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***************************************************
 RANELAGH HARRIERS E-NEWS # 423             10 April 2014
 Editor: Steve Rowland
 mailto: steverowland@ranelagh-harriers.com  
 ***************************************************

 HEADLINE NEWS
 *************
 *  Jar O'Brien wins the Baker Cup
 *  Fastest times by Ted Mockett and Megan De Silva 
 *  parkrun placings for Duncan Mallison and Lydia Louw
 *  Subscriptions are due!
 *  London Marathon this Sunday
 *  Last ever Marathon Aches and Pains Party at the Wych Elm in the evening -
     all welcome

 ATTENTION PLEASE
 ****************
 LONDON MARATHON and ACHES AND PAINS PARTY  Sunday 13th April
 The very best of luck to all Ranelagh Harriers in the London Marathon on
 Sunday. As usual there will be plenty of support out on the course so enjoy
 the day! In the evening we'll be having the very last Marathon Aches and
 Pains Party at the Wych Elm. After years of most generously providing us
 with free grub on Marathon evening Janet and Manuel are retiring and leaving
 the pub next month. So do come along if you've run a spring marathon (medals
 required!) or thought about running one or watched one or know somebody that
 did!  The Wych Elm is in Elm Road, Kingston.

 URGENT - HELPERS NEEDED FOR THE RANELAGH RICHMOND HALF MARATHON   Sunday 4th
 May
 We're still looking for plenty more helpers for our Half Marathon next
 month. If you are not taking part in the race PLEASE volunteer to help out
 in some capacity - we need mostly marshals but also officials at the finish,
 people to man water stations etc. The race starts at 8.30am and the last
 finisher should be home inside three hours. However, you don't necessarily
 have to commit yourself to the whole morning - if you can spare just a few
 minutes we can still fit you in somewhere.  Don't delay - these things need
 to be organised in advance. Please contact ranelaghhalfhelpers@hotmail.co.uk
 if you can help.     
 
 SUBSCRIPTIONS...
 ...were due on April 1st. 
 Our 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: . For Bank Transfers, our
 account is at HSBC, sort code 40-23-29, account number 81109847; please add
 a message, for example SubscriptionJSmith. For any queries, e-mail the
 Membership Secretary aachrisowens@yahoo.co.uk . 

 SUTTON 10km  Sunday 11th May
 This is a Ranelagh Grand Prix and Surrey Road League event. For the past
 three years it has reached its entry limit early, so don't delay if you're
 thinking of running.  Details:.

 GREEN BELT RELAY
 Michelle Davies writes:
 "I am sorry, I have been terribly slack with this one (new job etc.!). I
 need to pull my finger out and organise this year's GBR over the weekend of
 May 17/18. So far I have 12 people on my list (see below). We need 11 to
 complete a team so if there are anymore of you interested please let me
 know. We can enter an incomplete team so please don't be put off! In the
 past some of us have always stayed overnight and the end of day 1, if you
 would like do this please let me know as I will need to look at booking
 accommodation pretty quickly. For more information on the GBR visit:
 www.greenbeltrelay.org.uk/.

 Entrants as at 31st March: Michelle Davies, Lee Davies, Mike White, Marie
 Synnott-Wells, Bev Ali, Vaughan Ramsay, Wiebke Kortum, Phil Aiken, Simon
 Lawrence, Kirsty Bangham, Tom Reay, Iain Wilson."

 WIMBLEDON COMMON ADVENTURE TRAIL RACE SERIES
 Andy Bickerstaff is organising a series of three evening trail races on
 Wimbledon Common, on behalf of the Good Run Guide. They are on Wednesday
 evenings, May 14th, June 11th and July 9th. The first two are 5 miles, the
 third 7.8 miles. Details are on the website: www.goodrunguide.co.uk/.. 

