Weekly Run Down – 1st – 14th July

Club Announcements

SJ Intraclub Pairs Relay – Following the success of the last club pairs relay, another one has been organised for Tuesday 30th July. For those who may be unaware of this event, it is a brilliant chance to get to know several new faces within the club, and do some running at the same time!

The format is as follows, teams of pairs run 1km laps around the park, on a marshalled route, taking it in turns to run 5 laps. By the end this means each team will have run 10k, and each runner 5k. To make sure teams are as even as can be, pairs will be selected based on recent 5k times, pairing the fastest times up with the slowest times etc to ensure that every team has a fair chance. Although of course, the main aim of this is to have fun, but winning is never a bad thing either!

On the night:
– Meet at 6.30pm – please sign in and find your race partner
– 6.45pm – we will run a practice lap together as a group, so everyone knows the route!
– 7.00pm RACE START

The event should finish at around 8pm, and hopefully we will then go for a nice cool drink in the social club bar.

What you need to do now!
– Put the date in your diary (Tuesday 30th July)
– Email Wayne Boardman your current 5km time

Wayne’s email address is – vicechairman@sandhurstjoggers.org.uk

Club Kit – Stay tuned for future updates, but a pre warning, Sally Kent is looking into finding a supplier for club hoodies, and another order of club ‘heritage’ kit shall be offered out soon. A minimum of 50 orders will need to be made to make this happen, so keep an eye out and have your wallets and purses at the ready!

Shall we get onto some running now? Let’s, starting with….

SJ Events

Yateley 10k Road Race #2 – Not strictly a club event, but the involvement of the club is undeniable and there for all to see, therefore I thought this warranted a feature at the top of the article! Last Wednesday saw the running of the 2nd of 3 Yateley Road Races. The weather was definitely hotter than last time, but that didn’t stop some cracking times being posted by several of our members. The results were as follows:

Stephen Mott – 39:33
Jim Laidlaw – 40:05
Paul Biggs – 44:23
Rebecca Perrin – 46:18
Stuart Mayes – 46:40
Sarah Hyatt – 46:47
Patrick Wadsworth – 47:04
Charley Bryant – 48:54
Caroline Stuart – 48:40
Craig Waters – 49:51
Craig Bowles – 49:56
Claire Rowse – 50:35
Richard Boese – 50:41
Martin Gould – 50:42
Gaynor Falconi – 51:24
Dave Bartlett – 53:03
Lucy Dean – 53:20
Mo Willcox – 54:14
Jackie Kent – 54:18
Vicky Rice – 55:02
Patrick Denston – 56:25
Chris Greatorex – 56:46
Lina Johnson – 57:21
Roy Bentley – 57:30
Louisa Enriquez – 59:02
Colin Carpenter – 58:55
Jo Fraser – 1:00:36
Jon Curham – 1:00:38
Bev Matthews – 1:01:32
Harvey Young – 1:04:38
Liz Evans – 1:04:48
Lucy Hale – 1:05:07
Helen Clayton – 1:07:56
Michelle Wilson – 1:08:02
Helena Jones – 1:09:06
Michelle Reardon – 1:09:27
Matt Johnson – 1:10:29
Angela Foker – 1:10:57
Mark Neve – 1:11:32
Celesta Moruzzi – 1:12:05
Monica Burbidge – 1:13:28

Well done to everyone who ran at Yateley, apologies if I missed you out, as you can see, there were a lot of people to keep track of!

Onto the weekend running and starting with parkrun…

Frimley – 8 SJs headed over to Frimley, with Neil Praine storming round to finish 9th overall and first SJ member in a cracking time of 19:14. Fern Stonestreet was first female SJ through the finishing funnel in a time of 27:57. Special congratulations to Donna Dobson, who took nearly 20 seconds off her previous effort at Frimley, to set a PB with a time of 51:45.

Bracknell – 11 members were at Bracknell this weekend, and were headed up by Krzysztof Zielinski, coming 2nd in age category with a time of 21:50. Jackie Kent came through as first female member, with a great time of 29:15.

Special mentions go to Vanessa Clarke-Morris for her first parkrun at Bracknell, and to Tom Stafford, who set a new PB with a time of 30:30, over 30 seconds quicker than his previous best, well done to you both!

Rushmoor – Just the 4 headed to Rushmoor this Saturday, led around by Roy Bentley, who set a time of 25:04 to come through as first SJ member. Meanwhile, Liz Evans flew around in a time of 29:55, a great sub-30 time!

Andy Hazell ran his 99th parkrun on Saturday, we all know what that means….he has to bring the cake along this Saturday! (Andy, just a question, where are you parkrunning this weekend…? No reason, just curious….)

California Country Park – A terrific trio of SJs ran at California this weekend, and they all decided to get PBs! Nice when that happens, isn’t it? The times were as follows – Alison Winders – 26:55 (39s quicker), Andrew Wood – 27:56 (1m 29s quicker), and Gavin Loader – 28:21 (41s quicker). Excellent effort by the three of them, well done guys!

Tourism – As per usual, plenty of members were out and about on Saturday, let’s see who was where…

Dinton Pastures – 5 SJs ran at Dinton Pastures! The times were as follows – Jim Haffey 25:56, Jon Green 27:59, Lyn Winter 29:36, Andrea Hadfield 30:18, Jane Pond 33:03. Special mentions go to Andrea Hadfield for her first run at Dinton, and to Jim Haffey and Lyn Winter for setting PBs. Well done guys!
Houghton Hall – Andy Summerskill ran a time of 28:56 in his 40th parkrun.
Mole Valley – Kate Parker set a PB by 20 seconds at Mole Valley.
Moors Valley – Jane Ralls got all the threes with a time of 33:33 in her 2nd run at Moors Valley.
Osterley – Another brilliant duo in the form of Lisa Hale and Stuart Overhill ran at Osterley, finishing in times of 21:16 and 24:39. Lisa set a PB by 1 minute 45 seconds in her 7th run at Osterley, fantastic effort!
Preston Park, Brighton – Jo Fraser smashed out a time of 28:16 in her first run at Preston Park.
Richmond – Teresa Milroy ran for her first time at Richmond, getting around in a time of 27:32.
Rickmansworth – Craig Bowles flew around to come through sub-20 in a time of 19:40 to come in 11th overall in his first run at Rickmansworth.
Southsea – A duo of SJs in Alurie Maye Dutton and Yvette Glacken ran at Southsea, both running their 226th parkruns! Alurie ran in 35:28 and Yvette finished in 40:58. Well done both!
Wycombe Rye – Sharon Fields ran a superb time of 24:37 in her 11th run at Wycombe.

Some great parkrunning by everyone, as usual, well done all!

Other Saturday Events…

Unicorn Frolic – Jonathan Taylor and Mark Neve donned the colours and completed an ‘insanely hot and hilly’ course at the Unicorn Frolic in Moreton. Well done guys, nice outfit Jonathan!

Runnymeade Relay – A popular event in the SJ calendar, we entered 6 teams into the Runnymeade Relay this year. With beautiful weather (probably too beautiful for running…), the teams and results were as follows….

Team A – Graham Robinson, Mark Fallowfield-Smith, James Ratcliffe, Lisa Hale, Martin Steadman, Dave Ayling – Final time 2:22:38, position 7.
Team B – Stuart Mayes, Ian Watson, Rebecca Perrin, Dave Breslin, Graham Kelly, Paul Biggs – Final time 2:41:31, position 13.
Team C – Katie Herrington, Claire Hobson, Chris Cole, Jenny Robinson, Phil Turner, George Green – Final time 2:54:26, position 17.
Team D – Gareth Hopkins, Jane Bannister, Simon Phillips, Sarah Jones, Dave O’Toole, Claire Hobson – Final time 3:17:42, position 33.
Team E – Alison Jones (2 legs), Elin Loftesnes, Richard Boese, Beanie Watson, Alan Kirby – Final time 3:06:06, position 29.

Serpent 100k – The legend that is Andy Yates completed the Serpent 100k run. This run follows a route from Haslemere to Petersfield, and takes in all the countryside of Surrey, Sussex and Hampshire. Andy came in a superb 24th position, with an incredible time of 13:23:29, I think a big well done is in order, what a superb time!

