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 ****************************************************************************
 RANELAGH HARRIERS E-NEWS # 250                2 May 2007
 Editor: Steve Rowland
 mailto: steverowland@ranelagh-harriers.com  
 ****************************************************************************

 HEADLINE NEWS
 *********************
 *  Hot work in London
 *  Mick Lane and Marie Synnott-Wells win club marathon championships
 *  Mike Peace and John Hanscomb retain ever-present records
 *  Good junior results in Mini-Marathon & Thames Turbo series
 *  BPTT cracks 400 barrier - 3rd place finishes by Clare King and Kerry
    Anley

 SEE HERE
 *************
 IMPORTANT - YOUR VIEWS PLEASE
 Hon Sec Simon Burrell had a good response to the request in the last e-news
 for members' views on subscription levels and club activities, but he will
 be pleased to receive more replies up to the end of this week. See document
 Please reply to Simon at (mailto:simon_burrell2000@yahoo.com)

 RICHMOND HALF MARATHON  Sunday 13th May at 8.30am
 Entries for our Half Marathon now exceed 700, with the Ranelagh list nudging
 50. The race doubles up as both our own club championship and the Surrey
 county championship. The race starts at 8.30am in front of the clubhouse.
 Carol Barnshaw is the main organiser this year and she is still looking for
 a few more helpers on the day. If you can spare a couple of hours please
 contact Carol on 020 8547 6600 in office hours, 020 8898 9285 at home or by
 email on mailto:c_barnshaw@yahoo.com

 SUTTON 10km  Sunday 6th May
 There's also still time to enter the Sutton 10km, which is the third race in
 the Ranelagh Grand Prix series and the first race in the Surrey Road League.

 NORWICH UNION ATHLETICS GRAND PRIX  Friday 3rd August
 Jim Forrest writes:
 "Last year we organised a Ranelagh group to the Athletics Grand Prix at
 Crystal Palace and were blessed with good weather and some fine athletics to
 boot. I am happy to organise the group tickets again this year. This time
 the event is on Friday 3rd August.  It starts soon after 5pm and is due to
 finish at about 9pm. 

 The seats in the Jubilee Stand (roughly opposite the finish on the far side
 of the track) cost £18 each (unless you're a senior citizen or under 16, in
 which case it reduces to £12). 

 If you definitely want tickets please let me know on mailto:jim@jimfo.freeserve.co.uk
 by mid-May (May 14th) and I will then book the tickets. They should arrive
 in time for exchange for cash at the Coad Cup on July 10th (or a cheque if
 you're not doing the Coad Cup)".

 STREET O
 The Street Orienteering event that we hosted back in February was just one
 of a series organised throughout the winter months by SLOW - the South
 London Orienteers and Wayfarers. Overall winners of the series were the
 organisers of the Richmond event (and Ranelagh members) Matthias Mahr and
 Abi Weeds. Sonia Rowland and Sanna Eriksson finished 2nd and 6th in the
 women's section and Anna McLaughlin - by dint of winning in Richmond - was
 joint 13th.

 SIX VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!
 Carola Richter writes:
 "News from the soon to be sports scientist. In preparation for my
 dissertation I need to undergo a pilot study which involves
 running(shouldn't be a problem for any of you) and ingesting caffeine. My
 hypothesis will show that 5mg/kg bodyweight enhances running performance and
 VO2max in long distance running. The study involves two 12 minute runs on
 the track in St. Mary's College. One hour prior to the run you are required
 to ingest either a caffeine or a placebo capsule. You will not know which
 one you take. The runs are one week apart to give you adequate recovery time
 and to eliminate caffeine from your body. If anyone is interested or knows
 someone who is please let me know and I can arrange a date. I suggest the
 Thursday sessions. The tests need to be done by the 12th of May (at the
 latest). Contact: Carola Richter at mailto:carola@pampellone.com or mob
 07810 877286".

