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 ****************************************************************************
 RANELAGH HARRIERS E-NEWS # 196               23 November 2005
 Editor: Steve Rowland
 mailto: steverowland@ranelagh-harriers.com
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 HEADLINE NEWS
 *********************
 *  Second successive women's team win in Surrey League Division One
 *  Second successive men's team win in Surrey League Division Two
 *  Second successive boys under 13 team win in Surrey League Division Two
 *  Other junior teams all in the top five
 *  Lauren Shelley runs 2.33.42 marathon in Tokyo
 *  37.09 10km for Anna McLaughlin
 *  Wins for Nadia Fidler and Amelie Hunton at Camberley Open
 *  Mob match v Thames Hare and Hounds this Saturday
 *  Last chance to book for the Christmas party
 *  Runners needed for the Three Peaks Yacht Race

 SEE HERE
 *************
 THAMES MOB MATCH and SUPPER
 On November 26th we have the season's second mob match. We made a good start
 in these competitions with a win against Orion Harriers last month. More
 than anything else we won that race due to weight of numbers and this is
 always the key factor in mob matches, where all finishers count towards the
 final result. Against Thames it will be even more important as they will
 almost certainly be stronger than us at the front of the field. But we had
 64 runners against Orion and if we can match or better that we can win. Race
 hard or treat it as a training run as you choose, it's lots of RHs on the
 result sheet that's important.

 It's away from home this time, but only over on the other side of the A3 on
 Wimbledon Common.There's a car park adjacent to the pavilion just a couple 
 of hundred metres up the A3 from Robin Hood Gate, or if that's full you can
 use Friars Avenue.
 The start is at 2.30pm and it's a one lap 7.5 miles around the Common.

 A Thames mob match is never complete without a supper afterwards and this
 will take place at the Albert Arms on Kingston Hill at about 6pm. Anyone who
 has attended one of these will attest that it will be a very convivial
 evening. Thames are flexible about numbers but would welcome a rough idea of
 how many are likely to attend. So if you are planning to be there, please
 let Andy Bickerstaff know (contact details below).

 CHRISTMAS PARTY  Friday 9th December at the Turk's Head in St Margaret's
 Don't delay, bookings have to be in by the end of this week for our
 Christmas Party. The cost is £25 to cover a three course meal and DJ, and
 the bar is to be open until 1am. Select from the menu below and contact
 Marina Quayle (mailto:marina_quayle@hotmail.com) or there are paper forms to
 be filled in at the clubhouse. Payment to 'Ranelagh Harriers' is needed by
 1st December.

 STARTER
 1. spicy pumpkin soup
 2. scallops and smoked streaky bacon skewers
 3. blue swimmer crab and crayfish thermadore tartlet

 MAIN
 1. turkey parcel with fullers stuffing
 2. braised ham hocks
 3. roasted artichoke heart risotto
 4. roasted vegetable and cheese wellington

 PUD
 1. christmas pudding cheesecake
 2. selection of cheese and biscuits
 3. dessert trio (cheesecake, yule log, sorbet )
 4. crème brulee

 ENTRIES REQUIRED
 The South of the Thames 7.5 miles championships at Wimbledon on 17th
 December and the South of England championships at Exmouth on 28th January
 are both open to all, male and female, but entries have to be made well in
 advance. Would anyone who would like to run please contact Andy or Anna
 (contact details in "What's Coming" below).

 MAGELLAN THREE PEAKS YACHT RACE
 Angus Cater is considering entering his yacht for this event to be held on
 June 17th 2006. To quote from the official literature: "Teams comprise 3
 sailors and 2 runners, and their aim is to sail from Barmouth on the Welsh
 coast to Fort William in Scotland, via Caernarfon and Whitehaven, climbing
 to the summits of Snowdon, Scafell Pike and Ben Nevis on the way. (The
 athletes cycle from Whitehaven into Ennerdale and run up and down Scafell
 Pike from there). In total this is 389 miles of difficult coastal sailing,
 18 miles of cycling and 72 miles of running, with 14,000 feet of ascent to
 reach the highest points in Wales, England and Scotland".

 Angus will provide the yacht and crew but is looking for two strong runners
 capable of a hard weekend's running. You can get more information about the
 event at http://www.sleepmonsters.co.uk/site_3peaks/. Would anyone
 interested please contact Angus at mailto:angus.cater@tecres.net.

 WEB SITE JUNIOR SECTION
 In case you haven't noticed, we now have a separate junior section on our
 web site. Follow the link on our home page.

 *********************
  WHAT'S COMING...
 ************************
 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 26th November     Mob Match v Thames H&H on Wimbledon Common
 (Roehampton Vale). 7.5 miles starting at 2.30pm.
                                         Ranelagh Bushy Park Time Trial  5km.
 9am start.
                                         Junior Points Prize Race 2 in
 Richmond Park (Sidmouth Wood).  2km starting at 2pm. 

