Recent and Upcoming Events for MURC Athletes
Upcoming Races
In addition to local cross country and fell races, MURC athletes have the following races and other events in their calendars:
September 2024: Greener Miles Cow Shed Backyard Ultra; Sutton Park 10K; Morecombe Half Marathon; 5 Trigs Fell Race
October 2024: Manchester Backyard Ultra; Chester Marathon; Manchester Half Marathon; Eryri (Snowdonia) Marathon
November 2024: Escape From Meriden 24 Hour Race; Benidorm Half Marathon; God’s Own Backyard Ultra; Kilburn Kanter 24 miles; Warrington Way Ultra; Boscombe 10K
December 2024: Cheviot Goat Ultra; Winter Downs 55 miles; Ribble Valley 10K
January 2024: Sir Titus Pie and Pickle Plod Ultra
February 2025: Pendle Way in a Day Ultra (30 and 45 miles); Anglezark Amble
March 2025: Greener Miles Tyne Bridges to Boundaries Ultra; Colchester Half Marathon; Brentwood Half Marathon; Chester 50 mile
April 2025: Manchester Marathon; Manchester to Liverpool Ultra
May 2025: Greener Miles Pennine Journey North 112 Miles
June 2025: Montane Spine Sprint North; The Wall Ultra
Completed Races
Events already completed in 2023-2024 by MURC athletes include:
Ultras: Race Across Scotland 215 miles 2024; Isaac’s Tea Trail 2023/4 (Age Category Winner); Race to the Stones 100K 2024 (17th of 314 Female); Ripon Stinger 34 Miles 2024; Montane Summer Spine Sprint 2024; The Fox Ultra 2024 (3rd Female Finisher); The Lap Clockwise 2024; Ultra Trails Wolds Way 44 mile 2024; Chester 100 mile 2024; Tyne Bridges to Boundaries 50K 2024; Ultra Loop Heaton Park 8 hour Challenge 2024; Chester 50 mile 2024; See York Run York 6 hour Challenge 2024; The Whopper 6 Hour Looped Trail Race 2023; God’s Own Backyard Ultra 2023; Warrington Way 2023; Pilgrim’s Way 100K 2023; Shropshire Way 80K 2023; Isaac’s Tea Trail 38 mile 2023; The Lap Anticlockwise 2023
Marathons: Hampshire Hoppit Trail 2024; London 2024; Manchester 2023/4; Sheffield 2023/4; Allendale Challenge 2024; Fewston and Swinsty Trail 2024 (1st Female Finisher); Sir Titus Trot 2024; Eryri 2023; Coniston Trail 2023; Yorkshire 2023; Coniston 14 2023/4; Cork 2023
Half Marathons: Great North Run 2024; Great Manchester Run 2024; Chester 2024; Kirk Yetholm to Wooler Trail 2024; Wilmslow 2023/4; Barcelona 2024; Run Through Heaton Park 2023/4; Run Through Tatton Park 2023; Oldham 2023; Langdale 2023; West Coast 2023; Rochdale 2023; Tissington 2023; Ambleside Lakeland Trials (23K) 2023
10Ks: Bury 2024; Mossley 2023/4; Wilmslow 2023/4; Blacksticks Blue 2023/24; Salford 2023/4; A Piece of Cake 2023/4; Chester 2024; Ribble Valley 2023; Wilmslow Festive 2023; Rochdale 2023; Media City 2023; Hopwood Trot 2023/4
Other Distances: Lancaster Riverside 10 miles 2024; Holcombe Two Towers 2024; Kentmere Horseshoe Fell Race 2024; Ambleside Lakeland Trail 14/23K 2023/4; Royton Trail Race 2023/4; Yeavering to Wooler Trail Race 2024; Norden Multiday 6 miles 2024; Ingram Lakes and Trails and Hills Series 2024; The Cake Race (fell race) 2023/4; Cheviot Pendulum 2024; Lowther Lakeland Fell and Trail 2023; Bury Race the Train 2023; Cowm Reservoir 5K 2023/4; Staveley Lakeland Trails 18K 2023; Sale Sizzler 5K 2023/4; Blackpool Prom 10 mile 2023
Athlete News and Monthly Highlights
A taste of what’s been happening over the past year or so in the MURC camp!
August 2024
What a great month August was. First of all we had 4 runners taking part in the Greener Miles Running Isaac’s Tea Trail Ultra, all with different goals for the race, all successfully completing and 1 taking away the age category prize. Being there to support them made for a fantastic weekend.
We then all got to enjoy a few days of dot-watching as Simon made his way heroically to the finish of the 215 mile Race Across Scotland. He kept us all on the edges of our seats as the MURC community willed him over the line, and even made us laugh with his understated messages to the group such as ‘I’m quite tired’! Well done Simon, an absolute credit to you.
