*************************************************** RANELAGH HARRIERS E-NEWS # 278 25 March 2008 Editor: Steve Rowland mailto: steverowland@ranelagh-harriers.com *************************************************** HEADLINE NEWS ************* * Michele Gibson wins Clutton Cup * Return to competition for Sam Perkins * Estelle Damant finishes 4th in Silverstone Half Marathon * Time Trial wins for Clare King, Emma Tomlinson, Marie Synnott-Wells and Ben Matthews * Ranelagh at the Inter-Counties * Baker Cup 3 miles road handicap in Richmond Park this Saturday * Tickets still available for the Baker Cup Supper at the Roebuck on April 5th SEE HERE ******** BAKER CUP 3 MILES ROAD HANDICAP Saturday 29th March in Richmond Park All members are welcome this Saturday to take part in the traditional closing event of our winter season, the 3 miles road handicap race for the Baker Cup. It's held on a two-lap course on the closed roads in the middle of the Park, starting and finishing near White Lodge. The first runner will be set off at 3pm. Please come and register at the clubhouse first if possible. BAKER CUP SUPPER and PRIZE PRESENTATION Saturday 5th April at the Roebuck, Richmond Hill. There's still time to book for our annual awards ceremony. It's £20 per head, cheques payable to Ranelagh Harriers and sent to Michele Gibson, c/o Baker Cup Supper, 16 Copenhagen Gardens, Chiswick, London W4 5NN. For more information contact Michele on 07703 518956 or at micheleagibson@hotmail.com. TROPHIES Most of the club's trophies are presented at the Baker Cup Supper above. If you have one to collect, please try to come along. If you are a trophy holder, please ensure it is returned without delay to Alan Hedger so that he can get it engraved with the new holder's name before the Supper. Either bring it to the clubhouse and leave it in the safe for Alan to collect, or contact Alan on 01372 740626 to arrange for a handover. RANELAGH RICHMOND HALF-MARATHON - Sunday 11th May 2008 at 8.30am Over 200 entries have already been received for our Half Marathon. It doubles as the county Half Marathon championship, and is also included in the Surrey Road League. If you are thinking of running, don't delay too long in getting your entry in. If you are not planning to run, please read on... Niall O'Connor writes: "The Ranelagh half-marathon takes place on Sunday May 11th and I am seeking marshals for the race. I have a few volunteers already but need a lot more. A few points on the event - the race ends early so you'll still have the day ahead of you (the runners probably won't be so grateful for an 8:30 start)! It won't take long (a couple of hours), you'll get to wear one of our fashionable yellow bibs and have a ringside seat to view the action. I'll try to place you close to a point you can get to easily and there will be plenty of other marshals in your vicinity. Drop me a line at Niall_o_c@hotmail.com if you're available and interested". RANELAGH ROAD RUNNING GRAND PRIX and SURREY ROAD LEAGUE Our road Grand Prix will consist of only nine races this year, owing to the Harry Hawkes race being moved back to September. The first two races are the Thames Towpath 10 and the London Marathon. As usual, we are including in our GP all the races that also form part of the Surrey Road League. These are the Sutton 10km, the Richmond Half, the Dorking 10m, the Dysart 10km, the Elmbridge 10km and the Belgrave 5km. For full details of the GP go to our website, where you can also find a link to more details about the League here:. THAMES TOWPATH 10 MILES West 4's Towpath 10 will take place on Sunday 6th April starting at Chiswick at 9.30am. SUTTON 10km This Surrey Road League fixture takes place on Sunday 4th May at 10.30am. Details:. GREEN BELT RELAY The GBR is being held this year on