8th – 14th July

Midweek Events

Gosport 5k – A big congratulations to Jim Laidlaw for recording a superb 5k PB time of 18:40 in his latest run at Gosport! Now for sub 18….

Dinton Pastures 10k Summer Series – Race 3 – The third race in this series was held last Thursday, and was well attended, with several members running. The results were as follows:

5k
Rowena Norman – 27:50
Karen Page – 37:24
Julie Graham – 37:26
Louise Turnor – 43:13

10k
Jim Laidlaw – 41:25
Mark Norman – 46:49
Alison Jones – 52:50
Paul Norman – 59:08
Harvey Young – 1:04:38
Sue Hopkinson – 1:12:19
Michele Reardon – 1:12:38
Sam Goodall – 1:15:06
Jenny Cave – 1:16:42
Sally Kent – 1:17:19
Monica Burbidge – 1:17:22

Well done to everyone who ran!

Saturday Events

Beginning, of course, with this weekend’s parkrun….

Frimley – A dozen SJs headed over to Frimley Lodge this Saturday, with Alistair Ingall-Tombs leading everybody around, coming through in a great time of 19:65, just sub-20! Not far behind was Teresa Milroy, coming through as first female SJ in a time of 26:09.

Special mentions go to Teresa Milroy, Margaret Wakeling and Donna Dobson, who all set PBs on Saturday, well done ladies! Who runs the world?

Bracknell – Over at Bracknell, a perfect 10 members lined up ready for the start. Krzysztof Zielinski flew around and came through as first member, and sixth overall with a smashing time of 21:23. Jackie Kent came through as first female SJ with a great time of 28:19.

Rushmoor – Running the alternative route this week, it was celebration time at Rushmoor, as Andy Hazell ran his 100th parkrun. A superb achievement, and he ran a time of 37:47 on the day. Well done Andy, now get yourself a t-shirt!

Sarah Hyatt was first member through, coming around in a time of 22:27, 4th female overall, and setting a PB in the process! Meanwhile, John Paul Featherstone was first male member through the finishing funnel with a time of 25:35.

Special mentions (other than Andy, of course) go to John Paul Featherstone and Liz Evans for running their first runs at Rushmoor. Well done everyone, sounds like a great morning!

California Country Park – 5 members headed over to California this weekend, and Martin Steadman obviously had his Weetabix, as he came through 4th overall and 1st in age category with a time of 20:55, all in his first run at California! Meanwhile, Jenny Cave was first female member through, with a time of 34:02.

Special mentions go to Martin Steadman and Luke Junior for running their first California parkruns, and to George Green and Jenny Cave for setting PBs. Well done guys!

Tourism – Another week, another load of tourism from our members. Let’s see who went where….

Alice Holt – Clive Rolfe fancied some hills, and ran a time of 20:50 at Alice Holt.
Bakewell – Mo Willcox completed Bakewell in a time of 25:54 in her first run at the course.
Basingstoke – In her first time at Basingstoke, Ellie Watson completed the course in 53:02.
Bramhall – Patrick Wadsworth ran a time of 23:06 at Bramhall.
Bushy Park – Robert Jerrett and Lisa Hale made the pilgrimage to Bushy this week, running times of 18:08 and 20:53, respectively. Robert earned a PB with his run, cracking effort!
Dinton Pastures – Lyn Winter and Hannah Glaister completed Dinton in times of 29:58 and 31:40, respectively, with Hannah running a PB time. Well done Hannah!
Kingston – Kate Parker completed Kingston in 26:23 on her first run at the venue.
Maidenhead – It was a Metcalfe double showing at Maidenhead, with Nick and Jess Metcalfe completing the course in times of 26:39 and 30:15 in their first runs at the venue.
Princes, Liverpool – Wayne Boardman recorded a time of 22:44 in his first run at Princes.
Reading – A terrific trio of members ran at Reading, with Craig Bowles running 20:05, Dave Breslin 21:48 and Jon Green 24:04. Craig notched a course PB and Dave and Jon completed their first runs at Reading.
Seaton – Jim Haffey headed down to Seaton and ran a time of 25:07 in his first run at the venue.
St Andrews – In his first run at St Andrews, Callum Lundie recorded a time of 23:19.
Tamar Lakes – Andy Summerskill headed to Tamar Lakes for the first time, and came through the finishing funnel in a time of 29:49.
Upton Court – Stuart Mayes completed Upton Court in 22:41 at his first run.
Worsley Woods – Nigel Bassett ran a time of 20:56 in his first run at Worsley.

Other Saturday Events…

Race to the Stones – This weekend event is held over the Ridgeway, the oldest path in Britain. 100km in length, the goal is simply to finish, whether it be by running, jogging or walking. I think I speak for everyone when I say just finishing is an incredible achievement! Andrea Hadfield, Alison Jones and Sharon Burfield completed the event. More to come from the ladies later in the week…

Sunday events…

Shoreditch 10k – The latest installment in the Adidas City Run calendar took place this weekend, with the Shoreditch 10k. Jim Laidlaw came through in a time of 40:10, still chasing that elusive sub-40 minute 10k! Michelle Reardon also completed the course in a great time of 1:33:35, well done both!

Sevenoaks 7 – Jess Metcalfe headed down to Sevenoaks for this undulating (and cow poo infested) 7 mile event. A great evening, she completed the course in a time of 1:10:01, well done Jess!

Strava

Some mega totals on Strava over the last two week, thanks to the 100k events and midweek running. Cream of the crop was Andy Yates and Alison Jones, who clocked up ludicrous totals of 71.9 and 69.1 miles, respectively. To take part in this just create a free Strava account and link it to the club in your profile. Here’s the top 10 from last week:

Club Events for the week ahead…

Monday: Patrick Wadsworth will be leading/has lead the Monday night chatfest from Sandhurst Sports Centre at 7:30pm. The route will cover approx. 6 miles and is heading off road with the longer days. This is one of the most sociable runs of the week and a great opportunity to catch up with friends or discuss the preceding weekend.

Tuesday Club Run: The biggest club run of the week caters for all abilities with multiple groups that cover beginners to faster and more experienced runners. It’s perfect for novices and those coming back from injury or a long lay-off because you can start with an easy group and work your way upwards. The start time is 6:30pm as always, with a meet time of 6:25pm, this week from the Sandhurst Recreation Park.

Tuesday Intervals: Later the interval sessions will take place. This weeks session consists of the following: 2 x 5 mins of effort, 2 x 4 mins of effort and 2 x 3 mins of effort. The meeting point is at The Green in Yateley at 8pm. Hard work, but you’ll feel amazing afterwards! You can read more about the Tuesday night intervals HERE

Wednesday: Variety is the spice of life and the Wednesday crew have some surprises for you this week with a mixture of great routes and some fartlek style efforts. Join them at Sandhurst Memorial Park at 7pm. There will also be run options for those that graduated from the 10k and 10 mile courses to ease you into the regular run.

Thursday: A run with Erol will contain hills, laughs, and a couple of wrong turns (normally), but you can guarantee you’ll end up at the car park eventually, and with a smile at the end of it all! Meet at Sandhurst Sports Centre at 7:30pm. The run is a great way to improve fitness by running as a group at a slightly harder intensity. There is a shorter route available and a sweeper so nobody gets left behind.

Friday: Track is still free and the coaches have some great sessions planned for all abilities to improve fitness and technique. This is a great way to improve your running form and fitness, get faster and help prevent injury. If you’ve never ran on a track before give it a try, it’s a lot of fun and you are never more than 200m away from the start.

Saturday: Lots of members will be enjoying their weekly Parkrun fix at 9am on Saturday morning, if you’re thinking of going somewhere new then post on the Facebook page as there may be other members planning on running at the same place as you! Wherever you are parkrunning – Don’t forget your barcode!

Sunday: Come along and give the The Sunday Lookout run a try. They say its the best run of the week but might be a bit biased. It’s a flexible run leaving from The Lookout at 9am with different groups to suit a wide range of abilities. The three ‘Cs’ of Coffee, cake and chat are enjoyed in the cafe post-run.

