*************************************************** RANELAGH HARRIERS E-NEWS # 344 7 January 2011 Editor: Steve Rowland mailto: steverowland@ranelagh-harriers.com *************************************************** HAPPY NEW YEAR! HEADLINE NEWS ************* * Marc Snaith, Chris Wright and Rodney Oliver win the Henty Relay * Peter Haarer finishes 6th (and first vet) in the Oxfordshire Championships * Gavin Jones runs 33.34 10km on Italy * parkrun placings for David Rowe and Darren Wood * Surrey Championships on Saturday * Men's and women's Surrey League races next Saturday 15th January SEE HERE ******** SURREY CROSS-COUNTRY CHAMPIONSIPS The Surrey Championships take place on Saturday 8th January at the usual venue in Lloyd Park, Croydon. The senior women run at 1.20pm and the senior men at 2pm. Details:. SURREY LEAGUE The next Surrey League races take place on Saturday 15th January. Our women's team struggled in the last League race and need a better result this time. Their race is just down the road from our clubhouse at Ham Fields and the senior race starts at 12 noon, followed by the junior events. The men are leading Division 2 and want another good result to consolidate their position at the head of the table. The venue has been changed from that originally announced - it is now at Newlands Corner near Guildford. The junior race starts at 2pm and the seniors at 2.30pm. Full details of the venues will be on our website. LAST MOB MATCH OF THE WINTER Niall O'Connor writes: "What have the following got in common - Jim Forrest, Steve Rowland, Dave Wright, Mike Riley, Julian Smith, Chris Owens, Paul Graham, Andy Bickerstaff, Marc Snaith and not forgetting Sonia Rowland, Jo Muirlittle, Sarah Smith, Claire Nicholson, Anna Scally and Marie Synnott-Wells? These are all the Ranelagh captains that have unsuccessfully led teams (or been in-situ) to Hayes, Kent for our biennial mob match against Blackheath and Bromley Harriers, since our last victory on their home mud on January 16th 1971. The next attempt to bridge the 40 year gap takes place on Saturday February 26th 2011. If you run just one Ranelagh race this season make it this event - the full club whip is being enforced! In 2010 we had a good win at Richmond Park, founded on 91 Ranelagh runners at the start versus their 35. However at their recent mob against Orion, Blackheath fielded 71 runners in a comprehensive win. We can win this race but will need a lot of blue vests at the start. On that fateful day in January 1971 Jim Forrest was the captain and for company he had Steve Rowland, Bill Bird, Alan Hedger and John Hanscomb amongst others. Guys - you're all needed again, dig out your Ron Hill tracksters and see you on the 26th February 2011! More details to follow in next newsletter." MABAC LEAGUE Bev Ali writes: "Just a reminder that the popular 8 mile Windsor Park (on tarmac) run is on Sunday 9th January at 11am. Entry is free for Ranelagh members - directions on the MABAC website (www.mabac.org.uk/blacknst.htm). Register at the start. NOTE there will be new numbers for 2011 - do not use last year's numbers. The parking charge there is now £4 in £1 or £2 coins." PARKING IN THE PARK A recent memo published by the Royal Parks included the following: "The introduction of parking charges in Richmond and Bushy Parks was opposed by the large majority (84%) of those who responded to the consultation exercise, as well as by local MPs and the leaders of the three surrounding local authorities. A number of petitions were also received against the proposal. The concerns raised included: the level of charge; the possibility that parking would be displaced onto surrounding residential streets; and suggestions that there were inadequate public transport alternatives to driving to the parks. The Government has taken note of the significant public opposition and has decided not to proceed with parking charges in the two parks. It will consider other options to control traffic and raise income." ATHLETICS WEEKLY Our men's Captain Marc Snaith won Athletics Weekly's "Letter of the Week" prize for this contribution in the December 23rd issue, written in