The Shropshire Shuffler - S/S 2016

the SHROPSHIRE

SH UF F L E R S/S 2016 Issue

FEATURES: The Chief is Shuffling Off!

This is a very special edition of the Shuffler. It’s the last time Alan Morris will be editor in chief......................page 4

The Old Shuffler Days

David Morgan takes it back to the 80’s with an insight into the early days of the Shufflers...............................page 10

Buggy Runners!

Two articles for the price of one!

Susan Vuli and Gary Jones talk about pushchair running.......................page 12

The Shrewsbury 10K

Never has there been so much excitement in the Shufflers about a race...........................................page 18

facebook.com/groups/shropshireshufflers

Back: Ian Ford & Mark Perez

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Liz Hird, Alan Morris, Sharron Richardson, Helena Bramwell and Clive Richardson’s little adventure to Barmouth! article on page 11 . . .

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A ‘Shufflergram’ of Shufflers at The Myddle Fun Run - Sunday 13th March Myddl

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Chris Purcell’s Walt Disney World Marathon Walt D

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article on page 4 . . .

www.shropshire-shufflers.org

Front: Clare Williams, Karen Pountney, Amy Doyle, Amy Morris, Angela Gregory, Helen Crook.

Susan Vuli & Jo Whittingham

the SHUFFLERS online:

#ShropshireShufflers TAG YOUR PHOTOS!

The Ironbridge Half Marathon - Sunday 13th March

Chat from the chair...

. . . and finally it’s goodbye from her and hello from him.

Well folks after 5 years in the Chair it was time to hand over to another willing (?) body. Therefore at the AGM in February I handed over the overseeing of the club to Nick Pollock. Nick has been a club and committee member for some years now and I am sure will do a great job a Chair. So good luck Nick.

It has been a privilege to Chair such a great club and I have thoroughly enjoyed the role. With the help of a great committee we have achieved a lot the last 5 years. To name just a few things the club now has casual kit - hoodies and t-shirts (available from Sportsjam in the shop or online), we have new club vests (available from Up and Running). The website has had a revamp and will now be kept up to date by Chris Purcell who takes over as webmaster. The Attingham Park relays event now in its 3rd year and has been a great success.

Talking of the relays entries are now open on our website. This is the clubs premier event of the year and as I have said before, this is our event so if you are member of this club please do get involved with it. This can either be by entering a team - its only a two mile leg so everyone in this club can do it! You can volunteer to act as a marshal or come down to Attingham Park on the night and support your fellow club members. There is a lot of hard work goes on behind the scenes to make it a success so do get involved. Details of the event on are on the club website.

The nights are starting to draw out and this Summer promises another year of alternative events being held at different venues throughout the Shropshire countryside. Always great fun with good food afterwards, thanks to all the organisers and we look forward to seeing whats in store this year. Details of these events will be posted on Facebook and the Website.

So that’s it, all that’s left for me to say is, I hope you continue to enjoy your running with the Shufflers, it really is a fantastic club, from beginners to the fastest runners, road, trail and fell running it is a club for all to enjoy.

Liz Hird 3

The Chief is Shuffling Off! This is a very special edition of the Shuffler. It’s the last time Alan Morris will be editor in chief. He’s been doing it since May 2006.

At that time, Alan, Pete Booth and Alison Bukhari were the team. That particular issue was celebrating 25 years of the club’s existence, announcing Martin O and Sue’s marriage, and Colin Williamson was warning about the dangers of cold mars bars and venison.

In the last 10 years Alan has overseen the production of around 25 Shuffler magazines. He’s pulled the articles together, worked with printers, designers the membership secretary. He has also chased those of us who are a little tardy to make sure we get our articles out on time.

Alan is not going away, he will still be contributing articles including the ever popular ‘Grumpy Old Man’, but he has done more than his fair share of driving this magazine through and is going to take a back seat.

The whole club would like to thank Alan for making sure we’ve had a magazine to be proud of for the last 10 years.

If you want to help with the production of the Shuffler or have any ideas to contribute, please contact Emma Humphreys, Chris Purcell or Graham Evans.

Thanks Alan, you’ll be sorely missed!

Running the Walt Disney World Marathon With racing bib collected a couple of days earlier from the Wide World of Sports Complex on the outskirts of Disney World, along with words of encouragement from Paula Ratcliff the big day had arrived for my little ‘jog’ around the four parks of Disney World! continued...

After a quick stop to hi the my guys, grab some water and get a few photos taken with some of the characters it was time to the long run down the Flordian Way Highway with the sun and temperatures rising.

Into Animal Kingdom (park number two) and past some many enclosures which had elephants, giraffes, hippos, monkeys, and many, many more. A couple of runners I’d been running with decided to stop and have a go on the ‘everest ride’ (riding a roller coaster half way through a marathon - mad!!). So again, with more photos taken it was time to head onto the Osceola Parkway Highway and meet out way to the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.

Sun out here and running around football pitches before heading into the complex’s baseball stadium. A quick (ish) lap and there were the guys at mile 20 with much appreciated encouragement - only 10km to go!

So I arrived at Epcot at a little after 4am in the dark along with the support crew (still looking a little sleepy!) and thousands of other runners. The temperature was already rising and I still had about an hour and a half before the start! The guys parked next to me said it was about a 20 minutes’ walk to the ‘running village’ and then a further 20 minutes then to the actual start!

