HEADLINES

Happy New Year to everyone. With this issue the newsletter has come of age, as does the club in 2006. Yes it is 21 years since Cirencester AC was formed and it has come a long way in that time. May we celebrate in style!

Many congratulations to Ellen and Dan Leggate on the birth of Jennifer (7lb 7oz) on 13 December. Mother & daughter are apparently very well as are father Dan, grandfather Colin O'Hare and Uncle Bill Leggate.

As to the field of play so to speak, the only meaningful competition occurred yesterday, New Year's day, in the Oxford League. As a result of some good competition the ladies A & B teams improved their position by one place to second in their respective tables. Can the final push be made to the top spot after the Cirencester & Banbury fixtures? The men maintained fifth spot but are capable of moving up the table. A big effort will be needed from everybody for the last two fixtures.

OXFORD LEAGUE

1 January at Lambourn. The day and year started particularly inauspiciously when, in the absence of chief tent erector Colin O'Hare on grandfather duties, the rest of the crew, led by Uncle Bill Leggate, snapped one of the stanchions on the tent rendering it useless. Thankfully the weather was kind as early morning cloud lifted to reveal a pleasant sunny morning. The club did really well to turn out 23 senior runners on the first day of the year; it has to be said that some were clearly in better condition than others, with certain unnamed individuals hiding behind illnesses rather than admitting to having had one too many the previous night!

As to the racing, Wendy Jones once again led the way with another truly dominant performance. Even though she was out of sight of the chasers, she managed a storming sprint on the downhill finish (possibly as a result of one club wag shouting "they're closing on you, Wendy"!), matched only by Adam Harborow's later in the day. Jane Wassell, having witnessed her two sons running well earlier in the day (thus necessitating an earlier start on 1 January than most), had one of her best runs and bravely held off some fast finishing opposition for a really well merited second place. League leaders White Horse Harriers packed their three scorers into the top ten so it was a question of how Cirencester's third scorer could do to limit the damage. Helen Langsam improved on her previous result and has thus given the club a chance to close the gap at the home fixture in February. White Horse lead but only by nine points. Of the other runners the most noteworthy was that of Carol Clarke finishing 27th. Clearly her regular long Sunday morning training runs with the club are really paying off.

Despite the absence of the club captain on holiday in Uruguay , there were hopes of a strong turnout for the men. It didn't quite materialise but by closing in the seven scorers in the first 64 an excellent result was achieved. Surprisingly, given the date, the standard of the field was clearly the best yet for the season - runners are clearly all oddballs! Chris Illman, down from University and determined to defend his U20 championship, ran strongly to just miss out on a top 10 finish. Both Justin Nicholls and second claimer Andy Bickerstaff stayed off the pop on New Year's Eve and perhaps wished they hadn't as both would have hoped for slightly better results. Keith Firkin on the other hand - as was very evident watching him warm-up - had enjoyed himself overnight and actually ran pretty well having been out of the country for most of the previous two months. Tim Willson just needs to make a new year's resolution!

U11 Girls: 6 Lucy Vass 5.17, 10 Lauren Eales 5.48, 18 Jenny Eales 6.04, 36 Laura Hobson 6.09.

U11 Boys: 5 Lewis Wassell 5.06, 8 Cameron Wassell 5.22, 12 Alex Vass 5.48.

U13/15 Girls: 20 Charlotte Somers (U13) 12.05.

U15/17 Boys: 17 Dominic Clark (U15) 24.39.

Women: 1 Wendy Jones (Cirencester, 1st FV35) 16.52, 2 Jane Wassell (2nd FV35) 17.57, 18 Helen Langsam 20.22, 27 Carol Clarke (2nd FV55) 21.16, 36 Kim Withycombe 22.19, 40 Sue Brown 22.44, 43 Kveta Kroulikova 22.57, 55 Paula Vass 24.07. 86 finished.

Teams: Div One, 1 White Horse 18pts, 2 Cirencester 21pts. Div Two, 1 Oxford City 45pts, 4 Cirencester 'B' 105pts, 11 Cirencester 'C' 185 pts.

Team scores after three races: Div One. 1 White Horse 67pts, 2 Cirencester 76pts. Div Two. 1. Oxford City 223pts, 2 Cirencester 'B' 330pts, 14 Cirencester 'C' 596pts.

Men: 1 Tom Penfold (White Horse) 28.18, 11 Chris Illman (Cirencester, 1st U20) 30.46, 30 Justin Nicholls 32.59, 37 Andy Bickerstaff 33.38, 51 David Wright 34.29, 55 Paul Barlow 34.45, 61 Keith Firkin 35.19, 64 Bill Leggate 35.26, 77 Adam Harborow 36.09, 90 Mark Gluning 36.42, 94 Duncan Atkinson 37.04, 106 Bob Ferris 37.56, 128 Will Moffatt 39.45, 130 Pete Langsam 39.48, 147 Tony Curry (2nd V60) 42.11, 166 Tim Willson 44.35. 179 finished.

