THE HARRIERS HERALD No. 289, March 2017 Editor: Sue Francis
Contents, features, reports, results
Thursday night schedules for March and April Membership renewal 2017 - reminder Race results and brief reports – The Harriers were very well represented in local road and cross-country races during February, with members taking part in: Wokingham Half, Bramley 20, Oxford Mail xcountry, Goring 10K and Bourton 10K Handicap Race – Ryan clocks a fast time to win race and lead the 2017 Championship Webmaster’s article – Mo features: New Compton Challenge race website; Compton Harriers new Strava club page; ‘Long run training’; and forthcoming local and interesting races Thanks to Mo for this month’s article, and to Darren and Mo for photos
Thursday night schedule for March Thurs Thurs Thurs Thurs Thurs
2nd 9th 16th 23rd 30th
Pete O to lead Martin to lead Handicap Race Darren to lead Colin to lead
Thursday night schedule for April Thurs Thurs Thurs Thurs
6th 13th 20th 27th
Martin / Lucy to lead – route checking for Compton Challenge? Handicap Race Ben to lead Richard D to lead
Membership renewal 2017 Fees for Club membership (£10), plus England Athletics competition registration if desired (£14) are now due for 2017. The Membership Form (along with the Club Rules, Code of Conduct, and Safety & Etiquette documents) can be found on our website at http://www.comptonharriers.org.uk/WebPlus/Membership.html Thanks to those who have already renewed. For those who have yet to do so, please send your completed form and fee to Jonathan (or you may pay directly into Compton Harriers account by bank transfer). Payments received after 31st March will incur a £2 penalty! If you do not wish to renew your membership this year, please let Jonathan know so we can update our records accordingly.
Race Reports and Results Wokingham Half, 12th February Four Compton Harriers put in good performances at Wokingham. Ben, representing his first claim club Burnham Joggers, demonstrated that his dedicated marathon training is really paying off as he finished in 213th in 1:25:59. Martin was 407th (1:32:33), Terry 614th (1:39:18) and Lucy 1016th (1:51:56). The race winners were Toby Spencer (unattached) in 1:05:48, and Joanne Harvey (Aldershot) in 1:18:10, and there were 1820 finishers.
Bramley 20M, 19th February Four different Compton Harriers were amongst the 856 finishers at the Bramley 20, and all did well. Ryan was 186th (2:24:10), Giles 238th (2:28:59), Susanne 245th (2:29:55) and Philomena 429th (2:46:48). The race winners were Matthew Bennett (Southampton AC) in 1:48:22, and Helen Wallington (Totton RC) in 2:11:16. HH March 2017
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Oxford Mail x-c Race 4, Rutherford Appleton Campus, Harwell, 5th February After the cancellation of the third round fixture (due to the inability to find a venue and host club), Round 4 of the 2016–17 Cross Country League saw runners back in action on a chilly, overcast day at RAL Harwell. Ongoing development of the RAL Harwell site meant the courses were modified this year, taking a different route up ‘the mound’ which seemed (to me) to be slightly easier, being less steep and not going quite to the summit. If you had the energy to look up on reaching the windy high-point, the views across the Harwell campus and surrounding countryside were still good. However, the route change did cause a bit of a problem in the men’s race, as the hill was approached via a narrow and steep set of metal steps which created a real bottleneck for the main pack. The men’s race was won by Ben Cole (Swindon Harriers) in 30:03. Team Kennet’s first finisher was Christopher Hall (70th). Darren enjoyed his first cross-country race as he finished 134th (39:39). Rich B made a welcome return to racing in 174th (42:05), and Colin finished in 236th (48:24). The men’s team was 4th in Division 3. Sophie Crumly (Newbury AC) continued her winning streak in the ladies race (25:17). The first Team Kennet finisher was Helen Preedy (20th, 28:13). Four Compton Harrier ladies took part. I was 26th (28:45), Susanne 38th (30:18), Kirsty 45th (30:51) and Philomena 86th (33:31). The ladies team was 4th in Division 1. Several of us enjoyed a post-race gathering at Susanne’s house, with delicious home-made date flapjack.
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Goring 10K, 26th February A mild and breezy day greeted nearly 900 starters at the Goring 10K. Amongst the runners were four Compton Harriers. Giles had a great run to finish 29th in 39:48, but there was no Jeremy for him to race this year! Mike set a 10K PB as he finished 60th in a very good 42:31. He will surely smash this again on a less challenging course. Having done a horrible 5-mile cross-country race the previous day, I enjoyed doing the 10K as a good-paced training run, and finished 116th in 45:06 (2nd veteran lady). Kirsty finished her first race as a Compton Harrier in 47:23 (192nd) and Tim, who has recently started running with the Club, paced his wife to finish 366th (52:48). The race winners were Stuart Grange (Takapuna) in 34:04, and Jessica Gibbon (Reading AC) in 38:53. Thanks to Mo and injured Darren for supporting and taking photos.
