Race Report W/E 10 March
Today is apparently the calm before a wet and windy week ahead – with the potential joy of hailstones tomorrow evening. No brimstone as yet. I’ve been assured we can choose our own weather by the end of the month though.
Despite the blustery conditions over the weekend, as usual our hardy club was out and about giving the elements a good old gallic shrug (something we are still allowed to do for the moment).
We had 5 races over Saturday and Sunday – covering both hemispheres, and a variety of terrain, distance and transport methods.
Omissions
Firstly, I should briefly bounce back to last weekend and over to the Clinton’s town in Arkansas – Little Rock. Although it wasn’t in the Race Calendar, Euan Lees ran the Half Marathon there on 3rd March. In a field of a little over 3,000, he finished 11th. Running in a very respectable 1hr 23 min, he also came top of his Age-group. Well done Euan!
1. The Big Half
Although all eyes were on Mo Farah, Ful-on-Tri had three of its busiest racers out on the course – James Ellis (even if he was running for TVH); Gina Siebler; and, Enrique Pinel – plus a belatedly spotted Sian Morgan. Splendid running by all into the winds of Storm “Gareth”. A special mention for James though, as he finished in 1hr 10min!?! coming 44th overall.
2. Barcelona Marathon
Off to slightly nicer weather (meteorologically speaking at least), and Sunday also saw the Barcelona Marathon. The course bills itself as the “most attractive” (don’t they all), but they do seem to have attempted to take in a fair few landmarks (rather than mile after mile of main road). So, a great race to see Barcelona in a day.
We had 2 runners out racing – Nicky Huskens and Lea Marie Burek. This was Nicky’s first marathon (and I believe some Ironman practice to boot), and it sounded like it was an enjoyable one. Awesome. Both finished with solid times in the Catalonian sunshine.
3. Cape Town Cycle Tour (formerly Cape Town Argus)
Our very own Tim Dearden returned to do this Southern Hemisphere bike race (how many years now Tim?) It’s a fantastic 109km Sportive, starting and finishing by Table Mountain. Heading out past the Constantia wineries, the ride takes in the coast past the penguins at Boulders Beach. cuts across the Cape, and returns to the finish via the spectacular Chapman’s Peak drive.
Tim finished in just under 3hr 30min and came in the top 10% of overall and age-group riders.
4. The Maverick Inov-8 Original (Hampshire)
Cheryl Boshi is renowned for popping up in random countries and random races. This weekend’s Maverick trail race near Liphook in Hampshire is no exception. A muddy 8 mile course saw just over 200 runners racing. Boshi finished in just under 1hr 15min, and well within the top 40 runners.
5. Velo Park March Madness
Last, but by no means least, we had our first London League race of the season. If you don’t know about the London League: (a) you haven’t met Rob Argles; (b) do ask, it’s great and it counts to individual and club prizes!; (c) make sure you enter some!!
The March Madness race, at the Olympic Velo Park, should have been a duathlon. However, given the inclement weather, this was changed at the last moment to a 5k race.
Our 5 club racers were: Alexie Calvert-Ansari; Haukur Heimisson; Adam Gorman; Eszter Szadeczky-Kardoss; and, Jane Osborne – all posting great times, and podium finishes!! Alexie and Eszter placed first in their Categories, with both Haukur and Jane securing a 2nd place apiece, alongside Adam’s 3rd place. Well done for braving the elements and racing despite the changed format!
And… this week’s prize for using the Race Calendar (well in advance), and for adding the club name to race entries, goes to the March Madness crew!!
Upcoming Races
This coming weekend sees:
- yet more running with the: ECTS Sussex races (Luke Hardman, Jane Osborne, Rob Gray, Emma Swinnerton and Walt Rothon); Bath Half Marathon (Martin Bruwer and Gareth Davies); and, Hampton Court Palace Half Marathon (Lizzie Matthews, Helen Fagan, Rich Harper and Adam O’Rourke)
- some running and cycling in the Windsor & Eton Duathlon (Charlie Muir-Sands and Someone who either wished to remain anonymous or didn’t realise they needed to type their name into the calendar)
- speedy Time Trial cycling at the next West London TT – 25 miles this time (and hopefully no unexpected road works to get in the way!) Phil Roker has posted about this on Facebook, so contact him if you want to take part in this – possibly the best value racing money can buy! Email Phil on phil.roker@hotmail.co.uk
Please do remember that (unless you are someone who has genuine split club disorder or loyalty to a sponsoring group) we would really, really like you to add the club name (Ful-on-Tri) to your race entries. At a minimum, it helps spot you in results. However, it also helps promote the club and ensures we don’t miss out on club prizes (such as in London League and Ironman, to name two).
Race Calendar
Thanks for the updates and requests. I’m a little behind on getting them on but will get round to them this week and let each of you know they’re live.
I’ve also got a wishlist of improvements (for this particular aspect of the website), and will be attempting to get as many improvements through as possible during the next month or so (not knowing yet how quickly Trinitech can work on these). If you are having challenges such as viewing on Mobile (which is a broader issue than just the Calendar) then this is known but requires Trinitech to see if they can fix the issue. One of my main ones is being able to add your names myself to races – something I can’t currently do.
As usual, if there’s anything missed or not covered, please contact me at fixtures@fulontri.com