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Newsdesk 2004

 ****************************************************************************
 RANELAGH HARRIERS E-NEWS # 152       29 SEPTEMBER 2004
 Editor: Steve Rowland
 mailto: steverowland@ranelagh-harriers.com
 ****************************************************************************
 HEADLINE NEWS
 *  2.54 marathon by 73-year-old Ed Whitlock
 *  12th place for women's team in Southern Road Relay Championships
 *  75.58 half marathon by Lauren Shelley
 *  European Duathlon Championships frustration for David Benton
 *  Ranelagh weekly 5km time trial to start this Saturday

 WELCOME...
 ...to the following new members:
 Anna Comerford, Georgia Mianscrow, Becky Chapman, Sally Piesse, Rachel
 Turtle, Rebecca Clayden, Katie Clare, Stephen Logue, Stephen Roberts, Paul
 Bristow, Martin Crosby, Gary Croke.

 WHAT'S COMING...
 The 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 October 2nd             Page Cup 5 miles handicap in Richmond Park.
 All members welcome - enter on the day in the clubhouse. 3pm start. See our
 web site for more details of the course and the history of the Cup.
                                             Ranelagh 5 km Time Trial in
 Bushy Park. 9am start. See below and look on our web site for more info.
 Saturday October 9th             Surrey Women's Cross-Country League on
 Wimbledon Common starting at 12.30pm (seniors, followed by junior races)
                                              Surrey Men's Cross-Country
 League in Brockwell Park starting at 2.30pm (juniors, followed by seniors at
 3pm)
                                             Ranelagh 5 km Time Trial in
 Bushy Park. 9am start.

 Saturday October 16th           Surrey Veterans' Cross-Country Championships
 in Richmond Park (women 6km at 2.30pm, men 8km at 3pm). See below.
                                              Invitation match v Oxford
 University and others at Shotover, Oxford.
                                             Ranelagh 5 km Time Trial in
 Bushy Park. 9am start

 Sunday October 17th              Cabbage Patch 10 miles road race at
 Twickenham. Entries now closed. 

 Saturday October 23rd            Lee Cup Mob Match v Orion Harriers at
 Chingford.  7.5 miles. 2.30pm start. Free transport will leave from the
 clubhouse at 12 noon.
                                            Ranelagh 5 km Time Trial in
 Bushy Park. 9am start

 RANELAGH WEEKLY BUSHY PARK TIME TRIAL
 This Saturday sees the inaugural Ranelagh weekly 5km time trial in Bushy
 Park. Start is at 9am sharp from the big car park by the Diana Fountain
 (close to the Hampton Court entrance). This event will be held every
 Saturday morning from now on. No pre-entry is required - just turn up and
 run. See our web site for full details including course map.
 Paul Sinton-Hewitt is the main organiser, and the intention is that only the
 minimum number of helpers will be required. But Paul would be pleased to
 hear from anyone who can help regularly or occasionally
 (mailto:p.sintonhewitt@btinternet.com). 

 SURREY VETERANS' CROSS-COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS  Saturday 16th October in
 Richmond Park starting at 2.30pm.
 A reminder that entries have to be made in advance for this event. It's open
 to women aged 35 and over (who run 6km) and men aged 40 and over (10km),
 entry fee £3. Women who want to run should contact Margaret Auerback either
 on Tuesday night at the club or by e-mail at
 margaret.auerback@btinternet.com. Men who want to run should contact Chris
 Owens (mailto:aachrisowens@yahoo.co.uk).

 COACHING
 And a reminder too about Robin Drummond's coaching talks currently under way
 on Thursday evenings at 7pm at the clubhouse. Everybody who wants to improve
 their 10km times are welcome.

 BLOODY BUT UNBOWED...
 Aileen Cahill writes:
 "On Tuesday last week I took a tumble over the speed bump on the way into
 the car park and went flying. I am fine if a bit battered and bruised! I
 gouged a lump out of the bridge of my nose which couldn't be sutured but
 will recover in time. I have two lovely bashed knees and a very sore
 shoulder - but really am fine. It could have been a lot worse.

 Can you pass on my thanks to Wally's group who cleaned and fixed me me up
 (and the nurse whose name I don't know) and most particularly to Beverley
 who drove me to A+E. I will be back!! In a few weeks when my knees have
 recovered sufficiently - that is if Wally will have me back. He may well
 consider me too much of a liability!