response to an editorial the previous week entitled "Why cross-country is truly in crisis in Britain": "Your suggestion that cross country is in crisis seems to be based entirely upon the state of the international championships. I have seen no evidence of this at the local and national level. The most competitive races in the country are not track or road but cross country. Whilst road running is booming the sheer number of races is having a detrimental effect by diluting the competition. There is no national structure for road races and county road leagues have always failed to attract the same level of competition as a league cross country race. Most runners will have to travel quite a distance to find a competitive road race whilst they are much more likely to have a competitive cross country race on their doorstep. The crisis in grass roots running is not with cross country but with track. In the London area there are 4 Surrey League races, 5 Met League races, 2 South of Thames races, the London Championships and the Southern Championships that all offer more depth than the London BUPA 10000m. The National Cross Country Championships has the most depth of any race in the country, whilst the men's Southern League athletics is struggling with low turnout and poor performances. Last winter I finished no higher than 75th in the men's Surrey League division one. I ran a 10k pb that would have put me in the top 50 of the most competitive local race - the Ranelagh Richmond 10k - and came 5th in the 5000m at the Surrey Championships. A clear indication of which form of running is struggling most to attract competition. At a local club level, the mob matches at Ranelagh Harriers are regularly attracting over a hundred runners from only two clubs. These races are over 7.5 miles cross country and are attended by a broad range of club runners. Last year we had over 90 starters for a mob match against Blackheath and Bromley. Other clubs seem to be having similar success in encouraging mob match attendance. From my experience in Surrey and London, cross country running does not need saving and is in a very healthy state." RUNNING LEADERSHIP COURSE We'd like to see more people coaching at the club, and we'd particularly like to see a few more men getting involved. Marc Snaith writes: "The South West London Network (of which Ranelagh is a member) have arranged a Leadership in Running Fitness training course for its members on Sunday 27th February at St Mary's College, Strawberry Hill. This is, to quote their literature, 'A one-day Leadership Training course which qualifies and insures leaders to deliver safe and fun running sessions, suitable for Running Club Leaders and Run in England Group Leaders.' The normal cost for the course is £90 but this is going to be covered by the network. This is a great opportunity for anyone interested in becoming a group leader or coach. Let me know if you are interested and I'll send you the attendance form." Marc's contact details are in "What's Coming" below. COACH KAREN Karen Weir writes: "This coming Sunday in 'The Telegraph on Sunday' there is a free Matt Roberts workout DVD featuring me (Coach Karen)! The emphasis of the workouts is Fat Loss and I am sure most of our runners are fine there, but the interesting bit for me are the sections on Foam Rolling and Stretching. All runners should try and incorporate stretching and foam rolling into their routines as it really does help prevent injury and this DVD shows you how to do it - and it's FREE! Secondly, I head up the Matt Roberts Running Clinic and we are holding a seminar on Saturday 15th January entitled 'The Anatomy of Running and Strength and Conditioning for Runners'. It's aimed at all runners especially those that have never included gym or strength work in their training programme. We will be talking about why you should do strength work and how to do it and there will also be a practical session where we actually take people through the exercises they should be doing. Again I cannot stress enough how important it is for runners to be strong and balanced as it not only will make them faster and better runners