 MARATHON SPONSORSHIP
 Jacqui Reid writes:
 "I am running the London Marathon, Edinburgh Marathon and the Dublin
 Marathon this year and I'm trying to raise money for three charities all
 with connections with cancer. If anyone would like to sponsor for the
 Marathons then they can do so online as follows: -
 (Jack Brown Appeal)
 (St. John's Hospice)
 (Cancer Research)

 I have recently found out that my cousin who is the same age as me has
 cancer and has been given a few months to live and I would like to be able
 to raise as much money as I can for such causes. Many thanks for your
 support".

  *********************
  WHAT'S COMING...
 *********************
 More details of the following from
 Andy Bickerstaff ( 07772 111491 / mailto: andy@norris-hobs.co.uk ) or 
 Mark Middleton ( 07725 119649 / mailto: markjmiddleton@yahoo.co.uk ) or 
 Phil Aiken (07739 035189 / mailto: phil.aiken@rnid.org.uk ) or 
 Anna McLaughlin (07971 606521 / mailto: anna.mclaughlin@talk21.com ).     

 Sunday 6th May            Sutton 10km. Ranelagh GP and Surrey Road League
 race. See above.

 Sunday 13th May           Ranelagh Richmond Half Marathon. Ranelagh GP race.
 See above.

 Sat 19th / Sun 20th May Green Belt Relay.

 Sunday 3rd June            Dorking 10 miles. Ranelagh GP race and Surrey 10m
 championship. A new course is being introduced this year. 

 Every Saturday              Bushy Park Time Trial: 9am start at the Diana
 Fountain car park.
                                     Wimbledon Common Time Trial: 9am start
 at the Windmill car park.
                                      Details:

 RANELAGH ROAD GRAND PRIX
 Full details 


 WHAT'S HAPPENED...
 ***************************
 LONDON MARATHON  Sunday 22nd April
 The temperatures stole many of the headlines in this year's Flora London
 Marathon, with the thermometers allegedly climbing as high as 23 degrees C
 by mid-day. Of course, veterans of the previous week's Paris Marathon, who
 had coped with 27 degrees, scoffed at the idea that this was anything more
 than pleasantly warm. By early afternoon the skies had become overcast but
 it was still humid and it was probably this as much as anything else that
 made it hard going for many runners in the closing stages. It was perfect
 for spectators though, and they came out in greater numbers than ever.

 First away was the elite women's field. After the late withdrawal through
 injury of Fari Shams, Marie Synnott-Wells was inside the only Ranelagh vest,
 though Lizzie Clifford was there too for Garden City Runners. Marie takes up
 the story:

 "I would like to take this opportunity to thank all club members who came
 out to support us runners on Sunday. It was great. I am glad the weather was
 suitable for spectators and that everyone got their full quota of Vitamin D.
 I guess it goes without saying that it was particularly difficult to run in,
 as most of us did not have the opportunity to do any hot weather training
 beforehand (I will be off to the Algarve for a month next year prior to
 London M!!!). Although the weeks leading up to the race were particularly
 warm, I guess we had all done the majority of our long runs by then, so
 there was no opportunity to get used to the heat beyond 14-18 miles. I must
 say in the ladies' race we had plenty of water and the support was great
 from the organisers, but there were many casualties and people who looked
 strong at the beginning failing to finish. 

 My own race plan was knocked on the head when I began to get uncomfortable
 at mile seven, due to the heat (good excuse). So I reassessed my goal and
 finished comfortably, but not at a time that I would have hoped for, in 3
 hours and 8 mins (not marathon PB, but London Marathon PB). There will be
 other Marathons. So now I plan to rest for about 6 weeks (?!). Will get
 itchy feet I suppose at the end of this week. Looking forward to a lot more
 off road and shorter runs over the summer, may be even some track!!! Watch
 out Clare! The next great event that I will have pleasure taking part in,
 will be the Green Belt Relay. Looking forward to the off road running and
 weather challenges that this will involve. By the way thanks to all who
 sponsored me at justgiving.com/msw. Your money went towards a good cause,
 Epilepsy Research. Some of you may be aware that I work in St.George's
 Hospital, Tooting as the Epilepsy Nurse Specialist. This money will help
 towards raising the research profile of the patients that I care for. Thanks
 again. Money at the moment raised is £290.00".

