HEADLINES

As promised another week, another newsletter. Given proceedings around the country yesterday no apologies are made for this surfeit of information.

Banbury witnessed the finale of the club's best ever season in the Oxford League. The ladies, against all odds, succeeded in winning an unprecedented third title in as many years, whilst the men achieved their best ever position of third. Thus it is fair to say that Cirencester AC has been the most successful club overall in the league this season. Taking into account the size of some of the other clubs, together with the disadvantage of our location outside Oxfordshire, thus necessitating a lot of travel, this really is something special.

Whilst the team were performing in Banbury, Wendy Jones (a vital figure in the Oxford League all season) was finishing a magnificent second in the National Vets Cross Country Championships in Bournemouth . Full coverage below and also in this week's Athletics Weekly.

Finally in the mould of last night's Oscars, mention of four athletes truly worthy of mention in this extraordinary season: Pancho Gonzalez-Diaz has shown total commitment to his role as club captain and deserves the reward of being the most successful captain in the club's history; Chris Illman ran in four of the five league fixtures despite being away at university in Brighton; Jane Wassell has been incredibly consistent all winter in both the Oxford & Gloucestershire leagues and fully warrants the title of ladies club cross country champion. Finally Justin Nicholls has fought constant injury to run in all the Oxford League fixtures, perform at a consistent high level and win his first athletic based silverware for the club in becoming the men's champion for the winter season.

OXFORD LEAGUE

5 March at Drayton School , Banbury. David Edelsten, who attended all five fixtures in his capacity as team recorder, pens this report of the day's proceedings : "A healthy turnout of 22 seniors made the lengthy journey to Banbury for the all important final round of the Oxford League Cross Country. A cold wind and sticky surfaces where the early morning frost had melted were the only difficulties on this relatively fast course.

The men's team went into the round in fourth place but a repeat of the Cirencester Park result would give them a realistic chance of grabbing second. However a couple of late withdrawals due to illness or injury stacked the odds against us. Things were soon to get worse!

Captain Pancho set off in confident style holding fourth place over the first mile but then his calf tightened and he dropped out of the top 20. Although in considerable pain he continued on, completing the first lap in 21st. By the finish he had pulled back to 13th - a true captain's performance! Fortunately our other leading runners rose to the occasion and had excellent runs. Chris Illman maintained eighth throughout to retain his Under 20 age category title but star of the day was Andy Bickerstaff who had a storming run. At halfway he was 14th and only lost three places on the second lap to finish a couple of places ahead of Paul Barlow who also got inside the top 20 for the first time.

Our fifth scorer and new club champion was Justin Nicholls in 35th and then there was an agonising wait for our final two scorers. With Witney's scoring team all finishing in the top 40 second place was a lost cause, but third looked likely with Abingdon only having two in the top 40. A good run by Martin Pitts saw him gain nine places on the final lap to finish strongly in 54th. Bill Leggate had been with him at the end of the first lap but a week's skiing took its toll and he dropped back to finish 72nd.

The second team was led home by Niel Dunnage, followed by Chairman Bob, recovering from a cold, Dorian Matts and the steadily improving Will Moffatt from Tetbury. Making his debut for the club was Tony Kingston who suffered the indignity of being caught in the final yards by Tony Curry, but I don't think that has put him off!

A total of 218 points, our third best of the season, was enough to overtake Abingdon and give the club a place on the podium with the 'bronze medal' and end our most successful season in the league.

For this last round the finale was saved for the ladies. With Wendy Jones competing in the British Vets. Championship at Bournemouth , the club called upon two of their past stars, Ellen Leggate and Cathy Cook. Although both claimed they were not fully fit they proved worthy substitutes to ensure a crushing victory for the club. Ellen, despite recently giving birth to her first child, showed much of her past form to finish third, closely followed by Cathy. For once Jane Wassell had to be content with being third Cirencester finisher, coming home sixth, but taking the club championship in Wendy's absence. Another fine run by young Jenny Manners saw her lead home the second team in 22nd, backed up by Diane Moore and Kim Withycombe."

