Crowborough 10k now live

Click here for the Animoto montage from the race: http://animoto.com/play/Q5S57Bl03SOqBjSB3EXl0Q#


The Crowborough 10k photos and gallery are now ready :
http://gallery.sussexsportphotography.com/a.tlx?k=ksczf5d

On a day that had been prepared by the heaviest overnight rain this year in Sussex, the Crowborough microclimate proved itself unique with sun, rain, wind and hail all through the race. Thank fully, it was mostly dry, except of course for the ford - which was declared out-of-bounds and the very very large puddle at the 5kmk/finish just after the water station.

It was in the circumstances a very good turnout with somewhere around 350 in total on the day, which being just one day after the Sussex X-Country league on a Saturday - is good going.

Well done to al lthe mashals and Kevin for organising a very smoothly organised race yet again, and I hope to see you all again at a race near you soon !







The Crowborough 10k photos and gallery are now ready here :
http://gallery.sussexsportphotography.com/a.tlx?k=ksczf5d

Chelmsford 10k now live

The Chelmsford 10k Finish photos are now live:
http://gallery.sussexsportphotography.com/a.tlx?k=245zf4q

Somehow, unlike everywhere else in England, it didn't rain for the Chelmsford 10k. Whilst hailstones were falling in Sussex, over in sunny Essex it was perfect conditions... which might be why David our photographer moved over there earlier this year ?

The results will apparently be here on the Chelmsford website when they are ready: http://www.chelmsfordac.org.uk/

But if in the meantime you're wondering what the winners looked like from the front - here you go:
#65 Springfield striders won the Mens race crossing the line somewhere around 14:33:32pm when the photo was taken, and then you had #129, winner of the womens race, possibly 9th overall (well the 9th person we have photos of on the gallery!), sprinting in around 14:37:06pm some 3minutes and 34seconds later - quite a small margin.



If on the other hand you like a good social with a friend on the way round - 15:11:12pm was when these two rocked up at the finish - clearly having far too much fun !



Well done to everyone on the day, good racing.

The next Essex Race we have down on the Calendar is the Great Bently Half Marathon on Feb 7th - it always sells out so get in there quick ! It's also the Essex Champs (if you didn't know).
http://www.gbrc.org.uk/GBRC%20half.htm

The Chelmsford 10k Finish photos are now live:
http://gallery.sussexsportphotography.com/a.tlx?k=245zf4q

Brooks Brighton 10k now live

The full gallery is now live here:
http://gallery.sussexsportphotography.com/a.tlx?k=16azf2t

Well, that was the luckiest break in the weather, since last year - when it started raining just after the race. With gales, and lashings of rain overnight and one of the grimest saturdays on record, driving to the race start in the rain on sunday morning with double wipers and headlights on - it didn't look promising. And that was just in terms of getting there.

However - armed with the metoffice weather radar - http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/uk/uk_latest_radar.html we could see it moving from the Isle of Wight and knew it was going to clear through by about 9am, ready for the 10am start.
Clearly it's something about the location - having had something similar at the veteran car run two weeks earlier - in exactly the same spot (to the meter). Actually no, it rained all day then.

You can see the difference in the sky for the start photos and the finish photos - both looking west - it goes from a dark grey to a clear sky. And for the really interested - you can even see the colour of the road change at the finish as the light reflects off it differently as the sun moves around and the clouds change.

So, about the race.
It was a fast one, very fast. The wind was changing direction as the storm clouds moved on and there was definetly more tail wind than headwind in total. Some dudicious sheltering by some on the way out to Hove probably helped save energy for the return downwind leg.

The Winners:
It resulted in #45 Chris Davies from Telford AC only just missing out on the course record by 4 seconds past 29 minutes - an awesome time. I did that the other day pushing a childs buggy - but it was only for 5k... (yaay for parkrun)



The ladies race was pretty tightly contested with Jo Wilkinson from Bedford hitting 33:48, with local international Caroline Hoyte a close second in 34:04 for Arena 80.