but also it will reduce the risk of injury. So I'd like to invite all Ranelagh members (except those required for Surrey League duty! - Ed) to come along and join me at the seminar. It is being held at the Matt Roberts gym in Mayfair (Berkeley Street) from 10am - 1pm (come ready to work out) and costs £10. Please call 0207 581 9199 if you'd like to book and for more details or drop me an email runningclinic@mattroberts.co.uk . HOUSE SWAP Gavin Jones writes from Rome: "A very nice colleague of mine, Roberto, is seeking a house swap in London or nearby for the Easter holidays and/or July. Other dates could also be considered. He's got a nice house quite near the centre of Rome, with two bedrooms, living room, kitchen, two bathrooms, computer available. His house is in south east Rome, close to the ancient Appia Antica and the catacombs and the Terme di Caracalla. You can easily get to the centre by bus to Piazza Venezia. If you're interested please contact Roberto roberto.landucci@reuters.com . WHAT'S COMING ************* More details of the following from Marc Snaith (07717 213035 mailto ( mdsnaith5@hotmail.com ) or Marie Synnott-Wells (07956 431319 (After 5pm Weekdays) / mailto nandmwells@aol.com ) Saturday 8th January Surrey County Championships at Lloyd Park, Croydon Sunday 9th January MABAC League 8 miles road in Windsor Great Park. 11am start. Details above. Saturday 15th January Surrey League - women at Ham (12 noon), men at Newlands Corner, Guildford (2.30pm) Saturday 22nd January 5 miles v Bank of England and others in Richmond Park (the Bank's course). 2.30pm start near Roehampton Gate. parkruns every Saturday at 9am Bushy Park Diana Fountain car park Richmond Park Richmond Gate Wimbledon Common Windmill car park Banstead Woods Car park off B2219 Park Lane, Chipstead Bedfont Lakes Bedfont Lakes Country Park, Ashford, Middlesex Kingston The Hawker Centre Old Deer Park Pools in the Park on the A316 Other venues, more details and registration at www.parkrun.com The 2km junior parkrun for under 15s takes place at 11am on the first Sunday of each month from Bushy Park's Teddington Gate. WHAT'S HAPPENED *************** HENTY RELAY Saturday 1st January in Richmond Park For those unfamiliar with the Henty Relay format, it takes place over six laps of Sidmouth Wood - 1.32m for the opening lap and 1.38m for subsequent laps. Runners checking in at the clubhouse are placed in one of three categories, laughingly termed "fast", "medium" and "slow", and when all entries are in, Ken's computer whirrs for a bit and out comes the nearest approximation it can make to evenly-balanced teams comprising one runner from each category. The "fast" runner has to cover three laps, the "medium" two and the "slow" one lap, in any order. In the context of this race, "fast", "medium" and "slow" have always been highly relative terms, never more so than this year. Of those in the "fast" category only two competitors, Peter Haarer and Marc Snaith, could truly justify the epithet and the rest of those who were forced to masquerade as such, including even your humble editor, were astonished to find themselves in a category they thought had long since left them behind. In fact there was generally little to tell between the remainder of the "fasts", all the "mediums" and even some of the "slows". Peter and Marc duly sprinted away on lap one, and Peter went on to record a very nifty 6.55, half a minute clear of Marc, with Chris Brook leading in the rest. Crispy Wright took over from Marc and delivered his team a lead which it was never to relinquish. Jar O'Brien took Chris Brook's team up into second place, a few metres clear of Kirsty Bangham who had taken over from Peter. Marc's third stage closed with his team almost two minutes clear of the rest who were headed by Chris Brook. While most teams put their "fast" runner on stage 3, Peter's team elected to run their "slow", Annemarie Goodridge, with the result that they slipped back to 9th. John Ricketts moved into 3rd place. Peter lost no time in charging through the field on lap 4 with a 7.14 clocking which was the fastest of the day for the longer lap. Peter handed over