*************************************************** RANELAGH HARRIERS E-NEWS # 302 10 March 2009 Editor: Steve Rowland mailto: steverowland@ranelagh-harriers.com *************************************************** HEADLINE NEWS ************* * Women's team finishes 3rd in Surrey League * Jo Ronaldson wins individual Over 35 category * Phil Killingley devises new course for the Bank of England * Successful Ranelagh Cup schools race and MABAC League event * Good performances from Sam Perkins, Ralph Street, Jo Ronaldson and Nick Harrison in Inter-Counties * Duncan Bell wins inter-club race * Estelle Damant wins Bushy Park 10km * Andy Bickerstaff first vet in Leith Hill Half Marathon * PBs in Barcelona * Book now for the Baker Cup Supper * Clutton Cup 10 miles handicap in the Park this Saturday SEE HERE ******** ATTENTION TROPHY HOLDERS!! If you are the current holder of any of the club's trophies please arrange to return it to Alan Hedger as soon as possible. He has to organise the engraving of all the new winners' names before the prize presentation evening on 4th April (see below). Alan is at most of our club races so catch up with him there or leave the trophy in the safe at the clubhouse for him to collect. Please let Alan know how you are returning it - he has a lot of trophies to deal with so don't wait for him to chase you! Alan can be contacted at 01372 740626 or alanhedger@talktalk.net BAKER CUP SUPPER and ANNUAL PRIZE PRESENTATION INVITATION You are invited to the Ranelagh Harriers Baker Cup Supper - our Club Annual Awards Ceremony Date:- Saturday 4th April 2009 @ 7.00pm. Location:- The Roebuck, 130 Richmond Hill, TW10 6RN - Tel 0208 948 2329 Dress:- Smart Casual Price:- £20.00 per person Champagne reception Places are limited to 60 people, so please reserve your place early!!! Your glass of Champagne awaits you!! R.S.V.P. to Michele Gibson:- Email:- micheleagibson@hotmail.com Mobile:- 07703 518 956 Cheques payable to Ranelagh Harriers and posted to Ms Michele Gibson, c/o Baker Cup Supper, 16 Copenhagen Gardens, Chiswick, London W4 5NN. PARKRUN 5km MOB MATCH Saturday 28th March at 9am in Richmond Park Stragglers have challenged us to an unofficial mob match to be incorporated with the normal Saturday morning Richmond parkrun on 28th March. It's only 5km, starting on the Tamsin Trail (the pedestrian/cycle track) about 400 metres east of Richmond gate. As ever with mob matches it's weight of numbers that counts more than anything else, so please try to come along. For those who have yet to try a parkrun...now's your chance! For those who usually run the Bushy Park or Wimbledon Common events...please try the Richmond one instead! If you haven't already registered with parkrun, it's a quick one-off process which will add your details to their database so that you can take part in any future parkrun. If your registration details don't currently show you as Ranelagh, please update them before the day (you can always change them back again afterwards if necessary). Registration: www.parkrun.com/register.aspx CLUB HANDICAPS Our longest and shortest club handicap races are approaching in the next few weeks. This Saturday (14th March) sees the Clutton Cup 10 miles cross-country starting at our normal place opposite Pembroke Lodge at 2.30pm. The course is two laps of five miles. Then on Saturday 4th April comes the Baker Cup 3 miles road handicap, which takes place on the closed roads in the centre of the Park. Start time is 3pm on the road near White Lodge (close to the Pen Ponds car park). All members are welcome for both races. Just turn up and register on the day - preferably at the clubhouse. FINCHLEY 20 miles road race Sunday 15th March at Ruislip. TOWPATH 10 miles Sunday 19th April This is the opening race in our 2009 Road Grand Prix. RICHMOND HALF MARATHON Sunday 10th May Entries are flocking in for our Half Marathon, which also serves as the Surrey county championship. We have already reached 250 entries and the limit might well be reached before the closing date, so don't delay. Details: ORION 15 miles cross-country Phil Aiken writes: "Anyone lamenting the passing of the cross country season after last Saturday's National Championships (bar a few runs in Richmond Park) and in need of one last fix before hanging up the spikes and studs for summer should make their way to Orion Harriers' HQ on Saturday 21st March for the Orion 15 on the bridle paths and tracks of Epping Forest: www.orionharriers.org.uk/fif15.htm. And if you're not, well... still make your way there!" GREEN BELT RELAY 23rd and 24th May Would anyone interested in running in this year's Green Belt Relay please contact Marie Synnott-Wells (contact details below). Information about the race: www.greenbeltrelay.org.uk/ HEALTH AND SAFETY COURSE The Health and Safety Course being held at the clubhouse on Sunday March 22nd should finish at 12.30 and not 2.30 as stated in the last e-news. It is free and is for anyone who marshals at our main road running events or helps with cross country or who would like to be more involved". PARKING CHARGES IN RICHMOND PARK As you may have heard, the Royal Parks Authority is proposing to introduce parking charges in Richmond and Bushy Parks. A petition against this proposal, or at least to suggest preferential terms to regular users, can be found here: http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/Deerparkparking/ WHAT'S COMING ************* More details of the following from Marc Snaith (07717 213035 mailto ( mdsnaith5@hotmail.com ) or Marie Synnott-Wells (07956 431319 / mailto nandmwells@aol.com ) Saturday 14th March Clutton Cup 10 miles handicap. 2.30pm start. All welcome, register on the day. Saturday 28th March parkrun 5km mob match v Stragglers. 9am start in Richmond Park Saturday 4th April Baker Cup 3 miles road handicap in Richmond Park (near White Lodge).3pm start parkruns every Saturday at 9am Bushy Park Diana Fountain car park Richmond Park Richmond Gate Wimbledon Common Windmill car park Banstead Woods Car park off B2219 Park Lane, Chipstead Other venues, more details and registration at www.parkrun.com WHAT'S HAPPENED *************** SURREY LADIES LEAGUE Saturday 28th February at Lloyd Park, Croydon. Marie Synnott-Wells reports: "Saturday saw the rescheduled final Ladies XC Surrey League Race in Lloyd Park, Croydon. The field was extensive and competitive, with the presence of top leading ladies of international acclaim racing on the day. I must add that I did note their absence the previous week at Parliament Hill (keeping fresh for the league race I guess)! I thought, with this in mind, that our very own Jo Ronaldson, in keeping with her 100% appearance this season in the League Races, ran a storming race to come in in 7th position and first scorer for the team. With the absence of some of our other team members due other race commitments, and coming 4th on the day, we managed to hold on to 3rd position overall. Well done! The remainder of the team for the day included me, Kath Phillips, Liz Kipling, Carola Richter, Sandra Prosser, Sonia Rowland, Louise Piears, Kirsty Bangham and Evelyn Joslin (in her first race since returning from injury). . A little note on the conditions would be apt here. Not in line with my past memories of Lloyd Park, the ground was soft, but not very muddy, with size 9/12 appropriate spike sizes for the day. The weather held up and I guess you could say that the conditions were favourable, with a clear absence of snow! Mentioning the weather, which was a challenge throughout this season, I would like to thank all who turned out at each match, either to race or support on the day. A particular thank you to both Phil Aiken and Alan Hedger for their support with the race numbers. To another season and recruitment of further XC racing converts, bring on the road and track season". In the individual competitions, Jo Ronaldson won the over 35s category with Marie Synnott-Wells in third place. BANK OF ENGLAND 6 miles Saturday 28th February in Richmond Park The fixture with the Bank is always a popular one (something to do with the teas and cheap beer, I think) and the race started at 2.30pm from Roehampton gate - exactly the same time that our Ranelagh Cup Schools race was being set under way from Sidmouth Wood. Phil Killingley takes up the story: "The first lap involved running in the opposite direction to an army of teenagers doing a different race. At a crucial point where our course diverted from theirs, I was confronted with thirty of them running down a hill at me. Before I knew it, I was following little sawdust piles instead of little flags. A schoolboy error...but fortunately the people behind me decided to follow and I found myself in the enviable position of being able to choose the course. Second lap - déjà vu. At the very point at which we'd gone wrong first time round, the flags ran out! Time to be creative with the course again, on past a flustered official running towards me putting flags down (!?!) and on to the finish". While the leading Ranelagh and Ealing runners were following Phil's impromptu route, others managed to stick to the prescribed course, resulting in a somewhat topsy-turvy result. Phil still managed to get home first but the likes of Howard Gleave, Chris Owens and Trevor Maguire were much further down the list than they should have been. Kevin Jacques and Niall O'Connor, on the other hand, found themselves unexpectedly in the top five. For