Cross Country Championships The national cross country championships take place on the 25th February. Sign up and information is here. Rob has distributed travel and parking information which is useful. You can see that here, Good luck to all those taking part! Sunday Adventures   This Sunday there are a few long runs being led by Chasers going through exciting place likes Wendover Woods, the Lea Valley and Regent’s Park outer circle. If you are marathon training it can sometimes be easier to run with other folk so get involved. Paddock Wood Half Marathon A decent Talacre of Chasers is making the trip to Kent for this year’s Paddock Wood Half Marathon. Information and sign up here is here Cross Country This Sunday the fifth fixture in the Sunday cross country league is taking place at Cassiobury Park in Watford. You can sign up here. The world cross country relays are taking place in Australia. You can watch it if you cannot sleep here Relays The SEAA road relays take place on the 2nd of April. Click here to sign up for the men’s team or here for the women’s team. Race Report - Lydia Tjörnarparen 2023 Skåne County, Sweden 50 miles I didn’t know what to expect. Photos and videos had been shared on the race’s Facebook group of a very wet, snowy course. We’re talking long, boggy sections with water up to the knees. There was much hilarity in the penultimate weeks when the ground started to dry up - people joked about bringing in fire hoses to make the conditions more traditional. I gulped, bought some merino wool socks, lathered my feet in coconut oil and remembered to pack some humility. Beyond that, I arrived at the start line blind to what was ahead of me. All four distances start together - 50k, 50 mile, 100k, 100 mile. This makes the start a really fun mix of atmospheres - the 100 milers who want to start sensibly, full of trepidation at the hours and loops ahead of them, and the 50k runners who want to red-line it. I sat somewhere in the middle, trying not to get too carried away sparring with the 50k runners. I knew there would be sections that were off trail - into rougher, wilder terrain. I didn’t know this would consist of patches of recently felled forest, tightly packed spruce trees and stone walls and logs to climb over. I’m climbing up a hill of rocks and bogs and I need to find yellow ribbons between spruce branches? OKAY. I need to do this again later downhill in the dark? SURE. The Swedes are really good at these sections. Although I could pick people off on the pillowy soft, long gravel roads, they left me for dust as soon as there was a stream to navigate your way across. I thought I was okay at those sections, but it was becoming evident that I was out of my depth. While I would stop for a second to figure out a path, they could just see it immediately. The joy of racing all distances together is that it’s harder to know exactly who you are racing. You kind of just have to run within yourself. But at around 25km the 50 and 100 mile runners peel off for an out and back section, and it becomes a bit clearer. When I approached the aid station at the end and realised I hadn’t seen any other women come back, I realised I must be leading. Lars Hektor - the race director - confirmed this for me when I reached the aid station. I screamed in his face. He filled my bottles for me and told me to eat. I shoved some banana and chocolate into my pack, grabbed handfuls of crisps and sweets and started walking. (I barely stopped at aid stations. It’s way more efficient to eat on the move, even if it’s just walking.) I saw the other two women almost immediately. “Bra gjort!” “well done!’ “bra krigat!” Oh lord, the breezy downhill I enjoyed to get to the aid station was obviously now uphill. Well, here goes: I haven’t done endless steady state runs on Frognal and Swain’s Lane for nothing. The adrenaline coursing through my body was obscene. I had to keep this win. I now wanted it more than anything. I was a petulant child with the best toy in the world and no one else was having it. Push. GO. I had to calm down. There was still 42km to go and I didn’t know what was ahead. I still hadn’t hit the section that was so famously boggy. But you know what, I felt weirdly calm about it all. I would take it. I was here to do this and I was doing it. Also, the scenery was unbelievable. It’s difficult to get too wound up when you’re surrounded by acres of trees, vibrant green moss and elegant lakes. I usually hate an out and back, but I was so excited to get to run these sections again. The trail was just so soft, yet firm. The single track sections were the stuff of my running dreams - playful, but smooth. I found flow states where I didn’t even realise I was following the course - it was like I already knew it. Okay but back to those wilder sections: it did get pretty edgy when I got lost and couldn’t find the “F***ING RIBBONS”. I cracked those branches under my feet and kicked the rocks. I wailed. I felt like the women were going to appear any minute now. Worse, I worried I was going to need their help. I had developed a mantra that I counted off on my fingers. Keep it light, keep it strong, never too high, never too low, keep calories going in, keep moving, stay sharp. I counted it out again. I ate some dry roasted peanuts. I found my way. As the sun set over another elegant lake and soaring birds were reflected in the water, I was becoming concerned about my diminishing water supplies. I had written down the rough distance of each aid station (a tip Eamon had given me before Country to Capital) but by this point, I was moving slower, so the aid stations were appearing more slowly. I wept to see the next one. They were playing, “Simply The Best” and gave me a rehydration tablet. They refilled my bottles and I grabbed my handfuls of snacks. I donned my high-vis vest ready for the dark. All of the aid stations were brilliant. The snacks were varied and even catered to food intolerances. There was soup (and beer) at 20km. The tents were heated, there were comfy chairs to sit in and the volunteers were bright, bubbly and attentive. Here, a woman asked me if I wanted to sit down. I shook my head profusely and they laughed. I knew I’d struggle to leave. The long gravel roads gave me confidence. I knew from passing the women earlier on the course that I had better flat speed. This worked to my advantage - the last 21km of the course had loads of it. There was one hairy climb that was the stuff of Wendover Woods legend (IF YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW. Mark Lamb will tell you cheese jokes while you try to climb it.) But at the top, I had the most breathtaking view of the sunset over the forest. By this point, I’d been alone for so long I had begun talking out loud. “Alright, you’re forgiven,” I said to the forest. A tip from Sophie Brownlee was to have a snack in your pack that you would look forward to. A treat. The chocolate truffle from the aid station had been one, and now I remembered I had a Trek bar. I didn’t eat much of it, but the tiny bite of chocolate was all I needed. Stay sharp. With 10k to go and light diminishing, I opened up the gas. Let’s get this done now. I knew that the women really could still be right on my back. The route to the finish is an out and back too - you follow the same 13km you started with. I knew that I had loved it. I remembered all of the initial delight. I had to battle the spruces again - this time in the dark - but now, I had a man shouting instructions to me in Swedish from behind. Thanks dude. I really don’t know how they’re so good at it. You’re like, “WHAT yellow ribbon?!” And they’ve already pinpointed the next three. The last 5k. I stopped on a gravel road to turn off my head torch and look at the brightest, clearest starry sky I’ve seen in a long time. I then saw Spruce Man was just behind me, so I wanted to keep moving. The trail to the end was sketchy under foot - rocky, boggy and slippery with rogue tree routes. I hadn’t practiced running on this kind of trail at all, let alone in the dark. But as a child, I spent a lot of time on holidays in Scotland leaping along rocky beaches and knobbly trails as fast as I could. Let’s see if I have any muscle memory for it. Spruce Man was really keeping me going. I was trying to outrun him for no real reason other than that it was very motivating. I would turn a corner and see his head torch nearby. Faster. Check route on watch: the