Home
Newsdesk 2013
***************************************************
RANELAGH HARRIERS E-NEWS # 414 6 December 2013
Editor: Steve Rowland
mailto: steverowland@ranelagh-harriers.com
***************************************************
HEADLINE NEWS
*************
* We win the mob match v Thames Hare & Hounds
* Jon Pepper, Richard Gregory and Gemma Cory lead our mob
* Ranelagh women are 5th and the men 18th in the South of the Thames 5
miles
* Eirin McDaid runs 33.28 10km in Belfast
* Simon Martin completes Winter 100 miles
* parkrun placings for Polly White, Sacha Kennedy, Lydia Louw, Nick Wright,
Michelle Davies and Estelle Damant
* Christmas Party this Saturday
* Last chance to apply for London Marathon guaranteed places
* Charity auction of a Ranelagh vest signed by David Weir
* Surrey Ladies League this Saturday, Mob Match v South London H on
December 14th
ATTENTION PLEASE
****************
CHRISTMAS PARTY Saturday 7th December
Our Christmas Party takes place this Saturday at the Richmond Hill Hotel.
Cindy Croucher writes:
Ranelagh vest signed by David Weir
"This Christmas I will be auctioning a Ranelagh Harriers vest to raise money
for CLIC Sargent. CLIC Sargent is a charity which supports children and
young people with cancer. The Chief Executive of CLIC Sargent is a Ranelagh
member, Lorraine Clifton. A colleague of mine, Lee Marsh, was recently
supported by CLIC Sargent. His son Toby fell ill days after his first
birthday and following tests was diagnosed with a brain tumour. After ten
hours of surgery at St George's to remove the tumour Toby went to America
for radiotherapy. This involved daily treatments of radiotherapy for thirty
days and each day Toby had to be anaesthetised. Toby is now home and has had
his first MRI scan check-up (he has them every three months) and it is all
clear! CLIC Sargent supported Toby's family by funding them to travel and
live in the States whilst Toby was treated. A lady from CLIC Sargent called
Maureen helped with the all the paperwork required for funding and
organised accommodation whilst they lived at St George's and the Royal
Marsden hospitals.
After accosting him whilst he was eating his breakfast, David Weir, holder
of six gold Paralympic medals and six-time winner of the London Marathon has
signed a Ranelagh vest to be auctioned at the Christmas party. David is
reluctant to sign things since his autograph appeared on E-bay but when he
heard Toby's story he agreed on one condition - it raises more money than
Mo's did last year!
The lovely Michelle Davies and Mike White will be the auctioneers on the
night so please come and bid for this unique, one-off piece of history and
dig deep for an amazing cause!"
LONDON MARATHON PLACES
We have been allotted four guaranteed places for the 2014 London Marathon.
The draw for these will take place at the Christmas Party. To be eligible
you need to have taken part in at least two mob matches in the
past twelve months, or else to have run one mob match and also helped as a
volunteer at two club events. If you qualify send your name in to Wyn
Williams wynandlin@btinternet.com before the Christmas Party.
SURREY LADIES LEAGUE Saturday 7th December at Coulsdon
We finished second in Division 2 in the first League race, so we'll hope to
do at least as well again on Saturday. The venue is Farthing Downs,
Coulsdon, start time for seniors 12 noon. The race HQ is at South London
Harriers' clubhouse. The SLH website has a map of the venue and there is
also a link to the course map:. The
Under17/Under 15 race follows at 1pm and the Under 13s at 1.30pm.
STUBBS CUP MOB MATCH v SOUTH LONDON HARRIERS Saturday 14th December at
Coulsdon
On the back of one memorable away win (see Thames H&H mob match report
below), can we make it two in a row? We certainly can, with the usual
proviso that we can do it only if we have plenty of runners on the starting
line. Be there if you possibly can and do your bit to help us retain the
Stubbs Cup. See the Ladies League above for details of the venue. It's 7.5
miles and the start is at 2.30pm
RICHMOND ICE RINK
The Richmond Ice Rink at York House Twickenham is looking to help local
clubs and organisations this Christmas by introducing a 'kick back to clubs
incentive scheme'. The incentive works as follows:
We've been assigned a unique code offering a 10% discount off tickets. For
every ticket purchased using this code, we get 5% donated from the Ice Rink
back to our club.
The code is RHarriersJrs. See www.richmondrink.com for more info on the ice
rink.
