CIRENCESTER A.C. Newsletter no. 56

16 July 2008


HEADLINES


ROAD, MULTI TERRAIN, TRACK RESULTS

22 May, Malmesbury 5k. This result has just come to light.

1 Alex Fisher (Swindon Harriers) 16.46

6 Keith Firkin (Cirencester) 19.09

13 Nicola Denning (3rd lady) 21.29

14 Rebecca Oates 22.23. 26 finished. www.dcleisurecentres.co.uk

9 June, Westonbirt Arboretum Trails 10k.

14 year old club member Ray Murphy was inadvertently missed from last month’s printed results in the newsletter. He finished a very creditable 65th in 43.32. Full results are now on the club’s website and can also be viewed with photographs for most runners on www.shootingpixels.net

24 June, Bridge Inn 5km, Shortwood, nr Bristol.

1 Craig Peters (Bristol & West) 15.07

5 Adrian Williams (Cirencester) 16.38

16 Jane Wassell (2nd lady / 1st FV35) 18.23. 73 finished. www.bristolandwestac.org.uk

28 June, Bourton Hilly ½ Marathon. With this run Tony Shelbourn now holds all existing club V60 records. Will he run a 20 miler or marathon now to set inaugural records at those distances? He has written about his experience for both this newsletter and for his old club in Toledo:

“Back in 2002 I was the slower half of a two man team running the Toledo, Ohio Marathon. Jim Sperling, my Michigan team mate, finished the first 13 miles in under 1:29:00 and I made up the difference to our combined marathon time of 3:04. It was difficult to compete and judge pace as all the runners were “jumbled up” with numerous two and five person relays. My running mantra is, “Flat and short is good” and I look back on that half marathon, when I blew up at eleven miles, with no pleasure; so why was I here psyching myself up to do a notoriously hilly half marathon?

Necessity is one of the answers as I need to run eight of twelve races in the Gloucestershire Series to be in with a chance of a decent final score, and the Hilly half is one of the series. Equally, I’m not getting any younger and notice, particularly in the USA, that there seems to be a migration of older runners from the short races to the longer endurance events. Maybe I will be better at the longer distances.

We’d gathered for the start at the edge of the picturesque village and I had my tubes of “goop” tucked in my shorts pocket and I was raring to go but at the last moment realised that I had left my watch on top of the car: this race had just become more of a challenge. The starter of the race, Norm Lane of Bourton, is a great character and his advice to all was, “If you want to have a good time take the first hill very gently!” This hill is named “The Steeps” and in an area that is predominantly inclines this name was ominous. The first mile, including a flat first quarter, took over eight and a half minutes, and still we slogged up but, to quote Sir Winston Churchill, we did ultimately “emerge into broad sunlit uplands,” and a glorious 19C (66F) sunny summer evening.

The Cotswolds rolled away ahead of us, the fields of pristine wheat bowing before the gentle breezes. As we ran across the rolling hills I was surprised that I could chat to Mark Gluning, a Cirencester team-mate and other runners. Usually when I do five or ten k’s every gasp of air is precious and cannot be wasted on words. The second unexpected pleasure was having the time to admire the countryside and it was glorious. The third surprise was to feel that I was running comfortably within my abilities and could manage, if I knew what I was doing, to get a little more pace out of the ageing carcass.

These musings were rudely interrupted by a sign after about eight miles which said: “Last main climb-Take a deep breath.” We had just run down a few friendly inclines (can one run down an incline?) in to Great Barrington to be faced by this climb, the second real challenge of the race, a two and a half mile effort with no respite. At the top of this interminable slog was a drinks station and on wobbly legs runners grabbed water and sponges. Most folks squeezed the sponge over their head but I had had trouble with the tubes of “goop” and was liberally smeared with a glutinous sugary gel. I used my sponge to clean up a bit as I was at severe risk of various limbs sticking together.

I was, I confess, beginning to flag over the last mile but plodded home 40th (I was beaten by a 60 plus and a 65 plus) and then team mates Mark Gluning in a dogged 1:32:48, Rupert Chesmore in 1:51:40 (this was a drastically short race for Rupert) and Renata Sharp in a very commendable 1:55:56, with 277 runners finishing. As the half marathon B team on the night we were all pleased with our performances but did give some thought to the A squad out in Italy who would be starting the Rome Half Marathon about an hour after we had finished ours.

