Author: Sam

It was great to see runners taking to the streets of London again and Running Forever had lots of members taking part. First back was Peter Gould in 2.53. Then a trio who were over the line within minutes of each other, Dan Talbot (3.07); Emma Kiernan (3.08) and Ali Bisatt (3.09). Martin Webb was next in 3.46 with Matthew Paul (3.48) and Sam Wharton (3.50) hot on his heels. First time London Marathoner Sally Tuer collected her medal in 4.14, followed by Andrew Phillips (4.18); Arthur Lewis (4.30); Ann-Marie Crampton (4.30) and Jane Cooke (4.47). Completing their first 26.2 distance were Rosie Benneyworth in 4.54 and Tanya Gault (5.35) with Craig Moore heading up the Mall in 5.55. Great effort!Well done to all the Club Virtual London runners who devised their own routes in the local area and ran with friends and Club mates providing the company and support.Clocking distance no 82 in the imaginatively titled Not The London Marathon was Georgina Brice in 5.51.Ray Tutton headed to Scotland for the Loch Ness Marathon, where he finished in 3.47, no word of whether he spotted Nessie on the way.Completing a very hilly Clarendon Marathon in 7.27, Rob Murr’s feet were delighted to see the finish line.Taking on the LDWA Three Circles of Machen event Sue Lewis and Emma Greig walked in 3 hilly circles for 12.47, collecting cake along the way as well as some spectacular views.James Lewes clocked 1.45 for the PB Breaker Half in Glastonbury.Sixteen members took part in the Longrun Meadow parkrun with Sam Cross earning a PB. Tourists headed for Minehead, Jesmond Dene, Sharpham Road and Cranbook Country Park runs.

It was a case of go very long or go short for Running Forever RC club members this week, with little in between.Two intrepid runners took on two very different ultra marathons. First up was Robin Upton, achieving a long held ambition of taking part in the Ultra Tour du Mont Blanc (UTMB) trail running festival in the French Alps. The UTMB races are the pinnacle of ultra marathon running and represent a bucket list event for many, including Robin. Several races are held over one week and Robin took on the very challenging CCC event. The race gets its name from three locations along the route, beginning in Courmayeur in Italy, passing through Champex Lac in Switzerland before finishing in the home town of UTMB, Chamonix in France. The race began on Friday morning and Robin ran through the night to finish on Saturday in 25h53m, after covering 100kms and more than 20,000 feet of climbing, which he somehow managed to enjoy!The second intrepid runner was Andy Burgess, taking on the more local but appropriately named Green Man Challenge, a circumnavigation of Bristol via the 46 mile/74km Community Forest Path. The was marathon/ultra marathon number 78 for Andy, which he completed in 9h32m.The remaining event participants were all running the short and sharp 5km parkrun distance. It’s clearly still holiday season because we had 10 runners out and about in such diverse locations as Pontypool, London and the Isle of White. A further 26 club members took on the local parkrun course of two laps around Longrun Meadow, with personal best times for Sherri Dingle and Dan Devlin.

As lockdown lifted, Running Forever athletes donned their race vests and set about making up for lost time.An intrepid trio headed for Dorset for the Endurance Life Ultra. Always a tough event, this was even tougher this year as the weather wasn’t kind. First of our athletes home was Martin Webb, whose 6.32 made him a top 10 finisher in the event. Sam Wharton made it home in 7.46 with Dave Marshall completing the 33 gruelling miles in 7.51.Marathon machine Georgina Brice clocked up her 60th and 61st over the weekend at the Phoenix Running event. Clocking 5.19 on Saturday and 5.04 on Sunday, Georgie also collected a trophy for being the 20,000th Phoenix Finisher.Michael Turk clocked yet another Half Marathon PB at Dorney Lake with his 1.47 finish, his lockdown training obviously paying dividends.Club runs have now resumed in an EA approved Covid secure environment and are open to Club members only. New members always welcome.

Running Forever activity this week was a case of the long and the short of it! Andy Higham made the trip to the North Yorkshire Moors to take on the Hardmoors 55 ultra. With a lot of ascent and not the best of weather, Andy completed the 55 miles in 14.09.Tuesday night saw Nick Brazier travel to Exmouth for the first race in the Run Exe Winter 5 mile series and earn himself a PB of 33.24 for the distance. Even though events are still scarce, the Club members are still very active with organised groups taking to the streets and trails on Tuesday, Wednesday and Sunday, with a coached session on a Monday. As an English Athletics affiliated Club, all our runs are open to a maximum of 10 athletes per session, as per the EA guidelines for organised outdoor sport during Covid restrictions. These runs are open to club members only and must be booked via our online system. We are always happy to welcome new members to our incredibly supportive Club with memberships from £10 per year.

