Les Croupiers Running Club

Dear all,

May I just thank everyone in the club for such an AMAZING weekend! I was so proud to run for the club on a MOUNTAIN STAGE (!!!) let alone win the team prize. Everyone was just so brilliant, kind and supportive and really demonstrated that we are indeed the best club on the PLANET!

Have a restful evening all and see you soon.

Liz :0)

I totally agree and was sorry not to be able to offer the same support you all gave me on my stage. Next year I will find a dogsitter:-)) Well done to everyone that took part, running and organising...

Couldn't agree more LIz. We all did brilliantly and I am just glad that I got to be a part of a winning team, and even it has only taken 7 attempts to achieve it! The support I had on my leg was amazing and I personally want to thank Nick Dallimore as you really helped me get through the race. Also Yvonne thanks for being a great captain and I hope that I can be on the team next year and continue on my quest to do all 20 stages.

Thanks above all to Dick, Tim, Graeme and countless others who made this complex race possible. Think of the work needed to arrange one race and multiply by 20. And even more, enabled over 1000 runners to not get lost or squashed on the roads!

Thanks to Phil, Yvonne and Mike for being great team captains

Jen - MDS (marathon de sleep) dog was very cute

Everything hurts - so I'm off to bed

Couldn't agree more, this was one of the best Castles weekends ever. The team spirit this year was amazing with all the ladies wiiling each other to do well and giving great support throughout. The icing on the cake of course was winning the Ladies team prize which we haven't won since 2003! Thanks ladies for being so commited, making yourselves available to run and giving me virtually a stress free weekend. Well done all!

Couldn't agree more, this was one of the best Castles weekends ever. The team spirit this year was amazing with all the ladies wiiling each other to do well and giving great support throughout. The icing on the cake of course was winning the Ladies team prize which we haven't won since 2003! Thanks ladies for being so commited, making yourselves available to run and giving me virtually a stress free weekend. Well done all!

Sorry for posting twice! Thought the first one hadn't been created ......i'm really, really tired!!!

Firstly, I just want to agree with everything above. I was so proud of our ladies winning for the first time in 9 years. It's certainly been a great year for the ladies - firstly wiining a clean sweep of Gwent League team titles and now this. Now wonder Yvonne was smiling all weekend. It was a privilege (and indeed a very obvious pleasure) for me to be able to present you all with your medals.
I haven't yet had time to analyse the results, but to defend our vets title and finish third in the mens race was terrific. Every single one of our 60 runners ran their socks off, and it was a huge honour for me to still be a competitive part of it after 30 years. Huge praise as ever to our overworked team captains Phil, Yvonne and Mike for all your efforts - the Castles Relay is always a logistical nightmare and to organise and compete as well takes a lot of bottle.
But of course it's not just about the running. Organisationally this is a year long task, and our Castles Sub-Committee and Dick, Tim and Simon in particular should be congratulated on producing an event every bit as good, if not better, than anything before. Because I've seen this all before I expect it to be good, but what I especially like to do is mix with teams who are here for the first time and listen to their comments. Talk about rave reviews! A particular welcome addition I thought was Alex Fritsch and our new German friends. What an impression they made - fancy leading after three stages in your debut at the race!! I wondered for a moment what would happen if we tied on time with them - would it go to a penalty shoot out?
There are just too many people to thank individually - I will try to do justice to everyone's efforts at the Announcements on Thursday.
Greatest Club on the Planet - I think you've all proved it once again! I think Alan Thomas would have been so proud of everyone.

I only managed to join the race late on Sunday due to work stuff but as soon as I arrived at my stage (19) I could feel the anticipation and exitment as the teams amassed and news of Croups achievements filtered through!

I was expecting stage 19 to be a lonely one and was slightly concerned at the potential of taking a wrong turning.... I shouldn't have worried on either account as the stage was marshalled brilliantly despite the last minute diversions off the taff trail (you couldn't have taken a wrong turing if you'd tried) and the support was great from everyone (I never fail to be impressed that no matter what stage I do Yvonne always seems to be there cheering like mad, thank you Yvonne) and with plenty water stations along the way!

Thank you to all the background organisers, marshalls, team captains, team mates and anyone else I may have forgottenl!!

Thanks to everyone involved in organizing a brilliant event.

I know everyone at my new club Dulwich had a fantastic time in Wales. Found it interesting talking to runners from other clubs who assumed that Les Croupiers must have 'hundreds and hundreds' of members due to the incredible standard you guys set over the weekend. Well done everyone.

