An eventful weekend for the PWRs Parkrun As we all know, Saturday morning means one thing.... Parkrun! 40 PWRs ventured to Norman Park for the Bromley Parkrun, which this Saturday was the Movember event. For those that didn't have a pre-existing grown moustache, there were plenty of stick-on tashes to go around. Pictures from the event on the Bromley Parkrun Flickr site can be found here http://www.flickr.com/photos/46168007@N06/ Johnny Gill led the men home, whilst Ellen Charman was the first PWR lady home. 8 Johnny GILL 00:19:18 10 Stuart J SCOTT 00:19:37 13 Christian TURNER 00:20:14 17 Martin Andrew CUNNINGHAM 00:20:25 40 Murat ASKIN 00:21:52 69 David FORDYCE 00:22:46 79 Gary VAUGHAN 00:23:08 100 James ROBERTS 00:23:42 150 Ellen CHARMAN 00:25:20 159 David ALLISON 00:25:31 164 Matt JONES 00:25:37 178 Natalie COMPTON 00:26:05 180 Fiona ABIOLA-MUSA 00:26:10 187 Vera SIMMS 00:26:22 195 Della HARRIS 00:26:42 198 Elizabeth DELAMAIN 00:26:46 202 Chris SUMMERS 00:26:54 209 Jeremy BENSON 00:27:13 221 Emma HAY 00:27:44 222 Jonathan DEAN 00:27:45 226 David SIMPSON 00:27:51 227 Mark DOYLE 00:27:52 241 Ray SIEVEY 00:28:23 250 Helen HART 00:28:40 256 Mariana BROUCHER 00:29:01 299 Richard DUNSTAN 00:30:46 306 Dawn DREWETT 00:31:20 308 Katherine WALKER 00:31:24 319 Joanne ADAMS 00:33:07 326 Lucy COE 00:33:33 330 Sonia CHOU 00:33:40 338 Rebecca VANIN 00:34:09 346 Jayne JONES 00:35:41 347 Janet VINCENT 00:35:42 356 Donna CARROLL 00:37:08 358 Victoria SIMPSON 00:37:37 361 Julia HUGHES 00:38:56 366 Lynn Julie ROWDEN 00:42:53 368 Alison MACOWAN 00:43:05 372 Peter Frank EVES 00:45:08 At other local parkruns Siggy Robson came 33rd in a time of 24:17 at Hilly Fields and Ka Sing Tung and Wendy Tung finished 43rd and 66th at Orpington Parkrun with times of 26:37 and 29:35 respectively. Two other PWRs ventured further afield. Brian O'Conner finished 3rd with a time of exactly 18:00 minute at the Waterworks parkrun and Jo Gambell came 140th in a time of 31:24 at the Wimpole Estate Parkrun. For those of you who do not know where Waterworks and Wimpole Estate are (as I certainly didn't) Waterworks Parkrun is in Belfast and Wimpole Estate Parkrun is just outside Cambridge. Mob Match Sunday was important for many PWR people, mainly little PWR people, as it meant they could open the first window on their advent calendars. It was also important for some bigger PWR people. 23 PWR's ventured toook part in a Cross Country mob match against Orpington Road Runners and New Eltham Joggers. It was quite a testing 2 lap 4.2 mile course, although things were made easier with a distinct lack of mud. Out of the three teams, PWR didn't come last, but we didn't come first either! Congratulations to ORR. PWR finishing positions and times
Ashford 4 PWR ladies ventured down to Ashford for the 'Brett Ashford Multi Terrain' Half Marathon and reports suggest that there WAS NOT a distinct lack of mud! and conditions were a bit tough The finishing time were Paul Dimond 1:54:16 Ali MacOwan 1:56:17 Emma Atkins 2:07:38 Yolanda Arias 2:07:39 Well done ladies Bromley Santa Dash Sunday afternoon also saw at least half a dozen PWRs (that I know of) including yours truly, participate in the Bromley Santa Dash. This was a 2k fun run with everybody dressed as Santa. The clue is in the name ;-) A real fun family event and a rather funky medal to boot which doubles as a Christmas Tree decoration! Leaving the Best to Last
PWR's resident fruitcake aka Jerry Smallwood took part and completed the Centurion Winter 100mile event (No that is not a typo) For those reading this on a black and white screen, we are talking about a ONE HUNDRED MILE EVENT! Jerry mentioned that he came last and the results do attest to that fact that he was the last finisher in 29:56:47. But the key word in that previous sentence is 'FINISHER' Jerry may have come 69th, but 21 people failed to complete the course. What you also may not know is that the cut-off time was 30 hours. So I am sure that Jerry dug deep to finish with just over 3 minutes to spare. Jerry, we doff our caps to you Sir. Amazing achievement!