 RANELAGH ROAD GRAND PRIX
 Details of the events that will make up our summer Road Grand Prix are on
 our website here:. There are only
 nine events this year - the Elmore 7 miles has been dropped as it is on the
 same weekend as the Elmbridge 10km. All the Surrey Road League events are
 included in our Grand Prix. The GP kicks off with any spring Marathon up to
 May 4th and continues with the Thames Towpath 10, the Richmond Half Marathon
 and the Sutton 10km.   

 McLEOD TROPHY and WOMEN'S PERFORMANCE AWARD
 These competitions are for points scored in all club races during the winter
 season. The Baker Cup was the final event and in the men's competition Rob
 Curtis held onto the lead he had lately assumed from long-time leader Mark
 Herbert. Rob's final total was 1254 with Mark on 1229 and Peter Fordham on
 1183. Women's winner by a clear margin was Marie Synnott-Wells with 1177
 points, ahead of Megan De Silva on 998 and Becky Hall on 963.
 Full scoreboard and rules:.    

 POINTS PRIZE
 This one is for consistency in handicaps during the season, and again the
 Baker Cup was the final event. Winner on 20 points was Bruce McLaren, then
 came Ted Mockett on 14 and Phil Killingley on 13. Full scoreboard and rules:.  

 THE ENORMOUS ELEPHANT RUN
 Amie Alden writes:
 "I'm helping to organise The Enormous Elephant Run www.runforelephants.com/ ,
 a running event that aims to raise awareness and vital funds for The David
 Sheldrick Wildlife Trust. Taking place on Saturday 7th June, the Enormous
 Elephant Run is an event with a difference; two hundred participants will
 run 5 and 10k through Wimbledon Common dressed as elephants, with hundreds
 of supporters there cheering them on and we were hoping you might be able
 to spread the word about our event to your members, in case they would
 like to join us.
 
 Africa's elephants are currently in crisis and without our field teams, the
 future of elephants would be bleak. By taking part, your members can help us
 prevent hundreds more elephants being killed by poachers this year. It is
 estimated 100 elephants are killed for their tusks every day, threatening
 the future of all elephant herds roaming Africa. Many elephants targeted by
 poachers have milk dependent calves, and without a mother, an infant
 elephant has no chance of survival. 
 
 Our conservation projects are vital to the protection of elephants in
 Africa; we offer the only safe haven and orphanage in Kenya for elephants
 that have lost their family, saving as many as 40 calves in a year that
 would otherwise not survive. Our field teams including Mobile Vet Teams,
 Aerial Surveillance and Anti-Poaching Units which are responsible for
 tracking poachers and saving the lives of wildlife injured and targeted by
 poachers - last year alone we saved the lives of more than 500 elephants.
 Without our field teams, the future for Kenya's elephants would look
 extremely bleak. 
  
 We would love to make as many of those who live locally and who love running
 aware of our event and as a local running club, we would be extremely
 grateful of your help in raising awareness of our event. Please do get in
 touch if you have any questions or suggestions, I can be reached on 01372
 378 321 or on 07730 783 613." Register for the run at www.runforelephants.com/. 

 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  )

 Sunday 13th April                London Marathon

 Sunday 27th April                Thames Towpath 10 miles at Chiswick.
 Entries closed.

 Sunday 4th May                  Ranelagh Richmond Half Marathon. 8.30am
 start.       Details:. 

 Sunday 11th May                 Sutton 10km. 9.30am start.    Details:. 

 Sat/Sun 17th & 18th May       Green Belt Relay. See above.

 Sunday 1st June                  Dorking 10 miles.   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
 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), and also every Sunday at 9.30am
 in Wimbledon Park.  

 WHAT'S HAPPENED
 ***************
 BAKER CUP 3 miles road handicap  Saturday 29th March in Richmond Park
 It was a sunny but blustery day for the traditional closing race of our
 "winter" season. The wind was in the runners' faces on the long drag up from
 Sheen crossroads to White Lodge, making it hard going indeed, especially
 second time around, but the temperature was agreeably mild. 

