Swimming and Cycling for a Stronger Run

I did a run test at Stantonbury Track on Monday night. It involved running round the track for 30 minutes as fast as you can – not sprinting, but holding a steady pace for 30 minutes. You lap your time at 10 minutes and then continue to the end. The test can be called a T20 or a T30 test. The T20 test measures your average heart rate for the final 20 minutes of the run. The T30 tests measures the distance travelled for the whole 30 minute run. I managed to run 5.18km in 30 minutes with an average pace of 5.48/km. Now for me, that is a great run. Fantastic in fact. My 5K time was 29.06. The last time I ran 5K under 30 minutes was in May (29.58) where I aggravated an injury so much I was unable to run as planned the following day. Following this, the fastest I ran a 5K in 2018 was 34 minutes in July. I am so pleased to see some progression in my running time. Even more so as this has been done without any run training. By way of background, my 2018 was plagued with injury and many of the events I completed I either walked or did not finish. There is nothing wrong with this whatsoever, however it is a far cry from my fitness of 2017 where I had a 10K PB, a half marathon PB and just a lot of great runs. My last “runs” were in October and the only runs I’ve done since then were the club run on Christmas Eve (averaging 8.03/km) and a treadmill run just a week ago (averaging 7.39/km). These runs were not a real test of my fitness – the Christmas Eve run was a social trail run with walking and plenty of breaks and treadmills are notoriously bad for their inaccuracy – although I was still pleased I managed to run continuously for about an hour! So how have I managed to get to this pace without any running? Multisport. Whilst I have not been running in November and December, I have been regularly swimming and cycling. I am also a member of the tri club so I can get in extra swims and rides with them which has been brilliant for my training whilst I’ve not been running. But you don’t have to be a member of the tri club to swim and cycle! Swimming In 2018 I began going to the pool once or twice a week, just going up and down with a kickboard kicking my legs. Eventually I started using my arms, and now I think I can call myself a swimmer. I’m not a good swimmer. I take a lot of breaks. A lot. But I keep going as best I can and I can see how far I’ve progressed and am still progressing.   It has helped my breathing enormously. Other members of LFR began joining me on a Monday night, sometimes a Wednesday. It is great swimming with other people you know. It’s a casual swim where we all do our own thing. We are all different abilities from beginners to Tom (you think he’s a speedy runner, you should see him in the pool!). Then we all stop for a natter at the end talking about what we’re going to have for dinner (usually a fish finger sandwich). CyclingLFR now has its own cycling division and I took full advantage of this over the summer and particularly over the Christmas break. We have our own Facebook Group separate from the main group where we chatter about all things cycling and then arrange casual rides (sometimes not casual for the speedier cyclists). Over the summer we had the Wrong Rides, we made a trip to Silverstone to cycle round the track and we took part in a local charity ride. In November and December, my cycling training consisted of jumping on the turbo trainer or heading out for mountain bike rides. Mountain biking is hard. I didn’t realise how hard until I tried it. When I first started out I was scared of going down the hills, going over tree roots, then going back uphill - I didn't think I'd make it. I did it anyway and have kept going. Because I keep going, my confidence on the bike is gaining, my leg muscles are building, and I’m getting better each time. I am covered in bruises after every ride and still fall off every now and then, but I just get back up and carry on. It’s enormous fun especially cycling with the LFR gang. I would have been lost over Christmas without them! Getting stronger as both a swimmer and a cyclist has strengthened my legs (all that kicking, all those hills) and helped my breathing so I'm able to breathe steadier when working out.   I’m still a beginner at both disciplines and am learning every day, but I will keep including them within my training as this has improved my running to the point I could run as far as I did in those 30 minutes on Monday when I wasn't expecting to. I don't know what else to put it down to.  I have not been running! Why am I telling you this? When I was injured last year, I was down, I was grumpy. Of course I was, I couldn’t run. However by eventually throwing myself into swimming and cycling, my mood lifted, I was still spending time with LFR friends and I was getting myself fit again. If you’re injured right now, try it out. Come down to the pool. If you have a bike, take it down the road, see how far you can go. The next time, go further. You can still measure progress in the pool and on the bike, keeping yourself active by doing so. And if you’re not injured? Try it out anyway! It will aid your running fitness.  Your body will be stronger meaning your running will be stronger.  Have a read of Rob's blog post all about this: Multisport for Running Longevity I’m over my latest injury now and will be running more and more, however this won’t stop me from swimming and cycling. I am clearly a stronger runner because I swim and cycle and am excited to see how much I improve in the coming months - that's the plan anyway!