 Saturday 3rd December      Dysart Cup women's team race in Richmond Park,
 including club women's championships: seniors for the
                                         Hugh Jones Salver, vets over 40 for
 Trish's Trophy. 4 miles starting at 2pm.
                                         Ellis Cup men's team race in
 Richmond Park. 5 miles starting at 2.30pm.
                                         Ranelagh Bushy Park Time Trial  5km.
 9am start 

 Saturday 10th December    Stubbs Cup mob match v South London Harriers at
 Coulsdon.  7.5 miles starting at 2.30pm.
                                         Ranelagh Bushy Park Time Trial  5km.
 9am start.

 WHAT'S HAPPENED...
 ****************************
 SURREY LADIES LEAGUE DIVISION 1  Saturday 19th November at Priory Park,
 Reigate
 Anna McLaughlin reports:
 "After a frosty start to the day, by the time the gun went the sun had come
 out and the conditions were near perfect. As usual the start was a mad dash,
 especially as the route rapidly narrowed after approx 300m. but we all
 seemed to survive unscathed and struck out for world domination (well okay
 Surrey league!). The battle for the front positions was a turbulent affair,
 and although the front two runners were out of sight, the following five or
 six positions were constantly changing. But when the line was crossed, once
 again Ranelagh dominated, with our 5 scoring A team all finishing in the top
 15! Not to be out-done our B team finished as the first B team in an overall
 position of 11th and our C team were 29th out of the 37 teams! Going into
 the next match (on January 14th) we are currently holding a 54 point lead
 over our nearest rivals, which is fantastic, but still needs all hands on
 deck for the final two matches of the season to see us retaining the title!" 

 Anna modestly omits to mention that her own run was an outstanding effort to
 lead her team home for the first time in a league race. Jo and Marie were in
 close attendance, then came "Ms Steadystart 2005" Clare just ahead of Liz.
 Only 48 seconds covered the five. It was good to see Kristina Semple in a
 rare visit not far behind, followed by returning-to-fitness Alice Beverly.
 Yvonne Hill also made the top fifty in her first league race for Ranelagh.

 Rebecca Clayden and Emily Ball both ran strongly in the Under 17 race and we
 had a great crowd of thirteen starters in the combined Under 15 / Under 13
 event. Nadia Fidler put in a great run, looking particularly strong in the
 closing stages to take 2nd place in the Under 15s only nine seconds behind
 the winner. Georgia, Rachel and Rhiannon joined Nadia in the team that
 finished 3rd but retained 2nd place overall.

 Newcomer Stephanie Espanosa led the Under 13s in 10th place and with Amelie,
 Becky and Emily finished 4th in the team race. We had enough runners for a
 full B team too and part of a C team.

 SWEATSHOP SURREY LEAGUE DIVISION 2  Saturday 19th November at Kingston Gate,
 Richmond Park
 Andy Bickerstaff reports:
 "So to the second Surrey League of the season. We had won the first fixture
 convincingly and now hoped for a repeat performance in the second of the
 four. The captain (me!) had been ill all week and wasn't planning to run. A
 quick glance at the team sheet 10 mins before the start confirmed I was
 surplus to requirements. Off I trotted to dish out some 'helpful' comments
 as the runners passed the half mile mark.

 As the pack appeared out of the mist it became clear Ranelagh had made a
 conservative start but we still had three in the first ten. A welcome return
 of Paul Doyle saw him working hard (as always) in 5th with Phil (I'm feeling
 really easy and looking that way) Killingley in 7th and Noel well up in
 10th. I then lost count but we appeared to be packing well. The only real
 concern was Marcus making an even more consevative start than usual right
 near the back and our 10th scorer Ed in about 50th.

 It was a pleasure to see everyone making loads of effort and all the moves
 being made (or not) throughout the race. Of our front three Phil eased into
 2nd but never quite got close enough to threaten for the victory. Noel and
 Paul had a great battle with Noel just holding Paul off. Three in five, not
 a bad start. Julian moved through in his usual manner with Mick having an
 excellent shot at staying with him as he came past but he couldn't quite
 hold on. Peter finally showed in a race how well he has been training. Chris
 had another excellent run always in the hunt. Rob just ahead of Chris and
 Nathan just behind will be slightly disappointed but still brought home the
 points. Ed rather than fading, as I had feared, ran in strongly to take ten
 places on the second lap  and close in the ten.

 Mission accomplished and another fine win sees Ranelagh at the top of the
 heap again. It was slightly disappointing that we didn't quite have enough
 for a complete virtual B team but nice to see eight runners backing up well.
 Well done all!"

