*************************************************** RANELAGH HARRIERS E-NEWS # 318 12 November 2009 Editor: Steve Rowland mailto: steverowland@ranelagh-harriers.com *************************************************** HEADLINE NEWS ************* * Orion narrowly win Lee Cup mob match * Peter Haarer, Martin Halvey and Mike Peace win club veterans championship trophies * Marina Quayle wins vets handicap * parkrun placings for Peter Weir, David Rowe, Rachael Holmes and Duncan Mallison * Bill Neely first over 50 in Clapham Common 10km * Kerrie O'Connor runs 3:13 in Dublin Marathon * Surrey League races this Saturday * All needed for mob match v Thames Hare & Hounds on Saturday 21st * Book now for the Christmas Party SEE HERE ******** CHRISTMAS PARTY - BOOK NOW! Our Christmas Party is early this year - Saturday 28th November - so please help Michele out by booking your places now and not leaving it until the last minute! It's at a new and attractive venue, the Strawberry Hill Banqueting centre at St Mary's University College, Waldegrave Road, Strawberry Hill, Twickenham TW1 4SX. If you want to see what the place is like, see here:. The cost is £40 per head, to include three-course dinner and a DJ from 9pm until 12.30am. Dress formal/smart casual. Book with Michele Gibson (micheleagibson@hotmail.com or 07703 518956). Cheques payable to Ranelagh Harriers. SURREY LEAGUE Our men's and women's teams both need better results in the next League race this Saturday (November 14th). The Captains are looking to all potential members of the scoring teams to be there if they can. The men at running on South London Harriers' course at Coulsdon, with the under 17s starting at 2.30pm and the seniors at 3pm. Details: . The women are trying out a new course at Denbies Vineyard, Dorking. The senior race comes first at 12 noon followed by under 15s and under 17s at 1pm and under 13s at 1.30pm. Details:. MOB MATCH v THAMES HARE & HOUNDS Saturday 21st November This is the last mob match before Christmas and it would be great if we could approach the numbers we had turning out for the club against Orion last week. It's not at home in Richmond Park - but it is just over the A3 on Wimbledon Common, so it almost counts as at home! It's a 2.30pm start for a one-lap seven and a half miles that takes us on a fairly comprehensive tour of Wimbledon Common. It's a varied course - some grassland, some tracks, some woods and some hills. We managed to beat Thames last year at home, despite their providing the first seven to finish: if we can get at least fifty runners of any speed over to Wimbledon Common, we could repeat the trick. Be there if you can! The Thames HQ adjoins the pavilion at the car park a couple of hundred yards up the A3 from Robin Hood roundabout: Map: . If the car park is full, try Friars Avenue or Vale Crescent. Thames will be providing us with food afterwards served from 6.30pm at the Telegraph Pub on Putney Heath here:. Thames need to know the numbers for the food so if you haven't already told Marc Snaith that you'd like to stay then please do soon (contact details in What's Coming below). CLUB PLACES FOR THE LONDON MARATHON Hon Sec Simon Burrell writes: "Each year at the Christmas party, a draw is held for five guaranteed entries to the London Marathon. From 2011 the entry criteria will change and there will be an interim change for 2010. For the 2010 race, fully paid up members will need to have been rejected in the main ballot or have represented the Club in a Mob Match during the current or previous season to be eligible. For the 2011 race, fully paid up members will need to collect 10 or more qualifying points in the current or previous season: 5 points - Representing the Club at one of the four annual Mob Matches 3 points - Volunteering to help at an open event (half marathon or 10k) 2 points - Volunteering to help at a club event (e.g. handicap