Heraldfeb16

THE HARRIERS HERALD No. 276, February 2016 Editor: Sue Francis

Contents, features, reports, results         

Thursday night schedules for February and March Correspondence received Membership renewal – reminder Ridgeway Relay – preliminary information from Team Manager Richard D Race results: Woodcote 10K – Martin and Lucy run well in a tough road race; Rough ‘n Tumble – A good day out for four of our ‘boys’; Oxford Mail cross-country – Sue struggles on a muddy course Handicap Race – Colin starts the New Year with a win Webmaster’s article – Mo features websites for finding UK races of all distances on trail and road, and lists some selected races of interest for the months ahead Thanks to Mo and Richard D for this month’s contributions to articles and photos Copy date for next Harriers Herald – 28th February

Thursday night schedule for February Thurs Thurs Thurs Thurs

4th 11th 18th 25th

Susanne to lead Mo to lead Handicap Race Martin to lead

Thursday night schedule for March Thurs Thurs Thurs Thurs

3rd 10th 17th 24th

Richard D to lead Aaron to lead Handicap Race Sue to lead

Correspondence received Sender Berks County AA All Sports Medicine

Subject matter Club affiliation fee due New Tendinopathy Clinic in Reading – diagnosis, investigations, treatment for tendon injuries

Action Affiliation fee paid If interested, see: www.allsportsmedicine.co.uk

Membership renewal reminder Fees for Club membership (£10), and England Athletics competition registration if desired (£13) are now due for 2016. 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 Please send your completed form and fee to Jonathan. Payments received after 31st March will incur a £2 penalty!

Thanks to those who have already renewed. If you do not wish to renew your membership this year, please let Jonathan know so we can update our records accordingly.

Ridgeway Relay 2016 Richard D The Club has received its invitation to participate in the Ridgeway Relay which, this year, is being held on Sunday 19th June (please note this is about three weeks earlier than last year, the organisers having reverted back to the weekend used in previous years). I have the honour of being the Team 'Manager' again this year and hope we will be able to give at least as good a showing in 2016 as we did last year.

HH February 2016

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At this point in time I would just like an indication from those of you who would definitely like to run, those who are interested and those who are definitely not interested or are not able to make the date, to get an idea of numbers.

The Ridgeway Relay is a team relay, organised by Marlborough Running Club. It is run over ten legs, varying in length from 5.4 miles to 11.0 miles. At least two of the legs must be run by a female runner. The route is scenic, hilly and off-road. We have the reputation of being the best supported team (by a long way!) on the day, so everyone who runs will be sure to find it a rewarding experience.

Please note that any positive response will not be taken as a firm commitment by you at this stage as injuries, personal circumstances etc can make even the best intentioned plans be subject to change. But it would be helpful to have a good idea to know how the numbers look like stacking up.

The event website is http://www.marlboroughrunningclub.org.uk/races/ridgeway-relay and this is the link to last year’s results: http://www.marlboroughrunningclub.org.uk/uploads/files/documents/RidgewayRelay2015DraftResults.pdf

Race Results and Reports Woodcote 10K, 10th January Martin and Lucy completed this hilly local road race, with good performances. Despite a sore Achilles tendon in the later stages of the race, Martin finished 46th (42:10), and was Lucy 156th (49:50). The race winners were Scott Forbes (35:18) and Joanna Zmyslona (39:32, 20th overall), and there were 429 finishers.

Rough ‘n Tumble, 10th January In total 544 runners completed this gruelling 10-mile multi-terrain course, which includes 1,620ft of elevation and was much muddier than in recent years. The field included three Compton Harriers (Ryan, Jonathan and Rich B) and former Harrier ‘Big Kev’ Wilkinson. Ryan was 27th (1:23:01), Jonathan 104th (1:36:55), Rich B 175th (1:45:29) and Kev 361st (2:09:44). The overall winner was Ian Rutherford (City of Salisbury AC) in 1:12:06, while Ruth Barnes (Avon Valley Runners) was first lady in 1:15:45. In the pre-race ‘shoe raffle’ Kev was delighted to win a voucher for a pair of trainers, and the boys celebrated a successful morning’s running with a trip to the pub.

Oxford Mail Cross-Country Series Race 3, Horspath, 10th January Sue I was the only Harrier to take part in the 3rd race of the x-country series. This league race was combined with the Oxfordshire County Champs race, so there were more competitors this time. After the recent heavy rain, the course was tough going most of the way. The ditch, which is usually just damp in the bottom, was half full with water, the fields were wet and boggy, the wooded uphill path was slippery, and the path back to the playing fields was thick with mud. I had checked the route map on the league website the previous evening, and it seemed the ladies had to run a little loop round the playing fields before heading out onto the large loop. Given the fact that I had a sore Achilles tendon, and I also loathe running in mud, I decided run relaxed and not worry about being too competitive. So I wasn’t bothered when the marshal sent us straight on to the large loop – I reckoned I must have missed something in the pre-race instructions, and we didn’t have to do that little extra lap after all.

With the finish banner in sight on the other side of the playing field, I decided I could push on and gain two places, so I passed a lady from Eynsham Roadrunners, then a lady from Newbury AC as I sped toward the finish banner.

But where was the way in to the finish? Amongst the mass of spectators, officials, and runners gathering for the start of the next race, I realised that the ladies ahead of me were carrying on….that extra little loop was at the end of the race, not at the start! In my temporary confusion I nearly fell over my own feet, before dragging myself round that extra loop, where I managed to lose the two places I had just gained (I later discovered I was not the only one who was caught out – one lady missed out on a county medal because she sprinted to the ‘fake finish’).