Elsewhere, we also had a PB at Lancaster Riverside 10 miler, and the 2nd of our social fell runs, this time a circular route from Dufton up to Cross Fell exploring parts of the Spine and Pennine Journey routes.
July 2024
Another packed month for the MURC team. Josie took on her first 100K at Race to The Stones, finishing 17th of over 300 female runners – a great result. Elsewhere, J completed the Kentmere Horseshoe, a ‘classic’ lakeland fell race with tight cut offs, and P grabbed a 5K PB.
Several runners also attended the first of our recce runs for the Manchester Backyard Ultra. And we also had a good turnout for the first of our social fell runs, this one taking on a section of the Pennine Way as part of one runner’s preparation for the Spine Challenger North in January. It was great to catch up in person with some coached runners who aren’t local to me and to share some miles as well as chat about kit, hills, navigation…and bogs… over a drink at the end.
June 2024
June saw Simon take on the Summer Spine Sprint (for those that don’t know the race, at around 47 miles long, it isn’t exactly a sprint!). It was his third successful completion, in some of the worst conditions that the summer version has managed to throw at those taking part. A true test of resilience and endurance – huge kudos Simon.
Meanwhile, J completed the Ripon Stinger 34 mile ultra, a final preparation for another ultra and a great confidence boost, with nutrition, pacing, kit and psychology spot on. M was also in action at the very lumpy Hampshire Hoppitt Trail Marathon, again in preparation for an ultra next month.
We also had a social night for North West-based MURC runners, partners and friends, a great chance to chat, meet some new faces and plan future endeavours!
We’ve got an exciting month coming up, with several races, some new runners joining the community and a couple of group runs. Watch this space…
May 2024
May was very busy, and so many coached athletes had success in their races that it’s hard to know what to include. A few highlights:
First-time ultra runner M successfully completing the Lap Ultra
3 runners getting half marathon PBs, 1 first-time half marathon finisher
3rd place podium finish for J (pictured) after a gritty and determined performance at the competitve Fox Way Ultra
Setting up of a new kit-swap group amongst RWM runners to try to do our little bit to reduce waste in our sport
April 2024
April was definitely marathon-heavy, with several runners at Manchester and London. A few PBs were grabbed, including a whopping 1.5 hour PB by D at Manchester. It was great to see quite a few clients out supporting the runners in both cities. Elsewhere, J finished strong at the Wolds Way Ultra and S and M took on the mighty North Pennine fells in the Allendale Challenge and Kirk Yetholm to Wooler Half Marathon respectively.
Last but most definitely not least, many congratulations to S, who put in a huge amount of work to prepare for the Chester 100 mile, a race which he had previously started but not been able to complete. This time round, he completed and finished well up the field to earn himself a gold buckle: What an achievement, especially in some very challenging conditions.
March 2024
March was such a busy month that it’s difficult to pick out the highlights without inadvertently missing something! We had a couple of runners taking part in the Greener Miles Tyne Bridges to Boundaries Ultra. Both ran with very different goals, achieved these and had a brilliant day in the process. Elsewhere, S sucessfully completed both the Chester 50 Ultra and the Allendale Challenge – a marathon distance fell race with over 2000m elevation! Not to be outdone on those hills, M also completed the very challenging Cheviot Pendulum race.
Slightly less wild and hilly but no less noteable, F achieved a huge 10K PB at Salford 10K, and A got a 1/2 Marathon PB at Chester.
And finally, we had a couple of athletes running round in circles: J completed the 4-lap Fewston and Swinsty Trail Marathon – as First Lady! – and P completed 65km at the Heaton Park Ultraloop event.
I could go on, but hopefully I’ve not forgotten any big highlights. What a month, looking forward to seeing what April brings.
February 2024
February has been a month of where many athletes are now looking towards those 2024 goals. It’s such an honour to be able to plan the year out with runners and to share in their goals and hopes for the coming months. We’ve got loads of exciting races coming up this year: I’m very excited to see lots of runners signed up to the Manchester Backyard Ultra, which will be the first Backyard experience for most. Also plans for first time runs across all distances from 10K right the way through to 214 miles.
February has also seen the start of the Isaac’s Tea Trail group training plan, and we had our first online discussion session talking about nutrition and hydration for training and race day. It’s not too late to join in if you have a decent base mileage to start with – get in touch and I can tell you more.
December 2023 to January 2024
Into January and a group of us had a day out at the National Running Show – it was good to chat wth organisers of some of the great green initiatives there as well as listening to some excellent talks.
Yes, I have sneakily combined 2 months, but it was a very busy period over Christmas and the New Year so I’m just catchng up on myself. firstly it was a credit to all the RWM crew that all of them managed to combine the festivities with at least some ongoing training. F went 1 better and chose the period between Christmas and New Year to bag herself a new 10K PB at Ribble Valley.
