*************************************************** RANELAGH HARRIERS E-NEWS # 375 27 April 2012 Editor: Steve Rowland mailto: steverowland@ranelagh-harriers.com *************************************************** HEADLINE NEWS ************* * Martin Halvey and Marie Synnott-Wells are our leading finishers in the London Marathon * Carl Selya-Hammer runs 2:44 in Rotterdam * Darryl McDonald and Marie Synnott-Wells on the podium at the Thames Towpath 10 * Ranelagh also wins vets and team prizes * Good times from Gavin Jones in Italy * parkrun placings for Rebecca Hall, Wiebke Kortum, Mark Herbert, Trevor Maguire and Jo Sinton-Hewitt * Urgent - more helpers still needed for our Half Marathon on May 6th ATTENTION PLEASE **************** RICHMOND HALF MARATHON Sunday 6th May 8.30am start Separate appeals for more helpers have been sent out but if you haven't volunteered yet and can spare a few minutes on Sunday morning May 6th please contact ranelaghhalfhelpers@hotmail.co.uk without delay. SUBSCRIPTIONS... ...were due on April 1st. The rates are unchanged at £40 for seniors, £20 for second-claim members and those who are retired and over 60, £10 for under 20s and students and non-running members. There is also a £70 family membership. Post your cheque to Membership Secretary, Ranelagh Harriers, 135a Petersham Road, Richmond, Surrey TW10 7AA or leave it in an envelope at the clubhouse. A Standing Order form is available from our website here: or e-mail the Membership Secretary aachrisowens@yahoo.co.uk for Bank Transfer details or any other queries. ROAD GRAND PRIX The full list of Grand Prix events is on our website here:. Any Spring Marathon will count, so make sure you let us know your results. The composite result so far - including performances from Seville, Rotterdam, Paris, Brighton, Boston and of course London - is here:. Please let us know of any missing times. The Richmond Half Marathon is the third event in the GP, followed by the Sutton 10km on Sunday 13th May Details: GREEN BELT RELAY We have entered two teams of eleven for this year's Green Belt Relay which takes place over the weekend of May 19th and 20th. For those unfamiliar with the event, it's a relay over 22 stages following a scenic and largely off-road route around London's Green Belt. There are eleven stages each day, varying from a flat 5.6 miles to a hilly 13.5. Each team member runs one stage each day. You can read a lot more about the event on the race website. Details:. Currently we have three vacancies for one of the teams, so if you're interested please contact Kirsty Bangham kirstybangham@hotmail.com . RICHMOND 10km Sunday 24th June Entries are already coming in for our 10km on Sunday 24th June. Details are here:. It will be the same course as 2010 and 2011 - flat, fast and scenic. Entry is £10 for club runners and £12 for all others - great value for a race with chipped timing. As a running club, priority has to be to run the race but if you're available to volunteer to marshal race director Niall O'Connor will gratefully accept all offers at 10k-enquiries@ranelagh-harriers.com. As well as being the county 10k championship the race also serves as the club championship. SUMMER BBQ Following on from the Richmond 10km on Sunday 24th June we'll be holding our summer barbecue at the clubhouse from about midday. More info nearer the time. THANKS... ...from Hannah Doyle: "A huge thank you to everyone who bought running kit or cakes at my clubhouse charity sale on Tuesday evening. Thanks to your generosity we raised a truly impressive £372 for Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital Charity. (I still have a bagful of kit left so may repeat the event at some point.) Your support is really appreciated, and I look forward to seeing all the new Lycra on display at training soon! Well done to all the marathoners." CHRIS BRASHER - THE MAN WHO MADE THE LONDON MARATHON John Bryant's new biography of Chris Brasher has just been published. It's a good read and Ranelagh naturally gets plenty of mentions. Members can order the book at the special price of £15 (rrp.