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Newsdesk 2006

 ****************************************************************************
 RANELAGH HARRIERS E-NEWS # 222                31 July 2006
 Editor: Steve Rowland
 mailto: steverowland@ranelagh-harriers.com  
 ****************************************************************************
 HEADLINE NEWS
 *********************
 *  Phil Killingley and Jo Ronaldson runners-up in the Elmbridge 10km
 *  Ranelagh wins Elmbridge women's team race
 *  Mark Middleton 8th and Liz Kipling 9th in Wedding Day 7km
 *  Jo Turner, Anna Sykes-Brown and May Nadir win Ratchford Relay
 *  Sam Perkins 2nd and Marie Synnott-Wells 1st in BPTT
 *  Frances Ratchford elected to England Athletics London Regional Council

 SEE HERE
 *************
 ANNA'S E-MAIL
 Another reminder that our women's Captain Anna McLaughlin's e-mail is now
 mailto:anna.mclaughlin@talk21.com.

 ENGLAND ATHLETICS REGIONAL COUNCILS
 Congratulations to our new President Frances Ratchford who has been elected
 on to the London Regional Council.

 MABAC LEAGUE
 There is a MABAC League 5 miles race on Wimbledon Common this Tuesday
 (August 1st), starting at 7.30pm. The HQ is at the Wimbledon RFC off Copse
 Hill. All Ranelagh Harriers are welcome to take part. See the MABAC website
 for more details and a map: http://www.mabac.org.uk/fixtures06.htm).

 RANELAGH 125th ANNIVERSARY DINNER  Friday 29th September at York House
 Marina Quayle writes:
 "The tickets for the 125th anniversary dinner are now on sale. The price per
 head is £45 and includes a three course dinner followed by guest speakers.
 The venue is York House in Twickenham on Friday 29th September".

 Contact Marina for more info: mailto:marina_quayle@hotmail.com, or send a
 cheque (payable to Ranelagh Harriers) to her at 101 Sheen Road, Richmond TW9
 1YJ.  Please specify if you will require a vegetarian meal. 

 Dress code has been advertised as black tie but I am reliably informed that
 lounge suits won't be turned away! 

 RACE THE TRAIN
 Duncan Bell writes:
 "Andy B and I are thinking of entering a race called Race the Train on 19th
 August. It is a 14.75 miles race, multi-terrain, and takes place in North
 Wales in a place called Talyllyn. We are hoping to enter a team of three in
 the competition which I feel we may well stand a decent chance of winning.
 It is a good race and a nice weekend with all-day activities for the family,
 some smaller fun runs and evening entertainment. I intend to take my family
 and a tent as there is a good campsite adjacent to the start/finish point
 used by a lot of other runners. Alternatively by going to the website it is
 possible to find some nice B&Bs for the less hardy. All in all a great
 weekend and race for the family. Anyone else wishing to join should go to
 the website for more info (http://www.racethetrain.com/). Entries for the
 team event need to be in by August 5th".

 MEDALS
 Bev Ali asks:
 "Does anybody have any suggestions for a use that could be made of leftover
 Dysart Dash Medals? Can they be recycled or reused in any way? They have the
 year engraved so cannot be used next year". Mailto:bev.ali@blueyonder.co.uk.

 RANELAGH ROAD GRAND PRIX
 There is just one race to go now in our summer Grand Prix series. This is
 the Belgrave 5km on August 13th. No fewer than 120 of you appear on the
 scoreboard, a full version of which can be seen on our website.
 It looks as if Trevor Maguire has already secured a double victory in the
 Open and men's Over 40 sections but it's anybody's race in the men's Over 50.
 Marie Synnott-Wells could match Trevor's feat in the women's categories, but
 it's not cut and dried yet. Julie Naismith leads the Over 50 women but Corinne
 Bishop is still in touch.

 Open  Trevor Maguire 58,  Nathan Mills 36,  Phil Killingley 36,  Paul Doyle
 34,  Mick Lane 32,  Steve Whitehead 30
 M40   Trevor Maguire 35,  Mick Lane 18,  Marcus Gohar 17,  Chris Read 14,
 Peter Weir 10,  three runners with 9 points
 M50   Alan Davidson 17,  Chris Owens 17,  Alan Craig 15,  Tim Woods 15,  Tom
 Reay 12,  John Hanscomb 12
 Women   Marie Synnott-Wells 22,  Mandy Westlake 17,  Liz Kipling 15,  Kerrie
 O'Connor 13,  Jo Ronaldson 12, Karen Broadbent 11
 W40   Marie Synnott-Wells 24,  Michele Gibson 20,  Deborah Blakemore 19,  Jo
 Turner 10,  Lynne Barber 8,  Gill Wilson 7
 W50   Julie Naismith 17,  Corinne Bishop 11,  Janet Turnes 10,  Beverley Ali
 7,  Sonia Rowland 6,  Jane Wyatt 6 

 SURREY ROAD LEAGUE
 This competition also reaches its climax at the Belgrave 5km on August 13th.
 Detailed tables following the last fixture have yet to be received but we
 think the situation is that in the men's league, the Stragglers are in the
 driving seat with Ranelagh likely to fill the runner-up position. In the
 women's competition Ranelagh can still take the title provided they get a
 good result in the final fixture.

