Serpentine RC - What’s Happening in August 2022

After a brilliant month of July with the anniversary party and the grand prix, we are going to continue our active summer in August. The headline is the inter-club Summer League reaching its climax with our hosting of the Battersea Park 10k on 21st Aug. Two of the Athletics leagues will also conclude the season this month. Like every month, we start with the Handicap and finish with the Last Friday 5k, with our club runs and training sessions almost every day in between! Finally, we also have the 40th anniversary T-shirt to order and we are seeking some dedicated members to join us in the committee from September’s AGM.

Summer League – Battersea Park 10k

After a few fixtures around different London parks, the Summer League will reach its finale on Sunday 21st August when we Serpies host the 10k race in Battersea Park.

To run in the race, you do not need to enter in advance, you just need to show up with your Serpie shirt/vest to run – come to the race HQ near the Bandstand at about 09:00 for a 09:30 start of the race. However, it is helpful to us if you could let us know beforehand, so that we can submit results more easily, and also we can have an idea of numbers and communicate with everyone. Therefore, please fill in this form before the race to indicate interest.

 

Serpies out in force at the Perivale fixture in early July 2022

 

We need volunteers on 21st Aug! 

As we are hosting this fixture, we will need about 15-20 volunteers to make the event a success. Please also fill in this form if you can help. In particular:

  • There are a number of race-related roles such as marshals, timekeepers, finish funnel officials, bag minders, water station helpers – most roles do not require qualifications.
  • We will need someone as our team manager to record runners on the day – taking participants’ names and finish positions.
  • Every hosting club has so far provided a picnic for all participants, and it’s only right that we return the favour for the other clubs! We need someone to take a lead on the picnic and organise the other volunteers helping out with the food required.
  • We need someone who has a car to help with a supermarket journey (for water and sundries) and picking up some bits and pieces from Seymour Centre before the race.

If you would like to volunteer, or if you have any questions, please contact our Summer League rep Imran Ahmed.

And finally, we are planning to have a social event after the race to get all the Serpies together - stay tuned!

Worth bearing in mind that there’s also another fixture before ours:

 

  • Sunday 31st July – Regent’s Park, 10k, organised by Mornington Chasers. Starts at 09:30 near the Hub.

 

Track and Field – Season’s Finale

In August both SAL and Rosenheim will reach the business end of this season. There are various track and field events (from 100m to middle-long distances, also jumps and throws) on offer. It was great to see quite a few members compete for us during the summer, so we hope see more of you in August! 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): We won the last fixture in Lee Valley in July! The final match is at Woodford (IG8 8AA) on Saturday 13th August. We welcome volunteers and officials. Please get in touch with Rhi Needham by 11th August if you are competing (and let her know what your preferred events are). Also get in touch if you can help as a volunteer – many roles do not require any qualifications, we would appreciate you sparing just your time!

  

  • Rosenheim League – The next fixture is on Wednesday evening 3rd August in the newly-surfaced Tooting Bec Track.  Then on Wednesday 17th August, this season’s final will be in Kingsmeadow Track in Kingston. Please contact Dave Robinson or Sophie Flanagan for queries or if you can compete.

 

Regular Monthly Races – Handicap and Last Friday 5k

This month’s Handicap race will be held on Saturday 6th August, near the Hyde Park Boat House. As usual, the race covers two laps of the Serpentine lake (almost 7km). Slower runners start earlier than faster runners, so everyone has a chance to win. No advance registration is required – entries 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 26th August. 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.

 

External 10k races – Ealing Eagles and Kent AC

Our friends at Ealing Eagles are hosting their annual 10k on Saturday 13th August, with the main race starts at 10:00. Entry costs only £13/15 (for affiliated/unaffiliated athletes). All the info is on this website, and much of the proceeds will go towards supporting the Eagles Charitable Trust and A Mile in Her Shoes.

Kent AC will host their annual track-based Ladywell 10,000m race in the afternoon of Sunday 21st August. Runners will race each other over 25 laps of the track and will be seeded according to their ability. For race entry please go to this link.

 

Trail Run – Surrey Hills, Sunday 28th August

The next Serpie trail run will be on Sunday 28th August in Surrey.  This run will be at a social pace over roughly a half marathon distance. We will run together and have fun - if you can run a 10k in about 60 minutes, enjoy hills and have covered this sort of distance before, you should be fine to run at a social pace. We will travel together in the morning from Waterloo Station.

There will be more information coming out during the month. Any questions? Please contact Lindsey Chiswick.

 

Club Runs – every Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday

Our Club Runs continue every Wednesday evening and weekend mornings. All members are welcome – we would like more members to join our regular meetings. 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 me.

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

 

Serpies enjoying a warm evening club run in July 2022 (Photo credit: Sid)

 

Weekend mornings

On Saturday mornings we meet at the Hyde Park Bandstand at about 09:35 to 09:40 for a 09:45 start – 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 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):

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 to email our triathlon rep Anne Bennett to join the Whatsapp groups. We may also post ride details on our Facebook page.

 

40th Anniversary T-Shirt

To celebrate our 40th anniversary this year, we have limited edition technical T-shirts available for pre-order.  The front and back visuals for the design look like this:

 

To reserve your iconic T-shirt, please fill in this Google form with your name and refer to the chart for your selected size.  Please put your name down by Sunday 21st August, after which the order will be placed with an expected lead time of 2-3 weeks.

The price is dependent on demand, our current estimate is - adult £25; juniors £20.

We will advise when payments need to be made. We look forward to celebrating this milestone with you all and seeing you in this specially commissioned T-shirt! Any further questions, please ask our kit rep.

 

And finally…

  • Annual General Meeting & Committee: We are planning to host our next AGM on Wednesday 14th September – please put it in your diary and we will confirm venue and other details in due course. We have a few committee positions becoming vacant at the AGM. This is a great way to contribute to our community whilst being able to influence how the club operates. At the moment our Communications, Athletics, and Club Kit roles are vacant. Would you be able to help? If so, please get in touch with our secretary Kristin and we can discuss further. There are no particular qualifications required, apart from the willingness to help and wanting this club to thrive!
  • New Beginners’ Course – Coming soon! This autumn we are planning an exciting adventure in the form of two new courses, one aimed at complete beginners and the other aimed at those who want to run their first 10k race which will culminate with everyone running a 10k race! There will be more details in early August – please look out for further information!

 

Happy running in August,

Hans Ho

Participation Representative

Submitted: 29 July 2022

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