*************************************************** RANELAGH HARRIERS E-NEWS # 349 22 March 2011 Editor: Steve Rowland mailto: steverowland@ranelagh-harriers.com *************************************************** HEADLINE NEWS ************* * Sandra Forrest wins the Clutton Cup * Fastest times set by Trevor Maguire and Marie Synnott-Wells * Niall O'Connor wins Spendlove Cup club 20 miles championship * 71.21 Half Marathon by Richard Gregory * parkrun placings for Peter Weir, Sean Paynter, Ted Mockett, Liz Kipling, Sarah Doe and Marc Snaith * Baker Cup 3 miles road handicap this Saturday in Richmond Park * Still time to book for the Baker Cup Supper and Prize Presentation on Saturday at the Roebuck - Wednesday deadline * parkrun mob match at Kingston on April 9th * Richmond Half Marathon helpers needed SEE HERE ******** BAKER CUP 3 miles road handicap Saturday 26th March This is the traditional finale to our "winter season" - a 3 miles handicap held on the closed roads in the centre of the Park starting beside White Lodge. All members are welcome - please register at the clubhouse if you possibly can, and only go straight to the start as a last resort for the hopelessly late. Handicapper Mike Rowland adds: "If any members intend bringing friends, relatives, wives, girl friends or great-great-great grandfathers to the Baker Cup as guests, would they please let me know in advance, together with an idea of the guest's pace (a 5k or 10k time will do). Also, if at all possible, could members and guests please try and register in the clubhouse before going to the start. It gets a bit hectic before the start of the Baker, not helped by the fact that it always seems to be windy up by the Ballet School on Baker day and it's hard to control papers!" Contact Mike mike_rowland@fsmail.net . BAKER CUP SUPPER AND ANNUAL PRIZE PRESENTATION This will take place at the Roebuck on Richmond Hill on Saturday 26th March starting at 7pm. The price is £20 per head and includes a welcoming glass of bubbly, a buffet meal and the chance to see our impressive array of trophies. If you have won a trophy, please try to be there. Michele Gibson says: "There are a few places left for those who want to see the bling and / or have a great time!!! Deadline for bookings will be Wednesday." Book with Michele (e-mail micheleagibson@hotmail.com or 07703 518956). RUN FOR JAPAN Peter Fordham writes: "Athlete and coach Martin Yelling (husband of Liz) has set up this appeal. Can Ranelagh members consider supporting such a worthy cause. The basic principle is to dedicate a run (training or race) and donate 1 unit of currency for each mile to the Red Cross Relief Fund. More details: www.runforjapan.com. Maybe £3 each for the Baker Cup 3 miles?" parkrun MOB MATCH Saturday 9th April We're having an unofficial mob match against the Stragglers again this year on April 9th. This time it will be incorporated with the Kingston parkrun which takes place from the Hawker Centre. The distance of course is 5km and the start is at 9am. Everyone please make the effort to be there - leave your normal haunts in Bushy or Richmond or Old Deer Parks and try the Kingston race. To count, everyone must be registered on the parkrun database as Ranelagh and have a bar code. If you're new to parkrun you'll find all the information you need here: www.parkrun.org.uk/kingston/Home.aspx. LONDON MARATHON ACHES AND PAINS Sunday 17th April As usual Janet Turnes invites all and sundry to her pub the Wych Elm in Elm Road, Kingston, on Sunday evening after the marathon. Janet very generously lays on some food for us, so please come along and join in. If you ran the London, or any other spring marathon, bring your medal! RICHMOND HALF MARATHON Our Half Marathon takes place on Sunday 8th May starting at 8.30am and the entry limit of 1150 has now been reached. 