HEADLINES

•  Carol Clarke not only broke the club FV55 ½ Marathon record at Leeds but also ran faster than the current FV50 and FV45 records.

•  Wendy Jones moved up into real national standard racing with a fine run in the BUPA Great Edinburgh 10k

•  Just when this newsletter looked to be back to more manageable proportions, the editor returned from a well earned short break in France (and long family wedding celebration: they know how to make a wedding last over there!), to find a hatful of varied and interesting articles waiting in the inbox, all of which are, of course, featured below. So, sorry but here goes …

ROAD / MULTI-TERRAIN RESULTS

7 May, BUPA Great Edinburgh 10k. In dreadful wet conditions Wendy Jones lined up against a top class elite international field for this race through the centre of Edinburgh , a course which included some brutal climbs as evidenced in the Channel 5 TV coverage of the event. Despite some 7,000 runners taking part overall, Jones set off against just 18 others in advance of the mass start and had, as a consequence, to battle the elements virtually alone as the runners rapidly spread out. As well as the Scot just ahead of her, she was headed by New York Marathon winner & Boston Marathon runner-up, Jelena Prokopcuka, plus athletes from Hungary , Kenya , Ireland , Russia and Portugal . Amongst the athletes she beat was Hatti Dean, the winner of the Inter Counties national cross country championships in March. Here is her report of the weekend:

“My races over the past few months have been very successful with many PBs and one of my most recent ones, the BUPA Great Edinburgh 10km was a real breakthrough and the highlight of my year to date. I was invited to run in the elite race by race organiser Mathew Turnbull, who paid for my flight and hotel.

The Jones family has quite a lot of relatives living near Edinburgh , so it was decided that we would make it a family weekend away. Myself, Justin, Poppy, Granny Jones and Grampy Titch all arrived at Bristol airport a little stressed due to Grampy's snail-pace driving, arriving at check-in just in the nick of time.

Turnbull met me at the airport and gave me my race pack, which included race and hotel instructions, meal vouchers, chip timing and number. If there is one thing I got out of the weekend it's that one should always carefully read the race pack instructions – which I failed to do. Therefore, I misused my meal tickets. Instead of eating with the rest of the elite athletes from the specially arranged buffet menu, Justin and myself tucked into a tasty, expensive meal in the main hotel restaurant. Never mind I'll get it right next time!

The night before the race didn't go quite as planned, as we were rudely awoken at midnight by the fire alarm! The hotel was quickly evacuated and there were lots of tired, sad looking people standing outside in the drizzle for nearly an hour.

On race morning a coach took the elite runners to the start and we were all given passes to access the elite marquee and toilets. I was quite glad of this as the rain was pouring down and so we were able to relax in comfort. Whilst in the tent I had a look at the start list, which consisted of 10 foreign and several British internationals, who had either been to the World Cross or Commonwealth Games and I thought I'd struggle to make the top 15.

Ten minutes before the gun we were led to the start and after a few strides I lined up not really knowing what to expect. The gun fired and within a few metres I found myself in 7th position, running with Hayley Haining (Scottish 2:34 marathon runner). After 2km Haining opened up a small gap and I stayed in 8th place for the remainder of the race. The course and conditions were tough! It poured with rain and there lots of hills in the second half – one hill lasted 1km!

I went through 5km in 16:35 (PB!) and then the hills really kicked in. It was a lonely and isolated run as the field got really spread out. Feeling strong at 9km I was able to pick up the pace and push for home, not once looking behind. I sprinted down the long finishing straight chasing Haining and heard over the loud speaker that I was 2nd British finisher. I crossed the line in 34:36 with a huge smile on my face plus $400 richer!

After the race I warmed down and chatted to 3rd place finisher Catherine Mutwa, who I'd previously met at the Reading ½ Marathon and who said I'd be welcome any time to train with her in Kenya – I like the sound of that!”

To view some excellent photos of Wendy's performance in the murky Edinburgh conditions see www.marathon-photos.com find the race and type in bib no. 64.

