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 RANELAGH HARRIERS E-NEWS # 112       17 SEPTEMBER 2003
 Web site: www.ranelagh-harriers.com 
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 SURREY ROAD RELAY HEROINES! See below... 

 THAMES HARE & HOUNDS BRASHER RELAY     Saturday September 20th and Sunday
 September 21st
 There's still time to join in with this, which is a non-competitive relay
 along the Thames from source to Petersham. It's Thames Hare and Hounds'
 commemorative event for Chris Brasher, who was a member of both Thames and
 Ranelagh. A schedule of the stages was sent out a couple of weeks ago, but
 if you'd like another copy please let me or Mike Peace know. All speeds are
 catered for and distances range from 3 to 10 miles. 
 Saturday covers from near Lechlade to Henley, Sunday from Henley to
 Petersham. We won't be covering all the stages, so feel free to run any
 section you fancy. Please contact Mike Peace at
 mailto:head@frimley.surrey.sch.uk, or just turn up at one of the stages. 
 The final stage is the three miles from Teddington to Petersham and the 
 event is scheduled to finish at Petersham Meadows adjacent to our clubhouse 
 at about 3.45pm on Sunday afternoon. *Planned Timetable*
 Anyone who is free that afternoon, please come along.

 SURREY VETERANS CHAMPIONSHIPS   Saturday October 11th in Richmond Park
 A reminder that entries for this have to be submitted by the end of
 September. Entries are usually taken on the day but are ineligible for the
 team events, where we usually fare pretty well - so don't miss out! Entry
 fee is £3. Women's names please to Margaret Auerback
 (mailto:margaret.auerback@virgin.net), men's to Andy Bickerstaff 
 (mailto:andy@norris-hobs.co.uk).

 SURREY ROAD RELAYS Saturday September 13th at Wimbledon Park
 Between 1984 and 2002 Ranelagh's women finished 2nd eight times and 3rd four
 times in the Surrey Road Relays - but they never won it. If ever there was a
 case of "always the bridesmaid" this was it. We've won other county road
 team titles of course, but that's somehow not as satisfying as actually
 crossing the line first. So now at long last, please step forward the
 blushing brides - Sarah, Alice, Liz and Sara, gold medallists. 
 In the end they had the best part of a minute to spare over SLH who were
 thus deprived of a seventh consecutive title, but it was a topsy-turvy sort
 of a race. Belgrave's Walker raced to a new course record of 16.44 on stage
 1, but chasing hard in 2nd place was Sarah Seal who recorded one second
 inside the 17-minute barrier. This was a great run, the 5th fastest-ever
 time since the race moved to this venue in 1998. Alice Beverly was entrusted
 with stage 2 and quickly passed the Bels who had sent out their slowest
 runner on this leg. But Hercules Wimbledon and SLH were on a charge and both
 passed Alice, though all three teams were on the track together at the end
 with only 16 seconds covering them. It was a surprising Hercules who held
 onto the lead on stage 3 but Liz Kipling dug in with determination to run
 only some half a minute slower than Sarah and keep the deficit to just nine
 seconds. So the pressure fell onto Sara Grosvenor's shoulders for the anchor
 leg. Fortunately for us, Hercules's effort fizzled out at this point as
 their final runner laboured around the course in 26 minutes to slip right
 back to 7th. SLH were a distant threat but Sara did her job well and brought
 the team home to much jubilation. A photo of the happy foursome can be found
 on our web site, courtesy of Robin Drummond.
 We had a more than useful 'B' team out too, who finished 5th overall with
 sub-19 minute performances from the two Clares, Gutch and Nicholson, plus a
 very respectable 'C' team led off by debutante Alice Gilks. There were also
 two teams taking part in the veterans event, the first of which missed the
 medals by just 8 seconds as Sonia Rowland ran out of track to catch the
 Dorking runner ahead. Fastest was Jo Ronaldson with another sub-19 minute
 run. 
 Focus on the men's side was to field three teams of non-veterans in the
 senior race, plus vets teams in their categories. In the event, one no-show
 and one doctor's note caused some late team re-jigging and a couple of spare
 vets obligingly made up the numbers, but it was a good effort and helped
 swell the Ranelagh gang to no less than 47 men and women competing. I think
 I can safely say that that was more than any other club! 
 Paul Graham and Adam Tapley kicked things off well for the 'A' team and then
 Julian Smith weighed in with a swift 14.50, the 5th fastest time of the day.
 Gareth Davies and Steve Bird - more than a little dismayed to find himself
 elevated to the 'A' team! - followed on before Paul Doyle ran an isolated
 15.00 (6th fastest of the day) to bring the team home 7th. 
 Revelation of the 'B' team was junior Jordan Mungovan who ran an excellent
 16.54 on stage 2 and there was a good club debut from Mick Clarke in the 'C'
 team. Biggest receptions of the day were reserved for Christian Vaughan and
 John Herries who brought the 'B' and 'C' teams home in splendid isolation
 for a lap of honour round the track.
 For the Over 40s, Marcus Gohar ran an outstanding 14.55 on the opening
 stage, the 2nd fastest vets time of the day. Andy Bickerstaff, David Powell
 and Mick Lane all put in some sterling work too, and the team was rewarded
 with silver medals.
 The Over 50s couldn't match that but got faster with each stage and came
 home in 6th place.  
 When the prize presentation came around, time-honoured tradition was upheld
 by the women's golds first being offered to Belgrave, but we soon put them
 right! Then it was back to Julian's for tea and Sarah's cakes.  
  

