WhatsApp helps running club lose virginity

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We did it! Well done Team Clapham Runners. 11 runners, 3 cars, 1 team, 219.8miles, 3,605m climbed (and 3,605m descended!), 500+ WhatsApp messaged exchanged and 219.8 miles of the Green Belt Relay achieved – and we finished a very respectable 30th out of 40 teams, and 17th of 25 mixed teams.

We ran 219.8 miles over the weekend as part of the Stragglers RC Green Belt Relay. It is the first time that we as a club have taken part, and how much fun it was! A great event which mixes the social side of running with competition. Map reading skills and uneven footwork were put to the test, in stunning surroundings from the Surrey Hills to Essex, climbing mountains (!), running along rivers and chasing landmarks.

We took so many photos, the GBR 2016 has its very own photo gallery here.

Green Belt Relay 2016. WE DID IT!!!

Special thanks to Frank for masterminding the logistics of pick-ups and drop-offs; to Steve, Frank and Ann-Marie as our drivers, and to Rob and Arabella helping out with marshalling – and to team Clapham Runners, Martin, Krysia, Amanda, James, Matt, Ann-Marie, Ana, Peter, Maddie, Siobhan and Steve!

 

Blog to follow but in the meantime:

  • Stage results are here
  • Full team results are:

Read more →

Green Belt Relay – team briefing 19th May

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The Clapham Runners are putting forward a team for the Green Belt Relay, 210 miles in 22 stages across the 20th and 21st May. Frank has been busy sorting out the logistics, cars involved and allocating runners to stages. ALL runners taking part need to attend the pre-relay briefing on Thursday 19th May, 7pm before track.

Spring Marathon round up 2016

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Congratulations to all runners in the Paris, Manchester and London Marathons. Send us your pictures – and tell us your race day experiences on the blog. Well done all!

  • Paris 3rd April – Amanda (3h57m48s)
  • Manchester 10th April – Matt (3h32 – huge PB!) and James (3h20m03s – first time marathon runner!)
  • London 24th April – Damian (3h21m46s), Ellie (3h22m56s – another huge PB!), Jonathan (4h05m59s) and Emma (4h59m35s)
Emma B, 4h59 in London Marathon
James B, 3h20 in the Manchester Marathon
Jonathan M-S, 4h05 in the London Marathon
Mandy, 3h57 in the Paris Marathon

 

The ballot for the 2017 London Marathon is open Monday 2nd May – Friday 6th May 5pm. Put your name in the hat here!

https://www.virginmoneylondonmarathon.com/en-gb/how-to-enter/ballot-entry/ 

Some of our faster runners may qualify for a ‘Good for Age’ or ‘Championship’ place in the London Marathon. Check here: https://www.virginmoneylondonmarathon.com/en-gb/how-to-enter/good-age-entry/

Remember that to be eligible for the draw for the Clapham Runners’ club place in next year’s marathon, you need to be a paid up member of the club for 6 months, and have proof of rejection from the main ballot.

London Marathon 2016 – club place

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Congratulations Damian – you are running the London Marathon 2016 for the Clapham Runners! Damian.PNG

There were five names in the hat for this year’s club place, which was drawn after our Thursday session on 12th November – much better odds than the public ballot (some 350,000…!). The Clapham Runners has one guaranteed club place each year – it is names out of a hat. To be eligible for the draw you must have a ballot rejection letter and be a fully paid up, regular member for six months.

Damian joins fellow Clapham Runners next April – Rob, who won his place through the public ballot, Rachel and Ellie who achieved a Good For Age entry, and Emma who won a twitter competition. We’ll be there to cheer you all on!

 

Clapham Runners go international – updated

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Never a dull moment for the Clapham Runners members for the 2015 ‘how far can the t-shirt travel’ competition. Niamh, who competed in the Singapore triathlon last weekend, just pips Rob to the post with 6,740 miles – but both have worn the shirt more than 6,000 miles away!