1 Jelena Prokopcuka ( Latvia ) 32.25

7 Hayley Haining (Glasgow, 1st Briton) 34.13

8 Wendy Jones (Cirencester, 1st FV35, 2nd Briton) 34.36

7 May, Leeds ½ Marathon . Carol Clarke writes about her fantastic race: “As I looked out of my bedroom window on the morning of the race I was pleased to see that the skies were leaden and overcast threatening rain; a welcome change from the previous week's temps of 20º+. This was to be my 6th Leeds half and I had looked up my previous best time - 2003's 1:43:08 . Could I get near this?

For the first time ‘start-pens' were used for runners likely to run 75 and 85 minutes. Needless to say I didn't put myself in a pen!! However, knowing that the beginning of the race is down a rather narrow street, I made my move early and found a place just behind the start pens. The Lord Mayor sent us on our way along with Coronation St. personality, Jack P Shepherd. Who? They certainly know how to set the stage ‘Up North'.

The course heads north out of the City Centre, up a series of Pennine hills for the first 7/8 miles and, what goes up must come down, so thankfully there is downhill stretch of approx 400 metres just before the half way mark - followed by another hill! The race eventually turns to travel back in from the north-west along a relatively flat road. Crowd support was tremendous and there was a terrific atmosphere; the marshals did a wonderful job. Although the course is predominantly on main roads it is so well marshalled that traffic is usually not a problem. My only complaint, a policeman asked us to slow around the 10½ mile mark to allow a double decker bus to cross our paths, saying ‘it will only take five secs'. Doesn't the man realise that 5 secs can make or break a finish time when you are feeling a wee bit tired!

Quotes: the winner, Simon Tonui said he was pleased to win ‘..but it was a hard course with tough hills!'. Joyce Candi (Kenyan) - winning lady (1.18.41) and winner of the Belfast Marathon on the previous Monday: ‘It was a very hilly course here, so it was not easy!'. Carol Clarke - winner of a £20 voucher for 2nd Female Vet 55 and 499th overall from some 3,600: ‘I'm knackered!'

The hills are always tough, but so am I. After all, I used to live in a shoe box up on top of t' Pennines . Eee, we were lucky in them days! The last three miles were hard, but when I turned into the finishing straight and realised I was in with a chance of being inside 1:40 , the legs went into overdrive and carried me across the finishing line with seconds to spare. To say I am chuffed with my time would be an understatement. A big thank you to all my running mates on Sundays and Thursdays for helping me to my personal best!”

1 Simon Tonui ( Kenya ) 1.03.47

499 Carol Clarke (Cirencester, 29th lady / 2nd FV55) 1.39.53 – club FV55 record. 2,908 finished.

7 May, Tewkesbury ½ Marathon .

1 Dennis Walmsley (Bourton) 1.14.43

56 Adrian Williams (Cirencester) 1.27.29

226 Andrew Bradley 1.41.54. 729 finished.

7 May, Anna Marie Island Run 5k, Tampa Bay , Florida , USA . David Edelsten's regular pot hunting visit to Florida was his most successful yet. As well as winning a medal & certificate and finishing second V60 – one of the younger age categories in Florida it appears! – Edelsten won the post race raffle consisting of a marble-top side table valued at $500!

1 Chris Raye 17.29

42 David Edelsten (Cirencester, 2nd V60) 25.37. 135 finished.

18 May, White Horse 5k, Sandhurst , Gloucester . Club championship event. A fine personal best for Paul Barlow, another stunning sprint finish by Bill Leggate (cheesed off ed: see Highworth ‘5' in last newsletter) and an almighty thunderstorm coinciding with the finish, were the highlights of this poorly attended club championship event. In particular it was a shame to see no lady runners.

