*************************************************** RANELAGH HARRIERS E-NEWS # 308 5 June 2009 Editor: Steve Rowland mailto: steverowland@ranelagh-harriers.com *************************************************** HEADLINE NEWS ************* * Green Belt Relay - Ranelagh finish first mixed and club vets team * Stage Winner t-shirt for Mandy Harris * Dorking 10 - Darryl McDonald and Jo Ronaldson lead the Ranelagh contingent * Individual county champs medals for Jo, plus team silver with Sara Grosvenor and Carola Richter * Clive Beauvais "wins" UK Trail Running Over 60 Championship * parkrun placings for Sam Perkins, David Rowe, Jonathon Stacey and Jo Turner * Summer BBQ at the clubhouse on Saturday 4th July * Outlying Run on the North Downs on Saturday 20th June * Dysart Dash on Sunday 28th June - enter if you're planning to run, otherwise please volunteer to help SEE HERE ******** SUMMER BARBECUE Date:- Saturday 4th July 2009 Time:- 7.00pm Location:- Ranelagh Harriers Club House Price:- £15 per person for a reserved place, £17 if you pay on the day Food, drink, music and fun!!! Contact Michele Gibson, Club Social Secretary to reserve your places!! Cheques made payable to Ranelagh Harriers. Email:- Micheleagibson@hotmail.com Phone:- 07703 518 956 Address:- 16 Copenhagen Gardens, Chiswick, London W4 5NN OUTLYING RUN All are welcome for a social run in the beautiful countryside of the North Downs. The date: Saturday 20th June, the time 3pm. Starting at Shalford Park just south of Guildford (exact starting point to be confirmed) we'll set off on the North Downs Way before exploring Chantry Woods and on to St Martha's Hill, on the top of which St Martha's Church stands overlooking the surrounding countryside. We'll return along the edge of the escarpment, with glorious views all the way to the South Downs, then drop down to pass historic Shalford Mill and finish with a stretch along the River Wey towpath. Total distance will be 10 miles plus. The overall pace will be easy but there will be opportunities for faster types to stretch their legs. There will be some re-grouping points and for those who might find 10 miles too far there will be the option of peeling off after about 6 or 7 miles. It's great walking country of course, so walkers are welcome too. Afterwards (optionally) we'll make for a nearby hostelry. We'll try to keep together for the run, but a route map will be provided just in case. If you think you might come, e-mail Steve the e-news editor so we know how many copies of the map we need to make. DYSART DASH 10km Sunday 28th June at Ham Entries are already over 300 for our 10km, including just over 30 from Ranelagh. There is an entry limit, so don't miss out! Niall O'Connor writes: "2009's Dysart Dash is on Sunday June 28th. We are looking for volunteers and marshals to help out . This is the night after Bruce Springsteen plays at Glastonbury so if you're planning on spending your Saturday night 'Dancing in the Dark' and won't be feeling like you're 'Born to Run' the following morning, but will be able to marshal, please drop me a line on niall_o_c@hotmail.com. With a 9am start, and being a 10k, it won't take a lot of the morning leaving plenty of time to get the hoovering done afterwards". RANELAGH'S ROAD GRAND PRIX The GP continues with the Dysart Dash 10km on June 28th and then the Elmbridge 10km on July 26th. Current leaders are Trevor Maguire (Open and Men Over 40), Jonathan Robinson (Men Over 50), Sara Grosvenor (Women), Gill Wilson (Women Over 40) and Penny Merrett (Women Over 50). Full details and scores to date here:. PETERSHAM GERMAN SCHOOL 7km Andreas Koini, of our near neighbours the German School in Petersham, writes: "I want to invite you to the German School Charity Run on Saturday 6th June 09 at 10.30am. The distance is 7km, start and finish is at our sports field and the course runs through the Ham and Petersham area. We would welcome some of your club members on the day. READING LIST Angus Cater writes: " I thought the membership might be interested in a fabulous little book I have just read called 'What I talk about when I talk about Running' by Haruki Murakami. Apart from being very well written and giving some interesting insights into the mind of an established and successful writer it is the only book I have