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 ****************************************************************************
 RANELAGH HARRIERS E-NEWS # 177              2 MAY 2005
 Editor: Steve Rowland
 mailto: steverowland@ranelagh-harriers.com
 ****************************************************************************
 HEADLINE NEWS
 *  Paul Doyle 3rd in Sutton 10km
 *  Anna McLaughlin, Marcus Gohar and Kathy Mallett also in the prizes
 *  Get your entries in for the Richmond Half Marathon
 *  Green Belt Relay - still room for more runners

 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 ).
 
 Wednesday May 4th              Thames H&H Parkland relays in Richmond Park.
 Start 7pm at the Pen Ponds car park. 

 Saturday May 7th                  Ranelagh Bushy Park Time Trial  5km. 9am
 start

 Sunday May 8th                    Hogsmill Ladies 5 miles road race. 10am
 start at the Harrier Centre, West Ewell. 

 Saturday May 14th                Ranelagh Bushy Park Time Trial  5km. 9am
 start

 Sunday May15th                   Richmond Half Marathon.  Ranelagh Grand
 Prix Race 4. Info http://www.ranelagh-harriers.com.

 Sunday June 5th                   Dorking 10 miles.  Ranelagh Grand Prix
 Race 5. See below.

 2005 RANELAGH ROAD RUNNING GRAND PRIX
 The next events are the Richmond Half Marathon on May 15th and the Dorking
 10 miles on June 5th. Full details can be found on our web site and entry
 forms can be found in the folder at the clubhouse.. 

 GREEN BELT RELAY  Saturday May 21st and Sunday May 22nd
 There's still room in our teams for more runners who want to see a bit of
 new countryside. Any speed! You can find lots about this unique event at
 www.greenbeltrelay.org.uk. If you're interested in taking part please
 contact me or Anna McLaughlin (details above) or Bev Ali
 (mailto:bev.ali@blueyonder.co.uk) as soon as possible.

 RANELAGH RICHMOND HALF MARATHON  Sunday 15th May
 Get your entries in now! Sports Systems are handling the organisation and
 entries on the day might not be possible, even from Ranelagh. Details and
 forms are at http://www.sportsystems.net/ranelagh/Scripts/default.asp.

 DORKING 10 MILES  Sunday 5th June
 This road 10 miler features not only in our own Grand Prix but also in the
 Surrey Road League and incorporates the Surrey Championship. Details at
 http://www.dmvac.org.uk/dorking10/.

 WHAT'S HAPPENED...
 ****************************
 SUTTON 10km  Sunday 1st May
 The sudden arrival of summer came as a shock to the system for many. Ken
 Powley reports:
 "Rather strange conditions, very humid, which resulted in Andy Bicks,
 Burkhard Fehsenfeld and Simon Burrell dropping out, as well as the
 second-placed man, which allowed a somewhat below par Paul Doyle to move
 into third place, just failing to catch the first Over 40, Knut Hegvold.

 Marcus Gohar ran far better than he has been running recently, and was 3rd
 Over 40. Kathy Mallet won the 1st Over 45 prize, with a PB, in what rather
 surprisingly was only her third-ever 10K race. Anna McLaughlin ran
 extraordinarily well on the first lap, but then succumbed to the prevailing
 conditions.

 With a few notable exceptions, the resulting times for most are best
 forgotten". 

 Anna finished 5th overall but third senior woman and there was another 3rd
 place for the men's team


 BUSHY PARK TIME TRIAL 5km  Saturday 30th April
 There was a smaller field this week but pbs for Stephen Instone and Darren
 Wood.
 1 S McDermott (Raheny) 17.42
 3 Stephen Instone 18.55
 6 Darren Wood 19.41
 18 Chris Hunton 21.34
 20 Sam Hunton 21.41
 22 Roger Wilson 22.23
 25 Luke Wilson 25.01

 SAM'S RUN 10km  Sunday 24th April in Bushy Park
 Chris Owens reports:
 "Any race involving Sonia O' Sullivan winning from Jo Pavey, and Mo Farah
 outpacing Mark Steinle might normally be expected to have an entry of
 thousands, balloons and a loud PA. However, since this race was in Bushy
 Park, had a limit of 200, and was preceded by a minute's silence, clearly
 something exceptional was happening.

 Some of the top middle distance runners in England (and a few others) had
 turned out to take part in 'Sam's Run' in memory of Sam Haughian, one of the
 best young runners in Britain, who was tragically killed in a car accident
 while on a training trip to S.Africa a year ago.

 Organised by Ben Whitby (Sam's long time friend and training partner), and
 The Sweatshop, the event was a 10km trail run over paths and tracks. More
 details of the event, Sam's successes, and plans for longer-term
 commemoration of his achievements can be found at
 http://www.sweatshop.co.uk/samsrun.

