*************************************************** RANELAGH HARRIERS E-NEWS # 328 15 April 2010 Editor: Steve Rowland mailto: steverowland@ranelagh-harriers.com *************************************************** HEADLINE NEWS ************* * Anna Mallett wins the Baker Cup and the Ellicock Trophy * Fastest times by Peter Haarer and Marie Synnott-Wells * Ralph Street leads Ranelagh to a narrow victory in the parkrun mob match v Stragglers * Trevor Maguire wins Spendlove Cup club 20 miles championship * Fari Shams runs 86.08 half marathon at Dorney * Third places for Marie Synnott-Wells, Karen Weir and Phil Killingley at Cranleigh 15/21 * Good marathon performances at Rotterdam and Paris * Veterans race placings for Pete Warren, Alan Howard, Clive Beauvais and Bill Neely * parkrun placings for Nick Wright, Duncan Mallison, Jerym Brunton and Luke Wilson SEE HERE ******** CLUB TROPHIES If you won one of our handicaps or championships during the winter season just gone and were not able to attend the Baker Cup supper to receive it, please contact Trophies Steward Alan Hedger ((tel: 01372 740626)) to arrange a convenient time to pick it up. BRIGHTON MARATHON Good luck to those who are taking part in the inaugural Brighton Marathon on Sunday. It's a bit short notice now, to say the least, but two members have numbers which they will not be using and are happy to pass them on. If you are interested, contact Pat Wright pswright54@hotmail.com (07729 836871) or Laurel Gregory Laurel.Gregory@transactis.co.uk . LONDON MARATHON And of course good luck also to those running London next week. The meeting point for Ranelagh supporters on the course will as usual be just before the 6 miles point (as the runners approach the Cutty Sark). In the evening everyone is invited to Janet Turnes's pub the Wych Elm in Elm Road, Kingston. All are welcome, runners and non-runners alike from 7pm onwards. But if you finished London (or indeed Brighton, Paris etc etc) bring your medal! ROAD GRAND PRIX Our 2010 Grand Prix is already under way. Results from any spring marathon up to the end of April will be collated and the overall result will count as one event. The Thames Towpath 10 miles this Sunday (18th April) at Chiswick is next on the list, followed by the Sutton 10km on 2nd May: Details:. Full details of the GP are available on our website here:. RANELAGH'S ROAD RACES Entries are open for our two road races, the Richmond Half Marathon on Sunday 16th May Details:) and the Richmond 10km on Sunday 20th June. There are changes to both compared with previous years: the course for the Half Marathon is fundamentally the same but the start will be at the Rose of York pub in Petersham Road. The 10km is a new course, similar to the old one but now on tarmac all the way. The start and finish will both be on the grass at the end of Riverside Drive (where the finish used to be) and the race HQ will be at the Kew FC clubhouse adjacent to the start. MARATHON SWEEPSTAKE Heather Martingell and Duncan Mallison are running the London Marathon in aid of the Police Dependants' Trust. As a change from a sponsorship appeal they have organised a sweepstake - for £5 a guess you can predict what time either of them will achieve. Details:. SUBSCRIPTIONS... ...were due on April 1st. Please be prompt! Rates remain unchanged: Seniors £40; Under 20 or student £10; Family membership £70; Retired and over 60: £20; Second-claim £20; Non-running £10. You can pay by cheque (payable to Ranelagh Harriers and sent to Membership Secretary, Ranelagh Harriers, 135a Petersham Road, Richmond, Surrey TW10 7AA) or you can download a standing order form from our web site here:. LONDON MARATHON SPONSORSHIP Mike Rowland writes: "Careful readers of my brother's splendid fortnightly e-news may have noticed that the last Ranelagh member to finish the London Marathon year after year is your friendly, generous, sympathetic club handicapper. The reason I'm so