A sizeable contingent of Running Forever athletes took to the Exmoor trails for the Trail Weekend events. A hardy trio took on the marathon distance which involved 5800 feet of climb and was on the ‘generous’ side for the distance. Jonathan Newby crossed the line in 6.33, Scott Weetch in 6.47 and Rob Murr in 8.05.The Half Marathon was also offering a generous amount of miles and climb (17 and 1100 metres) which made it a challenge for our runners. Andrew Saunders was first home in club colours with his 3.31; Sally Tuer completed in 4.01; Darren Purchase and Simon Rowland made it back in a socially distanced 4.06 and well done to Tanya Gault who, in her first trail outing, collected her medal in 5.49 having run for over 20 miles. Trail isn’t easy but the photos from the day prove it’s very scenic.Also not making things easy for themselves, Robert Harris and Chris Gunn travelled to Dorset for the Hellstone Marathon which also involved a lot of ups and downs, finishing in 4.39 and 5.29 respectively.Georgina Brice made it double bubble this weekend with back to back marathons courtesy of Phoenix Running. Clocking a 5.25 in Saturday’s Walkman event and 5.35 in the Cyclops on Sunday for a great effort.Michael Turk made the journey to Newbury racecourse for a Half on Sunday, clocking a 1.59 finish.

An intrepid duo of Running Forever athletes fancied a day at the seaside so, in true RFRC fashion, they didn’t take the car, but took part in the Run to The Seaside 50K event. After a run through some beautiful Dorset countryside, Martin Webb got his toes wet in 4.15, with Rob Murr hitting the sand in 6.18.
Sandra Moffat took on the imaginatively named Race with No Witty Name ultra. Looked like a bit of mud fest from the photos so well done on completing the 50K (and a bit more) in 7 hours.
It was PB time for Michael Turk on Sunday where he took an amazing 19 minutes off his half marathon PB for a 1.54 finish at Dorney Lake.

Whilst a small group of elite athletes ran round in circles for this year’s London Marathon, the Running Forever London entrants took advantage of the beautiful but soggy Somerset countryside to earn their medals virtually. For some it was their first attempt at the distance and, whilst they didn’t have the support of millions on the streets of London, they had the support of their friends family and the Club to get them through.
Sally Tuer and Ann-Marie Crampton ran together for a 4.24 finish. Andrew Phillips clocked 4.44 and first time marathoner Emily Vining hitting the mark in 4.57. For her first time at the distance, Steph Andrews reached her front door in 6.41. Ray Tutton ran his virtual Brighton marathon in 4.03.
The conditions at the weekend weren’t exactly conducive to a long run so the achievements of our trio who headed for the North Coast events were particularly hard earned. Martin Webb took on the 110 mile challenge and beat the weather to get to the finish in a stonking 29.54, fuelled by a few pasties on the way. Robin Upon and Georgina Brice took the “shorter” challenge of 110km which they battled through to finish in 21.35 and 26.16 respectively.
Awesome stuff!

A surprisingly busy weekend for Running Forever members! Early on Friday morning Martin Webb and Ali Bisatt set off on the Paddy Buckley Round. This is a gruelling fell running event covering more than 100km and 47 of North Wales highest peaks. The pair were ably supported by Jonathan Newby, who stepped in to keep Martin company for the last leg after Ali Bisatt sadly had to pull out, finally arriving at the finish on Saturday afternoon.Our largest contingent took part in Race the Tide, a trail event in South Devon with a variety of distance options. Andrew Saunders and Sally Tuer took part in the Half Marathon finishing in 2:14 and 2:57 respectively. Seven members took part in the marathon. Dean Bennett was first of our members home safely in 4:29, followed by Fintan Murray and Mark Wilson finishing together in 5:52, Sam Wharton 5:53, Mercedes Thorne 6h:16 and Peter Hall 6:18. Sadly Rob Murr retired injured at 20 miles but special mention must be made for Mercedes and Mark who chose to make this tough event their first marathon. Finally, it wouldn’t be a normal RFRC weekend if our Georgie didn’t do something spectacular. This weekend Georgina Brice completed her 55th marathon and earned a whopping medal by completing the Hercules Labour 5 marathon in a time of 5:19:06. Well done Georgie!

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Last weekend many Running Forever members travelled the short distance to take part in the Channel Events Exmoor Perambulation, which is based in Simonsbath and accesses some beautiful areas of the National Park. This challenging event offers running and walking options as well as a full 30 mile event or a 15 mile half.
In the 30 mile event, Dean Bennett ran an amazing 5.44 to be second finisher. Andy Burgess clocked a 6.55 with Robin Upton and Andy Higham both crossing the line in 7.10; Dave Marshall finished just behind them in 7.15. John Hunt and Peter Hall completed the event in 8.31 and 8.41 respectively.
Taking the walking option, Ali Bisatt marched to the finish in 9.37, Rob Murr completed his 50th marathon/ultra event in 10.19 with Emma Greig and Sue Lewis both recording 10.41 for the distance.
In the 15 mile event, Mark Wilson and Fintan Murry were both home in 3.36.
On Wednesday night Nick Brazier was delighted to record a 19.34 PB at the Exeter Turn and Burn 5K race.
Chris Adams took part in the Severn Bridge 10K this weekend and completed the event in 56.14 on a lovely sunny day.
A reminder that all Club sessions have restarted but with Covid safe rules. All coached sessions and runs must be pre-booked and are available to members only. New members always welcome please visit the website or message us for details.

Over the last couple of sundays we have successfully piloted a new approach to our group runs and we are now ready to reintroduce more runs on our usual club nights.Club members can now book to participate in a coaching session on Mondays, trail runs on Tuesdays, club night runs on Wednesdays and a variety of sunday runs. All of these runs are dependent on the availability of group leaders and booking is mandatory. We are so happy to be able to start running in small groups again (just look at those faces!) and we thank our members for understanding our cautious approach and being respectful of our guidelines.