HEADLINES
- Men finish 47th in National 12 Stage Road Relays.
- Wendy Nicholls wins Bristol 10km … by one second.
- Bill Leggate 2nd at Bridge Inn 5km and 3rd at Blaisdon Beer Race.
- Marathon results from Paris, Stratford-on-Avon & Prague.
- Great ladies turnout at Stroud Beer Race with five in top eight finishers.
- Alice & Jane Thomas perform well as sole club representatives at County Track Champs.
ROAD , MULTI TERRAIN, TRACK RESULTS
5 April, Regents Park 10km, London . See article below, The Bloke at the Back …
1 Peter Tucker (Blackheath) 32.45
216 Clive Hook (Cirencester) 1.00.30. 256 finished. www.regentsparkraces.org
6 April, Paris Marathon . Chris Goldie kept this one quiet but the result has surfaced.
1 Tsegaye Kebede ( Ethiopia ) 2.06.40
16,187 Chris Goldie (Cirencester) 4.13.18 (chip time 4.06.11).
28,844 finished. www.parismarathon.com
13 April, Horton Bull Run m/t, nr Chipping Sodbury.
1 R Peters 21.37
25 Alice Thomas (Cirencester, 2nd lady) 30.18
89 Barbara Thomas 36.49. 173 finished.
20 April, Highworth 5m. Further result (posted by organisers as unattached in error):
388 Christina See (Cirencester) 47.51
Full results on www.highworthrunningclub.com where lots of photos of the race can also be viewed, including Jane Wassell asserting her authority in a finishing sprint against Keith Firkin & Jon Young; Bob Ferris looking at his watch and thinking “have I really run that slowly but still beaten Tony Curry’s club V55 record?” and Alice Thomas appearing to overtake an England rugby international.
26 April, National 12 stage road relays, Sutton Park , nr Birmingham .
“When the men’s team qualified for the National road relays the first big decision to make was not the order of runners, or who to replace the unavailable, but to find a sensible, level headed man who would be up for such a daunting task as team manager? So after a few knock backs Adrian turned to me, Justin Nicholls. So this is my summary from possibly Ciren AC’s finest ever team manager.
The weather was warm but quite windy so the course was going to be tough for all 600 plus runners, some of the best male runners in the country would be on show today, 12 of whom belong to Ciren AC. This event consisted of 12 stages, one long (5.38mls), one short (2.995mls) repeated 6 times. Our target was to finish in less than five hours.
With the order of runners already decided, the only problem that could possibly occur would be someone turning up late because they had to stop at John Lewis on the way to the event, but that didn’t stop Adam Harborow doing a spot of retail therapy at said shop en route.
The first stage is notoriously fast, with all teams wanting to get a good start. First off was our very own greyhound Chris Illman. Chris had a superb run and choosing not to get carried away as many do and start off too fast, was able to make his way through this very strong field to finish 28 out of 58, an excellent run in 28:08.
Paul Barlow did very well to get to the start. The morning of the race he was struck down by a mystery illness (4 pints of cider, 3 glasses of Champagne at Somewhere Else Bar the night before with team manager type of illness), nonetheless this man had a cracking run and was even noble enough to pace Andy Baddeley (GB Olympian) for 20 meters to finish 40th in a time of 17:22 [ed note: said Olympian ran an astonishing 13.39].
With the added pressure of being club captain, Adrian wanted a strong run, he did that by holding on to 40th with 30:04 despite an upset stomach (not alcohol related).
Fresh from his shopping trip Adam produced what must have been the fastest finish of the day, the last 400m of the course was up hill and into a head wind. Adam covered this ground at warp speed and handed over to a very surprised Bill Leggate (the next stage runners are called from a pen by an official when previous runners are 200/300m away, such was the speed of Adam it caught the announcer and Bill by surprise) brilliant run, pos 43, 17:58.
By the time Bill took off, the men’s race had become quite spread out and runners could find themselves isolated, so Bill came up with a solution, follow the women (genius!). It worked wonders, handing over in 46th in 31:01.
David Fong is a relatively new member so would have been forgiven if he were at all nervous. With his lucky cap firmly in place he had a storming run and was within a second of his qualifying time at the Midlands , 47th in 18:19 .
