Truly Inspirational

Karen and Karl Harris at the Bath Half Marathon. Another big week in the life of our busy club. We've got the inspirational story of Karen Harris as she completes a couch to half marathon journey in just 18 months. There's the end of the XC season at the English Schools Cross Country Championships in Leeds plus the last of the Midland Open T&F meetings in Birmingham Plus there's lots of road races to report on, from 13.1 to 20 miles and finally, Emma Parkin tells us all about her extremely muddy race in the Lake District. There's also some dates for your diaries and lots more photos from the XC in Leeds, courtesy of Mike Sheppard. Enjoy the rest of your week. Best Wishes David Jones Couch to Half Marathon. Report - Karen Harris. To start off this week's reports we have, in her own words, the wonderful story of Karen Harris running the Bath Half Marathon a mere 18 months after taking part in the club's Couch to 5k group. Truly inspirational. "I am so proud of what I achieved on Sunday in my first half marathon. Couch to Half Marathon in 18 months! The course was definitely not flat as I had been warned. It was dry and mild and a little windy but I kept going with my fantastic coach Emily Adams by my side all the way, keeping me hydrated and my sugar levels up. I was hampered with cramp from 8 1/2 miles in different parts of my legs but Emily kept pushing me on. I didn't stop or walk once and with determination I finished in 3hrs 13 mins. At the end I was very overwhelmed and tearful. Karl had a fantastic race with a time of 1hr 42 which knocked almost 7 mins off his PB for a half. He also came back for me with 3 miles to go, so I had two fantastic people keeping me going. What a club Stratford AC is. Karl and I are raising money for Alzheimer’s Society by doing Bath Half, Brighton 10k and Brighton Marathon, which is in 4 weeks time." https://www.justgiving.com/karen-harris View this email in your browser Warwickshire's Senior Girls XC team including club members Abbie Wootton (485), Daisy Musk (486 )and Imogen Sheppard (484) English Schools Cross Country Championships. Report - Paul Hawkins. Adams and Campbell top of the class at English Schools Cross Country Championships Alex Adams and Georgie Campbell were the top finishers for their county teams at the English Schools Cross Country Championships, which were again held this year at Temple Newsham Park in Leeds. For the leading Stratford junior cross country runners, this event is often the climax to a long season. The setting was not a place for the faint hearted; last year it was bitterly cold winds with sleet whereas this this year there were very strong winds again with heavy rain. The conditions rapidly deteriorated as runners in the 59th edition of the championships churned…