Championship Round #9 Tenbury 10K
CMRC’ers go to Tenbury! …….
It’s actually not that far away, but with the rolling wheat fields, endless views and scorching heat; its easy enough to imagine you’re on the Continent…(though just don’t think about the lack of Olive Trees…!).
We had a fabulous turn out for the 10K, including support squad! Thank you to David and Ruth Alliston for your sparkly red and white pom-poms - we absolutely love seeing you with these at our events! And thank you to Debbie, Vicki, Sarah, Rob, and Emily for photos, cheering and music, and to family and friends turning out to cheer on loved ones.
Tenbury 10K is a popular event for the locals, local runners and of course; CMRC. A short way down from Cleobury at the base of Clee Hill, the town of Tenbury is a small historic market town set among a rural backdrop.
The course is noted as ‘undulating’ - now as runners we all know what that means! Watch out for those pesky short sharp inclines and winding lanes. Each year, many of the locals are out in force supporting the runners. Many have hose pipes and extra water stations set up, as it is renown for being a hot one!
According to the results, Cleobury Mortimer RC came 4th overall for the ‘Team Scores’.
Croft Ambrey in at first place, Herefordshire Couriers at 2nd, an unknown mystery club in 3rd, and Ludlow Runners in 5th.
Surround yourself with people who encourage you to blossom.
Our support crews and backup help the cogs keep turning!
Jackie Nixon…this one’s for you….!
Jackie’s training this year is so consistent, and her discipline for getting out and doing her sets are paying off! Jackie got an incredible 56:06 PB. That’s around 8:58m/m, which for the heat of the day and the varied course is super strong. She even managed a mean sprint to the line complete with ‘race face’! Absolutely brilliant.
The race report for this round comes from one of our run leaders, Ade Ford.
Now you may recall back in April, at the third championship round, we had a certain Ian Steele (known locally among his followers as…. ‘Man of Steel’….) donning the t-shirt ‘I’m coming for you Ade!’……..
Cast your minds back….set the scene…..there they were;…the morning sun falling between the trees…. Ade and Ian flying round Pitchcroft Parkrun. Ian - hot on Ade’s heels, ….foaming at the mouth…in visible distress… whilst Ade, casual and relaxed….taking in the scenery, glancing over politely waving at some boaters on the River Severn, smiling and hi-fiving supports en route……Well, I knew at Tenbury in September that……..
Hold on a minute, Ade, isn’t that the draft version???!
“Apparently the Tenbury 10K race on Sunday 6th August was CMRC’s 9th club Championship race of the season? All I know is that it was another classic Ian Steele vs Ade Ford head-to-head!!!
Race day weather was supposed to be dull and overcast with a chance of rain before the finish- Perfect !! But this being Tenbury; history repeated itself and the sun came out in full force ready for the 11am start on the Burgage Recreation Ground.
Having somewhat lost my running ‘mojo’ as of late, I had decided to take it easier than normal and just aim to get round in under an hour. Similarly, Ian had mentioned that he has picked up a slight injury and was going to do the same…. The scene was set!!
The race itself starts at the recreation ground where there was great support from the locals and club supporters. Exiting the grass field, the course takes a nice flat road through the town before heading out on the rural lanes for an undulating 4-mile slog up to Berrington Hill and beyond.
As it often happens when you run with people of a similar ability, I found myself running with a small group alongside Ian and the ever smiling Andie (Mrs F) which despite outward appearance, we all enjoyed. We took it in turns to lead the group as the course climbed ever upward and took pleasure at the summit of Berrington Hill for the ‘switch back’. Here we got to see our fellow CMRC teammates as they made their way around. This is where being part of a club like CMRC really shows, everyone made the effort to encourage others, lifting them once again after the hard climb up.
Our little group camaraderie lasted for about half the race before the competitive devil on our shoulders started to take over, and Ian and I started to push a little harder, slowly moving away from Andie who is far to experienced and disciplined to be sucked into our ridiculous, ongoing battle….
It was at this point that we evidently both decided not to stop to take on water, for the fear the other would take advantage and move ahead! Damn that midday sun!!!
“Come on pick your feet up!! No walking!!”.
The course continued somewhat flatter now through the beautiful countryside that surrounds Tenbury, thankfully some kind locals had come out to support and even set up their hose pipes to cool the runners down under a fine mist of water.
Still running together with 2.5K to go, the going was getting tough and all thoughts of taking it easy had gone out the window!! Ian had started to build a slight lead on the downhill sections that followed, but I kept him in sight and with 800m to go we were neck and neck. It was GAME ON, who was going to push for the line first??
This is perhaps where my experience told having run Tenbury several times, both beating and losing to Mrs F within the last 400m. I decided the 800m mark was where I was going to ‘go’ and just hope that Ian wouldn’t care enough to chase me down. Luckily, this time I was right and I managed to finish just 24 seconds ahead!
It was a fantastic race with great support and especially from CMRC. The finish also provided much needed refreshments for the weary runners. And so with the head-to-head now at 3-1 to me, we move onto the next. Thank you Tenbury 10K!!”
Ade Ford.
A huge well done to Shavaun, Mark and Toby who each got respective Age Cat and position trophies. Bespoke Apple trophies, representing Tenbury’s local cider production! Very cool!
Ewan Shaw, first club man. 38:27.
Toby Lloyd, second club man/junior. 39:06.
Richard Gwilliam. 42:31.
Mark Lyall. 43:20.
Chris Taylor. 43:23.
Matt Bailey. 43:41.
Andy Weston. 43:41.
Shavaun Jordan, first club lady. 43:58.
Mike Parker. 45:46.
Chris Roach. 46:37.
Ade Ford. 50:51.
Andrew Bowles. 51:02.
Ian Steele. 51:15.
Andie Ford. 51:24.
Rachel Taylor. 54:03.
Louise Wall. 57:52
Jeremy Ferguson. 59:58.
Sallie Shaw. 1:00.5.
Charles Bradley. 1:01:27.
Katy Broome. 1:01:28.
Heather Morgan. 1:02:34.
Netty Colley. 1:06:46.
Catherine Williams. 1:09.19.
Sian Powell. 1:09:19.
Ian Dennis. 1:10.37.
I don’t know about you, but with all our Run Leaders finishing fairly close to one another - there may be a head-to-head at some point with our committee too!
Thank you Tenbury and the organisers, we love it every year! It’s a fantastic local event. Well done everyone and everyone at CMRC!
Next Championship Round is Worcester 10K on 17th September. Hopefully the events will start to cool down a bit now! See you there!