HEADLINES

Following on from team successes in the Oxford League, it has been the turn of individuals to put in some outstanding performances in the last month.

Taking the achievements in chronological order, Wendy Jones produced without doubt the best performance by a club member since Ellen Leggate made the GB team in 2001, by finishing ninth in the Inter-Counties. She is soon to be featured by the Wilts & Glos Standard so make sure you order your copy and look out for it. Mention in despatches also for Jane Wassell with her first ever top 100 finish in the same race, a notable achievement in a national event.

A week later Pancho Gonzalez-Diaz achieved a great ambition by winning an open race outright with a dominating performance in the popular Forest of Dean ½ Marathon. Many congratulations to Pancho on a fantastic achievement.

This Sunday sees the club's major race promotion at Chedworth so please support it as best you can (see details below).

Enjoy the new leisure centre which opens next Tuesday (4 April)!

CROSS COUNTRY RESULTS

11 March, Inter-Counties Championships , Wollaton Park , Nottingham .

Running for Gloucestershire, Wendy Jones finished a magnificent ninth over an undulating 8km course, a mere four seconds behind the sixth place finisher.  Following her second place in the previous week's National Veterans Championships (the winner the was third here), Jones was up against the best runners in the country on national TV all fighting for places in the UK team for the World Cross Country Championships in Japan on 1/2 April.  With half the team having already been selected as they were competing in Australia in the Commonwealth Games, there were only three places available.  Thus Jones just missed out on selection but achieved her aim of making the top 10 of this prestigious race, dubbed the showpiece climax to the domestic cross country season by UK Athletics. 

Jane Wassell was also selected for Gloucestershire and achieved her best ever position of 93rd in the race.  She was the county's fifth scorer, leading to a very creditable team position of 10th. This is what Jane made of her race: "I felt it went well; I didn't get too carried away at the start so for about the first 20 minutes I was picking off runners. Someone shouted to the runner in front of me that she was 95th, fantastic I thought I'm 96th but there was still a good 10 minutes of running left. Fortunately I did feel strong and passed another two runners plus one on the line. My target was top 100 so was very happy - an improvement of 45 places and almost a minute quicker than last year!"

Women 8km: 1 H Dean (Oxon) 28.52, 2 E Hall (Herts) 29.07, 3 K Ramsey (Leics) 29.16, 4 G Phillips (Cumbria) 29.20, 5 S Thomas (North East) 29.26, 6 J Clague (Merseyside) 29.38, 7 L Wilson (Scotland) 29.40, 8 J Wright (Herts) 29.41, 9 Wendy Jones (Gloucs) 29.42, 93 Jane Wassell (Gloucs) 32.31 . 255 finished.

ROAD / MULTI-TERRAIN RESULTS

12 March, Milton Keynes ½ Marathon . Jon Young reports from the concrete cow town : "A bitterly cold day saw 2,000 runners line up for a race that promised a good chance of a pb. Based at the Open University, it was easy to find and parking was no problem. The beginning of the race was a bit chaotic as there were no indicators for where people should line up in relation to their anticipated finishing time, and no warning that the race was about to start. This resulted in a sudden start but difficulty in making good ground due to what seemed to be a large collection of people running in groups of two or three and talking about the weather, knitting, Coronation Street etc. Thereafter things improved with a good flat course, mostly on paths, with mile markers, drinks stations with energy drinks and water, and good support considering the temperature. Adrian stormed home, knocking some two minutes off his pb, with Jonathan also dipping under his best from Stroud last year."

1 Mwaniki Muriithi 1.07.30, 143 Adrian Williams 1.27.27, 204 Jonathan Young 1.30.10. 1,826 finished.

19 March, Forest of Dean Trails ½ Marathon . Club championship event. Club captain Pancho Gonzalez-Diaz targeted this race as both a good build-up workout prior to the London Marathon (as did others in the race) and as a race that he could possibly win. He was not wrong as he dominated proceedings for a comfortable and very significant victory. Fairbank from Cardiff went off fast and built a lead which Pancho gradually clawed back, eventually moving ahead on a hill just before halfway. He sustained this lead through the second half of the race on cycle paths through the beautiful but undulating forest and thoroughly milked the atmosphere on the long finishing straight, as anyone accessing the photos on the race website will see! Pancho comments: "That pictures [sic] show the enjoyment, something for the spectators, to show that not all runners finish grumpy and sick."

