THE HARRIERS HERALD No. 274, December 2015 Editor: Sue Francis
Contents, features, reports, results
Thursday night schedules for December and January Pre-Christmas run with Team Kennet - reminder Compton Harriers Christmas Meal - update Compton Harriers AGM reminder Race results: Oxford Mail cross-country – Two Harriers enjoy racing at sunny Ascott; Florida Ironman – Success in tough conditions as Ryan records good time and raises money for charity; BBO cross-country – a tough race for Rich and Sue on a cold day; Eynsham 10K – Sue bags a trophy on a windy day, while Philomena is swindled by a man!; Mapledurham 10K – Ryan returns to action after Ironman recovery Webmaster’s article – Mo features: his & hers running links; a recipe for a herbal tea to ward off colds and flu; and a list of forthcoming local and interesting races Harriers vest visits Chile - Richard D sports the famous Green & White vest in South America Thanks to Mo and Richard D for this month’s contributions to articles and photos Copy date for next Harriers Herald – 31st December
Thursday night schedule for December Thurs Thurs Sat Sat Thurs Thurs Thurs
3rd 10th 19th 19th 17th 24th 31st
Handicap Race, followed by Club AGM Sue to lead Run with Team Kennet (10:30 am) – see below for details Compton Harriers Christmas Meal (see below for more details) Colin to lead No leader scheduled, but we could organise a daytime run if anyone’s keen No leader scheduled, but we could organise a daytime run if anyone’s keen
Thursday night schedule for January Thurs Thurs Thurs Thurs
7th 14th 21st 28th
Lucy to lead Jonathan to lead Handicap Race Susanne to lead
Pre-Christmas Run with team Kennet (Saturday 19th December) Nick Bull has let me know that Team Kennet will be organising a pre-Christmas run on Saturday 19th December, and all Compton Harriers and friends are invited to attend. Meet at at the front car park of Snelsmore Common off the B4494 near Newbury (OS grid ref: SU 461 708; nearest postcode RG14 3BD) for 10:30am. The run will be multi-terrain and the distance 5-6 miles, at a comfortable pace with re-groups and run-backs. All abilities are welcome, and there will be Christmas goodies to eat at the end.
Compton Harriers AGM 2015 The AGM is will be held on Thursday 3rd December at 20:00 (after the Handicap Race) at The Four Points. All members are encouraged to attend (there will the opportunity for a pub meal).
Compton Harriers Christmas Meal Our Christmas Meal is booked for the evening of Saturday 19th December at The Swan (East Ilsley), arrive 7:30pm for eating at 8:00pm. As usual, dress is smart-casual. There will be a total of 30 Harriers and partners attending – possibly our biggest party ever! I have paid all deposits to The Swan, and given them the list of everybody's menu choices.
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Race Results and Reports Florida Ironman, 7th November Many congratulations to Ryan for completing the Florida Ironman. Rough seas for the non-wetsuit swim, and hot humid conditions for the bike and run stages, meant 26% of competitors failed to finish. However, Ryan paced himself well and, despite having to walk some of the marathon run due to muscle cramps, he completed the event in an excellent time of 12:04:32. Ryan was presented with his finisher’s medal by Gerry, his wife and number 1 supporter, who had been posting regular updates on Ryan’s race progress on Facebook. Ryan raised an incredible £1500 in sponsorship for ‘SeeSaw’, the Oxfordshire-based child bereavement charity.
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Oxford Mail Cross-Country Series Race 1, Ascott-under-Wychwood, 1st November Sue Once again, members of Compton Harriers are joining Team Kennet to compete in the five races of the 2015/2016 Oxford Mail x-country series. Waking to a thick fog over South Oxfordshire and West Berkshire, some Harriers were put off travelling to Ascott (near Burford) for the first race, so Jonathan and I were the only Harriers taking part this time. However, it was well worth the trip, as West Oxfordshire was bathed in warm autumn sunshine and it was a lovely morning for running. We were treated to the usual hilly race over the Crown Farm horse trials course, with the ‘water-splash’ in the valley. The number of runners in each race was greater this year, with 185 ladies and 305 men. The ladies race was won by Sophie Crumly (Newbury). First home for Team Kennet was Helen Preedy (22nd). With me 27th, and Rachel Bladon 46th, the team finished 8th on the day. The winner of the men’s race was under-20 runner Danny Ray from White Horse Harriers (29:38). Jonathan was the 7th finisher for Team Kennet, in 190th place. The team was 8th in division 2. (Official finishing times were only available for the first ten runners in each race).