£20) with free UK P&P by calling 01903 828503 quoting ref AUR 327. JOHN TARRANT Mike Rowland writes: "Older members might remember that wonderful runner John Tarrant. As a hapless teenage boxer in the 1950s, he'd been paid £17 expenses. When he wanted to run, he was banned for life. His amateur status had been compromised. Forever. But he fought back, gatecrashing races all over Britain. No number on his shirt. No friends in high places. But he was one of the greatest long-distance runners the world has ever seen. Now his true story has been told in a book by Bill Jones and I can't put it down. It's called 'The Ghost Runner' (ISBN 978-1-84596-606-5). Try and get a copy. It's a brilliant but tragic story". SWLAN NEWS Kate Brook writes: "South West London Athletics Network (SWLAN) would like to support its clubs by holding a Level 2 Endurance Officials with Risk Assessment course. It is made up of four modules as follows: a) a generic officiating module; b) the start; c) the course; d) the finish. Risk Assessment is a separate module that will be delivered on the same day. The course requires a minimum of 15 people to attend. I would like to gain the minimum number of people expressing an interested in attending this course before I arrange it. Please email me kate.brook@swlan.org.uk to express your interest in attending the following course: Level 2 Endurance Official with Risk Assessment Details: no previous qualification or experience required; attendance only, no assessment involved. Date: Saturday 30th June 2012 Time: 9am - 5 pm (TBC) Location: St Mary's University College Twickenham TW1 4SX Cost: Free to members of SWLAN clubs." Kingston & Poly AC's monthly athletics talks supported by SWLAN are held on the third Monday of each month. All talks start at 7:30pm and are kindly hosted by the Pure Sports Medicine Clinic at the David Lloyd Centre in Bushey Road, Raynes Park - just off the A3 and not far from Raynes Park and Wimbledon Chase stations. All talks are free to everyone. 21st May - How to run a faster parkrun Local parkrun director Ian Higgins will be assembling a panel of experienced parkrunners of different ages and standards to share training tips to help parkrunners of all abilities to shave time off their PBs. WHAT'S COMING ************* More details of the following from Marc Snaith (07717 213035 / e-mail Marc and Chris ranelagh.men@gmail.com or Marie Synnott-Wells (07983 430264 (After 5pm Weekdays) / e-mail Marie and Heather ranelagh.women@gmail.com Sunday 6th May Ranelagh Richmond Half Marathon. See above. Sunday 13th May Sutton 10km. Details. Sunday 10th June Dorking 10 miles including Surrey Championship. Details:. 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 *************** THAMES TOWPATH 10 miles Sunday 15th April at Chiswick The Towpath 10 has become a popular feature in our calendar, usually acting as the opening race in our club road Grand Prix series. This year there were 49 Ranelagh finishers despite the proximity of various marathons. We provided almost exactly 10% of the entire field, which is quite impressive. There was quality as well as quantity. Darryl McDonald was in the mix for second place before settling for a clear third and Chris Bundhun was an equally isolated fifth. Darryl was the leading over 40 and a resurgent Paul Sinton-Hewitt was first over 50 with Bill Neely in second place. Mike Peace was runner-up in the over 60s with Phil Jackson 4th and Wyn Williams 6th. John Hanscomb was 2nd over 70. Marie Synnott-Wells was second in the women's race and first veteran, while Kate Comisso was 8th. We won both team races - the liquid prizes are awaiting collection by their winners in the clubhouse! LONDON MARATHON Sunday 22nd April With Richard Gregory having to drop out a few days before the event with a virus, the race for Ranelagh's Winter Cup was wide open. Trevor Maguire's pre-race form guide napped Martin Halvey as the winner but also predicted half a dozen others home within a few minutes. Martin certainly went out hardest, whipping through the first 10km in 38.27 over a minute ahead of Trevor with Sean Paynter not far behind. Martin was still going well at half way in 82.09, now three minutes clear of Trevor and Sean. Also inside 87 were Mark Herbert, Nick Wright and surprise packet Charles Jans. Martin's pace began to slip after 35km but he was not the only one. At 30km in 1:58.39 he still had over three minutes in hand over Trevor. Charles had moved through to third a couple of minutes down on Trevor and just ahead of Mark and Nick. Martin used all his marathon experience to keep the pace going and crossed the line in 2:51.34 to win the Winter Cup. Charles finished strongest of all to record 2:54.04 followed by Trevor on 2:56.00. Mark and