This is the week that was…the LFR Christmas Party!

Yes it was! And what a party it was. A massive thank you to everyone who came, danced, drank, ate and had all the fun! We wouldn't be the club we are without all of you fantastic members. Massive thank you to TC and Michelle for all their efforts in putting this together. And Captain Dan for finding the band - Big in Brazil were awesome! Having the party Friday night did not stop us heading to parkrun. We had LFRs at Milton Keynes, Gunnersbury, Barnstaple, Houghton Hall, Jersey Farm and Rushmere.  The sore heads did mean there were no PBs at Rushmere this week!  Shout out to Joe who was running at Milton Keynes and ran his first sub-20 5K coming in 5th with a smashing time of 19.51!  Your hard work is paying off, Joe! Before we get to the next big club event of the weekend. We had Phil who, whilst not participating in the XC mud, was finding mud of his own at the Thetford Trails 10K.. In Phil's words: "Highly recommend Thetford Forest for a visit let alone running but the number of paths makes it a trail running delight." And of course it was another XC race of the Three Counties League on Sunday. An absolute mudfest at Letchworth. Did that stop us? Absolutely not. We ran out there. We got muddy. We had fun. We loved it!  Results: the men's and women's teams both 7th and overall 6th! Amazing results. The final race of the season will be on Sunday 12th January at Dunstable. Another LFR favourite. I wonder if there will be any burnt out cars this year? Let's get the whole team out for the final race, whether to run or support! If you've not taken part in a race yet this season, but wanted to run the final race, you can still sign up! Just email Tracy on tracy@limestonemk.co.uk with your date of birth a she'll get you registered. That's all for this week. Happy running, LFR!

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This is the week that was…

It was the usual club runs this week, although a lot quieter on Wednesday and Thursday.  We've decided to have a week off Fartlek and Improvers this week away from the cold!  Back to normal next week though so keep and eye on the comms for what we have in store for you! On parkrun day, we had LFRs at Ashford, Crystal Palace, Northampton, Worcester (where KGL came in 1st lady!), Sewerby, Houghton Hall, Rushmere (where Joanne ran a PB!) and Marston Vale. There were LFRs at the MK Winter Half where Ann was running her first ever half marathon!  Katharine was completing her 7th half marathon of 2019!  She was running these half marathons this year in aid of the club's charity, Reclaim Life.  She has worked so hard this year to get through these events.  if you'd like to donate to her cuase,you can do so here: Katharine's Fundraiser- all money raised up to £1000 will be matched by Morrisons! Also running in MK were Emma and Wes completing ANOTHER marathon around TBL (if you know, you know). Mr and Mrs A were also running marathon loops, but over at Goodwood - 11 laps of the track! Team LFR took a tour to Lanzarote for the Marathon, Half Marathon and 10K!  Cocktails and sand galore for some and another half PB for Clare!  Smashing it! And finally, of course, it was Race 3 of the 3CXC League at Wootton.  Team LFR were out in force again with mud on the mind.  The LFR men came 6th, the ladies 7th and overall we were 8th!  Continuing our fantastic season!  It was also Bisby's first run out in his brand new shoes.  Just look at them! Race 4 is next week.  If you fancied a go, it's not too late!  Please email Traacy  tracy@limestonemk.co.uk by Thursday with your date of birth and she'll sign you up.  There is no fee for you.  Just lots of fun!  (You don't need fancy shoes like Ian's to run XC...unless you wanted them of course....you'll do well in a pair of trails!) That's all for this week.  Happy running, LFR!

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This is the week that was…Santa Dash!

It was a much quieter week this week with no events and lonely Fartlekkers and Improvers.  The Friday gang, however, were out in force for JK's trail run around Rushmere. Big shout out to Mr and Mrs Kleanthous who the week before were at the Cyprus Challenge!  4 stages over 4 days.....6km / 11km Hill Climb with 650 metres elevation / 21km Half over testing rocky terrain / 10km in Paphos.  Mark's comments: "A great event ...demanding and highly recommended. Clare has never run 30 miles in a week let alone in 4 days!"  Excellent efforts from both.  Very well done! On parkrun Day we had LFRs at York, bedford, Milton Keynes, Worcester, Bracknell, Linford Wood, Sedgefield, Houghton Hall, Rushcliffe, Rushmere, Wendover Woods, Dunstable Downs and Irchester Country.  At home in Rushmere we had PBs from Clare and Steve and Tom came in 2nd overall! The quiet week didn't last when Santa Claus came to town on Saturday with our annual Santa Dash!  A big thank you to everyone involved at LFR who volunteered, supported, or ran.  You are all magnificent.  And a MASSIVE shout out to Tam and TC for putting on another fantastic event.  AND....we got to use the LFR Arch!  Doesn't it look spectacular!  What a morning.  Christmas is coming!  Photos of the event are on our FB page: https://tinyurl.com/vhdhovh  have a look! And that is all for this week!  I told you it was quiet. Whilst I've got you here....here's a poem....

