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Weekly Serpie round-up

England Age Group Marathon (Chester)

Congratulations to Andy Reeves who has been selected to represent England on the Masters team at the Chester Marathon in October. Andy was selected based on his performance at the Manchester Marathon in April. (Photo: Paolo Dale)

Southern Athletics League

Nearly 40 Serpies travelled to Hemel Hempstead on Saturday 28th April for our first SAL match of the season: this year we are in Division 3N. Weather conditions were pretty horrendous (possibly the worst conditions we have ever had for a SAL match), but thanks to our waterproof tent, extra clothes and hot drinks we got through the day with some great performances and a few PBs. Very well done to Caroline Morgan and Helen Gray who broke the Pole Vault (180cm) and 800m (2:17.4) club records respectively. Special mention also to our race winners: Chris Wright (doubling 5000m and 1500m), Bart Porzuczek (800m), Sarah Pemberton (3000m), Helen Gray (1500m) and the men's 4x400m relay (Ben Stanton, Bart Porzuczek, David Campbell, Miles Kershaw). We also had some B string winners and other solid performances, which helped us to close the day in third place, only 15.5 points away from second. Full results can be found on the SAL website, final standings were:

Dacorum & Tring 346
Watford 317
Serpentine 301.5
Peterborough 228
Vale of Aylesbury 141.5
West Suffolk 67

Massive thanks also to our officials and helpers: Malcolm French, Sally and Ian Hodge, Sammi Li, George Allan, Jaran Finn. Without officials we could not have a match; they also scored 15 points for our team (it'd be 20 points with a track judge coming with us).

Next match is on Saturday 19th May at Lee Valley. More details will follow, but some of our regulars will be away and we need more people to compete. Get in touch with the captains for more information or if you are interested in taking part. (Report: Nicola Barberis)

Run Through 10k/5k Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park

The results service for this race has had a few issues and they haven’t corrected them yet (unbelievable times for first two women, and they forgot to include my age-group category), but I can assure you I was first W60. It was my kids’ traditional beat me for my birthday race. My son was 10th male in the 5k and my daughter was 4th W35 in the 10k. A few Serpies there, including Louisa Paparo racing her first 10k after her third child! (Report & photo: Karen Hancock)

Newport Marathon

Having had the British record snatched from its grasp just a week earlier, it was timely Wales delivered its own marathon magical answer to London's swell and swelter. The inaugural Newport Marathon readied and prepared, which pretty much summed up my own battle to arrive on the start line, following a runner's winter's tale of stop start injuries.

So Newport, could you live up to the hype and my hope? Well, we had to wait. 15 minutes became 30, not ideal in the cool breezy conditions on top of a 3 mile warm up (should have got that hotel nearer but all fully booked!). So... A flat course designed by Welsh Olympian Steve Brace saw the start flow forth out towards sea and country lane with estuary and the river Usk ushering the '6000' hopefuls.

After absorbing three recent marathon 'athlete tracking' learning curves, my intent was to deploy sensible from the off which translated to steady 7.20's+ just in front of the 3.15 pacer. I hardly noticed the course with eyes set to ground, zoned but then welled as the villages brought out the crowds, magnificent.

The miles ticked comfortably by up to 17/18/....19 but all was not right with left knee. What was smooth flow quickly transcended to horrible hobble and a battle of attrition to end made just that bit more bearable with the sighting of two other Serpie vests, an unexpected joy!

Finish, stop, collapse.

There were teething problems with this first of Newport's but given the flat fast course I'm sure this will become a firm favourite alternative to those April marathon 'others' where maybe now scale outloads run. I for one, will be back. (Report: Lloyd Bevan)

Mugello Trail

On Sunday Catharine Sowerby, Margaret Lang and Michelle Homden ran the Mugello Trail, a well organised and welcoming 22km trail race in the Appenines, Italy. The route was beautiful, very hilly (1280m ascent) mainly in ancient woodlands, and had been recommended by former Serpie Claudio Belotti who was marshalling on the route. (Report & photo: Catharine Sowerby)

I Know A Fighter 5k New York (15 April 2018)

