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 ****************************************************************************
 RANELAGH HARRIERS E-NEWS # 212                17 April 2006
 Editor: Steve Rowland
 mailto: steverowland@ranelagh-harriers.com  
 ****************************************************************************
 HEADLINE NEWS
 *********************
 *  Good luck to all London Marathoners
 *  Marathon Aches and Pains Party at the Wych Elm on Sunday evening
 *  Team win for Ranelagh in the Thames Towpath 10
 *  Age-group victories for Tim Woods, Clive Beauvais and John Hanscomb
 *  Fast times by Jo Ronaldson and Anna McLaughlin in the Reading Half
    Marathon
 *  Josh Keisler spearheads junior track successes
 *  Michael Black and Jenny Lloyd-Jones third in BPTT
 *  Marie Synnott-Wells in winning Surrey team at the Inter-Counties Half
    Marathon

 SEE HERE
 ************
 LONDON MARATHON  Sunday 23rd April
 Best of luck to all runners in the main event and the mini-marathon on
 Sunday. The race is the second event in our Road Running Grand Prix and
 incorporates the Winter Cup club marathon championship and the Brasher Bowl
 women's championship. As usual Janet Turnes will be hosting the Aches and
 Pains Party on Sunday evening at the Wych Elm in Elm Road, Kingston. All
 runners (bring your medals!), spectators and other interested parties
 welcome.

 PARKLAND RELAY  Wednesday 3rd May in Richmond Park
 This is a 4 x 3 miles relay organised by Thames Hare & Hounds in the Park,
 starting at 7pm near the Pen Ponds. Men's, women's and mixed teams can take
 part. Let Andy Bickerstaff know if you are interested (contact details
 below).

 GREEN BELT RELAY  Saturday 20th and Sunday 21st May
 There's still room for more runners for the GBR, men and women, any speed.
 See the race web site www.greenbeltrelay.org.uk for more info about the
 event. If you are interested please contact me or Anna McLaughlin (contact
 details below) or Clive Beauvais (01883 347410). 

 RANELAGH KIT
 Evelyn Joslin writes:
 "I've just taken delivery of some new kit items including Simon Tyler's
 fabulous new contemporary logo designs. 

 - Ronhill Technical Training Tops (fluorescent yellow)   £21
 - Knitted Hats (available in blue or fluorescent yellow)  £5
 - Baseball Caps (blue)   £6 

 I'll be selling these items at the clubhouse before training on Tuesdays and
 Thursdays or e-mail mailto:joslinem@yahoo.com. Supply is limited and I
 expect these to sell out quickly, so act now to avoid disdisappointment..." 

 GOOD RUN GUIDE
 Louise Piears writes on behalf of John and herself and Andy and Lana
 Bickerstaff:
 "Since October last year we have been working hard at our new 'family
 venture', which is a service for runners called The Good Run Guide
 (www.GoodRunGuide.co.uk). It does what it says on the tin! + more. Each run
 is accompanied by all the information you could possibly need, including
 maps, time schedules, interesting facts and even a 3D fly-through of the
 route.

 We hope to do an official launch in a few weeks' time, but meanwhile we are
 asking for about 20 volunteers to test the site out for any bugs and make
 any suggestions.  We would just need you to play around on it from your
 computer (we would give you special access as the site is actually hidden at
 the moment) and for this you would get FREE membership for a year. 

 If you are interested please e-mail Louise at
 mailto:louise.piears@goodrunguide.co.uk and we will get you up and running".

 SURREY CHAMPIONSHIPS
 Our own Richmond Half Marathon on 14th May and Dysart Dash 10km on 25th June
 have both been designated as county championships this year. Entry details
 for both are on our website.

 DORKING 10 MILES
 This will be on Sunday 4th June starting at 10am. It is the Surrey 10 miles
 championship and features in our Grand Prix and the Surrey Road League.
 Entry details: http://www.dmvac.org.uk/dorking10/. 

 LONDON TO BRIGHTON RACE
 The sad news comes from the Road Runners Club that the 2005 London to
 Brighton race was the last. Organiser Ian Champion writes: "My personal
 thanks and those of the RRC Council to everyone who has had any association
 with the race over many years. Without your continued loyalty and support
 the race would not have survived as long as it has". 

 DECADE OF DECLINE
 Paul Gregory writes:
 "Now that I have been promised that building/redecoration work inside the
 house will be completed in time, I've decided that a further decade in my
 decline and decrepitude should be marked. 

