Wednesday 24 February 2016

Hampton Court Half Marathon 2016 - your photos now live



Another record turnout for the Hampton Court Half Marathon on Sunday with over 3850 finishers in what was good conditions for running after overnight rain, it even ended up significantly warmer that average, which was comfortable to run in, although still a bit windy along parts of the riverbank.

Clearly paced groups, big start pens, thousands of toilets and timed out spaced starts with help from the Race Pacing team from Xempo  helped to manage the large race numbers, as well as a clearer route for the first few miles without re-looping prevented the fast and furious becoming, er, furious.

Tom Jervis - not out of breath at the finish
A very fast time on Sunday to win with Tom Jervis  #3029 coming down south to demonstrate his speed in a very strong 1:10:57 - a 5min5sec lead on second place for 4th in 2016 u23 national rankings ! First lady was  Lee Pearce in a very strong 1:27:28 - unfortunately I'm not yet able to find their power of 10 records.

The Race gallery is live here for you to see how good you looked: http://bit.ly/Hampton-Court-Half-Gallery-2016 

There are a few race photos are at the bottom of this update and a few more bits of info worth reading below.

Great photographers on duty for you
Sometimes we like to mention what a great job our photographers do - every now and again we get some fantastic and motivational feedback from customers and gallery viewers on our work - and that always cheers us up and we always pass it on to the photographer.
We try to do the best job for you to make you happy - and we do that by making sure we have professional photographers covering events - that means people who know their way around a camera instinctively and can catch the moment, and a lot more besides.

Paul was one of the photographers working with us on Sunday, and today he landed the front page of the Telegraph Sport section from his "Tuesday night at the outside office". Well done Paul and keep up the good work !!
Barcelona v Arsenal 2016 (c) Paul Terry  Telegraph Sport Front Page.
Finally - special offers 
We have been introduced by the lovely people at UKRunChat to The Life and Health insurance provided by Vitality (Prudential if you didn't know) via Fitness Rewards, . As runners you will probably make the most out of this type of system without much effort, and certainly be motivated to get out and get more rewards if you've lost your mojo - check things out here http://www.fitnessrewards.co.uk/rewards/ it has everyday things in there too.

If you quote "SussexSP" in the "Where did you hear of us" you may be eligible for a Free Garmin. Something quite a lot of runners quite like the idea of. Follow this link to request a consultation and eligibility: http://bit.ly/SSP-FitnessRewards



Talking of discounts - there might be one last chance to use this discount code SSP14 on the Surrey Half Marathon bit.ly/Surrey-Half-Marathon-entry


Next Events to do and last events done
We have the National Cross Country Championships - all the way up in sunny Castle Donnington (almost back to sunny sunny Loughborough for me) on Saturday, and then The Kingston Half and 10k on Sunday - so a lot of travel and a lot of photos to be processed !

Date Event Event or Gallery link
Sat-13/02/2016 Brutal Bagshot http://bit.ly/Brutal-Bagshot-Gallery-2016
Sun-14/02/2016 Worthing Half Marathon http://bit.ly/Worthing-Half-Marathon-Gallery-2016
Sun-21/02/2016 Hampton Court Half Marathon http://bit.ly/Hampton-Court-Half-Gallery-2016
Sat-27/02/2016 National XC Champs http://www.englishcrosscountry.co.uk/
Sun-28/02/2016 Run The Streets - Kingston http://bit.ly/Kingston-Half
Sat-05/03/2016 The Nuts Challenge http://www.thenutschallenge.co.uk/
Sun-06/03/2016 Berkhamsted Half Marathon http://bit.ly/Berkhampstead-Half
Sun-06/03/2016 The Nuts Challenge http://www.thenutschallenge.co.uk/
Sun-06/03/2016 Steyning Stinger http://www.steyningac.co.uk/
Sat-12/03/2016 Surrey Schools XC Champs http://www.ssaa.org.uk/
Sat-12/03/2016 Brutal Bordon http://www.brutalrun.co.uk/dates/bordon-heaths-23-february-2013/
Sun-13/03/2016 The Surrey Half Marathon http://bit.ly/Surrey-Half-Marathon-entry
Sun-13/03/2016 ETL Spitfire http://www.eventstolive.co.uk/events/information/spring-spitfire-20
Sun-13/03/2016 Colchester Half http://bit.ly/Colchester-Half
Sat-19/03/2016 Kelly's 10k Riverside Run https://charity.kellystorage.co.uk/Events/2016/10k-Riverside-Run/
Sun-20/03/2016 Brentwood Half http://bit.ly/Brentwood-Half
Sun-20/03/2016 Fleet Half Marathon http://bit.ly/Fleet-Half-Marathon
Sun-20/03/2016 Hastings Half Marathon http://bit.ly/Hastings-Half
Sun-20/03/2016 Cranleigh 15-21 http://www.mabac.org.uk
Sun-20/03/2016 B2TT www.back2thetrenches.co.uk
Fri-25/03/2016 Folkestone 10 http://www.folkestone10mile.co.uk/
Sun-03/04/2016 Bournemouth Bay http://bit.ly/BHF-Bournemouth-Bay-Run
Sun-03/04/2016 Paddock Wood http://bit.ly/Paddock-Wood-Half
Sun-03/04/2016 AAT Bolt http://allabouttriathlons.co.uk/race/bolt-round-the-holt-run/ - .UP_sIx3ZZBM
Sun-03/04/2016 Richmond 13.1 Half http://bit.ly/Richmond-Half
Sun-10/04/2016 HONC http://www.winchcombecc.org.uk/honc/
Sun-10/04/2016 Warrior Run http://www.warrior-run.co.uk/
Try to run at the right race 676 - that's next Sundays race number !