race) The Club committee wants to reward members for supporting the Club and to encourage participation at Mob Matches, which are one of the few events where all standards can participate and compete together - they are a real opportunity for us all to run as a Club and wear the Ranelagh vest with pride! To ensure that newer or slower runners do not get lost, we will aim to clearly mark/marshal the course and encourage group leaders to run the course in training. We will also look at race times for mid-winter home races to ensure everyone finishes before dusk. Mob Matches are great social events and have a long tradition within the Club. We want all members to run and would encourage everyone to drop back after finishing and encourage those behind them as they come in to the final stretch. More details of the process for entering can be found on the notice-board at the clubhouse. To put your name down for the 2010 event, please email (simon_burrell2000@yahoo.com) any time up until the day before the Christmas party on 28th November, stating your name, contact number, address and whether you were rejected or have/will run a Mob Match to qualify. READING HALF MARATHON The 2010 staging of the popular Reading Half Marathon is already well on the way to filling up. If you're thinking of running, don't delay in getting your entry in. The date is 21st March 2010. Details:. WHAT'S COMING ************* More details of the following from Marc Snaith (07717 213035 mailto ( mdsnaith5@hotmail.com ) or Marie Synnott-Wells (07983 430264 (After 5pm Weekdays) / mailto nandmwells@aol.com ) Saturday 14th November Surrey League Div 1 (men at Coulsdon, women at Dorking) Saturday 21st November Mob match v Thames Hare & Hounds. 7.5 miles at Kingston Vale (Wimbledon Common). 2.30pm start. Saturday 28th November South of the Thames 5 miles championship at West Wickham. 2pm 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 Bedfont Lakes Bedfont Lakes Country Park, Ashford, Middlesex Other venues, more details and registration at www.parkrun.com WHAT'S HAPPENED *************** LEE CUP MOB MATCH v ORION HARRIERS Saturday 31st October in Richmond Park Congratulations to all who took part in this race. We had a really excellent turnout of 64 runners, enabling us to outnumber Orion, who as usual brought a coach-load over from Epping Forest. The only downside was that we didn't win the Harold Lee Cup! It couldn't have been much closer. With the combined scores totalling almost 5,500 points we lost by just 101. To demonstrate just how much of a knife-edge these races can balance on - if we had had two more runners finishing the course in about 56 minutes or faster, the win would have been ours. As ever with mob matches, it's not just about the fast runners. Everyone is important and has a part to play in the final outcome. There were quite a few Ranelagh members taking part in their first mob match - we hope you enjoyed the experience and will be on the starting line again for the next one on 21st November. We had the edge over Orion at the front of the field: Peter Haarer ran away to an impressive and comfortable victory, Phil Killingley and Chris Illman backed up in 3rd and 5th places and Marc Snaith, Rob Blair, Martin Halvey, John Shaw, Peter Weir, Chris Owens, Andrzej Bockowski, Andy Bickerstaff and Simon Hedger gave us 12 in the top 21. It was in the next couple of minutes that Orion edged into a lead that they were not to relinquish, as seven white vests crossed the line against only two blues. Thereafter it was pretty much even-Steven and our 52nd and final scorer - Kirsty Bangham in 102nd place - was actually well ahead of theirs at 113th. But when the maths was done it was Orion who came out ahead by 2687 points to 2788. Amongst the women, Marie Synnott-Wells in 26th place was just headed by Orion's Clare Donovan. Kate Comisso and Emma Tomlinson were 4th