Bramley Newspaper Articles

Completing a Victory Lap

There is an understanding in the running community, that arriving at race day in one piece, and then completing the event is like running your victory lap. Last month, several members of Southwell Running Club finally completed their victory laps following months of endurance training during the summer.

Tracy Polak achieved her aim of completing the Atlantic Coast Challenge. The route for this amazing accomplishment began near Padstow and took runners along a 78.6 mile route over 3 days finishing at Land’s End. The challenge tests both mental and physical prowess against some of the wildest and more remote coastlines in Britain.  Tracy who completed the challenge in memory of her dad said that she encountered some of the hardest terrain she had ever run including hundreds of steps amid rocky outcrops, sand dunes and long stretches of beach. 

Participating in the far more crowded London Marathon, Adam Smith achieved a PB in a time of 3:18:52. Adam said ‘This is my second marathon and the first time I had run London. The crowds were amazing and the atmosphere just carries you along. I felt really good at mile 18 and just kept pushing. I am overjoyed to gain a new PB and I am already looking forward to my next marathon.

A little further north Carol Hayward ran her 5^th marathon in Manchester in a time of 4:45:21. This year’s new, undulating route took runners into the city centre and then out through Sale to Altrincham before returning to Old Trafford. Despite the late start times Carol said it was a great event with fabulous support along much of the course. 

Finally, following their PBs achieved on the Robin Hood Half, Anthony Gorman and Steven Rice decided to try their legs on a the Thoresby Leaf kick half marathon. Even though it was a wet, muddy and slippery 13.1miles they managed a joint 3^rd place finish in a time of 1:29:21.

If you are currently training for your ‘victory lap’ why not join us one evening.

Ruby Runner 

www.southwellrunningclub.org

In Memory of Richard Durance 

Southwell Running Club was saddened to hear of the untimely death last month of Richard Durance, one of our longest serving members. 

Have you ever sat in a pub and suddenly decided to promise the world to undertake a feat of endurance you know nothing about? Have you gone through with it? No. Nor me. Back before running marathons was a thing, Richard was sitting in a pub when he heard news that one was to be held in London the following year. Despite never having run more than a few miles, he announced he would enter. This is exactly the kind of thing I say every few weeks but, unlike me, he actually did it. 

This turns out to be somewhat characteristic of Richard. As one member of the club put it, Richard had a ‘certain determination of mind’. 

Does running 23 laps around Holme Pierrepont lake for 80 miles sound like fun? How about a 50 mile race in the mountainous terrain of the Copper Canyons in Mexico, home only to drug farmers and the (formerly) forgotten tribe of the Tarahumara ‘running people’? At least the water stations at Holme Pierrepont are not manned by armed guards. 

Richard ran an astonishing 141 marathons in his running career, including ultra-marathons in South Africa and Columbia, and the ridiculous Marathon des Sables - 156 miles in six days across the Sahara. Of all these, he counted London as the most emotional. Not the first one in 1981, but the one he ran in 2009 with his wife, Penny, and daughter, Helen, in their Mum, Dad and daughter T-shirts to ‘much acclaim from the crowds’, which I’m sure is an understatement. 

Richard is survived by Penny, Helen, son Tom and six grandchildren. A vital and inspirational member of the running club, he will be sorely missed by family, friends and running partners alike. 

The Scarlett Pimperrunner 

Richard’s family are raising money for a Lymphoma charity in his memory. All donations gratefully received at https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/SomeoneSpecial/RichardDurance1.

Ironwoman of Southwell 

During the last few weeks while many have been marvelling at the sporting achievements of Team GB in Tokyo, members of Southwell Running Club have taken on their own challenges. 

Most notable was Katherine Hall’s amazing achievement in the Outlaw Triathlon on July 25th. Having competed in a number of smaller distance triathlons Kat had an ultimate dream of completing a long distance triathlon. The Outlaw was a natural choice as it runs through her home area. The Outlaw Triathlon is the equivalent to an ironman event with its 2.4mile swim in the Holme Pierrepont regatta lake, followed by a 112mile bike ride through the beautiful Nottinghamshire Countryside and finishing with a 26.2 mile (marathon distance) run. With friends, family and SRC members cheering her on along the route and perfect weather conditions Kat was able to stick to her race plan and achieve her goal of completing the course in an amazing 13hrs and 8mins. Having experienced several of Kat’s hardcore training sessions it is easy to see why she really is Southwell’s Ironwoman. 

Meanwhile Ian Haigh is working his way through the 50 @50 fell running event which encourages runners to participate in up to 50 fell running events throughout the year. The events, which are primarily based around the north of England in locations such as the Lake District, Peak District and Lancashire, vary in distance from 3 to 32 miles in length. Ian says he’s loving the challenge, which feels a bit like the fell running equivalent of the Tour De France. 

