Weekend Round Up 11th 12th February
Tuff Fitty’s Saturday morning training runs continue to attract members with several of the regulars coming up with varied routes to follow. As well as this Arundel based run, that still saw Tuffs out at four races and numerous others at parkruns, plus parkrun results from the previous week as no known race action seen.
OUTRUN CANCER – ARUNDEL
As a charity close to Tuff Fitty’s heart it was gratifying to see so many Tuffs at the start line for the Arundel leg of Outrun Cancer’s fundraising runs. At approximately 4 miles there were plenty of undulations packed in, but definitely a case of quantity AND quality with six Tuffs in the top 11. Congratulations to Simon Thistlethwaite & Mark Walford 1st & 2nd overall. Then 5th home Barry Davids, 8th & first lady overall – Esther Fair. 10th and 11th respectively were Jon Babbage & Adrian Oliver. The results kept being added to as Kev Pearson, Mark Sole, Vicki Hedger, Janet Shepherd, Hazel Reilly, Jenny Oliver, Sue Pinky & Paul Thomas crossed the line. Well done to all 14 18% of the total field. We had two roving reporters – firstly Esther Fair and then Captain Adrian: –
“As a personal trainer specialising in cancer rehabilitation, Outrun Cancer is a run that felt close to my heart. Having a horrible cold the previous few days was not going to stop me running it but it didn’t make it the most comfortable of runs”.
“As we line up Adrian says, “you might win this,…the fast ones aren’t here!” (hhmmm, I think there’s a compliment in there somewhere!) SO, with that seed planted off we go!”
“It was a lovely scenic route, but those hills just kept on coming. Who knew that 4 miles could feel so challenging. With so many Tuffs running and cheering each other on, although the body was aching it was impossible to not enjoy the run. And it wasn’t just the Tuffs, this has to be one of the friendliest runs I’ve done in a while, everyone seemed to be cheering everyone. And coming in as first lady made it even better!”
“As a new member of the club, I definitely felt uplifted being part of the team and look forward to many more events”.
Esther
“All the Tuff Big Guns were out at Outrun Cancer at Arundel – no chance of a sneaky win with the elite Tuffs Simon, Mark, Barry, Esther and Jon out!”
“Sunday’s forecast delivered – cold but sunny and calm! After the race briefing, we were off down Arundel’s Mill Road, passed Swanbourne Lake, past the Black Rabbit pub, then out towards South Stoke for the turn-around before heading back on the undulating route”.
“Being an out-and-back course, you got to see the large contingent of smiling Tuff colours out supporting this fantastic charity event on such a beautiful sunny morning on this lovely course”
“Simon Thistlethwaite, disappointed in his 2022 race to be beaten to 4th place by a canicross team, was taking no prisoners as he powered past Mark Walford to take 1st place, with Mark in 2nd. Esther maintained contact with her track and Parkrun nemesis Barry until he put on a surge to catch and then pass two other runners into an epic sprint finish to take 5th place, Esther taking 8th place, and 1st lady!
Having not raced for nearly two months, this provided a gauge of how winter training has gone (too much Christmas “fueling”…) and how beneficial the Wednesday track sessions have been. Looking forward to 2023.”
Adrian
Click on the photo below for snaps of Tuffs in action along with a You tube video
CHICHESTER 10K
Plenty more Tuffs out doing ‘what Tuffs do best’ at Chichester 10k now settled on its Goodwood location rather than the historic Festival theatre start/finish. (Run by the same company that stages Worthing 10K). Congratulations to Gareth Coombes as first Tuff home followed by Nathan Bilham who gained a new PB. It was gratifying to see Stuart Harvey back on the race scene who did well followed by Olivia Morey. Jo Meaney, Colin & Sue Simpson completed our magnificent seven. The result of 3rd in age group was a great run by Colin Simpson. Thanks for reports from Gareth, & Nathan.
“Attending Track sessions with the Tuffs during 2022 has tremendously helped my running pace, and for 2023 I set a goal of a sub 40min 10k.
