Cirencester A.C. - Newsletter No. 55

20 June 2008

• Chris Illman & Wendy Nicholls win Fairford 10km in new course records
• club dominates with turnout of 34, team wins for men and women plus age group victories.
• Cathy Cook wins Neolithic 1/2 Marathon and close to outright victory.
• Club promotion at Westonbirt Arboretum a great success in glorious sunshine
• Illman wins again and mens team snatch race from Bourton.
• Jane Wassell wins Oldbury 4.
• Wendy Nicholls runs fastest time in the country this year with course record at White Horse 5km.
• triathlon season in full flow with lots of results.

ROAD, MULTI TERRAIN, TRACK RESULTS

4 May, Neolithic 1/2 Marathon, Amesbury.Cathy Cook was close to repeating her outright win from 2007.

1 F Young 1.24.04

2 Cathy Cook (Cirencester, 1st lady) 1.25.02.  102 finished.www.wiltshirewildlife.org

26 May, White Horse 5m, Sandhurst, nr Gloucester.  Good performances from all on a wild, wet & windy day.

1 Patrick Cavanagh (Tipton) 26.34

3 Adrian Williams (Cirencester) 26.55

4 Bill Leggate 27.27

18 Alice Thomas (2nd lady) 34.30

29 Barbara Thomas (1st FV50) 42.37.  31 finished.www.severnac.co.uk>

1 June, Fairford Festival 10k Club Championship race.  The start line resembled a Tuesday night at the club as Cirencester vests dominated whilst runners from other clubs appeared to be daunted by the current strength of the red & black vests.  In fact Cirencester club members represented 10% of the total field on a slightly muggy but still morning, with a freshening shower just before the start making conditions perfect for running.   After some slightly disappointing recent results, Chris Illman returned to form with a storming victory in a new course record.  His time of 32.00 on such a tough course indicates that his club record of 31.10 at Bourton earlier this year is liable to be beaten before the year is out, especially as Illman has now finished his studies at Brighton University.  The next three club finishers all had very lonely runs as the field spread out early on.  Wendy Nicholls, on her first wedding anniversary, finished very strongly with a 3.16 final km to take 11 seconds off the ladies course record, the incentive of £100 from a local benefactor for breaking the record no doubt uppermost in her tired mind.  With the two individual champions, three age group winners and the men and women’s team prizes, Cirencester’s 2008 race booty continues to mount up.  Main movers in the club championship were Robbie Brown and Jane Thomas, both of whom ran big personal best times.  Fairford is one of the toughest courses on the circuit so fast times were hard to come by.

1 Chris Illman (Cirencester) 32.00 – course record

4 Adrian Williams 34.01

5 Wendy Nicholls (1st lady / FV35) 34.49 – course record

6 David Wright (1st V50) 36.15

10 Robbie Brown 37.14

14 Adam Harborow 37.59

16 Stephen Elverd (2nd V40) 38.08

19 Martin Croucher 38.27

25 Jane Wassell (4th lady / 2nd FV35) 39.21

28 Tony Shelbourn (1st V60) 40.05

29 Jon Young 40.10

33 Mark Gluning 40.58

42 Ian Pople (2nd V50) 42.05

50 Bryan Reid 42.42

54 Trudy Compton 43.14

56 Justin Davies 43.27

73 Jane Thomas 44.32

79 Alice Thomas 44.53

80 Sarah Cooper 44.57

89 Sue McKeeman (2nd FV45) 45.32

109 James Burgess 46.40

132 Carol Clarke (1st FV55) 48.01

141 Rhiannon Brown 48.30

144 Sue Brown (3rd FV45) 48.42

164 Avril Haseler 50.29

166 Dick Waldron 50.32

190 Jim Fallon 52.28

203 Rachel Jones 53.10

210 Yvonne Binks 54.01

214 Barbara Thomas 54.27

223 Ken McAnespie 55.07

225 Jane Stevens 55.17

244 Christina See 56.54

296 Amanda Pizzey 61.24.  335 finished.

Teams: Men, 1 Cirencester (Illman, Williams, Wright)

Women, 1 Cirencester (Nicholls, Wassell, Compton).www.fairford.org

Log on to www.snapfish.co.uk enter e-mail address of cirenac@hotmail.com and password of cirenac to see photos taken by Paul Barlow.

4 June, Cleeve Cloud Cuckoo Land 5½m m/t.  Stephen Elverd reports: “The first Wednesday of every June is Cloud Cuckoo day.  This is a punishing multi-terrain race around Cleeve Hill.  It’s a race I like to support, given that it’s in my neck off the woods.  This year, as in previous years, the race was held on a glorious evening and everything seemed wonderful.  Except, that is, for the ban imposed by Cleeve Golf Club on vests being worn in their club house, which was exactly where race registration was being carried out!  The only other Ciren runners I met were Jess Nethercott and Renata Sharp, who seemed quite relaxed during the build up to the start.  They were obviously unaware of the horrors to come.  The race followed a figure-of-eight course, which included long slow hills, short steep hills and every other type of hill imaginable.  Luckily I managed to beat the stomach cramp demons of last year and improve on my previous best by nearly three minutes.  Let’s get a big Ciren team together next year and make a dent in Cheltenham and Bourton’s dominance of this event.”

