September 2024 Part II
Howdy Ranelights.
Two weeks into September and WOW - so much has happened already that we've been moved to write another post to keep up with everything.
Despite our officially being in Autumn, the weather continues to be glorious; full of bright sunshine and high temperatures, making the prospect of cross country muddiness a somewhat hazy mirage. But it'll be wet, windy & muddy before we know it, so make the most of the great conditions now and GET OUT THERE!
Before we move onto what's been happening, please find a few URGENT reminders related to our 1st fixture of our 143rd season, the Thomas Cup on 21 September:
TO RUN: Fill in this Google Form https://bit.ly/Thomas-Cup 👈 by 23:59 Wednesday 18 September so that our club handicapper can do their job. Kindly note NO ENTRIES allowed after this date.
TO EAT & DRINK: There will be NO TEA after the Thomas Cup. Instead there will be an all-you-can-eat BBQ with 2 drinks for £12. To attend, please fill in THIS Google Form @ https://forms.gle/gGF9koCNEHvo3if68 👈 by Friday 20 Sept.
TO VOLUNTEER: Please email coordinator@ranelagh-harriers.co.uk ASAP or message Narissa Vox via the Ranelagh WhatsApp Community
Please do not delay; it'd be very helpful to those working behind the scenes - especially with regards to the BBQ - to have an idea of numbers sooner rather than later. Also please don't forget that our annual club photo will be at 1pm; everyone is welcome whether running or not.
**********************
💚 Ranelagh WhatsApp Community 💚
Thank you to everyone for your patience as we've migrated our various groups into the Ranelagh WhatsApp Community. Our aim is to provide one place on WhatsApp for all things Ranelagh, so that we can all stay connected, and easily share news, event information and updates across our club.
Find a brief intro, FAQ & code of conduct @ https://ranelagh-harriers.co.uk/whatsapp-community/ 👈 If you'd like to be added, please email coordinator@ranelagh-harriers.co.uk
If you’re new to the community, don’t forget to join the ‘General Club Chat’ group to share your race highlights, support, celebrations & achievements. Whether you’re racing or running for fun at the weekend, please pop us a pic, send us a result and perhaps a short 5-word review via this group. We’d really love to hear what you've been up to.
Join via WhatsApp Community or this link: https://chat.whatsapp.com/EOXovU5nMK00H9faojuPOm 👈
**********************
💧 Cabbage Patch 10 Water Station | Sunday 20 October 8am: We had a FAB time volunteering at the Richmond Runfest water station by Friars Lane. Thank you to everyone who came along to help out, you guys were utter superstars! If you missed out, we have another chance to flex our water station muscles 💪 at the Cabbage Patch 10; this time at the riverside exit from the Petersham Sea Scouts (https://maps.app.goo.gl/oqr97yrjL4J66NEY6).
You may recall the Stragglers were super helpful in manning a water station at our recent half marathon, so once again, it's our turn to repay the favour. Plus another opportunity to promote our amazing club and cheer on our own runners 🥳 All we need to do is rock up, fill up cups with water and hand them out to runners from 8am to about 10am.
If you can volunteer - for however long - please email coordinator@ranelagh-harriers.co.uk or message Narissa Vox via the Ranelagh WhatsApp Community.
**********************
🗓️ Upcoming fixtures: October is jammed pack with racing opportunities. Fixtures include Surrey XC Relays (5 Oct Nonsuch Park), Surrey XC League #1 (12 Oct Wimbledon Common), SEAA XC Relays (19 Oct Wormwodd Scrubs) & Surrey Masters (26 Oct Nonsuch Park), so please contact your captains or respond via Teamer ASAP if you'd like to run.
You can find the full list of our 2024/2025 fixtures @ https://ranelagh-harriers.co.uk/fixtures-2024-2025/ 👈
STOP PRESS: Suzy Whatmough, our Women's Captain says, '... we have the Surrey Cross Country Relays in Nonsuch Park on Saturday 5th October. Each person runs a 5k loop. We currently have 8 veterans (i.e. aged 35+) signed up, so it would be great to have just one more to make 3 veteran teams of 3. Please sign up @ https://teamer.net/teams/111728848-ranelagh-women/events/40748502/notifications 👈
**********************
💙 Weekend Highlights 💛
🏔️ Tor de Geants 330 6 - 15 Sept: Hats off to our Men's Captain James Riley for his astonishing performance in completing the 330km (with 24,000m of elevation gain!) race held in the mountainous Aosta Valley, Italy. We're still trying to process his achievement but here's James' in his own words,
'Thanks to everyone for the kind messages. They made a huge difference 🙌🏻 ... Tor certainly lived up to its epic reputation. The Aosta Valley is just so wild, beautiful and empty - the downhills were no easier than the ups 😬 And the altitude was an added challenge, climbing above 2,500m was really hard work (a there was a lot of that). I was really pleased I got the full Tor experience of 27 degree heat one day and -18 (with windchill) the next.... Physically everything was pretty smooth sailing (or as smooth as it can be running for so long) but mentally it was really hard.... Huge thanks to James Ritchie for putting aside his disappointment and becoming my logistical brain and expectations manager for the week. His real time estimates of how long sections would take took a massive mental load off me 🙏🏻..'
