INTRODUCTION
After a long drawn out and very exciting championship, very worthy club road race winners emerged following the Stroud ½ Marathon , when Pancho Gonzalez-Diaz & Wendy Jones were declared champions. Read more below.
Anyone who attended the first Oxford League fixture at Ascott-u-Water yesterday will never forget the conditions. Torrential rain all night abated marginally during some of the races but came back with a vengeance as the men embarked on their last lap. Despite (or because of?) the conditions, the club had a magnificent day and continues to go from strength to strength. The turn-out called for in the last newsletter was heeded with 25 men, 10 women and 15 assorted juniors all competing.
We all wish Wendy well in her international debut in Dublin this Saturday (12th) where she will be running for England in the home countries annual fixture. Despite missing Stroud with a heavy cold she has been training well and feels that she's in good shape. She clearly has a good agent as another action photograph of her appeared in last week's Athletics Weekly alongside the article previewing the race. A full report will appear next time but if you can't wait, order your copy of AW from WH Smith. There should be a report of the race in the issue published on Wednesday 16 November.
ROAD & MULTI-TERRAIN RESULTS
2 October, Cricklade 10k & ½ Marathon . Subsequent to publication of the last newsletter, full results have been issued by the organisers. So for record purposes here are the Cirencester results: 10k, 5 Paul Barlow 36.17, 6 Wendy Jones 36.30 (1st lady / 1st FV35), 11 David Wright 37.42, 13 Keith Firkin 38.19, 21 Niel Dunnage 40.04, 30 Justin Nicholls 41.12, 39 Jon Young 42.40, 73 Trudi Compton (sorry Trudi, put your maiden name in last time) 46.18, 125 Peter Moran 52.11, 133 David Edelsten 53.08. 255 finished. ½ Marathon , 25 Mark Gluning 1.28.07, 60 Terry Ranger 1.34.52, 207 Fred Robson 2.02.23. 243 finished.
9 October, Latin Classic ½ Marathon , Sarasota , USA . David Edelsten writes: "Not wishing to outshine the club president, I also didn't travel well across the pond and had a pretty dismal run in Florida recently. As my usual 10k race was cancelled I unwisely decided to enter this half marathon, having only done a couple of runs over eight miles in the last three months. The very early 7am start - in the dark! - didn't help either. I was assured by the organisers that this was a popular race so I was somewhat dismayed to find no more than 150 runners appearing out of the darkness to line up on a desolate dual carriageway close to the local high school.
The course wasn't anything to look forward to either - up and down a dual carriageway, through an enormous residential area near Sarasota with a couple of doglegs to make the correct distance. Although very early in the morning it was still mid 70 degrees and rising, and very humid - just how I don't like it.
Everything went according to plan for the first four miles but I then started to feel very tired and by the halfway mark I had decided to drop out at 10 miles, which was at a point close to the finish. However, a welcome shower of rain revived me a little and the thought of ridicule from the club for dropping out persuaded me to carry on past the 10 mile marker a further 1½ miles up the dual carriageway with nothing to look at before turning down the other side back to the finish. As with most American high schools this one wasn't short of sports facilities so the race finished on their eight lane track! I eventually crossed the line - in a rather confused state feeling as though I had done a full marathon - in 2.04.48, which was good for 64th out of 134 finishers and 3rd MV60 for which I received a small pennant. The winning time on what was a flat course was 1.24, the first MV40 1.30 and first lady 1.31 so not exactly a high standard. Next time I will stick to 10k which is more bearable in those conditions." In Dave's defence he did sit up most of the night watching the Japanese Grand Prix and he shouldn't be unhappy; after all he won a prize and not many male members of the club manage that.
16 October, Swindon ½ Marathon . A fine win for Cathy Cook ahead of Olympic modern pentathlon gold medallist Stephanie Cook.