Continue reading

This is the week that was…

2019! New Year's Day began with a parkrun at Rushmere.  Jim was completing his 250th parkrun - he's been running at parkrun since 2012.  250 parkruns in that time - incredible.  Also celebrating at NYD parkrun was Keith who was volunteering for the 50th time. We even had some NYD PB's from Nic and former LFR Grace.  Great running, guys! New Year's Day also saw Karen lead her annual run around Ashridge - a windy, but wonderful run. A big well done to all those that did both parkrun and the club run (including Karen herself!) and all those who did the parkrun double! By Wednesday we were club runs as normal with Vicky leading the first Fartlek of 2019.  Captain Dan put on another Beep Test on Thursday to test runners' fitness at the start of the year.  He'll be putting another test at a future date to test again and you can measure your progress over time.  JK ended the week leading a beautiful trail run around the woods in Rushmere. On parkrun day we had runners at Milton Keynes, Linford Wood, Houghton Hall, Kingsbury Water, Exmouth, Wendover Woods and Rushmere.  At a busy Rushmere, Gavin was running his 50th parkrun, Sam was 2nd lady, Emily and Nicki both ran a new PB, Samantha was also running her 50th parkrun (thanks for the cake!), and Chrissy was running her first ever parkrun - she loved it!  I'm certain she will be back for more. Saturday saw the return of the County Cross Country Championship where Team LFR had some fantastic results: 1st V70 Paul Thomas3rd V40 Dan Green3rd V50 Andrew Heale2nd V50 Janice Lamont1st V65 Christine Ayers2nd Vet Men Team Great work runners! Also racing at the weekend was Nolan at the Victoria Park Half Marathon running a fantastic 6 minute PB and his first sub 1:50 half marathon.  Well done, Nolan! All week and weekend, LFRs have been out on their training runs and ride. Great work for the first week of 2019.  It has been a great start to the year! Happy New Year, LFR!

Continue reading

This is the week that was…

...Christmas!  We swapped our usual club runs for the Christmas week with various runs out and about.  On Christmas Eve, Ian and Jen took two groups out for a trail run starting from Little Gaddesdon.  A beautiful day for a run followed by a drink in the pub to set us up for Christmas Day.  We even saw Ronnie Wood popping to the shop for his Christmas snacks! Christmas Day arrived which didn't stop some of us from getting runs in. Sparky was out running in Bristol.  Emily got in a Christmas Day parkrun at Aylesbury running a 35 second PB getting under 25 minutes. David and his brother-in-law were also parkrunning in Exeter and he also ran a 5K PB! And Tam, Tracy and Carrie made their way to Linford Wood parkrun for their Christmas Day parkrun fix.  Boxing Day we had Tam's annual 10K trail run. No one lost any shoes this year!  Also on Boxing Day we had an LFR visitor back for a run - Gordon!  He went out with Michelle, Louise and Sera for a 4 mile trail run from Tiddenfoot. Captain Dan put on some intervals in the park on Friday to help us burn off the Christmas pudding.  Hard work, but worth it! Also on Friday Rob, Paul and Ian took part in a Christmas handicap race in Mursley.  Paul bagged himself a podium finish and Rob ran the fastest time on the day.  Ian was just happy to finish.  An event to look out for next year...following the run, there was a mobility scooter race.... Saturday saw the cycling division head out for a Christmas themed Wrong Ride.  Another great day on the bikes with baskets full of twinkly lights, tinsel and Christmas jumpers galore! On parkrun day we had LFRs at Milton Keynes, Markeaton, Linford Wood, Houghton Hall - where Smiffy popped is parkrun cherry, Aylesbury, Edinburgh, the Sugars were at Kesgrave - where Julie was 3rd overall and 1st in he age group, Tring, Salisbury, Exmouth and of course Rushmere.  Speaking of parkrun - Jim will be running his 250th parkrun on New Year's Day at Rushmere at the usual parkrun time of 9am.  Why not come along to support Jim? There is enough time to both parkrun and get to Ashridge for Karen's run if you fancied both! Glyn spent the festive period doing what he does best - bagging Wainwrights!  He got to his 100th this week!  Well done Glyn.  Still more to come....! Emma was getting her marathon fix running the Phoenix Running Ice Bird Challenge.  Emma has completed all four Phoenix Running marathons and was awarded the most amazing bling for doing so!  Emma has also been running every day in December.  To run a marathon in the middle of it....well done! A huge well done for everyone getting out there this week.  It's always tough when the call of Christmas films and chocolate could be too much.  Whether you were running, cycling or swimming, a huge well done for your efforts! A big shout out to everyone for another awesome year of LFR madness.  Congratulations and kudos to all those who have achieved their goals whether it was to run 100 miles, 600 miles, 874 miles (Michelle!) or 1000 miles.  However far you've run, whatever you have achieved for yourself, you are incredible for getting out there and doing it.  Happy New Year, LFR!  See you in 2019!

