July highlights
A few of the events to look out for in July
July begins with the club's home Rosenheim League track & field meeting on Wednesday 1 July at Battersea Track. In addition to athletes, who can compete at the event for free, we urgently need more helpers to make sure that all the events can go ahead as planned. Please contact Stephanie Vaatz if you can help or for more information. On Thursday 2 July there is an Assembly League 5k race at the O2 with no pre-entry needed to race.
The first Saturday in July has both the club's July handicap and the next SAL track & field meeting, which will be held in Watford. Serpentine really needs to win this SAL match to keep in the running for league promotion, so please contact one of our captains if you are interested in taking part in any of the events: women's captain Lisa Pettit or men's captain Nicola Barberis Negra. This meeting has the first ever SAL 5000m race for women, and we want to see a good turnout for the race as we were one of the clubs pushing for it to be on the timetable! So if you don't normally do track and field as you think it's too short - this race is for you. The SAL is open to senior athletes, plus U20s and U17s (i.e. you need to be 15 or over on 31 August 2015). On the same day there's also the Sri Chinmoy 10k in Battersea Park. Sunday 5 July will be a busy day of racing, with the Summer League in Perivale and the Regents Park 10k for road racers; the Bewl 15 for trail lovers; and the London Youth Games at Crystal Palace and SuperTri Eton Junior Triathlon for younger Serpies.
It's back to Battersea Park on Monday 6 July for another Sri Chinmoy 5k. The number of Serpies taking part in the Tuesday 10 cycling time trial at the QEOP Velopark has been growing steadily throughout the summer and there';s another opportunity on Tuesday 7 July. For Serpies planning training runs in Battersea Park this week, the park will be particularly busy on Wednesday 8 and Thursday 9 July for the annual JP Morgan Chase Corporate Challenge events. On Wednesday 8 July there is also a West London Athletics Network (WLAN) Open track & field meeting including 100m, 800m and mile races which Serpies can compete in, as well as some field events.
The Optima Aquathlon in Richmond is on Saturday 11 July; and on Sunday 12 July there are sure to be Serpies racing at the British (London) 10k and Milton Keynes half marathon. Also on Sunday, there's the next in the summer duathlon series at the QEOP Velopark. This one is a women only event which is organised by Serpentine and we need a few helpers. If you can help out, please contact Alex Elferink or Donna McCourt, Race Director. Ironman Roth also takes place on 12 July. Serpies planning to enter the 2016 event, which will be the 2016 club championship long distance triathlon, will be watching the results with keen interest before getting their entries in bright and early when they open on Monday 20 July. For those Serpies wanting a social run, James Edgar is organising a social run along stage 1 of the Green Belt Relay route (13 miles), as part of a plan to cover the entire route over the next year. If you'd like to join this social run then drop James a message.
On Monday 13 July the next Southern Vets' track & field meeting of the season is at Perivale. If you're aged 35 or over and would like to take part, contact men's captain Andrew Maynard, or women's captain Jan Farmer for more details. Also on Monday there's another Sri Chinmoy 5k in Battersea Park. The penultimate Tuesday 10 is on Tuesday 14 July and on Wednesday 15 July there's another chance to turn up and compete at a Watford Open Graded track & field meeting. The final event in the club's summer grand prix is the club championship 5k, which will take place in Battersea Park on Thursday 16 July. There's no need to enter in advance and all Serpies are welcome to take part, no matter what standard.
For trail run lovers, there's a social trail run of about 20 miles in the King's Langley area on Saturday 18 July. The loop from King's Langley train station will take in parts of the Chiltern Way and Hertfordshire Way. The Harry Hawkes 10-mile on Sunday 19 July is the 2016 club championship 10-mile race. Entries are still open and in particular it would be good to see some Serpie women enter, as at the moment it looks like there will be no 2016 Serpie female 10-mile champion! Also on Sunday are the next Summer League race in Regents' Park, plus for the long distance triathletes Ironman UK and Ironman Switzerland.
There are two relay chances for runners and cyclists early the next week. The Sri Chinmoy 3 x 1 mile relay on Monday 20 July is a fun event and usually attracts a few Serpie teams; and on Tuesday 21 July the last Tuesday 10 of the season will be a fun two-up time trial. On Wednesday 22 July there's the next in the Lee Valley Sprints meeting series, plus another Rosenheim League track & field meeting, this one at Tooting Bec. There's a chance to wind down from all that competition on Friday 24 July when the Serpie July MOTM / social is a London walk with a Churchill theme. The walk is at a gentle pace and it offers a delightful way to spend a summer's evening learning more about our city.
Over the last weekend in July there will be a group of Serpies heading to Davos in Switzerland for the Swissalpine events. This year the events include a relay version of the (in)famous 78k and the S42, Europe's highest mountain marathon, crossing two valleys and two passes. On Sunday 26 July there's another QEOP Velopark duathlon as well as the Outlaw triathlon.
On Monday 27 July there's a Sri Chinmoy 5k in Battersea Park and Wednesday 29 July has two chances for track and field: the Belgrave Speed Grand Prix and a Watford Open Graded track & field meeting. Also on Wednesday is a new members' evening, giving new Serpies the chance to find out about what the club offers. The penultimate Assembly League race of 2015 will be on Thursday 30 July in Victoria Park and on the same night there's a South London Harriers Informal 10k. The July Brooks Last Friday of the Month 5k will be on Friday 31 July
Looking forward to early August, the club's August handicap will be on Saturday 1 August with the Serpie Summer Party that evening. To get over the after effects of the Summer Party, there's Ride London Surrey on Sunday 2 August, plus a chance to do a social run along stage 2 of the Green Belt Relay route.
There's more information about lots of these events on the Serpie events planner.
Submitted: 30 June 2015