read that gets beneath the skin of what it means to be a long term runner. Highly recommended! PS I am doing the Trailwalker Challenge on July 18 (60 miles in 24 hours) from Petersfield to Brighton along The South Downs Way and if anyone would like to sponsor me the money goes to the Gurkhas and Oxfam: www.justgiving.com/anguscater-trailwalker. TRIATHLON TRAINING SESSIONS FOR WOMEN Cindy Croucher forwards the following from Triathlon England: "Triathlon England in partnership with Hillingdon Triathletes are running a series of women only training sessions over the coming months, in the build up to the Women Only Duathlon at Minet Park (West London) in November. These sessions are a perfect introduction to duathlon (run-bike-run) events! They are open to female novice/new duathletes and triathletes of all abilities, and will be run by experienced triathletes & coaches. Never done a duathlon? No problem - come along and ask all the questions you've ever wanted to know! The sessions are free. The four sessions will be held at Hillingdon Cycle Circuit, Minet Park, Hayes - a purpose built, traffic free, road cycling circuit on the following dates. Come to as many or as few as you wish, you don't have to commit to all of them. Monday 1st June: 6.15-7.30pm Monday 6th July: 6.15-7.30pm Monday 7th Sept: 6-7pm Monday 14th Sept: 6-7pm" JUNIOR AQUATHLON "Thames Turbo are holding their annual Junior Aquathlon on the 21st June in Hampton. There are some great prizes to be won, plus we have a school trophy for the most competitors entered from one school. 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 ) Sunday 7th June MABAC League 5 miles at Holmwood Common. Details: http://www.mabac.org.uk/. Saturday 20th June Outlying Run. See above. Sunday 28th June Dysart Dash 10km. See above. Tuesday 14th July Coad Cup 5 miles summer handicap in Richmond Park Sunday 26th July Elmbridge 10km. Friday 31st July Wedding Day 7km in Bushy Park. 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 Bedfont Lakes Bedfont Lakes Country Park, Ashford, Middlesex Other venues, more details and registration at www.parkrun.com WHAT'S HAPPENED *************** GREEN BELT RELAY 23rd and 24th May Marie Synnott-Wells reports: "The bank holiday weekend saw us participating in the Green Belt Relay again. We had a great weekend blessed with great weather. We entered two mixed teams, albeit one of them was a Vets mixed team. I am happy to say that all 22 runners had a great weekend and the Mixed Vets Team was 4th overall (30 teams entered), won the mixed team prize and was the leading club vets team. I have to say that the overall performance from both teams was excellent and the mixed team were on some of the legs not far behind. Our only Stage Winner (woman) came from the mixed team, Mandy Harris! I would like to thank the following people for their work in ensuring that the weekend went as smoothly as it did: Sandra Prosser (Bus x 2) organiser, Evelyn Joslin for the background logistics etc, the drivers of the buses - Iain Wilson, Andy Woodhouse and Michael White. There are many more to thank, as this is a team event, but a final thanks go to Sonia and Steve for their long term commitment in this event and their great knowledge of the marshal points. We are hoping to organise a post GBR drink to celebrate our achievements and discuss plans for the next event!" The men's and women's races were both won by Clapham Chasers, though in the men's event they might consider themselves lucky. The Serpentine runner on stage 2 stopped to help another runner who had collapsed in the hot conditions and lost at least 20 minutes; and then their man on stage 16 got comprehensively lost and cost his team another hour. As Clapham's winning margin over the Serpies was some 54 minutes, it might well have gone the other way. Our best overall position came from Martin Halvey who was second on stage 18 on Sunday after going off course on his Saturday stage. Chris Owens, Simon Hedger and Iain Wilson all registered third places - in fact Chris and Simon managed it twice. Marie herself finished 6th and 7th on her two stages and was unlucky not to go home with a Stage Winner t-shirt. Most of the rest of the vets team managed at least one top ten placing - Clive Beauvais 5th, Chris Read 6th, Burkhard