Continue reading

This is the week that was…

....almost Christmas.  The annual LFR Christmas Quiz Run fell on Tuesday...as did the rain.  Still 28 runners came out to pair up and head out to answer the questions!  We had a tie breaker for the win between Matt and Ash and Dave and Kevin. Matt and Ash came out on top!  Coming in last place and getting a wooden spoon and a 2018 LFR Calendar signed by the Captain were Kelly and Laura....I want those prizes. A big thank you to all those who took part and all the organisers and markers.  Another great quiz run! Mistress Janice was in charge of the Festive Fartlek on Wednesday with the runners showing us all how we should be dressed in the dark.  Just check out their awesome reflective gear. Andy led the Improvers for some hill reps on Thursday where he rewarded everyone with  mulled wine and mince pies. And Alan was leading the Friday Morning Run, finishing off with a cuppa in the Picture House. On parkrun day, we had runners at Milton Keynes, Linford Wood, Houghton Hall, Exmouth and a massive 35 LFRs at Rushmere.  At Rushmere: Chris ran himself a brilliant 40 second parkrun PB; Paul was running his 50th parkrun; and former LFR Grace returned to Rushmere to run a new Rushmere PB!   Out running this weekend was Andrew and family at the nice and muddy Hastings Christmas Pudding Dash.... And that's it for this week!  We had lots of runners and riders out in the rain and mud all week and weekend, including these mad four who went out on a sunset mountain bike ride in the rain this evening.... Just look at that mud! Merry Christmas, LFR!

Continue reading

This is the week that was…

The Captain set us off on a new out and back route on Tuesday taking a tour of Leighton Buzzard and Linslade to see the Christmas lights with the occasional hill thrown in.  Sparky was out running again on Tuesday running his furthest yet since coming back - excellent work, Sparks.  Running her furthest EVER distance was new member Claire on the out and back - 6.1kms.  Great running!  Karen took charge of a Ladies Night Fartlek on Wednesday with JK crashing the party.  Coach Matt was leading the Improvers to the chippy on Thursday - there was running too - one mile reps and Tom was on fire again getting the Strava record!  And Friday we had Karen leading the Friday Morning Gang on a lovely 5 mile run. The weekend ended with our annual Christmas do of course! We had the official Christmas do at The Oliver and Hare.  A huge thank you to Max for organising a wonderful meal and sorting us all out.  There was also the unofficial Christmas party out for a curry and we all met up at the pub following the meals for the usual LFR shenanigans - no reports this year of drinking the pub out of jager or falling off chairs after one drink.  Do you think we've grown up?  Can you guess who was at which party from these photos... The Christmas night out didn't stop us from getting out and about at the weekend.... On parkrun day we had runners at Bramhall, Linford Wood, Houghton Hall, Tring, and of course Rushmere.  Andrew still managed the top 10...just....following a Friday night of curry and beer.  David, also full of curry, ran himself a new PB! Sam came in 2nd lady.  Colin was running his 50th parkrun.  And Graham was running his 100th parkrun and his 50th at Rushmere!  What a great day! Sunday was the Christmas Cross Country at North Herts.  Another great turnout from LFR and we're still 7th in the league!  Fantastic! Shout outs to Claire, TC, Jane, Tam and Will for all your organisation, support and photos!   The next cross country race will be on Sunday 13th January 2019 at Ampthill.  If you've not signed up for cross country but want to be a part of either the final two races, email Jane with your full name, date of birth and email address and she will get you signed up. That's all for this week.  Happy Running, LFR!

