2021 Race Diary As lockdown lifts, many of us will want to start planning our races for the rest of the year. Our calendar is beginning to fill up nicely. For most of these events all you need to do for now is block them out in your diary, but you should enter the Paddock Wood half marathon and the Cabbage Patch 10 using their event websites now. Here’s what we’ve got planned. On 8 May we are organizing our own all-abilities 3000m race at Parliament Hill track. This event is free to members, sign up using the calendar. On 20 June the Southern Athletics season begins. There will be 4 fixtures over the summer. You can choose whichever track and field events you would like to participate in each week. For endurance runners there is either a 3000m or 5000m each fixture, with the distance alternating from fixture to fixture. The shorter races of 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m and 1500m can be run at every fixture. There are is also a steeplechase, relays and field events. These events are free to members, sign up using the calendar. We are hoping that the Golden Stag Mile will be run on 3rd July, but the date is still provisional. If it goes ahead as planned it will be an all abilities set of mile races, from very slow to astonishingly fast. Kick back with a Pimms after your race. Details TBC. Summer League will be taking place across London this summer, though only the Dulwich fixture is confirmed. Expect 4 or 5 events from July to August. The main event each week is a 5 mile or 10K race. There is also a 1 mile race for children aged 6-14, a 400m fun run for under 6s and relay races. There will also be a picnic – normally this is provided by the host club, but it is not clear what will happen this year. These events are free to members. On 5th September we will be organizing a coach to Paddock Wood in Kent to run a superfast, flat half marathon. This is unfinished business from before lockdown – the 2020 event was one of the first events that had to be cancelled. We already have 37 Chasers signed up to run. You must register through the event website. On 17th October it is our club championship: the Cabbage Patch 10. You must register through the event website. Some time in November we hope the St Neots Half Marathon will take place and we expect to organize a coach. No details are available as yet. All events are open to everyone and attract a broad spectrum of athletes. The only slight exception is the Southern Athletics meetings. These are also open to everyone, but the races do sometimes have rather small fields so it helps if you are relaxed about the possibility of coming last! Beginners Course Spring beginners kicked last night and it's good to be back! Welcome to all of our new runners!  We're now taking registrations via this link for the summer course - due to start June/July. Please sign using this link so that we can fairly record a first-come-first-served. Socials As you'll know we are allowed to meet-up outdoors in groups of up to 6. We have a 'Social' tag set up on the calendar page of the chasers website so you can organise these events as you would a training run. Our new freedoms extend to pubs (with outdoor space) - but as there are relatively few in London, i recommend booking beforehand. Below is a list of our social secretary's favourite haunts from in and around classic chaser routes with links to the website where spaces can be booked: The Garden Gate: https://www.thegardengatehampstead.co.uk/ The Gatehouse: https://thegatehousen6.com/ The Spaniards Inn: https://www.thespaniardshampstead.co.uk/ The Old Bell and Bush: https://www.thebullandbush.co.uk/ The Freemasons Arms: https://www.freemasonsarms.co.uk/ The Stag: http://www.thestagnw3.com/bookings The Roebuck: https://www.roebuckhampstead.com/ The Hawley Arms: https://thehawleyarms.co.uk/ Track Thursday This week's track session will be a pyramid session as follows: 200m [60s], 400m [60s], 600m [60s], 800m [60-90s], 1000m [60-90s], 800 [60-90s], 600 [60s], 400 [60s], 200m [60s between each] (3-5k pace) Total: 5000m Virtual Pilates Class Pilates led by Danielle Smreczak take place on Mondays at 6pm. Connection details will be shared on Facebook in advance. The recording for this week is available here Race Report - Dorney Lake Half - Sunday 18th April The day had finally arrived and it was time for the Dorney Lake Half. Rebecca Taylor and Matt Brand had signed up a couple of months before but there was a third surprise Chaser to join: Daniel Lewis. Rebecca had bribed Dan that week with a drink and a pastry during what he thought was an innocent jaunt along the Parkland Walk. There was a fourth person in our party, but we need to keep quiet on that front, as he’s from the dark side, a.k.a London Heathside. The Spotify playlist had been set up, Rebecca had baked a cake, the training was banked, the cheat shoes were packed and the nipple plasters had been applied. There were however serious question marks about some of the pre-race carb loading decision making. Rebecca had opted for a Five Guys burger and chips, Dan: paprika crisps, and Matt: a chicken biriyani. This could all end in tears and severe tummy trouble. The Chasers arrived at Dorney and it looked like perfect running conditions. Rebecca had already got friendly with a couple of chaps (aptly named the Shoe Twins) who were wearing the same cheat shoes as her. After several trips were made to the portable toilets (definitely NOT Portaloos), the Chasers started making their way to the start line. It was the eagerly anticipated race time... The Dorney Lake Half consists of four laps of yes, you guessed it, Dorney Lake. The course has practically no elevation and the conditions were perfect for PBs. Rebecca’s aim was for a 1:35 and for Matt, to get as close to 1:30 as possible. Dan’s last half marathon experience ended in some serious chafe problems, so the aim was to finish without too much pain. The results started rolling in and it was success all round: Matt finished in 1:28:15, Rebecca in 1:34:57 and Dan in 1:47:33. Rebecca finished 3rd in her category and 16th overall, a fantastic achievement and well deserved after all the hard training. The day was then topped off when news came through that Lauren Longhurst had won the Essex Marathon. A great day of results overall for the Club. The Chasers returned to London to celebrate in style with pizza and beers on the Heath until dark and it wouldn’t be long before attention started to focus on the season ahead... 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. 08/05/2021 Chaser 3k Join - deadline 2021-05-01 22/04/2021 Track Thursday - opens for signups on Wednesday 24/04/2021 Saturday Morning Track Join (17 of 30 left) 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. Dorney Lake Half Marathon (Windsor), 18/04/2021 HM Matt Brand 88:15, 74 [66.33%] NEW PB   Rebecca Taylor 94:57, 106 (3) [74.64%] NEW PB   Daniel Lewis 1:47:33, 164 (45) [57.59%] Links Send your stories to newsletter@chaser.me.uk. Home Facebook Twitter Strava