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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This is the week that was…. The Return of parkrun!

This is the week that was... The Return of parkrun & So Much More! On Wednesday of last week we joined up with Bearbrook Running club for a variety of trail run paces starting and finishing at the Three Locks Pub. A huge thanks to JK and Andy Stocks who led two different pace groups out towards Rushmere and beyond. In total between the two clubs there were approximately 40 runners who joined in the trail fun on a very warm summer's evening. The post run drinks were most welcome. As we headed into the weekend, it was brilliant to see 12 of you at the Marston 5k.  Coach Matt led the way with a cracking 19:28 coming in 24th place. Also representing LFR were Mike Garner, Andy Griggs, Graham Cooper, Alice Tame, Julie Etherden, Megan Francis, Debbie Elborn, Sandra Dunsterville. The outstanding performance of the day goes to Paul Thomas who won MV 70 category! parkrun!! The long awaited return to parkrun came on Saturday and made headline news across the UK. We had runners spread far and wide. In Milton Keynes, Jim Buttleman, Nic Dimmock, David Pym and Andy Griggs all put in great times as did Phil Brogan who completed the 5k down the road at Linford Wood. David and Christine Ayres who’ve done so much to keep the parkrun ethos going through the pandemic raced in Rickmansworth while at Houghton Hall Family Laird got back on their usual Saturday morning family outing. David Parker was in Aylesbury (no doubt accompanied by James?) and in Salcey Forest, Northamptonshire were Mark and Clare Kleanthous. Over at Cassioury, VC Dougie completed his 100th parkrun with new member Nick Graefe with him who ran a PB. But by far the biggest turnout was at Dunstable Downs where Will Langdon led the team home with a new parkrun PB of 20:32. With our First Lady home being Dawn Kennedy at 30:15. Making up the team and proudly wearing the Red, White and Black were Andy Heale, Rosie Booth, Colin Larkins, Paul Doyle, Paul Thomas, Nick O'Connell, James & Sam Booth, Carrie Tyas and Anna Mead. I look forward to reports of more of you getting back to parkrun over the coming weeks. Away from running, multi sports again got some of you in the racing spirit. On the River Thames at the famous Leander Club in Henley; William Harry, James Basil, Jen and Mike Garner, completed the Club to Pub Swim. A 1600m swim that ends at a pub. Something completely different, sounds great! On Sunday, Mark and Clare Kleanthous were at the Running GP Bedford Aerodrome where Mark ran the half marathon at Clare the 10k. Also at the same event was Elle Laird who ran 16 miles using it as a training run for VLM. Lakeland 100 - By JK Over 2,000 runners from all over the UK met in Coniston on Friday for the 2021 Lakeland 100 / 50 challenges. A number of LFRs did not make the start line due to injuries but we were ably represented by Paul Little running the 100 (105 miles and 23,000 feet of ascent) and Lesley Wes at and Emma Davis returning for another crack at the 50 (50 miles with 10,000 feet of ascent). The event returned ‘live’ after a virtual race in 2020 and Coniston was bursting with runners, marshalls and supporters. For the first time in memory there was not a drop of rain during the Lakeland weekend, while this helped the competitors’ feet, the high temperatures caused a lot of dropouts due to heat related issues. The event is really tough, the dropout rate for the 100 is usually 50%! A combination of the distance, the relentless climbs, the navigation but for most people it’s the rocky trails, trashing the feet that causes the problems. After an amazing performance in the conditions, Paul crossed the finishing line after 34 hours and 45 minutes on the go, saying it was by far the hardest thing he has ever done and he will not be doing it again. (Although this last comment seemed to to be under review after sleep, a meal and a beer the next day). Emma and Wes smashed another LL50, arriving back in Coniston Sunday morning, looking fresh as daisies! They were particularly pleased at the 2021 medal, which had sparkles added. Conti24 - Thunder Run - By GP After the cancellation of the Continental 24 Hour Thunder Run in 2020, the eagerly awaited event took place this weekend at Catton Park in Derbyshire. What is Conti24? Read about it HERE. This year, LFR entered a mixed team of seven runners made up of myself (Gavin), Steve Ellerton, Chris Stenner, James Smith, Dora Parra, Kevin Hare and Martin Addrison. We were loyally supported by Mrs Addrison and James’ eldest Louis. We also had a solo entrant in the form of human/machine, Matthew Ma!! Chris and I pitched up early on Friday morning with the first item of kit to be setup being the LFR flag, this quickly added to by numerous tents, tables, awnings, gazebos and so on. By the time we were finished, our spot was not dissimilar to the local Decathlon showroom. I in particular had way too much kit and a family tent for one (I don’t like to slum it)! The team was treated to an absolute treat of a feast on Friday evening by Chef Smiff and Chef Smiff Jnr who had prepared fresh dough for wood fired pizzas, all freshly prepared in front of us. Hats off to you both, they were amazing and caught the eyes and noses of others as they wandered past our plot. “All the gear and no idea” definitely did not apply here. After some discussion about who would be going first, an earlyish night ensued after a few beers has been consumed! Much scoffing of breakfast was soon followed by the start of the race at 12pm. Very exciting! All gathered at the start line with me going first. Did I mention the fancy dress theme this year? No? Roman togas! Yep, my first lap was in a roman toga! I got myself to the very front of the pack and led off maintaining 3rd for at least 100m if not more! My aim – to make a mockery of the serious corporate image, there’s no way that they can edit out a Roman toga! Mission accomplished. First lap complete, I handed over to Chris Stenner who blasted off to start his lap. As the laps started to accumulate, night fell meaning that James was the first to encounter the first night lap. Safe to say, it is a different race at night. Recalling from my own might lap which was at about 1am, the wooded sections were like an obscure video game, the path was there in front of you but you still couldn’t see the tree routes. Oh, and round the next corner was a disco, right in front of you in the middle of the woods complete with dance tunes, lights, sweets and water. Utterly bonkers. If you wanted a rest and a chat with other competitors, you could – not a problem. I pushed on and got myself back to hand over my video game experience to Chris and then off to bed for me in my (Roman) palace. During the night time laps, it’s important to get as much rest as you can, eat a little if you can and remember to wake up your buddy in readiness for their next stint. James had got this all sussed for us and it worked like a dream, giving you enough time to get up, get a coffee, put on some kit and get to the changeover. Day break, final lap for me. This one was a real struggle and thanks to a lady who gave me a talking to at km-3, I got round. 4 laps banked, that’s 40km in the space of 24 hours on a super tough course happy with that. Overall, the team managed an astonishing 26 laps! 26! This got us a final position in our category of 16th place! (out of roughly 140 teams). The winning team notched up an eye-watering 33 laps. I am so proud of us all on this achievement, I don’t think any of us could have imagined getting into the top 20 whatsoever but we did. Well done team! Fantastic efforts from all of us. Now speaking of efforts….. At the top of this report, I mentioned that we had an LFR solo competitor – Matthew Ma. Well, Matt managed a staggering 14, yes 14, laps! Unbelievable, his ability to just keep on going around and around and around is unfathomable to me. As a team, we were able to support Matt by providing him with gels, walking poles etc. as he came past our camp but really, our input into assisting him was NOTHING compared to what he did. Matt finished 10th overall notching up his 14 laps in 15 hours and 12 minutes before he took a rest. Since coming home and writing this, I can report that Matt has booked himself in for a 10,000-mile service which gets him an oil change, replacement air filter and plugs. This should see him through for another 10,000. He’s also already starting to think about next year. Perhaps a change to the fuel mixture, I hear red diesel is good! So, to sum up, a totally epic weekend away with like-minded individuals who just like to have a run, challenge themselves and most importantly, have a sense of humour. Conti really is an event for anyone, running, jogging, walking – doesn’t matter, you’ll be in good company on the course. Everyone you pass will say, “well done, keep going” and that gives you the incentive to keep moving. I have setup a FB album on our page which will hopefully be filling up with our pictures as a race report really doesn’t tell you everything but hopefully some photos will. Who’s up for it next year? I certainly will be! FINALLY.... A big thank you to Barbara Addrison, she is amazing, she literally feeds you at any time you need feeding with a selection of chilli, rice, bacon, egg, snacks, biscuits, drinks. Whatever you need. This alone, makes it all possible. Thank you, Barbara – from all of us.    