Bourton 10K, 26th February Martin had a great race to break 40 minutes (78th, 39:52) and Lucy also ran very well to finish 315th in 49:33. The race winners were Alex Lee (Cheltenham & County Harriers) in 32:34, and Rachel Felton (Shaftesbury) in 35:12, and there were 523 finishers. (Photos by Barry Cornelius http://www.oxonraces.com/photos/).
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Handicap Race February’s Handicap Race took place in good running conditions, and many of the runners clocked personal best or season’s best times. Ryan, whose goal is to run sub-11, really went for it and won for the second successive month, recording 11:17 – the fastest we have seen on this route for some time. Tim also broke the 12-minute mark, as he just ‘stole’ second place from Philomena on the finish line. Philomena, George and Darren set PBs, while Martin and Sue ran season’s best times, and Vanessa completed her first Handicap Race with us. Thanks again to Jan and Dick for timekeeping and, equally important, booking the pub. Finish Position 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12= 12=
Position on handicap 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 New Runner
Name
Start time
Ryan Tim Philomena George Sue Darren Martin Colin Susanne Aaron Lucy Mo Vanessa
6:44 6:47 4:40 5:37 6:23 6:23 6:53 4:00 6:08 6:17 4:46 0:23 0:23
Finish time
Actual time
18:01 18:30 18:31 18:37 18:38 18:46 18:47 18:54 18:57 19:06 19:09 21:50 21:50
11:17 11:43 13:51 13:00 12:15 12:23 11:54 14:54 12:49 12:49 14:23 21:27 21:27
Handicap Beaten? -0:59 -0:30 -0:29 -0:23 -0:22 -0:14 -0:13 -0:06 -0:03 +0:06 +0:09 +0:50 New Runner
Handicap Championship With two wins under his belt, Ryan has an 8-point lead in the Championship. Philomena and Darren have also scored well and are lying second and third. Pos.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8= 8= 8= 11 12 13 14 15= 15= 15=
Name
Ryan Philomena Darren Sue Tim John Mike Aaron Colin George Martin Susanne Mo Lucy Ben Kristie Vanessa
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Race 1 12 7 8 5 1 10 9 6 4 1 2 3 1 1 1 -
Race 2 12 9 6 7 10 2 4 8 5 3 1 1 1
Race 3 -
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Race 4 -
Race points Race Race 5 6 -
Race 7 -
Race 8 -
Race 9 -
Total of best 5 24 16 14 12 11 10 9 8 8 8 6 5 4 2 1 1 1
Website update‌ http://www.comptonharriers.org.uk Mo Compton 20 entries a month ago were 55 on 31st January and, despite emailing 114 running clubs and Tweeting to just as many clubs and running organisations, entries still haven't reached 100 (91 at time of writing - 2nd March) so I will continue with regular tweets and Facebook reminders which are helping to keep the event in the public eye. Again, thanks to Abingdon Amblers and Didcot Runners, Sports Systems and several other individuals who regularly re-tweet our posts. I have also uploaded a dedicated race website in an attempt to improve the race profile and make it easier to view information. The URL is http://chrcwebmaster.wixsite.com/compton20 However, the site can also be reached from our main website and from our Facebook and Twitter feeds. I have also posted to the Compton Berkshire Facebook page as well. Hopefully entries will pick up considerably over this month ... unfortunately there are one or two other high profile events taking place on the same weekend ... maybe Easter weekend does have its advantages after all! Links of interest this month: Try this one https://www.strava.com/clubs/compton-harriers-rc-261603 The page was set up by Darren as several Harriers use Strava to record their runs and routes. In addition, postings with route maps keep members of the group informed of forthcoming Events and Training Sessions. Strava can be used on your PC and the 'App' can be downloaded to your mobile to map your run using Satellite Navigation and keep a record of your runs together with info such as date, distance, pace, elevation etc. Routes and info from other devices such as Garmin, can be imported into Strava and routes can also be added manually. To test it out this week, I added both Tuesday and Thursday club sessions in the 'Events' section and, as a group member, received confirmation of the postings and an email message on the day to remind me of each event. So, if members sign up for a free Strava account and join the Compton Harriers Club section, you would get instant notifications to your mobile as well as on-the-day reminders of upcoming Club events and training sessions ... Of course, I will still continue to add to the web calendar, Facebook and Twitter. I have also embedded Strava links (to show members' activities in real time) on the Training page of our website. Why not find out for yourself and try it out? Long Run Training explained: We all know that the weekly long run is essential when training for events such as a half marathon, marathon or a tough trail ultra, but do we really know the best way to go about it to gain maximum benefit? Having read a variety of online articles and opinions on the subject, I think I have found one article that that is easy to understand and seems to make sense. The author is Fiona Bugler who, as well as being a running coach, is also a freelance journalist and editor for various online 'running' publications such as Running Bug and Women's Running UK. Here is a prÊcis of Fiona's recent article: o
What is a long run? This is relative to the individual and race distance they are training for but, generally speaking, a long run is between one and three hours, run at a low intensity.
o
What are the benefits? Long continuous duration runs develop aerobic endurance by improving V02 max (maximum oxygen uptake). A high V02 max provides plenty of oxygen to the working muscles and is key to success in middle and long distance running. Long slow runs boost the number of mitochondria (the power-producing components within cells) in your body, so ensuring aerobic efficiency.
