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Newsdesk 2004

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 RANELAGH HARRIERS E-NEWS # 148           23 AUGUST 2004
 Editor: Steve Rowland
 mailto: steverowland@ranelagh-harriers.com
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 HEADLINE NEWS
 *  Surrey Road League titles for Liz Kipling, Sonia Rowland, Paul Doyle and
 Mick Lane
 *  Ranelagh Grand Prix titles for Liz, Sonia, Mick, Mike Peace and Corinne
 Bishop
 *  County vest for Jo Ronaldson
 *  Clubhouse building work to be completed this week

 WHAT'S COMING...
 A provisional fixture list for the 2004/05 winter season, can be found on our
 web site.    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 September 11th        Surrey Road Relay championships at Wimbledon
 Park. There are separate senior and veterans events for both men and women,
 starting at 12 noon. Each stage is 3 miles. We'll be hoping to put in
 several teams, so if you'd like to run contact one of the captains.

 Sunday September 12th          River Relay  Virginia Water to Ham. There are
 six stages varying in distance between 3.8 miles and 7.5 miles, and each
 team must include at least two veterans and one woman. Again, contact a
 captain if you're interested.

 Saturday September 18th        124th Season Opening Run and Thomas Cup 3.8
 miles handicap at 3pm , preceded by annual club photograph. All members
 welcome. See our web site for more details about the race including the
 history of the Thomas Cup itself. In the evening (6.30pm) we'll be holding
 an Opening Run Supper at the clubhouse. More details soon. 

 CLUBHOUSE
 There has been a slight delay in the building work on the men's and women's
 showers, but it should all be completed during this week and be ready for
 use after the bank holiday.

 SURREY 5Km  Sunday 22nd August at Wimbledon
 This was the final event in both our own club Grand Prix series for 2004 and
 the Surrey Road League. For most of the eventual winners, it was just a
 question of turning up and having a reasonable run to secure their titles.
 But predictably this was not enough for Paul Doyle who blasted round the
 hilly two-lap course in 15.34 - exactly the time predicted by statman Ken
 Powley. This brought Paul home in 3rd place overall and 2nd in the county
 championship. Mick Lane and Steve Whitehead were 20th and 22nd and the men's
 team result saw Ranelagh in the silver medal position behind Belgrave. As
 predicted, the Belgrave win gave them the Surrey League title, pushing
 Ranelagh back into second place. Liz Kipling led the Ranelagh women's
 contingent, ahead of Anna McLaughlin and Sonia Rowland.

 At the prize ceremony at Belgrave Hall the opportunity was taken to catch up
 on the presentation of medals for the various Surrey road championships that
 had taken place throughout the summer - half marathon, ten miles and ten
 kilometres. Ranelagh featured gratifyingly frequently and Paul Doyle in
 particular was the Michael Phelps of the proceedings, staggering out
 burdened by so many medals that he could hardly stand up straight.

 The Surrey Road League awards were distributed too, and though Ranelagh
 missed out on the team awards we did come away with four individual titles -
 Paul Doyle and Liz Kipling took the senior men's and women's, Mick Lane won
 the men's over 40 and Sonia Rowland the women's over 45. We had half a claim
 too on the men's over 50 title which went to second-claim member Duncan
 Gaskell of Stragglers.

 AUCKLAND CASTLE 10km  Sunday 15th August
 Jo Ronaldson won her first county vest in this event which incorporated the
 inter-counties 10km championship. In very hot conditions she described her
 run as "rubbish" but nevertheless helped Surrey to a team win.
 Women
 1 N Harvey (SLH) 33.02
 29 Jo Ronaldson 40.33 

 RON WHEELER 2.5 miles handicap  Wednesday 28th July at St Katherine's Dock
 1 M Cates (Eton Manor) 18.22 (actual time 13.22)
 4 Chris Read 18.41 (15.41)
 5 Alan Davidson 18.45 (15.45)
 14 Andy Hayward 19.20 (16.20) 

 PORTSMOUTH PROMENADE 5km  Sunday 15th August
 Allan Lang was 2nd over 60 in 21.39. 

 LONDON 10K  Saturday 1st August
 John Kipps also competed in this event, which took place on August 1st
 rather than the 2nd as stated in the last e-news:
 "It took me 8 minutes to get to the start line, so my official finish time
 (50:29) is not within the first 200 results that have been posted so far. I
 clocked myself at 42:01, which considering the congestion for the first half
 was sort of what I'd expected.  I should have made more of an effort to get
 to the line at the start!"

