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Results July-Dec 2018

Ilford AC XC Relay section (3.33 miles) - Sunday 30th December 2018

San Silvestre Aviles (5.23km) - Saturday 29th December 2018

San Silvestre Gaditana (6km) - Saturday 29th December 2018

Ilford AC 10 Mile Cross Country, Hainault Forest - Saturday 29th December 2018

Pictures available in Photo Gallery

91 finishers.

Run Through Velopark 10km - Saturday 29th December 2018

Run Through Velopark 5km - Saturday 29th December 2018

parkrun - all venues - Saturday 29th December 2018

Crown to Crown Boxing Day 5km, - Wednesday 26th December 2018

311 finishers.

parkrun - all venues (Christmas Day) - Tuesday 25th December 2018

Torrington Christmas Caper 2018 - Sunday 23rd December 2018

269 finishers. Approx 9.5 miles of festive fun following forest trails,
rivers, hills and a little mud thrown in for good measure.

Run Through Greenwich Park 10km - Saturday 22nd December 2018

parkrun - all venues - Saturday 22nd December 2018

Zoila Gilham-Fernandez: Race Report: My first parkrun.
I've been running for just over a year and I have never been to park run... So now that my leg is 95% better. I thought I would sign up and give it a go. I spend a lot of weekends in west london where there isn't a high density of park runs... maybe because of the lack of parks this way. Anyways. I managed to find one a nice 2 miles away at Wormwood Scrubs park.
I misjudged how long it would take me... so I got there at 8:30. So I had some time to nosy about. I never knew this park even existed even though on my friday evening rides from east to west I ride right past it. As I got there so early. I was shivering and I had goosebumps and I really needed to pee which the cold really didn't help with. I said hi to the guy setting up and told him that this was my first ever park run. So he explained to me how it works and explained the course. At this point I realised it was going to be a muddy one and trail shoes would have been a good idea... Ooops. Anyways a little after 9 and off we go. It's a beautiful day for a run however it was muddy. VERY muddy. I tried to stick to grassier bits where I could and leap over the puddles of deep mud...
22 minutes 22 seconds later and I'm done. 9th out of 74 and 2nd lady. Calves covered in mud. I went to the Thames Valley Harriers HQ at the track for some tea and socialising. Everyone is so friendly and I met some lovely people (who don't know much about the east side of the central line)
Wormwood scrubs is a smallish parkrun located about a mile or so from white city station. All in all. I enjoyed it... and will continue my park run adventures... I'm fairly close to Richmond here no next time I'm in west london I shall go there... but my saturday mornings will be park running from now and next time looks like it will be one a little closer to home

SITC Dawn to Dusk 10km - Sunday 16th December 2018

SITC Dawn to Dusk Ultra - Sunday 16th December 2018

Pictures available in Photo Gallery

Rich Kimmens:- SITC Dawn til Dusk ultra today was my first race in club colours.
Even though I dont know many of you everyone who saw me today was so friendly and
encouraging, thank you!
It was a great race, I hit my target of 40 laps and was delighted to get 3rd place.
As always I was blown away by Maud Hodson winning the female race and setting a new
course pb without breaking a sweat!
Congratulations Alexandra Rutishauser-Perera for 2nd place female as well!


Maud reports:- SitC Dawn to Dusk Ultra
I felt unusually confident leading into this race. I knew I was in better shape than I was last year, when I finished second behind the mighty Karen Levison. I reckoned I had a chance of beating my previous best performance here (35 laps in 2015). But what I really wanted was to win. I decided to run with my backpack so as to keep stops to a minimum, as well as leaving some more snacks on the table.
Most of that confidence evaporated on the start line - so many people - some of them must be better than me. But I stuck to the plan. Start steady - around 10.30 per mile, and keep it up all day. The lovely thing about this race is how friendly it is. As well as my ELR team-mates there were lots from EERR and other local clubs, and runners I've met here in previous years or at other races. But for me, business before pleasure - I was on a mission. I ran 10 laps non-stop before treating myself to a toilet break.
It was a beautiful bright winter day, so different from Saturday's icy rain. There was a weird strobe effect of the sunlight filtering through the railings as we ran up the hill in the morning. And that traditional feature of this race, a fresh dog poo that gradually gets flattened as the day goes on. This time there were also two dogs in the race (with their owners), a collie and Cerberus the viszla.
I was very grateful to Scott McMillan & Jakub Czeczótka who both ran two or three laps with me. I'm not always a fan of company in races like this, but they were both a pleasure to run with, and helped to tick of the laps without thinking too much.
For most of the race I didn't have much idea where I was placing in the women's competition, as the scoreboard only gives overall positions, and this year there were a few quick guys. When I was running with Jakub he checked with the timing guy while I nipped to the toilet (guy chundering in the next portaloo - nice...), and he told me I was in first place.
OK, just got to keep it going for another couple of hours or so. Towards the old of that lap, we were overtaken by two young Polish women, looking incredibly strong. That rattled me - I'm not accustomed to being overtaken in the latter stages of a race. The scoreboard showed that I was two laps ahead of them, but would that be enough? Also, it seemed likely that they would push Alexandra out of the medals, which would be really disappointing.
But no point worrying about other people. I kept my mind on the job and kept knocking out the miles, but it was tough now. However, the clock was ticking down, and the more time passed without me seeing the Poles again the more confident I got. Peter & Steevie were at the finish line as I set out on my final lap (was hard running past my doggie...), and I knew then I had it. But still I didn't walk up the hill - not once did I do that.
I knew I had won, but what about Alex & the Poles? The smile on her face said it all - I couldn't have been happier that she had got second place - it made my win so much sweeter to be able to share it with her. Brilliant form Alex.
Sometimes I can be a bit flaky mentally, but yesterday I didn't waver. My fastest mile was 10.04 (mile 41) and my slowest 10.48 - pretty consistent over 8 hours. I would cheekily love to try for the course record one day (2 more laps), but the only way I'll manage that is to get quicker - I don't think I could have done much more yesterday. Happy and proud.
Special kudos to Nathaniel Dye who dusted himself down and went out to conduct a brass band concert, minus his 2nd trombonist who was lolling around at home with a glass or two of Sauvignon Blanc.

Alexandra reports:- What a feeling ! My first race trophy ! There was no way it could have been for speed so it had to be related to stubbornness (or mental strength as they call it.)! The SITC Dawn to Dusk Ultra was one of those events ! I did it last year with less competitors and finished the Ultra 25 laps, 6 weeks after my first marathon. But, I knew that my body was stronger this year after 2 more marathons and that I could push over with the support of Maud who was my inspiration on that course (and on many other things) and that i could maybe dream of a podium.
My main struggle at the beginning was to not go too fast especially as people were running a HM (crazy lighting Terry who won the race) and 10ks or like Rich started their Ultra at a crazy pace lapping me so many times. The first 10 laps went so fast, a bit more than 2 hours and it was done I know people think that running around in circle on a 2kms lap is nuts but as Maya said, its one of the most friendly and social event I know of and i loved it.
That's mostly because I got so much help, a friend from another club did the 10k race but then he stayed on, running the laps 16 to 20 with me.Then Grant took over for 5 laps, getting me through from the marathon to the minimum ultra distance (Jakub, thanks so much for coming with us too, it allowed Grant to chat to someone else. and stop telling how cool it would be if i could run a marathon and a half! ), my friend took over again for some more laps and the support from the crowd at the end of each loop by then was incredible. They were applauding, cheering, taking pics, , it felt like we were all belonging to their own club Two girls were between Maud and I for a while, nobody knew them, they were looking so strong, I thought that my hope of a podium was over… Thats when my luck came in as they apparently stopped after 30 laps and that I could go one for 3 more laps, I was feeling the pain in my thighs but managed to keep my steady pace walking half way on the hills and running the rest, spending some of this time with Nathaniel !
Last lap ! I wasnt sure where I was place wise, where those 2 ladies had gone as they hadn’t given their chips back so i ran faster ( couldnt believe i was still having energy) and I wanted to run a last lap but missed the cut by 30 secs. Was a bit disorientated but was told I was second lady with 33 laps in 7h48 mins and thats when all the emotions came out. I was really happy to see Peter (and Steevie), I knew he would understand how I was feeling . Maud was finishing her 36th lap, being the first lady and I hugged her sharing my happiness for which she had the most beautiful reaction!
There are again so many people to thank , some have been mentioned earlier but the support from the ELR family was again truly amazing with the visit of Spencer, Caroline, Carlton, Peter, Catriona , Kasia, Susan, Helen, Jacob and Alex. Not forgetting, Fiona, Jimmy, Selina, Stuart and Marc who were running too plus all the wonderful people from other clubs I know from XC and ELVIS races and Julie who did the 10k.
Mostly , once again its Maud and Karen that I want to thank for being so inspirational to me !!! I wish they can both do it next year so that we can fill a podium with ELR ladies. And I don’t want to hear anyone telling me now that Maud and I cannot run the same XC distance than men !