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This is the week that was…the return of the LFR XC Race!

It was the long awaited return of LFR's XC Race this week!  It has been actual years since the cross country league got to run through Cow Poo Pond and cover themselves in all the muck and goodness our local fields have to offer.   Jane received LOADS of positive feedback from the other clubs, including they are so pleased we are back hosting again as we have the best race, best marshals and best tea and cake! A HUGE thank you to everyone who volunteereed - we had so many marshals out there shouting encouragement. A big thanks to Will, Emily and Gavin too for taking MASSES of photos.  They have put these on the FB group, but I've collated a selection below... Jane would also like to say big big big BIG thanks to: Tracy - two RD's are definitely better than one, to spread the stress. Claire - head marshal getting everyone signed up, organised and in position. Wes - for the extremely imortant catering and putting up with her house smelling of egg mayo. And to all the crew that was part of the event, including the run up. Any help you gave was really valuable to make this into such a popular, smooth running event and to make mine and Tracy's life so much easier on the day to just worry about the local farmer...  And of course a MASSIVE thank you to Jane who has been our XC Coordinator for a number of years now.  The first race back was a huge success.  You did it! Putting on the event was not the only news of the weekend as we had to race the event too!  We put out a team of runners and the results are in after two races... Men 8th Ladies 6th Team 6th Fantastic so far from Team LFR!  Keep it going everyone! The next XC race is on Sunday 8th December at Wootton.  The WHOLE team can get back racing again.   Look out for full details in next week's newsletter and there will be an FB event created in the group.  If you've not yet signed up to take part in this season's cross country and are experiencing serious FOMO from the lack of mud in your lives, then sign up now!  Just email TC with your date of birth and she'll register you.  You can email her on tracy@limestonemk.co.uk Of course the cross country race was not the only event this week. parkrun Day saw LFRs at Barnstaple, Linford Wood, Houghton Hall, Gadebridge, Rushmere, Dunstable Downs, Warwick Racecourse and Salcey Forest.  At home in Rushmere, Andrew and Jamie came in 4th and 5th respectively and we had PBs from Pauline and current RotM Clare!  Well done! It was the Silverstone 10K on Sunday where Team LFR took to the track.  And I hear there were some PBs!  Well done guys! KGL, although far away from us, was also running a 10K PB at the Gloucester 10K. Michelle and Doyley made their way to Knebworth for the Hertfordshire Half Marathon. And the legend we call JK was back in more mud than you can imagine at the Gatliff Trail Ultra.  What was billed as 31 miles turned out to be "34 Mmiles of muddy hell."  You're a hero, JK.  Well done. And that's all for this week!  Happy Running, LFR!

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This is the week that was…Dirty!