 *********************
  WHAT'S COMING...
 *********************
 More details of the following from
 Andy Bickerstaff ( 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@talk21.com ).     

 Tuesday 1st August      MABAC League 5 miles on Wimbledon Common. See above.

 Sunday 13th August     Belgrave 5km.  10am start in Wimbledon. The last race
 in both the Surrey Road League and our road GP. Details:
 www.surreyaaa.org.uk/forms/5k_2006.pdf.

 Saturday 19th August    Race the Train 14.75 miles in Talyllyn, North Wales.
 See above.

 Sunday 20th August      MABAC Pairs Relay at Downsend School, Leatherhead,
 start time 11am.

 Saturday 2nd September  Thomas Cup 3.8 miles Handicap in Richmond Park.
 Preceded by the annual club photograph and followed by the first celebration
 of our 125th birthday: a party with music in a marquee at the Dysart. All
 members are welcome.

 Saturday 9th September   Surrey County Road Relay Championships at Wimbledon
 Park. Separate events for men and women, and veterans.

 Every Saturday             Bushy Park Time Trial. 9am start at the Diana
 Fountain car park. See www.bptt.net for details.

 WHAT'S HAPPENED...
 ***************************
 ELMBRIDGE 10km  Sunday 23rd July at Walton
 Stuart Major of SLH added yet another Surrey road race to his collection,
 relentlessly building up a lead of almost a minute over the pursuing pack.
 The pack was headed by Phil Killingley who held on to second place by eight
 seconds in a time just outside 33 minutes. Duncan Bell was our second man
 home in 16th place, 100 metres ahead of the leading woman, Thames's Naomi
 Warner. Next in was Trevor Maguire, chased hard by Jo Ronaldson. Jo's 36.37
 was within 15 seconds of her best 10km and gave her a clear second place.
 Marie Synnott-Wells was third just half a minute outside her PB and Liz
 Kipling just scraped inside 40 minutes in 13th place. Chris Owens ran well
 in his local race, winning the over 50s category and taking three seconds
 off his previous fastest in that age group.

 Unusually the team races were decided on a six-to-score basis for the men
 and four-to-score for women. Jo, Marie, Liz and Mandy Westlake won the
 women's section but the men had to settle for second place.

 WEDDING DAY 7km  Friday 28th July in Bushy Park
 As ever, this was a popular event for all standards. There were 45 RH
 amongst the 500+ finishers, but still this proved not to be quite sufficient
 for us to retain the "Father Onn" trophy for the club with most finishers.

 Blackheath's Scott Overall (a Ranelagh Harrier when a junior) won by one
 second and the leading woman in 10th place was 2000 Olympic silver medallist
 Sonia O'Sullivan. A clear 45 seconds ahead of O'Sullivan was Mark Middleton
 in definitely his best race for some months. Mark finished in an isolated
 8th place and there was a good run too from Steve Whitehead in 13th. Marcus
 Gohar had to fight to stay ahead of Trevor Maguire in 22nd and 24th
 positions. Marcus was the second over 40 home and though Trevor was just two
 places and four seconds in arrears, he missed the prize list as the fourth
 over 40. Chris Owens bounced in a few seconds further back to win his second
 over 50 prize in six days. Marc Snaith, Andrew Forth and Chris Brook all
 made the top forty and Liz Kipling, 76th overall, was the 9th woman home 

 RATCHFORD RELAY  Tuesday 25th July in Richmond Park
 Jo Turner, Anna Sykes-Brown and May Nadir won from a field of fourteen
 teams. Full results to follow when I receive them.

 BUSHY PARK TIME TRIAL 5km  Saturday 22nd July
 This was BPTT number 97. The event reaches its 100th edition on 12th August.
 The number of runners is settling back a little now we are into the holiday
 season, but still there were 157 finishers. Sam Perkins finished in 2nd
 place, Mark Middleton showed a welcome return to form and Hugh Brasher -
 whose Sweatshop provides sponsorship - made his debut in 8th place. The only
 PB was a few seconds improvement from Phil Aiken.