Apologies this run down is so late, but it’s a bumper run down to make up for it! I hope you’ve enjoyed reading the various running exploits of our members over the last couple of weeks, have a safe week of running and see you soon!

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Parkrun Profiles – #5 – Crane Park

It was kind of a default choice this weekend for the latest Parkrun Profiles article. I was tempted to be a rebel and go somewhere totally different, but in the spirit of the club I joined my fellow members and took part in the latest SJ Parkrun Explorers Collective meeting, to…

Crane Park (although you knew that already from the title…)

If you’ve had a heavy work night out in London, and had to stay awake until 5am to get the first train home, which meant you didn’t get back home until 8am (after changes and walking) and you need a lift to Crane Park, please immediately seek the help of a professional….SJ driver. Kate Parker was my knight in shining armour, and sure enough at 8:10 (slightly later than planned, nothing new there), we set off down the M3 and towards Crane Park.

After a bit of faffing around trying to find a good point to park, we parked up and saw the one and only Craig Bowles (and children) walking up the road! We can’t have been too late, we thought. From where we parked it was about a 5 minute walk to the start point, through the park itself, which quickly turned into a jog (although nothing compared to last week’s sprint at Guildford #9amStrollers). Here we met up with the SJ group, which was strong in numbers.

I had offered to run with one of Kate’s dogs, and she decided to pair me up with Taz. She also gave me a lovely dog-running harness sort of contraption, which probably won’t be seen on the Milan catwalk (if you’ll pardon the pun) anytime soon, darling. However, after a bit of ‘adjustment’ we were clipped in and ready to go! And good thing too, because the race director (whose pre-race briefing we missed) didn’t hang around! “Right, where are my pacers? 3, 2, 1, go!”, she said, and suddenly we were off, and Taz flew out the blocks!

Full of energy along the first section of path, we set off on our little adventure together, passing runners left, right and centre! Kate had given me some commands to remember which Taz would respond to, so with my best Paul O’Grady voice on, I negotiated our way along the first straight. ‘Left, left’, steady’ I was saying, and Taz responded really well, I felt like we were at Crufts.

Crane Parkrun is a lap and a half course which basically follows the river (albeit not always visibly, boo), heads over a bridge on the A314 and continues along the other side, over a bridge on the A316, and around. The weather was ridiculously hot on Saturday, and Taz’s enthusiasm (along with mine, on 30 minutes sleep since Thursday night) started to wane as we made our way around the course. Not the hilliest course around, we appreciated the shade when we could find some, and there was plenty on offer, as trees lined the park and the course of the river.

It wasn’t the most park-y of runs considering you ran (albeit only for about 50m each time) along two stretches of main road, but there were plenty of helpful marshalls there to point you in the right direction and applaud you on your run. There were SJs everywhere on Saturday, especially obvious given that this isn’t one of the bigger parkruns around, with only 174 running on Saturday.

Continuing along the lap, and about halfway along the second stretch of river, you pass the River Crane Shot Tower, which has an interesting history behind it regarding the production of lead shot, and not the type of shot I was hoping for (and could’ve done with by the end of the run). Thanks to John Tovell for educating me on it, I wouldn’t dare steal his thunder so if you read this John, please do let us know the story you told me in the comments section!

Anyway, back to the run! Past the shot tower and you take a left, which on the second lap brings you to the finish, but on this first lap takes you on your way towards the A316. Again, the run does lose its park-y sense for a brief minute, but before you know it we were back in the serenity of the park, and after a brief river bathe (for the dogs, not me, although I was tempted), what did we see in front of us? Was it the red vest of Mr Dave Bartlett? It sure was, Taz’s eyes lit up, and on we went trying to catch up with the man himself. Sure enough we caught Dave, I told him that he needs to buy a parkrun dog, and on we went!

Back up to the A314 you go, and coming back past the shot tower on your second lap, after the left turn you are soon enough at the finish point, up a little footpath that can lead you out of the park. On our way to the finish line, Taz and I encountered plenty of supportive runners and SJs who had finished and were cheering on their fellow runners, always a nice parkrun touch! And just like that, we were finished! A quick finishing selfie, although no dog, and we were done (with the running anyway, it was straight to the cafe afterwards!).

Shall we review our little club away day/morning at Crane Park? Let’s….

Do dogs make you run quicker? – Sometimes, although they can also be a bit awkward to run with! (made up for by how adorable they are though)
Is running parkrun on 30 minutes sleep a good idea? – Not particularly, although it didn’t really seem to affect my time too badly!.
Do dogs respond to Paul O’Grady voice? – Evidence suggested not really!

How would I sum up Crane Park in 3 words? – Taz, hot, roads
Would I go back to Guildford? – Yes! Nice course with some lovely volunteers and a nice atmosphere at the finish.

Weekly Run Down – 24th – 30th June

Club Announcements

Club Kit – Sally Kent will be placing a new order soon, so be ready should you wish to get your hands on some club kit.

Yateley 10k – The second Yateley race is taking place this Wednesday (3rd July), and SJs always do a great turn in pitching in by volunteering. Please email Roger and Alurie at drhalli@aol.com if you would like to lend a hand and volunteer to help make this event so successful and enjoyable for all involved.

SJ Events

SJ Parkrun Explorers Collective Visit Crane Park

This event, organised by Craig Bowles, was the latest in this exploratory group of parkruns, in which the club visits parkruns that are slightly further afield. Previous visits have taken the group to Bushy Park, and this time (much under the influence of John Tovell), the group headed to Crane Park, not far from Twickenham.

The weather was perfect, and there was some great running done by all members. After the run, as is the norm on these visits, the group headed to a local cafe for a drink and cake, and a well earned sit down and chat! All in all, it made for a very enjoyable morning, and I think I can speak for all members involved when I say I am looking forward to the next visit! Will it be the next feature of Parkrun Profiles? I couldn’t possibly say….

Midweek Events

Friday – Elstead Marathon – The Elstead Marathon is a 5.4 mile (anyone know what the marathon title refers to?) off-road race, starting on the village green, taking in all terrains and finishing with a literal river crossing over the River Wey. Hopefully everyone has waterproof shoes! Representing Sandhurst Joggers at this event were Jim Laidlaw and Martin Gould.

Jim came through in a time of 37:22, a course PB by over three minutes, and a time to bring him home in 33rd out of 429 runners. Meanwhile, Martin came through in a great time of 48:38. Well done to both!

Saturday Events

Saturday – Samaritans 10k Bracknell

This charity event was run by a number of runners in the quite incredible heat of Saturday morning. The times were as follows:

Charles St Aubyn – 46:57
Sophie Le Saux – 56:28
Blanche Barnes – 59:30
Charlotte Chamberlain – 1:02:07
Richard McCready – 1:02:17
Jane Crawford – 1:02:17
Andrew Wood – 1:07:21
Paul Norman -1:08:36
Ellie Watson – 1:09:44
Susan Plumb – 1:13:59
Sam Goodall – 1:18:42
Sarah Jones – 1:21:05
Samantha Wood – 1:27:20

Parkrun – As already mentioned, a large group of SJs ran at Crane Park this weekend, but there were still plenty of people out and about all over the place! Let’s see who was where….

Crane Park – In the actual running part of this club visit, 21 members took part, and as a club we absolutely bossed it! Graham Robinson came through as first member, and first runner overall with a superb time of 17:23! Meanwhile, Sarah Hyatt came through as first female member and first female overall with a smashing run of 22:15!

First timers at were Graham Robinson, Alistair Ingall-Tombs, Craig Bowles, Ian Watson, Sarah Hyatt, Jon Green, Chris Cole, Sarah Alexander, Jim Haffey, Roy Bentley, Paul Alexander, Nick Metcalfe, Dave Bartlett, Kate Parker, Jo Fraser, Lyn Winter, Liz Evans, Nigel Evans and Jane Pond.

Particular mentions should go to Ian Watson for coming first in age category, and to Jo Fraser for setting an overall parkrun PB, well done guys!

