This is the week that was…the Pyjama Run!

The week began with our annual Pyjama Run at The Globe!  Some fantastic PJs on show.  Big well done to Ian who won best PJs!  And a shout out to Will who just looked awesome...they were something special! JK led the Fartlek Fun on Wednesday; Captain Dan put the Improvers through some drills on Thursday; and Katharine led another sunny Friday social run! parkrun day arrived and we had LFRs at Leamington, Arrow Valley, Linford Wood, Kingsbury Water, Whistler, Bakewell, Dunstable Downs and Rushmere. At home in Rushmere, Coach Matt was showing his stuff coming in 5th on his 50th parkrun as was Catherine!  And we had PBs from Michael and Rod.  Great running! It was a quiet weekend of events, although our marathon girl, Emma, was running the Enigma Rocky 2 Marathon with her sister at Caldecotte on Saturday and the machine we call, Katy GL, was running the same marathon on the Sunday!  Excellent running, ladies!  The chaps were at it too...Nolan took on the Regents Park 10K on just 3 hours sleep...still got himself a sub-50! Just because LFRs were not at events, doesn't mean we were not running!  We had lots of people out on training runs and training rides putting in some big efforts for their upcoming events.  And some just out running for the joy. As it has been a very quiet week and there has not been much for me to say, I shall leave you with a running related poem from Alistair Jones on Twitter (@RunningMrJones)... Are you often Full of doubt? Do you struggle To get out? Please don’t worry That it’s just you Other runners Feel it too Time is tight and Life is tough At times we all Have had enough But if you can run Peace you’ll find To warm your heart And ease your mind! #RunningHelps

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My “Only” Marathon by James P Smith

