Pride of place this week goes to our international triathlete Race Pearce who competed for GB in the 2025 World Triathlon Age Group Championships in Australia, finishing in 5th place and 1st GB triathlete.
This result gives her automatic qualification for next year’s World Championships in Pontevedra, Spain.
A fantastic result. Well done Rachel.
U23 Ned Campbell competed in his first marathon in Lisbon, finishing in the hugely impressive time of 2:56.41.
It’s been an extremely successful month for the Campbell siblings with sister Georgie having run a sub 80 minute half at the Great Eastern half marathon a couple of weeks ago, Her chip time of 1:19:46.8 placing her in the UK top 10 half marathon runners in her U23 age category.
It was a case of another week another marathon for Susan Hunt. This time it was the Dublin Marathon in the cold, wind and rain. Well it was Dublin Susan, what did you expect ?
As well as a distance runner supreme, Susan also appears to be a poet of some merit.
Jan McLure competed in the season’s first Midland Area Winter Racewalk League fixture, where she completed her first official 10k walk at the Warwick University campus.
Sarah Odell went to Worcester racecourse for the 1st Cranathon 10k organised by the Cranstoun charity.
Cranstoun provides support to people with experience of domestic abuse, homelessness and the criminal justice system as well as individuals who use alcohol and drugs and young people impacted by substance use and other social challenges.
A hugely worthwhile cause, although the race itself didn’t sound like a bundle of fun.
I had the privilege of representing Great Britain at these Championships.
The event began with the Parade of Nations, with athletes from 73 countries walking through streets packed with cheering supporters — an unforgettable start to the week.
The 1500m swim started inside the sheltered harbour where the water was calm and smooth. Once we headed beyond the harbour walls though, it quickly became choppy and unpredictable, making it hard to sight and stay in rhythm.
I’m not very experienced in those kinds of sea conditions, so it wasn’t my fastest swim but I actually found it really enjoyable and a great learning experience.
I came out of the water in 10th place, feeling positive and ready for the next leg.
The 40km bike was a three-lap course, mixing fast flats with technical turns through Wollongong’s streets and along the coast. It was a brilliant route to ride and the atmosphere was fantastic with lots of support out on the course.
The 10km run took us on a three-lap route up to Wollongong’s lighthouse, with some solid climbs and hot conditions. The heat made it tough, but the views and crowd support more than made up for it.
I managed to move up through the field, running the second-fastest split behind Olympian Michellie Jones, who took the win.
Out of a field of 54 athletes, I finished 5th overall and 1st Brit.
It was an amazing experience — a challenging course, a beautiful setting, and an incredible opportunity to race among some of the best age-group athletes in the world.
This result gives me automatic qualification for next year’s World Championships in Pontevedra, Spain.
Ned Campbell floating over the surface at Lisbon.
Lisbon Marathon
Report – Ned Campbell
This was my first marathon. Training had been going well until a couple of weeks before when I picked up a knee injury.
Fortunately I’d completed the majority of long runs by then and I continued with minimal running and some cross trainer sessions in the gym.
On race day I felt strong for the first half and thought a sub 2hrs 50mins may be possible so I sped up for the next 10km, only to pay the price in the latter stages as my legs tired and knee discomfort worsened.
Despite falling off the intended pace, I clung on and finished with a chip time of 2:56:41 which I was very happy with considering my inexperience at this distance and less than ideal run up.
Overall I learned a lot and am confident of improving my time in the future, with a few tweaks to training and race day pacing.
Lisbon is a vibrant city and was a brilliant place to run a marathon.
Georgie Campbell
A couple of weeks prior to brother Ned’s Lisbon Marathon, sister Georgie competed in the Great Eastern Half marathon, finishing as 6th female in a sub 80 minute chip time of 1:19.46.8, a time that I think places her 8th in the current U23 UK female rankings over this distance.
This followed on from her finishing as 1st female in the Birmingham Half Marathon in May with a chip time of 1:21.18.
A pretty good October for the Campbell siblings
Big oak trees from little acorns grow.
Just to embarrass them, these photos are of Georgie and Ned running for our junior XC team in October 2015.
A wet but happy Susan Hunt
I’m guessing Susan must have a pretty big collection of race medals.
