A rather warm Good Friday saw the Westonbirt Easter 10k and brand new half marathon take place. The route started at Westonbirt House and took runners on quiet surrounding roads through Shipton Moyne and back to Westonbirt.
Sarah and Ollie looking cool before the start of the Half Marathon
First in for RSE in the Half Marathon was Ollie Hazel in a time of 1:35:49. Ollie did extremely well finishing 21st out of the 419 whom finished. He was followed by Sarah Page in a fantastic time of 2:03:11 and 2nd LV50. Bearing in mind this was Sarah’s first half marathon, huge congratulations are in order!
RSE 10k runners all smiles at the end of the Westonbirt race
Meanwhile in the 10k, Steve Sandercock put in another strong run finishing in 52:35. He was followed by Elliot Gardiner 54:07; Amanda Haines 1:03:33; Kate Sedgwick 1:07:48; Helen Berry 1:12:52; Caroline Sandercock 1:17:34; Kate Bartram 1:17:43; George Rackley 1:20:48 and Kay Thompson 1:20:58.
Sunday saw the next instalment in the RSE Championship: a beautiful, but challenging, 10(ish!) mile multi-terrain race in the heart of the Cotswolds. Starting from Chedworth Village Hall and running over tracks and woodland paths through the Stowell Park Estate and close to Chedworth Roman Villa. Luckily there was lots of cake at the end to reward runners after completing the hills and river crossing!
Well done to Ollie Hazel who was first home for the club in a super time of 1:14:34. He was followed by Ben Chapman in 1:27:41; Nadine Brown 1:28:53; Sharon Smith 1:30:30 (1st LV60); Kirsty Pitts 1:36:07; Rochelle Ravenscroft 1:36:44; Rebecca Hodgetts 1:39:08; Jo Beames 1:39:18; Kevin Joynes-Creed 1:41:57; Cheri Edwards 1:45:56; Lindsay Gregory 1:45:56; Istvan Vegh 1:45:58; Rich ‘Ryo’ Taylor 1:46:55; Sandie Wood 1:55:51; Richard Marshall 1:55:52; Kate Potter 2:03:05 (1st LV70+) and Kay Thompson 2:35:34.
Sharon Smith LV60 Winner
Kate Potter LV70+ Winner
Many managed course PBs but a special well done to Sharon and Kate for coming first in their age categories. There was also a great deal of pure grit and determination on view, especially by those coming back from, or dealing with, injuries as well as the one recovering from a very recent marathon! Well done everyone.
Great Welsh Marathon
Becca Wilson and Fatima Birkett celebrate completing the Great Welsh Marathon with a warming cuddle
The Great Welsh Marathon and The Great Welsh Half Marathon also took place on Sunday 14th April. The race started and finished at Festival Fields in Llanelli, taking runners along the coast and through the magnificent Millennium Coastal Park. Advertised as a flat marathon with PB potential, the organisers didn’t mention how gusty the course could be, which our RSE members found out!
Well done to Andy Masser who completed the 26.2 miles in a new Personal Best of 3:26:12. Also big congratulations to Becca Wilson on her first marathon, who not only achieved a great time of 5:19:34 but also raised over £800 for Macmillan.
Bourne ‘Run in the Woods’ 10k
The ‘Run in the Woods’ is a picturesque route on hard tracks in the beautiful and historic Bourne Woods in Lincolnshire. Vicki Mason took part in the small, well organised and undulating trail run completing the 10k in 55:42. Well done Vicki.
The Schneider Electric Marathon de Paris
Dave and Ellie are all smiles at the end of Paris Marathon
The Schneider Electric Marathon de Paris is now one of the biggest marathons in the world; as much for the size of its field as the performances of its runners. Nearly 145 nationalities and 55,000 runners come to tackle the 26.2 miles. The route across Paris, takes in the Champs Elysées, the Bois de Vincennes and Boulogne and offers an incomparable backdrop, with spectacular views and landmarks all along the route.
Three RSE members made the journey to Paris to take part in the prestigious event and each of them certainly reaped the rewards of successful training over recent months. Well done to Dave Witnall who took over 8 minutes off his previous PB finishing in 3:10:56; Dave Whitlow recorded a time of 3:35:47, taking 5 minutes off his York time last October and Ellie Taylor achieved a London ‘Good for Age’ time in 3:42:28, smashing her previous marathon PB by 22 minutes! Well done all.
parkrun
Swindon parkrun
Steve Sandercock 25:08
Caroline Sandercock 35:21
Cirencester parkrun
Ollie Hazel with his Mum 35:44
Celebrations…
We conclude the race report this week with some incredibly exciting news. After running over 26 miles Dave Witnall was still able to muster up not only the courage but energy and adrenaline required to get down on one knee and propose to the beautiful Ellie. She, of course, accepted and I know we all at RSE send them the biggest of congratulations. Lovely news 🙂
The Half Marathon Florence is one of the most anticipated European events, run through the the streets and squares of Florence. A flat course that winds through the historic city centre to reach the atmospheric Oltrarno.
