Serpentine RC - What’s Happening in June 2022

Hello Serpies – June is a busy month in our running calendar and there are lots going on, from start to finish. Not just the usual club runs, training sessions and monthly races, but the Summer League will begin in mid-June, also there are further races in the track and field leagues, and also the Assembly League. We look forward to visiting Wales in the Welsh Castles Relay. And don’t forget to buy your tickets for our 40th anniversary party in July!

The Athletics Season Continues

After the opening fixtures in May, the Athletic Season continues this month with all the leagues having fixtures. There are all kinds of track and field events (from 100m to middle-long distances, also jumps and throws) on offer. We are encouraged that quite a few members competed for us in May, so we hope to see more of you in June! Even if you’ve not done track and field before,  you’re more than welcome to give the events a go.

  • Southern Athletics League (SAL): The next match is at Parliament Hill, Hampstead Heath (postcode: NW5 1QR) on Sunday 12th June. We welcome athletes, volunteers and officials. Please get in touch with Rhi Needham if you can help – many roles do not require any qualifications, we would appreciate you sparing just your time! If you can’t make this one, don’t worry – the rest of the season’s fixtures are here.

 

  • Southern Vets Athletics League – There are two meets this month. On Monday 13th June, the races will take place in Hillingdon track; on Monday 27th June, it will move on to Battersea Park track. All events start at 18:30. We are keen on having more competitors for the Serpentine team - please contact Andrew Maynard (men's team) or Catkin Shelley (ladies' team).

 

 

Well done to our Rosenheim team in May! (Photo credit: Dave)

 

  • Finally, for our junior runners, the Middlesex Youth Athletics League will have the next fixture on Saturday 25th June at Perivale. The timetable of the events is via this link. We need a few volunteers to help with judging the field events – no previous experience is needed. If you can help, please contact our Juniors Rep Ewan Maynard.

Again, we still have these two key roles for the club vacant at the moment for someone to take on:

  • SAL men’s captain – this is essential the club’s rep in the event, we welcome someone taking part in SAL to take up the role.  Anyone interested – please get in touch with Nic Barberis.

 

  • Committee Athletics representative – we need someone to take up the role to manage our athletics and cross country activities. We welcome anyone who constantly takes part in athletics or cross country events to volunteer.  If that is you, please get in touch with me.

 

Summer League – Starting on 19th June in Harrow

The Summer League 2022 is starting soon! It is a popular inter-club competition of five races in the summer months. The races are either 5-mile or 10km across different parks of London, making them very fast races and pleasant to run as well.

Summer League race in Dulwich Park, August 2021

The 2022 race calendar can be found via this page. The first race is on Sunday 19th June at Headstone Manor (Harrow). It will be over a course of 5 miles (8k). The race is organised by Metros Running Club.

The race does not require advance entry, you just need to show up with your Serpie shirt/vest to run. However, we’d like to collect the entry information in advance, so that we can submit results a lot more easily, and also we can have an idea of numbers and communicate with everyone. Therefore, it would be helpful if you could fill in this form before the race to indicate interest.

 

Assembly League – Next race 9th June, Victoria Park

Join us for these popular fast-and-furious summer Thursday 5k’s or 3-milers in the Assembly League. After the first fixture in Beckenham in May, the next one will be on Thursday 9th June in Victoria Park. Starting at 19:30, the race will be a 3.5 mile race. If you want to take part, you don’t need to pre-register or pay for your entry, but please come to race HQ at the Victoria Park Harriers Club House (St Augustine's Hall, Cadogan Terrace, London E9 5EG) by about 19:00 to get your race number. Any questions, please email Philip Whitehouse who is our rep for this race and will be there to hand out race numbers.

 

Trail Run – 26th June (Location TBC)

The next Serpie trail run will be on Sunday 26th June. We are currently deciding on where this run will be - so mark it in your diary and stay tuned for more details! Whenever we go, this run will be at a social pace. The idea is to run together and have fun - if you can run a 10k in about 60 minutes, enjoy hills and have covered a half marathon distance before, you should be fine to run at a social pace. We will travel together in the morning from a mainline London station.

Any questions? Please contact Lindsey Chiswick.

Our sunny day out running the Surrey Hills in May! (Photo credit: Grethe)

 

Social Drink – Saturday 18th June

Following our successful gathering in April, all members are invited to our next Get-together for drinks:

  • Date: Saturday 18th June

 

  • Time: From 18:30

 

  • Venue: The Crabtree (in Fulham): Rainville Rd, London W6 9HA

 

Please complete the form here so we can have an idea of how many members will attend. We are looking forward to seeing many of you there!

Our get-together in April (photo credit: Monica)

 

Club Runs – every Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday

Our Club Runs continue every Wednesday evening and weekend mornings. All members are welcome – there is no need to sign up beforehand. Non-members can let us know by filling in this form to try out the club before. (Members do not need to fill in this form.)

 

Wednesday evenings – and kit room opening!

On every Wednesday, we meet at Seymour Centre at 18:35, or Speakers’ Corner at 18:45. For run details, please visit our website via this page. For those coming to Seymour Centre, where we operate a bag drop, please bring your membership card. For those starting in Speakers’ Corner, please come run-ready.

We are pleased to announce that our Seymour Centre kit room is open every Wednesday after the club run. New members can bring your joining voucher to redeem a Serpentine vest or T-shirt. All members are welcome to purchase Club kit as well. For further information, please contact Marina.