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 lovely food and drink in the Rose of York on the following Tuesday evening after training. If you are available to marshal please contact Philippa Metherell ranelaghhalfhelpers@hotmail.co.uk ." MCLEOD CUP and WOMEN'S PERFORMANCE AWARD With one race to go (the Baker Cup 3 miles handicap on March 26th) the outcome of both competitions remains undecided. In the men's contest, last year's runner-up Andy Woodhouse leads Peter Fordham by just five points, 1340 to 1335. Aiah Songu-Mbriwa is still lurking not far behind in third place on 1286. In the women's section, Marie Synnott-Wells now enjoys a small lead over Sandra Prosser, 1192 to 1177. Kirsty Bangham is third on 1014 but cannot catch the leaders. Full scoreboard. RANELAGH ROAD GRAND PRIX Full details of our 2011 Road Grand Prix are now up on our website here:. The first race is the Thames Towpath 10 miles at Chiswick on Sunday 10th April, starting at 9.30am. Entries are now open via Sportsystems here:. Then comes the London Marathon on April 17th (or any other spring marathon - individual results will be collated to form an overall result). Next comes the Sutton 10km on Sunday 1st May. Details:, followed a week later by our Richmond Half Marathon (see above). ALETSCH HALF MARATHON in the Swiss Alps Peter Fordham writes: "I am again taking a small group to Bettmeralp in the Swiss Alps to run the race in spectacular scenery, that includes fantastic views of the longest glacier in Europe. In the days before the race we usually take advantage of the hiking opportunities in the area, and also find plenty of time to relax in the traffic free village of Bettmeralp which is situated at 2000 metres. The race is the perfect introduction to mountain running. The dates are 23rd to 27th June and the trip price - including flights from Heathrow, rail and cable car transfers, race entry and four nights at the excellent three star Hotel Alpfrieden with half board - ranges from £520 to £599, depending on whether you are happy to share bathroom facilities or not. If you prefer, make your own travel arrangements and I can adjust the price. All flights and rail travel booked by me are through The Swiss Travel Centre. There are a few places still available, for more information please call me on 07799 072307 and visit the race website here:www.ravensrunnerslondon.org.uk/." SOUTH WEST LONDON ATHLETICS NETWORK NOTES Kate Brook writes: "The next SWLAN workshop takes place on Wednesday 30th March from 7pm to 9pm at the Ranelagh clubhouse. It's title is 'Sports Psychology - Coping with those on-the-day nerves' and leading the workshop is Katie Richards, Sports Science lecturer at St Mary's University since 2007. Content: The workshop will explore the numerous stressors which exist, leading up to, and on the day of races. How can we begin to cope with these to aid our performance. The session aims to provide coaches and athletes of all levels with practical strategies which they can take away and apply in stressful situations. Katie Richardson has experience of working with coaches and athletes in a variety of sports including gymnastics, swimming, volleyball, pistol-shooting, mixed martial arts, and heptathlon. She delivers across numerous modules in coaching science and sport psychology on both undergraduate and postgraduate level programmes. Katie is currently enrolled on the British Association of Sport and Exercise (BASES) Supervised Experience programme for sport science support (sport psychology pathway), which she hopes to complete by October 2011. It's free of charge but spaces are limited. To book your place please contact Kate Brook (e-mail kate.brook@swlan.org.uk or 07973 569543)." ENGLAND ATHLETICS MARATHON CONFERENCE England Athletics is organising a Marathon Conference at the University of Warwick in Coventry on Saturday 2nd and Sunday 3rd April. A number of guest speakers are lined up for the event, including leading coaches George Gandy, Lindsay Dunn and Brian Scobie, UK marathon record holder Steve Jones, Olympian Tracey Morris, nutritionist Ron Maughan and physiologist Barry Fudge. There is also a conference dinner on the Saturday night hosted by Dave Moorcroft. The cost is £132 for the two days residential, including dinner and breakfast. Single day attendance is £40, though this has limited availability. More details at www.englandathletics.org/marathonconference. LONDON MARATHON SPONSORSHIP Mike Rowland writes: "Your friendly, generous handicapper is competing in the London Marathon