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 ****************************************************************************
 RANELAGH HARRIERS E-NEWS # 248                10 April 2007
 Editor: Steve Rowland
 mailto: steverowland@ranelagh-harriers.com  
 ****************************************************************************

 HEADLINE NEWS
 *********************
 *  Sarah Smith wins Baker Cup
 *  Top ten finishes in Kingston Breakfast Runs from Steve Whitehead, Peter
    Weir and Kerry Anley
 *  Good luck to all marathoners

 SEE HERE
 *************
 SPRING MARATHONS
 One or two more additions to the list, and one deletion - Kerry Anley having
 not recovered from injury in time for the London. Good luck to all,
 including those juniors in the Mini Marathon. The London race incorporates
 Ranelagh's club marathon championships for the Winter Cup (men) and the
 Brasher Bowl (women).

 Paris Marathon (15th April)
 Karen Broadbent, Michele Gibson, Evelyn Joslin, Ian Grange, Andy Hayward,
 Chris Read, Tom Reay and Steve Roberts.

 Rotterdam Marathon (15th April)
 Ed Whitlock.

 London Marathon (22nd April)
 Tanya Allen, Lynne Barber, Dawn Bates, Hazel Carr, Rachel Fursman, Liz
 Kipling, Fari Shams, Lorna Smith, Sophie Spink, Marie Synnott-Wells, Mandy
 Westlake, Jane Wyatt, John Atkinson, George Coates, Ed Barker, Ken Fotherby,
 Ian Grange, Martin Halvey, John Hanscomb, Mick Lane, Stephen Logue, Trevor
 Maguire, Nathan Mills, Neil Myland, Niall O'Connor, Mike Peace, Mike
 Rowland, Tim Sizeland, Chris Spink and Steve Whitehead. 

 Hamburg Marathon (29th April)
 Carola Richter.

 LONDON MARATHON ACHES AND PAINS PARTY
 London Marathon day will as usual end up at Janet Turnes's pub the Wych Elm
 in Elm Road, Kingston. All runners (whichever race you're doing),
 spectators, supporters, television watchers welcome from 7pm onwards. Bring
 your medals! 

 SPONSORSHIP
 If you're still looking for somewhere to put your London Marathon
 sponsorship money, Marie Synnott-Wells has the answer:
 "I am running the Flora London Marathon on the 22nd April for the Epilepsy
 Research Foundation and would be grateful if you could donate something for
 this cause.  To do so please log on to the following web site http://www.justgiving.com/msw.
 Thank you in anticipation of your donation". 

 LONDON MARATHON PACING
 Phil Aiken has been contacted by a friend who works at Runner's World
 magazine:
 "Fancy a (really) long, (really) slow one? We have suffered a catastrophic
 loss of pacers for Flora London Marathon so we're all asking around...would
 you consider pacing it at 11-min miles? You'd get some free stuff as
 incentive. There might be a chance of pacing 9 or 10-min miles also". If you
 can help, speak to Phil (contact details in "What's Coming" below).

 KESWICK HALF MARATHON
 Bob Beatson writes:
 "This year's Keswick Half Marathon and Fun Runs (1.5km and 3.2km) are on
 Sunday 6th May (Bank Holiday weekend). Quite a few Ranelagh members have
 enjoyed the half marathon over the years. It does a circuit around
 Derwentwater, with excellent high level views over the lake, and a loop out
 into the equally scenic Newlands valley to make up the distance. It is a
 road race, but the roads do go up and down a bit! The three main hills are
 all in the first half. I know it clashes with the Sutton 10K, and it's 300
 miles away, but it really is well worth the trip. Entries for the half
 marathon can be made in advance or on the day, but enter before 25th April
 if you want to ensure getting the traditional slate medallion/coaster at the
 finish. Entries for the fun runs are taken on the day. 

 VETERANS TRACK LEAGUE
 Julie Drummond writes:
 "Here we go again.this year's dates for the Vets Track League at the
 Millennium Arena in Battersea Park are as follows: 14 May, 11 June, 9 July,
 23 July. These are all Monday nights. We attempt to get to the track at 6pm
 and provisional events for the first match are:
 High Jump
 Discus
 100m
 2000m Walk
 Shot
 400m
 Long Jump
 1500m
 4 x 400m Relay  

 Please come along - low key and a lot of fun. You can have a go at all sorts
 of things you haven't attempted since school days - and everyone wins
 points!  It's approx a 10 minute walk from Battersea Park or Queenstown Road
 stations. For further information email me on: thedrummonds@blueyonder.co.uk.

 OPEN COUNTRY
 Radio 4's "Open Country" programme this week features Richmond Park. It was
 first broadcast on Saturday morning and is repeated at 1.30pm on Thursday,
 but you can catch up with it via Radio 4's web site here: 

 THE FIRST HUNDRED YEARS OF RANELAGH HARRIERS
 A copy of our Centenary history book, published back in 1981, was on offer
 on e-bay last week. The seller was optimistically asking for an opening bid
 of £9.99, and sadly I don't believe he had any takers. Keep an eye open in
 case he tries again...or alternatively wait a few weeks for the publication
 of the updated version, "The First 125 Years of Ranelagh Harriers", which is
 about to go to press. Watch this space. 