 Jar O'Brien fooled/bribed the handicapper somehow and received a very
 generous start. He'd completed his first lap before the back-markers had
 even started and the only way he wasn't going to win from there was if he
 had been directed onto a third lap! Jar cruised in to an emphatic five
 minutes victory, while handicapper Angus went away scratching his head
 wondering where his careful calculations could have gone wrong. It was good
 to see two juniors - Luke Maguire and Jonny Brook crossing the line next,
 though Jonny was competing as a guest. The bronze medal therefore went to
 Sue Sinclair and behind her they came in thick and fast until a few tail
 enders upon whom the handicapper had not smiled.

 The race includes the Jack Ellicock Trophy for the first junior to finish
 and this went to Luke Maguire.  

 Fastest time was Ted Mockett's 17.32, just a second ahead of Rick Jenner.
 Third was David Lawley on 17.50. Leading woman was Megan De Silva on 19.22,
 followed by Marie Synnott-Wells 20.24 and Gwen McCormack 20.27.    
                                                                  
                                                                 
 BAKER CUP SUPPER and PRIZE PRESENTATIONS
 The Roebuck again hosted our presentations evening. We were packed to the
 rafters for a filling feed, a quick review of the season from the President
 and then the presentations. We certainly have a very impressive array of
 silverware and thanks go to Alan Hedger for arranging engraving and doing
 the polishing! But as always it's a shame that not all trophy winners manage
 to attend, leaving Alan to take their prizes home again. Our thanks go to
 Michele Gibson and Andy Hayward for organising the evening.  

 LAST FRIDAY OF THE MONTH 5km  Friday 28th March in Hyde Park
 1   M Leach (Camb U)       15.07
 9   Carl Selya-Hammer      16.20
 48  C Jeremiah (Lon H)     18.42  (1st woman)
 184 Alan Davidson          23.18

  SOUTH-EAST SCHOOLS INTER-COUNTIES  Saturday 29th March at Chelmsford
 Year 8
 1   K O'Neill (Essex)       8.56
 39  Olivia Lloyd           10.00

 PADDOCK WOOD HALF MARATHON  Sunday 30th March
 Chris Read reports:
 "I made an early start following the Baker Cup Supper to run the Paddock
 Wood Half Marathon in Kent.  The race was recommended in Runners World as
 good for a pb so I thought I might possibly avoid a pw.  Before the start I
 felt a sense of superiority over fellow runners from other clubs such as
 South London Harriers, Epsom Allsorts, Clapham Chasers and Blackheath and
 Bromley, all of whom had been on the wrong end of results mentioned the
 previous night.  The course was flat and fast and the race began well for
 me.  However my sense of superiority did not last beyond the 10 mile mark as
 runner after runner came past me.  I was very pleased to cross the finish
 line in a time of 1.44.05 (not a pw)."

 1   N Kirui (Kenya)        1:05.28  (chip time 1:05.28)
 16  T Jones (Belgrave)     1:13.25  (1:13.25 - 1st woman)
 600 Chris Read             1:44.56  (1:44.05)     

 CROYDON HALF MARATHON  Sunday 30th March
 Marie Synnott-Wells finished 7th in the women's race and first over 45.

 1   K Quinn (AFD)          1:13.44  (chip time 1:13.43)
 18  L Harris (Croydon)     1:26.50  (1:26.49 - 1st woman)
 88  Marie Synnott-Wells    1:38.12  (1:38.05)

 BROOKLANDS HALF MARATHON  Sunday 30th March
 1   T Lambert (Winch)      1:10.10  (chip time 1:10.10)
 35  C Hoskins (reading RR) 1:27.22  (1:27.15 - 1st woman)
 342 John Scally            1:52.39  (1:52.30)
 720 Tanya Allen            2:24.45  (2:23.51)

 KINGFIELD CANTER  2.85 miles handicap  Wednesday 2nd April at Woking
 1   R Thevenet (Woking)    22.47  (actual time 21.17)
 2   Steve Rowland          24.41  (23.11)
 7   Louise Piears          26.20  (20.56)
 9   Sonia Rowland          26.58  (22.58)
 23  Alan Davidson          30.52  (27.07)