SITC Dawn to Dusk Marathon - Sunday 16th December 2018

SITC Dawn to Dusk Half Marathon - Sunday 16th December 2018

Stuart Barton reports:- That half does not get any easier, the Sikhs in the city dawn to dusk. I arrived and picked up my race number still unsure if I would run, even as I was on the start line I was unsure. It starts with a hill although it as cold as last year it was still a little slippery under foot.
I ran the first two laps with Steve 'Swany' Swan but I could tell I would not be staying with him at that pace.
I soon settled into a nice plod around the sun between the railings flicking as you past was strange like being in a nightclub.
A quick break on lap 9 knowing only 2 laps to go,
Seeing Carlton D'Souza and Peter Hatley on my 10th lap lifted my spirits, last lap I knew I was in for a course PB, the last uphill was still hard but that was the last up. All downhill to the finish. A great small friendly event I would highly recommend it for next year. A very big high five to Terry Lewsey on winning the half you looked like you had a load more in you. As I write this loads of other ELR are still running the marathon and the ultra, best of luck to all of them #stupidmarathons


Terry Lewsey reports:= Ive never won anything in my life so to win the Sikhs in the city 22k half marathon today as 1st overall Male, Im over the moon with, Im not usually lost for words but it came as such a shock I dont quite know what to say, it was quite worrying at the end of the race as I came in almost 6 mins ahead of the second place finisher so they had to verify my result which they did, my final time was 1:45:45 and I now have my first race trophy, Im so pleased and proud to be able to bring home my first win for East London Runners.


Maya Goodwin reports:- A cold caught on Wednesday followed by a party on Thursday meant a cancellation on Friday and a downgrade from a marathon to a half on Sunday. My Gold was to finish.
Because its laps it ends up being slightly more than a half - 13.67 miles. Watch time 2:38. People hear about this race and think youre loopy. But its lovely. So sociable. Two laps with Claire Adamson, two laps with Paul Lewis, and before I know it, its halfway. The second half was tougher as the paracetamol wore off, but knowing I could walk up the hill every lap helped. Penultimate lap and natter to Julie Creffield, and its the last one.
Now Im home eating the Tomato Snaps from my goodie bag and feeling chuffed. I dont even mind that I look older than the old lady from Titanic in my medal photo.

Sunday XC League - Race 3 : Stevenage - Sunday 16th December 2018

Pictures available in Photo Gallery

314 men and 169 women. Total 483 runners.

Mike Reports:-A bright sunny morning for the third Cross Country Race of the series, at Fairlands Valley Park in Stevenage. A change of venue (from Willian) at the last moment and hosted by Fairland Valley Spartans. This was a three lap course of 4.9 miles around soft but not very muddy grass fields. There were a couple of short inclines, but nothing too challenging!

First back for ELR was the return of Antonio Martin Romero.... in 11th position, suffering he said from the results of previous days seasonal festivities! He was followed by Rhys Edwards, (Susan's son) making his Cross Country debut for the club. He had an outstanding run, finishing in a very impressive 47th position.
For the ladies, the steady Kasia Stachowiak was first for ELR in 329th overall. Susan Edwards making her return for the club after many years, was in 403rd, followed shortly after by Catriona Hoult in 412th.
A special mention for Kirk Johnson, who was persuaded to make his Cross Country come back for the club after quite a few years, finishing without further mishap. He did however suffer nasty scratches to his leg, resulting from the brambles in the bush before the race - ask no more!
Full results to follow.

Thanks to Fairlands Valley Spartans for putting the race and all the marshals giving out encouragement and especially to everyone from ELR that ran this morning.
Please join us for the next fixture, which will be on Sunday 13th January 2019 at Cassiobury Park, Watford.


Team results: after 3 events.
Men's team 12th of 20, vets 15th of 20. Overall 12th and vets 15th.
Ladies team 16th of 20, vets 15th of 20. Overall 17th and vets 16th.

Run Through Christmas Olympic Park 5km - Sunday 16th December 2018

parkrun - all venues - Saturday 15th December 2018

Zurich Malaga Marathon - Sunday 9th December 2018

Milton Keynes Half Marathon - Sunday 9th December 2018

Greenwich Park 10km Winter Series - Sunday 9th December 2018

Royal Parks 10km Series - Regents Park - Sunday 9th December 2018

Ware Cup, Loughton - Saturday 8th December 2018

Run Through Victoria Park Half Marathon - Saturday 8th December 2018

Terry: The Run Through Half Marathon at Victoria Park went well today smashed
my previous PB by 5mins 52 seconds final time 1:36:47 also finished 6th V40 so happy
I decided to get up out of bed this morning and have a crack at seeing what I could
do, sometimes the best results come when you least expect them so what ever you do
it’s always worth turning up taking part and giving your all, was also nice to see
and catch up with lots of my running friends hope you all had a good race and did
well too.

Run Through Victoria Park 5km - Saturday 8th December 2018

parkrun - all venues - Saturday 8th December 2018

Jerez Half Marathon, Spain - Thursday 6th December 2018

It had been over one year without running in my hometown, and today was time to round off
an amazing year with the Jerez Half Marathon. I started a bit cautious in a second group
and once I knew my legs were fine and I was feeling comfortable, decided to change the
pace and run with all in. In the end, 1h11'51", totally unexpected, PB in 10k and half
marathon, all in the same race. 3 minutes faster than last year!
Nothing like running in your hometown!

Sunday XC League - Race 3 : Trent Park - Sunday 2nd December 2018

Pictures available in Photo Gallery

171 ladies, 274 men = total 445 runners.

Mike Reports.
A great morning of Cross Country running once again. The conditions were mild but windy, on a different course to last week's Chingford League Race with more mud due to the rain in the last few days. An excellent two lap course venturing into the leafy woods of Trent Park, with a 'heartbreak' hill leading to the finish. We did well in fielding two full men's and women's teams - the ELR positions are in the photos below. James Nichols was first ELR man in 86th and Maud Hodson first woman in 241st overall. (Full results to follow). Jo Neville and Jalila Abassi had good Cross Country debuts for the club. It was great also to see Dave Knight make a return for the men's team.

Thanks to everyone that ran today and Nick, Maud and Jacob who gave lifts from Wanstead Leisure Centre. There was outstanding organisation and marshalling from the host club, Trent Park RC. The next fixture is at Fairlands Valley Park in Stevenage on 16th December. Hope to see you there.

Bedford Half Marathon - Sunday 2nd December 2018

Essex Vets Cross Country Championships, Hilly Fields, Colchester - Sunday 1st December 2018

QEOP 10km Winter Series - Saturday 1st December 2018

parkrun - all venues - Saturday 1st December 2018

Windrush Tri Falling Leaves Duathlon, Velopark - Sunday 25th November 2018

67 finishers - 2 mile run, 10 mile cycle, 1 mile run.
Dan 5.56,6.54/12.50/3.00,2.59,3.04,3.00,3.03,3.02,3.00,3.02,3.0,4.04/31.19/6.42 = 50.51
Michael 6.23,7.12/13.35/3.07,3.01,3.05,3.03,3.06,3.03,3.03,3.11,3.06,4.02/31.47/6.52 = 52.14
Sarah 7.26,8.14/15.40/2.46,2.44,2.49,2.53,2.49,2.52,2.53,2.57,2.53,3.55/29.33/7.44 = 52.57
Brian 7.23,8.46/16.09/3.06,3.17,3.19,3.19,3.18,3.11,3.23,3.22,3.23,3.22,4.34/34.12/8.17 = 58.38

