Welcome to your December newsletter! As below, we’ve got lots happening to celebrate the best of the season!
Christmas Running
We’ve got an exciting programme of DPR events to keep everyone running during the festive season. Starting with 5 December (today!) we have the last Dulwich Dash of the year – a final opportunity to move up the leaderboard for 2023. Remember, it’s a 7.30 meet at the Rosebery Gate.
Well done to David B who claimed the win in November; full results below!
We’ll follow the Dash by our traditional Christmas lights run on Tuesday 12 December from the club house – who will be able to spot the most iridescent illuminations on the streets of Dulwich? We’ll reconvene to compare photos at clubhouse for seasonal snacks and drinks.
And on Tuesday 19 December it’s another DPR tradition – the Turkey Trot. Who can run closest to their predicted time? No watches allowed!
10k Championships
As per the previous newsletter, the planned 10k club championships at Greenwich on 17 December were cancelled by the race organisers. If you had entered, you should have an email from the organisers on what to do regarding your entry fee.
Unfortunately it hasn’t been possible to find another race this calendar year, so the 2023 10k club championships will be taking place at the Runthrough Hyde Park 10k on Saturday 17 February. More details on how to enter will follow.
Edinburgh 2024
Following on from an excellent weekend away in Suffolk in November, we are busy planning our next weekend. We’re aiming for the Edinburgh Marathon Weekend on 24-27 May 2024 (late May bank holiday weekend).
There is a choice of distances from 5k all the way up to the full marathon, in one of the UK’s most popular running events – with a fast course and great scenery. And we’ll be able to enjoy some time in a historic and beautiful city!
The weekend can be flexible to different members’ needs, but as a rough guide:
Friday evening: travel up from London.
Saturday: 5k/10k race – participate or cheer on your fellow members. Sightseeing in the afternoon.
Sunday: Half/full marathon – participate or cheer on your fellow members. Evening – celebration dinner.
Monday (bank holiday): Return to London
In terms of logistics, we are likely to stay in a private hostel (costs £40-70 pp pn). We would recommend members travel by train to minimise their carbon footprint, but it is also possible to fly.
More details on the event is here.
If you would be interested in coming along, please email James at comms@dulwichparkrunners.co.uk with details of which distance you would like to participate in.
Cross Country in January
Following a successful 2023 in cross country, we’ll be back at it for 2024. We start on 13 January with our next Surrey League fixture at Oxshott Woods (a very picturesque course from last year). The men are racing at 12pm, and the women at 2pm. More details will follow nearer the time.
We’ll also be doubling up in January with a return to the South of England Championships at our local Beckenham Place Park on Saturday 27 January. The women’s race is 8k, and the men’s 15k. We need to enter teams before Christmas, so if you’d like to participate please let David know (chair@dulwichparkrunners.co.uk) by 20 December. This was a great day of cross country last year, so don’t miss out!
News from Quiz Night
We had a great night quizzing on Saturday – thanks to quizmaster Susie and glamorous assistant Mark for hosting. And thank you to everyone who participated in the raffle – raising over £100 for club charity, the Southwark Day Centre for Asylum Seekers.
Quiz night saw the announcement that DPR had won an award! England Athletics have awarded us a Certificate of Recognition for services to club running in London in 2023. You can inspect the award at the clubhouse. Thank you to all our members for everything you do to help make the club successful and welcoming.
The quiz night also saw the draw for our London Marathon 2024 ballot places. Congratulations to Chris Bloomfield (main draw) and Karen Azaadi (volunteer draw) who claimed the places. The alternates are Gillian Cavell and Spenser Lane.
Thursday sessions
December sees on the hills of Dulwich and surrounds. A different venue every week! All good preparation for cross country, and general strength and mental endurance training. The first two weeks are all technical, so if you’d like to join us, please ensure to attend at least one of these. And of course regular training is the best way to see improvement.
As usual you need to have been regularly running 10+ miles/16k a week to take part in the Thursday sessions. If you are keen to join or would like to know more, or if you’re not quite there and would like to chat about a plan to progress your running so you can be ready for future sessions, please get in touch with Susan.
If any club member would like personalised race schedules or coaching tips for general running please ask Susan.
Coaching
Interested in getting involved in coaching? The club offers a very generous subsidy for members to take the foundational England Athletics ‘Leadership in Running Fitness’ course, and we’d love for more members to become qualified.
Or, if you’ve already done LiRF and would like to do more, the club may also be able to part-fund further courses. Get in touch if you’re interested for more details.
Parkrun Ladder
The parkrun ladder is continuing – remember, to participate, all you have to do is turn up at a parkrun with your barcode, and make sure you’re registered against DPR on the parkrun website.
Results are here from week 3 (not including Saturday 2 December) – tight at the top!
November Racing Highlights
November saw lots of us out and about at club events. We started with the club 5k championships at Dulwich parkrun. In a taste of things to come, it was wet and cold, but there were 42 of us out and running, and a good number of PBs. Well done to Ronnie, Susie, and David, who were first male, female and age-graded finishers respectively. Full results are here.
After the club champs, it was full bore on cross country. Our second Surrey League fixture of the season was at Oxted on 11 November. Once again, we had strong turnouts. The women’s squad fielded 19 runners, and our ‘A’ team finished 14th and ‘B’ team 24th – backing up October’s strong results in the new 2nd division. The men’s squad had 12 runners, who pushed us to a solid 10th place in a competitive division. Well done to all who came along, especially first finishers Alicky and Tim. There are links to full results for men and women.
More cross country followed. Our runners battled a tough course, lots of hills, squelchy conditions, and an infestation of ticks to deliver solid performances at the London Cross-Country Championships at Parliament Hill on 18 November. In a high-quality field, our women’s team came in 28th, and our men’s 33rd. Again, well done to all who completed one of the tougher events in our cross-country calendar. Full results here.
A couple of our members also took part in other events this month. IB braved a freezing night to compete at the Runthrough Chase the Moon 10k event at Battersea Park. And congratulations to Fran Rayneau, who navigated the opposite conditions to record a great time at the Valencia Marathon.
If you’re doing a running event this month, do let us know so that we can shine a spotlight on your success!
Joke
Back following no demand, this month’s joke, with a Christmas theme.
“What happened to the thief caught stealing an advent calendar? He got 24 days.”
This is why comedians are paid the big bucks.