Back onto World Drive for the run into Hollywood Studios (park number three). Loads of characters here like the ‘Incredibles’, ‘Mike & Sully’, ‘Buzz & Woody’ and original Star Wars props from the first film. With the park open, there was massive support, cheering and encouragement along the main street.

Through security and on to baggage drop, picking up a bottle of water on the way.

Through second security and so after about 50 minutes there, I was in my starting corral in the middle of World Drive. As each corral started, I edged my way to the start line and then in a fanfare of fireworks, (it’s the Disney way!) I was off.

Running up World Drive before 6am with the humidity level around 85% and the monorail alongside carrying runners support crews to the first cheering point in Magic Kingdom it was all somewhat surreal!

“

Main Street in Magic Kingdom was jam packed with cheering support for the runners and it was great to see the ‘Walt Disney’ castle lit up.

With a quick hop (well in my case slow shuffle!) over the Buena Vista Drive Highway, I headed into Epcot (park number four). Around the lake, past the famous Biosphere and then I could hear cheering which was getting louder and louder - and there in front of me was the home straight to the grandstand finish.

All done with a medal around my neck and it was still only mid-morning!

Nothing left to do but head to the post run party for much and well deserved re-hydration!!!

Chris Purcell

5

County Cross Country

Championships Report The annual Shropshire cross country championships proved a happy hunting ground for the Shufflers again this year with the men’s and women’s teams coming away with three prizes between them. On Saturday 9th January around 40 Shufflers gathered at Attingham Park. Attingham is a fresh venue for the event which has been held at Lilleshall in recent years. Whether it was the change of location, the almost table flat course or some other reason, the attendance at this year’s event was better than it has been for many years , with over 150 runners in each race.

The ladies race took place first and the Shufflers entered a dozen runners in a field of 154. The ground was soft but still runnable and some great times were posted. First home for the Shufflers was Claire McCarthy in 6th place overall and a great time of 27 mins 56s for the 6km (ish) distance.

All 12 Shufflers finished in the top two-thirds of the field but, with some quick runners not far behind Claire, the club was able to lay claim to Bronze medals for both the Senior and Veteran events. The three runners to count for the Senior Bronze were Claire McCarthy, Kathryn Voyce and Maryke Fox - congratulations to them. Officially in the Veteran category, Kathryn and Maryke were able to claim a Bronze in the second category too, with Hazel Pollock completing the trio there. Overall placings for the club are here:

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Position

Number

Name

Age Group

Time

6

302

Claire McCarthy

SW

27:56

16

347

Catherine Voyce

V

29:38

32

350

Maryke Fox

V

3 1 : 5 5

49

349

Hazel Pollock

V

3 3 : 1 3

58

299

Lisa Hartshorne

SW

34:24

60

301

Heather Fras

SW

34:36

62

353

Clare Williams

V

34:54

64

348

Liz Hird

V

3 5 : 1 1

65

346

Susan Bowes

V

3 5 : 1 1

77

352

Jane Atkins

V

36:05

99

351

Louise Smith

V

3 7 : 3 1

100

300

Amy Doyle

SW

37:39

Once the ladies race had finished, the men lined up and set off on a slightly longer course of approximately 10km. The weather turned 15 minutes into this race and the rain started to pour down. Though the water made the course a little more slippery in places, in truth the weather was worse for the ladies and other club members who had stayed to cheer the 22 Shufflers on. Again, out of a field of 178, every Shuffler finished in the top two-thirds which is a great achievement. In the men’s event Shufflers claimed third place in a new category; the muster. In the muster, every runner counts, regardless of age or position. Despite Newport having more runners than us, the high finishing positions meant we were able to garner more points than them to claim the Bronze medal.

It’s worth mentioning here that the ladies also came close to a medal in their muster category and Shuffler ladies averaged more points per runner than even the winning team, but greater numbers of runners in other teams counted against us.

Position

Number

Name

Age Group

Time

27

501

Richard Price

SM

43:27

49

560

Keith Silvester

V

46:00

51

561

Paul Bowes

V

4 6 : 1 1

56

502

Phillip Jones

SM

46:36

64

562

Nick Pollock

V

4 7 : 1 1

71

570

Norman Titley

V

48:04

72

568

Adrian Barnes

V

48:08

74

573

Robin Bacon

V

4 8 : 1 1

87

566

Ed Morris

V

4 9 : 3 1

91

563

Bruce Blackman

V

49:58

99

565

Calvin Wright

V

50:30

102

500

Jason Wright

SM

50:48

104

564

Paul Williams

V

51:00

105

567

Ian Ford

V

5 1 : 0 5

106

575

Paul Gresty

V

51:08

112

499

Stephen Stennett

SM

5 1 : 4 6

115

497

Sam Ostermeyer

SM

5 2 : 1 4

118

503

Ian Jackson

SM

52:44

141

572

Richard Paddock

V

56:46

144

574

Christopher Huss

V

56:54

154

569

Iain Day

V

59:40

158

571

Juan Reyes

V

61:04

Congratulations to every runner who represented the Shufflers - you really did the club proud with medals in three categories. It would be fantastic to see even more runners out next January.

Report: Nick Pollock. Photos: Colin Williamson.