Reflecting on the event it was good to do something different again, to get out of one’s comfort zone. It’s motivating to be part of a team and great to be part of a club that takes an interest in everyone’s results. (The folks in Rome went into the internet after their race to see what we had managed back home!). Most enlightening was to see the Bourton club members enjoying their running and marshalling evening as a social event. That same team spirit is building in the Cirencester Club and it all helps to bring through the younger runners and improve results. We have increasing talent in both width and depth and there is no doubt that we will see our club become ever more successful.”

1 Gary Payne (George Elliot Striders) 1.15.46

40 Tony Shelbourn (Cirencester, 2nd V60) 1.31.54 – club V60 record

43 Mark Gluning 1.32.48

152 Rupert Chesmore 1.51.40

172 Renata Sharp 1.55.56. 274 finished. www.bourtonroadrunners.co.uk

28/29 June, Rome ½ Marathon, Italy. The editor writes:

“Having found an interesting looking race to coincide with going out to Rome to visit my daughter Natalie – studying out there as part of her degree – and to bring back one of her many suitcases, I managed to cajole some unsuspecting clubmates to join me. A few e-mails later and an elite entry with all the trimmings (4* hotel etc) had been negotiated for Wendy as well as a free entry for “the very promising” Chris. With team doctor Bill, coach/agent Wrighty and local interpreter Natalie,Team Cirencester were well set up for the weekend. Natalie also recruited some university friends to take time out from the beach studying to help out and support. The only shame was that the club’s ace team manager Justin Nicholls was unable to complete the set-up as he had to stay behind to look after daughter Poppy after she broke her leg.

When we reached Rome airport Wendy was whisked away by two tough looking characters with not a word of English between them, whilst the boys had to slum it on the metro to a city centre B&B. Having been told that she was staying at a hotel in Rome’s equivalent of London’s Park Lane, Wendy was aghast when the silent Mafioso turned down a rural track some way short of the city centre. Her worst fears were somewhat allayed when a fine looking country hotel appeared at the end of the lane, although a bit of warning of the venue change would have alleviated her short term fears.

Rome in June is hot and the day of the race dawned cloudless with searing heat in the high 30’s. Not a day to be running a ½ marathon. This was truly The Longest Day with the race not starting until 11 o’clock – that’s pm not am! Staying out of the sun, managing food & fluid intake correctly and generally conditioning your body for such a late race start was so difficult. The atmosphere at the start was electrifying but also still very hot, sweat was pouring from the body even before any thoughts of a warm up to wake the legs up and some strides to stretch them. Eventually the start gun went off and 3,000 runners sped into the night. The course was marked throughout by lighted candles lining both sides of the road every few metres, this was particularly memorable as we wound our way through the undulating Villa Borghese (Rome’s main park). With all the pent up adrenalin from such a long build-up to the race, there was always a danger of going off too fast like a cork out of a bottle; that’s exactly what happened to the English contingent. We had also been lured by the darkness and relative drop in temperature to think that fast times were still possible, particularly so for Wendy & Chris who both had desires on getting a slice of the generous prize money on offer to top 10 finishers. The tough hills and high humidity put paid to any thoughts on fast times, the humidity in particular draining all fluids away irrespective of how much was replaced at the numerous drinks stations. Even the second placed finisher, a 62 minute Kenyan who lost out in a sprint finish, said afterwards that the heat & humidity were too much for him.

Chris ran competitively despite having to stop on one occasion. In a class field he just missed out on the prizes but will have gained invaluable experience for the future. Although finishing a creditable fourth – the three runners ahead all being Beijing bound for next month’s Olympics – Wendy ran her slowest time for quite a while as she too suffered from stomach cramps throughout the race. The whole experience of racing through Rome in the middle of the night was quite surreal, not least for Bill who at about the 16km mark, one hour into the race, was able to celebrate his 32nd birthday! Natalie and friends sang Happy Birthday to him as he strode past them. I was astonished to find out the next day that I was top V50. Having started too fast, I had been able to age runners as they went past me and quite a few looked a great deal older than me: grey, bald, haggard and wrinkled skin, must be all that hot sun.