The longest serving member of the Ciren AC team showed that without injury and illness he can still produce the goods. Coming home with a look of utter agony that we have all come accustomed to seeing, 46th in 32:07.
With so many runners choosing to wear state of the art running trainers, with gel cushioning, impact guidance system, anti roll bars and air bags, Tony Shelbourn decided this is not for him, so off he set in a pair of trainers that would not look out of place in a squash court, he ran a brilliant 18:46 to come home 47th and was first vet 60.
Having just returned from a stint of warm weather training in preparation for this event, Joe Barrowclough was obviously in a very confident frame of mind, and gaining an extra two places showed it had paid off, handing over 45th in a fine 32:16.
Andy Bickerstaff: if you look up dedication in the dictionary there is a picture of this man, he raced the day before, celebrated said race with 10 pints of beer, travelled from London to put in his usual sterling performance and came home in time of 18:13 in 46th position.
Robbie Brown is built to run not to play rugby as he showed by not breaking his jaw or getting concussion during his fine display on the penultimate leg of this epic race, skipping up the final hill effortlessly in a cracking time of 32:29 holding on to 46th.
Bryan Reid ran the glory leg, and he should get a medal for it, THE FINAL STAGE, it was a mass start (unknown to Bryan) and as Bryan had been at the event for nearly three hours watching all his team mates, he started to show signs of nerves and could be heard from some distance saying to himself "I WILL NOT ****** FINISH LAST". When the gun went all his nerves were cast aside and I can tell you the way he ran it was never going to happen, storming up the last section of the course with a great roar from all the Ciren gang, to a last leg time of 19:33, 47th, absolutely fantastic!
So, we were 47th team out of 59 starters with a finishing time of 4:56:22 job done, what a day! It just leaves me to say a big thank to Adrian for putting the team together from all who took part, for everyone turning up (late or not) and a special thanks to our three cheerleaders (Mrs Wright, Mrs Harborow and Mrs Nicholls) and 2 mascots (the little Harborows). One last thought, imagine what we as a team could do if it was possible to keep certain members out of the pub.”
1 Leeds City 4.09.40
47 Cirencester 4.56.22. Team position after each leg in brackets.
Stage 1 (5.4 miles) Chris Illman 28.08 (28)
Stage 2 (3 miles) Paul Barlow 17.25 (40)
Stage 3 (5.4 miles) Adrian Williams 30.03 (40)
Stage 4 (3 miles) Adam Harborow 17.58 (43)
Stage 5 (5.4 miles) Bill Leggate 31.01 (46)
Stage 6 (3 miles) David Fong 18.23 (47)
Stage 7 (5.4 miles) David Wright 32.07 (46)
Stage 8 (3 miles) Tony Shelbourn 18.46 (47)
Stage 9 (5.4 miles) Joe Barrowclough 32.16 (45)
Stage 10 (3 miles) Andy Bickerstaff 18.13 (46)
Stage 11 (5.4 miles) Robbie Brown 32.29 (46)
Stage 12 (3 miles) Bryan Reid 19.33 (47). 59 teams started / 52 finished.
Fastest times: Long stage, Jean Ndayesenga (Birchfield) 25.33; Short stage, Andy Baddeley ( Harrow ) 13.39. www.race-results.co.uk/results/2008
Log on to www.snapfish.co.uk to see photos taken by the multi tasking Justin Nicholls.