1 Tim Dalton ( Severn ) 15.19

15 Paul Barlow (Cirencester) 16.51

24 Bill Leggate 17.25

26 David Wright (2nd V45) 17.31 – club V45 record

27 Adrian Williams 17.34

60 Steve Elverd 19.50

95 David Edelsten 25.34. 99 finished.

21 May, Oxford Town & Gown 10k. Typical of the summer to date: more heavy rain, another club record for Wendy Jones and the newsletter editor beaten by a Leggate! In teeming rain Jones had a battle with top runner Nikki Slater before pulling away in the second half for an ultimately comfortable victory, in an amazing 9th place overall out of 3,000 runners, a new club record and her first time under 34 minutes (although see comment below), thus banishing the baggage that comes with owning a PB set on Bourton's “fast” course! Ellen Leggate's rare but always welcome outing for the club showed that she has regained most of the fitness lost through having a baby a mere six months earlier, whilst Jane Wassell's consistent run gave the club three ladies in the top six and utter dominance, which, of course, Oxfordshire is used to from the cross country season! Sadly there were no team prizes but a good write-up ensued in Athletics Weekly. Wassell will have been surprised to see that AW categorised her as a FV40 – whilst it is not considered de rigeur to discuss ladies ages, there is no doubt that she would be happy to hold onto the FV35 age group at least until the end of May when she officially moves up! She will have to wait until the Fairford 10k before attacking the club FV40 records. More annoyingly for all, in particular Jones & Leggate, the official times given were three or four seconds slower than personal watches and the race clock situated adjacent to the finish. Leggate's husband Dan, who viewed the finish, attested that the club's top two ladies finished in 33.58 & 35.57 respectively.

1 Jonathan Blackledge ( Oxford Uni) 31.41

9 Wendy Jones (Cirencester, 1st lady/FV35) 34.00 - club FV35 & absolute ladies record

23 Ellen Leggate (3rd lady) 36.00

29 Paul Barlow 36.27

46 David Wright (1st V45) 37.22

61 Jane Wassell (6th lady/ 2nd FV35) 38.22

791 Kim Withycombe 48.53. 2,846 finished, www.oxfordtownandgown.org

30 May, Bridge Inn 5k, Shortwood, nr Bristol . Wendy Jones shaved another few seconds off her course & club record on this excellent midweek out and back course.

1 Gary Hughes (City of Bath ) 16.15

5 Wendy Jones (Cirencester, 1st lady/FV35) 16.36 – course, club FV35 & absolute ladies record

4 June, Fairford 10k. Club championship event. A good turnout, both in running and officiating terms, on the usual hot day at Fairford. As well as the runners shown, David Edelsten, Tony Curry, Colin O'Hare & Tim Willson worked on the finish funnel and there were some family connections as Fairford's town crier Maurice Jones helped start the race along with Tony Kingston's wife, who also dished out the prizes. With three in eight Cirencester were the recipients of the team prize, despite a 30 year age gap between the youngest & oldest members of the trio! See photos soon on club snapfish website.

1 Dan Duke ( Cheltenham ) 33.39

4 Chris Illman (Cirencester) 35.28

6 Paul Barlow 36.36

8 David Wright (2nd V40) 37.02

16 Bill Leggate 38.20

36 Jane Wassell (4th lady, 2nd FV35) 41.05 – club FV40 record

40 Robbie Brown 41.31

69 Steve Elverd 44.15

70 Kveta Kroulikova 44.15

61 Will Moffatt 43.10

80 Leon Horton 44.50

81 Chris Sherrington 44.56

86 Tony Kingston 45.16

92 Andrew Bradley 45.34

94 Dick Waldron 45.38

102 Carol Clarke 46.18

105 Alistair McKeeman 46.38

125 Sue McKeeman 47.59

168 Corinne Clark 49.58

210 Sue Brown 52.10

226 Ken McAnespie 53.20

238 Jane Nielson 54.06. 410 finished.

Results of the 3k fun run will hopefully follow in the next newsletter.

4 June, Blackpool Marathon . Liza Darroch has sent through this prompt report on yesterday's race: “Well the good news is we finished, the bad news is it took us 4.25. So NINE minutes outside the London "Fast for Age" place. It was hot and pretty hard going but a stunning location at times running along the main front of Blackpool past the Roller coasters, bingo games and hung over Stag party groups and at others low down on the sea walk with views of sandy beaches, blue sea and distant lake district fells. The organisation was not the best - the start was delayed for 30 minutes while they waited for the water to arrive (!) but the marshalls and their children were doing their best. The day I booked it - way back in Feb - I always KNEW it would be the hottest day of the year - and it was. The sun kept coming out from behind the clouds to burn down on us. Where possible, the wise crept along the small sliver of shade created by the sea wall. I would like to say it was just the heat that led to the great slow down but I fear it is age - time to stop pretending and grow old gracefully. But could I use the time for the over 60's "Fast of Age" in 18 months time…?”