 BRIGHTON MARATHON  Sunday 6th April
 Here are some extracts from Cindy Croucher's report - you can read more here:.  
 "Job done! You'll never believe what happened though! The train to Brighton
 was on time and quick. The trouble started as soon as we arrived.
 Unbelievably when we arrived to check-in at our hotel we discovered that the
 room we booked last August [yes eight months ago] had been cancelled as the
 website we had booked through had gone bust! It took a little while to sink
 in and then the panic kicked in.... we needed to find a room at 4pm on a
 Saturday, the day before the marathon! Well we found one. Yes, you guessed
 it, it was ridiculously overpriced but it was a room. We traipsed the mile
 or so through the crowds to check-in to our windowless overpriced cave. We
 didn't pay too much attention as we were in a rush to go and collect our
 numbers from the expo so we dropped off our bags and rushed to the Brighton
 Centre.

 The expo was fun. As I'd booked my place using my American Express card we
 got some VIP wristbands which gave us access to the VIP area on the start
 line. It promised 'luxury toilets'. We had a look around and then went back
 to the hotel to get ready for dinner. Luckily we'd pre-booked a table at
 Zizzi's because everywhere was really, really busy. We had wine - we needed
 it to get over the stress of the whole hotel affair! After dinner we went
 back to the hotel for an early night. The control didn't work for the TV
 which was extra, extra loud which was probably a good thing because there
 was a stag group who kept knocking on doors and a rugby tour consisting of
 drunk men who were lost in the corridors. At 12.30pm when the noise was so
 loud that the bed was shaking, Deirdre went to Reception to see what time
 the disco would finish. It was actually a nightclub which went on until 2am.
 Fortunately there was a spare room so we packed up our bags and were in our
 new room by 12.45am. Our carefully laid out kits were hastily stuffed into
 our bags along with everything else as quickly as possible.

 The alarm went off at 6.15am for an early breakfast. The breakfast was
 appalling. Cold toast [no marmite]. Cold porridge [no honey]. That was all -
 yuk! We then packed up our bags again as the hotel promised to move us to a
 twin room whilst we were gone and walked the 30 minute walk to the start at
 Preston Park. The VIP area was brilliant. Posh toilets with hand cream,
 drinks, bag drop and Paula Radcliffe! We made our way to the back of the
 start line to the green area. By this time I knew that today wasn't going to
 be my day. This was disappointing after four months of training but my cold
 hadn't shifted and I was sweaty and clammy just walking. I felt really
 rubbish and my legs felt like concrete. I really wanted to give up at about
 seven miles but I was too stubborn. I wanted my medal! I'd also like to say
 we were both very pleased to beat the Honey Monster, the man with the tiger
 on his back [who it turns out carried on and is running to London and will
 run the London Marathon next Sunday], the phone and the Storm Trooper. 

 Deirdre and I stuck it out, we walked in places, we stopped off for the loo
 [twice], we kept each other going and we finished it. We crossed the line
 hand in hand as it is probably our last marathon together. I look back over
 the last sixteen weeks and although I am disappointed that I didn't achieve
 my goal, there wasn't anything I could have done about it. A cold is a cold!
 I've had a great time and had some really fun runs with lots of friends....
 a bit of a running adventure."

 1    W Chebor (Kenya)      2:09.25  (chip time 2:09.25)
 10   A Milgo (Kenya)       2:35.33  (2:35.33 - 1st woman)
 1293 Rob Curtis            3:41.09  (3:39.50)
      Jane Craigie-Payne    3:51.46  (3:49.27)
      Michelle Hovanessian  5:08.34  (4:57.54)
      Deirdre Inman         6:02.54  (5:50.45)
      Cindy Croucher        6:02.54  (5:50.46)


 There may have been other Ranelagh runners - please let us know your result.

