A great weekend. Nice cakes as well.

Running Weekend

Thirty run wild in Shropshire…

…while simultaneously consuming their own body weight in flapjack

Report – Jill Wilson

Thirty club members returned to 16th century Wilderhope Manor on Wenlock Edge in the Shropshire Hills for a weekend of running, eating, quizzing, cycling, nattering, laughing, walking, swimming and much more.

It was arguably even better than last year’s event and a good time was had by all.

After the now traditional Friday night chilli dinner followed up by Susan Hunt’s fun quiz (do you know your shoe brand logos? No, thought not!) we went out running on a glorious fresh sunny morning. 

One group ventured to Shrewsbury parkrun (highly recommended) where they encountered a stag party dressed as bananas… 

Another three groups headed up Carding Mill valley to the Long Mynd to cover trail distances of eight up to twenty-ish miles.

It was the perfect day, with big skies – the sort that give you that ‘on-top-of-the-world’ feeling. Just the best day to take in the breathtakingly spectacular views.

If you’ve never been (quite a few of us hadn’t) – just do it – it’s virtually on our doorstep!

Several hours later after re-fuelling back at base, there were more runs as well as local walks to be had (cows notwithstanding), plus time for relaxing in the sunshine.

Dinner was a good pub meal  at the welcoming George & Dragon in nearby Much Wenlock. 

Last year we had ‘bat-gate’ with several bats appearing at bedtime in what became known as the ‘bat-dorm’. No sign of the bats this year; instead we had mouse-gate. The little rodent(s) had expensive tastes for their midnight feasts – enjoying two running vests as well as a couple of cereal bars and an apple. Well done to Jen and Kendra for dealing with it – the rest of us slept peacefully on….

Sunday saw some more running, a swimming outing to the reservoir up in Carding Mill Valley (at the ‘perfect’ temperature of 14.3°c) and some short walks before heading home at midday after a wonderful relaxing, invigorating, exhausting away-from-it-all weekend with friends. 

On Friday night there had been talk of there being far too much cake. However by midday Sunday, the last morsel had been consumed, proving that there can never be too much cake, not where runners are concerned.

Big thanks are due  to Lisa, Sandie, Miranda and the countless others who played their part in making this weekend so special. It was another fabulous SuAAC running weekend in a fabulous place. 

There is talk of next year already, possibly a new location as sadly Wilderhope Manor rumoured to be closing very soon. 

Thank you from one very satisfied customer.

 
The ESAA Combined Events Championships

Report – Paul Bearman

These championships’ are held over two rounds, the regional and national championships. Athletes enter through selection for their county schools’ team depending on their performance at the county competitions and this year we had an unprecedented 6 athletes representing Warwickshire and Lila Gallinagh representing Worcestershire & Herefordshire over 2 days at the Bedford International Stadium. 

Combined Events is an arduous competition and requires athletic ability and technical skill across numerous events including running, hurdling, throwing and jumping depending on the age of the competitors. This is combined with doggedness and stamina. 

The competition across all the age groups is tough with the very best combined eventers in England taking part and first up were the junior boys including Toby Wilkinson and Fynn Allen.

Toby finished in 27^th place with a total of 2241 points which was a big PB and said “I was really pleased with my first ESAA Combined Events Final. I came away with four event PBs out of five: a 27cm improvement in shot put (10.37m), a solid run in the hurdles (17.98s), an improvement in high jump even with a bit of hesitation on the approach (1.50m) and finally breaking 5 metres in long jump (5.02m), which I wasn’t expecting as it was a 50cm pb.

By the time I reached the 800m I was feeling tired, but I still managed to move up three places, even if the time wasn’t one of my best (2.24.87) – it still gained me 3 places in the final placings.

Considering I’ve been dealing with an injury for much of the season, I was happy with how I performed overall – I just need to find my stand-out event (s) to push me up the results tables. Now that I’m fully recovered and back to full fitness, it felt good to compete properly again. It was a great experience and it’s definitely something I want to come back to next year – moving up an age group will be a new challenge to face next season!

Like Toby, Fynn Allen started the day amazingly well with 3 PB’s in Hurdles 12.42s, Shot 10.17m and Long Jump 5.08m. Going into the High Jump and feeling confident, unfortunately things didn’t go to plan, having 3 no jumps at his opening event resulted with zero points which was a huge penalty as its imperative to get points in each discipline to stay competitive in the overall competition. However, unperturbed by the disappointment in the |high Jump, he ran a good 800m in 2.29.37 and finished the day in 33^rd with 2055 points in 4 events. This shows how good it could have gone and his potential for next year. “Great experience and lessons to be learned”.

