Weekend Round Up 24th 26th December
On behalf of everyone at Tuff Fitty we hope you all had a Merry Christmas. There have been some terrific individual training over the holiday weekend; well done to everyone who ventured out. That still left the following Tuff action as follows:-
TUFF FITTY’s 24 – 24
What started off as a casual suggestion from a Saturday runner about running a Half Marathon on Christmas Eve received a cheeky riposte; why not make it 24km on the 24th? and so the 24 – 24 came into being – Thanks to Mike Barrett for taking up the tale:-
“A great idea which is only going to get better and better. The inaugural 24k on the 24th was marked and now etched firmly in the event’s calendar and for those running in their minds by a crazy elf chasing after the 118 man”.
“It was wet, boggy, muddy, dry, uphill, downhill and lots of fun, never once did it feel like it was hard work. The group rotated with who we ran and chatted to as we were serenaded by Christmas songs from Graham and Hey Google this was more a delight than a drag on a dank Christmas Eve morning.”
Dom, dressed as a member of the Village People, decided he’d arrive as a member of the 118 118 crew. Black curly hair, handle bar moustache, white vest with red bars and 188 logo. Knee length socks. And the icing on the cake! Those high waisted, pulled up to his chin shorts! Not content with that, Mark Walford was fully dressed as an Elf in full glory. Both were absolutely brilliant.”
“By the way the run was great and we finished quicker than it took the café to serve my breakfast!”
“The 24 on 24 in 2023 will be added to the event’s calendar with the additional attributes of dress as either 118 or an Elf. (Watch this space).”
Mike
BOXING DAY SWIM
A Boxing Day tradition is to take the plunge in the sea and this year many Tuffs did just that from the organised meet by our friends @The Beach Cafe – Littlehampton. At the risk of missing several Tuffs in a name call (You know who you were) it is sufficient to say well done to all those several who ran/tiptoed/dived into the water. Thanks to James Brock for answering the call to explain the situation:-
“Never one to shy away from a date with our former captain Jonny Bee. When asked to join him on Boxing Day for a sea swim outside the Beach Cafe I was quick to say yes. The photos of people swimming with Christmas hats on with big smiles was so inviting that I couldn’t wait to get in”.
“On arrival there were so many people! I hadn’t realised what a big event this is! Donned in my DryRobe & looking like a seasoned pro I said hello to all my fellow Tuffs & ran in the sea”.
“The burning heat of the ice cold water (if you know you know) hit my thighs then a wave crashed into my face causing me to swallow a mouthful of salty water. Yuk. My face went numb and I legged it back up the beach whilst still not quite sure what I was doing there and why so many people were still in the water! 1 minute & 36 seconds. Loads of room for improvement……”
Jimbo
ABU DHABI WORLD TRIATHLON CHAMPIONSHIPS
At the end of November Stephen O’Donnell was in Aby Dhabi for the World Championship. Extending his time there for a holiday and then recovering from sickness, Stephen has reported in about his races:-
“I qualified this year for 6 age group events but illness meant I missed one in Spain, and having a baby meant I missed one in Munich. But I qualified for both super sprint and Standard Age Group Triathlons in Abu Dhabi in November. I flew there on Sunday for the events on Thursday and Saturday. Went out on bike Reccee’s in the mornings and managed to hit 47kph on the bike route and felt good. Also did the swim familiarisation and managed the 400m sea swim in 6 mins 30 which was ok for me”.
“On the day of the Super Sprint my age group was the last to start around lunchtime. Water temp was 30C so no wetsuits were allowed. It was a rolling start and I really enjoyed the swim. Think I managed about a 7 min-ish swim on the day. That was followed by an 800 plus meter barefoot run to transition before a 1 loop 10km on the bike. I was about 7th or 8th on the swim. I’m not sure why, but despite pushing hard on the bike I could only manage about 39kph max for a very average 17min 59 sec bike leg. I’ve been struggling with a back injury all year so knew the run was going to be poor. In the mid day sun my Garmin read 45C but managed a 10 min 18 2.5km. So for my first Super Sprint ever, I managed 11th place overall to auto qualify for Spain next year so was happy with that. I later found out that my rear wheel was binding due to some poor wheel alignment issues.
