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***************************************************
 RANELAGH HARRIERS E-NEWS # 460             16 October 2015
 Editor: Steve Rowland
 mailto: sandsrowland@btinternet.com  
 ***************************************************

 HEADLINE NEWS
 *************
 *  Surrey XC League Div 1 first race - women finish 5th and men 8th.
 *  Gill Sanders and Jackson Creegan lead our teams 
 *  World Triathlon Finals - Gill Sanders finishes 41st in the Elite women,
     Chris Owens wins bronze in the over 60s 
 *  Martin Halvey is 2nd over 55 in the Munich Marathon  
 *  Ranelagh women finish 50th in the National Road Relays 
 *  parkrun placings for Sacha Kennedy, Poppy Jensen, Nick Twomey, Peter
     Haarer, Ralph Street, Jon Smith, Trevor Maguire,  Lydia Louw, Ed Barker,
     Marie Synnott-Wells, Ted Mockett and Jonathan Moore.   
 *  Tree survives collision with Simon Burrell
 *  Surrey vets championships this Saturday
 *  Everyone needed for the first mob match of the season in Richmond Park on
     October 24th.
 *  Fund raising for Peter Wright

 ATTENTION PLEASE
 ****************
 OPERATION CENTURION - mob match v Orion Harriers, Saturday 24th October in
 Richmond Park
 Phil Killingley writes:
 "The last Ranelagh vehicle had left Epping Forest several hours previously
 but the Orion captain remained motionless on the changing room bench, a
 perplexed frown sullying his features.  Ranelagh had not won in Epping
 Forest for 30 years. How, then, had they managed not only to break this
 losing run, but to do so by a margin of over 400 points? It wasn't as if
 Orion had been unprepared, turning out over 50 runners including some of
 their finest. But Ranelagh had more than matched them in both numbers and
 quality. The whole thing beggared belief. 

 But then a steely resolve spread across his face. Orion was a mob match
 specialist club and could draw on resources far and wide. They would go next
 year to Richmond Park and exact revenge on the Harriers. What is more, a
 clever codename for the mission would rally support, something like
 Operation 'Ran' Them Into The Ground. No, that didn't work, well the
 codename could wait. He stood up, and started to compose a mental list of
 runners to contact for the as yet unnamed mission across London... 

 RANELAGH HARRIERS!!! Don't let's give his story a happy ending. Operation
 Centurion is launched. We want not only to beat Orion but get out over 100
 people and extend our winning mob match run to 8. All speeds welcome - let's
 mob 'em again!!!"

 CLUB VETS CROSS-COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS
 We have been omitting to mention that the Orion mob match on October 24th
 also incorporates our club vets championships for the Hastings Cup (all over
 40s), the McDowell Salver (over 50s) and the Maslin Mug (over 60s). No
 special registration needed - just run! 

 MOB MATCH COMMEMORATIVE T-SHIRTS
 Many of the pre-ordered t-shirts were collected and paid for at the Thomas
 Cup or Page Cup races, but if you haven't picked yours up yet please try to
 catch Michele Gibson or Andy Hayward a-hayward4@sky.com  at the
 clubhouse. Please pay on receipt or send a cheque for £20 payable to
 Ranelagh Harriers to 79 Thames Side, Staines, TW18 2HF. Unclaimed t-shirts
 will shortly be sold off!   

 SURREY LEAGUES
 The next League races are on Saturday 7th November, the men back on
 Wimbledon Common and the women at West End Common, Esher. More details
 nearer the time.
 
 WHAT TRACK CAN DO FOR YOU!
 Louise Atkinson writes:
 "I'll start by explaining that I think of myself as more of a tortoise than
 a hare! I do fairly well but I don't find running is especially easy. I
 started going to the Thursday night track sessions in January as I was
 training for my first marathon. It was cold. It was dark. Some nights there
 was ice on the track (did I mention it was cold?) but everyone was really
 friendly and encouraging and, with the help of some great coaching, I found
 that I started to get a lot faster very quickly. I was over the moon in
 March when I ran my marathon in a time of 4 hours 27 minutes (13 minutes
 faster than my target time). I stopped going to track for a while and my
 times plateaued a bit this summer. Determined to achieve a sub 2 hour half
 marathon time, I started going regularly again in September.  

 At track we had been working on 'high knees' and 'fast cadence'. I was
 struggling to put the two together and so asked Karen for some advice. She
 got me to run up and down a stretch of the track a few times and identified
 that I appeared to be leaning back. I'd never noticed this before; I often
 look a little hunched forward on photos but it made sense and practising
 short distances of a few strides she helped me get the feel of a different
 style. I can't pretend that I managed to perfect her advice in the matter of
 a few days (it will take a concerted effort on my part to change my style)
 but I kept her advice in mind when running the Basingstoke Half Marathon
 last Sunday and tried as hard as I could to follow it. I couldn't believe it
 when I got to the end and realised I'd run it in 1 hour 55, totally smashing
 my previous PB by 10 minutes! To put this into context, my previous PB had
 only been set a month prior and on a totally flat course.