in 2nd place over half a minute down on Rodney Oliver for Marc's team. Sally Bamford for John's team retained 3rd place with Sue Ashley for Chris's team 4th. Crispy Wright maintained Marc's team's lead at about half a minute, though it was now Jar O'Brien for Chris Brook's team who filled second place with Kirsty Bangham handing over to Peter Haarer for the anchor stage in 3rd place. Peter had a minute to make up on Marc if he was to take the victory, and try as he might the task was beyond him. Marc put in a good 7.45 final circuit to hold on to a clear lead with Peter in 2nd place and Chris 3rd. The day's fastest "fast" was of course Peter Haarer; the fastest "medium" was Jar O'Brien on 9.23 and the fastest "slow" lap was Rob Kitchen's 10.11. Best woman was Kathy Mallett, whose 9.16 on the opening lap was a new W55 course record. SOUTH OF THE THAMES 7.5 miles CHAMPIONSHIP Saturday 18th December at Coulsdon Owing to the heavy snow the race was postponed until 19th March. BEST WOMAN 10km Sunday 12th December at Flumicino, Italy I'm not sure where the race name comes from, but Gavin Jones continued his great form to finish 45th overall and 3rd in the M45 age group. His time of 33.34 ranks him 25th in the UK in that age group for 2010. 1 C Kipkorir (Kenya) 29.09 45 Gavin Jones 33.34 LAST FRIDAY OF THE MONTH 5km Friday 24th December in Hyde Park 1 R Ward (Belgrave) 15.29 80 Alan Davidson 22.45 83 Heather Martingell 22.56 114 John Hanscomb 31.41 CHRISTMAS DAY 30 mins PAARLAUF Saturday 25th December on Wimbledon Common 1 K White (HW) & B Palmer (HW) 5m 1529y 2 L White (HW) & Steve Rowland 5m 1260y 8 K Hegvold (Bel) & Alexander Woods 5m 988y NEW YEAR'S DAY 10km Saturday 1st January in Hyde Park 1 P Martelletti (VP&TH) 30.26 34 Andrew Forth 37.39 97 Andy Woodhouse 42.20 99 Stewart Anderson 42.27 153 Simon Martin 45.25 169 Alan Davidson 46.20 262 Paul Martingell 51.45 346 Wally Garrod 58.58 354 David Bell 59.07 425 Heather Martingell 68.20 BEYOND THE BLACK STUMP 16km - "A bloody great bush run" Saturday 1st January at Berowa, Australia Simon Burrell reports: "I am hoping to get the club prize for 'first race completed in 2011', having finished the Beyond the Black Stump 16k by 9am Sydney time on New Year's Day (before 10pm on New Year's Eve UK time). The combination of ridiculously early start, tough course, even by Aussie standards, running through the Aussie bush and the whiff of insanity proved an irresistible draw. The race started from Berowra, about 20 miles north of Sydney central and kicked off at 7am on New Year's Day. Paul Rider (now back in Oz) planned to run with me but was sadly forced out by injury. Great respect, however, for the lift at 5:30am on NYD morning and for the fabulous Aussie barbie afterwards. With equal measures of running, walking and scrambling, and the help of a few similar paced locals, I navigated out through the bush and then back to civilisation - you really don't want to get lost out there! I managed the 16km (Party Pooper) option in about 1:51 - I say 'about', as there was no timing, position recording or indeed marshals or marking. Even the promised maps didn't materialise, and camelbacks were the order of the day (no water stations) - Paul came to my rescue here with a Sutton Runners 10k water bottle, which I clutched around the course as if my life depended on it, which indeed it may have. Spare a thought for the 33k (Full Monty) participants, whose route included a round-trip across the local creek on a ferry and a long trek up to a ruined castle. You'll get a feel for the course profile, when 4 hours is noted as a 'respectable time' - I would likely not have achieved this. Sensibly, given a choice, Deborah opted for the 0km (Lie In) option!" OXFORDSHIRE CROSS-COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS Sunday 2nd January at Horspath After warming up in the Henty Relay the day before, Peter Haarer ran in the Oxfordshire Championships which were incorporated with an Oxford Mail League race. Peter finished 9th overall but 6th in the championship and won the vets title by a clear margin. 