7

Marathon International du Beaujolais With places in big crowded marathons getting increasingly harder to get and after 5 years running London and once at Athens I set myself last year on the search for a new, different marathon. This is how I came across the Marathon du Beaujolais, which added new scenery and very particularly combines good, mostly flat running with wine tasting. The marathon runs between Fleurie and Villefranche sur Saone, two small wine-producing towns about 30 k north of Lyon. With headquarters in Villefranche, the marathon weekend includes a small marathon expo, pasta party, and a post-race parade and entertainment night, coinciding with the release of the Beaujolais nouveau of the year in late November. Last year it was held on the 21st of November, exactly a week after the Paris terror attacks, which caused a degree of uncertainty on whether it was going to go ahead. Fortunately it did, and was held as a proof of defiance and good spirit, with numerous references in remembrance of those killed in Paris a week earlier and the singing of the Marsellaise at the start.

The day started with heavy rain and a hint of snow, but with everyone in a festive spirit as we boarded the buses taking us from the finish line in Villefranche to the start in Fleurie. A total of 2500 runners from more than 60 countries took part in the full marathon with 10000 more running the half and 12k races that are held on the same route on the day. When we reached the start point I could personally checked that the wine tasting along the run was not a myth, we were greeted with tables full of local wine, cheese and sausage, not the standard warm up routine. So the race started, and took us through a beautiful countryside of green hills, vineyards and chateaus, going through 12 different villages and 9 chateaus, each of them offering a tasting of their new wine. I must say that also water, sport drinks, chocolate and energy bars were given along the route, but finally gave in into the spirit and actually sampled a sip of the local produce. Bands were also playing along the route on each chateau and village creating a party 8

atmosphere and making it really to forget the pain in each and every muscle. Luckily, the rain held during most of the race and we could all take in the beautiful scenery, the old chateaus and the very nice atmosphere between runners. So we eventually reached the streets of Villefranche for the final 2 kilometres, which proved the hardest, with a slight slope through winding cobbled roads, but with the cheering of the crowds I could finally reach the finish line, to be greeted by a bottle of Beaujolais nouveau and the ‘medal’ in the shape of a sommelier cup, of course. At the finish, plenty of much needed hot soup, yet more cheese, saucisson and wine were available in the covered changing area as well as the vital massage. I was also surprised to check that after all the wine tasting I managed a PB, by a few seconds, at 4:31:42….This might only work there so I don’t think wine testing mixes sensibly with training. The evening was followed by a parade with torches around the town to celebrate the new wine of the year.

The Marathon du Beaujolais is part of a series of races around France called the Challenge de la Convivialite, that are held through the different wine regions, mixing sports with party atmosphere and sampling of local delicacies, so will be looking into this for future challenges. All in all a very enjoyable race with a unique twist.

Juan Reyes-Monte

Liz Hird talks to...

Pete Booth Pete joined the Shufflers in 2004 – after some initial reservations about the name of the club, he soon found out lots of our members do a very fast ‘shuffle’!

I went to meet Pete and his wife Sally at their beautiful home in Ironbridge to have chat about his running and other activities.

part way round and I had to catch the train back to the start!!

L: You are the proud record holder of five club records that some achievement. (V55 5K, V55 & V60 5 miles, V60 10K, V65 Marathon).

P: I am very pleased to hold those records and keep checking to make sure no one has taken them off me! I was so chuffed to win the first two club championships too, funny thing is I seemed to get faster as I got older. My favourite record is for the club time trial that we used to have, I have the record for my age group, 11mins 49 secs for the 2 miles, I’m proud of that.

L: You should be proud of those records I think they will take some beating. I know you have been involved in other activities apart from running though.

P: Well I was born in Nottingham and ran for Nottingham City School boys in my youth and enjoyed doing the Cross Country. After than ran on and off until my mid 40’s when my eldest son challenged me to run the Seven Bridges race in Shrewsbury, so I did it, enjoyed it and got back into running regularly.

P: Yes there is the cycling, I’ve done Lands End to John o Groats on the bike. But I am a keen mountaineer. My two sons both climb and I like to join them. I went to base camp Everest while my son got to the top of Everest. Besides Base Camp via Gokyo, and including Gokyo Ri (5340 mtrs) and Pokalde (5700 mtrs) I’ve topped Kilimanjaro (5895 mtrs) in Tanzania, Toubkal (4167 mtrs) in Morocco and completed the Annapurna circuit up to 5614 mtrs over sea level. I’ve climbed in the Gorge du Tarn and completed a two-day traverse of the Cuillin Ridge on Skye.

L: What made you join the Shufflers?

L: Remarkable and amazing achievements.

P: Well I didn’t initially - the club name! well it gave me the wrong impression so I ran with Wrekin Road Runners for a while, but found myself running by myself at times, then one night I decided to give Shufflers a go, went along and was very impressed by the coach J and I really enjoyed the sessions so I joined the club.

Pete is a true inspiration, he has recently been diagnosed with prostate cancer and has been advised not to run again. However he is in great spirits and is getting out and about on his bike and already planning his next climbing exploit. On behalf of the club I would like to thank Pete for all his work as a coach, we hope to still see him around.

I would like to finish with some words from Pete that I hope will inspire others to keep going when the going gets tough.

L: Have you always run Pete?

L: You eventually got into coaching yourself…

P: Yes it was something I wanted to do, I enjoyed the coaching very much, my favourite session to deliver being the perpetual running session, basically running none stop, not sure how well it went down with the people in the group - I think they enjoyed it!

L: You have done a lot of races and challenges - do you have a particular favourite?