on 17th April. It will be the 25th time I've been on the start line in Greenwich Park so it's a bit of a special one this year. Perhaps I should paint myself silver to celebrate. I've still got some way to go to catch Mike Peace with his 31 Londons and, after all, he's only a youngster and has years of running ahead of him. But I'll keep going as long as I can put one foot in front of another. I've had a rotten winter's training through illness, bad weather and an injured shoulder so I need all the help I can get! So, PLEASE, will you support me by adding your name to my sponsorship website? I'm competing for the Westminster Pastoral Foundation who provide affordable counselling for those who cannot afford normal rates and are probably the people who need counselling the most. Ranelagh have connections with them. Member Tim Woolmer is a past chairman and superstar Hugh Jones has spoken at their post-marathon reception on more than one occasion. So come on guys, let bygones be bygones. You can find my website on: uk.virginmoneygiving.com. Just put my name Mike Rowland in the 'Find a friend' box and I'm there at the top of the Rowlands. Many thanks for reading this." WHAT'S COMING ************* More details of the following from Marc Snaith (07717 213035 mailto ( mdsnaith5@hotmail.com ) or Marie Synnott-Wells (07956 431319 (After 5pm Weekdays) / mailto nandmwells@aol.com ) Saturday 26th March Baker Cup 3 miles road handicap. 3pm start in Richmond Park (White Lodge). See above. Sunday 10th April Thames Towpath 10 miles at Chiswick (see above). Sunday 17th April London Marathon. Sunday 1st May Sutton 10km. 10.30am start Sunday 8th May Richmond Half Marathon. 8.30am start (see above). 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 Old Deer Park Pools in the Park on the A316 Other venues, more details and registration at www.parkrun.com The 2km junior parkrun for under 15s takes place at 11am on the first Sunday of each month from Bushy Park's Teddington Gate. WHAT'S HAPPENED *************** CLUTTON CUP 10 miles Handicap Saturday 12th March in Richmond Park I think it's fair to say that the Handicapper was well and truly bamboozled this afternoon. Sandra Forrest made a smash and grab raid on the Clutton Cup and ran away with the trophy before her pursuers had time to notice it was gone. Of course, one has to have some sympathy for poor Mike. No, really. Sandra is a new member who had run the bare minimum of three club races to qualify to compete as a full member in a handicap. But these weren't any three races. Sandra's first-ever cross-country experience was our mob match away to Orion. She enjoyed the Essex mud so much that she couldn't wait to try the Kent variety provided by Blackheath and Bromley in our mob match against them. In between, she thought she'd try some Wimbledon Common mud in the League race there. Now, you don't get a lot of mud in San Francisco and while Sandra might have enjoyed sloshing around the English countryside, it wasn't what she was used to. It took a nice sunny day and the firm conditions in Richmond Park to show us what she could do. And what she could do was...run pretty fast! Sandra was first away and her receding figure as she disappeared around the first corner was the last time anyone in the race saw her. She ran a commendably even-paced ten miles, taking 40.52 for the first lap and 40.47 for the second to finish well over a mile clear of Andy Hayward in second place. Andy has long had his eye on this cup and thought perhaps that this might be his day. He covered his first lap in 36.27, but faded a little on the second circuit with 37.20 - probably dispirited by reports from the officials of Sandra's huge lead at the half way point. Andy caught Phil Aiken at the last corner to secure the silver medal leaving Phil with the bronze and long-time second-placer Kirsty Bangham - whose second lap was almost two minutes faster than her first - out of the medals in fourth. Fastest time came from Trevor Maguire. His was another consistently paced run with laps of 31.06 and 31.14 to total 62.20. A good tussle between Peter Faull and Ted Mockett took them to second and third fastest times, only seconds