Frimley – A bakers dozen number of SJs ran at Frimley Lodge, with Neil Praine leading the way, setting a PB and coming 2nd in age category whilst doing so, first SJ member through with a time of 18:56. Meanwhile, Charley Bryant was first SJ female through, in a time of 23:51, which brought her in 2nd in category also!

Meanwhile, special mention goes to Margaret Wakeling for completing her tenth parkrun, and first at Bracknell!

Bracknell – No bakers in sight at Bracknell, as a normal dozen completed this run in SJ red. Richard Johnson was first member through, eighth overall and first in age category with a great time of 20:50. Not far behind, Teresa Milroy was first SJ female through in a time of 28:34.

Well done to Mark and Rowena Norman, for completing Bracknell parkrun for the first time!

California Country Park – Five members got their fix of Californification this weekend, with Nigel Bassett coming through as first member in a time of 21:46, bagging a course PB in the process! First female SJ was Helen Davey, with a great time of 26:57.

It was a double success for the Bassett camp, as Gabrielle also achieved a course PB with a time of 27:57! Further congratulations go to Andrea Hadfield and Alurie Dutton for completing their first parkrun at California Country Park.

Tourism – Crane Park aside, plenty of members were out running at different parkruns this Saturday, also due to the fact that Rushmoor parkrun was not on this Saturday. Let’s see what went down….

Basingstoke – John Paul Featherstone completed Basingstoke in a time of 28:25 in his lucky 13th parkrun at War Memorial Park.
Haga (Sweden) – Mo Wilcox was this weeks ‘SJ Abroad’ (can I have a go at this please?) and completed the Haga course in a time of 27:36 in her first run, or ‘debut’ as the Swedish parkrun website calls it! Well done Mo, who’s parkrunning abroad next Saturday…?
Hanworth – Leading by example, Richard Boese completed the Hanworth course in a great time of 23:21 to bring him in 7th overall and 1st in age category. Well done Richard!
Kingston – Lisa Hale headed to Kingston for the 8th time, and came through as 3rd overall female, and 1st in age category with a time of 20:55.
Luton Wardown – Yvette Glacken completed Luton in 1:01:52.
Mole Valley – Stuart Mayes completed Mole Valley in a time of 25:19 in his first run at the venue.
Woodley – At one of the flatter parkruns on the scene, Hannah Glaister completed the course in a time of 30:17.

Well done to all SJs who got out and about for some parkrun tourism!

Strava

Some mega totals on Strava over the last two week, thanks to the 100k events and midweek running. Cream of the crop was Andy Yates and Alison Jones, who clocked up ludicrous totals of 71.9 and 69.1 miles, respectively. To take part in this just create a free Strava account and link it to the club in your profile. Here’s the top 10 from last week:

Monday: Patrick Wadsworth will be leading/has lead the Monday night chatfest from Sandhurst Sports Centre at 7:30pm. The route will cover approx. 6 miles and is heading off road with the longer days. This is one of the most sociable runs of the week and a great opportunity to catch up with friends or discuss the preceding weekend.

Tuesday Club Run: The biggest club run of the week caters for all abilities with multiple groups that cover beginners to faster and more experienced runners. It’s perfect for novices and those coming back from injury or a long lay-off because you can start with an easy group and work your way upwards. The start time is 6:30pm as always, with a meet time of 6:25pm, this week from the Sandhurst Recreation Park.

Tuesday Intervals: Later the interval sessions will take place. This weeks session consists of the following: 2 x 5 mins of effort, 2 x 4 mins of effort and 2 x 3 mins of effort. The meeting point is at The Green in Yateley at 8pm. Hard work, but you’ll feel amazing afterwards! You can read more about the Tuesday night intervals HERE

Wednesday: Variety is the spice of life and the Wednesday crew have some surprises for you this week with a mixture of great routes and some fartlek style efforts. Join them at Sandhurst Memorial Park at 7pm. There will also be run options for those that graduated from the 10k and 10 mile courses to ease you into the regular run.

Thursday: A run with Erol will contain hills, laughs, and a couple of wrong turns (normally), but you can guarantee you’ll end up at the car park eventually, and with a smile at the end of it all! Meet at Sandhurst Sports Centre at 7:30pm. The run is a great way to improve fitness by running as a group at a slightly harder intensity. There is a shorter route available and a sweeper so nobody gets left behind.

Friday: Track is still free and the coaches have some great sessions planned for all abilities to improve fitness and technique. This is a great way to improve your running form and fitness, get faster and help prevent injury. If you’ve never ran on a track before give it a try, it’s a lot of fun and you are never more than 200m away from the start.

Saturday: Lots of members will be enjoying their weekly Parkrun fix at 9am on Saturday morning, if you’re thinking of going somewhere new then post on the Facebook page as there may be other members planning on running at the same place as you! Wherever you are parkrunning – Don’t forget your barcode!

Sunday: Come along and give the The Sunday Lookout run a try. They say its the best run of the week but might be a bit biased. It’s a flexible run leaving from The Lookout at 9am with different groups to suit a wide range of abilities. The three ‘Cs’ of Coffee, cake and chat are enjoyed in the cafe post-run.

I’m sure some of you will have noticed the new restructured layout of the ‘Weekly Run Down’. The idea behind this is to emphasise the club events that take place, to shine more of a light on what we do as a club! From there, it does follow in a chronological order, instead of being purely focussed on parkrun and the rest being a bit of a second thought.

If you have any thoughts on this, then be sure to pass on any feedback, it would be appreciated. The format may change slightly over the next few weeks, but this is being considered a bit a prototype article, just to see how it goes! Don’t rip into it too much, we’re just trying something new!

Parkrun Profiles – #4 – Guildford

The parkrun series continues, and blessed with gorgeous sunny weather, this Saturday I headed to…

Guildford (although you knew that already from the title)

Step 4 in this little parkrun tour that I am embarking on as part of this series, and this week I headed to Guildford, Stoke Park more specifically (located just next to the Spectrum, ample free parking available), ready to sample this pretty size-able parkrun. I got a lift at about 8:25am, leaving from Farnham, plenty of time to spare, what could possibly go wrong?

“THEY’RE LINING UP TO START” a lady hurriedly yelled from behind me as I was walking over with my fellow 9am strollers (parkrun’s equivalent of air passengers who abide by the ‘the plane won’t leave without us’ motto). All of a sudden the stroll turned into a sprint, with about 20 of us running to make the start line before we set off on two laps of this rather picturesque park. Counting that as my warm up, we made it with seconds to spare, and in those seconds I decided we should look at some key facts…

Key Facts

First parkrun: 10/03/2012
Fastest recorded time: 15:14 (Phil Wicks, September 2017)
Number of parkruns: 358
Average number of runners: ~400
Number of SJ members who have run it: 27
Journey time from Sandhurst: ~35 minutes
Number of laps: 2
Surface type: Grass/tarmac
Does the race director stand on a stepladder and use a megaphone in briefing: Who knows? #9amStrollers

So we were off, and immediately it was disaster in the Metcalfe camp as my watch decided to tell me that I wasn’t moving! In fact I was sprinting down the little hill that lead to a slightly steeper ascent with my fellow parkrunners, although now I was multi-tasking, a concept I am totally unfamiliar with, by stopping my watch, cancelling my run and restarting it. Anyway, drama aside, it was time to settle into the rhythm of running and enjoy Guildford parkrun.

Guildford parkrun is held in the very scenic Stoke Park (although slightly marred by the roads surrounding it, damn development) and consists of two laps of the park, to summarise. Allow me to take you on a journey of the lap.

Beginning off with a slight descent, you start off on grass and head up a slight ascent (up and down is a common theme of this run) . Running along a path for a short amount of time, the start of the lap is predominantly on grass. After a short run on the path, handy marshalls were there to show you the way, with the first marshall shouting ‘congratulations guys!’. Having checked that no-one was on one knee around me, I thought that was a bit premature and continued on my way towards the holy grail for people like me, geographers…water. Lakes, rivers, ponds, any sort of water feature is a dream come true, and sure enough Guildford had a lovely little lake, equipped with fountain water feature, at the bottom end of the outward section of the lap. Agonisingly fenced off from access I resisted the urge to hop over and take a dip (it was rather toasty, and instead took a left turn onto the path and continued on my way, as did my fellow runners.