1 S Naylor (Woodstock) 30.05 9 Peter Haarer 32.04 TADWORTH 10 miles Sunday 2nd January 1 A Madar (unatt) 56.02 28 Bill Neely 66.53 184 Michelle Davies 79.26 256 Jo Sinton-Hewitt 83.37 KINGFIELD CANTER 2.85 miles handicap Wednesday 5th January at Woking 1 A Mayger (unatt) 23.24 (actual time 21.39) 10 Alan Davidson 27.05 (20.50) 12 Steve Rowland 27.14 (19.29) RICHMOND parkrun 5km Saturday 18th December Snowy conditions reduced numbers and stretched times in most parkruns today. 1 A Hudson (unatt) 18.25 6 Bill Neely 20.08 10 Jerym Brunton 20.54 23 Andrew Brown 22.54 33 Philip Jackson 23.34 53 Rob Kitchen 26.58 56 Philippa Shaw 27.37 62 Tony Appleby 28.19 63 Jar O'Brien 28.21 64 Mike White 28.22 68 Alison Dicks 28.35 BUSHY parkrun 5km Saturday 18th December 1 R Franks (WSEH) 16.25 135 Jose Scheuer 23.58 176 Chris Wright 25.11 189 Gill Wilson 25.43 190 Kirsty Bangham 25.44 204 Roger Wilson 26.41 224 Wally Garrod 27.52 282 John Hanscomb 32.49 BEDFONT LAKES parkrun 5km Saturday 18th December 1 I Charlton (unatt) 21.27 14 Sharon Dooley 28.58 15 Heather Martingell 28.58 WOODBANK parkrun 5km Saturday 18th December David and Sharon Rowe visited Stockport and David finished as runner-up. 1 T Beach (Durham U) 18.56 2 David Rowe 19.11 43 Sharon Rowe 37.49 KINGSTON parkrun 5km Saturday 18th December 1 R Sullivan (unatt) 21.15 4 Chris Camacho 22.48 BUSHY parkrun 5km Saturday 25th December Over 530 runners assembled in Bushy Park for the Christmas Day parkrun. 1 S Renfer (TVH) 15.51 20 Andrew Forth 19.03 23 Sean Paynter 19.12 34 David Rowe 19.33 39 Ted Mockett 19.57 70 Duncan Mallison 21.20 73 Chris Brook 21.30 130 Karen Weir 23.31 131 Peter Weir 23.31 192 Paul Sinton-Hewitt 25.19 198 Zoe Gavars 25.25 239 Sharon Dooley 26.37 241 Alastair Sinclair 26.38 266 Zeph King 26.55 277 Zinny Gavars 27.13 285 Kirsty Bangham 27.34 316 Mike White 28.22 317 Michelle Davies 28.23 319 Lee Davies 28.23 321 Roger Wilson 28.25 443 Heather Martingell 32.42 503 Jo Sinton-Hewitt 36.25 505 Marina Quayle 36.33 510 Stacey Barber 37.04 511 Lynne Barber 37.05 518 Sharon Rowe 38.06 FRIMLEY LODGE parkrun 5km Saturday 25th December A Christmas third place for Darren Wood... 1 R Sherwood (unatt) 18.42 3 Darren Wood 19.20 BRUETON parkrun 5km Saturday 25th December 1 A Kaar (Birchfield) 18.43 13 Andy Woodhouse 21.31 BROMLEY parkrun 5km Saturday 25th December 1 S Varnon (unatt) 16.56 33 Yvonne Rice-Oxley 24.40 BLACK PARK parkrun 5km Sunday 26th December Five restless Harriers completed a Christmas double by following their runs in Bushy Park on the 25th by a visit to Black Park on the 26th. 1 R Ward (Belgrave) 16.26 6 David Rowe 18.53 51 Lee Davies 23.41 61 Michelle Davies 25.11 67 Kirsty Bangham 25.31 73 Mike White 25.41 BUSHY parkrun 5km Saturday 1st January 1 M Skinner (Black & B) 15.07 23 David Rowe 19.09 56 Chris Camacho 21.04 93 Michelle Davies 22.34 124 Kate Brook 23.37 153 Chris Wright 24.16 168 Wiebke Kortum 24.47 180 Roger Wilson 25.04 185 Sally Bell 25.27 261 Kirsty Bangham 27.54 262 Mike White 27.56 265 Mary Hickson 28.00 324 John Hanscomb 32.07 352 Sharon Rowe 34.34 RICHMOND parkrun 5km Saturday 1st January David Rowe, Michelle Davies, Wiebke Kortum, Roger Wilson, Mike White and Kirsty Bangham all managed to run the Bushy parkrun at 9am and the Richmond parkrun at 10am...and Michelle, Wiebke, Mike and Kirsty went on to take part in the Henty Relay in the afternoon! 1 J Shelley (Shaft B) 16.48 15 Bill Neely 19.47 18 David Rowe 19.57 22 Paul Sinton-Hewitt 20.17 55 Andrew Brown 22.57 76 Karl Garvey 23.47 99 Michelle Davies 25.52 101 Zinny Gavars 26.03 104 Roger Wilson 26.24 105 Rob Kitchen 26.25 113 Wiebke Kortum 27.32 114 Philippa Shaw 27.43 115 Mike White 27.45 116 Zoe Gavars 27.47 117 Jar O'Brien 27.48 119 Kirsty Bangham 28.10 123 Lynne Barber 28.18 129 Val Lowman 28.35 135 Alison Dicks 29.15 136 Louise Reeder 29.16 146 Peter Lowman 30.27 147 Christine Goodsell 30.29 152 Stacey Barber 31.34 FRIMLEY LODGE parkrun 5km Saturday 1st January ...and a New Year third place too for Darren. 1 R Brookling (unatt) 17.29 3 Darren Wood 18.58 FINALLY... "Every morning I get up, do some stretching and then run for four minutes or one mile - whichever comes first." Ed Koch, former mayor of New York City.