Teams: Div One, 1 Headington 75pts, 5 Cirencester 309pts. Div Three, 1 Banbury 599pts, 5 Cirencester 'B' 768pts.

Team scores after three races: Div One, 1 Headington 308pts, 2 Abingdon 665pts, 3 Witney 714pts, 4 Woodstock 875pts, 5 Cirencester 907pts. Div Three, 1 Abingdon 'B' 1,920pts, 4 Cirencester 'B' 2,411pts.

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

The next race is on 5 February in Cirencester Park so no directions necessary other than to state that the races start and finish up near the polo fields and vehicle access is via the entrance to the park on the A419 Stroud road. As with the other league races, parking costs £1. It is nice to note that on Woodstock Harriers' website it states that the Cirencester course is ". a favourite of many. Wooded & grassy areas with one or two sharp inclines and one short, sharp steep section. In wet weather can become extremely boggy." Hosting an Oxford League is a major exercise for the club so, although all who want to run are encouraged to do so, help with marshalling and car parking duties will be greatly appreciated.

The final fixture is on 5 March at Drayton School , Banbury.

RANKINGS

After three rounds of the Oxford League there has been a major change in the winter rankings. Taking advantage of Pancho's trip home to Uruguay , JUSTIN NICHOLLS has taken over the men's lead and will be extremely hard to beat with only two races left. Will it be double top from the couple at the end of Totterdown Lane in Fairford?! Current scores (based on club finishing positions: men 25pts down to one, women 15 points down to one):

Men: J Nicholls 69, B Leggate 60, P Gonzalez-Diaz 50, C Illman 49, B Ferris 47, D Wright 45, P Barlow 43, K Ferris 40, M Pitts 39, D Atkinson & A Harborow 35, M Gluning 33, C Brough & D Matts 28, C Tapley & T Curry 24, J Barrowclough & A Bickerstaff 23, P Langsam 22, S Elverd & K Firkin 20, C O'Hare & T Willson 19, W Moffatt 17, N Barrowclough 15, J Young 13, D Waldron 12, M Thomas 11, C Sherrington 6, I Fletcher 5, C Riches 2.

Women: W Jones 45, J Wassell 42, K Withycombe 33, Carol Clarke 32, H Langsam 26, D Moore 24, Corrine Clark 18, P Vass 16, Lorraine Ferris 15, J Manners 13, S Brown 10, K Kroulikova 9, Lynn Ferris 6.

OTHER CROSS COUNTRY RESULTS & FIXTURES

Fixtures (all Saturdays):

14 January 2006 , Gloucestershire County XC Championships, Plock Court , Gloucester . Ladies 6k at 14:05, men 10k at 14:30 . Flat grassland course (multiple laps).

21 January, Gloucester League, Forest of Dean .

28 January, Midland XC Championships, Leamington

25 February, National XC Championships, Parliament Hill, London .

ROAD & MULTI-TERRAIN RESULTS

27 December, Pilot Inn'4', Gloucester . Despite bitterly cold conditions Wendy Jones managed a sprint finish to beat Caroline Kloiber (winner of the Fairford 10k) from the all conquering Bristol & West club, to win the ladies section in a good time and with only three men ahead of her. Justin Nicholls also excelled himself with eighth overall thus making the prize list (chocolate fingers!) for the first time in his career. Both will therefore go into 2006 full of confidence.

4 Wendy Jones (1st lady / FV35) 22.24, 8 Justin Nicholls 23.18.

FORTHCOMING ROAD / MULTI-TERRAIN RACES & CONTACT DETAILS:

8 January, Gloucester '10', Anchor Inn, Epney at 10:30 . See www.gloucesterac.co.uk

15 January, Highworth Team ½ Marathon at 11:00 . This is an invitational event so no entry fee is payable. The emphasis is on the team with scoring unusually five a side to include at least one lady. This is set up perfectly for Cirencester and as a consequence the club has picked up the team award on many occasions. It is also a very low key event which welcomes up to 12 runners from each club. Less than 100 run in total on a tough course but everyone seems to enjoy the event. With club captain Pancho away on holiday David Wright will co-ordinate matters so contact him if wanting to run. Otherwise turn up at Highworth Leisure Centre for an alternative to Sunday morning in Cirencester Park .

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.c o .uk

26 February, Bourton-on-the-Water 10k at 10:30 . For many this is the highlight of the road racing year. This will be the first race of the club's 2006 road race championship. Despite the time of year the course is fast and lots of personal bests are achieved. It is therefore always a very popular race with entries closing a few weeks before the event. It would be good to see a massive club entry for this race. Don't delay, enter now!! Entry forms at the club or from www.bourtonroadrunners.co.uk

19 March, Forest of Dean Trails ½ Marathon at 10:00 . Some way off but another very popular race so worth entering early, albeit at the exorbitant cost of £11. 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

2006 CLUB ROAD RACE CHAMPIONSHIP

David Edelsten has drawn up a provisional calendar of races forming the 2006 club championship. There are some changes from previous years, both in choice of races and rules. Any feedback will always be appreciated, either by David or the newsletter editor. Provisional races and dates:

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

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

April (date to be confirmed), 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 16, Bourton 1 mile (yes, one mile) * www.bourtonroadrunners.co.uk

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

September 10, Beacon 10k, nr Cheltenham * 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. Bonus points will be awarded for any personal bests achieved at 10k against times published in the newsletter for 2004 and 2005.