It was at this point I overtook a man I shall call ‘coach Grandpa’. Clearly running with a younger relative, this man was providing handy tips and encouragement to his co-runner, so I thought I’d stay just in front and soak up the advice. ‘Drop your arms down a little bit lower’ he said as we made our way up a slight ascent, so I dropped my arms a bit lower. ‘Lengthen your strides now’ he said as we made our way downhill towards a big old group of trees smack bang in the middle of the park’, so I lengthened my strides, and fell into a pretty comfortable running rhythm. Unfortunately, his advice meant that I started to pull away from coach Grandpa, but his advice was useful and I hope he’s reading this.

Anyway, I forget this is about my parkrun experience and not elderly running coaches. A right turn at this big old group of trees took us towards the London Road, at which we sharply turned left and stayed within the confines of the park. Running through an area slightly covered by trees, I saw a group of people doing an abs/boot camp fitness session on my left. It was at this point that I witnessed a truly shocking act of child cruelty. Thinking back I should’ve reported it to the organisers, as it needed dealing with there and then. Three young boys were playing football, whilst their parent was doing the boot camp class. However, all three boys were wearing PERSONALISED TOTTENHAM SHIRTS. Need I say any more? Anyway, this certainly motivated me to run quicker and get away from them, just in case I caught ‘Spurs’ (note: I felt fine for the rest of the day, obviously didn’t catch it).

At the end of this covered area you take a left turn and run along a cricket pavilion to the finish! Except another lap awaited me, so I had to resist the urge to come through the finish line in first place. As you know, the aim of this series is to enjoy the parkruns I complete, not to sprint around and miss the finer points. And this was the case here, finishing in a time of 24:22, and having thoroughly enjoyed my leisurely ramble around Stoke Park.

One thing I noticed in particular was the sense of community spirit on display at Guildford. There were a few milestone runners who had all bought cakes along, the finish area was lined with people on both sides encouraging runners on their way and applauding as they came through the finishing funnel, which I thought was a really nice tough. Having participated in a bit of this applauding, I got a quick finishing selfie, and we were done! Shall we sum up this parkrun experience? Let’s….

Should you aim to arrive at parkrun before 9am? – Yes
Does coach Grandpa run at Guildford every week? – To be confirmed upon future visits.
What should you do if you see a child in a Tottenham Hotspur shirt? – Get yourself and anyone near you to a safe place, inform others, and call the emergency services immediately (please do not call the emergency services, they’ll come after me if they read this, I’m too young to go to jail).

How would I sum up Guildford in 3 words? – Grandpa, clappy, #9amStrollers
Would I go back to Guildford? – Yes! Lovely course (although the weather did help), nice atmosphere and an enjoyable experience

Where will I be next week? Who knows…(you should know, Craig Bowles has organised a Facebook event so check that in case you’ve missed it)

Weekly Run Down – 17th – 23rd June

Club Announcements

Sandhurst Joggers Parkrun Explorers Collective visits Crane Park – The next installment of the Sandhurst Joggers Parkrun Explorers Collective (or the SJPEC) will be on Saturday 29th June, with a visit to the regular parkrun of SJ member John Tovell – Crane Park near Twickenham. It’s a flat and fast course on mixed surfaces in a very tranquil setting.

It’s approx. 35 minutes drive from Sandhurst and the start and finish are in different locations so John has recommended parking near the Finish in Ellerman Avenue or one of the other nearby roads.

All are welcome and hopefully see lots of SJs there in club kit. Don’t Forget Your Barcode. There isn’t a cafe at the park so post-run refreshments will be arranged nearer the time, or maybe John will invite us round for breakfast…

Guide Running Training Session – Richard Boese has organised the next guide running training session for Wednesday 26th June. The session will start at 19:00 and should last for around an hour. If you attended the first session, you can still attend this one to build up your experience. Likewise, if you missed the first one then this is a great chance to have a go at guide running!

Onto the weekend running and starting with parkrun…

Frimley – 16 members made it over to Frimley Lodge for their parkrun fix. James Ratcliffe was this week’s Weetabix eater, as he sped around in 19:05 to come in as first SJ member, 12th overall, and 1st in age category. Meanwhile, the legend that is Lisa Hale wasn’t too far behind, coming through in 21:25 and 2nd in age category.

Special mention goes to Donna Dobson who completed her first parkrun on Saturday, hopefully the first of many Donna!

Bracknell – Bracknell won out in the ongoing Frimley v Bracknell battle for highest SJ attendance, with 20 members running. Richard Johnson set a superb time of 21:03 to come in 7th overall and 2nd in age category in his 139th parkrun at Bracknell. Sharon Fields set a great time of 26:52 to come in as first SJ female, also coming in 2nd in age category.

Well done to Tom Stafford, who continues to take hefty chunks out of his times, this time setting a PB by 45 seconds with a great time of 31:04. Well done Tom!

Rushmoor – There was a healthy offering of SJs at this slightly further afield parkrun, obviously drawn in by the flat going. A perfect 10 members ran at Rushmoor this week, with Mark Norman putting his wings on and flying around in a time of 21:14 to be first member through, in what was his first parkrun. You see that bar Mark? You’ve set it quite high now, no pressure! Louisa Enriquez was first female SJ through the funnel with a great time of 26:47.

Special mentions go to Rowenna Norman for also running her first parkrun, and to Liz Evans for setting a course PB and an overall parkrun PB with a time of 29:27 in her 25th run at Rushmoor. Boom!

California Country Park – Another perfect 10 headed over to the three Cs, for event number 18 at California. Nigel Bassett was first SJ through, in a course and parkrun PB time of 22:41, great effort Nigel! Beki Christian also must have had her Weetabix as she smashed out a course PB time of 25:50 to come through as first female SJ and 4th female overall.

Special mentions go to Sarah Lesley Jones for completing her first parkrun at California in a time of 38:35, and to Chris Cole and (a hungover) Kate Parker, who fancied getting in on the PB action with times of 24:59 and 28:03, respectively. Well done to all members who ran at California!

Tourism – As per usual, plenty of people were out and about getting their parkrun fix on Saturday. Let’s see who went where….

Basingstoke – John Paul Featherstone ran at Basingstoke, completing the course in a time of 34:29.
Bushy Park – John King made his pilgrimage to Bushy and ran a time of 27:54 in his 13th run at Bushy.
Dinton Pastures – Dave Breslin came through 1st in age category with a great time of 21:59 in his first run at Dinton.
Guildford – (Spoiler alert) Nick Metcalfe ran a time of 24:22 in his first run at Guildford.
Hanworth – Jim Haffey headed to Hanworth, and ran a time of 25:53 in his first run at the venue, in only it’s eighth run.
Hogmoor Inclosure – Alistair Ingall-Tombs and Graham Bolton ran times of 20:46 and 26:42 in their first runs at Hogmoor. Alistair came through 9th overall and 2nd in age category.
Maidenhead – Robert Jerrett set a superb time of 20:30 in his first run at Maidenhead, coming through 7th overall and 2nd in age category.
Portrush – Andrea Hadfield was this week’s designated overseas SJ parkrunner, and ran a great time of 30:48 in her first run at Portrush.
Wetherby – WE HAD A PARKRUN WINNER ON SATURDAY! Graham Robinson led the 144 runners around at Wetherby, finishing in a great time of 17:37. Jenny Gray also ran a blinder, finishing in 22:26 to come through as 2nd female and 1st age category. Fantastic running, well done both!
Woodley – In his 9th run at the venue, Craig Bowles flew around Woodley in a time of 19:37, setting a course PB in the process. Well done Craig!

As usual, superb tourism, well done SJs!

Midweek Events

Forest Five – Organised by Bracknell Forest runners, the Forest Five takes in forest tracks of grass and gravel in the scenic Windsor Forest. There was a strong showing from SJs at this local event, with 13 members running, their results were as follows:

Andrew Brooks – 33:53
Matthew Jones – 35:17
Chris Cole – 41:41
Beki Christian – 42:09
Alison Jones – 44:10
Teresa Milroy – 44:40
Amy Gates – 46:09
Colin Carpenter – 48:08
Georgina Hogben-Stephenson – 51:36
Helen Clayton – 57:18
Alurie Dutton – 59:38
Julie Graham – 1:00:55
Sarah Jones – 1:03:37

Well done to everyone who ran the Forest Five!

