Serpiesphere Virtual 5K - Spring Series Race 1 Results and Race 2 Instructions

Well done to everyone who got 2021 off to a great start by taking part in Race 1 of the Serpiesphere Virtual 5K Spring Series (4th to 15th January).

Race 1 Virtual Podium

 

It was a hotly contested first race of the season, with podium places changing hands many times before the cut-off. 

 

In the end, the following three runners came out on top:

1st Place: Charlie Frith takes first place, shaving off about a minute from her best time in the last series with a handicapped time of 59:08 (net time of 31:23).

2nd Place: Kieren Geaney snaps up second place with a handicapped time of 59:28 (net time of 19:43).

3rd Place: Mark Kell follows closely in third place, making a comeback after a few weeks break from the competition, also with a handicapped time of 59:28 (net time of 20:58).

 

Also, the fastest performers of Race 1 are:

 

Fastest Male: Andy Reeves clinches the top spot, beating Matthew Vokes by 2 seconds, with a time of 17:40 (handicapped at 60:10).

Fastest Female: Victoria Brown takes this one with an impressive time of 21:14 (handicapped at 60:44).

Best age-graded performance: It’s a double win for Andy Reeves this week, beating scratch runner Renaud Isman by the narrowest of margins, achieving an age rating of 83.5%.

 

Full results will follow shortly.

 

I’d also like to make a special mention of our 6 scratch runners who made a Serpiesphere debut this week: Renaud IsmanNoriko SugiyamaLindsey ChiswickSteve HastingsZaneta Dobosz and Heidi Rasmussen.

 

Thanks to everyone who shared photos of a variety of inspiring running locations. The winner of the photo competition this week, with a beautiful snowscape from Canada, is Maureen Seguin.

 

 

Head to the Serpie Facebook page to see some more images of wintery scenes, both closer to home and further afield. 

 

Race 2 – How to enter 

 

Pay close attention to the closing date for this next race! For the first time in Serpiesphere history, this race will finish not on a Friday, but on Sunday 31st January at 10pm. 

This small change is necessary for us to keep track of your monthly age grading, one of the exciting new features of the 2021 race series. 

 

Race 2 is open now and will run until 10pm on Sunday 31st January.

 

Follow the instructions below to enter:

 

1. Run 5K, anytime before the closing date. You should run alone, on any route you choose, wherever you are in the world! Just don't choose a route with a significant net downhill.

2. Enter your time before 10pm on Sunday 31st January here. Click "self-add result" and then choose "16 January 2021" (which includes all performances from 16th to 31st January).

3. Take a photo or screenshot that shows your time and distance. This can be a screenshot of your Strava / Garmin result page, or a picture of your watch. As long as the distance is a minimum of 5.00km (or 3.11 miles) and it shows a finish time, it will be accepted.

4. Submit the photo or screenshot here -  also before 10pm on 31st January (this link can also be found in the same page as the “self-add result” page). Click “Choose Files” or “Choose from Computer”. You do not need a Dropbox account. This will just ask for your name (so we can correlate your performance with the time submitted) and email address (so you’ll get a confirmation of upload).

5. If you can, also upload a photo of somewhere along your running route. As we're geographically separated at the moment, this is a nice way to keep in touch with where other people are running. There will be special mentions and possibly even prizes for the most artistic photos.

6. Shortly after the race closing time, the Serpie computer system will magically calculate your handicapped time and award your points. You'll score at least 3 points for every race you enter (or at least 1 point if you're a scratch runner), plus extra points depending on your finishing position.

7. As before, there will a special mention for the 3 people who finish in podium position each race, as well as the fastest male, fastest female and best age-graded performance. At the end of each month, you'll also find out your best age grading of the 2 races that month. We'll create a chart of these going forward so you can track how your performances improve over time.

 

More information

 

Please email Sophie if you have any questions or need help entering your time.

Don't forget to follow social distancing guidelines during your races, and don't run if you have any symptoms of Covid 19.

 

Good luck everyone!

The Serpiesphere Virtual 5K team (Sophie, Baiju and Pete)

Submitted: 17 January 2021

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