March 2021: Virtual 10K Time Trial ( Fradley equivalent)

26 runners took part in the first 10K virtual challenge of the season, each completing their own 10K course in fabulous personal times.

Incredibly, 60% of our runners managed to beat their target time – even more challenging when running alone!  There continues to be a good spread of performance based on age grade too – with some great personal achievements across each age group.

Coming home first overall for the club was Dan Floyd with a cracking time of 34:54. Close on Dan’s heels was Matt Orford at 35:32. Both Dan and Matt qualified for an age grading of over 75% which is fantastic running. James Pickering took third place in 36:47 beating his own target time by 3%.

First place for the women was taken by Hermione Green who flew through her 10K course in 40:23, closely followed by Esther Hunt who finished in 40:35. Incredible times with both ladies significantly improving from their target times! Sarah Hayman took third place with a commendable 47:42, brilliant running from Sarah who continues to get faster as she settles back into running again.

Overall there were some excellent performances by all – a special call out for Chris Cox, the only Male Vet 70 to compete and completing the course in 51:30.

Full results can be viewed by clicking on the link below:
Mar 10k GP results 2021

This was an unusual race for the GP series but very similar to the 20:21 race we did in January, the goal being to record the furthest distance you could cover in an hour of running. It was a great leveller in that you knew everyone would be putting the effort in over that hour regardless of speed and ability, which helped to keep motivation going during the race.

There were 33 of us who rose to this challenge and a wide spread of distances was recorded. This race distance also gives everyone their average speed in mph! Yet again there were good results in the age gradings with nine runners managing to get over 70%.

In first place for the men was Matt Orford, effortlessly running over ten and a half miles in the given time. Determined not to let Matt have an easy ride was Dan Floyd who came quite close to him in second place with a distance of 10.34 miles. Third place on the podium was filled by Joe Goodwin who could see the 10 mile mark in the distance but ran out of time, settling for 9.77 miles.

The women’s race saw a switch in positions from the last race with Hermione Green coming out on top with a distance of 8.77 miles. Esther Hunt gave a battling run to finish within touching distance in second place with 8.63 miles. Third place went to Radhika McCathie who found the pacing quite tricky but enjoyed the challenge, posting 7.53 miles.

In the middle of the race field there were some very tight results, with four women who finished in positions 6 to 9 separated by only 0.07 miles!

Fun fact: Did you know the world record for the One Hour Run is held by Britain’s own Mo Farah, who ran 13.25 miles on 4th September 2020. The women’s record is 11.76 miles set by Dutchwoman Sifan Hassan on the same day.

Well done to everyone who took part; the next race is the virtual 10k on the 17th to 21st March.

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

Mar 1hr Challenge results 2021

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.