Mornington Chasers Newsletter 4th July 2025 Dear Chasers, Happy Friday! We hope you’re all staying cool and hydrated after surviving the warmest English June on record. Despite the heat, Chasers are out in force—running, racing, and repping the club across the country. Read on to hear about chasers achievements and what we’re looking forward to: ⸻ 🧺 Save the Date: Chasers Summer Picnic – 16 August 2025 The sunshine means one thing: it’s almost time for our Chasers Summer Picnic! Mark your calendars for Saturday 16th August. More details will follow soon, but expect good vibes, tasty food, and silliness in the sun (hopefully). ⸻ 📍 New Tuesday Meeting Point – Kentish Town Better Gym A quick reminder that due to ongoing renovation works, Tuesday sessions now meet at 7pm outside Kentish Town Better Gym. Thanks for your flexibility—see you there! ⸻ ☀️ Summer League Round-Up + Upcoming Fixtures Kudos to all Chasers who braved the blazing sun at Perivale’s 5-mile Summer League race and 400m relays last weekend! You earned the post-race cake! 📅 Next Fixture: Sunday 13 July – Dulwich Park It’s not too late to get involved in the Summer League. Fixture 3 is 5 miles around Dulwich Park. More information here. 🦺 Regent’s Park Volunteers Needed – Sunday 27 July We’re hosting our home Summer League event in Regent’s Park and need all hands on deck to marshal, set up the picnic, and help things run smoothly. Show visiting clubs what Chaser hospitality is all about! Sign up here. ⸻ 🏃 Southern Athletics League – Fixture 3 Saturday 12 July – 11:30am @ Hillingdon Athletics Stadium, Uxbridge Think grown-up sports day! Expect team spirit, track races, field events, and lots of fun. 👉 Join the team  ⸻ 🔁 Sri Chinmoy Battersea Relays  Several Chaser trios are taking on the Sri Chinmoy 1-Mile Relays in Battersea. For those who are looking to take part but don’t have a team, Tom has kindly made a Chaser calendar invite here. Use the calendar to register your interest and link up with others to form a team. Once you’ve got a group of 3, one of you can go ahead and enter online. Please note: filling out the form doesn’t mean you’re being entered into the race — it’s just to help you find teammates. ⸻ 🏅 Chaser Racing Achievements You’ve been busy! Congratulations to our standout racers:     •    Andrew D – Completed the Montane Summer Spine, a mind-blowing 268-mile ultra. Read on for the race report!     •    Amanda T – 1st in her age group and 19th female overall in the Midsummer Murder 10-Mile Trail Run.     •    Alex S – Finished his first Half Ironman in 35°C heat in Nice. Rumour has it… full Ironman next?     •    Fiona R, Juliette W, Rob S & Andy D – Ran the North Downs 30K. Extra congrats to Fiona for winning her age category and earning a British Masters gold medal!     •    Tony H & Rory C – Conquered 12.5 laps at the Finsbury 5000s, with some excellent chaser cheering. ⸻ Summer Spine 2025 Race Report – Sunday 15 July to Saturday 21 July 2025 Andrew Disley Time 149:10:30. 85th out of 102 starters  The summer spine is a 268 mile race, with about 36,000 feet of ascent starting in Edale in Derbyshire, following the Pennine Way, and finishing over the Scottish border in Kirk Yetholm.  It starts at 08:00 on the Sunday and you have until20:00 on the following Saturday to complete (six and half days later). I had a did not finish (DNF) in 2023 so the race was very much case of unfinished business for me.  I thought I only had about a 50:50 chance of completing but fortunately finished just under  seven hours within the cut-off. I made the early checkpoints in much better times that in 2023.  The marshals said that the whole race moved faster than two years ago due to good weather and  underfoot conditions.  Although there is a lot of paved paths on the Pennine Way wet conditions would still mean a lot of boggy going and foot damage.  The temperatures were good – not too cold and not too hot although the temperature in the last two days ticked up a bit making for an energy sapping finish. I think I was also helped because I had concentrated my training on walking.  The reality is that other than on gentle downhills only the fastest do amuch running.   There are five full checkpoints on the course. I spent an average of four and half hours at each of the check points, eating, faffing, showers at two, and sleeping.  I also had various other stops, bivouacs and sleeps by the trail.  You had to carry a bivvy bag as part of your mandatory kick but even so it became cold quite quickly during the  night and you couldn’t stop for long in comfort. After an hour in the Greg’s Hut bothy it was time to move on. The first check point was at Hebden Hey after 46 miles.  I reached that just before midnight on the first day and was able to get a couple of hours sleep.  The second check point at Hardraw was a further, longer, 64 miles.  I tried to bivvymidway at Horton but didn’t get too much sleep so carried on to Hardraw arriving at 09:00.  By this time I was feeling fairly sleep deprived,  three hours sleep in 48 hours.  Sleep deprivation continued to the end. (I was on the move at the 4am sunrises six days in a row.) Each of the following checkpoints were about 24 hours apart and I got about three hours sleep each time with one-two hours sleeping on the trail in between. On the other hand by the end it was remarkably easy to crash next to the trail for a quick 30 minute nap. Finishing is very much a case of not being unlucky, not having an accident, foot problems etc, and also not giving up.  