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Newsdesk 2005
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RANELAGH HARRIERS E-NEWS # 168 2 FEBRUARY 2005
Editor: Steve Rowland
mailto: steverowland@ranelagh-harriers.com
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HEADLINE NEWS
* Women's team 5th in South of England Championships, men's team 22nd
* Blackheath mob match this Saturday - minibus leaves the clubhouse at
12.15pm sharp
* Crucial Surrey League races on February 12th
WHAT'S COMING...
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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 February 5th Pelling Ratcliff Cup Mob Match v
Blackheath Harriers at Hayes (Kent). See below.
Ranelagh Bushy Park Time Trial
5km. 9am start
Sunday February 6th London Mini-Marathon trials for Richmond's
team in Richmond Park from 9.30am.
Saturday February 12th Surrey League Division One final fixtures -
men at Coulsdon, women at West Ewell. See below.
Ranelagh Bushy Park Time Trial
5km. 9am start
Saturday February 19th National Cross-Country Championships (men
and women) at Cofton Park, Birmingham.
Ranelagh Bushy Park Time Trial
5km. 9am start
Saturday February 26th Clutton Cup 10 miles handicap in Richmond
Park. 2.30pm start.
Ranelagh Bushy Park Time Trial
5km. 9am start
MOB MATCH v BLACKHEATH & BROMLEY HARRIERS & AC for the Pelling-Ratcliff Cup
Saturday 5th February at 2.30pm.
A free mini-bus will leave from the Ranelagh clubhouse at 12.15pm sharp,
returning after the post-race tea.
Andy Bickerstaff writes:
"We need 40 runners at Hayes to have a chance of a remarkable victory (how
long since we've beaten Blackheath away?). There's some great photos of the
2003 race on our website...which also make the course look benign".
We will be running a free mini-bus from the Ranelagh clubhouse leaving at
12.15pm and returning after the post-race tea. Please use it! It would be
helpful (but not vital) if you could let Andy Bickerstaff know if you're
likely to make use of this (contact details above).
This is the last of our 2004/2005 mob matches. Above all else, mob matches
are all about which club can get the most runners to the starting (and
finishing!) line. So we need as many Ranelagh Harriers as possible to turn
up for a seven and a half mile multi-terrain run through the Kent
countryside. It really doesn't matter if you're fast or slow. The Blackheath
HQ is in Bourne Way, close to the junction of the A2022 and A232 and near
Hayes, Kent, station.
The start is at 2.30pm but note it's a 10 mins jog from the clubhouse.
If you're late, go straight there.
SURREY CROSS-COUNTRY LEAGUE DIVISION 1 FINAL FIXTURES Saturday 12th
February
Women
The final league fixture at West Ewell is probably the most important league
race in the Ranelagh women's section's history. We have never won the Surrey
League Division One title. We have led all the way this season. This is our
chance to make history! Here's the situation so far:
In the first race on Wimbledon Common in October a "dream team" of Allison
O'Neill, Lauren Shelley, Jo Ronaldson, Alice Beverly and Marie Synnott-Wells
all finished in the top 13 and we won the match with 39 points, 55 clear of
second-placed Belgrave.
By the end of November at Kingston, Lauren had returned to Australia and Jo
had succumbed to injury. Then Allison had to drop out with a virus from
which she has yet to recover. But Sarah Seal was back to fitness and the
others rose to the occasion. The scoring team was Sarah, Marie, Sara
Grosvenor, Sally Piesse and Clare Gutch, all in by 29th place, but Belgrave
hauled back 33 points.
The third race in January was on our own course in the Park. Sarah led our
team again, ahead of Alice, Marie, Estelle Damant and finally Sara in 22nd
place. Belgrave beat us again but only by 5 points, leaving us with an
overall lead of 17.
And now there's one race to go and everything to play for. Needless to say,
we need the strongest possible team we can manage, but let's go for the
largest and best-supported team we can manage too! If you're a woman,
support the team by taking part: any number can run. If you're a man, come
along to West Ewell and shout yourself silly. The race starts at 12.30pm at
the King George V Rec Ground / Hogsmill Riverside, just off the A240 which
is the A3 Tolworth exit, here The junior races follow the senior event.