Several athletes also picked up awards at their club fell and road championship – well done to all of you, and a special mention to D who won her club Endeavour award.
Finally, it was a busy few days on the RWM WhatsApp group as everybody got very excited about dot-watching the Spine race. I’m hoping to be there in summer 2025 and hopefully with some coached runners too.
November 2023
Whist many runners are now getting stuck into some winter base training, there’s still been a fair bit of racing going on. It’s always good to see a runner brave enough to target a specific race, invest all their training into it, overcome obstacles, and achieve their goal on race day. This was the case this month for J. as she achieved her goal of a half marathon PB after several months of training for it. Elsewhere saw a successful completion of the Warrington Way Ultra and a very successful backyard ultra debut for P, who completed an impressive 100KM (15 ‘yards’). Hopefully lots more yards to follow in the future! Finally, 2 runners achieved PBs in the Wilmslow Festive 10K – great results although one reported that she was a bit annoyed that she was still beaten by a gang of Christmas trees!
Local coached runners were also able to attend a group track session, where we focused on drills and speed builds. I’ll be running another session soon to build on this work.
October 2023
Another month packed with events – with the half marathon distance taking centre stage. A couple of athletes took on the Rochdale Half: One (pictured) achieved her PB and then went on to finish the super-tough Oldham Half in an almost identical time a couple of weeks later. For the other runner, it was her first Half Marathon so her successful completion was a massive achievement and only the start of her journey towards a marathon. Elsewhere we had runners successfully completing the Langdale Half Marathon and famous Eryri (Snowdon) Marathon. Another runner completed her first half marathon since her journey to recovery from an injury last year. Congratulations to all!
Finally, several people were involved in cross country action at the beginning of the new season, with a couple of runners dipping their toe in the water (or perhaps more appropriately, lower leg in the mud!) for the first time. Some athletes have chosen to have cross-country specific sessions within their training, so it will be good to see how the season pans out for all.
Away from running action, we had a social, with around 10 of us getting together for a meal and to see if we recognised each other without running kit on. A lovely evening and chance to get to know each other better and support each other in our running journeys.
September 2023
We had a few athletes take part in the Tissington Trail half marathon this month. S. had targeted it for a PB, having spent the past few months working hard on strength and conditioning to overcome an injury which had half marathon efforts in the past. His hard work was rewarded by taking 6 minutes off his PB and finishing without a recurrence of the pain.
Elsewhere, we had 2 ultra runners in action on the same weekend. One experienced ultra runner put in a great time at the Pilgrims Way 100K. The other took part in his first official ultra at the Lap, and finished in a fantastic time – well ahead of his target – on a painfully hot day.
Well done to you all!
August 2023
August saw lots of athletes taking a well-earned week or two’s break. But the holiday season didn’t get in the way of lots of running action too.
My highlight of the month has to be seeing 2 coached athletes smash their 10K PBs at the same race: One relatively new runner and one with years of experience but both with the same goal – to break the 60 minute mark. They both did it with room to spare and it is such a privilege to see a renewed confidence and sense of achievement in them – I can’t wait to see what they both do next.
August also saw another new runner, fresh from C25K, take 3 minutes off her 5K time. Finally, 2 runners logged their furthest ever distances for a single run.
Great work team!
July 2023
Another big month for the coaching crew. It was great to get together with quite a few runners to complete the Mossley 10K, and to enjoy some time with family and friends over lunch after. 2 runners completed their first 10K races – with H taking a whopping 15 minutes off her training run best time. D finally cracked that elusive 30 minute 5km and now seems to be banging them in for fun.
Finally we had 10 athletes take part in 1 of 3 small group track sessions where we worked on form and technique with drills and strides. Really productive sessions, and more will follow once they’ve had the chance to nail what they’ve learnt already.
June 2023
June started with several coached athletes taking part in a beginner’s navigation training day – hopefully equipping them with some of the skills needed to take part in fell races or other off-road adventures.
Runners have been busy doing what they do best – 2 athletes got new 5K PBs and another achieved her best 5K time in several years. Another runner has been building up her mileage to distances she never thought she would do – and careful progression means that she’s done so injury free. A big shout out to Dawn, who braved 2 Lakeland races on one of the hottest weekends of the year. Finally, I’ve had a couple of new athletes join the team, so I only have a couple of spaces left at the moment. So get in touch soon if you’d like to explore coaching options.
I’m also delighted to have been chosen as a Greener Miles Running ambassador this month. Sustainability and care for our environment is massively important to me and so it’s great to be able to represent a company who genuinely share those values. More to come on that on a separate post, but please reach out if you’d like to find out more about Greener Miles, or check them out on greenermilesrunning.co.uk.