Continue reading

This is the week that was…

Tuesday was our Christmas Cake Night and the ballot for the club's London Marathon entry was drawn.  Congratulations Andy Heale!  Cake night also saw the return of Sparky!  Good to have you back, Mark. Kevin took charge of the Fartlek Fun on Wednesday and produced this incredible work of art for picture of the week... James was leading the Improvers on a hills and loops seesion on Thursday and Peter took JK on a tour of the woods in the rain on Friday followed by tea and cake! On parkrun day we had members everywhere at Milton Keynes, Bury St Edmunds, Linford Wood, Houghton Hall, Aldenham, Gnoll (where is Gnoll, David?), Exmouth, Wendover Woods, Jersey Farm, Fire Service College parkrun and of course Rushmere. At Rushmere, Captain Dan came in second with a new PB!  I had set the Captain a challenge earlier in the week..a sort of race.  On checking LFR's fastest times at Rushmere (see them here: LFR at Rushmere) I could see Dan, Matt and Tom had just three seconds between them: Dan - 20:24 Matt - 20:25 Tom - 20:27.  Go! Race! I said.  So Captain Dan went off and ran without the buggy for the first time in a year and ran a 20:08, extending his lead massively!  Matt, Tom....what will you come back with? Some more great results at Rushmere with Andy coming in 4th, Jamie 7th and some PBs too from Richard and Nicki.  Great running, guys! It was racing time at the weekend....Nolan was out running the Regents Park 10K.  It was the MK Winter Half Marathon on Sunday where we had David, Jo, Graham, Niki, Julie, Alison, Keith and Chris. Graham ran himself a half marathon PB.  Keith was running his 10th half marathon since joining LFR.  And Niki ran a 17 minute half marathon PB! Absolutely superb - Niki's tactic was to walk for 1 minute every mile and it worked! Excellent work all of you! It was also the weekend of the Lanzarote Marathon, Half Marathon and 10K where we had LFRs aplenty.  Emma and Sally completed the marathon in some brutal heat...amazing work.  Pam, Jane, Jason, Amos, Max and Paul and Becs completed the Half Marathon. "A well organised event with fab support and plenty of glorious hot sunshine (sorry folks!).....  😊"   And Jen, Wes and Steph all completed the walking 10K!  Amazing work from everyone in the heat.  And look at all the fun you're having in the sun.... Not jealous at all. That's all for this week.  Happy Running, LFR!

