Oct – Dec Newsletter 2019 Welcome to our quarterly newsletter about our running club, based here in Paphos. It includes information about the races we have participated in, our results, any general information about us and what preparations we are making for upcoming races. The newsletter belongs to all members, whether you reside in Cyprus or live elsewhere and run with the club when on holiday. If you have any information relating to your running you would like including in the newsletter please e-mail it to [email protected]. Membership 2019 proved to be our most successful year to date for membership numbers as we finished the year with 52 fully paid members. Towards the end of the year we welcomed Angela McAllister and Maureen Summers to the club who have joined us on many club runs and we look forward to another running year with them. We gained a few more friends on our Facebook page from people who saw us competing and supporting the 4-Day Challenge and thought what a friendly group we were (which we are!). Hopefully as it’s now time to renew our membership we will do better or at least equal 2019 membership numbers and start 2020 the way we mean to go on with our fantastic friendly running group. Races Races & events – Oct-Dec 2019 12-13 October, Lesna Doba, 24 Hour Ultramarathon Poland Joanna and Wojciech took part in this event which involves running as many 12.3km loops as possible within a 24 hour period. This took place over a hilly, muddy course in the Karolewski Forest in Poland and they were absolutely amazing, running an incredible 104km and 117km respectively – just ... wow! 19 October, Run2Fight Happy Valley, Episkopi Claire H, Diana, Garry, James, Karen, Maureen, Peter, Steve and Rita ran the 10k at this event in support of the autism charity, Magic Always Happens, while Janet did the 5k. Well done all! 26 October, Kyriakideia Cross Country Race Statos-Agios Fotios, Paphos Angela M, Claire H, Claire R, James, Marina, Maureen, Pete, Pauline, Rita and Ruth ran this 14k race in the stunning countryside in the hills above the village, up & down hills and through vineyards. It was tough but worth it for the lovely bottle of wine and fleece jacket for all finishers. Marina was 4th lady overall in the 14k and Nina, who took part in the 2k race, was 3rd girl! 1 Oct – Dec Newsletter 2019 Statos-Agios Fotios All smiles before the start! Angela M - I was there! Marina 4th lady overall - Well done! 2 Oct – Dec Newsletter 2019 27 October, Limassol Triathlon Sprint & Super Sprint, Karen took part in the Super Sprint distance and finished 3rd overall in the female 16+ age category – go Karen! 13 November, Run in the Dark, Kato Paphos Angela W, Claire H, Di, Garry, James, Karen, Pauline, Pete, Rita and Steve took part in this ‘pop-up’ night-time event for the Mark Pollock Trust charity which supports spinal injury research. 16 November, O3 OlympusMan 2019 at 6.30am, Paphos to Troodos This challenging Half Ironman distance triathlon starts from sea level in Paphos and finishes 1,952m above sea level at the peak of Mount Olympus in the Troodos Mountains! Garry competed as part of a relay team, bravely taking on the 86km bike leg, pedaling all the way from Paphos Municipal Baths up to Troodos Square which involves an incredible 2,400 metres of ascent! What an achievement! 3 Oct – Dec Newsletter 2019 17 November, Radisson Blu Larnaka International Marathon/HM/10km/5km, Larnaka Ron, Steve and Wojciech took part in this half marathon in Larnaca. They all did very well and special congratulations go to Ron and Steve for completing their very first half marathon race! Well done Guys! 21-24 November, Cyprus International 4-Day Challenge, Paphos Several members did all four days – congratulations to Claire R, Diana, Marina, Mark, Peter, Rita, Ruth and Wojciech. Diana and Peter finished 2nd and 3rd in their respective age groups while our fabulous ladies won 3rd place trophy in the team event – fantastic results for the club! Other members (including some recent Couch-to-5K graduates!) ran the 10k race on Day 4 – well done to Angela M, Gerry, Louise and Viv. Louise also ran in the 6k time trial on Day 1 as a reward for marshalling on the other days – I think she enjoyed it! 4 Oct – Dec Newsletter 2019 4-Day Challenge Photographs Start of Day 2 – What a Happy Bunch Marina & Pete – Who’s getting who to the finish! r Day 3 and raring to go! 5 