Fehsenfeld 8th and Steve Rowland 9th. Liz Kipling and Kerrie O'Connor both registered 12th places overall but 2nd amongst the women. The vets settled into 4th team place after stage 5 and remained there for the rest of the weekend. We finished well behind the leading Vets team, the Millenium Group, but they are a composite team. We had over an hour to spare over Dulwich, the next club vets entry. The mixed competition was closer, with London Frontrunners just 21 minutes behind us. It was their runner who collapsed on stage 2, so we might also consider that luck was on our side. Andy Woodhouse writes on behalf of the mixed team that finished 18th: "The sunshine beat down on the first competitors on the early morning of Saturday at Hampton Court - little did we know that it would carry on that way for the entire weekend and prove to be the most difficult challenge that most of us faced. Carola set us off at a blistering pace and singularly failed to stop going, showing us all that the incidents a couple of weeks prior, in a slightly longer race, were just not like her at all. She finished 15th and only a couple of minutes behind our vets. Sonia and Sue followed up with further fine runs (both placed 16th) before Mandy turned up for a run that would seem more leisurely than her norm - I understand that she had one of those stages where it's easy to get lost. She still made it through before the cut-off (unlike many of her competitors). John had similar problems on the following stage, but equally made it through before time was up. It was becoming clear that to make it past each of the 22 stages before cut off was no small feat. In the afternoon, all seemed to go a bit more smoothly. There were a few concerns over getting to the stops in time with the traffic. Thankfully, the aptly named 'Variety Club Sunshine Coach' allowed us to pretend to be more 'special' than we actually were. Thus we managed to push past lots of queues that ordinary buses could not. Pete and new boy Andreas had some excellent runs to place us in 10th place in each of their stages. Sandra, Lee, Michael and I kept us in the chase for a better than average position at the end of the day. A new day, new challenges. Firstly, some excellent running. The ever dependable Sandra started us off before Mandy gave us possibly the biggest cheer of the weekend. Clearly feeling that her run the previous day did not do herself justice, she pounced on the inauspiciously named Stage 13 like a veritable lion, devouring the prize for 'first lady' and also Steve Rowland of the vets team. Just so that we didn't get too ahead of ourselves, Sonia and I followed up with some more steady runs in heat that was becoming ridiculously high. Carola completed possibly the toughest of the day, a full half marathon, and then some, over steep hills in temperatures well into the late 20's. Michael and Lee may argue that their afternoon runs were similarly difficult, and they'd probably have some argument. We were all suffering a fair bit, though Sue managed to beat the heat, and Burkhard (who had navigation problems), with no complaints at all. Andreas, the late entrant for our team, astonished us by completing his two runs very well...he's never run further than 5km before! As an unfortunate counterpoint, the very experienced Pete, who ran so well the previous day succumbed to a knee injury halfway through his run. As is shown often in these team events, Pete showed considerable courage to finish the stage, whilst also finishing off his leg. I know I speak for everyone in wishing Pete a full recovery from the injury. Finally, John stormed home to complete a 22-stage race in 18th place - a very commendable position (just finishing it is enough) PS we thrashed Stragglers' B-team!" Pete Warren adds: "Half-way through leg 21 on a canal path away from the road is not the place to develop a calf injury that makes it too painful to run. When forced to walk for 4 miles, each painful step gives you plenty of time to cuss and work on a letting-the-side-down complex. But then Steve and Sonia and a group of Ranelagh who had come back for me were such a support that, even as I hobbled in close to the cut-off time, my shame was eased. A huge thanks to all those who supported and all those who organised it for us to do