HEADLINES

The club has had some successful days in recent times but nothing quite matches what happened today. On a glorious winter's morning in Cirencester Park no less than 53 competitors ran for Cirencester in the various Oxford League races. Add in the numerous officials marshalling the courses, organising traffic and co-ordinating car parking, the total number involved from the club must have been a record in the region of 75. Absolutely fantastic!

There was much success in the races, too, as will be seen below. It is important that the club moves on from this coming together, taking the success and the friendliness forward to continue the development of what is becoming a thriving organisation.

Two Cirencester athletes have qualified to run for Gloucestershire in the Inter-Counties championships at Wollaton Park , Nottingham on Saturday 11 March. Good luck to Wendy Jones & Jane Wassell, our Oxford League stalwarts, who will toe the line in the ladies 8km race, which will be screened live on satellite television. Glos county colours are burgundy with a gold diagonal slash for those watching.

OXFORD LEAGUE

5 February at Cirencester Park . It is difficult to know where to start but probably the sight of six Cirencester U11 boys finishing in a procession from 6th to 11th places, all within a few seconds of each other, really got the day going. The women started the day nine points behind White Horse in the team race so needed a good result. Wendy Jones, despite suffering from a cold, won as comfortably as ever and Jane Wassell continued her consistent season. New member Caroline Bolam had a race long tussle with young Jenny Manners and just shaded her to close in the team scoring. This evening's results, published on the internet, revealed great news: not only did the team finish equal first on the day with Headington, but did so with a sufficiently low score to take over as overall leaders by five points. It will be extremely difficult to hold onto that lead in the last race because of some understandable absentees. It will need as many ladies as possible to turn out at Banbury for the ladies to achieve a hat trick of victories. It is also just possible for the 'B' team to gain promotion to the top division.

23 Cirencester men toed the start line and there was quality to go with the quantity. Captain Pancho Gonzalez-Diaz led from the front, pulling away from Chris Illman on the hill at the end of the first lap. There were some tremendous performances further down the field as well: Paul Barlow, who professes to preferring tarmac under his feet not clawing mud, stormed through the field to show that his marathon training is going very well - he just stayed ahead of university student Joe Barrowclough. Space precludes the opportunity to name all the runners in this report but particularly good performances came from Adam Harborow, who smashed his previous best position by 26 places, Martin Pitts and new member Simon Glover. Special mention should also be made of Tony Curry who, despite being under considerable personal strain at present, spent a lot of Saturday setting out the course, was on car parking duty (which included having to deal with some irate drivers miffed at having to pay £1 for parking), then ran in the race and is now third overall in the V60 category. The team finished second, the first time since 1992 that this elevated position has been reached. What is even more exciting is that overall the club is in fourth place, a mere 50 points from second. If this can be achieved at Banbury it will be the club's best team position ever. The knock on effect of a strong first team is good backing from the 'B' team. Again with a good result on 5 March promotion can be achieved. So another big turnout is needed.

U11 Girls: 6 Lucy Vass 4.56, 18 Lauren Eales 5.26, 22 Laura Hobson 5.33, 30 Jenny Eales 5.48, 36 Maddy Stevens 6.18, 43 Lauren Smith 7.06.

U11 Boys: 6 George Collings 4.31, 7 Jack Landor 4.40, 8 Bryce Clark 4.43, 9 Lewis Wassell 4.44, 10 Elliott Manners 4.46, 11 Cameron Wassell 4.46, 16 Jack Sherrington 4.53, 19 Alex Vass 5.06, 25 Harry Pitts 5.53, 27 Matthew Pitts 5.58.

U13/15 Girls: 23 Charlotte Somers (U13) 10.02, 33 Jane Thomas (U15) 11.22, 36 Lauren Waldron (U13) 11.57.

U15/17 Boys: 20 Ben Cox (U15) 22.30, 29 Dominic Clark (U15) 30.24.