 On the day, a cool and sunny morning saw the 200 runners set off down a
 vista worthy of a National's start, after some words from Sam's coach, and a
 thoughtful silence. I remembered Sam and Ben turning up at Ranelagh on a few
 Wednesday evenings several years ago as teenagers, and casually disappearing
 into the distance after a few miles.

 Full details on the results can be found on the site - most people treated
 it as a Sunday morning run, although the winning time of 32 mins is a bit
 faster than my Sunday pace. A small Ranelagh contingent (where were you
 all?), cheered on by John Herries, finished somewhere in the middle of the
 pack, and after waiting for those who had decided to do two laps, most of
 the field and spectators headed for the Lion's Gate Hotel to commemorate Sam
 by indulging in another of his favourite activities - propping up the bar.

 Apart from seeing some of Britain's rising stars do a fair impersonation of
 Tuesday night at the Dysart, it was also the place to learn about Sonia's
 race tactics from another Irish legend - John Downes - who had run round
 with her. 'First three km were four minutes even each one, then the pace
 picked up to 3:22 on the last k, and all the talking stopped about 5km.'.

 This and other tales were rudely interrupted by the results, which at least
 gave the bar staff, freshly imported from Eastern Europe that morning, some
 respite. Ben Whitby and Hugh Brasher demonstrated new techniques in prize
 giving and by starting at the top of the field, and working down the order
 until they hit someone who was actually present - Sonia was - Mo Farah was
 not - swiftly disposed of the awards, and a few spot prizes. We were
 reminded that donations to Sam's Fund, aimed at supporting promising young
 runners were still possible by post, and then serious conversation resumed.
 At least it did in my corner of the bar, where John Downes fixed John
 Herries with his glittering eye (Ancient Mariner grade), and announced '.and
 oi remember the day oi went training after drinking three bottles of Bailey's
 the night before..'. John rattled his crutches nervously, only two more
 days and he could have walked away. I did, and thus ended a most memorable
 morning.

 'So he passed over, and all the trumpets sounded for him on the other
 side..'"

 1 M Farah (Newham) 32.24
 62 Hugh Brasher 38.06
 75 Chris Owens 39.25
 82 Steve Bird 39.57
 83 Sara Grosvenor 39.59
 113 Sandra Foot 46.52
 117 Roger Wilson 47.34
 153 Alan Meaden 56.28
 154 David Meaden 57.17 

 SHAKESPEARE MARATHON  Sunday 24th April at Stratford-upon-Avon
 Martin Harrison reports:
 "3,000 entrants started the joint Half and Full Marathon events. Instead of
 the overcast skies and rain we were 'promised' at start time it was 16 deg,
 sunny and not a cloud in the sky. A fresh breeze gave some relief. The two
 lap course wound round some fairly up and down terrain to the south west of
 Stratford, finishing with a long straight 6 mile run back into town along an
 old disused railway track. The finish line was by the river in front of the
 RSC Theatre. The best T shirt slogan of the day goes to 'PB or not PB?'" 

 This was the third of Simon Tyler's four marathons in a month to raise funds
 for an operation for his daughter Olivia. You can see more details at
 http://www.paulsh.speedy.uk.net/olivia.html. 

 1 T Komatsu (Camb & C) 2.31.43
 270 Martin Harrison 3.56.55
 313 Simon Tyler 4.02.26

 RON WHEELER 2.8 miles handicap  Wednesday 30th March at Wapping
 1 K Grealy (Unatt) 19.21  (actual 15.21)
 2 Chris Read 19.38  (16.08)
 6 Alan Davidson 19.59  (16.29)

 THAMES TURBO TRIATHLON SERIES RACE 2  Monday 2nd May at Hampton Pool and
 Bushy Park
 1 S Bayliss (Fit-For) 54.48  (438m swim 6.05, 21km bike 32.00, 5km run
 16.43)
 60 Roger Wilson 71.09  (10.10, 37.55, 23.04)

 SCOTT DUNN POLAR CHALLENGE
 Francisco Barratta is taking part in this 320 mile team race in the Arctic
 to the 1996 location of the Magnetic North Pole and beyond. The event
 started on April 23rd and is expected to take two to three weeks. You can
 follow the race and Francisco's team (Cotswold Polar) at
 www.polar-challenge.com/race/active.asp.

 TRAINING
 ************
 Tough Tuesdays continue as normal, with speed work for various groups and
 Wally's beginners' club, at 7pm from the clubhouse. Full details are on our
 web site, the next few sessions for the faster groups are shown below.

 Robin Drummond's  "Improvers Sessions" continue on Thursday nights at 7pm
 from the clubhouse, concentrating on speed and technique.