Nick, who had run more or less together all the way, just made it inside three hours and James Whistler, Sean Paynter, David Rowe and Paul Nicholl were home inside 3:10. Marie Synnott-Wells ran a steady race, slowing slightly in the closing stages but holding on for a 3:12.39 clocking despite a heavy fall with three miles to go. She therefore retains the Brasher Bowl. Bill Neely was not far behind Marie in 3:16.37. We have identified twenty-one men finishers and eight women, amongst whom Lara Werrett, Michelle Davies and Heather Martingell made it home inside four hours. Let us know if we have missed anyone. Needless to say, Mike Peace got round the course for the 32nd time - one of now only sixteen men who have run every London Marathon. Well done Mike! And many thanks to Janet Turnes for her generous hospitality at the Wych Elm in the evening. Here's Martin Halvey's account: "It was a great honour to win the Cup as the leading Ranelagh finisher, even if it was by default. Good things come to those who wait and wait....conditions were perfect and I felt lively for most of the race. It was only after I exited the Isle of Dogs that I noticed the energy levels were a little depleted. However the support was excellent, none more so than Andy and Chris. They seemed to be all over the course urging us on. At times I was reminded of the Hammer Horror films, expecting to find one of their faces suddenly popping up in front of me. Afflicted by delusions I thought ahead to the finish only to find the find the pair of them fighting over the right to plop my medal over my head. About two miles from the finish I was overtaken by a purple fairy. He flew past, dressed in his fine purple finery, somewhat similar to the fairy queen's costume. I knew I was slowing down, but to be overtaken by a fairy was a blow. The shame was lessened when I discovered he was the fastest fairy ever to run the marathon, so well done to him! Trevor (the John McCririck of Ranelagh) ruefully told me he lost time in the Isle of Dogs. Now this could be a mental thing, as the name conjures up a place habited by wild dogs liable to slow your pace, so I suggest we rename it the Isle of Isabella, and you are transported to the tranquil haven of Richmond Park thereby maintaining your steady pace as you run down and up the Isle. I think I might have made some progress regarding the theory of relativity. Running in my bubble of space (zone) I found as you approach the finish of a marathon time slows down (drags) and a mile grows longer, and the opposite is true at the start. There might just be a Nobel prize in the offing! A great day as usual, and thanks to the Ranelagh support - Andy, Chris, Phil, Daniela and all the others along the route." Here's Trevor Maguire: "Having run London a few times I think this was probably the best year to do so. A lovely day for running a marathon and the crowds were out in force, especially the Ranelagh supporters who seemed to be cheering us on all the way around the course - many thanks to everyone. I was contemplating stepping off the course around the 21 mile mark but had second thoughts when I considered the comments I would receive from a number of Ranelagh colleagues. I had a sort-of decent race in the end, but was six minutes shy of my target, so a four seconds PB was a bit underwhelming. Congratulations to the 'old dog' Martin on collecting the Winter Cup - he went off like a rabbit and I didn't see him until mid-afternoon in the pub! As ever a great day rounded off by a few convivial drinks and tall tales in the Wych Elm." And David Rowe: "Over the past couple of months I've concentrated fully on preparation for the London Marathon. The bike has barely been ridden and swimming was practically non-existent so you'd never think I was into triathlon! I upped my mileage and trained much smarter than before. Although I should be (and believe I am) capable of a sub three hours time my only goal was to run a good for age time of under 3 hours 10 minutes. I wanted to play it 'safe' on the day and aim for that time and pick things up near the end if feeling good but I can leave my battle for sub 3 till another year. Arriving on the start line I strangely had some light quad aching which I couldn't explain. It did strike a little fear into me and how my run would be but I just had to get on with things when the gun went and deal with any issues as they appeared. I hit the half way