Lila Gallinagh competed in the junior girls event but had been struggling with a nagging back issue going into the championships and her solid performance in her first 3 events, Hurdles 13.73s, Shot 8.96m and High Jump 1.44m was shattered by having 3 no jumps in the Long Jump so no points. Putting her disappointment aside she ran another good race in the 800m in 2.43.04 giving her a total of 2147 points and finished in 39th place

The Inter girls Lolita Newby Vincent and Annabel Stacey competed over 2 days in the Heptathlon and both had a single event that messed up their overall performance.

Annabel had her disappointment in the very first event, the hurdles, when she clipped the penultimate hurdle that sent her crashing onto the track and badly grazed her legs but she gamely got up and finished the race to get herself some points. Despite her injury she jumped 1.53m in the High Jump, just under her PB, 7.26m in the Shot, PBs in the 200m (28.78s) and 4.57m in the Long Jump16.62m in the javelin and finished a painful 800m in 2.34. 22 giving her a points total of 3228 and finished in 33^rd place.

Lolita’s competition was a tale of “bookends” i.e. her first and last events where she had her best event in the hurdles, recording a PB of 13.15s and then had a series of steady events; 1.41m in the High Jump, 8.03m in the Shot, 28.35s in the 200m, 4.19m in the Long Jump and 14.52 in the Javelin. The final event, the 800m, is one of Lolita’s strongest events but with no explanation from the track judges about where to break after the start, she ran a blistering race only to be told at the finish that she had been disqualified for a “technical infringement i.e. she cut in too quickly!

Afterwards Lolia reflected “this was my first year doing Combined Events and my first full year at Stratford upon Avon Athletics Club, so getting the chance to represent Warwickshire at the ESAA Combined Events Final was something I was really proud of. Being at the finals showed me how much more there is still to learn, but it has also made me really excited about what I can achieve next year with a big thanks to my coaches and teammates”.

Will Hovell competed in the Intermediate Boys 8 event Octathlon and said “I was so happy for the experience I have gained from this year’s ESAA championships but sadly it didn’t go to plan. I’ve done this sport long enough now to realise that days and weekends don’t always go to plan and as an athlete you have to take it as a learning experience. After a dodgy first day it was both mentally and physically tough to keep pushing, knowing the first day wiped out my chances of getting the score I wanted”. 

Will produced a series of “steady” performances over the weekend with 1.59m in the High Jump, 10.43m in the Shot, 54.75s in the 400m, 5.43m in the Long Jump and 28.18 in the Javelin, 17.37m in the hurdles and 20.77m in the Discus.

Will continued “the highlight of my weekend was winning my 1500m heat by over 100m and bumping my overall place up 7places, finishing 22nd with the fastest 1500m of the weekend. 

The highs and lows are a big part of combined events and I’m grateful for having experiences like this as in the long run it will make me a stronger and more resilient athlete both mentally and physically. I’m thankful for all the support I’ve had and to the people who make these opportunities possible”.

Seb Hillard had a brilliant weekend and after competing in the senior boys 10 event Decathlon he reflected, “after competing at my final ESAA Combined Events Championships, I scored 6,117 points to secure 4th place overall; up two spots from last year!  

Day 1 threw a few challenges my way, but staying composed allowed me to reset and carry full momentum into Day 2. That focus paid off with PBs in both throws: 35.92m in discus and 47.92m in javelin. A tough, rewarding weekend to cap off my ESAA journey”.

I was away on holiday and so I was being fed updates with all the thrills and spills, highs and lows, excitement and disappointments but what this superb group of multi-talented athletes showed was that even after a long 8 month competitive season of training and competing they can still produce some outstanding performances that they can be proud of and take into the winter and come back stronger next year.

The Cotswold Century

Report – Seth Turner
 

This is a well-established 102-mile ultramarathon following the iconic Cotswold Way National Trail from Chipping Campden to Bath, along the western edge of the Cotswold escarpment.

With its relentless hills and over 4,500 metres of elevation, it is beautiful and brutal in equal measure — a genuine test of resilience, endurance and, at times, sheer stubbornness.

This was my third and by far longest ultra of the year. Having run the race once before, three years ago, I naturally had one objective this time around: go faster.

With a record field of 113 entrants, we set off at 11am on Saturday, with the final cut-off at 7pm the following day — giving us 32 hours to cover the 102 miles. My target was considerably more ambitious: I wanted to be finished in under 24.

The first 50 miles went almost exactly to plan. I maintained a steady, controlled pace, stayed on top of my nutrition and minimised time spent at the checkpoints. I reached the halfway point at Painswick bang on schedule, feeling good and, perhaps dangerously, quite confident.

After a bowl of vegetarian chilli and a cup of tea, I headed back out into the darkness feeling positive about my prospects.

But ultras have a habit of reminding you who is really in charge.

