Weekly Waffle – 21st July 2019

The temperatures rise and spirits rise to match it…

Busy times carried me away to distant shores but I observed the antics from afar.  Precious family time drew me away from compiling these words sooner than I would have liked…

Two weeks have passed since I last added to our story and a lot has happened…

Training has continued…

A BCRL fixture defies the norm (being on a Friday night) and huge numbers flock to a local show ground with another commanding performance from all and coupled with high levels of participation resulted in another second place finish overall for the club!  Awesome!

Saturday came round and inevitable ensued.  parkrun.  Not to be undone by waking up with post race fatigue many headed out of the door for 9am to get their regular dose.  

The sun set and rose again with plenty of energy to radiate.  Under clear skies a bunch headed to the capital to cover various distances on a multi-loop course tracking up and down the banks of the River Taff.  Ice pops and water spray on each loop provided some respite from the heat and all met their goals while some surpassed them with true Phoenix spirit.

Others went slightly further afield for a 10k race organised by one of our neighbouring clubs.  Joined by junior members they all battled the high temperatures to get the job done.

The sun set on a very hot weekend with many having stories to tell of their endeavours….

A new week dawned and a new initiative with heavy involvement from the Phoenix loomed…

Honouring the memory of a life sadly lost at the end of the marathon in London a number of years ago The Big Social Run was born in Wales and had finally arrived in Bridgend.  A plethora of leaders and runners made their way to Porthcawl for the inaugural event which proved to be a record breaking success for the whole initiative.  Warm weather added to the enjoyment of the purely social run for fun – something we all love!  A resounding success! 

Despite the high turnout on Tuesday, Wednesday saw good numbers at track and a good crowd including a couple of four legged friends, headed down the valley from our spiritual home to tackle a challenging climb to the mast on top of the valley walls.

One lone runner racked up another in his tally tackling an event with a staggered start – the chase was on!

As the weekend drew close, excitement built…  

More that just excitement for the Saturday morning obligatories, there was an impending first…  

Wedding bells were about to be rung… 

For the very first time we were about to witness two members of the club exchange vows and tie the knot in a relationship that blossomed while the Phoenix rose from the ashes!

With the groom getting parkrun out of the day first thing in the morning to run off some of the pre-ceremony nerves he also celebrated his birthday.  Other members joined in the local event in anticipation of an exciting day to come.  Cloudy skies showed promise with patches of blue poking through the gaps.  

Not to be undone, others got their 5k in at various locations around the country.

Many members descended back on Porthcawl to bear witness to the first Phoenix wedding.  We have said on many occasions that the Phoenix Spirit means so much more than just running and this was testament to that.  Two members finding love of both the sport and each other!  So wonderful that the club and friends made through it played a part in bringing two wonderful people together to make a life-long commitment. #phoenixlove  The clouds parted.  The sun came out to shine down on the remainder of the day of celebrations.

The celebrations resulted in some fuzzy heads as Sunday morning arrived but it didn’t stop leaders and members turning out in force to welcome new starters on their journey from Zero to Hero.  Record numbers at training resulted and our hearts were filled with excitement to see these intrepid souls take their first steps to discovering just what they are capable of.

At the same time one of our midst put her multi-discipline skills to good use with a significant outcome from a sizzling event!

And as we celebrate all of this we see the club grow, with the membership once again increasing to pip over 300!

Over two weeks…
Record numbers at training.
Record club numbers.
A record breaking Big Social Run.  
Significant league performances.  
parkruns.  
Races from 5k to ultra marathons…

… and a wedding!

Love is in the air, but when is it not?
It has to be said…

#lovethisclub
#loveourclub
#phoenixlove

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