HEADLINES

•  Wendy Jones has been selected to run for Great Britain in the World Road Running Championships in Hungary on 8 October.

•  Another individual win for Cathy Cook .

•  Mike Humphries dips under 10 hours for the gruelling Ironman event.

•  Yet another team victory for the club, this time at the Oldbury ‘10'.

•  Lots of help & support needed for the club's autumn race promotion, the Cirencester Park 10k .

•  Club AGM on Tuesday 12 September.

INTERNATIONAL SELECTION

Wendy Jones has been selected to run for Great Britain in the World Road Running Championships in Debrecen , Hungary on Sunday 8 October. This will be Wendy's first senior GB vest and is the result of some fine performances in the spring and early summer. Since winning a silver medal at the AAA 10,000 track championships she has been struggling with an Achilles injury so has been sweating on whether her performances earlier in the year would be sufficient to gain selection. Today she received the fantastic news from UK Athletics that she has been picked. As she has not raced for a while because of her injury, Wendy has been asked to prove her fitness by racing in the next couple of weeks, before joining Mara Yamauchi (first Briton in the London Marathon & Commonwealth Games 10,000 bronze medallist), Susan Partridge & Natalie Harvey in the team for the 20k race to be held 200km east of Budapest.

ROAD / TRACK / MULTI-TERRAIN RESULTS

2 August, Pewsey ‘5' This was no hollow victory for Cathy Cook; she was in a tough head to head race situation throughout and prevailed with some excellent tactical nous as she describes here:

“It's the first run in ages where I had company all the way round and we really worked off each other which was a great motivator.  She (Helen Fines) was always slightly in front but I kept trying to mark her even though at one point I was beginning to feel tired.  Anyway, the very last mile of the course is the same as the Pewsey 10K but in the other direction so I knew there was a long drag back to the railway bridge before the school.  When the four mile marker went past she started to stretch away and gained about 10 metres on me.  But I didn't panic as I'm fairly strong on hills and decided I would see what was left in the tank for the hill.  As the hill kicked in, I started to dig in and brought down the gap until I was on her shoulder.  There was a slight downhill before a sharp right hander into the school car park.  At this point I thought bloody hell, this is going to come down to a sprint finish and I haven't done one of those for ages!  As we rounded the corner, I kicked and to my relief she couldn't respond.  The best bit of all was that I kicked and actually had something there.  It was fab!  Can't remember enjoying a short distance race more.” On what is quite a tough course, as just described, Colin Tapley was a few seconds slower than at the Highworth ‘5'.

1 Jason Palmer-Myers ( Basingstoke ) 27.47

16 Cathy Cook (Cirencester, 1st lady/FV35) 31.15 – club FV40 record

17 Helen Fines (Bristol & West, 2nd lady) 31.19

55 Colin Tapley (Cirencester) 33.56. 215 finished. www.pewseyvalerunningclub.com

13 August, Standish Woodland m/t ‘10' Good to see Caroline Bolam back after a few months working in Egypt . Shame no-one told her how tough this race is!

1 Vito Graffagnino (u/a) 55.24

73 Caroline Bolam (Cirencester, 9th lady) 1.19.35. 126 finished. www.stroudathleticclub.org.uk

17 August, Malmesbury 5k m/t

1 Keith Tabley (Calne) 17.03

6 Chris Riches (Cirencester) 20.32

7 Tim Willson (Tetbury Royals) 20.34

23 David Edelsten (Cirencester) 25.03. 46 finished. www.nwll.co.uk

23 August, Glos County 10,000m track championships, Blackbridge, Gloucester . Chris Illman viewed a world record as Mike Hager just lapped him on his way to breaking the global V55 mark. Having been isolated in 5th place all race, Chris ran really well to beat his own road best. This should give him confidence to reduce his road times further very soon.