Living the dream - being chased by Wonder Woman

Yes, you probably got beaten by world class ITN journalist Bill, there was also an Eastenders Actress in the race - did you spot her ?

Always show your number clearly

Keep your race face for special 

Brad looking smooth outside the Palace

Friends can always be relied upon for moral support

The lengths some photographers go to capture their subjects

Don't panic, the King is watching

#4thewin

All go for Prostate Cancer charity, but what did 4320 forget ?

stray arm problems - Not the shot #40 was hoping for

The Monty Python hand of nose strikes again

Overly extrovert gestures can disturb your competition

Spare photobombing hands

Oi - no press !

He forgot to enter the Kingston Half next weekend, unlike 676

70 minutes for a half marathon. Looking far too relaxed

Riding his invisible unicorn into the finish - again

Nailed it !

Dip for the line

woops - 1329 showing her number again, but lost control...

Right, we're trying to plan our turnaround from the Nationals in Derby ending at 5pm to an 8am race start in Richmond on Saturday. Someone somewhere isn't going to get a whole lot of sleep, and just think of the 48hrs childcare bill we're facing. Better take some good photos then !

Until next time, keep warm through this cold snap and I hope the last bits of training for the March Half marathon season is going well for you.
Anthony



Tuesday 16 February 2016

Worthing Half and Brutal Bagshot 2016 now live

Well, that was the Valentines Weekend of 2016. First off was the Brutal Bagshot race - a tough hilly muddy wet run through the woods and the rain, and then the contrast of the inaugural Worthing Half Marathon in crisp and clear conditions on what must be the flattest possible course in the UK with fully closed roads around the town centre and seafront.

If anyone found any of these races romantic, very good luck to you, they both would have been bonding experiences but for very different reasons !

The start of the Canicross race at the Brutal 10
If you like a bit of strava race tracking - here's the Worthing Half Marathon with all the runners who registered and tracked their race http://bit.ly/strava-worthing-half-2016
and here's the one from the Brutal Bagshot race: http://bit.ly/Brutal-Bagshot-2016-Flyby

The Start of the inaugural Worthing Half Marathon 2016
Race Gallery links here:
If you didn't have that good a valentines - get your new Tinder profile here:

Date This weekend Gallery Link
Sat-13/02/2016 Brutal Bagshot http://bit.ly/Brutal-Bagshot-Gallery-2016
Sun-14/02/2016 Worthing Half Marathon http://bit.ly/Worthing-Half-Marathon-Gallery-2016
. Last Weekend .
Sun-07/02/2016 Watford Half http://bit.ly/Watford-Half-Gallery-2016
Sun-07/02/2016 ETL Bookham 10k http://bit.ly/Bookham-10k-Gallery-2016
. . .
. Next Races Race Website
Sun-21/02/2016 Hampton Court Half Marathon http://bit.ly/Hampton-Court-Half-Entry
Sat-27/02/2016 National XC Champs http://www.englishcrosscountry.co.uk/
Sun-28/02/2016 Run The Streets - Kingston http://bit.ly/Kingston-Half
Sat-05/03/2016 The Nuts Challenge http://www.thenutschallenge.co.uk/
Sun-06/03/2016 Steyning Stinger http://www.steyningac.co.uk/
Sun-06/03/2016 Berkhamsted Half Marathon http://bit.ly/Berkhampstead-Half
Sun-06/03/2016 The Nuts Challenge http://www.thenutschallenge.co.uk/
Sat-12/03/2016 Surrey Schools XC Champs http://www.ssaa.org.uk/
Sat-12/03/2016 Brutal Bordon http://www.brutalrun.co.uk/dates/bordon-heaths-23-february-2013/
Sun-13/03/2016 The Surrey Half Marathon http://bit.ly/Surrey-Half-Marathon-entry
Sun-13/03/2016 Colchester Half http://bit.ly/Colchester-Half
Sun-13/03/2016 ETL Spitfire http://www.eventstolive.co.uk/events/information/spring-spitfire-20
Sat-19/03/2016 Kelly's 10k Riverside Run https://charity.kellystorage.co.uk/Events/2016/10k-Riverside-Run/
Sun-20/03/2016 Hastings Half Marathon http://bit.ly/Hastings-Half
Sun-20/03/2016 Cranleigh 15-21 http://www.mabac.org.uk
Sun-20/03/2016 Fleet Half Marathon http://bit.ly/Fleet-Half-Marathon
Sun-20/03/2016 B2TT www.back2thetrenches.co.uk
Sun-20/03/2016 Brentwood Half http://bit.ly/Brentwood-Half
Fri-25/03/2016 Folkestone 10 http://www.folkestone10mile.co.uk/
Sun-03/04/2016 Paddock Wood http://bit.ly/Paddock-Wood-Half
Sun-03/04/2016 Richmond 13.1 Half http://bit.ly/Richmond-Half
Sun-03/04/2016 Bournemouth Bay http://bit.ly/BHF-Bournemouth-Bay-Run

Here's a short selection from the galleries this weekend, 
First up some shots from the Brutal at Bagshot - more water than usual due to the heavy rain all last week, a cold northerly wind and a drizzly rain all day

No Surrender !

Black Lab Power

Meet the challenge head on

You can try to swim if you want to

Ollie took the Jesus route

it's so easy really, what's the problem ?

Winner of the high jump award


Apparently the water was cold

thumbs up teamwork

A quick dry off

#4thewin #throughthemiddle

"I can't believe I'm still awake" after sorting out 5 triathlons in 5 days, Dave was starting to hallucinate

the joy of finishing

good to see the team getting stuck into the experience

chase the pig !!

Have it ! Race finished.

The next morning, with a pre-dawn wake up call, this is what happened in Worthing - big congratulations to Richard and his team, and the council on putting on such a complex road closed route so well - especially for the first time !

The view at one mile back to the pier from the start - almost 1500 runners on the hoof

Debbie was still enjoying it on the first turn into Grand Avenue

Jay was clearly surprised to make it back onto the seafront so quickly

very good run, he had to hold his head up the whole way, or was it a Dark Side Force Choke ?

This chap was seen moments earlier "waving" at the fancy dress dog

I think he found her lack of faith disturbing. Or the Harry Potter scarf ?

If you're not going to enter a race, don't put a wrong number on and fold the edges to hide the wrong sponsors, and don't put a number on with the wrong number font either. It's just rude.

If you do enter the race, don't use an elastic "tri" belt - they just don't work. Just Pin it (or clip it) in four corners to the front of your top. Loads of pictures of this chap - no idea what his race number was, permanently flapped up.

Being this far away at Goring and it was time for a spot of valentines chat

Valentines kiss anyone ?

The Lynx Effect was primed and ready

Top tip - most people tend to nod their heads down when they raise their arms. Don't.

Belgrave man Peter put in a strong V60 performance 1:35:26

Ed nailed 1:45:00 gun time exactly - to plan - good work !

If you run with the flag, you'll get pushed by the flag - awesome 1:39:42 gun time and 1:38:36 chip. 

Correct arm technique for the win

He wasn't really hugging him, he was dragging him back whilst getting blocked ! Friends eh?

Good storming run into the finish

proper fist pump celebration !


Working the crowd

Working the Camera

Working the finish line - for the win in 1:08:43 by James Connor from the start gun

Happy Valentines Day xx
A few runners were clocked on camera on the way out and on the way back to Goring, but in what can only be described as "world record time". We have suggested a chip mat at the furthest point on the course for next year and a video camera...

There were a lot of Personal Bests at Worthing, the flat fast course, although it had a few turns through town - didn't seem to be overly difficult to negotiate. Make sure you get your shots for your archive - it's only the Inaugural race once !

Until next time - at Hampton Court - keep warm
Anthony