mark feeling aerobically fresh but certainly not fresh in the legs in 1:33:56. This wasn't right as I'd run much better in training, however I just needed to do this (or even slightly slower) again. I edged past Mike Peace shortly afterwards and then a few miles later saw Marie. The toughest miles were going through Canary Wharf with all its twists and turns but once on the 'road home' I felt able to really push on to the finish. My legs were screaming at me but I only had to run a 45 minute final 10k! Easy eh!!! Well, I hadn't come all this way to miss out on my target time by a matter of seconds so there was no stopping me. I could happily put up with some pain for the next thirty minutes or so if I meant getting the time I wanted. Continually passing people was a great motivational boost as they were either walking, slowing down or screaming with cramp by the side of the road. I saw Sean Paynter who latched onto me and followed me home. Crossing the line my chip time was 3:09:09 so (comfortably) inside of my target time and giving me a Good For Age time for the next couple of years. Awesome. I love this race (it's the second time I've done it). The Ranelagh support on the course was great and I was proud to be out there wearing blue. Thanks to everyone who cheered me on. See you in 2013." Heather Martingell writes: "I'm very happy with my time but don't know what happened as preparation was as near good as it could get for a significant PB. I made a foolish error not to wear a hat and that sun certainly shone on the back of my head for nearly four hours. In the future I will completely ignore the weather forecast and wear factor 50 and a hat regardless. You'd think I'd know having now clocked up 27 marathons. This was my first visit to the Good For Age (green) start. I bumped into Bill Neely, then Mike Peace, Colin then Lara. The area was well organised and I lined up with a bunch of jolly friendly runners in my pen all wishing each other well then the gun started the race. No more than one mile in, our start joined the blues which made quite a traffic jam of runners. I felt we were packed in like sardines. There were the usual idiots who think they can get further quicker by changing lanes. My rhythm was instantly messed up. By mile 3-ish I felt that the conditions were a tad warm and realised I wasn't 'feeling' a good run was on. The miles didn't click over quite as quickly as they normally do. I was hot and irritated by the water bottle missiles (how dangerous is that!), other runners clipping my heels or nudging my arms and supporters with whistles. I was SO grateful to get support from fellow Ranelagh Harriers dotted around the course along with some Stragglers and folks who know me from parkrun. If a marathon is going well for me mile 16 is time to crank it up, but this time around there was no chance. It was just going to be a case of trying to hold on and get it over with." Here's Hannah Doyle: "London 2012 was my first marathon and, thanks to Ranelagh, I felt well prepared and excited. I'd been warned the first few miles would be all elbows and shuffling, and they were, but this had the benefit of keeping my pace in check. And although all the weaving, bottle-dodging and stop-starting got a little frustrating (OK, it got very frustrating), it did allow me to see many of the charity costumes I'd later spot on TV! I loved the fact the first half was residential, with small groups gathering in front gardens and hanging out of pubs, while the second half was crowd-lined and epic. Tower Bridge was a brilliant reward for getting to the halfway mark. Canary Wharf was such a party I almost wanted to stop running and join in. And the final miles back along The Highway and Embankment... well I want to squeal with excitement just thinking about them. As I turned the corner at the Houses of Parliament, my face broke into an involuntary grin. I was so delighted to finish in 4:27 I hugged Emma, the marshal who gave me my medal. Ranelagh highlights included bumping into Ian at the start, seeing both Sharon AND David Rowe en route, and being cheered on by Deborah and Simon in the Isle of Dogs. Such a brilliant day, well worth the blisters." Sharon Rowe: "I decided in April last year that I would defer my London Marathon ballot place, with a view to losing some weight and getting back into running again. Fast forward to the end of 2011, I was three stones lighter and