want of any better idea the result was allowed to stand, leading to a win for Ranelagh in the four to score event but a narrow loss to Ealing in the eight-to-score Hec Petersen Trophy. Amelie Hunton was the leading woman, but a special mention for Sandra Prosser who ran the Surrey League race at Croydon two hours earlier! RANELAGH CUP SCHOOLS RACE Saturday 28th February in Richmond Park Max Kiralyfi of Winchester was the impressive winner of our annual Schools race, repeating his 2007 victory. His time of 20.41 was the fastest in this race for some years, and indeed the performances of the second and third finishers, Seb Harding of Judd and Andrew Penney of KCS Wimbledon, would have been sufficient to head the field most years. Judd School was easily the dominant team and comfortably retained the Cup they won for the first time last year. Their B team would have finished in 4th place. There were 141 finishers in all, representing some 15 schools. 1 M Kiralyfi (Winch) 20.41 2 S Harding (Judd) 20.56 3 A Penney (KCS Wimb) 21.06 4 J Taylor (Judd) 21.28 5 C Brown (Winch) 21.46 6 J Morwood (RGS Guild) 21.58 79 B Kidger (Ardingly) 25.51 (1st girl) Teams (4 to score) 1 Judd School 24 2 Winchester College 41 3 Westminster School 84 4 Wellington College 116 5 Harrow School 119 6 RGS Guildford 156 MABAC LEAGUE 5 miles Sunday 1st March in Richmond Park Bev Ali reports: "A million thanks to all the marshals who helped guide the 174 runners, 43 joggers/walkers and 20 juniors around the course for the Ranelagh MABAC race on Sunday, especially to Peter Saw and Annemarie Goodridge who stepped in at the last minute to fill vacancies in the stressful world of timekeeping! The majority of the runners were quite complimentary about the race organisation - there were one or two blips, but all were the responsibility of the organisers, not the helpers. The weather was absolutely perfect for running, and most other park users were very considerate and cooperative. We had very few Ranelagh runners out, but I think those who hadn't tried MABAC before were pleasantly surprised both by the friendly atmosphere and by the high calibre of the runners at the front of the pack. And may I add that, at the front of the pack, the University of Surrey Running Club has made quite an attractive contribution to the race scenery...we look forward to the next league race on the 19th April at Winterfold, and if you are running the Cranleigh 15/21 mile race, I will see you on the finish line!" 1 M Donnery (Epsom O) 28.38 51 Chris Hunton 37.38 52 Phil Aiken 37.40 66 Alan Davidson 38.37 83 Martin Clark 40.10 87 Paul Martingell 40.15 159 Cindy Croucher 53.59 160 Deirdre Inman 54.00 173 Pete Warren 63.10 CAU INTER-COUNTIES CHAMPIONSHIPS Saturday 7th March at Nottingham Sam Perkins was recovering from injury at the Surrey championships and failed to make the county team. However, the Inter-Counties race incorporated the final UK Challenge cross-country event, so Sam got a run anyway. He fully vindicated the decision to make the journey to Nottingham with a fine 70th place, defeating three of the Surrey team. On a mostly fast but windswept course Sam ran another well-judged race, starting steadily and working his way through in the later stages. We had two runners in the Under 20 men 's event. Ralph Street finished an excellent 30th and picked up a silver medal as the fourth scorer in the second-placed Surrey team. For Middlesex Nick Harrison finished 152nd. Both Ralph and Nick will still be in this age group next year. In the senior women's race Jo Ronaldson ran well to be the 5th Surrey runner. Senior Men 1 A Vernon (Hants) 37.23 70 Sam Perkins 40.35 Senior Women 1 S Twell (Hants) 28.15 83 Jo Ronaldson 32.05 Under 20 men 1 N Goolab (Middx) 25.40 30 Ralph Street 27.33 152 Nick Harrison 32.56 INTER-CLUB 3.87 miles Saturday 7th March in Richmond Park This is a low-key event which offers a rare opportunity to blast around one lap of our mob match course. The principal blasting on this occasion came from Dinger Bell who was visiting from Northern Ireland and ran away to a victory by over two minutes. Trevor Maguire and Peter Weir filled the minor places and set us on route to team wins. LAST FRIDAY OF THE MONTH 5km Friday 27th February in Hyde Park 1 S Dawes (Guernsey) 15.48 65 Michael Bull 20.14 109 Alan Davidson 21.42 203 John Hanscomb 33.32 RICHMOND PARKRUN 5km Saturday 28th February 1 M Furber (Crawley) 16.36 5 Vaughan Ramsay 19.25 8 Stephen Instone 19.40 35 Michael Cawley 22.06 57 Sioned Morgan 24.22 68 Roger Wilson 25.12 90 Lorna Smith 27.37 102 Pat Hewlett 29.39 105 Holly Wilson 30.07 106 Gill Wilson 30.08 110 Annemarie Goodridge 31.07 BUSHY PARKRUN 5km Saturday 28th February 1 N Dougal (TVH) 15.32 22 