1 Nathan Montague ( Swindon ) 1.15.41, 24 Cathy Cook (Cirencester) 1.24.26 - 1st lady / 1st FV35 / Wiltshire champion. 1,219 finished
16 October, Abingdon Marathon. Just six days after his 75th birthday and battling with a cold, Fred Robson enjoyed his run on an unseasonably hot day. There is a great deal of uncertainty about Fred's actual time. The official result is given below but it appears that he may have been considerably faster. Further updates may follow. His time was, of course, a club V75 record!
1 Colin Paton (Army) 2.40.13, 670 F Robson (Cirencester) 5.45.50 - club V75 record
23 October, Stroud ½ Marathon . On a perfect morning for running, there was a lot riding on the final club championship event of the year. Watching the masses coming through the three mile marker it was clear that Pancho Gonzalez-Diaz (16.47) was going for glory with an almost reckless speed based on his projected finishing time. Paul Barlow, knowing that he had to beat Pancho to win the championship, was next through in an apparently more sensible 17.32. Jane Wassell (18.48) followed just behind, with Jon Young (21.00), Bob Ferris (21.25), Dick Waldron (21.40), Tim Willson (21.53) and a slow starting Chris Sherrington (22.03) all close to each other, setting up some good competition. Kim Withycombe, Rupert Chesmore, Trudi Compton, Sue Brown and Liza Darroch completed the Cirencester turnout and all looked very comfortable. When next spotted by this writer, Pancho was flying along as he passed the 10 mile clock at 57.52. He even managed to pick up the pace on the long drag back to Stroud and finished in a magnificent 18th place overall with a big personal best and, of course, the club championship safely bagged. There was nothing Paul could do about Pancho's run and despite struggling recently with a foot injury, he also managed a pb to end a fantastic first full season. Jane, looking weary, still managed another prize, this time 2nd FV35 to go with her recent winning FV35 run at the Bristol ½. Of the other club finishers Jon, Chris and Kim (all with pb's) probably had the best runs, the latter two both started sedately and moved through the field. It was great to see that Sue (another pb) and Liza managed to get in the top three of their respective age groups so it was good news all round to finish off a very successful road season. Worth noting also that second claimer, Pete Holmes, down from Loughborough University where he is club captain this winter, broke the long standing Tetbury Royals club record with his sub 1.20 run. Chip times given for information but actual finishing times retained for historical records:
1 Neo Molema ( South Africa ) 1.05.58
18 Pancho Gonzalez-Diaz (Cirencester) 1.16.14 (chip 1.16.12)
40 Pete Holmes (Loughborough) 1.19.12 (1.19.12)
57 Paul Barlow (Cirencester) 1.21.47 (1.21.44)
120 Jane Wassell 1.26.05 (1.26.02) - 2nd FV35
219 Jon Young 1.30.26 (1.29.54)
299 Bob Ferris 1.34.19 (1.33.50)
388 Chris Sherrington 1.37.12 (1.36.21)
477 Tim Willson 1.39.53 (1.39.00)
534 Kim Withycombe 1.41.34 (1.40.42)
672 Dick Waldron 1.45.23 (1.44.32)
772 Rupert Chesmore 1.48.08 (1.47.14)
774 Trudi Compton 1.48.13 (1.46.25)
885 Sue Brown 1.51.04 (1.48.52) - 2nd FV50
1154 Liza Darroch 1.59.20 (1.58.26) - 3rd FV55
1709 finished. Full results on www.stroudathleticclub.org.uk with photographs to view on www.photo-fit.net (take a note of race number from results to get access to the photos).
31 October, Dublin Marathon . Another personal best for Terry Ranger.
1 Dmytro Osadchy ( Ukraine ) 2.13.14, 1704 Terry Ranger (Cirencester) 3.45.55. 7,932 finished.
2005 CLUB ROAD RACE CHAMPIONSHIP
The tightest championship in the club's history ended with the two main protagonists tied after eight months of tough competition. This has never happened before but a winner had to be proclaimed and on the basis of most wins, Pancho Gonzalez-Diaz was declared the overall champion. In effect Paul Barlow was beaten by one second as Pancho achieved a bonus point at the Bugatti 10k for beating his previous best at Fairford by just that one second! Both Pancho and Paul had magnificent seasons and made rapid progress; hopefully they will take that into 2006 and inspire others to believe that they too can improve. A word of sympathy for long time leader Bill Leggate who unfortunately pulled a calf muscle in June and didn't race again. He still hung on for third place ahead of the consistent Jon Young.