did a Half Marathon PB at Bedford. The deal had always been that if I ran a reasonable Half, then I would train for London, so that's what I did. Sunday morning finally rolled around, I was nervous as anything even though my training had gone well and been consistent. In fact I had been virtually paralysed with fear for the preceding three weeks. I set off, 'Relax, relax, keep steady'...but at 11 miles, I had to walk! I don't know what that was all about. I had done decent long runs in training, including the Cranleigh 21, but for some reason my head was telling me I couldn't do it. I tripped along, reaching halfway within my target time but between 17-19 miles, I was really struggling, not physically, mentally. At 19 miles I could see my sub-5 target was, if not gone, then certainly on its way out! I started the old mental arithmetic of working out if I walked at the start of each remaining mile and ran the rest, what time I could finish. I calculated if I pushed on, I could finish under 5:20. What a nightmare. For some reason at 20 miles or so, when we turned back towards the City and I could see the Gherkin, I felt better. I actually didn't mind the last six miles - and positively enjoyed the last three! Very strange. I was prepared for it to be tough, but it was tough where I didn't expect it to be - and my race was definitely a race of three parts, not the two normally quoted in all the running books. I pushed on, so happy to see David at 25 miles shouting, 'Go Ranelagh' as apparently I hadn't heard him calling my name. I was overtaking people as I ran along and finished in 5:16:55, more than a little overwhelmed at the whole experience, but pleased I had managed to get under my revised target. When my medal was put around my neck, I burst into tears. Sunday night I was saying, 'Never again'...and now I am planning my next one to beat the sub-5 demons ;) I was so disappointed to let myself and everyone down with my time. I knew full well I was more than capable of a sub-5, all my training pointed to that but then as everyone knows, anything can happen on race day. I think it was my head that beat me on Sunday, my body was fine. They say marathon running is a slippery slope, they're not wrong ;)" As usual Mike Rowland formed our rearguard: "I started on Blackheath this year, much prefer that to Greenwich Park. It suits my tactics. I wait until everybody has gone and then start walking. Greenwich Park always has far more competitors in bizarre costumes than Blackheath and you're in a crowd right from the start. But I only had a handful behind me as we approached Woolwich and had settled into a nice rhythm, so important for race-walking. Inevitably, it got crowded later on as runners tired and started walking, mostly far slower than me. It's quite tiring trying to weave your way through. Strong winds and heavy rain for the last couple of miles, finished cold and soaked to the skin. Fortunately, I still have a building pass for my old work place, not that far from Charing Cross, so I was under a hot shower half an hour after I'd finished. Brilliant! I'd had a good race, 5:52:30 (they have yet to invent a chip that caters for a stop behind a bush for a you-know-what). Over 12 minutes quicker than last year. Now that would have fooled the handicapper! Right, enough of me. Well done to all Ranelagh finishers and especially to Martin Halvey and Marie Synnott-Wells, our first man and woman home and therefore winners of the Winter Cup and Brasher Bowl respectively. And, of course congratulations to dear old Mike Peace who, as we all know, has finished every one of the 32 London Marathons. Man, you are amazing! And, do you know, only one of those 32 was slower than my fastest-ever London. Makes you sick, doesn't it! A word of thanks here for those wonderful crowds who turn out in their thousands every year - and that includes several of you club members who didn't take part the race but came up to London to give us encouragement. The weather was extremely nasty at the end of my race but there were still loads along Birdcage Walk cheering on me and the other slowies. It helps, it really does. Congratulations to Claire Hallissey for gaining selection for our Olympics marathon team though I'm very sad that it will deprive Jo Pavey of a place. Let's hope she's selected for the 10k. Jo is one of my three favourite current British athletes, alongside William Sharman and the