As a result of yesterday's fixture the Cirencester 'B' team overtook Headington to be the top second team in the league but missed out on promotion to the first division by one place. The men's second team gained promotion to division two. Some other observations: no other clubs have the resources to field two quality athletes and genuine members such as Ellen Leggate & Cathy Cook. Both made major sacrifices to attend the fixture and this needs recording. Chris Illman has now won the U20 title for a second year and will, remarkably, still qualify for that age group next season. In the absence of stalwart Carol Clarke following a fall at home (she is now thankfully on the mend), it was wonderful to see young Jenny Manners perform so well against the seniors; hopefully she will be inspired by the success of the ladies team. The final word has to go to Justin Nicholls who will be reminding everybody in the club that he is club champion for a long time to come; one feels for his partner, Wendy Jones, who, of course lost her title yesterday (and will, no doubt, be constantly reminded of the fact!).

U11 Girls: 6 Lucy Vass 5.25, 11 Lauren Eales 5.47, 16 Laura Hobson 6.01, 21 Jenny Eales 6.14, 36 Lauren Smith 8.13.

U11 Boys: 10 Alex Vass 5.43.

U13/15 Girls: 22 Charlotte Somers (9th U13) 13.05.

Women: 1 Nikki Slater (Witney) 18.31, 3 Ellen Leggate (Cirencester) 19.36, 4 Cathy Cook (1st FV35) 19.39, 6 Jane Wassell (2nd FV35) 19.58, 22 Jenny Manners (U17) 23.22, 30 Diane Moore 23.50, 34 Kim Withycombe 24.05, 49 Sue Brown 25.44. 82 finished.

Teams: Div One, 1 Cirencester 13pts, 2 White Horse 28pts, 3 Banbury 37pts. Div Two, 1 Cirencester 'B' 86pts, 2 Oxford 'A' 90pts, 3 Eynsham 'A' 98pts.

Final team scores: Women Div One,

1 Cirencester 115pts
2 White Horse 135pts
3 Banbury 164pts

4 Headington 195pts, 5 Team Kennet 261pts, 6 Witney 286pts, 7 Abingdon 408pts, 8 Headington 'B' 547pts.

Women Div Two,

1 Oxford City 'A' 363pts
2 Cirencester 'B' 510pts
3 Eynsham 'A' 560pts

25 teams overall closed in

Men: 1 M Ashton (Witney) 31.08, 8 Chris Illman (Cirencester, 1st U20) 33.46, 13 Pancho Gonzalez-Diaz 34.44, 17 Andy Bickerstaff (2nd V40) 35.13, 19 Paul Barlow 35.23, 35 Justin Nicholls 37.19, 54 Martin Pitts 38.21, 72 Bill Leggate 40.08, 80 Niel Dunnage 40.33, 88 Bob Ferris 41.00, 92 Dorian Matts 41.30, 98 Will Moffatt 41.53, 119 Colin O'Hare 44.07, 135 Tony Curry (4th V60) 45.30, 136 Tony Kingston 45.36, 176 Mike Thomas 54.56. 178 finished.

Teams: Div One, 1 Headington 59pts, 2 Witney 183pts, 3 Cirencester 218pts. Div Three, 1 Witney 'B' 405pts, 2 Banbury 'A' 568pts, 3 Cirencester 'B' 748pts.

Final team scores: Men Div One,

1 Headington 450pts
2 Witney 1,216pts
3 Cirencester 1,301pts

4 Abingdon 1,380pts, 5 Woodstock 1,711pts, 6 White Horse 1,892pts, 7 Hook Norton 2,060pts.

Men Div Two,

1 Headington 'B' 1,629pts
2 Cherwell 'A' 2,362pts
3 Eynsham 'A' 3,207pts

Men Div Three,

1 Banbury 'A' 3,034pts
2 Witney 'B' 3,237pts
3 Cirencester 'B' 3,676pts

23 teams overall closed in

Final individual placings (best four positions from the five races), Cirencester AC unless stated and all club qualifiers listed:

U11 Girls: 5 Lucy Vass 22pts, 11 Laura Eales 50pts, 20 Laura Hobson 78pts, 24 Jenny Eales 92pts, 31 Lauren Smith 140pts.

U11 Boys: 11 Alex Vass 52pts.

Overall women: 1 Wendy Jones (defending champion) 5pts, 2 Frances Briscoe (White Horse) 10pts, 3 Jane Wassell 12 pts.