In what turned out to be a close ladies championship, Jane Wassell had to relinquish her title in favour of Wendy Jones. Remarkably, Wendy has never before won the club ladies road championship so it was rather ironic that in the year she decided to concentrate on triathlon she was able to win at long last.
Most pleasing was to see 42 names on the list of participants during the year. Look out soon for details of the 2006 championship, which will no doubt commence in February with the Bourton 10k. Final standings:
1= Pancho Gonzalez-Diaz 90pts - won title on countback based on most wins
1= Paul Barlow 90pts,
3 Bill Leggate 71pts,
4 Jonathan Young 65pts,
5 Chris Illman 61pts,
6 Wendy Jones (1st lady), 59pts,
7 Jane Wassell (L) 54pts, 8 Dick Waldron 43pts, 9 Duncan Atkinson 37pts, 10= Niel Dunnage, Chris Sherrington 33pts, 12 David Edelsten 32pts, 13 David Wright 31pts, 14 Carol Clarke (L) 25pts, 15 Dave Cook 24pts, 16 Justin Nicholls 22pts, 17 Sue Brown (L) 21pts, 18 Chris Riches 20pts, 19 Bob Ferris 18pts, 20 Kveta Kroulikova (L) 16pts, 21 Joe Barrowclough 14pts, 22 Kim Ingleby (L) 13pts, 23 Sue McKeeman (L) 11pts, 24= Elaine Wilson (L), Kevin Ferris, Terry Ranger, Tim Willson 9pts, 28= Corinne Clark (L), Jim Fallon, Kim Withycombe 8pts, 31= Tony Curry, Dorian Matts, Rupert Chesmore 6pts, 34= Diane Moore (L), Chris Brough, Trudi Compton 5pts, 37 Andrew Fraser 4pts, 38= John Prout, Liza Darroch 3pts, 40= Lyn Ferris (L), Fred Robson, Ken McAnespie 1pt.
FORTHCOMING ROAD / MULTI-TERRAIN RACES & CONTACT DETAILS:
13 November at 11:00 , Sodbury Slog '8½' m/t, Chipping Sodbury. Just time to enter one of the original great off road races by pulling an entry form off www.bittonrr.co.uk - there are no entries on the day so if you want to run this Sunday you need to act quickly.
20 November at 10:00 , Cirencester Park Off Road Duathlon. Made up of two mile fairly flat run - 10 mile undulating mountain bike - two mile fairly flat run and includes a relay event. Apparently 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
27 November, Eynsham 10k. Fast flat course and as a consequence entries always close some time before the day so enter early at the fairly stiff fee of £8. No entries on the day. For Pancho's information this race incorporates the Oxon county championship - do not tick this box! Entry forms at the leisure centre or from www.eynsham.org following the prompts to sports clubs.
22 January, Slaughterford '9' m/t, nr Corsham. Popular off roader (323 ran in the snow in 2005) but enter early as strict race limit of 350. See www.chippenhamharriers.co.uk
OXFORD LEAGUE
6 November, Ascott-under-Wychwood
This league has formed the winter focus of the club for a few years now. Despite relatively long journeys to four of the five fixtures, the organisation of the races, standard of courses, quality and speed of race results and general good atmosphere, all combine to keep the club's interest high. The first of the fixtures was run in atrocious conditions so first and foremost all officials - whether of the league or of Cirencester - deserve enormous praise for their efforts. With junior races starting at 9am and the final race finishing at nearly 1pm a lot of commitment was needed. To have full results on the internet within a few hours was nothing short of extraordinary given pens not working in the rain, record numbers taking part and new names on lists as it was the first fixture of the season.
