We have a world champion in our club!!

Lucy Bednall ran/cycled an incredible race to win Gold for her age group (16-19 yrs) at the World Duathlon Championships in Aviles, Spain in November. Not only that, but Rob White picked up the bronze for his age group, and Jo Bednall, just missed out on the medals to come 4th. Fantastic results from 3 amazing athletes, well done all!

Two of our juniors, Grace Longden & Lucy Whelan, coached by Dan Latham, also had a brilliant month, as part of their school cross-country team, qualifying for the national finals in December. Good look Grace, Lucy and the rest of your team!

As the snow and ice hit us at the end of the month, junior Harry Bond braved the elements and won the Cheddleton 10K. Add to this the numerous great achievements across the club, on road, fell and cross-country, and it’s been another phenomenal month for the club.

With Christmas fast approaching, the festivities begin. We hope to see you at one of our festive runs and/or at the Christmas party, and would like to wish all of our members a very Happy Christmas and New Year. Whatever your running goals may be, we hope you achieve them in 2022!

Club chairman Terry Fowler, in his role for British Athletics, is part of a team writing a new fell, trail and mountain running course, from beginner to elite level, in conjunction with the Fell Running Association (FRA).

He was approached to gather a group of runners to film them looking at the technical aspects of uphill and downhill running, running over obstacles, and a RAMP warm up. This took place on a Sunday in November and was a huge success, with everything covered in the plan along with extra filming done for the higher level course. Due to the success of the day a further day is now under discussion to look at further points.

Feedback from British Athletics and the FRA was that the location was perfect, with great athletes, and the FRA was very pleased that a club with such a rich history of fell running was used. A massive thank you to all of the athletes who took part!

Meet your Committee….
Rob White – Relays and Cross Country Co-ordinator

Rob has been a member of Buxton AC and our committee for a number of years, and currently co-ordinates our participation in multiple cross country leagues/events and relay races.

Rob is an amazing runner, and holds age category club records at the mile, 5K, 5 mile, 10K, half marathon and marathon distances. As you’ll have spotted in the club news, he also won bronze in the recent World Duathlon Championships. However, perhaps his most notable achievement was completing the 2018 Clough Head fell race in 151st position having broken both his arms in the same race!

Rob lives with his partner Elizabeth, and her son James.

Dates for Your Diary:

Club Events (excluding Christmas events below)

Pavilion Gardens 5k – 9am Sat 11th Dec 2021
Litton Christmas Cracker – 11am Sun 12th Dec 2021
Club AGM – 7:30am Thur 27th Jan 2022
Club Outing – Leicestershire Half Marathon – Sun 27th

Feb 2022
Buxton half marathon – Sun 29th May 2022

Cross Country

Only events occurring this month are included here:
MACCL 3 – Kenworthy Woods – 4th Dec 21
NSCCL 4 – Betley Court Farm

A full list of dates for this season’s cross country fixtures, including county and national events can be found on the club website: https://buxtonac.org.uk/cross-country-dates-2021- 22/

Pavilion Gardens 5K Saturday 11th December 2021

The next Pavilion Gardens 5K, open to all, will start at 9am Sat 11th Dec. The route will be timed and marked, but not marshalled. Of note, this will be the graduation race for our current Target 5K group, so please do come and support them as they reach this milestone!

Club Christmas events

Fri 10th Dec 2021, 7pm
Christmas Party & Presentation Night

Wed 15th Dec, 6:30pm
Christmas lights run
Meet at the swimming pool to run a route taking in the best of Buxton’s Christmas lights. Our T5K graduates will be joining us, so there’ll be an option for steadier runners.

Sunday 19th Dec, time tbc
Winter Solstice run, Combs
Approx. 9 miles off-road, aiming to reach the top of the hill for sunrise

Wed 22nd Dec, 6:30pm
Fancy Dress Run
Meet at the swimming pool at 6:30pm for the judging, followed by a club run taking in a local pub or two.

Christmas Day Run, 10am
Meet at the swimming pool for a festive run up to Solomon’s Temple. From there make your own way home for Christmas lunch.

Club AGM & Vacancy – Club Championships Secretary

Please join us for our AGM in January – Thur 27th Jan, The Hoffman Bar, Harpur Hill. The meeting is open to all club members, where you can learn more about your club and have your say in its future.

This year we have a vacancy for a new Club Championship Secretary. In this role you would take on responsibility for organising our championships (you don’t need to organise the races themselves!), and for tracking results over the year. If you’re interested or would like further information, please contact any member of the current committee.

Club Runs and Structured Training Sessions

Club runs occur Mondays and Wednesdays at 6:30pm, meeting outside the swimming pool. Keep an eye on the Facebook Group for details.

Structured training sessions occur alongside our juniors on Mondays, 6-7pm, meeting at Buxton Community School Sports Hall. £2 per session.

Run Every Day (RED) December

Why not try to Run Every Day in December running a minimum of 1 mile per day throughout the month? Many members have done it in the past and it’s a great way to end the year.

There’s a very supportive Facebook group which you can join if you’d like some additional encouragement: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1497595623862351/

Club Outing

Leicestershire Half Marathon – Sunday 27rd Feb 2021

There will be a club outing, taking part in the Leicestershire Half Marathon, followed by lunch.

If you’d like to join us, simply enter the race yourself, and let Emma Wentworth know that you’d like a place on the FREE BUS (or reply to the Facebook announcement).

London Marathon 2022

We have 2 club places for next year’s London marathon. To be eligible for entry to the club ballot you need to satisfy the following criteria:

• Have applied to, and been rejected from the ballot
• Not had a club place in the last 3 years
• Helped at 2 of the monthly Pavilion Gardens 5Ks*
• Helped at either the Buxton Half marathon or Carnival Race in 2022** Either yourself or someone on your behalf.

Race reports

We’d love to read about races you’ve taken part in, so if you’d be willing to write a race report, please send it to Nick Jones for inclusion on the club website.