Happy Easter everyone, we hope you all enjoyed the Easter Celebrations with family and friends. The Spring is also a time to celebrate the longer days with the warm sunshine and a desire to do more out of doors and running is certainly a good activity to help you get fitter and makes you feel good too. Any newbies out there will be made more than welcome at our club runs, the schedule of the weekly runs can be found on our Facebook page.
West Coast Runners have certainly been busy both here in Cyprus and in the UK over the last couple of months or so, competing in races.
London Winter Run – way back in February Karen Brand competed in the London Winter Run; Karen is one of our many Associate Members who love to run with the club whenever they are in Cyprus. The London Winter Run is in aid of Cancer Research U.K. and is a 10k race through closed roads in London and 25,000 runners participated. Karen stated, ”The run started in Trafalgar Square passing many famous landmarks along the way. There were plenty of winter characters, penguins, huskies and snowmen to cheer you on, not to mention the choirs, singers and drummers who kept us going. The crowds were amazing and very supportive”. Karen ran the 10k in 1:03:36 achieving a PB and knocked nearly 8 minutes off last years’ time, so was super pleased. Well done Karen.
Liverpool Half Marathon – 23rd March. Once again Neil Bithell was on his travels this time competing in the Liverpool Half Marathon. Neil stated that, “the race was well organised but very busy with 12k runners and probably 10k spectators cheering us all on the way. A wet and cold morning got us all started with a good pace, a flat race with one steep hill and a country park. It was a special moment with my wife Karen taking the photos and three of my grandchildren, supporting me and cheering me over the finish line. I received a lovely medal and tee-shirt and thanks to Liverpool, for a great morning”.
Limassol Marathon plus HM/10k/5k races, – which took place on 23rd March. A weekend away in Limassol saw some great results from the club. Claire Rinkes competed in the Marathon and Mark Slatter and Rita Leyland in the Half Marathon (HM)
It was a fabulous achievement from Claire, who completed the Marathon in a respectable time of 5:30. Speedy Mark was chasing a sub 2hr HM and managed 1:57. Rita stated that she was just enjoying the beautiful scenery and the fabulous shouts from the crowds and managed 2:19 for the HM. There was great support, perfect conditions and lots of free goodies after the race. The only negative, it was an expensive entry fee with no tee-shirt.
Run for Autism, HM/10k/5k races – Sunday 6th April, Ayia Napa, Nissi Beach. WCR all competed in the HM, the race commenced at 7.20am it was sunny with a blue sky, what a great start and finish for the 4th Run for Autism. Dianna Henry-Ward and Neil Bithell were both competing for the 2nd year and for Claire Rinkes, Louise Robinson-Georgiou, Rita Leyland and Vivienne Couldrey it was their first time competing in the race. The atmosphere was great, with a mix of runners from across Cyprus and other countries. It was a pleasure to represent the Paphos area and West Coast Runners at this event. The 21K was two laps from Nissi Beach to the Marina and back, with lots of supportive Marshals and Water Stations along the way. A big thank you from WCR to family members for the fabulous support and photos taken and it is always great to see them when you get over the finish line. A great time was had by them all.
There was also a 10k, 5k, 1k and Children’s runs, so lots of people enjoying the day and helping support this great charity, great medals for all too!
Unfortunately we cannot share all our photos here so please look at our Facebook page to see all of our runners’ achievements and if you would like to join us at any of our weekly runs you will find our schedule there which is updated monthly. You will also find the Events Calendar for races all over the island. For any more information please call Di on 97761015 or Gerry on 99926291.
Happy Running Everyone!
West Coast Walkers
Our ever popular walking group continues to meet every Monday morning at various places around Paphos and surrounding areas. WCW on Monday 14th April undertook a lovely walk from the Baths of Aphrodite to the Akamas Peninsula, approximately 19k there and back. The report and photos were too late for this edition but will be included in the next Press Release. WCW group is open to anyone who enjoys walking and meeting like-minded individuals. We welcome all walkers whatever your ability, young and the not so young! If you are interested in joining our walkers, please see the West Coast Walkers Facebook page for meeting points and start time. You will also see great photos of all our walks.