27 April, Shakespeare Marathon , Stratford-on-Avon . Personal best for Martin Croucher.
1 Shaun Milford (Newquay) 2.37.20 (chip time 2.37.19)
97 Martin Croucher (Cirencester) 3.24.07 (3.23.47)
370 Alastair McKeeman 4.02.17 (4.01.59)
656 Rupert Chesmore 4.52.48 (4.51.22). 748 finished. www.shakespearemarathon.org.uk
29 April, Bridge Inn 5km, Shortwood, nr Bristol .
1 Billy Sheppard (Clevedon) 16.03
2 Bill Leggate (Cirencester) 16.37
4 Wendy Nicholls (1st lady / FV35) 17.01
8 David Wright (1st V50) 17.58. 70 finished. www.bristolandwestac.org.uk
3 May, Regents Park 10km, London . See article below, The Bloke at the Back …
1 Andrea Fraquelli (unattached) 34.50
258 Clive Hook (Cirencester) 1.02.00. 310 finished. www.regentsparkraces.org
5 May, Bristol 10km. What a finish! With 300 metres to go in the first Bristol City Centre 10k, Wendy Nicholls was detached from the leaders: fellow international Louise Damen led by 30 metres, with Claire Martin, who had easily won the first stage of the national road relays the previous weekend, another 20 metres clear of third placed Nicholls. With husband & coach both screaming at the top of their voices, Nicholls responded and although absolutely exhausted, managed to unleash a sprint finish … Martin looked too far ahead but Nicholls closed with each stride and with 100 to go moved into second … Damen was away and gone though, surely … Nicholls sustained her sprint and remarkably took the lead from a startled Damen just metres from the finish and won by a second. Not only did Nicholls win the women’s race outright, she also won the prize for first Briton to finish, a lucrative sprint finish if ever there was one. Chris Illman, who along with Nicholls received an elite entry to the race, thus saving on the extortionate £18 fee, got an excellent view of the final proceedings of the women’s race as he was lingering in the finish area after his race.
See also article below, The Bloke at the Back …
1 Jean Ndayesenga (Birchfield / Burindi) 29.09
17 Chris Illman (Cirencester) 32.56
23 Wendy Nicholls (1st lady / FV35) 34.08
2,753 Clive Hook 1.06.32 (chip 1.03.14). 3,676 finished. www.bristolhalfmarathon.com including some cracking photos on this site and then via the link to Marathon Photos (race nos 28, 113 & 6147).
5 May, Blaisdon Bluebell 10km . Another fine podium finish for Bill Leggate in this once very popular bank holiday race resurrected after an absence of many years.
1 Dave Roper ( Cheltenham ) 33.42
3 Bill Leggate (Cirencester) 35.18. 28 finished. www.severnac.co.uk
7 May, Stroud Beer Race 7.2m, Minchinhampton Common . Part of Gloucestershire Road Race Championship. Tony Shelbourn reports:
“May 7 proved to be a glorious evening, calm, with clear blue skies and temperatures in the low 70’s F (17C). I had heard a lot of lore and legend, myth and rumour about this race and all of it was hard to believe as we were standing, gently perspiring and ready for the start. (It’s worth noting that I don’t write about easy races and this one fell into the hard category.) There was a good turnout for the race with close on 130 folks at the start but, as injuries took their toll, only 121 finished.
Cirencester AC was well represented by the ladies but with just two lucky chaps, David Wright and I to accompany them - our wives came along to keep an eye on us and to drink a glass of wine in the sunshine at The Old Lodge Inn. The race took place on a portion of Minchinhampton Common. It is worth mentioning that Hampton , as it was then known, appeared in the Domesday Book and became a market town from 1269. In the middle ages sheep farming was the main activity but by the nineteenth century a considerable industry in both large mills and cottage weaving had become established. It is a scattered village, around the Common with its golf course but with many beautiful Cotswold stone houses. I mention all of this to tempt the unwary to run next year’s race.
Back to running. It’s a 7.2 mile course comprising three laps and we started close to the Old Lodge Inn, setting off around the golf course. The first challenge is the steep (very steep) hill that drops off the Common and you lose several hundred feet in elevation. The next mile or so is spent regaining height, running up a series of three sharp hills along the southern edge of the Common, then a long drag back up to the start/finish area - and we did this three times! It is a psychological sort of race, mind over matter and a battle of wills with your competitors. The field was strung out by the finish but with the hills you always felt vulnerable to being caught. There were a number of personal battles around the course, myself included, and in the main we came out on top. We learned about sustaining a pace, despite the constant interrupting inclines, and of coping with the real uphill slogs and the jarring downhill dash. The Cirencester group managed well with the first heat of the year and with the lack of a drinking station on the course.
The winning team honours were not to be ours that evening although our first three home did come in a commendable third. Having said that, Cirencester did very well with prizes and carried home valuable supplies of wine. Just to mention a few: David Wright, as usual, was 1st V50; Jane Wassell was 2nd lady and 1st FV35 whilst I staggered in and for the first time beat an arch rival and came in 1st V60. I must give Trudy Compton, a cornerstone of the Sunday morning group, a mention. She was 3rd lady and 2nd FV35.