The Chichester 10k had a fantastic atmosphere with over 600 runners and this definitely contributed to help me achieve my goal, finishing with a chip time of 39:56″.
Gareth
“Wearing the iconic blue and orange from Bognor Regis another Tuff Fitty crosses the line, great to see such a great turn out!” was the cry from the commentator…shame we are blue and white and not ToneZone 😂 (as seen by my running club colours)”.
“The weather conditions were perfect for taking on this PB breaking race, it’s flat with only 105ft of elevation throughout the course. There was a real buzz about the event, with some whippet-quick runners toeing the start line, the first runner home coming in at an eye-watering 29:50. After a thorough warm up, you could feel the excitement in the air as we all moved to line up ready for the gun”.
“Bang! The gun went and off we were too! The lead vehicle with the time clock at the front, helping those at the top keep an eye on the time. I stuck with the 45 min pacer for the first few miles, the legs feel heavy from the full-on winter training behind the scences, ready for the Brighton Marathon in April, but I was committed. After a slower mile 1 and 2 at 7 min/mile, I push at on mile 3 to make up some time on the 45-minute pacer and just held on through”.
“Coming round the bend on the motor track on the home stretch, finish line insight; kicking for a sprint finish at 5:53 min/mile and I’m across the line for a new PB of 42:46!”
“A nice little finishing touch to the event is the PB Bell! Ringing it at the end of a PB breaking run is just the icing on the cake, this is the first 10k PB I have had in 4 years so am well chuffed with it. I’ll be back again next year and hopefully faster than effort, hope to see some more fellow Tuffs there as well and it’s one not to be missed.”
Nathan
BEDGEBURY FOREST 10 MILE
Bedgebury Forest is south east of Royal Tunbridge Wells with undulating paths and trails Well done to Vanessa Green & Wendy Kane. Thanks to Wendy for reporting in:-
“Bedgebury National Pinetun in Kent is home to at least 12,000 conifers and is a popular visitor attraction all year round. With rolling hills and very rideable/runnable trails it is situated in the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and maintained by the Forestry Commission”.
“The race, which was hosted by Nice Works had a 5 and 10 mile option. We both opted for the 10 mile, which was the furthest I’d ran in over a year due being out of running with plantar fasciitis. Ness had been ill with a nasty cough for the last couple of weeks so we both decided to just enjoy a nice leisurely paced run around the beautiful grounds and pine trails. Soaking up the sun we chatted the miles away (rabbit, rabbit, rabbit! Boy can we talk! 🤣) so before we knew it we were heading through the finish line!”
“It was a very friendly event with reasonably priced entry fees and lots of yummy jaffa cakes at the finish! You also got free parking till 1pm so this meant we were able to carry on chatting over a nice wedge of cake and a coffee at the cafe on the lake afterwards. Its definitely all about the cake! 😁🥮”
Wendy
MAVERICK ORIGINAL WEST SUSSEX
Maverick races are popular amongst Tuffs and the West Sussex event returned to the Amberley Museum for a double event. One race started at 10:00am with three routes to choose from – Long 24km, Middle 15km & Short at 7km. Debbie Boxall did well taking part along the short course in the morning and then returning with a head torch for a 5pm start for the Maverick Exposure Lights dark event. Debbie ran, this time on pacing duties for a great double of goodie bag/medals. In the daylight race, Sheila Bailey & Kate Evans participated across the middle route and thanks to Kate for her view of the event:-
“I’ve wanted to do this race for years, but always missed out. So Sheila and I decided to sign up and give it a go. I’ve been suffering with a painful foot for a week or so, so I knew it wouldn’t be fast at all”.
“A challenging start (and first half of the race!) uphills and bottlenecks! Then half way round the ‘feed station’ everyone talks about!! Fruit, water, party rings, cake, you name it!! A lot was gone by the time I got there, but still plenty to keep me going”.