MY “ONLY” MARATHON Marathon /ˈmarəθ(ə)n/ Noun A long-distance running race, strictly one of 26 miles 385 yards (42.195 km). Robert Hooke FRS 1635-1703 found fame for deducing the wave theory of light, and for his work in gravitational theory and horology; but people barely talk about his beautiful English Baroque design for St. Mary Magdalene church in Willen, possibly his least known achievement. I don’t know if when designing the church he thought “this will be a useful marker for about 11.5 miles in the MK Marathon, just after you’ve gone past the LFR marshals”, it’s difficult to say, after all he’s been dead for 300 years, but, you know, maybe, it could’ve been, he sounds like the forward planning sort to me... Also did you know that Willen was known as “Wilies” in the 13th century – I know! “Wilies” – a bit like “willies” – no? Just me? Tough crowd! Anyway, I digress – back to my first and “only” (more about that later) marathon… I’m a relatively new runner (road runner at least) and I have found more joy and friendship as a runner (and LFRer) than I could ever have imagined; I think through running we improve our health both physical and mental, and transcend ourselves (not least because at a deeper level we are through evolution some of the most natural long distance running animals in the world – we are literally “born to run”). But I realise that a marathon is a completely arbitrary distance, and it’s absolutely not for everyone, however I really wanted to run one, if only to race myself. Plus, I was thrilled to bits to have been picked to be an MK Marathon Ambassador – AND they’d sent me a really nice hoody! Also I’d been sent a delightful and unexpected event crew parking permit, which meant we were only 10 minutes' walk away from the start and finish at Stadium MK, and had access to the VIP room (I know, get me! Free tea, coffee and biscuits, plus I’d managed to smuggle Katharine inside – you get a golden wristband you know) along with all the other ambassadors and the pacers – like Steve Edwards who was planning to run his 777th sub 3:30 marathon, and who was going (if my plan worked) to get me round in sub 3:30. Maybe... So, I’d taken everyone’s advice and bought ridiculous new trainers especially for the marathon (good plan?) for the very reasonable price of... No, I can’t say it out loud – but they were in the colourway I wanted – bright crimson if you’re asking. But that’s right – I’m blaming you lot, well you lot and Kipchoge, and maybe Paul Little too! Anyway, I’m sure it’s fine to run a marathon in new trainers that you’ve only run 7 miles in – who needs toenails anyway? (As a footnote, would anyone like to buy a job lot of Birkenstocks in size 7 that will NOT be needed ever again...). I managed to miss the LFR group pic as I was having my photo taken with the other ambassadors – oh the glamour! But got to the start in plenty of time and hustled my way near to the front, not that I was overly worried about my position as I was in the first start wave anyway, and there would be PLENTY of time to make up for a slow mile or two at the start – plus I’d bumped into Colin Aitken, and it’s always quite calming to see a familiar friendly face. Incidentally, mad props to the long-haired Vegan Runner next to me in the pen who’d got the most elaborate intertwined plaited hair I’d ever seen – he was totally rocking a Game of Thrones vibe! 0:00 – 1:00 - MILES 1 - 8 The gun went off and I settled into an easy pace, the roads were wide and there was plenty of space; thankfully it wasn’t stop start like the Royal Parks Half, so you could get into a rhythm straight away. I’d read that at the start of a marathon if your pace feels easy, then you’re going too fast – but I couldn’t hang about too much as I’d got a secret time in mind: - 3:29:59 – to be fair though it wasn’t all that secret - I had told LOADS of people. Although the pace felt comfortable, there was a major problem - I was running alongside Keith Luxon - the 3:15 pacer – aaargh! This was NOT the plan – this was going to be unsustainable – do I drop back now and try and ease off a bit? Wait a mile or two and see what happens? I decided to stay with him for the very worst of reasons – easy maths – 3:15 marathon pace is roughly 7.30 min/miling – which makes it really easy to work out your splits (I tend to break down long runs into 15 minute chunks – which would be exactly 2 miles at this pace) – so I thought I might stay with him for an hour – get 8 miles under my belt, and then re-assess (even I thought this was really stupid at the time but I was a bit over-excited! After all I first ran 8 miles in an hour about a year ago and nearly vomited at the end). So, we ran into the city centre (I know it’s not a “real” city but c’mon really!) where the course keeps looping back– which is a joy because I saw Tom off the front – with his personal lead relay runner bicycle – cool huh! Then loads of LFRs - Gavin, Caroline Clabburn, Katharine, Jen, Julie, Claire, Michelle, Paul McG - loads of us - came flying past in the opposite direction as I ran back out. There was dance music, loads of supporters – it’s always good to see Jim Buttleman, and Pete Mackrell cheered me on (he had probably already finished!) - there were two guys with a terrifying bucket of mystery goo and a huge sign for “LUBE” - eeewww! Then you’re suddenly out of the built-up areas and into Woughton on the Green. It still felt very easy and before I knew it, we’d split from the half marathon runners and the hour was pretty much up, but… I still felt good. Too good maybe; do I slow down now? Maybe another half an hour – I’m sure that’d be fine… Yeah, fine… Probably… Just half an hour... After all, that’s still only 90 minutes... 1:00 – 1:30 - MILES 9 - 12 The next half hour was probably my favourite as it took in mile 10 – with the picturesque Willen Lake (and eventually Robert Hooke’s lovely church – see – a narrative) and I’d been looking forward to seeing the LFR marshalling crew (thank you Caroline McEvoy Mann and the team), plus I’d seen Debbie and Jon, and David and James Parker in the crowds (I’d shouted hello to so many people that it got a bit embarrassing and a runner from Redway had made a sarky comment). I’d started to feel a bit stronger by this point and had stupidly pulled slightly in front of Keith the 3:15 pacer as I’d got carried away discussing cycling with another runner as we shared his “mystery” orange drink – not normally recommended, but nobody ever regretted testing a new nutritional strategy in a marathon did they – to go with their new and untested shoes? (Also to make the sarky Redway guy suffer a bit if he wanted to keep up - he didn’t – ha!). But another half hour at this pace would be okay? Yeah? Probably… Probably... 1:30 – 2:00 - MILES 13 - 16 The next half hour flew by in a whirl and I hit 16 miles and Linford Manor more than 2 minutes ahead of my stupidly unsustainable 15-minute split goal. I felt fine so another half hour at this pace would be okay for sure, and not too risky… And I’d done the Oakley 20 at (slightly) sub 7:30 pace – so yeah… Another half hour definitely! Yeah… Just one more half hour... I mean; I’d run 20 miles at this pace twice before – how hard could another 6 be? Yeah, you just keep telling yourself that sunshine... 