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 RANELAGH HARRIERS E-NEWS # 234                16 November 2006
 Editor: Steve Rowland
 mailto: steverowland@ranelagh-harriers.com  
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 HEADLINE NEWS
 *********************
 *  Men's team 5th and women's team 4th in Surrey League Division 1
 *  Overall, men 4th and women 3rd after two races
 *  Christmas Party 15th December - book now!
 *  Club women's championship in Dysart Cup race on December 2nd
 *  Club men's championship in SLH mob match on December 9th
 *  Second junior points prize race on December 9th

 SEE HERE
 *************
 CHRISTMAS PARTY
 Marina Quayle writes:
 "The Ranelagh Christmas Party will be at the Turk's Head, Winchester Road in
 St Margarets (Twickenham) on Friday 15th December, 7.30pm for 8pm. The band
 that will be playing goes by the name of Los Mojados del Tamasis and Wally
 describes it as Mexican music with a difference! Jo and Marina have decided
 on a Mexican theme for the evening so they are hoping for runners and
 partners to dress as Mexicans if they want to. Jeans therefore will be
 allowed as will sombreros, long skirts, bushy moustaches and anything else
 Mexican!

 This year the only choice of food will be between vegetarian and
 non-vegetarian options. The menu will be:

 Starter: Home-made spiced winter soup (suitable for vegetarians and
 non-vegetarians alike)
 Main: Turkey parcels with sausage stuffing mix wrapped in bacon served with
 vegetables, roast potatoes and gravy
 Vegetarian main: Caramelised onion, pear and fig cheesecake (Shortcrust
 pastry with ricotta and soft cheese interlaced with chestnuts and finished
 with a caramelised topping, with seasonal vegetables and roast potatoes).
 Dessert: Christmas pudding and brandy custard. 

 The cost will be £22 per head. Jo and Marina are taking bookings from
 Tuesday onwards in person or you can send a cheque (payable to Ranelagh
 Harriers) to Marina Quayle at 101 Sheen Road, Richmond TW9 1YJ.. Don't
 forget to indicate whether you want the vegetarian option. 

 We're hoping for a big turnout and hope to see as many of you as possible". 
 
 More info if you need it from Marina (mailto:marina_quayle@hotmail.com) or
 Jo Turner (mailto:joturner_45@hotmail.com). 

 SOUTH OF THE THAMES 5 miles CHAMPIONSHIP
 This takes place on Saturday 25th November on Epsom Downs, starting at 2pm. 

 The men's team is not planning to make the South of Thames events a priority
 this year, but anyone who would like to run is welcome to do so. On the
 other hand, the women's team are the title holders so they will be taking
 part. In either case, entries have to be in by November 18th, so anyone
 interested should contact Andy or Anna immediately. 

 DYSART CUP and ELLIS CUP
 We host these two inter-club races on Saturday 2nd December in Richmond
 Park. The women's race goes first, at 2pm. It's over 4 miles and
 incorporates both the Ranelagh's women's club championship for the Hugh
 Jones Salver and the women's veterans (over 40) championship for Trish's
 Trophy. The winning team takes the Dysart Cup. The men's race follows on at
 about 2.30pm over 5½ miles and the winning team takes the Ellis Cup. The
 Stragglers are the current holders of both trophies. All members are welcome
 to take part - just turn up on the day. 

 JUNIOR POINTS PRIZE RACE 2
 The second event in the four race Points Prize series takes place on
 Saturday 9th December at 2pm in Richmond Park. The course is the usual one
 lap of Sidmouth Wood. All under 17s are welcome to take part. Current points
 leaders are Emily Johnston and Josh Keisler (under 13s), Stephanie Espinosa
 and Jamie Taylor-Caldwell (under 15s) and Rebecca Clayden and Nicholas
 Harrison (under 17s). 

 STUBBS CUP MOB MATCH v SOUTH LONDON HARRIERS
 Our next mob match is another home fixture in Richmond Park on Saturday 9th
 December at 2.30pm in Richmond Park. This race includes the club
 championship for the Wynne Cup, and also the three men's veterans
 championships: the Hastings Cup (overall), the McDowell Cup (over 50s) and
 the Maslin Mug (over 60s). It's the usual two-lap 7½ miles course. As always
 in mob matches, we need as many runners as we can get - the more we have,
 the better our chances of winning. 
 