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Well I have the guest reporting duties this week. Although Mark Burgess has already stolen my thunder by reporting the KFL results on Facebook. Mr Burgess, this is not your job anymore, concentrate on your own work please ;-)
PARKRUN As is the norm, PWR's were to be found at a variety of Parkruns on Saturday morning. BROMLEY 1 Brian O'CONNOR 00:17:36 8 Stuart J SCOTT 00:19:19 47 Grant FRIPP 00:21:58 78 Christian TURNER 00:22:51 79 Helen NEOCLEOUS 00:22:52 85 Martin Andrew CUNNINGHAM 00:23:11 104 James ROBERTS 00:23:35 123 Jenny LENG 00:24:03 125 Natalie COMPTON 00:24:11 134 Sian VAUGHAN 00:24:33 135 Laura STABLES 00:24:35 178 Fiona ABIOLA-MUSA 00:26:04 202 Dawn GODLIMAN 00:27:04 208 Jeremy BENSON 00:27:22 227 Donna HASSAN 00:28:00 229 Emma HAY 00:28:04 253 Ruth OSATCH 00:29:02 267 Matt JONES 00:29:53 288 Donna CARROLL 00:31:50 309 Joanne ADAMS 00:33:56 322 Chris SUMMERS 00:36:48 325 Jayne JONES 00:38:11 326 Janet VINCENT 00:38:17 327 Wendi WALKER 00:38:55 334 Joanna GAMBELL 00:45:30 GREENWICH 14 Nicki HUDSON 00:22:01 HILLY FIELDS 26 Sigrid ROBSON 00:24:34 27 Stephen ROBSON 00:24:35 ORPINGTON 23 Ka Sing TUNG 00:25:41 44 Wendy TUNG 00:29:28 Sunday saw an impressive turnout of 51 PWR's (That is approx 20% of our membership) at the Kent Fitness League Cross Country at Swanley Park on Sunday morning. The rain had abated and we were all treated to a fresh and sunny morning. Although the deluge during the week ensured that underfoot conditions were testing on the 3 lap - 5 mile course. The race was preceded with a 2 minute silence to remember our brave servicemen and women. Lest we forget! First gent home for PWR was Simon Bryant in 31:42, First PWR lady home was Rebecca Cawley in 38:10 and special mention to Donna Caroll who (I believe) was the sole Group 1 representative who put in a gutsy performance to finish the course in 1:05:19, Full results can be found here Out of the 18 teams represented, our men's team came 8th and our ladies team 6th. A sterling effort from everyone! The next KFL event is on the 24th November, the morning after our Christmas Party, so that will be interesting! PWR also had their first junior representative, Jenny Leng's 11yo son (sorry I don't know his name) who took part in the junior race prior to the main event. He ensured that the PWR vest that he borrowed from mum was suitably decorated with finest Kent mud before passing it back to Jenny. BEXHILL Down on the South Coast, two PWR's were taking part in the Poppy Half Marathon in Bexhill. Mick 'The Fireman' Welch finished in a not too shabby PB of 1:25:53 finishing 15th overall and Peter Eves completed the 13.1 mile course in 2:02:08. BECKENHAM Closer to home, two PWR ladies were taking part in the Beckenham Charity Trail 10k. Della Harris finished in 58:21 and Vera Simms was not too far behind finishing in 58:44. Well done to everybody for their weekend efforts! If I have missed anybody's weekend achievements (that doesn't include managing to put an IKEA flat pack together), let me know. Cheers Ray We have received this delightful piece from Copywriter Sara Woodward who is a Petts Wood resident. Sara informs us that she lives in Birchwood (part of the 10k route) and cheers the runners home every year. Petts Wood 7th 10k Run
View From Under An Umbrella The Petts Wood 10k run took place on the 13th October, as the leaves were turning yellows, reds and gold. PW Running Club had been busy planning for the day. Sponsors, security and stewards. Information packs sent and registration forms completed. Seven hundred and fifty runners signed up. Elite runners to those who had never run a 10k, but took up the challenge. They put in the training, pounding pavements and counting down the days. Refreshments, red and white tape and sound system. Nothing had been left to chance. Sunday, 13th was the sort of day that prompted Noah to built his ark. A low weather front. Rain lashed winds swept the country. Autumnal winds that made sailors shudder and surfers smile. The competitors and PW Running Club watched the weather bulletins, sighed, shivered and put away the sun block. Hunted out waterproofs and packed a towel and bin liners. A day of leaden skies. A day children puddle jumped and race organizers quietly cursed, between marking out the course and hanging signs from lampposts. The competitors