1 Gary Hope ( Severn ) 32:13.4

2 Mike Hager (Tipton) 32:27.7 – World V55 Record

5 Chris Illman (Cirencester, 1st U20) 33:48.6

27 August, Pewsey ½ Marathon

1 Simon Barrett (Serpentine) 1.14.43

33 Keith Firkin (Cirencester) 1.30.00 (or, as reported by Keith, 1.29.60)

226 Peter Moran 1.58.26. 319 finished. www.pewseyvalerunningclub.com

31 August, Motavation ‘4', Oxford

1 Stephen Male ( Oxford City ) 20.53

218 David Edelsten (Cirencester) 36.03. 248 finished. www.kidlingtonrunning.org.uk

3 September, Oldbury 10 mile Club championship event. Theoretically pancake flat courses = super fast times. Oldbury is such a course with not the hint of a hill yet when the elements are factored in things can change! Cirencester produced a strong team for the latest stage in the club road running championship, although once again it was a shame to see just one lady appearing. With four to score in the team race hopes were high, although watching two Bristol & West runners tear off at the start, leaving Cirencester's best, Gonzalez-Diaz & Illman, standing was not a good omen. Despite poor runs/ times by three of the four scorers (only the editor escaped here) on a wild, windy day, which also became very hot after a few weeks of cool temperatures, yet another team victory was secured. It was good to see Sunday morning regular Chris Brough put a number on and start to use all his hard training to good effect. Just behind Brough, Steve Elverd ran his eighth club championship event of the year, the most by any runner. All eight Cirencester runners finished in the first third of the field. This was the club's fourth outright team victory in 2006 to which can be added two second places.

1 John Wills (Bristol & West) 54.35

6 Pancho Gonzalez-Diaz (Cirencester) 59.19

14 Chris Illman 1.01.24

15 David Wright 1.01.27

26 Bill Leggate 1.03.37

74 Jane Wassell (7th lady) 1.09.26 – club FV40 record

103 Andy Bradley 1.12.05

137 Chris Brough 1.15.36

139 Steve Elverd 1.15.42.

Team: 1 Cirencester 61pts. 408 finished. www.thornburyrunningclub.co.uk

FORTHCOMING ROAD & MULTI-TERRAIN RACES AND CONTACT DETAILS:

Races are on Sundays unless stated. A noticeboard has now materialised at the new leisure centre, although tucked so far away that no-one can find it! The committee are looking to move it to a more sensible location. Entry forms for races will eventually appear thereon. Alternatively, access details via websites given or look out for flyers being distributed on Tuesday evenings. A number of people have missed out on races this year by entering late. The sport is as popular as ever at present and race limits are being reached weeks ahead of the event, so be warned and enter races early!

10 September, Beacon 10k, nr Gloucester at 10:30. Club championship event. www.angelsrunningclub.co.uk

14 September (Thu), Malmesbury 5k m/t at 19:00. www.nwll.co.uk

16 September (Sat), Gloucester Autumn ‘5', White Horse, Sandhurst at 18:00 www.severnac.co.uk

17 September, Woodchester Park m/t ‘8', nr Stroud at 10:30 www.stroudathleticclub.org.uk

23 September (Sat), Midland Road Relay Championships, Sutton Park , Birmingham at 12:00 (women) & 13:30 (men). At long last Cirencester's dream ladies team of Cathy Cook, Wendy Jones, Ellen Leggate & Jane Wassell will be combining in the four stage ladies race. As a consequence of the ladies running, and partly to ensure plenty of support for them, the club has also entered a team for the six stage men's relay.

24 September, Cirencester Park 10k at 10:30. The club's autumn race promotion organised by David Edelsten. Entry forms on club website but David will also be looking for helpers to ensure that the event runs smoothly.

26 September (Tue), Bridge Inn 5k, Shortwood, nr Bristol at 19:30 . www.bristolandwestac.org.uk

1 October, Cricklade 10k at 10:30 . Club championship event. Also ½ Marathon www.crickladefunrun.co.uk

15 October, Swindon ½ Marathon at 11:00 . www.swindonhalfmarathon.co.uk

22 October, Stroud ½ Marathon . Club championship event. We are promised a new scenic route this year! This is a big race and entries should be submitted now www.stroudathleticclub.org.uk

2006 CLUB ROAD RACE CHAMPIONSHIP

Only three events remain in the club championship (see fixtures above) plus any marathons of course (a few are known to be doing Dublin in October). Both men's & women's titles are up for grabs, particularly bearing in mind that only eight events count so there will be a concertina effect as the season draws to a close. It has to be said that whilst the men's championship is competitive the women seem to be taking turns to lose their grip on the lead by not racing, so let's see some effort in the final few fixtures. Scores to date, after nine races and marathons run so far:

Men: P Barlow 109pts (7 events) , B Leggate 102pts (7), P Gonzalez-Diaz 100pts (6), D Wright 97pts (7), C Illman 82pts (5), S Elverd 74pts (8), A Bradley 60pts, A Harborow 47pts, A Williams 33pts, D Cook 30pts, J Young & K McAnespie 29pts, T Kingston & I Pople 28pts, L Horton 27pts, D Edelsten 26pts, C Brough 17pts, D Waldron 15pts, T Ranger 13pts, N Dunnage, C Sherrington & J Prout 12pts, D Atkinson & R Brown 11pts, C Goldie & M Gluning 10pts, J Fallon & R Chesmore 9pts, F Robson & B Ferris 8pts, C Tapley, & C Riches 7pts, D Matts 6pts, A McKeeman & C Hook 4pts, A Fraser 3pts, P Moran & G Clarke 1pt.