The full results are here: http://www.brooksbrighton10k.co.uk/results
There is also a local race report here by the Sussex AAA: http://www.sussexathletics.org.uk/news.php?id=734

I've put together a little montage - some of you *might* remember the music from some old tv advert...
and here's a link if you're reading this in an email instead - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgwXU-yxEHM








Finally a mention to my friend Darren who ran the whole race dressed as a testicle to raise money for Male Cancer awareness. His fundraising website is here: http://www.justgiving.com/MrTesticle
and his facebook group is here:
http://www.facebook.com/friends/?filter=afp&ref=tn#/group.php?gid=128517818725&ref=mf
please give him some donations, anything you have will do him just fine. He needs to build himself up to the Marathon in April...



And here are some of my other special friends from Fetcheveryone.com !
Here's the link to their post race chat if you want to join in: http://www.fetcheveryone.com/viewtopic.php?id=8492


And finally, if you're really special - I'm lucky enough to get a high-five from you as you finish ! Thanks Jenny !



Go here to see the rest of our work - there's a few 17529 photos on there for you all to look through... hopefully that's almost 6 each (if you wern't hiding behind anyone).

http://gallery.sussexsportphotography.com/a.tlx?k=16azf2t

See you out at a race soon - Crowborough 10k next (and the ford)
http://www.crowboroughrunners.org.uk/

and possibly the Chelmsford 10k too....


Well run everyone, and see you out again soon !

Anthony

Free Downloads and Christmas planning

With the Brighton 10k taking place tomorrow (sunday) this starts to signal the creep towards winter and colder days - not that the weather forecast for the race is that encouraging - if it's not blown away completely tomorrow. Very good luck to you tomorrow if you are running it - see you at the finish !

This blog is mainly a reminder for those of you who were at the Mid Sussex Tri, The RPAC Summer 10k, or the Arundel 10k.

Each of these events have free-to-download galleries currently online - but as many of you know - we only hold events for 3 months before archiving (this is to make space for new events).
So if you still want your free pictures - go to the event (click through below) before it is too late !


Mid Sussex Tri 2009 - free downloads
RPAC Summer 10k 2009 - free downloads
Arundel Castle 10k 2009 - Free Download


Uh-oh - its almost Christmas too...
This is a not-so-subtle reminder that Christmas is just around the corner, and yes - Photos of people racing through the year do make good christmas gifts either for your other half, or your friends. It roughly costs the same as two pints of beer for a medium resolution image - along with the caption of your choice, and lasts considerably longer !

No repeat gift guarantee - if you buy a digital file as a present for someone from now until christmas - and it's already been bought before - we'll do our best to tell you and you can choose any other from the current online library. (and if we don't spot it - don't get mad, just let us know and we can sort out a different one with you !).
(This doesn't apply for print orders as it all starts to cost too much with the P&P)

Final orders for christmas - to absolutely guarantee things - please order
1. Mugs and gift items (like cards!) before the 10th of december
2. Prints before the 16th of december
3. Digital files on or before the 22nd of December

We will do our absolute best to clear everything as soon as possible - but we do have to rely on our printers and the post office - and both receive heavy demand over this period.

The office will be closed from 23rd of December to the 30th, orders will be processed as best as possible through this time, but emails may not get actioned until afterwards. We will do our best to deal with any "Urgent - my life is at stake" emails, we have even worked christmas day in the past to help out...

Local Shopping in Hurstpierpoint - Thusday evening - 3rd of December:
If you are in the Mid-Sussex area and fancy a bit of traditional village christmas present shopping and atmosphere - then Hurstpierpoint is the place to be.
Mulled wine, mince pies, childrens fancy dress, christmas lights, brass bands and lots more will be on the high street from 5:30pm, with all the shops open until late. (Parking is in Trinity Road as usual).
Here's a little taster from last years:

http://animoto.com/play/U2nloSrTm83RpGvwF7r1qA#

Bexhill Poppy Half Marathon photos now live

Photos from the Bexhill Poppy Half Marathon are now live online at SussexSportPhotography.com click here to view the gallery http://gallery.sussexsportphotography.com/a.tlx?k=bxozf26


Wet weather greeted the runners for this years Bexhill Poppy Seafront Half Marathon - so wet in fact that the start had to be moved from the planned location in the park to the road.



