We have a 5km handicap race that offers everyone in the club the opportunity to win an amazing trophy that you can hide in a drawer for a whole year.
Its a great race, with the fastest runners being given the longest time penalty. In the old days there was much cheating going on to win the coveted trophy; but these days with most people having a Park Run time, the handicaps have been very even, and the racing is very close.
Springfield Striders Handicap
Yes, its back!! The Winter Handicap, its similar to the summer one……but colder!
Everyone is welcome to take part and you don’t have to be fast.
What is it?
It’s a 5k time trial and the winner is the person who runs the quickest under their handicapped time.
How does it work?
You tell us what time you think you’ll run, and we’ll set that as your handicap (give or take any discussion around recent form etc), let’s say that’s 25 mins. If you run 24.30 you’ll be + 30 seconds which could be enough to win. If you were to run 23.50 you’d be + 1m 10 seconds.
Why should I bother?
It’s fun, you get to run with everyone on a level playing field and most importantly the winner gets a trophy presented to them at the annual Dinner Dance.
Do I have to be quick?
Absolutely not, in fact it’s usually a slower runner that wins and that’s probably because they are the ones that improve the most.
So, what happens on the night?
The runner with the highest handicap sets off first at 00.00 and the others follow at timed intervals so if the first runner has a handicap of 35 mins, the runner with the handicap of 24 mins will start 11 minutes later. The first person to cross the line wins!
Theoretically, of course, you should all cross the line at the same time!
How do I enter?
Please inform Steve Budgen of your handicap time or add your name on the noticeboard at the club.
You still need to register on the night.
You can just turn up and enter on the night but we would like to keep these entries to a minimum so the race can start promptly.
Any adjustments by me to the time you declare will be based on fairness around recent form, injury recovery and ‘local’ knowledge which broadly means me stalking your times on Strava.
If you’re a sub 20 minute Parkrunner and you declare 25 minutes there will be an adjustment unless you have a good reason (although it had better be a really good one!!).
So, that’s it…… get your name down, give me your time and pray for mild, dry weather on the night!!
If anyone can’t run but can help out with some marshalling duties, please let me know – thanks
Steve Bugden
