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DIVIDED WE FALLThe CrossFit Tonbridge Squad head to the UK’sbiggest competition. Alex Clarke reportsTHE SQUAD: Alex Clarke, Rick Taylor, Juliet Taylor,Steve Edwards, Chris Dear and little Leah PippardThe ‘Divided We Fall Games’ isthe largest team competitionin the UK with everyCrossFit team in the countryentering. Even though we knew wewould struggle to keep up with thelikes of Bath & Central London, wewere still hoping for a goodperformance, especially after I wasplaced the highest UK male athleteearlier this year in the CrossFitGames and Juliet and Leah achieved1st and 3rd place finishes in a recentcompetition in Hampshire. Event 1involved 8 min AMRAP(as many reps as possible) of 1Burpee followed by 2 Pistols, wescored well with 83 reps but it wasBath who got off to an early lead.Event 2 was a tough one -1000m row,50 thrusters 20kg, 30 pull ups inteams of two.Once one memberfinishes the row the other can start.Chris flew through the WOD andfinished his section very quickly.Leah had an outstandingperformance especially since shehad just come back from a 3-weekhoneymoon. In event 3 I was workingin a pair with Chris. We had 2minutes to achieve maximumshoulder to over head with 70kg.Weknew that not many teams couldmatch our shoulder strength and wewere right scoring 66 reps and a 3rdplace finish. We then had 2 miniutesto achieve maximum weighted pullsup with 20kg on a belt. And finally 1minute to achieve maximum ballthrows and catch. We worked hardand pushed our placing up therankings. Event 4 would be the finalone of the day and with only the top50 teams of 108 going through thepressure was on. Jules and Stevestepped up and with a phenomenalperformance from Steve we werecomfortably through. Event 1 fromday 2 was a monster of a workout and30 teams would be cut. We decidedto make a team plan and play to ourindividual strengths.Myself and Chris would do all ofthe hang snatches leaving the girlsfresh to fly through the toes to bar.This plan worked as we were still oneof the first teams to finish thesnatches. Juliet and Leah left them fordead on the toes to bar. We quicklyworked through the shuttle sprintsand we were onto round 2. We kept agood pace and ensured our place inthe top 20. Rick and Leah were upnext to take on the bear complex.Rick had been carrying a back injuryall week and was by far one of thesmaller competitors, but he hadgreat technique and strength. Heeasily cleared the 93kg bar but a misjudgement meant he did not pass the98kg bar. Leah was also one of thesmallest women in the event and stillpowered through to get a new PB.Our score placed us in 20th place,which would be our final placing.This was a great placing for us andwe had finished in the top 5 teamsfrom London and the South East. Bathfinished first with Central Londoncoming in second and Thames 3rd.Follow us on Twitter and Facebookwww.crossfittonbridge.co.ukThe HealthyRUNNEREvery monthRunning Free recommends the latestproducts to make you the healthiestrunner you can be.With Christmas nearly here, the lastthing you want is to fall ill, spoil all thefun and not be able to run.BIOCARE VITAMIN C 1000This supplement providesvitamin C and magnesiumwith antioxidants in theform of bioflavonoidsbilberry and grapeseedextract.£7.90 for 30 tabletswww.biocare.co.ukRF SAYS:Had a cold coming on whenI started taking these, but it didn’tmaterialise into anything. They are quitebig to swallow though.PUKKA HERBS CHYWANAPRASHA tasty, traditional Indian Ayurvedicrecipe of fruit, spices, herbs and honey.A pure and natural nutritional tonic thatis used to enhance the vitality of yourimmune system. Packed fullof nourishing herbs, blendedwith jaggery, honey andghee, and rich inantioxidants and vitamin C.£8.95 a jar or £44.75 for apack of six.www.pukkaherbs.comRF SAYS:I have found myself having toshare this with my kids as they love it dissolvedin warm milk.VITABIOTICS IMMUNACEEXTRA PROTECTIONA supplement designed to helpmaintain resistance to infection andoptimal cell defence. It contains a rangeof 28 nutrients together with naturallycopene (which helps maintain astrong immune system), l-carnitine(supplies energy to immune cells) andresveratrol (helps defend cells againstfree radical damage), £10.95 for amonth’s supply and is available fromBoots and online at www.immunace.comRF SAYS: Not only did I feel that I washelping my immune system – I felt I hadmore energy too!PERFORMANCEwww.runningfreemag.co.uk 29