 SELF TRANSCENDENCE 2 miles series
 In the final two of these Monday night races in Battersea Park on July 19th
 and August 2nd, Jacqui Reid finished 3rd and 2nd amongst the women, setting
 her best two times of the whole series, 13.14 and 13.24. John Pratt was
 close behind her in the final event with 13.28.

 BODDINGTON 50km  Sunday 1st August
 Andy Hayward reports:
 On Sunday the 1st of August was the National AAA of England Ultra Distance
 Road Running Championships in Boddington, just outside Cheltenham, Glos. For
 some perverse reason the start was 11:00am so that meant that we were
 running through the hottest part of the day. The temperature was recorded at
 31'C or 88'F in the shade during the race - unfortunately there was not any
 shade on the entire course! The route was 14 laps on flat, country, almost
 traffic free  roads round Boddington Manor; 13 x 2.2 mile laps, with a final
 lap of 2.4 miles ending in front of the manor house.

 There were 55 entries, 48 starters and 33 finishers - the high dropout rate
 as a result of the extreme heat. I had a fairly steady start, and I felt
 good through eight miles, and upped the pace for the next five miles or so,
 but started to feel the heat at about the halfway point. Around twenty miles
 it started to become a bit of a struggle, and then it was a case of hanging
 on for a reasonable time past the marathon point. It wasn't called, but I
 went through the marathon in around 3:20.

 The last two laps were not fun. After the first lap, two neighbouring houses
 of the only four on the lap were kind enough to set up a garden hose on a
 ladder, and a garden sprinkler. With three miles to go I was overtaken by
 the leading woman Siri Terjesen whilst standing under the hose for an
 extended period to try and bring my core temperature down. I had been four
 minutes ahead of her at one point, but she amazingly increased her speed
 over the last two laps when most others were falling apart, to finish
 seconds inside four hours. I struggled in in 4:05:22, good enough for 7th of
 24 in the men's race, and eigth overall of the 33 finishers. I also got a
 nice award for second man over 40. Main lesson learnt from this race was
 "Don't run stupid distances in stupid temperatures!".

 1 B Cole (Royal Navy) 3.15.06
 7 Andy Hayward 4.05.22

 DORNEY LAKE TRIATHLON RELAY  Saturday 14th August
 Paul Sinton-Hewitt reports:
 "Death by inexperience!

 The power has gone to her head! Electing Marina Quayle as social secretary
 seems to have driven her to new levels of competitiveness. We tried saying
 'No' to her pleas for us take part in this relay team triathlon being held
 in Eton, but she surreptitiously filled out the entry forms and committed
 us. So on Saturday, three weary teams headed off for Dorney Lake not really
 knowing what to expect. With bicycles, swimming costumes, sun tan lotion and
 a picnic in hand, we arrived on-time to find Marina, who had been there for
 hours already, had staked out the whole place and chosen the perfect spot.
 Negotiating with the organizers, she rummaged through the T-Shirts choosing
 the correct sizes and perfect colour matches for everyone.

 First on the blocks was Alexander Quayle (5) whose race consisted of a first
 lap on the scooter, a second on the bicycle and the final lap running. By
 the time we arrived, Alexander was already on the podium collecting his
 coveted medal for third place, a feat made possible by his impressive
 running. Little did Alexander know at this time that his high would soon be
 dented by the arrival of masses of wasps, one of which decided to leave his
 mark on his hand. After trip to St John's Ambulance he was fine but spent
 the rest of the weekend being terrified by the little buggers.

 And so to the main event. Marina, with her years of competition experience,
 decided the best pre-race sustenance would be two glasses of Sangria and a
 Tortilla, imported from Spain especially for the occasion. After that she
 and Karen had no trouble stripping off in front of everyone to put on their
 wet suits. That marked the start of the fashion parade, which saw
 professional photographer Phil Aiken eagerly organising us into suitable
 poses. There is absolutely no truth in the vicious rumor that I stripped off
 and placed myself between the lycra-clad ladies for an intimate threesome.
 And any pictures that Phil shows you have obviously been doctored in
 Photoshop.

 There were 60 teams taking part in this relay. Our teams fr the 800m swim,
 30km bike and 7.5km run comprised of Marina Quayle, Simon Quayle and Ian
 Grange in the Ranelagh Warriors (should have been worriers), Karen
 Broadbent, Tony Appleby and Rob Stillwell in the Ranelagh All Stars team and
 myself, Joanne Turner and Steve McClune in the Ranelagh Rockets.

