This is the week that was…. The Ridgeway Run!

This is the week that was... The Ridgeway Run! This week was one of those weeks where I could throw a dart at a map of the UK and an LFR would be running somewhere. But before I share with you the week's events, we’re going to rewind 7 days to last Sunday’s London Marathon. I missed Natalie Ahlrichs off of my VLM update, Natalie had an issue with her race number and didn’t make the bus to London. After this initial upset on missing out on the big day with 35,000 other runners in London, Natalie dusted herself down, rounded up her family and completed a Virtual Marathon from Leighton Buzzard along the canal all the way to Wolverton in just over 5 hours. A huge well done for getting the job done Natalie! Racing on the Coast Onto the weekend and as mentioned we had runners up and down the country. My standout achievement came in Jersey where Sam and Richard Heady completed a whole lap of the Island. With stunning views a plenty, Sam and Richard took part in the Ultra Tour of Jersey. A two day event that navigates the whole island. Day one saw them complete 31 miles and day two another 21. I know both have been training really hard for the past few months racking up the miles whenever they could. All this with Richard trying to balance a very difficult harvesting season on the farm, well done to you both. Continuing the seaside theme, Jenny Hogan and Bob Nicol both spent the weekend in Brighton. Their weekend seemed a little more relaxing than Sam and Richards with the Hove parkrun on Saturday and the weather looked glorious!  Up north but still on the coast intrepid traveller Andy Griggs PB’d once more at the Morecambe 10K. I’m sure the next time I write about Andy’s exploits it will be to celebrate a sub 47 minutes. Keep up the great work Andy! This was also after a parkrun PB the day before! Manchester Marathon 60 miles south of Morecambe, Lynda Murray, Wayne Walker, Dan Lovelock and Peter Jones were in sunny Manchester taking on the Manchester marathon.  Peter put in a great performance. He completed the marathon in a brilliant 3hr 30. Disappointingly for Peter the V65 category was abandoned this year but he still finished in 24th place for the younger V60 age group. Dan put in a great sub 4 hour performance at 3:55 and Wayne is one step closer to his 100th Marathon. For Lynda it was her 2nd Marathon in as many weeks after completing London last week. Amazing work from all of you. Other Races At a disused World War Two airfield in Northamptonshire myself, Dougie and Matthew Grigsby all attempted to beat Lewis Hamilton’s track record at Silverstone. While we didn’t manage that all three of us got new PBs. The event was yet another carryover from last year's Covid cancellation of events and there were 6,000 runners taking part in 4 different distances. I completed the 10k, with Dougie and Matthew both taking on the Half Marathon. Dougie completed the half in 1:36 a 4 minute PB and Matthew in 1:46 which was a 2 minute PB.  Just down the road from Silverstone at Blenheim Palace and the ancestral home of Sir Winston Churchill, Jo Giliberti, Debbie McMillan and Gary Reid took part in the Blenheim Fun 7K. Jo is well on her way to 100km for her monthly target that she set herself.  Moving down to London, Mr and Mrs Smith once again took part in the Royal Parks Half Marathon. Starting at the end of the Mall the route winds its way through the Royal parks of St James Park, Green Park and Hyde Park, finishing within sight of Buckingham Palace. The route is a tourists dream but neither James or Katherine had time for sightseeing, completing the course in 1 hour and 40 minutes and Katherine in 2 hours 16 minutes. Well done to both of you. Back north in the Peak District at the Grindleford Gallop (yes I had to Google it too) Jamie Stamp knocked a stunning 12 minutes off of his PB! Well done Jamie. The Ridgeway Run By far the biggest LFR turnout of the weekend was just down the road in Hertfordshire for the Tring Running Club Ridgeway Run.  We had 21 of you take on the challenge of trails and hills. An event that sold out weeks ago and everyone had a great day. Vicky Green was supporting early on route, with Janet Langdon positioned up at Ashridge and then Kirsty Stocks with less than a mile away with Jelly Babies on hand! Dan Green took a tumble but still managed a great time being first LFR home, followed closely by Jim Buttleman.  Rosie Booth, who I know loves a XC event, came 3rd in her age group and that helped propel our ladies team along with Captain Emily and Jo Hogg into 3rd place in the team event. It was great to see Annis Turner back racing again following her maternity break, I’m sure the first of many races to come? 

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This is the week that was…. The London Marathon!