 *********************
  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 ).     

 Sunday 15th April          Thames Towpath 10 miles at Chiswick. Ranelagh GP
 race. Entries now closed.
                            MABAC League 5 miles at Winterfold, 11am start.  

 Sunday 22nd April         London Marathon. Ranelagh GP race. 

 Sunday 6th May            Sutton 10km. Ranelagh GP and Surrey Road League
 race.   

 Sunday 13th May           Ranelagh Richmond Half Marathon. Ranelagh GP race.

 Sat 19th / Sun 20th May Green Belt Relay. 

 Sunday 3rd June            Dorking 10 miles. Ranelagh GP race and Surrey 10m
 championship. A new course is being introduced this year.  

 Every Saturday              Bushy Park Time Trial: 9am start at the Diana
 Fountain car park.
                                      Wimbledon Common Time Trial: 9am start
 at the Windmill car park.     Details:
 
                                     
 RANELAGH ROAD GRAND PRIX
 For full details 


 WHAT'S HAPPENED...
 ***************************
 BAKER CUP  3 miles road handicap  Saturday 31st March in Richmond Park
 There can have been few more popular winners of the Baker Cup than Sarah
 Smith. In her first race as a mum and with much of her training consisting
 of pushing a baby buggy, Sarah surprised herself and the handicapper by
 storming through the field to set the fastest women's time of the day. She
 failed to catch new member Kirsty Leaf, who was competing as a guest, and
 another guest, Jay Cash, was close behind, but as far as the Cup was
 concerned Sarah crossed the line half a minute clear of the pack. 

 While Sarah was being reunited with 6 month-old Alexander, 68 year-old Ivan
 Boggis, a new man after varicose vein surgery, was taking the silver medal,
 narrowly holding off Sue Ashley. Pre-race tipsters' favourite Chris Camacho
 was closing fast but had to settle for 4th place.  

 Peter Haarer as scratch man started a full minute after everybody else and
 so had a mostly lonely run - apart from seeing all those runners ahead of
 him already well onto their next loop - but began to catch people in the
 closing stages and recorded the day's fastest time of 16.11. There was a
 good battle for next fastest between Tim Woods, Marcus Gohar and Howard
 Gleave which Tim won, and his 16.40 was a new course record for over 50s. Al
 an Howard had his eye on the over 70s course record, but he was scuppered by
 the high winds, which slowed times generally. His 22.29 was 22 seconds
 outside Bob Maslin's 1987 mark.  

 Sarah Smith's 18.40 was three seconds faster than Clare King, with Marie
 Synnott-Wells third fastest woman on 19.06.

 It has become increasingly difficult to find a perfect venue for the Baker
 Cup supper and annual prize presentation. The ideal would be an intimate
 comfortable room able to sit 80 or so to a reasonably-priced dinner. Such
 places are few and far between! The Orange Tree in Richmond proved to be a
 good choice - a cosy private room with its own bar, able to accommodate the
 60 or so who turned up in reasonable comfort, and with tasty buffet food.
 Thanks go to social secretaries Jo Turner and Marina Quayle for arranging
 it. 

 The array of club trophies was as ever an impressive sight. Alan Hedger and
 President Frances efficiently distributed them to those of their winners who
 were in attendance, and Alan took the rest home. If you are expecting a
 trophy or a medal, you might like to contact Alan and arrange collection,
 rather than wait for him to chase you: mailto:alanhedger@talktalk.net  

 
 THOSE OTHER TROPHIES...
 ...that are decided over the whole season - the Points Prize, the McLeod Cup
 and the Women's Performance Award - were also presented at the Baker Cup
 supper. The Points Prize for consistency in handicaps went to Clive Naish on
 18 points, ahead of Deborah Blakemore on 14 and Sandra Prosser on 12. Clive
 was also runner-up in the McLeod Cup competition for points scored in all
 cross-country events. He scored 922 points, four ahead of Niall O'Connor but
 well behind Captain Bickerstaff who totalled 1044 points. The equivalent
 competition for women is the Women's Performance Award and this went to
 Yvonne Hill on 1055, with Sonia Rowland second on 947 and Corinne Bishop
 third on 912.

 KINGSTON BREAKFAST RUNS  Sunday 1st April
 Three and a half thousand runners turned out for the Kingston Breakfast
 Runs. For most of the Ranelagh starters in the 16 miler, this was their
 final competitive outing before a spring marathon. Steve Whitehead ran
 impressively for 8th place a few seconds inside 6 minute miling. Niall
 O'Connor and John Molloy led the rest, ahead of Liz Kipling and Mandy
 Westlake who were placed 16th and 17th in the women's section.

