One of our intrepid members, Ute Baird, regularly runs in ultra marathons.  (see our news item from last August when she took on the Swiss Irontrail 125K)  She recently took part in the Ultra Sierra Nevada race, coming 3rd in her age group and was the 7th woman home.  Well done Ute for another fantastic achievement!  Ute reports:

Last Saturday I took part in the Ultra Sierra Nevada 102km total ascend of  6050m and descends 4900. In the last 20km there are two vertical km. You pass the finish but first you have to get up 1000m in 4.4km on rough terrain incl mountain bike trails to the highest point of the race at 3100m and then back down over 7.4km.

It was very hot during the day in Granada (altitude 800m)  39 – 40 degrees. The race started at 12am midnight, it was a bit cooler but not that much. At altitude it was a bit better and some wind. I guzzled down 11 litres of electrolyte drinks in just under 20 hours and still was a bit dehydrated.

Overall it was a demanding technical race.  I came 7th in the women and 3rd age group.

First picture is at the beginning, a loop round Granada. Lots of steps. Great background the Alhambra Palace

The last climb being in a world of pain, my quats were hurting. But the I noted the camera man in this picture!

The smile at the finish is genuine!

Leaving for Chamonix on 29 July to prepare for the Ultratrail Tour du Mont Blanc 170km D+10,000m. Much easier terrain.

On 9th January 2016, one of our (now quite famous!) members Javed Bhatti, was one of only 24 runners to complete the Montane Spine Race, which is a gruelling week-long 268-mile journey along the full length of the Pennine Way, which goes from Edale in the Peak District to Kirk Yetholm on the Scottish border.. However instead of relaxing and congratulating himself on completing this race again,  instead he turned around and ran it all again in reverse, a return journey that took him a further eight days.  It is believed this is the first time that anyone has done two Pennine Ways back to back in winter. In total he’s covered 536 miles in just over 15 days and so far raised over £4000 for Mountain Rescue.

Enduring cold and wet conditions, Javed was able to complete his adventure in under two weeks. Two weeks of intense and gruelling racing in mountainous terrain. A huge personal achievement, but also raising money for Mountain Rescue.

Many congratulations on a brilliant achievement Javed. For those of us at Lichfield Running Club who have had the pleasure of running with him, they will know him to be a fantastic guy whose enthusiasm for the sport appears boundless!

Below are links to news articles detailing this achievement and another to his Just Giving page.

http://www.grough.co.uk/magazine/2016/01/24/runner-javed-bhatti-arrives-at-edale-to-complete-amazing-double-pennine-way-run

http://www.ukhillwalking.com/articles/page.php?id=8161

https://www.justgiving.com/Javed-Bhatti2/

Wednesday 20th July saw the latest 5 mile summer time trial – and summer it was indeed. With temperatures around 27 degrees, this was one of the hottest time trials in a very long time.  A big well done to everyone who took part.

Congratulations also go to our Improvers, who ran a full 10K distance over and above this route.  A fantastic achievement and testament to the hard work that has been put in over the last 9 weeks.

As a result of all this activity we needed a lot of helpers and marshalls.  Many of our members, (and their partners and children!) turned up to provide support for the runners.  Thank you very much to all the volunteers.  Another successful grand prix event!

Draft results of the time trial are:

John Doyle 30.45
Richard 0’Sullivan 31.15
Timon Scheven 31.48
Jon Wolfe 32.02
John Hayman 32.17
Jon Corpe 32.20
Andy Walsh 32.32
Steve Rivers 32.40
Nick Parker 33.45
Dan Floyd 34.45
Ed Coppinger 35.58
Simon Griffiths 36.17
Martin Shortall 35.54
Matt Vale 37.12
Tim Nicholls 37.42
Pakidam Kolani 38.18
James Taylor 38.34
Lawrence Yeomans 38.40
Phil Sutcliffe 40.11
John Keegan 40.17
Neil Weyham 40.58
Lorraine Amos 41.32
Steve Williams 42.31
Ruth Kennedy-Green 43.32
Alan Pritchard 43.47
Ruth Needham 44.10
Karen Riley 47.36
Keith Kerwin  49.16   Guest
Lisa Parry 49.49
Helen King 50.03
Louise Hinsley 51.23
Anna Sanders 51.24
Rob Bagley 51.58
Hilary Carter 58.34
Bob Houghton 58.36

As always Lichfield Running Club had a really good turnout to this family fun event in the grounds of Shugborough Hall, despite the last minute change of date due to the wet weather.

We had 9 teams entered – results can be found here.  Congratulations to all who helped co ordinate this event as well as the participants.  Special mentions go to our runners from our latest beginners and improvers courses.

http://my4.raceresult.com/45839/results?lang=en

“ Great buzz and team atmosphere. Good to see some family members out too – i.e “ Team Stubbs” as it means everyone can get involved in both running and supporting. Really enjoyed it.”  Lorraine Amos.

Many congratulations to all our runners who ran the very wet Aldridge 10K, one of our regular Grand Prix races, on Sunday 12th June. 