Continue reading

MK MARATHON AMBASSADOR 2019 – WOO HOO! by James Smith

  Although I was a truly awful runner as a young man (I failed the RAF fitness test quite spectacularly on the first attempt – only just scraping through on the second attempt after being chased by a Brummie with fists like hams threatening to “punch yow head in if yow don’t hurry up” – true story!) I have come to love running in my late twenties (sub-editors please check – should this not say late forties?) – but running is still very much a learning process for me… So, I’ve been working my way up from the 2017 Leighton 5k (my first race), through Cross Country, the Flitwick 10k and Leicestershire 10k (36th overall & 2nd V45 – almost certainly the best result I will ever have – I know! BOOM!), and the Buckingham, Burnham Beeches, Royal Parks and Dirt Half Marathons (my absolute favourite distance); but I feel that (and this is only my opinion mind – and thus completely worthless!) I won’t consider myself a “proper” runner until I’ve done a Marathon… At this point, dear reader, I have an admission to make – with a gang of mates from work I’ve done the Oxfam Trailwalker 100km event for the Gurkha Welfare Trust in 2013 and 2014, so I sort of have a Marathon PB – 6.5 hours, and my second fastest Marathon is 7 hours, but to be fair they were on the same day – but they weren’t really like racing, fast walking mostly – at 50 miles I sat in an armchair and ate a bowl of casserole – a fuelling option NOT available at most Marathons – although you can probably get some Quinoa or an Avocado on the VLM ho ho! I love the fact that you can run a Half Marathon on a Sunday – and be back running as normal by Wednesday, but as far as I understand, the toll on your body from a Marathon can take a while to recover from – so I’ve got a grand plan – no 100 Club for me – instead I’m going to run ONE! And as I’m planning to only run one, I want it to be a spectacular one – I thought about New York, Tokyo, London, perhaps Berlin… But they didn’t have the out and out glamour that I was looking for; then I though perhaps Kielder, Loch Ness or Snowdonia, but they’re not scenic enough; so realistically there’s only one left – MK!!! What’s that? “You’ve only chosen MK as it’s nearby and you can’t be bothered to travel?” How very dare you – I’ll have you know that the City of Dreams has loads going for it, for instance did you know that: You are never more than half a mile from a park (or a Nandos – although this bit “may” be made up). 22 million trees have been planted in MK (that’s more than 3.6 million for each of the Concrete Cows). Midsummer Boulevard is aligned so the sun rises at its east end on the Summer Solstice – actually true! The Point was the first multiplex cinema in Britain when it opened in 1985, although it’s shut now and looks pretty rough to be honest, I think they’re going to knock it down – alright this one was ill thought out. Cliff Richard filmed his Wired for Sound video in the Centre:MK – and I think we can all agree it’s an ABSOLUTE STONE-COLD BANGER!! So, taking our own Super-Jen Garner’s advice – I applied to be an MK Marathon Ambassador for 2019 – AND GOT IN! What were they thinking? I get a hoody, a Buff with a cow’s face on it – reason enough to apply! And I get to have a celebratory wee in the underpass of my choosing! So, it’s all VERY exciting, and I’ve got lots to learn, and would appreciate any and all advice from everyone – the more conflicting and impractical the better! p.s. I completely and genuinely have a really soft spot for MK, I think it’s massively underrated, but then I grew up in Leicester – go figure… p.p.s I’ve started a blog at http://roadtomkmarathon.blogspot.com and my Instagram is getting ever more running related at https://www.instagram.com/hunstantonsmith/ – get me – quite the social media influencer, just wait until people see my MySpace page!

