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 ****************************************************************************
 RANELAGH HARRIERS E-NEWS # 265                31 October 2007
 Editor: Steve Rowland
 mailto: steverowland@ranelagh-harriers.com  
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 HEADLINE NEWS
 *********************
 *  Mob match v Orion Harriers in Richmond Park this Saturday...
 *  ...preceded by Junior Points Prize race 2
 *  Another Welsh vest for Anna Scally
 *  3.09 marathon for Kerrie O'Connor in Dublin
 *  Time Trial top threes by Mandy Westlake, Sandra Prosser, Jo Turner and
    Simon Hedger

 SEE HERE
 *************
 MOB MATCH v ORION HARRIERS for the HAROLD LEE CUP  Saturday 3rd November in
 Richmond Park
 A final reminder that it's "all hands on deck" this Saturday for the
 season's first mob match. It's weight of numbers that usually wins mob
 matches, and if we can heavily outnumber Orion the job will be half done.
 But our visitors will probably number 50 or more, so we need as many people
 as possible to take part. Race hard or treat it as a training run, you will
 still be a valuable member of the team. The course is seven and a half miles
 (two laps of the Thomas Cup course) and start time is 2.30pm. Collect a
 number on the day.

 JUNIOR POINTS PRIZE
 The second race in the series will take place this Saturday at 2pm, before
 the mob match. The course will be the usual one around Sidmouth Wood and all
 under 17s are welcome.

 SOUTH OF THE THAMES 'SHORT' CHAMPIONSHIP
 This is taking place on our own course in Richmond Park on Saturday November
 17th. It's 5 miles for both men and women. Everybody is welcome to run, but
 entries must be made in advance. Captain Bicks writes: "Since it's on our
 home course it would be nice to make a bit of a splash. I need to enter in
 advance so names to me please by 1st November even if you are not certain.
 The team race is four to score both men and ladies". Contact Andy or Marie
 (details below).

 SURREY LEAGUES
 Our men's and women's teams both made great starts to the season, and will
 want to keep up the momentum at the second fixture. Unfortunately the teams
 again have to head for different venues - the women at Cranford Park
 (British Airways' course) and the men at Kingston Vale, Wimbledon Common
 (Thames Hare and Hounds' course). League races are open to all members - no
 need to enter in advance, just turn up and get a number on the day.

 Cranford Park is a new venue for League races - it's in Hounslow, close to
 M4 junction 3. The HQ is the BA Concorde sports club.   Start times as usual
 12.15pm for seniors, 1.15pm for under 17s and under 15s and 1.45pm for under
 13s.

 The men's race is on the opposite side of Wimbledon Common from the first
 race, based at the Thames HQ.
 Start times 2.30pm for all under 17s, 3pm for seniors.

 MARIE'S MESSAGE
 Our women's Captain Marie Synnott-Wells writes:
 "See above for details of the next Ladies Surrey League XC and the South of
 the Thames 5 miles XC. The League is top priority but as Andy says it would
 be nice to show up well in the South of the Thames race on our home course.
 I'd also like to encourage participation in the mob matches - these runs are
 wonderful and rewarding in terms of good training, great for off road
 running, experiencing new routes, post event socializing and family
 friendly. 

 Could I also ask all new lady members to e-mail me with their contact
 details i.e. e-mail, phone numbers etc. so I can keep their details on a
 database to ensure that they get reminders of up-coming events etc".

 UPDATE FROM THE KIT STEWARD
 Karen Broadbent writes:
 "Winter kit is on order, including long sleeve technical tops and a fresh
 supply of vests. Unfortunately I think it is still going to be a couple of
 weeks before they actually arrive. Some of you may also have seen me waving
 around sample fleeces and running jackets. Following feedback from various
 club members I have placed a small order for Ranelagh fleeces and running
 jackets. Once I receive them, people will be able to see the finished item
 and try for size and I can place a larger order if there is enough demand.
 I'll keep you posted as I suspect it will be a couple of weeks before they
 arrive too. We also have a limited supply of fluorescent flashing arm/ankle
 bands - essential now we are training in the dark. These are being sold for
 £3 a pair. Finally, you can buy copies of the club's updated history book,
 'The First 125 Years of Ranelagh Harriers' from me at £12. I am at the club
 most Tuesdays and you can purchase kit from me after the training session". 