Other Saturday Events…

Giants Head Marathon – Referring to the location, not the runners, Richard Boese, Jonathan Taylor and Lance King ran this event in Dorset, in some stunning scenery. Their times were as follows:

Richard Boese – 6:15:26
Jonathan Taylor – 6:59:41 (phew!)
Lance King – 7:43:51

Sunday events…

Round Bracknell Relay – This internal club event took place on Sunday morning, with teams of 4 setting off around Bracknell, would you believe! The results were as follows:

1st: Team C (Alan, Dave, Emy and Colin) – 3 hours 54 minutes
2nd: Team D (Jackie, Alistair, Erol and Martin) – 3 hours 56 minutes
3rd: Team E (Lottie, Ian, Charles and Stephen) – 3 hours 59 minutes
4th: Team B (Matt, Royston, Luis and Janet) – 4 hours 8 minutes
5th: Team A (Janice, Jon, Dick and Nigel) – 4 hours 12 minutes

Customary action shots below, and a big thank you must go to Paul Biggs for organising, and those who marshaled too. Go team!

Weybridge 10k – Someone call 999, Jim Laidlaw’s on fire!! Oh no, it was just his running number at Weybridge, as he joined other SJs ready for the latest event on the summer 10k calendar. Quite a popular event, well run, and attended by a good few SJs, the results were as follows:

Jim Laidlaw – 41:20
Caroline Cutliffe – 1:11:54
Monica Burbidge – 1:14:01
Alurie Dutton – 1:14:02

Strava

Some mega totals on Strava over the last two week, thanks to the 100k events and midweek running. Cream of the crop was Andy Yates and Alison Jones, who clocked up ludicrous totals of 71.9 and 69.1 miles, respectively. To take part in this just create a free Strava account and link it to the club in your profile. Here’s the top 10 from last week:

Monday: Patrick Wadsworth will be leading/has lead the Monday night chatfest from Sandhurst Sports Centre at 7:30pm. The route will cover approx. 6 miles and is heading off road with the longer days. This is one of the most sociable runs of the week and a great opportunity to catch up with friends or discuss the preceding weekend.

Tuesday Club Run: The biggest club run of the week caters for all abilities with multiple groups that cover beginners to faster and more experienced runners. It’s perfect for novices and those coming back from injury or a long lay-off because you can start with an easy group and work your way upwards. The start time is 6:30pm as always, with a meet time of 6:25pm, this week from the Sandhurst Recreation Park.

Tuesday Intervals: Later the interval sessions will take place. This weeks session consists of the following: 2 x 5 mins of effort, 2 x 4 mins of effort and 2 x 3 mins of effort. The meeting point is at The Green in Yateley at 8pm. Hard work, but you’ll feel amazing afterwards! You can read more about the Tuesday night intervals HERE

Wednesday: Variety is the spice of life and the Wednesday crew have some surprises for you this week with a mixture of great routes and some fartlek style efforts. Join them at Sandhurst Memorial Park at 7pm. There will also be run options for those that graduated from the 10k and 10 mile courses to ease you into the regular run.

Thursday: A run with Erol will contain hills, laughs, and a couple of wrong turns (normally), but you can guarantee you’ll end up at the car park eventually, and with a smile at the end of it all! Meet at Sandhurst Sports Centre at 7:30pm. The run is a great way to improve fitness by running as a group at a slightly harder intensity. There is a shorter route available and a sweeper so nobody gets left behind.

Friday: Track is still free and the coaches have some great sessions planned for all abilities to improve fitness and technique. This is a great way to improve your running form and fitness, get faster and help prevent injury. If you’ve never ran on a track before give it a try, it’s a lot of fun and you are never more than 200m away from the start.

Saturday: Lots of members will be enjoying their weekly Parkrun fix at 9am on Saturday morning, if you’re thinking of going somewhere new then post on the Facebook page as there may be other members planning on running at the same place as you! Wherever you are parkrunning – Don’t forget your barcode!

Sunday: Come along and give the The Sunday Lookout run a try. They say its the best run of the week but might be a bit biased. It’s a flexible run leaving from The Lookout at 9am with different groups to suit a wide range of abilities. The three ‘Cs’ of Coffee, cake and chat are enjoyed in the cafe post-run.

Salomon Running Belt & Soft Flask 500 – Jane Bannister Reviews Her New Piece of Kit

Ah the cliche that running is a cheap hobby…how we wish that was true! No doubt we’ve all got numerous items of clothing, ergonomic water bottles, phone straps etc. And Jane Bannister was so impressed with her new piece of kit that she decided to do a little review…here goes!

Salomon Running Belt – Review

As the weather warms up, you are more likely to want to run with water and if you don’t like carrying a bottle what options do you have? A running vest is one and I’ve used one before with a bladder pack – but sometimes that can be overkill if you are not going on a very long run also some people find they can’t run in a vest with those because of chaffing.

There are also running belts and I have one that holds 2 ml hard water bottles. But I’ve found lately it bounces around and also is uneven once one bottle is empty.

So I saw this Salomon race belt and thought I’d try it as they said you can fit in a soft water bottle. I’d already used it a couple of times before with just my iPhone and  gels and found it really comfortable. More importantly it didn’t move around as I ran.

On Sunday I used it for the first time on a long training run so packed in the front pocket the 500ml soft bottle. I also managed to fit inside my iPhone 8 as well. In the back zip pocket I put a packet of Cliff Bloks and there was still room for keys. I’m quite sure you could easily fit in some more gels as well.  There are also two elastic strips for fitting on gels on the front.

I was really impressed as it was very comfortable/didn’t annoy me even when the soft flask was full in the front pocket and it didn’t jump up and down and I could easily get the flask in and out although I did stop to do this but I’m sure you could do it on the run. The front pocket doesn’t have a zip but is elasticated so nothing should fall out.

So if you are used to carrying a bottle with you when you run and fancy having  your hands free you may like to consider one of these!

Endure 24 – Running, and so much more – SJ Members Recap

This is it, the holy grail of endurance running….Endure 24. A highlight in the running calendar of many members, this event takes place in Aldermaston, and comprises of running as many laps of a 8km (5 miles)route as you can, either solo, in a pair, or in teams of 4-8. Let’s see what our various members thought of it….

Ian Watson – “This was my 3rd Endure24 and along with Grizzly and Green Belt Relay, is the last of my trio of favourite events. Maybe that’s because all involve an overnight stay. The difference here, of course, is that the running doesn’t stop. As part of a relay team of 8, it does however mean a good few hours between runs so some sleep is possible (if you can sleep through the constant sounds of tents being zipped and unzipped). Since the event always takes place near the longest day, it can mean that you may get a run in the last light of the day and your next is as darkness gives way to dawn. Both wonderful times of day, but I prefer to get a run in the dark-dark and I got that this year. Running on woodland paths by the light of a headtorch may sound scary to many but to me it is magical and is what makes Endure feel like a 24 event.

One side of the experience is the running, with its perpetual rhythm of “Good Luck”s as our club mates (and some friends) leave camp to go and do their legs and “How was your run?”s as they return, but to a large extent it is about the social side, gathering in the gazebos to eat, drink and chat (probably over 10% of which is not running-related). If you don’t like the sound of that, then by all means come for the running (and you can go much further than you might believe with decent breaks between laps), I think you miss out on a lot of the experience. Last points about what they call “Glastonbury for runners”: 1) the toilets are much much better and constantly being cleaned and restocked; 2) no evidence of mind-altering substances beyond what comes out of Blanche and John Barnes’ by now annual clearout of their eclectic booze cabinet.”