 Lizzie Clifford trailed Marie in the early stages and both passed the half
 marathon a little inside 90 minutes. Lizzie then put in a strong second half
 to finish only about three minutes outside her best in 3.02.

 The Winter Cup club marathon championship was expected to be a fight between
 Steve Whitehead, Nathan Mills and Mick Lane. It was Steve who was first past
 the 10km point and he was still moving well at the half, but trouble was not
 far away. Steve writes: "I'd picked up a back / hip injury over the past
 couple of weeks and had hoped a series of physio appointments over the past
 week would have cured it. Unfortunately by 17 miles it was clear that I was
 going rapidly downhill so I pulled out. Very disappointed but one to put
 down to experience. Mick Lane came past me at approx 15 miles and looked in
 good form".

 Mick and Nathan ran the first half more or less together, but they both
 trailed the unheralded Martin Halvey, who was an unfamiliar face to most of
 the Ranelagh spectators. Here's Martin's view of the race: "It was a
 pleasure to run for the club on such a great occasion. Temperatures were
 high for marathon running but I think the media compounded the adverse
 effects of high temperatures by continually highlighting the dangers. At
 times there was a slight cool breeze depending in which direction one was
 running.The showers were a relief and I found the water stations excellent.
 Of course the conditions might have been different for those runners coming
 in later. Personally I can't blame the heat for not running faster, but
 maybe that's because I grew up in the west of Ireland! My highlight was
 beating the great Liz McColgan by a few seconds, and even though she is now
 past her best I will take whatever achievement I can corral in my
 inauspicious running life. My lowpoint occurred immediately at the green
 start when a photographer stood in the way of the runners, trying to capture
 some of the celebs. He nearly tripped me up and I had to shout at him to
 xxxx off out of the way of the runners! On the whole a great race, great
 support all along the route and very pleasant relaxing among the tulips in
 St.James Park".

 Nathan lost a little ground to Mick and Martin approaching 30km, and
 struggled from there on. It was the experienced Mick who came through the
 strongest, showing up three minutes ahead of Martin at 40km and almost four
 minutes at the finish to retain the trophy he first won last year. Mick
 recorded 2.46, Martin 2.50. Trevor Maguire was the third Ranelagh man home.
 On schedule for sub-3 until 30km, he slowed a little in the closing miles to
 record 3.03. Ken Fotherby ran his usual steady race to finish in 3.06 and
 Nathan finally made it home in 3.13 after a painful final 10km.

 Next in was Mandy Westlake in 3.18. I thought this was a good run but Mandy
 had set her sights higher and certainly showed she meant business by passing
 half way in 91 minutes. She writes: "I was not really that happy with my
 time to be honest, the first half went really well but unfortunately the
 heat and the bodies that were dropping in front of me slowed me down. But a
 rather good looking young fit runner grabbed my backside so at least I had
 something going for me!  Was aiming for around 3 hours 10ish or less but I
 keep being told to be happy! And seeing as I am a Veteran as of tomorrow I
 should be more grateful!"

 Mandy was the leading Ranelagh woman from the mass start but her time fell
 short of that of Marie Synnott-Wells in the elite race, so the Brasher Bowl
 for club women's marathon championship goes to Marie. Not far behind Mandy
 came Liz Kipling, who had started much more steadily (four minutes behind
 Mandy at 10km!) but looked amongst the strongest at the finish. Mandy's
 3.18.04 and Liz's 3.20.11 place them 15th and 17th respectively in
 Ranelagh's all-time list.

 Niall O'Connor was another who struggled in the later stages: "My marathon
 'highlight' occurred about the 21 mile mark. With severe cramp I edged to
 the side and upon putting my hand on the barrier the crowd there fell
 silent. After a few seconds one lady exclaimed 'Oh my God, he's having a
 heart attack!'. I had a fleeting thought, at this point, that this could be
 my 'escape', before continuing on at 67 min 10km pace. The worse thing is
 that I will have to go again next year - 3 hours or bust!"

 Ian Grange finished in 4.05 - just seven days after recording 3.57 in Paris! 
 
