Week Starting 13th April

 Another incredible weekend of racing for the Wolfpack. Our first ever National Road Relays finals. Amazing to think you lined up against not only the very best in the country, but also alongside the world 1500m champion Jake Wightman.

The relays are always a tough gig, but now you’ve run them, you won’t find a harder 5k all season. Every leg was fought for and you did both the club and yourselves proud.

Thank you to all friends and family who came down and made it such a great day. The cake game was strong again from Lynsey, although it has to be said we missed Lynette’s contribution!

A big thank you to Paul Tabor for getting us there and organising the teams – another smashing job. We will get a branded gazebo sorted. We’re working on bringing in funds through races and kit, so bear with us. In the meantime, a massive thank you to Els’ dad Nick for once again lending us one.

For those that don’t already know, the 12-stage relays are always in the spring. In the autumn, we go again with the 6-stage (men) and 4-stage (women) relays. The Midlands are likely to be on Saturday 19th September, followed by the Nationals on 3rd October at Sutton Park. If you enjoyed the experience, get these dates in the calendar – we’d love to enter multiple men’s and women’s teams.

Our next relay event is the British Masters Open Road Relay Championships on Saturday 3rd May.

We are looking to enter teams for:

Men 35+ (6 stages – £93 per team)

Men 45+ (4 stages – £62 per team)

Women 35+ (4 stages – £62 per team)

Women 45+ (3 stages – £46.50 per team)

As far as I can tell older age group runners can drop own into younger age group - so we can host teams of +45 in the +35. 

Let’s go and get a British title. More information can be found here:

https://bmaf.opentrack.run/en-gb/x/2025/GBR/bmaf-orrc/

If you’d like to run, please let Paul or Adam know ASAP.

Other races to consider include the Stafford Showground Relays (yes, more relays!) on 10th June at 7:30pm – a 2-mile course. We can enter mixed teams of first and second claim runners.

A big shout to Mark Illidge, who wore the vest at the London Landmarks Half Marathon today – well done, Mark.

And well done to all of our second claim runners who raced with us at the relays. There was some fierce inter-club competition, but it was great to see everyone enjoying it between legs.

In the coming weeks, we’re excited to welcome ex-GB international athlete and British 10k champion Phil Nichols to deliver a masterclass on drills and warm-up techniques.

Phil brings a huge depth of knowledge and experience from an outstanding athletics career. He has won individual track titles, represented Great Britain at major championships and the World Cross Country, and claimed victories at races such as the Telford 10k and the Edinburgh Marathon.

This is a great opportunity to learn from someone who has performed at the very highest level, so when we confirm the date, please do come along.

Phil now runs an excellent programme, Ambition Running, where he offers one-to-one coaching. Feel free to drop him a message and sign up if you’re interested.

Finally, a massive good luck to everyone racing the Manchester Marathon next week. If there’s a tracker, send your numbers over. Go and make yourselves proud.

On to training:

Tuesday – 6:50pm (Sabrina Road, warmed up and ready):

5 minutes tempo, followed by 6 × 1km off 90 seconds recovery

Saturday – 9:30am (Aldersley Stadium, track session):

4 minutes tempo, then 12–16 × 400m (depending on what you need), off 90 seconds recovery