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.
On Saturday 23rd March the Lulworth Cove Ultra trail running event took place. With a distrance of 32.1 miles and a total elevation of 7208 feet this was not for the feint hearted. This race is one of the most beautiful and recognisable stretches of coastline in the country, situated right on the South West Coast Path in Dorset.
Starting at the Durdle Door car park, the race took racers on this stretch of coastline, almost all the way to Weymouth before continuing onto to Osminton Mills before leaving the coast for a while before joining the upper coast path and heading back to Lulworth Cove. Runners then started the second leg of their challenge, heading in the other direction along the coast path towards St Alban’s Head and Poole. They then continued through M.O.D land, which was a particularly tough section but well worth it, before looping back to Lulworth Cove to the finish line.
Representing RSE was Gareth Roberts who completed the race in an impressive 7:39:23. Very well done.
Forest of Dean Half Marathon
Sunday 24th March saw the Forest of Dean half marathon. This Spring Trails Half Marathon was run in the Forest of Dean and started on the road adjacent to the Speech House Hotel in the heart of the forest. The course then left the road to follow a loop of well maintained forest trails (with gentle inclines) before eventually leading back to the Speech House Hotel for the finish.
Representing RSE was Tracy Webster who completed the race in 2:23:52.
Great effort
The Big Cheese Trail Run
The Big Cheese Trail Run took place on Sunday 24th March. This 15 mile race included over 2000 feet of hill climbing. The race started at Fairlands Middle School, Cheddar and the route included part of the Longleat Estate.
Representing RSE was Nadine Brown who completed the race in 2:32:20. Excellent effort.
The Westonbirt Duathlon
The Westonbirt Duathlon took place in the in the picturesque surroundings of Westonbirt, The National Arboretum, one of the worlds finest botanical collections of trees and shrubs on 24th March 2019.
The event was opened to seasoned triathletes and newcomers, with a course that was fast and included a 5km run route through the Arboretum before taking competitors through the transition and out onto the open rural roads for a 22km cycle followed by a repeat of the 5km run.
Representing RSE was Steve Phelps who completed the race in 1:37:20. He was followed by George Rackley in 2:02:45.
