Following the success of the club in general and the ladies team in particular in last winter's Oxford League, some excellent photographs have been posted onto the club website. Log on to www.cirencester-ac.org.uk and follow the headline 'Hot Off The Press' or source the photos via the Club News section of the website.

The ladies have continued their winning ways with overall victory in the Fairford 10k and in the inaugural Westonbirt Arboretum 10k. At Fairford it was not the old familiar names but Kveta Kroulikova, Kim Ingleby and Sue McKeeman who formed the team, showing what depth the ladies team currently enjoys. At Westonbirt normal service was resumed with Wendy Jones and Jane Wassell leading the ladies home, supported this time by Kim Withycombe for another team victory.

The triathlon season is in full swing with much success throughout the age groups for Cirencester competitors as highlighted in a separate section below.

Despite two hiccups the club's first attempt at the Cotswold Way relay was a great success. No apologies for extended coverage below.

Finally much praise must go to the Tetbury Royals who produced a really efficiently organised first race promotion at Westonbirt. Tim Willson and Chris Riches (both Cirencester members of course) didn't miss a trick and the race went off without a hitch.

RESULTS

Rod Sinclair reports on his latest fell running exploits:

"I . ran in the lakes on the weekend. The results haven't been released as yet, but as far as I am aware the main results are: Sun 22nd May Helvellyn Fell Race 11miles and 4,500ft of ascent - Lake District . A pleasant day with some light hill fog on the tops, and a cool breeze. Mens winning time was 1:45, womens 1:58. I managed a time of 2:14 after lining up with a slight temperature. A good course, out and back, with a severe climb at the start, followed by some faster sections."

5 June Fairford Festival 10km. Another excellent turnout despite holidays and injuries for some, officiating duties for others (David Edelsten, Colin O'Hare, Ellen Leggate) and fun run family responsibilities for a few (see below). Mercifully conditions were cool for a change which may, in part, explain the 25% increase in entries over 2004. The hills still had to be conquered, however, and times reflected the severity of the course. Highlight of the day for the club was the unexpected retaining of the ladies team title. Good packing in the three to score event not only won the overall title for Kveta, Kim & Sue but also resulted in the club's 'B' team of Carol Clarke, Corinne Clark & Sue Brown finishing fourth. At the sharp end of the race Chris Illman showed that his marathon training has been going well and Pancho at last recorded a 10k time so that he can attack it in future races to gain bonus points in the club championship! Finally, like a fine wine Fred Robson continues to improve with age as he beat his own O70 club record at the age of 74.

1 Dan Duke ( Cheltenham ) 32.16
11 Chris Illman (Cirencester) 35.38
15 Pancho Diaz 36.36
35 Paul Barlow 38.26
78 Bill Leggate 41.22
89 Jonathan Young 41.52
102 Niel Dunnage 42.15
129 Terry Ranger 43.30
152 Kveta Kroulikova (10th lady) 44.57
163 Kim Ingleby (14th lady) 45.46
167 Dorian Matts 45.52
178 Dick Waldron 46.19
200 Sue McKeeman (21st lady) 47.04
205 Carol Clarke (24th lady) 47.19
231 Corinne Clark (32nd lady) 48.34
246 Sue Brown (38th lady) 49.23
324 Fred Robson 53.32 - V70 club record
345 Ken McAnespie 54.39
496 finished

Teams: 1 Bourton 23pts, 2 Cheltenham 36pts, 3 Cirencester 58pts.

Ladies teams: 1 Cirencester 45pts, 2 Avon 80pts, 3 Swindon 88pts, 4 Cirencester 'B' 94pts.

5 June Fairford Festival 3km fun run. Large helpings of Fallows' and Wassells plus a sprinkling of other members and their offspring created some interesting results in the fun run. The star was Cameron Wassell who won the Infant Boys (U8) category outright. His proud parents were some way down the field accompanying young Zoe who, it appears from the results, outsprinted both mum & dad, although dad will no doubt be ecstatic that he beat mum!