Access for vehicles is from Poole Road. For those on public transport, Ewell
West station is a short walk / jog away. Trains are every 15 minutes from
Clapham Junction or Wimbledon. From Kingston you need to change at Raynes
Park, from Richmond, Twickenham etc you need to change at Clapham Junction
Men
The picture is a little different for our beleagured men's team, but the
final race is no less important. At the moment we lie in eighth place out of
nine competing clubs, with the bottom two to be relegated to Division Two
for the 2005/06 season. Dulwich Runners are nearly 500 points adrift at the
bottom and are out of contention. Ranelagh is still just about in contact
with the two clubs above but it's going to be an uphill struggle, and I
don't just mean the Coulsdon course. We are on 1763 points, Aldershot are on
1652 and Reigate are on 1629.
If you're going to the women's race, there's plenty of time to get across to
Coulsdon in time for the men's race at 3pm (juniors at 2.30pm). Hopefully
there will be a number of Ranelagh cars making the journey! South London
Harriers' race HQ is here (parking round the corner
in Lion Green Road). The start is a 5 minutes jog away on Farthing Downs, here
Coulsdon South and Smitham stations are nearby.
FINCHLEY 20 MILES ROAD RACE including the Spendlove Cup club championship
Sunday 13th March
Those Ranelagh Harriers looking for a good 20 prior to the London Marathon
could do worse than to consider the Finchley race - which is in Ruislip,
despite the name. It includes our club 20 miles championship with a rather
fine cup on offer. But note that the date has changed from that originally
shown on our fixture list - it's taking place on Sunday 13th March starting
at 2pm. Entry forms are in the clubhouse or can be downloaded at
www.hillingdonac.co.uk.
WHAT'S HAPPENED...
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SOUTH OF ENGLAND CROSS-COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS Saturday 29th January at
Parliament Hill
It's a long day at Parliament Hill, not least for our own Hugh Jones, Clerk
of the Course once again. The first race was the under 15 boys event at
11am. Matt Hirschler was our representative and his 82nd place was more than
respectable. Early-arriving supporters had some excitement in the next race
when Georgia Miansarow could be seen leading the under 13 girls field up the
lower slopes of the first hill. It didn't last of course, but 87th at the
finish was another solid result.
The under 15 girls came next, with the weather beginning to deteriorate.
Rebecca Clayden and Victoria Elbourne ran well close together, with Rebecca
getting half a minute clear at the end. Dan Jermy was next in action and he
had the very worst of the weather with freezing rain for his 117th place in
the boys under 17 race.
Our next interest was in the senior women's race, where we had finished in a
record-breaking 4th place last year. For various reasons only one of that
team was out again this time but amazingly they slipped only one place to
5th. Sarah Seal was the common factor in both teams but she finished this
time vowing never to return! The course doesn't suit her, even though there
was by common consent less mud this year than oft times in the past. Sarah
had Marie Synnott-Wells tracking her all the way and it was only in the fast
run-in that Sarah was able to motor away for 35th to Marie's 39th. Skipper
Anna McLaughlin put in another gutsy performance, around 50th most of the
way and hanging on for grim death at the end. Estelle Damant made sure and
steady progress and eventually closed in the scoring team just six places
behind Anna. Louise Piears and Sandra Foot had their own private battle a
little further back.
The men finished 14th last year but with a relatively weak team this time
they did not expect to match that performance. Julian Smith, under the
weather all week, was undecided on whether to run until a few minutes before
the start, but one thing to be said for Parliament Hill is that it provides
plenty of opportunities for dropping out if necessary. So Julian lined up,
started steadily and took the whole of the opening lap to catch the
fast-starting Chris Owens and Andy Bickerstaff. "Julian jogged with us for a
lap then took off," writes Andy, "I wallowed in the mud like a baby hippo
whilst Chris skipped across it like a compact messiah". Parliament Hill is
certainly a happy hunting ground for Chris and as Julian marched on to 101st
place Chris remained our second man at 205th with Andy not far behind at
213th.