Chris Lambourn – “After running Endure for the last five years and not doing the mileage that we should be doing, Tracy and I thought we could volunteer and we were lucky enough to be asked – so we ended up manning the checkpoint at the exit to Heartbreak hill for the first six hours from midday on the Saturday. Things started off well with our first hour of music (oh yes we had six hours of music lined up) beginning with Queen and outfits to match, followed by music from Elvis, Disney, 80’s, magic related songs while dressed as Harry Potter – the gazebo was dressed up with bunting and inflatable instruments and palm trees – unfortunately at this point the heavens opened and Tracy and I took up positions on the exit from the woods as the runners had 2 nasty slopes to contend with.

In the dry they were interesting but with rain, mud and several runners in the mix things turned very slippery very quickly but Tracy and I had made an agreement that none was going to get injured on our watch and we got everyone through safely and as things began to dry out, conditions began improving and we could breath a sigh of relief as our six hour stint came to an end- so glad to have been asked to volunteer and would recommend it to anyone.”

Natalie Pollard – “On the run up the endure I was feeling pretty nervous, not sure of the whole camping, eating, running combination. I arrived with Kate at about 10am on Saturday and we soon settled in to camp life. I loved my first run, I was lucky that I avoided the rain, but I had to dodge the puddles and mud on the course. Generally I thought the course was in great condition considering the awful weather we’d had. My night run was my favourite, my chest torch wasn’t amazing so it meant I couldn’t worry about what I couldn’t see and I had a more consistent run. There were some really inventive light arrangements that people were running with, and the support from marshals and other runners was some of the best I’ve seen.

Our handovers were smooth and we were keeping close to our predicted times, so all was good. I hit the sack about 1.30 and was due to get up about 6am to get ready for my morning run, unfortunately my tummy wasn’t in the mood for running so John took my turn. Thankfully after some medication, an hour or so later I felt much better and took my final lap. I was so determined to do it as had set out to run 3 and that’s what I wanted to do. Again, I really enjoyed that lap and thankfully avoided the rain again. Overall, it was a brilliant experience. The chats and giggles with other Sandhurst Joggers is something I will remember, and the fabulous runs, the great atmosphere and our team running over the line together will stay with me as the highs of the weekend. Endure 24 is now ticked off my list and I’m so so pleased I saw it through to end when I had so many doubts on the run up to the event.“

Phil Beard – “So the eagerly anticipated Endure24 was upon me once again, surely it would be better than last year where my team turned from 5 to 2 by midnight (Sat/Sun). So having turned up to Wasing Park on Friday to set up the team tent I was told that we had lost one runner already before we had started (Déjà vu), still we had 4 runners so much better right? Luckily by midday on Saturday we still had 4 runners, albeit only two of us were at the start line (the other two were still queuing to get into the park (leave earlier next time Emma and Greg dohhh!)). By default I was the one to run the first lap and I was so glad I did, every runner/team/supporter descended on the start line and the atmosphere was truly electric.

As I ran over the mats the noise was deafening, we all turned left onto the path and the crowds continued, kids high fiving, people videoing everyone smiling and laughing, what a great start!! Push on 1k and head up hill and the silence descended apart from heavy breathing from all those folks who went crazy out of the blocks 😊. I had forgotten about certain parts of the course but I was soon reminded by Heart Break Hill, the dangerous tree roots, the rutted grass, the ditches (all of which I secretly love). It really hit home again that this course is actually quite challenging, I think there are many ‘newbies’ (myself included last year) who underestimate this trail root.

All went well and I finished my first lap, where I had the hammer down at did a sub 35. The transition area was much better this year, with the introduction of the ‘BIG SCREEN’ where a hidden camera 100m from the finish line would flash up your team mates name and provide a lovely real time image of your team mate, either smiling or crying as they come in to pass the baton (rubber band) over. This was great as it prevented 100’s of runners all camped at the fence or transition area all at once. You could now stand back enjoy finish your water/gel/chips with curry sauce rather than jostling at transition area with a guy dressed as Slimer holding an inflatable mole.

The day turned to night and the lovely fairy lights were out along parts of the course, our favourite VW van gang offered the booming music and encouragement before you headed to the drink stop. Endure24 partnered with Redbull this year which was interesting, personally I didn’t have the Redbull as is always reminds me of hitting a Jaeger bomb at Weatherspoon’s, but I heard it went down well with others and gave them the needed kick before attempting another run/walk/bambi on ice scene up Heart Break Hill. The rain came and went during the afternoon on Saturday and Sunday morning which made the course more challenging (which again I love) even to the point where they changed the hill decent at around 6-7k because it was too treacherous where we had peeps slipping over. This was probably the right decision as I think there would have been a few injuries on that hill.

The team of four managed a respectable 120 miles which included a 3 hour break during the night so we could recuperate a little. Once again Endure24 delivered, well organised, well supported, there were the usual complaints and gripes about food, but for me this is one of the best 24 hours races around. What I really love are the people that support and participate, I cannot believe the amount of encouragement that is given by each and every runner out on the course. After all we are all there to run (or walk)…”

Jon Green – “The morning of my first Endure was a bit of a rush as I had Kate picking me up at 8am to get a necessary parkrun in before starting the running properly. I won’t talk much about that due to Nick’s excellent report published earlier in the week. All I can say is make sure you get there on time at Newbury to avoid having to park elsewhere and climb over/through a fence resulting in being scratched by loads of brambles. Arriving at Endure around mid-morning, the majority of the Sandhurst teams were already there and preparing for the arduous day ahead. I was in a team of 4 for my first Endure which I felt comfortable with. This team consisted of myself, Will Lucas, Ollie Lucas and Leon Hicks.

Once we had decided on the order we headed over to see our first runners off. I had to then prepare for my lap. I decided on road shoes for the first lap due to it being dry all morning and I knew the course wouldn’t be too churned up by this early stage. On arrival back I headed straight over to the pizza stall to refuel and waited with Ollie for Will to return from his lap. The rain came down with a vengeance at this point and I knew trail shoes might be wise for the next one which was confirmed later by Leon. Our changeovers were far from slick but we weren’t going to win anything anyway so no one in our team were particularly bothered. I also was kindly offered a whisky or 2 by Blanche which really helped ease the stiffness in my legs before my next outing. On my third lap of the day I bumped into a friend Sally from Reading Roadrunners so ran a couple of miles with her which helped spur me along.

Leon had offered earlier to run 3 laps in the night to train for some ridiculous 220 mile ultra across Scotland so we gladly let him to get some rest after Will and I had run our final stages of the day around midnight. This meant that we could get at least a few hours sleep in. When Sunday morning came I took over from Ollie at 6:30 and just could not get going. My legs were so stiff and seized from the 20 miles the previous day it made it very difficult. However I persevered and managed another lap mid-morning which took me to my total of 6 laps and a team total of 22 laps.

Time for a beer and a bacon roll which went down a treat! Kate’s team were still going strong and when she finished her 8th lap she was finished. I drove her car back due to being the slightly more awake one of the 2 of us having done 2 fewer laps than her and that was Endure complete. I didn’t really know what to expect when I bought a place off Allison Jones last minute but I really enjoyed it. It is very tough but a good laugh and some great comradery and banter between the teams, pairs and solos makes it an excellent event which I would do again.”

Dave Bartlett and Nigel Evans – “Keeping up with Marathon Man! What can I say, almost 12 months ago I received a message asking if I’d be interested in registering as a pair for Endure 24. Always up for a challenge I jumped at the opportunity to join what was beginning to look like my natural training partner. Wind the clocks forward 11 months and our training paths couldn’t have taken us further apart, what had I let myself in for. Nigel Evans had completed god knows how many marathons, two of which I’d joined him on, as well as Grizzly 2019. Aside from these my weekly mileage was probably averaging just short of one of his weekend events.

On Friday morning we met to go and find our home for the weekend, finalise our strategy, which I think it would be fair to say had been scribbled out in about 15 minutes after a quick call earlier in the week. With a slight disagreement on goal, Nigel wanted 10 laps and I wanted 12 based on 12 minute miles, we quietly agreed on 11 each with a view to running 110 miles, a total close to our combined age! Early laps were going well and after 3 each we were ahead of our schedule. Looking to allow each other time to fuel and refresh we threw in a double which took us to 5 each (10 in total) just ahead of sunset. With head torches on and conditions slippery underfoot we decided to revert back to single laps through the night until sunrise.