Another week has been and gone with all our usual club runs and a mega busy weekend with Team LFR out in massive numbers! First up, on parkrun Day we had LFRs at Forest of Dean, Sheffield Hallam, Linford Wood, Sewerby, Houghton Hall, Great Denham and Rushmere.  At home in Rushmere, Jamie and Mark both got in the top 10 with Jim just outside in 11th. Well done! Saturday was the day of the long awaited, do we wear trails or roads for one muddy field and a canal run, fantastic, local half marathon, the Dirt Half.  Now, I often use the word “horde” when describing our wonderful members, but there was in fact a MASSIVE horde of LFRs who descended on the Dirt Half – we had members running, volunteering, taking photos and supporting on their feet, bikes and chairs.  Massive.   A huge thank you to all those who made their way out to support – it really makes a difference. We had some brilliant results….course PBs came from Coach Matt, Andy, Phil and Gavin and Mike Clark came first in his age category!  Excellent!  Shout out to David Pym who ran Rushmere parkrun in the morning before tackling the half.  And a BIG shout out to David Hanley – David completed Couch to 5K with the club earlier this year and ran his first half marathon at the Dirt!  Well done, David! Some storming runs from everyone and big smiles all round!  You can view the event photos here: Dirt Running Photos and there are LOTS of photos on the club's FB group.  A small selection below including the greatest photo of all time featuring Andy..... Of course the Dirt Half was not the only race of the weekend….. Fresh from her cycling support on Saturday, Michelle took to the Rugged Randage 10K on Sunday. Davina made her annual appearance with the rest of the LFR gang at the Milton Keynes MoRun 10K, 5K and the Captain’s Bear having a go at the Mini Mo. And finally the LFR trail loving heroes were out in force at the Steppingley Step, some taking on the 26 (or is it 27) miles and Team Sparky back at it for the 18 miles. Not wanting to miss out on all the muddy fun the rest of the club were having, our Cross Country Coordinators were out checking the course for Sunday’s race.  Cow Poo Pond looks ready for the runners!  If you’re volunteering at the race on Sunday, click HERE for full details. That’s all for this week.  Happy running, LFR!

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London Marathon Places for LFR Members!

                LONDON MARATHON ENTRIES AVAILABLE! For LFR Members Affiliated to England Athletics We have received confirmation of our England Athletics London Marathon place!  This year we have received ONE entry.  We will be holding a draw for this entry at the December Cake Night on Tuesday 3rd December. To be in with a chance to get this place you MUST be a paid-up EA member, affiliated to LFR and have been rejected for the marathon in the public ballot in 2019.  You can view full details of the club’s ballot process on our website. To be entered into the draw please send an email to the club’s secretary - secretary@leightonfunrunners.org.uk with proof of your public ballot rejection.  All emails must be received by MIDDAY on Tuesday 3rd December. The EA ballot winner is expected to raise a minimum of £150 for the Club’s charity in the year they run the event. For LFR Members who marshalled with LFR at the 2019 VLM We have also received ONE entry for the London Marathon for providing marshals at the 2019 event!  We will be holding a draw for this entry at the December Cake Night on Tuesday 3rd December. To be eligible for this entry, you must be a current club member who marshalled for the club in the 2019 VLM. To be entered into the draw please send an email to the club’s secretary - secretary@leightonfunrunners.org.uk  All emails must be received by MIDDAY on Tuesday 3rd December.    

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This is the week that was….

A much quieter week this week, although we had all our usual club runs in the cold and dark with extra coaching sessions from our coaching team! parkrun day saw LFRs at Milton Keynes, Houghton Hall, Didcot, Wendover Woods, Hunstanton Promenade and Rushmere.  At home in Rushmere, Emily came in first lady AND ran a stonking new PB! It was Rushmere's 4th birthday at the weekend.  The core team is made up of a LOT of LFRs....just look at them all in the main photo.  Fancy dress professionals. We did have some LFRs out running and racing ths weekend... Gill ran her first full 5K in a while at the 5K MoRun.  It's the Milton Keynes MoRun next week.  Who is running?  Will LFR's Davina be making her annual appearance? A few LFRs got together for a 10 mile Sunday run.  If you're ever in need of a running partner in the week or the weekend, post on the FB group and there's usually other members who would like a run too. Colin took a trip to Scotland to run a marathon in -4 at  Strathclyde Park Marathon.  Depsite the cold and mistakenly setting off with the half marathon runners, before turning round 150m later to start with the marathoners, Colin finished in the top 20 with a 3.27!  Superb work!  Well done, Colin! And finally, Emma and Wes took a pilgrimage to the original marathon in Athens!  Excellent work ladies! That's all for this week.  Have a great week, LFR!

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Brighton Marathon Places for LFR Members!

BRIGHTON MARATHON PLACES UP FOR GRABS! Our wonderful charity this year, Reclaim Life, have given the club three...yes THREE....places for the Brighton Marathon 2020 to be offered to our members! Brighton Marathon takes place on Sunday 19th April 2020. General entries for the Brighton Marathon have closed, so if you wanted to run this fantastic marathon, but missed out on the general entries, now is your chance! You will not have to pay for the place. All we ask is that you either make a donation to Reclaim Life or raise money for them. You will receive support from the club if required with any fundraising activities you wish to put on. If you would like one of the Brighton Marathon places, please email our club secretary with confirmation.  You can email her on secretary@leightonfunrunners.org.uk If more than three people put their names forward for these places, then a ballot will be drawn in December to decide which lucky members will get these Please only put your name forward if you intend to run.  Remember that a marathon is a demanding event - seek medical advice if you are uncertain about your ability to undertake such a challenge.

