THE TWELVE RUNS OF CHRIS-TMAS!

December 21st was the first attempt at the Save Christmas The great Reindeer hunt. Two teams took part and this is how it started.

Good morning BERC's. I call upon you now as we are faced with an emergency. The Grinch, Jack Frost and Ebeneezer Scrooge, wish to destroy Christmas!! This is something that is unacceptable and we must not allow.

Last night these devious fiends kidnapped Santa, Mr's Claus and the head Elf and while doing so released Santa's reindeer. Now we have managed to save one but unfortunately the poor things name tag as come off. So, we have no idea which  deer it is?

We are in need of your help! You must make your way around the town and find the missing reindeer and therefore give us the name of the one we have. Also, at certain stops you will be tasked with working out some puzzles to find the Reindeer, a map and release the captives.

Each team will be given a book to write down the names of the reindeer and bring them back to us. Also, it will be worth writing down any numbers you may see too. You may need them? Once Santa, Mr's Claus and the head Elf have their freedom and the reindeer's have been brought back they can return to Lapland and get ready for Christmas. While we finish with a little Christmas quiz.

Now, that's enough from me. So, good luck to you all and remember Christmas is depending on you!

Picture - who is it?

So, the hunt started at the first room and the idea was that the teams which were

1]  A Christmas Carol

2] Winter Wonderland.

Had to work there way through the room working out puzzles and clues to find the hidden reindeer. They would also come across four numbers which they would have to jot down. These numbers would give them the code to unlock the bottle which was hiding a map. The map then gave them the location of other hidden reindeer. Before taking them to the next puzzles. There was one reindeer hidden in this room and then two others hidden somewhere in Eastwood.

The next puzzles were in a garden and the teams started by making a jigsaw. The jigsaw was a reindeer. Once completed they then had to follow the instructions written on the dear and work there way around the garden finding keys. These would unlock doors to find another reindeer and numbers to once again get another map.

The first took them to another deer hidden in Eastwood before taking them to another garden. Here they would be faced with four riddles. Work them out to release the map then find the deer. If they get them correct without a clue they got 3 points. One clue 2 points and so on. 

The map then took them to the last reindeer hidden in Eastwood before returning to the start and finishing with a quiz.

They got points for being quickest at each point and how quick they completed the riddles. Plus how well they did in the Christmas quiz.

A Christmas Carol - 35

Winter Wonderland - 33

Massive thank you to all who helped to make this possible. Special mention to Zoe who came all the way from Loughborough to help look after one of the stations.

1] Who's missing.

2] Unlock your map.

3] Start of the game.

Today was the first try out of a social walk together as a group.  No coaching, no timing and no running to whistles!  Just a group of friends having a nice social walk in the Peak District. Because of races and other commitments, we could only gather a few hardy souls, but that didn't detract from the fun and chatter on the day. 

A tough start heading up onto The Roaches but we were rewarded with wonderful views, it was then a tough decent into Luds Church followed by a picnic in the woods.  A tough ascent followed, rewarded with a stop at the ice cream man for all! 

On the expedition were Steven, Clover, Gary, Jo, Claire and mini-BERC Scarlett.  

Great day with great company.  Although a plaster was needed, thankfully no bandages were required!!  Hopefully more walks to follow...

Walk on BERCs!

The idea… 

So on bank holiday Monday it was time for the first ever BERC-ley marathon, this was something a bit different for the runners to get their teeth into. 

But what was the BERC-ley marathon?

Well it came from Steven’s warped mind and all he knew was it involved teams going from point to point with the end result leading them to working out a series of clues and answering questions of their surrounds throughout the run. All he need was some organisation and sometimes to be told he was overcomplicating it!! Step up the plate, Clover!! 

The idea was teams would start from different points around a local course, where a marshal would hide a book and the team would need to find it and rip out the page with a clue on, then would be given a riddle that would lead them to their next destination and off they would go and repeat this until they got back to their starting point. They would next have to solve the clues to find out what story they all lead to, and answer a number of questions as to what they may or may not have noticed throughout the run. 

This was not just going to be about finishing times, it was a social event and we wanted to showcase BERCs is not about times and who is faster than someone else. We are about having fun, mixing with each other and just gave us an excuse to have some friendly competition. 

What was the theme

Robin hood...  With the first clue being given to the teams by their starting marshal once they'd had the concept explained, with the opener 'Hello my merry men and women'.  The next was the team names:

The Outlaws, Sherwood Forest and Major Oak... but did they spot the clues?!

As the teams ripped their pages out, there was a poem with highlighted letters as the answers...