 In the meantime while I still look like I have done a couple of rounds with
 Amir Khan I may well pop into the pub and see if I can persuade them to do
 something about making that speed bump more visible after dark".

 RANELAGH CHRISTMAS PARTY
 This will be taking place at the Turk's Head pub in St Margarets on Friday
 10th December. It will be a sit-down three-course meal followed by a disco,
 price £18 per head. Please book with Jo Turner
 (mailto:joturner_45@hotmail.com) or Marina Quayle
 (mailto:marina_quayle@hotmail.com) by the end of October, and also make your
 selection from the menu:
 Starters
 1. Home-made broccoli and stilton soup
 2. Warm goats cheese and red onion tart with salad garnish
 3. Prawn and smoked salmon pate with lemon dressed salad
 4. Chargrilled asparagus with parma ham, rocket, parmesan and olive oil
 Main
 1. Traditional roast turkey with roast potatoes, seasonal veg. and all the
 trimmings.
 2. Pan-fried snapper fillet with mango salsa, braised rice and winter veg.
 3. Braised beef steak in a rich red wine sauce with mushrooms, button onions
 and bacon pieces, and seasonal veg.
 4. Roasted winter risotto with rocket, Parmesan and chive oil.
 Dessert
 1. Traditional Christmas pudding with brandy sauce.
 2. Dark and white chocolate mousse with strawberry sauce.
 3. Rhubarb and blackberry crumble tart with custard.
 4. Selection of cheese and biscuits 

 TORONTO WATERFRONT MARATHON  Sunday 26th September
 Ed Whitlock ran an absolutely astounding race to hack five full minutes off
 the previous best-ever time by an over 70 (which was his own 2.59 in this
 race last year). Ed is now 73 years old but finished 26th out of 1462
 finishers in a time of 2.54.49. Superlatives fail us! You can see a photo of
 Ed - sporting his Ranelagh vest - on our web site. 

 Ed writes: "Showing the Ranelagh colours this year! Picture was taken about
 750m from the finish, about the time I had the last of the 3 or 4 leg cramps
 I had in the last 2k, looking a lot better than last year though. Time at
 half marathon 1:27:31. I am naturally overjoyed".

 The following comes from the 'Toronto Star' report:
 "While Kassap (the race winner) was applauded with some gusto as he took the
 tape, Whitlock was saluted with a deafening ovation and cries of his name
 from the crowd. And yes, he noticed it. 'I guess I'm a pretty low-key
 person,' said Whitlock. 'But the noise does hit you. It's not something I'm
 used to. It has an impact.'

 'It's a little like being with a rock star,' said Whitlock's son Neil, a
 pretty solid runner in his own right, but a spectator on this day. 'We go to
 a race, and after it's over, every 10 feet someone wants to come over and
 talk and shake his hand.'

 Whitlock said this week that he felt stronger than last year, and his better
 preparation and overall fitness showed early. He reckoned at the halfway
 point he was headed for 2:56 or thereabouts, comfortably under last year.

 'I thought last year was the last one under three hours for me,' said
 Whitlock, who hasn't decided on accepting an invite to next year's Rotterdam
 Marathon or competing in the World Masters Games. "I don't think I'll be
 able to beat this one. Realistically, this is the end.'"

 Ken Powley reports that the WAVA age-graded tables rate this performance at
 an unprecedented 99.96%. Chris Chataway, also 73 and who himself ran 1.39 in
 the Great North Run, said, "Whitlock (formerly Ted now Ed) is in a different
 class. As 18 year olds we ran together at Walton Athletic Club before he
 emigrated to Canada and eventually emerged as the phenomenon of veterans'
 distance running".

 Ed's was not the only record set in the race - 93-year-old Brit Fauja Singh
 completed the half marathon in 2.30.02 and Michal Kapral set a
 "pram-pushers" record by wheeling his 20-month-old daughter through the full
 marathon in 2.49.43.

 You can read more at the race web site www.torontowaterfrontmarathon.com. 