P: I have enjoyed lots of races and challenges. The Longmynd hike has to be a favourite challenge, there was something special about running through the night with just the moonlight, the different sights and sounds and the challenge of the navigation - it was brilliant. We completed it in around 11 hours. But I also enjoyed the London Marathon, the Sexarathon Series in Telford is a great series, Lake Vyrnwy half marathon always good for a PB. The Race the Train race has a particular memory, my running shoes disintegrated

“

Running was a life-force for me;

I loved that feeling of speed; the rush of the air and grace of movement when the body was running perfectly. I also loved the challenges that the different types of terrain and distances presented.

Whenever I see runners now I envy them that opportunity to throw their mind and body into the activity.

I’ve got lots of fab memories from running with the Shufflers. I suppose I still live in hope that someone will find a way round my running barrier - I have only deferred my place in this year’s London Marathon until next year: who knows? If I’m ever told that I can run again, I’ll be right back!” Pete Booth.

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THE OLD SHUFFLER DAYS I joined the Shropshire Shufflers in 1982 where I met many great people learning, like me, how to run. Running shoes then were led by 2 brands, adidas and NIKE and I am sure they look very similar to those you can get today or at least an earlier version. Somethings have changed in the 30 or so years I am referring.

Back then there were no GPS enabled devices to work out how far and how fast you had run.

Things were more primitive then: there was one device designed to measure your running speed. In theory it looked good - all you did was a) work out how quickly you wanted to run e.g.

6, 7 or 8 miles/hr, and then b) enter your stride length in feet and inches. All you did then was to press the start button and the watch came to life as it started to bleep. All you needed to do was to stride every time you heard a bleep!

Theoretically sound, and initially everything worked well. It did so for the first few miles, but I found after 10 miles or so I was unable to keep the stride pattern going. My stride length progressively diminishing and quite frankly I found the constant bleeping a bloody nuisance!

I did manage to sort the problem out - I was ingenious and turned it off!

Music was around then to entertain us whilst we were running. Here things have changed dramatically: in 1983 I purchased a state of the art mobile music system. This wondrous device

10

was manufactured by Sony and was called a Walkman and with the ‘anti roll’ mechanism we were able to play our tapes whilst running without the tape slipping, whilst this worked it certainly does not compare to the host of things available today.

As fixtures secretary for the shufflers I also was a keen participant in races. I remember in 1983 I ran the London marathon, the Winsford half marathon and a number of other races, but there was one race I remember from 1983, held in either Tipton or Wolverhampton - it was the ‘10k turkey trot’. I had visions of being rewarded with a substantial turkey should I complete the short course. I completed the run easily and awaited my prize - which my wife had decided we would have for lunch a couple of days later.

How wrong was I! Yes, we were given a turkey, but it was not what I expected! Rather than the 10+ lb bird I had imagined, the creature that was presented to me weighed barely 2 lbs - it was tiny - more like a pullet, and certainly not enough to feed my family of 5! I took it home to my wife who was hoping her roasting tin would be large enough for the turkey and upon seeing just how small it was, the family burst into laughter.

The moral of this story - always enquire the precise description of any gifts before completing a race or planning your dinner!

David Morgan

A Little Adventure A few of us planned a little adventure for Wednesday 30th December but along came Storm Frank so we hastily altered that to Tuesday 29th instead. The plan was to catch the train to Machynleth, then run to Barmouth and return by train. A distance of 13 miles to run as the crow flies.

We arrived nice and early at Welshpool station (better parking here) to catch the 7:49, but on proceeding on to the platform the sign advised us that the train was cancelled. Not a good start! We decided to drive to Machynleth where we were meeting up with Liz who was going by car with Les anyway. We checked that later trains would be running from Barmouth to get us back we set off from Mach just before 9:00 planning to catch the 12:55 from Barmouth. giving ourselves four hours for the trip.

Leaving Mach. the sun soon came out and as we climbed we were rewarded with spectacular views down the Dovey valley and and across the mountains.

Then out of nowhere screamed an RAF Typhoon at little more than head height immediately followed by two American F15s in hot pursuit.

Continuing our climb we entered the forest and it was not long till the track deteriorated to a rutted, swampy mess, however not to be deterred we pressed on looking for our next landmark, a ford. Crossing the ford we soon realised that the ford we were at was not the one where we should be. We climbed on to some high ground out of the forest from where we could see a waymark on a stile. We headed for this and we located it on the map, we were still off course but at least we knew where we were. Soon back on route we continued up through the remainder of the forest to the col between the Tarren mountains reaching a height of 520m. The first part of the descent was tussocky grass land crossing several stream ravines on the way. A brief respite followed as we passed alongside a cleared forest. Then the next field was nothing short of a bog, I knew the girls were enjoying themselves as giggles and laughs were heard every time somebody got stuck up to their knees.

You don’t need mud runs in places like this and it is free! We passed through the old slate mine workings

where Clive was in his element checking out the old machinery. After hitting the road we took a diversion to run down alongside the beautiful Nant Gwernol as it tumbled over waterfalls and through ravines down to the village of Abergynolyn, about halfway in our journey but nearly 3 hours after we started.

To save a bit of time we followed a road for the next mile or so and then we turned to climb the western ridge of the Cader Idris range, this was steep and long, but on reaching the top we had fantastic views of the Maddach estuary and our destination. Euphoria didn’t last long as we entered another forest where the tracks were just as bad as the last time and seemed to head in all directions. So it was out with the compass to make sure we were heading in the right direction.

Once we had emerged from the forest it was good running following clear tracks with splendid views all the way down to Arthog. We crossed the main road to continue to the causeway and viaduct in to Barmouth in a minute or so over 5 hours, our intended train having long gone.