In the ladies race, Wendy Jones came up against a quality opponent in Nikki Slater and although ceding defeat near the end, this extra competition will stand her in good stead through the winter. The first two lapped quite a number of the field, such was the quality of their running. Jane Wassell ran her usual sensible race, moving through to an excellent third place. The ladies have won the league for the last two years based on really good teamwork. Yesterday was no exception as Helen Langsam, fresh off a plane from Japan , battled really hard to secure an opening win for the team. With only 10 points separating the top five teams there is still a lot of work to be done to achieve the hat trick but what a wonderful start! For the first time the ladies league has been split into two divisions; this gives an extra incentive to everybody. On the basis that two teams will be promoted, Cirencester's 'B' team have a chance of pushing Headington out as the only 'B' team in Division 1 next season. There was a battle royal between Diane Moore, Kim Withycombe and the two Clark (e)s, which augurs well for the competitiveness of the rest of the season. Carol Clarke has an extra incentive as she was first FV55 home, albeit only by two seconds. It was good to see Paula Vass back racing after a long struggle with injury and after marshalling all the juniors through their races earlier in the day.
The infectious enthusiasm and hard work of Captain Pancho clearly worked as 25 Cirencester vests lined up at the start of the men's race, helping to swell the overall numbers to nearly 250, a record for the league. Not only did the club field quantity but also high quality as university students Chris Illman and Joe Barrowclough made their long journeys to join regular first teamers Pancho and Paul Barlow and a rejuvenated Justin Nicholls all to finish in the top 30. Pancho's running is going from strength to strength as he builds confidence alongside his hard training and he narrowly missed out on a medal position. Justin, coming off a lot of injury problems, has been training consistently for a few weeks but only on an every other day basis and his patient approach looks to be paying off as he surged through the field. Clearly his swim training for triathlon stood him in good stead as conditions deteriorated rapidly! There was a bit of a gap until the 6th (Bill Leggate, injury free at last) and 7th (Martin Pitts) first team scorers filed in but the great news was that the club secured 3rd position overall, a magnificent effort. As with the ladies there are teams only a handful of points behind but this is a really solid foundation on which to base the season. It is particularly pleasing that, the venerable Martin Pitts apart, the team is made up of under 40's. The future is looking good and it is looking red & black. Masses of Cirencester vests flooded across the finish line, most looking pretty bedraggled, as did poor old David Edelsten who rashly volunteered to collect finishing disks this season. All will be hoping for better conditions in December. With so many runners and so much rain the club tent was fully utilised and if numbers are maintained, or even increase, the club will have to think about investing in a bigger mobile HQ. Results from Sunday:
U11 Girls: 4 Lucy Vass 4.06, 19 Laura Hobson, 25 Annie Thomas 5.08, 32 Maddy Stevens 5.21, 34 Lauren Smith 5.23.
U11 Boys: 4 George Collings 3.50, 5 Jack Lander 3.53, 9 Cameron Wassell 4.11, 10 Elliot Manners 4.13, 13 Lewis Wassell 4.15, 16 Alex Vass 4.24.
U13/15 Girls: 29 Henrietta Ward (U13) 9.29, 31 Charlotte Sommers (U13) 9.35, 46 Zoe Clark (U13) 11.42. Team 13th.
U15/17 Boys: 35 Dominic Clark (U15) 30.32.
Women: 1 Nikki Slater (Witney) 18.34, 2 Wendy Jones (Cirencester, 1st FV35) 18.58, 3 Jane Wassell (2nd FV35) 20.29, 20 Helen Langsam 23.18, 32 Diane Moore 24.33, 45 Kim Withycombe 25.15, 46 Carol Clarke (1st FV55) 25.17, 50 Corinne Clark 25.30, 80 Paula Vass 28.49, 89 Lorraine Ferris 29.27, 98 Lynn Ferris 30.17. 115 finished.