these crazy things". Here's Carola Richter: "Another year, another (fun) eventful weekend. For anybody who hasn't heard of the Green Belt Relay yet, it's a weekend of fun, great camaraderie, exploring the English countryside (you may have not seen yet) and of course a bit of 'sweat'. I was fortunate enough to start the first leg from Hampton Court to Staines for the Mixed team. The line up didn't included Sonia O'Sullivan this year so there was a chance to win a yellow Stage Winner t-shirt although not quite for me. After my adventures at the London Marathon Andy Woodhouse kindly reminded me to drink lots of water and if necessary have a quick stop at the ambulance (cheeky him). Fortunately, the St. John's people weren't required this time. I didn't want to run flat out because the team captain gave me a 'challenging' leg the next day considered as 'bloody hard'. Little did I know. So, I was quite happy to settle down with 1hr 36mins and something for 12.5miles. Next day was sunny and warm. Ideal for some running and it was good to see Mandy Harris taking a Stage Winner t-shirt early in the day, well done girl. Apparently, it's the M&M's you have to eat for breakfast, not bagel with banana and honey. However, by the time I reached my leg (another 13.8 miles although my Garmin only measured 12.7miles) it was hot, hot, hot. Various members of the club told me their previous stories about this stage and I suddenly wasn't that keen running it anymore. It was 'bloody tough', yes, as it claimed to be. Make no mistake, those 13 miles hurt! But it also showed me what running is all about. Fun and support from other runners! I can only speak for my leg but the support along the course was fabulous. Every mile was a 'water station', clear signs along the course (although one guy managed to get lost) and chocolate at the finish from Andy Woodhouse. Thanks buddy. And just for the records: Yes, Marie and Evelyn, I volunteer to run it again next year and beat my time. All in all, don't be scared to sign up for the GBR because it's a great weekend and after all a team effort". Stage Winner Mandy Harris: "For my third year running I happily agreed to take part in the Green Belt, until Marie and Evelyn gave me my legs, then panic kicked in. Legs 4, 5 and 16 are graded ten out of ten and described as 'bloody tough runs' and here I was again doing one of them. Leg 4 was the 'guess where you go' leg, over 12 miles of winding roads, forest and hills from hell. From mile 5 you go alone, it's definitely the one to get totally lost on, but the most beautiful. I did a very disappointing 1 hour 50mins and I swore a lot, ached a lot, it is mandatory to get lost on the Green Belt but addictively fun. We all come back year after year for more. I later casually joined the remainder of the team on Saturday night for a fab meal and moaned about my early second leg the following day and I was teased when I informed my team of my breakfast - peanut M&Ms. So the following morning at 9am there I was lined in Thorndon Park where I did my bat out of hell impression. When I realised I could not keep up with the four guys at the front (why did I think I could?), my only thought was I just wanted this over as soon as possible, it was so hot and climbing over gates with post leg 4 pain in my hips, I followed Steve Rowland and thank goodness he did not get lost. After four months of injury and the worst marathon I have completed I shocked myself and came tenth overall and female stage winner for Ranelagh. Chris Read reminded me of my female competitors, others referred to it as luck, but I love the Green Belt. It is not just about the competing for me, you cannot appreciate all the hard work and logistics and the team working, you get to laugh a lot and mingle other club members. And to those of you those mocked my breakfast I definitely had the last laugh!" John Scally: "As a GBR virgin I was looking forward to my two legs, only slightly daunted by the route for leg 5. It wasn't the length, more the number of directions I was concerned with. I started out at a fair pace, but quickly got dropped by the rest of the runners. I tried to go over a stile and into a field that really wasn't on the map at mile 3 and lost a bit of time!?! Having given up trying to get lost I paced it round