2:00 - 2:30 – MILES 17 - 20 And this is the half hour with a jazz band, concrete cows – amazing – I'd never seen them before; and Roman ruins, an abbey, and a windmill – suck that up MK haterz! (Eds. Please check, do the young people still say “haterz”? Okay. What about “hepcats”?) Still the wheels hadn’t come off. I hit 20 miles at 2:27 – 2 minutes faster than my Oakley finishing time, and 13 minutes ahead of my original schedule – complete insanity – I’d never run further than this before - this was going to go wrong… And badly! And probably quite soon... But you know, I get carried away quite easily – I'd been high-fiving children, thanking marshals, making stupid jokes – all these things probably not recommended, but I didn’t know when it would all go wrong so I wanted to enjoy the experience for as long as possible. After all, if this was going to be my only marathon I wanted some good memories before the horrible painful bit. 2:30 – 3:00 - MILES 21-24ish 20 miles had been my longest training run, and the point when people talk about hitting the “wall”, and so I was expecting to slow hugely and spectacularly at any moment – especially as I had now been running at an unsustainable pace. So, my 15-minute race breakdown plan now seemed hugely over-ambitious, so I started working mile at a time instead. And the wall definitely seemed to be a thing, because as soon as we had passed 20 miles we suddenly started overtaking people who had started to slow down or even walk – this must have been awful for them, some looked properly broken - but selfishly, I realised that everyone I passed put me another place higher in the race. Those of you who’ve run the course before will know that it gets very slightly uphill at this point, and it doesn’t matter how well trained you are, you’re bound to be a bit tired by now, so I started to slow – not hugely – and certainly not as hugely as I was expecting, but just enough to lose contact with the 3:15 pace group (by now the 3:15 pace group was only a few of us – compared to the maybe 20 or 30 of us at mile 10); but it was a pretty gradual thing, perhaps only 10 or 20 seconds a mile. Also, I suddenly realised that I could now run 10-minute miles for the remainder and STILL come in under 3:30; and so I did what any self-respecting man would do at this point and burst into tears – totally normal – yes it is – it is - TOTALLY NORMAL! I’m not shouting – YOU’RE shouting! Then around mile 23 I saw Marianne Aitken who I’d chatted to at the start (she’d run an astonishing 15 miles around the course cheering on Colin). She shouted that the 3:15 pacer was just ahead, and that I could still catch him. This sounds like the most overused running cliché ever, but I thought to myself “it’s just a Parkrun left” so let’s have a go at this. Also, a particularly stupid cliché for me - I’m not suited to shorter distances, so I really struggle with Parkruns, so let us not speak of this again. As I turned the corner I could see Keith with his blue balloon, now running totally alone and, much, MUCH nearer than I’d expected and so I pushed as much as I could manage and started to reel him in (not thinking that it would actually happen), but metre by metre I started to catch him; and by mile 24.5 I got back on his shoulder and shouted “Keith! I’m back on your FunBus” - can you imagine how annoying I’d been to the poor man for the first 20 miles? 3:00 – THE FINISH - MILES 25 – 26.2 Now having your own private pacer is really quite an honour, but I didn’t get to enjoy it for long - as Keith told me to “get in front of me – and you’ll go sub 3:15” (although this may have been a clever ruse to get rid of me). Sub 3:15 this had never been a part of my wildest dreams and so another (smaller) cry was in order. To be fair I am quite a cryer – I only have to hear the music from UP and I’m gone *starts to sniffle thinking about it, poor Ellie*... But it was now quite hard to judge my pace, as at 25.5 miles you join the half marathon runners for the last half mile, so I was running with people who were now mostly going quite a bit slower than me, so it suddenly felt silly fast. At this point I should step out and explain a theory of mine. I’ve run trails on and off for years, mostly quite leisurely, but I’m a relatively new (18 months) road runner. However, I am, unquestionably, a lazy, lazy runner – I don’t like it when it hurts; but I weigh less than a duck, I’ve got disproportionately long skinny legs and I was wearing cheating shoes in MK; for context my average heart-rate over the MK marathon was 136 bpm (the average in a marathon is normally 160). When it’s good, the running feels like breathing. Which in practice means that although I’ve got some chops, I probably don’t perform to my potential – which I am completely fine with. But I know people who work so very hard, and frankly much harder than me, to reach their goals or even to just be more active, that I will be forever in their awe. Until MK I hadn’t run for more than 2 ½ hours in one go – and that had seemed QUITE long enough! A perfect example is my friend Emma – she's also quite a new runner, and MK was her second marathon – which she nailed in 5:58 – absolutely amazing, and perfectly paced – but that is the best part of 3 hours longer than I could possibly imagine running for. The idea that steadier or slower runners work the hardest is the hill I AM willing to die on. So, to jump back in, the half marathon runners were grinding out their last half mile and working hard (sometimes quite vocally – blimey! That’s quite the creative swearword combination! Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?), so hard that I fed off their energy. Also, I was suddenly taken with a picture in my mind of my hero Yuki Kawauchi finishing Boston, so much so that I “may” have made a half-marathoner jump shouting “BE MORE YUKI” to myself – yeah - sorry about that... I checked my watch, and it said: “Current Pace – 6.30” - whaaat? 6.30? That’s my 5k pace - this is ridiculous – what is happening? Deep breaths Smith – don't cry again. I looked over my shoulder and Keith was in the distance, but this time behind me! In the finishing stretch you race down the hill past KFC (oh the glamour again!) and through the tunnel onto the pitch at Stadium MK, this was all a bit heady as Stadium MK is really quite impressive from pitch level, and as I turned the comer onto the finishing straight I saw Katharine! And then Doyley, Emily and Garner (in her smart new bobble hat); and then the finishing arch with its clock saying 3:13:xx – what? No! This was absolutely NOT part of the plan. I could feel my form coming apart (I suspect more from emotion than exhaustion); eyewitness accounts from this time point out that I looked more like Bambi than Kipchoge. I high-fived Katharine, ran over the timing mat, screamed, and (I am justifiably quite proud of this bit) stopped my Garmin, WHICH SAID 3:13:37! And then promptly collapsed... POSTSCRIPT... After pulling myself together, and giving poor Stephanie and Annis a horrible sweaty hug, I fetched my lucky flip flops and found Katharine (she’d been looking for me and had asked someone in the VIP room if they’d seen me – they said “is he really overexcited?” Yup, that'd be me.) - I’d bumped into Keith in the VIP room too and not thinking he’d suffered enough already gave HIM a sweaty hug too – poor Keith... Incidentally Katharine had just smashed her half marathon PB by miles! POST POSTSCRIPT... The marathon timing mats give you an average pace for four rough quarters of the race, and looking back my average paces were 7.22, 7.23, 7.23 and 7.24 min/miling; and my last mile was the fastest at 6.48. I realise how very unusual this is for a first marathon, and I know I will NEVER repeat it. POST POST POSTSCRIPT... That whole only one marathon thing... Well, you see, I’ve booked Abingdon now; so, let’s call it TWO! But just two, then that’ll be it. Yeah, definitely just two...