We will also be visiting the pub after running for some socialising. Please join us at the Larrik from about 20:15 onwards.

 

Weekend mornings

On Saturday mornings we meet at the Hyde Park Bandstand at 09:45 – please come a few minutes before so we can form run groups. There is no bag drop on Saturdays, although you may use the Seymour Centre changing room – please bring your membership card and a padlock. Also note that there is no club runs on the first Saturday of the month, when the handicap takes place instead. Please join us for a coffee at the Serpentine café after running. Our Seymour Kit Room will also be open from about 11:00 onwards for those who want to purchase club kit.

On Sunday mornings we set off from Pembroke Lodge in Richmond Park at 09:00 sharp – please come on time, ready to run. Most people do 1-lap (7.2 miles / 11.5km), some will be doing multiple laps. For more details please see this link. If you’re coming for the first time, or if you have any questions, please email our organiser Kevin.

 

Join the club run volunteering team!

We rely on volunteers to make the club runs work – e.g. check membership cards at the Seymour Centre gate, guard the bag room, and help with the bag room operation so club members have kit to wear for competitions. This is ideal for those who are not running but still want to be involved, although some roles can be carried out before you set off running as well. Please email Catharine if you’re interested in helping out, once every few weeks, or as often as you’d like.

 

 

Training – Running, Swimming & Cycling

We have the following run training sessions across several London locations, please click the hyperlinks for details and sign-up process (if applicable):

  • Monday at Maida Vale (Paddington Track): Foundation track session at the Paddington Recreation Ground Track in Maida Vale – for those whose 10k time is about 48 minutes or more.
  • Tuesday Intervals: Evening interval sessions at Bermondsey Spa Gardens.
  • Tuesday at Maida Vale: Our session is at Paddington Recreation Ground Track in Maida Vale, for anyone who is able to run 30 miles / 50km or more (over 3 runs or more) per week. IMPORTANT: Please sign up in advance of joining the session, as we would like to limit the amount of runners so that it is manageable to the coach.
  • Thursday at Regent’s Park: Our run coach Kevin McQuaid has led a new endurance session since mid April. This session aims for experienced runners and triathletes who take part in running events throughout the year. The session starts at 19:00 at the Regent’s Park Running Track (Northern side of Outer Circle, near Macclesfield Bridge and west of the London Zoo). More details will come out within the next week. Please contact Kevin for any questions.
  • Thursday at Primrose Hill: Evening hill sessions at Primrose Hill, suitable for all levels to improve strength, fitness and endurance.
  • Saturday Greenwich Hills: Hill session on Saturday mornings in South-East London.
  • Saturday Hampstead Heath Hills: Another hill session on Saturday mornings.

We have two swimming sessions, both coaches with dedicated lanes. Please email our triathlon rep Anne Bennett indicating which session you would prefer.

  • Orchard Lisle Pool, Guy’s Hospital, London Bridge - Monday evenings, 8-9pm. Cost: £90 for a block of 10 sessions
  • Pancras Square Leisure Centre, St Pancras - Wednesday evenings, 8-9pm. Cost: £90 for a block of 12 sessions

Also, club members are welcome to join our cycle ride and triathlon groups – please note that these sessions are arranged on an individual basis, and the cycle rides are not officially club events, therefore participants will take part at their own risk. The best thing to do would be the join the relevant Whatsapp groups: please follow these links for the Cycle rides’ group and the Triathlon chat group. We may also post ride details on our Facebook page

 

Regular Monthly Races – Handicap and Last Friday 5k

The next Handicap race will be held on Saturday 4th June. The race will be held near the Hyde Park Boat House as usual. As usual, the race covers two laps of the Serpentine lake (almost 7km) in Hyde Park. Slower runners start earlier than faster runners, so everyone has a chance to win. No advance registration is required – registrations are taken on the day, starting from 08:30 until 08:55, with the first runner starting soon after 09:00. Volunteers are required to be marshals, time keepers, finish areas, bag-watchers etc, so that our race can happen as it does every month. Taking a morning off running but still want to come to be part of the magic? Please let the handicappers know.

The next Last Friday of the Month 5k race will be on Friday 24th June. The race starts at 12:30 near the Hyde Park Boat House. For race details, including how to register, please click here. Please note that registration normally closes before race day, and you will not be able to run without signing up in advance. Volunteers are required to be marshals, timekeepers etc. Please contact the race organiser if you can help.

 

Serpentine RC 40th Anniversary Party – Get your tickets now!

In 2022, we celebrate the club’s 40th anniversary. Our 40th anniversary party will be:

  • Date: Saturday 16th July

 

  • Time: From 18:00.

  

Party tickets are now on sale via this link. More than 60 members have already booked their tickets, so please get tickets soon before they are gone! You can purchase a ticket for just yourself, or optionally also include a guest as a plus-one. Tickets are £35 each, which will include food and welcome drink. Please make sure you complete this Google form here when buying your ticket, so we have details regarding food etc.

 

And finally…

  • London Marathon Place – As mentioned back in March, we have one London Marathon place on offer for a club member who has contributed to the club in the past year based on volunteering and race participation. If you would like to apply for the London Marathon place for the race in October, you would need to have accrued points until the end of this month, with application open now until 19th June. The winner of the place will be announced by 24th June. More details can be found via this link.

 

Happy running in June,

Hans Ho

Participation Representative

Submitted: 1 June 2022

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