We Are The Champions.

SAVE THE DATE

STRATFORD UPON AVON AC 2021

TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS

Sunday 12th September 2021

Registration starts 9.15am : First Events at 10.00am

The Club Championships are the single most important competitive event in the year for SUAAC and they are open to everyone in the seniors and juniors.

A huge amount of effort goes into organising and running the Championships by our volunteers and our hope and expectation is that all our athletes will prioritise the event over other activities and enter and support the club.

Whilst the event is competitive, in some cases this is the first opportunity for an athlete, particularly the youngsters, to enjoy the thrill of competition and to pit themselves against their peers but it is more important to compete against the clock and the tape measure and to try to either set a personal best or improve an existing one.

We have applied for the event to be licensed by UKA and led by our volunteer trained officials, supported by the club coaches and parents, which means results can be submitted to the Power of10 although they reserve the right to accept or not results from club run events.

The Championships for juniors will be run on a Multi Event basis under the following format:-

• To compete in the Club Championship competition, junior athletes need to compete in

2 events i.e. 1 Track, 1 Field. However, athletes can choose to just compete in a single event.

Separate from the main competition, all competitors are allowed to compete in the other Track or Field events in the programme to either set a Seasons/Personal Best or try for a new one.

• Competing for PBs will be limited to 3 events.
• Senior Competitors can compete in as many events as they wish.

How to apply :-

The application to apply for the championship is the entry form which will be sent directly to the athletes.

Please just send the entry form in well before the deadline i.e. 8^th September at the latest to Carolyne Johnston at stratford-athletics@outlook.com (no manual forms can be accepted) so the vast amount of preparation for the day isn’t a last minute rush for the team who organise it in their own time.

If you have any queries please contact the respective Age Group Leader or Coach.

Champions

Midlands T&F league

The provisional results for last weekend’s final Midland T&F fixture are printed below and, as team manager Mike Sheppard says ” despite the trials, tribulations and many absentees we won again!

An amazing all round team effort.

Congratulations all, that’s 3 out of 3 for the season !! “

Hopefully we will have a more detailed report to follow

Total Scores
Position	Team	Points
1	Stratford	259
2	Leamington C&AC	230.5
3	Rugby&N’ton	228.5
4	Nuneaton Harriers	181
5	Coventry Godiva H	108

Road Racing Round Up

Report – Stuart Lawrence-George

The strength of this club is that it’s one club for all. From the youngest junior to the most experienced of all the veterans; we all run, jump, throw or even racewalk under the banner of SAC.

The newsletter has always had a healthy dose of track and field events plus we have seen the brilliant exploits of our triathletes in Simon’s Triathlon news round up.

From this week onward we will aim to round up all the road racing exploits that our amazing members embark on week in week out.

The reports however will only be as good and as frequent as the race information we receive. So please can you let me know when you are running or have run. A full report would be immense, however just some salient details, interesting factoids and amusing incidents would be plenty to help me paint a picture.

Please drop me an email on stugeorge@hotmail.com

The Shropshire 80KM Mammothon

Report – Drew Sambridge

Carried over from the Covid impacted year of 2020, Saturday August 14^th saw the Shropshire 80km ‘Mammothon’ ultra-marathon finally take place. The event required self-navigation around the stunning but extremely hilly Shropshire Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the second half of the run largely following the Shropshire Way.

The run was created to promote and support local charities and showcase the areas incredible produce, which is great until coming to the few manned checkpoints and realising the food on offer isn’t totally conducive to high and immediate energy refuelling!!!

After ignoring a spell of indigestion from a bit of quiche I took out of politeness, I subsequently managed to ration out a couple of flap-jack bars I had provisioned in my bag for the rest of the run.

Overall, the run was enjoyable and good to have completed that sort of distance again and been able to manage the energy levels and have the body and legs feel [relatively] ok. Plus the outcome was affirmation that some good training runs and conditioning had been worth it. Unintentionally I finished in first place and set a new course record of [according to their official timing device] of 9 hours, 43 mins and 51 seconds.

And in other races….

Droitwich half marathon
15^th August

Kate Wright, I am going to type the name a lot in these reports, so I feel it is only (w)right we start with her customary brilliance.

