Good evening, athletes!
It was a solid weekend for the club, with a hearty crew turning up to run the Vitality 10K in London on Sunday, alongside superstar Eilish McColgan, who cruised to her her fourth consecutive victory in 31:50. Harry Mullard and Katie Newton weren't too far behind her - check out the results and pictures below.
On the Battlebridge front, we're having some trouble with the floodlights. We're hopeful that things will be resolved for next week, however, tomorrow's track session will be again in Priory Park - be there at 6:15 for a 6:30 start.
And huge thanks to everyone who has volunteered to help us host the first match of the Surrey Cross Country League on 10 October in Priory Park, we really appreciate you! Speaking of XC, if you haven't yet signed up to run, there's still time...
Thanks and happy running,
The Newsletter Team
All Club News
SATIRE in action
Pictured above are the Reigate Priory AC Couch to 5k Programme week 1 participants and helpers, together with our Saturday Social running group and the YMCA Wellbeing walk members, all about to set off on their activities. Full details of our activities can found here and if you'd like participate or help with any of these groups, or know someone who might, do get in touch!
Rita Diffley's funeral
Long-time club member Rita Diffley's funeral is to be held on Wednesday, 30 September at 10:30am at the Holy Family Roman Catholic Church in Yorke Road.
Junior News
Park Run PBs
It was great to see a number of parkrun PBs from RPAC juniors over the last weekend. On Saturday, in the senior parkrun, Rocco Secker finished third overall in a very impressive new PB of 18:41, taking 3 whole minutes off his previous best, and beating his Dad. Yasmin Mitchell had a strong run to finish second woman and improve her previous PB by 6 seconds, in a new best of 21:41. At the Junior parkrun on Sunday, Imogen Leung, Ezra Russell and Amira Jaffar all had good runs and recorded new best times. Congratulations to you all.
Aldershot Road Relays
Three RPAC Junior teams ventured to Aldershot for the Southern Road Relays, taking on teams from across the whole of the South of England. First to run were the U14 girls. Penelope Gargowitsch led off and ran the 47th fastest leg on the day, out of 150 runners. She was ably supported by Imogen Leung and Lucy Pace with RPAC finishing 40th out of the 50 teams competing.
The U16 boys were our strongest team, finishing 30th overall out of the 80 teams. George Duncton led off and ran our fastest leg, with the 39th fastest leg on the day. His strong start was sustained by Calum Johns and Sora Cowdry's performances, bringing us home in 21st place. In the U18 boys we came 62 out of the 82 teams with Robert Duncton running our fastest leg, and River Selwood and Ollie Agius doing well against the strong competition.
Surrey XC League, Match 1, 10 October
The first match in this year’s Surrey Cross Country League is being held on Wimbledon Common on Saturday, 10 October. The U12s and U14s race starts at 11am (boys) and 11:05 (girls), and the U16s and U18s 11:30am (boys) and at 11:35 (girls). Please let Mike Gent know if your child would like to compete. We are not limited as to numbers.
Junior Dates for the Diary
Saturday, 10 October: Surrey Cross Country League - Match 1, Wimbledon CommonSunday, 1 November: Downs League Cross Country - Match 1, Epsom Downs
Saturday, 14 November: Surrey Cross Country League - Match 2, Beckenham Place Park
Seniors News
Note: Hi Viz For All Evening Road Sessions
It's getting dark, folks. For the Monday and Thursday sessions, athletes are reminded that, per our code of conduct, they must wear hi-viz and have a light of some form (usually head torch or body lights) when running club-led road sessions at night.
Tuesday Track Session in Priory
With the floodlights still having issues, this Tuesday's session will be in Priory Park, meeting at 6:15 for a 6:30 start. See you there!
Power45: Indoors this winter
Power45, the terrific strength and conditioning session coached by Ellis on Thursdays, will be moving into the YMCA for the colder months. The programme covers strength, mobility and flexibility, plyometrics and power, all to keep you running longer and with fewer injuries. Get in touch with Ellis if you're interested in joining!
Members News
LFOTM 5K in Hyde Park
On Friday, 25 September, Naomi Jones, Paul Walters, Steve Watkins and Annette Morris went into London to run the Last Friday of the Month 5k in Hyde Park, a quick, two-lap race around beautiful Hyde Park hosted by Serpentine Running and Triathlon Club. Trying for sub-20, Paul finished in a time of 20:06, Steve in 21:31, Annette went sub-25 to finish in 24:57, and Naomi finished in 34:25. Check out their results here and if you're interested in joining next time around, entries can go quick, so sign up here.
Vitality 10k
Usually, the 7:03am train into London on a Sunday morning isn't exactly crammed - which may have been what the guys coming back from a Brighton rave were counting on. Instead, they had to share seats (and the loo) with dozens of runners, all with their stuff packed in clear plastic Vitality 10K bags and trying to choke down bananas and flapjacks. A fair number of RPAC athletes were among them, ready to speed past the Royal Courts of Justice, St. Paul's Cathedral, and whatever else there was to see in their fastest tour of London ever. First back for the club was Harry Mullard in 34:50, followed by Katie Newton in 39:29, and Gavin Lawrence in 41:48. Several of our athletes were also first through the door at the nearby Leicester Arms, right as it opened at 11am... Check out the full results here - fantastic runs in there, too many to go into here. Well done, everyone!
Gavin Pollack smashes Triathlon Word Champs
There was definitely some running involved, and then some - Gavin Pollack placed 11th at the World Triathlon Age-Group Championships Sprint in Pontevedra, Spain, on 24 September. Brilliant running... and swimming... and cycling! Gavin is also using his race to raise funds for Pancreatic Cancer UK, after losing his sister to the disease in May. Please consider supporting Gavin!
Marathons, far and wide
Brilliant running to our fantastic Berlin Marathoners: Laura Webb earned herself a PB of 3:49:03, Matthew Aylott scored a sub-3, finishing in 2:59:55, and Stuart Souter finished in 3:16:18, more than 7 minutes faster than his last year's time!
Kate Knight finished her 10th Loch Ness Marathon (and as far as we know, she hasn't seen the actual monster yet). This was her 210th marathon overall, completed in a chip time of 7:16:21. "Fantastic company and as always one of my favourite marathons," says Kate.
And while it wasn't a marathon (this time), Jim Vince was once again pounding the pavement, this time at the Ipswich Half.
Well run, everyone!
Parkrun tourism
From Andrew Pringle: "The weather forecast on Saturday was for sunny weather, so we headed to the seaside and picked up the dead flat, but crowded (450 runners) Littlehampton parkrun. The crazy golf course was also given a few laps while the council made a mint from parking charges...."
Notes and reminders
Cross Country Dates
These are definitely in your diary by now: 10 October, 14 November, 16 January, and 13 February. The league also holds 6 March as a reserve date in case of bad weather - but this being cross country, the weather would have to be apocalyptically bad to use it!
MABAC coming up
The next race in the MABAC season will be Sunday, 18 October, in Nonsuch Park. In the meantime, check out the results from the last match here.
K2 Sessions
The dates for the future K2 sessions are listed below.
13 October
17 November
8 December
19 January 2027
9 February 2027
16 March 2027
Get in touch
If you participate in an event, email with your results by Sunday evening at the latest. And if there is anything else you'd like to see in the newsletter, get in touch - our email address is 
.
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