By the 60-mile checkpoint at Coaley Peak, just two hours later, things had started to unravel. Running through the darkness, I tripped a couple of times over tree roots and rocks, leaving me with cuts, bruises and a broken hiking pole. More worryingly, my stomach had begun to rebel. After hours of gels and sports drinks, I was finding it increasingly difficult to get any nutrition down.

In a long ultra, this can become a vicious circle. You stop fuelling because you feel sick, which leaves you short of energy, which makes it harder to eat and drink, which leaves you even more depleted.

Before long, the wheels can come completely off. Plenty of races have ended in a DNF for exactly this reason.

So I backed off the pace and concentrated on one thing: just keep moving.

I eventually reached the 70-mile checkpoint at Wootton-under-Edge Church feeling thoroughly drained. My stomach was still queasy, my legs were heavy and the 24-hour target was rapidly disappearing into the distance. I forced down a cup of tea and a bowl of spaghetti hoops, gave myself a fairly stern talking-to, and headed back out.

The plan was simple: get to the 80-mile checkpoint. Once I had 80 miles in the bag, there would be ‘only’ 20 to go. At that point, I told myself, the finish would be as good as done.

By 80 miles, the lack of energy and the accumulated punishment in my legs had reduced me to little more than a fast shuffle. Every incline seemed steeper, every step seemed harder and the finish still felt a very long way away.

Then, slowly, the night began to give way.

Dawn is a pretty special thing when you’ve been running through darkness for hours. As the first light crept across the Cotswold hills, the world around me started to come alive again. Birds replaced the silence, the landscape emerged from the darkness and, somehow, so did I.

At 85 miles I reached Tormarton and was greeted by my wife who had come out to crew and support me and what may have been the finest bacon sandwich I have ever tasted. Whether it was objectively sublime or simply the product of 85 miles of exhaustion is impossible to say, but it worked. Something clicked.

I picked up the pace again.

There was still a long way to go, but I was going to finish strong.

The final miles became a mixture of fatigue, determination and sheer relief. I kept moving, eventually making my way into Bath and through the crowds of tourists around midday. After more than 25 hours on my feet, the sight of the Abbey and my wife waiting for me at the finish was almost overwhelming. I may even have shed a couple of tears. Mostly relief. Mostly pride. And probably a little bit of exhaustion-induced delirium.

My final time was just over 25½ hours, some way behind the frankly astonishing winning time of just over 17 hours. I finished 20th overall and 1st in the V50 age group.

It wasn’t the sub-24-hour finish I had set out for, but I was still really pleased with the result.

In races like this, there comes a point where the clock becomes almost irrelevant. When your body is telling you to stop and your mind is telling you that you can’t possibly carry on, simply getting to the finish is an achievement in itself.

The Cotswold Century is a fantastic local race, made even better by the incredible community of volunteers manning the checkpoints. I was particularly pleased to see such a strong and competitive field this year, and I’d love to see the race continue to grow.

The introduction of the Half Century this year should hopefully help with that too, giving more runners the opportunity to experience the event without necessarily taking on the full 102 miles.

I’d recommend the Cotswold Century to anyone looking to experience some of our beautiful local trails while finding out just how far determination can carry you.

Because when you’ve got 102 miles to run, there will inevitably come a point when you have absolutely nothing left.

And then you find a little bit more.

End of Season Track and Field Open

Pingles Stadium

20th September

Report – David Jones

After a long hard T&F season,10 of our hard working juniors’ rounded their season off by competing at this meeting.

The day got off to a flying start for our members with the opening 1500m race. 3 of our girls finished in the top 8 of the female race. Lucia Ogilvie-Putt finishing in 2nd place with a time of 5:16.97, Jasmine Mothershaw was 5th in 5:30.16 and Poppy West finished 8th in 5:41.65. Lucia also recorded a time of 46.13 in her 300m race.

In the male race, Charlie Jay Cassells was 5th in a PB time of 4:36. Charlie was 1st U14, only being beaten by Masters, Senior and U16 athletes. In what was another busy meet for this hard working athlete, he also ran the 200m in 29.18 and cleared 3.93m in the long jump.

Carter McKenzie opted not to run his preferred 800m distance, choosing the 300m, where he finished 4th in his heat with a time of 39.99. He was also 1st in his 100m heat with a time of 12.76. Brother Sam McKenzie ran his 200m in 24.79 and over the same distance, Alex Wood recorded a time of 22.69, the 5th quickest of the 86 runners’ who ran this distance on the day.

In the 100m, Arthur Mansbridge recorded a time of 11.88, the 13th quickest of the 108 who competed over this distance.

Alice McIntosh threw 25.28m in the Javelin, to finish 1st paced U14 female.

Finally, Ben Harrison threw 28.72 in the discus. I suspect Ben will be slightly disappointed with this, having thrown over 30m at the recent club champs but he should remember that he has made tremendous  improvement this past 12 months and he should also bear in mind that he started the year with a PB of 22.32m.