With September arriving it brings with it the start of the autumn race season and this week Fit Clubbers were back racing with a vengeance!
The Multi terrain course is one of the most scenic races on the calendar. A blend of forest enclosures, New Forest villages, open roads, cracking view and, of course, the New Forest Ponies.
Alf was running off the back of having completed the Beast (see review below) and limited training due to his pesky injury picked up at the London Marathon this year. Still that didn't stop him grinding out a superb time of 5:37.45.
Sarah Lewis has also been training hard recently following the success she has had over the summer with her triathlons. Having started well Sarah faded towards the end but still managed to post a very credible 2:08:51.
New members Sarah and Simon Robinson were both competing in the 10km and came away with superb times of 58:34 for Sarah (a PB by over a minute) and 52:35 for Simon.
Fantastic running from everyone representing us in the New Forest.
Turning out attentions northwards we had Katie Johnson running in the Great North Run. The Great North Run attracts nearly 50,000 runners each year for the half marathon course near Newcastle. It is undulating in places and is a point to point run and is one of the best loved races in the country. Katie was up against Sir Mo Farah, and despite chasing him hard, Katie was just 49 minutes behind him! Katie finished in an amazing time of 1:48:09. Well done Katie, I look forward to the write-up!
We also had Anne running the Baccus half marathon. This race is unique in the UK. It is set at the Denbies wine Estate near Doking and consists of a loop of the vineyards. Each of the 5 aid stations is stocked with wine and has a selection of food and soft drinks as well. There is a hog roast and more food and drink at the finish and a party on into the night. The race is fancy dress and this year Anne and her friend went as Patsy and Edina from Ab Fab and looked amazing! 
This is one race that is most definitely not about posting a fast time or nabbing a PB which is reflected in Anne's time of 5:22:42 for the 13.1 mile course. Another race for the bucket list! Lastly, possibly a race that is NOT on people's bucket list! Founder member Adam S was once again ultra running in Poland, this time at the Polish Mountain Ultra championships in the 100km race. This beast of a race took in 7 valleys in Krynica-Zdroj and had over 12,000ft of elevation. Adam smashed round the course in 13:41:27 and finished 66th out of 543 competitors. If that wasn't enough Adam's wife Magda ran the 35km version which had 4,600ft of elevation. Magda finished in 5:40:27. AMAZING running from our polish contingent!!
Well done to all of our racers this weekend! Next weekend we have another large local race in the Hursley 10km, which I know we have a number of entrants for. We also have the Richmond marathon which will see Glenna make her debut over the 26.1 mile distance.
Couch to 5km
This week sees the launch of our inaugural Couch to 5km programme. This is a 9 week programme to encourage people to take up running. It is based around three sessions a week and starts off as a mix of walking and running. It then builds up to training you to be able to run, without stopping, for 30 minutes.
The course is being organised by Sharon "One R" Smith and run by volunteers from across the running club. Each week we will have one of the three sessions as a group run led and supported by Fit Club members. At the end of the 9 weeks we will organise a graduation run (most probably a parkrun) where we aim to celebrate the success of the programme.
The first session is this Thursday to tie in with the running club's second birthday. Hopefully the new members will join us afterwards for drinks and cake at Number 5 Bridge Street.
This is an excellent programme for us to be able to offer and, if successful, we would like to run it a couple of times a year. As a community club focussed on participation I think it's key that we are able to offer a C25K programme to encourage and support new members into the sport.
Huge thank you to Sharon for taking this on and doing such an amazing job.
parkrun update - 7th September
This week we had 25 Fit Clubbers at 4 different parkrun venues! We had 21 at Winchester, Ben and Shelley at Longrun Meadow in Taunton, Cat M at Richmond Olympic, Canada 🇨🇦and Alice at Salisbury.
There were more amazing PBs:
Ben Smith 18:58 - Winchester
Simon H 26:14 - Winchester
Cat M 26:22 - Richmond Olympic
We also had Shelley celebrating her 50th parkrun! Shelley has run 32 times at Winchester, 7 times at Pollock, 3 times at Leamington and once each at 8 other venues! Shelley has a PB of 24:33. Look forward to seeing you in your new red T-shirt soon.
