WRP celebrates its 10th Anniversary
The 10 year anniversary event took place on Saturday 9th October 2021 and was a wonderful opportunity for members to meet up, share experiences and celebrate 10 years of Women Running Penarth (WRP). There were many interesting and inspiring stories of individual...
WRP members run races: WRP London Marathon (in London & Virtual) and Cardiff Half Marathon (virtual)
Congratulations to members of Women Running Penarth who took part in the LIVE London Marathon 2021 on 3rd October 2021. We were able to track them around the course using the London Marathon app and were delighted with their...
London Marathon 2022 place ?
Draw for the club ballot for London Marathon 2022 winner: Sarah Wymer, the club will help Sarah in her quest to run her first marathon
AGM 2021
Women Running Penarth - Annual General Meeting Held on September 19 2021 at St Augustine’s Church Hall, Albert Road, Penarth Minutes of 2020 AGM on Zoom: These were adopted as an accurate record of the meeting. Chair’s Report The Chair commented on what an odd year...
September 2021 New Beginners Debut
A 10 week course from total novice to 5 k !
You are never too old
by Caryl Thompson Everyone said I was mad - taking up running at the grand (old) age of 61 - but it's been fabulous. September 2019 a raw beginner, graduating to my first official Grangemoor 5k Parkrun in November 2019!! At the start, I didn't think I'd make it, but...
Races are back after Lockdown
by Wendy Twomey I was 55 and had never run, EVER! I retired so was looking for help to do the couch to 5K. I googled any local courses and WRP were starting a 10 week beginners course so without hesitation I signed up and have never looked back. That was September...
Donna Egbeare
How did you get into running? I’d dallied with running over the years but never really ran regularly before I went to Australia in 2013 to work for a year. There I was introduced to parkrun and the rest, as they say, is history.... How long have you been with the...
Laura Williams
How did you get into running? I joined a social running club in uni called Cool Runnings and signed up to run a half marathon with them! How long have you been with the club? I’ve been with the club since September last year and have been a leader for about 6 months...
‘Get Lippy’ run for the Eve Appeal
Today our Sunday run was all about 'Get Lippy' and Loud about gynaecological health - to help smash taboos, raise awareness as well as fund research into the prevention and earlier diagnosis of these cancers and the Ask Eve service. Ask Eve Information Service | The...
Women Running Penarth is 10 years old
After the Women's Running Network went bankrupt we started Women Running Penarth 10 years ago. From a fledgling club we grew to a thriving women's running club with 14 leaders. We are like an extended family who help each other to grow from total beginnings, but also...
Great News
From 26th April our sessions are back for members all pre-booking on Eventbrite Each member carries on pre-registering on Eventbrite for each sessions until further notice.
Pre-booking on Eventbrite
Each session is a separate booking via the Eventbrite links until 1 hour before. This platform is free to use for you and the club. This will continue until Welsh Athletics and the Welsh Government remove the requirement. During all the sessions everyone must abide...
Progression Run
The idea is to start easy, speed up as you go along and finish fast. Decide how long you’re going to run for and split into 3 segments, say 15 minutes, 15 and 15. Do the first 15 minutes nice and easy – hold that pace . Speed up for 15 – but not too much. You need to...
Short Hill Repeats
Hill Repeats 30-second hill sprints at a 5% to 10% incline Warm up with 1 to 1.5 miles of easy running, then do dynamic drills such as high knees, skips, and lunges before beginning the incline. Take each 30-second hill repeat at a nearly all-out speed (at about the...
Speed Laps
Speed work helps you build up your speed and endurance. This suggestion is based on time segments rather than laps to make it easier to do on your own. You’ll need to concentrate a bit so the time will fly past. Don’t worry if you lose track of things – the most...
Speed on Hills
Warm up first. Pick a hill with lamp posts, ie Customhouse hill or road by lifeboat station that runs along the coast. Run as fast as you can to the lamp post at the top of the hill, recover on the way down, run fast as you can to the lampost one before the previous...
Long Runs
Fartlek (Swedish for Speed Play) Descending Tempo Fartlek Begin this session with a 6:00 minute run at roughly your half-marathon pace (if you don’t know what your pace would be just aim to be slower than usual) The recovery is half of the time of the piece (in this...
Fartlek (Swedish for Speed Play)
Descending Tempo Fartlek Begin this session with a 6:00 minute run at roughly your half-marathon pace (if you don’t know what your pace would be just aim to be slower than usual) The recovery is half of the time of the piece (in this case 3:00 minutes) Run for 5:00...
Our Leaders
How did you get into running? I was diagnosed with osteoporosis and put on medication to help with this in my early 50s. To also do something to strengthen my bones, I started jogging and joined a group from the women’s running network, but the group leader gave up...