Having reached this time of day it was evident that throwing in another double was going to be tough. I kept shoving peanut butter sandwiches, protein bars, heavily salted crisps, porridge and electrolyte drinks down me like there was no tomorrow, foregoing sleep as I’d heard it was over rated! Unsure of what Nigel was doing in his hour off I grew concerned as he returned from his 9th feeling disappointed with his time. When asked if he was ok, I was met with a barrage of “10 minutes slower than the last lap, I’m bloody freezing ,I feel nauseous and I don’t know how many more I have in me”. Doing my best to offer support I pointed out that he’d just run his 45th mile in difficult conditions, it was early morning and they were obviously going to get slower based on what we had put ourselves through. I encouraged him to go and join the Sandhurst Jogger Village, who I have to say had been immensely supportive of me (sincerest thanks to you all) throughout and could clearly give him the help he needed whilst I was out.

Heading out from the start I noticed Leon heading towards what I thought was the start of another lap for him. I was delighted to hear that he was actually heading for the catering area to get himself refuelled ahead of his next outing. Running by I quickly tasked him with locating Nigel and encouraging him to eat and hydrate even though he felt nauseous and light headed. On my return somewhere in the region of 1 hour later I was delighted to find Nigel somewhat bloated after being fed a sausage and bacon roll, concerned about how he was going to perform having not had time for it to digest. I suggested that he walk the first Km, take his eye off the watch as we were well ahead of where we wanted to be and see how he felt at the top of the first hill. Much to my surprise he was back within an hour and forcing me to get back out there as he was determined to do another lap on my return. What more can I say, the man’s a legend and his recent months of marathon and ultra running have turned him into a machine.

Having reached a total of 55 miles each, 110 as a team, a goal I’m sure you’ll remember from earlier we decided to call it a day. As a team we would sincerely like to thank all the Sandhurst Joggers who ran with us and supported us throughout, cheering from familiar faces is so much more encouraging than that from total strangers, although this as you can well imagine is well received. We would suggest that if you haven’t experienced this weekend you seriously consider giving it ago, we will be out there again next year and look forward to seeing many of you enjoying the challenge. Positive minds achieve great things, adrenaline is a fantastic fuel!”

Note from Nigel – “I would personally like to thank all the Sandhurst Joggers for their support and encouragement and the hugs when I was feeling low, you are all awesome and wonderful friends.

A special thank you to the greatest wingman one could ask for who ran brilliantly and seemingly effortlessly. He made sure I was OK  and never lost faith in me when my fuel tanks ran dry after 45 miles (must remember to eat and drink more) and finally a huge thank you to my hero Leon Hicks who virtually carried me to the catering tent and force fed me the bacon and sausage roll which I was sure was going to see the light of day again but did the trick and gave me the energy for another 2 laps.

Endure 24 is such an awesome event, you certainly learn a lot about yourself during the 24 hours and its wonderful seeing and feeling the camaraderie between all the runners whether you are running a 35 minute lap or a 1hr 35 minute lap so if you are unsure about taking part because you feel you are too slow or not good enough you really do not have to worry as you will be welcomed with open arms.”

Richard Boese – “I have done Endure 24 four times before, but never with a SJ team, so this was a new experience for me.  What a brilliant weekend!  It started off with arriving on Friday evening to find my tent already put up by the early crew in the huge SJ campsite both sides of the main track. Dave Breslin was our team captain and gave me the honour of the first leg – that may have been punishment for running a marathon the day before – but it turned out to be perfect for me.

I got to experience running through the crowds lining the route, then with our large team I didn’t run again till after 5pm, so there was plenty of time for socialising.  I ran 4 laps all together and enjoyed every one of them, even the one in the rain, and spent my time on the course chatting to our runners in smaller teams or running solo and generally soaking up the atmosphere. Well done to all our runners – there were great performances all round the club, from laps run to number of gins consumed!”

Alison Jones – “Endure 24 was an event I have been keen to take part in for a couple of years but I always seemed to have something else on, so this year I made sure I kept the date clear. Initially I was taking part in a small team of 4, but then my name popped up in the SJ team of 7 and just for a minute I thought could I? but since this was my first time at the event I thought I had better give it a try in a team of 7 and see if I could find someone to take my place in the small team, also my daughter Sarah was really keen to take part so I thought it would be nice to be in the same team.

I knew we had to get there early to get a good pitch, having run a 10k the evening before and breaking my own FV60 course record I did not sleep very well so was up and off earlier than I had planned, just as well as it turned out, I got to the site at 08.05 and joined the queue for the 10.00 opening to be joined bit by bit by other SJ’s needless to say we got our desired pitch. That was the easy bit, the lovely Sharon Burfield had lent me a tent since she could not make it that weekend, bearing in mind the last time I put up or slept in a tent was when I was in the Girl Guides and my leader was called Mr Baden-Powell, which was marginally better than Sarah who had never slept in a tent and continually told people she was “tenting” for the weekend, where I did I go wrong! When I emptied the tent and various compartments out of what seemed a very small bag I did not know where to start, I just knew I would need a fairly big pitch, Will Lucas and John Barnes saw my obvious confusion and offered to help, I thought they were going to call Wimpy, but it seems they knew what they were doing, bless them, otherwise I was just going to lie underneath it and hope no-one stood on me in the night.

Tent, or should I say detached bungalow, up I headed home intending to come back with Sarah the next morning, which we did, collecting Ian Watson en-route, time for the fun to begin. To say the weather did not know what it was doing was an understatement, except at night, it was freezing and I never slept a wink, I now know how Ernest Shackleton felt, but that was all part of the fun, I managed 4 laps of the 4.8 mile course and every one was different, the first was dry the 2nd was okay the 3rd was in the dark and the last was in rain and the course was very muddy, the time between laps was great I got to chat to people I don’t see very often and others I did not know very well, although there were only 2 official SJ teams we all “tented” pretty close so there was always someone popping in, the kettle was never off the boil. In summary it was a fabulous weekend with fabulous people and although I did say at the time never again, that was mostly due to sleep deprivation, now having caught up I will definitely be there next year.”

Patrick Wadsworth – “I have run at Endure previously in a team of 8 and a team of 4.  I prefer the 4 as I get to run every 3 hours or so rather than every 6-7 hours in an 8.  Endure is a massive event and getting enough space for all the SJ tents is a challenge as all the clubs want the best spots. We got there early and found a reasonable spot near, but not too close to the start. Friday was spent putting up tents.  Each one needing to be put up in a different way.  After that it was time to socialise and mentally prepare for the actual running.  I had to go home so got a good night’s sleep and avoided the late night drinking but I would recommend staying as it helps with getting into the spirit of the event. Plenty of entertainment and food available on site so no need to go hungry even if you haven’t brought your own food.

Saturday morning was spent having a quick parkrun in Newbury and then returning to site. The event is huge and as I was on the first leg I joined the thousand other runners waiting for the midday start.  Several of the SJ teams ran as a mass for the first couple of corners then we split up to run at our own pace.

The course is definitely undulating with a long drag at the start and two shorter but sharper hills before a lovely descent through the woods and a zigzag finishing straight. Each lap broken up by the Sound machine playing rock and roll all day and some of the night and the water stop providing much needed fluids and energy gels.

Each lap is different as you run through the different parts of the day.  One highlight of the night run was seeing the runners streaming along the path with the moon hanging overhead.  Through the night planning is required to efficiently get some food and drink in before setting an alarm and getting some sleep.  Waking up for me is not an issue and getting ready for the next lap.  The night was very cold requiring more layers in order to stay warm.  The night laps are usually lovely, running in the quiet, seeing rabbits dash across the path and passing runners each quietly contemplating where they were and how they were doing. 

Soon it was daylight and the end was in sight.  The running order was changed so that those who wanted to run an extra lap could do so but a much quicker lap by Pat resulted in a last minute order change again to give the team an additional lap.

My thanks to Kate for organising the small teams, and Patrick and Simon for their camaraderie during the weekend. A very enjoyable event all round.”

Sounded like a great event, definitely one for anyone who hasn’t done it to add to the bucket list! Well done everyone who did run it, and bring on next year!