 The swimmers all gathered in the murky waters just before the start. Soon
 after the start we realised this wasn't going to be a walk in the park as we
 struggled to find some space in this mass of thrashing water. Being kicked
 and punched and having my goggles ripped off was my introduction to the
 first lap of 400m. On completion of the first lap we had to leave the water,
 run back to the start and dive in again to complete the second lap. I think
 the first swimmers were finishing their second lap by the time I entered the
 water for the second time. Perhaps the armbands were slowing me down?
 Marina, obviously an old hand at these events (or just a tart), received a
 rapturous applause from the organiser as she exited the water for the last
 time as he singled her out for individual recognition. Marina, you must make
 sure the organisers know how to pronounce Ranelagh next time.

 The changeovers were well organised and they used a simple tag system to get
 the cyclists off on their leg. First out of the blocks for Ranelagh was Jo,
 who was on a borrowed racing bike for the first time. An old-hat at cycling,
 Jo's enjoyment was obvious. The 6 lap course brought her past the spectators
 12 times and all we could see was a huge grin and masses of determination as
 she bore down on her fellow competitors. Tony, on a new bike, did his best
 to catch Jo but it was in vain. Poor Simon! Marina wouldn't let him adjust
 the seat on her mountain bike and as a result he was unable to sit for the
 rest of the day.

 The run was a three-lap affair with plenty of opportunity for supporters to
 abuse and coerce their runners. I tried tripping Rob and hurling insults at
 him, but nothing was going to stop him overtaking and convincingly beating
 the other Ranelagh runners. With a creditable 7th fastest run of the day,
 Rob catapulted the All Stars from 48th position overall to 30th, a
 magnificent effort. Big Steve, suffering in the heat, ploughed on bringing
 the Rockets home in 41st position. Ian, who was last to start and also last
 to finish, had a lonely time of it, but received plenty of support as the
 whole Ranelagh contingent, friends and family ran him into the finish
 straight.

 A final debrief was held at the Anglers Arms, where Marina took charge once
 more, scolding those of us who under-performed and debating on the next
 Ranelagh adventure".

 1 Team SBR 1.20.15  (swim 11.46, bike 46.34, run 21.55)
 30 Ranelagh Allstars 1.41.42  (17.27,  57.03,  27.12)
 41 Ranelagh Rockets 1.47.00  (14.59,  53.21,  38.40)
 59 Ranelagh Warriors 2.18.15  (22.14,  75.46,  40.15)

 RANELAGH ROAD GRAND PRIX
 As mentioned above, the Wimbledon 5km completed the 2004 GP series and 94
 Ranelagh Harriers competed in at least one of the ten events. There were no
 changes to the leaders on the score charts: Mick Lane held off Paul Doyle
 for the overall win and galloped away with the over 40s title too. Liz
 Kipling moved up to 3rd overall and secured the women's title. Sonia Rowland
 and Corinne Bishop retained their leads in the women's over 40 and over 50
 sections respectively, and Mike Peace was an easy winner amongst the men
 over 50.

 There is a full scorechart and list of the races on our web site. Leading
 final scores:
 Open
 Mick Lane 88,  Paul Doyle 84,  Liz Kipling 47,  Mike Peace 42,  Stephen
 Instone 38,  Trevor Maguire 37,  Andy Bickerstaff 36,  Anna McLaughlin 33,
 Marie Synnott-Wells 26,  Adam Tapley 25,  Peter Haarer 23,  Steve Whitehead
 20,  Corinne Bishop 20,  John Hughes 19,  Jo Ronaldson 18,  Chris Read 16,
 Stephen Arneil 15,  Alan Meaden 15,  Andy Hayward 14,  Alan Davidson 14,
 Neil Walford 14,  Marcus Gohar 12,  John Hanscomb 12,  Ken Fotherby 11,
 Marius Acker 11,  Nick Henderson 11,  Simon Burrell 11,  David Meaden 11
 Men Over 40
 Mick Lane 48,  Stephen Instone 20,  Andy Bickerstaff 19,  Chris Read 14,
 Andy Hayward 9,  Marcus Gohar 8,  Neil Walford 8,  Ken Fotherby 6,  Tim
 Woods 5,  Simon Lawrence 5,  Clive Naish 4,  Kevin Jacques 3
 Men Over 50
 Mike Peace 40,  Alan Meaden 23,  Alan Davidson 20,  John Hanscomb 17,  John
 Hughes 15,  David Meaden 13,  Wyn Williams 7,  Chris Owens 6,  Steve Rowland
 6,  Simon Rothwell 6,  David Fangen 6,  Alan Craig 6,  Bill Harvey 5,  Wally
 Garrod 5
 Women
 Liz Kipling 43,  Anna McLaughlin 32,  Marie Synnott-Wells 17,  Corinne
 Bishop 17,  Sonia Rowland 14,  Jo Ronaldson 12,  Kathy Mallett 10,  Evelyn
 Joslin 7,  Michele Gibson 7,  Janet Turnes 6,  Jenni Kruse 5,  Mariette
 Engelbrecht 4,  Sara Grosvenor  4,  Eliete Nascimento 4
 Women Over 40
 Sonia Rowland 24,  Michele Gibson 16,  Janet Turnes 14,  Lynne Barber 8,
 Catherine Carthy 7,  Jackie Alderton 6,  Joanne Turner 6,  Teresa Segovia 5,
 Marina Quayle 5,  Julie Naismith 5
 Women Over 50
 Corinne Bishop 39,  Bev Ali 12,  Kathy Mallett 12,  Mei Fei Wickham 11,
 Carol Barnshaw 5,  Pat Hewlett 3,  Julie Drummond 1,  Kathryn Curran 1

