August highlights
A few of the events to look out for in August
August kicks off with the club handicap on Saturday 2 August. This month will see two handicap ‘regulars’ running their 100th handicap: Sid Wills and Phil Cuypers, If you can’t run but would still like to celebrate Sid and Phil’s achievement, then please think about helping out (email handicapper@serpentine.org.uk if you can help). Also on Saturday, there’s the last Southern Athletics League (SAL) match of the season in Thurrock, where the Serpie team are hoping that a good result could mean promotion to division 2 for next season. The Sri Chinmoy races in Battersea Park have been growing in popularity with Serpies this year and a few are bound to be running the Sri Chinmoy 10k, which is also on Saturday; and the Oyster Shed is the venue for Saturday evening’s eagerly awaited Serpie Summer Party.
Hopefully some of those racing the London Triathlon on 2 & 3 August will be able to make it to the party, although probably not those with an early Sunday start. Also on Sunday, to blow the post-party cobwebs away, are the Regent’s Park 10k and a thank-you cycling session for Serpie volunteers at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park velopark. On Sunday there’s also a trail group run - retracing the route of the "Pick'n'Mix" LDWA event which was held earlier in the year, with a choice of 8 or 16 miles on a figure-of-8 course through pretty Chiltern countryside around Great Missenden.
Wednesday 6 August is the last day for Sue Barty, our honorary secretary, to receive members’ nominations for committee posts – in particular Sue is keen to hear from anyone who is interested in the role of Juniors Coordinator. The penultimate Assembly League race of the year will be on Thursday 7 August on a 3.5 mile course in Victoria Park. There’s no need to sign up in advance for Assembly League races, just turn up with your Serpie top and run.
On Saturday 9 August there will be at least four Serpies running the North Downs Way 100-mile run, while another group will be running the Pride Run 10k. The RideLondon-Surrey Classic and 100 cycle rides are both on Sunday 10 August, so a chance for some to ride and others to get out and support the professional riders in the Surrey Hills.
Serpentine has had one of their best seasons ever in the Rosenheim track & field league and has qualified for the league final for the first time in many years, which takes place on Wednesday 13 August at Tooting Bec. On the same day, there’s a WLAN open track & field meeting at Willesden Stadium and we’re hoping to see some of our junior athletes taking part. On Friday 15 August the Meal of the Month social event will be a trip to the Great British Beer Festival – see MOTM web page for details.
On Saturday 16 August it’s the annual Race the Train event in mid Wales and on Sunday 17 there’s the Burnham Beeches half marathon, Splash & Dash Aquathlon – which is the latest London League event, plus Serpentine’s home Summer League fixture in Battersea Park. We’re hoping to see lots of Serpies running or helping out and providing the customary Serpie spread of goodies for competitors to tuck into after the races.
The Victory Services club is the venue for the 2015 club AGM, which will start at 8pm on Wednesday 20 August. The club runs will start early and the bag room will be closed early to enable everyone to get to the AGM in good time. We hope that plenty of you will come along to have your say in the future of our club.
There will be at least four Serpie teams taking part in the National club triathlon relays in Nottingham on Saturday 23 August – watch this space for news about who comes out on top from the ‘runners’ versus ‘triathletes’ team match! On the same day there are a few Serpies signed up for the scenic Thames Meander marathon and half marathon. On August bank holiday Monday, the Serpie trail group will be carrying on the long-standing Serpie tradition of a summer re-run of the Tanners route through the Surrey Hills. This will be a led social group with a choice of 14, 20, 26 or 30 miles.
The fourth in the Thames Turbo sprint triathlon series will take place on Monday 25 August. On 27, 28 and 29 August, the various distance routes that make up the Ultra Trail du Mont-Blanc have at least 7 Serpies signed up for this beautiful but gruelling challenge. A bit nearer to home, the August Last Friday of the Month 5k will be on Friday 29 August, and the month is rounded off with the ever-popular Vitruvian middle distance triathlon.
Looking ahead into early September, the last chance to run an Assembly League race in 2014 is on Thursday 4 September in Beckenham.
There's more information about lots of these events on the Serpie events planner.
Sally Hodge
communications@serpentine.org.uk
Submitted: 30 July 2014