A Few Words From Isobel Pooley

Last Wednesday evening the Athletics club held its annual Christmas meal at the atmospheric Fat Cat. Crackers were pulled, the most delicious chocolate torte was savored, and even a few beloved past members came along to share in the festivities. Among these, British Outdoor High Jump record holder Isobel Pooley! Who had an inspirational speech to share with us:

I made huge changes during my university years. Moving to the Midlands marked the start of my “professional” athletics career and the total change of scene was the perfect catalyst for improvement. I was able to shape my own lifestyle and become who and what I wanted to be. The university supported me whilst provided challenges and opportunities for success that I’d never envisaged before. The most obvious was the chance to achieve a first class degree, which I eventually did in January but the other opportunities were equally significant for my development as a young person. One massive highlight was the chance to compete at the BUCS Championships – first in the Olympic stadium in 2012 – and to become an ambassador for BUCS as an entity, winning the sportswoman of the year trophy which, as I only realised later, encompassed all BUCS sports and not just athletics! If I had not made the choice to go to uni and had not embraced these opportunities I would not be half the athlete I am today.

I urge you to grasp every opportunity that comes your way at Uni. Yours is the power to become who and what you want to be, starting right now. If being an elite athlete is your goal, chase it with your body and heart and soul. If you’re more of a social sportsperson, you’ll appreciate the power of sport to build self-confidence, develop lasting relationships and reveal the true power of commitment. Celebrate your strengths, whatever they might be, and embrace your ambition whether it’s in sport or outside it.

Hope you enjoyed reading that as much as we did hearing it! To find out more about Isobel, she has her own website and twitter (@IsobelPooley)

East Mids Holme Pierrepoint – Race Report

Holme Pierrepoint was the first East Midlands XC race of the season. We congregated bright and early on the Sunday morning and took taxis to the race start. The weather didn’t look too promising, but, thankfully the rain held off. At 11 both men and women started the race together.

We had exceptional performances from all runners and came 1^st Women’s and 1^st Men’s team. The girls in particular had very good results with Beth Neal (2^nd), Katie Buckingham (3^rd), Jessica Heyward-Chaplin (4^th) and Alex Newbury (29^th). The men’s team came back with impressive results with Tom Wocial (6^th), Jack Millar (9^th), Will Morris (10^th), Will Patterson (12^th), Joe Harrison (40^th), César Alegre (48^th), Tom Welshman (59^th), Matthew Grammatico (65^th) and Michael McGill (73^rd) bringing it home for the lads.

Thanks to everyone that competed for us and we hope to have another great turnout at the next East Midlands XC race on the 17^th January at Bramcote Park.

East Mids Holme Pierrepoint Results 2015-2016

 

North Mids Glebe Park – Race Report

Saturday 14th November was the second North Midlands XC race of the season, at Glebe Park in Corby. The weather was horrendous; raining, muddy and downright dismal.  About 20 brave souls boarded the coach to Glebe Park.  Just like in Derby, the women’s race was over a 6km course and the men’s race was over a 10km course, which had turned into somewhat of a mud bath due to the weather.

The highlight of the day came when our very own Aubree Piepmeier stormed to victory in the women’s race. Her performance was backed up by strong runs from the rest of the girls including Beth Neal, Alice Hughes, Katie Buckingham and Emma Nicholson. The men’s race was equally as exciting with Alex Bradford and Tom Wocial having a close finish, in 33^rd and 34^th place respectively. Very good performances from the rest of the team which included  Mark Freeman, Ewan Mclachlan, Joshua Headley Scott, Joe Murray, Matthew Grammatico and Allan Wilson.

Well done to everyone who came despite the miserable weather! Hope to see more good performances at the next race!

Results

University Relays Manchester – Race Report

On Saturday 24^th October, 30 Athletes travelled to Manchester to compete in the Manchester University XC relays. The women were split into teams of 3 and the men were split into teams of 6. Each competitor had to complete the 3km cross country circuit. We entered 4 teams for the women and 3 teams for the men.

The rain cleared just as the race started which provided good racing conditions even if it was a bit muddy underfoot. Yet again there were brilliant performances all around by Uon Athletics Club with Aubree Piepmeier coming 2^nd women overall. The womens A team comprising of Aubree Piepmeier (10:18), Chloe Bird (10:58) and Aoife Thorogood (10:57) came 3^rd womens team overall. The womens B team came an impressive 17^th overall and the womens D and C teams came 25^th and 26^th respectively.

The men’s teams did impressively too. With the Mens A team (Alex Bradford, Daniel Leng, Will Patterson, Tom Wocial, Sam Broomhead and Jack Millar) came 23^rd out of 63 teams. The mens B team came 35^th and Mens C team came 49^th.

A fantastic turnout from the University of Nottingham Athletics Club. We hope to see all the runners back for the next XC race!

Manchester-Relays-Team-Results

North Mids Markeaton Park – Race Report

The first race XC race of the season was the North Midlands XC race at Markeaton Park in Derby. This North Midlands league is a competitive league with several races across the season. Earlier this month, on the 10th October, about 30 people travelled by coach to Derby for our first event, including lots of newcomers which was great to see. The women’s race was over a 6km course and the men’s race was over a 10km course.

There were some great performances for a debut XC race especially from the girls, with Aubree Piepmeier (5^th), Aoife Thorogood (9^th) and Chloe Bird (14^th) which secured the 1^st team place for the girls. The men produced some strong performances also with Jack Millar (28^th), Andy Watt (44^th) and Daniel Leng (49^th).  Well done to everyone that competed, it was a really promising start to the season and a great day out!

Markeaton 2015/16 Results

Freshers Relays – Race Report

On Saturday the University of Nottingham’s athletics club organised its annual fresher’s relays. The event allows newcomers into the club to participate in a friendly race with the aim to get to know other members of the athletics club. Roughly 40 people turned up to the event with 27 in total racing. Everyone was divided into 6 teams of four and 1 team of three. Every runner was provided with a race-card and had to position themselves within the team.

The relay was approximately 1.85km and varied from a flat uneven terrain around the main lake in Wollaton Park, to a moderate incline towards Wollaton Hall.

Every runner performed exceptionally during the relay. Team 7, consisting of Alex Bradford, Emily Doswell and Jack Millar were the eventual winners in a combined time of 27 minutes and 21 seconds with Team 3 not far behind on 28 minutes and 7 seconds. In terms of individual performance there were some outstanding runs. For the men’s relay Jack Millar produced the best time of 6 minutes 5 seconds, Adam Houchell was the fastest male newcomer on 6 minutes and 8 seconds, Thomas Wocial also produced a fantastic time of 6 minutes 12 seconds. For the female relay, the overall winner was newcomer Aubree Piepmeier with a brilliant time of 6 minutes 45 seconds. Katie Buckingham was second on exactly 7 minutes and Sarah Owens was third in a time of 7 minutes and 23 seconds.

You can check out photos from the race at our Instagram

Freshers Relay Full Results

– Charlie Morris

And a big shout out to our Home Fixture Captains, Emily Woodford & Charlie Morris, for organizing a great afternoon!