 Taylor Nunn went one better than in the first league race by finishing
 runner-up in the Under 13 race and with the rest of the scoring team - Joshu
 a Keisler, Joss Moran, Matthew Wilson and Max Bridger - all in the top ten
 the team registered a good win and lengthened their overall lead.

 Jamie Taylor-Caldwell in his first league race led our team in the combined
 Under 17 / Under 15 event and with Lloyd Bridger, Alfie Purdue and Steven
 Downie the team finished 2nd but remain overall 4th.

 Virtual B Team
 As Andy said in his report, we were two men short for a full B team.
 Recasting the result not surprisingly places the B team in a resounding last
 place, and alas they also lose two places to slip into last place overall.
 It would be good to see a few more taking part in the next league race - if
 anyone feels that the standard might be too high, let me point out that the
 last finishers took over 50 minutes for the five miles.
 Unofficial totals after two races

 1 Ranelagh A 364
 ...
 8 British Airways 1232
 9 West 4 1345
 10 Ranelagh B 1450

 TOKYO INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S MARATHON  Sunday 20th November
 Lauren Shelley shattered her personal best with 2.33.42 to keep her hopes
 alive of selection for Australia for the Commonwealth Games in March.
 1 N Takahashi (Japan) 2.24.39
 8 Lauren Shelley 2.33.42

 BRIGHTON 10km  Sunday 20th November
 Anna McLaughlin completed a successful weekend with 7th place in the women's
 race and a personal best of 37.09 that takes her into joint 8th place on the
 Ranelagh all-time list.

 Women (overall race positions)
 36 N Warner (TH&H) 34.42  (chip time 34.37)
 88 Anna McLaughlin 37.09  (37.02)
 396 Sara Nakielny 43.38  (43.21)
 646 Evelyn Joslin 47.17  (46.47)
 731 Julie Drummond 48.16  (47.46)
 799 Kerrie O'Connor 49.05  (48.35)
 854 Karen Broadbent 49.36  (49.18)
 1061 Janet Turnes 52.26  (51.57)

 CAMBERLEY OPEN CROSS-COUNTRY  Sunday 20th November
 Frances Ratchford writes:
 "It was a demanding course with a nasty hill about 200m from the finish but
 they all looked very determined. The Under 15 girls got the team bronze
 medals and Nadia and Amelie won golds".

 Under 11 (2550m)
 1 Amelie Hunton 8.14

 Under 15 (2900m)
 1 Nadia Fidler 9.50
 Georgia Miansarow, Rachel Price and Victoria Elbourne also ran - full
 results to follow when we receive them.

 BUSHY PARK TIME TRIAL 5km  Saturday 19th November
 International Mo Farah was a first-timer at the BPTT and did just enough to
 win. Numbers were down from the recent crowds owing to the league races
 later in the day and freezing fog had yet to give way to the bright
 conditions that prevailed later. Quoting the BPTT web site: "Many
 congratulations to regular BPTTer John Hanscomb whose daughter gave birth
 for the first time last Saturday at four in the morning and John was up and
 running at the BPTT by nine to celebrate".

 1 M Farah (N&EB) 15.06
 6 Sam Perkins 17.04
 12 John Herries 18.57
 13 Darren Wood 19.02
 27 Chris Hunton 20.59
 29 Tim Woolmer 21.07
 38 Chris Wright 21.49
 40 Martin Clark 21.58
 54 Gill Wilson 25.37
 56 Luke Wilson 25.51

 REGENTS PARK 10km  Sunday 6th November
 1 S Martyn (Highgate) 32.37
 48 Steve Rowland 39.42
 70 Bill Harvey 41.45
 112 John Pratt 44.10
 140 Phil Aiken 45.23
 175 Sonia Rowland 47.14

 MABAC LEAGUE 5 miles  Sunday 6th November at Puttenham
 1 N Hodges (D&MV) 31.22
 70 Simon Burrell 47.20
 89 Juliette Chan 50.37
 116 Lorna Smith 55.27
 131 Ann Murray 63.35
 One lap only:
 1 L Woodcock (Epsom O) 29.56
 6 Deborah Blakemore 37.30
 7 Bev Ali 37.34
 9 Pat Hewlett 44.40

 NEW YORK CITY MARATHON  Sunday 6th November
 Julie Naismith finished 19301st in 4.41.31 (chip time 4.39.38).

 THE WYCH ELM
 Latest award for Janet and Manuel Turnes's pub is the CAMRA Kingston and
 Leatherhead branch pub of the year title. It's the third time they have
 taken the award. Congratulations Janet and Manuel!

 FINALLY...
 The latest plaudit to come Ed Whitlock's way is a 'Hero of the Year' award
 from the US 'Runner's World' magazine. You can read more about it here:
 Pete Mulholland points out: "On the left of the picture on the screen behind Ed
 at the rostrum, is a blow up of the page referred to. Must have been the
 largest ever reproduction of a Ranelagh vest!"