Lisa Redman has once again slipped on her trainers to take on yet another extreme run challenge. This time it was the Kings Forest Ultra 50km/31miles north of Newmarket. Finishing in 5 hours and 32 minutes, Lisa finished 9th lady out of 28 and 53rd out of 103 finishers.

The following weekend Lisa took to the pavement for another Half Marathon in St Neots. The chilly and foggy run set the stage for yet another PB, with Redman coming across the line in 1 hour 44 minutes and 37 seconds.

The Lode Half Marathon this weekend was changed to 11 miles as organisers had to make last minute changes because a rave was taking place on part of the course and the police wouldn’t let competitors run through it.

The 11 miles were flat and fast, taking in part of Lode fen. It was very wet, with a tail wind going out and a head wind on the way back to add extra challenge to the race.

Maxine Lane finished 4th lady and 36th overall in 1 hour 16 minutes 13 seconds. Hayden Marsh was 62nd overall in 1 hour 22 minutes 15 seconds and Crayton McDonald finished 75th overall in 1 hour 24 minutes 40 seconds.

240 runners took part.

This weekend, Mick Lowther took on what is known as the World’s hardest Half Ironman distance Triathlon, Wasdale. The Wasdale attracts the most hardened of triathletes, boasting it’s swim as the deepest, it’s bike section as the steepest and it’s run as the highest. It is not one for the faint hearted.

Lowther, who had been struggling with illness lately started the swim in the cold, dark waters of Wastwater. With only light from lamps provided by the team, Lowther donned his wetsuit and entered the lakes chilly waters (approximately 13 Degrees Celsius) for the beginning of an incredible day.

Completing the 1.2 mile swim in approximately 32 minutes, Lowther ran to transition and prepared for the 56 mile bike section, containing the steepest category climb in the country. It wasn’t long before Lowther was tackling the severe ascent of Hardnott, the steepest mountain pass in Britain at 2.2 miles with an average 25% incline and the last two bends at over 30%. Wrynose pass would ease the legs compared to what they had just endured, however the downhill would keep Lowther switched on knowing there is a 500ft unprotected drop along the side of the road. More and more miles came under Lowther’s two wheels as he pushed on and as if once up Hardknott wasn’t enough, he had to take on it’s return pass. Peaking at an incredible 33% incline for 200 yards and then 30% for mile, Lowther was pushed to the limit. The bike section racked up a total 7,217 ft of climbing over the 56 miles in approximately 5 hours.

Still, Lowther was not to be defeated. In to transition and with his trainers on, Lowther began the final leg of the journey. Starting the athletes off steady through Styhead Tarn and the Corridor Route, it wasn’t long before Lowther was at the base of Scarfell Pike. Scaling one part of the rock face took half an hour and only achieving a 75m gain in distance was both mentally and physically challenging. However once at the rocky summit of England’s highest mountain, it was the horrendous descent with zero visibility, sheer drops and large loose rocks to negotiate that stick in Lowther’s mind. This was no “run” at all, even the flat bits were through marshlands but Lowther completed the final leg in approximately 5 hours 20 minutes.

Lowther may be suffering after taking on Wasdale, but he is proud to have completed it in 10 hours and 50 minutes (approx) with some incredible competitors.

Last weekend, club members Maxine Lane and Chris Jones travelled to the Isle of Wight to take on the islands challenging 600m pool swim, 35k bike and 7.5k run triathlon. It was a close contest for Lane who went head to head with the islands favourite Nina French. French who competes for the country certainly made Lane work hard. Going head to head in the water French took the lead over the extremely hilly bike course. Not letting French out of her sights Lane finally pulled clear during the run stage of the race. Having to race hard from start to finish, Lane eventually won the ladies race in a time of 1 hour 53 minutes 12 seconds, just 6 seconds clear of French. Meanwhile Jones, who has competed in a series of challenging races this season finished his last triathlon on a high. The tough hills and strong headwinds on the 35k bike course seemed a breeze for him as he stormed around the course. Heading into transition, he was still fresh and ready to go, putting on a stunning display on the run route. He completed the course in 2 hours 10 minutes 43 seconds, good enough to see him finish 12th in the 50-54 age category.

Super endurance athlete Angela Girgis took on yet another tough event, the first ever Gauntlet Half Ironman race at Hever Castle in Kent. The 1900m river swim, 56 mile bike and 13.1 mile run would usually be a walk in the park for Girgis as she quite often goes twice that distance in Ironman races. But this was her toughest half ironman to date. The river swim saw the triathletes suffer in the water at just 14 degrees. Exiting the water with a superb 33 minutes, she then had 2 laps of extreme hills to contend with. Not letting the hills grind her down she found herself in a strong position in the ladies race as she headed out on a half marathon cross country run. With mud and gravel to race through, she used her endurance skills to her advantage, crossing the line in 6 hours 02 minutes 25 seconds, meaning she was 9th lady overall and first veteran lady.