 It can be easy at times to come up with reasons not to go and, I'll admit,
 sometimes I dread it as it's hard work. But I've never got to the end of a
 session and regretted it! Everyone is really friendly and cheers you on and,
 if you put the effort in, you'll find improvements come quickly. I hope my
 story illustrates just how beneficial the track sessions are and that they
 aren't just for the super-speedy. Whether you're a 'tortoise' or a 'hare'
 you'll reap the rewards. See you down there? (Thursdays 7.30 pm at Osterley
 track)."

 VIRGIN LONDON MARATHON BALLOT
 London Marathon organisers have substantially reduced the number of
 guaranteed places on offer to clubs - citing the increase in "good for your
 age" qualifiers, most of whom are club athletes. Our allocation has
 accordingly been reduced to just two. If you have been rejected in the
 public ballot and meet the club's qualifying criteria of having run in two
 mob matches during the past twelve months (or run one and marshalled club
 events twice), please contact our Hon Sec Wyn Williams
 wynfordwilliams@icloud.com .  

 PETER WRIGHT
 Hannah Doyle writes:
 "Ranelagh is fundraising for Peter Wright, a member of our Intermediate 2
 training group who was taken ill while out training with us a few weeks ago.
 Peter has an inoperable brain tumour and is seeking urgent funding for
 treatment to prolong his life. His family are also hoping to raise awareness
 of the condition and contribute to charity. 

 There are several fundraising plans afoot so far:

 1) You can come along to Ashley, Mel and Leeanne's 'Cauliflower Patch'
 social run this Sunday 18th October. It's NOT a race but a fun 10-mile run
 along the Cabbage Patch route, starting at 8am. Perfect for your LSR. Cake
 at the end and participants are asked to make a donation to Pete's fund -
 there will be a cash collection at the end. 

 2) Paul Sinton-Hewitt, is asking all parkrunners to make a donation - Pete
 was one of the 13 'parkrun pioneers' who ran the first Bushy Park Time Trial
 11 years ago. You can donate here:. If you're involved in
 run-directing any parkruns, please consider putting this link on your
 event's Facebook and Twitter feeds and announcing it on Saturdays. 

 3) Anna from the Intermediate 2 group has kindly pledged to host a raffle at
 the Ranelagh Christmas party. If you can offer a prize please speak to her
 at Tuesday training. 

 4) Pete's family has a fundraising page here: to which you can donate, and
 there's a Facebook page you can follow here:. Both give lots of
 information about how Pete's doing, why they need funds and where your money
 is going. 

 Any other fundraising suggestions and offers to help most welcome. Thanks." 

 LYME DISEASE
 There have recently been a number of newspaper and television stories about
 the spread of ticks and the associated increase in the number of cases of
 Lyme Disease. Some of these stories border on scaremongering, but the tick
 problem is something that we need to be aware of as runners. 

 Wherever there are deer there are probably ticks. However, only a small
 proportion carry Lyme Disease. Ticks will sometimes leave their host and
 wait on leaves or undergrowth to attach themselves to the next creature that
 passes, be it another deer, a dog or a human. It's worth checking your skin,
 particularly your legs, whenever you run in a deer-inhabited area - and this
 does of course include Richmond Park and Bushy Park. If you find a tick - a
 little black bump - it should be removed as soon as possible. For current
 advice and methods of removal see here:.  
 Removing the tick should be the end of the story, even if it was infected.
 But if the tick is not cleanly removed it can regurgitate the contents of
 its stomach and potentially then infect you with Lyme Disease. If you have
 had a tick on your skin, look out for a distinctive circular rash that might
 form around the site of the bite. This is a clear indication of Lyme
 Disease. See your doctor immediately - a prompt course of antibiotics should
 do the trick. 
 For info, both your President and your men's Captain have been infected with
 Lyme Disease in the past and lived to tell the tale. Neither picked it up in
 Richmond Park.    

 SUBSCRIPTIONS...
 ...for 2015-16 are well overdue but there are still quite a few active
 members who have not yet paid. The club is unable to register you with
 England Athletics unless your subs are paid up. Despite the increase in the
 EA registration fee to £12, we are keeping our subscription rates unchanged
 for at least another year. That's £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. 

 RANELAGH HARRIERS GAZETTE
 Copies of the latest annual club Gazette, covering the year up to Spring
 2015, are in the clubhouse. Please help yourself. 

 CHRISTMAS PARTY  Saturday 5th December at 7pm
 All right, I know Christmas is a long way away still, but it will as usual
 be upon us before we know where we are. So our Social Secretaries Michele
 and Andy have already reserved the venue for our Christmas Party and are
 taking bookings. We're trying a new venue this year, the Lass O'Richmond
 Hill at the top of Queen's Road.  It's less expensive than our previous
 venue - the cost is £40 to include a three-course dinner, wine, a disc
 jockey and dancing. There is a limit of 80 people, so get your booking in
 early. E-mail Michele Gibson micheleagibson@hotmail.com  or add
 your name to the list in the clubhouse, where you will also find a menu.  