Firenze Florence Marathon - Sunday 25th November 2018

Pictures available in Photo Gallery

7604 finishers.
Roselin reports: Firenze marathon 2018 race report
So this wasnt supposed to happen. Barely any running since June/July so I told myself... Ill see how mad Im feeling on Saturday night which I knew meant I wasnt going to go through with it. I'll surprise Diana and Caroline and cheer them on instead.
Then I bumped into the girls boarding the plane and had Diana sat next to me convincing me that going from barely comfortable 5-10k to 42k was perfectly logical.
We headed to the expo and what a nightmare. Bib collection was easy enough but thousands of runners and family packed into a tiny space, too hot and claustrophobic! Took us forever to navigate our way out of the crowds and into the fresh air again. Came away with a goody bag containing 2 t-shirts, a beer, some gels, energy bar, a poncho, detergent and some canned meat though!
Race day and I was not happy, it was chucking it down! Ran with my poncho from start to finish and it was a life saver! Caroline kept my spirits up and ran with me, telling me about something ridiculous Grant Conway had said....muscle memory. I wasnt convinced my legs would remember back to 5-6 months ago. Ha. We were going slow and I felt surprisingly good until about 12 miles. I told Caroline to go ahead from there because I knew the rest of the run was going to be a battle. It was a long emotional battle against my legs and my head but I couldn't believe it when I saw the finish line and was pretty damn pleased with my time of 5:20:01.
A flat course with lots of twists and turns, but overall very enjoyable and definitely PB potential! Thanks so much to Caroline and Diana who got me through this, could not have done it without them! Massive well done to them on a fantastic run!

Barnet Copthall Swimming Club Masters 1500m Freestyle Event - Saturday 24th November 2018

My first 1.5km race for the club today. I anticipated finishing in 34mins and was placed
in the first heat along with 3 of my swimming buddies (much faster than me I might add)
but finished 6th out of 8 in my heat in a time of 30:48:30!!!
Team-mates also had great swim times getting 1st, 2nd & 3rd positions in our heat!
I found this tougher than my 5km race for some reason and keeping track of my pace and
number of lengths took concentration.
But am chuffed with result.

Chingford League - Event 4 - Trent Park (Sorority & Fraternity Cups) - Saturday 24th November 2018

Pictures available in Photo Gallery

Results explained
This was a Chingford League fixture inside the Fraternity & Sorority Competition.
The main race had 222 men and 128 ladies of which 146 men and 90 ladies were Chingford
League competitors. example - Euan was 3rd overall but 2nd in the Chingford League race.

Fraternity & Sorority Results
ELR men were 16th of 26 in the Fraternity competition.
ELR ladies were 17th, and 24th(b team) of 25 in the Sorority competition.
Chingford League team scores
Men A 7th, 5th overall
Men B 7th, 5th overall
Men vets 8th, 7th overall
Ladies A 6th, 4th overall
Ladies vets 5th, 4th overall.
Individual points scorers
Euan 19pts, 58 total 1st sen man
Patrick 10pts, 47 total 4th sen man
Becky 5pts, 26 total 3rd W50
Fiona 6pts, 19 total 4th W60
Saturday 24th November 2018
Chingford League Race 4 - Trent Park.
A good turnout from ELR at Trent Park on a cold afternoon. A two lap course of
Approx 4.7 miles which started with a stretch of downhill and continuing around
the side of a field before going out to a forested area. There was one very steep
track where you passed Runners coming down in the opposite direction which was
particularly challenging. This was quite a tough XC race, but there was great
camaraderie as usual and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves ....and there was
still no mud! (I enjoyed seeing the finish line)! Once again the race was very
well organised and marshalled.
We were also entered for the Sorority and Fraternity Cups. Euan Bilge Brown
was first back for ELR in 3rd place and Maud Hodson first for the ladies, who
turned up in force today. Good to see Arthur Diaz , Georgie Hooper, Filipa Soares
and Kasia Stachowiak making their XC debuts.
The next Chingford League fixture is on Saturday 19th January at Chingford Plain
- hosted by Orion Harriers. We are also back at Trent Park next Sunday 2nd December,
for the Sunday Herts League. Thanks to Ramesh for driving me home.
Mike.

Velopark 10km - Saturday 24th November 2018

parkrun - all venues - Saturday 24th November 2018

Central Line Street O - Leytonstone & Aldersbrook - Thursday 22nd November 2018

Timelord On The Thames Marathon - Thursday 22nd November 2018

62nd & Final Rodings Rally - Saturday 17th & Sunday 18th November 2018

Pictures available in Photo Gallery

Five point competition
2nd ELR 10.00 - 00.40 - 2.40 (Edward Barnard & Jimmy Hartwell)
7th ELR 09.22 - 00.41 - 3.19 (Alexandra, Calvin, Jayne and Sarah)
23rd ELR 08.38 - 02.23 - 5.45
26th ELR 08.58 - 04.20 - 7.22
35 teams

Best Five Checkpoint team - Suffolk Trophy
1st ELR 15 checkpoints 11.44mins

Joanna Wood: Well its the morning after the night before, 62nd Rodings Rally Orienteering Race 2018.
A great team and great achievement getting a PB on last year finding ALL checkpoints and having a jolly good chuckle in the process!
A pretty good way to spend a Saturday night...... wandering around High Beach with Jason, Marc and Katherine 😂
We managed to avoid getting eaten by alligators, didnt get chased by wild boar, watered a few trees and managed to see the funny side of meeting up with Jacob Stevens team at the tea hut who had started 90mins after us yet found double the checkpoints that we had and went charging off like a pack of gazelles (Im sure I heard them roaring with laughter as they passed us).
Anyway, a great team to be in with Jason getting us all back in one piece!
Well done team!


Stuart Barton: What a great way to spend a Saturday night, running around Epping forest looking for tents, We started off thinking how hard can this be. well we soon found out.
Trying to find a one man tent in the dark hidden in undergrowth. I am sure we walked past the first tent at least 10 times,
Finding the second tent was just as hard and our heads were low, then it just clicked and we found the last ones quickly, the final walk up to the village hall was hard but we were all still alive,
A big thanks to all the people involved putting this event on I would love to do this kinda thing again.
And thanks to Keith Bennett for map reading without you I would still be walking around the forest looking for the first tent,

St Neots Half Marathon - Sunday 18th November 2018

Adidas Fulham 10km - Sunday 18th November 2018

4162 finishers

Run Through Hertfordshire Half Marathon - Sunday 18th November 2018

Bedgebury Forest 10km - Sunday 18th November 2018

SEAA London Cross Country Championships, Parliament Hill - Saturday 17th November 2018

Pictures available in Photo Gallery

Mens team: East London Runners - 10th of 35 - 287 pts

Run Through Victoria Park 10km - Saturday 17th November 2018

Pictures available in Photo Gallery

parkrun - all venues - Saturday 17th November 2018

Clapham Chasers Womens Duathlon - Sunday 11th November 2018

2 mile run / 10 mile bike / 1 mile run
701,7.47,14.48/ 2.54,2.57,2.56,2.53,2.56,2.55,2.49,2.57,3.00,3.55 = 30.12/ 7.54 = 53.35

Run Through Crystal Palace 5km - Sunday 11th November 2018

Stebbing 10 - Sunday 11th November 2018

Terry reports:-Well that has been one hell of an epic Sunday, did the stebbing 10 mile race this morning finished 53rd out of 523 runners with a time of 72mins 37 seconds first official time at that distance and new personal best on My training runs by a long way, caught up with and made some more new running friends, and ended up with a hard earned and truly epic remembrance day medal which is now my favourite one in my collection, after the race I chilled in Starbucks for a bit, before putting the roof down on the car for a very pleasant drive home in this glorious winter sunshine, poorly singing at the top of my voice people must of thought I was mad, once I arrived home sue and I went straight out for an early dinner at Kervan Kitchen for a truly amazing mixed grill, when we got in food coma kicked in so we both had a little nap and I had a nice relaxing bath, then out of nowhere the second wave of post race munches kicked in, so after a quick trip up the shops, and a whole bag of Doritos with salsa sauce and a whole bottle of innocence strawberry smoothly later, Im back in the game, days like this are what its all about feeling blessed that I am lucky to be able to do these crazy and varied things now massive thanks for my team who handled everything at work this morning to get me to the start line on time, coffees and lunch are on my tomorrow guys thanks again. Now its time for bed, Im bloody knackered cant think why