Women: 1 Wendy Jones (Cirencester, 1st FV35) 23.22, 4 Jane Wassell (3rd FV35) 24.58, 21 Caroline Bolam 28.16, 23 Jenny Manners (4th U17) 28.38, 35 Kim Withycombe 29.54, 36 Carol Clarke (3rd FV55) 29.56, 40 Corinne Clark 30.42, 55 Sue Brown 32.10, 62 Paula Vass 33.27. 88 finished.

Teams: Div One, 1= Cirencester / Headington 26pts, 3 Kennet 33pts, 4= Banbury / White Horse 40pts. Div Two, 1 Oxford City 50pts, 2 Cirencester 'B' 94pts, 9 Cirencester 'C' 157 pts.

Team scores after four races: Div One, 1 Cirencester 102pts, 2 White Horse 107pts, 3 Banbury 127pts. Div Two, 1. Oxford City 'A' 273pts, 2 Cirencester 'B' 424pts, 12 Cirencester 'C' 753pts.

Men: 1 Steve Kimber (Headington) 31.27, 6 Pancho Gonzalez-Diaz Cirencester) 32.26, 7 Chris Illman (2nd U20) 32.56, 20 Paul Barlow 35.06, 23 Joe Barrowclough 35.35, 33 Justin Nicholls 36.18, 38 Andy Bickerstaff 36.41, 49 Keith Firkin 37.34, 51 Adam Harborow 37.38, 52 Bill Leggate 37.42, 59 Martin Pitts 37.59, 67 Simon Glover 38.38, 79 Tim Collings 39.15, 101 Mark Gluning 40.11, 108 Bob Ferris 40.43, 114 Niel Dunnage 41.36, 115 Pete Langsam 41.39, 128 Will Moffatt 42.28, 138 Dorian Matts 43.05, 140 Chris Brough 43.32, 147 Colin O'Hare 44.01, 148 Chris Sherrington 44.02, 170 Tony Curry (2nd V60) 46.30, 177 Andy Bradley 47.55. 203 finished.

Teams: Div One, 1 Headington 83pts, 2 Cirencester 176pts, 3 Witney 319pts. Div Three, 1 Banbury 'A' 507pts, 2 Cirencester 'B' 517pts, 6 Cirencester 'C' 930pts.

Team scores after four races: Div One, 1 Headington 391pts, 2 Witney 1,033pts, 3 Abingdon 1,058pts, 4 Cirencester 1,083pts, 5 Woodstock 1,215pts. Div Three, 1 Banbury 'A' 2,466pts, 2 Witney 'B' 2,832pts, 3 Cirencester 'B' 2,928pts, 4 Abingdon 'B' 2,992pts.

Full & detailed results can be found on www.geocities.com/oxmailxc

The final fixture is on 5 March at Drayton School , Banbury. Directions: take the A422 Banbury to Stratford Road . Drayton is about 1½ miles to the northwest from Banbury Cross. Alternatively, meet at 9.15 (note earlier time than usual) at the leisure centre for club convoy. Remember that to facilitate the prize giving the timings are different for the senior races. The men start at 11:10 and the women at 12:00 .

RANKINGS

With just one race to go, the club xc championship looks to be sewn up by Justin Nicholls & Wendy Jones. Current scores (based on club finishing positions: men 25pts down to one, women 15 points down to one):

Men: J Nicholls 90pts, B Leggate 77, P Gonzalez-Diaz 75, C Illman 73, P Barlow 66, B Ferris 59, M Pitts 55, A Harborow 53, M Gluning 46, D Wright & J Barrowclough 45, A Bickerstaff 43, K Ferris 40, K Firkin 39, D Matts 36, D Atkinson & C Brough 35, P Langsam 32, T Curry 28, W Moffatt 26, C O'Hare 25, C Tapley 24, S Elverd 20, T Willson 19, N Barrowclough & S Glover 15, T Collings 14, J Young 13, D Waldron 12, M Thomas, C Sherrington & N Dunnage 11, I Fletcher 5, A Bradley 3, C Riches 2.