Fellow competitor Carol Clarke picks up the story: "I awoke to sunshine, blue-skies and warm temperatures ... eventually to rise to 12º C ... could this be Spring! Shall I? ... shan't I ... after all, it was less than three weeks since I fell down our stairs in the middle of the night and I had a perfect excuse for not turning up. Ow ... me back!!! (No, it was neither the effects of the alcohol from the night before nor was it an early morning raid on the fridge! I just fell; OK??!!!)  Anyway, although I had managed to sell my Bourton 10k number to Elaine a few days earlier, I couldn't find any takers for my Forest ½ number and, as I had paid, my cruel, tight, husband of a Yorkshireman kicked me out and insisted that I participate (by the way you Male Vets 50+, if you want a laugh ... he's threatening to turn out at the Highworth 5 miler!!!! - what's that all about?).

So, I arrived at the course thinking that Wrighty had, days before, told me that the course was only a little hilly at the start - until it levelled off for a nice run! Thanks, Dave ... I cursed you all the way round, especially as it was only the first seven miles that were hilly! Fourteen brave souls from the club ventured out and jostled through the narrow road at the start but, by the time I had crossed the mat and 'ignited ' my chip, Pancho was already half way round the course. Talking of our Captain, what a wonderful run! He took the lead after seven miles and, despite losing sight of the lead car on numerous occasions, he maintained his lead until the finish. Pity he had to wait nearly two hours before receiving his Smithkline Beecham Cup and his specially struck gold medal celebrating the 10th anniversary of the race. Well done Captain . fantastic.

... and what about Paul Barlow? A personal best time and 10th position: he never ceases to amaze. Congratulations. With Adam Harborow finishing in 20th position and Niel Dunnage - our tri-man - in 48th our Senior Men's team had a great showing.

Mind you, we girlies had a bit of a blanket finish with four of us finishing within eight minutes of one another. Well done to Trudy, what an amazing time, and well done to Kim and also smoke free Corinne, now into her training for the marathon.  It wasn't until I got home that I realised that the presentation had been delayed to allow Chris Brough time to finish (sorry Chris, you can get your own back any Sunday morning)! Quite right! Respect!"

Regular readers shouldn't be too alarmed by Brough's apparent decline: he was helping a work colleague get round his first distance race (at least that is what he said). Anyone managing a personal best time on this tough course ran really well and the following achieved that considerable feat: Paul Barlow, Adam Harborow, Niel Dunnage & Corinne Clark.

1 Pancho Gonzalez-Diaz (Cirencester) 1.16.31

2 Keith Fairbank ( Cardiff ) 1.16.58

3 Jason Williams (Clevedon) 1.17.17

10 Paul Barlow (Cirencester) 1.21.07

30 Adam Harborow 1.27.23

48 Niel Dunnage 1.29.43

131 Duncan Atkinson 1.37.16

194 Trudy Compton 1.41.04 (10th FV35)

195 Tony Kingston 1.41.17

251 Dave Cook 1.45.14

306 Kim Withycombe 1.46.59 (15th senior lady)

335 Corinne Clark 1.48.00 (18th senior lady)

372 Carol Clarke 1.49.36 (7th FV50)

446 Sue Brown 1.53.18 (10th FV50)

528 Jim Fallon 1.57.13

902 Chris Brough 2.23.34

992 finished. Full results plus race photos (click on Marathon Photos icon within website having noted race numbers from results) on www.rotary-royalforestofdean.org.uk/trails.html

25 March, Compton Downland Challenge 20/40 miles. As alluded to in February's newsletter, Rupert Chesmore managed to persuade a fair number of normally sensible club members to participate in this popular off road event in Oxfordshire. There was a choice of either a 20 miler with 2,200 feet of ascent (for the slightly insane) or a 40 miler (3,900 feet, Mr Chesmore only). The official entry form states that the course is "on footpaths, tracks & bridleways . is virtually a figure of eight which allows runners to switch from the 40 mile event to the 20 miler at 19.5 miles depending on how they feel at that stage" ! Whether a full report will be forthcoming from any survivors is unknown but here are the results:

Compton 40 miles aka Full Fat Forty

1 Jez Bragg (Trail Runners Association) 5.06.24, 72 Rupert Chesmore (Cirencester) 8.11.36. 99 finished

Compton 20 miles aka Bare Bones Twenty

1 Andy Macaskil (Wargrave Runners) 2.12.53, 30 Paul Barlow (Cirencester) 2.54.11, 97 Terry Ranger 3.15.40, 182 Liza Darroch 4.04.08, 183 Clare James 4.04.08, 194 Yvonne Binks 4.20.42. 212 finished.

Stop press: article received from Rupert just as button being pressed to publish : "Following the advice of our medical representative in the club [see newsletter no. 22], six members heeded his warnings and attended a mass gathering to cure them of avian bird flu, namely the Compton 20 and 40 milers. After a formal photograph at the start Paul and Terry paired up 'for a training run', the ladies immediately started talking and Rupert entered the zombie state of the ultra runner. For those awaiting this medical cure the first 20 miles is a classic multi terrain on all types of surfaces including a footpath through a graveyard (with freshly filled graves), something to keep up your rhythm. Plenty of marshals, food/drink stations and signs, and a beast of a hill at 10 miles before wonderful views of the Goring Gap. 

Returning to Compton the fun runners stopped whilst the nutters went north for another 20 miles around Harwell and West Ilsley . The morning blue skies changed to strong winds and driving rain and then the mentally deranged got wet for their pains.

Results wise Paul came in 30th (2.54) @ 8.42 miling pace in the '20'. He stated at the end that he regretted stopping half way round and if he had kept up that pace he would have come in 4th in the long race. Anyway he is already planning this for next year... Terry finished 97th (3.15) mumbling that London next month would be a stroll in the park now that he had experienced real running. Liza and Clare finished 182/183 in 4.04. If only they spent less time talking they might have run quicker, appreciated the near Alpine hill at 10 miles and not stopped so often to have their photographs taken by Clare's boyfriend Chris. Yvonne (194) completed in 4.20 stating that she was not a fan of steep hills but now looked at Big Bertha with disdain.

In the '40' Rupert finished 72nd (8.12) the same position as last year but some 20 mins slower. Old age, an expanding waist line and very slippery chalky tracks at the end were the excuses. The final runner completed in 11.56 which reflects on the wonderful organisation to keep the marshals out right to the bitter end. The club is going to enter a team for the longer run next year so contact the editor and get your names on his list."

28 March, Bridge Inn 5k, Shortwood, nr Bristol . Despite gale force winds blowing, Wendy Jones, beaten by only three men, missed her own club record by just one second last night on this out and back course on cycle tracks. Her time is the fastest by a female in the UK so far this year.

1 Mike Roberts (Bristol & West) 16.31, 4 Wendy Jones (Cirencester, 1st lady/FV35) 16.54, 20 Jane Wassell (3rd lady/2nd FV35) 18.49, 30 David Wright 19.48. 59 finished.

CHEDWORTH ROMAN TRAIL '10'

With the leisure centre closed, David Edelsten will be e-mailing all marshals for Sunday's race giving final instructions. Herewith his final general comments: "For anyone still wishing to run there will be late entries between 9 and 10am on Sunday (we have 355 at the moment with a 500 'limit'). All marshalls should report to Rupert Chesmore or me at Chedworth Village Hall by 9.30. Those asked to do car parking/late entries will need to be there by 8.45. All marshalls should bring their mobile phone and must have their own transport as they will have to drive to their marshalling points. They can park in the Village Hall car park rather than the competitors car park which is 200 yards away. Will everyone coming to Chedworth - whether to run, marshal or watch - please bring a cake that can be sold." The race starts at 10:30 .