Finally in August Adam Smith and Penny Durance took park in the Holme Pierrepont 10k event which is held on the roads around Holme Pierrepont lake. 

It is great to see our world of running gradually returning to normal and we now look forward to the autumn marathon and half marathon season. 

Ruby Runner 

Southwell Running Club.

In Memory of Mick 

The club held a memorial run for Mick Turley this month which was attended by members of his family and many club members past and present. Mick was a long-standing member of the club and, by the tributes paid to him, clearly touched many people’s lives. Mick is remembered as a kind and caring gentleman who always had time for other runners and always had a smile on his face. 

In other news, the countdown to the London Marathon has finally started. It is just a matter of weeks and, in all too depressing likelihood, two to three COVID variants away. Four members of the club are currently lined up to do it this year. Two qualified with good-for-age times (which means they are almost unfeasibly fast), another won the club-allocated entry, and yours truly, who was lucky through the main ballot. (Which is why I am writing about it of course. As one member put it when I told him, ‘Yes, I know. Everyone knows.’) 

I say, ‘lucky’, but it did not really feel like that when I opened the email telling me I was ‘successful’. I am sure I am not alone in entering year on year but not really expecting to get in. I am ashamed to report that my first reaction to the news was a sickening wrench rather than a glorious leap in my stomach. Still, I am over the shock now and fully committed to the stringent training plan on my wall telling me, and more importantly my wife, that I must go running for long periods every week. 

This is all pretty big fry for me but not, it seems, for most of the rest of the club. Just in the last couple of weeks, and with barely a mention, Ben Parker ran the Milton Keynes Marathon in a time of 3hrs 25 mins (which easily qualifies him for next year’s London Marathon) and Kat Hall ran a brilliant half-marathon time, having already swam for 1.2 miles and cycled for 56 miles at the Outlaw triathlon. 

Congratulations to them and good luck to everyone training for their next big event, whether under the radar or making a song and dance of it! 

The Scarlett Pimperrunner

Sunday Morning Alarm 

You know you’re a runner when your Sunday morning alarm is earlier than your Monday morning alarm! Getting up early on a Sunday to race varying distances in mass participation events is a common occurrence in the life of a committed runner. However, last year’s lockdown brought an abrupt end to these events and many runners have missed that feeling of adrenaline pumping through their veins while they queue for the loo for the 10th time! 

A few weeks ago, I was lucky enough to take part in the Caythorpe Dash Half Marathon; my first real race for over a year. The multi-terrain event takes runners through the beautiful countryside trail paths of Lincolnshire but I’m not quite sure why it’s called a dash as the final 5 miles are basically uphill! 

Southwell Running Club recently restarted its own racing calendar with the 10k Grand Prix in which 23 members participated. Steven Rice led the field home to record a third win in a time of 38:12 and Katy Simpson led the women in a time of 41:39. Other notable times were Pam Dutton 46:34, Jake Brandley 40:36 and Ben Parker 41:17. 

Many members of SRC are starting their training plans in preparation for forthcoming events which include the London and Manchester Marathons, The Atlantic Coast Challenge and the Nottingham Ironman. If you have inadvertently signed up for your first race, or were lucky enough to gain a London Marathon place, and don’t know where to start with your training, come along and join us. We have many experienced runners who can give advice and our training sessions are a great addition to individual training plans, providing you the opportunity to push and challenge yourself in preparation for race day. 

Ruby Runner 

www.southwellrunningclub.org

Over the hills and far away

Nothing can beat going for a country run on a spring evening. Now the dreaded virus has abated somewhat and the rules have relaxed a little, the figurative little ducks are coming back to Mother Southwell Running Club duck. And, boy, is she glad to see them.

Not to imply that any of our members waddle; we are finely tuned athletes.

If you like the idea of running with other people but have been putting off joining a club until you are a little fitter or a little faster, then you are not alone. I was hesitant about joining a club for many years, thinking it would be too serious or too challenging. When I finally took the plunge, I found my fears were totally unfounded. We have runners of all abilities and all ages at SRC and we train together at our own pace. 

No matter your ability I can guarantee that there will be at least one person faster and one person slower than you, so it impossible not to fit in. Instead of waiting until you are fitter to come along, come along first and get fitter with us. It is more fun that way round.

As Supt. Hastings may have said during a particularly fierce SRC committee meeting recently, "There is one thing I am interested in, and one thing only, and that is the joy of running, training and perhaps even competing together in and around the glorious environs of Southwell, over the hills and far away." Come and join us!

The Scarlet Pimperrunner

www.southwellrunningclub.org

P.S. Heartfelt thanks to The Obsessive Runner who penned our articles for this esteemed paper for so many years. I hope you like my nom de plume.