May highlights

A few events to look out for in May.

May begins with a bank holiday and the Thames Turbo sprint triathlon, which is a London Triathlon League event, on Monday 1 May; and also on Monday is a Herne Hill open track & field meeting. There's another chance to compete at track & field at the Woodford Green and Essex Ladies open track & field meeting on Tuesday 2 May.

New club members have the opportunity to meet other club members and find out about what Serpentine offers at the new members' evening at the Seymour Centre on Wednesday 3 May. The Assembly League moves to Victoria Park on Thursday 4 May. The Assembly League is a series of six races open to all members of the league clubs, with no need to sign up in advance. There's a wide standard at Assembly League races and all Serpies, including our juniors (U13+), are welcome – the more the merrier.

Saturday 6 May is the date for the May club handicap. All standards are welcome and there's no need to enter in advance. If you haven't run a club handicap before, you can read all about the race here. There's another London Triathlon League event on Sunday 7 May, the Dragonslayer duathlon; and on the same day are the Bristol 10k and a Regent's Park 10k, which are always popular with Serpies.

On Monday 8 May is the the first Southern Counties Vets League track & field meeting of the summer. This one is at Battersea and is Serpentine's home match. If you're interested in taking part, please contact the team captainsWe still need a few more people to help to make sure the meeting runs smoothly. You don't need to have had any experience of this type before, as qualified officials will be there to explain what to do. Helpers should arrive by 6:00pm; events on the track should be finished by 8:30pm and field events by 9pm – if you can help out please contact races@serpentine.org.uk.

The first of this summer's Tuesday Tens at the Lee Valley Velo Park will take place on Tuesday 9 May. These excellent 10-mile cycle time trials will be on every Tuesday evening throughout the summer with no need to sign up in advance. The following evening is the first opportunity this year to compete at a Rosenheim League track & field meeting. The Rosenheim League is an inter-club competition for senior & U17 athletes. Each meeting has a wide-ranging track programme covering distances from 100m to 3000m and includes 2 jumps, 2 throws & 1 hurdle race. Clubs can have as many competitors as they want and each athlete can take part in as many events as they want (within UKA rules for U17). Entry is free for Serpies (please wear your club vest!) and the first meeting is at Battersea track.

Over Saturday 13 and Sunday 14 May are the Middlesex county track & field championships at Lee Valley athletics track. Also on Saturday, is the North Downs 50 mile trail race from Farnham to Knockholt; plus there will be a social trail run over Box Hill to Denbies, setting off from Dorking (for more details, make sure you are signed up to the trail running mailing list). Mallorca is a popular destination for Serpie cyclists and triathletes, and a group will be competing on Saturday 13 May at Ironman Mallorca.

On Sunday 14 May, the Crystal Palace sprint triathlon is the 2017 club championship sprint tri. On the same Sunday, Run Wembley (formerly known as the Sudbury Court 10k) has been a popular event with Serpies over the years and offers a 5k and 1k option as well as the 10k; and on the same day there will be a social trail run of around 25 miles departing from King's Langley (for more details, make sure you are signed up to the trail running mailing list).

Monday 15 May is the last date for us to declare our runners for the Welsh Castles Relay, which will be held over 10 & 11 June. This year we have 2 teams entered (mixed open and mixed vets) and are really keen to see a spread of abilities and ages of runners sign up.

Over the weekend of 20 & 21 May, 44 Serpies, plus additional supporters, will be circumnavigating London in the Green Belt Relay. The four Serpie teams are currently full, but a waiting list is in operation and, as people may well still drop out, it's still worth signing up if you would like the chance to take part this year in what's always a fun Serpie weekend of running and socialising.

It will be a busy weekend, with our juniors taking part in the second Middlesex Young Athletes League track & field meeting of the season in Finsbury Park on Saturday 20 May. We had a great turnout of juniors and parents at the first meeting of the season and some excellent performances, and we hope to build on this throughout the season. We have a Serpentine women's team heading to the BMAF Masters Road Relays in Sutton Coldfield on the same day and we wish them well. The Highgate Harriers Night of the 10,000m PBs on Saturday will incorporate the 2017 IAAF World Championship GB trials and the British National 10,000m Championships. There will be a pre-race seminar, with guest Paula Radcliffe and 5-time World Snooker champion Ronnie O'Sullivan as seminar host, shown on big screens. Spectator entry is free and as Ronnie says: "It's a great chance to see the top boys and girls hammer round a track in awesome style and it just gets better year by year. See you there on May 20th!"

Sunday 21 May is the date of the second Southern Athletics League meeting of the summer, this one to be held in Hemel Hempstead. With so many other events on this weekend, the team captains will be happy to hear from anyone interested in finding out about taking part. Also on Saturday and Sunday, are the Eton Dorney sprint and super sprint triathlon events.

There's more track & field on Wednesday 24 May, with the second Rosenheim League track & field meeting of the season, this one at Croydon Arena. The May Harbour Club Last Friday of the Month 5k will be on Friday 26 May.

The popular Tour of Wessex will be over the last bank holiday weekend in May, while on Sunday 28 May, two races at opposite ends of the distance spectrum should both see Serpie participants: the Westminster mile and the Edinburgh marathon. A bank holiday means an opportunity to race on a Monday, with the London 10,000, which incorporates the British 10k Championships, on Monday 29 May. On the same day, there will be a a social trail run, location to be decided - if you want more details, make sure you are signed up to the trail running mailing list.

The Tooting Bec aquathlon on Wednesday 31 May is the first in a four-event series over the summer months.

Looking forward to early June: the third Assembly League race of the summer will be on Thursday 1 June in Battersea Park; we'll be half way through the 2017 cub handicap series at the June handicap on Saturday 3 June; the popular social trail run in the Tring Hills makes a return on Saturday 3 June; and the 2017 Summer League kicks off on Sunday 4 June in Gunnersbury Park.

There's more information about lots of these events on the Serpie events planner.

Sally Hodge
communications@serpentine.org.uk

Submitted: 27 April 2017

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