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This is the week that was…. The Beer Mile & so much more!

This is the week that was... The Beer Mile & So Much More! The traditional Beer Mile event kicked off the weekend on Friday evening at the track of dreams AKA Astral park. The sun shone gloriously and the LFR masses were there to support the 17 runners who took to the start line, with only 2 ladies in the mix! Mike Garner was first away after beer no.1, with Matthew Ladds never too far away. Jack Heaver was soon regretting his BBQ an hour before, though to give him credit, he did manage to keep everything down. We learnt that although Will Langdon can run incredibly fast and drink pretty well, however, he most definitely cannot do the two combined! Dawn Kennedy kept her 1st lady home title staying nicely steady throughout the mile. It’s fair to say that both present and past Chairman’s Andy Heale and Steve Ellerton weren’t too hot at combining the two! Kudos to Jenny Hogan who kept going to the bitter end! The winner...  Matthew Ladds stormed home in a time of 7 minutes and 42 seconds which included the drinking time! Mike Garner took 2nd and Matthew Ma came in 3rd. Until next year, team, you’ve got plenty of time to practise!   Saturday started off with VC Dougie leading a long run around The Buzzard with Sagar, Nic and Gavin. Half the group were still recovering from the previous night’s exercise at Astral Park! The Linslade Parks Run continued on with some new recruits joining Dave and Christine for their first time. With some hope and a bit of luck, we can all dig out our barcodes and return to the real thing from this weekend! Click HERE to find out where the parkruns are running near us. We headed into Sunday with the mercury hitting 30 degrees. We had two teams in the LBAC organised Round Milton Keynes Relay. LFR Team Go Nearly Nuts consisting of Sam Heady, Tom and Steve Ellerton, Matthew Ma and Dan Green came a brilliant 3rd place and just a few seconds off 2nd place.  A great achievement. Team LFR All Stars consisting of Elle Laird, Matt Gilbert, Andy Heale, Will Langdon and myself who also put in a strong performance. Finding events further afield was Andy Griggs who put in another strong 10k performance at the Chester 10k. With 3,000 participants, it’s great to see racing and numbers continue to increase. Well done Andy, where is the next race? A little closer to home, Jen Garner, James Basil and Mike Garner took part in the self navigated Fairlands Valley Challenge Half. It looked very picturesque (once you got out of Stevenage). Again, a huge well done completing the 13 mile course in the heat. I’m sure you 3 had a lot of fun. But where was Will Burchell?   The award for the furthest run away from HQ this week goes to Alex Nixon who seemed to be putting in some effort in Majorca. Well done Alex. With the warm weather encouraging some of you to take on different forms of exercise over the weekend, it was good to see plenty of LFR’s take a dip in the open water lake at Box End. I hope to be reporting on successful triathlons over the weekend of 31st July and 1st August. On two wheels, Kevin Hare joined Michelle Evans-Riches and Deborah Macpherson on a pleasant ride out to Tring, and heading toward the hills of the Kimpton for a 50 miler were The Captain, JK and Peter Jones. Next week sees the return of the CONTI-24 and the epic Lakeland 100 and I look forward to updating you on how our members get on. In the meantime, continue to enjoy the summer sun, enjoy your holidays if you are getting away and hope to see some of you on the streets or trails next week.

