Midland League T&F

Stoke on Trent

Saturday 29th August

Report – Mike Sheppard

What a brilliant team effort it was on Saturday.  

Despite the rain and chillier conditions I thought it was a really fun day out. 

The provisional results are in and show that we finished 3rd team on the day, our best results of the season by some distance. 

There were many high quality performances backed up by fantastic team spirit and a determination to harvest every point possible for the cause. 

For such a small squad to earn 400 points against strong competition is great going by any standard. 

To avoid being one of the 3 teams relegated from Division 2, we had to finish at least 3 positions (& therefore 3 points) ahead of both Gloucester and Birchfield in this match and by finishing 3rd on the day (5 points) we gave ourselves a glimmer of hope. Gloucester could only manage 7th (1 point). 

So far, so good.  Unfortunately for us, a weak performance from already-relegated match hosts Stoke meant they finished 6th, an agonisingly short distance behind Birchfield in 5th. Fifth place won Birchfield 3 points and means that for the season overall they have pipped Stratford by 0.5 points. 

Barring unforeseen twists, we therefore go down along with Stoke & Gloucester. However, we can sleep well knowing that we gave it our best shot and very nearly pulled over the greatest escape since Houdini..

Although It is disappointing to lose out by such a small margin, our small team of athletes and officials has been nothing short of heroic over the season as a whole and I thank them all for their commitment. 

Next season will be here before you know it.

Mike Lambert Open

Bank holiday Monday

Report: Richard Harrison and David Jones

U16 thrower Ben Harrison threw a 3m PB in the discus at the Mike Lambert Open meeting on Bank holiday Monday, to finish 3^rd overall and 2^nd in his age group.

Ben threw well across the event, starting with two throws at 24m on a slippery wet surface, before nearly equaling his personal best on his third.

However, as the ground dried out Ben threw a personal best on his fourth throw of 28.17m. The 15-year-old was not finished though and finished the event with a throw of 29.34m to set a personal best for the second time in 15 minutes.

The distance puts him ranked 7^th in the West Midlands for Ddscus in his age group.  He is now aiming to find another 67cm and break 30m in his last two competitions of the year. 

There were several others of our junior athletes competing at this meeting.

U14 Martha Edwards won her high jump competition with a best jump of 1.41m. Martha wasn’t helped by a cross wind which no doubt preventer her from jumping higher. 

The Allen brothers had a bust day with U12 Jasper  ran PBs in both his 70m hurdles with a time of 14.97 and his 75m in 11.66. His U14 brother Fynn, won his long jump with a PB of 5.03m and was 2nd in the shot put, with yet another PB of 10.74. He also ran the 80m hurdles in a time of 15.43.

In the 800m, U16 Jasmine Mothershaw ran a 4 second PB, recording a time of 2:35.28. U16 Carter McKenzie recorded at time of 2:06.89 as he strives towards a sub 2:00 time. He has made a big jump from his time of 2:24.71 just 5 months ago. Carter also lowered his 300m best time to 40.68.

Finally U12 Isla Gould lowered her 75m time to 12.39.

Hopefully I haven’t missed anyone. Apologies if I have.

Duff Man (AKA Nigel) Runs Silverstone! 🦸‍♂️🏎️

Report – Nigel Chidgey

I didn’t really think about putting a report together for this one, but then I thought… why not? After all, how often do you get to run around Silverstone dressed like a middle-aged superhero? 😂

Last weekend I headed off to CarFest — which, if you don’t know, is basically a glorious mash-up of Music, Cars, Wellness, Food, Drink and pretty much everything else you can think of.

It’s a fantastic event and, more importantly, raises a huge amount of money for BBC Children in Need (Pudsey) and many other great charities. ❤️

Anyway, when I booked the tickets and spotted they were doing a “Festive Dash”, I thought:

“3K? Around Silverstone? Piece of cake. Sign me up!” 🏃‍♂️

What I didn’t properly notice was the small detail that it was FANCY DRESS.

Fast forward to last week…

“Gulp.” 😳

A frantic search through the wardrobe produced absolutely nothing suitable. So, there was only one thing for it…

The old outfit had to come out again.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen…

DUFF MAN WAS BACK. 🦸‍♂️🍻

Duff Man headed to the start line with around 300 other fancy-dress runners and walkers. There were some absolutely brilliant outfits and the atmosphere was fantastic from start to finish.

I’ll admit, it wasn’t exactly my fastest 3K — although trying to run while dressed like Duff Man probably isn’t going to get me selected for the Olympic squad anytime soon! 😂

But honestly, it was brilliant fun, a great atmosphere, and for a fantastic cause.

Would I do it again?

Absolutely.

Would I wear the Duff Man suit on a Monday track night?

Absolutely not. 😂🦸‍♂️

Running calendar 2026/7 – see below

Hi everyone – it occurred to me that there are many events out there that we only get to hear about when it’s too late. So I’ve drawn up a rather arbitrary list of (mostly) running events that I have either done, or fancy doing, or sound interesting. 

I hope some of you find it useful.

I know people are already planning their 2027 events so I’d really grateful if you please could email me with simply the date and name of events that you’re doing that might be of interest to others so I can update the list. Please also send past events.

It’s in reverse date order, with lots of past events – but if you look through those you’ll know broadly speaking when they will occur next year. I will add to it as time goes by.

I’ve asked David to send this out with the newsletter, and I will update it and maybe have it re-sent once a month. 