 16 miles
 1 G Brook (Stragglers) 1.30.13
 8 Steve Whitehead 1.35.26
 34 L Cowley (Herts Ph) 1.40.56  (1st W)
 39 Niall O'Connor 1.41.15
 111 John Molloy 1.47.47
 186 Liz Kipling 1.51.35
 188 Mandy Westlake 1.51.53
 294 Ian Grange 1.56.41
 638 Carola Richter 2.07.35
 1145 Tom Reay 2.20.01
 1332 Geoff Bell 2.24.39
 1418 Martin Landless 2.27.15
 1477 Dawn Bates 2.28.38
 1558 Bernadette Costello 2.31.40
 1652 Lorna Smith 2.34.51
 1769 John Hanscomb 2.39.58
 1861 Julie Naismith 2.44.17 

 In the "half breakfast"option, Peter Weir finished 7th overall and Kerry
 Anley was 4th woman. 

 8 miles
 1 T Kingsnorth (TH&H) 44.50
 6 N Warner (TH&H) 48.24  (1st W)
 7 Peter Weir 48.33
 35 Kerry Anley 54.09
 103 Steve Elswood 58.40
 121 Layla Smith 59.26
 224 Karen Broadbent 62.43
 833 Janet Turnes 74.56
 1364 Daphne Moynier 86.30

 WORTHING 20 miles  Sunday 1st April
 Marie Synnott-Wells treated this as a confidence-booster training run but
 still finished 6th in the women's section.

 1 N Baker (Denmead) 1.56.23  (chip time 1.56.22)
 69 Marie Synnott-Wells 2.22.42  (2.22.39)
 263 Phil Aiken 2.49.27  (2.48.41)
 577 Jane Wyatt 3.42.04  (3.41.14)

 COMBE GIBBET TO OVERTON 16 miles  Sunday 1st April
 Clive Beauvais was the leading over 60 by more than a mile.
 1 A Macaskill (Maid) 1.37.23
 21 Clive Beauvais 1.59.31
 93 Sue Ashley 2.25.57

 BUSHY PARK TIME TRIAL 5km  Saturday 31st March
 A smaller than usual Ranelagh contingent this week, what with the
 alternative attractions of the Baker Cup and the KIngston races. But there
 were PBs for David Rowe and Frances Pennycook.

 1 R Stannard (Belgrave) 16.04
 19 David Rowe 19.15
 20 Darren Wood 19.18
 69 Phil Aiken 21.37
 81 Wyn Williams 22.07
 96 Paul Bisping 22.32
 163 Frances Pennycook 25.39
 176 Roger Wilson 26.47
 197 Steve McClune 28.33
 200 John Hanscomb 28.42
 226 Sharon Rowe 31.30 

 WIMBLEDON COMMON TIME TRIAL 5km  Saturday 31st March
 1 M Gray (unatt) 17.36
 29 Pete Warren 21.17
 38 Jo Turner 23.39 

 BUSHY PARK TIME TRIAL 5km  Saturday 7th April
 There was a big PB for David Rowe and improvements also for Niall O'Connor
 and Alastair Sinclair. 

 1 R Stannard (Belgrave) 16.04
 13 Niall O'Connor 17.35
 38 David Rowe 18.48
 42 Darren Wood 18.51
 50 Stewart Ward 19.14
 77 Peter Wright 20.24
 84 Edward Smith 20.42
 123 George Inman 21.39
 126 Wyn Williams 21.44
 143 Phil Aiken 22.14
 161 Alastair Sinclair 22.54
 196 Holly Clemens 24.14
 213 Stephanie Croucher 24.59
 223 Alan Craig 25.34
 254 John Hanscomb 27.23
 279 Alice Clemens 29.36
 282 Marina Quayle 29.44
 283 Sharon Rowe 29.59 

 WIMBLEDON COMMON TIME TRIAL 5km  Saturday 7th April
 Marie Synnott-Wells was the first woman home.

 1 J Trehearn (Sutton R) 17.01
 11 Marie Synnott-Wells 18.54

 MAIDENHEAD 10 miles  Friday 6th April
 A small but very select trio represented the club in a quality Good Friday
 field. Kerrie O'Connor was 14th in the women's race, Pete Warren was 2nd
 over 65 and John Hanscomb was 3rd over 70.

 1 P Wicks (Belgrave) 49.41
 150 Kerrie O'Connor 67.56
 307 Pete Warren 74.49
 738 John Hanscomb 91.21

 LAST FRIDAY OF THE MONTH 5km  Friday 30th March in Hyde Park
 1 S Collins (Enfield) 15.48
 171 John Hanscomb 26.58

 KINGFIELD CANTER 2.85 miles handicap  Wednesday 4th April
 While SLH's Ray Marriott was taking the best part of a minute off the M50
 course record (with 15.04), Sonia Rowland came within 12 seconds of the W50
 mark. 

 1 S Cutmore (Windle V) 24.07  (actual time 20.52)
 5 Sonia Rowland 25.33  (actual time 19.48) 

 FALESIA 5km  Saturday 17th March at Falesia, Portugal
 Women over 60
 1 Y Priestman 24.58
 2 Margaret Auerback 25.23

 FINALLY...
 Sunita Williams, an American astronaut, will run this year's Boston Marathon
 tethered to a treadmill on board the International Space Station. Full story.