and 5th. A particular mention for 55 year-old Lee Coole, who in her first race for the club got within a minute of Margaret Auerback's course record for the age group...and was followed just over a minute later by fellow-over 55 Kathy Mallett. The race doubled as the Ranelagh men's veterans championships, and of course the main prize - the Hastings Cup - went to Peter Haarer. Not all of the expected protagonists for the McDowell Cup over 50s championship were able to contend, including David Wright who would have been the favourite on early-season form. David was present (of course) for his 137th mob match but after a recent injury he was well down the field. It was Martin Halvey who put his name on the Cup for the first time, a couple of minutes clear of Chris Owens. New over 60 Mike Peace had minutes to spare in that category and wins the Maslin Mug. The veterans handicap was won by Marina Quayle, with Marie Synnott-Wells and Martin Halvey second and third. The clubhouse was packed for the evening's quiz night, organised by Michele Gibson with beer from Michael White and with Steve and Mike Rowland as questionmasters. Twelve teams lined up and it seemed for much of the contest that the team from Orion would make it a double victory for them, but fortunately Ranelagh's dignity was saved by a sprint finish from Captain Marc Snaith's team. CLAPHAM COMMON 10km Sunday 25th October The official results don't list age groups but It's reasonable to assume that Bill Neely was the top over 50. 1 J Ellis (Clapham) 34.18 9 Bill Neely 38.38 DUBLIN MARATHON Monday 26th October Kerrie O'Connor was just outside her personal best in finishing 4th in the over 35 age group. 1 F Lilesa (Ethiopia) 2:09.12 (chip time 2:09.12) 580 Kerrie O'Connor 3:13.20 (3:13.13) 9283 Cindy Croucher 5:35.51 (5:32.49) LAST FRIDAY OF THE MONTH 5km Friday 30th October in Hyde Park 1 F Neuschwander (Ger) 14.47 93 Alan Davidson 21.34 Wally Garrod 25.25 BUSHY parkrun 5km Saturday 31st October 1 J Goulis (Strag) 16.12 24 Steve Elswood 18.52 29 Darren Wood 19.03 30 Luke Wilson 19.06 103 Ian Grange 21.53 224 Jose Scheuer 24.20 274 Holly Wilson 25.21 305 Peter Fordham 26.14 372 Nicholas Fordham 28.14 374 Peter Lowman 28.17 399 Val Lowman 29.14 418 John Hanscomb 30.03 RICHMOND parkrun 5km Saturday 31st October 1 R Downs (Wilmslow) 16.59 6 Jerym Brunton 18.45 8 Bill Neely 19.06 36 Ben Shore 21.32 51 Andrew Brown 22.19 52 Karl Garvey 22.22 94 Rob Kitchen 26.19 95 Johannes Prosser 26.23 123 Rose Constantine 32.49 128 Andy Woodhouse 34.26 GORLESTON CLIFFS parkrun 5km Saturday 31st October 1 N Wilkens (Beckenham) 17.52 2 David Rowe 18.17 38 Sharon Rowe 31.15 FINSBURY parkrun 5km Saturday 31st October 1 G Creagh (Walton) 16.55 37 Chris Wright 24.18 MARLOW HALF MARATHON Sunday 1st November 1 N Browne (Wycombe Ph) 1:15.30 294 Tony Appleby 1:47.44 504 Sharon Dooley 1:55.56 KINGFIELD CANTER 2.85 miles handicap Wednesday 4th November The winner, accompanied by dad and granddad, was 7 years old! 1 C Gammage (unatt) 25.16 (actual time 25.16) 25 Jim Forrest 27.29 (21.44) 28 Sonia Rowland 28.23 (22.38) ALGARVE RUNNING CHALLENGE Wednesday 4th - Sunday 8th November Alan Davidson reports: "Thankfully the only problem in doing the Track and Field Tours Algarve Running Challenge 2009 was taking five hours by train from Haslemere to Gatwick when a tree fell on the line. Sunshine aplenty (21-23C), although windy every day for the very well organised, very enjoyable eight days with four races and a friendly bunch of runners based at Monte Gordo. Firstly a 1 mile track time trial at the splendid Vila Real facility with a strong home straight headwind (6.18: 1.35/1.35/1.37/1.31); a 7k on pine forest trails/beach (featuring a strong headwind and a choice of sinking into either wet sand or fine dry sand): 37.58; a Lagos cross-country Portuguese League 5 lap (5km) race on an undulating course of twists and turns on a hard trail (22.33: 4.32/4.29/4.34/4.31/4.27); and finally a fun(?) 