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 ****************************************************************************
 RANELAGH HARRIERS E-NEWS # 205                1 February 2006
 Editor: Steve Rowland
 mailto: steverowland@ranelagh-harriers.com  
 ****************************************************************************
 HEADLINE NEWS
 *********************
 *  Anna McLaughlin 26th in South of England Championships
 *  Andy Bickerstaff leads men's team into 23rd place
 *  Surrey League celebrations at the Dysart this Saturday!

 SEE HERE
 ************
 SURREY LEAGUE FINAL RACES  Saturday 4th February in Richmond Park
 Come and join in the celebrations on Saturday!

 Our men's team can't fail to win Division 2 and promotion back to the top
 flight. Our women are odds-on the retain their Division 1 championship. Our
 under 13 boys have a clear lead in their competition. And our other age
 group teams are all placed in the top six.

 Fittingly, the final fixture for both teams is on our home course in
 Richmond Park this Saturday. The timetable is: 12.30pm senior women, 1.15pm
 under 20 / under 17 girls, 1.45pm under 15 / under 13 girls, 2.30pm under 17
 / under 15 / under 13 boys, 3pm senior men. The start is beside Sidmouth
 Wood, near Pembroke Lodge. Details and course maps can be found on our web
 site.

 Let's give all the teams all our support! Run if you want to, help with
 officiating or catering if you can, or just come and give them a cheer!

 If you want to race, just turn up and collect a number at the start,
 preferably an hour or so before you are due to run. If you can help in any
 capacity, contact Bev Ali  (mailto:bev.ali@blueyonder.co.uk), or again just
 turn up. Catering help at the clubhouse will be needed from 12.30pm,
 officiating and marshalling in the Park from 12 noon onwards. 

 Two warnings regarding traffic: there is international rugby at Twickenham
 and Bushy Park is closed, so allow for possible delays. Remember too that
 the car park at Pembroke Lodge fills up on most Saturday afternoons now,
 especially if it's a fine day - so allow extra time or preferably park down
 the hill near the clubhouse. 

 After tea and presentations there will be a drink or two and food in the
 Dysart. Come and join the party! 

 RUNNING THE NATIONAL?
 Anna McLaughlin writes:
 "I am planning on going up to Parliament Hill on the morning of Saturday
 February 11th to get in some practice on, up and over Parliament Hill. The
 rough plan at the moment will be to get the train up there from Richmond
 Station at approx 8:30 - 9am and then spend an hour running round what I
 remember is the course for the Nationals. It is an open invitation to anyone
 that is interested, please just drop me an email to let me know you are
 coming!" Contact details below.

 BUSHY PARK TIME TRIAL - ROAD CLOSURES!
 Remember that Bushy Park is due to be closed to traffic for four weeks as
 from Monday 30th January. If you drive there you'll need to leave your car
 outside the Park. 

 LONDON MINI MARATHON
 The trial for the Richmond teams will take place in Richmond Park this
 Sunday, 5th February. The course is over two laps of Sidmouth Wood, the
 circuit we use for our Henty Relay and Junior Points Prize events. The
 timetable is: girls 13/14 and girls 15/16/17 at 10am, boys 13/14 and boys
 15/16/17 at 10.30am, girls 11/12 at 11am and boys 11/12 at 11.30am. 

 ROAD RACES
 Our club 20 miles road championship will be with the Finchley 20 at Ruislip
 on Sunday 12th March - an ideal buld-up race for London marathoners? Maybe
 not - see John Barnard's comments below! Details here:
 http://www.hillingdonac.co.uk/. A second possibility for marathoners is the
 MABAC League Cranleigh 21 miles (with a 15 miles alternative) on Sunday 26th
 March. Details: http://www.mabac.org.uk/cran2006entryform.pdf.

 The 26.2 RRC Valentines 10km is being held at Chessington on Sunday 12th
 February:
 http://www.26point2.co.uk/unsorted/downloads/public/10kRace/2006Race/2006Val
 entines10kEntryForm.pdf. Fancy a fast flat 10km? A new event is being
 organised at Dunsfold Park Airfield near Guildford on Sunday 5th March.
 
 The ASICS Kingston Breakfast runs ( 8 or 16 miles) are on Sunday 2nd April:
 http://www.humanrace.co.uk/breakfast/index.html. The popular Thames Towpath
 10 miles will take place on Sunday 9th April. Details here:
 http://west4harriers.org/TTT.htm. On the same day is the Reading Half
 Marathon, details here:
 http://racepayment.mirrorservers.co.uk/readinghalfmarathon/.