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This is the week that was….Halloween!

What a spooktaular week it has been.  With a Halloween themed cake night on Tuesday, the usual terror of Fartlek Wednesday, Zombie Catterpillars and a Frightening Friday Morning Social Run! Phil was out running midweek at the Cattle Creepy 10K.  A fun run in the dark with sweets, treats and a cool medal. And LFR hosted it's Halloween Invite Run on Friday night!  A cold, cold night for our runners in the woods coming across scary clowns, zombies, spiders, monsters and other frights!  A huge well done to everyone who ran and a big thank you to our scarers for spending the night sitting the pitch black woods! A very fun night hearing lots of screams and spooks.  Our next invite night will be in the summer when it's PJ time! The weekend saw KGL running marathon #42 at the Enigma Fireworks Marathon - a 3:37 in howling wind and rain.  Super work Katy! And finally...Cross Country Season has arrived with a bang and the first race of the 3CXC League at Wellingborough.  We had a MASSIVE team of LFRs up for the challenge at Race 1 and are currenty 5th overall in the league!   Amazing effort from all of you! We also found out that our superstar athlete Chris not only runs for England (she's been asked to run again - Well done Chris!), she can also walk on water. See if you can spot her below... Don't forget it's the LFR Cross Country Race on Sunday 24th November!  As we are hosting, we need your help to marshal the event to ensure everyone is safe and has a great time. In total, we need approx. 40 marshals on the day (we’ve already had an amazing response, but still need more) to help with everything from catering to handing out race tokens at the finish line.  Those that have already offered to help, we have you logged.  Those who have not, please message Tracy Cardno or email her on tracy@limestone.co.uk to let her know. If you have signed up for XC this year, it's appreciated if you can sign up to help at our event. We will of course have a team running from LFR, however marshalling is the first priority and a core team of LFR runners will represent the club in the race.  You will be told if this is you. That's all for this week.  Have a great week, LFR!

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Continental 24-Hour Thunder Run – Gav’s Blog

