May will be a busy month, with the triathlon and track & field seasons getting under way in earnest and more daylight hours meaning more evening races. The month begins with the second race of the 2014 Assembly League on Thursday 1 May in Victoria Park, Hackney. There’s no need to sign up in advance for these regular Assembly League events – this one is run over a 3.5 mile course entirely within the park.

The May club handicap is on Saturday 3 May, and on Sunday 4 May the Tube Line Relay team are aiming to get a Serpie to all 270 tube stops by foot in one day. This is a social running event with teams running from the far ends of each tube line and meeting in Central London. It’s not too late to sign up to join in and run, or just to come along to The Chapel on Sunday evening from 6.30pm to hear the stories from the different lines. Also on 4 May are the second in this year’s Regent’s Park Summer 10k series, the Richmond Ranelagh Half Marathon and, for trail runners, the Three Forts Half Marathon and Marathon in Sussex. On Bank Holiday Monday (5 May) there is a Herne Hill Harriers Open track & field meeting at Tooting Bec and the third event in the London Triathlon League – the Thames Turbo Sprint Triathlon, plus a scenic 11 mile social Serpie trail run loop in the Chilterns, starting from Amersham.

Serpentine is off to a great start in this year’s Southern Athletics League, and the next SAL track & field meeting will be on Saturday 10 May in Kings Lynn. All are welcome to take part – contact the team captains for more details (men: Nick Barberis; women: Lisa Pettit). Also on 10 May is the Night of 10,000m PBs at Parliament Hill Track, when some of the fastest runner in the country, including 1 Olympic champion, 4 Olympians and several Serpies, will be aiming for super-fast times over 25 laps. There will be five races, starting at 6pm, with the elite races at 8.15pm & 9pm and it should be a great evening for spectators. Away from the track, 10 May is also the date for the Club Half Ironman Championship at Ironman 70.3 Mallorca, with 12 Serpies listed on My Events, but there are sure to be more there. On Sunday 11 May the Bristol 10k is the second race in the 2014 runbritain Grand Prix series and closer to home there’s the Ealing Eagles 10k.

The week commencing 12 May sees the first meetings of two track & field leagues. On Monday 12 May, the 2014 Southern Vet’s League track & field season starts off, with the first meeting at Battersea Track, starting at 6pm; then on Wednesday 14 May, the first Rosenheim League meeting starts at 6.30pm, also at Battersea. More details of each can be obtained from the team captains (Rosenheim: Richard Taylor; Vet men Andrew Maynard; Vet women: Jan Farmer).

On Saturday 17 May, there will be four Serpie teams setting off to run in the eagerly anticipated return of the Green Belt Relay, plus several Serpie teams competing at the BMAF relays at Sutton Park in Birmingham. A small number of Serpies are also making the trip to Ironman Lanzarote, which takes place on Saturday 17 May. The fourth London Triathlon League event is the popular Crystal Palace Tri on Sunday 18 May; and on the same day, is Run Wembley, which used to be known as the Sudbury Court 10k, and always attracts a good Serpie turnout.

This year’s annual Parkland Relays, organised by Thames Hare and Hounds, will be held on Wednesday 21 May from 7pm onwards. This friendly, inter-club relay race is a great alternative to the usual Wednesday night club runs. Teams can be decided on the night and it’s possible to run in multiple teams if you want to (but please sign up in advance on My Events so the club can put enough team entries in).

May’s Last Friday of the Month 5k will be on Friday 23 May (one week earlier than usual) and on Saturday 24 May there are several county track & field championships. The London 10,000 on Sunday 25 May, which is the third of the 2014 runbritain Grand Prix events, is bound to have a large group of Serpies running. There are 30+ signed up on My Events and several will be on the elite start. Sunday 25 May is also the date of the Edinburgh marathon.

The second Rosenheim League track & field meeting of the season is on Wednesday 28 May at Croydon Arena. On the last day of May – Saturday 31 – the ITU World Triathlon Series (Sprint distance) take place in Hyde Park. Also, on 31 May there will be a Serpie out-and-back trail run of about 2 hours along an easy riverside path following the River Medway from Tonbridge.

Looking ahead into early June, the ITU World Triathlon Series (Olympic distance) event in Hyde Park on Sunday 1 June is the club’s 2014 Olympic Triathlon Championship and should be a great event to watch Serpie club mates and the elite field alike. On the same day, it’s the first of the Summer League series of races, over a 10k course in Dulwich Park. No need to enter in advance – you can read more details about the friendly Summer League here.

There’s more information about lots of these events on the Serpie events planner.

Sally Hodge
communications@serpentine.org.uk