To win prizes was satisfying but most of all it was wonderful to see the ladies having much success and enjoying themselves in the late evening sunshine, with their complimentary glass of beer. Endorphins were running fast, nearly as well as the valiant squad of girls from Cirencester. The beer was good, the company great fun and despite the torture of the race everyone drove away happy, with the lovely sunset in their rear view mirror. It was one of those races that you enjoy afterwards!”
1 Alastair Lockey (Bourton) 40.33
7 David Wright (Cirencester, 1st V50) 44.24
18 Jane Wassell (2nd lady / 1st FV35) 48.30
22 Tony Shelbourn (1st V60) 48.47
35 Trudy Compton (3rd lady / 2nd FV35) 52.34
38 Sarah Cooper (4th lady) 53.08
46 Alice Thomas (6th lady) 54.47
49 Caroline Bolam (8th lady) 54.57
67 Rhiannon Brown 58.27
85 Jessica Nethercott 1.02.15
119 Barbara Thomas 1.11.57. 121 finished. www.stroudac.org.uk
9 May, Gloucestershire Track & Field Championships, Prince of Wales Stadium, Cheltenham .
Junior ladies 1,500 metres: 1 Jane Thomas (Cirencester) 5.28.8
Ladies 3,000 metres: 10 Alice Thomas (Cirencester, 2nd FU17) 12.02.1. www.glosaaa.org
11 May, Prague Marathon . A decent performance by Terry Ranger on a hot day.
1 Kenneth Mungara ( Kenya ) 2.11.06
1,447 Terry Ranger (Cirencester) 3.54.16. 3,699 finished. www.praguemarathon.com
11 May, Tewkesbury ½ Marathon . Very hot and no shade. Alastair Lockey of Bourton led by two minutes at 11 miles but then collapsed in the heat and didn’t finish. The organisation of this race left a lot to be desired as evidenced by the comments on Runners World website.
1 Luke Quilliam (Bitton) 1.18.15 (chip 1.18.15)
11 David Wright (Cirencester, 1st V50) 1.23.27 (1.23.23)
77 Martin Croucher 1.33.49 (1.33.46)
104 Ian Pople 1.36.07 (1.35.50)
749 Renata Sharp 2.07.12 (2.05.21). 1,460 finished. www.209events.com
11 May, Tewkesbury 5 mile Fun Run . Good win for Alice Thomas.
1 Steve Sandalls (Evesham Vale) 29.56
8 Alice Thomas (Cirencester, 1st lady) 33.38 – club FU20 record
79 Barbara Thomas 43.38. 222 finished. www.209events.com
15 May, White Horse 5k, Sandhurst , nr Gloucester . Club Championship race. Yet another sprinkling of prizes, age group wins and club records on a perfect evening for running. The highlight, other than three men breaking 16 minutes, being Tony Shelbourn’s close battle with Martin Ford, an ex-national age group champion, for the V60 win in a time that ranks fifth fastest V60 time in the country this year. Adrian Williams and Yvonne Binks consolidated their leads in the club championship.
1 Jeremy Bradley ( Cheltenham ) 15.24
2 Chris Illman (Cirencester) 15.35
8 Marc Fallows 15.55
9 Adrian Williams 15.56
13 Bill Leggate 16.12
30 David Wright (1st V50) 17.29
44 Adam Harborow 18.10
47 Stephen Elverd 18.28
48 Jane Wassell (3rd lady / 2nd FV40) 18.33
50 Tony Shelbourn (1st V60) 18.37 – club V60 record
75 Alice Thomas (1st FU17) 20.46 – club FU20 record
95 Dick Waldron 22.58 – inaugural club V65 record
110 Jane Stevens 24.25
115 Barbara Thomas 25.35
118 Yvonne Binks (1st FV60) 26.49 – inaugural club FV60 record
120 finished. www.severnac.co.uk
Team: Men (6 to score), 1 Cheltenham 65pts, 2 Cirencester 106, 3 Severn 127, 4 Bourton 209.
Women (3 to score), 1 Bourton 13, 2 Stroud 25, 3 Cirencester 36, 4 Angels 62.