On Sunday, 11 RSE Members made the journey, achieving great race results and equally impressive celebratory goals!
Congratulations to Paul Coates 1:51:52; Kirsty Pitts 1:51:57; Martin (Ted) Pitts 1:56:41; Cathy Steer 2:08:25 (PB); Richard Marshall 2:11:35; Vanessa Poole 2:18:47 (PB); Caroline Coates 2:21:11 and Sallie Clatworthy, Tracey Pitts and Kate Potter all with a time of 2:27:34. Well done to Ruth Herbert too, who completed the 8k in 42:11.
Awesome work all and enjoy the remainder of your time away.
Manchester Marathon
Sunday also saw the popular Manchester Marathon take place. The race follows a loop starting and finishing at Old Trafford. It is a flat course, offering the chance for achieving a good time and the possibility of a PB. It certainly didn’t disappoint for two RSE members, who have shown that hard work pays off!
Congratulations to Kevin Joynes-Creed, who knocked a fantastic 27mins off his PB finishing in 3:58:00. Running her first marathon as a married woman saw Laura Lucking also record a new Personal Best finishing in 4:07:05. Super work guys!
Highworth 5
Racing a little closer to home were those at Highworth 5. The route is a scenic 5 mile loop mainly on flat, fast roads, with a sting-in-the-tail at the 4 mile marker. It starts and finishes at Warneford School in Highworth and has been a popular event amongst RSE Members over recent years. This year it is the first race in the RSE Short Stuff Championship and 9 RSE members took part.
Tom Cooper finished in 5th place overall in a super time of 31:24 (PB), he was followed by Mark Garett 34:07; Ben Chapman 35:45; Dave Whitlow 37:00; First RSE Lady in was Rosie Oates 37:20 (PB by over 2mins) who also finished a mightly impressive 5th Lady overall; Sharon Smith 38:31 (1st LV65); Steve Sandercock 40:32; Amanda Tyler 40:49; Pauline Tilsbury 51:36 (PB by 6mins); Caroline Sandercock 56:48 and Kay Thompson 1:00:09. Great work team!
Angels 10k
Our final Sunday instalment saw Sarah Page take on the Angels 10k; this year, part of the Gloucestershire AAA Road Race seris. The route starts and finishes at the Woodpeckers Cricket Club in Ashleworth village. An exciting and undulating course, where runners can enjoy views of the Malverns and river Severn. Despite the ‘undulating’ course Sarah took over a minute off her PB and finished in a very impressive 53:43. Watch this space for an update of AAA standings. Well done Sarah!
parkrun
Cirencester parkun
Elliot Gardiner 23:16
Felicity Crotty 30:12
Charley Trykush 36:48
Bodelwyddan Castle parkrun
Caroline Joynes-Creed 35:21
Kevin Joynes-Creed 35:22
What a wonderful day to be writing the club report – you are all such an inspiration and the biggest of Congratulations to each and every one of you.
Now in it’s 38th year, making it one of the longest established half marathons in the UK, the Stroud Half Marathon took place on Sunday 21st October. This was described as a slightly undulating half marathon around Stroud and the surrounding area which was suitable for setting a PB. Not only was there a good turnout of runners for RSE but also a good support team which provided great support for all runners.
First in for RSE was Mark Manly in a time of 1:33:25. He was followed by;
Ollie Hazel – 1:34:59
Steve Phelps – 1:45:55
Jo Wood – 1:48:47
Cheri Edwards – 1:49:23 and a PB
Elaine Chapman – 1:52:29
Lindsay Gregory – 1:57:33
Liz Farooq – 2:00:37
Sandie Wood – 2:04:24
Great running from your all and great support from the support team.
Abingdon Marathon
The Abingdon Marathon on Sunday 21st October and was in it’s 37th year incorporated both the Oxfordshire and army marathon championships. This was a flat fast two lap circuit through Abingdon Town Centre and surrounding countryside and finishing at Tilsley Park athletic stadium.
The only runner representing RSE was Nadine Brown who completed the race in an impressive 3:42:46 which was a PB.
Great effort Nadine and well supported by Emma
Simplyhealth Great South Run
The Simplyhealth Great South Run which took place on Sunday 21st October in Portsmouth and Southsea is described as the world’s leading 10 mile running event which takes thousands of runners around a flat 10 mile route with beautiful views across the Solent.
Representing RSE was Paul Coates who completed the race in 1:30:12.
He was followed by Caroline Coates who finished in 1:50:49.
Mentioned In Dispatches
This week I want to mention the support teams in dispatches. The amount of messages I read from runners thanking the supporters who managed to keep them going when they were struggling just goes to show how important support is. In Stroud there was Dave Whitlow, Amanda Tyler, Kevin Joynes-Creed, Pauline Tilbury, Sarah Gray, Caroline Joynes-Creed, Sarah Reynolds, Caroline Terry and Laura Butler, whilst in Abingdon Emma Hine.