• Will you really do what the coach has said, it will make your faces go Scarlet red (Will Scarlet)
• Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, I need a horse to carry on. A little tired and feeling unwell but when I get to the end, I will feel swell (Little John)
• May you identify the clues that we have in store while you go a trotting, as you march your way round, before I get you plotting (Maid Marion)
• Hello all and welcome to an evening of fun, do you see what we are leading to as you continue to run (Alan-a-Dale)
• A name you must work out, the same as the merry man little, a prince I am so think and don’t whittle (Prince John) 
• Green will be my clothing as I rob in the wood, rich men are on horses but still pay as they should (Robin Hood)
• Guys, hello and thank you for giving me some of your brilliant and precious time. Run and have fun while I think of a rhyme (Guy of Gisbourne)

Then at the end the teams were faced with the question - which character is missing?  What some hadn't spotted was Friar Tuck was clearly in each book at the front, and all books titled 'Much the Millers Son', so missing was of course The Sherriff of Nottingham. 

During the event we also hid (in plain sight) paper BERC badges, 6 large ones of the coaches (excluding Steve), 7 small ones on each of the books, and 20 at the stations, including one pinned to the marshal of the evening.... Louie the dog!

We asked the teams how many they had seen, 3 points for the closest, 2 for the next and 1 point for the team furthest away from the correct answer. 

The following questions were also asked...   

1. What football club top was Richard Iliffe wearing? 3 points (Wolves) 

2. What colour cap was Steven wearing? 3 points (Purple)

3. What was Chris playing with when you got to him? 3 points (Rubix cube)

4. What colour trainers did Daz have on? 3 points (Red)

5. What colour chair was Eleanor sitting on? 3 points (Purple)

6. What did Colin have round his neck? 3 points (Headphones)

7. What song was Clover listening to? 2 points for the artist, 1 for the song (The Killers, Mr Brightside)

8. There were 3 additional and unrelated to Robin Hood things written on the front of the books, What or who was the connection between them? 3 points for the correct answer, bonus points if you can name what was written on the front.  (DH Lawrence, Lady Chatterleys lover, Sons and Lovers and Women in Love)

The riddles for each destination were...   

Away we must go to the start of the hilly TT, a new wedding venue to drink and be merry. (The old MFN)

On the trails we must go, to a bridge on a lane, where 2 hills converge, that causes us such pain. (Halls Lane bridge)

The mango stadium in the park is your next site, where the magpies once played, who were also black and white. (Eastwood CFC)

A place of remembrance for Eastwoods most famous son, sex, swearing, written with female intentions of fun. (DH Lawrence birthplace museum)

Bat and pad, all dressed in white, umpires arms raised aloft as the ball takes to flight. (Eastwood CC)

Track and steps to the far end of a park, where we meet on a Monday, even when it is dark. (Hall Park)

Canal, trees, ducks, maybe even a lark, are things you may see as you head to a bridge where we park. (Bridge over A610)

It seemed to be enjoyable event with just 4 points separating the teams in the end.  Massive thank you to the marshals that made the evening possible, Steven, Clover, Darren, Richard, Colin, Chris, Eleanor and Louie! 

The Results:

• Robin Hood: 2 points for all teams.
• Sherriff of Nottingham: Sherwood Forest 2, 0 Outlaws, 0 Major Oak.
• Team punctuality:  3 Outlaws, 2 Major Oak, 1 Sherwood.
• Overall time: 3 Sherwood, 2 Outlaws, 1 Major Oak.
• Printed badges (33 in total): Major Oak and Outlaws 3 points (with a guess of 24), Sherwood Forest 1 point (with a guess of 17). 

• Richard's Wolves top: 3 Sherwood Forest, 3 Major Oak, 0 Outlaws.
• Steve's cap: 3 Sherwood Forest, 0 Major Oak, 3 Outlaws.
• Chris and his Rubix: 0 Sherwood Forest, 3 Major Oak, 3 Outlaws. 
• Daz's red shoes: 0 Sherwood, 3 Major Oak, 0 Outlaws. 
• Eleanor's purple seat: 0 Sherwood Forest, 3 Major Oak, 0 Outlaws.
• Colin's headphones: 0 to all teams.
• Clover's music: 3 Sherwood Forest, 1 Major Oak, 0 Outlaws. 
• DH Lawrence: 3 Sherwood Forest, 0 Major Oak, 3 Outlaws. 
• DH Lawrence titles: 2 Sherwood Forest, 0 Major Oak, 0 Outlaws. 