 PARIS MARATHON  Sunday 6th April
 Lars Lundqvist and Matt Copp both had cramp problems of different kinds but
 plugged on to the finish. 

 1    K Bekele (Ethiopia)   2:05.03
 13   F Cheyech (Kenya)     2:22.41
 2801 Lars Lundqvist        3:18.02
 4378 Matt Copp             3:26.31

 MABAC LEAGUE 5 miles  Sunday 6th April at Winterfold
 1   D Cairnie (Runnymede)  31.40
 16  R Black (DMV)          39.39  (1st woman)
 89  Steve Rowland          49.52
 92  Sonia Rowland          50.43 

 RICHMOND PARK parkrun 5km  Saturday 29th March
 1   M Bishop (TH&H)        16.33
 7   Tarek Mouganie         18.18
 12  Craig McLellan         18.43
 24  Simon Ogle             19.50
 30  Z Illis (Herc W)       20.05  (1st woman)
 32  Alberto Esguevillas    20.21  
 67  Karl Garvey            22.26
 70  Christopher Parsons    22.30
 84  Amrut Sharma           23.11
 93  Eugenio Carmo          23.34  
 131 Steven Mountain        25.02
 136 Carol Aikin            25.23
 137 Simon Taylor           25.25
 149 Ulises Alonso          26.07
 151 Michael Sikora         26.11
 158 Andrew Brown           26.32
 166 Sue Camp               26.46
 172 Tony Clark             27.06
 199 Ashleigh Ferris        28.12
 200 Leeanne Bryce          28.12 
 232 Deepa Sharma           29.24   
 279 Louise Atkinson        32.21
 283 Bronwen Northmore      32.41  
 317 Bev Ali                41.13
 318 Pat Hewlett            41.18
 320 Maria Nunes            44.09

 BUSHY PARK parkrun 5km  Saturday 29th March
 1    A Jackson (Sitt)      15.34
 12   Nick Wright           17.44
 24   David Rowe            18.23
 33   M O'Sullivan (unatt)  18.50  (1st woman)
 104  David Ready           20.56
 128  Simon Collingridge    21.21
 200  Egis Vincel           22.32
 259  Adam Wright           23.14
 479  Neil Surtees          25.53
 589  Michelle Davies       27.17
 590  Mike White            27.20
 600  Lee Davies            27.27
 742  Jackie Dunkley        29.28  
 978  Wally Garrod          37.09
 1002 Danny Hobbs           38.42
 1029 John Hanscomb         42.51

 OLD DEER PARK parkrun 5km  Saturday 29th March
 1   D Fraser (unatt)       19.40
 9   M Giglio (unatt)       21.38  (1st woman)
 22  Phil Roberts           23.21
 46  Mel Davison            29.36
 47  Nigel Coombes          29.44

 CRANE PARK parkrun 5km  Saturday 29th March
 1   M Dillon (unatt)       18.15  (1st woman)
 55  Rachel Allen           27.27
 57  Emily Kearey           27.29
 58  Kevin Kearey           27.30
 66  Heather Martingell     27.51
 76  Josie Kearey           28.44
 77  Ann Kearey             28.48
 90  Cindy Croucher         32.33
 91  Penny Merrett          32.34
 94  Deirdre Inman          33.39
 98  Su Clark               35.29    
 104 Lexi Slaughter         36.27 

 OTHER parkruns  (Saturday 29th March)...
 Kingston: 90 Sarah-Kim Holland 30.03
 Southsea: 56 Alan Davidson 24.05
 York: 75 Phil Jackson 21.51
 Crystal Palace: 83 Peter Fordham 26.25
 Chelmsford Central: 52 Paul Sinton-Hewitt 22.00,  120 Jo Sinton-Hewitt 24.14
 Canning River: 48 Wyn Williams 25.42
 Preston Park: 78 John Pratt 23.07
 Osterley: 20 Catherine Holman 25.45,  39 Mary Hickson 30.03

 RICHMOND PARK parkrun 5km  Saturday 5th April
 Young Lydia Louw ran a big PB and was the second female to finish.