Special mentions to Richard O’Sullivan, who finished 1st in the veteran 40 group and 8th overall.  Also Sarah Dauncey who was the second woman home in a blistering time of 39.57.  

There were numerous personal bests recorded from our members –Well done to everyone who braved the very wet weather! Congratulations too to Alex Jackson (son of club member Cass Jackson) who won the 4.3k race in a time of 18:51.

Full results can be found at http://www.stuweb.co.uk/race/1cH/club/7581_lichfield+running+club

Sunday 1st May saw the 2016 Lichfield Half Marathon take place following a week of unpredictable weather, including snow and hail.  Fortunately our runners were pleased to avoid most of the worst weather, with the day being overcast and cool, with only a few short drizzly spells. We had a really good turnout from the club, with 23 runners registered as club members.  Our first club member home was Richard O’Sullivan, in 1 hour 21 minutes, followed a minute later by Jon Wolfe, who ran a personal best.  First woman back home (and another personal best!) was Rachel Tole in 1 hour 43 minutes.  We also had several of our runners for whom this event was their first half marathon. Many congratulations to all our members who had trained hard for this.

Results can be found at http://www.stuweb.co.uk/race/1bG/club/7581_lichfield+running+club

Many congratulations to one of our newer members, Ute Baird, who has just completed the Swiss Irontrail 125km ultra-trail.  This is considered to be one of the most beautiful trail runs in the world. Starting and finishing at Davos, the run is the most challenging and longest trail run in the Alps.

Ute came in 5th place, and 2nd in her age group. A fantastic achievement.

Ute describes the race, “I have been racing the Swiss Irontrail 125km D+7000m last weekend.

A challenging race with over 26km at altitudes above 2500m. I was caught up in a storm when I was between 2800 and 2600m..”

We are pleased to advise we are running “taster sessions” for any potential members-to-be in October.  These will be run every Wednesdays in October, at 7.15pm.  They are likely to last approximately 40 minutes to an hour and are free of charge.  These aren’t a course in that they won’t be progressive, but designed to give an idea of what our club can offer you.   Newcomers will be very welcome and they are suitable for a range of abilities.  However, as with our regular club sessions, we ask that participants are able to run steadily for 5K, at any pace.  Follow our facebook page to find out more.

Any of us who have run with (or in my case behind) Emma Funnell know that she is one of our best lady runners.  However she’s really outdone herself this time! Huge well done to Emma for not only completing her first ultra race, but being the winning lady, and second home overall!

A big well done from all of us at Lichfield Running Club Emma.  Her report is below. (Emma is on the left!)

“The race was called the 50 Mile Challenge, run by a small company called Challenge Hub, in Kent.

The challenge I did was that we had 15 hours to run/walk/crawl your way through as much of the 52.9 mile course as you could. It was made up of 8 x 6.6 mile laps around a couple of farms, mostly off-road, in a wonky figure-eight pattern. The organizers were fantastic – really kind, super supportive and totally dedicated – they were all there from before 6am (when the run started) to after 9pm (when the race finished). We were given loads of encouragement and training tips to help us get through. The majority of the 87/100 people who entered completed the whole thing, but you had the option to stop and back out at any time and everyone was made to feel a winner regardless of when they finished and how far they managed. The run attracted all sorts of people with all sorts of ages. Some walked the whole way, one man dragged a tyre with him the whole way – he was training for a sled race in the Arctic later on this year! Everyone was super friendly and we all helped each other out.

It was my first official ultra and I had never run that far before (previous longest having been 33miles) – so I had no idea what to expect or how I would feel during or after. I got there early evening the night before and camped at the run “base” – with some others! I kept to a steady, slower pace than usual during the run and was surprised to find that I could keep it up indefinitely without feeling any sort of fatigue at any point. I felt no pains or stiffness of any kind all the way through, and I made sure to keep hydrated and filled with food as I went along – easy to do with all the snack stations at different points along the course! The loops were uneven with some hills, but nothing like Eastern Avenue! It was mostly really sunny throughout the run, but with an hour of pouring rain near the start, which personally I enjoyed as it was more like running back in Lichfield temperatures!

I finished in a much quicker time than I expected to: 9 hours 15 mins. Shockingly, I was the first woman home and set a new course record!! I was also the second person home overall!!”

A massive achievement – well done Emma!  If you would like to find out more about this race, visit http://www.challengehub.co.uk/about-challenges/about-50-mile-challenge.

Many congratulations to Cass Jackson, who won her age category at the Mauritius Half Marathon at the weekend and did an excellent job of providing our club with some quality international marketing!

Cass describes the race, “I left for the race at 6 o’clock in the morning. I thought the weather would be great but it’s an anti cyclone here at the moment so there’s really high winds and rain. I thought I might get blown away or hit by a falling coconut!!!

Anyway we set off at 7am and it was fine for about 15k when the wind really picked up. Blimey it was hard!! But I battled on. And it was worth it! I won a coconut !! Won my age category so there is indeed a podium shot!!” Well done Cass.