 The Date: Saturday April 22
 The Time: midday - 11.00pm
 The Place: 49 Main Street, Hanworth, TW13 6SZ.

 There's quite a number of people coming, so please rsvp if coming
 (mailto:pgregory1@btinternet.com) with an anticipated arrival time." 

 CHRISTMAS QUIZ
 Sonia Rowland sends her thanks to all those who bought a copy of the "Food
 Glorious Food" quiz, which raised over £100 for the Mount Edgcumbe Hospice.
 If anyone has been losing sleep, there is a copy of the answers on the
 noticeboard at the clubhouse.

 *********************
  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 22nd April         Bushy Park Time Trial  5km. 9am start 

 Sunday 23rd April            London Marathon and Mini-Marathon 

 Saturday 29th April         Bushy Park Time Trial  5km. 9am start 

 Monday 1st May             Barry Jones 5 miles. 11am start at Wimbledon
 Park. Details: http://www.herculeswimbledonac.org.uk/.
 
 Wednesday 3rd May      Parkland Relay. 7pm start in Richmond Park. See
 above.

 Saturday 6th May           Bushy Park Time Trial  5km. 9am start
                                      Thames Turbo Junior Races.  9am start
 in Bushy Park (Hampton Hill Gate)

 Sunday 7th May             Hogsmill Women's 5 miles. 10am at West Ewell.
 Details: http://www.epsomallsorts.org.uk/html/hogsmill_2006.html.
                                      Sutton 10km. 10.30am start. Surrey Road
 League Race 1. Details: http://www.suttonrunners.org/.

 Saturday 13th May           Bushy Park Time Trial  5km. 9am start

 Sunday 14th May            Richmond Half Marathon.  8.30am start from the
 Ranelagh clubhouse. Details on our website.

 WHAT'S HAPPENED...
 ***************************
 THAMES TOWPATH 10 miles  Sunday 9th April at Chiswick.  Ranelagh Road Grand
 Prix Race 1
 Tim Woods reports:
 "First proper race since an op on my foot last summer which meant six weeks
 in plaster and then lots of physio. Did the last Serpentine 5km without a
 number in 17.36 and am looking forward (?) to the Ranelagh Half in May if I
 have recovered. All training in Hyde Park under the watchful eye of Mr
 Hanscomb, and on journeys to and from work. One long run, one hill session
 and a fast session per week plus lots of steady miles as per the 1970s! 

 The TT10 race was local, early (so no problems with the missus) and flat
 with only a slight breeze. No idea what pace I was going at to begin with or
 what position I was in, but just followed a Windmiler with an unfortunate
 cough and whose head leant dangerously to one side. Saw a few friendly faces
 along the way which helped enormously and felt good enough in the last mile
 to leave my coughing Noddy impersonator behind. 

 Lots of Ranelagh vests on view but sadly I knew few although it was an added
 bonus to win the team prize. Mrs Woods was pleased with her M&S voucher and
 I am now the proud owner of a case of London Pride which will go to the
 highest bidder if anyone is interested. First prize I have won for about 30
 years but at least I am now in a new age bracket and hope the old body will
 stay in one piece long enough for more encounters over the roads and
 country, but the number of competitive appearances may be limited. 

 Overall a fun morning with little pressure, a well organised race and just
 about a clean sweep of the medals by Ranelagh. Pity about the youngsters".

 Tim, who celebrated his 50th birthday in February, was the first over 50 to
 finish and his sub-hour performance was good enough to place him 6th on
 Ranelagh's all-time list for the age group. Incidentally his best time,
 49.18 in 1977, is still the 5th fastest-ever by a Ranelagh Harrier. Clive
 Beauvais and John Hanscomb made it a Ranelagh hat-trick as the leading over
 60 and over 70 respectively. The Ranelagh team of four - Tim, Colin Frew,
 Trevor Maguire and John Atkinson - were three-quarters veteran but won the
 first team prizes. 

 In the women's event Sara Grosvenor finished 5th and with Layla Smith 16th
 and Sophie Spink 17th the team finished 2nd. 

 
 BUSHY PARK TIME TRIAL 5km  Saturday 8th April
 Another PB from Roger Wilson was the Ranelagh highlight. 