Continue reading

This is the week that was…

Group Night was back on the cards for the final time this year - thank you Gary, Annis, Caroline, David, Kelly, Matt and James for leading the pace groups. We had some runners trying out groups and paces they were not used to and the "Go Nuts" group taking a tour of the Strava segments of Leighton Buzzard, getting themselves crowns, and trophies all over the town! Also on Tuesday Ian was back leading a headtorch trail run around Aspley Heath - only one tumble from the current Runner of the Month!  Thanks for leading the trailrunners, Ian! Vicky was leading the Fartlek fun on Wednesday, Captain Dan took the Improvers on Thursday and Alan was leading the Friday Morning Boys to the Leighton Riviera on Friday.  Doesn't it look fantastic? On parkrun day we had runners at Linford Wood, Houghton Hall (where Carrie was 7th lady, 1st in her age category AND ran a PB!), Exmouth, Sixfields Upton and of course Rushmere.  At Rushmere and on his 100th parkrun Andrew came 2nd!  Frustratingly beaten by a first timer! David and Jim fought closely for 6th and 7th just two seconds apart with Gavin coming in 11th and Emily bagging herself a PB! Saturday saw LFR's annual Santa Dash for local charity KidsOut.  Another fantastic turnout despite the wind and rain, with sweets and smiles galore.  Whilst not a race, I'm sure mini LFR James Parker won't mind us telling you all that he came in first.  Well done, James!  A huge well done to all who took part and a massive thank you to all the LFR volunteers without whom the event would not be possible.  A huge thank you also and well done to Tam and Tracy, the organisers, who put on another fantastic event. And thank you Caroline for the incredible photos.  You can view all photos on the Facebook Event.  Here are a selection... New member Claire was also running a Santa Dash at the weekend.  This one was in Marlow on Sunday.  Claire was getting her first ever running medal!  Well done, Claire!  At the Bedford Half on Sunday we had some fantastic performances from Martin, Chris and Caroline - who ran a smashing new PB. Was this your last half marathon of the year, Caroline?  For those who don't know, Caroline has run a half marathon every month this year!  And to finish off with a PB...superb! Also running at the weekend was Colin who smashed out a marathon PB of 3.22 at the Nottingham Christmas Marathon.  He was spotted dancing the night away on Saturday night following this marathon effort  - clearly he had more in his legs...!  Excellent work, Colin! And finally, the weekend saw Rob, Paul D, Mark, and Paul L take on the brutal Jurassic Coast Ultra.  34 Miles.  6000ft of climbing.  Trails.  The boys completed what is already an epic challenge, but in never-ending 50mph winds and horizontal rain.  Incredible.  They did it.  They survived.  Heroes.  Give them a huge pat on the back when you see them next - perhaps not too hard though, they may still be a little sore... That's all for this week.  Happy Running, LFR!

Continue reading

This is the week that was…

Tuesday saw our favourite Out and Back to The Star, Andy and Tom even making it so far they managed a loop at the top before heading back.  Paul was leading the Fartlekkers on Wednesday –he left his Doyleyvision camera at home so some better pictures appeared of this week’s antics.  Matt and Andy took over leading the Improvers on Thursday for some hellish hill repeats at Greenhill.  If you’ve not tired these before, go next time – they’re had work, but a lot of fun!  And Friday had Karen leading the gang on a tour of the various lakes and parks of Leighton Buzzard.  Wonderful! On parkrun day we had LFRs at Bushy, Milton Keynes, Rickmansworth, Linford Wood, Houghton Hall (where Gill ran herself a parkrun PB), Exmouth, Wendover Woods and of course Rushmere.  At Rushmere, Andy and Jamie found their places in the top 10 – Andy completing his 99th parkrun!  One more until he gets another fancy tshirt… Michelle bagged herself a smashing new PB – denying it was even possible before she set off.  Superb running.  And more PBs came from Richard and Nicki.  Great work, parkrun fans! Out racing at the weekend was Graham at the Watford Autumn 10K running himself a 12 second course PB….excellent work, Coops! And finally, the weekend’s main event….Race 2 of the Three Counties Cross Country League!  This week the league went to Wellingborough for the infamous water crossing.  A team of 23 LFRs ran the course with another 400 runners.  A huge well done to all of you.  The LFR Ladies came in 6th with the men 9th.  After the two races, our overall team position is 7th (out of 13).  A fantastic achievement! Massive thank you and shouts out required:  Jane for all your organising and working so hard; Tam for the league scoring; Tracy for supporting; Steph for team scoring, bag drop and cheering and of course, Will, who was supporting, getting dirty and taking the most incredible photos of the mud.  Here are just a small selection... There are three races left of the league: Sunday 16th December – North HertsSunday 13th January – AmpthillSunday 27th January – Wootton It’s not too late to register if you’d like to join in the cross country fun.  Drop an email to Jane (jane.crighton@hotmail.co.uk), with your name, DOB and email address and we'll get you registered and ready to run!  Full details and information on the league can be found online. That’s all for this week.  Well done everyone who was out running, training, cycling, anything this week.  See you next time, LFR.