This is the week that was... The London Marathon! Race reports! Ok, hands up if you wish you lived in a bungalow?  The weekend was mostly about Marathons, so no better place to start than Estonia, yes Estonia! Population 1.3 million and a lone Brit, our very own Matthew Ma, who booked a cultural holiday to Tartu and took part in their annual marathon and got himself 28th place in a time of 2hr 55 minutes. Another outstanding result, enjoy the rest of your holiday Matthew.  Up in Scotland Jen Garner, Mike Garner, William Burchell and James Bassil completed the long awaited Loch Ness marathon. All four had a brilliant race for different reasons. For Jen it was a stunning 64 minute PB on her previous marathons. I’m sure you’ll all agree that is a massive improvement and a great reward for all the hard work that Jen has been putting in over the past year. For Will it was his debut marathon and a 4 hour 25 time was the reward for all the training he’s been putting in, well done Will. The Loch Ness marathon is a well respected PB course in a stunning location. James and Mike both battled through ongoing injuries to get to the finish line in 4:18 and 5:51 respectively. Well done all of you!     Before I talk about the achievements of our runners at the Virgin London Marathon on Sunday, it would be amiss of me to mention the wonderful Christine Ayres, whose training runs with the boys over the past few months have certainly inspired me. Christine had to pull out of the London marathon on Saturday following a gardening injury which fractured 2 ribs. This injury has also stopped Christine representing England at the York marathon and also in an upcoming swimming event. We all wish you a speedy recovery Christine.  Of course, with any event, it wouldn’t work without the help of an army of volunteers and once again LFR did a great job at mile 21. Tracy Cardno and her team were suitably kitted out in VLM branded gear and did an amazing job of marshalling members of the public and seeing the runners were supported along the way. Thank you ALL! We had 9 runners take part in the 2021 VLM, all of whom have put in 100’s if not 1,000’s of training miles over the past year and longer, to be ready and that training certainly paid off.  With nearly identical times, Katy Garnham-Lee and Elle Laird led the team across the finish line with great sub 4 hour times. Separated by less than 20 minutes were Adam Carter, Lindsey Rigby and Steve Lymbery, all safely home in under 5 hours. Lynda Peacock, Jo Secker, Lesley Wes Barnard and Helen Crossland who all regularly complete marathons and ultra events also completed VLM 2021. Well done to you all. I hope you are all enjoying some well deserved rest days.     As the 2020 event was replaced with a virtual event due to Covid, the London Marathon organisers once again organised a virtual event this year so so-much needed money could get back to the charities. Our very own Stephen Moore and Vicky Green took part in the virtual event and I was lucky enough to see both of them pounding the streets of Leighton Buzzard early on Sunday Morning. I can only imagine how hard that must be without the big event crowd support, well done both!    Another of our team Martin Addrison was also racing on Sunday. He completed the Rochdale half marathon in a great time with a member of the family. Martin only completed Brighton Marathon a few weeks ago! Great going Martin.  parkrun day! It wouldn’t be a LFR newsletter without a reference to the weekend’s parkruns, where we had 55 runners out running at venues far and wide. Dougie was busy celebrating his first sub 22 minute parkrun after 4 years of trying. This PB was on one of his tourist runs in Brierley Forest. At Rushmere we had an amazing 30 runners turn out, 10 of whom were on Emily’s parkrun train from HQ, which took in a run to Rushmere, the parkrun itself and run back to town. There were plenty of course PB’s at Rushmere with VC Andy Stocks knocking 18 minutes off his first attempt a few weeks ago. My standout run from Saturday though goes to Graham Cooper who completed the 10 mile club run, then did it all over again to turn it into a 20 miles training run, brilliant running. Megan Francis and Andy Griggs were both tourists at other parkruns where they also grabbed some great PBs! Way to go team 🙂  

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This is the week that was…. The Dunstable Downs parkrun Takeover

This is the week that was... The Dunstable Downs parkrun Takeover! Before we get on to parkrun and races I am pleased to report that Jen Garner, Tori Guy and Ian Bickers all completed the final piece of their LiRF qualification under the watchful eye of VC Andy. I look forward to reporting on 3 more qualified run leaders in the coming weeks. parkrun day! Saturday came which meant it was parkrun day! It wasn’t just any parkrun day, it was our LFR takeover at Dunstable Downs parkrun day. Up in the Downs it was like being on a mountain, heavy fog ruined the views and the mist felt like light drizzle, however LFRs spirit brightened up the morning. Anna Mead was RD for the morning and a further 15 LFR's covered the various positions, with another 13 running the course.  Jim Buttleman led the team home in a none too shabby sub 21 minutes, which was a new course PB. Post parkrun, Emily led an enthusiastic group on a challenging 10 mile trail route to Totternhoe and back. We had a further 45 runners taking part in 15 other parkruns around the land with many of you still doing your tourist runs. Gavin Prechner and Nic Dimmock were away in Bicester and just down the road in Buckingham were Dawn Kennedy and Will Langdon. Over in Dublin Alex Nixon did well to get a parkrun in after a night in the brilliant Temple Bar, though at least it was a 9.30am start time! At Rushmere we still had a great turnout with Team Sugars putting in great runs. Steve was placed 10th and Julie wasn’t far behind being the second lady home. Races! I thought it was a quiet weekend for races but I was wrong! LFR seemed to be scattered about at various races. It’s been many months since JK completed any long distances but on Saturday JK was at the XNRG Humanity Direct Tring ultra, where he was “sweeping”, 33 miles in the legs across the Chilterns. Meanwhile, Lesley Wes Barnard and Helen Crossland finished yet another marathon, this time in Shropshire. They got a very interesting looking medal for their fabulous efforts! Debbie Elborn and Caroline Clabburn took the LFR brand to Windsor where they raced in the 10k. On Sunday, Sally Dickinson raced in the sun at one of her favourite races, the Standalone 10k. Jo Giliberti also ran a 10k and claimed a PB at Race For Life in Stockwood Park. Next month Jo is starting a charity 100km running challenge, I’m sure you will pass that target with ease Jo! Andy Griggs found the sun in the north in Manchester where he raced a 10k bagging a PB in the progress at the Great Manchester Run. I’m sure Eilish McGolgan was getting some handy tips, when she grabbed a selfie with him afterwards! Coach Matt was in Sheffield where he ran his home town’s half marathon, considering Matt has been suffering from some post MK marathon niggles recently he still ran at an impressive pace!

