Put down your umbrellas (Not for too long though) and pick up your race report viewing devices because this is going to be a good one.
We’ve got disruptive weather, the revival of the Roman empire, and a few very special mentions, including an event in which a large number of us got medals, which I’d like to think that some of you are wearing while reading this.
Tuesday 13th May – Tuesday 16th September – FRAC Virtual 10 Miler
On Tuesday 13th May a message was put out by Sonia explaining her excellent idea of offering the leftover Folkestone 10 mile medals to club members as most of us were helping to marshal on the day and didn’t have the chance to get one.
With it being such a FRAC themed medal and pretty special to us it’s no surprise that the spaces didn’t take long to fill and people were out soon after completing their runs.
We were given a deadline of Sunday 31st August to complete our virtual 10 Mile challenge, with people heading out in pairs, groups or a few solo to ensure they could fit it in, some of us even did it twice, but of course still only got 1 medal.
This event wasn’t all about FRAC though, there was a poll sent out before the event which allowed us to vote for a charity of choice to raise money through entry fees for, and that charity was MIND South Kent.
MIND are a pretty special and popular charity in Folkestone, as I know a few FRAC people have raised money for them in the past, and will be raising money for them in the near future with the Folkestone Half.
It’s probably a little soon to mention this word I know, but MIND have a Christmas fun run in December called the Mental Elf Run, I helped the organiser Joe Tolhurst with the route and local running info for last year’s event and it went really well, but it would be nice to see even more of us this year.
On Tuesday 16th September the virtual 10 miler reached it’s crescendo with the eagerly awaited medal presentation event, held in Three Hills, roughly 40 of us turned up to enjoy: a buffet, a speech about MIND and how appreciated our support is, and of course receiving our shiny new medals.
Well done to everyone who took part, and it was great to see so many of you on the night, but enough from me, below is a message that Sonia wanted me to share:
I just wanted to once again congratulate everyone who took part in the Folkestone 10miler Virtual. I was overwhelmed with the support for the idea and how everyone was so enthusiastic about taking part. I also wanted to thank you all, without you taking part it wouldn’t have happened and we wouldn’t have raised £610 for the charity MIND. I also wanted to say thank you to the committee and club for supporting the idea, donating the medals and paying for the buffet! And my final thanks go to Dan Mccarthy for helping me out on the presentation night, Cassie Sinclair for the pictures and to Margaret for all her help making this event the success it was. Much love, gratitude and thanks to you all Sonia
Saturday 20th September – Centurion Chiltern Wonderland 50 miler
On Saturday Stuart Sprinks took on the Centurion Chiltern Wonderland 50 miler (Which I was pleased to discover that one of the entrants was called Alice), despite battle scars and setbacks over the past year Stuart came, saw and conquered the event.
Below is what he had to say about the event and his experience:
This time last year I was recovering from back surgery, so I’m absolutely thrilled to have completed my first ultra since then — the Centurion Chiltern Wonderland 50 miler. I finished in 10 hours 37 minutes, placing 115th overall.
Training has been limited due to injury, and the course was tough, with over 6,000 feet of elevation gain — which makes crossing that finish line feel even sweeter!
Saturday 20th September – Parkrun
Folkestone Parkrun:
Elsewhere on Saturday morning our takeover event was well and truly washed out, with a burst of thunder and lightning making it unsafe to go ahead with it.
Always a tough choice to cancel a parkrun, but after some optimistic delay to try and make it happen the final decision was made.
Thankyou to everyone who turned up ready to go and take part, and good efforts to those that still decided to turn the legs over in the weather, I enjoyed it myself briefly but stopped as my legs weren’t warmed up properly, so the enjoyment was short.
In a show of gratitude, the people who were signed up officially on the parkrun site were given volunteering credits, below is a list of names:
We are very grateful to the volunteers who made this event happen: Thomas ASPINALL, Paul BARTLETT, David BOTTING, Marie BRAZIER, Karen BURFOOT, Hilary COLLINS, Deirdre COOMBS, Graham COOMBS, Darren CREW, Trudi CURD, Caroline CURTIS, David DENYER, Layla DMONTE, Louisa EEDE, Sue ELKINS, Kate EVANS, Maria FELICETTI, Julie GIBBS, Beth GOODCHILD, Nikki GOODWIN, Paul HANNAY, Jacob HENWOOD, Luke HICKS, Deborah JEFFERY, Kate LANCEFIELD, Karl LETCHFORD, Mark MACFARLANE, Sonia MARKWELL, Philip MAULL, Dan MCCARTHY, Catherine O’CONNOR, John O’HARA, Brent PARKER, Bec POWNEY, Simon RAMSAY, Vicky SCOTT
Uckfield Parkrun
| Position | Gender Position | parkrunner | Time |
| 64 | 40 | Jason CROCKFORD | 00:37:59 |
Hikarigaoka koen Parkrun
| Position | Gender Position | parkrunner | Time |
| 76 | 62 | Martin SALMON | 00:25:01 |
Dover Waterfront Parkrun
| Position | Gender Position | parkrunner | Time |
| 9 | 2 | Anna THOMSEN | 00:19:40 |
| 110 | 67 | Henry AXON | 00:30:52 |
Sunday 21st September – Eton Dorney Lake Triathlon
On Sunday Marie Brazier and Diane Parsons travelled up to Windsor to complete triathlons, Dorney lake is a scenic rowing lake which quite famously hosted rowing events during the 2012 London Olympics.
Diane took on the Super Sprint (425m Swim, 10k Bike & 2.5k Run) in a time of 1.03.39, with an unfortunate bike malfunction adding 6 minutes to her time, but hopefully she gets the chance to do more in the future and they go smoothly the whole way round.
Marie completed the Olympic Distance Triathlon (1500m Swim, 40k Bike & 10k Run) in a time of 3.15.59, which she was super happy with especially considering she lost 5 weeks of training due to a cracked rib (The dangers of FRAC fun athletics night).
After that result I’m sure we’re all looking forward to watching Marie in Los Angeles in 2028.
Sunday 21st September – Ipswich Half Marathon
Sunday was a FRAC-tion packed day as Clive and Pam Allon also ran, they both travelled to Ipswich for the Jane Tomlinson’s Run For All Half Marathon, which takes runners from Portman Road (Ipswich Town FC’s football ground) past Ipswich waterfront and the River Orwell, then finally back to Portman Road.
Here is what Pam had to say about the day and event:
Clive and I got up early and drove to Ipswich for the Jane Tomlinson Half Marathon.
It was a beautiful day, quite windy but the crowds were out in force and there was a great atmosphere. It was a very scenic route, through the town, park and along the river, mostly flat but with two big hills. We can highly recommend it. Clive was super pleased to come home in 1:55 – his first had marathon after his hip replacement and Pam did 1:53.
Thanks for reading, and good luck to everyone running the Folkestone Half next weekend, keep an eye out during the run as the ‘Blue Man’ may be making an appearance along the route!