🎖️ Battersea Half 7 Sept: Kudos to Agnes Nagy & Natalie Haarer for their great run, in 1:32:06 (1st W40) and 1:32:50 respectively
💪 National XC Champs 14 Sept: Kudos to Jonathan Smith, Hadi Khatamizadeh & Clare Fowler for making the trip up there to represent our club!
🎽 Richmond Runfest 15 Sept: Shout out to Shaun Griffith, Christopher Read, Candice Goddard, Louise Wapshott and Wendy Fisher who ran the 10k; Joe Killip, Claire Slater-Gallon and Kelly Thomas who ran the half, with Jimmy Whistler as the 1:30 pacemaker; and Graham Weller who ran the marathon 💪
🌳 Parkrun: Well done to Gareth Beavis for his 300rd parkrun @ Bushy Park (7 Sept), and Agnes Nagy & Paul Scullion placing 1st lady & 5th overall respectively at Stavenger parkrun, Norway (14 Sept).
To be included in our Weekend Highlights, join the ‘General Club Chat’ group to share your celebrations & achievements with a pic, a result and perhaps a short 5-word review. Join via WhatsApp Community or this link: https://chat.whatsapp.com/EOXovU5nMK00H9faojuPOm 👈
**********************
📢 Notices:
💙 Women specific coaching sessions: We have a couple of sessions coming up specifically for women, led by Coach James Riley. They’re open to all abilities, no one will be left behind and everyone is welcome. James will take us through skills and techniques, followed by a session to practice these. He can give personal feedback if you want it, and you’ll have opportunities to ask questions.
1. Tuesday 24 September Hills & Strength: meet at 7pm at the clubhouse as normal, or head straight to Queen’s Ride in Richmond Park @ https://maps.app.goo.gl/GxiWdCaY9mnP51Jp8?g_st=ic. Please sign up @ https://teamer.net/teams/111728848-ranelagh-women/events/40662337/notifications 👈
2. Thursday 3 October Speed & Technique: meet at 7.15pm at the Osterley track. Please sign up @ https://teamer.net/teams/111728848-ranelagh-women/events/40662338/notifications 👈
💷 Race discounts: Ranelagh members can enjoy 15% off both the Kingston Half & 10k (6 October) and River Thames Half (27 October) with the code RANELAGH15 (all caps). Valid EA members can also enjoy an additional £2 on top of that. To book, simply use the code at:
Kingston Half & 10k: https://riverthamesrunning.co.uk/kingston-half/about-kingston-half-marathon/ 👈🏻
River Thames Half: https://riverthamesrunning.co.uk/events/river-thames-half-marathon/ 👈🏻
🍺🍕 Social run with New Balance | 23 Sept : Up & Running in East Sheen are putting on a special beer & pizza social run with New Balance. There will be a range of new shoes to try out & some free refreshments for everyone. The run will start at 18:30 - they'd love people to join from 18:00 to try on some shoes, get prepared & have a mingle with other runners etc. The event is free but to get an idea of numbers, please sign up @ https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/beer-pizza-run-with-new-balance-tickets-1015988859027?aff=oddtdtcreator 👈
🏃♀️ Dulwich Park Runners 5 mile race | 6 Oct: Hosted by Dulwich Park Runners as part of their 40th anniversary celebrations. Any surplus from their very reasonable £5 entry feee will be donated to their chosen charity, Southwark Day Centre for Asylum Seekers (SDCAS). The minimum age for entry is 18. Medals for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place, male and female. Sign up @ https://dulwichparkrunners.eventrac.co.uk/e/dulwich-park-runners-40th-anniversary-5-mile-race-11690 👈
💪 Volunteer needed: A message from Claire Slater-Gallon (Inter 2): Hi, I'm Claire, a physio and an osteopath @ www.getstrongphysio.com. I have a keen interest in building strength as a fundamental for any sport, especially running, and am completing a strength & conditioning course. I’m looking for a long distance runner to do an 8 week programme, which will involve a movement, strength and speed analysis and completing a programme to improve all of these aspects. If you’re interested, please email me at info@getstrongphysio.com👈🏻
