Runners of the Month, First Half of 2017

Our first June Runner of the Month is a very worthy winner in Sarah Fennell. Sarah is a real life & soul of our club and epitomises what it means to get fun & enjoyment out of your running. Sarah is a dedicated trainer and races at all distances including for the first time at the end of May, the marathon. She was more than a little nervous about the challenge In Edinburgh, but Sarah turned in a fantastic debut performance & we were all so pleased to have received an email from a fellow competitor who had tracked down our club to thank Sarah for keeping her going and demonstrating what being an Almost Athlete is all about We tried to find a running photo of Sarah looking anything but the happiest person in the race … we failed. Well done Sarah.

For our second ROTM, we have Norm Lever. Norm has been an Almost Athlete for many years and is one of our most dedicated and loyal members. He will always put his hand up to help, including this weekend as usual as a CWR Leg Captain. He is a highly committed trainer as his Strava stats will testify and like Sarah he races at all distances. Having completed several marathons, Norm really took himself well out of his comfort zone recently and went for his first ultra in the shape of the 100km Race To the Tower along the Cotswold Way. No mean feat for any runner but Norm dug deep and completed a race where many others fell by the wayside. Keep up the good work Norm, ….but perhaps its time to retire those “wine-cork” tights ?…..

Doug is our first Runner of the Month in May following some truly outstanding performances in club colours. At London Doug ran a new PB in an incredible 2:36, a placing of 184th overall in over 40,000. Pushing well beyond the marathon distance, Doug competed recently in the British 100k championships securing 9th place in 7hr 51m in a very strong field. Doug is a dedicated trainer who quietly and consistently turns in such amazing performances. Inspirational Doug!

Mary is our second Runner of the Month for May. Mary is often tagged as “legend” in responses to her performances and that is certainly no understatement. She continues to love her sport and competing to deliver some excellent results, be that in running or in triathlons. At the recent Berkeley 10k Mary finished first in her category and at the British Triathlon Championships in Strathclyde, won 2nd place in her category. Mary remains an inspiration to many in the club. Keep it up Mary!

Claire Gallagher – Runner of the Month Claire is our third Runner of the Month in May and is certainly a true club person with the Almosts and in the wider Cheltenham running community. Claire has established a new Wednesday night group focussing on 4 mile runs to help build many newer members confidence and to enjoy their running. She leads the group with a smile and plenty of encouragement we know the runners appreciate. Claire is also a key member of the Cheltenham parkrun core team, just don’t let her catch you talking during one of her Race Director briefings! Great work Claire.

Completing our worthy set of Runners of the Month for May is Kim. She really does love her running and works hard to push her own times and performances including a new half PB of 1:56 at Edinburgh. Kim has also recently led a Couch to 5K programme for a number of very grateful ladies whom Kim has encouraged and developed to achieve their goal. This culminated at a recent Cheltenham parkrun where as ever she was out on the course to cheer and support her team home. Excellent work Kim to help others get into running who may often have thought such an effort was well beyond them. Kim proved them wrong!

We’ve been very impressed by Vicky’s dedication to her running – particularly her marathons. Vicky is the first female Almost Athlete to have completed all 6 Marathon Majors (London, Berlin, Boston, New York, Chicago and Tokyo)! Equally proficient at all distances, she was also part of the winning team at the Berkeley 20 mile race. Well done Vicky!

Congratulations to Prashanth Kumar Sripathi (Prash) for his fantastic run at the Manchester marathon where he managed to knock a magnificent 26 minutes off his previous personal best to finish in 3.01.08. Prash has been training hard and constantly improving – he was also the first male Almost home at the recent Cleevewold. Well done Prash!

Mark was nominated this month, not only for his enthusiasm for running but also for his involvement in charity work (he recently had that famous bear shaved off for a fundraising cause!) and, in particular, for his assistance to visually impaired runners. Well done Mark!

A big pat on the back this month to Deb Cartlidge for her consistent hard work and dedicated training. Deb attends club sessions regularly and really enjoys her running. Her hard work paid off recently at the very hot and hilly Torremolinos half marathon where she was first Almost lady home. Well done Deb!

Congratulations to Patricia Peever for achieving some great race times recently, and in particular for achieving a new 10 mile age group record for LV35 of 72.05, beating the previous record held by Linda Franks for 23 years. Patricia is also a regular at the Glos Cross Country events.

A big thank you to Phil Jeyes for all his planning and hard work as Race Director for the Linda Franks race and congratulations to him on a very successful race. Phil enjoys his running and is always encouraging to others.

Mike, just gets quicker and quicker. His marathon times have improved tremendously. At action in the Pisa Marathon, he made it look very easy. He is great bloke who always says yes when asked to assist with an AA event.

Rich loves the off road, has been producing excellent times and runs at the Cross Country events. He has just started the AA Suffershire group, helps leading a group on a Wednesday, and is part of the Parkrun Core Team. In addition Rich is always happy to help with AA events.