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This is the week that was…. The Leighton 10

This is the week that was... The Leighton 10! Club Runs Tuesday was PACE NIGHT and everyone was catered for by our brilliant run leaders, and it’s fair to say we had a great turnout again. On hump day Captain Emily led a super six group at Astral park for Meet and Retreat. This is a slightly different version of an interval set that pairs runners to run in opposite directions of a track, meet then retreat. By all accounts it was a great session that pushed most out of their comfort zones and left everyone a little out of breath! On Thursday we had the two very popular groups out; Tori led the socials while VC Andy led the step-up group. Finally Friday rocked up and it was time for the social trails, this week with Peter Jones whom treated the team the infamous “Jelly Legs Hill”! parkrun Day! Saturday came and 54 LFR's rocked up at various venues across the country, even I managed to find my barcode and get a cheeky parkrun in around the lovely Fairlands Park in Stevenage getting an unexpected parkrun PB! Lucky Linford Wood had a great crowd of LFR's, 9 I believe. Is that a new favourite ladies? We also had runners at Thomas Mills, Great Denham, Dunstable Downs (where Sally Dickinson came home as first lady), Rushmere, Bicester, Croxteth, Cassiobury Park, Druridge Bay, Tonbridge and Aylesbury. Some great tourism going on! While I am on parkrun, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE support our DUNSTABLE DOWNS takeover NEXT SATURDAY. We have all the volunteers that we need to support the event, now we need as many of you as possible to take part, have a load of fun, bag some PB’s and of course stay on for some post-event cake. Races Matthew Ma was at one of his amazing events... He completed the Equinox 24 Hour race at Belvoir Castle in Leicestershire. Matthew completed a quite staggering 73.78 miles or if you prefer 118.7 kilometers. Making the distance even more staggering Matthew said he called it a day after 13 hours, but he did enjoy the weekends camping. Again, a quite magnificent achievement Matthew!  On Sunday we had the long awaited Leighton Tough 10. 31 LFR's signed up and raced at this local event supporting our friends at LBAC. Tom Ellerton led the team home in 10th place. It was great to see that Martin Crane made it across the counties to have a race in his LFR colours, with Zoe as top supporter with puppy Nora! Martin came in 13th! I’m going to spare you the bloodied T-shirt pic of yet another bleeding nipple "injury", this time it was Will Langdon! Ouch... VC Andy used the event to “Double Up” in his preparation for the Beachy Head marathon in a few week’s time. Andy ran the 10 miles in the morning then went out for a second run of 10 miles in the afternoon pretty much matching both runs pace for pace. A lesson to us all in preparing for a long distance race. Taking advantage of Andy’s pacing was SAM HEADY who not only got herself a 10 mile PB. She also came 2nd in her age group. Well done Sam. Be sure to show off your medal when you get it! Later the same day there was post race curry meet up at the Methi Indian restaurant in town. Thank you to those of you who came along, I hear a great night was had by all had the carbs were certainly replaced!  The committee hopes to organise a similar post race night after the “Dirt Half” in November. Watch this space! Finally, away from running I am delighted to report that Tracy Cardno and Michelle Evans-Riches finally completed their postponed “Swim Serpentine” 2 mile swim in Hyde Park. They had an amazing day weather wise and their post swim smiles indicated they had a great day. Well done ladies, I'm sure you're both itching to complete the London Classics now by completing the Ride London 100 mile cycle when it returns. 

