DPR November Newsletter
Plenty of treats and no tricks in this month’s newsletter. And your first is the annual DPR Quiz happening next Saturday 8th November and hosted by the wonderful Susie! It’s your last chance today to bag a ticket! Do so here.
Well done, that’s today’s job completed. Tomorrow’s is to run the DPR 5k club champs at Dulwich Parkrun. A lot of you will be familiar with the parkrun but, if not, please have a look at the website, make sure you are registered with parkrun and have named DPR as your club. You need to do this to ensure you get a result! The run is not chip timed so if you are a faster runner/keen for a competitive time please start near the front. If you aren’t running please consider volunteering. Our very own Chris Ince is Run Director and is always grateful for DPR volunteers – you can sign up by emailing dulwich@parkrun.com. Please wear club kit and hang around at the end for a group pic and coffee!
There’s fixtures to get involved in pretty much every weekend this month! On Saturday 8 November we have the London Cross Country Championships at Parliament Hill. Entries have now closed for this, but we have a strong group of DPR entrants in the men’s and women’s race, so any support at the race will be very welcome! And on Sunday 9 November Beckenham Running Club are hosting a 10k race in Beckenham Place Park, which several DPR members have entered. You can enter too here.
After a strong turnout at sun-drenched Richmond Park in October – pic below, our next Surrey League cross country fixture is on Saturday 15 November at Hurst Green. Our women’s team race is at 11.30am, and the men at 2.30pm. More details will be shared on the cross country whatsapp chats.
Race Achievements
This month’s shout outs have to begin with our two amazing Iron People, Katia and James, who competed in Hawaii and Portugal respectively. Read their race reports on the whats app – truly awe inspiring and proud to be part of the same running club as them – pics below! Other far flung race destinations were Washington DC where Ben did a 10 miler, Skopje where Harry ran a marathon, Bilbao where Chris and Clare ran a night half marathon in 25 degree heat and Valencia where Nat notched up another super half. Only a little less glamorous was David W’s half in Hastings, Natalie and Sara’s half in Oxford, Amanda’s half in Walton on Thames and the Royal Parks Half which was run by Catherine, Mark, Gillian, Ib, Colin and Natasha H.
We had a bumper month for breaking records with Amanda setting three in the 5km, 5 miles and half marathon, and Alicky and Susan setting new 10 mile records at the Cabbage Patch. You can find all the record breakers here. The Cabbage Patch was another brilliant club event and also our 10 mile championship with 40 members taking part, at least 13 PBs and 8 people running their first ever 10 mile race. Alicky and Carlisle took the top positions. Our now well-established 5 miler in Dulwich Park went brilliantly yet again – huge thanks to David M for all his organisation and everyone who volunteered and ran. Tim and Amanda took the first places there. Looking ahead remember to book your places at the Paddock Wood half marathon which will be our 2026 championship and get in quick as prices go up in the New Year!
Club Support
If you’ve signed up for a race and are suddenly feeling a bit daunted, never fear! There’s loads of support you can access. First off get your £20 race subsidy back by emailing a picture of your receipt to Andrea, our Treasurer. Then think about signing up to our next coaching surgery which is on Tuesday after the Dash at the Crown and Greyhound. This is for anyone who would like general help with their running, increasing their weekly mileage, or specific help with training for a race, especially if you’re preparing for the start of a schedule in the New Year for a spring Marathon or Half Marathon. Sign up here and in the meantime if anyone would like coaching advice of any kind please contact the coaches (Susan, Tom, Katia or Zach) at coach@dulwichparkrunners.co.uk
Also remember if you’re running more than 10 miles a week you can join the free Thursday Improvers Sessions, where we are focusing on endurance speedwork on the track. A move up from previous sessions to concentrate on maintaining speed over a longer distance, these sessions are good preparation for the cross country season, and for longer races such as 10 miles and half marathon. If these distances are currently seem further than you’d like to run, think also about running your 5 miles or 10k races just a little faster all the way. If you have any questions, would like to join us, or would like general coaching advice, please email Susan at coach@dulwichparkrunners.co.uk
If you’re interested in becoming a coach, the club is pleased to continue our offer of a subsidy towards the cost of England Athletics’ foundational Leadership in Running Fitness course to help add to our group of club coaches. We offer a subsidy of £135 towards the course cost of £175.50. More detail on the course is here. If you’re interested please email James or David at chair@dulwichparkrunners.co.uk with a brief description of how you would use the coaching qualification to support the club.