end was actually in sight! I could see the end on the map! I didn’t know that the finish was actually further up the road than where we started - there were probably a lot of things I missed because I hadn’t translated the Swedish. But that’s all part of the fun, right? I heard cheering when people had spotted me coming up the road and I sprinted up that hill with so very much happiness in my heart. I got my timing chip over the line and was greeted with applause into a warm tent. I laugh-sobbed. I ate some cake and drank some broth. I applauded others who finished. A volunteer removed my timing chip and GPS tracker. Another asked how I was. “Really good thanks. Fine. Great.” Laugh-sob. An official knelt beside me. She gently asked, “Do you know if you are the first finisher for the women?” “I think I am, yes.” She smiled and nodded. “Yes, I think so too.” 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. 11/03/2023 Chingford League- Wanstead Flats XC Relays Sign up to run - deadline 2023-03-05 05/03/2023 Mornington Chasers Regents Park 10K 05/03/2023 Mornington Chasers Regent's Park 10k marshalling Volunteer (8 of 12 left) - deadline 2023-02-20 19/02/2023 Sunday XC League - Fixture 5 - Cassiobury Park, Watford Sign up to run 25/02/2023 National XC Champs - Cheshire Sign up to run 12/03/2023 Paddock Wood Half Marathon Run Get a coach if possible 13/03/2023 Committee meeting 21/02/2023 Beginners volunteering week 6 volunteer (2 of 5 left) 28/02/2023 Beginners volunteering week 7 volunteer (4 of 5 left) 07/03/2023 Beginners volunteering week 8 volunteer (4 of 5 left) We are also currently taking names for the following events. 02/04/2023 SEAA - 12 Stage Road Relays Sign-up to express your interest. 02/04/2023 SEAA - 6 Stage Road Relays (Women's team) Sign up if interested 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. Parkrun 04/02/2023 Hampstead Heath Henry Hair 00:23:37 (00:23:37) [54.98%] London Winter Run (Central London), 05/02/2023 10K Julia Shreeve 00:56:16 (00:56:16), 4815 [55.51%] Parkrun 11/02/2023 Ally Pally Stephanie Mercier 26:26, 107 [56.37%] Beckton Fiona Carr 24:21, 13 (1, 1) [61.05%] Bradford Simon Fitzmaurice 19:00, 3 [69.82%] Canons Park Alex Renton 21:57, 5 [64.77%] Catford Christopher Leslie 18:14, 2 (1) [71.21%] Clapham Common Meryl Walker 42:40, 846 [43.44%] Fell Foot Rebecca Howarth 25:35, 40 [57.72%] Finsbury Park Marcos Cuevas-Nunez 22:08, 79 (1) [66.64%]   Mabel Ellerker 22:59, 108 [64.25%] NEW PB   Eleanor Childs 23:57, 158 [61.66%] NEW PB   Rafaele Lamour 25:43, 248 [64.94%]   Krush Patel 29:11, 408 [44.49%] Gladstone Johnny Chapman 22:01, 33 [59.12%] NEW PB Gunnersbury Andy Davies 29:21, 309 [44.35%] Gunpowder Alina Williamson 25:27, 60 [58.81%] Hampstead Heath Daniele Biagi 18:07, 2 (1) [74.06%]   Keith Jordan 21:48, 32 [69.80%]   Janine Makaronidis 27:00, 131 [54.94%]   Yan (Patrick) Li 28:28, 176 [52.63%]   Sarah Funderburk 28:47, 182 (-, 1) [52.69%]   Julia Shreeve 29:10, 194 [52.00%]   alon caspi 29:14, 196 (1) [56.96%]   Gaby Anderson 29:25, 204 [50.20%]   Ellie Holloway 29:27, 205 [50.14%]   Jodie Pearlman 29:37, 210 [49.86%]   Janet Kidd 32:18, 259 [54.75%]   Stephen West 34:04, 281 [42.66%] Highbury Fields Bruno Papadacci 18:55, 12 (1) [70.93%]   Andrew Farrell 21:28, 52 [68.71%]   Philip Rutnam 22:42, 84 (1) [68.65%] Linford Wood Daisy Wooller 29:40, 107 [49.78%] Lordship Recreation Ground David Nelson 23:56, 52 [56.89%]   Nick Herbert 26:23, 76 [49.21%] Mile End Paul Dickens 24:28, 129 [54.84%] Nonsuch Lizzy Muggeridge 37:15, 549 [43.40%] St Albans Juliette Westbrook 29:16, 240 [50.46%] Valentines Paul Matthews 29:40, 168 (1) [69.89%] Wormwood Scrubs John Grigg 34:19, 105 (1) [74.55%] Start Fitness Metropolitan League (Trent Park), 11/02/2023 7.8KXC Rory Clark 27:54, 49   Andy Davies 30:27, 127   Nicola Payne 31:49, 14   Jonathan Thomson 33:03, 203 (41)   Lauren Longhurst 33:05, 30   Jerry Bryan 37:39, 311 (11)   Juliette Westbrook 38:28, 87   Fiona Russell 38:59, 92 (-, 9)   Daniel Lewis 40:14, 338 (43)   Gary Homewood 42:46, 352 (27) Punchbowl Marathon (Farnham), 13/02/2023 Mar Andrew Disley 07:55:20, 117 [32.22%] Links Send your stories to newsletter@chaser.me.uk. 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