Category: News

The Cotswolds Way Ultra – 57 miles in 2 days

claphamrunners

Fiona took part in the two-day, 57 mile ultra in the Cotswolds, finishing in an incredible 17:20:56. Hugely well done Fi!

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For more information about the event, go to http://www.xnrg.co.uk/events/details/cotswold-way-challenge-2014.aspx

The Cotswold Way Ultra takes in 57 miles of quintessentially English Countryside, passing through rolling farmland and ancient beech woods, and taking in a rich slice of British history from Bronze Age barrows to Neolithic burial grounds and Stone Age hill forts. But don’t be fooled by the Cotswolds’ reputation for gentle contours: this route takes in 2750m of vertical ascent over two days (1140m over 27 miles on Day One and 1610m over 30 miles on Day Two), making it a great training weekend for anyone preparing for the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc or the Marathon des Sables.

The Cotswold Way National Trail runs from Chipping Campden in the north, to Bath in the south.

Battersea Santa Run 2013

claphamrunners

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A few of our club took part in the Santa Run organised by 209 events in Aid of Disability Sport on 7th December 2013. Sometimes it’s just not about the time (although with an unusual 6km distance, safe to say a PB all round!), but running with 2,000 other Santas around beautiful Battersea Park.
Entries for 2014 are open here: http://www.209events.com/uk-running-events/london-santa-run-battersea-park

(Member blog post) ING New York City Marathon 2013

claphamrunners

2013 has been another year of international marathon achievements by Clapham Runners, including in London, Nepal, Rome, Hamburg, Norway, Amsterdam et al.  Two teams of five also ran in a Thames marathon River Relay.On 3rd Nov it was my turn to have a crack at one in New York, which I was fortunate enough to get an invite to via work in ING’s 11th and last year as main sponsor.

 

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(Member blog post) The Run in the Dark

hannahgoing

OK so compared to the Himalayas, Battersea Park is perhaps not so impressive and, compared to the marathons and ultras that others have been doing, 5km definitely isn’t. However, no-one has written anything on here for absolutely ages and this event was quite good fun.

I spotted the poster for The Run in the Dark on the way to the track last week and it sounded quite interesting and fun. There were both 10km and 5km races, and there were races being run simultaneously in Belfast, Dublin, Cork and Manchester. As the name suggests, the race was after dark and everyone in the race was given a flashy red LED armband. Read more →

(Member blog post) Tenzing Hillary Everest Marathon 2013

robertwatsonmrics
Words cannot do justice to how ridiculous and fantastic this “race” is! The time is of no interest to any international participant as the local Nepalese will finish hours ahead of us as they are better acclimatised to the conditions; the common goal of the internationals to “just finish before dark and without breaking anything”.
Some would argue that just making the start of the marathon is an achievement in itself, the majority in my group were suffering from either altitude or general sickness as the previous ten day trek had left all of us in less than perfect condition for the main event (no tapering, relaxing or staying well fed prior to this race).
The marathon itself starts at the bottom of the famous Khumbu Ice Fall at Everest Base Camp; at 5634m above sea level not only is there 50% less oxygen in the atmosphere but the first 5k is on the icy moraine of the Khumbu Glacier. As the race started I got caught behind a train of Yaks along the moraine of Base Camp which held me up for 15min until I could find somewhere to pass them (not the usual marathon bottle neck then). Having, eventually, got past the Yaks I soon got into my 4mph stride, anything faster than this had me gasping for air and my legs feeling like they were on fire.

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Everest Marathon ‘perhaps the toughest marathon in the world’ 2013

claphamrunners

Looking for a challenge to mark his 30th birthday, Rob took on the phenomenal challenge of the  60th Diamond Jubilee Tenzing Hillary Everest Marathon, running the worlds highest altitude route from Everest Base Camp (5364m), Gorakshep (5140m), Lobuche (4930m), Dingboche (4530m), Tengboche (3867m), Namche Bazar (3440m). Rob completed the race in 10hrs 48min 17 sec. Amazing achievement – and stunning photos. Well done Rob!

everest photo

Read more about Rob’s experience here:

(Member blog post) Training for Comrades

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Hi Clapham Runners!

Just enjoying my tapering in the lead up to the Comrades marathon on 2nd June!! Can’t believe there are only 2 weeks to go! Here is a blurb about the race (courtesy of Wikipedia):

The Comrades Marathon is an ultramarathon of approximately 89 km (approx. 56 miles) which is run annually in the Kwazulu-Natal Province of South Africa between the cities of Durban and Pietermaritzburg. It is the world’s largest and oldest ultramarathon race. The direction of the race alternates each year between the “up” run (87 km) starting from Durban and the “down” run (89 km) starting from Pietermaritzburg.During the event an athlete must also reach five cut-off points in specified times to complete the race. Read more →