Bramley Newspaper Articles

Before I share some of the feats and achievements of some of our runners, I want to congratulate Brian Jobe for taking on the role of chairperson for the club.

The committee and other members have done a fantastic job over the last several months, but it is a great start to the year to have such a fantastic person taking on such a pivotal role within the club. We all wish Brian the best of luck and I know he can help take the club forward. January saw the start of the East Midlands cross country league and two races have already passed out of the four event series. The first race was at Bramcote and we had a great turnout, four men runners and three ladies representing the club. There were two 21st place finishes, Adam Carney for the men's team and Pam Dutton for the ladies. The next race took us to Holme Pierrepont. Whilst this is a flatter cross country course, it certainly isn't any easier. Again we had a great turn out including Adam Carney, Paul Grogan, Ben Parker, Loraine Fozzard, Michelle Hall and Nicola Blatherwick, who all did a fantastic job representing the club.

On top of having a new chairperson we also have some exciting things happening at the club including social pub runs, track session training and the Pitt HIll predictor. So if you want to know more please go to www.southwellrunningclub.org and find out how you can get involved.

The Obsessive Runner

SRC Christmas Celebrations 

Another year has passed and Southwell Running Club held their annual Christmas dinner where all members and partners were welcome to celebrate festivities and some of the achievements of their fellow club members. This year we had a fantastic turnout and 40 people enjoyed the great food and hospitality given by the Admiral Rodney and their staff. Thankfully I do not have to get involved in making any decisions when it comes to who gets the awards as there are many deserved winners, but I do not think there can be any arguments with who actually won the awards on the night. Paul Grogan won the Chairperson’s award and Ian Haigh won the Runners Runner award. Both awards recognise all the help Paul and Ian give to the club with training, encouraging others, always turning up for the team events and being great assets to the club. Steven Rice won the Outstanding Achievement award for a great year of running and several PB’s. Paul Orton won a Special Recognition award for completing the Dragon’s Back race. Dick Durance won the Mary Cochran award, given to someone who inspires and continues to achieve so much in the face of adversity and Dick definitely more than deserves this award. There were also awards for our grand prix and Halam Hat Chase winnners Steven Rice, Michelle Hall and Pam Dutton. A special thanks goes to Sam Hatton and Kat Hall for organising this night and here is to another year of inspirational moments!

Weather for Ducks, Not Runners

Despite the wet and miserable weather in recent weeks (and there has certainlnly been plenty of wet weather), Southwell runners have still been busy on the roads and on the trails taking part in events and training.

This includes the cross country season, which is now in full swing. The latest event in the four part series was held in Corby. The North Midlands League is highly competitive and sees some of the best runners take part from as far south as Northampton up to Buxton.

To finish in the top 100 is a great achievement in these races and James Stubbs had an excellent run to finish 96th on the day. Paul Grogan, Ian Haigh and Ben Parker also took part. All of them did exceptionally well, finishing high up within the field.

Also in November was the last of the club Grand Prix series. The last event to count in this series was the hilly Parkrun at Gedling Country Park. The turnout was amazing and 10 Southwell runners took on the lungbusting 5km course. Both Brendan Parkinson and Ben Parker finished first in their age category.

Tueday evening training session attendance has been staggering , with over 30 runners taking part. We would still love to see more people join us and experience this welcoming club which can offer something for everyone. Please visit our website www.southwellrunningclub.org or join us at 6.45pm in the Southwell Leisure Centre car park.

The Obsessive Runner

TEAM SRC

I may be biased, but for me the UKA Fell Relays are one of, if not the main highlight in the running calendar. You are competing against the best fell runners in the country as an individual, but also as a team. I cannot describe how good the atmosphere is throughout the day, you have to be there to believe it and eighteen participants and three spectators, all club members, can testify how good this day is. Any local resident knows we do not live in a particularly hilly area, so to have a quarter of our running club take part, is unbelievable! SRC entered three teams of six. Two men’s teams and our very first ladies team. Every team runs four different legs, each different to the next with their own individual challenges. The first and fourth legs, are short in distance, very fast, but with plenty of hills involved. The second leg is run as a pair; this is a longer leg with plenty of climb involved. Finally, leg three which is a pairs leg where you have to navigate to different checkpoints. Every team did well, the men’s teams finished 72nd and 93rd and the ladies team finished 223rd. At SRC we are regularly taking part in individual and team events, which are well supported and are also great social events, so if you want to be a part of this fantastic club, then please visit www.southwellrunningclub.org to find out how you can get involved.

It's Coming Home!

Every year Southwell Running Club hosts The Bramley Challenge.

This is a five mile race that is participated in by runners from Southwell, Holme Pierrepont, Newark Striders and Notfast running clubs. The overall winner of this event is the team with the lowest average finishing position based on the number of runners that take part. Due to us hosting the event and the fact we have not won the trophy for the past two years, the pressure was on to reclaim the trophy that should rightly be ours. Tension and nerves were high on the night as we could not have another year go by where the trophy went to a competitor, but our 17 runners shone through and performed valiantly bringing the trophy back to Southwell. Only time will tell if we can retain the trophy next year and any help from new runners would be welcome.

Another performance that cannot go by without being mentioned was by Jon Newsum-Smith. Jon took part in the Equinox 24 Hour Challenge. This event sees runners enter either as teams or individuals running as many 10k laps as they can over a 24 hour period (this includes running through the night). Jon took part in this event with colleagues from Tuxford School. Jon ran an incredible six laps and his team completed 26 in total. Not only was this an amazing feat, but it was all done for a very worthy cause which was The Brain Tumour Charity.

Obsessive Runner

In for the long run 

 Over the past month there has been a great amount of grit and determination shown by some of our club members. Hopefully their stories will give some justification to the efforts and sacrifice they have put in to get ready for these events and to get through them. In no order of merit I will start with Paul Orton, who completed one of the toughest multi-day running races in the UK; the Dragon’s Back Race. I have been assured that no dragons were hurt or involved in this race, but it is simply named this as the route literally goes from South to North through the middles of Wales. The route is 315km with 15,500m of ascent. Not only do you have to tackle this incredible distance over 5 days, but you have to navigate and meet strict cut off times. Paul completed this amazing feat in an astounding 73 hours, 42 minutes and 27 seconds! The second event I want to tell you about takes place over a week in and around Newark; the Gordon Whelbourn week. This consists of 5 races over 5 nights, 4 back to back 5k races and a 10k race to finish. Now you’re probably thinking this doesn’t have the same distance as the DBR, but I can vouch that pushing yourself over back to back nights takes its toll on your legs. Steven Rice, Katy Simpson and Andy Thorne, all felt this pain and came through with great results. Well done SRC members!