Senior women: 1 Frances Briscoe (White Horse) 10pts, 6 Kim Withycombe 141pts.

FV35: 1 Wendy Jones (defending champion) 5pts, 2 Jane Wassell 12 pts.

FV55: 1 Kate Williamson (Eynsham) 119pts, 3 Carol Clarke 148pts.

Overall / senior men: 1 Steve Kimber (Headington) 6pts, 2 Tom Bradford (Hook Norton) 16pts, 3 Pancho Gonzalez-Diaz 25pts.

U20: 1 Chris Illman (defending champion) 31pts.

V40: 13 Martin Pitts 272pts, 26 Dorian Matts 475pts, 28 Will Moffatt 528pts.

V50: 11 Bob Ferris 403pts, 16 Colin O'Hare 564pts.

V60: 3 Tony Curry 621pts.

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

CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIP

Final scores (based on club finishing positions: men 25pts down to one, women 15 points down to one):

Men's Champion: Justin Nicholls 111pts
Second: Pancho Gonzalez-Diaz 99pts
Third: Chris Illman 98pts

4 B Leggate 96pts, 5 P Barlow 88pts, 6 B Ferris 76pts, 7 M Pitts 75pts, 8 A Bickerstaff 66pts, 9 A Harborow 53pts, 10 D Matts 52pts, 11 M Gluning 46pts, 12= D Wright & J Barrowclough 45pts, 14= T Curry & W Moffatt 41pts, 16 K Ferris 40pts, 17= C O'Hare & K Firkin 39pts, 19= D Atkinson & C Brough 35pts, 21 P Langsam 32pts, 22 N Dunnage 29pts, 23 C Tapley 24pts, 24 M Thomas 22pts, 25 S Elverd 20pts, 26 T Willson 19pts, 27= N Barrowclough & S Glover 15pts, 29 T Collings 14pts, 30 J Young 13pts, 31= D Waldron & T Kingston 12pts, 33 C Sherrington 11pts, 34 I Fletcher 5pts, 35 A Bradley 3pts, 36 C Riches 2pts.

Women's Champion: Jane Wassell 69pts
Second: Wendy Jones 60pts
Third: Kim Withycombe 54pts

4 Carol Clarke 42 pts, 5 J Manners 37pts, 6 D Moore 35pts, 7= Corrine Clark & S Brown 27pts, 9 H Langsam 26pts, 10 P Vass 23pts, 11= Lorraine Ferris & E Leggate 15pts, 13 C Cook 14pts, 14 C Bolam 13pts, 15 K Kroulikova 9pts, 16 Lynn Ferris 6pts.

CAPTAIN'S NOTES

Pancho Gonzalez-Diaz has written the following : "Thank you very much to all of you who supported the club participating in the XC Oxford league. Believe it or not the 2005-2006 season is over. At the beginning it sounds like it is a very short season with only five races, but for those who have been chased and chased to race, the last five months have been quite painful, so now you will have a rest until next October. To be honest, I am overwhelmed by the response to the cause. For those who are always complaining about the cold, the rain and the mud I have only two things to say: a) welcome to England and b) look at the bright side, after all this training in the cold mud now you have the fitness base for the rest of the season and you will be flying off the road next summer.

In addition to this, the club has achieved remarkable performances. A bad translation from Spanish says that it is more difficult to remain at the top that reaching the top at the first time, so how important it is for the Ladies' team to be champions for a third year in a row? With no doubt it is something that only women can do nowadays. Many congratulations to all of you. Seven women have scored for the first team and as a consequence the second team was very close to promotion.

Looking at the men's team I think we should be happy with our performance, a third position overall means the best result in the Oxford league ever. Only a couple of years ago the club was fighting the relegation, and this year the B team has gained promotion, therefore thank you very much to all of you who have made the effort to go and support the club.

Final Comments:

Congratulations to our new club champions for their commitment, Jane and Justin, who told me that he is going to come to my house every week to check that the trophy has been kept in good condition until the next Christmas dinner.

Congratulations to Wendy for being the overall champion and the vet champion.

Congratulations to Jane for being runner up in the FV35.

Congratulations to Carol for being 3rd in the FV55

Congratulations to young Chris who won the under 20s for 2nd year in a road.