 BUT BEWARE 20s
 John Barnard writes:
 "Why does the newsletter propose the Finchley 20 as an 'ideal build-up' for
 the London Marathon, or the Cranleigh 21 as a second possibility. On this
 basis Muhammad Ali's opponents should have fought Joe Frazier six weeks
 beforehand, or George Foreman four weeks beforehand, as 'ideal preparation'.
 Maybe an inappropriate analogy, but I have found 20 mile races to be
 physically and mentally draining, being long enough to hit 'the wall' and
 leave your legs fatigued for weeks".

 LONDON MARATHON CHARITY PLACES
 Still looking for a run? WPF, the charity that Tim Woolmer used to work for,
 has two marathon places remaining. Anyone interested should contact Sarojini
 Kanagasabai on 020 7361 4816 or mailto:appeals@wpf.org.uk.

 *********************
  WHAT'S COMING...
 *********************
 More details of the following from
 Andy Bickerstaff (07966 552302 / mailto: andy@norris-hobs.co.uk ) or 
 Phil Aiken (07739 035189 / mailto: phil.aiken@rnid.org.uk ) or 
 Anna McLaughlin (07971 606521 / mailto: anna.mclaughlin@itv.com ).

 Saturday 4th February    Sweatshop Surrey League Div 2 in Richmond Park from
 2.30pm.
                                     Surrey Ladies League in Richmond Park
 from 12.30pm.
                                     Bushy Park Time Trial  5km. 9am start. 
 
 Sunday 5th February      Junior Mini-Marathon Trials in Richmond Park from
 10am.
                                     MABAC League 5 miles at Farley Heath.
 11am start. Details: http://www.mabac.org.uk/. 

 Saturday 11th February   Bushy Park Time Trial  5km. 9am start. 

 Sunday 12th February    Valentines 10km at Chessington. See above. 

 Saturday 18th February   v Bank of England and others in Richmond Park
 (Roehampton Gate).  2:30pm start.
                                     Bushy Park Time Trial  5km. 9am start. 

 Saturday 25th February   National Cross-Country Championships at Parliament
 Hill, Hampstead Heath.
                                     Bushy Park Time Trial  5km. 9am start. 

 WHAT'S HAPPENED...
 ***************************
 SOUTH OF ENGLAND CROSS-COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS  Saturday 28th January at
 Bicton College nr Exmouth
 Not surprisingly there was not a lot of enthusiasm for the long trek down to
 the west country. We had a full team in the men's race and half of one in
 the women's - but only a handful of other Surrey clubs managed to field any
 teams at all. Field sizes were down from those seen at Parliament Hill but
 there was still quality at the front. 

 Sarah Smith takes up the story:
 "The start had changed from last time we were here three years ago, moving
 to the bottom of a hill, nice! Anna and Sara started very sensibly, knowing
 that the course was a toughie and to burn out early on would be a complete
 nightmare. Anna established herself well in the top 30's within five minutes
 but as she climbed up a particularly vicious, strength zapping hill, she
 didn't look happy. Sara followed shortly afterwards, not looking too happy
 either!! However, five minutes later they had both settled down and looked
 far more comfortable. Phew! It was a twisty course, extremely uneven
 underfoot with lots of doubling back especially up and down the hills, the
 fencing tape guiding the runners like a herd of sheep! (who were looking on
 with interest from a neighbouring field). 

 Anna worked her way up the field, looking stronger and stronger as the race
 progressed. She had her eye on that top 30 finish and wasn't going to let
 anything get in her way. Sara meanwhile had her own battle going on a couple
 of minutes behind. Anna continued her effort all the way to the finish line,
 which was at the top of yet another hill; 26th place, out of 231 runners,
 another fantastic individual result for our Captain.  Sara too, spurred on
 by the sight of the final hill charged to the line in 64th place. 

 In the men's race Andy set out with purpose, was the front runner for
 Ranelagh all the way and seemed to get faster as the race progressed. Chris,
 who always excels in this kind of race, was our second man home ahead of
 Andrew. Julian injured himself before he got to the start line, as did
 Rob!!! Graham completed the team which finished just over half way down the
 list, and Mike Peace provided the rearguard. Phil Killingley, racing for
 Winchester, moved very comfortably up the field for his 28th place finish". 

 "I am really pleased with 26th", said Anna, "As I know that I couldn't have
 run any harder or done anymore." 