arrived, collected their tags and tried to keep dry. They failed. They took their place at the start line. Elite, honed runners at the front, pensive rookies at the back. Stopwatches checked, tags secured, muscles stretched. The Race Organiser wished them well, urged caution and they were off. Ahead lay 10K, rain, mud and pain. A rainbow coloured stream of numbered running vests and black bin liners circled the cricket square, where fielders had taken wickets and batsmen had struck elusive sixes in the summer. Spectators watched under umbrellas and welly wearing children, with rain splashed smiles, jumped in puddles. Forlorn dogs sighed, sat on the wet grass and longed for home. And as the runners broke up into groups and counted down the kilometers, children competed in their own races and claimed their chocolate medals. The elite runners were the first to exit the wood. Mud splattered they crossed the New Bridge and turned down Birchwood, to the recreation ground. The first runner across the finish line wore a black vest and a quiet smile, followed by the rest of the field. Some were home and showered before the last person crossed the line. But it was a race about so much more than who came first and last. It was about all the bits in between. The Race Organiser and his team. Soggy stewards and course marshals, who encouraged the field, from first to last.Delegation, detail and paperwork. Red tape, counting medals and remembering to buy the biscuits and milk. It was about the competitors, organizers, spectators, wet dogs and welly wearing children. It was a jostling start line of numbered running vests. Vibrant yellows, oranges and muted blacks. Waterproofs, trainers and bin liners. Those who had put in the hours and those who had let the hours slip away but were prepared to take on the challenge. For themselves and Harris HospisCare. It was about the Petts Wood runner, who ran with the children and threw in a few mud dives to entertain the crowds. It was about Woody the Gorilla, with his fixed grin and enthusiasm and Wendy and Jackie on the tea urn with their big smiles, soggy feet and biscuits. It was wet haired Emma on the mike, with her red beret and all the rest of the PW Crew who made it happen and smiled through the rain. It was about the Spring Boks runner, with his dog called Lucy and little girl with a pink umbrella. They both ran in the rain and took home their medals. It was about the runner who finished first and all those who followed in his footsteps. The competitor who hobbled through the pain and the runner who stayed by her side and got her across the finish line, long after the elite runners had done their cool downs and headed home with another medal. A day to remember for competitors, spectators and welly wearing puddle jumpers. A day of pain and rain and lactic acid. Fallen leaves and tree roots. A day of achievement and overcoming adversity. A day of wet dogs and bin liners. Medals, mud and memories. PW 10k Run. Viewed under an umbrella. Sara Woodward Wordsbywoody.co.uk Well done to the 24 PWR's that took part in the first race of this season's Kent Fitness League. We were very lucky with the weather. Full results can be found via our KFL page. Click here
what the weatherman says, if the weatherman says it's raining you won't hear me complaining. LIQUID SUNSHINE On Sunday 13th October, I am pretty sure there weren't any complaints, more a case of lots exasperated comments from runners and race officials/marshals alike about the 'liquid sunshine' that was falling from the sky. The rain started pretty much on cue at 6.30am just before the first of the Petts Wood Runners arrived at Willett Rec to commence the set-up of the event and equally on cue only stopped around 2.30pm once almost everything had been cleared up. 2013 was the 7th year that Petts Wood Runners hosted their 10k. To be honest we have been lucky the previous 6 years with fine weather on each occasion, so you could say we were due a wet one and boy did we get a wet one! PRE-RACE Over 800 runners had registered for this year's event and the first of these arrived probably just before 9am to collect their race number and timing chip. By this time, pretty much most of the Race HQ was set up, Marquees, Gazebos and tents erected, the course around the Rec marked out, Start/finishing arch inflated and pegged down, water