Serpentine - What’s Happening in March 2021
We all hope this is it – these may be the last few weeks for the UK to be in ‘lockdown’. Of course, we mustn’t drop our guard and we must do our best to suppress Covid and abide by the rules, but the prospect of coming out of lockdown has given all of us some hope. Whilst the Club is putting plans together for a likely resumption of activity in April (following the guidance by England Athletics), here is what’s in store for you in March 2021.
Running in Pairs – some changes
In line with the current lockdown restrictions, Running in Pairs will remain in operation for the final few weeks before our group activity is expected to resume. A few changes have been made for March. For the ease of organisation, runs are now on specific days (i.e. not just days in the week), and also the options of doing 2 or 3-parks will be available, as well as shorter or longer distances, plus an interval or fartlek session. You’ll be given partnering suggestions for runs as usual. Please sign up using this link:
Those who have signed up will receive an email with participants’ contact details and run time/route/pace preferences. This email will go out every Monday evening (for midweek runs) and Friday early evening (for weekend runs), so sign up before those evenings.
The usual precautions apply – please don't run if you are displaying symptoms of Covid, or if you should be self-isolating. Maintain social distancing at all times – please keep a distance with your run partner during your run. Email me if you have any questions.
Tour de Serpiesphere – Stage 3 (5km) and Stage 4 (16km)
The Tour de Serpiesphere is now halfway through, with about 80 runners marching towards the virtual Champs-Elysees. In case you’re not yet aware, the Tour consists of 5 virtual Stages, each one with a race period of a few weeks, and all the distances add up to a marathon. In other words, you will know what your marathon PB could be if you were running a marathon in chunks. Even if you have missed the first two stages, you are still welcome to take part in the coming stages.
In March there are two stages:
- Stage 3: 5km – This stage is combined with the Serpiesphere Virtual 5k (Spring Series Race 5), so you need to enter your time as a Serpiesphere Virtual 5k run – there will not be a dedicated entry page for Stage 3. The race is open now until 10pm on Monday 15th March (Race entry: https://www.serpentine.org.uk/rdb/showrace.php?race=13551);
- Stage 4: 16km – The longest stage of the Tour features a 10-miler. Most people (me included) do long runs over weekends, therefore you have four weekends to pick the best time to run 16km. The race is open on Saturday 13th March and will close at 10pm on Sunday 4th April (Race entry: https://www.serpentine.org.uk/rdb/showvirtualrace.php?race=13547&index=time&order=up&gender=together);
As well as the race entries above, please also submit a Garmin/Strava screenshot or picture of your watch (or equivalent) here for verification.
You might notice that the race periods of Stages 3 and 4 have an overlapping weekend – when Stage 3 ends on 15th March, Stage 4 will have already begun. Please note that you must do a separate run for each Stage. Therefore, you cannot run one 16k during the overlapping week and submit an 5k time (for Stage 3, also Serpiesphere Virtual 5k) and a 16k time (for Stage 4) using the same run.
Serpiesphere Virtual 5k - the Spring Series continues!
Our Serpiesphere Virtual 5k continues to be very popular among Serpies. We had a steady number of participants – over 60 members - from aged 13 to 80 keeping up with their 5ks in February! We have two 5ks in March, please note cut off days:
- Race 5: 1st to 15th March. Again this is doubled up as the Tour de Serpiesphere Stage 3 race as well, race entry is via this link.
- Race 6: 16th to 31st March. The special race is back! Points will be doubled for this race. Want to be the ‘April not-such-a-fool’ winner? Race entry link will be available in due course.
Please follow this link for more information for the Spring series. Questions? Please email our Serpiesphere Virtual 5k organiser Sophie Taylor, who works together with Baiju McCubbins and Pete Mackintosh to keep the race running nicely.
Zoom training sessions
We continue to run these sessions on Zoom:
- Our track coach Andy Reeves leads a circuit training session on Wednesday evenings. Everyone is welcome to join. Look out for the Facebook messages by Andy before Wednesdays for the Zoom link and details.
- Rosh Karunaratne runs the weekly spin classes over Zoom at 7pm every Tuesday. The sessions will have an interval training-based focus and are open to all abilities. Any equipment that allows you to spin is suitable (turbos, exercise bikes, spin bikes etc), plus you’ll need water, a towel, and a computer to run Zoom. Please email Rosh to join.
Zwift Weekly Team Time Trial & Other Rides
Just like every week since April 2020, we will continue to field teams in the Zwift Team Time Trial every Thursday evening, competing against over 500 teams every week. It is a fantastic workout, and very social at the same time. So if you have access to Zwift and are free on Thursday evenings, please join us using this link to find out more. Once you have joined, the team can help set you up to race.
Apart from these regular Team Time Trials, March 2021 will see these events:
- Since mid-February, the Zwift Duathlon League will take place for 6 weeks. Participants will ride for as far as they can for 35 minutes, followed by a 10-minute transition, and then a 15-minute run. To find out the schedule (including when you will race Watopia’s Waistband and the Greatest London Flat), rules, and how to register, please click here.
- Not every Zwift ride needs to be a race, of course. Since January, the Serpie Zwift riders have created a new channel in discord called #meetup which allows us to organise group rides, mainly on Saturday mornings but sometimes at other times of the week as well. This not only gives us an opportunity to go around Watopia together, you can also just join the discord and have a fun social time without riding. Please speak to our organiser Vinh Lam or me if you want to join.
Charity/Fundraiser of the Month – Jim’s Greatest Challenge
In July 2020, whilst out on a bike ride, Jim Ashworth-Beaumont suffered a life changing accident involving with an HGV lorry, and he lost an arm as a result. He had been in critical care for a few weeks, but afterwards he made an inspirational recovery. He has shown an incredible spirit, and, fast forward a few months, he has already been out running. He is fully hoping to return to coaching and participating in our Saturday Greenwich Hill sessions, as well as racing in our beloved red and gold vest.
However, it remains the case that he needs a prosthetic arm – something incidentally he as a prosthetist and orthotist at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital is very familiar with. Existing technology exists for a fully functioning bionic limb which allows movements of elbow, arm, and wrist simultaneously (something able-bodied people simply take for granted). However, access to such technology is very limited worldwide, and it is not currently available in the UK and on the NHS. This is something he and many other amputees will need to reinstate their full body function. His family has set up a webpage to raise the funds required for this arm – please follow this link if you’d like to donate:
https://uk.gofundme.com/f/jim039s-greatest-challenge
Following a recent news item on BBC News (and also a video clip here), almost half of the targeted amount has been raised. It is hoped that not only he will benefit from having a new bionic arm, but also this will lead to this technology being more accessible, as well as being evolved further and lower in cost. As a Club, we are also considering organising fundraising events in this regard – for example a charity bike ride has been discussed. Please let me know if you have any good ideas or if you’d like to be involved.
And finally…
Did you know – Serpentine is not just a running and triathlon club, but also has a book club? The Serpie Book Club is for runners who read, or readers who run, or those who pretend to run and just like to drink and chat, preferably related to the book of choice. If you’d like to join, now is a good time. The Book Club is just deciding on what the next book is to read, with a discussion planned by the end of March or early April. It will be on Zoom, allowing social distancing to be observed, and those not in London to join. Please find more details on the Book Club’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/198000227420410/.
Happy running (and reading) in March!
Hans Ho
Participation Representative (participation@serpentine.org.uk)
Submitted: 7 March 2021