Mick Lane and Marcus Gohar are two more with no great love for Hampstead
Heath in the middle of winter but they used their experience to battle
through into the top 300, followed by the day's surprise packet Graham Quick
who closed in our team at 283rd. Rob Stillwell and Peter Weir used their
inexperience to drift backwards during the second half of the race, thanks
largely to shoe problems. Peter was in trainers, and although Marius Acker
showed us a few years ago that it's possible to make the top 100 without
spikes, ordinary mortals need some help! Andrew McLauchlan, Will Graves,
Simon Lawrence and Mike Peace completed the Ranelagh contingent in a massive
field of 830.
To accentuate the positive, our 22nd place was all but inside the top third
of the clubs with teams of six, and we were one of only eleven clubs to
finish a full contingent of twelve runners.
LAST FRIDAY OF THE MONTH 5km Friday 28th January in Hyde Park
1 E Malloch (TH&H) 15.14
83 Pete Warren 20.30
89 Alan Davidson 20.49
175 Wally Garrod 24.39
200 John Hanscomb 27.49
BUSHY PARK TIME TRIAL 5km Saturday 29th January
There was a smaller turn-out this week and another winner from across the
Irish Sea. John Hanscomb relieved Wally Garrod of the mantle of oldest
competitor to date.
1 Gareth Farrell (Raheny) 17.12
2 Shane McDermott (Rah) 19.18
3 Stephen Instone 19.25
4 Steve Rowland 19.37
10 Alan Davidson 21.20
17 John Hanscomb 27.53
ROMSEY 5 MILES Sunday 30th January
Allan Lang was the leading over 65 in 34.50.
KINGFIELD CANTER 2.85 miles handicap Wednesday 2nd February at Woking
1 S Fenton (Unatt) 22.48 (actual time 19.27)
13 Alan Davidson 26.06 (actual time 18.36)
21 Steve Rowland 27.07 (actual time 17.37)
31 Sonia Rowland 28.52 (actual time 22.52)
TRAINING
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Tough Tuesdays continue as normal, with speed work for various groups (next
few sessions below) and Wally's beginners' club. Full details on our web
site.
Robin Drummond's "Improvers Sessions" continue on Thursday nights at 7pm
from the clubhouse, concentrating on speed and technique. Next few sessions
below. Full details can be found on our web site.
As an alternative on Thursday nights, Margaret Auerback and Frances
Ratchford are holding Strength and Conditioning coaching sessions at 7.30pm
in the free-weights room at the gym at St Mary's College, Waldegrave Road.
Coaching at the gym on other days is negotiable. For more information
contact Frances at mailto:grapevineproductions@compuserve.com.
Also Wednesdays at 6.30pm and Sundays at 10am at the clubhouse for a steady
run in the Park.
Tuesday sessions. Each also includes a steady run warm up and warm down.
Feb 8th 4 x Nightingale Lane bottom, 3 x Richmond Hill, 3 x Nightingale
Lane bottom
Feb 15th 2 x 3 x 4 mins efforts
Feb 22nd 6 mins, 3 mins, 6 mins, 3 mins, 6 mins efforts
Thursday sessions. Each also includes a steady run warm up and warm down.
Feb 3rd 3 x 3 x (100 metres + 200 metres) in Ranelagh Drive
Feb 10th 2 x 5 x (100 metres + 200 metres)
Feb 17th 3 x 4 x (100 metres + 200 metres)
CLUB KIT
There's an updated version of the club kit order form now available on our
web site. Contact Evelyn Joslin for more information:
mailto:joslinem@yahoo.com.
SURPLUS TO REQUIREMENTS
Phil Aken writes:
"I've got race entries which I won't be using for:
Sunday 13th February Valentine's 10K at Chessington
Sunday 20th February Bramley 10
Sunday 6th March Reading Half Marathon
Sunday 20th March Adidas Breakfast Run (16m)
If anyone wants them, let me know...". Contact details above.
MALCOLM EAST...
...is visiting the UK from his home in the States for a few weeks commencing
February 3rd. He's hoping to make it to a race or two and looks forward to
meeting up with old friends.
FINALLY
While the rest of us were having a reviving beer on the evening of the
Southern, Mad McLaughlin was on her way up to Wolverhampton ready to take
part in the notorious Toughguy event the next day. Watch this space...