Race Review – St Neots Half Marathon by Ellie Holloway By the time most of us made it to the start line, the main emotion wasn't nerves or excitement, but relief to have actually made it. A no-show coach resulted in a flurry of lifts and zip-cars, and, I have to admit, a little word with myself not to just go back to bed. But Chasers are good in a crisis, we all arrived safely and were off before we had a chance for nerves to set in - although we had to rush the usual pre-race rituals and didn't have time for that final final safety wee.   The course was an undulating loop out of St Neot's and into the surrounding Cambridgeshire countryside, on tarmac roads and with some slightly 'undulating' sections, which thankfully had nothing on Highgate West Hill. It was beautiful winter's day, with blue skies and glaring sun, and, unfortunately, a very chilly wind, which came back to bite.   In true Chaser style, I ran in a pack with Juliette, Johnny, Chloe and Patrick, and we locked into a steady pace, motivated by marshals' cheers of 'good teamwork!'. We clocked through 5k and 10k on target and feeling strong. Highlights include Juliette pinning her number back on whilst running, successfully throwing bottles into the buckets and Johnny getting a team shot on the move.   As we hit the mile 9 hill, Juliette and Johnny had PBs in sight and took off, while I looked forward to the widely-promised downhill 5k. Instead, the slightest of downhills flattened out and the headwind hit. This final 5k was the hardest mental battle of the race for me: I had 1.50 in sight but the headwind was brutal and freezing.   Coming off country lanes and into St Neot's village, the crowds got thicker, the wind calmed down and the finish line was in sight. Crossing the line with a new PB and a huge amount of Chaser support felt great!     St Neot's saw a glut of Chaser PBs, with several people knocking minutes off previous efforts. Notable mentions to: Lauren, Janine and Sarah, and Russ, Marc and Rendy for silver women's and men's teams; Jodie, Hattie and Rosie for teamwork to get sub-1.40 time; to Juliette for breaking 1.50; Chloe for an 8 minute PB; and to Johnny Chapman for smashing his half-marathon debut.    And extra special mention to our taxi drivers for the day!     Christmas Party Tickets are on sale for the Mornington Chasers Christmas Party! Word on the street is that you can hang your stockings on your wall Please purchase your tickets from the online store: https://www.chaser.me.uk/news/buy.php?id=68 Tickets are £10 a head. We are limited to 80 ppl so please sign up asap. If you are vegan - or have any food requirements - please let Henry Woodward know so he can make arrangements to ensure no Chaser goes hungry or thirsty. New Committee Members A full list of who is who on the committee can be found here. We thank those who have stepped down from the committee and welcome the fellow new volunteers Phil West – Secretary Matt Brand – Treasurer Alex Renton – Newsletter Our club captains for this year are Juliette Westbrook, Nick Johnson, Rebecca Taylor and Matt Brand   Track Thursday The track session for Thursday is as follows: 4-5 x (800m (5k pace) [200m recovery])   3 reps max for beginners group   Please sign up here Fundraising Please email newsletter@chaser.me.uk if you would like your event fundraising page link to be added to the newsletter. 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. 28/11/2021 Hatfield 5 27/11/2021 Chingford League Race 4- Fraternity and Sorority Cup Trent Park XC Sign Up To Run - deadline 2021-11-20 04/12/2021 Met League - Fixture 3 - Hillingdon 23/11/2021 Autumn Beginners Week 7 Run (7 of 20 left) 30/11/2021 Autumn Beginners Week 8 - Final Week Run (9 of 20 left) 28/11/2021 Hellish Hills of Highgate: Back With a Vengeance Sign up to run 11/12/2021 Beginners Graduation Parkrun Run - Autumn Beginner (17 of 22 left) Run - to support 03/12/2021 Mornington Chasers Christmas Party 11/12/2021 Masters XC Champs 2021 - Croydon Please Sign up - Deadline Weds 24/11 - deadline 2021-11-24 We are also currently taking names for the following events. 05/03/2022 Chingford League Relays- Wanstead Flats 29/01/2022 SEAA Cross Country Main Champs (Beckenham) Please sign-up (no entry on the day) - Deadline 15/12 26/02/2022 National Cross Country Champs - Parliament Hill Please sign-up (no entry on the day) 08/01/2022 Middlesex County XC Champs - Greenford Sign up for this event (no entry on the day)- Deadline 20th December 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. 28/11/2021 Hatfield 5 27/11/2021 Chingford League Race 4- Fraternity and Sorority Cup Trent Park XC 04/12/2021 Met League - Fixture 3 - Hillingdon 30/11/2021 Autumn Beginners Week 8 - Final Week Run (9 of 20 left) 28/11/2021 Hellish Hills of Highgate: Back With a Vengeance Sign up to run 11/12/2021 Beginners Graduation Parkrun Run - Autumn Beginner (16 of 22 left) Run - to support 19/12/2021 Chasers relay - Circle line Join - deadline 2021-12-17 03/12/2021 Mornington Chasers Christmas Party 11/12/2021 Masters XC Champs 2021 - Croydon Please Sign up - Deadline Weds 24/11 - deadline 2021-11-24 25/11/2021 Track Thursday (19:00) Sign Up Here (3 of 25 left) 25/11/2021 Track Thursday (19:20) Sign Up Here (23 of 25 left) We are also currently taking names for the following events. 05/03/2022 Chingford League Relays- Wanstead Flats 29/01/2022 SEAA Cross Country Main Champs (Beckenham) Please sign-up (no entry on the day) - Deadline 15/12 26/02/2022 National Cross Country Champs - Parliament Hill Please sign-up (no entry on the day) 08/01/2022 Middlesex County XC Champs - Greenford Sign up for this event (no entry on the day)- Deadline 20th December 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. Reading Half Marathon (Reading), 07/11/2021 HM Matt Thomas 89:38 (87:25), 331 [66.79%] RunThrough Battersea Park 10K (Battersea Park), 13/11/2021 10K Daniele Biagi 35:35 (35:35), 5 (1) [75.78%] NEW PB Start Fitness Metropolitan League (Welwyn Garden City), 13/11/2021 7.8KXC Stephen Fabes 27:39, 73 (4)   Simon Fitzmaurice 32:08, 242   Philip Sellar 33:35, 274   Nicola Payne 33:59, 56   Daniel Berry 34:16, 292 (9)   Fiona Russell 36:48, 94 (6)   Lachlan Stibbard Hawkes 36:58, 365   Jerry Bryan 37:35, 381 (16)   Rafaele Lamour 40:17, 145 (10)   Fiona Carr 41:33, 155   Carmen Harrington 42:31, 171   Gary Homewood 42:38, 428 (28)   Anne Caspi 42:43, 173 (4)   Jennifer Moore 44:59, 193   Alon Caspi 46:15, 437 (21) Sri Chinmoy 10K (Battersea Park), 20/11/2021 10K Daniele Biagi 35:56, 33 (3) [75.05%] Links Send your stories to newsletter@chaser.me.uk. Home Facebook Twitter Strava