 THURSDAY NIGHT TRACK TRAINING AT OSTERLEY
 The club is continuing to subsidise track sessions on Thursday evenings at
 the Osterley track. All groups and all abilities are welcome. The sessions
 are  every Thursday 7.30-8.30pm.  Link to the map is here:.

 FACEBOOK
 Follow Ranelagh on Facebook. 

 RANELAGH JUNIORS
 Check out what's happening in our junior section at
 ranelagh-harriers-juniors.com/. 

WHAT'S COMING
*************
More details of the following from the men's Captains ( e-mail Phil
or Trevor ) ranelagh.men@gmail.com
 or the women's Captain / Team Manager ( e-mail Becky or Phil ranelagh.women@gmail.com  )      

 Saturday 17th October       Surrey Veterans Cross-Country Championships in
 Richmond Park. See above
 Saturday 17th October       SEAA XC Relays at Wormwood Scrubs. 2pm start.

 Sunday 18th October         MABAC League 5 miles in Nonsuch Park. 11am
 start.    Details:.  

 Saturday 24th October       Lee Cup mob match v Orion Harriers in Richmond
 Park. 7.5 miles, 2.30pm start. All welcome, all needed, all count! Don't
 miss it! 

 Saturday 31st October       ECCA National XC Relays at Berry Hill Park,
 Mansfield. 2.05pm start.

 Saturday 7th November     Surrey League race 2 - women at West End Common,
 Esher (12 noon start), men on Wimbledon Common (3pm start).

 Saturday 14th November    London XC Championships at Parliament Hill. 

 parkruns every Saturday at 9am
 Bushy Park                            Diana Fountain car park
 Richmond Park                      Richmond Gate
 Wimbledon Common             Windmill car park
 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 and at 9am at Moormead Rec, Twickenham.  

 WHAT'S HAPPENED
 ***************
 2XU SURREY LEAGUE DIVISION 1  Saturday 10th November at Roundshaw Common
 (women) and Wimbledon Common (men)
 Roundshaw Common was a new venue for the women's League, and turned out to
 be the site of the old Croydon Airport, London's principal airfield in the
 pre-Heathrow days. It could have been expected, then, to be pretty flat. And
 so it looked, at first glance. It's true that there were no actual hills -
 but there were slopes, long deceptive grinding slopes. Also there were
 bottlenecks. Over 400 runners started the race and after the first quarter
 mile had to channel into a narrow path through a gap in the trees. There was
 congestion later too, but the narrowest paths were fortunately on the
 second, longer lap, by which time the field had thinned out. 

 There was a premium, then, on a fast start. Gill Sanders - near the end of a
 tough triathlon season -   was taking no chances on getting boxed in and was
 sitting on the leader's shoulder as the field raced away. Megan de Silva was
 well placed, Julia Bailey was not far behind and then the rest of the field
 streamed through. By the end of the first lap it had developed into a
 two-woman race. South London's in-form Steph McCall and Gill Sanders were
 matching stride for stride with neither giving an inch. And so it went on
 throughout the second lap and as the finish could be glimpsed in the
 distance they were still racing side by side. Then came a sharp 90 degrees
 right turn...the diminutive McCall scampered round, gained five metres - and
 that was the decisive break. Gill chased in vain but had to settle for a
 fine second place, eight seconds down on McCall.

 Meanwhile, Megan was running strongly, just outside the top ten throughout -
 but was given a good scare in the finishing straight by a storming Julia who
 all but caught Megan in what was certainly her best cross-country run to
 date. Becky Hall too ran well to finish less than a minute behind Julia. The
 quintet making up our 'A' team was completed by League debutante Suzy
 Whatmough who showed great tenacity in staying ahead of Bonnie Morgan and
 Gwen McCormack. Another newcomer, Natalie Thomas, was right behind Gwen and
 our second five was closed in by Ellen Clague and Victoria Elbourne. 

 Only two teams from each club are now shown in the team results, but we did
 in fact have a third team headed by Sonia Rowland and comprising herself,
 Hannah Doyle and three more first-timers Elisa Ferrua, Becky Northmore and
 Sarah Hovell. It was great to see so many taking part. 

 It took several days to finalise the results and team scores but our 'A team
 finished in an excellent fifth place and our 'B' team twentieth overall and
 sixth 'B' team.            
                                                    
 Phil Killingley reports on the men's race:
 "It was quite a course for the men's event. The 200 greyhound-like runners
 on the 20-wide start line filtered within 30 metres into a 2-person wide
 track, a sharp right hand corner shortly after that, a storming descent down
 a tree-rooted path followed by another sharp right, apparently through a
 tree, to get back up to the start and depart on the first big lap.  There
 were lots of grumbles and quite a bit of walking. 18 year old Archie St
 Aubyn, new recruit from Chris Owens' triathlon club, wasn't among them
 however - he probably has much worse in swim starts at triathlons - and he
 found himself almost in the lead after 200m! 