COURSE MARKING and THE FRIENDS OF RICHMOND PARK
We have had a couple of problems this season with flags marking our courses
being systematically removed. We suspect that this was the work of the
individual who was up to similar tricks last winter purporting to represent
the Friends of Richmond Park. The Friends (of which our club is a member)
would like to make it clear that they in no way condone the activities of
this person and would stop him if he was seen. Fortunately we now have no
home fixtures requiring course marking until February.
NEW PATH and BRIDGE OPENED IN RICHMOND PARK
The new bridge over Beverley Brook and the half-mile path linking the Park
to the Golf Course club house and Chohole Gate was officially opened on
Friday, November 15th, by Linda Lennon at a ceremony attended by local MPs
Justine Greening (Putney) and Zac Goldsmith (Richmond Park). Chohole Gate
leads onto Roehampton Vale, almost opposite the cemetery and crematorium.
Follow Ranelagh on Facebook:.
WHAT'S COMING
*************
More details of the following from the men's Captains ( e-mail Phil, Duncan
or Trevor ranelagh.men@gmail.com or the women's Captains
( e-mail Estelle, Becky or Phil ranelagh.women@gmail.com )
Saturday 7th December Surrey Ladies League 6km. 12 noon start
(followed by junior races) at Coulsdon.
Saturday 14th December Stubbs Cup mob match 7.5 miles v South London
Harriers at Coulsdon. 2.30pm start
Saturday 21st December South of the Thames 7.5 miles championship at
Wimbledon. 2pm start.
Saturday 28th December Henty Relay in Richmond Park. 12 noon start. All
members welcome, but you must register at the clubhouse by 11.30am to be
included in a team.
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
Crane Park Near the Hospital Bridge Roundabout
on the A316 in Twickenham
Other venues, more details and registration at www.parkrun.com
2km junior parkruns for under 14s take place on the first Sunday of each
month from Bushy Park's Teddington Gate (11am start) and from Savill Garden
car park, Windsor Great Park (9.30am start).
WHAT'S HAPPENED
***************
SOUTH OF THE THAMES 5 miles CHAMPIONSHIP Saturday 23rd November at
Streatham Common
No-one seemed to remember the last time a major cross-country fixture was
held on Streatham Common, but the comments about the course afterwards were
generally favourable. It consisted of two distinct parts: first, a wide
grassy slope some 500-600 metres down to Streatham High Road, only to turn
and turn again to climb all the way back up; then a hilly and rough section
in the woods. Three laps made up the five miles, and this presented the only
problem as finishers sprinting home mingled with lapped runners.
There was no three-line whip for this race as far as Ranelagh was concerned,
and the men's team was fairly low-key. However, we had a pretty strong
women's team and they did well to take fifth place. Our new club women's
champion Megan De Silva led them all the way to finish 17th with Gwen
McCormack as usual not far behind in 20th. Marie Synnott-Wells 28th and
Victoria Elbourne 34th closed in the scoring team of four. Wiebke Kortum,
Sonia Rowland and Helen Nance followed on.
For the men Mark Herbert led our team all the way after an initial flourish
from Peter Faull. They were never far apart and finished 70th and 75th with
Dave Lawley chasing hard in 79th. Paul Doyle was virtually running in his
own back garden and closed in the four at 88th. The team was placed 18th.
Rob Curtis, Andy Woodhouse and Phil Aiken were our other representatives,
along with Waldron Slaughter who called it a day after two and a half laps.
MOB MATCH v THAMES HARE and HOUNDS 7.5 miles
Saturday 30th November on Wimbledon Common
Well, if the Orion mob match was "the one that got away" (see e-news 412),
this was the one that we managed to net and land after a formidable
struggle! 38 was the margin by which Orion had defeated us and today - after
a recount - there were only 47 points between ourselves and Thames. Once
again, the difference represented just one runner, but this time scoring 42
a side it was Ranelagh who came out on top by 1796 to 1843.
We had the same number of starters as we had fielded against Orion - 63, an
excellent turnout for an away match albeit one only just across the A3 from
our home patch - and once again this well outnumbered the opposition who had
45. In amongst the familiar faces lining up for us were a few welcome
visitors like Neil Walford, Rob Wise, Phil O'Brien and Dave Muckersie.
