Happy New Year and welcome to the belated DPR January newsletter! A lot of news this month, so let’s get straight to it:
Cross country
We’re firmly into cross country season now, with three races over the next four weeks.
This Saturday we are in Surrey League action at Oxshott Woods, with the men’s race at 12pm and women’s race at 2pm. If you haven’t let your captain know yet that you’d like to run, there’s still time to take part – just post in the relevant WhatsApp group in the DPR WhatsApp community. As usual, it would be great if members can come a bit earlier before their race or stay a bit later after their race to cheer on fellow members.
In two weeks on 27 January we are participating in the South of England Cross Country Championships at Beckenham Place Park. Entries for this have closed and we have great turnouts. Supporters are very welcome if they would like to come along. The exact times of the races are still tbc, but should be in the afternoon.
And then our last cross-country outing of the season will be our final Surrey League fixture at Lloyd Park in Croydon on 10 February. More details on timing etc to follow.
Club Championships – 10k and half-marathon
The postponed 2022 10k club championships are taking place at Hyde Park Runthrough 10k on 17 February at 9.30am. Entries are available here. We have obtained a discount code which reduces the entry cost to £21.30 – the code is HYDEPARKFEB24SONIAGROUP . This was a great event last year, so do come and join us!
Our first 2023 club championship will be our half marathon on 31 March at the Kew Gardens half marathon. This is a beautiful and flat course, so definitely worth your Easter Sunday morning! We’ve also been able to secure a discount code for this race providing 20% off, which is DULWICHPARKRUNNERS20 . Members should also qualify for £2 off as members of England Athletics. Entry and more details are here.
Annual Dinner
We’re delighted to confirm that our club annual dinner will take place on Friday 8 March at the Lordship pub. More details and tickets to follow!
Fitness Presentation – 30 January
A reminder that on Tuesday 30 January we have a talk on staying fit at 40+ by local personal trainer Rowan Foggitt. The talk will be at 8pm at the Crown and Greyhound in Dulwich Village, with club run that day starting at 6.45pm. Do come along – even if you are not (yet) in the target age range!
Edinburgh
With thanks to who have expressed interest, we are definitely going ahead with our club trip to Edinburgh for the Edinburgh Marathon Festival on 24-27 May. If you are yet to do so and are interested in coming along, please email James at comms@dulwichparkrunners.co.uk . For those who have expressed interest – more details will follow in the next week.
Across the weekend, there are 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.
We have one member who has entered the marathon at Edinburgh but is no longer able to run, so is happy to transfer it to another member for a £15 fee – please contact James if you are interested in this.
AGM & committee news
The club’s AGM will taken place on Tuesday 26 March. Agenda and papers will follow in due course.
Unfortunately IB Lilley is moving away for a period for a professional opportunity, so she is resigning from her position as the club’s treasurer. We’re very grateful to IB for her work in the role over the past couple of years. We’re pleased to announce that Courtney Spittal has agreed to step into the Treasurer role.
There will be further opportunities to join the committee at the AGM, so do think about whether you would like to take on a role – it’s a great opportunity to help contribute to the club.
Socials – football and theatre
We had a successful social at Dulwich Hamlet on 7 January – Dulwich even won (perhaps DPR members are their lucky charm?). We’re next going to the match on Saturday 24 February vs Cheshunt.
We are also planning a theatre social to see ‘The Sobcentre’ at the Brockley Jack on Friday 1 March. Tickets available here.
Attendance Award
We are excited to announce that we are going to be relaunching the DPR attendance award for 2024! More details on the scoring system for the award will follow, but it will include participation at cross country, summer league races, volunteering at beginners and participation in club championships.
We’ll be publishing a regular league table throughout the year, so you can get a headstart by coming along to cross-country on Saturday!
Upcoming half marathons
As well as the club championships on 31 March, we also have club members taking part in upcoming half marathons at Wokingham (25 February) and Paddock Wood (3 March) – so do join in if you’re looking to get a half under your belt in 2024.
Recent racing results
A bit quiet on the recent racing owing to Christmas – but well done to Amanda, Alan, Clare D, Lucy R, Chris, Laura who all ran in the Tadworth 10 on 7 January!
Member news
Some belated news, but congratulations to DPR member Tessa Davies on the birth of her son Sören in September!
On a sadder note, we are saying goodbye to member Catherine Manser, who has had to stop running due to injury.
Parkrun Ladder
Lastly, an update on the parkrun ladder – latest ladder rankings are here. There are no ladder points available this week due to cross country, so we’re back on 20 January. Remember that there are bonus points available for times and placings featuring a ’40’. With only three weeks left to go, time is running out to climb the rankings!