 Things inevitably settled down a bit. Our first finisher was Jackson Creegan
 in a superb 14th place - no surprise to me as he has been thrashing his
 captain in training.  Eirin McDaid, waxing lyrical on the finish line about
 the hilliness of the course, was a great 19th, beating age-graded 80% for
 the first time for Ranelagh, and I placed 32nd with my best result this
 year, eventually overhauling Archie who managed a very creditable 54th
 despite his sublime start. I have challenged him to beat me next time!

 A steady trickle of Harriers came in with Carl Selya-Hammer, Peter Haarer,
 at death's door but still here with an 83.8%, Rocket Mockett landing his
 best ever x-c race for Ranelagh, Steve Whitehead with a great run for 8th
 scorer, and Nick Twomey beating Al Morgan on the line to lose the Anchorman
 trophy (well done Al!).  

 Honourable mentions for quite a few others: 
 - Ryan Fisher, scoring for us in 9th until his calf went - unfortunate for
 his first race, but wishing him a speedy recovery. Ryan has been superb in
 training, and is fast improving with a 17:05 parkrun the other week, so
 watch this space.
 - Kris Davidson, agonisingly close the scoring team (yet again) as 11th home
 - Owen Delaney - first time out for Ranelagh, having decided to do more
 x-country
 - Dave Lawley- in his best x-c race for the club (though not the most
 significant event of his day - many congratulations!!!)
 - Lars Lundqvist scored in the 70%s for the first time ever!
 - Eirin must get another mention for the email he sent out to a wide
 copylist earlier in the week telling Ken Powley that his time prediction was
 way off, because he'd been injured and hardly training.  Eirin proceeded to
 beat his predicted time by some margin! 

 The table looks ominous with Ranelagh in the drop zone in 8th/9th teams: an
 early fulfilment of the Snaith-ometer's prediction.  The Blue Wave
 unfortunately belonged to Clapham Chasers this time, as they packed well in
 the 50s and 60s, and ended up 45 points ahead of us in 6th, including a
 second place with Andy Maud.  Belgrave were behind them in 7th, only a few
 points ahead of us.  I was flabbergasted not to be placing better after our
 strong racing performance, but this is a really strong league this year.
 However, we have some stars returning for the next match, and I'm optimistic
 we can be placed 6th after that. Guildford look set for the drop already,
 having had a shocker.

 Thanks as ever to Ken on the stats and team manager Alan Hedger, and to the
 others supporting including Steve and Sonia Rowland, Jim Forrest and Chris
 Owens."

 We had two representatives in the junior race, which now includes all clubs,
 not just those whose senior team is in Division 1. Greg Atkins, making his
 club debut, finished 22nd overall and 13th under 17. Euan Sinclair crossed
 the line in 63rd place but was 17th in the under 13 category.
                                                 
 WORLD TRIATHLON GRAND FINAL  15th - 19th September in Chicago
 Chris Owens reports:
 "Two Ranelagh members took part in this set of events last month. Gill
 Sanders competed in the Elite Women for South Africa as part of her 'Road to
 Rio' - the elite guys and girls have to score enough points in the preceding
 two years to qualify for the Olympics - and I did the equivalent over 60 age
 group event. 

 Gill finished 41st - fading a bit on the run after a great swim and bike.

 Elite Women
 1   G Jorgensen (USA)      1:55.36  (swim 17.57, T1 1:30, bike 62.53, T2
 0.35, run 32.43)
 41  Gill Sanders (RSA)     2:01.44  (18.51, 1.32, 62.44, 0.35, 38.03)


  I'd had a so-so season, missing all the Mob matches due to injury (boo!),
 and had qualified for both the standard and sprint distances (1.5k\40k\10k
 and .75k\20k\5k) in case the leg misbehaved, but the two months leading up
 to September had gone OK, so I decided to do both events, as there was a day
 gap - with the sprint first. Chicago had done its best both with the event
 layout and the weather, so we competed in mid 20s temperatures and little or
 no wind. Although the age groups go off at 5min intervals, by the time you
 get to a multi-lap run (either 3 or 4 laps) you have no idea who you are
 racing, as one MAML looks very like another. However the support for 'Team
 GB' was pretty solid, and I was very surprised to find out that I'd made
 third in the sprint event, and then improved one place on last year to
 finish 7th in standard. Perhaps the run was not so bad - but it still felt a
 rather tired carthorse lumber at the time. There are photographs which
 suggest this might be the truth - luckily the e-news is text only!" 