BBO Cross-Country Champs, 21st November Sue On a sunny but very cold day, with a biting northerly wind blowing across the playing fields, Rich B and I competed in the Berks, Bucks and Oxon cross-country championships at Horspath. The cold weather combined with the challenging course led to a tough morning’s racing. After a lap of the playing fields, we crossed a ditch and set off across farmland to the bottom of a long wooded hill. The trees provided some helter rom the wind but, once at the top, it was into the wind again along the edge of Shotover Plain. The turn back into the woods to begin a nice descent was a relief, but the sun was shining through the trees making it hard to see the steps and roots. Once back on the level, the men had to turn left for another lap of the hill section, while the ladies followed a muddy track back to the finish in the playing field. First lady home was Bethany Murray (Oxford University) in 23:25, half a minute ahead of Windsor’s Becky Atkinson. I finished 32nd (27:11) out of 73 finishers. The men’s race was won by Alex Howard (Oxford University) in 31:22, just ahead of two of his team-mates. Rich was 88th in 46:13, and there were 106 finishers. We finally warmed up with hot chocolate and chips in the cafeteria.
Mapledurham 10M, 29th November The Mapledurham Ten is a new event organised by ‘My Sporting Times’. There is a choice of 10k and 10 Mile courses, with a mixture of surfaces, some mud and some hills. Ryan used the 10-miler as a training run, to get back into action after recovering from the Florida Ironman. But he did very well, finishing 21st in 1:10:15. The race winner was Alexander Miller (Belgrave Harriers) in 58:01, and there were 178 finishers.
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Eynsham 10K, 29th November Sue Four Compton Harriers made the traditional annual club outing to race the Eynsham 10K, with Mo as chief supporter and photographer. There was a strong blustery wind, which was very helpful in some directions, and blowing into our faces in other places, but at least the rain held off. Martin, who has been struggling with tight Achilles tendons recently, paced himself well and stormed past me at 8K to finish strongly with a chip time of 40:50 (107th), while I was 130th in 41:41. Philomena passed Lucy in the last mile to finish 277th (47:44) and Lucy 295th (48:12). This year’s chip race-timing was done by DB Max Events and, immediately after finishing, runners were able to tap their race number into a computer and get a print-out of their chip-time, gun-time and position, before collecting our bright orange tech-T-shirts. The presentations took place promptly and I was pleased to win the trophy for first FV45. Philomena was shown as 2nd FV55, so she just missed out on a prize; the 1st lady in that category was not there for the presentation. (Looking at the official race photos later that evening to identify this fast lady #610 who had beaten her, Phil was surprised to see that the person wearing #610 was most definitely a man, so she has been robbed of her prize! Hopefully the race organisers will realise this and will suitably reward her). The race winner Steve Naylor (Bedford Harriers) finished in an amazing 31:23 with a 2-minute lead on runner-up Alex Jones (Enfield & Haringey). The first five ladies were all in the FV35 category, the winner being Sophie Carter (Belgrave) in a fast 36:48. There were 565 finishers.