We met up with Les who had gone ahead by car and was brewing up some tea and coffee on the seafront car park. Very welcome but by this time the sun had gone in and it was starting to get cold as the first signs of Storm Frank approached. So we headed for the warm waiting room at the station and got some sandwiches to eat on the train back to Machynleth.

The 2:55 train arrived on time although it was two hours later than we had planned, but still it was great day out.

Adventurers were Clive and Sharron Richardson, Helena Bramwell, Liz Hird and me. Distance covered was 17 miles with a total height climbed of 1100metres.

Alan Morris

11

Buggy Runners! with Susan Vuli & Gary Jones

Why run with a pram? Is a question I

hear quite regularly by my non running friends. For me the answer is simple, my daughter and I we want to be together! I work full time so every minute together at weekends is precious, when we go out we both gain from the fresh air and social side that it brings.

only suffered one puncture at a Parkrun, which was handy as we didn’t have too far to limp to the car, if we were miles from the car or home I suspect I would have needed a taxi!

Yes sometimes Selina is fed up and wants to get out for a “hug”, but every time I put on my trainers she asks to come out with me. This for me as a parent is rewarding as I feel I am setting an example that regular exercise is fun and a social event, for which most of the time involves cake, thanks to the many Parkrun milestone goals and Gail’s Cake runs!

Years ago I ran with my son in the pram and years later he remembers our outings together.

I find running with the pram to be hard, my park run times are about a minute longer when I have pushed her, it is obviously getting harder now that Selina is getting older and heavier, however, the improvement to my running times when I am not running with her is noticed and I have improved.

We have completed some races together, Market Drayton and Ellesmere 10k’s, I didn’t initially ask permission, we just turned up and ran, it seems that I was fortunate on those runs to get away with it, as unlike Gary Jones, I have only been brave enough to ask the race directors once if the pram is allowed, this was recently for the Oulton Park half marathon and was told a firm no because of insurance purposes. I find this excuse slightly woolly as wheel chair users are allowed to go out on the track so what’s the difference? If I turned up with a ridiculous costume on which gave me limited visibility or movability would I still be able to run?

Yes it’s highly likely that I would be. I feel that running is an all-inclusive sport and that anyone who wants to run should be able to pram or not!

Selina and I are getting braver to complete more miles together, we have got into double figures at Gail’s runs and join in the Sunday long runs from the Boathouse and bow out gracefully at the 7 mile mark so I can let the other runners stretch their legs for the remaining miles they want to complete.

Our chosen pram is an Out n About Nipper Sport, it was a conscious decision to purchase a pram that had suspension, larger wheels and could hold Selina until she was four years old. It has up until now needed minimum maintenance and so far we have 12

I would like to offer some advice to potential parents looking at running with a pram: o When following fellow runners stay back from them as they have a tenancy to move from side to side, it seems runners never run straight and if your close behind they could catch your front wheel and end up on your child’s lap o Make sure you have a wrist strap to secure the pram to you, just in case the unthinkable happens on a downhill stretch, you have peace of mind when tethered to the handlebars o Remember to choose your route carefully in terms of safety and suitability for prams o Make sure you have lights and reflective equipment on the pram in the dark evenings/nights o Always take your phone just in case you do have a puncture o Don’t worry about personal bests, just enjoy the time with your child as they will remember it for years to come Susan Vuli

Being a father of three, a fair few

pushchairs have passed through our house over the years and, in all honesty, I never quite shared my wife’s excitement in researching and buying any of them. For me, they were a means to an end; I would build them, push them occasionally, and usually struggle in vain attempting to learn how to fold the bloody things to get them in the boot of the car!

This all changed when my daughter, Millie, was born in Sep 2014. I’d often looked at others running with pushchairs and thought it looked ridiculously difficult, but I knew I wanted to try it out. Months of painstaking research into specialist pushchairs cumulated into the purchase of a BoB Ironman stroller, and I can honestly say it’s the best thing I’ve ever bought.

I immediately found out that pushchair running, although undoubtedly more difficult than running solo, isn’t as difficult as I’d envisaged and I can happily run double-figure mileage, punctures permitting. Millie seems to enjoy the ride too - more often than not falling asleep within the first mile; although perhaps that’s just a result of my company more than the suspension system!

With the recent boom in pushchair running over the last few years, I’ve looked on in wonder at recent achievements such as Jessica Bruce completing the Abingdon Marathon pushing her 7 month old son in 3:17:52 or Calum Neff winning the Katy Half Marathon in Texas this year, pushing his 11 month daughter around in an astonishing 1:11:27.

Feats such as these had inspired me into wanting to enter a couple of races with Millie, clearly not aiming for such heady heights, but just to have the opportunity to participate in something we both enjoy so much. Upon attempting to enter us into numerous events this year, unfortunately I’ve encountered nothing but flat refusal from organisers across the board to allow me to run with a pushchair - ‘it’s health and safety’ is the usual stock response I get. People who know me will have heard me ranting on about this already, no doubt - but how a race organiser can be content for somebody to run dressed as a potato or a 10ft dinosaur, with severely restricted mobility and vision, but it is deemed unsafe for me to run with a pushchair is beyond me!