The next day a weary trek through the wonders of the eternal city and the Vatican, including a 500 step climb to the top of St Peter’s basilica, in continued scorching temperatures, thankfully interspersed with beer & ice-cream breaks, concluded a wonderful weekend.”

1 Vasil Matviuchuk (Ukraine) 1.06.44

15 Chris Illman (Cirencester) 1.14.41

28 Wendy Nicholls (4th lady / 1st FV35) 1.20.20

43 Bill Leggate 1.23.17

48 David Wright (1st V50) 1.24.09. 2,596 finished. www.romamezzamaratona.it

29 June, Humber Bridge ½ Marathon. The club’s most prolific half marathon racer gives his thoughts on this race: “if you have ever thought that bridges are flat then all I can say is run across one!! That was the reason for my participation in the Humber Bridge ½ marathon - I wanted a race that was a bit different and unique. I had read the reports on the web about the various hills throughout the course so knew what I was letting myself in for. But as I stood on the start line I was amazed at the amount of people willing to take on this challenge. All of a sudden the claxon went and we were off. There was no “seeding” of runners into times so I found myself running a slightly slower pace than usual, which didn’t turn out to be so bad since the first hill was encountered in the first mile. The start of the bridge was at about 2.5 miles so was still fresh enough to enjoy the amazing views as I crossed the Humber. Thankfully the weather was kind, little wind and slightly overcast although the sun was starting to creep through the clouds. As we made our way off the bridge we then had the task of running up the slip road and onto some back roads. It’s not until you run up these man made objects that you realise how steep these things actually are!! All was going well but the challenge that was called “cardiac” hill was still to come. And as I turned the corner at about 8 miles there it was. One mile of hill with runners struggling up it as far as the eye could see. And then, just when you thought it was over, you turned the corner to be confronted with the magnificent view of the bridge again. And boy did it look high this time. The road up to it seemed to go on forever and it wasn’t until you reached the crown of the bridge about half a mile from the end did the slope recede. It was a very enjoyable race with encouragement from marshals and supporters at every turn. In short a fabulous and unique race that despite it being the hardest half marathon that I have run, I would still do again – although perhaps not for a few years!!”

1 Darren Bilton (Leeds City) 1.08.31

137 Martin Croucher (Cirencester) 1.35.07. 1,445 finished. www.humber-half.org.uk

3 July, Aerospace 5m, Bishops Cleeve. Another good turnout for a midweek race. Best result for the club clearly being Yvonne Binks winning her age group and breaking her own club record in the process.

1 Jeremy Bradley (Cheltenham) 26.42

19 Stephen Elverd (Cirencester) 31.07

30 Daniel King 32.50

33 Mark Langman 33.07

47 Trudy Compton (2nd FV35) 34.16

51 Bryan Reid 34.33

57 Alice Thomas 35.37

61 Jane Thomas 36.05

83 Dick Waldron 38.56

106 Yvonne Binks (1st FV55) 43.03 – club FV60 record

108 Barbara Thomas 44.24

111 David Edelsten 44.59. 117 finished. www.cheltenhamharriers.co.uk

9 July, Chippenham 5km m/t River Run. Unfortunately Rebecca Oates was taken ill during the race but struggled on to the finish.

1 Tom Fisher (unattached) 16.37

14 Adam Harborow (Cirencester) 18.38

57 Alice Thomas (1st FU20) 21.53

146 Barbara Thomas 27.10

219 Rebecca Oates 36.56. 231 finished. www.chippenhamharriers.co.uk

12 July, Pilot Inn 10m, Hardwicke, nr Gloucester. This old fashioned Saturday afternoon race over a classic race distance, albeit on a very tough course, incorporated the County 10 mile Championship and Cirencester’s two participants both took home gold medals along with the customary Severn AC chocolate biscuits. Wendy Nicholls’ time constitutes the fastest 10 miler by any female athlete in the country this year. For all rankings, including age groups, see www.athleticsdata.com

