Urgent reminder: This Tuesday, Summer BBQ and Grand Prix
We're holding our annual Summer Barbecue on Tuesday, 27th August - please come!
This year, as last year, we'll be welcoming back Mike and his food truck. He's asked that we give him an idea of the number of people to expect,so if you haven't already done so, please fill outthis Google formas soon as you can.We won't hold you to your menu choices, but it would help to give Mike a sense of what to bring. And, just as last year, we'll be subsidising your dinner with £5 vouchers for club members!
But it's not all food - we'll also be holding our 800m Grand Prix race for Seniors and our always brilliant mixed Juniors and Seniors 400m relay. Get ready to run!
Ed Prickett 5000m Club Championship, 28 August
The club 5000m track championships, in memory of Ed Prickett, will be held on Wednesday, 28 August at 8:20 pm at K2 Crawley. Registration will be open from 7 pm and close at 7:45 pm.
Ed Prickett was a former member of the club who was sadly killed at the age of 21, whilst competing in the annual British Universities track and field championships in 2004. Ed was one of Britain's most promising young runners, having been the second British runner to cross the finishing line at the European Juniors Cross Country Championships. He continues to be fondly remembered by club members from Reigate Priory AC, Crawley AC, and Nottingham University.
The race is open to all seniors, including veterans, and U20’s; a 3000m race will take place at the same time for U15/U17 athletes. The results will be recorded on the Power of 10. Please wear your club vest. There is no need to inform anyone if you are taking part and there is no charge. Note that shoes with a stack height greater than 25mm are illegal on the track, including Vaporflys and equivalent. Contact
if you have any questions.
Final parkrun tourism, Seaford Beach, 7 September
Our final parkrun tourism event is on Saturday, 7 September at lovely Seaford Beach parkrun, a fast out-and-back course. These events are always great fun and are typically followed by an optional breakfast. You can see the full details of our parkrun tourismhere, and the current standings of our competitionhere.
It'd be great to see you there!
Spread the word! Couch to 5K Programme, 28 September
Our next Couch to 5K Programme starts on Saturday 28th September, with optional but recommended lead-in sessions on Saturday 14th September and Saturday 21st September. Participation is free for members, but if you know someone outside the club who might benefit from the programme, please let them know about it. The cost of the 12-week programme, including the optional sessions and parkrun graduation, is £17 - an absolute bargain, but it gets even better: Graduates who go on to join our club will see that cost deducted from their joining fee.
The full details of the programmecan be seen here.
Run Reigate volunteers needed
Run Reigate is coming up on Sunday, 22 September. We know that many of you will be running the race but please consider volunteering if you can - they're particularly looking for energetic team leaders! If you can volunteer, followthis link to sign up. And if you haven't already registered to run, youcan do so here.
Update to the SportsShoes discount
You can now link your England Athletics membership with your SportsShoes ULTRA account to receive discount automatically at checkout. This prevents the need to enter a code at checkout, making receiving discount from us a lot quicker and easier. You can also find outmore here. The discount on offer has also changed - you will now get 15% off in season products. Some exclusions apply to this promotion, including Coros, Garmin, Shokz, Maurten products and a few shoes. For the next couple of months there will still be the option to use the existing offer whilst we transition to the new method of redeeming your running club discount.
Sendus your results, please!
If youparticipate in an event,email
to let us know your results. Pleasesubmit by Sunday evening at the latest to allow us to meet the deadline for the Surrey Mirror sports pages.
Follow us on social media
If you don't already, please follow us onFacebookandInstagram- we're growing, but we need all the support we can get! And, of course, we'd love to get your photos and stories up there, so please, share on the WhatsApp social group when you can. Thanks!
Junior parkrun PBs
Congratulations to Ted Smythe and Seb Wilkins on their Junior parkrun PBs at the weekend - Ted came second overall, with a smashing time of 7:03, while Seb came seventh in a brilliant 7:51. Well done!
Lily B, Saturday August 24
The last match in this year’s girls track and field league will be held at Kingston on Saturday, 24 August. Each athlete can do three individual events and a relay. There are events for U11s/ U13s/U15s and U17s. There is no cost to enter but we need to register athletes ahead of time so please let Mike Gent know if your daughter would like to enter by Thursday, 22 August.
Southern Road Relays
The winter season traditionally opens with the Southern Road Relays, this year again hosted by Aldershot at the Rushmoor Arena on Saturday, 21 September. There are races for U13s/U15s/U17s with teams comprising of three runners (U13s for these purposes are school years 7 and 8). It is a great opportunity to experience a big regional event supported by clubs from all over the South of England and have the fun of running as part of a team. Entries close on 5 September. Please let Mike Gent know if your child would like to compete by Monday, 2 September.
Dates for the Juniors diary
Saturday 24 AugustLily B Girls Track and Field League, Kingston
Saturday 21 SeptemberSouthern Road Relays, Aldershot
Sunday 22 September Run Reigate
Saturday 5 October Bruce Judd (Surrey County) Cross Country relays, West Horsley Place
Saturday 12 October Match 1, Surrey Cross Country League (U13s-U20s)
Saturday 9 November Match 2, Surrey Cross Country League
Sunday 10 November Match 1, Border League (U9s-U15s)
No session on Monday, 26 August
It's a bank holiday - go enjoy yourself!
Smiths debut at SAL
The final match of the Southern Athletic League track and field season took place under sunny skies on Saturday, 17 August, with sister Abbie and Hope Smith each making their track debuts. Hope clocked a speedy 800m, while Abbie placed third in the 1500m. Andrew Pringle gave virtually every field event a go, as well as running in the 4x400m relay, along with Ginevra Stoneley. Well done, athletes, terrific season!
Up-Coming Races
As always, there are more than a few good races coming up: The Southeast of England Relays at Rushmoore Arena in Aldershot on Saturday, 21 September, Run Reigate on Sunday, 22 September, of course, through to the Brighton 10K on Sunday, 17 November. You can see a full list of other races and events on our website here. Do get in touch with the appropriate league managers if you have any queries - see theWho's who pageto find out the contact details. All of these events should be onour calendar.
Cross country season starting soon
It's getting to be that time of year again - time to start thinking about running around in a muddy field for fun!
This year, there's a newish fixture on the calendar: The Surrey Endurance Relays,formerly known as The Surrey RoadRelays, to be held on Saturday, 5 October. For many years, the road relays were held for senior and vet teams in Wimbledon Park in September. For several reasons, the Wimbledon course has been deemed no longer suitable and an alternative suitable course on tarmac could not be found. It has therefore been decided that this year's event will be a trail or cross-country relay instead. With the help of Guildford & Godalming AC, the use of West Horsley Place has been confirmed. The course is about 5km, mostly paths and trails through the private estate. The plan is to avoid the toughest sections of the cross country course used for Surrey league in February. The event will follow the usual format of senior teams and 3 vet categories with 6, 4 or 3 per team all starting together.
More dates for the cross country calendar:
Saturday 12 October Match 1 Surrey Cross Country League
Saturday 26 October Surrey Masters Cross Country Championships 2024, Nonsuch Park
Saturday 2 November RPAC Priory Relays in Priory Park (marshals from the club required, too)
Saturday 9 November Match 2 Surrey Cross Country League
Saturday 4 January 2025 Surrey Cross Country Championships, Lloyd Park, Croydon
WhatsApp groups
The links to the main club WhatsApp groups are published in the email version of this newsletter. Make sure that you are added to the appropriate WhatsApp groups for any weekly sessions you may participate in.
Keep in touch
If there is anything you'd like to see in the newsletter,get in touch - our email address is
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