1 Nicky McGuiness 2.29.52

430 Liza Darroch (Cirencester) 4.25.26

431 Rupert Chesmore 4.25.26. 627 finished

FORTHCOMING ROAD & MULTI-TERRAIN RACES & CONTACT DETAILS:

Races are on Sundays unless stated. Assuming a noticeboard will eventually materialise at the new leisure centre, entry forms for these races will appear thereon. Otherwise access details via website details given or look out for flyers being distributed on Tuesday nights.

7 June (Wednesday), Cleeve Cloud Cuckoo 5 mile, Cleeve Common, Cheltenham at 19:30 www.cheltenhamharriers.co.uk

10 June (Sat), Broad Town ‘5' miles, nr Wootton Bassett at 14:30 . Good old fashioned race centred around village school fete. Just turn up and enter on the day – a great way to avoid watching England 's first match in the World Cup!.

15 June (Thu), White Horse 5k, Sandhurst , Gloucester at 19:45 . Enter on the day, details on www.severnac.co.uk This race forms the second of four 5k races at The White Horse (formerly The Globe Inn), just off the Gloucester ring road, forming a summer series (the others being on 20 July & 17 August).

24 June (Sat), Bourton ½ Marathon at 18:00 . Hilly but scenic route. www.bourtonroadrunners.co.uk

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

5 July (Wed), Barbury Castle Track ‘n' Trail 5 at 19:30 . Off-roader recommended by Keith Firkin. www.grassrootsevents.co.uk

6 July (Thu), Aerospace ‘5', Cheltenham at 19:30 . www.cheltenhamharriers.co.uk

10 July (Mon), Frampton-on-Severn 10k at 19:30 . Club championship event. Very popular evening race despite nearly always coinciding with a heatwave. One lap course starting & finishing on the magnificent Frampton village green and hugging the banks of the River Severn. Barbeque and drinks adjoining local sailing lake afterwards. Not to be missed. Like a lot of races this year no late entries will be accepted. Entries close on 30 June www.stroudathleticclub.org.uk

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

23 July, Gloucester ½ Marathon at 10:30 . www.gloucesterac.co.uk

RANKINGS

Wendy Jones' overall ladies record of 34:00 set at Oxford and Jane Wassell's 41.05 FV40 record (set a few days after her birthday) are the only changes to the 10k rankings ahead of the next Club Championship race at Frampton from those published in the last newsletter.

2006 CLUB ROAD RACE CHAMPIONSHIP

Newly married Paul Barlow has taken the lead in the men's race whilst Steve Elverd is quietly climbing the rankings by picking up good points on a regular basis. Scores to date, after five races and marathons run so far (including yesterday's at Blackpool ):

Men: P Barlow 80pts , P Gonzalez-Diaz 70pts, C Illman 53pts, S Elverd & D Wright 46pts, B Leggate 39pts, A Harborow 36pts, D Cook 30pts, J Young 29pts, T Kingston 27pts, A Williams 21pts, I Pople 17pts, D Edelsten 16pts, T Ranger 13pts, N Dunnage & K McAnespie 12pts, D Atkinson, C Sherrington & R Brown 11pts, C Goldie & M Gluning 10pts, J Fallon, W Moffatt & R Chesmore 9pts, F Robson, B Ferris & L Horton 8pts, C Brough & C Tapley 7pts, D Matts & D Waldron 6pts, A Bradley 5pts, A Fraser & A McKeeman 3pts, P Moran & G Clarke 1pt.

Women: Corinne Clark 58pts, J Wassell 43pts, T Compton 38pts, W Jones 37pts, Carol Clarke 36pts, K Kroulikova 35pts, S McKeeman 33pts, K Withycombe 29pts, E Wilson 28pts, S Brown 21pts, J Manners 19pts, C Pearson 13pts, F Collings & L Darroch 12pts, Y Binks 11pts, J Nielson 9pts, L Ferris 8pts.

The rest of the championship fixtures (in addition to Frampton shown in fixtures above) are as follows:

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

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

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

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

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

TRIATHLON

Some early season results have begun to percolate through.

