DPR June Newsletter
It’s June which means it’s the beginning of Summer League! If you’ve not joined a Summer League event before they are spread over 5 Sundays, each in a different location hosted by a fellow club, with a race catering for all speeds, kids’ races, relays and a yummy picnic afterwards!
The races are:
15th June – Headstone Manor – 5 Mile
29th June – Perivale – 5 Mile
13th July – Dulwich Park – 5 Mile
27th July – Regents Park – 10K
10th July – Battersea Park – 10K (also our Club championship)
The 13th July event is a key date in our club’s diary and we want as many of us to be part of the race. We also need loads of volunteers in a range of roles such as starting the race (Ib doing a great job below!), marshalling, doing the water station, timekeeping etc. So start asking your friends and family if they can keep that Sunday free so you can run! Any questions ask Nat, Angus or a committee member.
After every Summer League race there are TEAM RELAYS. We have so many new members and it would be great to see you there, and for you to take part. In order to assist selection for one of the four relay teams (not necessarily by speed, as age gets us points too!) submit your 400mt time to coach@dulwichparkrunners.co.uk Dulwich Park is marked out in 100mt sections so easy to measure. Or alternatively come to Dulwich College track on Thursdays in June any time between 7.15pm – 8pm to self-time on the track. Dulwich College track is 300mts, so you need to run the home straight on the way out and onto the finish line!
Your club needs you!
The next notice might be boring but it’s mega important! We will soon be short of three committee members due to moves out of the area. The roles really don’t need to take a lot of your time, but the fewer people we have on the committee the more time it is for the rest of us! If you’re at all interested or want to ask any questions please get in touch with James and David at chair@dulwichparkrunners.co.uk We can split roles between people, so please get in touch if you want to help out!
– Membership Sec – Welcome trial runners and new joiners to the club
– Social Media – Promote the club on the socials
– Co-Social Sec – Work with Lynne to organise our social events
Reservoir Jogs
We held our 1 Mile Club Championships on Tuesday 20th May. It was a lovely evening and great to see so many of you. Nat and Amanda L were our first finishers and Tim achieved the highest age grading. Amanda also managed to set a new Club Record so huge congratulations to her. We had a good number of our newer runners too and an impressive number of people improving on their times from last year. Full results for the Mile (and for all our other races) can be found on the website here https://www.dulwichparkrunners.co.uk/races/club-championship-results/ Medals will be awarded at our next Social event, the Fun Relays on Tuesday 24th June.
Race News
Sunday 11th May was a warm one and a busy one for half marathons with Alice O’S doing the Leeds Half, Ib running the Ranelagh Half and Ronnie the Bracknell Half. The following Sunday saw Lizzie running the Alnwick Castle Half and Manon the Manchester Half. Chris Ince ran the Liege Beer Lovers marathon (double the fun or double the trouble?). Last weekend James and AJ completed the Edinburgh Marathon. A strong headwind made it tough for the last 8 miles or so but that didn’t stop James achieving a PB. Congratulations to them and everyone who ran a race in May!
Club Championship Races for 2025
Sunday 10th August – 10k – Summer League event – Battersea Park
Sunday 5th October – 5 Mile – DPR 5 Mile Open Run – Dulwich Park
Sunday 19th October – 10 Mile – Cabbage Patch 10.
Many of us were disappointed when the Cabbage Patch 10 sold out in super-fast time this year. For the purposes of being considered in this year’s 10 Mile Club Championship we will consider a result from any other officially measured 10 Mile race completed between now and 19th October (excluding races that take place on a track, eg those at Lee Valley Velodrome). If you would like to be included in the Club Championship results please let Lucy know, prior to your chosen race, which one you intend to do (lucy.ross@gmail.com). There will likely be some opportunity nearer the time to pick up a Cabbage Patch place if we have members who are unable to run who would like to transfer their place, but this should not be relied upon.
The 5k will be a Saturday in early November at Dulwich parkrun.