Oct – Dec Newsletter 2019 Final Day West Coast Runners – Participants and Supporters Well done to you all! 24 November, Aphrodite Half Marathon/5km Yeroskipou Stadium, Paphos This half marathon race is runon the same day as the final day of the 4-Day Challenge and takes an out-and-back route past the harbour and Paphos Fort. So, after the Challenge finished most of the club then decamped to Tea for Two at the harbour for breakfast and to cheer on Sue who was running her first Half Marathon Race 6 Oct – Dec Newsletter 2019 - and she excelled by WINNING her age group and with a fantastic time into the bargain! Many congratulations to her. Great result Sue 1 December, Santa’s Run 5k, Limassol Marina and Nina had a fun time taking part in Limassol’s Santa Run. 15 December, Santa Run Event, Paphos Several members spent a pleasant Sunday morning at this event (which turned out to be more of a walk) from the Town Hall through Paphos old town to the Christmas bazaar at Kennedy Square - and participants got a free Santa hat! Well done Diana, Helen, Janet, Marina and Steve. 22 December, Kallepia 6k Kallepia village, Paphos Our year ended on a high with a great turnout from the club at this race, with Angela W, Diana, Garry, Janet, Karen, Marina, Pete, Steve and Sue all 7 Oct – Dec Newsletter 2019 taking part. Everyone did really well and Sue and Pete both ran a super speedy race to win their age groups! Great turn out for the Kallepia Race Race Report: Ironman Triathlon, 3rd November Belek Turkey – by Karen Allen ‘Ironman Triathlon’ puts on more than 260 races in 44 countries and is valued at nearly a billion dollars and when you take part in one of their events you can see why the brand is so highly prized. It’s not cheap to enter but it’s worth every euro, from registration to prize giving it’s a slick event that achieves a great balance between a serious sporting event and a fantastic party. As a veteran of Ironman events Mark had entered for a second year, and having supported him the last time, Pete and I were eager to take part. With Gaynor cycling, Pete running and me swimming, we entered the mixed relay. When ‘Cakes from the Hart’ really took off, Mark and Gaynor sadly had to pull out so we needed a cyclist. Fortunately Nic and Janet Sutherland were going to the event because Nic was competing as an individual so Janet went from spectator to cyclist overnight, with very little time to train. 8 Oct – Dec Newsletter 2019 The event is held in Belek, which is on the Turkish Riviera, its known for world-famous golf courses and five-star hotels, and equally famous, are the markets selling copies of everything. …so it’s a sporting and shopping paradise. The race is called a 70.3 or Half Ironman because the distances add up to 70.3 miles, the swim is 1.2 miles, the cycle 56 miles and the run 13.1 miles. At 5am on the day of the event we were in the hotel restaurant, where the porridge was in high demand. Pete was busy making snacks from the buffet as the run comes last, so he wouldn’t be competing for hours. At 6.30am we all walked along the dark beach to the swim start. Seeing nearly 2000 people in wetsuits and swimming hats waiting for the start is terrifying and even worse, the relay swimmers enter the water last. By the time I started my swim, the professionals were coming out of the water. The swim course features an "Australian Exit" that splits the swim in two so you swim a loop in one direction, run through a gate on the beach and re-enter the water to swim the second loop. Being last to start meant the relay swimmers encounter people that are slow swimmers so it’s hard to make progress until you manage to pass this group of people. The run to the first transition is also interesting in a wetsuit but Pete, Janet and I wanted to see if we could beat Nic overall and he already had a two minute lead on me in the swim so I had to run. We swapped the chip over and Janet shot off on her new bike. The two-loop 56 mile bike course is flat with well paved roads through scenic forests and over open land, this is a perfect place to race a fast time on the bike and the Police close the roads. Pete and I were tracking Janet and Nic on the superb Ironman app and Mark was glued to his app watching from Cyprus. Janet was holding well on the first lap but Nic pulled away on the second lap. She came into transition elated and only a little bit saddle sore.