18 May, Oxford Town & Gown 10km.
1 Orlando Edwards (Shaftesbury) 31.52
7 Chris Illman (Cirencester) 33.07. 2,666 finished. www.oxfordtownandgown.org
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.
26 May (Mon), Whitsun 5m, Sandhurst , nr Gloucester at 11:30 . www.severnac.co.uk
1 June, Fairford Festival 10k at 10:00 . Note no entries on the day. Entry forms on club noticeboard or can be downloaded from race website. Course circuit reverts to former clockwise direction this year. Club Championship race. www.fairford.org
4 June (Wed). Cleeve Cloud Cuckoo Land 5½m m/t at 19:30 . www.cheltenhamharriers.co.uk
9 June (Mon), Westonbirt Arboretum Trails 10k at 19:30 (see club promotions below).
19 June (Thu), White Horse 5k, Sandhurst , nr Gloucester at 19:45 . www.severnac.co.uk
28 June (Sat), Bourton Hilly ½ Marathon at 18.00. A bit bumpy. 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 . www.severnac.co.uk
14 July (Mon), Frampton-on-Severn 10k at 19:30 . Club Championship race. Popular event so enter early. www.stroudac.org.uk
CLUB RANKINGS
Here are the current rankings at 10km, the distance being run at the next two club races at Fairford & Frampton – note how many were achieved at Bourton earlier this year:
U20: 33.30 Chris Illman, Brighton 2006; FU20: 41.55 Jenny Manners, Bourton 2008;
Male senior: 31.11 Chris Illman, Bourton 2008; Female senior: 34.18 Wendy Jones (Nicholls), Bourton 1998;
FV35: 33.15 Wendy Nicholls, Bourton 2008;
V40: 33.57 David Wright, Bourton 1997; FV40: 37.11 Jane Wassell, Gloucester 2007;
V45: 35.28 Brian Wither, 1993; FV45: 43.22 Molly Fisher, 1994;
V50: 34.39 David Wright, Bourton 2008; FV50: 45.41 Elaine Wilson, Bourton 2007;
V55: 42.38 Tony Curry, Bourton 2004; FV55: 44.51 Mary Campbell, 2001;
V60: 38.58 Tony Shelbourn, Frampton & Cricklade 2007; FV60: 52.38 Mary Campbell, Westonbirt 2005;
V65: 45.23 Dick Waldron, Bourton 2008;
V70: 53.32 Fred Robson, Fairford 2005.
ROAD RACE CHAMPIONSHIP 2008
Unofficial scores after four events plus London , Paris , Shakespeare & Prague Marathons:
Men
Adrian Williams (incl. 31 bonus points) 106pts, Bill Leggate (15) 86, Adam Harborow (18) 84, Chris Illman (9) 69, Paul Barlow (8) 58, Martin Croucher (8) 55, David Wright (7) 53, Stephen Elverd (8) 50, Jon Young (10) & Marc Fallows (10) 48, Dick Waldron (1) 32, Darren Dent (8) 27, Ian Pople (8) & Tony Shelbourn (1) 26, Mark Langman 20, Andy Bradley, Bryan Reid & Terry Ranger 18, Wallace Ascham & Joe Barrowclough 17, Alastair McKeeman & Keith Firkin (2) 16, David Edelsten (8) 15, David Freer & Bob Ferris 14, Chris Brough & Chris Goldie 13, Rupert Chesmore 12, Dorian Matts & Chris Good 10, Tim Willson 9, Chris Berry 2, Brian Barrowclough 1.
Women
Yvonne Binks 75pts, Jane Stevens (7) 65, Jane Wassell 58, Christina See (3) 53, Alice Thomas (13) 49, Jenny Manners (8) 43, Wendy Nicholls (2) 42, Trudy Compton (3) 38, Carol Clarke (3) 36, Barbara Thomas 32, Lynn Ferris (1) 27, Sarah Cooper (5) 23, Nicola Denning 20, Sophie Edelsten 19, Renata Sharp & Amanda Pizzey 17, Jessica Nethercott & Jane Thomas 16, Sue Brown 13, Ruth Fulford 10.