 SOUTH OF ENGLAND ROAD RELAY CHAMPIONSHIPS  Sunday 26th September at
 Aldershot
 Sarah Seal declared herself "gobsmacked" that she had managed to run only
 one second slower than last year, despite having barely trained through the
 summer due to injury. "Chasing Kristina definitely helped," added Sarah.
 This referred to Kristina Semple, who became available to run only at the
 last minute and had not been one of our official entries. So Kristina ran as
 a one-woman B team and she and Sarah battled the whole way round the opening
 lap to finish 9th and 10th respectively.

 New member Sally Piesse was thrown in at the deep end on lap 2 and swam well
 against some tough opposition to bring us in 16th. Estelle Damant took over
 and put in another fine performance to hand over to Alice Beverly in 17th
 place. Alice is evidently gaining a taste for grandstand finishes as she
 gained ground steadily and with a storming sprint passed two more athletes
 on the final lap round Rushmoor Arena. Our total time and final position of
 12th both seem to have been our best ever results in this event.

 BUPA WINDSOR HALF MARATHON  Sunday 26th September
 A massive field of over 4000 runners assembled for this event on the rolling
 roads of Windsor Great Park. Jo Ronaldson and Marie Synnott-Wells were
 always prominent in the women's race, eventually finishing 4th and 7th
 respectively - but 1st and 3rd amongst the over 35s. Jo finished in a
 Ranelagh bunch in the 84 minute bracket, just behind Grant Lemke, Simon
 Tyler and Adam Tapley.
 1 E Kimeli (Kenya) 1.04.06
 14 L Hasell (Bristol- 1st W) 1.18.16
 42 Grant Lemke 1.24.15
 44 Gary Croke 1.24.19
 46 Adam Tapley 1.24.24
 50 Jo Ronaldson 1.24.43
 68 Marie Synnott-Wells 1.27.41
 884 Lee O'Flaherty 1.49.56
 1020 Alice Gilks 1.51.53
 1888 Julia Langensiepen 2.03.15
 2887 Lorna Smith 2.15.46
 3298 Susan Booth 2.22.13
 3353 Emma Corbett 2.23.15
 3380 Lynne Barber 2.23.41
 3381 Hazel Carr 2.23.41
 3382 Jane Wyatt 2.23.41
 3681 Val Lowman 2.29.49

 GREAT NORTH RUN HALF MARATHON  Sunday 26th September at Newcastle
 Allison O'Neill reports:
 "Our newest lady recruit, Aussie Lauren Shelley, was in action at the Great
 North Run on Sunday and ran a truly awesome half marathon PB of 75:58. Here
 are her comments on the weekend: 'Yep got the PB - 1:15:58 - and actually
 got a 10km PB on the way through too! But great day - good atmosphere and
 nice to run against some of the big guns and to see a fellow Aussie win!
 Didn't even try to stay with them though...'."
 Women
 1 B Johnson (Australia) 67.55
 14 Lauren Shelley 75.58

 EUROPEAN DUATHLON CHAMPIONSHIPS  Sunday 26th September at Swansea
 Allison O'Neill reports:
 "Meanwhile, in Swansea, David Benton's GB elite debut in the European
 Duathlon Champs was memorable but for the wrong reasons. David arrived in
 Wales two days before the race as requested by the Team Manager - but his
 luggage didn't.  The airline had somehow left everything but the passengers
 behind in Paris and David found himself due to represent his country for the
 first time in his sporting career with no racing shoes, no bike shoes, no
 sports kit, and, most important of all, no bike.  So, instead of enjoying
 pre-race warm-up sessions with his GB team-mates, David spent the best part
 of 2 days making increasingly desperate phone calls to the airline and
 finally borrowing shoes, clothes and a bike to be able to make it to the
 start line.

 In the circumstances, he ran a strong first 10k, arriving into T1 well in
 contention in the second pack of nine or ten and alongside four of his GB
 colleagues. But then the inevitable happened. Robbed of his usual bike
 shoes, he couldn't get his feet into the alternatives he'd been forced to
 wear and lost touch entirely with the main pack - before the bike leg had
 even begun.  Cycling virtually solo for most of the 40k bike leg, there was
 never a chance he could get back in contention and the temptation to "do a
 Paula" must have been overwhelming as he ploughed a lonely path up and down
 the Swansea sea front.  But, all credit to David, he didn't even consider
 giving up, entered T2 somewhere in the second half of the field and put in a
 solid (if somewhat weary) second run to cross the line in 30th.