incredibly slow is because I don't run but race-walk (though, to be honest, I can probably walk the thing faster than I could run it these days).This year, I'm trying to raise as much as I can for a charity called Water Aid. Their aim is for a world where everyone has access to safe water and sanitation. Sadly, this is a long, long way from reality and this really came home to me when Water Aid sent all their supporters a letter about a lady called Agnes who lived in Botswana. Each day, she walked to a 'local' river (10 miles away!!) to collect filthy water for her family. She was always accompanied by her 16 year old son who helped carry the water. One day, she was in the river when she was dragged under by a crocodile. Her son managed somehow to fight the beast off but Agnes received terrible injuries. I know that she survived the attack but does have dreadful scars. The saddest part of the story is that her brave, brave son died a few months later. Don't know how. Last November, I gave a presentation to my church congregation in the hope of raising money for Water Aid. The letter about Agnes arrived just a few days before my presentation. I did wonder about reading them the letter - I can be a bit emotional - but I decided to go ahead and, inevitably, I completely broke down. The good news is that Water Aid have, with the help of the villagers, installed pumps in Agnes's village to collect water from underground so no more trips to the rivers. But there must be thousands and thousands of Agneses all over the world. We take so much for granted in the West - imagine turning on the tap in your kitchen and a crocodile jumps out and bites you!! So please, please, please let bygones be bygones, forget just for a while that I'm a mean old handicapper, and help me raise money for this wonderful charity. Please visit original.justgiving.com/mikerowland - and many thanks for reading all this" RANELAGH RICHMOND HALF MARATHON Sunday 16th May 2010 Heather Martingell writes: "Please help. We need plenty of on-course marshals. The race starts at 8.30am. Marshals will be required for about 90 minutes placed somewhere convenient for you, and you will be rewarded with tea, coffee and various edible goodies back in the clubhouse afterwards. There will also be some drinks on the Tuesday afterwards in the clubhouse for marshals only, as well as energy bars for during the race (to tease the runners with). We also need a couple of people to undertake simple catering duties at the clubhouse. If you are available to help in any capacity please contact me here:." TREADMILL Brian Chard writes: "A friend of mine has a top quality professional treadmill that she can no longer fit into her home (it has only been used half a dozen times and is virtually brand new) and wonders if there would be anyone in Ranelagh interested in buying it. The original cost was well over £8,000 and I guess they will need to take quite a price cut to sell it." Contact Brian bac@cheval-properties.co.uk . 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 ) Sunday 18th April Thames Towpath 10 miles at Chiswick. Entries Closed. Sunday 18th April Brighton Marathon Sunday 18th April MABAC League 5 miles at Winterfold Woods near Cranleigh, Surrey. 11am start. All Ranelagh members are eligible to run, just register on the day. Sunday 25th April London Marathon. Sunday 2nd May Sutton 10km. 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 Kingston The Hawker Centre Other venues, more details and registration at www.parkrun.com WHAT'S HAPPENED *************** BAKER CUP 3 miles road handicap Saturday 27th March in Richmond Park The crafty money was on Anna Mallett! She looked a good bet for the Cup right from the off. Discounting two guests - Louise Piears's 11 year-old son Daniel and Patrick Houston - Anna's main competitor was Kirsty Bangham who started 30 seconds in front of her. Of those further ahead, Rodney Oliver was moving well on the first lap, while from behind Jar O'Brien and another guest Ted Mockett were gaining steadily. But at the crunch it was Anna v Kirsty. 