1 Gary Hope (Severn) 54.50

3 Wendy Nicholls (Cirencester, 1st lady/FV35) 57.45 – course record, absolute ladies club record

7 David Wright (1st V50) 1.00.48 – club V50 record. 33 finished. www.severnac.co.uk

14 July, Frampton-on-Severn 10k. Club Championship race. July’s awful weather almost added Frampton to its casualty list along with the Fairford Air Tattoo. The fields planned for use as car parks were waterlogged but the organisers managed to find another friendly farmer at the other end of the village thus allowing the race to go ahead. In a close finish to the race Marc Fallows finished fourth, a mere 19 seconds behind the race winner. The season long battle between Cirencester & Bourton for team spoils went to the blue & reds this time despite Bill Leggate finishing as third Cirencester scorer in 10th. Our two clubs are definitely dominating proceedings this summer. Trudy Compton was first lady home for the club and without doubt had the run of the day, scoring four bonus points for her fastest time in the last two years, the only athlete to gain more than one point.

1 Steven McGuigan (Bristol & West) 33.19

4 Marc Fallows (Cirencester) 33.38

8 Adrian Williams 33.59

10 Bill Leggate 34.18

23 David Wright 36.25

54 Stephen Elverd 38.27

55 Tony Shelbourn (1st V60) 38.42 – club V60 record

66 Martin Croucher 39.49

85 Mark Langman 40.50

98 Bryan Reid 41.43

106 Trudy Compton 41.59

116 Dorian Matts 42.30

142 Bob Ferris 44.04

149 Alice Thomas 44.27

173 Jane Thomas 46.04

215 Dick Waldron 48.01

216 Chris Riches 48.03

306 Jane Stevens 52.59

332 Yvonne Binks 54.36

345 Michael Thomas 55.29

349 Barbara Thomas 55.35

372 David Edelsten 57.16. 474 finished.

Teams (3 to score): 1 Bourton 15pts, 2 Cirencester 22pts. www.stroudac.org.uk


ROAD / MULTI-TERRAIN FIXTURES (Sunday unless stated)

Severn AC promotions can be entered on the day of the race, most others need to be entered in advance.

17 July (Thu), White Horse 5k at 19:45. www.severnac.co.uk

19 July (Sat), Bourton 1m at 18:00. Club Championship race. Entries accepted on the night. Course is straight, flat mile finishing in centre of village where great atmosphere if good weather. www.bourtonroadrunners.co.uk

19 July, Devil’s Chimney Chase, “almost” 10k m/t, Leckhampton at 18:00. www.almostathletes.org.uk

24 July (Thu), Malmesbury 5k. Club Championship race. Entries taken on the night for a very low key race. Promise of beer and chips at Chez Riches afterwards should ensure a good turnout. www.dcleisurecentres.co.uk

27 July, Gloucester ½ Marathon, Newent at 10:30. £100 to leading man and woman. www.gloucesterac.co.uk

6 August (Wed), Bugatti 10k, nr Winchcombe. This is a very popular race, probably because of the free beer, burgers and t-shirt for all finishers. Entries close on 20 July if race not already full. www.cheltenhamharriers.co.uk

17 August, Standish Woodland 10m m/t nr Stroud at 11:00. A well established race run on hilly woodland trails following part of the Cotswold Way. www.stroudac.org.uk

21 August (Thu), White Horse 5k at 19:45. www.severnac.co.uk

24 August, Vale of Pewsey ½ Marathon at 10:30. www.pewseyvalerunningclub.com

7 September, Beacon 10k, Haresfield, nr Gloucester at 10:30. www.angelsrunningclub.co.uk

14 September, Chippenham ½ Marathon. This is a new race and is being promoted this year as part of Chippenham Harriers 25th anniversary celebrations. www.chippenhamharriers.co.uk

28 September, Cirencester Park 10k at 10:30. This is the last of this year’s club race promotions. As ever members are encouraged to run but will also be asked to help out as well by race organiser David Edelsten. www.cirencester-ac.org.uk


ROAD RACE CHAMPIONSHIP 2008

No change at the top this month but with two more club races coming up in the next week, there could yet be much movement in the championship. Unofficial scores after six events plus London, Paris, Shakespeare & Prague Marathons:

Men

Adrian Williams (incl. 31 bonus points) 144pts, Bill Leggate (15) 104, Adam Harborow (18) 100, Chris Illman (9) 89, David Wright (7) 88, Martin Croucher (8) 83, Stephen Elverd (8) 81, Marc Fallows (10) 68, Jon Young (10) 60, Paul Barlow (8) 58, Tony Shelbourn (2) 55, Dick Waldron (1) 47, Bryan Reid 39, Ian Pople (10) 38, Mark Langman (1) 34, Darren Dent (8) 27, Bob Ferris 24, Robbie Brown (5) 22, Dorian Matts & David Edelsten (8) 21, Andy Bradley & Terry Ranger 18, Wallace Ascham & Joe Barrowclough 17, Alastair McKeeman & Keith Firkin (2) 16, James Burgess (8) 15, David Freer 14, Chris Brough, Chris Goldie & Jim Fallon (8) 13, Rupert Chesmore 12, Mark Gluning 11, Chris Good 10, Tim Willson 9, Justin Davies & Chris Riches 8, Michael Thomas 7, Ken McAnespie 4, Chris Berry 2, Brian Barrowclough 1.

Women

Yvonne Binks 99pts, Alice Thomas (14) 85, Trudy Compton (7) 80, Jane Wassell 77, Jane Stevens (7) 74, Wendy Nicholls (2) 62, Christina See (3) & Jane Thomas (8) 59, Barbara Thomas 54, Carol Clarke (3) 49, Jenny Manners (8) 43, Sarah Cooper (5) 38, Lynn Ferris (1) 27, Sue Brown 24, Amanda Pizzey 21, Nicola Denning 20, Sophie Edelsten 19, Renata Sharp 17, Jessica Nethercott 16, Sue McKeeman 14, Rhiannon Brown 12, Ruth Fulford & Avril Haseler 10, Rachel Jones 9.

Next fixtures:

19 July (Sat), Bourton 1m (details above).

24 July (Thu), Malmesbury 5k (details above).

14 September, Witney 10m www.witneyroadrunners.org.uk

12 October, Chichester 10k. Contact Adrian Williams if interested in staying in a pub the night before the race. www.chichester10krace.org.uk

26 October, Stroud ½ Marathon www.stroudac.org.uk

In addition, times recorded at any marathon between the dates of February 24 and October 26 will score points in the same format as the races above i.e. as though all competed in one race. The Chichester race, which should be entered early as it’s very popular, has been inserted as a suggested idea for a club trip away for the weekend (see miscellany below). Of the 13 races, including marathon, best eight scores to count. 20 points will be awarded to the first Cirencester finisher in each race down to one point for the 20th and any subsequent finishers. Male & female championships will be scored separately. Bonus points will be awarded for any personal bests achieved against times published in the newsletter for 2006 and 2007. One bonus point will be awarded for every 15 seconds improvement up to a maximum of two minutes (8pts) for races of up to & including 10k and three minutes (12pts) for longer races. If no qualifying times have been recorded in the last two years, the first run in a championship race in 2008 will form the benchmark for any subsequent bonus points. To qualify for points, runners must be fully paid-up members, be entered under Cirencester AC and be wearing a club vest.

CHARITY EVENT

Another date for the diary is Tony Curry's cancer charity run in Cirencester Park on 7 September. This will comprise a five mile run through the park and is expected to be a large event with many attractions for participants and visitors: BBQ, hog roast, show stands, spot prizes etc. Tony has attracted some major sponsorship for this event which supports two charities very close to him, diabetes and prostate cancer. The run is being professionally organised by an outside agency but Tony will be looking for as many people in the club as possible to be part of the day. For more information speak to Tony or look up www.cirencestercharityrun.com.


