A great turnout of 42 runners took part in the opening 5k TT this season and posted some amazing times to boot. In fact, 10 runners managed to beat their target time which is fantastic considering that the season has just started! Also, 9 runners managed an age grading of over 70%, showing great strength across the ages.

Flying along and finishing first for the men was Matt Orford, posting a healthy 17:08. Tom Hodgson was one of the 10 that beat their previous best and ran a super-fast 17:55 to come second – amazing to do outside of proper race conditions. Third place was claimed by Joe Goodwin who is perturbed by his inclusion in the VM50 group (too soon!) – his time was 18:30.

First for the women was Esther Hunt in a personal best time of 19:45. This fast lady took nearly a minute and a half off her previous best TT time – it’s very hard to shave off of chunks of time like that so big kudos to her! With a time of 21:50 was Hermione Green, who ‘felt completely yak from start to finish’ but still did enough to claim second spot. In third place was Sarah Hayman who is returning to form with a time of 22:33 – watch out everyone!

Full results can be viewed by clicking on the link below:

Final Feb 5k TT results 2021

Sadly, the Rugeley 10 Mile race which would have been our first Grand Prix race, was cancelled (again) due to the ongoing epidemic but we didn’t let that inconvenient circumstance stop us from racing in a socially distant way.

31 of us took to the streets and country roads around Lichfield (and Burton), dodging wintry weather spells.

The weather was expected to turn sour on Saturday/Sunday but held off long enough to give decent running conditions for those who chose to race at the weekend. And those conditions proved to be fruitful as several runners managed to make new Personal Best times.

Dan Floyd came first for the men and was the only person to post a time under the hour mark, getting there with several minutes to spare. Tom Hodgson came second with a new PB, showing fine form in lockdown. In third place was Jimmy Pickering, who suffered a stitch but still ran strongly to reach the podium.

Hermione Green powered round to be the fastest woman and got a new PB for her efforts. Not far behind was Esther Hunt with a superb effort showing she has form over longer distances. In third place was Radhika McCathie who ran a second a mile faster than 4^th place.

Extra mention to Keith Lowther who also ran a 10-mile PB – well done!

Full results can be viewed by clicking on the link below:

Rugeley 10M Results 2021

20:21 Virtual Time Trial

This race was a little bit different, in that the challenge was to run as far as you can in 20 minutes 21 seconds, instead of the more usual fastest time over a set distance.

We chose the time of 20:21 to reflect a moving on from the difficult year that was 2020, but also to give a bit of excitement in a month where no races were planned.

And we are pleased to announce that 22 of you found the time and energy between snowfalls and ice blasts to go out and give it your all in that peculiar time slot!

Mother Nature decided to put a damper on things by dropping a ton of snow, causing an inevitable extension of the competition time. After the whiteout, the weather improved to give ideal running conditions and more people went out and showed everyone that they had kept form over the dark days of winter.

The winner for the women was Sarah Hayman who managed 2.75 miles. The men’s competition resulted in a tie for first place between Joseph Goodwin and Thomas Hodgson who ran 3.38 miles.

Full results can be viewed by clicking on the link below:

2021 Challenge Results

If you can think back to start of the year ( which seems a life time ago now !)  we held a club survey to hear your ideas about what you would like from your membership in the future.

Although we are currently going through an unusual time, we wanted to share the outputs with you all so you can see what we are planning to do based on your responses – when we are able to!  A short summary, along with the full results can be accessed by following the links below for those of you who would like to look at the details.

Thanks again to everyone who took the time to participate.

LRC Membership Survey: Full Results

LRC Membership Survey: Executive Summary

6th May 2020 was the 66th anniversary of Roger Bannister being the first man to run a mile in under four minutes. In honour of this anniversary a club one off ‘virtual’ 1 mile competition was held. Club members were invited to run a 1 mile course from home, and to submit their times; 44 athletes took part and many impressive performances  were achieved over this unusual distance. Fastest man home was Dan Floyd; fastest woman was Esther Hunt. Results can be viewed by clicking the link below.

Roger Bannister ‘virtual’ 1 mile race

• A summary of the membership survey will be produced for circulation.

• 4 new members were admitted to the club. So far, 117 members have renewed for the upcoming year, with more renewals expected.

• Dan Floyd has stepped down from the committee and as men’s captain.  His various roles will be filled as follows:

• Men’s captain: Joe Goodwin has been approached to take on the role of interim men’s captain until the AGM, where it will be an elected post. Dave Sanders has volunteered to be interim vice-captain.

• Cross country liaison: The cross country season has now finished. For next year, one or more of the regular participants will be asked to provide updates, or if willing, to join the committee in order to ensure that communication about cross country events across the whole club is maintained.

• BDSL liaison: Andy Parker agreed to attend the next meeting of the Burton and District Summer League.

• Results processing: All club competition results’ processing is being handled by Jon Wolfe and Dave Sanders.

• Committee membership: Further representation from ‘A Group’ runners will be invited.

• Following the success of running-related talks over recent months, possible future events were discussed. Offers have been received from a number of experts in nutrition and strength and conditioning; these will be followed up over the next few weeks.

The Stafford Half Marathon attracted an impressive field of over 1,800 runners, including 20 from Lichfield Running Club. The event was extremely well managed and organised, and the atmosphere upbeat throughout the 13.1 mile route. Along the way there were various moments of surprise support from non-running Lichfield members who spurred competitors on, along with members of the public, undeterred by the damp weather.

First home for the club was Daniel Floyd, finishing in 17th position overall, followed by James Coombes and Joe Goodwin.  First female back was Lauren Foulds, followed by Radhika McCathie. Special mention goes to Melissa Farmer, who ran her first half (in place of the cancelled London Landmarks Half Marathon) a few weeks ahead of schedule, raising money for her chosen charity, Tommy’s, in the process.

Huge congratulations to everyone who took part. Great efforts, great results and a great event. 

Sunday 8th March saw the  first race in the Grand Prix  for 2020! It was a great sunny morning at Fradley 10k, not quite as gusty as last year!

Well done to all 20+ LRC members who took part; there were great performances all round, with  PBs achieved and lots of big smiles!

First male home for LRC was Ryan Simms; first female was Hermione Green.

Great turnout & great support!

There was a good turn out from LRC for race 2 of the Off Road Series, the Dirty Dozen, on Cannock Chase on 29th February. Last year there were perfect conditions for the run as it took place on the warmest February day on record. This year was much colder, muddier and slippier as Storm Jorge hit the Chase and there was a bit of snow in the air.It was also a new route and at 14.5 km was a bit longer than the dozen km it was supposed to be. The ‘Ditch of Doom’ was colder and fuller than ever and was a struggle to get out of: a rubber duck was spotted in it when Yvonne, Jo and Emma swam through. Well done to everyone from LRC who took part. It was a tough race!