Current venues

If you’re travelling by car to races or club events please car share where you can.

NOTE: If poor weather occurs, sessions may be cancelled at short notice! We will communicate via FB

Monday 4th December
7:00 pm Track at PoW with James - Book online.
Click Here for PoW Track Booking Details

Tuesday 5th December
6:45pm for 6:50 pm: Hill reps session with Michael on the Parabola/Bayshill Road, meet at Waitrose.

Wednesday 6th December
Club run starting at 7pm from Cheltenham Town Football Club, Whaddon Road. There will be a variety of paces over a 5 mile road route and possibly a 4 mile road group too. Please wear Hi Viz and headtorches.

Thursday 7th December
Morning run Meeting point for coffee/tea after your run is at Wheatsheaf cafe on Old Bath Road. Aim to arrive at about 10.15am, after your run.

5-6pm PoW Track with Fi-Book Please book online. Click PoW Track Booking Link for details

7:00 pm Speed endurance session with Fi or Matt on the Honeybourne Line, meeting at the second bridge from POW

Keep running!

Please continue to take personal responsibility to look after the health of your fellow runners and stay away from club sessions if you have COVID symptoms. In addition, please consider the current health of your close contacts when deciding whether you should attend any sessions.

Almost Athletes Handicap Race Series - 2023

HANDICAP RACE SERIES 2023 - DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

Yes, it is back this year. Same format, same 4 mile route and anyone can win it! It will be a series of 4 races from Old Pats on the Monday evenings of May 15th, June 5th, June 26th and July 17th. There’s a prize for the winner of each race and the overall champion (from their best 3 results) wins the prestigious Almost Athletes Handicap Shield!

I (Peter 'Mitch' Mitchener) will be asking for entries and your recent race times in April to determine everyone’s staggered starting time! It’s so much fun!

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What is it?

The Almost Athletes Handicap Championship is a series of four races during the summer that will allow all runners to compete on a level playing field (more or less!). The races are 4½ miles (over three laps) around Leckhampton, based at ‘Old Pats’.

Time is used as a handicap – so the slower runners start first, and faster runners start later. The faster you are, the more time you have added to slow you down. The theory is that the amount of time that is added varies so that all runners should cross the finish line at exactly the same time…therefore, the runner who puts in the most effort is the one who wins!

Points are awarded depending upon your finish position, and a runner needs to compete in at least three of the four races to be eligible for the championship. There are prizes at stake for the winner of each race and the overall winner! There will be time penalties for those finishing in the top five places – this is to help mix things up. If you can only make one or two races, still come along as it a fun event and good for learning your race craft.

Race Results for 2023

When is it?

Dates for the 2023 series are May 15th, June 5th, June 26th, with the finale on July 17th.

Races start at 7:00pm. Please arrive at around 6:45pm to collect your number

Why should I do it?

Well first off it should be fun….honest!

As the club will be doing four races, it will be an opportunity to gauge progress over the summer, as all races will be on the same course.

It will allow you to perfect your pace – a critical skill in getting the best from your running!

Also it will be an opportunity to mix the normal Wednesday running groups up and race against people you would not normally run with.

It will also hopefully encourage you to push yourself a little bit more as in theory everyone has an equal opportunity to win - not just the 'racing snakes'.

Many other running clubs operate similar events, which prove to be very successful.

What do I need to do?

If you have already taken part in the handicap race, then you don’t need to do anything! Just come along on race night!

If you have not taken part previously you need to submit a recent race time by email to Peter Mitchener via almostathletes@hotmail.com - or leave a message on Facebook. This is to allow him to calculate your handicap time. If you don't have a race time at all, then give him an honest estimate as to how fast and far you run - and he can make a guess! To assist with the guess, let Peter know which group you run in on a Wednesday.

If you have emailed almostathletes@hotmail.com - you SHOULD receive a response, please contact again if this is not the case.

If you are unfamiliar with the route - please look at the document below.

How do you work out the handicaps?

Using a well accepted formula [T2 = T1 x (D2/D1)^1.06] you can calculate, given a recent race time, an APPROXIMATE time for any other race distance, in this instance 7.2km.

This formula is used to calculate a handicap for those who have not previously taken part. Once they have an ACTUAL race time that will be used.

More information on the calculations.

Where possible, new series handicap times for individuals will be based upon an average time from the previous year. This may prove to be an advantage...or a disadvantage!

Handicap Race Rules

Although this is a 'fun' event, we do have some rules to ensure that is fair for all as there are prizes and awards at stake at the end of the series

Handicap Race Route

As mentioned the race covers three laps and is based at 'Old Pats'. Whilst we will endeavour to mark the race route with chalk arrows, it is the responsibility of the runner to familiarise themselves with the race route. Click on the pdf icon below for details of the race route.