BREAKING NEWS (3/8/15) – photographic evidence of a new winner of the t-shirt furthest travelled has emerged… there’s no catching Steve now! 11,700 miles is the distance to beat…

Lucia and Gilly at the Paris Marathon start, April 2015
Siobhan at the Boston Half Marathon finish, May 2015
French Riviera Relay Marathon, Cannes November 2015
Niamh at the Singapore tri, 25th July 15
Rob at the Inca Trail finish line, July 2015

Rob ran an amazing marathon up the Inca trail earlier in July. Should we let him off the t-shirt pic for the Inca Trail itself, as the organisers had to keep the finish line in the World Heritage Machu Picchu low key? Although he does lead in the highest ascent the shirt has travelled – 6,438m at the summit of Illimani! Read his blog here. Massive well done from all of us here, he barely acknowledges in the blog, but Rob had a serious injury only 2 months before the race, where he had to get to walking again, before building back up to 60km training runs with a pack – full credit to Jon and John. Talk about determination. If we do prizes at the end of the year, here’s a serious contender.

Back in May, Siobhan sported the Clapham t-shirt at the Boston half-marathon (read her blog here), and Steve set his new half marathon PB in New Zealand in February wearing club colours. A group of four club runners set off for a South of France adventure in November, running the Nice to Cannes French Riviera Relay Marathon. And not forgetting spring marathon season – Lucia and Gilly ran their first marathon in Paris this April, read their blog here, and Emma’s been running in San Fran and Stockholm (blogs encouraged!). T-shirts next time though…

The leaderboard so far (according to www.mapcrow.info):

  • Steve – Wanaka, New Zealand, 11,740 miles, April 2015
  • Niamh – Singapore, 6,740 miles, July 2015
  • Rob – Illimani, Bolivia, 6,210 miles, July 2015 – but at a height of 6,438m!
  • Siobhan – Boston, 3,269 miles, May 2015
  • Joint entry – Amanda, Emma, Niamh and Siobhan – Nice, 638 miles, November 2015

Thames River Relay 2015

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Well done to our two teams who ran in the Thames River Relay this morning – team names Clapham Clappers and Clapham Shufflers. Official results to be posted by The Stragglers and a Clapham Runners blog to follow – watch this space!

It was a bobby dazzler morning for it, and a logistical triumph from Steve and Frank – thank you both for organising. Great fun as a club, and compliments aplenty for our club kit!

The River Relay is a baton relay run over five stages from Windsor to Kingston-upon-Thames, finishing at the Hawker Centre. Teams must be mixed and include at least one lady, plus a second lady or a vet man, each runner takes a stage between 4.4 and 6.5 miles. All proceeds go to the nominated charity of the winning teams – prizes both for the first team back, and the team closest to their predicted finish times. This is a regular fixture for the Clapham Runners – see our pictures from last year here.

Thames River Relay Sept 2015

(Member blog post) Machu Picchu Marathon

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RobInca

The traditional Inca Trail runs from km88 to Machu Picchu and is about 18miles long and trekking groups complete the trail in three and a half days. The marathon adds circa 8 miles to the traditional trail in the form of two 6km loops to make up the full distance.

Two key cut-off times are imposed on the race, firstly, to complete the first 6km loop in 1hr and, secondly, to get to the control gate at Machu Picchu national park (approx 36km) by 10hr15 – not getting to the gate by this time would mean camping overnight and completing the race the following day. Read more →

10th birthday picnic

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Beautiful afternoon on the common with the Clapham Runners on Saturday 4th July – plenty of food to go around, the Calling festival for background music, and great to enjoy a relaxing afternoon in the sun with runners, friends and family. Happy birthday to us! More pictures over on our gallery.

Clapham Runners 10th birthday picnic, 4th July 15
Clapham Runners 10th birthday picnic, 4th July 15
Clapham Runners 10th birthday picnic, 4th July 15
Clapham Runners 10th birthday picnic, 4th July 15