21 Luke Fallows (Junior Boy), 24 Jack Sherrington (JB), 25 Cameron Wassell (1st Infant Boy), 29 Robyn Maxtone (Junior Girl), 37 Eliot Manners (JB), 39 Joe Ranger (Boy), 85 Lewis Wassell (JB), 92 Callum Fallows (IB), 93 Marc Fallows, 98 Zoe Wassell (Infant Girl), 99 Michael Wassell, 100 Jane Wassell, 171 Isabel McKeeman (JG), 191 Casey Fallows (IB), 192 Elaine Wilson, 193 Natalie Fallows, 195 Robert Wilson (IB). 307 finished.

Full results of both 10k and 3k fun run can be found on www.fairfo r d.org/10k/index.html

11 June Broad Town '5'. Cathy Cook penned this article: "As it is only 10 minutes from my front door I thought it would be a good one for a bit of a blast. I had just finished a seven day course of antibiotics so wasn't feeling great. I thought I could turn up incognito and just see how things went. However, in the car park I bumped into Paul Barlow and Keith Firkin!! (Didn't know Keith lived in Wroughton as well). Anyway, it was a scorching afternoon with the race start at 2:30 . I held my nerve with everyone running very quickly past me in the first half of the race but nobody overtook me in the second half! I know the course very well as I cycle on it regularly and knew there was a gradual climb towards the end. Despite feeling pretty rough all the way round, I still managed first lady overall and first vet (breaking the course record). Paul did well and was really pleased with his time. Have seen him start swimming on a Sunday night and have advised him that the fashion police will be round soon if doesn't do something about those shorts! I'm sure they're creating more drag in the water." Cathy's run was indeed most impressive as was that of Paul Barlow who ran nearly two minutes faster than at Highworth.

1 Mike Smith (Bourton) 26.27
10 Paul Barlow (Cirencester) 29.36
13 Cathy Cook (1st lady, 1st FV35) 30.44 (FV35 course record)
26 Keith Firkin 32.26
140 finished

19 June Blackpool Marathon . Chris Illman ran 3.19.16 for 75th out of 818 finishers in his first marathon then managed to do an 'A' level the next day! Although a little disappointed by his time, Chris did pick the hottest day of the year so far (see Marlborough triathlon below) so shouldn't be too disappointed.

20 June Westonbirt National Arboretum 10k Trail Race. Despite the race limit of 300 being reached many weeks before this inaugural promotion put on by the Tetbury Royals, a good number of club members parted with the entry fee in time to take part. Some faces not seen for a while appeared; it was particularly good to see Fiona Collings, Mary Campbell and Ian Pople (running at an easy pace to support a friend) in Cirencester vests. Club representation was good at the sharp end of the field as well, as Peter Holmes (running for Tetbury, his first claim club) and Joe Barrowclough came down from university to get podium positions. Having started steadily following a triathlon the day before, Wendy Jones stormed through in the last mile to give Bill Leggate, amongst others, a big surprise. With Jane, approaching good form again, and Kim Withycombe in support, the ladies maintained their stranglehold on local events with team victory. All finishers were presented with an oak sapling to plant in their gardens.

1 Nick Armitage 37.10
2 Peter Holmes (Tetbury Royals & Cirencester) 37.29
3 Joe Barrowclough (Cirencester) 38.05
8 Wendy Jones (1st lady, 1st FV35) 39.03
9 Bill Leggate 39.13
11 Jane Wassell (2nd lady, 2nd FV35) 39.54
19 Jamie Cameron 41.46
32 Bob Ferris 44.10
48 Tony Curry 46.18
73 Dick Waldron 48.37
98 Kim Withycombe 51.02
102 Brian Barrowclough 51.28
104 Fiona Collings 51.34
121 Mary Campbell 52.38
151 Lynn Ferris 55.08
182 Ian Pople 57.53
261 finished

25 June Bourton ½ Marathon . 109 Kveta Kroulikova 1.45.41, 151 Corinne Clark 1.55.25. 205 finished

25 June Cotswold Way Relay. The stifling heat during the week, followed by Glastonbury thunderstorms, dissipated into a perfect day for running for this epic 10 stage relay through the Cotswolds. Although a relay, each stage had a mass start of 52 teams when the leading runner finished from the previous stage. Cumulative time was then calculated for final results. Herewith, stage by stage, Cirencester's first attempt at this great race:

Stage 1, Chipping Campden to Stanway House (12 miles, 1,358 ft ascent): an eerie mist and remnants of the previous day's storms enveloped Chipping Campden for the start at 07:00 . Bill Leggate volunteered for this early start and was spotted going well in Broadway at halfway. However all was to change. The steep downhill from Broadway Tower, followed by the hard tarmac of the High Street wrecked Bill's calf muscle to the extent that he had to hobble the last five miles losing about 20 minutes to finish 37th in 1.50.02. Not an auspicious start but things could only get better .

Stage 2, . to Cleeve Common Golf Course (12.5m / 1,814'): the club's resident fell runner, Rod Sinclair, had to do the section with the most climbing and he didn't disappoint with a strong finish up onto the common on a vicious climb (per race detail: the stage with a kick in the tail) , finishing 13th in 1.36.20.

Stage 3, . to Seven Springs (8.5m / 1,214'): Mark Gluning came into the race with only three days notice and ran along the top of the escarpment before dropping down to the A40 and climbing back up past Andoversford to the finish. As well as nearly walking off with the proceeds of race t-shirt sales - runners kept thrusting money into his hands thinking he was selling them - at the start, Mark had an absolutely storming run to break into the top 10 for the first time. All was now back on track .

Stage 4, . to Cranham Corner (12.5m / 1,220'): Fresh (!) from a recent half ironman event, Martin Pitts had the pleasure of running this "cracking stage" taking in the Devil's Chimney and Birdlip. David Edelsten had by this stage joined the backup team of David Wright and a hobbling Bill Leggate and he supplied water to Martin at halfway, reporting at the finish that he was going well in a group around 13th place. Martin didn't finish 13th . with 500 metres to go he correctly crossed the A46 but instead of turning left for the run in to the finish he decided to go straight on down towards Upton St Leonards! By the time he realised his error and retraced his steps back up the hill he had lost 20 minutes, finishing 38th in 1.51.17.

Stage 5, . to Ebley Mill, Stroud (12.5m / 932'): as usual the ladies bailed out the team; first off was Wendy Jones who started steadily over Painswick Golf Course, Nibley and part of the Standish Woodland course, before picking up the pace, overtaking several bemused men, and sprinting along the canal at the end to finish 8th in 1.24.31 to win a pair of fell running shoes as first lady (talk to Wendy nicely, Rod, she might get them in your size!). Frustratingly, given how fresh she was at the end, Wendy missed the ladies stage record by 18 seconds.

Stage 6, . to Dursley (9m / 1,738'): Loughborough University student and Tetbury Royal, Pete Holmes, had probably the toughest stage in terms of ascent per mile. In fact the first mile was straight uphill on Selsey Common. Spectators (including concerned Cirencester onlookers fearing the worst) could just about make out Pete's white peaked cap in the lead at the top of the hill. Surely he would blow up or go wrong (later it transpired he said the immortal words at the top of the hill "which way now lads!" ). Oh the bravado of youth! There was nothing to fear, let Pete take up the story in his own inimitable style: "the woodland sections were quite flowing and pleasant, apart from the mud ... the top two guys disappeared after realising that if they got far enough ahead of me then I wouldn't know where to go ... so I settled in with a couple of runners from Bristol Orienteeting and Chippenham. Orienteering blokey also made a dash for it to lose me ... my lack of navigation skills were far too obvious as I jogged waiting for others to catch me up and make decisions about which way to go rather than guessing as to the correct path myself. Ended up running most of the course with blokey from Chippenham, although he refused to share his water bottle with me when he was handed one. Very unsporting, so I had my revenge later! Ended up trailing through stinging nettles( ed: not a stage for Paul Barlow next year, then) , brambles (cuts to prove), more mud, uphill walking sections etc. Hit the two mountainous hills into Dursley and everyone was reduced to a walk! My younger legs meant that I was able to keep in pretty good stead with the others and so finding my way into Dursley wasn't too much of a problem. As we ascended the final hill towards the high street I told Chippenham blokey that I wasn't going to try and out kick him as he had navigated me through pretty much the entire stage and therefore it was a bit harsh if I beat him. But needless to say, as soon as I saw Dave and Bill who told me to 'go for home' it was every man for himself and he got his just desserts for not offering me a drink earlier in the run as I put nine seconds on him in the final 300m or so!" Pete finished a magnificent 4th in 1.07.28.