the leg, never sure I was heading in the right direction, but I learned to trust the marking (or lack of) which is really rather good after a few miles and sped up a bit. The last bit of leg 5 has some meaty hills and so I slowed up a bit - finishing inside the cut-off and pleased just to get around. Lee picked me up, having introduced himself as we raced to leg 7. It's very GBR that you get into a car with someone you've never met before and drive somewhere you've never been before. Day 2 final leg - joined the bus about midway through the day, legs felt stiff and it was a hot one still in the evening. Final leg is flat and impossible to get lost so the toughest bit of the last leg was not really knowing who was in front or behind. I've never before had the team pressure in running like this so I went out as fast as I could without burning out and surprised myself - had it not been a team event the ice cream van at mile 4 might have sold another 99 flake. I'd like to echo everyone else's comments - thanks to the captains, drivers, marshals, supporters and runners - a really wonderful weekend and I look forward to doing it again". Finally Michael White: "A view from very close to the back. Another GBR , my second and another hot weekend . My prime motivation for competing is threefold: To run in places that I would never normally go to. To be part of a team in what is essentially a solitary sport. To experience the full range of emotions from elation to complete misery. My first day featured a beautiful run through Epping Forest. It was undulating but incredibly beautiful. I spent most of the run in complete solitude and didn't get lost which is always a bonus. Part of the fun of GBR is never knowing when you are lost or about to get lost. Having run late in the evening all I had time for was a change of shirt and copious amounts of Carola's sweet smelling deodorant, before the pub was discovered. Surprisingly no-one wanted to sit anywhere near me. Having spent a pleasant night listening to Lee Davies play various loud tunes through his nose, and having had two hours sleep I started day two knackered. The joy of GBR is having pushed yourself too hard on day one and then day two rears its ugly head. I had the joy of running up to Box Hill. The last two miles are all uphill on a very boring road. Exhaustion had set in and halfway up the hill I decided to walk, just as the fun bus went past. It was at this point that the morally righteous who had completed their runs proceeded to jeer...the joys of the GBR. Having had a week to recover I would recommend this unique event to anybody of any standard. The opposing teams are friendly (I only ever saw them at the start) offering stories that are longer than a fisherman's. On a personal note I would like to say a big thank you to Sonia and Steve whose ability to appear and cheer me at all my low points was inspirational. I am sure that they are both identical triplets" Full results and photos are here:. 1 Clapham Chasers Men 23:36:38 2 Serpentine Men 24:30:30 3 Millenium Group Vets 24:50:41 4 Ranelagh H Mixed Vets 26:03:03 18 Ranelagh H Mixed 30:08:10 Stage 1 Hampton Court to Staines 12.8 miles 1 D Symons (Millenium 1:16.17 13 Kerrie O'Connor (Vets) 1:33.00 15 Carola Richter (Mxd) 1:36.07 Stage 2 Staines to Boveney 10 miles 1 M Taylor (BA) 1:02.25 3 Chris Owens (Vets) 1:03.36 16 Sonia Rowland (Mxd) 1:23.22 Stage 3 Boveney to Little Marlow 11.2 miles 1 M Branco (Serpentine) 1:05.25 3 Simon Hedger (Vets) 1:10.54 16 Sue Ashley (Mxd) 1:27.38 Stage 4 Little Marlow to Great Kingshill 12.2 miles 1 H Torry (Serpentine) 1:17.46 11 Martin Halvey (Vets) 1:38.45 19 Mandy Harris (Mxd) 1:51.17 Stage 5 Great Kingshill to Chipperfield 13.8 miles 1 J Ellis (Clapham) 1:26.15 6 Marie Synnott-Wells (Vet) 1:34.19 26 John Scally (Mxd) 2:11.28 Stage 6 Chipperfield to St Albans 8.4 miles 1 J Addison (Beckenham) 50.24 3 Iain Wilson (Vets) 53.36 10 Pete Warren (Mxd) 1:03.44 Stage 7 St Albans to Letty Green 12.2 miles 1 G Robinson (Sandhurst) 1:07.03 8 Burkhard Fehsenfeld (Vets) 1:19.30 19 Sandra Prosser (Mxd) 1:29.43 Stage 8 Letty Green to Dobbs Weir 10.6 miles 1 M Clayton (Beckenham) 1:05.38 9 Steve Rowland (Vets) 1:19.52 10 Andreas Bockowski (Mxd) 1:20.59 Stage 9 Dobbs Weir to High Beach 10.5 miles 1 M Ward (Clapham) 