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This is the week that was…. The Brighton Marathon

This is the week that was... The Brighton Marathon! Club Runs As summer turned to autumn the irony wasn’t lost on many of us that the sun made a welcome return, as did some not so welcome warmth for those racing. As Tuesday was the first one of the month, Cake night returned with the sunshine and 85 of us ran either the 5 Mile or 5k option. I was with some members of the Triathlon Club on Sunday who were celebrating their 10th Birthday and they could not believe that on a club night we have 85 members come and join us for a run!!! A huge thanks to everyone who again made and donated cake, to those who volunteered on the night and a special thankyou to Charlotte Gilbert who’s been nagging Coach Matt to come down and help out so she could! Wednesday saw JK lead a great gang of Fartlekers and on Thursday Victoria led the Social team while Captain Emily took many who were preparing for the weekends racing on an equally sociable Zone 2 10K. The Friday Social team were back out in full force following the end of the summer holidays. They were greeted with a deluge of rain and rivers running along the Rushmere Trails. Steph Turner who secretly LOVES a muddy run was especially delighted! parkrun day Saturday brings parkrun, which had a real family affair about it this week. At Rushmere “Team Stocks” completed their FIRST parkrun which I am staggered with. Charlotte and Elizabeth did a great job dragging Andy around Rushmere. VC Dougie was continuing his parkrun tourism this time with Captain Emily and her brother Matthew (for his 1st parkrun) at Wardown parkrun in Luton. Will there be another McClelland joining the club?!  At Willen Lake “Team Simpkins” were also out in full force with Tasmyn’s son knocking 3 minutes off of his PB. Well done all! At Millennium parkrun Matthew Ma came in first place with a staggering 17:58, what can I say!! At least a further 51 of you were out and about at various other venues, please can I remind you to update your club details on your parkrun profile page as I know there are more. At Rushmere Tom Ellerton came home in 1st place, with Will not far behind in 4th. Still at Rushmere Sagar and Jenna Parker both banged the “Gong of Glory” with new PB’s. Megan Francis PB’d at Dunstable Downs (the wonders of a good Fartlek Session no doubt!), as did Patrick Waring. Further afield Andy Griggs was preparing for the Great North Run at The Riverside parkrun and just down the road Graham Cooper was celebrating his 6th year of parkrunning at Jesmond Dene. Races! Before we get to the Sunday races, Dan Green was racing the Marsworth 10k and came 7th. Not bad considering Dan described it as his “Worst time ever”, you must be doing something right Dan? On Sunday we had runners up and down the country. Starting in the North East, VC Dougie, Sonya Thompson, Matthew Grigsby and Andy Griggs joined over 55,000 in the 40th Great North Run. The route was slightly different this year and started and finished in Newcastle rather than the beach at South Shields, (did you see the Red Arrows over the Tyne bridge?). They all ran half marathon PB’s which I’m sure you’ll agree is a great effort. 350 miles away on the South Coast a somewhat controversial Brighton marathon finally got to go ahead with a not so bonus extra 568 meters. Saying that the team did great. Wayne Walker, Martin Addrison and Paul Thomas were running for our previous charity “Reclaim Life”. Paul Doyle made a return to the race 9 years after his first Brighton Marathon with daughter Erin, who was running her first. Will Ellis also took on the marathon. Anna Mead, Ian Mulry and Ruby Lee ran the Brighton 10k. Closer to home, the traditional pre marathon favourite, The Twin Lakes was again back on the calendar. Starting and finishing at Willen Lake, the route took in two loops around Caldecotte Lake. Preparing for the Loch Ness marathon were Jen Garner, James Bassil, William Burchell and Mike Garner. You four seem to be ready for Scotland in 3 weeks time!  Vicky Green completed the 20 miler, making a long awaited return to racing, the post race smile said it all! Lindsey Rigby had a great run in her preparation for the London Marathon, which is again just 3 weeks away. If that wasn't enough Lindsey was also embracing the Raducanu effect making the Mixed Doubles tennis final at her tennis club with her son! The Twin Lakes also had a 10 mile race, were Jo Secker and Megan Francis who completed the 1 loop, Megan getting a second PB of the weekend with a brilliant 1hour 35 minutes! Away from “Just Running” we had a few members again trying their hand at Triathlons. In the beautiful setting of Blenheim Palace Steve Molyneaux returned for the second year running and had a great event. At St Neots myself and Mike Ellyard completed a slightly shorter “Sprint” distance, both of us getting top 20 places. Then over at stunning Bowood House to the west, Mark Kleanthous completed a 70.3 at an Outlaw event.  

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This is the week that was…. The Bedford & MK Running Festivals & a Triathlon!