Stage 7, . to Wotton-u-Edge (7m / 902'): Bob Ferris had less warning (two days) than Mark as the team was decimated by injuries, work commitments and sheer fright of the course contours in the week leading up to the event. This leg, the shortest on the route, included "a couple of sporty hills" . Anyone who has run the Dursley Dozen would recognise the start, a vicious climb up into the woods. Despite going slightly off course early on, Bob had a fine run having latched onto a knarled old veteran who had done this particular stage five times. Highlight was his sprint finish, reportedly his first successful sprint finish in 35 years! An excellent 17th in 1.02.40 was the result.

Stage 8, . to Old Sodbury (12m / 1,328'): Cathy Cook had the pleasure of running a stage described as " long, utterly attractive, good landmarks, entertaining hills". David & Bill watched Cathy go past just after halfway and she had a steely determination in her eyes as she concentrated on reeling in a line of men ahead of her. Sure enough at the finish Cathy had not only won the ladies battle with a Cheltenham Harrier, but also passed a number of men in a stirring second half display to finish in an outstanding 8th place in 1.29.43 to also win a pair of shoes as first lady. It was on this stage that the overall title was effectively won. The Stroud runner was in second place when passing through at halfway. He ended up some distance behind Cathy losing some 17 minutes. At the end of the race Bath won the race by 15 minutes with Stroud second. You weren't alone in going off course, Martin.

Stage 9, . to Cold Ashton (9m / 820'): a classy field faced Dave Cook in the penultimate stage which crossed the M4 as the finish in Bath closed in. He coped well though and although he felt slightly disappointed by his run it was a good solid effort that maintained Cirencester's push through the rankings. He finished 22nd in 1.19.40.

Stage 10, . to Bath Abbey (10m / 807'): having run this event many times for Chippenham, Jane Wassell was the club's most experienced runner on the day. Jane had never before run this particular stage but it was fitting that she had the pleasure of running through startled tourists in the middle of Bath before reaching the finish line in front of Bath Abbey. Jane was unlucky to come up against another top lady runner as she had an excellent run to finish 11th in 1.10.42, just outside the top 10 as two men just outsprinted her (no doubt Bob will give some sprinting tips in due course).

After 14 hours 2 minutes 25 seconds Cirencester finished 14th overall and 8th in the mixed team category. A quick computation of theoretical times for Messrs Leggate & Pitts, based on their halfway positions, indicated that 5th (2nd mixed) would have been achieved. Given that all other teams were regular participants in this fantastic event the club should be very satisfied with its first effort. Hopefully in 2006 a couple of teams will enter what is a great day out in the Cotswold countryside. For more details, including full results, log onto www.cityofbathac.org , click on events and then follow the prompts.

RANKINGS

Scoring to date after five races in the club road race championship:

1 Bill Leggate 71pts, 2 Chris Illman 49pts, 3 Paul Barlow 44pts, 4 Jonathan Young 39pts, 5 Duncan Atkinson 37pts, 6 Wendy Jones (1st lady) 32pts, 7 Pancho Diaz 29pts, 8 Jane Wassell (L) 28pts, 9 Dave Cook 24pts, 10 Niel Dunnage 23pts, 11 Justin Nicholls 22pts, 12 Dick Waldron 21pts, 13 Chris Riches 20pts, 14 David Edelsten 17pts, 15 Carol Clarke (L) 16pts, 16 Kim Ingleby (L) 13pts, 17 Chris Sherrington 12pts, 18 Kveta Kroulikova (L) 11pts, 19 Sue Brown (L) 10pts, 20= Elaine Wilson (L), Kevin Ferris, David Wright, Terry Ranger 9pts, 24 Bob Ferris 7pts, 25= Tony Curry, Dorian Matts 6pts, 27= Diane Moore (L), Chris Brough 5pts, 29 Sue McKeeman (L) 4pts, 30 Corinne Clark (L) 2pts, 31= Lyn Ferris (L), Fred Robson, Ken McAnespie 1pt.