High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)
https://blog.mapmyrun.com/4-hiit-running-workouts-to-get-you-moving-fast/ The above link contains 4 x HITT Running workout sessions to get moving fast. Some of it is very similar to work you’ve already done. The duration of the sessions vary from 15 – 75 minutes. They...
Surge Run
Surge training involves bursts of faster running (and recovery) built into a longer run. For the surges you’re not going for an all out sprint but you do need to pick up the pace maybe think of your 5k pace. Start with a nice steady run (15 mins) to a quiet well lit...
Hill Repeats
Jelly leg challenge!… Penarth heights/zig-zag path with a twist… 5/10 min running warm up then starting at the bottom of the zig-zag path skip/high knees/side step etc to each bend alternating until you reach the top. Then begin your descent – when you reach the last...
Pyramid
First find yourself a pyramid…joke! Start with a steady warm up, I would suggest 15 minutes in cold weather, however, if you are still cold run for a little longer. Pyramid with equal effort and recovery. 1 minute effort 1 minute recovery 2 minutes effort 2 minutes...
Happy 2021
Hi All – we’ve been staying connected by Zoom every Sunday night at 7 p.m ( (meeting ID sent to you by e-mail), our two timing challenges: 1. Run a mile and time your fastest run. Do some of the suggested sessions suggested by the leaders and then re run the mile at...
WRP Social Group challenge
A new challenge set by our social group: Why not join the social group solo challenge doing the alphabet. Just take a selfie and post it on our closed facebook page. Some of you have great imaginations . Good luck and keep...
Hills
Warm up squats x20, arm circles and warm up jog for 5 minutes (nice steady pace). Find a hill – quite a steep one – Custom House hill or the ZigZag or Beach Hill are all favourites. If you’re in Cardiff or the wider Vale please post some good ones! 8 – 12 repeats of...
Advent window trail
For those of you living in Penarth it will be a lovely idea to while away an hour. You wouldn’t get to see every home in one go but could be a nice distraction over the Christmas period. There is no need to come to Penarth either, as you will find lovely Christmas...
Annual General Meeting
Announcement: Women Running Penarth Annual General Meeting Date: Sunday, 20th September 2020 Time: 11.00am Venue: Virtual As specified in the Women Running Penarth constitution, the purpose of the meeting is to appoint the Chair, Treasurer, Secretary and committee...
New 10 week beginners’ course
It's nearly time... Our ever popular introduction to running is back. This 10 week course uses a 'walk to run' technique similar to the one used in Couch to 5k but with the added benefit of running with an experienced leader and a group of like minded ladies. If...
The WRP Virtual London Marathon Relay 2020
Sunday, 26th April should have seen several WRP members lining up at the start of the Virgin Money London Marathon along with tens of thousands of others. The event may have been postponed but, undeterred, WRP decided to run our own alterative London Marathon through...
The best-laid plans of mice and men… my Chicago marathon 2019 experience
by Erika Fitzgibbon Chicago, Sunday 13th October 2019 This was to be my 15th marathon and my 5th of the 6 Abbott World Marathon Majors (just Tokyo to go). Training went well until week 8 out of 18. I ran 15 miles @11 min/mile. It felt good to be a couple of weeks...
Southampton Marathon 5th May 2019 : Caffeine, beer and a bra!
by Clare Jones The day was perfect for the marathon - cool and sunny. I’d been busy training for the marathon for about 5 months, so why did I feel so nervous? I’d never run that far before; the longest race I’d completed was a half marathon, and the...
From zero to 10k hero!
by Sarah Brook It was New Year’s Eve 2018. I was getting ready to go out for the evening to see in 2019 with my nearest and dearest and enjoy a slap-up meal at the Custom House. More rich food, more wine, more partying….yippee! Having squeezed myself into my best...
Mad Runners Tea Party 3rd February 2019
Join us for our annual 'Mad runners' Tea Party' and eat cake for charity! Admission £3.00 - includes first cuppa and cake
Crazy Fun over 6.4 Miles : CF64 Winter Race
by Karen Warlow “Mud, mud, glorious mud. Nothing quite like it for cooling the blood! So follow me, follow. Down to the hollow. And there let us wallow in glorious mud!” (“The Hippopotamus Song” by Flanders and Swann) And...
New year, new start : new beginners group starting January
Put yourself in this picture... If 2019 is the year that you want to get fit, lose weight, improve your health, make new friends and join the friendliest, most encouraging group of runners you'll find, you're in the right place. Our New Year 10 week running course...