 Neil Myland writes: "I ran an official time of 4hr 24:02, which I won't
 shout too loudly about as it's nearly an hour slower than what I normally
 run. Personally I thought it was hell. It was too hot, I had to walk most of
 the first mile and I got fed up with running into the back of people. I
 think the race would benefit from cutting the field size significantly as
 it's just too congested. Best of all though (a positive note for the
 newsletter), the group of Ranelagh Harriers who stood at 18.5 miles (ish)
 and shouted loudly at me as I ran past really lifted me just as I'd hit the
 wall about a mile earlier (nice and early due to lack of training this
 year). I also got a bit of friendly stick from some Stragglers late on who
 were so confused by my shuffling at 25 miles that they accused me of
 walking! How rude".

 Here's Rachel Fursman: "Just thought it was amazing - apart from the heat -
 it was so so hot. I unfortunately got stuck at the start so my race plan
 went to pot quite early on but it probably paid off because I ran all the
 way and loved it. There was such a great atmosphere, the crowds were
 unbelievable. Seeing all the people at Tower Bridge was a huge boost, 16-20
 miles was the worst bit. I beat Gordon Ramsay by 4 minutes! I'd love to do
 it again and try and get under 4 hours. A big thank you to Frances for her
 race plan, training sessions and encouragement". 

 Fourteen Ranelagh women completed the course, eigth of them inside five
 hours.

 John Atkinson came back from Canada for the race but might have wished he'd
 stayed across the Atlantic: "It's true what they say: running a marathon a
 week after having the flu is NOT a good idea! Combined with the obvious
 challenge of the heat and the largely undigested slab of salmon I ate on
 race eve (my fault for not knowing / checking how indigestible fish can be)
 I can easily say that was the hardest race I've ever run... and I use the
 word 'run' loosely. I hate to drop out of anything and in approx. 50
 previous races (including six marathons) I've never not finished before --
 but on Sunday I went close.

 Despite a couple of emergency portaloo pitstops I was through half-way in
 around 1:38 -- so only eight minutes or so down on my target time -- but
 began to slow fairly dramatically from then on. At both the 16 and 18-mile
 marks I seriously considered throwing in the towel, then at 20 I stopped and
 headed into the St John's Ambulance tent for a massage and chat. They
 convinced me I could make it to the finish (by glugging down twice as much
 water as I had been) and a combination of walk-jogging the last six miles
 eventually got me to the chequered flag in 3:48:26.

 Not a fun experience -- gruelling, hardcore, character-building stuff. But
 the thought of not wanting to let down Ranelagh and the Dystonia Society
 (the charity I was running for), plus the will / positive energy and support
 of the crowd drove me on and somehow got me to The Mall. Stirring all the
 factors into the mix, 3:48 wasn't that bad a time -- and I'm proud I had
 what it took to finish. Now I'm enjoying a lie-down... which will probably
 last for the next two months!!"

 As usual Mike Rowland race-walked the 26 miles: "Last year, conditions were
 perfect - light rain, no wind, temperature about 12 degrees C. Perfect for
 runners (and race-walkers), not so for spectators. This time, it was perfect
 for them and they came out in their thousands and thousands and thousands.
 They certainly helped me to the finish. It was my 21st 'London' and by far
 the toughest. But I got to the finish and that's all that matters. A huge
 well-done to all the Ranelagh finishers with special congrats to our two
 ever-presents, Mike Peace and John Hanscomb. Mike deserves particular
 praise. Like me, he's had a rotten winter through injury but he still got
 round in under 4 hours, a time with which two-thirds of the field would have
 been delighted. Will I be on the start-line next year? You bet!!!"

 What of those ever-presents? The important thing is that Mike and John both
 got round, two of now only 24 runners who have completed all 27 'Londons'.
 That group is getting older and slower together - this year only the
 evergreen Chris Finill beat three hours and indeed the second fastest was
 outside three and a half. Mike's 3.57 was his slowest by over half an hour
 but placed him 4th amongst this select band, and John's 4.35 placed 13th.
 Mike had been struggling with injury throughout the winter and was in some
 doubt whether he would get round, but looked comfortable enough in the
 finishing straight, as did 71 year-old John. The last three 'Londons' have
 all allegedly been John's last. This time he writes: "Just confirming I will
 not be running any more marathons. However I might just possibly JOG one
 next year!"