This has led me away from lining the pockets of race companies and further into the ever-inclusive arms of the parkrun family, and young Millie can consider herself somewhat of a parkrun veteran having, at the time of writing, completed 24 of them, plus 7 junior parkruns across 8 different locations. These include running along the beach past Antony Gormley’s ‘Another Place’ sculptures at Crosby, through floodwaters at Penrith and along what can only be described as cross country route at Leamington and Marple - with many, many more to come.

My whole outlook and attitude towards running has shifted since starting to run with a pushchair; PBs have gone well and truly on the back burner.

I cherish the extra time I get to spend with Mille and am already dreading the day when she’s too big to fit in her buggy, so plan to make the most of it whilst I can.

Has running with a pushchair improved me as a runner? Possibly not. Has it improved my enjoyment of running? Without a doubt!

Gary Jones

Who’s who?

We talk to Ian Ford Which group do I run in...

Intermediates, not brave enough to move up to the faster group.

Favourite distance...

Half Marathon My favourite race...

Petzl Night Trail Wales at Coed y brenin - A three hour team relay, on trail at night. It was challenging but enjoyable and had a good, friendly atmosphere.

Greatest running achievement...

Finishing the Liverpool Rock n Roll marathon (my first). Never thought it would be something I could ever do.

Warm or cold weather...

Much prefer running in the cold.

Shoes...

Name:

Ian Ford Age Category:

MV40 - 44

Brooks Adrenaline GTS 15’s.

Time with The Shufflers:

Motivation for joining shufflers...

2 years

Weight loss and to meet new people, both of which were successful.

What advice would you give a newbie...

Run to enjoy it and don’t get hung up on times.

Getting faster will happen naturally, you don’t want to pile pressure on yourself.

Do you do any other sport...

I cycle and swim, which lead me to start entering A few triathlons last year.

Favourite post race refuelling...

Has to be coffee and cake.

14

Which of these is true?

I was the bassist in a heavy metal group I have lost 1/3 of my body weight.

I have a private pilots licence.

The Accidental Runner

Discovers the secret to great marathon training lies in chocolate flapjacks in village halls.

by Helen Grime

Actually I’m not even doing a marathon this year, I’m not even training for a particular event; and therein lies another new found joy; the pleasure of not having an event hanging over you but doing the training anyway, just for fun!

Dave Webb alternative route), a briefing from the organizer with warnings of a rampant ram (they like their alliteration in the L.D.W.A) then we all jogged off along the river. Nearly all the route was off road on clever little footpaths that you would never even know were there, halfway in a village hall was a smashing spread (featuring the best homemade chocolate flapjacks ever) and a hot drink and a real loo, then at the end back at the boat house we were waited on hand and foot ; jacket potatoes, beans, tea, coffee and even more custard than Bill Cork could manage; we didn’t have to lift a finger; they wouldn’t let us but kept enticing us to eat more cooing into our ears; “ooh go on you’ve done 21 miles you deserve it”. You can’t beat guilt free scoffing whilst being praised for great running.

I know bonkers, but just think of all those in the baby boom generation with lovely pensions, in huge properties with paid off mortgages; what do they do? They choose to go to work; for fun!

It’s a strange feeling running 21 miles at the crack of bleeding dawn on a frosty Sunday morning when you don’t have to, but perversely, enormously pleasurable. Plus YOU NEVER LOOK AT YOUR WATCH. EVER. Your average speed per mile doesn’t matter, your race time doesn’t matter, your heart rate doesn’t matter, your calorie intake doesn’t matter…. Basically it’s all the fun of running without the grind.

So listen carefully all you shufflers who like to do longer weekend runs; I have four letters for you; L.D.W.A . Now bear with me it doesn’t sound terribly exciting; Long Distance Walkers Association; a well-kept secret, till now. It’s run by lots of lovely friendly people and guess what…you can RUN the events too. The events are held all over the place, they are very reasonable and you get so much for your money. Our run the “Pengwern Perambulation”, started at the Pengwern boathouse in Shrewsbury with tea and toast, we were given very clear directions (almost as detailed as a

So; if you are sick of slogging out on the same old roads with the same old noisy traffic and built up vistas, if you want to feel the wet slap of mud on your off roaders, the joy of an unexpected view, the adoration of the marshals, the taste of homemade sponge cake with custard; then go google L.D.W.A remember “Train hard .. Race easy” (see the accidental runner does the Paris marathon).

However those in search of medals and cups remember ; “it’s all about the mud, about the mud; no bling” if you want competition and trophies it’s not for you but personally the flapjack more than made up for no goody bag.

15

A Small White Dog and PBs...

Rosie’s Leap!

We all have various reasons for going for PBs don’t we? often they happen by accident, sometimes we target a race and it’ll happen or not! I’ve gotten a few satisfying PB’s this last year which shows that I’m getting something right - not sure what at times though! Generally it’s just happened on the day, I’ve ran well or other factors have come in to play that have favoured me. One race I targeted, I failed completely, blew up about a mile into the race and died a death... but one PB I got sticks to mind...