Hopefully see you soon

Great post Liz !! I totally agree, what an amazing weekend and a fantastic effort from all three teams and the captains Yvonne,Phil and Mike. I was so proud to be part of the Ladies' winning team,everyone ran their socks off and Mick it was a privilege to be presented with my medal by a LEGEND !!!! For me the most inspirational part of the weekend was the AWESOME support from all the Croups along the A470, it really was amazing and spurred me on to run faster than I would have thought possible. Liz popping up at every corner like a jack-in-the box and Yvonne in her tutu in the lay-by are enduring memories of the day !! Team spirit was incredible and yes we are the Greatest Club on the Planet without a doubt. Thank-you everyone. As Richard aptly put it, everything hurts today but it was worth the pain !!!

What can I say????!!! Must thank everyone who organises this event year after year. Can't begin to imagine the work that goes in. It always runs so smoothly and it must be a logistical nightmare. Every year that I get a chance to run in it, I'm forever grateful to you guys for making it happen.

Three teams out for the club, many of them marshalling and driving the minibuses/cars along the course, team captains keeping tabs of the day's events as well as running their socks off...To get two team wins and a 3rd is a great result. Absolute credit to all our runners, especially to the first timers and those that were called in at last minute.

I'm seriously wondering if Yvonne has an identical twin. How she manages to support EVERY leg in numerous spots, run a stage AND still look glamorous on the Saturday night, I'll never know. It is so deserving that this year she captained a winning team. Her enthusiasm and support is unbeatable.

Castles weekend is always memorable and for several reasons this one was even more special. To achieve this result with such a great bunch of ladies was the icing on the cake. I'm truly proud to be part of it. The presentation in the Castle was the final chapter of a great weekend. Simon and Sasha did a great job and it was a lovely bonus to have Mick up there when the ladies team received their awards.

There's so much more to say, but there's plenty of time for that. I'll be boring people about this whole thing for years to come.

Well done all!!

Libby xx

PS Did I mention? Without a doubt- the greatest club on the planet!!!

Just re-read post. You think there were enough 'greats' in there? Oh well, you get the idea :-)!!

Couldn't agree more with everything that has already been said. Huge thank you to everyone involved in making this very special event happen. I was sorry I couldn't be there to enjoy more of the weekend and offer fellow team mates the support that I received. It was however a great honour to have the opportunity to run the final leg, the support from the Croups marshals along the way was tremendous and to finish in the castle was the icing on the cake - thank you Yvonne! A huge well done to all teams who gave it there absolute all. Bring on Castles 2013!

What can I add? This was my first ever Castle Relay and I must say it was a very impressive experience. I must admit that I felt a little lost at first, when I arrived in Caernarfon on a very wet and stormy evening and didn’t see any Croups. However I bumped into a bunch of them next morning and immediately was offered guidance. Thanks Dave & Co! It makes a big difference if you can just follow someone who knows all the good spots and short cuts. Next year I will feel much more confident and will be able to help and do my bit in the organisation. A huge tribute to everyone who helped, cheered, organised or run. I think it is quite exceptional that all our runners get such a strong support from the other club members - but then this is not just a running club! Bottom line, I went home, very proud to have been part of it, proud of being a club member and even prouder to have been part of the winning team. Once in Germany, I will start running up and down every mountain in the Black Forest, maybe there will be a chance for me to come and do a stage next year.

WCR 30th anniversary was spectacular and I would agree with Mick, Alan sure would be proud of the weekend's achievements. It is mad - lots of laughter, frustration, confusion, dampness, cursing, hugs and kisses, courage and camaraderie. A weekend of hard core running which results in the best of them left shattered and battered. Support crews are left with bizarre items in their bags and an unhealthy fascination for coned areas and redirecting traffic.

Les Croupiers can be extremely proud of all its runners, none gave anything less than 100%. Naturally, the awesome Ladies wiped the smile off Serpentine faces. LES CROUPIERS LADIES RULE SUPREME!. Our Vets are of course legendary. A real handsome bunch of fellas (some single - ladies take note) who annihilate other competitors without mercy! Phil, Mike and Yvonne worked tirelessly on putting the teams together and chasing more than they should have to - deserve to win medals in own right.

Off now to answer the emails coming in for 2013.

NB: I now judge runners not by speed but by t-shirt size.

I can *feel* the glow of happiness and warmth of smiles about this event. Well done Croups, it was a privilege to be able to marshal and a joy to be at Cardiff Castle to see the presentations.