Women: W Jones 60pts, J Wassell 56, K Withycombe 44, Carol Clarke 42, Corrine Clark 27, H Langsam 26, J Manners 25, D Moore 24, P Vass 23, S Brown 18, Lorraine Ferris 15, C Bolam 13, K Kroulikova 9, Lynn Ferris 6.

Selected overall individual positions in Oxford League to date (best three from four races):

U11 Girls: 4 L Vass 16pts, U11 Boys: 9 Lewis Wassell 27pts, 10 Cameron Wassell 28pts, Women (overall & FV35): 1 W Jones 3pts, 2 J Wassell 8pts, FV55: 3 Carol Clarke 102pts, Men U20: 1 C Illman 23pts, Senior men: 3 P Gonzalez-Diaz 12pts, V60: 3 T Curry 486pts.

OTHER CROSS COUNTRY RESULTS & FIXTURES

14 January, Gloucestershire County XC Championships, Plock Court , Gloucester . Race numbers were low but the standard was very high, particularly in the ladies race. On a flat grassland course Wendy Jones & Jane Wassell found themselves up against Emily Pidgeon, tipped by many to be an Olympic gold medallist in London in 2012 (William Hill are actually taking bets on this happening) - a ridiculous tag to put on someone so young. Pidgeon recently came second in the European Junior XC Championships and is one of the elite lottery funded athletes in the country. It was no surprise therefore when she started to pull away from Jones and Kate Goodhead after 2km. The surprise was Goodhead pulling 30 metres clear of Jones who looked heavy legged as a result of some hard training weeks. Wassell in the meantime started fairly conservatively and was in eighth midway through the first lap but already clearly moving through the field. Jones got her act together in the second half as she gradually reeled Goodhead back and ultimately comfortably saw her off in the long finishing straight for a very commendable second place and selection for the county in the inter-counties at Nottingham on 11 March. Wassell continued to move through and thanks to a really storming finishing sprint to overtake former winner Lucy Townsend, she finished fifth to also gain selection for Gloucestershire.

The trio in the men's race had contrasting fortunes. Pete Holmes, down from Loughborough Uni, started strongly coming through in eighth at the end of the first of three laps. Paul Barlow and Justin Nicholls came past the start/finish area in 18th and 21st respectively. Holmes then started to suffer with stomach cramps as Barlow, looking strong, came through to lead the club home with an excellent finish. Nicholls, who had been nursing a leg strain for a couple of weeks, found the going tough but will have gained useful experience from running his first county championship.

Earlier in the day both the U11 Girls & Boys won county team medals.

U11 Girls: 6 Lucy Vass 5.22, 9 Laura Eales 5.32, 12 Jennifer Eales 5.56. Teams: 1 Cheltenham 21pts, 2 Cirencester 27pts.

U11 Boys: 12 Jack Landor 4.47, 17 Lewis Wassell 4.55, 24 Elliott Manners 5.21, 28 Alex Vass 5.35. Teams: 1 Gloucester 14pts, 3 Cirencester 53pts.

U15/17 Girls: 8 Jennifer Manners 13.22 (3rd U17)

Women: 1 Emily Pidgeon ( Gloucester ) 21.29, 2 Wendy Jones (Cirencester) 21.59, 5 Jane Wassell 23.23. 30 finished.

Men: 1 Andy Prophett ( Cheltenham ) 31.26, 16 Paul Barlow (Cirencester) 34.23, 17 Pete Holmes 34.29, 27 Justin Nicholls 36.08. 47 finished.

21 January, Glos XC League, Cinderford, Forest of Dean. Jane Wassell continued her lone furrow in this league with her best finish yet. She also easily won the overall FV35 title for the season.

Women: 1 Rachel Felton ( Severn ) 27.41, 3 Jane Wassell (Cirencester, 1st FV35) 28.33.