1 May, Springfield Triathlon (400m swim, 20k bike, 5k run)

1 Gordon Croucher (Total Fitness) (5.21, 35.13, 18.54) 59.28

123 Elaine Wilson (Cirencester, 2nd FV45) (7.07, 47.43, 27.32) 1.22.22. 243 finished.

Mark Evans reports that he “ has been flying the flag for Cirencester AC” in two events:

3 May, Manic Midweek Duathlon, Castle Combe (3k bike, 15k run, 3k bike)

88 Mark Evans (Cirencester) 56.12. 148 finished.

14 May, Stratford Triathlon (400m, 23k, 5k)

131 Mark Evans (Cirencester) 1.13.12. 593 finished.

21 May, Blenheim Triathlon (750m, 19.8k, 5.4k). Times plus transitions.

1 Richard Evans (11.23, 27.17, 21.32) 1.05.11

35 Niel Dunnage (Cirencester) (12.58, 34.14, 23.27) 1.16.08

68 Pancho Gonzalez-Diaz (14.57, 36.50, 20.46) 1.18.06

123 Bob Ferris (14.11, 36.17, 24.28) 1.20.49. www.theblenheimtriathlon.com

29 May, Glos tri (400m, 18k, 5k). A second fine bank holiday performance of the month from Elaine Wilson, who reports: “Really pleased about the race (great prizes too so will do this one again). May must be my lucky month – I'm really pleased to have won my age group here as well as at Springfield earlier in the month. Must say how well I thought Bill Leggate & Ben Cox did in their first triathlons and how good a prospect Corinne Clark is.”

1 Gordon Croucher (Total Fitness) (5.07, 31.54, 16.17) 53.18

20 Martin Pitts (Cirencester, 5th V40) (5.57, 34.10, 18.10) 58.17

65 Bill Leggate (7.52, 39.22, 17.22) 1.04.36

78 Ben Cox (2nd youth) (6.27, 40.25, 19.41) 1.06.33

83 Corinne Clark (6.16, 39.18, 21.12) 1.06.46

88 Elaine Wilson (1st FV35) (6.30, 38.35, 22.19) 1.07.24

171 Sandra Elphick (6.49, 48.01, 24.07) 1.18.57. 207 finished. Full results on www.triteamglos.co.uk

Summer fixtures as follows:

Castle Combe mid week duathlon series Wed evening May – Sept. www.bathamphibians.co.uk

11 June Wantage, 800m swim, 35k bike, 12k run, www.soll-leisure.co.uk

18 June Marlborough 400m – 20 miles – 5miles, www.conceptsports.co.uk

9 July Hereford 400m – 16k – 5k www.herefordtriathlonclubco.uk

16 July Bath sprint 750m – 20k – 5k www.bathamphibians.co.uk ( Bath hold an Olympic distance on the same day, pool swim.)

6 August Worcester sprint tel- 01905 840082.

27 August Malmesbury 400m – 22k – 5k www.nwll.co.uk

3 September Faringdon 800m – 50k – 8k www.soll-leisure.co.uk

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

OTHER EVENTS

21 May, Liza Darroch, who put a great deal of effort into this enterprise writes about:

“Marshalling the Race for Life 5k, Kemble Airport .

They had to be runners – who else would turn up, early, in the POURING rain cheerful, smiling and prepared to stand on a bleak airfield for two hours? Actually three out of the 15 marshals the Club were asked to provide were friends of mine, but everyone, including Linda's Jim as a late stand-in did an excellent job.

The police failed to show so the traffic queued back to the main road, the rain fell, the radios didn't work (because of the rain?? please! no wonder we only pick on dry countries to fight wars!) and “still they came”. Somewhere between 1,500 and 2,000 women did the 5km circuit. It was a moving sight – they ran, they walked, they were pushed in wheelchairs. As sweeper I came in last (in 1hr 28m) with a woman who was halfway through her chemotherapy and another using a Zimmer frame!

The Race for Life has introduced hundred of thousands of women to running, many of whom have kept on going. A big thank you from them as well as from myself and the event organisers.