I signed up for $40 assuming this chip timed fundraiser in Manhattan would be a serious race. But I was perplexed to find myself winning near the Hudson River Pier 84 finish. Then I lost my way without marshals and random cone markers. I hit the finish arch from the wrong side and was told to do the end of the pier first. This meant I came in only 2nd with a time of 16:41. Sadly the course was very short and a frustrating start to my international running career. It did highlight the fantastic organisation and support club and charity races enjoy in the UK. (Report: Andrew Roberts)

Butcombe Trail Ultra

What a difference a week makes. After suffering in the sun during the London Marathon, here I was standing in a car park next to the A371 wondering if I should get my gloves out, waiting for the start of the Butcombe Trail Ultra. The race is 50 miles through the Mendip Hills AONB, with start and finish just outside of Cheddar.

The race starts on a small country lane but almost immediately turns into a steep climb (about 250m ascent in the first mile) through some fields. Almost 20 minutes into the race we arrived at the top of the hill and finally started running. From then on, the course takes in a variety of terrain from disused railway lines, country lanes, forest tracks, fields and a fair amount of steep climbs. However once you’ve made it to the top, you had some nice running across the ridges and great views over the surrounding areas.

As for my race, it went about as I had expected. While the legs got a bit tired after 25-30 miles I could still put in some decent running when I tried. However there’s still plenty of work to be done if I want to finish my 100k race in Austria later this year. In the end I finished in 11:53h, a bit slower than hoped, but it was a very enjoyable day out.

Some lessons learned: trying to climb over a barbed wire fence and into a thorny bush is not ideal but still better than trying to avoid cows in the open field, a tiny bunk bed in a YHA dorm doesn’t give you the relaxing pre/post-race sleep that you need.

Overall I can definitely recommend the race to any Serpies looking for a challenging race through beautiful scenery that doesn’t cost the world (about £50 for early bird entries) and has well-stocked checkpoints and cheery volunteers on par with the best races I’ve done. (Report: Frank Womelsdorf; photo: Jeremy Hutchinson)

Parkrun results for 28 April 2018 (53 runners)

I did the 2nd anniversary of the Toulouse parkrun today and came 8th out of about 20 runners. It was fancy dress themed, which I was unaware of beforehand. I was pleased to be ahead of the pantomime horse although failed to beat the cross dressing Frenchman and the woman dressed for a day out at the races in a fascinator and high heels (the latter ditched at the last minute for running shoes). (Report: Ian Hall)

Top 5 by time and age-graded performance

Podium Finishers

1st: Victoria Basquill (Marple) - 20:36, Lavinia Singer (Hampstead Heath) - 20:43
2nd: Milan Misak (Keswick) - 18:38, Martin Carmack (Gunpowder) - 18:43, Gideon Reid (Wormwood Scrubs) - 19:57
3rd: Natalia Eddy (Hampstead Heath) - 20:48, Joanne Marshall (Margate) - 25:06

Busiest parkruns (3+ Serpies)

Hampstead Heath (6), Bushy (3), Dulwich (3), Finsbury (3), Fulham Palace (3), Gladstone (3), Richmond (3)

Full consolidated Serpentine results. Can't see yours? Updating your parkrun profile with Serpentine RC as your club should do the trick. (Results: Alex Jeffreys)

Meet the Club Member

Don't miss our latest 'Meet the Club Member' profile, Coralie Frost. Previous portraits include Elizabeth Ayres, David Evans and Eddie Ware. And if you'd like to be featured yourself, send me an email.

Get involved

Do you enjoy reading the weekly round-up? If so, please help me by sending me your mini race reports and results (one or two paragraphs is all it takes) so we can continue producing it regularly. Drop me an email by Tuesday 9am with a few words about the event and, if you have them, photos (please ask for permission if someone else took the pictures). 

If your result is missing from the club website, you can add it yourself or, if the race isn't listed in the dropdown menu, contact the Results Elves at results@serpentine.org.uk. Even better, simply add your name to the Race & Event Planner in advance and name SERPENTINE as your club when you enter races to ensure your results are added to your profile.

With thanks to everyone who contributed to this week's edition!

Eda Korkmaz
communications@serpentine.org.uk

Submitted: 2 May 2018

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