There will be a hard copy behind the bar at the Sports Club as well. Please feel free to add to that (good old pen and paper, can’t beat it…)

Thanks 

Jill Wilson

jillwilson1956@icloud.com

Note: all events are on Sunday unless otherwise marked

‘*’ means hard to get into – plan well ahead

No ‘*’ doesn’t mean you don’t have to plan well ahead – just that I don’t know

September 2027

19/9/27 Copenhagen half

18/9/27 Sheffield trail marathon and 25k

June 2027

19/6/27 Saturday Oxford Trail marathon and 25k

May 2027

29-30/5/27 Edinburgh marathon festival – full, relay, half, 10k, 5k

23/5/27 Hilly 100 – SAC organised 10 x 10 mile relay

16/5/27 Worcester marathon / half / 10k

9/5/2027 Oxford town & gown 10k

2-3 May Milton Keynes Marathon weekend – all distances

April 2027

25/4/2027 * London marathon 

18/4/27 * Manchester marathon 

18/4/27 Düsseldorf half marathon

11/4/27 Royal Copenhagen City half

11/4/27 Leicester big 10k

11/4/27 Mersey tunnel 10k

4/4/27 * London Landmarks half

4/4/27 Brighton marathon

4/4/27 * Berlin half

3/4/27 Saturday Prague half

March 2027

21/3/27 Twin Lakes 20 or 10 miles

21/3/27 Gloucester 10k / half

14/3/27 Cambridge half

14/3/27 * Ashby 20 miles entries open Monday 26 October 7pm

7/3/27 Malaga half

7/3/27 Lisbon half

7/3/27 Pitsford water trail run – 10k/half – Brixworth Country park 

6/3/27 Rhayader round the lakes 10k / 30k

February 2027

28/2/27 Banbury 15 miles 

January 2027

Tba Round Sheffield winter run – 20k in 11 stages

31/1/27 Warwick half

December 2026

27/12/26 Ribble Valley 10k

13/12/26 Hooky Christmas Canter

13/12/26 Westonbirt House Christmas 10k

6/12/26 * Valencia half

November 2026

29/11/26 Winter nine locks challenge 10k

15/11/26 Conwy half

15/11/26 Broadway marathon (50k) and half marathon (25k). Both trail events

7/11/26 Saturday Dirt Half (miles or metric) – Leighton Buzzard – trail run

1/11/26 Cirencester half

October 2026

18/10/26 Great South Run  – 10 mile, 5k

18/10/2026 Walton Hall 10k

11/10/26 Leicester half / 10k

11/10/26 Oxford half

11/10/26 Milton Keynes half

11/10/26 Slcester 10k

4/10/26 Glasgow half

4/10/26 Sherwood Pines trail 10k/half/marathon

4/10/26 Manchester half 

4/10/26 Monsal Trail Half

4/10/26 * Cardiff half

September 2026

27/9/26 Rugby 10 mile (WRRL)

27/9/26 Loch Ness marathon and 10k 

20/9/26 Cheltenham 10k / half 

19/9/26 Cotswold Way Century (CWC) 100k  and half (50k) both trail

13/9/26 Worcester city 10k and half 

13/9/26 Balsall Common 10k (WRRL)

13/9/26 Great North Run half 

6/9/26 Kenilworth half (WRRL)

6/9/26 Westonburt half/10k/5k

6/9/26 Banbury 10k

August 2026

30/8/26 Pershore Plum 10k

30/8/28 Sydney marathon (thanks Abby)

30/8 Chapel World bog snorkelling championships

30/8 Windsor 10k/half trail

30/8 Timberhonger trail 10k

19/8/26 Wednesday CoBS Summerfield 5k (WRRL)

15/8/26 Saturday Blackpool run the lights 5k & 10k

14/8/26 Friday Stratford summer 6

9/8/26 Richmond Thames Meander – multiple distances trail

2/8/26 Hooky 6 Road race

July 2026

12/7/26 Compton Verney 10k and half

12/7/26 North brook 10k (WRRL)

10/7/26 Coombe Abbey 10k

5/7/26 Timber trails trail 10k

5/7/26 Shrewsbury 10k

5/7/26 Evesham 10k

5/7/26 Cleobury Mortimer 10k

4/7/26 Saturday Serpent Trail 10k/20k upwards

4/7/26 Saturday Birmingham Black Country half

June 2026

28 June Lundy Island race – half marathon – ask Kate

27-28/6/26 Saturday/sunday Round Sheffield summer run – 20k in 11 stages

21/6/26 Dambuster triathlon – Rutland water

20/6/26 Saturday Malvern Midsummer Marathon and half marathon – runners and walkers

14/6/26 Two Castles 10k (WRRL)

13/6/26 Saturday Off’s dyke 15 – trail run Hay-on-Wye to Kington

6-7/6/26 Blenheim palace triathlon

6/6/26 Saturday Tysoe windmill 5k and 10k

3/6/26 Wednesday sphinx 5 (WRRL)

May 2026

31/5/26 Summer nine locks challenge 10k

31/5/26 Cotswolds hilly 100

21/5/26 Thursday Ryton 5 (WRRL)

17/5/26 Chester half

9/5/26 Magna Carta 10k/half/marathon trail at Runnymede

April 2026

12/4/26 Massey 5k (WRRL)

12/4/26 Rutland half

March 2026

20/3/26 Welshpool 10k

11/3/26 Wednesday Teddy Hall Relays – Oxford 

February 2026

22/2/26 Bourton 10k nb booking opens on 1 dec and sells out immediately

15/2/26 Nick Beer 10k (Llandudno)

January 2026

11/1/26 Fladbury Festive 5