In recent years we have tended to find ourselves swamped at the head of the
field by a very strong Thames first team, so it was pleasing to see a blue
vest at the front in the early stages. This was new second-claimer Jon
Pepper, but sadly his lead was not to last. Jon, Richard Gregory and a
couple of the leading Thames men all ran off course leaving fifth-placed
Martin Shore of Thames in the lead. He doggedly held on to that lead despite
Jon and Richard's hot pursuit and in the end only 13 seconds covered the
three of them. Thames had the next three home before Sam Perkins crossed the
line in 7th place just ahead of Phil Killingley. Carl Selya-Hammer completed
the top ten. Each club provided five men in the first ten, but Thames then
began to edge away in the scoring with 11th, 13th, 14th, 15th and 20th
places against our 12th (Thomas Craggs) and 16th - 19th (Mark Herbert, Nick
Wright, Peter Faull and Ted Mockett). Scoring ten a side Thames's advantage
was a negligible 14 points, 98-112.
Thames packed well in the early twenties and extended their lead. Their
twentieth finisher was 37th against our 41st (Niall O'Connor) and scoring
twenty a side Thames held a 55 points advantage. We had a useful pack in the
early forties but Thames countered well in the fifties and at thirty a side
it was looking good for Thames at 884 points to 949. They reached their
greatest lead at 32 a side where the scores stood at 1004 to 1076. Then at
last Ranelagh began to make inroads. We packed well in the sixties and again
in the seventies and we steadily chipped away at that deficit. By 40 a side
we were exactly equal at 1641 points each. Our final two scorers, Chris
Camacho and John Scally, were 77th and 78th. Thames's last two were 100th
and 102nd. That difference alone made up the 47 points that separated us.
If ever there was a lesson on how all runners can make a difference to the
final result of a mob match, this was it. Only those down to 78th
contributed to our score, but all our remaining runners pushed Thames
scorers further down the field and added to their total. We can all give
ourselves a pat on the back for this one.
Leading woman in the race was Claire Day of Thames, 29th overall. Our top
finisher, 62nd overall and 5th woman, was Gemma Cory just ahead of Wiebke
Kortum.
We again outnumbered our hosts at the evening supper at the Telegraph pub on
Putney Heath. A couple of dozen in all sat down to an excellent meal, wine
from the Brasher wine fund and some slightly variable entertainment.
APHRODITE RACES Sunday 24th November at Paphos, Cyprus
Alan Davidson reports:
"The Aphrodite Half Marathon at Paphos no longer offers prize money so the
Greek national team and solo-flying Russian athletes no longer appear but as
usual there are still shedloads of Germans! I chose the 5km (a fast, flat
course) and included amongst the 150 or so entrants were eight Argentinians
and one each Lebanese, Romanian, Slovak and Lithuanian. Pretty much only
for the duration of the 5k a black cloud came over (before and after it was
warm and sunny) giving spots of rain and much cooler conditions for the
return leg into a very strong wind on the exposed course. Demos Papadavid, a
Cypriot, won in 17.28 and I was 22nd in 23.05. Thomson Holidays decided
belatedly to close our hotel for the rest of the winter seven days into our
stay so it meant transferring for the remaining four days to their other
hotel poorly situated for runners - swapping good runs on miles of prom and
nearby hills for a very busy main road. I didn't bump into Hanscomb this
year!"
SEELEY CUP 10km Saturday 30th November at Belfast
This race incorporated the Northern Ireland championships, and a top-class
field was assembled on a fast course. Eirin McDaid and Nick Twomey were both
pulled along to new PBs.
1 C Bradley (Derry) 30.34
29 Eirin McDaid 33.28
50 F Ross (Armagh) 34.45 (1st woman)
84 Nick Twomey 36.03
SELF-TRANSCENDENCE 10km Saturday 30th November in Battersea Park
Paul Doyle was the leading over 45.
1 N Torry (Serp) 30.53
21 Paul Doyle 35.26
75 V Carter (Serp) 38.52 (1st woman)
GRIM CHALLENGE 8 miles Saturday 30th November at Aldershot
Here's an extract from the race info:
"This land is used to test Army vehicles so expect it to be interesting! You
will reach a long hill shortly after the start before descending again
eventually reaching a water filled ravine. You will run on over
puddle-strewn paths before having to crawl under camouflage netting. You'll
eventually reach some man-made mounds before arriving at and running through
some rather large puddles. Expect to get very wet! You'll run on to the fast
vehicle driving circuit where it is rocky underfoot. This brings you to some
more large areas of water and the finish area."
