July 2018

As it’s been holiday season, I took a break from blogging but that doesn’t mean that our NARs took a break from running!

We kicked off July with our 5th Handicap GP where 16 runners took on the Netley Park Run course, racing against their own PB for 2018 for a race to the finish! So many PBs and awesome runs have left it very tight at the top of the table!

The next weekend may have been a competition for the race with the funniest name! The Cider Frolic, Piggy Plod and Junior Piggy Plod took place over a weekend and were completed by 3 NAR families – Miguel even came away with a podium position in the 10k! While Bex was taking part in the Splash and Dash on the island, proving that NARs can do more than just run! Both events were made even tougher than usual by the heatwave that was hitting the UK.

The following week saw a handful of NARs take on the Wyvern 10k and the Portchester 10k (ish!).  Both scorching as the weather didn’t let up and one with a variation in distance depending on who you were! – nonetheless, both very enjoyable and a challenge for the runners.

And a month wouldn’t be complete without a crazy event or two from Ollie and Shaun – Ollie took on the Lulworth Cove Ultra while Shaun was tackling the Snowdonia Marathon. There is no getting round the challenge that these events posed for both of these guys and they should be congratulated hugely! Have a chat with them about these as they have some interesting stories and maybe some tips for you!

3 of our runners took part in the lapped ‘Why not run?’ event organised by On The Whistle.  They ranged from 3 to 5 laps but each met their own personal goal – Just what these events are meant for!

At the end of the month, our Couch to 5k group graduated at Netley Abbey Park Run – they have done exceptionally well and I have seen many of them up their miles and increase their speed since then. They have formed friendships and got fit while doing so – this encapsulates what we try to do at NAR and we are immensely proud of them.

And of course Ollie was still off doing crazy events………. Dorset Invader and Midnight Marathon! Is there no stopping him?

Jude and Ian also gave up a hot Sunday to complete their run leader course – we are so lucky to have such dedicated and experienced members willing to give up their time to help others – thank you guys!

August 2018

In a similar way to July, August began with Handicap GP #6.  With the table being so tight, this event was set to push people to the limits and they did not let us down! More PBs and total focus from people who thought they couldn’t do anymore! Amazing how competitive we can all get! So lovely to see a C25K graduate win this one! Well done Heather!

As it is the holiday month, events have been less but of course Ollie and Shaun found some! Shaun took on the Tough Mudder while Ollie completed another Ultra and Wickham 10k, where he met up with Adam.  Well done boys!

In the middle of the month I travelled to sunny Milton Keynes to complete my Run Leader course – taking us to 8 Run Leaders in total. It was a great day and I picked up some good running tips to pass on to you all!

Towards the end of the month we held our first Invitational Handicap GP with Itchen Spitfires. This was a lovely friendly event with an element of competitiveness (of course!).  It was a great opportunity to show other local clubs how friendly we are but of course I was happy to see NAR colours in the top 3! This was actually won by another of our C25K graduates (Sarah)! They are doing so well! This was also a bonus catch up race for those who were short of a few races in the GP league.

After the ridiculously hot weather, it was disappointing that the only really rainy day happened on our Summer NAR-beque day! However, we showed our true NAR spirit and turned up in the rain and stood firm!  We brought (leaky) gazebos and and umbrellas and we were not deterred! It was a lovely social event, despite the good old British weather and special thanks must got to Jeremy (BBQ king!)and the bakers for desserts and cakes! Maybe next year we’ll get the weather right!

To finish the month, we have the 7th Handicap GP – as before, the results are so close that there was fighting talk at the start! Recent PBs were going to make it tough for everyone with many people feeling their handicap was out of reach – but so many got PBs that it shows what a bit of pressure can do! But it’s not sewn up yet – far from it so keep an eye on the table over the next few months with only 3 races to go!

Next month brings the start of the HRRL at Overton and the CC6 at Fleming Park.  Some of our new faces are racing for NAR for the first time so we wish them well. We have a contingent also going to New Forest Marathon weekend running anything from 5k to a full marathon – some are even camping! (this is becoming a habit!)

And I can’t sign off without mentioning that a few Disney Crazy NARs are heading to Disneyland Paris for the Run Disney weekend at the end of September……. 5k, 10k and Half……. There may be ‘a few’ pics…… ;)