There was a tie breaker if the scores had ended tied, which the teams were unaware of.  Steven timed each team as they started searching for the books, the quickest would've been awarded the most points.  In the end this wasn't needed, but the times were:

Major Oak: 1:06

Sherwood Forest: 1:18

Outlaws: 1:24

So.... that means Sherwood Forest Came out on top with 23 points, Major Oak were a close second with 21 points and The Outlaws finished with 19 points.  The winning team will receive the prestigious prize of a Terry's chocolate orange each, a champion of chocolate treats for the champions!

An excellent evening, and something a bit different for the BERCs.  Steven's brain is already in overdrive thinking of some other crazy and complicated event that needs dissecting into something we can all understand! 

In addition to the previous article, it has been a great month for many BERCs.  Starting with Lewis who smashed a PB in the Brighton Marathon, and in addition to Clover in Lincoln, we had Dave run a solid performance and Nic H ran a fantastic PB too.  

Then it was London... wow!  Jay, Daz P, Ryan, Chris, Daz F, Kirstie, Rich M and Sarah-Jane all ran the iconic route, with cracking times and some PBs to boot.  

Finally it was a wet and windy Boston the following week after London.  We had Liam and Helen take on the marathon and Nic C take on the half marathon, in atrocious conditions.  Even with a couple of tumbles, the BERCs were not to be stopped in their tracks.  Liam also fought off recent injuries to get a fantastic PB. 

Brilliant results by all. Well done BERCs

For the first free Sunday for over a month, we organised a social run lead by Rich I - just a few hills, lots of bluebells and plenty of sunshine helped some hardy BERCs take on a steady 6-10 mile run, getting us ready for this months fun filled calendar of activities! 

Take a look at the schedule page for this months plans, and join us if you can - new and old BERCs always welcome. 

The weekend saw BERCs taking on races of different distances, around different parts of the world. 

First up was Andy, taking on his first ever marathon in Machester.  A terrific achievement for anyone, let alone someone who has only been running for a matter of a few years. Well done Andy, who's already talking about his next marathon, a great start that can only get better.

Next, Nick and Priya took on the sights of beautiful Lake Garda in their half marathon.  Seasoned runners that just keep getting stronger. 

Excellent to see the BERCs vest in the sunshine! 

Then we had Clover, who took on the Lincoln 10km in her first competitive run for over a year, putting in a solid first run and now has a carrot to chase! 

Finally and worth a mention, we had Orlagh (not pictured), who did her usual weekend parkrun and took over 3 and half minutes off her PB on the hilly course of Shipley - the hill training is paying off!

An excellent performance from all and exciting times ahead. Jog on BERCs. 

Saturday 6th April saw the BERCs take on the final parkrun of 4 at Long Eaton.  Unfortunately the weather did not work in our favour as the wind was horrific, which would certainly add time to everyone's run. 

We saw Rich come in comfortably inside the top 10 which is a cracking performance, especially during marathon training. 

Next home was Chris, continuing his return after a long lay-off.  Nic, Priya, Nick and Gary all within close succession of each other. 

Chris helped round the course by his brand spanking new trainers, only getting their debut due to the water subsiding off the path finally, just pipping his arch rival and friend Rob to the finish line!! 

Clover was next, using a few finely chosen expletives to see her over the line, Jason (cleverly hiding in the photo) continued with his marathon training run.  Orlagh was next home, making a debut in a BERC vest, amazingly missing a PB by just a few seconds. 

Great run from all, weather certainly cost some PBs. 

All supported by coach Steven and the 2 noisy hounds! Jog on BERCs 

A number of BERCs took on the Ashby20 in March, some for final preparation towards London Marathon, and others just for the fun of it! 

There were some fabulous performances from debutants and seasoned distance runners, as they all battled to complete the two lapped course, to get the much sought after Ashby hoodie and a cheese and tomato cob! 

Even with all those miles in their legs, some crazy BERCs even managed to get to training the following evening...

Well done to each and every one of you (some not pictured) for setting out on this tough yet rewarding journey, just to be on that start line is an achievement in itself. 

Cracking turn out at Alvaston parkrun for the 3rd of 4 of the BERCs winter parkruns. 

Strong performances throughout, with 3 BERCs in the top 10, including Helen taking first lady (well done Helen). 

Great battle between Liam and Andy, with Andy just pipping Liam to the post by the end, to take a fine 6th and 7th place. 

Great to see one of our coach's Christopher Birley back in action and putting in a solid performance. 

We also had Gary, Chris, Charlie, Claire, Clover, Steven and making her debut for BERCs, was Orlagh - pictured taking a well earned rest after a fabulous sprint finish. 

We will now move on, back to where we started, for the final of the winter parkrun meets, at Long Eaton (flooding permitting), to see how our winter training has progressed. 

Jog on BERCs