Anna Scally was ninth woman home and second over 40.
1 G Till (DMRC) 45.07
24 F Cole (Belgrave) 55.33 (1st woman)
153 Anna Scally 61.57
WINTER 100 miles Saturday 30th November - Sunday 1st December at Streatley
Simon Martin reports:
"I'm not sure why I entered the Winter 100! It was a new challenge it
suppose. The longest I had gone previously, when significantly fitter too,
was about 50 miles (Brecon Beacons ultra last year and the Marathon des
Sables long stage). I competed against medical advice as I am only just
coming back from injury - pubic synthesis and an adductor strain. The
injuries meant that my fitness is significantly below where it was a few
months ago. Due to the injuries my preparation was wholly inadequate. I had
done a total of 80 miles in the two months before the race with three weeks
where I could not run at all in November.
The race started at 10am. The course comprised four different out and back
legs each starting and finishing in Streatley which is between Reading and
Oxford. Two of the spurs were mainly along the Thames and the other two
predominantly along the Ridgeway. The course was almost all off road and
there were sixteen hours of darkness. Although about 60% of the course was
near the Thames, thankfully it wasn't too muddy. It was pretty chilly
overnight, with temperatures below zero, when I did the most exposed section
of the course.
My lack of fitness really showed after about 50 miles. By that stage my
quads were pretty tender and my knees were in agony on steep downhill
sections. Consequently it was a game of survival in the second half which I
marched for the greater part. Surprisingly I wasn't aware of the usual
tiredness you would associate with staying awake all night. It was certainly
both physically and mentally challenging. I'd recommend giving a 100 miler a
bash. The best part is that there is seemingly no need for any (specific)
training!"
MABAC LEAGUE 5.5 miles Sunday 1st December at Ockham Common
1 M Nutt (WW) 32.11
16 S Pickford (WW) 37.53 (1st woman)
84 James Barber 46.11
135 Lynne Barber 53.26
157 Christine David 61.49
158 Cindy Croucher 61.57
159 Penny Merrett 62.03
166 Deirdre Inman 66.26
KINGFIELD CANTER 2.85 miles handicap Wednesday 4th December at Woking
1 D Aitken (Unatt) 22.37 (actual time 22.07)
7 Steve Rowland 26.35 (21.35)
20 Alan Davidson 27.50 (22.35)
CRANE PARK parkrun 5km Saturday 23rd November
1 A Keane (unatt) 18.39
10 Kevin Kearey 21.48
12 Tom Kearey 21.58
19 N Hare (Bearcats) 22.57 (1st woman)
49 Rachel Allen 26.33
50 Lynne Barber 26.40
52 Josie Kearey 27.19
56 Janet Russell 27.39
62 Mary Hickson 29.21
63 Andrew Brown 29.21
68 Christine David 29.48
74 Cindy Croucher 31.15
84 Lexi Slaughter 35.13
RICHMOND PARK parkrun 5km Saturday 23rd November
1 J Cornish (Herc Wimb) 17.07
5 Duncan Mallison 18.14
8 Ted Mockett 18.43
10 Lars Lundqvist 18.52
20 C Benger (unatt) 19.21 (1st woman)
25 Bill Neely 19.34
51 Stewart Anderson 21.11
65 Eugenio Carmo 21.46
80 Chris Read 22.33
94 Alberto Esguevillas 23.12
96 Paul Sinton-Hewitt 23.18
98 Steven Mountain 23.22
102 Amrut Sharma 23.27
158 Jo Sinton-Hewitt 25.51
170 Nick Fordham 26.27
171 Alex Fordham 26.27
271 Deepa Sharma 31.18
317 Pat Hewlett 37.57
OLD DEER PARK parkrun 5km Saturday 23rd November
Polly White was the leading woman.