 Last word to Ed Barker: "When you have been a member of Ranelagh for 25
 years, and understand the marathon tradition the club has, you have to try
 it once!! It was a great experience, but whether I repeat it again you'll
 have to wait and see!!"

 Julie Naismith also took part as a last-minute volunteer pacer for the
 Runner's World "get you round" group. She doesn't feature in the official
 results but finished in about 5.12.

 Mini-Marathon
 Jamie Taylor-Caldwell was our fastest runner in the mini-marathon with
 15.20, but the best result came from Joss Moran, 10th in the Boys 11-12
 race. Fastest girl was Lucy Edmunds in 17.33, the highest placed was Louise
 McPhillips, 20th in the 11-12 event. Other top fifty finishes came from
 Emily Johnston-Purvis, Molly Riglin and Eve Edmunds.

 Boys 11-12
 1 E Veheary (Croydon) 15.03
 10 Joss Moran 16.02
 59 Josh Keisler 17.19

 Boys 13-14
 1 N Fleming 14.00
 80 Edward Smith 16.39
 138 George Inman 17.36

 Boys 15-17
 1 N Goolab 12.51
 72 Jamie Taylor-Caldwell 15.20
 113 Andrew Heath 15.59
 186 Jay Cash 17.50 

 Girls 11-12
 1 S Draper (Hillingdon) 16.14
 20 Louise McPhillips 18.01
 36 Emily Johnston-Purvis 18.53
 41 Molly Riglin 19.05
 61 Emily Caldwell 19.31
 188 Danni Croucher 22.22

 Girls 13-14
 1 M Reynolds (Ealing) 15.24
 41 Eve Edmunds 18.08
 72 Holly Clemens 18.50
 86 Katie Bryant 19.20
 87 Ella Harding 19.20
 115 Stephanie Croucher 19.59
 116 Annie Miller 20.00

 Girls 15-17
 1 M Bennington (Hill) 15.55
 29 Lucy Edmunds 17.33
 55 Beccy Culverwell 18.31
 78 Willow Mallin 19.16

 BUSHY PARK TIME TRIAL 5km  Saturday 21st April
 David Rowe was the first Ranelagh home with a personal best by 8 seconds.
 But that was put in the shade by the 45 seconds improvement from Mrs Rowe!
 The only other PB came from Martin Clark, but Clare King and Kerry Anley
 were both within seconds of their bests in finshing 3rd and 6th in the
 women's race.

 1 R Stannard (Belgrave) 15.34
 30 David Rowe 18.40
 32 Clare King 18.44
 51 Darren Wood 19.33
 55 Vaughan Ramsay 19.44
 56 Kerry Anley 19.45
 80 Chris Camacho 20.34
 116 Phil Aiken 21.22
 130 Martin Clark 21.40
 156 Adam Wright 22.43
 211 Alan Craig 24.38
 214 Roger Wilson 24.48
 257 Gill Wilson 26.32
 278 John Hanscomb 27.19
 318 Sharon Rowe 29.10
 330 Wally Garrod 29.28 

 WIMBLEDON COMMON TIME TRIAL 5km  Saturday 21st April
 1 N Aitken (Clapham C) 16.49
 23 Pete Warren 21.21

 CLANDON PARK 10km  Saturday 21st April
 1 D Mackenzie 37.21
 6 Andy Bickerstaff 39.13
 130 Louise Piears 53.45

 LAST FRIDAY OF THE MONTH 5km  Friday 27th April in Hyde Park
 1 A Marriott (Wells C) 15.18
 172 John Hanscomb 27.11

 THAMES TURBO JUNIOR SERIES RACE 3  Saturday 28th April in Bushy Park
 In the third of the four-race series, there were wins for Luke Wilson, Holly
 Clemens, George Inman and Steph Croucher. The final race is on Saturday 12th
 May at 9am from the Cricket Club near the Hampton Hill entrance to Bushy
 Park.