 MASTERS' TRACK LEAGUE  Monday 12th July at Battersea Park
 Margaret Auerback reports:

 "The last match in the masters league was held at Battersea on 12th July and
 an excellent turnout helped us to finish in second place on the night behind
 Serpentine but not able to improve on our third place overall with
 Hillingdon well ahead of us in second place.

 Our first win came from Julie Drummond in the 2K walk, competing despite
 nursing a very painful ankle, the result of a fall caused by some wretched
 rabbit digging a hole in the path: put them all in a stew! She was supported
 by Frances Ratchford and Bev Ali who later turned their talents to the long
 jump and discus earning valuable points in both events.

 Our next three wins all came from Marion Rayner who also managed yet another
 P.B this time in the 200m. Janet Turnes and Jacqui Reid also had good runs
 in this event and newcomer Lorna Smith fairly scorched round the track in a
 very impressive 36.2. Pat Hewlett ran well for third place in the W60 800m
 and Louise Piears knocked a massive chunk off her 3000m time finishing in
 13.02".
 2000m walk  W35A  3  Frances Ratchford  15.03.4
                    W35B  3  Bev Ali                   15.03.1
                    W50    1  Julie Drummond      12.15.4
 800m           W35A  3  Janet Turnes           3.24.6
                    W50A  1  Marion Rayner         2.53.5
                    W50B  2  Frances Ratchford   3.38.7
                    W60    3  Pat Hewlett             4.02.0
 200m           W35A  4  Janet Turnes           38.7
                               Gst Lorna Smith         36.2
                    W35B  2  Jacqui Reid             35.0
 3000m         W35A  4  Louise Piears          13.02.9
                    W50    1  Marion Rayner         12.33.7
 4 x 200m                3  Richmond & Twickenham
 Shot            W35    3  K Robinson             4.36
                    W50    3  Margaret Auerback  5.97
 Discus         W35    3  K Robinson             10.61
                    W50    3  Bev Ali                    14.87
 Long Jump   W35    3  Frances Ratchford    2.35
                    W50   2  Bev Ali                     2.57 

 We don't have results for the men's division, but Andy Bickerstaff put in a
 nifty 3000m, lapping Steve Rowland and Clive Naish. Steve and Ray Auerback
 also cantered round the 800m, and Mike Rowland followed Julie home in the
 2000m walk. 

 WHO'S GOING TO ARUNDEL?
 Phil Aiken writes:
 "I'm tempted by the Arundel Castle 10K on Sunday August 29th. With a start
 time of 9.30, I'm dependent on a lift. So, if anyone is running this race,
 driving there, has a spare seat and doesn't mind me occupying it, can they
 contact me". Contact details for Phil are above in the "What's Coming"
 section.

 GAZETTE
 Julian Smith writes:
 "Apologies to anyone who had to pay excess postage on their Gazette. We did
 weigh one in an envelope beforehand, but it must have been borderline and
 some post offices were evidently quite fussy! I promise to refund personally
 anyone who had to pay AND who writes a race report for the next issue..."

 FINALLY
 Heartfelt sympathies for Paula...and a great pick-us-up from Kelly!