containers filled (which seemed somewhat ironic) and probably the most important thing, the tea urn was on! Along with the runners arriving were also 100+ Petts Wood Runner volunteers, who were donning their bright yellow safety vests, getting their final briefing from their team leads and making their way out into the course (not before a nice cuppa first though) And still the rain fell, as you can imagine, conditions were getting quite boggy underfoot as more and more people arrived. Runners were taking refuge wherever they could and as you can see some were quite resourceful HIGH SPIRITS The rain was not going to dampen anybody's spirits though including Woody the Gorilla our mascot who was being as mischievous as always. Witnesses saw him pinching umbrellas, stockpiling a stash of bananas and giving one or two people a fright. Let's be honest, if you get a tap on the shoulder in a park on a wet Sunday morning in Petts Wood, the last thing you expect to see when you turn round is a 6ft Gorilla! The grill was also working overtime and I can personally vouch that a Bacon butty certainly raises the spirits! There was also a fine selection of home-made cakes baked by the PWR ladies to accompany the tea and coffee. At 10:10am a warm up routine was led by one of our members, Adele who is also a Personal Trainer. At first maybe only 20 people joined in, but soon people were throwing caution to the wind (and rain) and joining in. Adele certainly made sure everybody was warm, I felt tired just watching it, I doubt if I would have had the energy to run 10k after that! RACE START At 10:25am the runners made their way to the starting area. The fast guys and girls at the front were treated to an impromptu warm-up routine from one of the runners that certainly raised a smile or two. A local celebrity 'The Running Man' (he even has a Facebook page dedicated to him with over 5000 followers) gave a short speech and started the race. Each of the time zones was then started in intervals after that and 671 runners ventured off for 10k of fun, mud & rain. KIDS DOING WHAT THEY DO BEST Getting dirty! Unfortunately due to the conditions, we had to cancel the bouncy castle, but this was not going to stop the kids having fun and at least half a dozen lined up for each of the three age-grouped races. All the kids seemed to thoroughly enjoy their lap or two of Willet Rec, including the biggest kid of them all, PWR Chris who was guiding the kids round yet still found time to perform a full length dive and slide in the mud. Each kid (not Chris) was rewarded with a large chocolate medal for their efforts. The parents of these children were rewarded with a wash load of dirty clothes! DE JA VU There was a double de ja vu as the winning runner entered the Rec a mere 35 minutes after the race had started. Firstly, it was last year's winner Peter Tucker of Bromley & Blackheath Harriers and secondly, Peter also couldn't resist performing a full length dive and slide up to the finish line. Peter finished in (considering the conditions) a very respectable time of 36:04 FINISHING It was over a minute before the next runner crossed the finish line and after that for the next 70 minutes there was a constant stream of runners. Once each runners crossed the line, some of the PWR marshals had the glamorous job of grappling with muddy legs and removing the timing chips and then the runners were presented with their medal, a banana, a hot samosa and more water just in case they were not wet enough! There were smiles aplenty as people crossed and in some cases slid across the line. The biggest cheer of the day was for the last two ladies (Louise Callow & Paula Ferguson) to complete the course, accompanied by our last runner marshals kitted out with PWR colour pom-poms as they entered the finishing straight. It is easy for the uber fit to blast round 10k in 40 odd minutes, but these girls showed grit and determination to get round and they must have enjoyed it as there were plenty of smiles once they had crossed the finish line. Presentations were then made to all of the category winners by Richard Dunstan PWR Club Coach and David Boswell PWR 10k Race Director and as the last of the runners dispersed from Willett Rec, so the clear down began. THE WINNERS Overall Winners 1st Male Peter Tucker, Bromley & Blackheath Harriers 36'04" 2nd Male Terry Reeves, Dartford