22 January, UK Cross Challenge 6km, Cardiff . Wendy Jones had a cracking run finishing sixth in the 6km race won by teenage sensation Emily Pidgeon. This was a real breakthrough into the upper echelon of UK athletics, all the runners ahead of Jones being internationals and the seventh finisher in the Welsh team for the forthcoming Commonwealth Games.

1 Emily Pidgeon ( Gloucester ) 19.46, 2 Hattie Dean (Hallamshire) 19.54, 3 Kate Ramsey (Charnwood, 1st FV35) 20.09, 6 Wendy Jones (Cirencester, 2nd FV35) 20.29.

ROAD & MULTI-TERRAIN RESULTS

6 January, 10k somewhere in Uruguay . Bob & Lynn Ferris managed to manipulate their visit to Pancho's homeland in such a way that they missed this race by 24 hours. The club captain had no such excuse and this is his truncated report of the race (the original went missing in the great communication web crossing the continents): "I cannot remember what I wrote. I drove 2½ hours to the race and got a late entry. I had problems with my number [seeing a barcode at the bottom of his number, Pancho had promptly torn it off assuming that it was surplus to requirements!] so my warm-up was running from the start line to the registration office to get another number and then run back to the start line. Also it was hot, very hot, too many people, too many spectators, it was very difficult to breathe and I died at the 6k marker. I finished 35th amongst the Uruguayans and was first Cirencester runner home. Now I can have an official elite start next year, actually like this year because it was crowded I jumped into the wrong pen and started with the elite."

1 Robert Cheruiyot ( Kenya ) 28.08, 43 Pancho Gonzalez-Diaz (Cirencester) 35.45. 5,000 ran.

15 January, Highworth ½ Marathon . The paperwork sent to the club for this unusual invitational team event was late in reaching the relevant personnel, resulting in difficulties in raising a full complement of 12 runners. However a good pack of nine toed the line on a breezy & cool morning, including new member Tom Gillett. Ace reporter (AR) first espied the runners at the marked five mile point, between Hannington & Kempsford on the mercifully flat middle section. Wendy Jones, fresh from the previous day's county xc champs, came through smiling & looking extremely comfortable, in 29.36 (7th), followed at a respectable distance by Mark Gluning (33.29, 38th), Duncan Atkinson (35.40, 60th), Chris Brough (36.00), a very relaxed looking Terry Ranger (36.33), Kim Withycombe & Carol Clarke in matching beanies (38.11) and Sue Brown (40.17). AR missed Gillette as he wasn't sporting club colours. The course has a real sting in its tail as it heads back to Kempsford after leaving Castle Eaton; a succession of long, tough and very exposed hills left all the runners feeling battered. Jones, despite blue fingers (and she was wearing gloves!), had maintained her pace at the 10 mile point (60.15). She was the only club runner AR was able to spot at this point as he had to get to the finish. Jones completed a very successful weekend with her first ever sub-80 time on the extended, and thus now accurate, course. Of the others, Gluning was pleased to dip under 90 minutes and Ranger came through strongly to very tidily convert his 36.33 at five to 1.36.33 at the finish. Withycombe rather unsportingly outsprinted her partner for the race, not that a weary and cold Clarke seemed to mind too much. All in all an excellent event and one that the club should continue to support in future years.

1 George Hide (Highworth) 1.13.36, 7 Wendy Jones (1st lady) 1.19.18, 30 Mark Gluning 1.29.15, 62 Terry Ranger 1.36.33, 69 Chris Brough 1.38.08, 70 Duncan Atkinson 1.38.11, 88 Kim Withycombe 1.44.49, 89 Carol Clarke 1.44.50, 92 Sue Brown 1.50.00, 108 Tom Gillett 2.01.06. 112 finished.

Teams: 1 Handy Cross 95pts, 8 Cirencester 238pts.

15 January, Rough & Tumble '10' m/t, Milton Lilbourne, Wiltshire. The times reflect the severity of this off road course over the Marlborough Downs (at least that is what Keith Firkin is reputed to have said!).