 OVERTON 6 MILES  Saturday September 6th
 Mick Lane finished 5th vet in 28.38.

 VICE-CAPTAIN
 Congratulations to Anna McLaughlin who has been appointed Vice-Captain of
 the women's section.

 TUESDAY NIGHT SESSIONS
 Look on our web site for full details of the sessions, which all start at
 7pm from the clubhouse.
 23 Sep 2 x 6min efforts, 2 x 5min efforts
 30 Sep 2 x 3 x Holly Lodge Hill, 1 x Nightingale Lane hill
 7 Oct 1 x 10min effort, 3 x 4min efforts
 14 Oct 3 x 3 x Ham Gate hill
 Wednesday night (6.30pm) training continues from the clubhouse too, plus
 Sunday morning runs at 10am. 

 LONDON MARATHON Sunday April 18th 2004
 Entry forms are now available, so it's a good time to make plans. There are
 four possible ways to get into the marathon, outlined below. Ballot entries
 must be in by October 24th, but don't rush to enter this way if you think
 you might go for one of the guaranteed entry options. Multiple entries
 should definitely be avoided. For all options, the best first step is to get
 a copy of the free Marathon News magazine (August 2003), available now from
 sport shops. If you pick up a copy, why not pick up two, and bring the spare
 one to the club to tempt someone else? The magazine includes the ordinary
 ballot entry form, some information on option (2) (both championship and
 good for age entries), and plenty of adverts from charities looking for
 runners. If you're interested in option (3), please contact Peter Trainor
 . After rejection of a ballot entry (in December), 
 it may still be possible to get in (eg by picking up a spare charity place), 
 but, if you want to be sure of getting an entry, it's worth investigating 
 the "guaranteed" options sooner rather than later.
 (1) Ordinary ballot entries.
 (2) Guaranteed entries, based on qualifying times (depending on age & sex).
 (3) Guaranteed entries through the club (eg by working at registration).
 (4) Guaranteed entries through charities (by raising sponsorship).
 However you enter, please fill in and sign your entry form and cheque very
 carefully!
 General information about the race and how to enter (but not entry forms)
 can be found on the web site www.london-marathon.co.uk 