‘All Soles’ Family Fun Runs September 2018
Join us for our annual 'All Soles' Family Fun Runs in aid of Teenage Cancer Trust Sunday, 9th September 2018 Cosmeston Lakes Country's Park, Penarth Children's 2k £4.00 11.00am start 5k £9.00 / £7.00 (UKA affiliated entry) 11.30am start Click here to...
Coming soon in September: Learn to Run with WRP
Our new course for complete beginners, or those who are returning to running after a long break, is starting on Monday 10th September. The course is for 10 weeks and will use the ‘Walk to run’ method: each session will start with a gentle warm up and then alternate...
Marathon #2… with a +1
Last year, Julie wrote about her experience of Liverpool Rock and Roll Marathon as a first time marathon runner (read her story here); read on to find out how it feels the second time around... by Julie Pemberton So last year I hogged everyone’s newsfeed as the...
12 months, 12 races – 10k challenge
by Alison Dacey I had planned to write this blog at the end of December or the beginning of 2018, so failed on that one, but as I was marshalling at parkrun this morning I decided that I’d better get on and write it. I do like to set goals every now and again and once...
My first ultra: Run Walk Crawl’s Brecon to Cardiff Ultra 2018
by Grace Newbould If I’m honest, I wrote most of this in my head when I was running; as I rode the wave of a million emotions I wrote and rewrote it multiple times. There were points in this race when I thought I may be a ‘DNF’ and my internal monologue sounded like a...
Mad Runners’ Tea Party
It's nearly time for our annual fundraiser. This year our mad marathon runners are fundraising for Teenage Cancer Trust, Parkinson's UK, and Breast Cancer Now. Come along for some tasty cake, stalls, competitions and a raffle with some great prizes donated by local...
“I am – I can – I will” : New York City Marathon 5th November 2017
by Erika Fitzgibbon I was very excited when I got a 'good for age' place in the New York City Marathon as this was going to be my 4th World Marathon Major after doing London in 2010, Berlin in 2013 and Boston in 2015. Preparations started over a year ago. When...
Relish Running Bath Two Tunnels Races
by Alison Dacey At the beginning of the year as part of my 10k race-a-month challenge of 2017 (why did I voice that out loud?), I signed up (with a certain amount of trepidation) for the Relish Running Two Tunnels Race Series in Bath. What was the appeal?...
Running in the rain – Cardiff 10k 2017
by Sarah Wymer As we basked in late summer sunshine, I made my preparations for the Cardiff 10k: kit ready (including my lovely new WRP running vest), lift to the starting point arranged, carbo loading evening meal planned, and checked that all important weather...
Sunshine and cider – Llantwit Major Trail 10K Race Report
by Jo Shah I've run in lots of races over different distances but I'd never actually run a 10k so Llantwit Major Trail 10k was to be my first! I didn't quite know how to approach it and the advice given by Grace and Lynne of “not to go out too fast” was soon...
Smile, it’s only a mile!
by Grace Newbould My first ever mile (race) - The Butetown Mile Ahhh, the mile. We do a lot of them as runners, often 3 on a Saturday as part of parkrun, a couple of 5/6 milers during the week and the odd 10 or so on a Sunday for a leisurely long run. I’ve been...
‘Man v Horse’ or ‘WRP v The Welsh Weather’
by Grace Newbould This year’s 'stupid' challenge was one I’d been wanting to do for a while but for a myriad of reasons I’d not got around to. Last year’s WRP heroes, Fi, Helen and Jo had done the full course along with Susannah who was having another go after...
Runderful relays
by Donna Egbeare Runderful (adjective) – how you feel in the minutes after you finish a run Thoughts about Penarth & Dinas Runners Cosmeston Relays from a first timer. There were, let’s just say, some differing opinions about the course. Us newbies were...
How I accidentally became a marathon runner…
by Julie Pemberton Me, a Marathon runner? Surely not! I don’t particularly consider myself to be a natural runner, in fact I wasn’t a runner at all until about 18 months ago. Funny how these things creep on you before you’re aware of how much your life will change! A...
A tale of two medals
When Charles Dickens wrote "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…" he couldn’t have known that his words would, one day, perfectly describe what most runners feel at the end of a race. There's always a point in any event when the "Why am I doing this?"...
“The ‘Orror, the ‘orror! (but the cakes are superb)”
By Grace Newbould As part of my Man v Horse plan this year, I’m trying to do as many off road races as possible during training to get my body used to the terrain. When a friend from P&D suggested casually ‘ooh, do you fancy Offa’s Orror in 2 weeks, I hear it’s a...
Welcome to our new website and blog
Thanks for checking out our new website. We hope that the site tells you all you need to know about our club. To keep up to date with all the latest WRP news, this blog is the place to visit. We'll be posting regular updates about our events, race reports, stories...
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