Race Report W/E 17 February

Well, it’s raining again after a balmy weekend that definitely felt more springlike than midwinter – a bonus for all those out racing.

We had a fairly large Ful-on-Tri contingent out over the weekend. Fortunately, none of Saturday’s cycling mishaps seemed to have affected race entrants.

In total there were 5 races going on. Most of which I had on the Race Calendar, though not all names – so, if you are struggling with it, give me a shout at fixtures@fulontri.com and I will help you. Alternatively, let me know you wish to remain anonymous and I will avoid shining the spotlight on your training event.

1. Challenge Wanaka Half

Kicking things off on Friday evening (for us anyway), Sophie Kirk was racing the Challenge Wanaka Half – and did rather well.

I thought I’d check the results before switching out the lights on Friday. At that point the race was still in progress. Sophie had put in a great performance by that point. Exiting the swim and T1 in 4th place in her Age Group (10th woman overall), she swiftly put the hammer down on the bike and, by the start of the Run, she was leading her Age Group. The run was clearly turning more competitive though. As Sophie herself commented: “definitely a feeling of being hunted”.

Holding her own over a very well paced half marathon, Sophie kept all challengers at bay over the last couple of kilometres, finishing an amazing 2nd in her Age Group, and 8th Woman overall.

A well earned holiday surely awaits?!

2.  Hell of the Ashdown

A few riders in the club have taken this on at one point or other in the past. It’s a sportive that occurs on the Kent Sussex border. If any of you have cycled over that way, you’ll know two things: the countryside is quite scenic and green… and it most certainly makes the Surrey Hills look like road bumps.

Our own Greg Edelstein was taking on this beast on Sunday. Within a finish time of just under 5 hours, that has to be a lot of cake points earned!

Greg was also riding this for charity, and you can find out more or donate via his link on Facebook.

3. 3 Halves and a Half (Richmond Half Marathon; Hampton Court Half Marathon; Craft Half)

If Saturday was the grey, slightly damp cousin of Friday, Sunday brought an unexpected Summer’s morning for the 15 club runners taking on various Half Marathons.

First, there were Phil Smith and Ben Harrison racing the Richmond Half Marathon. Both posted fast times, with Ben coming in under 1:30, in what I believe was a PB.

Then we had 12 runners in the Hampton Court Half Marathon (not to be confused with the Hampton Court Palace Half Marathon in a month’s time!). Thomas Claracq was our fastest runner, as one of three to come under 1:30 – the other two being Mark Benton, and Richard Harper (also with a PB!) But this is not to take away from everyone else competing. A bevy of sub-1:45 results from Sally Benton, Trin Head, Krista Kojecky, Ceri Ruzzi, and Holly Hardy, as well as strong runs from Bethan Williams, Eimear Toomey, Brian Canty and Jane Dwyer (all well under 2 hours) completed the set.

Finally, new member Katie Devlin decided that a plain old half was for wimps, and ran the Craft Half on Wimbledon Common – essentially a pleasant/painful combination of craft beer and running… Whilst there are no official results available, Strava suggests that Katie completed this at a very respectable pace (considering the booze). This does feel like it needs a “don’t try this at home tag”.

So, I’m now wondering whether we need the Liege Beer Marathon, as well as the Marathon du Medoc, and Bacchus Half, on the Race Calendar. Do let me know. Over a pint perhaps.

Finally, a quick comment on the Race Calendar. It seems, on balance, as if it is now being adopted by more of the club than not. The numbers are yet to objectively prove this. However, at least 50% of the racers this weekend had added themselves to their events – so if you are yet to get to grips with this rather simple feature you may find yourself in a dwindling minority.

As usual, if I’ve missed you, you want to share a race story, or you have a question about the Race Calendar, get in touch on fixtures@fulontri.com