Southville RC Newsletter May 2025

Great Bristol 10k and Half Marathon

Bristol's biggest race is coming up on Sunday May 11. Whether you're running, volunteering or just fancy being part of the atmosphere, here's how to be part of the SRC turnout:

📷 Photo: If you're running the 10k, head to the Arnolfini at 7.55am for a group photo. Half marathon runners, head to the same place at 9.25am. This is earlier than last year due to the earlier starts of both races.

📣Spectators: After the success of last year's cheer point, we will again be congregating in front of the Louisiana, where we can create a big tunnel of noise as the runners sweep around the corner that takes them off Cumberland Road and towards the city centre.

🍻Social: We have again booked the back garden of the Hen & Chicken where all our runners, volunteers and cheerers will be meeting to relax, celebrate and swap stories. The pub opens at 12 noon and beef and vegan burgers will be on sale from 2pm to 3pm for £12. 

Look forward to seeing you all there!

Track is back - and online payment is now available

Our track season is now in full swing; every Thursday we head to the Bristol Family Cycling Centre for some interval training on a full running track, suitable for all abilities.

You can now pay for your track sessions using our new online payment method by following this link - no more need to bring cash to the track night.

There's extra track action on Wednesday 7th May with the Night of the 5ks, hosted by coach Rob at the same track, where you can run a full timed 5k. Kick-off is at 6.30pm and the event costs £5. 

Quarterly General Meeting minutes

Thanks to everyone who attended last month's Quarterly General Meeting. The minutes of the meeting are here. Contact the Secretary if any changes or additions are needed.

The biggest news from the meeting was the unanimous go-ahead for our new SRC race; for more details, read on!

Our new SRC race - Pass The Buck

We're excited to let you know that for our planned relay race in Ashton Court on 9th July will be called Pass the Buck 🦌

Thanks very much to the many of you that have already offered to support the race. Liam has set up a WhatsApp group for the organising of the race, so please join that if you’ve already offered to support on the day. Equally, if you’d still like to get involved with supporting the race on the day, or help in the organising/promoting of the race beforehand, please do also join the group. 

(Logo by Drew McLellan)

London Marathon places

This is a good opportunity to remind everyone that we receive two places (under current rules) in the London Marathon to allocate to our members who have not been able to gain a place via the ballot, Good for Age or charity.

To enter the club draw, you need to have volunteered for something SRC-related in the previous 12 months. So supporting Pass the Buck can give you another chance of getting into London next year.

You also need to have entered the general ballot and been unsuccessful. This closes today on Friday 2nd May.

There are a few other conditions, but those are the ones you need to know about now. Our draw usually takes place in November once the general ballot has been drawn.

Summer Party

Get ready to swap your running shoes for dancing shoes — it's time for Southville Running Club’s Summer Party!

Join us for an evening of dancing, nibbles, drinks, and even better company. Whether you've smashed every run this year or just joined the club, everyone’s welcome to celebrate the sunshine, good vibes, and all things SRC.

📅 Friday 18th July @ 7pm
📍 The Rising Sun, Alfred Road, Windmill Hill, BS3 4LU - NOT The Rising Sun near Ashton Gate
🎟️Tickets on sale from HeadFirst.

Race Roundup

Well done to everyone who took part in the London Marathon and the many other races throughout April. Special mentions to Katie, Carrie, Tom, Oli, Charlie, Jacob, Stuart, Joe, Chris, Rachel, Lisa and Rob who broke their PBs or achieved first marathons in London, Newport, Paris and Bristol & Bath.

Matt won the Frome Valley 10k, Teresa won her age category at the Westonbirt Half Marathon, and Penny was first woman and second overall at the Bristol & Bath 25k.

Friday May 23rd sees one of the other biggest races on the Bristol calendar: the Towpath Mobmatch 10k. This is the first edition of the 2025 Towpath series run by Great Western Runners. It's a special event as in this race, all the clubs in Bristol will compete as teams. The first runner gets 1 point, the second runner gets 2 points, and so on. The first twenty runners from each club count towards the club's total, with the lowest score winning.

SRC has won two of the last three Mobmatches, claiming a shock victory in 2022, defending our crown in 2023 and losing it back to Bristol and West last year. We need as many runners as possible to give us the best possible chance again.

Every runner counts - even if you're not one of the first twenty SRC runners, you can still help us by finishing in front of other clubs' runners and pushing up their scores. It is impossible to make our score worse by showing up. Even if you don't normally sign up for races, you can just treat it as a normal Friday evening 6 mile run - except for the massive cheer you will get at the end. After the race we'll be heading to the Tobacco Factory to celebrate whatever happens.

We get £5 off every Towpath race using the code SouthvillleGreenArmy, which means you can sign up for the series for just £20 for 4 races.

Parkrun

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. 

We aim for an extra-large turnout at Ashton Court on every first Saturday of the month, which this month is tomorrow, Saturday May 3rd. 

Our monthly parkrun tourism trip follows two weeks later on Saturday May 17th. We're off to the Forest of Dean parkrun, which as its name suggests is run mostly on forest trails with some technical sections. Trail shoes are recommended by the organisers if you have them.

It's an SRC Championship race so even more of us will be there than usual. If you're looking for a lift or able to offer one, head to our members-only WhatsApp community where there is a dedicated parkrun channel.
 

Dates for your Diary

🏆 marks an SRC Championship race. A big Green Army turnout guaranteed!

🧡 Sat May 3 - Ashton Court parkrun
🏁 Wed May 7 - Night of the 5ks
🏆🥳Sun May 11 - Great Bristol Half / 10k
🏆🧡Sat May 17 - Forest of Dean Parkrun
🏁Thu May 22 - Weston Prom Run
🏆Fri May 23 - Towpath Mobmatch 10k
🏆Mon June 2 - Blaise Blazer
🏆Tue June 10 - Clevedon Midsummer 10k
🏁Fri June 20 - Towpath 10k
🏆🧡Sat June 21 - Severn Bridge Parkrun
🏆Wed July 2 - Chippenham Harriers River Run 
🚌Sat July 5 - Cotswold Way Relay
🚌July 10-13 - Love Trails Festival
🏆Thu July 17 - Purdown Pursuit
🏁Fri July 25 - Towpath 10k
🏁Fri August 15 - Towpath 5k
🎽Thu September 11 - Last track session