Valley race along the Thames

It was a fine, if slightly muggy, morning as 583 runners gathered in Surrey for the 9 am start to the Elmbridge 10k, the seventh stage of the TVH Endurance Cup.

Parking is a perennial issue at this event.  This is exacerbated by the (relatively) remote location of the race HQ.  Try getting there by public transport on a Sunday morning.  When you do arrive, they do not have a designated baggage area, meaning it’s pot luck about whether you score a pay locker in the leisure centre.  Moving to the start area, there is a serious bottleneck, meaning you have to arrive there very early or push by people to be at the front (remembering that the off is itself a rather fresh 9 am).  Compared to other events there are areas where this could be improved and it’ll be interesting to see if it retains its place on the prestigious TVH Endurance Cup tour.

Anyway, cutting to the chase, three Valley runners took part.  First in from the Club, claiming ninth overall and 20 Endurance Cup points was Conor Kissane-Wood.  As one of the first 100 finishers, he claimed a ‘gold’ medal for his time of 34:23, a tantalising second off of his PB.  Well done Conor nonetheless!  The second TVH runner, Paul Woodgate, registered a strong 41:33.  This earnt him 150th overall, nineteen Endurance Cup points and a ‘silver’ medal (awarded for 101st-200th).  v60 Nick Michael, as well as driving, registered a season’s best 55:26 in 440th, a ‘bronze’ medal and eighteen important points.

All of which moves Paul Woodgate ahead of Chris Thomas in the men’s Endurance Cup table, leaving the women’s contest unchanged.  What will happen?  You’ll have to wait until September for the final two episodes: the Victoria Park/Middlesex Championship 10k and the Southern Road Relays at Aldershot.