This is the week that was... The Bedford & MK Running Festivals and a Triathlon! Club Runs After Bank Holiday Monday we started the week at Woburn for our last evening trail run of the summer marking the final day of August. 5 groups went out with over 50 of you in attendance enjoying the late summer's evening. It looked like a great evening was had by one and all and you all just about got back before the night closed in! Captain Emily will be planning some weekend trail runs through the Autumn and Winter. On Wednesday Coach Matt was back after a well earned summer break putting super six of you through a pyramid set at Parsons Close. I completed one of these sets a few weeks ago and it really builds some pace into your running! Look out for the next coaching set that Matt will be running in a few week’s time. With JK away and Peter Jones having led a group on Tuesday, I was privileged to lead the Friday morning gang through the trails of Rushmere on the Friday Social. What a great bunch those Friday runners are! We were especially lucky to have a banana and walnut cake baked for us by Kirtsy as a post run treat. Thank you Kirsty.   parkrun day Parkrun day came and we had 56 parkrunners across ten different venues. A big well done to Roy Bird, Julia Gallie and Jenna Parker who bagged PB’s at Rushmere. Even Jenna was surprised when she was asked to not stop running as she was unaware that she was pacing an unknown runner! Also with a PB was Jim Buttleman who set himself up for a great run on Sunday at the Bovingdon 10k. I'm happy to see that Tom Webster figured out how to use his Sat Nav and get to Willen Lake! Racing!! At Box End in Kempston myself, Peter Jones, Captain Emily and Mark Kleanthous took part in a Triathlon for the National Sprint Championships. Peter Jones had a good swim but unfortunately bike mechanical issues meant he had to pull out of the race. I put in a decent performance in what I would say was a hotly contested age group and Mark came 3rd in his age group. Captain Emily also came 3rd in her age group which I think you’ll agree is a great achievement at only her 2nd triathlon and even more so following last year's cycling accident! It was also good to catch up with Paul Little who came down to support.      There were two big and much anticipated events taking place over the weekend, these being The Bedford Run Fest and the MK Festival of Running. There were so many of you taking part, I’ve done my best to capture what I can! At Bedford Saturday kicked off with the morning 5k, with the half marathon run over both days, the Twilight 10k took place Saturday evening. Sunday had the 20 miler! The first race report came in from Heidi Buck and then Carole Osborne who completed the 5k and then had a few hours to put her feet up before the 10k that evening Carole is one of our lovely new social runners. You must be super chuffed to complete both! Also joining her at the Twilight 10k was Lee Garnell who put in a great time and Alice Fauvel got herself an impressive PB! Well done Alice. New member Heidi Suter ran the 5k running her first ever race! First of many Heidi that's for sure 🙂 At the Half Marathon event, Nolan Johnson narrowly missed out on a sub 2 hour time, which was a great performance considering the knee injury he's been struggling with for the many months. Jen Garner, Dawn Kennedy, Will Langdon, Paul Thomas and James Bassil also ran the half. Infact James ran a half marathon both days! Mike Garner also did the half marathon and once again suffered from “bleeding nipple syndrome” you really must stop sharing those pictures Mike!!   In the 20 mile event- Adam Carter continued his London Marathon prep with a superb 3hr 46 time. It really does look like your training is on point for a great time on October 3rd! Also completing the 20 miler was Lynda Murray. Over in Milton Keynes there was another huge crowd of you turning the city Red, Black and White!  Matthew Ma joined Sam Heady in the 20 mile event, with Matthew completing the 20 miles in a staggering 2 hours and 10 minutes. I was running with Sam on Friday and she was more than ready for her 20 miler. In fact this was her longest run to date and readying herself for a two day ultra marathon around Jersey next month. Sam did a great 3 hour and 23 minutes! Andy Carter, Calumn Holmes and Sagar both completed the 10k in impressive times, Sagar Kharab getting a PB and Calumn getting a 5k PB as part of his run. Bob Nichol also ran the 10k! New Member Dale Smisson took part in the 10k, his first ever running event. The first of many I am sure, Dale! Our fabulous social runners were also in MK,  Amanda Godden, Linda Kagunga, Jenny Hogan, Debbie Macpherson to name but a few were joined by others. The photos tell a tale, they had a blast!! One final race to report on and that was the London Summer 10k where one of our newest members, Bharat Kerai took part and also got himself a new PB. Joining LFR has clearly been a good move! If I’ve missed anyone, I am sorry! There were so many of you out!!

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This is the week that was…. The BBQ Run!