behind Trevor. Marie Synnott-Wells's 68.15 was the women's fastest time, ahead of Kathy Mallett (77.27) and Sandra Forrest (81.30). "I'm sorry," said Sandra to Handicapper Mike afterwards, "I hope I haven't got you into trouble". "I hope you have," said Mike, "They might sack me!" MIDDLESEX CROSS-COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS Saturday 8th January Under 17 Women 1 A Hewitt (SMR) 22.24 7 Amelie Hunton 24.26 INTER-COUNTIES CROSS-COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS Saturday 5th March at Cofton Park, Birmingham We had one additional competitor in the Inter-Counties, besides those listed in the last e-news: this was Amelie Hunton, who represented Middlesex in the Under 17s race. Under 17 Women 1 J Judd (Essex) 18.27 206 Amelie Hunton 23.40 BATH HALF MARATHON Sunday 6th March Richard Gregory writes: "I was pleased to pb in the marathon build-up. No more races now until London - just three more big weeks to slog through. I'm enjoying the training but also looking forward to legs freshening up in the taper." Richard's 71.21 moves him into 24th place in Ranelagh's all-time rankings. Full list:. 1 E Kipkorir (Kenya) 64.00 (chip time 64.00) 27 Richard Gregory 71.21 (71.19) 822 Phil Jackson 92.59 (93.14) SILVERSTONE HALF MARATHON Sunday 6th March 1 A Jones (Salford) 1:08.25 48 Paul Nicoll 1:22.22 5283 Hannah Davies 2:26.47 PARIS HALF MARATHON Sunday 6th March Simon Martin reports: "The weather on the day of the race was sunny and fairly cold, although it warmed up over the course of the race. I was just glad that it wasn't pouring as it had been in London the previous weekend. There were 30,000 entrants for the race. This was by far the largest scale race that I had entered in the couple of years that I have been running and the race appeared to be organised extremely efficiently - from the number and chip collection on the day before the race to the smooth organisation on race day itself. In the thirty or so minutes before the start of the race there were numerous announcements - all in French of course! I caught details of the elites (who included the man who finished 4th in the marathon at the Beijing Olympics) and their impressive PBs (many sub 1 hour). The area near the holding pens had been too congested to do any sort of meaningful warm up. This was not ideal but listening to the various announcements at least took my mind off the cold and how much I was shivering! The race started near Chateau de Vincennes to the east of Paris. It then meandered in and around the Bois de Vincennes for about 8k before heading west into Paris. The route turned east near Notre Dame at around 14k, going past La Bastille before re-entering the Bois de Vincennes just before 20k. The course profile is relatively flat with a couple of hills, although none were too long or too steep. The race was well supported, with a great atmosphere, particularly in the centre of Paris. There were frequent drink and fruit stations along the route, although I heard that discarded banana skins were somewhat hazardous as they grew in number later in the race. After the finish, before being given water, fruit and a decent medal, finishers were given a heavy plastic poncho. This sounds like a fashion crime but served its purpose to keep runners warm. I really enjoyed the race and was delighted to achieve a PB. I would certainly recommend the Paris Half Marathon. It's a great excuse for a weekend away!" Results were in the last e-news. STEYNING STINGER MARATHON Sunday 6th March 1 R Spicer (unatt) 3:21.56 68 Paul Gilbert 4:23.02 FINCHLEY 20 miles Sunday 13th March at Ruislip This race incorporated the club 20 miles championship for the Spendlove Cup, and Niall O'Connor was a comfortable winner. 