17 year-old Anna went ahead early on the second circuit and Kirsty was powerless to do anything but follow. At the finish there was 20 seconds in it, Anna recording 22.28 and Kirsty 23.18. Ted was next in but the bronze medal went to Jar. So the impressive Baker Cup went to Anna, but so too did a new trophy introduced this year. This was the Jack Ellicock trophy, which will go to the first junior (under 18) to finish in the Baker Cup race each year. Jack Ellicock, a sprightly 90 years old and a Ranelagh member for 62 years, was himself was on hand to present the trophy Fastest time was a very impressive 15.38 from Peter Haarer, a new course record for the over 40 age group. Niall O'Connor's 17.18 was next best, followed by Ted Mockett on 18.23. Marie Synnott-Wells was the fastest woman on 18.56, ahead of Sandra Prosser on 21.17 and Louise Piears on 21.22. The evening's supper and prize presentation at the Roebuck was very well attended, excellently organised as usual by Michele Gibson and Andy Hayward. Mr President Clive Beauvais kicked off proceedings by presenting Liz Kipling with her club honours award. Clive and Alan Hedger then distributed the gleaming array of silverware, including those for the three season-long competitions. The Points Prize for consistency in handicaps was won by Peter Fordham, whose 7th place today was just enough to pip Roger Wilson by one point. Chris Camacho took third place. Full scoreboard here. The McLeod Cup and the Women's Performance Trophy (must think of a better name for this!) are for points scored in all club fixtures throughout the winter. Niall O'Connor was the clear winner of the men's competition with 1461 points, ahead of Andy Woodhouse 1308 and Andy Bickerstaff 1304. The women's competition went to the wire, with Marie Synnott-Wells holding off Sandra Prosser 1394 to 1347. Kirsty Bangham was third on 1186. RICHMOND parkrun 5km incl mob match v Stragglers Saturday 10th April Our unofficial mob match with Stragglers helped swell the numbers taking part this week to 267. Ranelagh provided 52 of them, opposing 38 from Stragglers. All of you who know anything about mob matches will realise that this gave us a distinct advantage before the run even started...which was just as well, because the final result could not have been much closer. Scoring 35 a side Ranelagh won by just 8 points, 1240 to 1248. Congratulations to all who took part. Stragglers were the stronger at the front, with Ranelagh represented in the top five only by Ralph Street. But we managed to fill eleven of the next thirteen places to give us a good early lead, and although Stragglers dominated the next fifteen places we held on grimly to our advantage. Marie Synnott-Wells was the leading woman in the mob match, third overall in the parkrun. READING HALF MARATHON Sunday 21st March Most results were in the last edition, but Bill Neely adds: "I also ran Reading but they managed to leave out the Ranelagh name and my 50+ status! I did 1.25.24,which I was well pleased with (beat my previous PB by a minute and a half). Anyone thinking of halves should give Reading a try -the atmosphere is really great - terrific crowds, great officials, smooth organization. The finish at the stadium is everything it's cracked up to be - three thousand people yelling as you enter. It's one of the most uplifting moments you can experience in road racing here. During the run, I was so pleased to spot a Ranelagh vest, I ran hard to catch up with Duncan Mallison. I managed a phrase or two before the inevitable: watching him pull away from my gasping body and seeing him at the end minutes ahead. Bravo to us all! Great race." 1 E Kipyego (Kenya) 1:03.03 (chip time 1:03.03) 288 Bill Neely 1:25.44 (1:25.24) RON WHEELER QUARTERLY 5km Tuesday 23rd March at Wapping 1 I George (unatt) 