 NEEL DE ALWIS
 David Rowntree writes..........again:
 "In a recent newsletter I made an appeal to raise funds to help an excellent
 Sri Lankan runner I met whilst on holiday, his name is Neel De Alwis. The
 fund is to enable him to attend an English course to learn to read and write
 English. This will help him gain employment in Sri Lanka. On 20th November
 he is running an 800m trial which is part of getting selected for the
 National Team in Sri Lanka. The course would also help with his running
 ambitions. I have signed him up as a member of Ranelagh Harriers and hope to
 get him over one day to run for us. 
 
 Anyway back to my appeal. My initial article stated that the cost of the
 course was £100 which was the amount confirmed to me by Neel through his
 broken English. I have now had confirmation that the cost for the whole
 course including books and dictionary is £300; the £100 was in fact the
 deposit to secure a place (you were nearly right Wally!!). 

 To date through the generosity of some of our members I have received
 cheques/pledges to the sum of £120; my sincerest thanks to those that have
 contacted me. I have confirmed to Neel that we are trying to raise the cost
 of the course through the running club and he is overwhelmed by the fact
 that people from the UK are willing to help him in this way.It would be
 great if we could raise the total sum through the Club. If you would like to
 contribute please contact me at Davidcjrowntree@aol.com. 

 The next course start at the beginning of December so an early response
 would be greatly appreciated". 

 *********************
  WHAT'S COMING...
 *********************
 More details of the following from
 Andy Bickerstaff ( 07772 111491 / mailto: andy@norris-hobs.co.uk ) or 
 Mark Middleton ( 07725 119649 / mailto: markjmiddleton@yahoo.co.uk ) or 
 Phil Aiken (07739 035189 / mailto: phil.aiken@rnid.org.uk ) or 
 Anna McLaughlin (07971 606521 / mailto: anna.mclaughlin@talk21.com ).     

 Saturday 25th November  South of the Thames 5 miles Championship (men and
 women) at Epsom Downs. See above.
 
 Saturday 2nd December   Dysart Cup (women) at 2pm and Ellis Cup (men) at
 2.30pm in Richmond Park. See above. 

 Sunday 3rd December     MABAC League 5 miles at Ashtead Common. 11am start.
 Details: http://www.mabac.org.uk/fixtures06.htm.

 Saturday 9th December   Junior Points Prize Race 2 at 2pm in Richmond Park.
 See above.

 Saturday 9th December   Stubbs Cup Mob Match v South London Harriers at
 2.30pm in Richmond Park. See above

 Friday 15th December     Christmas Party at the Turk's Head, St Margarets 

 Every Saturday               Bushy Park Time Trial. 9am start at the Diana
 Fountain car park. See http://www.bptt.net/ for details.

 WHAT'S HAPPENED...
 ***************************
 SWEATSHOP SURREY LEAGUE DIVISION 1  Saturday 11th November at Coulsdon
 Marc Snaith reports:
 "A sea of blue shirts descended upon the beautiful Farthing Downs in the
 south of the county for the second Surrey League race of the season. Our
 impressive start at Brockwell Park was always going to be hard to maintain
 with Jordan and Sam at university whilst Peter Haarer actually had a
 legitimate excuse for being absent. As expected Phil, Paul, Pancho and
 Duncan all put in gritty performances to give us a chance of a high finish:
 Phil finally relieved to finish ahead of all the vets and noting how much
 faster his sprint finish was when he saw his opponent's bus pass is hanging
 out of his shorts.

 Our middle order of Stephen, Nathan and Mick powered on through the wind,
 the camber and some rather stony trails but would it be enough to keep us
 close to our rivals? Our strength in depth proved vital as Andy, Ed and
 James entered the scorer's records for the first time this year.  Our
 scoring ten was also well supported by an excellent and apparently
 blisteringly quick finishing Howard only two places behind James in 70th and
 an under par Trevor in 78th. At Brockwell Park we found out that a strong
 Ranelagh team could mix it with the big boys and on Saturday we learned that
 even an under par Ranelagh team is far from relegation fodder. 

 Apologies in advance to Mark Middleton, but I couldn't leave out how you
 maintained our unimpressive record of having one top 40 runner miss the
 start of each race. Mark's error was to follow a Thames runner to the start
 and unfortunately the only start they found was first tee at the Coulsdon
 Manor Golf Centre. I have already offered my services to lead a few Thames
 runners astray before the next race. 