I had a dog, only a little thing, a West Highland White, that we’d named Rosie, in my mind she was the best thing since sliced bread, nigh on the best woman I’d had in my life for many a year. Sadly all good things must come to an end, and I’d taken her to the vets that one last time when age had finally crept up on her! I used to take her for walks over the hills, one of our favourites was Earls Hill at Pontesbury, she’d often beat me to the top, looking back as if to say “come on, you’re supposed to be the fell runner” and then I’d sit and watch her do what she did one of her favourites was chasing the Crow’s along the Ridge Line. I don’t think she could quite work out how the Birds would be flying yet still be beneath her, and she’d run up and down, and at times I’d laugh out loud at her antics, the madman and his dog!. She tried to bring one down once, she leapt out from the edge of the ridge and tried to catch it in the sky - from that day I’ve nicknamed Earl’s Hill ROSIE’s LEAP!

started the first main climb, but no I let them go, I was going to play to my strengths, the sensible voices worked well. I lost ground on the main climb, but I held back and to be honest there wasn’t many behind me when we near’d the summit, perhaps I’d gone too far back? Doubts, always doubts About 10 yards or so from the top I kicked and knew at last I’d got it right! I went past 2 people without even trying, and I kicked again from the top. In full flow on the first part of the descent, others slowed, I accelerated and I was leaving them standing. Out of my way boys and girls, I’m coming through! A difficult technical very steap descent followed, I chose my own descent line, people were hesitating, slowing to a walk in some cases, one even on his backside, they were in my way. Baggy shorts was already passed, Mrs Sunglasses faded away, the youth with long blond hair I ran down near the bottom.

Final climb then and only the youth got passed me - but I was still feeling strong! On the final descent I kicked as hard as I could, chasing the blond youth again “Old age and Treachery versus Youth and Strength” he was going to give me my PB, I took him again near the bottom just before the lane and kicked into the nearest thing I could get to a sprint, and for just a minute or so I lost him. But the little B*****d got on my shoulder and hung on. I’d trained hard for that on the track, the big finish, the final kick. My legs were screaming for mercy as I got inside him on the final turn (yes I cut him up, and I’d planned it!) I kicked and got onto a full sprint with about 50 yards left... people have seen the battle and were cheering us on! If life was fair I should’ve broken him there, but he came back at me and just yards from the line my legs gave out, he came passed me flowing blond locks and all!!!! I felt sick, had an asthma attack and had to lie down.

But I did get the PB & I’m positive I saw a small white dog chasing the crows on the summit!

The Pontesbury Hill Fell Race will now be known as the...

There’s also a Race there, and I don’t know where from or when the idea came, but the more I thought about it the more I wanted a PB, specifically on THAT hill and THAT race the PONTESBURY HILL Fell Race. Was it for a small white dog, or was it just me? You know, I’m not really sure.

I’ll never be a front runner, and I’d had serious words with myself, I was chilled, honest! Mid pack at the start, a large chap with baggy shorts went past me, the rather annoying Blond with the lycra and wraparound sunglasses (it was raining) a near reaction to the youth with long blonde hair as we

16

ROSIE’S LEAP FELL RACE! Richard Paddock

Nik Kersey Most Improved Beginner Award Having been a gym goer for quite a long time, I decided to give parkrun a go. I just happened to pick SYTri’s takeover and a pacer event. Great I thought, I can do 29 minute 5k’s on a treadmill, I’ll stick with the 29 pacer. When I finished the course in 37 something I realised that running outside was very different and I needed some help.

Shropshire shufflers were introduced to me by my very good friends Angela Gregory and Julie Davis. My first shuffler session was the 27th April 2015, the first day of the beginners group for the year. I was going to be able to run the club 10k in 17 weeks. Yeah, of course! Well it just so happened that I did, I ran it all with my running partner Jez Mann in 1 hour 10.

I recently completed my first half marathon, Charles Darwin Day, running all of it, with Josy Whittingham and Nick Hardman, in 2.43. My triumphant sprint finish filmed and posted on Facebook for the world to laugh at!

Joining shufflers has given me a love for running I only thought mad people had.

Who wants to go running in the dark, cold, wet and wind, well, me it would appear. I’ve run through torrential downpours, boiling hot sun, through fields in hayfever season and more recently sleet and snow. Insane, if you ask a non-runner. I also do that really annoying thing of posting all my strava runs on Facebook. I’m a great friend like that!

Speaking of great friends, being a shuffler has introduced me to so many wonderful people, close friendships are formed when you pound the streets for hours on end and drink copious amounts of prosecco together on nights out!

There’s nothing more inspiring then being surrounded by people who love the same thing as you and who are striving for the same thing, in my case, bling, cake and PB’s although my parkrun PB is still rubbish 34’02 I fell in love with running that day so it’s quite special.

“

Winning my most improved beginner award is one of my proudest ever achievements. Along with completing the club 10k, seven bridges and my first half marathon. I’ve got another 4 or 5 half marathons to do this year and there is the potential I may attempt a full 26.2 miles in the future. Not bad considering I only started running to help me lose weight for my wedding in July!

Nik Kersey 17

T HE SH REW S B U RY 1 0 K As soon as this was announced a few months ago Shuffler’s face book page came alive with comments.

“Have you heard of this new race” “Are you going to do it, I am” “I’m going to give it a go” “I’m in” “and me” “and me” “Oh no it’s full; gutted” “Anyone got a place they can’t use?”

And they’re off!

Never has there been so much excitement in the Shufflers about a race.

Lee Jones, Les Rowlinson, Tony Welsby, Gill Welsby, Jemma Griffiths, Sarah Et & Phillip Jones

Well today was the day and the whole town centre was packed with runners and spectators and from the Start the Shufflers were clearly visible in their bright new red, white and blue vests making up 10% of the 1000 of the competitors.

Laura Humphreys, Pete Jenkins & Julie Sayce.

It looked all well organised so let us hope it is the first of many.

Article: Alan Morris. Photos: Colin Williamson.