17.26 14 Chris Read 20.37 17 Alan Davidson 21.53 LAST FRIDAY OF THE MONTH 5km Friday 26th March in Hyde Park 1 H Torry (Serpentine) 15.52 23 Mick Lane 18.37 76 Alan Davidson 22.07 198 John Hanscomb 31.20 RICHMOND parkrun 5km Saturday 27th March Jerym Brunton and Peter Weir finished 3rd and 4th. 1 A Jones (Ealing S&M) 17.46 3 Jerym Brunton 18.27 4 Peter Weir 18.42 11 Bill Neely 19.31 32 Eric Plue 21.39 41 Karen Weir 22.11 45 Alan Davidson 22.52 46 Andrew Brown 22.52 63 Donna Mason 23.51 87 Philippa Shaw 25.01 103 Rob Kitchen 26.29 132 Pat Hewlett 32.20 137 Bronwen Northmore 33.42 139 Yvonne Howie 37.28 FRIMLEY LODGE parkrun 5km Saturday 27th March 1 M Brock (Bracknell F) 19.01 9 Darren Wood 21.50 KINGSTON parkrun 5km Saturday 27th March 1 D Alcock (VPH & TH) 17.09 8 David Rowe 20.02 13 Chris Wright 22.17 14 Roger Wilson 22.32 15 Jo Sinton-Hewitt 22.43 22 Phil Aiken 24.56 23 Julie Naismith 25.21 BEDFONT LAKES parkrun 5km Saturday 27th March Duncan Mallison finished in 3rd place again. 1 R Brookling (unatt) 17.10 3 Duncan Mallison 19.55 25 Michael White 26.44 26 Heather Martingell 26.46 BUSHY PARK parkrun Saturday 27th March 1 N Gamester (unatt) 14.58 89 Grant Hibbert 21.16 96 Adam Wright 21.28 131 Ian Grange 22.16 365 Wally Garrod 27.26 427 Val Lowman 29.11 512 Peter Lowman 32.31 519 John Hanscomb 33.04 BASINGSTOKE parkrun Saturday 27th March 1 J Flood (Stragglers) 16.31 88 Steve Grout 31.55 FINCHLEY 20 miles Sunday 28th March at Ruislip Trevor Maguire won the club 20 miles championship for the Spendlove Cup by default, though he was well pleased with his 2:06. 1 B Powell (WG&EL) 1:51.44 24 Trevor Maguire 2:06.27 CRANLEIGH 21 miles / 15 miles Sunday 28th March We scored a trio of third places - Karen Weir in the 15, Marie Synnott-Wells and Phil Killingley (in Winchester colours) in the 21 - but the rest finished looking in good shape and ready for whichever marathon they have in their sights. 21 miles 1 A Weir (Thames H&H) 1:59.38 3 Phil Killingley 2:05.30 32 Duncan Mallison 2:24.24 35 Peter Weir 2:25.58 50 Marie Synnott-Wells 2:30.46 192 Chris Read 2:51.57 246 Michelle Davies 2:58.09 15 miles 1 M King (unatt) 1:26.57 29 Karen Weir 1:55.24 175 Sharon Dooley 2:48.12 LUCOZADE RACE YOUR PACE HALF MARATHON Sunday 28th March at Dorney Lake This event was divided into two sections, "Performer" and "Improver". Fari Shams was on a brief visit to the UK from her current base in Dusseldorf and despite not having competed for some time she ran an 86 minutes PB for 4th place in the women's section of the "Performer" race. In the "Improver" section Rachael Holmes was 7th. Performer 1 S James (unatt) 1:16.40 (chip time 1:16.39) 40 Fari Shams 1:26.08 (1:26.05) 170 Simon Martin 1:38.21 (1:38.10) Improver 1 C Barnes (unatt) 1:32.51 (chip time 1:32.49) 35 Rachael Holmes 1:44.44 (1:44.44) 156 Catherine Murphy 1:56.04 (1:55.54) BUSHY PARK TRAIL RUN 4.8 miles Sunday 28th March Alan Howard was first over 70. 1 S Renfer (Elmbridge) 25.32 19 Roger Wilson 34.41 29 Alan Howard 37.25 MAIDENHEAD 10 miles Friday 2nd April 1 J Hutchins (Basing) 51.17 (chip time 51.17) 142 Marie Synnott-Wells 65.44 (65.37) 1000 John Hanscomb 106.31 (106.01) RICHMOND parkrun 5km Saturday 3rd April 1 M Hall (West 4) 18.36 42 Tony Appleby 23.10 65 Andrew Brown 24.57 79 Rob Kitchen 26.15 96 Philippa Shaw 28.25 102 Lorna Smith 28.50 117 Annemarie Goodridge 31.00 122 Pat Hewlett 31.47 130 Amanda Adams 34.49 BUSHY parkrun 5km Saturday 3rd April 1 Unknown 16.23 23 David Rowe 19.13 113 Adam Wright 22.02 234 Kirsty Bangham 25.31 260 Julie Naismith 26.21 302 Wally Garrod 27.37 349 Val Lowman 29.05 350 Danny Hobbs 29.10 393 Peter Lowman 31.05 430 John Hanscomb 33.27 KINGSTON parkrun 5km Saturday 3rd April A win for Nick Wright. 