Congratulations to Tony for his 3rd position in his age group (V17, or something like this) and I think we should make complaint because they didn't give him a prize.

Thank you very much to the newcomers, I hope you have enjoyed the season and that you will be available next year, particular thanks to Drunken Hippy (ed: Andy Bickerstaff ) who came down from London for three races.

Thank you very much to the Uni boys who make the effort to come to the races.

Thank you very much to all of you who have helped in one way or another during the season, marshalling, supporting, or making the training harder and more enjoyable.

Thank you to all the kids who race after race showed us what means to be tough in the cold and wet winter.

And for those who didn't run, I am sorry you have missed one of the best seasons ever.

By the way, I finished third overall.

Thank you very much, I'll be back.

Pancho"

NATIONAL VETERANS CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS

5 March, Kings Park , Bournemouth . Incapable of being of any use to the club at Banbury, following achilles problems then illness, the newsletter editor was deputed to driving duties and is able to report on his day out at the seaside. This fixture is an important part of the cross country calendar as was apparent with entries coming in from far and wide: there were clubs represented from Northern Ireland , Scotland , all the northern counties as well as the southern part of the country - all the more remarkable given the south coast location of the races. There were three races: all the lady veterans ran a 6k course with the V70 men; thereafter the V50 men ran 8k and finally the V40 men ran the same course. For this writer it was fascinating spotting some old familiar faces including many former top runners (Paula Fudge, Gerry North, Marina Samy, Nigel Gates, Brian Rushworth, Arthur Walsham & others).

This was the middle of three big races in successive weekends for Wendy Jones (Bourton last week & the inter-counties this coming Saturday being the others) and she had prepared all winter for the challenge. It was clear from the start that there were only two runners capable of winning. On a fast course with a few short sharp climbs, Jones and the defending champion Kate Ramsey were already well clear and absolutely flying along after just half a mile. Ramsey was pushing the pace being very aware of Jones' 10k time at Bourton (she complemented Wendy on this on the start line!) and was clearly intent on trying to shake off the Cirencester pretender to her crown. It was interesting listening to the utterings of the large crowd: who was this runner giving the overwhelming favourite a run for her money? Your reporter was able to put people right. Eventually the inevitable happened as Ramsey detached the illusory string tying the two runners together, on the last hill of the second of three laps. Although Ramsey's break was decisive, Jones kept her pace going and didn't lose any more ground on the last lap, finishing a mere 16 seconds behind a very worthy winner and nearly a minute ahead of the third place finisher. Ramsey, a current senior international, having competed for the UK in the European XC Champs in December 2005, was a very relieved winner as related to the gathering Press at the finish. Jones was similarly swamped by Martin Duff (Athletics Weekly), Pete Mulholland (Running Fitness) and Alistair Aitken (freelance), all of whom openly expressed their congratulations on a great run. Wendy's daughter, Poppy (four next week), decided she should give a bit of background to the gathered Press, so she strolled up to the listening tape recorders and uttered the immortal words (having interrupted her mum) "and we live at Totterdown Farm" !

FV35 championship: 1 Kate Ramsey (Charnwood) 20.33, 2 Wendy Jones (Cirencester) 20.49, 3 Kath Bailey ( Winchester ) 21.45.

CROSS COUNTRY FIXTURES

11 March, Inter-Counties Championships , Wollaton Park , Nottingham . Cirencester has at least two representatives in the Gloucestershire county team: Wendy Jones & Jane Wassell are running in the ladies 8km event which is also the final selection race for the UK team to run in the World XC Champs in Fukuoka , Japan . Paul Barlow has been called up as reserve for the men's county team and is currently awaiting news of his selection to run. The races are being shown live on Sky Sports 3: the women start at the strangely precise time of 11:51 and the men at 15:11 .

FORTHCOMING ROAD / MULTI-TERRAIN RACES & CONTACT DETAILS:

18 March, Grocery '4', White Horse, Sandhurst at 14:45 . Enter on the day, see www.severnac.co.uk

19 March, Forest of Dean Trails ½ Marathon at 10:00 . Club championship event. Entries now closed for the second in this year's club championship races. A look on the website www.rotary-royalforestofdean.org.uk/trails.html reveals a healthy 14 Cirencester entries.