Another error to record on club records: in the recent Pilot Inn 5k Duncan Atkinson beat David Wright by a few seconds in a titanic battle. The latter made the wrong assumption that he had created an inaugural club record in the V45 category (there having been no previously recorded times) but didn't realise that the youthful looking Duncan was also a V45. Thus the current record is held by Duncan Atkinson with a time of 19:43 - the editor apologises profusely and will creep back into obscurity.

FORTHCOMING RACES & CONTACT DETAILS:

11 July (Monday) Frampton-on-Severn 10km www.stroudathleticclub.org.uk This is the next race on the club championship calendar. Another popular evening race with free (if sometimes somewhat dodgy) cider available to all finishers and a barbeque on the go after the race. A good course crossing the Gloucester & Sharpness canal then hugging the banks of the river Severn . It is best to enter in advance although entries are usually accepted on the evening.

2005 CLUB ROAD RACE CHAMPIONSHIP

The remaining races and entry details for this year's championship are as follows:

3 August (Wednesday) Bugatti 10km (Gretton, nr Winchcombe) www.cheltenhamharriers.co.uk - entry forms at the leisure centre. T-shirts to all finishers. Note there are no entries on the day.

11 September Witney 10 mile www.witneyroadrunners.org.uk

23 October Stroud ½ Marathon www.stroudathleticclub.org.uk

TRIATHLON

Bob Ferris reports on the season so far: " Gloucester Tri. This was the first triathlon event of the season (I believe some members also competed at Corsham & Blenheim in May). This is an excellent event for those making their debut in the field of triathlon. The race distance being 400m swim - 18k bike - 6k run. Cirencester was represented by Sue Brown, Wendy Jones, Elaine Wilson, Carole Clarke, Corrine Clark, Andy Fraser (both making their first start for the club) and Justin Nicholls (a debutant in the world of tri), plus elder statesman Bob Ferris.

Wendy won the women's section overall whilst Corrine, on what I believe to be her tri debut, finished in an excellent time. Carol was second in her age group and Sue was third, well done to the both of them. Elaine was fifth in her age group.

Justin, on his all singing & dancing new bike (he likes to keep this quiet), had a good performance for his first tri. Andy also did really well considering he has not been swimming that long and he knows he will only get better in time. Bob 'I make my excuses before I start' Ferris did not do so well (I like to give the younger members of the club encouragement by letting them beat me!), in other words I had a lousy race and managed to get round just before it got dark.

Marlborough Tri. After Justin's good performance in his debut at Gloucester , he decided to improve his time with a regime of total abstinence, the only trouble with this was he abstained from training (two weeks of beer, food and any other indulgent practices you care to imagine). This new-wave thinking on training backfired big time, but on the positive side he is now claiming an all time record for the slowest 8k ever run, or fastest walk, by a Ciren A.C. member. All club members performed well considering the temperature was 30c.

Two members raced the Windsor Tri: Niel Dunnage and Kim Ingleby both had good races considering the hot conditions and I believe Kim qualified for her age group in the world championships."

Results (swim, bike, run times in brackets):

22.05.2005 Blenheim. 95 Niel Dunnage (13.41, 34.45, 24.34 + transition) 1.19.14. 1,424 finished.

30.05.2005 TTG Gloucester .

28 Wendy Jones (7.24, 31.44, 23.44) 1.02.52 - 1st lady
32 Justin Nicholls (6.49, 29.45, 26.50) 1.03.24
48 Bob Ferris (7.01, 29.56, 27.40) 1.04.37 - 2nd super vet
128 Corrine Clark (8.19, 34.47, 30.25) 1.13.31
137 Elaine Wilson (7.45, 34.28, 31.55) 1.14.08 - 5th lady vet
170 Carol Clarke (9.14, 40.08, 29.37) 1.18.59 - 2nd lady super vet
176 Sue Brown (10.04, 38.02, 31.39) 1.19.45 - 3rd lady super vet
218 finished (full results on www.triteamglos.co.uk )