Next fixtures:
1 June, Fairford Festival (details above)
14 July (Mon), Frampton-on-Severn 10k (details above)
19 July (Sat), Bourton 1m www.bourtonroadrunners.co.uk
24 July (Thu), Malmesbury 5k
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. 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. 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.
GLOUCESTERSHIRE COUNTY ROAD RACE SERIES 2008
This county series follows a similar format to the club championship and also shares some of the same races. The season is well under way with the Bourton Hill Half Marathon the next race (see fixtures above). For a full race listing, rules and up to date positions, look up www.runnerduck.co.uk/running
CLUB RACE PROMOTIONS 2008
Cirencester AC will once again be promoting three races this year. The Chedworth Roman Trail has now been successfully staged leaving Westonbirt as the next fixture:
9 June (Mon), Westonbirt Arboretum Trails 10k at 7.30pm . Entry limit 700. Entries are now closed for this extremely popular event. David Edelsten & Tony Curry will be canvassing support for help on the evening over the next couple of weeks.
28 September, Cirencester Park 10k at 10.30am. Entry limit 600.
Another date for the diary is Tony Curry's cancer charity event in Cirencester Park on September 6/7. More details to follow on this major weekend of racing in a future newsletter.
Members should keep all these dates free as they will be expected to be available to marshall if they do not wish to run.
TRIATHLON RESULTS
5 May, Springfield Triathlon, Corsham. (400m swim, 22km bike, 5km run)
1 Gordon Croucher (Total Fitness (5.24, 35.27, 20.06) 1.00.57
52 Mark Evans (Cirencester) (6.20, 40.58, 25.06) 1.12.24. 218 finished. www.tri247.com
TRIATHLON FIXTURES
Bob Ferris sets out the main fixtures for the summer, he comments: “Yet again it’s the time of year to throw off your clothes and plunge into icy waters, or in other words, the start of the triathlon season. Below I have listed some local events (within an hour’s travelling) that you may wish to try. For a more extensive list go to www.britishtriathlon.org”
25 May, Gloucester Tri – pool swim – 400m swim – 18k bike – 5k run. www.triteamglos.co.uk
25 May, Salisbury Tri – pool swim – 400m swim – 19 miles bike – 6.5k run. www.conceptsports.co.uk
1 June, Westonbirt Tri – 400m pool swim – 22k bike – 5k run, does clash with Fairford 10k. www.dcleisurecentres.co.uk
8 June, Wantage – 800 or 1600 swim/35 or 70k bike/12 or 17k run. www.soll-leisure.co.uk
8 June, Cotswold ladies only, distance varies beginner to elite, open water. www.triferris.com
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
TUESDAY TRAINING
This coming Tuesday, 27 May, club training will be at a different venue – a 5km time trial is likely – with BBQ facilities afterwards. Bob Ferris writes: “the club will supply bread rolls and salad, they should bring their own meat, veggie stuff and drink. The venue is the Somerford Keynes Waterpark, don't go in the main entrance continue down the road to the windsurfing and sailing entrance. I hope to be there from 6.00 - 6.15p.m. so I will keep a lookout for everyone.”
THE BLOKE AT THE BACK IN RED & BLACK
“They also serve who see life from the back of the field - Clive Hook, that’s me, has just completed his second 10k in the Mornington Chasers Regent’s Park Summer Series as part of a New Year’s resolution to run 10 x 10k’s this year, the first being the New Year’s Day 10k in Hyde Park. When I’d recovered and could speak again here were my thoughts:
A very well organised series from a friendly club in London . Great atmosphere and helpful marshals with the bonus of changing rooms, lockers and showers. Multi (three) lap course is a bit boring and I will have done 15 laps by the time I finish on August 2nd.
So far First Great Western and my Brompton have not let me down and I get to Paddington and cycle to the start in plenty of time - getting back is a bit tight since I cross the line about 35 minutes before the train leaves and Paddington is a 20 minute bike ride away - so not much time for basking in glory (if there were any) or careful cool downs and stretches. I have to forego the shower opportunity which seems to give me plenty of free space on the train on the way back with little problem finding a seat to myself. Peeling off kit and changing into dry clothes in the train loo is an art in itself - glad I’m only just six feet and not David Wilson.