Wet weather didn't dampen spirits though and there were plenty of good times set by the runners.


New course records were set by the winner and first lady home, Daniel Anderson of Hastings AC was the overall winner in 1:14:36 and Katy Moore of Brighton and Hove City AC was first lady in 1:22:05 a new ladies course record by over 10 minutes !


Well done to everyone who helped make the day a success from the runners to the organisers and the marshals who all braved the wet weather !


Full results can be found on the event website here http://www.bexhillrunners.co.uk/index.php


You can view all the photos from the day on the Sussex Sport Photography gallery herehttp://gallery.sussexsportphotography.com/a.tlx?k=bxozf26


We look forward to seeing you at another race soon !

Sussex Obstacle Dash photos now live

Photos from the inaugural Urbanrace Sussex Obstacle Dash are now live on the Sussex Sport Photography gallery. Click here to view the photos http://gallery.sussexsportphotography.com/a.tlx?k=4q3zf29


Here's a little video:
http://animoto.com/play/4TXC0xIyamJQSurE8uuJ1w



This was a cross country race with a difference, held at the South of England Centre in Ardingly it made good use of assorted horse jumps and fences to challenge the individual and team runners. Staying dry was not an option !


The first obstacle of the day was aptly named "The Sloosh" and made sure everyone got at least their feet wet.


although with a bit of help from other teams some took and early bath...


the next opportunity to get wet came after a fair drop down at "The dunker"


there were more testing fences, drops, steep ground and rope nets before the athletes reached "The Backwash" towards the end of the 5k lap.


then there was just "The Wood Chipper" fence to negotiate before the run to the line for the 5k or doing it all again for those competing in the 10k.


Well done to all at Urbanrace for coming up with a great new challenging event and congratulations to everyone who took part.



You can view all photos from the day on the gallery here http://gallery.sussexsportphotography.com/a.tlx?k=4q3zf29



We look forward to seeing you at another event soon!

Phoenix AC Preston Park Road Races

Photos from the Phoenix AC Preston park Road Races are now available online here: http://gallery.sussexsportphotography.com/a.tlx?k=2o1zf2a

(A quick bit of admin for the junior races - please make sure you check race number 000 as a lot of race numbers were flapped over and can't be read in the photos.)

In what turned out to be good weather for running (after the silly rain earlier in the morning) the Preston Park Road Races delivered another highly contested selection of races.

In what was thinner turnout for the Mens Sussex GP races compared to previous years - easy GP point scoring was on offer compared to the harder numerical conditions that will be the Brighton 10k next week. Lets see what the weather forecast holds out for then...

The junior races were excellently attended, and since the break into boys and girls races last year - these have both filled up in numbers to healthy proportions. Sussex Running is in safe hands...

Josh showed some mild pleasure at claiming the mens race from James Baker (who to be fair had ran at the XC races at Goodwood the day before), whilst Sam had a recovery race after winning Beachy Head the other week to win the ladies race and then start her training plan for London 2010...

There was the inaugural Friday Ad 1Mile race, which had several people very pleased to beat their 6minute mile time - and managed it ! (number #06 promised to frame his garmin with the finish time on it and never use it again !)

Phoenix AC also managed to win some of their home races - here's a couple of winners:

And suffice to say the bike marshals ended up doing a fair few miles on their bikes to clear the way - and as far as we know they haven't left anyone still circling the park...

Well done everyone on another successful year !

Go here to see your photos from Races:

http://gallery.sussexsportphotography.com/a.tlx?k=2o1zf2a

and see you at the Brighton 10k on Sunday 15th !