The May club handicap is on Saturday 4 May. All Serpies are welcome, whether a handicap regular or a newbie – there’s no need to sign up in advance. The route will now go via Rotten Row to avoid the Lido Cafe and the meeting point is the Boathouse (not the Bandstand). If you haven’t run the handicap before and want to find out more, see the details on the website. Also on 4 May, for the real short distance specialists, there’s a sprint training session at Battersea Millenium Arena starting at 11:30am. On Sunday 5 May it’s the Bristol 10k, which is the 2nd event in this year’s runbritain Grand Prix. Entries are closed, but it will be good to see how some of our speedier Serpies perform. Bank holiday Monday (7 May) is the date of the 2nd Thames Turbo sprint triathlon and the Milton Keynes marathon.

The 2nd race in the 2013 Assembly League is on Thursday 9 May in Victoria Park (meet at the newly refurbished Victoria Park Harriers clubhouse). The start of the 3.5 mile race is at 7.15pm. The Assembly League series of six evening races is open to all club members with no need to enter in advance. It would be great to have a big Serpie turnout.

May is the month for the first Vets track & field match, which is on Monday 13 May at Battersea Millenium Arena starting at 18:00. There are separate events for different age groups. On Wednesday 15 May, Serpie track and field afficionados will be back at Battersea for the first Rosenheim League track & field match. This is also our Serpentine home match and we need as many people as possible to help out organising the event – qualified officials and helpers – to make it happen. Contact officials-coordinator@serpentine.org.uk if you can help out.

The 2nd Southern Athletics League meeting is on Saturday 18 May in St Ives – that’s the one in Cambridgeshire, not Cornwall. Contact team captains Nicola Barberis-Negra or Lisa Pettit if you want more details. Also on 18 May are the BMAF Relays in Sutton Park, where we have a couple of Serpie teams competing; and on the same day there’s a social Serpie trail run on the spectacular chalk coastline of Beachy Head and the Seven Sisters. The full loop is 20 miles, but shorter options of 5, 9 or 12 miles are also possible. Contact trail@serpentine.org.uk if you would like more information. The first 2013 club championship triathlon – the Crystal Palace sprint tri – takes place on Sunday 19 May. Entries for Crystal Palace filled some time ago, but there are still places for those wanting to run the Sudbury Court 10k which is always a very popular event with Serpies.

The 2013 Parkland Relays organised by Thames Hare and Hounds will be held on Wednesday 22 May, from 7pm onwards. This low-key, friendly, inter-club relay race on grassland and paths within Richmond Park is a great alternative to the usual Wednesday runs. Teams can be made up on the night and it’s possible to run in multiple teams if you want to.

The last weekend of May will be a busy one, with the Edinburgh Marathon and Tour of Wessex cycle event on Saturday 25 May; many County Track & Field Championships over Saturday and Sunday and the London 10,000 on bank holiday Monday. Entries for the London 10,000 are full, but there will be lots of Serpies running (over 40 have already signed up on My Events). The Westminster Mile is on Sunday 26 May and the 3rd Thames Turbo sprint triathlon takes place on Monday 27 May. The next Rosenheim League track & field match is on Wednesday 29 May in Croydon.

More details about lots of these events are on the Serpie events planner.

Sally Hodge
communications@serpentine.org.uk