1 Nick Wright 18.07 SWINDON parkrun 5km Saturday 3rd April The Wilsons continue their parkrun tour... 1 T Jenkins (unatt) 18.03 3 Luke Wilson 19.07 5 David Wright 19.47 7 Roger Wilson 21.33 20 Holly Wilson 28.21 21 Gill Wilson 28.30 BLACK PARK parkrun 5km Saturday 3rd April 1 T Bowlby Pearson (un) 17.25 40 Heather Martingell 23.41 41 Paul Martingell 23.46 BEDFONT LAKES parkrun 5km Saturday 3rd April 1 I Charlton (unatt) 19.44 6 Michael White 24.07 40 Chris Wilson 31.49 LEWES 10km Monday 5th April 1 R James (Lewes) 34.39 154 Steve Rowland 48.47 242 Sonia Rowland 53.13 STOCKLEY PARK 10km Monday 5th April at Uxbridge Pete Warren was first over 70. 1 P Ballantyne (SB) 33.42 72 Pete Warren 48.57 KINGFIELD CANTER 2.84 miles handicap Wednesday 7th April at Woking 1 D Nichols (Woking) 24.40 (actual time 20.40) 14 Alan Davidson 27.07 (20.07) 18 Steve Rowland 27.27 (19.27) 20 Sonia Rowland 27.33 (21.33) FRIMLEY LODGE parkrun 5km Saturday 10th April 1 P Grist (Wells C) 17.04 5 Darren Wood 19.15 BUSHY parkrun 5km Saturday 10th April 1 J Ellis (Clapham) 15.58 16 Nick Wright 17.31 63 Simon Collingridge 19.30 76 Adam Wright 19.53 138 David Ready 21.34 168 Clare King 22.10 342 Alison Salmon 26.24 344 Jose Scheuer 26.27 356 Wally Garrod 26.40 KINGSTON parkrun 5km Saturday 10th April 1 J Pendrill (Wilmslow) 17.00 11 Julie Naismith 26.47 12 Janet Turnes 27.39 PARIS MARATHON Sunday 11th April Carola Richter reports: "Paris Marathon 2010. 3:31.07, my second fastest marathon time ever!!!! What an achievement. I still can't believe it. This was my eighth marathon and after last year's disaster in London and recovering from a stress fracture I thought I would take it easy this year. Not many people outside the club knew I was running Paris just in case I messed up again. So much for my confidence. But really, this marathon was meant to be a 'fun' run if you can ever call a marathon fun. I wanted to experience the spirit of running a marathon again which I seem to have lost. Too much pressure on yourself can have a negative effect on you. So after 2 ½ months of a relaxed training regime, running when I felt like it (3-4 times a week), I arrived in Paris on a beautiful sunny Friday morning via Eurostar. I had set no target time, believe it or not, until the night before when I printed out my pace wristband. Only then did I realised I could run a 3:30. Rather scary moment I must admit but I didn't want to get too excited. I knew I could nail 20miles fairly easy but the rest was just down to 'let's see how it goes'. I met up with Chris Bundhun, who was running his first marathon, and the legendary Ian Grange for dinner the night before the marathon and we did our fare share of carbo-loading. What the French lack on good breakfasts they compensate in massive pasta dishes. Very strange concept. The conditions for the marathon were ideal for me, sunny but not too warm. Chris and I lined up in our Ranelagh vests in true blue spirit and then we were off at 8:45. I must admire Chris, you didn't seem nervous at all for running your first marathon or maybe you didn't show it. The first 10km felt like a zigzag run and I thought that it was worse than London. However, after 15km the crowd seem to spread out a bit and I started to enjoy the run. All the way up to 35k I felt awesome taking in all the big sights such as the Eiffel Tower, passing the Louvre and Notre Dame. I was right on target for a 3:27 until the last 5k when energy finally run out but I gave it my best. The emotions I experienced after the finish line are indescribable and will stay with me for a while. I could argue, had I know my time (Garmin lost the signal in one of the tunnels) I could have run that extra bit faster finishing under 3:30 but I didn't. There is always another marathon. This time it was about respecting myself of what I have achieved. Looking back, a new PB is not always as important as the joy of achieving something in your life. We as runners sometimes seem to forget this, chasing one PB after another. I have trained for and run Paris without pressure, still enjoying my social life and I'm the same person I was before. Paris felt like a PB for me. Chris Bundhun deserves a special mention for achieving his first marathon in 3:07.35. Respect, Chris. That is an awesome time and you can be very proud of yourself. We shall look out for you over the next couple of years. Good luck to everyone who runs London!!!!" 