Author Archives: Ellie Taylor

Centurion Thames Path 100

“The weather in April [or May] is extremely variable”

– the Centurion Thames Path 100 website

Endurance running is tough but for some people, a marathon distance is just not enough! Some runners decide to take on 100 miles, over a famous historic route – add some typically British weather to the race and the challenge becomes even harder. Sarah Hancock and Gareth Roberts were not to be deterred by the weather, completing a fantastic amount of miles this weekend!

Starting in Richmond, the route navigates runners from London to Oxford along the Thames Path, taking in some quintessential views of the river and countryside.

Sarah completed an incredible 51 miles, finishing in Henley, whilst Gareth completed 66 miles of the course, ending in Pangbourne.

It was a tough race, 1/3 of the field dropped out. It’s called a challenge because it’s not supposed to be easy! I am still very pleased with my result.

Gareth Roberts

An impressive achievement by both runners – well done team RSE!

Fitter, Faster, Stronger!

A massive well done to all club members who took part in the Fitter, Faster, Stronger efforts sessions across the last 6-weeks! These well-designed programmes were a great way to participate in sessions with a set goal in mind, and a great way to track improvements.

Thank you to all of the coaches, who made sure that each week was varied, challenging, (Covid safe), and beneficial to the end goal! Without their organisation and dedication to the club, the 6 week programmes would not have been possible!

Back in early March, Nadine and I came up with the idea of running a six week targeted efforts program during a long run together. Over the coming few days we developed our original idea and Fitter, Faster, Stronger was born.
We were nervous about it as nothing like this had been done before. Would the coaches get on board? Would the committee agree to something so different to our normal structure? And would you, our members, take to the idea?
Well it seems we had nothing to worry about, the coaches all jumped on board, the committee gave us the green light and most importantly you all seemed to have really enjoyed it…
Most of my input to the last six weeks has been behind the scenes rather than on a Wednesday evening so first of all I’d like to say a huge thank you to all of the coaching team for the hard work involved in putting together a series of good quality, highly innovative and fun sessions.
Secondly I’d like to thank everyone who has taken part and enjoyed the efforts sessions that have been put in place for you. Your support and involvement in our sessions is what makes us push to improve as a team.

Kevin Joynes-Creed

Get to Know the Club – Runner’s Profile

Andy Sampson

When did you start running and why?

Started running in 2004, always up for a new challenge. Myself and Philippa (business partner) entered the new York marathon. So training started. First race was Fairford 10k that year with Debs, Phil’s sister. Couldn’t walk for two days!

When did you join RSE?

While training, ran with Debs, Olly Wakefield and a few others at the gym. Met Buckie, and Running Somewhere Else was formed! [check out RSE Club Report – How it all began!]

What motivates you to run?

Motivation is just a mood! (Steve Peters) It’s the commitment that makes me train. I’ve often been teased quite rightly at times for my lack of training for events, but if I commit to something I always try to see it through.

Proudest running achievement?

My proudest moment in running was crossing the line at Ironman South Africa. Having realised early in my running career I was never going to “win” any races. My focus quickly went to distance rather than speed. My “winning” goal posts were exactly that, mine!

Favourite RSE moment (social/ race etc)?

Characters and friendships are my favourite things about RSE. And those two things have led to many moments. But my absolute favourite moment would have to be the start and finish of any race heavily entered by the club. The banter, the competition, but more so, the support shown is amazing

Club London Marathon Ballot

The club has 1 London marathon 2021 place up for grabs!

If you applied in the ballot this year and were unsuccessful, you’re eligible to put your name in the hat!

To enter, send a photo of your London Marathon rejection letter to Sarah Reynolds via WhatsApp or email before the 10th May (that’s tomorrow!!!). The draw will be done later in the month.

Good Luck!

RSE Charity of the Year 2021/2022

The club is looking to choose a new charity to support for the following year. If you would like to nominate a local charity, please fill in the form by clicking the link below:

Thank you for your response in advance!

Don’t forget – Monday and Wednesday club sessions are now available to book via the RunTogether app! Get in quick as they fill up fast!

St George’s Day 10k

Well done to Pauline Tilbury and Elliot Gardiner, who both completed the virtual St George’s Day 10k! (Where do you hear about all these interesting themed virtual races?!).

Picking a gorgeous, sunny day for the run has its ups and downs, but it’s all worth it for the medal! (and was unavoidable in the last week!) Running out along Quiet Lane and through Siddington, Pauline credits the Running Faster group for her speedy time (even if there were a couple of stops – it was hot after all!). Pauline finished in a fantastic time of 57:45!

Running a loop (nearly) from Chesterton, through Ciren Park and up Gloucester road, Elliot’s route took him up quite a few hills. Citing an improvement from his 10k last month, Elliot finished in a brilliant time of 54:01! No doubt there was a celebratory pint (or 3) after the race!

Wednesday Efforts Sessions for May and June

We hope you have all been enjoying your Fitter, Faster, Stronger efforts sessions over the past few weeks.

As this program draws to a close the coaches have been busy planning what the next couple of months will look like. Unfortunately, due to ongoing Covid restrictions continuing to restrict numbers at sessions to a maximum of 12, the current structure is unsustainable for the long term as this requires a large number of coaches to be present every week.

We will therefore be returning to the 30min effort session structure we had in place last year.

Every Wednesday we will have two coaches on duty each delivering two 30min efforts sessions with the first session starting at 18.30 with the second session starting at 19.05. The coaches and locations for May and June are on the table below and the sessions will be available to book on RunTogether from 08.00 Monday 26th April.