Other upcoming races
Dulwich Midsummer Relays – Wednesday 18th June
We currently have 26 members planned to take part in these relays. We need one more person to make up the 9th team and it would be good to have a couple of reserves. Please let Lucy Ross (lucy.ross@gmail.com or whatsapp) know if you can join. The Club is fully subsidising our entries this year so no cost to you. https://www.dulwichrunners.org.uk/midsummersrelays
Crystal Palace Dinodash – Wednesday 2nd July
A fun friendly evening running in teams of 3 around Crystal Palace Park and the dinosaur lake. Looking for lots more people to take part in this. Either come to me with your team of three or we can sort out teams for all those interested. Again, this race is fully subsidised by the Club. This year the race starts and finishes in the Stadium. Please let Lucy Ross (lucy.ross@gmail.com or whatsapp) know if you would like to join or have any questions.
https://crystalpalacefunrunners.co.uk/dino-dash
The Big Half – Sunday 7th September
We have 25 people entered for this race with Community entry places. There is a whatsapp group in the DPR WhatsApp community if anyone else has a place and would like to join
https://chat.whatsapp.com/Gg8B3EcISJlBsuVz6cAcsZ
Parkrun Ladder Begins!
Thanks to everyone who participated and helped in our Parkrun takeover yesterday – it was a new record for Dulwich finishers and we handed out loads of flyers to potential new members! It was also the start of our Parkrun Ladder competition which runs for the next 8 weeks and is always hotly contested! Rules are on the whatsapp or ask a committee member or Chris Ince, our Ladder Leader.
For Improvers in June we are concentrating on shorter speedwork but with adaptations for anyone keen to run just a bit faster generally. We continue the new section to introduce newcomers and to welcome back those who have been absent for a while either through injury, work, lack of diligence or marathon training (or any other excuse!). For anyone who may like to forward plan, July and August will see us working on technical skills with specific strengthwork to support them. You need to have been running at least 10 miles a week over the last few months, and be willing to commit to the training in order to get the most of the sessions. But it’s free to club members! If you are interested and would like more information, or have specific questions, please email coach@dulwichparkrunners.co.uk By the way, the Improvers WhatsApp is used just for last minute communication between current members, so if that’s not you, please don’t request to join!
If you have keen running kids, our club coaches are holding the second of our junior coaching sessions in Dulwich Park on Saturday 7th June at 11am for junior members accompanied by their parents (who may be asked to help out on the day!). For more information on the sessions, and to sign up to join a session, please contact coach@dulwichparkrunners.co.uk.
The next Coaching Surgery will be in the Crown & Greyhound after the Dash on Tuesday 1st July, from 8.30pm. Please look out for the booking form which will follow in due course on DPR whattsApp. As always, if you’d like general running advice or individual assistance in preparing for a race in the meantime, please contact our coaches and run leaders coach@dulwichparkrunners.co.uk
And remember as always our regular Sunday runs that kick off every Sunday at 930 at the cafe in the Park and are for all paces – don’t worry about your speed, everyone always has someone to run with!
Meet a Member!
This month we meet Alex Markovich, who has just come back from hiking in the beautiful Cairngorms!
Fave song to run to?
I don’t have a favourite song, it depends on how I feel on the day. It varies from my 80s/90s playlists, pop, rock or often heavy metal particularly on those days I may need an extra boost! The last playlist I run to this week included songs like Danger Zone (from Top Gun), Eye of the Tiger, Holding out for Hero, Footloose…think that gives you an idea.
Best thing about DPR?
I love the club! People are great and I really look forward to Tuesday runs. I’ve made new friends and feel there is lots of support on offer. The club is about so much more than running; there has been dancing, cake, coffee, laughter – what more do we need? 😊
Fave post-run food?
That’s a hard one to choose, I love cooking and tend to try lots of different recipes. One thing I’ve been enjoying recently is a lentil dosa (little bit like a pancake) filled with mushrooms or with tempeh sauteed with tomatoes, onions and herbs. It’s really easy to make, so I often end up having it after my run.
What got you into running?
I did some running in my 20s, really enjoyed it but then stopped. I ended up playing other sports, but in recent times found myself wanting to get back to running. I kept trying various “couch to 5k” programmes, but never managed to make it last. But then I heard about the DPR beginners course, it was a great experience, I fell in love with running again and now I think I might be hooked!