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This is the week that was…

Our summer trail runs continued this week with a sublime run in Woburn.  Big thanks to our run leaders on the night for winding your way through the deer.  Shout out to Tom who decided to run to Woburn, do the run and run home again!    VC James took on the Fartlek Whistle of Torture for the first time on Wednesday.  Thursday saw the return of CAPTURE THE FLAG and it was victory in the woods for the orange team.  And Katharine took out the fun runners for a stupendous run in the very hot sun on Friday. Friday saw the return of the Beer Mile!  We had a great turn out of LFRs and the one runner from the LB Tri Contingent. Results as follows... 8.12 Dan 8.17 Simon from LB Tri Club 8.56 Jim 9.24 Dawn 9.45 Gavin 10.12 Alice 10.38 Chris 12.38 Will (with 7% cider!) 13.07 Anna 13.07 Amos (on a scooter!) 13.07 Happy Birthday Jane Excellent fun and success was celebrated in the Black Lion as is standard for us LFRs! The weekend came and saw lots of LFRs busy... Glyn was volunteering on Saturday at the Thames Ring 250 Mile ultra on a 30 hour shift.  Great effort, Gyn. parkrun day had LFRs at Cannon Hill, Houghton Hall, Aylesbury, Bedworth, Dunstable Downs, Marston Vale, and a massive 36 LFRs at home in Rushmere where...Tom came second even after taking a tumble AND ran a PB.  There's just no stopping this guy! Also celebrating at Rushmere on Saturday was Patrick who ran his 50th parkrun!  Well done, Patrick! It was a weekend of events too.... Neil, Anne and Caroline tookon the trails at the Wendover Woods 10K and received some gorgeous wooden bling. Anna, Sandra,Fiona and Sally went through some snow at the Silsoe Stride 10K where Sally came first in her age category! And the multisporters were out at the Centurion Triathlon (2K Swim, 80K Bike, 18K Run).  Super efforts in the brutal heat from Rob and Verity.  And Verity got herself a podium finish,coming in 2nd lady!  Well done! That's all for this week. Happy running, LFR!

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This is the week that was…Greensands!