Grand Union Canal Half Marathon - Sunday 11th November 2018

Marathon Swims 5km, Queen Elizabeth Aquatic Centre - Sunday 11th November 2018

21.32, 22.28, 24.14, 24.39, 24.43 1km splits
Joanna Wood reports:
Well what can I say? Today was a challenge from the outset. Id only ever swum 3.8km as my furthest distance so knew this event of a half marathon (5km) was going to push me. The cut off time was 2hrs30mins for the fast wave, I was in the medium wave with no cut off time which lessened the pressure... a little.
I met my cheer-squad about 90mins before my start time and although we chatted and went to see to see The Shrouds of the Somme my stomach was churning the whole time. I was so nervous!
Pool-side I got chatting to a couple of swimmers, one who said his family had gone shopping whilst he was swimming (?) and one I'd met at Royal Victoria Docks several months ago in our "beginners class" but both were starting way ahead of me. I was last in my wave and psycologically I was already thinking I'd be slow....and last.
Anyway, as they announced each swimmer to the start of their first 1km no one seemed to have anyone cheering them on. As I got called up I heard a roar from my supporters which was fantastic... but felt the added pressure of having to do well!
In I dived and the first km was adrenaline-fuelled and my fastest at under 22 mins including the transition. It was weird having to get out and transition after each km back to lane 1 and but I stayed focused and had several swimmers in my sights to chase down, which I managed with ease for the first 3km.
It felt good and so much better than running!
By the 3rd km I could feel I was slowing down but mentally I kept telling myself "come on, who else can do this??" At that time I should say I wasn't thinking of Ava Lee, Danny Lee or Sarah Burns!!!!
I got out, cheered on by my supporters and decided to have some water and a jelly baby (like that's going to make suuuuuch a difference). Dived back in, mid chew of said jelly baby ( half of which I ended up spitting out - swimming and eating is REALLY hard!) and ploughed on.
The last 2km I found I was stuck with 2 swimmers, each time I overtook them they then sped up and stayed on my feet, eventually I had an altercation with one - telling her to stop swimming like a prat I didn't think would give me 10 seconds in the sin bin- even if it did it would have been worth it!
Anyway, we had a case of cat and mouse for the last 1km, I eventually overtook her and as my nephew would say..."eat my bubbles"!!!
Getting out I didn't realise where the finish line was and so lost a few seconds but not enough to make a huge difference
My first half marathon I submitted my anticipated completion time as 2hrs 15mins.
I finished in 2hrs 19 seconds!
I was 52 out of 129 swimmers in my race, 30 out of 78 females and 7 out of 22 in my age group.
I met up with both the guy whose family went shopping and the lady from my beginners class at the docks.......and I beat both of them by 4 & 6 mins!!!!
It was great to know I had supporters there for me and am eternally grateful to my number 1 supporter my mum, Marc Akers, Stuart Stupot Barton, Rachel Le Roux, Louis Le Roux and Alexandra Rutishauser-Perera.
My sponsorship target was £200 for Cancer Research, I've raised £421.25 inc gift aid. Unfortunately the t shirt that Cancer Research sent me was small to say the least. Whilst I couldn't wear it poolside I snuck into the ladies to get a pic, and almost had to ask a passerby to help me out! But at least I have a pic for them. Special thanks goes to my sponsors.
It was certainly a challenge and I hope my sponsors feel I worked hard for their donations.
I'll be back next year, if only to get under the 2hr mark- no jelly babies for me next time!!!

Phoenix Remembrance Day Marathon - Sunday 11th November 2018

Was going well, until the begining of mile 16, then the wheels fell off the wagon. A plantar based issue cropped up, forcing me to walk-run, then I had to abandon that and just keep on walking. When I decided to run with 2 miles left on the clock, I felt like I could actually complete it with a respectable finish. In the end with 1.7 miles remaining I tripped, met the gravel and bit the dust. Walking was all I could do until the end, as my confidence was shattered in that one moment. I met some lovely people though, walking with them and chatting, it made the race much more bearable. And boy am I hella grateful for their company, they helped pull me through, when I though all hope was lost, and giving up seemed like a great possibility. Glad I got to the end though.

Marathon Swims 5km,(Sat) Queen Elizabeth Aquatic Centre - Saturday 10th November 2018

22.01, 22.13, 22.17, 22.53, 22.30 = 1.53.17 1km splits

parkrun - all venues (Bushy week) - Saturday 10th November 2018

Pictures available in Photo Gallery

Chingford League - Event 3 - Hog Hill 2, Redbridge Cycle Circuit - Tuesday 6th November 2018

Pictures available in Photo Gallery

Ladies: 119 finishers / Men 158 finishers.
Men 5th, 4th overall
Men B team 4th, 5th overall
Men Vets 5th, 6th overall
Ladies 5th, 4th overall
Ladies Vets 4th, 3rd overall
Points scored Euan 20pts, Patrick 14pts, Caroline 4pts, Becky 7pts, Fiona 8pts and Sue 3pts.

Royal Parks Winter Series 10km, Greenwich Park - Sunday 4th November 2018

Regents Park Winter Series 10km - Sunday 4th November 2018

Stevenage Half Marathon - Sunday 4th November 2018

Lode Half Marathon - Sunday 4th November 2018

Pictures available in Photo Gallery

Porto Marathon - Sunday 4th November 2018

TCS New York City Marathon - Sunday 4th November 2018

Pictures available in Photo Gallery

52,704 finishers
Shahib reports: Along with Carlton, we decided to run the New York City Marathon in an attempt to further our efforts complete the six Abbott Majors. Getting in to the marathon was difficult. Having been rejected in the ballot a couple of times, I decided to go in through a sports tour company as Carlton used the New York City Marathon good for age equivalent to gain entry, which was not easy for him to effect but he managed to do do with his nous and perseverance.
Having done the Berlin Marathon seven weeks previously - for which I could not train as well as I did for Manchester 2018 largely in part due to my profligacy in running in the heat - we had a particularly scorching summer - and also in small measure due to having a second child, my main objective was to beat my Berlin time of 3.46.44; it would be super to threaten the 3.30 mark but breaking my PB of 3.22.46 was not even in my thought process.
We woke up at around 4AM for a planned 9.50AM start - yes, almost 6 hours before the start. This was due to the logistics of taking the runners to Fort Wandsworth, Staten Island for the start. This clearly had implications on pre-race meals and nutrition so I had to break from my tried and tested method and take some bagels with me to have on the way. We left the hostel at round 5.15AM and made our way to the New York Public Library via the subway to join the queues for the coaches to Staten Island. It was well organised and fast moving. The coach journey took around 2 hours before disembarking and queuing up to go through airport style security before being admitted into the race village. The weather was perfect - sunny, no rain, no wind, cool temperatures throughout. The race had 4 waves, each of which had three sections and corrals within in. Carlton and I were in wave 1 but different colours and here we exchanged a few words, took a picture or two before going our separate ways. Similar to London, the three sections met at a point in the course, but it was around 8 miles here. After baggage drop - Carlton chose the poncho option, so had no baggage drop - I went into my corral and helpfully they had ample toilets within the corrals. There were grave warnings of disqualification if anyone was caught urinating on the grounds.
After around 40 minutes of waiting, and after the national anthem, we were off and making our way onto the the first of several bridges with a noticeable, relentless, seemingly never ending incline, not marked but still very apparent - Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. The views were amazing - the Manhattan skyline and Statue of Liberty on one side and the Atlantic Ocean on the other. Conscious to start off gently as it was immediately on an incline and bridge, my 1st km sound went off and it was more than 6 minutes, inducing partial panic. The race then settled down in Brooklyn and there was a long stretch of around 5-6km on 4th avenue. I noticed the 55th street sign (so we were running down avenue and streets were to the left and right) and was counting it down, it went all the way down to 1st street and was still going on. Although it seemed flat - the only section of the course with sustained flatness - the long stretch felt very long. Having left Brooklyn, which was atmospheric, we made our way to Queens and the course from there onwards was up and down, there was never a devilish incline, but it was subtle at times, at other times that subtlety was accentuated on account of fatigue, and at around mile 13 we had to cross another bridge, McGuinness Blvd, marking the half way point without much fanfare, unlike London. We were, however, told at the expo that the actual half way point was mile 20. The next few kms were good but then we encountered perhaps the worst section of the course on Queenboro Bridge. It was approximately a mile long period of slogging away at a steady, eminently palpable and clearly present incline, it was perpetual, no crowd to help you, just the sound of feet pounding away, some groans and some runners vigorously doing stretches on the side. It was difficult as my training did not involve any hill running or longs runs on inclines. One would say that was self inflicted and poor preparation and I would concur. After this stretch finally finished, the run down the brief decline offered no respite and we were then on the 1st avenue in Manhattan, which was a lengthy section of around 6km and as befitting the course before it, was not flat, but rather had innumerable steady climbs. We then made a brief foray into The Bronx - which was loud - before leaving it as soon as we entered it and heading down 5th avenue in Manhattan - opposite the 1st avenue - at around 19 miles. The steady inclines kept on coming in waves - maybe a bit like someone with kidney stones and the pain is colicky and intermittent - before entering the confines of Central Park just before 39km. I saw my watch and thought sub 3.40 was on - you will have noticed that the time was not really on my mind too much - and with all the inclines, my usual calf cramps did not materialise. Down the finishing straight - which was anything but straight and flat - I made a final dash to get sub 3.38.
In the end I was overjoyed with my time, had no complaints and bettered my Berlin time to register my best autumn marathon time and 4th best overall. After the flat courses of Valencia, Manchester and Berlin, this was a huge shock to the system, would probably only go back if training is up to the mark. The support was incredible, amazing, never heard my name called out so many times, all the New York Road Runners (NYRR) staff were incredible in their energy, dynamism and enthusiasm in offering their congratulations and the walk down the baggage area was special, the support of the staff was unique in my experience. They really appreciated the efforts. The walk down Central Park West back to the hostel is something that will stay with me forever. Im glad I walked and didnt take the subway. Random New Yorkers made you feel like a rock star, as Carlton put it, congratulating you, applauding you, just acknowledging your efforts.
Just one word on Carlton D'Souza - he is an absolute legend, remarkable performer, his consistency and level of performance is just absolutely top drawer and it was wonderful spending the weekend in his company - rounded off by a comedy show. Also well done to Jakub and Julie. I really missed having my boys around, usually they are integral to all this, but I know they were with me in spirit and I have to thank the one person without whom this would be totally impossible - Samia. I hope that one day I can support you through a marathon too.

