Bramley Newspaper Articles

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!

SRC County Runners

I have mentioned in a previous article that you have a great sense of pride wearing your club vest when taking part in events, but that must be felt even more when you represent your county and don the Nottinghamshire green vest. Two of our very own Southwell Runners, Dan Wheat and Sam Hatton (formerly Ward) had the honour of representing Nottinghamshire as part of a team in the recent Intercounties Fell Race. They were selected off the back of their performance at the Wolfs Pit Fell Race earlier in the year. Every year different races are picked to host the event and this year the Flower Scar Fell Race in Todmorden was chosen. Dan and Sam were up against some of the best fell runners in the country and they did themselves and Nottinghamshire proud. The Nottinghamshire mens team had their best ever finish, coming 14th out of 20 teams and the ladies team came 10th out of 10 teams. Not bad for a county that doesn’t have very big hills. There are also so many other things that happened during May, SRC held the first of our in-house club Grand Prix series. 19 members took part and newcomer Adam Carney pushed Steven Rice all the way in a great race. There was also the second of the Summer League races where SRC put in a great performance through our 14 runners. If you are keen to learn how you can also take part, then please go to www.southwellrunningclub.org