marvellous Peri Shakes-Drayton. Commiserations to Lee Merrien, an excellent PB but just outside the Olympic qualifying standard." MABAC CRANLEIGH 15/21 miles Sunday 25th March Results were in the last e-news but Bev Ali adds: "Congratulations to all of you who completed the Cranleigh 15/21 organised by MABAC. It is one of two open races organised by the league, by runners, for runners. As you are probably aware, the race is only possible with the contribution of time by a number of volunteers from the member running clubs. Ranelagh is one of these clubs, and, to date, has only ever had one volunteer. We do get to take credit for the large cash donations made to charities every year by MABAC, which are only possible because of the profit from the two open races that are organised by MABAC volunteers. I think this is hardly fair since we have contributed next to nothing in support of them. If you enjoyed participating in either of the two races, perhaps you could consider giving something back by volunteering some of your time next year." NEWS FROM ITALY After a spell out with injury, Rome-based Gavin Jones has been trying to race his way back to fitness with a tough schedule of events. On 11th March he ran the Correndo nei Giardini 10km at Ladispoli, finishing 29th (3rd over 50) in 35.25. Two weeks later he improved to 34.38 in the Vola Ciampino 10km, where he finished 31st and was the leading over 50. Just a week later on April 1st back home in Rome he recorded 35.17 in the Granai Run 10km for 46th place and 4th over 50. Then on April 22nd he stepped up to the Half Marathon distance at Naples where he finished 20th in 78.11 and won the over 50 category. ROTTERDAM MARATHON Sunday 15th April Carl Selya-Hammer writes: "I'm happy to report my finishing time in the Rotterdam Marathon - 2:44:17. Following a friend's advice, having run a half-marathon last month in 1:18 I aimed to run the first half of the marathon in 1:22, though I ended up crossing the 13.1 mark in 1:22:40. Over the next few miles, I maintained the same comfortable pace only speeding up a few seconds per mile. Running conservatively, I was surprised at how fresh I felt at each point in the race. With ten miles to go I started pushing it a bit harder, aiming for packs of runners ahead that I could draft off in order to cope with the wind that had picked up late in the race. I noticed that once I caught these groups, however, their pace was too slow for what I was shooting for so I ran on, running alone for the remainder of the race. I was able to pull off four very fast miles from miles 19-23 and again I was surprised that I was able to maintain nearly 6 min/mile at this stage in the race. This pleasant surprise was short-lived though. During mile 24 I started to feel as though my energy and my will were slipping away from me, finishing this mile in 6:26. I later found out this is exactly where the top runners lost the world record pace they had maintained throughout the race. Fortunately for me at least, this slowdown was due to a strong headwind and as soon as I turned the next corner and changed direction I felt a surge of energy come back to me. The next few km were not easy but I managed to maintain my overall average marathon pace. My breathing got a bit funny, especially my exhalations which were coming out as three separate staggered breaths. Before I knew it though I was seeing the markers for 1000m/750m/500m to go painted on the road. With the finish line in the distance, I gave it everything I had to try and hit 2:43. Alas, that goal slipped away from me but I did manage to finish the race with a 60 second negative split and a PB by 8.5 minutes." 1 Y Adhane (Ethiopia) 2:04.48 (chip time 2:04.47) 186 Carl Selya-Hammer 2:44.28 (2:44.17) PARIS MARATHON Sunday 15th April Bev Ali reports: "Paris - City of Light! Did you know that Parisians don't pee? At the start of the Paris Marathon, with 35,000 plus runners queuing for the start, there were about a dozen portaloos! Or maybe it is only Parisian women who don't pee, since there were also those wonderful open air urinals for the men... Fortunately there is a very posh restaurant near the slowest pen, Fouquet's, with the loveliest maitre d' who made it seem like any runners wishing to use the loos were the most welcome guests, so please have a coffee or a meal there on the Champs Elysees when next you are in Paris. It then took us more than 45 minutes