1Alastair Lockey (Bourton) 34.09

35 Stephen Elverd (Cirencester) 41.07

94 Renata Sharp 50.17 

104 Jessica Nethercott 51.48.  138 finished.www.cheltenhamharriers.co.uk

7 June, Dorney Dash 10k.  

1 Jalal Abderrahim (Thames Valley Harriers) 31.55 

38 Martin Croucher (Cirencester) 38.23 

111 Bryan Reid 41.37.  880 finished.  www.datchet-dashers.com

9 June, Westonbirt Arboretum Trails 10k.  The latest in David Edelsten’s races organised in the name of Cirencester AC was a big success.  On a hot, sunny evening the Arboretum looked at its best as a record field of over 600 runners threaded their way between the rhododendrons and trees from all over the world on the footpaths of this ancient wonderland.  The only person lacking company was our very own Chris Illman who showed a clean pair of heels to Bourton’s best from the gun, to record another emphatic win.  At 5k Marc Fallows was tracking Bourton’s Dennis Walmsley in second place but he faded slightly in the second half of the race and was happy to fend off the late challenge of the fast finishing Bill Leggate.  With three in the first five the team result was never in doubt although Bourton pushed hard with second, third and seventh.   On the slightly uneven and dusty footpaths, times were generally slower than at the recent Fairford race, the exception being Tony Shelbourn’s winning V60 time.  It was good to see Nicola Denning back after fighting an Achilles tendon injury and she formed part of the second placed ladies team behind Jane Wassell and the consistent Trudy Compton.  With 33 runners competing, and probably as many again marshalling on the course, this was another indication of how the club has grown in recent times.  Long may this continue.  Particular thanks must go to David Edelsten and Tony Curry in particular; they not only spent most of the day setting out the course but were also the last to leave the Arboretum well past 10pm having ensured that the grounds were left in pristine condition.  Thanks must also go to the Arboretum owners for allowing the race to take place.  A quick look on the forum pages of Runners World shows how popular this race is and why entries close weeks in advance.  One major disappointment, however, was the delay in getting results on the club website.  In fact they are still not up at the time of sending out this newsletter.

1 Chris Illman (Cirencester) 32.53 

4 Marc Fallows 34.46 

5 Bill Leggate 34.51 

8 Joe Barrowclough 36.47 

24 Tony Shelbourn (1st V60) 39.31 

31 Jane Wassell (3rd lady / 2nd FV35) 40.18 

38 Mark Langman 41.06 

39 Mark Gluning 41.21 

42 Stephen Elverd 41.36 

50 Martin Denning 42.29 

55 Ian Pople (2nd V50) 42.57 

64 Bryan Reid 43.27 

69 Trudy Compton 43.39 

72 Andy Bradley 43.49 

73 Dorian Matts 43.54 

93 Mark Evans 45.18 

94 Nicola Denning 45.21 

95 Alice Thomas 45.24 

104 Wallace Ascham 45.50 

106 Chris Berry 45.53 

123 Caroline Bolam 46.52 

153 Carol Clarke (3rd FV55) 48.25 

157 James Burgess 48.38 

265 Jessica Nethercott 53.21 

294 Brian Barrowclough 54.22 

332 Chris Goldie 55.34 

338 Chloe Cox 56.00 

400 Barbara Thomas 58.47 

402 Amanda Pizzey 58.48 

411 Patsy Ind 59.07 

412 Sophie Edelsten 59.11 

442 Christina See 60.31 

585 Natalie Hunt 73.26.  603 finished.

Teams: Men, 1 Cirencester (Illman, Fallows, Leggate) 10pts, 2 Bourton 12pts. 

Women, 1 Bourton  ?pts, 2 Cirencester (Wassell, Compton, Denning) 194pts  www.cirencester-ac.org.uk  

11 June, Lethbridge 10k, Swindon. 

1 Lee Piercy (Big Adventure) 33.40 

3 Adrian Williams (Cirencester) 34.33 

11 Adam Harborow 37.33.  286 finished.  www.lethbridge10k.org.uk

15 June, Oldbury-on-Severn 4m.  A welcome return to winning ways for Jane Wassell after struggling with a knee injury for many months.