 Thames Turbo are also organising a junior aquathon 24 June at Lady Eleanor
 Holles school. See
 http://www.thamesturbo.co.uk/memberforum/viewtopic.php?t=2386.

 Girls 11/12  2.5km
 1 E Cottington 11.11
 2 Nina Harding 12.29
 3 Alice Clemens 12.43
 4 Danni Croucher 13.09 

 Boys 13/14  3km
 1 Luke Wilson 13.10

 Girls 13/14  3km
 1 Holly Clemens 13.36
 3 Bea Purdue 15.03

 Boys 15/16  3.5km
 1 George Inman 14.23

 Girls 15/16  3.5km
 1 Steph Croucher 16.47

 BUSHY PARK TIME TRIAL 5km  Saturday 28th April
 410 finishers this week, a new record. With so many taking part, parking in
 Bushy Park is now becoming a serious problem. Paul Sinton-Hewitt is asking
 competitors to avoid using the main car park if at all possible - either
 coming by bike or on foot, or parking elsewhere.

 Kerry Anley took 16 seconds off her PB to be 3rd woman home, ahead of Bonnie
 Webser, Layla Smith and Evelyn Joslin 5th, 8th and 14th respectively, each
 also recording a new personal best. None of these, however, could match the
 75 seconds improvement by Jonny Peacock, who led in Marc Snaith, David Rowe
 and Darren Wood.

 1 J Trapmore (Shaft B) 16.06
 19 Jonny Peacock 18.19
 28 Marc Snaith 18.45
 30 David Rowe 18.49
 35 Darren Wood 18.56
 49 Kerry Anley 19.24
 67 Chris Hunton 20.14
 70 Bonnie Webster 20.17
 86 Chris Camacho 20.38
 103 Layla Smith 21.00
 145 Evelyn Joslin 21.51
 150 Adam Wright 22.03
 153 Phil Aiken 22.10
 184 Martin Harrison 23.01
 193 Sophie Spink 23.14
 292 Gill Wilson 26.31
 323 John Hanscomb 27.41
 330 Wally Garrod 28.14
 363 Sharon Rowe 29.51

 WIMBLEDON COMMON TIME TRIAL 5km  Saturday 28th April
 Big news here was the return to competition of Darryl McDonald with a very
 respectable 17.14.

 1 A Bodin (Belgrave) 15.53
 4 Darryl McDonald 17.14
 23 Stephen Instone 20.15
 36 Pete Warren 21.02
 40 Martin Clark 21.32

 HAMBURG MARATHON  Sunday 29th April
 Carola Richter's 5km splits varied only by 90 seconds and she finished just
 inside 3.40. Here's Carola's report:
 "On a glorious day with temperatures reaching 22-24C I ran my most memorable
 marathon so far. Not only did I set a PB but it was 18 minutes faster
 compared to last year. The crowd was sooo fantastic and supportive it almost
 gave me wings to run faster. Although a more 'low-profile' race with only
 20,000 competitors it certainly set a high standard in terms of marathon
 organisation. The Hamburg marathon follows through the heart of the
 Reeperbahn, along the seaside and through amazing green alleys (the suburbs
 of Hamburg). It's definitely worth the travel".

 Women
 1 A Worku (Ethiopia) 2.29.14  (chip time 2.29.14)
 293 Carola Richter 3.39.58  (chip time 3.37.02) 

 CRYSTAL PALACE 5km  Tuesday 1st May
 Yvonne Hill finished 5th in 19.35.

 KINGFIELD CANTER 2.85 miles handicap  Wednesday 2nd May in Woking
 1 A Mayger (unatt) 24.58  (actual time 18.58)
 15 Sonia Rowland 27.00  (19.45)
 28 Steve Rowland 28.45  (20.45)
 29 Mike Matthews 28.51  (28.51)
 30 Alan Davidson 31.56  (26.56)

 FINALLY...
 So you've run a marathon, what are you going to do now? When the great New
 Zealander Peter Snell ran a world record for the mile of 3.54.4 in January
 1962, it came just eight weeks after he had finished 11th in 2.41.11 in the
 Auckland Marathon...