 Fortunately, David will have a chance to don his GB kit again in 3 weeks
 time for the final ITU duathlon event of the season in Italy, this time
 flying Air Italia. Hopefully it'll be a case of different airline, different
 result!"

 1 J Dereere (Belgium) 1.50.47   (run 34.02, bike 59.51, run 16.28)
 30 David Benton 1.55.45   (run 34.52, bike 61.25, run 18.30)

 WIMBLEDON PREMIER 10km  Sunday 19th September
 Phil Aiken, who timed himself at 42.37, mysteriously finds himself bumped
 down to 50 minutes plus in the official results:
 1 A Liddell (Unatt) 31.51
 64 Stephen Instone 39.11
 207 Jacqui Reid 45.41
 349 Phil Aiken 50.46??

 LAST FRIDAY OF THE MONTH 5Km  Friday 24th September in Hyde Park
 Due to a marshalling error, this month's race was 150 metres over-distance.
 Pete Warren was the second over 60 to finish.
 1 S Major (WG & EL) 16.41
 80 Pete Warren 20.53
 158 Martin Harrison 23.39
 192 Mike Rowland 25.37

 JULIAN FARRELL MEMORIAL 10km  Sunday 26th September at Camberley
 1 D Thomson (Ports) 36.09
 17 Phil Aiken 42.59

 NEW FOREST MARATHON  Sunday 19th September at New Milton
 1 M Feighan (Exeter) 2.34.40
 222 Simon Burrell 4.05.55

 WINDSCHOTEN WORLD CUP 100km  Saturday 11th September
 Andy Hayward reports:
 "I did run, but not surprisingly didn't win the Sutton Park 50k in
 Birmingham in May, which would have guaranteed selection for the GB team for
 the 100km World Championships. I also did run in the UKA 100km Championships
 in Cardiff in June, but didn't run under 7:25 which is the GB team
 qualifying time for the Worlds. However, the thought of participating in a
 World Championship race, at the longest distance at which World Records are
 recognised by the IAAF was attractive, and so I entered the open "Solo"
 category of the race on my own. It was held on Saturday 11th September in
 Windschoten in the Netherlands (last year was in Taiwan, and next year is in
 Japan, so this was my only realistic opportunity). Having run the 100km
 distance (62.1 miles) in June, I knew I could complete the distance, so the
 goal was to both improve my time (8:45:47), and see how I would place
 against the best ultra runners in the world.

 We flew to Amsterdam the day before, and as there had been no hotels left
 near Windschoten we arranged to stay about an hour outside Amsterdam. The
 race didn't start until 1:00pm so I was able to get up at a reasonable time,
 have breakfast and drive the (supposed) three hours up to the town of
 Windschoten, close to the German border in the very north-east of the
 Netherlands. Two sets of road closures for repairs meant a fairly stressful
 run up there which actually took four hours, and we eventually arrived about
 half an hour before the registration deadline of noon. I then had an hour to
 get ready and soak in all the atmosphere of the international event. I had a
 chance to catch up with some of the GB team who had all done some of the
 ultra races that I had run in during the course of the year, including local
 runner Matt Lynas of TH&H. (There are only a comparatively few loonies
 around who do the ultras, so you get to know them all). 

 The course was on a reasonably interesting and attractive 10km loop around
 the town, which was run ten times. The start and finish of the race, and
 each loop was in "De Klinker" which was a large sports hall near a big
 windmill in the centre of town. It had two sets of big hangar-style doors on
 one side of the gymnasium which were opened, and the race actually ran
 through the hall at the start, and at the completion of each lap. After
 leaving the hall, the route passed the windmill, and then took a 3km
 circuit, through a residential area, and a woodland park. Passing the
 windmill again (the other side) we then had a convoluted 7km run out around
 the (closed and traffic free) streets. We passed another windmill at 4km
 before encountering the long line of tables which made up the first of the
 two official feed stations at 5km, then out to the canal, coming back
 through  quiet residential lanes to another town park. The last kilometre
 was lined with the second of the feeding areas, which like the first one at
 4-5km saw all of the national teams having their own station (about fifty of
 them in total) before the small table for the "Solo" runners. Then it was
 back through "De Klinker" and over the ChampionChip mat in the hall to
 record the lap.