the weekend of 17th and 18th May. It's eleven runners per team, and we will probably be entering at least two teams, one men's and one women's. The route is a complete circle around London's Green Belt, much of it off-road, totalling about 220 miles. It's divided into 22 stages, and each runner has to run one stage on Saturday and one on Sunday. For lots of info about the race, see the website greenbeltrelay.org.uk/. If you're interested in taking part please contact Marie or Andy - contact details in What's Coming below. JOHN ELLIS I am sorry to report the death earlier this month of John "The Boot" Ellis. John was a well-known local character and one-time regular at the Dysart. His old-fashioned cobbler's shop in Sandycombe Road seemed chaotic but the walls - if you could find them behind piles of boots and shoes - were plastered with signed photographs and testimonials from most of Britain's top ice skaters over several decades. This was of course when Richmond Ice Rink was one of the foremost venues in the country for recreational and competitive skating. John became an expert in repairing and rebuilding favourite skating boots. With the running boom in the early eighties he identified another niche for himself and became one of the first in the country to offer a resoling service for trainers. Just as he had for the skaters John provided a complete customisation service for runners and our own Hugh Jones was one of several top athletes who raced and trained in Ellis-prepared shoes. Although certainly not a runner himself, John became a member of Ranelagh and in 1984 he presented the Ellis Cup trophy which is competed for in an inter-club race every December. Our condolences go to John's family. *************** WHAT'S COMING... *************** More details of the following from Andy Bickerstaff ( 07772 111491 / mailto: andy.bickerstaff@goodrunguide.co.uk ) or Marie Synnott-Wells (07956 431319 / mailto: nandmwells@aol.com ). Saturday 29th March Baker Cup 3 miles road handicap in Richmond Park. 3pm start. Sunday 6th April Thames Towpath 10 miles at Chiswick. See above. Sunday 13th April London Marathon. Sunday 4th May Sutton 10km. See above. Sunday 11th May Richmond Half Marathon. See above. Time Trials, every Saturday at 9am Bushy Park Diana Fountain car park Richmond Park Pembroke Lodge car park Wimbledon Common Windmill car park Banstead Woods Car park off B2219 Park Lane, Chipstead More details and registration at www.parkrun.com WHAT'S HAPPENED *************** CLUTTON CUP 10 miles handicap Saturday 15th March in Richmond Park As usual the clubhouse was not groaning with the weight of numbers turning up for the Clutton Cup. The start list eventually crept over twenty with the help of a couple of guests - Peter Wright's son Pat and a chap from Thames Turbo who should have been running against the Bank of England on the other side of the Park! The small turnout is a bit of a shame for our oldest fixture, dating back to 1883, but it does narrow the odds against winning one of the more stylish trophies in our collection. Pre-race tipsters favoured Chris Brook, but as the runners passed the officials at the end of the first lap all the money went on the three eventual medallists. Michele Gibson in particular was moving well, and sure enough it was she who rounded the final bend in the lead, striding home in a time almost ten minutes faster than last year. Andy Hayward was closing fast but was still three-quarters of a minute back, and pursuing him was John Ricketts. Howard Gleave and Pat Wright raced each other all the way to the fastest two times of the day, while quickest woman was Sandra Prosser. INTER-COUNTIES CROSS-COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS Saturday 15th March at Nottingham Unusually we had only one