We started our club runs this week with an out and back towards Wing.  We run 25 minutes out. Turn around.  Run back.  It was pouring with rain when we left.  Stopped when we ran.  Rained when he finished.  Wonderful.  The Cpatain also took some of the leaders out for a recce of the upcoming Pyjama Run....they got themselves pretty sodden! Chrissy had her first go at leading the Fartlek Fun with the Whistle of Doom and loved it!  The group enjoyed it too.  I'm sure Chrissy will be back leading again soon. Also on Wednesday Sparky did some midweek racing at the Cattle Creep 10K. Something new for our Thursday night Improvers this week.  Coach Annis led a strength training group at the club working legs, arms and abs...all to music! If you missed out this time, do not fret....this will be a regular feature on our Thursday nights.  Keep an eye on the Facebook Group and the newsletter for details of the next one. The rain subsided on Friday for Katharine's morning run in the sun. On parkrun day we had LFRs at Milton Keynes, Cannon Hill, Houghton Hall, Cirencester, Wendover Woods, Geln River, Dunstable Downs, Nose Hill (where is this Mr and Mrs Ayers?!) and Rushmere. At home in Rushmere we had PBs from David, Doug, Richard (again!) and mini LFR, James Parker. Great running chaps! Saturday also saw a tram of LFRs at an Inflatable 5K in St Albans! Coach Matt was the LFR at the Hitchin Tough 10K - 6th place overall and second in his age category!  Great running, Matt! The biggest event of the weekend was of course The Greensand Ridge Relay.  We had five teams taking part this year.  Five!  A big well done to all our teams.  We had many team members who return to Greensands year on year and a whole load of newbies for the relay! Some excellent team names too... Come from Behind I've had these shorts since 1982. Burlesque & Pigeon Society Run Like a Hare Pam's People Some great funs from our teams and only one team member got lost.  It just happened to be the man who has run Greensands many times and has even completed the event solo.  Well done, Chair Steve! Of course it is not just a team event and runners are able to fun the whole route solo - 34 miles self navigated trails.  Incredible.  This year we had seven LFRs taking part.  A massive well done to Paul L, Marianne, Verity, Mark, Paul D, Rob and of course the man who comes down from Scotland once a year just for this event....our wonderful LFR friend Gordon Hill!  A massive well done also to our tri club friends Jez and Ian who also took on the 34 miles solo.  An incredible effort from all of you. Well done! Just a couple of quick shout outs:  Jez and Marianne were running their first ever ultra marathons at Greensands!  Absolutely superb.  And whilst completing her first ever ultra, Marianne came third lady!  What a star! That's all for this week.  Have a great week, LFR!

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This is the week that was…the start of the British summer!

The week began with the first of our summer trail runs....we went to Dunstable to enjoy the sun setting over the Downs whilst we frolick on the sunny trails.  This was the plan.  However, the rain came and didn't go away.  This did not stop us however.  We still frolicked. Through the mud.  The trails.  The wind.  The rain.  There was no sun.  But there were a lot of laughs.  The next trail run will be at Woburn next week, rain or shine! The rain continued on Wednesday for JK's Fartlek and Thursday's Improvers with Coach Matt.  We had some respite for the Friday morning run...this must have been because Alan was leading.  He always brings the sunshine. Friday evening saw Lee running his first official run as an LFR member at the Stowe Summer Trail Series 6K.  Well done, Lee! On parkrun day we had LFRs at Luton Wardown, Milton Keynes, Northampton, Linford Wood, Houghton Hall (where Paul ran a PB and Stephanie came first in her age category!), Weymouth (where Gavin ran a PB!), Swansea Bay, Dunstable Downs and of course, Rushmere. Rushmere saw PBs from Gary and Paula.  Great running, guys!  The big news of the day was Carrie completing her 50th parkrun!! Anne was running another marathon at the It's Grim Up North Marathon on Sunday and a shout out and HUGE LFR CONGRATULATIONS to her sister, Claire, often seen running with Anne who completed her 100th marathon!  Huge achievement.  Well done! And that's it for this week!  As usual we had lots of members out for the training runs, rides and swims.  Excellent efforts everyone in this weather.  Bring on the sun! Have a great week, LFR!

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This is the week that was…Helen’s 100!

The week began with a move to our usual cake night.  We started at The Hare in Linslade.  Ran a glorious trail route in the evening sun, and ended it with a pint and some cake.  A wonderful start to the week!.  Janice took on the pain whistle for the Fartlek Fun on Wednesday.  VC Smiffy took the Improvers to the park on Thursday.  And Dave led out the Friday social crew on a damp, but lovely run. Friday evening saw three of the team at the Marston 5K - a great event on a lovely evening.  Well don, Sally, Lindsey and Celia! On parkrun Day we had LFRs at Milton Keynes, Arrow Valley,  Linford Wood, Cassiobury,  Springhill, Dunstable Downs and Rushmere.  At home in Rushmere Jim and Jamie took theirplaces in the top 10 and we had PBs from Jen and Paula!  Great running, guys! The weekend saw LFRs at events eveyrwhere... Kevin and Jim were running the trails at the Aldbury 5, both coming in the top 25. Duncan struggled through the St Albans Half. Team Turner took a break from their usual marathon running and completed the The Thames Path Potter receiving the medals the size of their heads! Team LFR took over the Buckingham Half on Sunday with some amazing results and PBs galore!  Tom came in 6th place with a super fast time of 1.22!  Chris won her age category...AGAIN!  Martin Addrison cycled to the event then won his age category.  Captain Dan collected his award on his behalf as he'd already cycled home again! We also had PBs from Gavin, Chris and VC James.  Great efforts from everyone on a super hilly course.  Big shout out and thanks to the support teams including Fiona who was cheering them on at Mile 5 and Emily for being our LFR photographer! This was the weekend of multisports too.  The LFR Cycle Division were out and about, cycling to Buckingham to cheer the runners, or cycling the Tour de Vale event.  A group of them even cycled to Cambridge and back - 100 miles in the legs.  And Janice and Richard completed the Dragon Ride in Wales -  223km in the saddle.  That's 138 miles.  On a bike!  Well done.  Excellent work. The biggest event for the multisporters however was the Ironman Stafford 70.3.  A HUGE well done and congratulations to Amos for completing her first Ironman 70.3 event - she did a 1.2 mile swim, followed by 56 miles on the bike and all finished with a half marathon.  A big well done also to our LB Tri friend Karrie Archer who also completed the event.  Superb efforts!  Well done both.  You did it! And finally...it was also a weekend of marathons!  Sunday was the  Hannington Hike where Paul, Wes and Emma all battling the overgrown trails. And after months of trials and tribulations....Helen got there....she did it.  She completed the Farthingstone Foot Fest on Saturday (with Glyn in tow!) and in doing so completed her 100th marathon joining the 100 Marathon Club!  Absolutely superb effort in what has been a turbulent few months for Helen.  Brilliant, brilliant work! And that's all for now.  Have a great week, LFR!