“For my second race I was about 1 min off 7th place and I reckon there is a good 2-3 mins I can knock off for next year IF i can get back to fitness”
“In terms of event. Very well organised flat fast course on the run and bike but suspect the heat and midday breeze blunted many peoples performances”
“I’ve also got back surgery lined up for February 2023 so hopefully that will sort out my running. Roll on 2023. My New Years resolution is to loose 5Kg as well !!”
Stephen
PARKRUN ROUND UP 24th DECEMBER
Littlehampton parkrun saw Steve Fryer complete his 58th parkrun in a swift 20:45. Emily Vaz was close behind finishing as 4th female in 21:21 for her 147th PR. Kev Pearson was next in 23:20, then Rick Budd for his 198th run. Ness Green was our next Tuff home and then Wendy Frost on her second Littlehampton run improving her time. VIcki Hedger crossed the line 2 seconds later to also improve her time over this course. Charlotte Lattin-Rawstrone ran this seafront prom course for the first time. Last week Sheila Bailey paced a friend to a PB so it was great to see her set her own new PB beating her Littlehampton pb by 8 seconds. Kate Evans was next on her 37th parkrun followed by Wendy Kane on her debut at Littlehampton. Nick Hartfield on the organising team meant we had 12 club members running.
Worthing parkrun saw Edward Lay as our fist club member across the line on his 109th run in 23:21. FInishing just 7 seconds behind was Paul Martin. A further 24 second later Les Pearce finished to notch up his 179th PR – 172 of these have been at Worthing. Danny Cunnett also ran well to finish shortly afterwards. Andy Tester was next running along the prom as opposed to his usual swimming alongside it. James Oram continues his comeback to notch up his 130th PR and then Phil Turner finished for his 92nd. Leah Simms was our next runner. Next home running together were Sue & Colin Simpson racking up their 168th & 205th parkruns respectively. Karly Martin saw yet another Tuff complete the Worthing course and then Elaine Rousseau – that was 12 festive Tuffs matching Littlehampton’s Tuff turnout. .
At Bognor parkrun Jason Rae completed his 124th parkrun ahead of being race director on Christmas Day.
Across at Havant Parkrun, Vicky Cooper ran the Staunton Country park course for the third time, achieving a new PB by 9 seconds.
Trevor Harvey ran at Black Park parkrun up at Uxbridge for his 61st parkrun.
Alistair Evans undertook parkrun tourism by running up at Huddersfield parkrun. The course entails a short anticlockwise lap before two further laps around Greenhead park
Congratulations to a Festive 28 Tuffs running
PARKRUN ROUND UP 25th DECEMBER
Not so many parkruns took place on Christmas day, but one that does is Bognor Regis parkrun. Jason Rae is particularly aware that many of the parkrun fraternity live alone and that without their ‘parkrun fix’ they might not see anyone on the big day. Jason is therefore keen to ensure the run takes place so volunteered to be race director again this year to ensure the event continued. A lovely initiative which certainly appealed to the 177 runners who took part. In amongst these was Natham Bilham completing his 89th parkrun
Littlehampton parkrun saw Steve Fryer finish in 21:01 and then Emma Hinton was next. James Oram is a seasoned parkrunner with 120 runs at Worthing alone, but this was James first Littlehampton foray. Vicky Cooper was next notching up her 42nd PR. Sue & Colin Simpson were next adding to their incredible tally of 375 PR’s between them. Rick Budd was next running round with his wife. Claire Moyle ran together with some of her running club members. Nick Hartfield was on the organising team.
Trevor Harvey completed the Maidenhead parkrun
No Worthing or Lancing events were staged but Chichester parkrun saw Emily Vaz finish her 148th parkrun as 4th female overall.
Well done to all 13.