1 Vito Graffagnino (U/A) 1.07.35, 30 Keith Firkin (Cirencester) 1.18.47. 399 finished.

FORTHCOMING ROAD / MULTI-TERRAIN RACES & CONTACT DETAILS:

18 February, Winter '5', White Horse (formerly Globe Inn), Sandhurst , Gloucester at 15:00 . Enter on the day, see www.severnac.co.uk

19 February, Dursley Dozen m/t. A long standing favourite off roader for those who enjoy 12 undulating & muddy miles. The website information page rather bizarrely states that the race has 1,600 feet of descent! Be assured that what goes down also goes up! A tough race but also popular so enter now. See www.g4cio.demon.co.uk/ddozen/ddozen.htm

26 February, Bourton-on-the-Water 10k at 10:30 . You were warned! Entries for this very popular race closed on 11 January. 17 Cirencester members have apparently entered.

26 February, Cirencester Park Off Road Duathlon at 10:00 . If you've missed out on Bourton or fancy something more exciting anyway, this race is for you. Made up of two mile fairly flat run - 10 mile undulating mountain bike - two mile fairly flat run. There is a new bike course this year promising less mud! Organised by Lorraine Ferris: entry forms on the club noticeboard or for more information look up www.triferris.com

18 March, Grocery '4', White Horse, Sandhurst at 14:45 . Enter on the day, see www.severnac.co.uk

19 March, Forest of Dean Trails ½ Marathon at 10:00 . Another very popular race so enter early, albeit at the exorbitant cost of £11. If you missed out at Bourton heed the warning and enter immediately! Also in the club road race championship - not many club members ran last year so a good race to pick up some points. Entry forms on club notice board or via www.rotary-royalforestofdean.org.uk/trails.html

25 March, Compton 20 / 40. See contributed miscellany comment at foot of newsletter

2006 CLUB ROAD RACE CHAMPIONSHIP

The 2006 club championship details have now been finalised. The races are per the last newsletter but are listed below again for information and with some date amendments:

February 26, Bourton 10k www.bourtonroadrunners.co.uk

March 19, Forest of Dean Trails ½ Marathon www.rotary-royalforestofdean.org.uk/trails.html

April 30, Highworth 10k www.swindonweb.com/hrc

May 18, Gloucester 5k * www.severnac.co.uk

June 4, Fairford 10k www.fairford.org/10k/index.html

July 10, Frampton-on-Severn 10k www.stroudathleticclub.org.uk

July 15, Bourton 1 mile (yes, one mile) * www.bourtonroadrunners.co.uk

August 2, Bugatti 10k, Gretton, Winchcombe, nr Cheltenham * www.cheltenhamharriers.co.uk

September 10, Beacon 10k, Hardwicke, nr Gloucester * www.cheltenhamharriers.co.uk

September 17, Oldbury 10 mile www.thornburyrunningclub.co.uk

October 1, Cricklade 10k www.crickladefunrun.co.uk

October 22, Stroud ½ Marathon * www.stroudathleticclub.org.uk

In addition, times recorded at any marathon between the dates of February 26 and October 22 will score points in the same format as the races above i.e. as though all competed in one race.

Of the 12 races, plus marathon, best eight scores to count. Points will be awarded on the basis of 15 for first Cirencester finisher down to one. If more than 15 finishers all score at least one point. Bonus points will be awarded for any personal bests achieved at 10k against times published in the newsletter for 2004 and 2005. Unlike 2005 the male and female championships will be scored separately in 2006. To qualify for points you must be a fully paid up member, be entered as Cirencester AC and be wearing a club vest.

Races marked with * form part of the Gloucestershire County Road Race Series for 2006. Note that the Bourton 10k is no longer part of the series. Other races in this series, but not included in the club championship: January 8, Gloucester '10' (see fixtures above); March, Gloucester '20'; April 16, Severn 10k; May 7, Tewkesbury ½ Marathon ; June, Bourton ½ Marathon ; September, Cirencester 10k; November, Tewkesbury '5'. Full details of this championship can be found on www.mozart.e7even.com/running

NEW MEMBERS

The following have joined the club in the last month: Chloe Cox, Ben Cox (Junior), Zaffie Cox (Junior), Chris Goldie, Clive Hook, Tony Kingston, Kevin Pocock and William Moffat.