Irrepressible when it comes to honours, she finished first in her age group and 2^nd female overall. The race also saw a welcome return to Fern Hordern after an injury had been keeping her at bay. A tremendous second place in her age group meaning a very impressive showing for both of our runners in the Worcester environs.

Hooky 6

8^th August

Another returning race to our calendar after the frustrations of last year. It’s a great 6 mile road race around the famous village of Hook Norton. An undulating two laps is there for all that take part. SAC had four participants this year.

John Butler, Allan Coldicott and David Maundrell all put in great runs for the club. Adrian Mason however ran exceptionally well; recording the brilliant time of 36.34, which is a whole five minutes & five seconds faster than his previous 6 Mile recorded best. This stellar effort landed him a well-deserved fourth place finish. Ade commented “It was the 35th event run by the Hook Norton Harriers. I’ve run in this race a few times before, lastly in 2018, but not in a Stratford vest since joining in the club in 2019. I was extremely chuffed with my 4th place finish over the 6 miles (36:34), taking over 4mins off my previous best around this friendly undulating village course.There were no medals or t-shirts this year due to COVID but prizes from the Brewery for the top three in each age category were awarded. A trip to Hook Norton is not complete without an obligatory visit to the brewery shop afterward to stock up”

Full results:
https://www.racetecresults.com/results.aspx?CId=16418&RId=709&EId=1&dt=0&so=1&st=sL0P6hT17GLleRsNVn9WeQ3DvvGYdQhgYyrdMCyXuj5xbqkfgZjrgH6DkEiqalOh

Finally, If you want to see your race mentioned drop me a line stugeorge@hotmail.com. We need to hear how all the yellow and black vests get on so please share your great race day memories with us.

But wait there is more to come

Upcoming races

If you fancy signing up now that restrictions have disappeared, and the crowds are returning, then here is a selection of which races you can join in locally and a couple further afield

• Our very own Stratford Summer Six is back on the 28^th of August. Entry to club members when all marshalling/volunteer positions have been filled.
• Tempo Events Stratford Upon Avon Big 10K Sunday 5^th September
• Kenilworth Half Marathon Sunday 12^th September
• Nuneaton 10K Sunday 12^th September
• Balsall Common 5/10k Sunday 19^th September
• THE BIG ONE London Marathon Sunday 3rd October
• Join me @ the Manchester Marathon Sunday 10^th October

Henley Swim – Thames Marathon 10k

15th August 2021

Report – Kim Lee

After signing up for London Marathon and also completing my first 100 mile cycle, I thought I’d make sure I covered all three disciplines and squeeze in a marathon swim too!

Having never swam in a river, and having done only 2 open water swims in the last 2 years and only ever swam up to 5k in the pool, it was a touch daunting. However, I was determined to approach it with my usual optimism and excitement, as I quite literally threw myself in at the deep end.

This is usually a 14k swim but due to Covid and a clash of dates with Henley Regatta it wast shortened. The event team did well to still pull off a great competition though.

Usually starting in Henley-on-Thames, it started 4km down river at Hambleden Lock. We entered one-by-one down a grassy bank and we were off.

The swim was split into 3 sections due to needing to exit the water to stroll around Hurley and Temple locks, where there were conveniently placed feed stations.

The first section was 6km, allowing me to find my rhythm, take in the scenery, work out my pacing and do some mental arithmetic on timings.

The water was lovely and clear, measuring a refreshing 17 degrees. The next section was a speedy 1.8km and the final section a boat-dodging 2.2km as we approached bustling Marlow.

Deep entry starts after each feed stop made me smile as i recalled the swim entry training sessions by Carl James a few weeks earlier . . . Disappointingly I didn’t witness any diving, just water bombing!

Overall I finished in under 3 hours, which far exceeded my expectations. Annoyingly the distance measured slightly short at 9km, but I’ll take it for my first marathon swim. I’d definitely recommend this event if anyone wants a challenge. I can’t wait to return when it is back up to the 14km.

I’m currently fundraising for Cyclists Fighting Cancer. Thank you to everyone that has sponsored me so far. The link is https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/kimberley-lee1