 DYSART DASH 10km
 Bev Ali writes:
 "After nominally organising the Dysart Dash for the past five years, it is
 time to give someone else the pleasure and challenge of taking the helm.the
 race takes place on the last Sunday in June, but I will not be in London for
 a large part of June next year, and hopefully for the next few years, so
 although I can do a lot of the preparatory work for this year, I cannot see
 the project through to the end. If you have any ambitions or thoughts that
 you may be interested, please talk to me or to Carol Barnshaw (for ideas on
 organising by committee). I feel that we need to have a titular head for the
 Dysart Dash before Christmas at the latest, so that we can know to go ahead
 with any necessary expenditure. A lot of support has always been given by
 many people much more experienced than I am, so no previous experience is
 required (I had none), just a willingness to give it a go and take the
 flak!" Contact Bev at bev.ali@blueyonder.co.uk 

 *********************
  WHAT'S COMING...
 *********************
 More details of the following from
 Andy Bickerstaff ( 07772 111491 / mailto: andy@norris-hobs.co.uk ) or 
 Marie Synnott-Wells (07956 431319 / mailto: nandmwells@aol.com ).     

 Saturday 3rd November     Lee Cup mob match v Orion Harriers. 7.5 miles in
 Richmond Park, 2.30pm start. All members needed!
                                         Junior Points Prize Race 2 in
 Richmond Park. 2pm start.

 Saturday 10th November   Sweatshop Surrey League Div 1 (men) at Kingston
 Vale (2.30pm juniors, 3pm seniors)
                                        Surrey Ladies League Div 1 at
 Cranford Park (12.15pm seniors, 1.15pm U15s & U17s, 1.45pm U13s)

 Saturday 17th November   South of the Thames Short Championship, 5 miles in
 Richmond Park. See above.

 Saturday 24th November  Mob match v Thames Hare & Hounds. 7.5 miles on
 Wimbledon Common (Kingston Vale). 2.30pm start.

 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.
                                       Banstead Woods Time Trial: 9am start
 off B2219 Park Lane, Chipstead
                                       Richmond Park Time Trial: 9am start
 near Richmond gate.
                                       More details at www.parkrun.com

 WHAT'S HAPPENED...
 ***************************
 GREAT SOUTH RUN 10 miles   Sunday 28th October at Portsmouth
 Anna Scally reports:
 "After a late call up to the Welsh squad during the week, I found myself
 heading down to Portsmouth for the Great South Run...having got the race
 start time wrong we were there with plenty of time to enjoy the Elite area
 hospitality, and to realise that it was not going to be a day to stay dry
 and avoid the wind! As I was not sure how I would run (given my recent
 performances), my aim was to go out and see what I could do and most
 importantly, enjoy it! After the usual manic fast start which seems to go
 with starting at the front and running scared away from the 18,000 people in
 the pack behind me(!) I settled down and despite the strong blustery wind
 felt great and was running well, clocking up the miles and passing a few
 people on the way. I reached the 8 miles mark bang on 49 mins and was on for
 a big PB for me but sadly I knew what was to come... and 100m down the road
 I turned the corner onto the 2 mile straight stretch along the sea front
 home and was knocked almost backwards by the wind, it was incredible! I ran
 as strongly and fast as I could but just didn't seem to get anywhere (in
 fact at one point I did wonder if I would be faster just standing still!).
 As a result I lost about 50 secs a mile, finally crossing the line in
 62:56... a pb by 3 secs!! So if you know of anywhere that has a wind tunnel
 that I can get some practice in before next year, who knows maybe I could
 finish as strongly as I ran the rest of the race!! Overall I was 26th woman
 and 2nd W35... so it wasn't a bad day out by the sea!!"  

 Women
 1 R Cheruiyot (Kenya) 53.44
 26 Anna Scally 62.56
 214 Chris Brook 67.22
 2746 Heather Martingell 84.07

 DUBLIN MARATHON  Monday 29th October
 Kerrie O'Connor was 26th woman home, 7th in the over 35 category. She
 writes: "I had originally planned to run in Berlin but a series of injuries
 meant that I needed more time and so I opted for Dublin. I haven't run a
 marathon in 7 years and so had forgotten how far 26 miles is! I managed to
 get a place on the elite women's start through my time in a recent half
 marathon but was dismayed to see there were maybe only 30 women many of whom
 would be running around 2.30...oh dear! We started 30 mins before the main
 race and pretty much from the start I was running totally alone, sometimes
 so out of sight from other women that I wasn't even sure if I was still on
 the course route! It was very windy which made running alone hard. There
 were also minimal spectators and one woman pushed her pram out in front of
 me not realising there was a race on. I was very conservative for the first
 half (1.35.20) and then just ran steadily for the second half and ended up
 with a negative split. I felt fine until the last mile or so but happily by
 then there were enough spectators for it not to be so bad! Legs are actually
 fine now and not much worse than after a hard Tuesday training session!" 