We will of course be keeping a very close eye on the situation and should changes in restrictions allow we will revise our structure accordingly…

A Message from the Chair – Pauline Tilbury

A big THANK YOU to Kevin Joynes-Creed for all of the work he does behind the scenes to administer the club sessions and allow us to able to safely attend club meetings. Thanks Kev! 😃

Cirencester AC Juniors

Following the recent relaxing of restrictions, Cirencester Athletics have restarted their teenage training sessions. They have kindly extended an invitation to members of RSE who have children in the 12-18yrs age group that may be interested in taking up running.

A message from Dorian at Cirencester AC – Cirencester AC Teen group (12+) have a weekly session (on a Wednesday at 6:30). The session comprises physical preparation (warm up, drills, etc.) followed by a running session that will help develop technique (advice is provided) and fitness, usually finishing with a fun competitive relay. We always finish with some stretching to avoid soreness later. If the Teenagers complete a questionnaire on the website, I will produce a draft weekly plan for them, including core, strength and conditioning sessions. To participate they need to be members of the club and to complete the General Health questionnaire (or their parents/guardians do). In the summer we run at Deer Park grass track.

Please contact dorianmatts@aol.com if you would like more information.

Joining RSE/ Club Renewal

April is renewal time for membership and also a great time to join a fantastic, friendly running club!

Click the button above to join or renew membership – you will need to complete a form and then will be prompted to make a bank transfer for the membership costs.

If you have any questions please email Tracey Pitts – membershipsecretary@runningsomewhereelse.com

Dorset Ooser Marathon

A massive well done to Nadine Brown, who completed the Dorset Ooser marathon today, a trail run that takes you to the “deepest darkest Dorset” (according to their website!).

Once I finally made the decision to commit to road shoes instead of trails (given the lack of rain and therefore mud recently), I was able to enjoy the pre-race nerves and thrill of being back to trail racing after the year off. The glorious route took runners through fields, woods and tracks taking in a few stiles along the way too. The organisers say it won’t be a pushover and there’s a “diabolical hill” towards the end and I can certainly testify that my legs were running on empty by the finish! A fab cool off in the nearby Ford following a cuppa and cake helped to sort me out though! Thoroughly recommended. 

Nadine Brown

Run by Badger Trail Events, the race organisers say the route is ever changing and never boring – clearly the “diabolical hill” is there to stay though!

Nadine finished in an incredible time of 4:31:14!

Hair of the Dog 10k

DB Max have a flair for offering some creative and interestingly named runs – the Hair of the Dog 10k is just that! The trail route starts in Chippenham and takes runners along the river Avon, returning along the Wiltshire and Berkshire canal.

Sharon Smith took on the 7.75 mile challenge, running in an excellent time of 1:07:29, making her first in the LV60 and LV70 categories! Plus, it must definitely have been a PB for the unusual distance!

[I] enjoyed it as all grass and trails. […] Often I am dissatisfied with my race performance, but today it felt like progress.

Sharon Smith

Virtual Fairford 10k

Congratulations to Cathy Steer and Linda Edwards who completed the virtual Fairford 10k this week! Cathy and Linda have worked hard to get back to fitness over the last 4 months, and their goal was to complete a 10k. Linda completed her first 10k back last week while Cathy chose the club’s virtual race to mark her achievement this week. Fantastic work both of you!

Get to know the club – Runner Profile

Steve and Caroline Sandercock

When did you start running and why?

Caroline – I started running several years ago, just after I had my second child. I wanted to get fitter and it was something that gave me some time for myself. No need for special clothes or equipment, and I could go out when I wasn’t looking after the children.

Steve – I started running in Southampton around 1987, the same time as Caroline. I did it to get fitter for my dinghy sailing. When I say running, 3 miles seemed a long way, and I was a lot younger then. I didn’t do any serious running until we both joined RSE.

When did you join RSE?

Steve – I joined RSE in 2014 with Caroline.

Caroline – I ran off and on over the ensuing years, (more off than on!) I joined RSE in September 2014 after bumping into Matt [Lambourne] who was the club trainer while out on a short run. He suggested that I join the club because they were running special sessions for beginners or people returning to running.

What motivates you to run?

Steve – I run to improve fitness and wellbeing. I’m not a born runner and I’m not too obsessive about it. I do like to challenge myself, though, and enjoy meeting and running with RSE colleagues. I like to find RSE runners who are slightly faster than me and try to keep up.

Caroline – I run to get fitter.

Proudest running achievement?

Caroline – Every completed run is an achievement for me!

Steve – Beating my 50 minute target for 10k was a great achievement in late 2019. It was the culmination of 12 months of challenge, targeting sub 25 for park run, sub 40 for 5 mile and sub 50 for 10k. There were a couple of near misses by one second, but they were achieved except for the 5 mile which I think still stands at just over 40.

Favourite RSE moment (social/ race etc)?

Steve – My favourite RSE occasion was the 4 x 10k relay at the Budapest marathon event 2015. About 25 RSE members took part and we all had a great social and running experience.

Caroline – My favourite RSE occasion was the Budapest weekend. I ran the third leg (10 k) of a marathon with 3 team mates along the banks of the Danube. There was a carnival atmosphere. It’s a great memory!

Joining RSE/ Club Renewal

April is renewal time for membership and also a great time to join a fantastic, friendly running club!

Click the button above to join or renew membership – you will need to complete a form and then will be prompted to make a bank transfer for the membership costs.

If you have any questions please email Tracey Pitts – membershipsecretary@runningsomewhereelse.com