 Deborah Young writes:  "I've just come across the following article on the
 web. The site it comes from www.airhealth.org seems to be acting reasonably 
 responsibly, i.e. publishing info from respected sources, not just being 
 sensationalist".   ATHLETES AT RISK OF DISABLING, SOMETIMES FATAL INJURY
 Tim Hentzel, 26, a competitive triathlete, was recently diagnosed with DVT,
 deep vein thrombosis, a blood clot in the leg, after a flight from
 Minneapolis to San Francisco. His life has been difficult since then,
 revolving around pain, swelling, warfarin (rat poison) tablets, and blood
 tests. 
 Medical journals report that, during air travel, blood flow slows down,
 especially in the lower legs, and coagulability rises hour by hour. Blood
 clots form in the calves of about 5% of air travelers. Clots can cause pain
 and swelling. If a blood clot reaches the lungs, it can cause pain,
 fainting, and death. Athletic people are at greater risk because, with lower
 resting blood flow to the large muscles, they are more prone to stasis,
 stagnant blood subject to clotting. A large majority of air travel
 thrombosis victims contacting Airhealth.org are athletic, usually
 endurance-type athletes like marathoners. No other risk factor comes close.
 Age is supposed to be a risk factor for DVT, but 83% of these victims are
 under age 60. 
 Experts recommend wearing compression stockings and flexing the legs at
 thirty minute intervals. For people at higher risk, such as athletes,
 flexing more frequently is advisable. Don't confuse compression stockings
 with support stockings. Support stockings may actually be harmful.
 Compression stockings are graduated, with much greater pressure at the
 ankle. 
 The injury often feels like a muscle cramp and is usually misdiagnosed,
 aggravating the injury and increasing the risk of death. Tips on recognizing
 symptoms and avoiding misdiagnosis are available in a freeleaflet at
 www.airhealth.org/leaflet.html                                            
 There are no strings, no advertising and no plea for contributions. 

 NEXT...
 A fixture list for the 2003/04 winter season is now up on our web site.

 More details of the following from Andy Bickerstaff (07966 552302 /
 mailto:andy@norris-hobs.co.uk ) or Paul Graham (mailto:paulgraham28@hotmail.com)
 or Clare Nicholson (07710 348030 / mailto:clarenicholson@hotmail.com)  

 Saturday / Sunday September 20th / 21st    Thames Hare & Hounds Brasher
 relay - see above.

 Saturday September 27th      Men's Southern 6-stage relay at Aldershot
 (including M40, M50 and M60 categories) from 12.30pm.

 Sunday September 28th        Women's Southern 4-stage relay at Aldershot at
 3.30pm

 Saturday October 4th        Page Cup 5 miles handicap in Richmond Park at
 3pm

 Saturday October 11th          Surrey Veterans Cross-Country championships
 in Richmond Park. Women 6km at 2.30pm, men 10km at 3pm.
  
 Saturday October 18th        Surrey Cross-Country League Div 1 in Richmond
 Park (Kingston Gate). Women from 12.30pm, men from 2.30pm. 

 Sunday October 19th        Cabbage Patch 10 miles road race at
 Twickenham. Likely to be popular so get your entries in early to avoid
 disappointment. See www.cabbagepatch10.com   
         Also today, the Founders' Challenge 26 miles
 "go as you please" from Peaslake. Details from www.ldwa.org.uk
 or from Peter Saw.

 FINALLY
 From the Belgrave Harriers web site's report of the Surrey Road Relays:
 "Which Belgrave relay runner took over in 2nd place - and then in the same
 race took over again from the man who had set out ahead of him? 
 Answer: Martin Dent. Our SEAA and Belgrave 10km track champion Martin was
 looking for a tough training session, ideally two 3 mile legs with 6-7
 minutes recovery between. He got his wish by running 4th leg for the A team,
 taking over just a pace or two behind Harry Corbett who was setting out for
 the B team which at that stage was still leading the field. After taking
 Belgrave into an unassailable lead Martin then got just under five minutes
 respite before he did his second stint as a B team runner, taking over from
 Harry".

 Steve Rowland
 e-mail: srowland@calor.co.uk
 Tel: 01926 318734
 Fax: 0870 4006901