 1 R Ward (Belgrave) 15.48
 2 Sam Perkins 16.31
 4 Mark Middleton 16.56
 8 Hugh Brasher 17.46
 37 Chris Camacho 20.01
 38 Paul Murphy 20.08
 48 Chris Wright 20.42
 49 Phil Aiken 20.43
 55 Adam Wright 20.56
 56 Darren Wood 20.57
 121 Julie Naismith 25.57
 128 Wally Garrod 26.16
 131 John Hanscomb 26.39

 BUSHY PARK TIME TRIAL 5km  Saturday 29th July
 Holiday season or not, this week the magic 200 barrier was very nearly
 broken with no fewer than 198 finishers. Seven RH displayed such a liking
 for Bushy Park that they returned this morning after having run the Wedding
 Day 7km the night before - or perhaps they just kipped in the Park? One BPTT
 first-timer was Marie Synnott-Wells and she was the first woman home in
 18.29. That places her 12th in the BPTT women's all-time ranking list and
 second only to Jo Ronaldson amongst the Ranelagh runners.

 1 R Ward (Belgrave) 15.38
 5 Mark Middleton 17.19
 10 Noel Stoddart 17.50
 18 Marie Synnott-Wells 18.29
 22 Paul Murphy 18.46
 38 Chris Camacho 19.47
 59 Phil Aiken 20.50
 61 Darren Wood 20.57
 74 Adam Wright 21.40
 108 Alan Davidson 23.11
 127 Marc Snaith 24.21
 140 Luke Wilson 25.46
 150 Wally Garrod 26.19
 152 Gill Wilson 26.52
 153 John Hanscomb 26.56

 MILTON KEYNES HALF-MARATHON  Sunday 23rd July
 Niall O'Connor reports:
 "The Milton Keynes Half-Marathon took place on a flat and fast course, which
 loops around the area north of the city. The closest to hills are the slopes
 into the underpasses and, while there is plenty of hedging it isn't very
 scenic - the purpose of the hedging is to divide the runners from the busy
 roads! In any event, as I struggled in the muggy heat through the second
 10km, scenery wasn't on my mind, survival was.

 My first 10k was 39:03 and the second was around 42:15. I had been aiming
 for a p.b. but finished nearly 2 minutes off it in 1:26:45 so was surprised
 to finish 20th of 1042 entrants. I would have been 5th woman except for the
 obvious. Lizzie Clifford, running for Garden City Runners, really was".

 1 P Sly (Thames H&H) 65.20
 20 Niall O'Connor 86.48
 21 Lizzie Clifford 86.56

 RON WHEELER 2.6 miles  Wednesday 26th July at Wapping
 1 S Roberts (Paddock W) 13.32
 15 Andy Hayward 16.23
 16 Alan Davidson 16.24

 LAST FRIDAY OF THE MONTH 5km  Friday 28th July in Hyde Park
 1 R Cousins (London H) 15.37
 91 Alan Davidson 21.01
 176 John Hanscomb 27.26 

 ALPINE CHALLENGE
 Duncan Bell reports on an event not for the faint-hearted:
 "This was a military event for male, female and mixed teams. I was part of a
 mixed team that completed an arduous two day mountain race in Bavaria early
 this month. First day was to complete and navigate a 45km course and the
 second day was a 30km challenge including a 10km mountain bike section and a
 3km kayak course. The team I was in won the mixed team event in a total time
 of about 15hrs 40 mins and we came 7th overall from 25 teams. And we even
 managed to come 2nd in the kayak event, losing by only 11 seconds to a male
 team. A great event but hard work".

 EUROPEAN VETERANS ATHLETICS CHAMPIONSHIPS  20th - 30th July in Poznan,
 Poland
 Alan Davidson travelled to Poland:
 "Short straw? Two venues for races, and start times 0800-2000. Olympia
 Stadium had the spectators and all the facilities (most events there), the
 University track had no support, no atmosphere and minimal facilities. My
 10000m was in the heat of the day at 1300 and 36 degrees Centigrade at the
 Uni track. The lucky ones running there at 0800 got cold water on the
 trackside table - ours was hot! The officials were supposed to show
 individuals "laps to go" cards  from 15 onwards, but my counter was so old
 and doddery that he only managed to convey me passing on three occasions for
 a counter to be held up in time. I gave laps to go on my fingers to them to
 fill the gaps and thankfully I did get a no.2 card! The bell rang at the
 right time though.The old joke is starting slowly and slowing down but that
 is what I did until, throwing hot water over myself with five laps to go, I
 upped my pace! 29 runners signed in but five changed their minds at the
 start and six failed to finish, leaving me 15th out of 18 finishers in a
 very uncomfortable state in 45.02. The hot water did at least help me pass a
 Ukrainian at the death! Someone asked the Chief Official where the marathon
 started and was told "By the lake". When asked where the lake was he said he
 didn't know! Such was the organisation!" 

 M55 10000 metres  Thursday 23rd July
 1 A Cichonczuk (Poland) 36.01.95
 15 Alan Davidson 45.02.20

 FINALLY...
 "We can't all be heroes because someone has to sit on the curb and clap as
 they go by."  Will Rogers.