Bristol Half Marathon, 23 September

Well done to the intrepid Serpies who competed in the rainy Bristol Half. Marta Bagnati stole the show with a shiny new PB of 1:18:38 and third place. Marta’s time places her second on the all-time Serpie leaderboard. Many congratulations Marta! (Photo: Marta Bagnati)

Ironman 70.3 Weymouth, 23 September; Ironman Italy Romagna-Emilia, 22 September

Well done to everyone who competed in Weymouth in horrific weather, including Vanrisch McLean (4th in his age group in 4:34:45), Angus Beaumont (5th in his age group in 4:49:17), Byron Coombs (finishing his first triathlon in 7:04:12) and Warren Brayn (5:24:07). Byron had this to say: “My first triathlon – and had some great help from my coach Margaret Sills! Managed to finish despite the weather, albeit they cut the swim distance to 950m to reflect the risks out in the bay. A bit of hail on the bike ride added to the challenging winds, then the sun came out for a glorious run.”

Congratulations to Richard Giles who came 10th in his age group in his Ironman debut in Italy in a time of 9:27:35.  

Alan’s Tring Hills, 22 September

A few hardy souls headed out on Saturday for some up-and-down trail fun led by Alan Hall in the Tring Hills. With the option to jog along, completing the 9-mile route with just some reasonable undulations, or taking on Alan’s challenges for several optional hills along the way, the run really was suitable for all paces. With a coffee stop at mile seven to indulge in some much-deserved cake, sandwiches and scones, the run was pleasantly social, but with the option to go as hardcore as your legs – and lungs – would let you. Note: Alex had all three options at the cafe. A bagel/salmon sandwich, a slice of sponge AND a ridiculously cream-filled scone! To be 18 again… sigh… (Report: Kristin Duffy)

Marathon du Médoc, 8 September

I ran my first marathon in Medoc on September 8th. Well, it was actually more like ran, walked, drank, ate, stumbled….and then drank some more. But most importantly I did manage to cross the line ahead of the sweep van. I won’t give you my time after all that mayhem, but suffice it to say that if I decide to run another marathon, it won’t be hard to get a PB! (Report: Lindsay Deller)

VAC 10,000 Championships, 19 September

A half-dozen Serpies turned out for the Vets Athletics Club 10,000m Championships on the Battersea Park track on Wednesday 19th. Most of us were chasing points for the club’s track and field icosathlon competition. This involves competing in as many athletics events as possible to gain as many points as possible. As the season draws to a close at the end of this month, few competitions remain and this was a rare opportunity to tick off, and gain points for, a track 10k. The pleasantly cool and breezy evening made the 25 laps slightly more bearable and competing against other vets, rather than youngsters, made for a more interesting and challenging race. David Cull and Thomas Martini both achieved PBs while Stuart Leigh achieved the highest Serpie age-grading. I was delighted simply to complete my first track 10k! (Report: Camilla Allwood; photo: Cliff Hide)

>>Your report here<<

Did you achieve a new personal best, compete in your first ever race, hit a milestone or especially enjoy a particular race? Then please get in touch. Whether you are a competitive athlete or take part for the sheer pleasure of it, everybody’s contributions are welcome. Deadline: end of Monday; 130 words max. If you send photos, please ask for permission if you use somebody else’s and confirm the source. 

Meet the Club Member: Laura

Laura Hamilton joined the club on the insistence of her old flatmate and hasn’t looked back since, complementing her multisport activities with cross country and other Serpie fun. Find out more about Laura.

Parkrun results for 22 September 2018 (72 runners)

Isabel Clark was the fastest female parkrunner in the UK with her time of 17:04 at Bushy parkrun.

Top 5 by time and age-graded performance

Podium Finishers

1st: Kit Grierson (Fulham Palace) – 16:32, Isabel Clark (Bushy) – 17:04, Gideon Reid (Wormwood Scrubs) – 17:25, Natasha Sheel (Ormskirk) – 19:06
2nd: Dominic Grise (Peckham Rye) – 17:56
3rd: Ryan McCrickerd (Hampstead Heath) – 17:25, Joanna Beak (Gunpowder) – 23:23

Milestones

Joanne Marshall – 150th parkrun, celebrated at Margate

Busiest parkruns (3+ Serpies)

Hampstead Heath (8), Fulham Palace (6), Hackney Marshes (5), Crane Park (4), Burgess (3), Dulwich (3), Mile End (3)

Full consolidated Serpentine results. Can’t see yours? Updating your parkrun profile with Serpentine RC as your club should do the trick. (Results: Alex Jeffreys)

Serpentine results database

Check the results database on the club website for other performances not covered here. If your result is missing, you can add it yourself or, if the race isn’t listed in the dropdown menu, contact the Results Elves at results@serpentine.org.uk. Even better, add your name to the Race & Event Planner in advance and name SERPENTINE as your club when you enter races to ensure your results can be more easily added to your profile.

With thanks to everyone who contributed to this week’s edition!

Eda Korkmaz
communications@serpentine.org.uk