happened to be there on the day that they had their record turn-out of runners too, 397 in total, a considerable achievement bearing in mind that there are 5 Park Runs in and around Nottingham. The course itself was a picturesque two-lapper on gravel paths, passing a lake and through open countryside. Generally flat and cool to start with, made it a really enjoyable run. It also had kilometre markers to help the new runners and those striving for that elusive PB (whatever one of those is). Well-marshalled and enthusiastically directed, definitely in my top 5 Park Runs – well worth doing Mr Osmond, less than an hour from Coventry 🙂
We have the following report from Laura:
Expecting the worst bank holiday weather, off we trotted to Woodhouse Eaves for the May Day challenge complete with waterproof everything. We were warned by the race director that the rain was forecast for midday and to basically ‘hurry up’. With this in mind, myself and Mr P-D marched round the scenic, almost all off-road course with barely time to take in the views (apart from beacon hill, see pic) or eat any cake. We were also trying to avoid a border collie who was obsessed with large sticks and nearly took out several walkers from behind. Having completed this course last in 2012, I had conveniently forgotten that there were several hills over the first 4 miles, but we were rewarded with lots of wildlife (sheep, alpacas, deer, woodpeckers, collies, the public) and great views over Leicestershire.
I accurately predicted that the runners would catch us up at 10:10am (the front runner went past at 10:08) and so was pretty pleased about that for the next two hours. There were also plenty of opportunities to cheer on our fellow Sphinx and lots of other jolly runners out for some bank holiday miles.
This year was the first time there were prizes for first walkers home, they finished in around 2:30 whilst we were in 38th position around 1:10 behind them. Jacket potato and chilli for lunch in the village hall, a cup of tea in the finest China and a slice of cake (only one) for all finishers.
We have the following report from Mitch:
The first EMGP race of the 2016 Series took place at Silverstone on a glorious sunny evening, in stark contrast to last year where most of the runners had ‘wets’ on to negotiate the circuit. 10 Sphinx made the trip with debuts at the ‘Home of Racing’ for Lisa, Alex and Paul. Pride of place goes to Kev, who came 5th out of 40 in his age category in an outstanding 42:27 and also to Lisa, who goes from strength to strength, finishing 15th in the Female Seniors Category, out of 118 runners, in an excellent 46:59. Great to see Alex on his way back to full fitness too; fortunately the course last night was traffic free, which was a big help (sorry mate J, couldn’t resist that one).
PS – Also, just spotted, Allen also finished 15th in his category, out of 124, in a very creditable 40:09. Would have noticed it earlier but Allen still can’t spell ‘Spinx’ correctly!
Next race:
http://mcs.open.ac.uk/mkac/emgprugby6.htm Travel Arrangements – make your own way there!
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