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This is the week that…LFR went on tour everywhere!

The week started off with a marathon and a PB from Coach Turner!  Annis was at the Enigma Trains Marathon running her 13th marathon, taking 9 minutes off her marathon time and was 2nd lady.  Well done! The club runs began with the canal out and back on Tuesday; Janice was the Mistress of Pain for Fartlek Wednesday; Jen took the Improvers to Bragenham Berg for some hill repeats on Thursday; and Karen took out the Friday crew for another lovely social run. parkrun Day saw LFRs at Banbury, Luton Wardown, Colwick, Houghton Hall, Gadebridge, Weymouth, Tring, Dunstable Downs, and of course Rushmere.  Rushmere saw PBs from Jason, Richard, Jane and Lisa and Kevin completed his 100th parkrun!  Well done all! This weekend was FULL of events all over the country.  Here we go.... Claire, Kevin, Gill, Chris, Linda and Nicki were doing a run with a difference at the Color Obstacle Rush in MK. Captain Dan took on the Tapenll 10K on the Isle of Wight and won!  Chrissy was at the Poole Half Marathon Paul was running the trails at the Run Fest Half Marathon with Paula Radcliffe. Team LFR smashed it at the Bedford 10K with Dave getting a PB! Clare and wannabe LFR Ian tried out the Worthing 10K - the best event either have any been to! Vicky and Paul took on the Isle of Wight trails and 1191ft of ascent at The Needles Half Marathon.   Michael and Tom were at the Coombe Hill Fell Race - it was steep I hear!   We had two teams take part in the Dunstable 5K Relay, nicknamed by Laura as The Run of Doom.  Fitting! Kelly and Laura both smashed their times from last year, Kelly putting this down to her all her efforts at Improvers on a Thursday.  Super runs everyone! Glyn was Wainwright bagging...again.... And we had lots of training runs including some LFR getting lost on the trails in Wendover, a post-Sunday roast half marathon training run (vomit included) and Gordon casually running a marathon on the south coast of Wales,  And that's it for this week!  Have a great week, LFR!

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This is the week…of the flat lays!

