Festive Frolics

On Saturday, Martin Croucher travelled to Kent to take part in The Festive Frolic, a 6 hour event organised by one of his favourites, Saxons, Vikings and Normans. In his summary of the day Martin explains just why he enjoys these runs so much.

“If you want to run fast times then don’t come to an SVN race. They are without doubt the most friendly, low key races I run and the best part is no one cares how far you run or what time you do it in. It is all about the friendship, camaraderie and probably most important of all, the cake. Indeed, the aid station is more akin to the chocolate aisle at a supermarket rather than isotonic drinks or sports gels you might see at most big city races.” “You see, the races are more like long runs with friends who you greet each time you pass with an encouraging nod or a thumbs up or a “looking great” comment.” “I don’t think I really went with an aim for the race. The route had been changed at the last minute so this time we had about a 3/4 of a mile, muddy section at the beginning and end of each lap. This didn’t help with keeping things even on the pacing front. After lap 1, I could see an average of 10 minute miles was a possibility. So, for the next 4 laps (about 4.3 miles long), I decided to chase the average. I lost time during the first half of the lap, but made it back during the second. That kept things interesting and fun. By halfway round lap 6 (about a marathon), the average was where it needed to be so decided to push the final couple of miles to the finish to see what I had left in my legs. Luckily the pace was there, however when I got to the end, since I couldn’t get into my hotel for another couple of hours, decided to go around again!!! (Nothing else to do!)” “My plan was to walk most of the final lap as an aid to my recovery. But the weather wasn’t pleasant, it was cold and damp, so after about a mile or so, I decided to re chase the average. Due to my walk, it turned out I needed to claw back about 2 minutes or so over the final couple of miles. That ensured the final miles flew by and thankfully, my legs were still happy to run faster than they have for months!!!” “There are definitely easier ways to get cake and chocolate but at least I am able to offset what I eat by running the race. Merry Christmas everyone.”

Well done to Martin,and another splendid medal for the collection.

18th December, Festive Frolic, 6hr timed challenge, trail

1 Alex Marshall (Unknown) 6.25.23 – 39.3 miles

10 Martin Croucher (Cirencester AC) 5.06.20 – 30.6 miles

109 finished

On Sunday Nick Wall arrived at the start of the Chippenham Shortest Day 10 mile race ready to act as tail runner. In a last minute change of plan however, he was asked to step in and take the place of the 2 hour pacer. Nick had never paced a race before, not an easy thing to do successfully. He did a grand job and the one lady he was pacing was delighted with her first ever sub 2 hour 10 miles, crossing the line in 1.59.28.

What a great example of giving something back to the running community.

19th December, Chippenham Shortest Day, 10 miles, road

1 Johnny Suttle (Bristol and West AC) 56.28

117 Nick Wall (Cirencester AC) 1.59.27

121 finished

In another 10 mile event at the weekend, new club member Natasha Pauck had a great run on the picturesque country lanes around Hullavington.

19th December, Hullavington Secret Santa 10, 10 miles, road

1 Jon Cracknell (Lonely Goat RC) 53.43 (53.42)

52 Natasha Pauck (Cirencester AC) 1.19.45 (1.19.32)

153 finished

There were fine runs from two club members at the Short Course Cross Country event hosted by Stroud AC with Sebastian Compton-Evans taking 5th place in the U11 category and Bill Leggate finishing 2nd over a 4k distance in the senior race.

19th December, Open Short Course XC, U11, 1.5k, trail

1 Max Coleman (Stroud) 6.33

5 Sebastian Compton-Evans (Cirencester AC) 6.49

25 finished

Open Short Course XC, Senior, 4k, trail

1 Louis Peterson (Chiltern Harriers AC) 13.32

2 Bill Leggate (Cirencester AC) 13.43 – 1st MV45

53 finished

Of note at this weekends parkrun events, Luke Campbell continued his South African tour with a 2nd place finish at the aptly named Thousand Hills event. At Tetbury, Nea Sneddon-Jenkins was 1st lady and Paul Edrich had a top 10 finish. Wendy Nicholls was 2nd lady at Seven Fields.

18th December, parkrun, 5k, trail

Lydiard parkrun

1 Gabriel Dellar (Unattached) 16.59

141 James Hunton (Cirencester AC) 29.43

259 finished

Wotton parkrun

1 Ben Bohane (Unattached) 19.12

24 Alex Banks (Cirencester AC) 28.05

52 finished

Thousand Hills parkun

1 Ewould Grobler (Unattached) 23.33

2 Luke Campbell (Cirencester AC) 24.30

57 finished

Cirencester parkrun

1 Jake Stephens (Unattached) 17.36

24 Gordon Jones (Cirencester AC) 24.46

42 Richard Edwards 28.07

51 Samantha Timms 29.28

85 finished

Tetbury Goods Shed parkrun

1 Robin Phillips (Unattached) 17.28

10 Paul Edrich (Cirencester AC) 21.20

12 Nea Sneddon-Jenkins 22.08 – 1st Female

28 Alan Mcadam 24.09

42 Rachel Mcadam 26.00

62 Nicola Wood 29.30

99 finished

Seven Fields parkrun

1 Ben Chapman (Unattached) 19.28

14 Wendy Nicholls (Cirencester AC) 23.26 – 2nd Female

71 finished