1:02.25 5 Clive Beauvais (Vets) 1:12.12 15 Andy Woodhouse (Mxd) 1:18.40 Stage 10 High Beach to Toot Hill 9.75 miles 1 W Withecombe (Beckenham) 57.54 12 Liz Kipling (Vets) 1:09.32 24 Michael White (Mxd) 1:23.12 Stage 11 Toot Hill to Blackmore 7.6 miles 1 D Bell (Clapham) 48.00 6 Chris Read (Vets) 53.47 13 Lee Davies (Mxd) 56.37 Stage 12 Blackmore to Thorndon Park 10.9 miles 1 Marc Clayton (Beckenham) 1:02.59 13 Clive Beauvais (Vets) 1:19.06 15 Sandra Prosser (Mxd) 1:22.14 Stage 13 Thorndon Park to Thames Chase 6.9 miles 1 J Addison (Beckenham) 41.28 10 Mandy Harris (Mxd) 50.39 11 Steve Rowland (Vets) 50.45 Stage 14 Thames Chase to Davy Down 8 miles 1 B Jervis (Clapham) 50.58 17 Liz Kipling (Vets) 57.15 27 Sonia Rowland (Mxd) 1:07.41 Stage 15 QE II Bridge to Lullingstone Park 9.2 miles 1 James Ellis (Clapham) 58.20 7 Marie Synnott-Wells (Vets) 1:06.50 18 Andy Woodhouse (Mxd) 1:15.21 Stage 16 Lullingstone Park to Tatsfield 13.3 miles 1 N Aitken (Clapham) 1:28.42 6 Iain Wilson (Vets) 1:38.28 21 Carola Richter (Mxd) 1:51.03 Stage 17 Tatsfield to Merstham 10.5 miles 1 G Robinson (Sandhurst) 1:03.18 23 Sue Ashley (Mxd) 1:27.20 26 Burkhard Fehsenfeld (Vets) 1:28.00 Stage 18 Merstham to Box Hill 8.9 miles 1 B Cope (Serpentine) 54.01 2 Martin Halvey (Vets) 54.38 22 Michael White (Mxd) 1:17.06 Stage 19 Box Hill to West Hanger 10.5 miles 1 J Flood (Stragglers) 1:03.50 15 Chris Read (Vets) 1:23.06 22 Lee Davies (Mxd) 1:31.07 Stage 20 West Hanger to Ripley 5.7 miles 1 M Hilary (Clapham) 31.28 3 Simon Hedger (Vets) 32.47 12 Andreas Bockowski (Mxd) 36.17 Stage 21 Ripley to Walton Bridge 8.4 miles 1 N Rothwell (Stragglers) 56.13 12 Kerrie O'Connor (Vets) 1:06.27 27 Pete Warren (Mxd) 1:28.00 Stage 22 Walton Bridge to Hawker Centre, Ham 9.25 miles 1 M Ward (Clapham) 55.47 3 Chris Owens (Vets) 56.38 21 John Scally (Mxd) 1:18.35 DORKING 10 miles Sunday 31st May The singing of the national anthem before the start was a novelty; otherwise it was pretty much business as usual for the Dorking 10 - a hot day and a hilly course. The hills tend to congregate towards the end of the race, and most runners are grateful enough to see the finishing line. It was Darryl "How can I get to Dorking" McDonald who led the Ranelagh crew, though Steve Whitehead was never far behind. After finishing the Richmond Half on his knees, Darryl judged his run better this time and finished 12th just inside 59 minutes. Steve was 20th but missed the hour barrier. After Nathan Mills had decided to call it a day it was Jonathan Robinson who led the rest, shaking off the attentions of Trevor Maguire in the final couple of miles. Jonathan was frustrated, however, to find himself just a few seconds behind the leading over 50, a position which seems to be becoming a habit for him. Jo Ronaldson was next, 6th overall in the women's race. Like Sara Grosvenor who finished as 9th woman a couple of minutes later, Jo found the course tougher than expected but considered it a good Sunday morning training run, In between Jo and Sara was Bill Neely, newly qualified for the over 50 category, in which he finished 10th. Chris Read was next, and then Carola Richter who was delighted to record a PB so soon after her efforts in the London Marathon and the Green Belt Relay. There were one or two other PBs amongst our 21 finishers, good efforts on a far from easy day. Our leading four women - Jo, Sara, Carola and Louise Piears - finished 3rd in their team race. In the Surrey 10 miles championship, Jo Ronaldson took one medal of each colour - individual bronze, over 35 gold and team silver with Sara and Carola. MARLBOROUGH DOWNS CHALLENGE 20 miles or 33 miles Saturday May 16th Clive Beauvais reports: "Marlborough Running Club laid on a testing course for this multi-terrain event. The race incorporated the UK Trail Running championship, although this was so sparsely advertised that the bulk of the runners, me included, only found this out when they arrived! The first third of the course involved winding through woodland on muddy narrow paths, climbing steadily to eventually reach the ridge along the top of the Wiltshire downs. I've probably run in windier conditions than those we encountered for the next two or three miles - but I can't remember when! Once we began the undulating descent (can you have an undulating