The race was won by Gemma Bridge (Oxford City AC) in 27:22, and there were 174 finishers. First home for Team Kennet was Helen Preedy (22nd) with Rachel Bladon 35th, and me 41st. Team Kennet’s ladies’ team finished 6th on the day, and the men 8th.

HH February 2016

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Handicap Race Sue A cold and dry evening greeted the contestants for the first Handicap race of 2016. Injuries and illness kept some regulars away, and there were only seven starters. Jan was pleased to have a reliable new stopwatch, thanks to a gift from Colin, and Colin was rewarded with a win! Sue took 2nd place ahead of Aaron and Richard D. Martin, who was taking it a bit easy to rest his injury, made Mo sprint to the finish, and Mo’s time placed him 3rd on handicap. John did well to complete his first handicap race, and set himself a target time for next month. Well done Colin, and thanks to Jan and Dick for timing. The next race is scheduled for 18th February.

Finish Position 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Position on handicap 1 2 4 5 3 6 New runner

Name

Start time

Colin Sue Aaron Richard D Mo Martin John

Finish time

2:47 5:37 5:12 3:23 0:02 6:12 0:02

Handicap Beaten? +0:08 +0:19 +0:30 +0:39 +0:24 +2:25 New runner

Actual time

18:08 18:19 18:30 18:39 20:24 20:25 23:17

15:21 12:42 13:18 15:16 20:22 14:13 23:15

Handicap Championship 2016 Pos.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Name

Colin Sue Mo Aaron Richard D Martin John

Race 1

Race 2

Race 3

Race 4

12 10 9 8 7 6 5

-

-

-

Race points Race Race 5 6 -

-

Race 7

Race 8

Race 9

Total of best 5

-

-

-

12 10 9 8 7 6 5

Martin and Lucy approach the Woodcote 10K finish - Race photographs by SportsPhotosUK HH February 2016

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Website update… http://www.comptonharriers.org.uk Mo You may have noticed that the site has been updated to confirm the Compton 20 Downland Challenge is going ahead on Saturday 9th April 2016, so mark that date in your diaries and let Martin know if you are available to help with proceedings, if you haven't already done so of course. Richard D is once again managing our Ridgeway Relay team in June, so don't forget to let him know if you are available to run any of the ten legs. I will be adding reminders on the website, and the event has also been added to our Events Calendar.

Links of interest this month: Last month I mentioned this link ... http://www.f3events.co.uk/event/Windsor-Eton-Fun-Run-Series-Event-1-1001 followed by the question; ... spot anyone? I haven't received any feedback, or heard anyone mention if they did spot anyone, but if you didn't have time to check out the link, I will answer the question ... the website header shows Meena taking part in one of the events at Dorney Lake. As a few of our members also like taking part in duathlons and triathlons, this link is ideal for finding out where all the events are taking place; http://www.xtrihub.co.uk/events.html. Another good link for finding local races is http://www.oxonraces.com, which also lists a good selection of races from the 'wider' local area. Of course, if you want the ultimate race finder then I'll give you the 'secret' link ... http://www.comptonharriers.org.uk/linkindex.htm#Event Finder:

Events of Interest – see Website Training & Events Calendar for more details: Sat, 06 Feb: Thames Trot Ultra 50 • 13:30 Eton Dorney 5k,10K & ½ Mthn Sun, 07 Feb: 11:20 (W) 12:00 (M) Oxford Mail XC - Cirencester 09:00 Portland Coastal Mthn, ½ Mthn & 10k 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 Sat, 05 Mar: 13:30 Eton Dorney 5k,10K & ½ Mthn Sun, 06 Mar: 11:20 (W) 12:00 (M) Oxford Mail XC - RAL, Harwell • 09:30 Bearwood 10k & 5k Trail 10:00 Selsey 10k Sun, 13 Mar: 11:30 Goring 10k 2016 • 12:00 Silverstone ½ Mthn • BMAF Open XC Champs Sun, 20 Mar: 10:00 Heyford Park ½ Mthn, 10k & 5k • Banbury 15 Fri, 25 Mar: 09:30 Maidenhead Easter 10 (Miles) Sun, 03 Apr: 09:30 White Horse ½ Marathon • 10:00 Reading ½ • 14:00 Combe Gibbet to Overton 16 Sat, 09 Apr: 09:00 CDC 20 Sun, 10 Apr: Wokefield 10 Sun, 17 Apr: Brighton Marathon • 10:00 Danesfield-Dash-10k • Treehouse 10k 10:15 Houghton 11K Trail Run • 11:00 Highworth 5 (Miles) Sun, 24 Apr: London Marathon • 10:00 Ridge Off Roader 10k Sat, 30 Apr: 11:00 Hurstbourne-5miles MT Sun, 01 May: 10:00 Three Forts Challenge Mon, 02 May: 09:30 Shinfield 10k Sat, 07 May: Ridgeway 40 Sun, 08 May: Welford & Wickham 10k Run • 11:00 Hairy Legs Challenge (12k) Sat, 14 May: 10:30 Chieveley Chase (5.7miles) Sun, 15 May: Berkshire County Championships • Marlborough Downs Challenge 10:30 Royal Berkshire 10k • 10:30 Stockley-Park-10k Sun, 22 May: 10:00 Wallingford Thames Run 10K/5K Sat, 28 May: GUCR 145 miles Sun, 29 May: 10:00 Bayer Newbury 10K Sun, 05 Jun: Ollie Johnson Memorial Kintbury 5 • 10:00 Chiltern Chase 10/15k & 5k Sun, 12 Jun: 10:00 Wargrave Charity 10K • 14:00 26.2 Team Challenge Sun, 19 Jun: 07:30 Ridgeway Relay • 10:30 Hungerford Harey 8 Sun, 26 Jun: 10:30 Gibbet Challenge 10k HH February 2016 4