This is the week that was... The BBQ Run! The week kicked off on Tuesday with our first “Out & Back” night since last March. The evening was well attended with over 70 of us out together. We ran to Wing and back, embraced the hill out and stormed back down. Some members achieved PB’s on the night... well done all! Wednesday came and brought some Fartlek fun with JK on the whistle and when Thursday rolled up there were 3 options including a boot camp session with Alex! BBQ and Trail Run When Friday rocked up it was finally time for the BBQ run!  Lots of  planning came together and after a few anxious checks of the weather forecast, I think it's fair to say we managed to pull off our first BBQ run in true LFR style! We had 70 people come to join in the fun and in doing so raised over £350 for our charity, which is just brilliant. We are very aware that some of you were away and missed the opportunity to come, so next year we hope the event can take place before the summer holidays start. The evening started at the Alders’ Fisheries courtesy of Peter Jones, with the BBQ set up between the two main lakes. There was a great atmosphere, as just over 50 runners gathered and split into three groups led by Len Holland, JK and Captain Emily.  They promptly set off for their varied distance runs and paces around the wonderful settings of Rushmere and Stockgrove. We really are so lucky to have this natural playground on our doorstep! With the athletes hot footing it around the lake and into the woods the real work was underway back at base as I was admirably supported by Gavin Prechner and Tam Quinn on the BBQ front, cooking burgers and sausages to just the right side of burnt! A huge thanks to Derek Walker (Celia's husband) who while just chatting away, grabbed some tongs and took on the third BBQ and kept the vegan and vegetarian options under control! At what you would say was front of house, Michelle Evans Riches, Kama Langham, Tracy Cardno and Carole Osborne were busy preparing for the rush as the 3 running groups returned. The queue was orderly and I'm pretty sure no-one went hungry. Of course being LFR we had to finish with a cake and another huge thanks goes to Christine Ayres who made the perfect vegan cake to ensure everyone got a slice. The event was acclaimed by all as a great success and certainly would not have been possible without the generosity of our host Peter Jones. Peter allowed us full access to his wonderful venue, a perfect place to have the event.  If you have any feedback for the committee on the evening, please let us know so next year's event can be even better. parkrun Day! After Friday’s BBQ Run I had concerns that fatigue would set in and performances would be hampered at parkrun on Saturday morning. However, the exact opposite happened and PB’s tumbled from a fair few of you across different venues. At Rushmere,  Gavin Prechner, Tom Webster, Will Langdon and Adam Carter banged the “gong of glory” with new PB’s and a special mention to junior Ana Green who dragged Dan around in a new PB of 27:21. We also had runners at MK, Shepton Mallet, Linford Wood, Houghton Hall, Sheringham, Buckingham, Daventry, Burnham, Great Denham, Storeys Field, Clifton Park and Jersey. In Bicester, family Booth celebrated their 200th parkrun, a great achievement! As the weekend continued, so did the races. As you can see from the newsletter, more races are being announced every week and it's great to see some of you testing yourself and getting the well earned BLING! In Wales James William completed the Llangollen Fell Run, 17 tough miles around the Dee Valley. Great photos too James! Just for fun, Wayne Walker and Lynda Peacock ran the Ashridge Boundary Run on Sunday. I must speak to the Captain and get that as a club run on the calendar soon! Jen Garner visited her mum for a chat via a 15 mile run (as you do!). VC Andy was earning his holiday Ice Cream and Cornish Pasties with runs along the Cornish Coast. Closer to home Jenna Parker and Carole both nailed 10k’s,  in fact it was Jenna’s first ever 10K. Well done Jenna!!!   Have a great week.... Ian B

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This is the week that was…. The Greensand Ridge!

This is the week that was... The Greensand Ridge! The Return of Rushmere parkrun Although parkrun has been back for a few weeks now, we had to wait just a little longer for our local Rushmere parkrun to return to the roster, but on Saturday it was all systems go! Over 30 LFR’s turned up. LFR founding member Dave Cooper was on the start line to complete his 50th parkrun, all of which have been run at Rushmere. Congratulations Dave and I’m sure the red parkrun t-shirt will look just great on you! Neil Lewington celebrated his 100th parkrun milestone, with 99 of these all being at Rushmere! Way to go Neil. Leading the team home was Jim Buttleman in a brilliant 21:14, shortly followed by Will Ellis who made his Rushmere debut. Jenna Parker and Tom Webster also ran Rushmere for their first time, they both looked to have enjoyed themselves, though Jenna did comment that it's a tough course! VC Dougie continued his parkrun PB exploits for a second week with 23:55 and that was after his run there as part of a parkrun train Saturday morning club run. Keep an eye out for these. Megan Francis also PB’d with 28:10, great running! As we know parkrun can’t and won’t happen without a whole host of volunteers. A huge thanks to Christine and David Ayres, Tracy Cardno, Graham Cooper, Alan Garner, Andy Griggs, Janet Langdon, Anna Mead, Keith Phillips and Paul Thomas who gave up their time to make the event so successful. We also had runners at Linford Wood, Houghton Hall, Sixfields and Milton Keynes where new member Iain Summers ran a PB.        Greensand Ridge Relay & Soloists! Another LFR favourite,  The Greensands Ridge Relay took place on Saturday and we had 3 solo runners and 2 teams of 6 relay runners entered. The event has been run since 1987 and starts at Tiddenfoot Waterside Park and meanders through the Bedfordshire countryside following the Greensands Ridge, finishing at Northill some 35 miles away. It was a warm day, but once the sun came out it made the running hard work with little shelter on some of the route. Gordon Hill, Paul Little and Matthew Ma took on the solo event. Matthew Ma claimed victory, a huge achievement and I’m sure you’ll all join me in congratulating Matthew. He completed the course in a quite staggering 4hr 48 minutes. Which in itself would have placed him 14th in the team event. Paul Little came in 4th place in 6 hours and 5 minutes, again another great result to go along with his LL100 exploits just 4 weeks ago. In the team event, we just had 2 teams entered because of an original clash of date with the MK Marathon weekend. 34 teams started the event and both our teams put in a great effort. In team LFR Ace Ventura we had Dan Green, Kevin Hare, Ian Bisby, Emily McClelland, Brendan Thomas and Phil Brogan. Dan Green set a blistering pace to get Leg 1 started and set the standard for the day with the team finishing in a combined 4 hours and 39 minutes securing 8th place. LFR Fancy Free came in 22nd and consisted of Jason Charley, Richard Meredith, Mike Clark, Martin Addrison, Michelle Evans Riches and Ash Henley.  Mike Clark had a stunning run and posted the 6th best time in the longest leg, Leg 3 (9 miles) and beat his handicap by a stunning 17 minutes and 49 seconds. Both teams and our soloists had a great day out with brilliant camaraderie, great support and the usual LFR team ethos that is just infectious. Next year with a stable calendar I’m sure we will have more teams and more soloists to enter and I’m sure Matthew will be back to defend his trophy.     Other Weekend Racing Races continued over the weekend and the marathon machine that is Lesley Wes Barnard completed her 80th marathon, this time at the SVN Zodiac Marathon where she grabbed herself a huge medal.  I hear JK is looking forward to baking your 100th marathon cake! In Kimbolton, Cambridgeshire Jen Garner, William Burchell, James Bassil, Paul Thomas and Mike Garner completed the Kimbolton Half. I was interested to see Mike’s fueling strategy, something I may need to try! It looked like you had a beautiful day for it. There was also reason for celebration as William Burchell broke his long standing half marathon PB with a sub 2 hours, well done Will!   Not actually racing but in support of her sister who is completing 10 marathons in 10 days, Anne Graeff completed an unexpected marathon on Sunday. The idea was to do “about” 16 miles, but she just kept on going. Well done Anne, and please let us know how your sister gets on with the remainder of her challenge. That’s it for this week, I look forward to seeing you out on the road or at Friday’s BBQ and trail run.