FORTHCOMING ROAD / MULTI-TERRAIN RACES & CONTACT DETAILS:

9 April, Reading ½ Marathon . Wendy Jones & Chris Illman will be amongst the 13,500 runners aiming for fast times.

15 April (Easter Saturday), Gloucester 10k, White Horse, Sandhurst at 15:00 . Venue was formerly known as The Globe Inn and is in Sandhurst Lane just off the A40 Gloucester ring road. Enter on the day, see www.severnac.co.uk

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

26 April (Tuesday), Bridge Inn 5k, Shortwood, nr Bristol (postcode BS16 9NG) at 19:30 . First of a summer series (others on 31 May, 28 June, 25 July). Enter on the night @ £4 (or £13 for series), see www.bristolandwestac.org.uk

30 April, Highworth '5' miles at 11:00 . Club championship event. Entry forms at the leisure centre or from www.swindonweb.com/hrc Note that unlike in previous years, there will be no entries accepted on the day so you must enter in advance.

1 May (Monday), Eldersfield Beer Race, nr Gloucester at 11:30 . This two lap 4.2 mile race has been going for many years and is a very sociable event located at a lovely country pub, The Greyhound Inn at Eldersfield. As with a lot of races promoted by Severn AC it is difficult to get hold of any paperwork but just enter on the day. You will enjoy it! See www.severnac.co.uk

7 May, Tewkesbury ½ Marathon at 09:30 . 700 runners in 2005.

18 May (Thursday), White Horse 5k at 19:45 . Club championship event. See venue details above. Enter on the day. Details on www.severnac.co.uk This race forms the first of four 5k races at The White Horse forming a summer series (the others being on 15 June, 20 July & 17 August).

26 June, Westonbirt Arboretum 10k at 19:30 . Some way ahead but the inaugural race last year sold out very quickly and the race, which is promoted by our friends Tetbury Royals, received a lot of publicity through the running press and is bound to reach its limit of 550 again. Promoter Tim Willson will be looking for some administrative & marshalling help from the club but if wanting to enter view www.tetburyroyals.org

RANKINGS

No club records were broken at the Forest of Dean so herewith club 5 mile age group records for attack at the Highworth '5' on 30 April:

Ladies: 29.38 Wendy Jones, Highworth 2003; Men: 25.59 Mike Smith, 2000;

FV35: 29.03 Wendy Jones, Highworth 2005;

FV40: no times recorded, an opportunity for someone!; V40: 27.35 David Wright, Broad Town 1997;

FV45: 35.47 Elaine Wilson, Highworth 2003; V45: 29.59 David Wright, Highworth 2002;

FV50: 38.09 Ruth Fulford, 1999; V50: 32.32 Adam Bede, 1999;

FV55: 36.35 Mary Campbell, 2000; V55: 35.04 Tony Curry, Highworth 2004;

FV60: no times recorded; V60: 36.23 Tony Curry, Highworth 2005

For those with aims at the longer distances, marathon rankings are also listed (good luck to all who are running in London on 23 April):

U20 ladies: sensibly, no times recorded; U20 men: 3.19.16 Chris Illman, Blackpool 2005;

Ladies: 3.06.19 Trudy Evans (now Compton ), 1999; Men: 2.26.23 Mike Smith, Abingdon 2000;

FV35: 3.08.23 Wendy Jones, London 2005;

FV40: 3.30.-- Molly Fisher, London 1989; V40 2.59.-- John Jameson, 1988;

FV45: 3.34.-- Molly Fisher, Abingdon 1992; V45 2.51.-- John Jameson, 1989;

FV50: 3.49.10 Ruth Fulford, 1999; V50 3.33.58 David Edelsten, 1997;

FV55: 4.17.28 Liza Darroch, Cardiff 2004;

FV70: no times recorded; V70 4.36.18 Fred Robson, London 2002.

2006 CLUB ROAD RACE CHAMPIONSHIP

Scores to date, after the Bourton & Forest of Dean races:

Men: P Gonzalez-Diaz 40pts, P Barlow 37pts, D Cook 30pts, A Harborow 25pts, C Illman 24pts, J Young 20pts, I Pople 17pts, N Dunnage 12pts, D Atkinson 11pts, T Kingston 10pts, A Williams 9pts, S Elverd & J Fallon 8pts, C Brough 7pts, D Edelsten 6pts.