A massive thank you to everyone who cheered me on yesterday. I will of course write up a proper review but I just wanted to say this is probably the first time I have woke up on race morning and seriously considered not starting.
- I had 2 hours sleep
- I woke with a bladder infection
- Everything hurt
- I just had a bad feeling
I believed all the way up to the half way point that I might need to pull out, and I knew I had to take things steady and really listen to my body.
The atmosphere was electric. I have never experienced cheering like I did here, the intensity, the volume and also the humour.
I ran around 70% of the race but at a slower pace than I’d normally run.
The route was stunning.
Knowing people were cheering me on from all over the world, really spurred me on.
I knew I was close to 7 hours, but this meant running the final 3 miles with no walking breaks.
Crossed the line in 6.56
This medal means everything this time round.
Sorry I didn’t post last night, I walked for almost an hour to get back to my hotel and then nearly fell asleep in the restaurant, so went to bed at 8pm without dinner.
Off to get breakfast now!!!
Looking forward to coming home xxxx Julie

Jakub Czeczotka :-New York Marathon race report (late and long)
You got to give it to the Yanks, they know how to put up a spectacular bridge! If its your first time in New York for sure you will go and visit the landmark that is Brooklyn Bridge. On the course itself there are five bridges with three being significant climbs. Not a PB friendly course but spectacular nonetheless.
I wish I could write a report of how things went spectacularly well and what a great day I had. Well, I didnt. You cant cheat the marathon, if you face it with a weakness its going to be brutally exposed on the race day. No hard feelings really, I was kind of expecting it. In the last three weeks of my preparations I developed some sort of hamstring/knee issue which was difficult to pin down. Got the all clear from my physio to run the marathon with a caveat to take it easy in the taper. A short run in Prospect Park in Brooklyn on Wednesday before the race indicated I should be prepared for some bad news so I approached the run with mixed feelings of hope, excitement and disappointment. I crawled the internet for all possible hamstring stretches and raided NYC sports shops for foam rollers and rolling sticks. Im yet to have a successful build-up for a marathon where I can actually run the race I wanted.
I found the marathon village to have plenty of portaloos (good) and be very crammed (bad) so I quickly moved to the start corrals. We lucked out on the weather (sunny 12ËšC) and the conditions were perfect. As an aspiring marathoner I put a very ambitious time on my registration form (3:25) and was placed in the first out of four waves. As we moved towards the start there was the usual national anthem performance, short talk from the retiring race director and flypast from NYPD helicopters. We heard the ceremonial cannon start combined with Frank Sinatras New York New York and we were on the move! The first couple of kms is on the Verrazano Narrows bridge and is nothing short of spectacular! It really is one of these I need to pinch myself Im actually here moments!
Things were looking good, I felt fresh, the weather was fab and the views breathtaking! Crossing the first bridge is pure joy! I was surrounded by people running at the same pace so I really couldnt complain, hoping the hamstring would hold. After the bridge we entered Brooklyn and thats where you see the supporters for the first time as they are not allowed to the bridges. There is a lot of support, no doubt about it. Plenty of witty signs (pain, finish line beer and US politics being dominant subjects), photo cut-out of participant faces and general encouragement. Noise, a lot of noise, you can hardly hear your thoughts.
At about 5k I noticed that my knee/hamstring problem may be slowly coming back and its going to give me some grief throughout the day. I stopped for 20s to stretch my leg and decided that if an occasional stretch was the price to pay Id be happy with it. Little did I know.
On km 12 at Lafayette Avenue I met my support party - fresh t-shirt, isotonic drink and words of encouragement - definitely helped. As I continued through Brooklyn I ended up running next to a fancy dress Joker who was taking all the crowds attention. Not that it was a problem but I enjoyed an occasional Come on East London shout-outs. With increasing pain in my left leg I reached half point at Pulaski bridge (between Brooklyn and Queens) and started wondering if occasional stretch strategy is going to work for much longer. It was on km 25 at Queensboro bridge when I stretched and realised that it had no effect at all and my hamstring was in permanent pain. I started walking in hope of being able to run at some point. It was just the moment when the silence of Queensboro bridge turns into the noise of overwhelming support on the First Avenue (crossing from Queens to Manhattan) where I realised that I may need to walk to the finish line. Sad but true. At this point finishing was not in question but the prospect of walking for 14k with an injury was a bit daunting. I tried running again once or twice but it was quickly game over for my hamstring. White flag flying high and proud, I had a leg and a half to hobble to the finish line. I approached a stranger to make a call to my advanced party waiting for me at km 36 - severe delays on the hamstring line and they knew whats going on. I walked down First Avenue, crossed over to the Bronx and back to Manhattan on the Fifth Avenue. A longer stop with my team just before Central Park, this time, no time pressure so we could have a chat for a minute or two and I could leave no longer needed gels.
The support was, no doubt about it, pretty amazing and as I entered Central Park was only getting more intense. All these people telling me you got this! despite the fact that in my mind I clearly didnt got this as I was walking when I should have been running. How I perceived it at the time is probably my own problem, now I think that walking injured for 14k is an achievement and should be rewarded with another medal. In the end I reached the finish line (even tried to sprint finish, wish there was a video of my effort) in 4:56:07 (in my wildest dreams I was finishing 80mins earlier) but got exactly the same medal after all. I went to the medical tent (double checked if its included, we all know these nasty gossips about US healthcare) and was advised that my hamstring is very tight, kind of no longer working tight, but should be able to recover. Overuse rather than injury was definitely good news.
After some considerable walk I left the runner zone and found my support team to celebrate with pizza and beer. For the next day or two you see people all over the city walking with their medals and get a lot of congratulations from New Yorkers, very nice! To me the New York City Marathon was definitely an overwhelmingly positive experience (minus the injury obviously) and I hope I could run it again in the future.

Inter Club Vets XC, Loughton AC - Saturday 3rd November 2018

Pictures available in Photo Gallery

80 finishers.

Thames Meander Half Marathon (trail) - Saturday 3rd November 2018

533 finishers.

QEOP 10km Winter Series - Saturday 3rd November 2018

parkrun - all venues. - Saturday 3rd November 2018

Run Through Halloween 5km, QEOP - Thursday 1st November 2018

Run UK Wimbledon Half Marathon - Sunday 28th October 2018

Patrick ODea's 5km Road Race, Lissycasey. - Sunday 28th October 2018

The Bedford (Burns) Sisters raced in our Great Uncle Patrick O'Dea's 5km road race in
his home village of Lissycasy today. Sadly he passed away a couple of days before the
race last year. The family came out on mass to celebrate his life and running legacy,
he was a bit of a legend. Paula Bedford picked up first V40, with a further 2 trophies
and a cup. I got 2nd V40 and another as yet unidentified trophy. A great trophy haul
and fitting tribute to Patrick O'Dea. Well done to everyone who raced this weekend.