26 March, Cleevewold '14' m/t at 10:30 www.cheltenhamharriers.co.uk

28 March (Tue), Bridge Inn 5k, nr Bristol at 19:30 www.bristolandwestac.org.uk

15 April (Easter Saturday), Gloucester 10k, White Horse, Sandhurst . Enter on the day, see www.severnac.co.uk (race not yet listed on the website but has been advertised).

23 April, London Marathon . Being a marathon this race counts towards the club championship (see details below).

30 April, Highworth '5' miles at 11:00 . Club championship event. Entry forms at the leisure centre or from www.swindonweb.com/hrc

RANKINGS

With the Forest of Dean ½ Marathon coming up some targets are in order so herewith current club age group records for that distance:

U20: 1.17.58 Chris Illman, Bath 2005

Men: 1.09.07 Mike Smith, Stroud 2000; Ladies: 1.17.42 Ellen Leggate, 2001

FV35: 1.19.18 Wendy Jones, Highworth 2006

V40: 1.17.26 David Wright, Stroud 1999; FV40: 1.36.29 Molly Fisher, 1988

V45: 1.19.59 Brian Wither, Stroud 1992; FV45: 1.38.30 Molly Fisher, 1991

V50: 1.28.23 Tony Curry, Stroud 1994; FV50: 1.43.20 Carol Clarke, Stroud 2002

V55: 1.42.34 Bob May, Stroud 2002; FV55: 1.40.51 Mary Campbell, 2000

V60: 1.41.43 Dick Waldron, Stroud 2002

V70: 1.58.19 Fred Robson, Cricklade 2004

CHEDWORTH ROMAN TRAIL '10'

On 2 April at 10:30 the club is promoting this very popular off road race from its base at Chedworth Village Hall. Entries are once again coming in fast and race organiser David Edelsten and his sidekick Rupert Chesmore will soon be looking for volunteers to marshall both the course and car park, to help with refreshments (a very important source of income for the club) and to assist with all the administration involved in this important race. Whilst some club members will be able to run, the efficient organisation of the event must be the priority.

2006 CLUB ROAD RACE CHAMPIONSHIP

Scores to date, after just one fixture, printed in the last newsletter. The rest of the championship fixtures (in addition to the imminent ones shown in fixtures above) are as follows:

18 May, Gloucester 5k * www.severnac.co.uk

4 June, Fairford 10k www.fairford.org/10k/index.html

10 July, Frampton-on-Severn 10k www.stroudathleticclub.org.uk

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

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

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.

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. To qualify for points you must be a fully paid up member, be entered as Cirencester AC and be wearing a club vest. Of the 12 races, plus marathon, best eight scores to count. Races marked with * form part of the Gloucestershire County Road Race Series for 2006. Furtherr races in this series, but not included in the club championship: April 15, Gloucester 10k; May 7, 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

MISCELLANY

. as a bit of relief from hard marathon training and numerous phone calls badgering people to run in the Oxford League, our esteemed club captain decided to join other expatriates in supporting Uruguay in the 'friendly' international against England at Anfield. England won 2-1 with virtually the last kick of the game, having come from behind. Far from being downbeat, Pancho stated that he had discussed this with the players before the game and asked that they let England score so that he and his friends could get out of the ground alive! It was therefore a moral victory for Uruguay per Pancho.

. there have been a number of recent additions to the club photograph website including both yesterday's events: the Oxford League at Banbury courtesy of Duncan Atkinson's camera and Wendy Jones' fantastic run in the Vets National.

. a reminder that the leisure centre will finally close its doors at the close of play on Sunday 19 March (swimming session will take place that evening). For the following two weeks Tuesday & Sunday running sessions will continue as normal, albeit without shower facilities - meet outside the leisure centre. The new leisure centre then opens for business on Tuesday 4 April.

. although some stalwarts meet every week (others always welcome), there will be a special informal social gathering at the local watering hole, Somewhere Else, next Tuesday 14 March, after the club session. As well as being the last Tuesday session from the current leisure centre, the main reason will be to celebrate what has been a magnificent season for the club as a whole in the Oxford League. The more turning up the merrier, irrespective of any involvement in the league.

David Wright: wrights@tesco.net or 01285 641224