 BUSHY PARK TIME TRIAL 5km  Saturday 28th January
 A bitterly cold morning did not deter 144 runners from turning out this
 week. Evelyn Joslin won one of the weekly prizes for the biggest PBs of the
 day.
 1 R Ward (Belgrave) 15.57
 18 Iain Wilson 18.40
 26 Paul Murphy 19.02
 29 Darren Wood 19.33
 31 Marc Snaith 19.44
 41 Chris Read 20.43
 50 Drew Pennycook 21.19
 53 Joss Moran 21.25
 56 Alan Davidson 21.41
 61 Roger Wilson 22.16
 68 Evelyn Joslin 23.02
 95 Andrew Wilson 24.41
 128 Julie Naismith 27.01
 132 Stephen McClune 27.33
 135 John Hanscomb 28.00
 139 Janet Turnes 28.45

 THAMES TURBO JUNIOR SPRING SERIES  Saturday 28th January at Bushy Park
 TriStar 2 Boys (2.5km)
 1 Luke Penney 11.26
 2 Luke Wilson 11.49
 4 Alex Rowe 12.10
 TriStar 2 Girls (2.5km)
 1 Eliza Cottingham 12.31
 2 Bea Purdue 13.12
 4 Immy Walker 14.28
 5 Danni Croucher 15.17
 TriStar 3 (3km)
 1 Holly Clemens 13.49
 2 George Inman 13.57
 TriStar 4 (3.5km)
 1 Jake Christensen 16.00
 2 Robert Curtis 16.15
 3 George Hutchinson 16.57

 PERCH VII  10.05km  Sunday 29th January at Epsom
 Cindy Croucher reports:
 "Sunday was the VII Perch, organized by Epsom Oddballs.  The race started
 and finished close to the finishing post of Epsom Downs racecourse, home to
 The Derby. The undulating course (code for mountainous) was run on a variety
 of surfaces; hard tracks, tarmac, woodland path, grass and with a bit of
 sand thrown in for good measure. 

 What is a Perch?   The race was first held in millennium year, and the
 Oddballs looked for a measurement to reflect the celebrations. Perch fitted
 perfectly, an old land measurement of 5.5 yards. 2000 perch gave a unique
 distance of 6.25 miles or 10.05 kilometres. The climbs were hard and the
 wind was strong, but the course was beautiful and sunny!  The steadier
 runners amongst us even had time to read the little comic notices around the
 course about ski lifts and oxygen tanks!  We all agreed it felt longer but
 it was worth it for the long sleeved t-shirt and Mars bar!"

 1 S Ablitt (AFD) 33.58
 346 Alison Cullen 53.18
 513 Alan Meaden 60.47
 525 Lynne Barber 61.25
 540 Hazel Carr 62.23
 544 David Meaden 62.58
 582 Pat Hewlett 67.30
 591 Bev Ali 70.09
 601 Cindy Croucher 72.58

 RON WHEELER 2.6 miles handicap  Wednesday 25th January at Wapping
 1 M Pertusini (Unatt) 18.18  (actual time 14.48)
 16 Alan Davidson 19.57  (actual time 16.27)
 23 Chris Read 20.14  (actual time 15.59)
 26 Colin Frew 20.20  (actual time 14.50)

 LAST FRIDAY OF THE MONTH 5km  Friday 27th January in Hyde Park
 1 R Cousens (Unatt) 15.41
 81 Alan Davidson 20.37
 162 Mike Rowland 25.17
 185 John Hanscomb 27.52

 KINGFIELD CANTER 2.85 miles handicap  Wednesday 1st February at Woking
 1 J Bickley (unatt) 20.04  (actual time 20.04)
 13 Alan Davidson 26.47  (actual time 18.47)
 18 Sonia Rowland 26.54  (actual time 20.24)
 24 Steve Rowland 27.05  (actual time 17.20)

 PELLING-RATCLIFFE CUP MOB MATCH v BLACKHEATH HARRIERS  Saturday 21st January
 in Richmond Park
 Last finisher in his what he claims will be his last mob match was John
 Hanscomb. John's total mob match attendance stands at 117 races, second only
 to the omnipresent David Wright's 123. It was John's plan to attack the
 course record for over 70s and he thought he had failed by 5 seconds. But
 Mike McDowell's old mark was on the old shorter course and as John's run was
 intrinsically superior it is now listed as the record. 

 FINALLY...
 "Jogging is very beneficial. It's good for your legs and your feet. It's
 also very good for the ground. It makes it feel needed". Charles Schulz
 (Peanuts).