Congratulations to everyone who ran and volunteered.
Here is a link to the consolidated club report: http://www.parkrun.com/
Thursday 5th Session - One Mile time trail
This Thursday saw us take on our one mile time trail route. We had 22 runners meet up at Garnier Road on a perfect evening for running. The plan for the evening was simple...after a warm-up jog we were to do some strides an the team would then do a timed, measured out-and-back mile before a nice extended cool down jog.We jogged down from Garnier road all the way to the far end of the viaduct. Once there we did started by doing some strides. The purpose of these was to get the muscles warm and get the fast twitch muscle fibres firing! The strides consisted of 5 seconds of sprinting, followed by 10 seconds of jogging. We did this the whole way down the viaduct and back.
Once we were fully warm it was time for the time trail. The route was fairly straight forward. Starting at the far end of the viaduct it was a hard effort all the way to a marker (gnarly old log) about 100m beyond the bridge that crosses the path. Here the runners turned and ran back the way they had come.
I was timing and I must admit I was expecting Charles to be first home, however I was surprised to see the first runner back onto the viaduct was Allen. He held off a late charge by Charles and hung on for a stunning 5:46. First lady home was Jenny L in 6:49.
There were some cracking performances on the day and also some cracking pained running faces!!
After everyone was back we chilled out for a while before having an extended cool down jog via 5 Bridges Road and past St Cross. We cooled down back at Garnier Road before finishing.
Next week we will be back at Abbey Gardens. Following the run we will be heading to Number 5 Bridge Street for our second birthday celebrations. There will be cake!
The Beast - by Alf Rodway
The Beast! Sounds daunting when you say it aloud...... and whilst it is a tough race, it is enjoyable too! A friendly, organised and adventurous running event. I love and get very excited about ‘The Beast’ every year. I have now completed this for the third year in a row and I first got introduced to it by my friend Durrand and have never looked back. The Beast is 12.5 miles of rural running in Dorset, organised by Poole AC and it’s part of the Purbeck trail series!
Around 500-600 people gathered at the start, everyone chatting and bantering. The race brief is short, funny and to the point therefore you’re not hanging around. The race starts and ends within the village of Corfe Castle Common. The beast starts downhill and then you are immediately hit with a steep incline, followed by then a steady incline before being welcomed with some flat ground. You run through woodlands, fields and close to the Dorset coastline whereby the views are stunning. This race is mainly hills and there are some very challenging ones that test your mental strength rather than your physical one.
Along the route, there are stiles to climb over but also provide you a welcome rest as these get backed up unless you a super quick! There are also certain tracks which are single file too so you need to adjust your pace accordingly. No one shows their frustration at a slow runner and fellow runners appreciate your level. There are also obstacles too with branches that you need to duck under, the usual brambles and over grown bushes along with footholes to avoid. With steep downhills and hard climbs at different points, you will feel like you’ve run 16miles and not 12.5!
At the top of some of the steep climbs, I always stop and take a look down at what just been achieved as well as looking left and right to see the stunning Dorset coastline. I was very lucky with the weather being sunny as previously, the last two years it had rained.
As you come close to the finish, you run through fields and in the background is Corfe Castle, which provides a welcome view knowing you’re nearly home. The hill that I ran down at the beginning I am now running up before taking a left onto some flat trail, a small downhill before a small uphill and into the straight for the finish.
Considering my current fitness level, I am happy with my time and this event put back into perspective why I love running. Recovering from injury when it hit me so hard has been frustrating and mentally draining. Despite being back in training and people’s encouragement, I needed an event to drive me on again, The Beast did that! Next year, I will be back and aiming for a PB!
Once you competed in this event, you’ll want to do it again, trust me
Whilst away on holiday, Alfie and I decided to be parkrun tourists!
I will start with Bideford as there is not much to say. You run 3.5 laps around a park whereby the landmarks are a toilet block, a cafe and a community centre. The route is flat and mainly on concrete!