Women: J Wassell 73pts , K Kroulikova 64pts, Corinne Clark 58pts , T Compton 51pts, W Jones 37pts, Carol Clarke 36pts, S McKeeman 33pts, K Withycombe 29pts, E Wilson 28pts, S Brown 21pts, J Manners 19pts, C Pearson 13pts, F Collings, L Darroch & C Cox 12pts, Y Binks 11pts, J Nielson 9pts, L Ferris 8pts.

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.

TRIATHLON

Results:

26 July, Waterland Aquathlon (swim / run)

1 Chris Rhodes (10.09, 16.24) 26.33

15 Bob Ferris (Cirencester) (13.44, 19.56) 33.40

20 Bill Leggate (18.22, 16.36) 34.58

37 Chloe Cox (18.54, 24.30) 43.24

39 Lynn Ferris (21.00, 24.41) 45.41. 41 finished. www.ukwatersports.co.uk

20 August, Sherborne Ironman (2.4 miles swim, 112 miles bike, 26.2 miles run). Superb performance by Mike Humphries to dip under 10 hours. Herewith Dave Cook's account of this tough event:

“I jumped into the water along with 1,100 other “athletes” at about 05:50 – we had to swim about 200m out to the deep water swim start, the water itself was clean although there was only about one foot water visibility. At the start we had to tread water for what seemed like an age waiting for the start. The hooter sounded and off we went, the 2006 Ironman UK (IM) was underway with, to coin a phrase, a “kick in the face swim”. The swim itself was a two lap affair – this was good because it meant there were only four times when the swimmers converged to a foaming frothy funnel of arms and legs (three turn rounds, and once at the exit). I had a relatively clear swim until 100m from the end when the guy next to me pulled my goggles off … and then my right calf cramped (badly). I finished the swim as pull only (I wasn't able to kick ‘cos my leg hurt too much). The swim “grabbers” were on hand at the exit – I saw a hand and unfortunately nearly pulled the guy in … luckily he was roped on!!! I briefly pretended to be a seal on the bank and then managed to put some weight on my leg and hobble into Transition 1 (I did however manage my fastest ever IM swim split).

Out on the bike the fun started and the day materialised into fantastic “racing” conditions. We hit the first hill out of Sherborne along the A352 to Dorchester . I think there was a south-westerly blowing which again was ideal because the road to Dorchester was relatively fast, there were a few tough climbs and one long one at “Lyons Gate” nothing to break you (at least on the first lap … there were three laps in total). At Dorchester we were directed on to a cycle-path with timing mat, a sharp left and then the long way back to Sherborne where we faced most of the hills, again none of these were overly challenging but they were relentlessly rolling, we were rewarded with a fantastic descent into Glanvilles Wotton (where I seemed to be the only one to make use of excessive speed – oh well yet more points on the license!!!). About ¾ of the loop complete with more rolling hills through narrow country lanes and then the turn-around came at a junction with the A352. The police and marshals were great along this whole course - it was closed roads for the complete circuit and I saw many cars being redirected. T2 came, I had just managed to duck under the six hour mark … my target was to maintain a 140-145 HR and average 19mph – I hit the HR but slipped to 18.75mph (my slowest ever IM bike split).

The run (affectionately known in Iron Man circles as the IM shuffle) came next with the IM team kindly making up the distance by weaving us around the grass before sending us off on the first of two loops around the castle grounds, these again undulated. Problem was the undulations seemed to get bigger on the second lap! I managed a run of sorts up to seven miles then realised my pace had dropped to over 11min/miles – I knew I could walk/run quicker than this (therefore plan B kicked in … minute intervals of walk/run – if I felt good run for 2mins, walk 1min). I exited the castle grounds after 1:45:45 and headed off through the town and onto the out & back loop along the A30 (… and yet more undulations … twice!). After the turn turn-round (mile 21) on my way to the finish I noticed nearly all the competitors coming towards me (and most of those around me) were walking – a sight I had never seen before in my previous IM events. I made my way back to the castle laughing and joking with those around me and to my delight Ollie was waiting for me in the finish chute to cross the line on my shoulders yet again (he wont be doing it next time cos he'll be too old!). I did manage my best ever IM run split.

All in all I thought the event was a great success – the local community had embraced the IM community and lined the route where possible to support the competitors – this was the best support I have ever had in any UK based triathlon. Although I did not achieve the (unrealistic) goals I had set for myself I placed 404/1100+ starters – which is to date my best ever finish (in IM terms, times are irrelevant – it's getting to the finish that makes you an Ironman). From memory I think I remember saying to Cath on the finish (in the infamous, bastardised, words of the then Steve Redgrave) “ if you ever see me on the start of another IM you have permission to shoot me!” Now Bob and I are already talking about the next one (albeit behind Lynn 's back) … but for my part it certainly won't be for a few years!