to get over the start line but once we got going, the sights were wonderful. The route is not quite as flat as London - there were several underpasses in the second half. The supporters were a bit thin on the ground for a lot of the route and the water station at about 38 km had been packed up by the time we got to it - the final finisher was about an hour behind me so who knows how much refreshment they got. There is not as much charity running or fancy dress as London, so I did not get beaten by a chicken in the last mile. The rest of the water stations gave out small bottles of water at 5k intervals, providing special containers for recycling the empty bottles. However, the 'food' that was provided was cut up oranges and bananas, and if you have ever wondered what it is like to do the comedy routine of slipping on a banana peel or orange peel, this was the place to try it...and then for the next half kilometre your trainers stuck to the tarmac...there was no provision for discarding the peels other than on the side of the road, middle of the road, in front of the water tables... In spite of all of this, I did enjoy running Paris! The ease of entering, the wonderful sightseeing en route, and the great excuse to spend a weekend in Paris with the whole family made it a really worthwhile experience. It did, however, underline and highlight how well organised the London Marathon is." Simon Martin adds: "A weekend in Paris in Spring? I can think of worse things! Entry prices for the Paris Marathon varied according to when you entered, starting at 60 euros. This seems reasonable for a large scale marathon which takes place in an expensive, major European capital city. On the day the weather was pretty much perfect. There was no rain, maximum temperature during the race below 10 degrees, with occasional sunny spells and a bracing breeze on a few parts of the course. The race started in waves on the Champs Élysées and made use of the entire width of the road. Consequently the start, at least in the early waves, was not too congested. From there the route headed east along the rue de Rivoli to the Place de la Bastille and then into the Bois de Vincennes. Part of the course here was identical to the half marathon route that takes place in March. I did it last year and would recommend it! The route looped west back towards the Place de la Bastille before following the north bank of the Seine past Notre Dame, the Musée d'Orsay and the Eiffel Tower all on the opposite side of the river. Finally, the race snaked its way through the Bois de Bologne before finishing on the Avenue Foch. The organisation was generally very good. There were well stocked drinks stations every 5k which had bottles of water, bananas, oranges and sugar. Sadly the marshalling was somewhat absent in places which allowed the enthusiastic crowds to push forwards narrowing the course to only three or so people wide. This made parts of the course congested and it was difficult sometimes to overtake slower runners. I really liked the slightly quirky shape of the medal which was essentially a miniature of the finishers' technical t-shirt we also were given. After the finish having collected the medal, race t-shirt and drinks, there was another irritating and potentially dangerous organisational issue. The only route out of the finishing area was extremely narrow, probably about 4m at most, which is insufficient for more than thirty thousand runners to exit. The problem was compounded by spectators waiting for their loved ones in the same place. On a personal level I was happy with my race which seemed relatively comfortable. I ran conservatively and was disciplined throughout with my pace - in fact I ran only 8 seconds different between the first and second halves! In summary I would definitely recommend this Spring marathon- it was fantastic racing weather on the day, the route was lovely and the course profile very fair." 1 S Biwott (Kenya) 2:05.12 (chip time 2:05.10) 4086 Simon Martin 3:27.21 (3:22.42) 31044 Penny Merrett 5:59.59 (5:13.49) 31886 Bev Ali 6:14.13 (5:28.05) BRIGHTON MARATHON Sunday 15th April 1 P Some (Kenya) 2:12.03 (chip time 2:12.03) 1508 Ian Grange 3:46.48 (3:43.07) 2323 David Munt 3:59.03 (3:53.53) BOSTON MARATHON Monday 16th April Conditions were tough in Boston this year, with the temperature already in the high 20s Celsius even before the 10am start. 