Author: Andy

Thirty Trips and Counting

The rain was lashing the car as we overtook some bedraggled cyclists after cresting a hill in the middle of the island. It was early on a November Saturday afternoon and we hadn’t come to Lanzarote for British weather! As we headed back towards the coast, the rain eased and finally ceased almost at the moment we got our first view of Club La Santa sitting adjacent to the lagoon in solitary splendour.

Our family of four, together with four ladies from LBAC, a small MKAC family and a random Irishman were the final arrivals in our 32 strong group that had gone to “Grotty” for holiday with a bit of running included. It was the 30th time that LBAC had trip for the event and remarkably there are still a few going who were there in 1990 for the second International Challenge. As you would expect, much has changed in the intervening years, but the atmosphere remains pretty similar. read more

Dunstable Downs Challenge 1/2 Marathon

By Matthew Brooks

There I was chilling out on the beach when this email appears in my inbox from James B, ‘I am jogging the Dunstable Downs Challenge…just for training. Gonna be at an easy pace’. Well, they say there’s one born every minute and the sun must have got to my head as I found myself signing up less than 3 weeks before race day not having done any 1/2 marathon training, only to be told afterwards, ‘Did I mention that I can’t map read?’ (It’s a self-navigating route) Doubt and regret were creeping in. read more

The Tightest of Tight Finishes

Going into the final Stag Trophy race of the season, there were a few things up for grabs. Firstly, there was a two way battle for the overall win with Stuart Dimmock as strong favourite, but perennial bridesmaid Warren Rose hoping that this would be his year to take home the rose bowl.

Meanwhile there was another skirmish going on for the third podium place, between Ruth Mitchell, Ian Grimshaw and possibly Matthew Brooks, given a very strong wind!

April is always interesting, because after six months of running in the dark and struggling to see up the murky alleyways of Leighton, you have light and the clothing gets lighter and there’s less of it, making for some much faster and more confident running over the 4K course. Usually around half the runners beat their handicap and half don’t, but I don’t think it gives too much away to say that ten out of fourteen did on Wednesday and a further three were within ten seconds. read more

Commenting From Afar

By Andy Inchley

So I don’t have a serious injury, but it’s enough to stop me running for a few weeks, so in order to keep involved with the events that are going on and because we haven’t had a report on the website for a while I thought I’d write a few words about last weekend’s various events with really just a couple of conversations, the results and Strava to guide me. Apologies if my perceptions are wildly inaccurate, but you can put it down to my age!

Saturday started with the final XC of the season, the English National Schools Championships in Leeds. Back in the dim and distant past when I was a lad, this event was generally considered to be the highest standard race around. This is because not only do you have all the runners, but you also have lots of very fit youngsters taking part from other sports. Therefore, simply qualifying for the event is a big achievement. read more

Podium Finish in the Sun

By Chris Large

The club’s annual overseas trip is to Club La Santa, one of the world’s leading sports resorts which is on the north of Lanzarote in the Canary Islands. There are loads of activities available on the site and there is of course The International Running Challenge which is a set of four races at the end of November.

Club La Santa is a Danish-run resort which provides a training base for amateurs and some elite teams alike. In fact the Belgium Olympic Team visit regularly and the U20 GB Ladies Wheelchair Basketball team also recently stayed, while we’ve been out here in the past with Johnny Brownlee and Angelique Kerber. This year the Danish ´help for heroes´ army/air force veterans were here. There really are a huge range of sports to fit into your stay including all the racquet sports, wind surfing and crazy golf(!) to name but a few in addition to the three Olympic size swimming pools. read more

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