 There were children's races an hour before the start of the 100km, and a
 marathon and a large 10 x 10km relay (hundreds of teams) which started
 shortly after it, so there was plenty of activity, lots of runners, and
 great crowd support. The whole community got involved in what was a whole
 day event (the race started at 1:00pm, and there was a twelve hour cut off,
 so it was going on until 1:00am on Sunday morning, and the town really does
 make a day of it. There was support all around the course, albeit patchy in
 some places, but where we ran past houses and pubs there were countless
 outdoor barbeques and parties set up to support the runners. People were
 quite literally out there shouting, cheering and waving football rattles all
 day - a feat of endurance on its own. Towards the end some of them were
 staggering more than the runners, but that was mainly due to the Grolsch and
 Heineken!!!

 As for the race, the weather was mixed. It had rained just before the start,
 but then the sun came out and it got quite warm. And of course the end of
 the run (the last lap for me) was in the dark. I started off fairly slowly,
 completing the first 10km in 48:55. I then felt warmed up and increased the
 speed a little, covering the next two laps in 46:30 and 46:50. As before I
 was fine through the first 50km (31 miles) and the fourth and fifth laps in
 47:50 and 48:25 meant I got to half way in 3:58:35, about a minute ahead of
 my Cardiff time at that point. Then it started to get a bit tough. I managed
 another lap in 51:33 before I started feeling it and had to walk for five
 minutes a couple of times to regroup, pulling the lap time down to 57:22. I
 did the same on the eighth lap for 60:03. This period between 60 and 80km
 was my worst patch, and the beauty (?!) of a race this long is that you can
 come through a bad patch. I realised that if I could just keep going, I
 would improve my previous time. Also the fact that I had only been lapped by
 two of the GB team (and I saw one of them drop out minutes afterwards) gave
 me hope that I could make a good showing, and this was spurring me on. My
 last two laps were very tough, but quite strong, 53:43 and 54:06, although I
 had a really weird sensation of heavy eyes and fighting sleep despite being
 in forward motion at a reasonable pace. I came home in 8:35:22, about 8:15
 per mile average pace for the 62.1 miles, and a pb by over ten minutes.
 Despite a strong finish, I had to sit for half an hour in the athletes' area
 in the hall before I found the strength to walk outside to find (a rather
 worried) Connie, who had done her usual fantastic job of waiting on the
 course the whole time to provide me with replacement powergels etc.

 Of the 339 starters 202 finished within the time limit. I finished in 89th
 position overall, 8th in the 45-49 age group out of 40 starters and 24
 finishers. Considering that most of the runners were internationals running
 for their countries, I was well pleased with that. I also finished second
 Briton, ahead of all other Solo runners from Britain, and ahead of four of
 the five GB national team who dropped out during the race. The race was won
 by an Italian veteran, in a new world record time for an M40. The World Cup
 was won by Italy. The first British finisher was Brian Hennessey of Crawley
 (who won in Cardiff in June in 7:07:23) who here cracked seven hours for the
 first time.

 The awards etc. and party were the next afternoon, but I missed it.
 Unfortunately due to a business trip whose timing was beyond my control, I
 had to leave straight after the race and drive the three hours back to the
 hotel near Amsterdam, which was harder than the run! After a couple of hours
 sleep I had to get up to fly to Heathrow and then straight on to Boston. I
 was asleep before we took off!"

 1 M Ardemagni (Italy) 6.18.24
 89 Andy Hayward 8.35.22

 TUESDAY NIGHT TORTURE
 Tuesday sessions for the "fast" group over next few weeks, starting from the
 clubhouse at 7pm:
 5/10   1 x 10 mins effort + 3 x 4 mins
 12/10  3 x 3 x Ham Gate hill
 19/10  2 x 7 mins efforts + 2 x 5 mins
 26/10  2x 4 x Holly Lodge Hill
 See our web site for more complete details.

 HANDICAP MEDALS
 The committee has decided that we will revert to awarding medals to the
 fastest three men and women in each of our handicap races, and that these
 will be presented on the day of the race - starting with the Page Cup this
 Saturday.

 FINALLY
 Stop blaming lactic acid when your legs turn into tree-trunks! According to
 a report in 'The Times', scientists have discovered that lactic acid
 actually prevents tiredness. Research teams in Melbourne and Aarhus
 experimented on rats and discovered that as lactic levels increased, muscle
 fibres fatigued less quickly...