19.06.2005 Marlborough Fast Twitch. As alluded to by Bob in his summary above, extreme heat took its toll on all the competitors in what became a truly gruelling event. Whilst the swim section was, understandably, not a problem and the bike just about bearable, the run on a tough course had no shade and all suffered in the heat of the day, none more so than Justin (I've beaten Wrighty) Nicholls. His preparation for this race was, on the face of it, perfect: two weeks on a Greek island for heat acclimatisation. He forgot one thing however - he didn't do any training! 53.33 for five miles (yes 10.42 miling!) was the result. Wendy Jones, on the other hand, managed to do some running on the same Greek island and produced another impressive performance in her fledging triathlon career with second place in a good quality field. Bob Ferris and Elaine Wilson were both prize winners with Elaine excelling with victory in her age group. Martin Pitts didn't go off course.

1 Peter Younghusband ( 5.40, 50.27, 30.00) 1.26.07
29 Martin Pitts (6.37, 57.23, 35.30) 1.39.30
53 Bob Ferris (6.49, 59.52, 38.23) 1.45.04 - 2nd super vet
62 Wendy Jones (7.14, 63.38, 35.08) 1.46.00 - 2nd lady, 1st lady vet
157 Elaine Wilson (7.24, 68.01, 44.32) 1.59.57 - 1st lady vet 45
170 Andrew Frazer (8.26, 67.45, 45.19) 2.01.30
184 Justin Nicholls (7.05, 63.10, 53.33) 2.03.48
263 finished (full results on www.conceptsports.co.uk )

19.06.2005 Royal Windsor . 276 Niel Dunnage (27.59, 1.09.27, 51.37) 2.29.04, 748 Kim Ingleby (32.10, 1.21.25, 50.10) 2.43.46. 1445 finished

Listed below are the residual triathlons suggested by Bob Ferris for club members to attend:

24.07.2005 MK Triathlon (Olympic distance) - www.big-cow.com

14.08.2005 Swanage - www.conceptsport.co.uk

11.09.2005 Cotswold Sprint open water www.triferris.co.uk

Also from July through September, on the first Wednesday of each month, there is a series of duathlons held at Castle Coombe motor racing circuit - start time 7.00pm , distance 2 mile run, 10 mile bike, 2 mile run. July's event could be 2 -10 - 2 - 10 - 2. You can usually enter on the night. If you wish to know any more details about these and other triathlon/duathlon events contact Bob.

MISCELLANY

. the club now has a world record holder in its midst: Nathan Barrowclough, brother of Joe and son of Brian is the man. As splashed across the Wilts & Glos Standard under the headline " Can't get fitter than a woolsack sprinter ", Nathan broke the record for the famous woolsack race. Let the paper pick up the story . "the main focus of the day were the famous races where contestants run with a sack of wool over their back at the gruelling Gumstool Hill course. There were treats in store as two world records were smashed in the men's and women's events . it was a familiar scene in the men's event as Nathan Barraclough stormed up the hill to set another world record. Nathan, who is from Cirencester, recorded a time of 48.31 seconds beating children's TV presenter [ed. The Really Wild Show apparently] Steve Backsall. He said ' I just took four seconds off my world record.' Nathan admitted he should be revising for his final exams for his economics degree but decided Woolsack was too important to miss". It has to be said that the Standard's definition of world record is a bit like the Americans with their own insular sports (world series etc) but congratulations to Nathan all the same. Will he have any competition from within the club in 2006? Rumours that the newsletter editor is bulking up in preparation can immediately be dismissed! However, that fearsome front row from Tetbury, Messrs Ruddick, Meredith and May, looked at Westonbirt to be in prime condition for an attempt at the relay record next year.

. finally a word of warning if training alone in the park: Chris Brough was recently enjoying an early morning run on the paths near the polo fields above Ewe Pen farm when he was suddenly attacked by a buzzard with sufficient force that it drew blood. Be warned.

David Wright: wrights@tesco.net or 01285 641224