1 W Korir (Kenya) 2:12.40 5742 Duncan Mallison 3:46.48 5986 Bruce McLaren 3:57.07 BEDFONT LAKES parkrun 5km Saturday 14th April Mark Herbert finished in second place. 1 J Harris (Woking) 18.15 2 Mark Herbert 18.35 71 Michelle Davies 29.25 72 Mike White 29.27 RICHMOND PARK parkrun 5km Saturday 14th April 1 M Windsor (San Dom) 16.55 59 Gary McKeown 22.05 63 Karen Weir 22.12 73 Eugenio Carmo 22.44 77 Richard Goddard-Jones 22.54 82 Andrew Brown 23.07 89 Lloyd Camp 23.32 120 Lewis Emery 24.59 139 Dianne Oliver 25.41 157 Tony Clark 26.51 163 Nicholas Fordham 27.05 180 Ally Salisbury 27.42 226 Val Lowman 30.24 235 Peter Lowman 30.52 268 Pat Hewlett 34.16 BUSHY PARK parkrun 5km Saturday 14th April 1 A Jackson (Sitting) 15.52 12 Nick Wright 17.16 40 David Ready 19.14 44 Chris Brook 19.24 105 Adam Wright 21.01 429 Alison Salmon 25.57 534 Kirsty Bangham 27.36 545 David Bell 27.47 590 Wally Garrod 28.37 610 Vicci Randle 28.48 611 Sharon Rowe 28.49 615 Heather Martingell 28.51 651 Edward Josey 29.51 748 John Hanscomb 33.23 760 Tamsin Burland 34.06 OLD DEER PARK parkrun 5km Saturday 14th April Second place this time for Trevor Maguire. 1 D Tanner (Clapham) 16.29 2 Trevor Maguire 18.02 12 Peter Fordham 25.30 29 Melanie Hunter 32.16 WORCESTER parkrun 5km Saturday 14th April 1 J Mansfield (Tewks) 17.24 15 Phil Jackson 20.44 KINGSTON parkrun 5km Saturday 14th April 1 J Holland (26.2) 17.13 19 Chris Camacho 21.00 BEDFORD parkrun 5km Saturday 14th April Jo Sinton-Hewitt finished third woman. 1 S Richardson (unatt) 17.05 23 Jo Sinton-Hewitt 23.46 KILLERTON parkrun 5km Saturday 14th April 1 M Feighan (SWRR) 17.58 20 Steve Rowland 22.33 25 Sonia Rowland 23.07 MIDDLESBROUGH ALBERT PARK parkrun 5km Saturday 14th April 1 M Murray (N York M) 17.33 81 Paul Munting 24.25 BASINGSTOKE parkrun 5km Saturday 14th April 1 M Shaylor (Basing) 17.30 53 Chris Wright 23.47 112 Mary Hickson 27.01 DULWICH parkrun 5km Saturday 14th April 1 R Reeder (Strag) 16.48 81 Phil Aiken 24.25 GUILDFORD parkrun 5km Saturday 14th April 1 M Jones (Thames H&H) 16.12 37 Alan Davidson 23.50 BEDFONT LAKES parkrun 5km Saturday 21st April Rebecca Hall was the leading woman. 1 B Hill (unatt) 19.44 7 Phil Jackson 21.09 12 Lloyd Camp 22.34 13 Rebecca Hall 22.44 14 Amrut Sharma 22.56 16 Rob Curtis 23.10 35 Sue Camp 25.23 42 Tony Clark 26.18 43 Rob Kitchen 26.20 67 Philippa Kitchen 28.13 RICHMOND PARK parkrun 5km Saturday 21st April 1 J Newey (Mercia FRC) 17.56 6 Andy Bickerstaff 19.09 36 Karl Garvey 21.16 37 Chris Read 21.18 46 Tomas Sterner 21.46 51 Eugenio Carmo 21.56 67 Alex Fordham 22.27 78 Simon Taylor 22.50 95 Karen Weir 23.21 112 Lewis Emery 23.57 175 Lorna Smith 26.24 246 Val Lowman 29.36 269 Peter Lowman 31.16 271 Martin Clark 31.36 293 Penny Merrett 35.00 311 Pat Hewlett 37.58 312 Bev Ali 38.16 320 Andrew Brown 39.47 BUSHY PARK parkrun 5km Saturday 21st April 1 R Kowenicki (unatt) 16.30 22 Paul Sinton-Hewitt 18.22 29 David Ready 18.53 130 Adam Wright 21.28 234 Clive Naish 23.15 269 Peter Fordham 23.42 423 David Rowe 26.05 589 Wally Garrod 28.23 648 Vicci Randle 29.29 653 Kirsty Bangham 29.36 766 John Hanscomb 32.50 KINGSTON parkrun 5km Saturday 21st April Wiebke Kortum took second place in the women's section. 1 N Batavia (unatt) 17.55 12 Chris Camacho 20.52 15 Wiebke Kortum 21.33 27 Alan Davidson 23.14 32 Kate Brook 23.41 BEXLEY parkrun 5km Saturday 21st April 1 D Norman (Strag) 17.48 38 Phil Aiken 25.30 FINALLY... "One Wednesday evening in March 1982, a bunch of Ranelagh runners were in the bar at the Dysart Arms in Petersham. They were enjoying themselves and knocking back pints to combat the dehydration brought about by their run in Richmond Park. Among them was Rex Lofts, a past president of the Ranelagh Harriers and one of those who had featured back in 1965 in the first orienteering event to be held in the south of England in Richmond Park. 'Chris Brasher came in,' Lofts remembers, 'a crutch under each arm and one foot heavily bandaged. We were naturally very sympathetic and anxious to know what had happened. He told us that he had been walking in north Wales and field-testing a new walking boot which he had designed. Brasher explained that he had tripped over his own feet and this was the result. I'm sorry to say that amidst gales of laughter we were all of the opinion that the Brasher Boot would never be a success'." From "Chris Brasher - The Man Who Made the London Marathon" by John Bryant. The Brasher Boot went on to make Chris a millionaire.