 Over 60 Sprint
 1   C Garefis (Greece)     68.05  (swim 11.17, T1 3.24, bike 29.13, T2 2.55,
 run 21.18)
 3   Chris Owens            73.07  (12.50, 3.51, ?, ?, 22.27)

 Over 60 Standard
 1   C Garefis (Greece)     2:09.47  (swim 21.09, T1 3.35, bike 56.37, T2
 3.08, run 45.20)
 7   Chris Owens            2:19.50  (25.02, 3.32, 61.34, 2.48, 46.57)  

 ERRA NATIONAL ROAD RELAY CHAMPIONSHIPS  Saturday 3rd October at Sutton Park,
 Sutton Coldfield
 Phil Aiken reports:
 "We are rightly proud of our Richmond Park but, when it comes to the
 'largest urban walled park in Britain category', we have to accept we're
 second best. That accolade, by the grand margin of 15 hectares, goes to
 Sutton Park. This is not to be found adjacent to the X26 bus route, but a
 few miles north of Birmingham city centre in Sutton Coldfield. Though, at a
 couple of hours by train from Euston, the journey times are not that
 dissimilar. Every October, Sutton Park plays host to the National Road
 Relays, the women running four precisely measured 4.315km legs. A look
 through the history books reveals Ranelagh gracing these relays in both 2004
 and 2005, finishing in 14th and 16th positions respectively. There would be
 no repeat this year, however. A late injury flare-up forced Estelle Damant
 to sit this out in order to be available for the National Cross Country
 Relays in Mansfield at the end of October. Fortunately, the race officials
 were both understanding and accommodating, allowing Becky Hall to run a
 second leg and Ranelagh to finish the race as a complete, but non-counting,
 team. 

 The start is gently downhill, though no-one was tempted to earn instant but
 ephemeral glory by sprinting ahead and reaching the photographers gathered
 at the bottom in the lead. Unsurprisingly, given she was running two legs,
 Becky started the ball rolling on the opening leg. Trying to judge how well
 we were doing was hampered by a lack of common foes, with only Belgrave and
 Kent joining us from the Surrey League. With Aldershot sticking to their
 youth policy from the Southern Relays - no-one over the age of 23 - the
 international glamour was provided by Stockport's Elle Vernon, setting the
 fastest time of the day. Becky came through in 65th, handing over to a
 somewhat troubled Lara Werrett. Clearly in some discomfort, she handed over
 to Megan de Silva having lost three places. 

 There were some dramatic changes of position after the second leg, from
 Coventry Godiva gaining 28 places to Team Bath losing 49, a pattern repeated
 on leg three - Southampton dropping from 8th to 51st, Stroud rising by 20.
 Not to be outdone, Megan pulled us up 10 places to 58th before handing over
 to Becky for her second go. Showing good pacing - running just 28 seconds
 slower - she brought Ranelagh up another eight places to leave Ranelagh with
 the 50th quickest time of the 68 teams who finished. On the final leg,
 Swansea's evergreen Andrea Whitcombe had too much for Bristol & West's
 Imogen Ainsworth (a face we would be seeing again in the colours of Clapham
 Chasers seven days later), silver changing to gold, with Vale Royal
 similarly switching positions with Bedford & County to claim bronze.

 As we made our way home, leaving the men's teams to do their thing, we
 resolved that it would not be another 10 years before we returned."

 1   Swansea                59.14
 50  Ranelagh               72.19
     Becky Hall     65  17.32
     Lara Werrett   68  20.16
     Megan de Silva 58  16.32
     Becky Hall     50  18.00 

 WINDSOR HALF MARATHON  Sunday 27th September
 1    K Kyreme (Shaft B)    1:07.50  (chip time 1:07.50)
 13   S Amend (Belgrave)    1:22.27  (1:22.26 - 1st woman)
 408  Ed Smith              1:43.57  (1:43.54)
 448  Kevin Knowles         1:44.42  (1:44.10)
 2778 Vanessa McConkey      2:24.33  (2:22.43)

 SELF-TRANSCENDENCE 10km  Saturday 3rd October in Battersea Park
 1   L Smith (MMK)          32.34
 18  C Penlington (B&B)     37.50  (1st woman)
 25  Jonathan Moore         39.24

 BOURNEMOUTH HALF MARATHON  Sunday 4th October
 Mark Herbert writes on Facebook:
 "Agonisingly close yet again. I didn't think I was in that kind of shape as
 training heading into it was not great but I surprised myself, saw the watch
 tick over 1:20 as I turned the top part of Bournemouth pier. Dropped too
 much time in the middle section as couldn't stick at 6 min mile pace. I need
 to recover and go again for Amsterdam in two weeks. I am pleased but
 slightly gutted."

 1    R Horton (Shaft B)    1:08.02  (chip time 1:08.02)
 16   Mark Herbert          1:21.08  (1:20.54)
 25   T Lewis (unatt)       1:22.50  (1:22.49 - 1st woman)
 40   Dave Lawley           1:25.06  (1:24.52)
 1798 Cathy Holman          2:12.26  (2:07.19)
 1988 Ellie Lawley          2:16.19  (2:11.12)
   
 CARDIFF HALF MARATHON  Sunday 4th October
 Julia Bailey ran a big PB just over 91 minutes. Official splits show her
 passing 10k in 42.53 and 10 miles in 69.11. Angus Cater adds: "...a flat
 course in perfect running conditions with fantastic crowd support."