Carole, Cathie (and sister Steph), Clare, Corrine, Dick, Jenny, Linda (and Jim), Rupert and Sandra - you did the Club proud.”

Rupert Chesmore provides this typically insightful view of another mad cap event which took place on a mountian in France sometime in May:

“The annual outing for the Club's mentally deranged took him to the South of France , based on Mount Ventoux . This was the 'hill' that caused the death of English cyclist Tommy Simpson in the 60's as he led the Tour de France in a drug induced effort to the top. What a sensible place for another ultra mountain marathon? Le Grande Raide literally means 'the Big Steep' but I missed this in the translation on the entry form back in February.

The start was based in Gigondas, the second best wine growing area in France and as the winner got his weight in local booze I thought that at 110 bottles I might have made a dent in the local economy … some chance! Liza (Darroch) and I recceed some of the route the day before and naively thought that 'it would be alright'. Within an hour of the 4.30am start I reconsidered my views very rapidly. The easy bits turned out to be very uneven with hardly 50 yards without a change in terrain, direction or elevation. It was just not possible to get into a mile-consuming ultra jog. When I failed to keep up my concentration I fell headlong down a bank and got bloodied knees for my pains. Finally we got to the base of the 'big hill'. Most sane organisers plot a route straight up but not these Gallic B******d's. We went straight up certainly, but up a rocky stone-cluttered gulley for a hour or so before a 2km drop down at an angle before going up another. Not many races could have included sections so narrow that the 60' cliffs either side were so close I had to turn sideways to get through. Some four hours later I emerged above the tree line, saw the huge radio mast on the summit, and then endured a long slog across the white stoned top of Mt Ventoux to where Liza and her student friend Jules (now a local inhabitant) were waiting for me. That was only 40km but with a cold wind and patches of snow I did not hang around before the painful descent to Brantes. You could see this picturesque village from the top but it seemed to take an age to zig-zag down the scree and into the trees. Even there the beech wood shaded tracks held nasties, leaf covered rocks sharp enough to hurt my feet particularly my heels. The short race 'Le Raide' finished in Brantes where a vocal local with a loudspeaker encouraged all the runners as they climbed back off the valley floor to the next halt. Being the only Brit I apparently got extra encouragement. A tin of rice pudding (and a nose bleed) later I was off again across another series of ridges before dropping into a valley with steep cliffs and more narrow steep paths. The easy descents where I thought I could make up time and conserve energy turned out to be the opposite. Very stoney with loose rocks and my multi terrain shoes were found wanting, something more solid would have been more suitable as two matching blood blisters up my heels were to show. The kit requirements were also demanding with more water and food than normal events and an 'aspi-venim', a syringe-like sucker for extracting snake serum. The weather went from both extremes, steady drizzle to baking strong sunshine in a matter of minutes and the added weight of my rucksack rubbed me raw when I did not keep my shirt dry enough. The 80km check point included a bicycle led procession to the town hall where I ground to a halt. Despite a massage I decided not to continue and a doctor also stopped me when he saw the state of my by now raw sores. I had only 20km to go and eight hours to do it in but the thought of stumbling along in the dark with a head torch looking out for more rocks and stones and marker tapes every couple of hundred yards was not that tempting. But hey, my type of running leaves me to fight another day so let's see where next year's jaunt takes me. Did some one say Africa ? 'Le Grande Raide' has another slang meaning which was only mentioned during the last week. 'The Big Stiff' as in dead bodies......”

Be assured that when Rupert attempts his next venture, the newsletter will, figuratively speaking, be there with him and every painful step will be faithfully recorded for all to savour in this column.

MISCELLANY

… London Marathon postscript: Fred Robson finished 7th V75.

… Congratulations to Paul Barlow and Mika Hasegawa who were married on 25 May.

… Yvonne Binks has asked that the following message be conveyed : “I would like to thank everyone who so generously sponsored me to run The London Marathon - a cheque for £1,242.43 was presented to The Park Surgery who will buy a syringe driver and a pulse oximeter. Another cheque for
£1,670 was presented to The Sobell House Hospice Charity.”

… Club member Nathan Barrowclough once again won the famous woolsack race at Tetbury.

David Wright: wrights@tesco.net or 01285 641224