1 Martin Hula (Bristol & West) 20.32 

13 Jane Wassell (Cirencester, 1st lady) 23.36.  654 finished.  www.007funrun.com

15 June, Race for Life 5k, Lydiard Park, Swindon

Alice Thomas (2nd lady) 19.50 

Barbara Thomas 25.00 

19 June, White Horse 5k, Gloucester.  Wendy Nicholls’ course record winning time is the fastest time in the country so far this year and puts her third on the national 5k rankings for 2008 (the leading two times having been run by UK athletes in the USA).  Ahead of her, Marc Fallows and Bill Leggate both ran personal best times with fine runs, beating some of their regular main rivals in the process.

1 Garry Hughes (Dursley) 15.10

4 Marc Fallows (Cirencester) 15.52 

9 Bill Leggate 16.12 

13 Wendy Nicholls (1st lady) 16.29 – course record 

25 David Wright (1st V50) 17.26 – equals club V50 record 

38 Stephen Elverd 18.22 

42 Tony Shelbourn (1st V60) 18.51 

49 Bryan Reid 20.10 

75 Barbara Thomas 25.55.  76 finished.  www.severnac.co.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. 

28 June (Sat), Bourton Hilly ½ Marathon at 18.00.  A bit bumpy but a lovely scenic course.   Highly recommended.  www.bourtonroadrunners.co.uk

3 July (Thu), Aerospace 5m, Bishops Cleeve at 19:30.  www.cheltenhamharriers.co.uk

12 July (Sat), Pilot Inn 10m, Hardwicke, nr Gloucester at 15:00.  Incorporates Glos. County 10 mile championship.   www.severnac.co.uk

14 July (Mon), Frampton-on-Severn 10k at 19:30.  Club Championship race.  Popular event so enter early.  Free glass of fairly dodgy cider to all finishers plus barbeque in lovely surroundings.  No entries on the day.  www.stroudac.org.uk

17 July, White Horse 5k, Sandhurst, nr Gloucester at 19:45.   www.severnac.co.uk

19 July (Sat), Bourton 1m at 18:00.  Club Championship race.  This one mile race is a welcome digression from the regular race distances and is great fun.  The course is a flat, straight mile finishing in the centre of the village.  Great atmosphere if weather good.   www.bourtonroadrunners.co.uk

24 July (Thu), Malmesbury 5k.   Club Championship 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

ROAD RACE CHAMPIONSHIP 2008 

Unofficial scores after five events plus London, Paris, Shakespeare & Prague Marathons: 

Men 

Adrian Williams (incl. 31 bonus points) 125pts, Adam Harborow (18) 100, Chris Illman (9) 89, Bill Leggate (15) 86, David Wright (7) 71, Martin Croucher (8) 69, Stephen Elverd (8) 65, Jon Young (10) 60, Paul Barlow (8) 58, Marc Fallows (10) 48, Tony Shelbourn (1) 39, Dick Waldron (1) & Ian Pople (10) 38, Darren Dent (8) & Bryan Reid 27, Robbie Brown (5) 22, Mark Langman 20, Andy Bradley & Terry Ranger 18, Wallace Ascham & Joe Barrowclough 17, Alastair McKeeman & Keith Firkin (2) 16, David Edelsten (8) & James Burgess (8) 15, David Freer & Bob Ferris 14, Chris Brough, Chris Goldie & Jim Fallon (8) 13, Rupert Chesmore 12, Mark Gluning 11, Dorian Matts & Chris Good 10, Tim Willson 9, Justin Davies 8, Ken McAnespie 4, Chris Berry 2, Brian Barrowclough 1. 

Women 

Yvonne Binks 83pts, Jane Wassell 77, Alice Thomas (13) 65, Wendy Nicholls (2) 62, Christina See (3) 59, Jane Stevens (7) 57, Trudy Compton (3) 56, Carol Clarke (3) 49, Jenny Manners (8) 43, Jane Thomas (8) 41, Barbara Thomas 39, 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:  

14 July (Mon), Frampton-on-Severn 10k (details above)  

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

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

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 normally close many weeks early.  Thus enter as soon as possible, forms on club noticeboard or via www.cheltenhamharriers.co.uk

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

12 October, Chichester 10k 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 his heart, 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