PS, a huge thank you to Cath and Ollie for supporting me through my long training sessions (including being there as a feed/water station through the hot July weather) and fantastic support on the day.”

1 Frank Heldoorn (48.10, 4.45.31, 2.59.14) 8.36.38

38 Mike Humphries (Cirencester) (48.27, 5.24.35, 3.38.56) 9.57.45

434 Dave Cook (1.01.40, 5.58.53, 4.53.49) 12.05.19. 1,038 finished. www.iron.ironmanuk.com

23 August, Waterland Aquathlon (swim / run). Bill Leggate would like it to be known that his was the fastest run time overall on this monthly evening race at the water park. Given that there were only 17 finishing behind him in the event it seems that he has some work to do on his swimming, particularly as he appears to have been the only competitor with a faster run time than swim time!

1 Chris Stuart (10.03, 16.45) 26.48

9 Cathy Cook (Cirencester (2nd lady, 1st FV35) (12.30, 17.42) 30.12

17 Bob Ferris (13.34, 19.25) 32.59

20 Bill Leggate (17.27, 16.36) 34.03

35 Lynn Ferris (19.26, 24.03) 43.29. 37 finished. www.ukwatersports.co.uk

27 August Malmesbury (400m – 18k – 5k). As well as the names shown below, Malmesbury resident Chris Riches “coached” a number of his fellow Tetbury Royals, known as the Tetbury Tiddlers, to take part in this event, including former Cirencester members Roger Hill, Bob May & Mike Hoskins. By all accounts the coach has now retired from these onerous duties!

1 Gary Hughes (Tri-Team Glos) (5.40, 27.19, 17.46) 50.45

8 Martin Pitts (Cirencester, 1st V45) (6.18, 29.03, 21.10) 56.31

20 Bob Ferris (2nd V50) (7.01, 30.10, 22.29) 59.40

27 Cathy Cook (2nd lady / 1st FV40) (5.54, 33.49, 21.02) 60.45

30 Mark Evans (5.59, 31.19, 24.10) 61.28

84 Chris Riches (7.24, 37.12, 23.57) 68.33. 164 finished. www.nwll.co.uk

3 September Faringdon (800m – 50k – 8k).

1 Chris Birch ( East Street ) (12.54, 1.15.31, 36.30) 2.06.57

11 Martin Pitts (Cirencester) (12.52, 1.27.17, 38.19) 2.21.39. 112 finished. www.soll-leisure.co.uk

Summer fixtures as follows:

10 September Cotswold tri open water, 750m – 20k – 5k or 400m – 20k – 2k www.triferris.com

AGM

The committee has announced that the club's AGM will be held at 8pm in Meeting Room One of the Leisure Centre on Tuesday 12 September. A good attendance will be welcomed as this is the one chance each year for members to have an opportunity to raise any issues with the club committee. The club will buy anyone attending the AGM a drink afterwards at local hostelry Somewhere Else.

CHRISTMAS PARTY

A date for the diary: the club's annual party and awards evening will this year be held on Friday 8 December at the Corinium Court Hotel (same venue as last year). Cost will be £25 per head. Social secretary Wendy Jones will be issuing menus from next Tuesday's AGM. Demand for places, limited to 60, is likely to be high with the increased membership of the last two years. More details to follow.

MISCELLANY

… thanks to the efforts of Tony Curry the club's Tuesday night sessions on the grass track at Deer Park school have been extended throughout August this year despite the school ceasing to mark out the track before the end of term. By clever use of spray paint (allegedly) and cones, members have been able to “enjoy” Bob Ferris' sessions (incl 16 x 400!!) for an extra month for which we are all eternally grateful!

… Liza Darroch leaves these shores for Addis Ababa on 16 September. It is planned to give her a good send off on Tuesday 12 September at regular watering hole Somewhere Else. Unfortunately the committee's announcement of the AGM on the same evening has rather got in the way of this but it will now commence later than planned. All are very welcome that evening and on any other Tuesday to join the regulars chewing the cud over topical issues. Liza's progress in Ethiopia can be monitored on her blog website www.liza2vso.org.uk

… Lynn Ferris advises that the club has a large stock of club long sleeve vests available at the bargain price of £18.

… with the seasons changing, Bob Ferris is hoping to organise club cycle rides (2-3 hours) on the second Saturday of each month at 10:00 commencing in October. The majority choice will dictate whether mountain or road bikes used.

… the club extends best wishes to Tony Curry for a full & speedy recovery from the operation he is undergoing tomorrow (Tuesday).

David Wright: wrights@tesco.net or 01285 641224