 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.
 May 3rd 6 squares and 6 triangles
 May 10th Fartlek around the Park: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 min efforts.
 May 17th 7 x Queen's Ride loops in pairs
 May 24th 25 mins continuous relay around grassy triangle at Sidmouth Wood.

 MASTERS TRACK LEAGUE
 Margaret Auerback writes:
 "The date of the first match is fast approaching - Monday 9th May. I have
 already signed up some of you and I will be contacting all those who
 competed last year but I still have plenty of spaces to fill. If you haven't
 done anything like this before don't be put off - you don't have to be a
 Kelly Holmes or Steve Backley to take part. We have some fast runners who
 win things but it's also about covering all the events. If you think
 Ranelagh runners aren't really made for track and field then come down and
 see Bev Ali throwing a very respectable discus and Frances and Marcus
 scoring valuable points in the triple jump.

 These are low key events and an excellent introduction to track and field
 athletics, they also make a very good change from the marathon. We can also
 run non-scorers in most track events so you will be assured of a run.

 You can contact me on m.auerback@btinternet.com. I am away until 8th May but
 you can leave a message or talk to Frances at Ranelagh on Tuesday. All
 meetings are at Battersea Park and start at 6.30.
 Dates are:
 9th May
 23rd May
 20th June
 11th July

 Nearest stations are Battersea Park or Queenstown Road which is on the
 Waterloo mainline from Richmond and is about 10 minutes walk from the track.
 Let's make the first match a good one!"

 A LITTLE STORY...
 ...from Bev Ali:
 "This is a true story about a runner who was raising money for a charity for
 running a half marathon.  He didn't want to disappoint those who were
 sponsoring him by not running when he was not feeling well.....

 He's a thirtyish year old chap who's normally fit and well.  Not a long term
 runner, but he'd done all the appropriate training for his half marathon. In
 the two to three days prior to his run, he felt a bit grotty and was a bit
 rundown but wasn't in dire straits.  So not wanting to waste the training
 and the sponsorships, and not wanting to be a wimp, he ran anyway.

 Halfway through the run he collapsed.

 On arrival at hospital he was found to have a CK of 250,000.  Creatine
 Kinase (CK) is a muscle enzyme released into the bloodstream when muscles
 are damaged.  In a normal healthy man of his age it shouldn't be much higher
 than 100.  His astronomically high CK has had a few knock-on effects. The
 muscle breakdown products permeating his bloodstream have clogged off his
 kidneys and he is now on dialysis three times weekly.  We hope he'll
 recover.  In addition, the heavy damage done to his thigh muscles caused
 such extensive swelling that they've had to relieve the pressure by cutting
 open both of his legs.  He'll need skin grafts to repair the damage.  Maybe
 in a year or two he'll be able to run again.

 All because a little bug said 'atchoo'...It really pays to listen to your
 body". 

 FEELING STIFF?
 Jeff Bull provides the following from 'The Guardian' of 21st April:
 "Your immune system has taken a battering, your muscles are torn in lots of
 places and you won't fully recover for a few weeks. But if you're one of the
 35,000 or so people who ran the 26.2 miles on Sunday, you're probably aware
 of all of the above.
 The severity of the damage and speed of recovery after a long distance run
 depend on how fit the person is to start with. For the casual runner who has
 spent several months training properly, the physiological damage during the
 marathon would have started  as a gradual congestion of waste products in
 the body.
 The fatigue leads to soreness and tightness in the muscles. This means that
 the runner starts to move slowly and inefficiently. In addition, about
 halfway through the race, the constant pounding of the feet on the road
 starts to cause pain in the joints.
 At about 20 miles, levels of glucose in the bloodstream start to drop and
 the stores of carbohydrate energy in the body are almost depleted. Runners
 will become more aware of the distress signals that the various parts of the
 body are sending to the brain.
 Dehydration is also a risk. Runners drink water en route to replace the
 fluid lost tyhrough sweat but can't fully replace it, simply because of the
 time it takes to get water through the digestive system into the
 bloodstream.
 All this adds up, effectively, to major trauma. After the race, runners are
 left with microscopic tears in their leg muscles, which leak proteins such
 as myoglobin into the bloodstream. The body's defence mechanism sees these
 tears as damaged tissue and sets up an inflammatory response. Part of this
 response is that free radicals are released, which also attack the tissue.
 This leads to the familiar soreness.
 Runners often pick up a cold or an infection afterwards, as the immune
 system tends to be suppressed for several hours after the marathon. It takes
 weeks for the body to return to normal".

 FINALLY
 Which country has the fittest politicians? In Portugal, both President Jorge
 Sampaio and Prime Minister Jose Socrates took part in the 7km race
 supporting the Lisbon Half Marathon on March 13th.