An Ode to The Dublin Marathon
Susan Hunt
There was an auld woman called Sue,
Who ran 26 and point 2
Through the wind and the rain,
she was froze to the brain,
while the crowd were all shoutin’, “woohoo!”
At mile 20 and nearly half-cracked
Said “I’ll finish, I’m sure that’s a fact!
But Jaysus, me knees,
And the state of me, please —
I might need yer man’s taxi out back!”
The oul dear was banjaxed as can be,
Said, “I’m grand but it’s freezin’, feck me!
I’m soaked to the bone,
legging miles on me own
so I might stop at mile 23”
Well she finished, as proud as they come
Says, “Me legs? B’Jaysus, they’re numb!
Next year, fair play,
I’ll be cheerin’ away
From the pub, with a much warmer bum”
(Limerick Marathon next year?)
Jan McLure
1st Midland Area Winter Racewalk League Fixture
Report – Jan McLure
Sunday 26th October was the 1st of 3 races in the Midlands Area Race Walk Association Winter series, which comprises of both a 5k and a 10k race over 3 dates in October, November and December.
I was the only Stratford AC member competing, Paul Hawkins unfortunately had to drop out due to illness.
I was just happy that the previous day’s rain had disappeared and we were left with cold and windy but at least dry conditions.
The 1st race is on a relatively flat 1k loop around the Warwick University campus and for the first time I had decided to enter both the 5k and 10k race distances.
Conditions were good and there were 14 entrants for the 5k race and 9 continuing on to walk the 10k distance.
For the first time this year, rather than competing at both distances in 2 separate races, the association changed the rules, so that everyone who entered the 5k race receives a time and only those in the 10k race then continue on to walk the 2nd 5k to make up the total distance.
So, I walked the full 10k and received a time for both the 5k and the 10k, rather than having to walk 15k as it has been in the past!
I have personally been battling for a while now to beat my own 5k racewalk PB (33:08), having somehow set my best ever time in only the 2nd ever official racewalk competition I entered back in January 2024!
Unfortunately, Sunday wasn’t the day either and I was disappointed, despite some very good times in training in the run up, to only get 33:50 on the day.
However, it’s much easier to train at the faster pace but quite another thing when you have multiple judges holding clipboards and paddles staring at your knees as you walk!
The winning time for the 5k racewalk was 30.23 by Carolyn Derbyshire of Nuneaton Harriers.
I was pleased to have completed my 1st ever race at the 10k distance, so I guess the upside on Sunday was that I set my 10k Racewalk PB at 1:09:51, so perhaps that will become my next impossible target to beat!
The winning time for the 10k racewalk was 1:02:04 by Wendy Kane also of Nuneaton Harriers.
Blimey, they all walk fast in Nuneaton!
Any individual medal / age awards will be presented at the 3rd and final race in December.
Sarah Odell
Cranathon 10k (The Beechams edition)
Report – Sarah Odell
Having woken up on Sunday morning full of cold, I thought to myself well I’ve entered so I might as well go, so I dosed myself up and off I went to Worcester racecourse for the 1st Cranathon 10k organised by the Worcester Cranstoun charity.
Cranstoun provides support to people with experience of domestic abuse, homelessness and the criminal justice system as well as individuals who use alcohol and drugs and young people impacted by substance use and other social challenges.
The course had not been advertised so I was going in blind. The race was due to start at 10am, so I did a warm up to see if I could breath then waited by the start, 10am came and went, finally about 10.15 and freezing by this time, one of the organisers said the 10k starts on the other side of the racetrack follow me, so off we followed for a 10 minute walk.
When we arrived at the start he then said the route is 3.5 laps of the racetrack, the throughs which came into my head are not printable in a family newsletter!!
Finally at about 10.30 we started and for the whole race we dodged dog walkers and kids on bikes. On my 3rd lap a little boy had a tantrum and threw his bike on the path right in front of me, luckily I was able to jump over it, his dad looked mortified!
Somehow I managed to finish but I was very lightheaded crossing the finish line.
The advantage of a small field of 170 runners, is that I somehow managed to finish 20th overall, 4th lady and 1st oldie.
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