descent?) conditions improved greatly, and my tactic of a very steady start was beginning to pay off as I moved through from around 40th place at halfway to 18th with 3 miles to go. Part of the challenge was to find the route. There were arrows at the most strategic points and I had no problems until, would you believe, half a mile to go when I missed a left turn and lost 3 or 4 minutes by having to re-trace my steps. Re-joining the course, I had dropped to 22nd place, but managed to pull one place back to finish a very satisfying 21st overall - winning the V60s by a quarter of an hour or so. The only black mark on an otherwise superbly organised event occurred at the prize presentation ceremony, when (shades of the Dorking 10) they decided to announce the leading finishers in reverse order. This worked out OK for the men, but having given the prizes to the 'third' and 'second' women, they announced the winner as Jan Raciborski. Yes, you've guessed it - Jan was not Janet but a Polish man! The only other problem they encountered at the prize giving related to the first MV60 - the idiot having completely forgotten to put his date of birth on the entry form. The Marlborough Running Club organisers relented and gave me a beautifully engraved commemorative plate. The UK Trail Running Championship chairman would have none of it, however, and gave the MV60 'gold' medal to the runner-up. I did warn him that I would take the matter up with the International Court of Justice in The Hague. He advised me not to bother as he was the chairman of that as well". Sue Ashley adds: "For those of us with a little spare energy and time, there was a 33 mile option allowing us to see more of the Wiltshire countryside. Apart from being a bit breezy and there being a couple of unavoidable mud-baths to contend with, the course was beautiful. The route description was easy to follow, the marshals friendly and the organisation excellent. Overall I would highly recommend the race - especially to those who need a bit more practice in following a route description!" 20 miles 1 R Atkin (Fire Serv) 2:13.47 21 Clive Beauvais 2:35.53 33 miles (women) 1 S Sleath (Compton) 4:54.16 12 Sue Ashley 6:04.52 RICHMOND parkrun 5km Saturday 23rd May Stephen Instone and Alison Dicks are the current leaders in the Richmond parkrun points competition. 1 S Evans (unatt) 17.34 8 Jerym Brunton 19.01 12 Bill Neely 19.45 13 Stephen Instone 19.49 39 Christopher Parsons 21.59 55 Kathy Mallett 23.10 61 Alison Dicks 23.43 62 Jar O'Brien 23.44 74 Simon Burrell 24.13 87 Andrew Prosser 25.30 92 Johannes Prosser 26.28 113 Lorna Smith 30.17 122 Pat Hewlett 31.24 141 Wiebke Kortum 47.36 BUSHY parkrun 5km Saturday 23rd May A good run out for Sam Perkins, seven seconds behind the winner. 1 J Trapmore (Shaft B) 15.42 2 Sam Perkins 15.49 5 Jonathon Stacey 16.45 12 Nick Wright 18.12 40 Darren Wood 19.53 99 Adam Wright 21.36 142 Ian Grange 22.35 222 Paul Martingell 24.08 260 Wally Garrod 24.51 303 Kirsty Bangham 25.52 333 Daniel Hobbs 26.30 423 John Hanscomb 29.37 458 Sharon Rowe 31.35 463 Heather Martingell 31.43 BEDFONT LAKES parkrun 5km Saturday 23rd May David Rowe finished third and Jo Turner was third woman. 1 C Hoare (King Tri) 18.26 3 David Rowe 18.51 4 Duncan Mallison 19.30 17 Jo Turner 24.32 20 Chris Wright 25.14 WIMBLEDON COMMON parkrun 5km Saturday 23rd May 1 L Matthews (T&HH) 17.24 31 Steve Grout 20.38 BASINGSTOKE parkrun 5km Saturday 23rd May 1 R Brookling (unatt) 16.32 4 Marc Snaith 17.52 BUPA LONDON 10km Monday 25th May 1 M Farah (N&EB) 27.50 (chip time 27.50) 114 Nick Harrison 39.48 (39.22) 123 Bill Neely 42.04 (39.39) 480 Sharon Dooley 57.57 (53.19) 494 Heather Martingell 58.02 (53.25) MEMORIAL DAY 4 miles Monday 25th May at New York Rodney Oliver reports: "I have just returned from visiting my daughter in Staten Island, New York. On Memorial Day (for US war dead and veterans), she and I ran a 4 miles race along the Staten Island Broadwalk facing the Verrazano Narrows bridge (the start of the NY Marathon - which I ran 24 years ago in 3hrs 38mins!). In the race I finished overall 575th in a field of over 1300 and was also recorded as finishing third in the 70 plus age group in a time of 38.04". LAST FRIDAY OF THE MONTH 5km Friday 29th May in Hyde Park 1 F Neuschwander (Ger) 14.48 100 Michael