Surrey league season ✅
The final round of the Surrey league took place last Saturday on Wimbledon Common where the Thames men secured 2nd place in the league. This was the best result from the men since 2015 and a huge turnaround from a few years ago. The Thames women came 6th in the league.
Huge thanks to all the photographers out there on Saturday
📸 @george.captures
📸 @jerry_sun
📸 @laurie_oliver92
✨ 50 Years of Women’s Varsity ✨
Today marks the 50th anniversary of the women’s Oxford–Cambridge Varsity Match. A milestone worth celebrating, and one worth reflecting on.
The men first raced in 1880, making Varsity one of the earliest inter-club cross country races in the world. Yet it took almost 100 years before women were allowed to compete.
Women were not admitted as members of most university clubs until the 1970s, which meant generations missed the chance to race, represent, and write themselves into the history of this great match.
50 years is not a long time. It sits within the lifetimes of many reading this, or at least our parents.
So while we celebrate, we also recognise what this anniversary reminds us of:
👉 How recently women’s sport was not even seen
👉 How hard won the progress has been
👉 How important it is to keep pushing for parity
But today is about celebrating the women who will compete.
Pictured here are three incredible FLYCARB backed GB internationals who have raced Varsity and inspired countless athletes coming through the sport.
🇬🇧 Rebecca Flaherty
🇬🇧 Niamh Bridson-Hubbard
🇬🇧 Bea Wood
They are part of a long and growing line of women who have lifted the standard of this match and shown the power of women’s distance running.
Good luck to everyone competing in the women’s and the men’s matches!
✨ Women competing in the match today: message us for 50% off to celebrate the anniversary ✨
Competed in 2s, 3s or ‘Old Gits’? Dop us a line for an early Christmas 🎁
#flycarb #varsity #thisgirlcan
Green Belt Relay 2025
Last weekend 22 Saltires took on the Green Belt Relay, a 220 mile relay round the outskirts of London. Our 1st Mixed team won the mixed trophy, coming in 2nd overall and our 2nd team came 7th overall, 4th mixed team.
It was brilliant weekend of racing with plenty of stage wins and records. Lizzy and Paddy won the ‘Broken record’ trophy for their particularly impressive runs, including an outright stage win for Lizzy.
Thanks to Stragglers for putting on such a great event and to Nick whose organisational skills ensured we all got to the right place on time!
National Cross 🥉
The Thames women finished their record breaking season in which they brought home medals from every championship with a fine team bronze at the English National Cross Country Championships.
On an incredibly muddy day at the iconic Parliament Hill Lizzy Apsley had an another brilliant run to lead the Saltires home in 21st, Ellen Weir took 38th in her first Senior National while Bethanie Murray and Lauren Major ran a lot of the race together, finishing 50th and 52nd.
On the men’s side a few Saltires were spotted up at the front of the first hill, challenging for the king of the hill title however it was James Hoad who ultimately led us home in 66th position. The team took 13th out of over 100 clubs.
Action 📸 @grahamsmith.photos
Surrey League Round 4
Last weekend we finished the Surrey league season on a high with Jeremy Dempsey taking his first Surrey league victory. He was followed home by Jacob Brockmann with his best Surrey League performance in 7th.
On the women’s side Lizzy Apsley had another brilliant run in 4th place while Serena Carter claimed another top 10 spot.
Both teams secured 3rd in the league after a very competitive set of 4 races. Neil Chisholm also claimed the V45+ title 🥇
📸 @____dnny____
Dash For The Splash....
Thank you to Thames hare and Hounds Running Club for having us along to Dash For the splash this morning. Its always a pleasure to be involved in this very popular well supported event.
There was certainly plenty of mud and splash out there to get stuck in to.
Look forward to seeing you all next year.
Happy Running.
#dashforthesplash #WimbledonCommon #10k #secondsunday5
Southern Cross Country Champions 🏆
On a beautiful day in Beckenham the Thames Women won the South of England title with another great team performance. Lizzy led the team home in 6th and was backed up by Serena in 14th, Ellen in 15th and Bethanie in 17th. The team now have medals from National Cross 🥈, London Champs 🥇, Surrey Champs 🥉 and Southerns 🥇 this season. Showing that the oldest cross country club in the country is still one of the best clubs in the country!
On the men’s side James was first home in 48th as a depleted team came 18th overall.
📸 Thanks to Thames supporters and Mark Hookway
Surrey League Round 3
On a frosty day in West Horsley both Thames teams went one better than round 2, coming 2nd in both the men’s and women’s team competitions.
Jack led the men home with a race victory and was followed by Alex in 4th. Lizzy led the women home in 5th place with Serena close behind in 6th. We also had some great runs from guest @oxforduniversitycrosscountry runners who used the race as a trial for BUCS.
Both teams now sit in 3rd place in the overall league with 1 fixture remaining.
📸 @____dnny____
That's @jackmmillar 's fifth Surrey League win, moving him into the all-time top 10.
He's just two wins off Andy Coley-Maud in eighth, but there's some way to go to topple @herculeswimbledon 's Bob Holt at the top of the tree with 18 victories between 1965 and 1979.
Photos @____dnny____