Huawei Venice Marathon - Sunday 28th October 2018

Pictures available in Photo Gallery

Alexandra Rutishauser-Perera:- Venice Marathon in One world : Beautifulissimo !
As some of you know, the preparations went wrong for this marathon: first way too many travels in the last 2 months then food poisoning in Amman last week which only stopped on the Friday morning #Excuses
But as I said, I hate regrets, so since I was feeling ok on Saturday morning, I decided that I would go for it with a very open mind and would stop if I was feeling unwell.
I woke up with a lot of energy on the Sunday morning, left my hotel at 6.30am and immediately spotted runners going to the shuttle bus! The temperature at 7ham was quite ok but as we arrived at the Stra ( 25kms away from Venice), it was raining heavily which was no fun for getting ready before dropping the bag. Fortunately, it stopped before we started, allowing for a good ELR start pic!
I started slowly as planned (maybe too much actually) and got to meet some nice runners on the way. We were running along a river which was gorgeous! From the start, I was feeling so grateful to my body which was allowing me to run! After 10 kilometres, I started taking a gel and thats when things started to go wrong and that my tummy started to act I had to find a bathroom urgently and fortunately Italy is a place full of cafes I wont give too much information but then, it was the same situation for the next 20 kilometres each time I was taking a gel, my stomach started to be upset and I had to have 2 more stops on the way! That was a shame cause my energy level was high and my legs wanted to go faster I finally admitted my defeat and gave up on the gels and started to rely on the bananas they were giving and some glucose candies I had kept with me! I was finally getting better, legs were going faster, I was looking forward to the last 10 kms as I was feeling very good and had been overtaking so many people since km25.
But, then, was the 4 kms long bridge , I was looking forward to it as the highlight of excitement before entering Venice and instead, it was complete hell , literally hitting a wall ! As Andy mentioned, it was pretty much like walking the wrong way down a travelator at the airport, there was so much wind blowing in our face and the drops of rain were hurting as well as the plastic glasses and bottles hitting your legs every now and then But, I never stopped running , I met Timi (the Super Vet star of Dagenham) there who told me that she couldnt run as it was taking her backwards almost everybody was walking But, quickly I was joined by a nice Italian lady: Lucia that I had met earlier and lost during one of my bathroom break and together we hold on pushing each others pace on that terrible portion looking forward to entering Venice the bridge ended with a hill which I am now really comfortable with (thanks Grant for the hills training and all the advice) but Lucia was not and she told me to continue , I was pretty sure she would catch up cause she was running well up to now.
5 kms to go now, I looked at my watch and thought that despite everything I should be able to make it under 5 hours still full of energy, I started going quicker and quicker again, this felt glorious but then at the bottom of the first set of bridges of Venice, I saw the high tides and the 20 cms of water on the pavement! Thats when I lost it and started to laugh, and laugh and laugh at the ridicule of the situation and how everything had been against finishing that race from the start We couldnt run in the water so I was power walking, still overtaking runners and embraced the whole of it ! We had bridges every 300-400meters that I could run then we were back in the water Its only in the last 200 meters that I could finally sprint to a gorgeous finish line feeling actually much better than when I finished London, it looks like I am gonna have to sign for some more marathons
Today, I felt so much alive I am grateful to my body for allowing me to run that distance in such a gorgeous place and I thank all my ELR friends for their support during training and while I was sick without forgetting coach Grant who always believe in me more than I do.

Sunday XC League - Race 1 : Cheshunt/Broxbourne - Sunday 28th October 2018

Pictures available in Photo Gallery

A Sunday League record of 544 finishers, 210 ladies and 334 men.

Worksop Halloween Half Marathon - Sunday 28th October 2018

Beachy Head 10km - Saturday 27th October 2018

Beachy Head Marathon - Saturday 27th October 2018

Sri Chimnoy 10km, Battersea Park (Golden Leaf) - Saturday 27th October 2018

Run Through Velopark 5km - Saturday 27th October 2018

parkrun - all venues. - Saturday 27th October 2018

Supernova 5km, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park - Friday 26th October 2018

Last Friday, in the cold, we run as a family the Supernova 5km at the Olympic Park.
My 4 year old first ever race...and he RUN the whole 5km, just stopping a bit to
adjust the headtorch!. So impressed as he never run more than 200 m in one go.
643 Zackery Allen-rodriguez (24453) - 42.47

Abingdon Marathon - Sunday 21st October 2018

2018 Ibiza ETU Duathlon European Championships - Standard Distance - Sunday 21st October 2018

Standard / 10km run/t1/40k cycle/t2/5k run
Danny - 38.42/ 1.15/1.01.36/1.03 /20.40 = 2.03.17
Ava - 40.27/0.59/59.17/ 1.08//21.39 = 2.03.32

Leigh On Sea 10km - Sunday 21st October 2018

Ican Triathlon Gandia Valencia (short course) - Sunday 21st October 2018

1.3km swim/ t1 /30km bike/ t2/ 7km run = short course.

Ican Triathlon Gandia Valencia Short Course Race Report
So after completing my first triathlon in September and loving it I decided I wanted another go at doing another one and with the UK season now over I decided to venture further afield discovering a race in southern Spain as a Viable option.

The distance seemed perfect it was a bit of an oddball distance 1.3km swim 30km bike and 7km but as it was the next level up from the sprint and not quite Olympic distance so seemed perfect for me. I set off Wednesday to drive down over 2 days and arrived in plenty of time to get myself race ready. I managed a 5k run Friday which was my first since pulling up with knee issues at the club runs few weeks ago, still not 100% and going into the race off the back of a few injuries and my bike crash.

This race was more about Learning more than pushing it. Race day I made my way to the bike check in everything went very smoothly and I felt quite relaxed for a change I suppose not having any expectations helped with that. Start time was 8:05 for my group so I made my way down to the harbour wall ready for the 3m jump into the water.

The swim started within a minute or 2 from entering the water so there wasnt time to acclimatise properly, The 1.3km swim was a one lap course and for me an eye opener and a massive learning curve, I started out and was faster than I thought I would be and ended up in the fast lead group for a bit until I got kicked and punched to bits for a while it was a mix of street fighter 2 turbo whilst swimming in the sea, this caused me to lose control of my breathing, and rhythm and for a few minutes I was like what the hell am I doing here, and can I really do this, I had a few times like this in the swim but eventually got my rhythm and made it into T1 I checked my watch and Id swam almost 1.4k in 23:30 which with all those issues was over 3 mins faster than my fastest time I predicted including swimming the extra distance

T1 went well managed to run through and had no dizziness like before coming from swim to bike, but on exit for T1 on the actual cycle section I fell off my bike due to not being able to fasten my left shoe, the cycle course was a 30k one lap course with a return section back to T2 the bike ride went well overall apart from a second school boy error of breaking hard as I heard a blip, thought I had gone past the T2 checkpoint to dismount but it was a lap checker pad for the longer races that had to do more than one lap, so I stacked it again with a chain off issue to fix about 200m from T2 bike dismount area, even though I had these issues I still cycled sub 1 hour for the 30k which was my goal I could of been around 2 mins faster though, but hey Im here to learn and learn I did.

T2 was uneventful again and I felt good and strong running off the bike.

The 7k run was again a 1 lap out and back course along the beautiful beach of Gandia. I held it together and managed to run where I thought I could do off the bike and the knee and ankle held up allowing me to finish good and strong.

I had set my self a few goals on the day with gold being 2 hours silver 2:05 and bronze 2:10 and Im pleased to say even though I've had no real training due to injuries leading up to the race and all of those issues on the swim and bike I managed to have an official time of 1:58:26 beating my gold target!

I also finished 168th out of 272 finishers with the competition here being a lot more professional than I was expecting. I'm happy with that all in all. I learned a hell of a lot and I'm a bit more confident in my prep of the epic equipment pack you need to tackle these races.

I dabbled in using nutrition on the bike for the first time and that went really well too. I also understand the rules a lot better and will be expecting things to beep at me when Im nearing the end of laps.