Nick Wright 18.24 30 Darren Wood 18.45 36 David Rowe 19.15 135 Ian Grange 22.03 163 Paul Bisping 22.48 252 Ivan Boggis 24.56 342 Peter Fordham 27.33 351 Daniel Hobbs 27.56 402 John Hanscomb 31.06 416 Sharon Rowe 32.10 BANSTEAD WOODS PARKRUN 5km Saturday 28th February 1 R Reeder (Strag) 18.12 87 Chris Wright 25.47 BUSHY PARK 10km Sunday 1st March This race was held over two laps of the parkrun course. Estelle Damant won the women's section by three minutes from Emma Tomlinson, with Daniela Mingham 4th. 1 J Stephens (unatt) 36.41 7 Estelle Damant 39.32 22 Emma Tomlinson 42.39 39 Daniela Mingham 44.52 212 John Hanscomb 61.59 BARCELONA MARATHON Sunday 1st March Chris Read reports: "On Sunday 1 March 2009 a Ranelagh team consisting of Karen Weir, Louise Reeder and I ran the Barcelona Marathon. The weather was cool and overcast as we lined up at the start. The race began well for me. There was very little congestion and after a few kilometres I found to my surprise that I was just behind the 3.15 pacers. This was faster than planned but I felt comfortable so decided to try and go with them. It started to rain. Spaniards shouted 'Venga, venga, venga (go, go go)'. Our small team of supporters appeared several times shouting encouragement. After half way things got tougher as usual. After 30k the 3.15 pacers started to pull away from me. By 35k they were out of sight. The cool and overcast conditions continued as I crossed the line in a time of 3.17.46, a pb by approximately 9 minutes. Karen followed shortly with a time of 3.36.53 (a pb by approximately 13 minutes). We then watched and cheered as Louise crossed the line in 4.23.51 (pb by more than an hour). All in all it was a very successful weekend. Thanks go to our team of supporters (Peter, Gill, Erica, Gareth and Heather) and to Ian Grange for recommending the race". 1 J Chebii (Kenya) 2:14.01 (chip time 2:14.01) 1422 Chris Read 3:19.04 (3:17.46) 3041 Karen Weir 3:38.19 (3:36.53) 6903 Louise Reeder 4:28.10 (4:23.51) GREENWICH MERIDIAN 10km Sunday 1st March 1 D Lacy (Cambridge H) 32.20 429 Alan Meaden 60.34 463 David Meaden 63.44 STEYNING STINGER HALF MARATHON Sunday 1st March 1 J Walker (Steyning) 1:23.19 10 Neil Walford (B&H) 1:35.13 13 Andy Bickerstaff 1:37.28 KINGFIELD CANTER 2.85 miles handicap Wednesday 4th March at Woking 1 D Lott (unatt) 25.31 (actual time 25.01) 9 Steve Rowland 26.22 (18.22) 10 Sonia Rowland 26.23 (20.23) 12 Louise Piears 26.25 (20.25) 32 Alan Davidson 27.23 (20.08) RICHMOND PARKRUN 5km Saturday 7th March Alison Dicks was second woman home. An outfit called thefixuk.com organised a 5km race starting at 10am on the same course as the parkrun (though starting at Sheen gate). Nearly 200 benighted souls paid a tenner each to run what they could have done for free an hour earlier. 1 T Elsey (Herne Hill) 16.17 7 Stephen Instone 19.53 26 Michael Cawley 21.26 37 Alison Dicks 22.21 46 Andrew Prosser 23.39 91 Pat Hewlett 29.53 93 Lorna Smith 29.58 94 Cindy Croucher 30.02 95 Deirdre Inman 30.08 BUSHY PARKRUN 5km Saturday 7th March 1 J Ashton (Bracknell) 16.27 22 Darren Wood 18.47 103 Adam Wright 21.19 123 Layla Smith 21.48 149 Phil Aiken 22.22 375 Daniel Hobbs 27.33 439 John Hanscomb 29.29 442 Wally Garrod 29.34 483 Sharon Rowe 31.57 BANSTEAD WOODS PARKRUN 5km Saturday 7th March 1 J Simpson (SLH) 16.39 79 Chris Wright 25.46 LEITH HILL HALF MARATHON Sunday 8th March Andy Bickerstaff was the leading vet in this off-road half marathon which ascends 1836 feet from the start in Dorking to the tower on top of Surrey's highest hill before returning the way it came. 1 A Ward (Herne Hill) 1:25.57 15 Andy Bickerstaff 1:38.57 73 Michael Cawley 1:52.34 132 Louise Piears 1:58.50 CLAPHAM COMMON 10km Sunday 8th March 1 H Raidi (Belgrave) 32.45 25 Jerym Brunton 40.28 NATIONAL CROSS-COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS Saturday 21st February at Parliament Hill David Rowe positioned himself and camera at one of the choicest spots on the course: rowephoto.co.uk/running/. WHAT WE MISSED... A few results that escaped the net: on Boxing Day 2008 Rachael Holmes won the women's section of the Stoke Stampede 10km at Stoke St Gregory in 40.45; on New Year's Eve Richard Gregory finished 11th in the Ely 10km in 34.49; Jerym Brunton just missed a podium place in the Endurancelife Coastal Trail Marathon from Portland Bill on 24th January, recording a time of 3:48.45; and Victoria Elbourne finished 10th in the senior race at the Middlesex Schools Championships at Harrow on February 10th. FINALLY... "The difference between the mile and the marathon is the difference between burning your fingers with a match and being slowly roasted over hot coals". American writer Hal Higdon in 'On the Run from Dogs and People'.