Once 30 or so hours of stops are stripped out you don’t have to go much more than two miles an hour to finish.  By the end this was considerably harder than it sounds! There was a lot of stunning scenery eg Upper Teesdale, High Cup Nick looking down the Dufton valley, Hadrian’s wall and the Cheviots, and at times you felt very far from civilisation. Scrambling up Pen-Y-Ghent in the dark. was a bit hairy but  going over the boulder field at Falcon Clints and thenclimbing up Cauldron Snout, which had been a nightmare for me two years ago in the dark,  were much easier in the daylight, The volunteers at the check points, and at the various safety checks, were wonderful.  There was also a lot of local help with farmers providing food and honesty boxes in outbuildings,.  In Garrigill, one lady opened up her kitchen to every passing runner.  She even admonished you for trying to take your muddy running shoes off before walking in! Writing this a week after I finished I still feel pretty knackered.  The harsh fact however is that the Summer Spine is arguably the softies version!  There is a Winter Spine race which follows the same course.  Highlights include 16 hours of darkness a day,  and possible ice, snow drifts, miles of bog tramping and the risk of hypothermia and an even more extensive kit list.  I’m glad to say the Winter Spine is very difficult to get into – and I therefore don’t plan on spending any effort trying! Stay cool, keep running, and see you on the start line (or the picnic rug)! Em & Jas Calendar Here's whats happening over the next few weeks other than our usual Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday runs. You can find our full calendar on the website. 12/07/2025 Southern Athletics Match 3 - Uxbridge Sign up to take part (25 of 30 left) - deadline 2025-07-10 13/07/2025 Summer League 10K, Dulwich Park Join 27/07/2025 Summer League 10K - Regents Park Volunteer (29 of 32 left) - deadline 2025-07-26 Run 13/07/2025 Saucony London 10k 19/07/2025 Post Diamond League Drinks @ Barge East, Hackney Wick Join (5 of 12 left) 29/07/2025 Sri Chinmoy Battersea Relays (1 mile) I’m looking for a team - deadline 2025-07-22 I already have a team 07/07/2025 Committee Meeting We are also currently taking names for the following events. 06/09/2025 Jungfrau marathon Join (998 of 1000 left) 12/10/2025 Chicago Marathon I'm in Chicago 30/08/2025 Stockholm Half Marathon Gimme Gimme Gimme 06/09/2025 Dingle Half Marathon/Marathon I got a place! 10/08/2025 Richmond Park Half Marathon Yeah I signed up too 19/10/2025 Amsterdam Marathon I'm in Amsterdam! 10/08/2025 Summer League 10K - Battersea Park Join 19/10/2025 Cabbage Patch 10 Mile - club champs race Running 27/08/2025 Tracksmith Twilight 5000m I'm running 02/11/2025 JTBC Seoul marathon I'm running 25/01/2026 Sevilla Half Marathon I'm running 05/08/2025 Sri Chinmoy Hasty Hare 5k I'm running too 24/08/2025 Asics LDNX 10K I'm runnning 14/09/2025 Copenhagen Half Marathon I'm also running 28/09/2025 Warsaw Marathon Join 21/09/2025 Berlin Marathon Im running Berlin 🇩🇪 16/08/2025 Summer Picnic Count me in! Results If you want to upload a photo or your results are missing, log in to our website and update your picture and Power of 10 ID. Trent Park Triffic 10K (Enfield), 22/06/2025 10KMT Clare Janew 61:40 (61:33), 238 (53, 18) [53.24%] Parkrun 28/06/2025 Ally Pally Mike Hurford 20:28, 14 (1) [82.08%]   Shaun Lowthian 21:36, 26 [63.04%] Ashton Court Oliver Hough 22:28, 41 [59.72%] Bushy Park Dylan Wright 25:35, 441 [58.57%] Cirencester Jonathan Wood 26:36, 134 [54.20%] Coldham’s Common John Bickley 51:57, 337 [33.62%] Conyngham Hall Emily Morgan 24:15, 35 [60.89%]   Finlay Brown 25:11, 42 [51.62%] Dulwich Callum Gathercole 18:38, 35 [69.86%] Hampstead Heath Alan Venning 22:16, 43 [61.98%]   Rebecca Taylor 24:18, 77 (-, 1) [67.97%]   Sarah Funderburk 25:39, 116 [60.30%]   Nick Fenner 26:33, 152 [60.64%]   Heather Marshall 27:33, 189 [58.68%]   alon caspi 30:40, 303 [55.27%]   Nadya Belenky 34:54, 443 [43.46%] Harrow Lodge Andy Davies 24:36, 34 [53.18%] Highbury Fields Philip Rutnam 22:37, 98 [70.60%]   Danielle Smreczak 28:19, 355 [56.50%] Holkham Kate Chadwick 25:07, 42 (-, 1) [70.40%] Lloyd Fiona Carr 25:53, 69 (-, 1) [58.02%] Lordship Recreation Ground Lauren Longhurst 23:06, 60 [64.79%]   Tony Him 27:10, 125 [52.33%] Mile End Tom Hill 21:32, 31 [60.29%] Morden Gaby Anderson 27:27, 96 [53.79%] Peel Jonathan Gorner 20:24, 60 [63.81%] Poole Andrew Farrell 20:34, 103 [73.42%] South Norwood Juliette Westbrook 25:49, 75 [57.20%] Street Lizzy Muggeridge 38:36, 158 [43.26%] Thames Path, Woolwich Daniele Biagi 18:28, 5 (1) [73.74%] Valentines Paul Matthews 34:54, 264 (1) [62.46%] Wanstead Flats David Nelson 27:04, 107 [50.99%] Wimbledon Common Stephen West 30:11, 383 [49.25%] Woodhouse Moor Katrina Kelly 23:33, 99 [62.70%] Wormwood Scrubs John H Grigg 43:59, 124 (1) [66.05%] London Summer League 5 (Perivale), 29/06/2025 5M Christopher Spence-Leslie 29:07, 13 [71.84%] NEW PB   Amanda Taylor 41:08, 183 (37, 2) [76.64%]   Daniel Lewis 46:23, 235 (29) [50.74%]   Diane Morrison 48:25, 252 (73, 5) [62.32%] Links Send your stories to newsletter@chaser.me.uk. 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