Teams: Div 1, 1 Cirencester 25pts, 2 Banbury 27pts, 3 Witney 30pts, 4= Headington & White Horse 35pts (8 teams in division). Div 2, 1 Oxford City 56pts, 2 Eynsham 106pts, Radley 110pts, 4 Cirencester 'B' 123pts, 16 Cirencester 'C' 219 pts. 32 teams closed in.
Men: 1 Richard Bromley (Headington) 32.26, 4 Pancho Gonzalez-Diaz (Cirencester) 32.56, 5 Chris Illman (1st U20) 33.21, 19 Joe Barrowclough 35.29, 24 Paul Barlow 35.48, 28 Justin Nicholls 36.39, 60 Bill Leggate 38.14, 68 Martin Pitts 38.38, 77 Kevin Ferris 39.05, 81 Adam Harborow 39.16, 89 Mark Gluning 39.40, 105 Nathan Barrowclough 40.26, 115 Bob Ferris 41.04, 121 Jon Young 41.38, 128 Chris Brough 42.02, 131 Dorian Matts 42.31, 134 Colin Tapley 42.35, 139 Pete Langsam 42.52, 140 Tim Willson 42.54, 145 Steven Elverd 43.18, 152 Chris Sherrington 43.35, 160 Ian Fletcher 43.58, 164 Colin O'Hare 44.16, 175 Will Moffatt 44.53, 188 Chris Riches 46.08, 202 Dick Waldron 47.40, 231 Mike Thomas 61.31. 231 finished.
Teams: Div 1, 1 Headington 154pts, 2 Woodstock 165pts, 3 Cirencester 208pts, 4 Witney 212pts, 5 Abingdon 219 pts (8 teams in division). Div 3, 1 Witney 'B' 669pts, 2 Abingdon 'B' 688pts, 3 Cirencester 'B' 714pts, 5 Cirencester 'C' 1,026pts, 17 Cirencester 'D' 1,492pts.
Rumours of the demise of the excellent league website have been, thankfully, greatly exaggerated. Thus full results can be found on www.geocities.com/oxmailxc
The next race is on 4 December at Enslow Quarry, Bletchingdon. Described thus on Woodstock Harriers' website: "not a course for the faint hearted, several severe hills; an open field area; a knee deep marsh section." This clearly isn't a course to miss, so be there! The club has started the season in fine style; the important thing now is to build on the momentum created at Ascott. As usual there will be a group meeting at the leisure centre at 9:30 . If going direct it is pretty easy to find although, like Ascott, it is in a field in the middle of nowhere thus making it slightly difficult to pin point on a map. From Cirencester head for the centre of Witney via Burford, then follow the A4095 towards Woodstock . Go straight across the roundabout dissecting the A44 at Woodstock . At the next main junction turn left onto the A4260, then immediately right back onto the A4095! This road soon merges right onto the B4027. The road drops downhill and then back up past the Rock of Gibraltar pub and the field for parking, for which there will be a £1 charge, will be found on the right. As usual ladies start at 11:10 and men at 11:40 . If there early remember to cheer the Cirencester girls and boys in the junior races.
The remaining fixtures are as follows:
1 January 2006 at Lambourn (all new year celebrations should be deferred by 24 hours)
5 February at Cirencester Park
5 March at Drayton School , Banbury
OTHER CROSS COUNTRY RESULTS & FIXTURES
15 October, Gloucestershire XC League, Blackbridge, Gloucester . A trio of Wassells competed for the club in the first league fixture of the season. Cameron (aged 8) and Lewis (10) ran their first ever XC races then "a very nervous and relieved mum" finished well up near the front of the field as usual.
U11 Boys: 1 J Wilson (Westbury) 7.22, 11 Cameron Wassell 8.03, 12 Lewis Wassell 8.03. 43 finished.