 1   A Beaumont (Serp)      18.08
 15  Peter Faull            19.39
 17  Stewart Anderson       19.50 
 21  L Broughton (Rich CC)  20.00  (1st woman)
 24  Bill Neely             20.15
 39  Lydia Louw             21.06
 46  Steve Aikin            21.39
 60  Stephen Logue          22.14
 91  Amrut Sharma           23.17
 100 Eugenio Carmo          23.40  
 116 Ulises Alonso          24.07
 131 Simon Taylor           24.28
 132 Steven Mountain        24.29
 138 Sally Yau              24.50
 147 Andrew Brown           25.00
 162 Alberto Esguevillas    25.41
 193 Arthur Louw            26.57
 210 Michael Sikora         27.26
 223 Rob Kitchen            27.58
 239 Val Lowman             28.33
 259 Deepa Sharma           29.26
 271 Peter Lowman           30.01
 291 Katie Walton           31.46
 292 Michelle Martinez      31.55    
 302 Bronwen Northmore      32.53
 323 Pat Hewlett            39.34  
 324 Bev Ali                40.42

 BUSHY PARK parkrun 5km  Saturday 5th April
 1    A Jackson (Sitt)      15.47
 10   Nick Wright           17.24
 13   M Dillon (unatt)      17.34  (1st woman)
 22   David Rowe            18.23
 190  Adam Wright           22.17
 226  Rachel Revett         22.42
 292  Bruce McLaren         23.31
 436  Chris Wright          25.30
 700  Mary Hickson          29.20
 707  Jackie Dunkley        29.27
 716  David Meaden          29.37  
 918  Wally Garrod          36.44
 950  John Hanscomb         41.41

 OLD DEER PARK parkrun 5km  Saturday 5th April
 1   D Miller (Barnes)      18.28
 4   M Giglio (unatt)       20.51  (1st woman)
 12  Phil Roberts           22.10
 34  Colin Brett            26.15
 42  Paula Maguire          27.31
 65  Deborah Blakemore      34.51   

 KINGSTON parkrun 5km  Saturday 5th April
 1   M Kossatz (unatt)      18.55
 18  S Black (Tri Europe)   21.01  (1st woman)
 38  Hannah Doyle           23.10
 50  Alan Davidson          24.14
 88  Annemarie Goodridge    32.06
 89  Wiebke Kortum          32.06 

 CRANE PARK parkrun 5km  Saturday 5th April
 A win for Duncan Mallison.

 1   Duncan Mallison        18.05
 24  A Fisk (Canterbury)    22.28  (1st woman)
 30  Phil Jackson           22.59
 69  Rachel Allen           27.09
 70  Heather Martingell     27.13
 109 Su Clark               33.54

 GUNNERSBURY parkrun 5km  Saturday 5th April
 1   S Haddad (unatt)       16.26
 20  E Goodhart (TVH)       19.52  (1st woman)
 101 Mike White             24.35
 127 Phil Aiken             25.58
 134 John Herriott          26.10
 261 Lexi Slaughter         36.39 

 OTHER parkruns  (Saturday 5th April)...
 Brighton & Hove: 126 Ally Salisbury 25.29
 Reading: 106 Louise Atkinson 31.12
 Black Park: 23 Rob Wise 19.40
 Brockwell: 104 Kirsty Bangham 23.44
 Oxford: 88 Ian Bingham 27.18,  89 Evelyn Joslin 27.18
 Darlington South: 75 Nigel Coombes 25.35
 Walthamstow: 8 Ben Shore 21.09
 Hampstead Heath: 42 Paul Sinton-Hewitt 22.06,  93 Jo Sinton-Hewitt 26.08
 Lanhydroc: 38 Lee Davies 28.34
 Preston Park: 69 John Pratt 23.23 

 FINALLY...
 London Marathon: the best and worst motivational slogans (Daily Telegraph
 6th April) here:.