"What is a flat lay?" I hear you ask.  We'll get to that in a moment... The week began with another loops night/pace groups combo.  The loops this time took us around Tiddenfoot pit with the pace leaders all taking the groups on different journeys to get there.  I think every single pace group pushed it and ran faster than their group time.  Superb efforts from everyone! Karen led the Frolicking Fartlekkers on Wednesday.   Also on Wednesday it was Tring Running Club's invite night where a few LFRs travelled over to take on Tring's trails. Chris took on her very first Improvers session on Thursday.  Improvers is a fantastic opportunity to do just that...Improve.  We put on a different activity each week which only lasts 30 minutes.  You can do as much or as little of the activity as you like.  Why not come along to the next to see what it's all about?  And Katharine led yet another sunny Friday morning run - the sun always shines for the Friday crew!   Friday evening saw Celia, Sally and Fiona at the Stowe Summer Trail 6K event - a wonderful way to spend a Friday evening. On parkrun day we had LFRs at Linford Wood, Aylesbury (where Coach Annis ran a PB!), Keswick, Portobello, Bakewell, Dunstable Downs and of course, Rushmere.  At home in Rushmere, Mike (aka Eddy Guinness) was running his 50th parkrun and baked the most amazing cakes and flapjacks for the crowd in celebration.  Dave Cooper was back at parkrun and running again after a year off!  And we had PBs from Paul (even though he swore as he crossed the finish line thinking he'd missed it), Michael, Jason, Richard, Debbie and Grace.  Great running, guys! As it was the final bank holiday weekend for a while. the weekend was of course FULL of events... Following his 50th parkrun on the Saturday, Mike travelled to Wales on the Sunday to take part in the Treforest 10K.  Wales is wet and hilly. Marathon Machine Emma was completing ANOTHER marathon at the Phoenix Remembrance Pop Up Run.  I've lost count of how many marathons Emma has now completed...it's a lot. The LFR Cycling Division were at the Towcester Mill Brewery Sportive - 60 Miles on the hilliest route they ever did see. in all the weather.  James, not content with cycling 60 miles, jumped off his bike and went for an hour long run as soon as he finished!   There was more marathon madness from Niki who was solo at the Liverpool Rock and Roll Marathon.  And we had the team up at Edinburgh.  Doug and Will taking part in the half marathon.  Dawn, Gavin, Matt and Verity (she was definitely in this one) all completing the full with some fantastic PBs from Gavin and Matt and Verity bagging her London GFA time...again! (Just remember to pay next time, V). The biggest event of the weekend was the Vitality 10K on Monday with Team LFR travelling to London en masse to take part. There were so many of us...just fantastic!  Everyone had some fantastic runs, including our recent Couch to 5K graduates who have now completed their 5-10K course with Debbie, and Jane and Pam in their tutus made it onto the live race footage!  We even had some 10K PBs!  Superb running from every single one of you.  You've worked so hard week by week to get to this.  You did it!  Now...what's next? To finish off the club runs this week, Team Kirwan took out the LFR bank holiday runners on their usual tour of the Ashirdge trails followed by some tea and cake.  Wonderful! Spreading the LFR Love in Phoenix, Arizona is our newest member from overseas, Ykcir.  I don't know about you, but he looks the spitting image of Ricky... And finally flat lays?  Here we go.... That's all for now.  Have a great week, LFR! If we have missed anyone's run or PB or achievement, do just respond to the email and let us know...it was a busy, busy weekend!

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This is the week that was…half marathons and multisports!

We started this week with group night on Tuesday and the 5-10K crew still smashing out their distances.  It's the final week of the course tomorrow before the big one next week!  You've got this, guys!  Doyley led Fartlek with a difference on Wednesday.  In fact it wasn't Fartlek at all, he took the Herberts and Coach Matt for a pyramids session.   Captain Dan was in charge of the Improvers taking on hill reps at The Globe...nasty hill.  And Jenny led another glorious social run on Friday. Friday evening saw a social run with a difference with the Captain leading a trail run in Long Marston followed by a pint in our new favourite, The Queens Head (the pub we ran through on our 10K). On parkrun Day we had LFRs at Houghton Hall,  Barry Island, Clapham Common and the LFR Ladies at Aylesbury.  And David still on a parkrun tour, this time at Lower Hutt parkrun in New Zealand.  At home in Rushmere we had PBs from the two Pauls, Jason, Kerry and Stephen.  Great running, guys! This weekend was the weekend of half marathons, with LFRs running all over.... Peter was at thehot and hilly Plymouth half.  James was taking on the stunning Salzburg half.  And Jo was taking on another trail half at the Bledlow Ridge off roader.  As was Graeme.  The toughest either of them have ever done...superb work. It was also the week for the multisporters!  Our members who also love to swim and bike before they run.  Rob took on the Grafman Middle Distance Triathlon (1.9km Swim, 90km bike, and a half marathon);  Amos, Jane and Pam were at the DB Max #51fiver Standard Distance Triathlon (1.5km swim, 40km bike, 10K run); and Mike, Carrie and Jen had a go at their first EVER triathlon at the Bedford Sprint Triathlon (400m swim, 24km bike, 5k run).  Super efforts from every single one of you.  Well done! If anyone else likes their multisports, we have an additional Facebook Group solely for LFR members who have an interest in cycling for all cycling related chatter to keep this separate from our main Facebook group.  This is not a new group for LFR members.   If you are a cyclist and wished to join this group, you can find this here: LFR Cycling Division Also another thank you to the LFR supports this week...Gary and Michelle who gave up their Sunday morning to cheer at Bedford.  It was a super boost to see them there at the start and throughout the course.  Whatever the event, it is always amazing to see a friendly cheering face on the course.  It makes all the difference. And that's it for another week!  There will be some more marathon stories next week with Edinburgh on the horizon and we get to find out how all the 5-10K group get on at the Vitality 10K on Bank Holiday Monday.  Have a great week, LFR!

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This is the week that was…the LFR Awards Night!

