Southville RC Newsletter September 2025
Hi Everyone,
Social and other news
As the Gromits start to return to their dog beds, it's time to say a big thank you to Dave Liddament for organising another great sculpture scavenger hunt as most of the groups on Tuesday 5th competed to hunt all the Gromits on the list and race each other back to the club. Thanks as well to Chris and everyone else who helped count the scores. Congratulations to Liz' group who completed all the challenges and made it back first to take the win.
Thanks also to Thea for organising another fantastic Jurassic Coast weekender, and to Liam for last month's bleep test picnic.
It's been too long since we hosted a New Members' Social and we're fixing that on Friday 12th September at 7pm. We're encouraging everyone who has joined our runs recently to come to the Tobacco Factory for drinks and get to know their fellow runners. This event is especially for our new members who may not know us that well, but our regular faces are encouraged to come as well and meet new faces.
Don't forget to save Saturday 6th December in your diary, which will be our big Christmas extravaganza.
We are looking to recruit a Social Secretary to help us put on regular SRC socials and make sure that we are regularly holding events at which all our runners can get to know each other better. If you are interested, please let us know. There will be plenty of support from everyone on the committee.
London Marathon draw
Every year we receive two places in the London Marathon to allocate to our runners who do not qualify via the general ballot or good for age. For reasons discussed at the last QGM, we have moved this year's draw two months earlier to Tuesday September 16th.
The draw will take place at 8pm after running. We would love as many people as possible to stay after their run, buy a drink from our hosts and give some positive vibes to the lucky winners.
To be eligible for the draw, you must have:
Proof of having entered this year's general ballot
SRC and EA membership (the full £23)
Volunteered for Southville Running Club in some capacity in the last 12 months (organising socials, parkrun takeover, Pass The Buck, leading groups, etc etc)
Not received an SRC London Marathon place within the previous five years
All entrants must be serious about wanting a place in the London Marathon and training to run the 26.2 mile distance should they win. It is not possible to transfer the places unless withdrawal is months in advance of the race.
Entry into the draw is in person on the night of 16th September, unless you physically cannot make it. To enter remotely, email Sam B with your name, evidence of having entered this year's general ballot, an example of your volunteering for SRC in the last twelve months, and the reason you cannot make it to the draw, by Sunday September 14th.
We will draw two winners, plus two reserves in case the winners are unable to enter while the places are still transferable. The successful entrants will need to keep an eye on their emails for details of how to enter the race (which is likely to open in December at the earliest).
Match Your Time 5k
The SRC Match Your Time 5k returns on Sunday 21st September; a race that anyone can win.
You tell us how long you think it will take you to run 5k on an out and back on the Towpath and the closest runner to their 5k guess time wins... The catch is you run with no gadgets or gizmos to know how fast you’re running.
The race will start at 10.30am in the pocket park at the beginning of the Towpath (the same place as the Towpath races).
If you can help us by marshalling or otherwise volunteering, please let us know.
End of track sessions for 2025
Your last chance to run an SRC track session in 2025 is Thursday 11th September, so we hope to see you there.
If you have a recurring monthly payment to pay for your track sessions, please cancel it now to avoid being charged when track has stopped.
Race roundup
Congratulations to everyone who raced the Summer Green Man and Green Boy. Nic, Katherine, Jamie, Dave, Paul, Charlotte and Helen all completed the iconic Bristol ultramarathon, with Charlotte taking 4th in the ladies' competition. Earlier, Jane narrowly missed out on the Crook Peak Cake but took home the silver instead, and Aisling took gold in the Towpath 5k and also the ladies' prize for the whole series.
And now for what's ahead as we head into the autumn racing season...
Weston AC has now released the dates for the 2025/26 Weston Prom Run series. This is a 5 mile race along Weston Promenade (a nice fast flat course, weather permitting) which Weston AC run once a month for nine months from now until May, starting on Thursday September 25. Signing up for the series is a great way to incentivise yourself to keep your running and racing going throughout the winter months.
There is a dedicated channel for the race series on our members-only WhatsApp to help people arrange lifts and give updates on post-race socialising.
You can also sign up for Weston's Christmas Cracker 10k and Mendip Muddle 20k trail race; see "Dates for your Diary" below for more details and links.
The Keynsham Dandy is another October race which is always very popular with SRC runners, featuring another beautifully scenic course and a challenging river section. This year there is no clash with the Mendip Muddle.
Hi viz rule
Nights are starting to draw in again, the heatwaves are subsiding, and that means it's nearly time to don the hi viz again. On Tuesday 23rd September, it will be compulsory to wear at least one hi viz item of clothing on Tuesday and Thursday running nights. This will remain the case until the clocks go forward in Spring 2026. There will be some hi viz kit for new runners to borrow, but everyone reading this should have their own.
Good quality hi viz running kit can be purchased from local shops such as Kinisi, Easy Runner, Moti and Up & Running (all of which offer a 10% discount to SRC members), as well as Aldi, Lidl and your favourite online shop.
Hi viz means some combination of fluorescent clothing, (including official SRC fluorescent green tops), bright/flashing lights and reflective strips. White or yellow clothing is not hi viz.
Due to minimum order requirements we will not be offering hi viz branded SRC kit in the next order. We will look at this again in 2026 once demand has had a chance to rebuild.
Parkrun
When the evening runs are in darkness, there's even more reason to get out of bed on Saturday morning to run in the dawn light with hundreds of other parkrunners.
Parkrun is a free weekly timed 5k run that takes place every Saturday at 9am all over the country and all over the world. There are also 2k Junior Parkruns for those 14 and under. You can sign up for free on parkrun's website, where you will get a barcode that can be taken to every event (physically or on your phone); you just turn up, run and then have your barcode scanned at the end to get your result.
On the first Saturday of the month we have an extra-large turnout at our local parkrun of Ashton Court, which will be Saturday September 6th.
The official SRC parkrun tourism is back this month, and on Saturday September 27th we'll be heading to Thornbury. The course is three laps with a mix of grass and tarmac; please note that dogs are not permitted on this course.
If you need a lift or can offer one, head to our members-only WhatsApp community, where we'll also be exchanging details of any post-parkrun coffee meetups.
Dates for your Diary
🧡Sat September 6 - SRC @ Ashton Court parkrun
🎽Thu September 11 - Last track session
🥳Fri September 12 - New Member's Social, Tobacco Factory
🏁Sun September 14 - Burnham Half Marathon
🥳Tue September 16 - London Marathon draw
🥳Sun September 21 - SRC Match Your Time 5k
🏁Thu September 25 - Weston Prom Run
🧡Sat September 27 - Thornbury parkrun
🏁Sun October 5 - Mother Tuckers 10k (Faulkland)
🏁Thu October 16 - Weston Prom Run
🏁Sun October 19 - Keynsham Dandy
🏁Sun October 26 - Mendip Muddle
🏁Thu November 27 - Weston Prom Run
🥳Sat December 6 - SRC Christmas Party
🏁Thu December 11 - Weston Prom Run
🏁Sun December 14 - Weston Christmas Cracker
🏁Thu January 8 - Weston Prom Run
🏁Thu February 12 - Weston Prom Run
🏁Thu March 12 - Weston Prom Run
🏁Thu April 9 - Weston Prom Run
🏁Thu May 21 - Weston Prom Run
All the best,
Southville Running Club
info@southvillerunningclub.co.uk