TRIATHLON RESULTS

22 June, Marlborough Fast Twitch Triathlon (400m pool swim, 32k bike, 8k run).

1 Peter Younghusband (Tri UK) (5.45, 49.57, 29.55) 1.25.37

100 Terry Ranger (Cirencester) (7.11, 1.07.41, 38.35) 1.53.27. 207 finished. www.conceptsport.co.uk

22 June, Worcester Spring Double Sprint Triathlon (1500 open water swim, 50k bike, 10k run).

1 James Ratcliffe (Blackcountry Triathletes) (22.51, 1.30.25, 40.14) 2.34.29

16 Bob Ferris (Cirencester) (30.55, 1.51.43, 51.21) 3.16.14

36 Dave Edwards (44.32, 1.51.05, 1.01.06) 3.38.33

39 Trudy Compton (33.18, 2.10.35, 50.58) 3.41.35. 48 finished. www.worcestertriclub.co.uk

22 June, Worcester Spring Sprint Triathlon (750 open water swim, 25k bike, 5k run).

1 David Garner (BRAT Club) (12.56, 46.50, 19.27) 1.20.27

92 Diane Moore (Cirencester) (18.42, 1.00.52, 26.58) 1.48.49. 159 finished. www.worcestertriclub.co.uk

25 June, Waterland Aquathlon, Keynes Country Park (750m swim, 5k run).

1 Andrew Shipton (Stroud AC) (11.21, 16.16) 27.37

16 Bob Ferris (Cirencester) (13.41, 19.43) 33.24

21 Kim Withycombe (13.48, 20.56) 34.44. 45 finished.

6 July, Cow Man ½ Ironman, Emberton nr Milton Keynes (1.9k swim, 92k bike, 21k run). Fresh from a 50 mile bike time trial personal best of 1.54.31 the previous Saturday, Niel Dunnage used his cycling strength to break five hours for this tough event which was undertaken in foul wet weather. His bike time was 10th overall. Just got to work on that running now Niel (121st overall)!

1 Toby Jameson (Total Fitness Bath) (28.39, 2.22.28, 1.12.24) 4.05.40

33 Niel Dunnage (Cirencester) (32.05, 2.33.37, 1.45.33) 4.54.19. 289 finished. www.big-cow.com

12 July, Upton Triathlon (1500 river swim, 40k bike, 10k run). Bob Ferris revisited the scene of his bike crash in 2007, which resulted in some broken ribs. Thankfully he survived intact this year despite heavy rain. As is becoming the norm in July, the fast flowing river was again swollen to high levels, resulting in swimming’s equivalent of a downhill or wind assisted effort.

1 Andrew Shipton (15.10, 1.05.24, 39.19) 1.59.53

46 Bob Ferris (Cirencester) (17.49, 1.15.32, 46.03) 2.19.24. 158 finished. www.uptontriathlon.com

13 July. The Forestman Ironman, Fordingbridge (3.8k swim, 180k bike, 42.2k run). Although not competing for Cirencester, Martin Pitts won his age category at this gruelling event.

1 Peter Gowans (1.14.31, 5.39.54, 4.05.42) 11.01.40

8 Martin Pitts (1st V50) (1.24.13, 6.07.24, 4.28.25) 12.03.06. 69 finished. www.racenewforest.co.uk


TRIATHLON FIXTURES

9 August, London – 1500 swim open water – 40k bike – 10k run www.thelondontriathlon.com

7 September, Cotswold Sprint tri open water – 400 or 750 swim – 20k bike 2.5 or 5k run. www.triferris.com

21 September, Highworth – 400m pool swim – 20k bike – 5k run. e-mail tadpoletoys@aol.com

For mountain bike fans you may wish to try the Xtreme Terrain Festival on 29 September in Camberley, Surrey. Off road tri and duathlons plus 10k trail runs www.allabouttriathlons.co.uk

For local duathlons checkout www.bathamphibians.co.uk


SUBSCRIPTIONS

Subscriptions became due on 1 July. New membership secretary Clare Blampied has sent out renewal reminders to all members. Fees have not changed this year and are £20 for individuals, £30 for family and £15 for junior members. Cheques should be made payable to Cirencester AC and be sent to Clare at 29 The Green, Quenington, Glos. GL7 5BS.


MISCELLANY

… England Athletics is producing a regular web based bulletin called Setting the Pace, keeping in touch with all the latest developments relating to coaching, racing, major events in the sport. More details from www.englandathletics.org

… on a similar vein, UK Athletics has launched a new free publication called Spikes in conjunction with the IAAF and this covers the broader spectrum of the sport. See www.ukathletics.net or www.spikesmag.com


More information and news, including past newsletters, can be found on the club’s website www.cirencester-ac.org.uk


David Wright wrights@tesco.net 01285 641224 / 07816 664549