CLUB'S TOP FELL RUNNER DOESN'T DISAPPOINT

"Those who attended the Christmas prize giving will be aware of Sandra Elphick winning the 'fell' runner of the year prize. A prize which she wholeheartedly deserved.

Not many of our club runners represent the club "Out of County" but Sandra has shown her true grit and determination to hang onto her title by not only falling over in Gloucestershire but trying her hand (or should that be feet?) in the Devon County league.

Whilst away on "a bit of a girlie" weekend in January, Sandra met with the floor again. Although this wasn't one of her most spectacular falls - I judge this on the amount of ground she covers before hitting the floor plus the time it takes her to actually stop! - it was an interesting drop, as one minute we were having a chat and the next she had completely disappeared. This was Sandra's first curb fall, a quick flick of the foot, the compulsory unbalancing wave of the arms in thin air, the knees fold, and down she went!!!! Very embarrassing, but really very funny. The fact she was not wearing her club vest, or her running kit come to that, and we were just vacating a local hostelry had nothing to do with any of it.

I'm hoping this ability to "Fell run" is not catching as I fear I could be running by myself for quite sometime now!

Sandra's ex-friend!!!"

MISCELLANY

. the recent accident at Rhyl, where four cyclists from the local club tragically lost their lives when a car skidded on ice into the group out on their Sunday club ride, highlights the vigilance that is necessary for runners when out on the roads . too often we ignore road users whilst chatting to fellow runners, particularly on Tuesday night sessions . be aware of and courteous to drivers and don't rely on the actions of your fellow runners when crossing roads . make your own decision based on viewing traffic conditions ... remember drivers are not expecting to see runners on the road.

. the club's ultra distance guru has contributed this message: "a medical member of the club has just reported a variant form of avian bird flu within Cirencester AC which has been identified as 'ultraterranus multii 2omls'. Contamination probably occurred during the Tuesday evening sessions in the Sports Centre and has affected a wide range of club runners (possibly 10?) including Keith Firkin, Liza Darroch and Yvonne Binks. Some other elite runners have admitted to showing the symptoms but have failed to 'come out'.... More alarmingly one other member has been identified as showing the more extreme sub-species '4omls'. Any club member who shows the slightest symptoms of this ailment (namely to enjoy a non-competitive run across some wonderful countryside) is strongly recommended to seek a medical entry form from the notice board in the Sports Centre or the web page of an adjacent club that has been ravaged (ravished?) by this ailment. Try Compton Harriers and make a date for March 25th when there will be a mass meeting to attempt to cure this infection."

. Tuesday night club sessions appear to be getting more popular by the week. Only a relatively few stay on afterwards for a beer or coffee in the leisure centre bar. This is a pity as it is a great way of creating a good club atmosphere, discuss topics of the day (definitely not always about running!) and generally have a good time. Because of the woeful conditions currently prevailing in the leisure centre bar (no beer, Eastenders blaring out on the TV, dire service) and the relatively imminent opening of the new leisure centre, which will not have a bar (!), an executive decision has been taken by the regular socialites to go to Somewhere Else. Yes, capital letters are appropriate as, to the uninitiated, Somewhere Else is a very pleasant watering hole and tapas restaurant situated just a short walk from the leisure centre. The beer is excellent and soft drinks, coffee/tea, food (incl chips) etc are all available; most importantly the atmosphere is great. So, shower & change at the centre then stroll down to Somewhere Else and make Tuesday nights something to look forward to! With the success achieved at the Oxford League today, what better time to start celebrating than this Tuesday evening.

David Wright: wrights@tesco.net or 01285 641224