Would I recommend this race for other Triathletes?

Absolutely as Gandia is one of the most amazing places I've discovered. The front beach has dedicated paths to cycle and run on and the beach is one of the most perfect sandy beaches you will ever see and I will certainly be back again next year, defiantly for the half but maybe a full iron distance.

Now the only full iron challenge I'm tackling is the 17 hour 1900km drive home, which Im sure will be both fun and challenging!

Hopefully see you all Wednesday but until then have a good weekend.

Chelmsford Marathon - Sunday 21st October 2018

Bruges Half Marathon - Sunday 21st October 2018

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Andy Bolderstone - Bruges Half Marathon report
When my "usual" autumn marathon in Venice moved the race back a week I started searching for alternatives. 2017 was the first Bruges marathon and it has canals in Bruges so when registration opened I decided to sign up.
Training/ health wise everything has being going down hill since Brighton in April (3 2hr plus halves when I have pb'ed at 1hr49 in March's Big Half and got a 2nd best of 1.51 in Hackney) so having had a bad Royal Parks the previous week I decided to switch down to the half.
On the train over on Friday I saw Michael Bamford post on FB that he and Louis and Rachel Le Roux and Diana Rexhepaj were in Bruges. What a coincidence! It turned out they were going to race and surprise me but Michael forgot that I would see it on FB! Anyway it was a lovely surprise and we met at the registration on Saturday.
Let's get to the race - it wasn't too busy which was nice - no queuing ages for toilets or to get in the pens. The half started an hour after the marathon with a cycling style neutral zone before the race and timing started. You start on Djivers by the side of one of the beautiful canals and run down to the main canal that is like a moat enclosing old Bruges. On past city gates/forts and a few windmills before taking a turn out of Bruges. From here it was maybe 3 miles along the straightest road I ever saw passing through a dull industrial area and then fields.
At Dudzele the marathoners continue on for an out and back to the Zeebrugge on the coast whilst the rest of us head back via country lanes and fields with cattle, very unlike what you would expect from a city race. The final 2 miles are back in Bruges finishing in the beautiful Markt (if you have seen In Bruges it's where the tower is that Brendan Gleason fails to his death from).
The course is very flat and the race is never too busy. It's a definite pb course without a doubt (not sure about the marathon as they warn you that you may have to wait at a level crossing for a train to pass although your chip somehow stops if this happens). I really enjoyed although I know Rachel found it boring.
Yes I have avoided talking about my race - well I was concentrating on just getting round after having found the Royal Parks hard but I had a good steady run, averaged 8.32/mile, with a slowest mile of 8.45 and my best mile being mile 13 at 8.04/mile. I felt good, comfortable and know I had more in my legs so probably could have pb'ed or attempted the full. I finished on 1hr52.00 - my third fastest time in a half and less than 3 mins of my pb.
All in all (if you're still reading) - well organised, not too busy, city and countryside, reasonably priced and easy to get too and definitely a pb course. One for the diary and a ELR outing next year?.

Great South Run 10 miles - Sunday 21st October 2018

Mencap Hyde Park 5km & 10km - Sunday 21st October 2018

OCR World Championships 15km, Brentwood - Saturday 20th October 2018

Day 2, 15km OCR World Championships
Felt tired at the start after going all out in the 3k on Friday. The World Champs have been in USA and Canada for the last 4 years, so Nuclear Races decided to show the North Americans what British obstacle racing is like... That meant less paths and firmly packed trails, more mud, water and ditches! Deathslide and Zipline stayed in, meaning that athletes from Puerto Rico, Jamaica and other hot countrys were suddenly exposed to cold cold water!
Started strong, short sprint then straight into a 3/4 mile 50lb sandbag carry that included going over and under obstacles. Bag down and into the forest. Climbing up a soaking wet rope was interesting...
Ditches, ditches, ditches, ditches, ditches...
Water section - run round the lake, clip onto a zip line back across, then climb up onto a two storey deathslide into the freezing water. Swim to the side and then straight into the forest so no chance to warm in the sun!
Back to the event village, hitting the feature uppee body obstacles. Rigs full of rings, ropes and monkey bars. Varjagan Saga (shipped over from Europe - see photos of the bright yellow obstacles), and other Nuckear regulars designed to destroy your grip and forearms.
Back out into the grounds for another couple of miles, meaning that I now had no energy left. Gels did not agree with me (they are normally fine) so I started to flag.
Back to the village for the final slog... pick up a huge log and squat walk under some metal bars (cramp city), then up the hill to the Weaver (go over and under 15 metal bars without touching the floor). One final rig, then the final push...
Obstacle 97 of 100 - Skitch (hold onto two hooks and try to traverse over a hanging metal bar). First obstacle in two days that took me a second go. Run up the hill and carry a huge metal bomb for 100metres - killing the forearms. That left 2 obstacles. So far in two days I was 134 obstacles first time, 1 second time. All that was left was Skull Valley, which I did first time on Friday. Hands only. Five skull grips, then six wobbly monkey bars, spin round in the air and five final skulls. First attempt I messed up the spin, which ripped my hands open... now I could barely grip, deapite flying through everything until then. Four more attempts, more ripped hands and that was it. Band cut, bicep buggered.
Disappointed jog to the final wall and over the finish line. To lose out in sight of the finish line sucked, but oh well... next year!

Endurance Life CTS Suffolk Half Marathon - Saturday 20th October 2018

219 Finishers

Chingford League - Event 2 Eton Manor 5m XC, Jubilee Park - Saturday 20th October 2018

Pictures available in Photo Gallery

Team results:
Men 4th
Men B 5th
Mens Vets 6th
Women 5th
Women Vets 4th

Points scored by Sam Browne 11pts, Dan Gritton 1pt, Caroline 5pts & 7 pts, Becky 8pts & 1 pt.

2018 Ibiza ETU Duathlon European Championships - 40 - 44 Female Sprint - Saturday 20th October 2018

5km run/t1 / 18.6 km cycle/ t2 / 2.5k run
20.20 / 1.22/ 37.11 / 0.00/ 14.13

Run Through Battersea Park 10km - Saturday 20th October 2018

parkrun - all venues. - Saturday 20th October 2018

OCR (short course) 3km, World Championships, Brentwood - Friday 19th October 2018

Greenwich Triton Relay Duathlon - Sunday 14th October 2018

East London Runners were 11th of 28 teams, 3 per team
Each athlete runs 2 miles, cycle 6 miles and run 1 mile.

Michael 6.38, 7.07/ 2.59,2.55,2,56,2.58,3.00,3.47/ 7.11 = 39.36
Rachel 8.06, 8.43/3.36,3.23,3.28,3.21,3.14,3.57/ 8.27 = 46.25

2016, 2017, 2018
Michael 41.17, 39.02,39.36
Rachel 51.15, 48.01,46.25

ASDA Foundation Yorkshire Marathon - Sunday 14th October 2018

Thank you to everyone who has supported me to complete the Yorkshire Marathon yesterday! I had such a great time
I couldn't really train for it after hurting my back this year so my only goal was to finish but I managed 4:31 and felt pretty comfortable throughout - the time flew by. What it's all about really
Huge, special thanks to Nick for joining me on my training runs and the much-needed reassurance and support on the day, to my mum and Gaz for coming and supporting in the awful rain, and to Maud, Grant and everyone at East London Runners for all the brilliant advice and encouragement.
P. S: There is still time to sponsor me if you have any pennies to spare! X
https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/georgie-hooper

Wiggle South Downs Sportive - Standard 70 miles - Sunday 14th October 2018

Eindhoven Marathon - Sunday 14th October 2018

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2,082 Finishers.
35th M55 (out of 111)

Eindhoven Marathon 3.46.14
I felt great at the start and got to half way in 1.43.40 which was too fast.
Very hot sunny day (25c) and I slowed down quickly after. Kept going to the end
and was fortunate that I did not have to resort to walking in the heat. A great
relief to finish, would have liked a sub 3.45 again but in those conditions it
was always going to be difficult no matter how I paced it. When I ran Eindhoven
Marathon last year it was cold and drizzly which would have been ideal for a
faster time again!