1 T Tola (Ethiopia) 2:06.41 (gun time 2:06.41) 1811 Chris Bundhun 3:07.35 (3:13.59) 6146 Carola Richter 3:31.07 (3:37.30) 10420 Ian Grange 3:47.02 (3:52.38) 12124 Steve Mountain 3:53.25 (4:03.52) 21876 Marina Quayle 4:26.26 (4:40.59) If we had any other runners in Paris, please let me know. ROTTERDAM MARATHON Sunday 11th April In windy conditions Gavin Jones was a little disappointed with his 2:39 but it was good enough for 6th place in the over 45 age group. Paul Doyle ran 2:48 in his first race for over a year owing to injury. Paul writes: "It's hard to fault the organisation and set-up of the Rotterdam Marathon. It's cheap to enter, offers the full 'big city' marathon package and the course is flat and very fast. I recommend it. I've shied away from marathons in the past, preferring to peak for the summer road races. However having got so out of shape through injuries and time out, desperate measures were required to get a base fitness back and some momentum towards race fitness. Rotterdam was the only marathon I could find that was available for relatively late entries so I gave myself four months to get in shape. My training consisted mainly of a 13-20 mile run (with the Thames pack) on a Sunday morning and whatever I could manage during the week (30-35miles) slow. Heading into Rotterdam I was reasonably confident I could break 3 hours, but I didn't know how I would fare over the last 6 miles. The plan was to run at an even 2:56 pace. It's been well over a year since I raced, so as soon as I got going the pace plan went out the window and I moved steadily through the field at 2:40 pace, eventually latching on to a big group with some elite women. I went through the half way in 1:20 feeling really comfortable and enjoying it. At about 25k, I started to feel a little uncomfortable with the pace and decided to play it safe, dropped out of the group and had a progressively slower run home, finishing in 2:49:19, which wasn't much fun. However I think by slowing up I limited the damage and was able to continue with my normal training the following week. Hopefully I can use the marathon experience as a spur to gain some momentum to get some race fitness over the shorter distances, I'll be V45 next year!" 1 P Makau (Kenya) 2:04.48 (gun time 2:04.48) 103 Gavin Jones 2:39.57 (2:40.11) 207 Paul Doyle 2:48.50 (2:49.19) KINGSTON BREAKFAST RUNS Sunday 11th April Bill Neely was the second over 50 home in the 16 miler. 16 miles 1 B Wilder (HHH) 1:27.25 (chip time 1:27.24) 57 Bill Neely 1:45.49 (1:45.42) 364 Martin Wolfson 2:03.57 (2:02.51) 492 Daniel Chiechi 2:07.16 (2:07.14) 1448 Hayley Legg 2:40.06 (2:39.45) 1595 Kirsty Ivison 2:55.46 (2:55.26) 8.2 miles 1 N Chisholm (TH&H) 44.22 (44.21) 597 Paul Martingell 71.40 (71.29) COOMBE GIBBET to OVERTON 16 miles Sunday 11th April Our President Clive Beauvais was 2nd over 60. 1 G Bungay (Totton) 1:41.50 43 Clive Beauvais 2:04.38 SANDY 10 miles Sunday 11th April Pete Warren finished 2nd over 70. 1 P Holland (Apthill) 53.16 255 Pete Warren 82.17 WHITE HORSE HALF MARATHON Sunday 11th April at Grove 1 P Fernandez (Abing) 1:12.39 341 John Herriott 2:00.05 BRIDGES 2.3 miles handicap Wednesday 14th April at Westminster 1 G Hewitt (Serp) 19.48 (actual time 18.18) 9 John Hanscomb 20.49 (22.49) 17 Alan Davidson 21.12 (16.42) HAMMERSMITH RIVERSIDE 3.3 miles handicap Tuesday 23rd February Alan Davidson reports: "Alan Howard beat Ken Powley's M73 age-best time for the course by 4 seconds. The times were slowed by mud, tree-felling and building work near the bridge." 1 D Cox (WG&EL) 18.55 10 Alan Howard 25.46 FINALLY... Jeff Bull sends this..."The Achilles tendon is the key to the evolution of human running": here:.