Sunday Runs
Our Sunday runs continue throughout November – we meet each week at 9.30am at Dulwich Park Café. They are a super relaxed way to get some miles in, and are suitable for runners of all speeds, fitness and abilities. We have a rota of 8k – 10k route suggestions, and whatever route we choose each week, shorter or longer versions are also always available – nobody runs on their own.
We also have our monthly member-led Sunday run. Thank you to Chris Ince for organising a wonderfully-wandering Wandle River route on 26 September – pic above.
On Sunday November 23 we have our next member-led slot, with Ib Lilley. This will be a two-lap run. One lap is c. 3 miles, so those not currently up for 5 miles are particularly encouraged to come along. No one runs alone. There may also be chocolate. More details about this, and each week’s Sunday run are on WhatsApp – so do ensure you’re added to the DPR Sunday Social Run group!
London Marathon 2026
Your final treat before Meet a Member is the chance to win a London Marathon place in our annual ballot which is drawn at the quiz night. The club has three places in the 2026 London Marathon. Subject to the eligibility requirements below, two are available for any senior club member and one for people who volunteered as part of the club’s marshalling team at the 2025 marathon.
For the two club places, you are eligible to be in the ballot if you meet all of the eligibility requirements below:
1. you have two 2025 “attendance points” by the time the ballot is drawn on 8th November. There is still time to score two points by competing at the 5k Club Championships tomorrow, and participating in the Dash if it will get you to 8 over the year
2. you entered the main ballot for the 2026 London Marathon and were unsuccessful (and can provide evidence of this, e.g the rejection email entitled “Your 2026 TCS London Marathon Ballot result”)
3. you were a DPR senior member (i.e. not junior, intermediate or social) at the time of entering the main marathon ballot (and, in the case of a renewing member, you have paid your renewal fee for 25-26 when you enter for the DPR ballot, or, in the case of a new member, you had paid your membership fee for 25-26 by 26 April 2025)
4. you did not run in the 2025 London Marathon (except if you ran under a registered charity entry).
For the one marshalling place, you are eligible to be in the ballot if you took part in the DPR volunteer marshalling team at the 2025 London Marathon and have paid your membership fee for this year.
If you would like to be entered into either or both ballot(s), please email Emma by 5pm on Thursday 6 November at secretary@dulwichparkrunners.co.uk.
Please only enter the ballot if you are committed to run. The number of club places available has reduced over recent years because of “no shows”.
Meet a Member
This month’s member is Jo S with the lovely pic of her above at the London Winter Run!
What got you into running/DPR?
I had run on and off throughout my life, but never with enough consistency to get good at it. I certainly didn’t ever feel I was “a runner”. Post lockdown I was craving the outdoors and chatting to people, so I joined the autumn 5k to 5 miles course as it offered both! I then promptly got covid (not from the club!) which was a drawn out affair for me and I couldn’t run for months. But I did the course again in spring and haven’t looked back since. That was about 4 years ago.
What do you most enjoy about being a part of DPR?
The people! I’ve met so many great people and had the most interesting chats, especially on the beginners course – you turn up to run and never know who you’ll meet or what you’ll end up chatting about. I love it.
What do you most enjoy listening to when you run?
I rarely listen to music as it makes me run too fast, but if I do it will definitely include Faithless. Mainly though its podcasts, and one that is an hour long is perfect. I’m quite predictable – Off Menu, The Rest is History and Louis Theroux all feature.
What is your next running goal?
A half marathon. Having done the Cabbage Patch twice and feeling like I had something left in the tank at the end, I think I could manage a half marathon. Or perhaps I should just try to run the Cabbage Patch quicker! Also, a Park Run time beginning with a 26 would be satisfying…
What is your fave post-run meal?
Does a latte count?