Women: T Compton 38pts, Corinne Clark 33pts, W Jones 22pts, J Manners 19pts, E Wilson 18pts, J Wassell & K Withycombe 14pts, S McKeeman & Carol Clarke 12pts, S Brown 11pts.

April sees the Highworth '5' and the first chance of scoring via the marathon (see competition rules below) at London . The rest of the championship fixtures (in addition to the imminent ones shown in fixtures above) are as follows:

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. Races marked with * form part of the Gloucestershire County Road Race Series for 2006. Further races in this series, but not included in the club championship: April 15, Gloucester 10k; May 7, Tewkesbury ½ Marathon ; June 24, Bourton ½ Marathon ; September, Cirencester 10k; November, Tewkesbury '5'. Full details of this championship can be found on www.mozart.e7even.com/running

TRAINING / SOCIAL

A reminder that the new leisure centre opens on Tuesday 4 April. To celebrate the closure of the old one, as well as the successes at the Oxford League, a large group congregated in the local watering hole, Somewhere Else, which is just a short walk away. A great evening was had by all. So let's wet the baby's head so to speak with another social next Tuesday at the same venue. Remember soft drinks, tea/coffee, chips, tapas dishes etc are all available alongside the traditional beer & wine. The club is really buzzing at present so to make Tuesdays even more fun than just looking forward to the pleasures of Bob Ferris' sessions, come down to Somewhere Else each week. A rumour - almost certainly unfounded - is that Pancho will be buying the first round to celebrate his magnificent win at the Forest of Dean !

MISCELLANY

. Kim Withycombe was the club's most consistent performer in the Oxford League. After a warm up position of 45th in the first race, her subsequent finishing positions were 34, 36, 35 & 34.

. Still on a XC theme, the Wassell family ran the most races during the winter. Mum Jane ran in the Glos County Champs as well as Glos & Oxford Leagues and has an incredible record over the last two years: (County Champs) 5,5 (Glos lge) 4, 5, 5, 5, 3 (Oxford lge) 4, 2, 6, 4, 3, 3, 3, 2, 4, 6. Her sons, Lewis & Cameron, ran most of the U11 races in both leagues. Dad Michael is a good driver!

. there has been a big influx of new members over the past 12 months and this has had a major bearing on the successes recently achieved. Many new members will have been slightly confused by seeing a Leggate (Ellen) running in the ladies race at the last Oxford League. It is appropriate therefore to explain the complicated O'Hare / Leggate dynasty! Colin O'Hare who, with the possible exception of Bob Ferris, has run in more Oxford League races over the past 10 years than any other club member, is Ellen Leggate's father. Ellen was born & brought up in Cirencester and came up through the club's junior section to eventually reach the highest levels of the sport with a GB vest in the World XC Championships in 2001 (alongside Paula Radcliffe, Liz Yelling [bronze medallist in the Commonwealth Games marathon last week] and Hayley Yelling amongst others). Ellen met and married Dan Leggate whilst at Oxford University . Dan, who is from Fife in Scotland , is a Scottish international runner and has run many times for Cirencester in the Oxford League and the Chedworth Roman '10', for which he holds the course record. Ellen & Dan together with three month old Jennifer (see latest photos & video on Snapfish website) currently live in Cambridge , hence the infrequent runs for the club. Coincidentally to all the above, Dan's brother Bill, who is a GP and is known to most regulars at the club, decided to work at a practice in Cirencester only to find that his brother's in-laws live in the same town! To complete the running dynasty, Dan & Bill's father, John Leggate has appeared in local races, notably the Frampton 10k two years ago, when in the area. John has recently undergone heart surgery so we all wish him a speedy recovery. Confused? Thought so but at least all is now explained.

. as an indication of the level Wendy Jones has now reached with her running, there were no less than three runners competing in the Commonwealth Games last week who have been beaten by Cirencester's top performer. Shona Crombie-Hicks (Scotland) & Lauren Shelley (Australia) in the marathon and Catherine Dugdale (Wales) who competed in the 10,000 metres, have all seen the back of Wendy's red & black Cirencester singlet in recent times.

David Wright: wrights@tesco.net or 01285 641224