Races marked with * form part of the Gloucestershire County Road Race Series for 2006. Other races in this series, but not included in the club championship: January 8, Gloucester '10' (see fixtures above); March, Gloucester '20'; May 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

LONDON MARATHON

The ballot for the three marathon places allocated to the club has been won by Kim Withycombe, Corinne Clark and Stephen Elverd. Good luck to all three on 23 April.

JUNIORS

Paula Vass reports on success for the club juniors in the ever more popular junior sportshall events:

"Cirencester AC is currently lying 2nd in the county U11/U13 Sportshall athletics league. The boy's team have been first in both competitions so far, and the girls 2nd and 4th. We are currently ranking higher than the big clubs Cheltenham and Gloucester , the Forest of Dean being the only club to beat us so far. This is a really encouraging result, particularly as we have a much higher proportion of U11's in our teams compared to the other clubs. As a result four girls and six boys have been selected to represent Gloucestershire in the South West region inter-county competitions being held in the new year.

Outstanding performances came from Charlotte Somers, Ben Chadwick and Chris Cooper in all the jumping events ( Charlotte jumped an amazing 53cm in the vertical jump). Dan Warriner equalled first place in the one lap race with Connor Teague from Bourton (this makes Dan the fastest U11 in the county for the second consecutive year as Connor is an U13). George Collings and Jack Landor, also both U11's, won the 2x2 lap race. The final league competition is on February 10th."

SOCIAL

A full house of 50+ members and partners attended the club's annual Christmas and annual awards party at the Corinium Hotel in Cirencester on 9 December. Thanks to Jenny Hill's meticulous organisation the evening went without a hitch with the consumption of fine food and drink in very convivial company. The star of the post meal disco was without doubt Kveta Kroulikova whose gyrations would have graced Strictly Come Dancing!

The major prize winners for the year were presented with their awards and are listed below:

Male cross country champion: Pancho Gonzalez-Dias. Runner-up: Chris Illman

Female cross country champion: Wendy Jones. Runner-up: Jane Wassell

Male road race champion: Pancho Gonzalez-Dias. Runner-up: Paul Barlow

Female road race champion: Wendy Jones. Runner-up: Jane Wassell

Athlete of the year: Paul Barlow - for those who were at the dinner and were understandably puzzled why Paul had won this title: he improved markedly during the year from running 41.18 for 10k in 2004 to 36.17 in 2005 and from 1.35 to 1.21 in the ½ marathon. He also did wonders for Anglo-Japanese relations but that probably had no bearing on his winning the award!

Club member of the year: Paula Vass for her work with the junior section of the club.

Triathlete of the year: Wendy Jones

Veteran of the year: 75 year old Fred Robson

Team of the year: the ladies that successfully retained the Oxford League XC title, namely Wendy Jones, Helen Langsam, Ellen Leggate, Diane Moore, Jane Wassell and Elaine Wilson.

'Fell' runner of the year: Sandra Elphick. This was not given for Sandra's prowess on mountainsides. Rather the opposite in fact. She appears to have had great difficulties in mounting kerbs without falling over. In fact the committee had already decided that she was to be the recipient of the award (which entitled her to free use of a zimmer frame for 12 hours) prior to her latest fall, which happened on the Tuesday club run before the dinner. Clearly a well deserved winner.

The Justin Nicholls annual award: Justin Nicholls. This year the award was momentarily renamed Walker of the Year, with Bill Leggate's brave effort after pulling a calf muscle in the Cotswold Way relay and Bob Ferris' stroll in the Toronto Marathon putting the eternal winner under pressure. But the club dinner wouldn't be the same without Justin collecting and this year was no exception as he produced the goods once again following his 5k walk in the Marlborough Triathlon in the summer.

NEW MEMBERS

Welcome this month to Carolyn Pearson and also to 15 year old Jenny Manners who has come through the junior section of the club and performed so well in the Oxford League at Enslow Quarry.

MISCELLANY

. as anticipated in the last newsletter the club website has been expanded: an International Gallery has been added, featuring members who have made it to the highest level of the sport. Ellen Leggate (née O'Hare), who ran for England and Great Britain in 2001 and Wendy Jones, the club's latest international, are featured in their national attire. See home page of www.cirencester-ac.org.uk .

. in Athletics Weekly's annual rankings issue published this week Wendy Jones appears in the national lists twice. She is ranked 18th in the country over 5k (2nd FV35) for her fine run of 16:53 in Gloucester in August and 35th over 10k (4th FV35) following her time of 34:55 at Bourton in February.

David Wright: wrights@tesco.net or 01285 641224