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This is the week that was…. 5Cake Night!

This is the week that was... 5Cake Night! The Return of 5Cake Night According to Google it was 517 days between our last official Cake Night and last Tuesday’s Cake night return and boy did we do it in style! A fantastic 79 of us turned up on Tuesday to enjoy either the 5 Mile or 5km options and of course feast on the huge selection of cake! An amazing variety of cakes were supplied by our lovely members and a second helping was needed to start to empty the tables! Before the refreshments could be started there was running to do, 11 runners took up the option of the 5 mile route starting at HQ. As we ran through the park it was rather emotional seeing a sea of red and black as 68 of you were there gathered to start the  5k run. For the 5 milers it was great to see members old and new taking on the challenge and realising and remembering how undulating the route is up to Derwent Road and back again. In the last mile Matthew Ma put the afterburners on and got to Parsons Park in double quick time. Back to the park, and the 5k gang were set off by Captain Emily in waves, expertly led by several of our brilliant Run Leaders setting a nice steady pace on a perfect summer’s evening. As the runners completed their lap and finished in the park, they stayed to cheer on their fellow club members in true LFR style. Back at HQ the real work was being done with our amazing volunteers giving up their opportunity to run to set up a banquet of magnificent sweet treats! I think you’ll agree the cakes were amazing and I for one certainly consumed more calories than I burnt on my run! It was also great to see how generous everyone was, not only in the baking and supplying of cakes but also raising £279 for our charity, thank you! We’re now all on countdown for September 7th and the next cake night! parkrun & the weekend Finally the arrival of the weekend once again means parkrun day! LFR were out in force across the country, as well as having numbers at our local parkrun venues. VC Dougie celebrated his fastest parkrun time EVER at Linford Wood, whilst Jenny Hogan went to her old hometown and enjoyed Rushcliffe. Will Langdon and Dawn Kennedy continued their parkrun tourism, this time at Humber Bridge, where the sub 20 eluded Will once more!  Also on the parkrun tourism train were Michelle Evans Riches, who ticked Dalby Forest off the list, whilst Andy Griggs completed Clacton on the seafront. Houghton Hall was a popular choice last week but Dunstable Downs was once again the favourite where Anna Mead ran a course PB. Aylesbury saw 5 LFR’s taking on the fast, flat course, while Christine Ayers and Graham Copper opted for the mountains of Wendover. Returning to Dunstable Downs parkrun, did you see who Clare Kleanthous had a photo with?! No prizes for guessing where LFR will end up this weekend!! It’s holiday season of course and Gavin Prechner has been posting some very challenging runs in stunning Scotland, meanwhile I’ve been making friends with donkeys in the New Forest and Michelle made sure she clocked her 5k cake night run with a seaside run in Scarborough.   It seemed to be a quiet weekend for races, only Ruby Lee, Tasmyn Simpkins and Lynda Murray reported in. Tasmyn ran “Beat The Barge'' in Milton Keynes, she looked like she thoroughly enjoyed herself, especially on the ‘trails of MK’ AKA the towpath! Lynda completed a half marathon “Run Harwell'' describing it as the hardest half she’s done yet. Having had a quick Google the run takes in the beautiful Oxfordshire countryside starting in Didicot. Ruby Lee was at the London Triathlon where she completed her first Sprint Triathlon, it sounded like she thoroughly enjoyed herself and the 'tri bug' might just have caught on! Well done you three... What’s on your race calendar next weekend?   