Surrey representative this year: this was Estelle Damant who finished 154th in her first senior inter-counties. Peter Haarer, by contrast, is an Oxfordshire regular and came in 180th in the men's race. For Middlesex Rebecca Clayden finished 112th in the Under 20 event and Amelie Hunton was 216th in the Under 13s. Senior Men 1 T Humphries (Staffs) 37.03 180 Peter Haarer 43.18 Senior Women 1 L Kenney (Warwks) 27.56 154 Estelle Damant 33.20 Under 20 Women 1 L Park (Cumbria) 22.31 112 Rebecca Clayden 29.27 Under 13 Girls 1 J Judd (Essex) 13.19 216 Amelie Hunton 15.31 SILVERSTONE HALF MARATHON Sunday 9th March Carola Richter reports: "For the first time in five years it didn't snow, rain or blow me away because of the strong winds in Silverstone. This year the conditions were excellent (others may not agree). Sunny with a bit of wind. Ideal for London preparation. I wasn't supposed to race as I was down with acute bronchitis two weeks before and just felt better on the Friday. However, I started missing racing and had paid the fee so I put on the running shoes and off I went. I was very pleased with myself as the clock stopped at 1:43:33, which is a PB for me. That showed me that a cold can't stop us runners from getting better and better and even knocking down 2 ½ minutes from the previous year. I just never see anybody in a blue vest in Silverstone???? I wonder why this is?" In fact there was at least one other blue vest there...Estelle Damant was probably running too fast for Carola to spot as she hacked nearly two minutes off her PB to finish 4th in the women's race and advance from 12th place to 9th on Ranelagh's all-time ranking list. Estelle's great performance apparently earned her £300! Women 1 L Yelling (Bedford) 1.12.46 4 Estelle Damant 1.23.57 87 Carola Richter 1.43.33 TEDDY HALL RELAYS Wednesday 12th March at Oxford Peter Haarer reports on Sam Perkins's return to competitive action after missing most of the winter with injury:: "Sam Perkins led the first leg of this large mid-week relay event, finishing in style and well clear of the next runner in a time which ended up being fifth fastest of the day in a competitive field. He then ran third stage too, though somewhat slower. Elsewhere Peter Haarer escaped from his students to run last leg for Oxford's 'Old Gits A' while Anair Beverley ran creditably (twice!) for her college teams". Speed order: Men: 1 J Blackledge (OU MAG) 17.06 5 Sam Perkins (Birm U) 17.41 24 Peter Haarer (OU OG) 18.44 101 Sam Perkins (Birm U) 20.23 Women: 1 C Hallissey (Bris U) 20.14 57= Anair Beverly (CACC) 25.53 60 Anair Beverly (New C) 26.04 BRIDGES 2.3 miles handicap Wednesday 12th March at Westminster 1 R Whiting (Herts Ph) 18.01 (actual time 17.50) 3 John Hanscomb 19.58 (20.28) 18 Alan Davidson 21.14 (16.34) BUSHY PARK TIME TRIAL 5km Saturday 15th March Clare King and Kerrie O'Connor were the top two women. 1 C Bromhall (Bristol) 16.32 14 Iain Wilson 18.26 19 Darren Wood 18.53 22 Nick Wright 18.58 23 Clare King 19.00 48 Kerrie O'Connor 20.22 103 Roger Wilson 22.22 113 Paul Bisping 22.46 116 Layla Smith 22.53 125 David Ready 23.12 159 Ivan Boggis 24.13 224 Wally Garrod 26.22 RICHMOND PARK TIME TRIAL 5km Saturday 15th March Ben Matthews made an impressive debut in Ranelagh colours, leading the field home inside 18 minutes. 1 Ben Matthews 17.54 8 Stephen Instone 20.14 35 Anna Mallett 23.52 42 Tony Appleby 25.12 55 Sharon Rowe 27.54 66 Marina Quayle 31.05 WIMBLEDON COMMON TIME TRIAL 5km Saturday 15th March In her first WCTT run Emma Tomlinson was the leading woman. 1 M Gaunt (Serpentine) 16.41 22 Emma Tomlinson 21.09 28 Finn Hughes 21.33 MABAC 15 / 21 miles Sunday 16th March at Cranleigh While new second-claim member Danny Norman was striding through the wind and rain to an impressive victory, our other representatives were mostly well satisfied to complete another step in their "London" preparations. 