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Website update‌ http://www.comptonharriers.org.uk Mo There have been no major changes to the site over the past month, but I have checked out all the web links in the 'Links' section, so I will remind you that there is quite a variety of links to scan through if you are looking for any particular information relating to running. Links of interest this month: This month, I am featuring 'his' & 'hers' links http://mensrunninguk.co.uk & http://womensrunninguk.co.uk which cover core training, gear & accessories, events and trail running in common, but there are variations in other menu topics; for instance there is a Blog in the women's' site, but not in the men's'; a Health section in the men's, but not in the women's and an Inspiration section in the women's, but not in the men's. Having scanned through both websites, I can fully recommend a visit. Avoiding the dreaded colds & flu: The runner's worse nightmare at this time of year is to catch a cold or flu, especially after training so hard for a particular event. There are many suggested remedies to ward off the dreaded 'lurgy' such as drinking plenty of hot soup, chicken stew, beef casserole and even mango yoghurt curry, the idea being that the higher temperatures created in the throat and nose will be an unwelcome environment for viruses which tend to thrive at lower temperatures. There is some evidence that the high protein content will help in the fight against viruses as well as being instrumental in repairing muscle damage. Of course there are also various pharmaceuticals available to help in the battle, including the seasonal flu vaccination. Many scientific studies have been carried out in an attempt to come up with a solution to the age-old problem, but it seems that we are still no closer to finding a remedy. During my search for information, I did come across a medical study carried out in 2009 which concluded that people with low levels of vitamin D were 40% more likely to suffer with respiratory infections. As runners, the health of our respiratory system is crucial and should be looked after at all costs. With this in mind, a regular meal containing salmon, sweet potato and spinach is suggested as salmon is full of vitamin D, sweet potato contains a fine balance of vitamins A and C, while spinach has plenty of iron to help in blood flow around the body. However, if you don't fancy any of the suggested meals, how about a regular hot drink of lemon, ginger, honey, cinnamon and garlic? This herbal concoction is apparently little short of miraculous. The honey needs to be raw, i.e. not processed; Manuka honey is ideal and is commonly used as an antibiotic agent to fight superbugs in some treatments. Ginger is proven to help nausea, loss of appetite and pain. While a cinnamon stick can help with the common cold and a sprinkle of lemon will help the flavour. Garlic is optional, but adds many benefits with its antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal properties. Garlic has even been found to be effective at killing antibioticresistant bacteria, including MRSA. Here is the recipe: 1 inch of fresh ginger, peeled and grated 1 lemon 2 tsp raw honey 1 tsp cinnamon organic white, green or herbal tea of your choice 1 clove of garlic, minced (optional) Fill the kettle, boil water. Meanwhile divide ginger into two tea cups. Place 1 tsp of raw honey, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, juice of half a lemon and a tea bag into each cup. Pour boiled water over and let steep 2-3 minutes. You may filter or strain tea but the chunks of ginger are good for you. If using the garlic, stir in at the last minute to preserve nutrients. Have this once a day if healthy, but if you are sick, drink 3-4 times a day. Now there is the challenge ... .... who is going to be the first to try it?
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Events of Interest – see Website Training & Events Calendar for more details Sun, 06 Dec: 11:20 (W) 12:00 (M) Oxford Mail XC - Culham • 11:00 Tadley Runners Xmas XC 5.2 11:00 Victory 10k Sun, 13 Dec: 10:30 Andy Reading 10km Sun, 20 Dec: 10:00 Muddy Welly 10K & 5K Trail • 11:00 Hooky Xmas Canter 7miles Mon, 28 Dec: 10:00 Gut Buster 2015 - 10K & 10 miles Sun, 03 Jan: 11:30 Tadworth 10 Sat, 09 Jan: Berkshire Cross-Country Championships Sun, 10 Jan: 10:30 Woodcote 10k • 11:00 Rough 'n' Tumble 10 11:20 (W) 12:00 (M) Oxford Mail XC Horspath Sun, 24 Jan: 10:00 Oxford 10k Sun, 31 Jan: Tough Guy 15 Sun, 07 Feb: 11:20 (W) 12:00 (M) Oxford Mail XC - Cirencester Sun, 14 Feb: 10:30 Bramley 20/10 • Dursley Dozen • 11:00 Reading 5 Miles Sun, 21 Feb: 10:00 Wokingham ½ Mth • 10:20 Meon Valley Plod (21miles) Sun, 28 Feb: 10:30 The Terminator 12 • Bourton 10k Sun, 06 Mar: 11:20 (W) 12:00 (M) Oxford Mail XC - RAL, Harwell Sun, 13 Mar: 11:30 Goring 10k 2016 • 12:00 Silverstone ½ Mthn Sun, 20 Mar: 10:00 Heyford Park ½ Mthn, 10k & 5k Sun, 03 Apr: 09:30 White Horse ½ Marathon • 10:00 Reading ½ • 14:00 Combe Gibbet to Overton 16 Sun, 17 Apr: Brighton Marathon 2016 Sun, 24 Apr: London Marathon 2016 Sun, 01 May: 10:00 Three Forts Challenge
Richard D at San Pedro de Atacama, Chile
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