1 J Hughes (Brunel U) 18.22
7 Stephen Hurton 21.48
9 Polly White 22.47 (1st woman)
39 Tor Heron-Brett 28.58
40 Colin Brett 28.59
41 Mel Hunter 29.15
42 Nigel Coombes 29.15
52 Katie Walton 32.28
BUSHY PARK parkrun 5km Saturday 23rd November
1 A Jackson (Sitt) 16.11
13 M Dillon (unatt) 17.51 (1st woman)
22 Howard Gleave 18.26
45 David Rowe 19.22
317 Rachel Revett 24.19
830 John Hanscomb 39.00
KINGSTON parkrun 5km Saturday 23rd November
1 K Hill (unatt) 18.35
13 L Fletcher (King & P) 20.36 (1st woman)
15 Bruce McLaren 20.48
25 Chris Camacho 22.08
82 Janet Turnes 29.24
84 Jackie Dunkley 29.45
88 Annemarie Goodridge 30.48
FULHAM PALACE parkrun 5km Saturday 23rd November
Michelle Davies was third woman home.
1 A Milne (Enf & Har) 15.45
24 Lee Davies 20.41
28 J Cunniffe (Barnes) 20.59 (1st woman)
33 Michelle Davies 21.05
90 Mike White 26.05
SOUTHWICK COUNTRY PARK parkrun 5km Saturday 23rd November
Nick Wright placed second.
1 W Stockley (unatt) 16.58
2 Nick Wright 17.30
15 G Starkie (Bath) 19.54 (1st woman)
OTHER parkruns (Saturday 23rd November)...
Gunnersbury: 4 Mark Herbert 18.38, 16 Vaughan Ramsay 19.36
Gladstone: 46 Kirsty Bangham 24.47
RICHMOND PARK parkrun 5km Saturday 30th November
1 C Smit (unatt) 18.28
12 Bill Neely 19.35
22 A Dolinska (unatt) 20.11 (1st woman)
37 Peter Faull 20.42
51 Steve Aikin 21.08
56 Eugenio Carmo 21.22
75 Christopher Parsons 22.26
91 Amrut Sharma 23.22
116 Sally Yau 24.58
141 Rob Kitchen 25.59
192 Jenny Rogal 28.33
208 Deepa Sharma 29.28
213 Peter Lowman 30.06
214 Val Lowman 30.09
225 Andrew Brown 30.56
247 Katie Walton 32.34
248 Michelle Martinez 32.41
251 Penny Merrett 32.55
256 Philippa Kitchen 34.39
284 Pat Hewlett 41.00
285 Bev Ali 41.01
CRANE PARK parkrun 5km Saturday 30th November
1 G Brook (Strags) 17.52
14 C Tuck (Dag 88) 21.58 (1st woman)
20 Tom Kearey 22.32
26 Mike White 23.52
42 Kevin Kearey 25.30
43 Emily Kearey 25.31
64 Josie Kearey 28.41
67 Ann Kearey 28.52
70 Heather Martingell 29.09
79 Deirdre Inman 32.56
81 Tracey Small 33.04
82 Rachel Allen 33.04
BUSHY PARK parkrun 5km Saturday 30th November
1 A Jackson (Sitt) 16.27
10 M Dillon (unatt) 17.41 (1st woman)
19 Charles Jans 18.18
267 Adam Wright 23.53
689 Sharon Rowe 32.21
752 John Hanscomb 37.06
764 Wally Garrod 40.45
779 David Rowe 47.03
BRAUNSTONE parkrun 5km Saturday 30th November
Estelle Damant was third woman to finish.
1 M Powell (Heanor) 16.01
7 C Plateau (Lough S) 17.18 (1st woman)
10 Estelle Damant 18.09
OTHER parkruns (Saturday 30th November)...
Old Deer Park: 28 Wyn Williams 27.32, 29 Lorna Smith 27.37, 31 Lynne
Barber 27.43
Kingston: 24 Chris Camacho 22.25
BUSHY JUNIORS parkrun 2km Sunday 1st December in Bushy Park
Sacha Kennedy and Lydia Louw were the first and second girls to finish.
1 A Dangardt (SMR) 7.21
7 Sacha Kennedy 8.07
8 Lydia Louw 8.14
11 Euan Sinclair 8.23
18 Leonie Kennedy 8.35
77 Finlay Sinclair 10.05
79 Mungo Harding 10.07
88 Arthur Louw 10.12
126 Eilidh Sinclair 11.10
SAVILL GARDENS JUNIORS parkrun 2km Sunday 1st December at Windsor
1 M Clutterbuck (WSEH) 7.44
31 Charlie McLauchlan 11.22
64 Connor Scally 18.06
FINALLY...
The Red Bull 400 - the toughest 400 metres race in Europe. Video: .