Following on from the mad Monday at the MK Marathon, LFR still had their monthly cake night on Tuesday with the 5-10K group stepping it up even more smashing out 4.5 miles.   Karen took on the Fartlek Whistle of Joy and Pain on Wednesday.  Coach Matt led a massive group of Improvers on Thursday.  And after a week of rain, Alan brought the sunshine again for a glorious social run on Friday. parkrun Day saw members at St Peters, Hadleigh, Cannon Hill, Whitstable, Stevenage, Linford Wood, Houghton Hall, Rushmere, Marston Vale, Hanworth and furthest afield this week was David at South Bank in Australia - 7am start in Brisbane.  Yikes! At home in Rushmere, Andrew Jamie and Kevin took their places in the top 10 and we had PBs from Paul, Martin, Jason, Anne, Katie and Jen.  Great running guys! The weekend also had races and runs galore... Jamie took on the Welsh mountains at the Brecon Beacons Trail Half.  Jo was wearing the red and black at the inaugural Chiltern Ridge Half - trails and hills galore!  David was running in the sun from Benalmadena to Torremolines and back again.  Duncan bagged himself a half marathon PB at the Tewkesbury Half. Team LFR were enjoying the Marsworth 10K trail run. And of course the legend we call JK was back doing what he does best...running a trail marathon.  This week it was 28 lovely hilly miles on the South Downs. Great running everyone! The biggest event of the week saw over 70 members get together to celebrate our Awards Night!  And what a fantastic night it was.  A HUGE thank you and well done to Max and her team for organising another brilliant night for us all.  Great food, great friends and Colin the Magician. Of course, all you really want to know is who won what...so here we go.... Couch to 5K - Kelly Doyle and Laura GossCoaches (Female) - Elle LairdCoaches (Male) - Gavin PrechnerCaptain's - Paul Little and Mark BeesleyChairman's - Debbie RoffClubman (awarded by the Committee) - Christine AyersWatchless 5 Winner - Katy Garnham-LeeSpecial Award - Pam O'Connell for being the first LFR to complete all six marathon majorsExtraordinary Recognition - Tam Quinn and Jane Crighton for their outstanding efforts during the club's hosting of the cross country league Somewhere in your distant memory you will recall we took part in the annual Three Counties Cross Country League.  The club awards prizes to our own 1st 2nd and 3rd placed men and women and some attendance awards....We also had a photo competition with some wonderful entries.  (Remind yourself here: LFR Photo Competition 2019).  The club voted for Amos' submission from Wes' Hen Run....! And the awards given to those nominated by club members.... First up the Golden Boot.  Some hilarious stories came through from the nomations... Andrew Heale - Andrew brought two left foot trainers to Hardwick X-Stream.   Luckily, LFR’s very own Imelda Marcos (aka James Smith) had a selection of trainers he could lend him. James Smith – for his shortest shorts and incongruous bobble hats!  And for forgetting he had entered both Oakley and MK Festival of Running 20-mile events for his pre-marathon long run (although he managed to do justice to both). Dan Green – for falling over in his own driveway after a run Paul Thomas – for suffering a fractured wrist on the ski slopes.  He did still manage to complete the London Marathon though. Utmost respect! Claire Amos – for superb photo bombing skills  Verity Allsopp – Verity is a super athlete but is a forgetful one.  She went to collect her GFA entry place at the London Marathon expo but then realised she hadn’t in fact registered or paid for the place! There could, however, only be one winner and the member with the most nominations was Carrie Tyas - Carrie entered the Edinburgh half marathon in May 2018 and in error put her finish time as 1 hour something rather than 2 hours plus. She was bemused as to why she was put in the elite pen for the start; and at the end had to collect her bag which was all on its own in the elite bag area.  Carrie must have thought she was a Kenyan marathon runner that day! And finally the Runner's Runner award.  We received a number of nominations.  Well done Will Langdon, Stephen Moore, John Kirwan, Gary Reid, Dan Green, Christine Ayres, Pam O’Connell, Tom Ellerton, James Smith, Andrew Heale, David Pym, Dave Ayres, Paul Little, Nicki Atkinson, Paul Thomas and Annis Turner for inspiring your fellow runners! Again, there could only be one winner and the member who received the highest number of nominations was Christine Ayers.  Reasons members voted for Chris: She is modest, uncomplaining, committed, supportive and never bigs up her incredible achievements.  She is often age category winner at events.  She earned a GFA place at Chester and was asked to run for England at the York marathon. She trains hard at her swimming (where she is also a regular age category winner) as well as her running and is always surprised at how well she does.  She deserves all she achieves because she puts in this hard work. She supports others in the Club and the community with all her help at parkrun. She is the runner we should aspire to be. Dave had better get a bigger trophy cabinet! What a fantastic bunch of winners!  Well done everyone on your awards! You can view all the photos from Awards Night on our website: LFR Awards Night 2019      And that's all for now....have a great week LFR!

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