 1    B Siwa (Uganda)       1:02.07  (chip time 1:02.06)
 28   L Jerotich (Kenya)    1:11.30  (1:11.29 - 1st woman)
 755  Julia Bailey          1:31.09  (1:31.01)
 6294 Angus Cater           2:05.00  (2:00.02)   
  
 KINGSTON 10 miles  Sunday 4th October
 1   J Hoad (Bedford)       53.50  (chip time 53.50)
 13  Nick Wright            61.53  (61.51)
 27  L Rooney (Coll)        65.27  (65.22 - 1st woman)
 36  David Ready            66.34  (66.31)
 40  Simon Beal             66.47  (66.43)
 58  Lee Davies             69.59  (69.49)
 88  Michelle Davies        73.14  (73.05)
 121 Matt Sowton            76.50  (76.40)
 408 Colette Doran          99.42  (99.17)
 449 David Meaden          106.38  (106.01)        

 BASINGSTOKE HALF MARATHON  Sunday 4th October
 1   V Boit (Kenya)         1:04.43  (chip time 1:04.42)
 16  K Towerton (Winch)     1:25.02  (1:25.01 - 1st woman)
 548 Louise Atkinson        1:56.39  (1:55.37)

 GREENSAND HALF MARATHON   Sunday 11th October at Dorking
 Simon Burrell writes on Facebook:
 "Today I decided it would be a good idea to run into a tree at mile 4 of the
 Greensand Half. There was a lot of blood! After the medics patched me up I
 had a word with myself and decided to crack on and finish the race."

 1   J Neave (Clapham)      1:30.39
 63  Simon Burrell          2:15.20   

 KINGSTON RUN CHALLENGE  Sunday 11th October
 8.2m
 1   S Tack (VTC)           49.20  (chip time 49.13)
 10  G Carnwath (Clapham)   52.39  (52.35 - 1st woman)
 45  Daniel Chiechi         59.27  (58.36)
 357 Danielle Croucher      81.11  (78.30)
 426 Jackie Dunkley         86.44  (82.48)
 452 Paul Wapshott          88.59  (84.54)
 453 Louise Wapshott        88.59  (84.54)
 561 Su Clark              115.35  (111.28) 

 16m
 1   S Macdougall (Bella)   1:38.21  (chip time 1:38.15)
 22  R Hair (BRAT)          1:54.39  (1:53.51 - 1st woman)
 29  Simon Beal             1:55.42  (1:54.54)
 234 Cindy Croucher         3:19.08  (3:15.13)

 MUNICH MARATHON and 10km  Sunday 11th October
 The Oktoberfest was over, but I'm sure that didn't prevent a glass or two of
 beer disappearing down the throats of thirsty runners - particularly Martin
 Halvey who took second place in the M55 category. Martin went through 10k in
 sub-40 and half way in 1:25.31 en route to a 2:55 clocking. Colette Doran
 ran steadily for 4:29. Bixy wisely settled for the 10k and an early arrival
 at the bar.

 Marathon
 1   F Stelze (Germany)     2:29.59  (chip time 2:29.57)
 9   J Viellehner (Germany) 2:40.26  (2:40.26  - 1st woman)
 87  Martin Halvey          2:55.52  (2:55.45)
 785 Colette Doran          4:29.04  (4:28.12)

 10km  
 1   S Hallmann (Germany)   31.28  (chip time 31.28)
 264 Andy Bickerstaff       47.01  (46.24)

 OXFORD HALF MARATHON  Sunday 11th October
 1    S Naylor (Bedford)    1:10.24  (chip time 1:10.24)
 14   F Amrhein (Engel)     1:15.55  (1:15.53 - 1st woman)
 2867 Evelyn Joslin         2:01.08  (1:57.06)

 RICHMOND PARK parkrun 5km  Saturday 3rd October
 1   P Lowe (Strag)         16.10
 9   Jordan Mungovan        17.57
 13  Trevor Maguire         19.02
 28  Peter Weir             19.50 
 29  C Clover (Newbury)     19.54  (1st woman)
 61  Matt Sowton            21.35
 63  Steve Aikin            21.41
 69  Ellen Clague           22.10
 75  Hadi Khatamizadeh      22.29
 82  Stewart Anderson       22.55
 94  Karen Weir             23.20
 109 Amrut Sharma           23.48
 122 Daniel Rushby          24.21  
 123 Alberto Esguevillas    24.22
 137 Luke Maguire           24.41
 138 Steven Mountain        24.44
 156 Tomas Sterner          25.17
 157 James Rushby           25.19
 184 Mike White             26.07
 186 Sam Rushby             26.10
 191 Philippa Kitchen       26.30
 192 Maia Rushby            26.34
 200 John Hobson            26.51
 215 Carol Aikin            27.37
 224 Sue Camp               27.53
 225 Paula Maguire          27.54
 236 Rob Kitchen            28.14
 273 Jackie Dunkley         29.44
 274 Deepa Sharma           29.45
 322 Penny Merrett          32.47

 OLD DEER PARK parkrun 5km  Saturday 26th September
 There was a Ranelagh 1-2-3 from Jon Smith, Trevor Maguire and Jonathan
 Moore.