Women: 1 Rachel Felton ( Severn ) 20.36, 5 Jane Wassell (Cirencester, 1st FV35) 21.29. 73 finished.
30 October, British Milers Club 4k Women's Classic, Bristol . A good workout for Wendy Jones, in advance of the home countries international in Dublin , against some top class opposition.
1 Kate Reed (Bristol & West) 13.14
4 Wendy Jones (Cirencester, 2nd FV35) 14.20
Fixtures (all Saturdays):
19 November Gloucester League, Dursley
10 December Gloucester League, Leamington
8 January 2006 Gloucestershire County XC Championships, venue to be confirmed
21 January 2006 Gloucester League, Forest of Dean
SOCIAL
Per social sec Jenny Hill: "The club's Christmas party and annual prize giving will be held on Friday 9th December at the Corinium Court Hotel, Gloucester St. Cirencester. It is not a date to be missed, even for those, like me, who haven't won anything! The evening usually starts with drinks (if you're there on time), a three course meal (veggie available) and coffee. We then have the prize giving, possibly a raffle, and then it's all downhill from there; generally involving copious amounts of alcohol, lots of jigging, dancing, swaying, singing, and falling down or chatting in the bar (for non party animals and oldies!)." Price has been pegged at £25 thanks to the generosity of the committee who have decided to subsidise the evening. Not much time to book so see Jenny as soon as possible for more details; she is usually at the club on Tuesday evenings or can be contacted at home on 01285 653733.
MISCELLANY
. a fascinating article furnished by a member who is so bashful that he/she doesn't want his/her name published (any guesses? There are plenty of clues. Answers on a postcard please) : "Whilst most club runners were marshalling or competing in the Cirencester 10k last weekend one club member went AWOL and escaped to the Forest of Dean and entered a Canicross event. Now global warming has reduced the availability of snow for husky sled racing, the next best thing is to attach oneself to one's pack and run behind. Being generous folk they opened up the entry to non-husky competitors and the full range of the canine world assembled at Beechenhurst Enclosure. A harness on your hound and a waist belt on the runner are joined by an elastic lead (bungee rope) and that is all that is needed. One minute intervals between each competitor (six legs dog plus runner or 10 legs two dogs plus runner) and a typical 5km multi terrain course and away you go. The Siberian huskies took off like sprinters and pulled their runners round whilst the 'others' ran on a loose lead. This was reflected in the finishing times but in all cases the runner was the limiting factor in the placings. Now dogs are not that clever at using the pre-race toilet facilities and being 'responsible' dog owners we had to start with pooh bags in our pockets. If on the course our hounds had a 'Radcliffe moment' we had to collect the necessary and hand it in to the next marshall . So..... next time you are marshalling at the Oxford league cross country and one of the runners slows up as they approach you .... The range of dogs mirrors the members of our club: the huskies, say Wendy or Pancho, a Great Dane our erudite treasurer, the poodles those vocal ladies at the back and a very sedate Staffordshire bull terrier probably me. Placings wise, my little black rat (Polly the Patterdale terrier) and I came in 4th in class but would probably have won overall on a handicap system reflecting dog's leg length. We came home with a huge goody bag full of dog biscuits which my children assured me tasted 'just like energy bars'." (ed: name of author supplied)
. Ian Fletcher & Chris Riches recently competed in the two day Karrimor Intl Mountain Marathon near Ullswater in the Lake District . Herewith Chris' comments on a wild weekend: " If there are two people involved in an event then there are always two sides to the story. The KIMM is no exception and so here's my version!
It's often the case that, in such an event, one person carries more weight or responsibility than the other. This was no exception. Ian is about half a stone heavier than me and he also had the tent and the stove on top of everything else we had to take. He did all the map reading (and brilliantly, it pains me to say, never making one error) whereas without my glasses I couldn't even see the numbers on the compass! So, you can see the contribution I was to make from early on!