Bedford Autodrome Sprint & Standard Duathlon - Sunday 14th October 2018

5k run/ t1 / 20k bike/ t2 / 2.5k run sprint
Dan S 18.38, 0.48, 34.06, 0.47, 10.12 = 1.04.40
Sarah 22.45, 1.03, 33.56, 0.43, 12.41 = 1.11.09

10km, t1, 40k cycle, t2, 5k run standard
40.18, 1.15, 1.10.04, 1.32, 21.38 = 2.15.19

Perkins Great Eastern Half Marathon - Sunday 14th October 2018

Marc Akers: Peterborough half marathon
I arrived at 8.30 & kept dry ish until I went to the bag drop where Kat was dropping her bag off too we see Steve dropping his bag off too.
by the time the race was about to start we were soaked Kat went into the sub 1.50 pen & I decided Id go into the sub 2hr & see how I went
The race was delayed by about 6-7 mins
I stayed with the sub 2hrs for about 4 miles & then decided I push on the miles seemed to fly past & I was running quite comfortably I saw a lot of my friends on route which was really good.
Got to mile 12 & I started pushing again & at mile 13 I pasted a friend we said hello & goodbye as pushed more & then sprinted for the line & heard a shout go dad
Didnt have a clue what my time was
I saw Kat & asked how she got on knowing she was aiming for sub 1:40 & when she told me what shed ran I was really pleased for her. I then saw my daughter who had videoed my finish & surprised me in turning up.
I will be returning next year its a great half marathon

Royal Parks Half Marathon - Sunday 14th October 2018

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Royal Parks Half 2018 - Spencer Evans Race Report.
I entered the ballot for this back in March I believe and I was lucky this year to get a place this year as last I was not so lucky and was not successful.
I arrived at Marble Arch station around 8.10 this morning and wandered down to race village, I did not know where I was going as lucky to have bumped into Andy Bee at South Woodford Station as he seemed to know the quick way as he did this event last year.
As I was queuing to deposit my baggage it started to rain heavy and I knew today was going to to be a tough one in this weather and this being my first Half Marathon I have raced since Feburary at Thorpe Park.
I then made my way to my starting pen (Orange) and here I also did my pre race warm up and bumped into William James Pearce and Ava who both very seemed confident for today.
Then the gun fired and the race was underway, "let's do this" is what I always say as I cross the start line for all races. By now the rain started to ease off a little. The first 2 miles were both in 6.19, from here I was determined to stick to my game plan Alex Bee suggested I should follow. (who I look as my coach and most importantly one of my closest friends)
Mile 3 was in 6.14 which was a little too quick, Mile was in 6.23 a bit slower than planned but had a few seconds in the bag from the previous mile. Mile 5 I started to feel good as it was mostly down The Mall which is flat and fast road, Mile 5 I clocked 6.15. From mile 6 onwards I was averaging around 6.27 pace which I began to slow down as I felt it a little as I have not done a great deal of no distance training in while so I began to look at this as start.
At halfway I clocked around 39.40 and thought I could still PB but from Miles 7-12 my pace began to drop down to around 6.30 - 6.40 per mile and here I was more realistic about myself and knew it was unlikely I would get a PB.
When I saw the Mile 12 marker I managed to speed up little and hoped to finish fairly strong, from here I looked at my Garmin and saw i was starting to speed up and when I saw the sign "800m to go" I managed to accelerate from here as I could see the finish line in the distance. I then see the "400m to go" sign and accelerated more.
I crossed the Finish Line in 1.24.52, this was 1 minute and 31 seconds slower than my PB but was still very pleased to finish in the top 150 of the entire field and to lead ELR home. There is always plenty of time to PB and hope do it for a Half Marathon next time. Watch this space.

Jacob Stevens: Royal Parks Half Marathon race report.
I was really looking forward to this race, and it didnt disappoint: the route is amazing, from the great start in Hyde Park, past Buckingham Palace and Horse Guards, along Whitehall and the Strand, and then back for a beautiful second half through Hyde Park; good support from the crowds too. It was also really well-organised, with lots of people at the water stations, plenty of toilets, and no queues for the bags. Even the weather turned out not to be as bad as Id feared: a bit of a downpour just before the start, but only a few light showers during the race itself.
My target was simply to beat my previous PB - 1:33:20 in the Big Half in March. Although my overall fitness has improved since then, that PB was set in a race where everything (preparation, weather, pacing) went perfectly, so I wasn't confident I could beat it: all my other races since then (5/10Ks) had been slower, adjusting for distance. After the first few miles I found I could increase the pace to slightly faster than target, and apart from a bit of a wobble around mile 9 where everything seemed to get harder for a few minutes (no idea why), I was able to maintain that pace for the rest of the race; I had almost no energy left for a final sprint though, so must have given it my all. I finished in 1:31:41, a 1:39 PB, which Im really pleased with. The ELR track sessions and club runs are definitely helping: thanks to Grant and the fast runners I try to keep up with on Wednesdays!


Andy reports:, Royal Parks -
I was fortunate enough to be running this for a 2nd year running. Huddling under a tree as the rain let loose half and hour before the start with Jo and Spencer we didn't feel that lucky. My last half in September had been a bad race so I decided to start a little bit off a target pace and hopefully step it up. All was going Well, better than Colchester but come 9 miles the inner chimp was saying no more! Half a mile later a big group of spectators crossed right in front of me and I collided with a buggy. It also gave me the excuse to walk. The rest of the race was tough but as targets disappeared I manage to just off my last revised target and improve on Colchester. I finished exactly 1 min slower than last year. Dash home for a bath and some food before heading off to see the NFL.

Katy Taylor:Royal Parks Half Marathon Race Report
I will keep it short:
WWW:
Superb cheering from Maya Goodwin and her raincoat.
Intrepid cheering from Peter, Lucie and Ella
Maya Goodwins refusal regardless of season to put her tanned legs away
EBI:
Weather (although wasnt too bad for most of race)
Toilets - longest queue ever!!
More noise/music very little entertainment for most of the route
Was pleased with my time though.

Victoria Park Autumn 10km - Sunday 14th October 2018

Also Alex Bee 7th 39.14 and Celia Grossett 15th lady 49.46 formerly Celia Payaneeandee.

Adidas Shoreditch 10km - Sunday 14th October 2018

Slough Half Marathon - Sunday 14th October 2018

Wimbledon Common Half Marathon - Sunday 14th October 2018

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Run The River 10km - Sunday 14th October 2018

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parkrun - all venues. - Saturday 13th October 2018

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Stuart Barton: Darndale parkrun, Dublin
What a day, it started with the alarm going off at 03:15, a quick coffee and off to pick up a few of the gang. Arrived at the airport and met up with the rest a total of 10 of us. We had picked Darndale in Dublin the parkrun does not get many runners. I had been in contact with the RD and was told that a changing room would be available. When we got to the park the guys were just opening up the room for us, we were offered tea and coffee and made very welcome. The weather for not the best so having a nice room to wait in was perfect.
A few other runners turned up and we were given the briefing a three lap run around the park all on paths with one small hill,
We all went off a little too fast but I soon settled in to a good pace.
When my watch showed 4k I noticed I could be on for a PB so I stuck with it, I overtook the guy in front of me and pushed hard, I crossed the line and was given token 6.
Looking at my watch I had got under 23 mins for the very first time.
After a quick wet wipe shower we headed to Tesco for breakfast, then we got the bus into the city center,
We went to a great little distillery in a converted pub for a tour and tasting, then we hot the pub for pint of more of Guinness.
All in all a great day with a great group of people,
Now time to look for another parkrun trip ideas welcome.

Joanna Wood: My Saturday:
Doing parkrun today
3am start today
Getting on a plane after a 3am start today
Heading to 15 degrees and rain all day
Running in the rain
Parkrun consisting of THREE laps
Parkrun consisting of THREE laps in the rain
Getting to Guinness factory to find we can't book a tour
Don't even like Guinness
Doing a whiskey distillery tour - don't like whiskey
On the positive side:
I was dressed for the weather with my waterproof jacket & winter boots (obviously not to run in)
I came first in my age category (think I was only runner)
Got my highest ever parkrun ranking at #17 (but only 18 completed it)
Tried some nice gin...... in the whiskey distillery
Consumed several pints of nice red ale in the pub
Great company (that gets a double thumbs up)
Door to door transfer via Stupot Cabs
Tucked up in bed in time for Die Hard
But in all seriousness a great day with a great group.

Chase The Sun Olympic Park 10km - Wednesday 10th October 2018

Chase The Sun Olympic Park 5km - Wednesday 10th October 2018

London Borough Kingston Half Marathon - Sunday 7th October 2018