 1   Jon Smith              18.44
 2   Trevor Maguire         19.31 
 3   Jonathan Moore         19.49
 5   Tom Bradley            20.57
 12  S Hutton (unatt)       22.03  (1st woman)
 17  Colin Brett            22.36
 23  Luke Maguire           24.42 
 33  Julian Holden          25.48
 37  Francesca Baty-Symes   26.00
 40  Paula Maguire          26.51 
 65  Wyn Williams           41.48

 BUSHY PARK parkrun 5km  Saturday 3rd October
 1    A Jaksevicius (Bel)   16.22
 18   Marc Snaith           17.44
 25   C Grima (Herc W)      17.57  (1st woman)
 40   Nick Wright           18.54
 59   Paul Sinton-Hewitt    19.24
 81   Chris Owens           19.47
 113  Sacha Kennedy         20.35
 287  Adam Wright           23.05
 420  Tony Appleby          24.32
 432  Andrew Brown          24.36         
 561  Kirsty Bangham        26.09
 645  Karima Graham         27.13
 923  Jo Sinton-Hewitt      31.14    
 1125 Wally Garrod          38.09
 1168 John Hanscomb         42.45  

 CRANE PARK parkrun 5km  Saturday 3rd October
 First place for Nick Twomey.

 1   Nick Twomey            17.57
 11  Tom Kearey             20.48
 12  Eric Plue              20.54
 17  Colin Brett            21.16 
 19  A Doyle (unatt)        21.28  (1st woman)
 58  Ann Kearey             24.03  
 59  Kevin Kearey           24.04
 64  Josie Kearey           24.27
 92  Lorna Smith            26.26
 107 Mary Hickson           28.19
 108 Claire Warner          28.35
 123 Louise Wapshott        31.09
 125 Katie Walton           31.27
 126 Hilary Thomson         31.38
 128 Nigel Coombes          31.46
 130 Tracey Small           32.22       
 134 Su Clark               33.29
 137 Cindy Croucher         33.37
 138 Deborah Blakemore      33.38

 FOLKESTONE parkrun 5km  Saturday 3rd October
 Ted Mockett was third in.  

 1   J Goss (Inv EK)       16.15
 3   Ted Mockett           17.09
 17  N Pettinger (unatt)   22.24  (1st woman)
 49  Ellen Van Keulen      26.25 

 WOKING parkrun 5km  Saturday 3rd October
 Second place this week for Ed Barker.  
 
 1   B Goddard (unatt)     17.31                 
 2   Ed Barker             17.52
 6   K Hopkins (Woking)    19.17  (1st woman)

 OXFORD parkrun 5km  Saturday 3rd October
 Peter Haarer was first home.

 1   Peter Haarer          16.59
 12  S Rendell (Alchester) 19.12  (1st woman)

 PARKE parkrun 5km  Saturday 3rd October
 Jon Smith finished third.

 1   T Pratt (Teign)       19.00
 3   Jon Smith             19.42 
 6   E Dyson (Haldon)      20.37  (1st woman)

 OTHER parkruns  (Saturday 3rd October)
 Old Deer Park: 5 Tom Bradley 20.39,  20 Phil Roberts 23.38,  53 Wyn Williams
 33.05
 Kingston: 9 Iain Wilson 19.37,  26 Chris Camacho 21.30,  38 Chris Cato 22.37
 Bracknell:  194 Deirdre Inman 34.45
 Bournemouth: 239 Eugenio Carmo 29.46
 Buckingham: 50 James Barber 23.27,  90 Lynne Barber 27.02
 Osterley: 25 Phil Jackson 23.49
 Malling: 108 Peter Fordham 25.53
 Harrow: 107 Colette Doran 45.35 
 Cannon Hill: 437 Chris Spink 30.43
 Fulham Palace: 5 Ryan Fisher 17.05
 Reigate Priory: 33 Duncan Mallison 22.12 

 BUSHY JUNIORS parkrun 2km  Sunday 4th October
 There were PBs almost across the board for the Ranelagh contingent. Poppy
 Jensen and Lydia Louw were first and second girls.

 1   T Bagnall (unatt)       6.25
 6   Euan Sinclair           7.12
 7   Poppy Jensen            7.17  (1st girl)
 13  Lydia Louw              7.31
 21  Lexi Keech              8.02
 62  Eilidh Sinclair         9.19
 134 Isla Sinclair          11.01
 145 Ciara McLaren          11.14
 149 Theo Doyle             11.16
 182 Sam Doyle              12.06               

 SAVILL GARDENS JUNIORS parkrun 2km  Sunday 4th October
 1   L Boyt (Slough Jrs)     7.47
 3   M Elwood (Cookham)      8.04  (1st girl)
 124 Connor Scally          14.35
 137 James Ricketts         15.31   

 MOORMEAD JUNIORS parkrun 2km  Sunday 4th October
 1   O Bragg (unatt)         8.23 
 10  L Noble (unatt)        10.02 (1st girl)
 14  Oliver Beal            10.32
 18  Campbell McLaren       11.09

 RICHMOND PARK parkrun 5km  Saturday 10th October
 Marie Synnott-Wells was third woman to finish.

