Road maps revive an old story . . .

the club was formed after one of the early London Marathons, and so it's not too surprising that, in the early years particularly, road running was the major club activity.

Well, in our club, like the sport in general, there has been a move towards more off-road running. Having said that, the club is usually well represented in the local road races, and in the early part of the year there's usually a Sunday morning group who get together for that long steady distance run so beloved of Spring marathoners.

John at the Headington 10k, September 2009

Also, there is a Club Road Race Championship every year. To qualify, you have to complete four races over at least different three distances. Your times are then used to calculate a score which is a percentage of some notional 'better than world best' by someone of your age. This sounds complicated but has the advantage that you can run a race slightly slower than the previous year but, because you are a year older, actually get a better percentage score! All good fun!

You and me we sweat and strain, bodies all aching and racked with pain  . . .

a marathon is about as far as an 'ordinary' runner can be expected to run, and many in the club run maybe one or two marathons a year. The most popular tend to be London (no surprise there) and Beachy Head, the cross-country marathon formerly known as the Seven Sisters. But a few club members take their marathons a bit more seriously! Indeed, in 2003 three of this group ran the Beachy Head marathon on Saturday, drove to North Wales to race in the Snowdonia marathon on Sunday, then flew over to Ireland to complete the Dublin marathon on Monday! For those in the know, both Beachy Head and Snowdonia are very tough marathons, and so running a third was quite an achievement. The club has several members of the 100 Marathon Club and with more on their way to achieving membership.

So, whether your ambition is to run one marathon or a hundred, you'll find good company to help and encourage you on your way!

And you're just as welcome if you want to train for a local 5k or 10k race . . because many of us enjoy those too . .

updated 14 September 2009