After reaching the top, the view across Devon is spectacular. You run through some lovely forestry woodland before running up a second hill (tougher than the first!) and then to a welcome downhill section to get your breath back.
Along the route, there are stiles to climb over but also provide you a welcome rest as these get backed up unless you a super quick! There are also certain tracks which are single file too so you need to adjust your pace accordingly. No one shows their frustration at a slow runner and fellow runners appreciate your level. There are also obstacles too with branches that you need to duck under, the usual brambles and over grown bushes along with footholes to avoid. With steep downhills and hard climbs at different points, you will feel like you’ve run 16miles and not 12.5!
At the top of some of the steep climbs, I always stop and take a look down at what just been achieved as well as looking left and right to see the stunning Dorset coastline. I was very lucky with the weather being sunny as previously, the last two years it had rained.
As you come close to the finish, you run through fields and in the background is Corfe Castle, which provides a welcome view knowing you’re nearly home. The hill that I ran down at the beginning I am now running up before taking a left onto some flat trail, a small downhill before a small uphill and into the straight for the finish.
Considering my current fitness level, I am happy with my time and this event put back into perspective why I love running. Recovering from injury when it hit me so hard has been frustrating and mentally draining. Despite being back in training and people’s encouragement, I needed an event to drive me on again, The Beast did that! Next year, I will be back and aiming for a PB!
Once you competed in this event, you’ll want to do it again, trust me
Haldon Forest & Bideford Parkruns
Whilst away on holiday, Alfie and I decided to be parkrun tourists!
I will start with Bideford as there is not much to say. You run 3.5 laps around a park whereby the landmarks are a toilet block, a cafe and a community centre. The route is flat and mainly on concrete!
Haldon Forest parkrun was my 25th and it was a beautiful day. The run is undulating and all trail. Around 150 people participate in this event, whereby everyone is friendly and welcoming. The start is flat and then you get hit with a steep hill that wake up your calves.
After reaching the top, the view across Devon is spectacular. You run through some lovely forestry woodland before running up a second hill (tougher than the first!) and then to a welcome downhill section to get your breath back.
The course is 1.5 laps and as you head downhill to the finish onto a small straight, those left at the finish clap you in, which was really nice :).
My son and I headed off to the cafe to get our barcodes scanned and where they have a good choices of breakfast and cakes!
General Announcements
WFC Running Club Calendar
Dates for your diary:
Thursday 12th September - Abbey Gardens, running club 2nd birthday drinks afterwards
Thursday 19th September - River Park Leisure Centre
Thursday 26th September - South Winchester Park and Ride
WFC parkrun Club
Dates for your diary:
Thursday 12th September - Abbey Gardens, running club 2nd birthday drinks afterwards
Thursday 19th September - River Park Leisure Centre
Thursday 26th September - South Winchester Park and Ride
WFC parkrun Club
Winchester Fit Club Runners is set-up as a club with parkrun. If you go into your profile (there is a link to it on the parkrun results email and newsletter email) you can select your club. Change yours to Winchester Fit Club Runners and you will appear in the consolidated club report that we get each week.
WFC Runners WhatsApp Group
There is a WFC Runners WhatsApp chat group where we generally just wang on about running, races and cake. If you are not already part of this then please get in contact with Coach James or Coach Mike who will add you.
WFC Runners Strava Club
If you are a Strava user there is a Winchester Fit Club Runners club page. This can be accessed here: https://www.strava.com/clubs/WFC-Runners. Request to join and we will approve!
Booking onto sessions
Booking onto our training sessions enables the coaches to plan the session accordingly. You can book on in the following location: https://winchesterfitclub.simplybook.it/v2/
Race Calendar
The race calendar is now stored here: https://wfcrunners.blogspot.com/2019/01/race-calendar-2019-and-beyond.html
Race Kit
The full range of kit available to purchase and instructions on how to order can be found in the following link: https://wfcrunners.blogspot.com/2019/01/kit-details-and-prices.html
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