The journey in the car to The Lakes was a slow one. It took us six and half hours to get to Pooley Bridge at Ullswater. Once at the camp site Ian put up the tent and I watched. Then it was off to a big marquee to eat as much as possible and have a few beers! It was a wild and windy night (and that was only from the stirrings in the sleeping bag next to me) but that was only the starter of what was to come. In the early morning the sirens were going and we looked to see a young lady being carted off in an ambulance having cooked her breakfast, her tent and herself but we think the burns were only superficial.
Ian and I arrived at the start line with a minute to spare. Once having looked at the map we agreed a route which took us a long way out but kept us to tracks as much as possible. It didn't include scoring many points but seemed a better option to ensure we got to the overnight camp in time. When the fog cleared the views were fantastic. The winds were in excess of 70+mph on the peaks and the rain was intermittent and mostly horizontal but it was fun! We made good progress throughout the day and covered 30k in about five and half hours. A few steep ascents towards the end of the day resulted in us being over-time and therefore losing our hard-earned points but we got there... along with, what seemed like, half of Ian's army friends. So, after hob-nobbing with Colonels, Generals and the like we got down to the business of a good night's sleep. Ian put up the survival tent and I watched, once again. Then, after our army rations, it was bed by 6.30pm ! On open moorland the wind and the rain just kept going all night and the tent was half round our ears by morning. The noise was deafening all night (13 hours in a tent where you can't move, even with a mate, is an ordeal for anyone). Ian took down the tent and, you've guessed it, I watched and then it was breakfast and off. After a 40 minute walk to the start line and with the Day 2 map in hand we went off hoping to score a few points. Agreeing a route and sticking to it rather than deviating along the way worked well. We took a more direct route this time as we had only four hours. We decided crossing marsh and bogs and rivers was a much better option than too many 'up and overs'. With the hail full in the face we came off the last hill having taken our highest score from this one particular check-point and then made our way to the finish. We were in time by 45 minutes over the two days so didn't get any penalty points on the Sunday. We covered about 42k over the two days (ed: 42k in two days, is that a marathon PB for you, Chris? ). To our surprise, after we crossed the line, we were ushered over for a full kit check. Had we not taken everything required then we would have been disqualified. We finished, we weren't last and there's already been some talk about 'next year'!
Get your entry in early for 2006! If it's not me, I reckon Pancho would probably enjoy the experience. I think he's into this orienteering and mountain-goat behaviour. I'm more the partially-sighted donkey! " Ian remarked: "Chris pulled it out of the bag, apart from wanting to stop and talk to every team (female, less one Scotsman) we passed, he was the perfect mountain buddy."
. there has been a very welcome large influx of new members in recent months. To ensure that information is getting through, a reminder of the club's main training sessions: on Tuesdays the club meet at 6.30pm at Cirencester leisure centre. All are encouraged to retire to the centre bar after the session as a way of networking and generally discussing the issues of the club. This is particularly worthwhile in winter as it is difficult to socialise when running in the dark! The club also meet at 9.30 on Sunday mornings when no major races are on (keep an eye on the newsletter) for a run in Cirencester Park over varying distances - there is always someone to run with. There is also a swimming session at the leisure centre at 6pm on Sundays for which a small charge is levied.
. Pancho has unearthed a website able to store club photographs without having to overburden the club's own website. Important & historical photos will still be incorporated into the latter. Log on to www.snapfish.co.uk then enter the e-mail address as cirenac@hotmail.com and the password cirenac . This will take you into the club's own archive. Click on go to photos for a complete listing of current availability. A number of races in 2005 are featured as well as Stroud 2004 and last year's Christmas party (the sensible ones at least!). Hopefully this site can be developed over time; it will be interesting to get members feedback.
. to finish, an interesting little teaser. Many members think of Bourton Road Runners as the club's nearest neighbour (apart, of course, from Tetbury Royals). A surf of a running website has revealed a different and quite interesting answer. Answers please by the next newsletter of (a) the nearest club to Cirencester AC and (b) the position of Bourton on the list!
David Wright wrights@tesco.net |