So the name itself may sound like an event ONLY for the super gnarly, ultra fit, ultra strong, ultra everything, and slightly disturbed. This is not the case, If I can do it AND enjoy it, anyone can. This is my take on a super fun 48 hours outdoors... The Continental Thunder Run - or “Conti” as it is generally called -  is a 24 hour running relay race held on a lovely, country estate just outside Burton-upon-Trent. Entrants can participate either as solo entrants (super nuts), pairs, small teams, right up to large teams of 8 – which is where we are. The aim of the race is to complete as many laps as possible within 24 hours. Put simply: the biggest relay race you’re likely to find.  And certainly the best organised, I reckon. LFR have entered mixed teams into the race for a number of years now and so as a club we have some veterans, some newish newbies and, as of last year, super fresh newbies (I was one of them).  I had heard about the event a few times and seen some of the photos from previous years. On the face of it, it looked like a lot of fun. My reservation - which turned out to be completely unfounded - would I be good enough? Would l let everyone down? Would I be too slow?  What if I got hurt? Having talked about it with others at the club I was swiftly told, “don’t be daft – join in!” In hindsight, the culture of our club is very inclusive regardless of ability, age, shoe size, brand of T-Shirt, why shouldn’t I sign up? So I did. I would like to say that there was copious amounts of training prior to the event, but there wasn’t - apart from a few parkruns, club nights, and the like but that really didn’t matter. The weekend fast approached and before I knew it I found myself with a fully loaded car full of kit heading to Catton Park. On arrival. Chair Steve had sneakily “got there early” and secured what appeared to be an LFR crime scene complete with police tape, cordoning off our section of field. Worry not this was our pitch reserved for our race HQ. Fettling with tents, awnings, gazebos and other camping kit ensued before race HR was up and running with the first brew. Before long the entire team was in situ, some were even daft enough to CYCLE to the event (nuts). VIP camping space was reserved for our very own catering facilities provided by Martin and Barbara – Legends (I’ll come back to the catering). Now, onto the event and course. As you can imagine, there’s anything and everything you could ever possibly want to buy at the numerous trade stalls – particular highlights include the bobble hat stand – a must for some LFR’s. There’s a good selection of food stands as well as the all important beer bus – not to be missed. There is also live music on the Friday. You see, not all serious running…. The course itself is, well, technical. That would be one way to describe it. The course starts in the middle of the event field and meanders its way around the edge of the camping areas before heading out (and up) into the woods. The course, dives in and out of the trees, through copses, open fields, just about everything really. The terrain itself is a mixture of grass, mud, a bit of gravel here and there, tree routes, corpses of former competitors…. It’s a real mixed bag and the 10k lap is never the same so you will not get bored. The weather can change the track in an instant as it did for last year’s teams. One moment a dry, dusty trail. The next moment, a muddy, rutted trail of slush that no footwear on this planet can get a grip on –oh and don’t forget you get to do this in the dark too! What’s not to like? The race starts at 12 pm and doesn’t stop until 12pm the following day (clue’s in the name). As I said before, this is a relay race and so the teams organise themselves into an order of running, much like team GB would in a relay (although LFR teams would be much quicker, clearly) and this is the order you more or less stick to. This means that you have time to recover between laps, maybe even go to sleep? Eat, have a beer, cheer on others? Your choice. I opted for all of the above. In previous years, we have been well and truly spoilt by the presence of our very own chef, Barbara, who has provided us with enough chilli, bacon, eggs and sausages to feed an army which means you can easily refuel between laps. No pressure guys and girls, but this catering is amazing and makes keeping fuelled up a whole lot easier. As the race got underway in the beautiful sunshine, non runners settled down in the LFR “viewing gazebo” strategically placed on the course with a 0.5km to the finish line. A perfect place to cheer on others, in particular team mates coming past for the first time. Oh, did I mention the fancy dress? The theme chosen was Hawaiian. The pictures alone will do the talking – great choice and well received by fellow runners. Anyhow, as the afternoon wore on the weather somewhat “changed”. An hour of solid rain turned the course into a mud bath, fantastic for those few with spikes, shocker for more or less everyone else. Luckily, the rain came and went and over the remainder of the 24 hours, the course dried out but safe to say there were a few muddy people passing by, again, pictures can replace a thousand words. As the daylight fell away, the race changed – head torches become compulsory and the course became very different. The course you ran in the daylight was a completely different course by night. There are no floodlights, just dimly lit marshals dotted along the course (they’re there all night too you know). Between laps, I managed a few hours sleep, even a shower at one point. Regardless of what time it was, there was always someone kicking around our race HQ who had the kettle on, or was chewing on some crisps, or asleep in a chair and that was a good thing, especially after deciding to do a double stint (2 x 10k laps) finishing at about 1am. It didn’t seem like that long before the sun was up, by which time most of us had rattled off 4 or 5 laps, quite an achievement, especially given the terrain and weather bomb that hit the site the previous afternoon. To sum up, I decided to enter the Conti for a number of reasons: I love to be outside, I love to run, but I don’t take it too seriously either, I love to be part of a team, I don’t mind a bit of mud, I definitely like a bit of fun and banter and I enjoy being with like minded people. If this is you then this is definitely something to join in on. You will see individuals trudge round the track and they may be more capable than you, they may be less capable, they may be running for charity, they may have lost both of their legs (yes, there was a chap with no legs going round – inspiring) but the one thing everyone leaves with is the great sense of achievement and satisfaction, and some muddy running gear. It’s a no brainer for me – July 20-21st! Finally, I do like a top ten and so one for the Conti seemed quite appropriate. Top 10 Conti 2019 Moments Sense of achievement (50k in 24 hours is not too shabby). Being the lucky one who got to start a lap in the dark and finish in daylight (no I wasn’t that slow, I started just before sunrise). Doing a double stint in the early hours. Being in a team of like-minded running nerds. The team chef - Barbara you’re a legend. Being tasked with taping up Tom’s nipples with plasters (no photos). Doing up Tom’s coconut bra. CAMPING! (I love camping – all the gear, no idea). The relentless banter and laughter. Mud, which does come off.

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