Road Runners 37'31" 3rd Male Stephen Thackeray, Beckenham AC 37'44" 1st Female Jenny Butler, Bromley & Blackheath Harriers 42'04" 2nd Female Clare Reeves, Bexley AC 43'18 3rd Female Carol Penlington, Bromley & Blackheath Harriers 43'39" Age Group Winners 1st 15-20 Male Nick Perry, Bromley & Blackheath Harriers 40'00" 1st 40+ Male Pat Maher, Unattached 38'29" 1st 50+ Male Tony Durey, Dartford Harriers 40'10 1st 60+ Male Terry Avey, Brighton Phoenix 45' 06" 1st 15-20 Female Kirsten Herpe, Unattached 54'09" 1st 35+ Female Sally Kyle, Dartford Road runners 45'15" 1st 45+ Female Jackie Clarke, Unattached 48'23" 1st 55+ Female Sue Spong, Havering90Joggers 48'33" Team Winners 1st affiliated male team Dartford Harriers 1st affiliated female team Bromley & Blackheath Harriers 1st unaffiliated team 2 Fast 2 Furious Local Resident Winners 1st BR5 male Simon Fox 40'10" 1st BR5 female Sui Kee Searle 50'48" Full results can be found at http://www.chipresults.co.uk/ A BIT OF SCIENCE (A STRANGE WAY OF SAYING THANK YOU) I am sure that most of you have heard about the 'Fire Triangle'? No? well to have fire you need three things. Fuel, Oxygen & Heat. Take any one of these away and you won't be having a fire. Well with the Petts Wood 10k, we have our own little triangle of Runners, Sponsors & Petts Wood Runners. Take one of these away and we would be struggling to have an event. Firstly, Thank You to all the runners. Of the 800 odd registered, 671 turned up and completed the event. A sterling effort! Secondly Thank You to all our Sponsors and contributors who not only enable us to put on this event, but also enable us to raise more funds for the Harris HospisCare charity.
Thirdly, Thank You to all of the Petts Wood Runners that helped put on this event. At the last count there were over 120 PWRs that contributed in some way! SO TO CONCLUDE I think I can vouch for all the Petts Wood Runners volunteers that despite the conditions we all thoroughly enjoyed it and it is apparent from the wonderful feedback that we have received; most of the runners did also. In fact some of the PWRs enjoyed it so much, some were seen staggering around Petts Wood High Street Sunday evening having toasted a job well done. We are aware that a few improvements can be made, and with it being our first 'wet' event we have learnt a few lessons. But I can assure you we will strive to put on a better event next year. As I write this there are only 361 days until the next Petts Wood 10k. See you then. POSTSCRIPT I had a few friends running in this year's event and I have been accused of having a cushy job of sitting under an umbrella taking photos. Quick plug: Pictures can be viewed and purchased from www.snappyraces.co.uk Only £2.49 (yes that is correct, I haven't missed a 1 off the front) with at least 50% going to Harris HospisCare. I would just like to publicly defend my good character (ahem) and refute this accusation. I would like to point out that I had been working in the rain for about 3.5 hours before I took refuge (and the umbrella was predominantly to protect the camera equipment). So I was A) soaked to the skin and B) blooming freezing having to sit there for 1.5 hours without moving much more than my right index finger. So, ner! Very mature I know ;-) This race report has been brought to you in association with a bottle of London Pride. No animals were harmed in the writing of this report.
Cheers, Ray. But that did not stop all the runners and all of the Petts Wood Runner volunteers having loads of fun. After all rain is just liquid sunshine. Thanks to everybody who took part or contributed, a full race report will follow once I have got the water our of my ears!
Pop to the 10k page where you can view or download the Race Information Pack. It contains everything you need to know about the day!
The Petts Wood 10k is now full! Entries are closed and unfortuntaley there will be no entries on the day available. Thank You to everybody who has entered. Sorry if you have missed out, hopefully we will see you next year!
STOP PRESS, WE HAVE VIRTUALLY REACHED OUR LIMIT OF 750
ENTRIES WILL CLOSE AT 8.A.M ON WEDNESDAY 2ND OCTOBER This weeks Southern Running Guide features the Petts Wood 10k. As the headline states there is 'Still time for Petts Wood 10k'
The feature article can be found here |
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