 We can now look forward to Wimbledon Common with the return of Sam, Peter
 and Mark.  A target of six finishers in the first thirty and all ten scorers
 in the top fifty should be a realistic goal! Sorry Andy, they'll be no room
 for old timers in our top ten! Thanks to all the guys for making the trip to
 Coulsdon.It was good to see a few less familiar faces on the cross country
 circuit and I look forward to seeing even more new faces at Wimbledon Common
 in eight weeks time". 

 Captain Bicks adds:
 "Well, it had to happen after our excellent start in the first fixture we
 were duly beaten by Thames and narrowly by Reigate and Belgrave. I'm feeling
 a bit cursed as for the second time we threw away 40 odd points by not
 getting everyone to the start on time. Still every cloud has a silver
 lining, and this one allowed James Corbett to attain his first scoring
 position with an excellent run no doubt inspired by his wife Rosanne's
 presence. She didn't know how bleak Farthing Down is but now she does! I
 think James billed it as a local beauty spot perfect for a stroll in the
 countryside. An excellent run too by Steve, making an unusual but very
 welcome appearance on the country. 

 Well done everyone for putting in such a great effort. Thanks also go to
 great support from Alan Hedger, Jim Forrest, Clive Beauvais and President
 Frances. All to play for at the next fixture on Wimbledon Common where a
 strengthened team (getting to the start on time) can put Thames's and Bels'
 noses out of joint and us back up to 2nd or 3rd.....Oh no we can't ....oh
 yes we can". 

 Taylor Nunn and George Inman ran strongly in the combined under 17 and under
 15 race, and finished 3rd and 7th respectively amongst the under 15s.

 SURREY LADIES LEAGUE DIVISION 1  Saturday 11th November at Lightwater
 Country Park
 It was a day to forget for the women's team. Their defeat by Belgrave in the
 opening race had been their first Surrey League loss since January 2004, but
 any thoughts of gaining revenge shrank in direct proportion to an expanding
 absentee list. Injuries, illnesses, work and holidays decimated the Ranelagh
 team while Belgrave fielded their strongest squad for some time. In truth,
 with all five scorers home in the top twenty the Belles would have been
 tough nuts to crack in any case. They scored a convincing victory and the
 bookies must now be offering very long odds on any other club troubling them
 for the League title. 

 Marie, Clare and Anna led our team, but even they weren't firing on all
 cylinders - Marie with the Abingdon Marathon still in her legs, Clare
 recovering from a virus and Anna just back from injury. In the circs, 14th,
 19th and 24th were fine performances and there was another classy run from
 Kerrie, right behind Anna. Yvonne Hill ran well to close in the scoring team
 at 52nd, with Evelyn and Louise providing the backup. 

 The result was 4th place on the day and a slip back to 3rd overall behind
 Thames Hare and Hounds (for whom Naomi Warner was relegated to 5th place
 after running off course when leading). "We have a tough and possibly
 impossible battle ahead of us," writes skipper Anna, "But then why would we
 always want it easy?!?" 

 We had two runners in each age group race. The under 17s and under 15s race
 together this year, and all four Ranelagh stayed in close formation
 throughout, finishing within the space of just over a minute. Stephanie
 Espinosa was first across the line for 12th in the under 15 category, but
 Rebecca Clayden, though 60 metres back, actually achieved a higher place,
 5th under 17. Lucy Edmunds and Victoria Elbourne followed on, both well in
 the top half of their respective fields. 

 Amelie Hunton and debutante Molly Riglin were well placed throughout in the
 under 13 race and finished 10th and 17th. 

 BUSHY PARK TIME TRIAL 5km  Saturday 11th November
 Only one PB for the Ranelagh contingent this week, from Sharon Rowe. 

 1 R Mullett (St Mary's C) 16.09
 8 Nick Wright 17.47
 11 Peter Weir 18.00
 33 David Rowe 19.48
 43 Chris Camacho 20.07
 78 Joss Moran 21.25
 132 Joanne Turner 23.00
 142 Karen Broadbent 23.15
 148 Roger Wilson 23.30
 195 Phil Aiken 25.50
 199 Dawn Bates 26.03
 213 John Hanscomb 27.23
 254 Sharon Rowe 32.54  

 LIZZIE CLIFFORD
 Congratulations to Lizzie, who cracked the three hours barrier in the
 Cardiff Marathon on 15th October. Representing her first claim Garden City
 Runners, she finished 3rd in 2.59.53. 

 FINALLY...
 "In a country where only men are encouraged, one must be one's own
 inspiration".  Tegla Loroupe (Kenya), London and New York City Marathon
 winner, three times world half marathon champion.