208 finished.  www.triteamglos.co.uk

25 May, Goodness Shakes Muscles of Steel Triathlon, Dorney Lake (1,500m swim, 40km bike, 10km run).

1 Julian Hatcher (21.17, 1.04.49, 32.33) 1.59.49

49 Bob Ferris (Cirencester) (26.38, 1.12.55, 42.26) 2.24.15.  175 finished.  www.f3events.co.uk

1 June, Beaulieu Middle Distance Triathlon  (1,900m swim, 90km bike, 21km run).

1 Hywel Davies (18.58, 2.15.18, 1.26.30) 4.00.47

109 Martin Pitts (Cirencester) (21.58, 2.38.07, 1.56.30) 4.56.37.  382 finished.  www.racenewforest.co.uk

1 June, Westonbirt Triathlon (400m pool swim, 23km bike, 5km run).  Full results not received.

1 Andrew Shipton (Stroud AC) 1.03.49

22 Mark Evans (Cirencester) 1.12.05

28 Nick Duncan 1.13.23 

35 Ben Cox (1st MU20) 1.14.10

54 Nicola Denning 1.19.05 

88 Chloe Cox (2nd FV45) 1.26.28 

102 David Skinner 1.28.58.

1 June, Zurich Half Ironman, Switzerland (1.9km swim, 90km bike, 21.1km run).

1 Ronnie Schildknecht (Switzerland) (25.13, 2.07.07, 1.17.14) 3.51.45

1447 Elaine Wilson (Cirencester) (37.52, 3.29.11, 2.39.25) 6.54.09.  1,519 finished.www.70.3ironman.ch

8 June, Cotswold Ladies Only Triathlon, Keynes Water Park (750m swim, 20km bike, 5km run).

1 Mhairi Muir (Royal Navy) (12.36, 35.43, 19.03) 1.07.22

22 Diane Moore (Cirencester) (17.09, 38.43, 22.24) 1.18.16

40 Chloe Cox (18.13, 39.57, 24.09) 1.22.19.  96 finished.www.triferris.com

8 June, Cotswold Ladies Novice Triathlon, Keynes Water Park (200m swim, 20km bike, 2.5km run).

1 Maria Hobbs (Bad Tri) (5.07, 37.02, 9.56) 52.05

14 Clare Blampied (Cirencester) (6.04, 43.55, 13.39) 1.03.38.  40 finished.www.triferris.com

>8 June, Bala Middle Distance Triathlon.  Although not competing for Cirencester AC, Cathy Cook produced a fine performance in North Wales - just ahead of Marc Fallows’ sister, Anne.  She writes: “It's roughly a half ironman distance triathlon (2k swim, 50 miles bike, 13 miles run).   I really enjoyed the race.   The scenery, weather and course were spectacular.   Despite being in the Snowdonia National Park, the bike course is very fast with good road surfaces and rolling hills.   The run is not exactly flat but not too punishing!   The lake is the best freshwater swim I've done in a long time... would thoroughly recommend to anyone wanting to have a go at this distance.”

1 Mark Stenning (Swindon Tri) (26.18, 2.23.20, 1.14.21) 4.03.59

43 Cathy Cook (Swindon Tri, 3rd lady/1st FV35) (34.05, 2.46.26, 1.26.17) 4.46.51.  347 finished.  www.wrecsamtri.org.uk

TRIATHLON FIXTURES

22 June, Marlborough – 400m  pool swim – 32k bike – 8k run.www.conceptsport.co.uk

22 June, Worcester 750 or 1500 open water swim – 26 or 50k bike – 5 or 10 k run.  www.worcestertriclub.co.uk

6 July, Hereford – pool swim 400m – 18k bike 5k run. www.herefordtriathlonclub.co.uk

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

NEW MEMBER

Rachel Jones is the club’s latest recruit and she made her Cirencester debut in the Fairford 10k. 

SUBSCRIPTIONS

Yes it’s that time of year again.   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

… as most members will be aware, Lisa Darroch is now back in Cirencester after her time out in Ethiopia as a VSO volunteer.  The Wilts & Glos Standard recently highlighted Lisa’s time out in Africa, not least because of her project to distribute used trainers to local runners mainly from Cirencester club members (did anybody recognise their old trainers from the picture in the paper?).  One of her more pertinent comments related to running:“one of the surprises for me was joining the local running club with the rest who are in their 20’s working in back-breaking unskilled jobs, eating poorly yet still running at UK national level”.  Lisa went on to say“I love the wonderful warmth of people who will share their last crumb, greet you with hugs and kisses every morning and laugh easily.”That says it all really, doesn’t it?  Welcome back Lisa.

… on the back of the club’s great achievements in the men’s Midlands & National 12 stage relays in the spring, club captain Adrian Williams is eager to build on that success.  Thus it is the club’s aim to field a number of teams in both the men and women’s six and four stage relays this autumn.  The dates are 20 September for the Midlands and 18 October for the Nationals.  Please put the dates in your diaries for great days out at Sutton Park, nr Birmingham.

… as has been flagged up in the newsletter, one of the club’s road race championship fixtures this year is the Chichester 10k on 12 October.  Adrian Williams has provisionally booked all the rooms in The Nags Head, which is conveniently situated just adjacent to the race start.  Anyone interested in staying there on the Saturday night before the race should contact Adrian as soon as possible to register their interest.  Of course, whether spending the night before a big race in a local hostelry is the perfect preparation only time will tell … !

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