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This is the week that was…. Races Galore!

This is the week that was... The Races Galore! Friday Evening at Beds AAA 10K The weekend started early this week, with the Beds AAA 10k Road Race Championships being held on Friday Evening. We had a team of 7 at the event with Tom Ellerton leading the team home with a stunning 36:51 run,  which is a sub 6 minute mile pace. Surely that deserved a smile Tom?! Rosie Booth was our first lady home with an impressive 44:56. Chair Andy delivered an impressive 42:36, coming back from his recent injury and just behind him was Mike Clarke recording 43:13, great running after a very quick recce of the Greensands Relay Leg 3 with myself on Thursday. A big shout out to Alex Nixon who was delighted with her sub 60 minute 10k. Completing the team were two more Andys,  Lomas and Griggs who finished the route with very respectable times. Well done all! parkrun day! A huge thanks to those of you who’ve updated your club status on your parkrun profile since the prompt last week. According to parkrun we had 28 runners out on Saturday. It’s great to see some of you packing your trainers and getting a holiday parkrun in as well. Heidi Buck celebrated her first parkrun with a post baby 5k PB at MK, where 3 other LFR’s also ran. I'm sure you'll now have the parkrun bug Heidi! Will Langdon and Dawn Kennedy claimed to have found the most picturesque parkrun in North Yorkshire at Fountains Abbey, where the sub 20 minute 5km just eluded Will when he ran 1 second over! I hear Junior Parker left David Parker eating his dust at Aylesbury where he ran a smashing PB of 20min 50 secs! David had to settle for a 24 minute something, still very respectable! Andy Griggs and Lynda Murrary both found themselves at Dinton parkrun in Wokingham. Meanwhile, over on the coast in Suffolk at Lowesoft parkrun Coach Matt Gilbert made it a family day with his 2 children. Dunstable Downs appears to be the new favourite whilst we are missing Rushmere. I believe we had 14 members running there! Looks like some PB’s were had too, well done team! Sunday brings Bearbrook 10k and London Landmarks Half Close to home, our friends at Bearbrook running club held their popular 10k. 7 LFR’s made the short journey to take part. Alice Tame, Megan Francis were both nicely under the 60 minutes and ran PBs as did Tom Webster. I think Tom will definitely run a sub 50 minute 10k next time out! It wasn’t a PB for Julie Etherden but it was quicker than when she ran there 2 years ago! Also racing was Andy Griggs who doesn’t seem to stop racing, though he must have recovered from his sore calf after Tuesday’s Fartlek session. Kevin Hare and Lee Garnell completed Team LFR. All reported a great event and a lovely goody bag to take away which included a boot bag and mug to drink the celebratory drink out of. Certainly a race to support next year!    On Sunday some of you jumped on the train to London and ran the much anticipated London Landmarks Half Marathon. Starting under the watchful eye of Lord Nelson, the route as it suggests, takes runners around some of the Capitals greatest landmarks such as The London Eye, St Paul’s Cathedral, The Monument, The Tower of London and finishing on Whitehall just outside Downing Street.  Enjoying the sightseeing for the boys were VC Dougie and Nic Dimmock. The LFR ladies were out in force with Jo Hoggs, Ceilia Walker, Nicki Atkinson, Caroline Clabburn, Claire Bartlett and Barbara Leach. Some great pics were posted and even a finishing video from Ceilia. Well done ladies, I know for some of you this was your first half marathon! Great job... On his journey to the 100, Wayne Walker completed Marathon 82 with 31 miles around Reading! Only 18 left to go! Well done Wayne.   Triathlon Weekend - By Emily McClelland On Saturday Jen Garner and Mike Ellyard headed to Emberton Country Park in Milton Keynes for their triathlon competition. Jen competed in the “Stampede” (sprint distance) and Mike in the Calfman (standard distance). Both recording some great times and with smiles on their faces. Jen was able to compare her results to her last triathlon of 2019. 2 years later she knocked time off all 3 parts. Great work! I know Mike is going to book in for a 2nd event this year! On Sunday the alarm clock went off super early for those of us competing at Box End Triathlon. The race started at 7am which meant registration at 6am! Peter Jones, Ian Bisby and myself had entered our first triathlon (sprint distance; 750m swim, 20km bike, 5km run). We found ourselves alongside tri pro Mark Kleanthous who was also racing in the sprint. Martin Addrison was taking part in the Standard distance (1500m swim, 40km bike, 10km run). The result of the day came from Ian Bisby who came 7th overall completing it in 1:16:26 and 2nd in his age group (AG). Mark won his AG, I came 2nd in mine as did Martin in his. Peter was having a great race until he took a wrong turn on the bike course, but he still finished with a smile on his face! It was a great morning out, on reflection it was fun; though a 5km run never seemed so far!    

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