1 B Fish (Blackburn) 1:47.49 72 Niall O'Connor 2:16.37 463 Julie Deller 3:29.53 485 Sally Hawkins 3:55.48 SPITFIRE 20 miles Sunday 13th March at Dunsfold 1 J McFarlane (TH&H) 1:50.39 (chip time 1:50.39) 15 James Thornton 2:09.48 (2:09.41) 51 Peter Weir 2:22.05 (2:21.58) 289 Jo Sinton-Hewitt 2:52.37 (2:52.18) 348 Heather Martingell 2:58.17 (2:57.40) TEMPEST 10 miles Sunday 13th March at Dunsfold 1 N Morgan (Waverley) 58.24 (chip time 58.24) 17 Simon Hedger 67.42 (67.39) SOUTH OF THE THAMES 7 miles CHAMPIONSHIP Saturday 19th March at Coulsdon Only Chris Bundhun and Phil Aiken elected to run the re-arranged South of the Thames race, originally scheduled for December but postponed owing to snow. 1 C Busaileh (HHH) 41:40 15 Chris Bundhun 47:27 70 Phil Aiken 67:36 DORNEY HALF MARATHON Saturday 19th March 1 J Pfeifer (unatt) 1:16.26 (chip time 1:16.24) 187 Jose Scheuer 1:46.47 (1:46.37) READING HALF MARATHON Sunday 20th March 1 S Kasimili (Kenya) 1:03.08 (chip time 1:03.07) 545 Ian Kenton 1:29.15 (1:28.49) 2758 Daniel Chiechi 1:47.34 (1:45.13) 5084 John Scally 2:00.59 (1:57.32) 5329 David Bell 2:02.14 (1:58.28) 9220 Edward Josey 2:25.22 (2:13.35) 9879 Emily Harriman 2:30.16 (2:16.49) 12393 Angus Cater 3:22.18 (3:02.55) FLEET HALF MARATHON Sunday 20th March 1 T Lambert (Winch) 1:06.22 (chip time 1:06.20) 79 Trevor Maguire 1:21.58 (1:21.48) 124 Ted Mockett 1:24.51 (1:24.42) 1062 Tom Reay 1:53.10 (1:52.18) CRANLEIGH 21 miles Sunday 20th March 1 B Powell (WGEL) 1:57.51 71 David Rowe 2:34.13 138 Chris Read 2:45.41 146 Lee Davies 2:46.39 159 Michelle Davies 2:47.42 BUSHY JUNIORS parkrun 2km Sunday 6th March 1 S Don (unatt) 7.52 21 Livvy Ricketts 10.15 27 Euan Sinclair 10.51 49 Finlay Sinclair 12.30 RICHMOND parkrun 5km Saturday 12th March 1 Unknown 17.19 25 Phil Jackson 21.10 36 Karl Garvey 22.02 60 Christopher Parsons 23.08 89 Andrew Brown 24.23 94 Paul Bisping 25.03 106 Michael Sikora 25.51 114 Zinny Gavars 26.09 118 Tony Clark 26.19 127 Rob Kitchen 26.44 128 Zoe Gavars 26.46 150 Christine Goodsell 28.04 152 Val Lowman 28.07 173 Peter Lowman 30.15 BUSHY parkrun 5km Saturday 12th March 1 C Payne (Cran T&H) 15.52 83 David Rowe 20.39 138 Kate Brook 21.58 167 Adam Wright 22.36 203 Alan Davidson 23.12 490 Edward Josey 28.01 496 Wally Garrod 28.10 CANNON HILL parkrun 5km Saturday 12th March Fourth place again but another PB for Sean Paynter. 1 Unknown 16.23 4 Sean Paynter 16.49 OLD DEER PARK parkrun 5km Saturday 12th March A win for Peter Weir. 1 Peter Weir 18.50 WHITSTABLE parkrun 5km Saturday 12th March 1 S King (Thanet) 20.04 68 Holly Wilson 41.15 BROCKWELL parkrun 5km Saturday 12th March 1 J Trapmore (Shaft B) 16.15 35 Jo Sinton-Hewitt 23.02 KINGSTON parkrun 5km Saturday 12th March 1 R Reeder (Strag) 18.15 21 Wiebke Kortum 24.36 25 Hannah Doyle 26.01 35 Janet Turnes 29.06 BEDFONT LAKES parkrun 5km Saturday 12th March 1 I Charlton (unatt) 19.11 29 Heather Martingell 27.07 RICHMOND parkrun 5km Saturday 19th March Ted Mockett finished 2nd. 1 I Johnson (Strags) 17.21 2 Ted Mockett 18.40 6 Peter Faull 18.54 8 Bill Neely 19.07 26 Phil Jackson 21.00 34 Stewart Anderson 21.16 39 Karl Garvey 21.31 94 Paul Bisping 24.45 109 Michael Sikora 25.44 114 Zinny Gavars 25.59 118 Nicola O'Shea 26.18 142 Sue Camp 27.55 144 Val Lowman 28.08 146 Zoe Gavars 28.35 193 Peter Lowman 32.21 198 Pat Hewlett 33.08 BUSHY parkrun 5km Saturday 19th March Liz Kipling was second woman at Bushy... 1 Unknown 16.00 11 Liz Kipling 18.09 14 David Rowe 18.18 193 Alan Davidson 23.11 237 Kirsty Bangham 24.03 334 Gill Wilson 25.41 434 Wally Garrod 27.42 576 Tanya Allen 31.45 589 John Hanscomb 32.06 597 Sharon Rowe 32.50 KINGSTON parkrun 5km Saturday 19th March ...while Sarah Doe was second woman at Kingston. 1 J Flood (Strag) 16.29 13 Chris Camacho 20.44 15 Sarah Doe 21.04 26 Jo Sinton-Hewitt 23.19 30 Wiebke Kortum 23.43 41 Mary Hickson 25.47 50 Janet Turnes 28.23 CANNON HILL parkrun 5km Saturday 19th March A third consecutive PB earned an overdue win for Sean Paynter. 1 Sean Paynter 16.48 BEDFONT LAKES parkrun 5km Saturday 19th March Good to see the Captain back in action, finishing in 2nd place. 1 Unknown 16.58 2 Marc Snaith 18.55 34 Sharon Dooley 25.42 OLD DEER PARK parkrun 5km Saturday 19th March The second win in a row for Peter Weir. 1 Peter Weir 18.45 GLASGOW parkrun 5km Saturday 19th March 1 S Trainer (unatt) 16.55 7 Paul Nicoll 17.55 EASTLEIGH parkrun 5km Saturday 19th March 1 N Habtemariam (Soton) 17.01 31 Adam Wright 22.13 FINALLY... Karen Weir attempts to take a novice from coach potato to Marathon runner in just twelve weeks: www.metro.co.uk/lifestyle/856696-how-to-prepare-for-a-marathon-in-jus t-12-weeks.