Our running students return this week, but instead of pencil cases and packed lunch, they’ve got Garmins and Asics!
They’re back to big races, annual club events and a full on parkrun takeover. So let’s get a look at what they’ve been studying this week:
London’s Big Half 2026
We’re starting at London’s ‘most vibrant celebration of community and movement’ at the annual Big Half on Sunday 6th September.
Our club racers brought the energy to the heart of the four boroughs – Tower Hamlets, Southwark, Lewisham, and Greenwich – with each offering our members the colour and fun of the city capital.
It was a wet and windy week leading up to it however some good weather accompanied our members taking part on the day.
Here’s Michaelangelo Siracusa’s take on his experience from the race:
“I was excited to get the chance to run some of the route of the famous London Marathon, albeit in reverse, especially over Tower Bridge around the half way point.
“I had a pretty good training block behind me, but some calf niggles a few weeks out were playing on my mind.
“I slapped some ibuprofen gel on them and hoped for the best, and on the day they didn’t give me any grief, but the warm weather and some tummy troubles plagued me instead!
“Sadly I fell into the same trap I did earlier in the year in Lisbon, I went out too fast and got caught out by the weather, leading to fatigue and a slowdown later in the race.
“Not a bad time all told, and less than 2 minutes off my half marathon PB, but I could have played it smarter for sure.
“You can’t have good races every time, and lessons have definitely been learnt.”
Another 17k runners started on the north side of the River Thames near Tower Bridge filling the warm day with energetic atmosphere.
Amongst them were also Claire and David Tetlow who completed the day’s outing with great times of 2:00:59 and 2:03:46 respectively.
The full results were:
Henry Axon – 01:23:01
Anna Thomsen – 01:33:52
Ranjit Tamang – 01:40:00
Sagin Rai – 01:42:03
Paras Gurung – 01:45:09
Amy Axon – 01:55:41
Claire Tetlow – 02:00:59
David Tetlow – 02:03:46
Michaelangelo Siracusa – 02:18:43
Rye Summer Classic 5k
A bit of a chaotic evening was in store for some runners at this summer series on Friday 4th September.
Jane Wren ran the course in 25:09 however accidentally, club partner Alan Randall was wearing her number! He did it in a time of 26:55, just with a different name called out at the end…
Diane was missed in the results because they gave her another ‘Parsons’ number! Our Diane actually came first V45 in 24:44 but they unfortunately gave her trophy to someone else on the night.
Martin Salmon (22:53), Tony Scott (24:18), Clive Allon (24:52), Caron Inder (with a massive PB in 28:25) and Royd Powell (24:43) also took part and did fab!
Here’s what Caron had to say on her brilliant personal best effort:
“My first 5k race in Rye and I loved every moment of it especially as the sunset was beautiful. Conditions were perfect plus a nice flat course.
“I ended up with a PB of 28:31 – V55 5th place. I was absolutely shocked and so pleased with the result.
“Thankfully for the parkrun takeover I ended up on a gentle 39 minute pacer and encouraged a lady across the line to her new PB.”
Don Thompson Mile
British Olympic gold-medalist race walker Don Thompson was the only British man to win a gold medal at the 1960 Summer Olympics, in the 50km walk – he was also, just as importantly a member of Folkestone Running Club.
Each year we honour his memory and his mark on the sport by participating in a one mile race along the Princes Parade seafront.
Dedications on the sea wall mark the start and end of the race as well as details of why he is remembered.
Many in the club still recall his impact and remind newer members of why his legacy still stands today.
Folkestone parkrun Takeover
Our Folkestone parkrun takeover event on Saturday 5th September was a huge success!
A big thank you to all the club members who volunteered to support marshal Saturday’s event, as well as all our fabulous pacers from 20 minutes up to 40 minutes.
Massive appreciation must go to Vicky Scott for getting this whole thing organised. It takes a lot of effort!
There were 56 new PBs among the 486 who completed the course, with a massive 72 of them being first timers!
Big shout out to Beth Goodchild on 250 and Jane Wren on 350 parkruns!
With all those new personal bests, we should definitely do this again sometime! How does next month sound?
Brilliant photos from club members Michaelangelo Siracusa and Adam Ward plus pictures from JB Imagery.
Elsewhere in the world of parkrun, Darren Crew and Jody Stoakes were working on their parkrun alphabet challenge in the Netherlands with Zuiderpark Den Haag.
It’s been taking them a few years to get from A to Z but they’ve worked hard for it!
The full weekend of parkrun results from our FRAC members can be found here.