Bull 21.59 213 John Hanscomb 30.08 EUROPEAN VETERANS ATHLETICS CHAMPIONSHIPS NON-STADIA Friday 29th - Sunday 31st June at Aarhus, Denmark Alan Davidson reports: "The championships had the usual competitors situation - 190 Germans and 69 GB&NI. I took the expensive, convenient travel option of a BA flight from London City to Billund (Denmark) but finished up in Holland! The flight was cancelled so I was sent to Billund via Amsterdam hoping my luggage went with me. I had entered the 10k and half marathon and advised the team manager that if they wanted someone slow for the cross-country relay team then I was their man. However with heavily strapped adductor and other niggles stopping me running my last few races I decided the sensible option was to give the half a miss. I was delighted when the lady in the Tourist Office gave me a map, opened it and pointed out the stadium - I must look like an athlete! Warm weather and less wind were good for the 10k (and my niggles) and the relay but the change from the original 10k course to the walkers' course (to suit the officials I would suggest) provided four laps and a total of eight momentum-losing extremely tight turns. A very good feature was a screen at the lap end showing the runners' time en route activated each time by the chip in the number. 45.03 was modest but the injuries held up. Disappointingly (but expected) our relay team (only one so I was surprised to be included) came 4th (3x2k in 23.57, my leg 8.19) on the undulating parkland circuit. A bonus was being able to run across the road for a dip in the freezing sea replacing a cold shower. The flight back operated but the two passengers were outnumbered by the crew and we had to sit in the middle of the plane to balance the weight. I had met two of the Irish relay team at the airport - they were six hours early but felt that two pints an hour would get them through the wait!" RICHMOND parkrun 5km Saturday 30th May 1 C Assmundson (SMR) 16.41 5 Peter Weir 18.28 7 Nick Wright 18.43 10 Bill Neely 19.17 17 Stephen Instone 19.55 38 Christopher Parsons 21.40 99 Sharon Dooley 27.14 125 Jo Knight 30.37 134 Wiebke Kortum 32.46 135 Louise Gill 33.13 144 Alison Dicks 36.15 145 Jar O'Brien 36.16 BUSHY parkrun 5km Saturday 30th May Third place and a new PB for Jonathon Stacey. 1 G Bridgman (SMR) 16.11 3 Jonathon Stacey 16.34 7 Marc Snaith 17.35 44 Grant Hibbert 19.32 49 Darren Wood 19.43 61 Luke Wilson 20.02 149 Ian Grange 22.06 187 Chris Camacho 22.53 279 Heather Martingell 24.42 311 Phil Aiken 25.34 361 Holly Wilson 26.59 412 Gill Wilson 28.24 429 Peter Fordham 28.55 453 John Hanscomb 29.31 523 Sharon Rowe 32.46 BEDFONT LAKES parkrun 5km Saturday 30th May 1 R Ward (Belgrave) 16.43 5 David Rowe 19.07 10 Duncan Mallison 19.35 19 Jonny Rowan 20.44 33 Neil Dickens 22.22 EDINBURGH MARATHON Sunday 31st May Denis Horellou reports: "The weather was very warm, around 23C and some water shortage at the water stations made it tougher than expected. For the runners' version of the event (article from the BBC): here: The shortage of water was allegedly due to the theft overnight of thousands of bottles. 1 M Williams (Tip) 2:18.24 4815 Gary McKeown 4:31.56 4924 Marilena Wilkinson 4:33.47 5558 Denis Horellou 4:44.26 NEEDLES CROSS-COUNTRY HALF MARATHON Sunday 31st May at Freshwater, Isle of Wight Needles(s) to say, Clive Beauvais was the first over 60 by more than half an hour. 1 P Cameron (IoW RR) 1:20.09 24 Clive Beauvais 1:45.44 KINGFIELD CANTER 2.85 miles handicap Wednesday 3rd June at Woking 1 I Wilkinson (MVA) 24.50 (actual time 19.50) 10 Alan Davidson 26.41 (19.56) 19 Steve Rowland 27.00 (18.30) 21 Sonia Rowland 27.20 (20.50) FINALLY... Rick Broadbent writes in 'The Times': "We have been doing it all wrong. Now, though, I have seen the light. It is called Pose Running. The idea is for the runner to use gravity to move forward, almost as if falling. In doing so, you land on the middle of the foot, not the heel. In effect, you run the same way that a runner sprints - by lifting your legs instead of pushing off the ground. This is revolutionary stuff and there are plenty of people lauding the inventor Nicholas Romanov for making them run faster and injury-free. I have been trying the Pose method and I'm still struggling. I look like someone who is stumbling..."