5x1mile paarlauf on sandy trails at Vila Real paired embarrassingly with Dulwich's Steve Smythe who flew round his 3 laps while I did a more sedate 7.19 and 7.30. Spare time included dips in the warm(ish) sea, visiting the nearby nature reserves (flamingos etc) and travelling on the cheap and cheerful antiquated local rail line. Some warm sunshine in November was very welcome, and it's a pity that more runners didn't come to enjoy this excellent trip". RICHMOND parkrun 5km Saturday 7th November A near miss for Peter Weir and third place for Rachael Holmes.. 1 M Holden (West 4) 18.11 2 Peter Weir 18.18 5 Andrzej Bockowski 18.37 24 Rachael Holmes 21.05 38 Sandra Prosser 21.38 46 Andrew Brown 22.07 58 Karl Garvey 22.52 73 Michael White 24.12 80 Wiebke Kortum 24.38 98 Philippa Shaw 25.44 100 Rob Kitchen 25.52 106 Johannes Prosser 26.35 129 Sally Bamford 28.57 137 Marina Quayle 29.32 157 Rose Constantine 31.31 159 Pat Hewlett 31.44 BUSHY parkrun 5km Saturday 7th November 1 J Goulis (Strag) 16.18 42 Simon Collingridge 19.32 97 Roger Wilson 21.25 100 Ian Grange 21.30 162 Peter Fordham 22.45 202 Phil Aiken 23.29 320 Danny Hobbs 26.04 326 Gill Wilson 26.12 331 Wally Garrod 26.17 440 John Hanscomb 29.51 FINSBURY parkrun 5km Saturday 7th November 1 M Allan-Dan (High) 17.08 5 David Rowe 18.35 27 Kirsty Bangham 25.22 36 Sharon Rowe 31.22 BEDFONT LAKES parkrun 5km Saturday 7th November Second place again for Duncan Mallison. 1 B Martin-Dye (Brack) 17.08 2 Duncan Mallison 19.50 15 Chris Wilson 23.05 38 Sophie Spink 25.48 WIMBLEDON COMMON parkrun 5km Saturday 7th November 1 E O'Connell (Serp) 17.04 35 Andy Woodhouse 20.41 58 Tony Appleby 21.58 GLASGOW parkrun 5km Saturday 7th November 1 P Cullinane (Irvine) 17.13 36 Paul Sinton-Hewitt 21.25 85 Jo Sinton-Hewitt 24.02 LEEDS parkrun 5km Saturday 7th November 1 E Jackson (N Marske) 16.57 112 Chris Wright 24.16 OLD DEER PARK RICHMOND 10km Sunday 8th November Roger Wilson reports: "In contrast to our many great running experiences, I thought I'd drop you a quick note about a bad experience at the Old Deer Park Richmond 10k last Sunday (www.energizedsports.com/old-deer-park.html), which was registered with UKA on a measured course. Good things about the race: great location for the start & finish in Old Deer Park, chip timing, quite cheap to enter, and the majority of the 1,500 entrants were non-club runners in their 20s & 30s, very good to see them out running. Unfortunately for the inexperienced organisers, then nearly everything went wrong... a long queue to pick up the timing chips, too few toilets were provided, the race started 15 minutes late with people still queuing to drop bags, the course took runners dangerously straight out onto the A316 pavement, the water station ran out of water later on, and the finish line funnel backed up due to the layout of the funnel and short-staffing. To cap it all, the chip timing based on Ipico shoe chips didn't work due to an electrical problem on the finishing mat, provided by www.invictaeastkentac.org.uk/maniac.html, with no manual or video backup. For the sake of the club handicapper, I did 47:30 after the slow start and a heavy day on the Saturday! The full wrath of many entrants, not diminished by an apologetic email from the organisers, can be seen in the ratings and forum on the Runners World website here:. I hope they do better at the South London 10k on Wimbledon Common this coming Sunday 15th. A great shame for the sport of running locally". There are no results available of course, so I don't know how many other Ranelagh might have been taking part, but Daniela Mingham seems to have been well up in the women's race. FINALLY... "I believe that the Good Lord gave us a finite number of heartbeats and I'm damned if I'm going to use up mine running up and down a street." Neil Armstrong