 1 J Goulis (Unatt) 16.16
 7 Nick Wright 17.48
 17 Paul Murphy 18.46
 30 Steve Ellswood 19.22
 31 Darren Wood 19.23
 42 Roger Wilson 20.17
 58 Chris Wright 21.25
 77 Adam Wright 22.27
 111 John Hanscomb 26.36
 115 Steve McClune 27.54 

 READING HALF MARATHON  Sunday 9th April
 Chris Read reports that there were several personal bests amongst the
 Ranelagh contingent. Pride of place though to Jo Ronaldson and Anna
 McLaughlin who finished 6th and 9th in the women's race with times that take
 them to 5th and 7th on Ranelagh's all-time list. Anna writes: "My race was
 very mixed, in the first 6 miles I was out of sorts, struggling with my
 asthma and general well-being which forced me to stop twice, and then just
 after the half way mark it all seemed to settle down and I completed the
 last few miles feeling strong. am a little full of ifs and buts, but I guess
 that that is the beauty of running!" 

 1 S Kasimili (Kenya) 1.04.51  (chip time 1.04.51)
 73 Jo Ronaldson 1.19.13  (chip time 1.19.09)
 93 Anna McLaughlin 1.20.32  (chip time 1.20.30)
 157 Rob Pagnamenta 1.23.27  (chip time 1.23.12)
 343 Chris Read 1.27.55  (chip time 1.27.06)
 781 Stephen Logue 1.33.57  (chip time 1.33.07)
 2210 Evelyn Joslin 1.45.58  (chip time 1.42.30)
 2219 Simon Tyler 1.45.52  (chip time 1.42.06)
 2758 Stephen Roberts 1.49.25  (chip time 1.46.38)
 3045 Matthew Webb 1.51.03  (chip time 1.50.34)
 5862 Clodagh Fahy 2.08.31  (chip time 2.00.08)
 5959 Derek Bieniek 2.09.17  (chip time 2.00.53) 

 PARIS MARATHON  Sunday 9th April
 Nathan Mills took 15 minutes off his previous best to crack three hours.
 1 G Melese (Ethiopia) 2.08.03  (chip time 2.08.00)
 1211 Nathan Mills 2.57.57  (chip time 2.56.09) 

 NEXUS CROYDON 10km  Sunday 9th April
 Fari Shams finished 4th in the women's race, tantalisingly close to the 40
 minutes barrier.
 1 I Lockett (Herne Hill) 31.26  (chip time 31.24)
 64 Fari Shams 40.12  (chip time 40.10) 

 MAIDENHEAD 10 miles  Friday 14th April
 1 P Wicks (Belgrave) 48.34
 540 Keith Firkin 83.02
 785 John Hanscomb 93.05 
 
 BUSHY PARK TIME TRIAL 5km  Saturday 15th April
 There was a brace of third places for Ranelagh this week in a bumper Easter
 Saturday field of 148 runners. Michael Black led in five RH in the top
 twenty and missed his course PB by a single second. No mistake for Peter
 Weir, though, who took 15 seconds off his. Third woman home Jenny
 Lloyd-Jones ran just outside 20 minutes. 

 1 R Stannard (Unatt) 15.55
 3 Michael Black 16.36
 7 Duncan Bell 17.02
 10 Peter Weir 17.26
 14 Andy Bickerstaff 18.01
 19 Chris Owens 18.12
 42 Jenny Lloyd-Jones 20.14
 50 Chris Wright 20.48
 55 Darren Wood 21.07
 59 Simon Burrell 21.23
 63 Adam Wright 21.48
 69 George Hutchinson 22.09
 76 Jo Turner 22.41
 78 Evelyn Joslin 22.54
 83 George Inman 23.15
 93 Holly Clemens 23.45
 99 Karen Broadbent 24.16
 109 Luke Wilson 25.10
 113 Gill Wilson 25.38
 115 Steph Croucher 25.46
 121 Steve McClune 26.24
 125 John Hanscomb 26.43
 140 Deborah Blakemore 30.04
 141 Danni Croucher 30.13
 142 Cindy Croucher 31.14 

 ASTHMA UK 10km  Saturday 15th April at Dorney Lake
 1 R Lee 32.39
 12 Nick Wright 36.44
 55 Alan Davidson 41.26
 70 Pete Warren 42.50 

 ACKWORTH HALF MARATHON  Sunday 2nd April
 This incorporated the inter-counties championship, though only seven
 counties took part. Surrey was one of them and they took the gold medals in
 the women's event, with Marie Synnott-Wells second scorer.
 Women
 1 O Kimaiyo (Kenya) 75.36
 11 Marie Synnott-Wells 86.04 