 1 A Sokolov (Russia) 2.09.07  (chip time 2.09.06)
 158 Shane O'Rourke 2.56.29  (2.56.27)
 379 Kerrie O'Connor 3.09.43  (3.09.41)
 717 Paul Sheridan 3.20.49  (3.20.21)

 BUSHY PARK TIME TRIAL 5km  Saturday 27th October
 Mandy Westlake's first sub-20 clocking earned her second place in the
 women's race, and there were PBs also for Emma Tomlinson, Hannah Bradshaw,
 Stacey Barber and Katherine Hall.

 1 P Adams (Unatt) 16.01
 8 Darren Wood 18.10
 14 Duncan Mallison 18.38
 23 Jonny Peacock 19.21
 42 Mandy Westlake 19.56
 45 Chris Camacho 20.20
 73 Emma Tomlinson 21.07
 77 Finn Hughes 21.15
 244 John Hanscomb 27.13
 268 Hannah  Bradshaw 28.20
 275 Stacey Barber 28.51
 282 Katherine Hall 29.34
 283 Daniel Hobbs 29.38

 RICHMOND PARK TIME TRIAL 5km  Saturday 27th October
 Numbers topped 50 for the second RPTT. Sandra Prosser and Jo Turner were 1st
 and 3rd in the women's section.

 1 R Reeder (Stragglers) 17.36
 4 David Rowe 18.59
 5 John Ricketts 19.09
 9 Stephen Instone 20.02
 10 Nick Wright 20.24
 14 Chris Read 21.17
 16 Stephen Logue 21.40
 19 Sandra Prosser 22.33
 23 Paul Sinton-Hewitt 23.15
 26 Jo Turner 23.45
 34 Gill Wilson 25.44
 43 Sharon Rowe 27.58
 48 Phil Aiken 29.34 

 WIMBLEDON COMMON TIME TRIAL 5km  Saturday 27th October
 1 A Weir (THH) 16.29
 11 Andy Bickerstaff 18.53
 24 Steve Grout 20.41

 BANSTEAD WOODS TIME TRIAL 5km  Saturday 27th October
 1 A Evans (SLH) 18.47
 2 Simon Hedger 19.03
 26 Yvonne Hill 22.33
 49 Brian Chard 26.25

 ORIGINAL MOUNTAIN MARATHON  Saturday 27th & Sunday 28th October in the
 Lowther Hills, southern Scotland
 Chris Owens reports on the OMM, formerly known to one and all as "the
 Karrimor":
 "Mike Hynd and I competed in Class B. It was fun to see Paul Keen - we met
 at a service station on the way back after the race, not realising we were
 in the same class. Simon Wurr of TH&H was also in the same class, and Dave
 Symons also of Thames in Class A - although I think he did not finish. We
 DID however see former Ranelagh man Jim Stratford-Tuke, who was doing Long
 Score event, during the race - Mike recognised him from many years ago,
 although Jim is now living near Petersfield somewhere. Funnily enough we met
 him at the next service stop after meeting Paul - small world.

 The race itself was pretty challenging - around 300 pairs entered, 150 made
 it through the first day, and 109 finished. This was probably due to the
 tough first day - 25km mainly in cloud on steeply sloping terrain, followed
 by a night of driving wind and rain, and a second day of 26km (normally it's
 shorter!). At least on day two the sun was out and we could occasionally
 enjoy nice views (mainly looking around to plaintive cries of 'Where the
 ***$% are we...' (made of course by other competitors - Mike always knew).
 It also made for some nice pics - see the links below". 

 In the Veterans handicap, Paul and his partner - combined age 114 years -
 placed 3rd while Chris and Mike - youngsters of 94 - were 12th.
 Pics and a race report:

 Class B
 1 J Tullie & D Coombs 9.03.06  (day 1 4.30.22, day 2 4.32.44)
 49 Mike Hynd & Chris Owens 13.18.49  (day 1 6.56.25, day 2 6.22.24)
 84 Paul Keen & Mike Greaves 14.43.43  (day 1 7.17.04, day 2 7.26.39)

 SNOWDONIA MARATHON  Saturday 27th October at Llanberis
 1 S Milford (Newquay) 2.41.28
 43 Ken Fotherby 3.12.42 

 LAST FRIDAY OF THE MONTH 5km  Friday 26th October in Hyde Park
 1 O Edwards (Shaft B) 16.05
 92 Alan Davidson 21.23
 174 John Hanscomb 27.51

 FINALLY...
 This comes from Roger Wilson:
 "Is this a possible new race for the Ranelagh calendar? A wife-carrying race
 might add another dimension to the handicaps:
 www.sundayriver.com/summer/wifecarry.html  Note that the wife can carry the
 husband if needed, and in fact the 'wife' doesn't have to be the wife at
 all!"