“There are amazing views everywhere you look up there, so I felt quite spoilt. Sheila completely smashed it, knocking time off the last longer distance we did in December. I finished and enjoyed it.. that’s enough for now! A slight pity that the photographers didn’t wait for the tail runners before moving on to other spots, but hey ho, I’d likely not have liked any of the pictures anyway!!”
Kate
PARKRUN ROUND UP 28TH JANUARY
We start at Worthing parkrun for the Saturday round up with the above photo capturing some of the Tuff runners. First Tuff home was Barry Davids resuming his parkrun career with a swift 21:06. Esther Fair was also running well as she crossed the line in 21:15. Then just two seconds apart Steve Feest finished in 22:24 with Dave March in 22:26. Les Pearce was next recording his quickest 2023 time clocking his 183rd parkrun. Next it was good to see Richard Jay back on the parkrun trail for his 59th run. Edward Lay doing what several Tuffs did, run to and from the start/finish line for his 93rd Worthing run – 113 in total. Elaine Rousseau (on her 147th parkrun) and Wendy Kane ensured there were nine Tuffs crossing the finish in Beach Park.
Littlehampton parkrun saw Charlotte Lattin-Rawstrone finish as first Tuff home. Alistair Evans was next for his 113th parkrun and then Jenny Oliver on her 38th PR.
Bognor parkrun saw a Tuff trio with Glenn Parisi crossing the line ahead of Clive Harvey & Claire Luckham.
Maidenhead parkrun also had Tuff attendance as Trevor Harvey was on the organising team setting up and then running.
Preston parkrun isn’t held at the local Preston park in Brighton, this was alongside the River Ribble in Lancashire. Sue & Colin Simpson completed their 68th different parkrun location – most impressive and Colin reported from the scene “Sue and I had a weekend away in Preston (Lancs) so of course we tried out the local parkun….situated in a lovely park down by the river Ribble we were expecting a nice flat course….after about 200 metres we encountered a 1 in 3 climb but only over 100 m🤔. This was to be climbed on each of 3 laps so Sue was glad she had the dog to help. As usual this was a very friendly and surprisingly busy parkrun.
Well done to all eighteen
PARKRUN ROUND UP 4TH FEBRUARY
Our usual ‘home run’ parkrun courses did not see the highest Tuff turnouts this week but we had Tuff presence at seven different runs.
Lancing Beach parkrun had five Tuff participants including some ‘long runs’. Tony Pearce ran 6 miles to the start before completing the parkrun. James Oram was next – his first Lancing run, surprising when his parkrun total now stands at 132. Steve Feest completed his 59th parkrun and then another long run – Edward Lay ran 9.5 miles as he ran to, around, and home, completing his 114th PR. Wendy Kane also ran gaining a PB over the course.
The next highest attendance was at Bognor parkrun which saw four Tuffs on parade. Tiff Orton ran well finishing 8th female overall. Glenn Parisi was next for a PB over this course, Clive Harvey & Jon Roper completed the Tuff quartet.
Littlehampton parkrun saw Nathan Bilham as first Tuff home using the event as a warm up for the next day’s Chichester 10K. Jenny Oliver was our next runner and kudos to Alistair Evans who attained the double, taking part and getting a volunteer credit for being on the organising team.
Queen Elizabeth parkrun (in the Country park) saw Sue & Colin Simpson notch up yet another new parkrun course for their portfolio’s. Colin reports:- “We decided to continue our search of Hampshire parkrun’s so ventured to the Queen Elizabet park. Another hilly and also off road course but we planned to jog this with the dog as a loosener for our 10k on Sunday. At least it wasn’t too muddy and the hot chocolate in the café was worth the run”.
Worthing parkrun saw Les Pearce run home in 23:11 to complete his 184th parkrun. Nina Tully also ran supporting fellow runners.
Another one with ‘double credits’ Trevor Harvey led the team route setting before running at Maidenhead parkrun.
Hove Promenade parkrun saw a Tuff in the results as Dave March had a strong run finishing in 21:29 – two laps along the seafront prom.
Well done to all Eighteen