o
How to do it: As a general guide, a long run should be at a steady pace, up to 60% of your maximum perceived rate of exertion (or 75% of max heart rate if using a monitor) and you should still be able to chat comfortably. In 'pace' terms you should aim to run at no more than 80% of your race speed over the same distance or a little bit slower - time on your feet is what counts, especially with marathon training. To convert a race pace to an 80% training pace, just multiply by 1.25 As an example, if you can run a half marathon at 8:00 min/mile pace, you should aim to do your training runs at 10:00 min/mile. Remember, this is only a guide; if you're a faster sub-3:30 marathon runner it's also a good idea to try to do some runs at your full marathon pace.
o
Building up the distance: The key to building endurance conditioning is to keep it slow and steady. Add one mile a week to your weekend long run. Every fourth week, reduce your mileage by missing out the
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long run or, instead, keeping it at the same length as week three. Then starting building again, one mile at a time or, as a general guide, increase the volume by 10 per cent a week. o
Long running for marathons: When starting out, the goal should be to build up to at least one run of 20 miles, over a period of three to four months. Many coaches suggest running five 20-mile runs in the build up to a marathon, over a period of 16 to 18 weeks. For more advanced runners, higher intensity marathon-paced long runs of between 10 and 15 miles will be done every three to four weeks.
Events of Interest – see Website Training & Events Calendar for more details: March 2017 Sun, 05: Sun, 12: Sun, 19: Sun, 26: April 2017 Sun, 02: Sat, 08: Sun, 09: Fri, 14: Sun, 23: Sat, 29: Sun, 30: May 2017 Mon, 01: Tues, 02: Sun, 07: Sat, 13: Sun, 14: Sun, 21: Sun, 28: June 2017 Sun, 04: Sat, 10: Sun, 11: Sun, 18: Sat, 24: Sun, 25: July 2017 Sat, 01: Sun, 02: Sun, 09: Sun, 16: Wed, 19: Sun, 23: Fri, 28: August 2017 Sun, 06: Sun, 13: Sat, 26: Sun, 27: Mon, 28:
Oxford Mail XC Round 5 - Farmoor • 09:00 The Imber Ultra 33 miles • 10:00 Eastbourne ½ Marathon 11:00 Droitwich ½ Marathon 09:30 The Ridge Off Roader ½ Mthn & 10k • 11:00 Bath ½ Mthn • 12:00 Silverstone ½ Mthn 10:15 Reading Half Marathon • 10:30 Banbury 15 • 10:30 Hastings ½ Mthn 10:00 Woking 5 • 10:30 Oxford Mail OX5RUN 9:30 Wokingham 5K & 10K • 10:00 Treehouse 10K • 14:00 Combe Gibbet to Overton 16 10:00 Compton 20-mile Challenge 08:30 Fuller's Thames Towpath 10 • 9:30 White Horse ½ Mthn 09:30 Maidenhead Easter 10 Virgin Money London Marathon 2017 11:00 Hurstbourne 5 Multi-Terrain Race 08:30 North Dorset Village Mthn & Relay • 10:00 Danesfield Dash 10K • Blackwood Fun Run 10k & 5K 12:00 Chalgrove Festival 10K 19:30 Silverstone 10K Welford & Wickham 10K • 09:00 Bracknell ½ Mthn • 09:30 Woodley 10k • Marlow 5 10:30 Chieveley Chase 5.7miles 10:00 Oxford Town & Gown 10k • 11:00 Hairy Legs X-Country Run (~12k) 10:00 Wallingford Thames Run 5k & 10k • 10:30 Green Park Royal Berkshire 10K 10:00 Bayer Newbury 10k 10:00 Chiltern Chase 15.4K, 10K, 5.4K • 10:30 Ollie Johnson Kintbury 5 10:00 Run The Rock 5K and 10K 10:00 Heyford Park Airbase Half/10K/5K • 10:00 Wargrave 10K 07:30 Ridgeway Relay • 10:00 Hampshire Hoppit Trail Mthn & ½ Mthn • Hungerford Harey 8 10:00 Ridgeway Revenge - Mthn, ½Mthn & 10k 10:00 Downlands Dash 10k • 10:30 Gibbet Challenge 09:00 Birmingham Black Country Marathon 09:30 Didcot 5 The Adderbury Three Spires Challenge • 11:00 Tim's Tadley 10k 09:30 Wycombe ½ Mthn & 10k 19:30 Thames 10K 10:00 Down Tow Up Flow ½ Marathon Kennet & Avon Canal 145 Mile Race Hooky 6 • 09:30 Bearbrook 10K 09:30 Burnham Beeches ½ Mthn & 10K Liverpool - Leeds 130-mile Canal Race Ridgeway Challenge 86 Miles • 09:30 Headington 5 Ridgeway Challenge 86 Miles
... don't forget, if you want to search for more events, especially those further afield, just follow our page link for other sources: http://www.comptonharriers.org.uk/linkindex.htm#Event Finder: HH March 2017
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