 HERCULES WIMBLEDON YOUNG ATHLETES OPEN MEETING  Sunday 9th April at Crystal
 Palace
 Frances Ratchford reports:
 "Crystal Palace track has seen numerous records broken by everyone from Dave
 Moorcroft to Zola Budd but Josh Keisler must be one of the youngest.  Last
 Sunday he ran the 1000m (U11) in 3.13.2 and broke the meeting record by 6
 seconds. It was a classic race with Keisler sitting on the shoulder of Adam
 Hulin for the first lap then confidently taking lead and then strongly
 pulling away from the field to win by over 20 metres.
 In the 1500m (U15) Nadia Fidler faced tough competition but managed a
 creditable 5th and Matt Wilson and Richard Crowther were both awarded
 certificates for 7th & 8th places in 1500 (U13).  Eve Edmunds ran a PB in
 her 800m heat but sadly finished just outside the time for a certificate.
 The athletics meeting attracted over 1000 juniors from all over the South of
 England plus international teams from Cuba, Nicaragua and Czechoslovakia". 

 Under 15 Girls 800m
 1 N Twine (Basildon) 2.25.5
 8 Beccy Culverwell 2.35.5 

 Under 15 Girls 1500m
 1 B Carter (Invicta EK) 4.50.6
 5 Nadia Fidler 5.14.8
 11 Georgia Miansarow 5.34.7
 12 Lucy Edmunds 5.36.3 

 Under 13 Girls 800m
 1 E Gilmore (Ports) 2.29.5
 14 Eve Edmunds 2.57.6 

 Under 17 Boys 800m
 1 P Haines (Basildon) 1.59.0
 15 Tom Lloyd 2.26.7 

 Under 13 Boys 1500m
 1 J Tidd (Aldershot F&D) 4.48.9
 7 Matthew Wilson 5.13.8
 8 Richard Crowther 5.16.2
 15 George Inman 5.55.0
 17 Toby Piachaud 6.01.6 

 Under 11 Boys 1000m
 1 Josh Keisler 3.13.2 

 MODERN PENTATHLON WORLD CUP  Friday 7th April at Millfield School, Somerset
 Liz Kipling performed well in three out of the four disciplines that are
 contested in the World Cup semi-finals (the horse-riding, one of Liz's
 strongest events, is reserved for the final only). But a below-par fencing
 competition lost her too many points and she finished in 22nd place in her
 semi-final, with the only the top sixteen advancing to the final. 

 CATCHING UP
 We missed Nick Wright in the results of the Bath Half Marathon and the
 Kingston Breakfast Run 16 miles. He finished 232nd in 86.17 and 106th in
 1.48.10 respectively. 

 FINCHLEY 20
 Anthony Eady writes:
 "May one of your regular, though non-Ranelagh, readers offer a couple of
 stories set at that enjoyable race the Finchley 20? 

 The race, like the London Marathon, can be run in very varying temperatures.
 One year, some time ago, it was cold so I wore my woolly hat in club colours
 (white with black insignia, not unknown to you perhaps). Running along not
 long after the start I was astonished to find my hat pulled down sharply all
 round my head and on recovering I found the perpetrator to be the well known
 and very successful lady runner of that era Leslie Watson. She must have
 started slowly that day, but as I only knew her by sight I was puzzled at
 her action until I saw lurking behind her and pretending to look the other
 way one John Hanscomb. No explanation needed! 

 The race is attractive I think because it is over four 5 mile laps. The lap
 is of course not precisely 5 miles and the start and finish have varied a
 bit over the years. On one ocasion they were 100 yards or so down a side
 road. There was a drinks station sited where the side road joined the lap.
 Throughout the third and fourth laps I found myself running 100 yards behind
 another runner, on whom I could make no impression and though I kept
 plugging away I was resigned to being beaten by him, but to my amazement he
 stopped for a material amount of time at the final drinks station before
 turning down the side road so that I sailed past him and beat him by several
 seconds. A real lesson of the benefits of perseverance!" 

 FINALLY...
 Sports scientists in America believe that tight-fitting lycra shorts improve
 exercise performance. Physiologists at the University of Connecticut have
 shown that Linford Lycra improves "proprioceptive" feedback: the compression
 of the fabric on receptors in skin and muscle enhances the exchange of
 information between body and brain. They found the muscles had more power
 and the legs had a higher skin temperature, helping to prevent muscle tears.