This was the second in the series and I had hoped to come in under the hour (only 22 seconds out last time) but I was disappointed to be slower this time, thought I’d got it right but not enough left for the last lap. I don’t know how the fat bloke (the other one in the race) got past me in the last kilometre but he won’t next time. I certainly wasn’t wheezing and gasping like him…but hey ho. It was good to see younger, thinner and apparently fitter people finishing after me so I shall take comfort from that. With 256 finishers there were 40 of them in my wake last time according to the April results - and 36 of them younger than me.
Having suffered the ignominy of last place twice in my Cirencester AC life (note to self: Beacon 10K was a bad idea) I love it when there are people behind me and they are not the people collecting the mile markers.
So I’m washing the Cirencester shirt ready for the Bristol 10K on Monday and, having taken Bob Ferris’s advice, found matching kit so that I look the part - even my bike’s red now. I’m doing five of the Regent’s Park series, Bristol , Frampton and looking for two others having done New Year’s Day in Hyde Park . On the train back on Saturday in a moment of delirium brought about by dehydration I wondered if it was possible to do 10 x 10k’s in 10 days - perhaps next year…
…and later that same weekend …
off to Bristol for the first running of the Bristol 10k. The weather forecast said 14º and sunny with clouds – the view out of the window said grey, raining and not very warm at all. Quick change from shorts to tights then – good job they come in red and black too.
A really great route for old Bristolians like me and very well organised – although a bit more segregation of slow and v-e-e-r-r-y-y slow runners in the Green start would have helped. Annoyingly they’ve published gun times as chip times so it looks worse than it was. Not a great time by any means but it was difficult to do more than walk for the first kilometre or so.
My race plan to run at about half the speed of Chris Illman worked fairly well – although I think I was just a red and black blur as he (and then Wendy) went in the opposite direction to me under the Clifton Suspension Bridge .
3,676 finished – that means nearly 1,000 of them were behind me (and they hadn’t done Regent’s Park on Saturday I bet). Pointless medals and tee shirts at the end which I gave to a mother with two kids to avoid arguments. All the space blankets mean we looked like foil wrapped chickens as thousands of us plodded off to find our cars again in the side streets of Bristol (since Bristol City Council had kept their nice convenient car park as Permit Holders Only on a Bank Holiday Monday and employed a security guard to (a) stop people parking and (b) tell them). Now just think if they’d charged £1 or 2 for charity instead…
Big kit decision coming –will the next one be vest and shorts? Blenheim on 11 May and Berkeley on 12th?”
Watch this space for further updates on Clive Hook’s 10k year.
MISCELLANY
… congratulations to Ellen & Dan Leggate on the birth of their second daughter, Fiona Grace, on 21 April. Mother and father doing well, as are grandfather Colin O’Hare and uncle Bill Leggate, who very generously ‘wet the baby’s head’ on Dan’s behalf at Somewhere Else.
… the club has a new membership secretary, Claire Blampied has now taken over the role from Sandra Elphick and will no doubt soon be issuing reminders for annual subscriptions which become due on 1 July.
… two no shows to report: last month Rupert Chesmore wrote about his imminent 100 mile shuttle run between Winstone and Sapperton. Unfortunately, following the Shakespeare Marathon he had some problems and the run has been deferred, possibly until October. Viewers of the Great Manchester 10k on Sunday will have struggled to spot Wendy Nicholls on the start line, this is because she wasn’t there! She aggravated an Achilles problem and following her fantastic win at Bristol sensibly decided to pull out of the Manchester race. Moral of these stories: never believe anything you read in the newsletter!
… David Edelsten has just returned from across the pond: “a four week holiday in the Floridian sun was interrupted by two 5k races. The first was the De Soto 5k run over a dead straight course down the main street of Bradenton in 83 degree early evening heat. Despite only managing 26.04, I was satisfied to finish 97th out of the 197 finishers and third in the 60-64 age category. A week later it was the Island Run 5k, which I had run a couple of years ago, and started at the more usual 8am, but it was still very hot and not my best time of day for running. Once again I finished midfield (55th out of 103) and third in age category but slower in 26.39.
If any club member wants to win anything, Florida is the place to be as the competition is rather less hot than the temperature.”
David Wright: wrights@tesco.net or 01285 641224
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