Race Report W/E 2nd February
Well, a lot has happened since our last Race Report, not least a changing of the guard at the top – welcome to our new Chairman, Richard Harper. The weather definitely cleared and warmed up a bit too, making for pleasant (if breezy) racing conditions this weekend. Obviously, there was also a day of varied emotions on Friday. Diversity was a hot topic at our AGM last week. Ful-on Tri is one of the warmest, most welcoming clubs out there, and having members from all around the world, including our European neighbours, is a fantastic element of that. We will always remain a safe place where we all look after each other, no matter what.
In Racing news, we had 3 events this weekend: a 10k; a cross country race; and, a wet and muddy brawl on the Common.
We also have our final Men’s and Women’s cross country races this weekend. The men will run in the mud of Lloyd Park (Croydon), whilst the women are closer to home in Richmond Park. Important points and placing are at stake in both – so, we really need an epic turn-out. Runners of all abilities welcome (it’s fun, I promise).
Finally, I would like to welcome Katie McCreadie who will be acting as my eagle-eyed sidekick this season. Don’t be surprised if she encourages you to get a blog post up about your race experience, first triathlon or prep for your dream event.
Croxteth Park Cross Country
Bryony Allen headed north to get some Cross Country practice in ahead of this coming weekend’s grand finale of our own League races. This Sunday’s race was at Croxteth Park, just outside Liverpool. Bryony joined Mersey Tri club for a race that apparently included “sooo much mid, much wading and a little dip”, completing the 8+km course in a little over 50min!
Mornington Chasers Regents Park 10k
Nearer by, Sunday also saw Mornington Chasers host their latest 10k race in Regents Park. Helen Fagan and Alejandro (Alex) de Miguel Solano were both out running.
Alex, who was apparently desperately trying to avoid being run down by Helen, managed to cross the line first in 47min, less than a minute ahead of his club rival. Both finished well within the top half of the field – fantastic! In a race that also saw a nearly 50:50 gender split, Helen also nearly finished in the top 10 of her age group, and well inside the top 10% of all women racing!!
Dash for the Splash
A firm club favourite over the last few years, this is a 10k race that embraces all the wintry goodness Wimbledon Common has to offer – including the eponymous “Splash”.
Out racing were: Catherine Spurin; Sapna Sekhri; Charlie Elliott; Alexandra Richards; Joseph Croft; Gina Siebler; Rob Argles; Richard Harper; Sian Morgan; Richard Bridger; and, Stuart Archer.
This was clearly a toughy, and as such the finishing times of our front two – Richard Harper and Charlie – were pretty epic. However, Charlie’s legs were by far the quickest. He crossed the line in 4th overall, and nearly a full 6 minutes ahead of our Chairman, whose own finish time of 46min would have been a great 10k time on a dry course!
We then had some close competitive running from Joseph, Rob and Stu, all finishing between 49 and 52min!
Richard B and Sian jockeyed for position coming in around 2min later!
Catherine, Gina, Sapna, and Alexandra put in some strong running (great base for the upcoming tri season), finishing either side of the hour mark!!
Brilliant running all – and hopefully some great prep for our Cross Country finale this coming weekend!!!
And that’s another wrap! Stay tuned for what will hopefully be a set of fresh and varied reports over the rest of the season – including our important race day on Saturday!
Additions, omissions and upcoming races, as usual, to fixtures@fulontri.com
Keep having fun!