21 miles 1 Danny Norman (Strags) 2.03.20 25 Darren Wood 2.21.19 164 Evelyn Joslin 2.52.53 400 Lynne Barber 3.29.32 413 Geoff Bell 3.31.26 15 miles 1 M King (Winchester) 1.27.41 85 Anne Baker 2.22.54 147 Cindy Croucher 3.01.44 EASTLEIGH 10km Sunday 16th March Chris Read reports: "Weather conditions were less than perfect, with rain and a north wind averaging 20 mph. The course, however justified its reputation for being fast. My time was 39.11, beating my previous PB by 13 seconds". 1 D Robinson (Stroud) 30.17 (chip time 30.17) 135 Chris Read 39.16 (39.11) 330 Alan Davidson 44.08 (43.58) 480 Clive Naish 47.08 (46.55) ROME MARATHON Sunday 16th March Rome resident Gavin Jones has recently rejoined Ranelagh. He reports from his local marathon: "I was very silly and went off much too fast just like Dave Wright said I would! I went through 5k in 18min something and 10k in 37min something and the half marathon in 1.20 something - two minutes faster than I did the half marathon race three weeks before! I kept going okay till about 32k and then everything seized up and I dragged my way around the last 10k, walking a lot of it, and finished in 3 hrs 11 something, feeling very silly! It might sound strange for someone who's been running one way or another for nearly thirty years but what I was missing is experience - which I have now acquired the hard way! I knew I had improved a fair bit in just three weeks since the Rome-Ostia half marathon when I nearly died doing 1hr 22, but I kidded myself I had improved even more than I really had, forgot what marathons are all about and just how far it is - and got carried away. The good news is I've got the bug now and want to run another one in about 5-6 weeks and this time I WON'T make the same mistake again. Anything else can go wrong but I won't do the first 20k too fast!" Heather Martingell was also in Rome, finishing just outside four hours. 1 J Yego Kiptoo (Ken) 2.09.58 (chip time 2.09.58) 717 Gavin Jones 3.11.54 (3.11.46) 5303 Heather Martingell 4.04.45 (4.03.14) FLEET HALF MARATHON Sunday 16th March 1 N Chisholm (TH&H) 70.14 (chip time 70.12) 29 Ed Barker 78.07 (78.05) OAKLEY 20 miles Sunday 16th March at Bedford 1 J Lawler (Bedford) 1.51.51 676 Deborah Blakemore 4.02.32 MAIDENHEAD GOOD FRIDAY 10 miles Friday 21st March Another good performance by new member Ben Matthews. 1 E Robinson (AFD) 51.53 (chip time 51.52) 24 Ben Matthews 57.59 (57.58) 116 Peter Weir 65.51 (65.10) 415 Pete Warren 78.22 (77.31) 435 Karen Weir 78.50 (78.09) 706 Karen O'Hara 86.55 (85.16) 828 John Hanscomb 90.43 (90.16) BUSHY PARK TIME TRIAL 5km Saturday 22nd March 1 J Trapmore (Shaft B) 16.25 16 Iain Wilson 18.41 21 Darren Wood 19.10 27 Nick Wright 19.33 44 Kerrie O'Connor 20.15 78 Roger Wilson 21.39 113 Alan Davidson 22.38 250 Sharon Rowe 27.15 265 John Hanscomb 27.57 RICHMOND PARK TIME TRIAL 5km Saturday 22nd March 1 S Mitchell (West 4) 17.56 20 Martin Clark 23.01 29 Simon Burrell 24.00 51 Marina Quayle 30.16 WIMBLEDON COMMON TIME TRIAL 5km Saturday 22nd March In cold, wet and windy conditions Marie Synnott-Wells was the leading woman. 1 A Weir (Thames H&H) 16.41 10 Marie Synnott-Wells 19.40 HYDE PARK TIME TRIAL 5km Saturday 22nd March This, it should be noted, is Hyde Park in Leeds, not London. Joanne Turner was our first representative in the event, and - I think - for the first time in any UKTT a women was the overall first home. 1 S Tunstall (Kendal) 17.53 2 Joanne Turner 23.03 METROPLITAN POLICE CHAMPIONSHIPS Wednesday 5th March in Richmond Park On familiar ground in the Park Mick Lane finished 5th but first veteran. FINALLY... "There's nary an animal alive that can outrun a greased Scotsman". Groundskeeper Willy, The Simpsons