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This is the week that was…. Emma’s 100 Marathons!

This is the week that was... Emma's 100 Marathons! Holiday Runs It was good to see that last week, some of you managed to get away again and soak up the summer sun. As a cycling fan, I’m very jealous of Celia Walker who treated herself to a delightful afternoon tea in the world famous Betty’s Cafe Tea Shop in Harrogate. On the cycling theme, our furthest traveled member last week was Brendan Thomas who was promoting LFR in Aix-en-Provance, France. Again making me doubly jealous as Brendan got to witness the Tour de France whiz past while he was out on his run. A bit closer to home was Michelle Evans-Riches who was debating whether it was jam on cream or cream on Jjam on her scones in Cornwall. I’m sure whatever way you had the scone Michelle,  it was well deserved!       Eyeing up the yachts in Cowes was Sandra Dunsterville who I’m told decided that none were suitable for The Grand Union Canal, so spent the day enjoying the fantastic scenery that the Isle of Wight has to offer. We hope you all had a great time. Running Back At Home Before we get to the weekend reports, a brief reflection on last week's runs. Emily tried something different last week with all Tuesday club runs being on the trails. A huge thanks to our run leaders who took on the challenge of leading somewhere different, including JK who planned a Fartlek session across the plains of Woburn, to Sam Heady who once again opened up her Farm to us where she led a fab five across the fields and tracks for a 5 mile run. Next week we have two teams entered in the LBAC organised “Around Milton Keynes Relay” and the teams were out checking out their specific legs. Coach Matt reported that Leg one was rather overgrown in places, while Andy and Will got very wet checking out Legs 2 and 3. On Sunday I had the pleasure of Elle’s company as we covered Legs 4 and 5. Also on Sunday, Team 2 had Richard Heady and Tom Ellerton out checking their routes with Dan covering off Leg 5 on Saturday. LFR’s were again out on training runs over the weekend with The Fab Four of Graham Cooper, Steve Lymbery, Stephen Moore and Christine Ayres running Sunday. It was especially good to see their route was amended for Graham to pick up just a segment as the trio completed a brilliant 16 miles. Also putting in a big number was Adam Carter with 17.5 miles as he continues on his quest to be ready for the London Marathon in October. Races Onto the races and again we’ve had runners out far and wide. Competing in the Vitality 10k in Hatfield were David Hanley and Steve Molyneaux. Both reported unappreciated hills and lovely warm weather. Not a great combination! Well done both. Love the T-shirt too! Saving the best bit to last... The annual Race to The Stones was held over the weekend and we had a few members take on the challenge. For those who don’t know, it’s a 100km event from Lewknor in Oxfordshire to Stonehenge in Avebury in Wiltshire. You can run the distance in one go or camp overnight halfway. Completing the 100km route non Stop was the amazing Jo Secker who completed the route in 20 hours, 8 minutes. That makes me super tired just thinking about it! Long time member Gordon Hill was going for non stop but sadly decided to retire after 78 miles. This is still an incredible performance, Gordon, we're proud of you! Also taking part were running partners Lesley Wes Barnard and Emma Davis. Now, making this extra special for Emma was that Day 1 of the event clocked up Emma’s 100th Marathon and Day 2 her 101st. It’s “only” taken Emma 10 years to complete her 100 marathons. Due to Covid, Emma’s plans for her 100th have changed several times but she persevered and can now join the 100 marathon club as a full member but says she can’t imagine running a marathon in anything but her LFR shirt. Fellow LFRs JK, Jane Crighton and Ali Scott with a few other family and friends turned up at the end as a surprise, which reduced Emma to tears.  We are all very proud of you Emma!    

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