Continue reading

This is the week that was…

Tuesday had a group run with a difference - Ian taking out the trail runners on a headtorch run around Woburn, dodging the deer.   Back in town we had our usual Group Night with everyone enjoying their different pace groups.  Janice was doing what she does best, inflicting pain on the Fartlek Fun Runners on Wednesday.  Captain Dan put on a Tabata session in the park for the Improvers on Thursday and JK took out the lovely LFR ladies for a trail run around Rushmere for the Friday morning Fun Run. Great fun. On parkrun day, Team LFR made appearances at Luton Wardown, Linford Wood, Houghton Hall, Buckingham, Exmouth and of course Rushmere.  At Rushmere, Tom remembered his barcode this week and came in third with a faster time! Well done Tom! David Parker came in 10th running a brand new PB.  Well done Dave! Marianne came in 1st lady. Superb running, Marianne! And Jeremy was running his 50th parkrun at Rushmere!  Great work, Jeremy.  He says he can retire now. Following parkrun was the Dirt Half!  An LFR favourite!  We had a HUGE number of runners taking part and some fantastic achievements.  A huge well done to everyone.  A few shout outs:  Gavin bagged another PB and rewarded himself with beer from the brewery!  New member David Pym was running his first half marathon in a smashing time of 1.51.  He only ran his first ever mile back in March - what an achievement!  Well done, David!  What shoes did you wear in the end?! Captain Dan ran a half marathon PB (he also ran the first 10K in 40 minutes - incredible!)  Sam was running just her second half marathon, coming in under 2 hours for the first time.  Michelle ran a course PB - a massive 8 minutes faster than last year. And Nic also ran a course PB!  Finally Mr Paul Doyle who decided that running the Dirt Half wasn't enough, ran parkrun in the morning.  Just because. Madness!   We also had LFRs volunteering at the water stations, at the finish, everywhere!  And so many of the club on the route shouting support to everyone.  It really helps the runners to hear "GO LFR" as they run round.  That's why we had so many PBs!  Thank you to all the supporters - you are brilliant. Sunday was another very busy day.  It was the return of the MoRun in Milton Keynes and the annual appearance of Davina who ran a 36s 10K PB, even transforming into Dave when her hair flew off on the final stretch!  There were more PBs from Kelly and Laura on the 10K and Lisa and Leon both bagged PBs at the 5K - Leon smashing it the finish! Great efforts. Also on Sunday we had Dan and Peter at the Hertfordshire Half Marathon.  Julian, Jim and Vicky taking on Herberts Hole 10K.  Caroline ran her own half dubbed "The Slapton Half" and in doing so ran her 11th half marathon of 2018 and completed her 500 mile challenge for the year!  Great running, Caroline! And finally it was the Sundon Saunter on Sunny Sunday!  Emma, Charlotte and Sally (who clearly wasn't content with running just one half marathon this weekend) took on the 12.7 miles of trails. And Mark, non-LFR Mark, Ian, Marianne, Paul, another Mark, JK and Verity all completed the marathon.  They stayed together the whole way round tackling some route changes, but it meant they got to run on different trails.  Quote from Ian: "Almost a perfect trail marathon." Sounds truly wonderful! A massive shout out to Verity. Not only did she complete the Sundon Saunter Marathon on Sunday, she ran the Dirt Half on Saturday! Just a little warm up.  Superb effort. Now.....there has been a lot of talk the last couple of weeks of LFR photos and photos of the week. Of course we are all aware of the incredible Doyleyvision - always a winner. This week, however, we have had some serious contenders for the crown.  Captain Dan's Doyley Camera shot of the group run on Tuesday.  Annis' shot of Smiffy's catalogue pose....this was superb. The LFR Ladies celebrating the 80s.  However, nothing can beat a picture of our very own legend at the Sundon Saunter.......writing legend on his photo....here we have Ian's shot of The Legend also known as JK......LFR's Picture of the Week!  That's all for this week.  Happy Running, LFR! As it has been an incredibly busy weekend of events, I am bound to have missed something or got something wrong!  If so, do just let me know and I can give you a shout out next week!  Remember if you'd like anything in particular mentioned in the newsletter, you can send me a message on Facebook or email me at publicity@leightonfunrunners.org.uk - Jen 🙂

Continue reading