 1   C O'Leary (Raheny)     15.48 
 6   K Brown (SMR)          18.36  (1st woman)
 11  John Shaw              19.24
 19  Peter Weir             19.56
 22  Peter Faull            20.01
 34  Marie Synnott-Wells    21.02
 42  Steve Aikin            21.35
 52  Tomas Sterner          22.20
 61  Chris Read             22.42
 66  Matt Aikin             22.55
 74  Amrut Sharma           23.12
 110 Daniel Rushby          24.37
 112 Sam Rushby             24.45
 128 James Rushby           25.12
 129 Carol Aikin            25.14
 130 Wiebke Kortum          25.15
 140 Rob Kitchen            25.36
 141 Alberto Esguevillas    25.38
 144 Maia Rushby            25.49
 159 Philippa Kitchen       26.22
 169 Leeanne Bryce          26.43
 173 Karima Graham          26.57
 210 Tony Clark             28.50
 228 Val Lowman             29.13
 289 Penny Merrett          33.16
 294 Wendy Fisher           34.00
 299 Martin Clark           35.10
 316 Andrew Brown           39.50
 321 Pat Hewlett            41.20  

 CRANE PARK parkrun 5km  Saturday 10th October
 1   M Robinson-Church (ua) 18.26
 3   L Killip (Strag)       19.27  (1st woman)
 12  Daniel Chiechi         21.04
 20  Paul Wapshott          21.59
 41  Nick Twomey            24.02
 50  Josie Kearey           24.54
 54  Ann Kearey             25.00
 55  Kevin Kearey           25.02
 107 Louise Wapshott        30.37
 109 Hilary Thomson         31.19
 116 Tanya Allen            33.13

 BUSHY PARK parkrun 5km  Saturday 10th October
 1    A Jackson (Sitting)   16.09
 16   K Towerton (Winch)    18.03  (1st woman)
 56   Fiona Ford            19.35
 91   Sacha Kennedy         20.34
 92   Richard Kennedy       20.36
 384  Kate Brook            24.47
 963  Wally Garrod          37.10
 1010 John Hanscomb         43.36 

 OLD DEER PARK parkrun 5km  Saturday 10th October
 1   B Byrne (Iffley)       20.10
 9   S Hutton (unatt)       21.56  (1st woman)
 11  Phil Roberts           22.49
 23  Luke Maguire           24.59
 36  Paula Maguire          26.43
 61  Wyn Williams           40.42  

 OSTERLEY parkrun 5km  Saturday 10th October
 1   K Jack (Nene V)        17.53
 7   M Sawicka (Imp Coll)   20.57  (1st woman)
 19  Phil Jackson           23.06
 20  James Barber           23.10
 44  Lynne Barber           28.00
 70  Christine David        31.15
 71  Stacey Barber          31.41
 77  Tracey Small           33.08

 COBURG parkrun 5km  Saturday 10th October
 Ralph Street, who is in Australia for six months, cruised round this north
 Melbourne parkrun three minutes clear of the pack.

 1   Ralph Street           16.17
 8   C Brownridge (Ben O)   22.17  (1st woman)

 OTHER parkruns  (Saturday 10th October)
 Nonsuch: 204 Tom Reay 25.54
 Kingston: 19 Chris Camacho 21.15,  58 Ashleigh Ferris 24.43
 Little Stoke:  34 Gordon Whitson 21.33
 Bournemouth: 191 Eugenio Carmo 27.47
 Bedfont Lakes: 88 Claire Warner 28.28
 Fountains Abbey: 69 Chris Wright 23.13,  217 Mary Hickson 29.18
 Pymmes: 19 Peter Fordham 26.03
 Banstead Woods: 28 Rob Curtis 22.35,  78 Becky Hall 26.47
 Bromley: 235 Jo Sinton-Hewitt 25.53,  257 Paul Sinton-Hewitt 26.17
 Market Harborough: 79 Ellen Van Keulen 26.53
 Reigate Priory: 16 Duncan Mallison 22.03 

 MOORMEAD JUNIORS parkrun 2km  Sunday 11th October
 Sacha Kennedy was second overall and first girl with a new sub-8 PB.

 1   L Paskin (Lon W)        7.54 
 2   Sacha Kennedy           7.57  (1st girl)
 18  Lauryn Clague          10.13
 19  Oliver Beal            10.15
 20  Léonie Kennedy         10.20

 FINALLY...
 The organizers of the Montreal Oasis Rock 'n' Roll Marathon chose four
 half-marathoners at random... Video:.