18

ANYONE CAN DO A MARATHON! Yes that’s right, anybody can do a marathon it is doing it fast that is the difficult bit.

That’s why I never like hearing “I am just going to finish” I’m often asked for my training tips for London marathon, well I have been a few times, well maybe once or twice or was it just the once. Well however many times it is my answer is always the same and very simple, starting from the new year 500 miles and that’s it. Obviously start quietly, build up the mileage then taper off. Don’t leave your energy on the training runs, remember training should be training and not straining. Training miles should be done at a pace about a minute a mile slower than your marathon pace, which I found almost impossible, in fact which is why I advocate running off road where you are forced to go slower and gain strength by over coming the heavy going and crucially it gives you more time on your legs. Running 10ks and half marathons is never going to prepare you for a marathon. When I ran my first marathon, I was doing many long off road challenges at the time, and I remember going past the Tower of London at about mile 23 glancing at my watch and I hadn’t been out three hours, couldn’t believe it, on several of my off road runs I had been out up to 6 hours. Mind you, I still say

the marathon was the hardest thing I ever did as there is no hiding place from the crowd and I was determined to maintain my speed to the end and beat my target time.

My trigger to write this piece is that I am receiving the the Runners World weekly training programs for London and I can’t beleeeve how complicated they are, when all you need is to run regularly and complete the time and the mileage.

Ha Ha I hear you say, what’s he know about it?

Well maybe not much, but what I do know is that this country hasn’t, with the exception of Paula Radcliffe, had a decent marathon runner for years.

It’s not the Kenyans, our runners simply do not go as fast as they used to. Why? Our runners are just not tough enough, back in the seventies and eighties the top fellas just used to run, they would run 10 miles to and from work and then compete regularly in much longer cross country races than today and across ploughed fields at the weekend.

That’s off my chest, just don’t start me on nutrition, a banana and a packet of jelly babies is all you need and it doesn’t cost anywhere all these fancy gels and stuff.

The Grumpy Old Man

Review: Flying Solo

by Manjeet Mann

Manjeet plays Amber, a woman on the start line of her first marathon.

She had done all the training, read all the magazines, got the apps and knows that sub 3 hours is easily achievable.

You won’t be surprised to hear that things don’t go quite according to plan. What follows is heart rending, funny and horribly accurate in terms of some of the feeling that we may go through when a race isn’t going too well. There’s more to this production than that though.

Amber’s stream of consciousness shows her family’s struggle with mental illness and her sometimes fraught sisterly relationships. We’re exposed to Amber’s not always charitable way of dealing with those weaker than herself, her self-doubt and her hubris.

Eventually Amber crosses the line in over 5 hours, but her estranged sisters are there to see her finish and maybe start a new chapter in all their lives.

Flying Solo is being made into a film, so even if Manjeet doesn’t bring this play to Shrewsbury, you may still get the chance to see it.

GE 19

Who’s who?

We talk to Darren Hall Which group do I run in...

Intermediates Favourite distance...

10K My favourite race...

Has to be the Myddle fun run.

Greatest running achievement...

Running with my daughter on her first Junior Parkrun.

Warm or cold weather...

For me its all about ‘cool running’.

Name:

Darren Hall Age Category:

Shoes...

VM 40

Mizuno.

Motivation for joining shufflers...

Time with The Shufflers:

My wife and brother in law - plus it was friendly when I attended some sessions on a Wednesday.

2 years 2 months

What advice would you give a newbie...

Which of these is true?

Enjoy your running and take each step as a reward, dont worry about how others do compaired to you.

Above all enjoy it!

Do you do any other sport...

I have been known to hit a racketball or two.

Favourite post race refuelling...

Has to be a nice steak!



I always eat peanut butter on toast at least 2hrs before any long run.

I always stretch at home for 10 mins after any session.

Last year I ran 268 miles even with a break for my umbilical hernia op/ recovery.

Join the conversation on Facebook:

facebook.com/groups/shropshireshufflers

WEM WONDERLAND

Not much Wonderland round Wem you might say!

Rain, mud, unused paths; these are all heaven to off road runners.

A group of us entered this event organised by the LDWA (Long Distance Walkers Association).

You can run walk, or something in between, the 20 miles to be completed in 8 hours.

First starters were away at 8 am, we chose to go at 8:30 but not being quite ready we were 10 minutes late. We set off in the pouring rain and within 200 yards we caught the 8:30 starters still trying to locate the path to leave Wem. The extra brain power got it sorted and the herd instinct got us on to the right path, which after a few yards was blocked by a fallen tree. We wriggled through this and continued via paths and country lanes to locate the canal at Waterloo Bridge. It was then a long but lovely run alongside the canal to Whixall Moss passing the Marina and two restored lift bridges to arrive at the first check point. As always at these events there was a feast of nibbles as well as drinks available.

The next section was really challenging taking us across really boggy fields to Prees, where we were to see two gorillas in a garden, nothing surprises on these events. It was on then across more bog to the Hawkstone Golf Course where we passed close to an old but working windmill and on to Weston under Redcastle for a second stop near the ancient Stocks. The marshals had commandeered the village bus stop where we lingered a bit as it was not as drafty as the first stop and tiredness was creeping in.

However stopping never got anyone to the finish so away we went on up to descend the former sandstone sea cliffs, now covered in trees and a long way from the coast. A loop around Paper Mill Lane and were heading back towards Wem via Lee Brockhurst to the final sting in the tail, or tale, a hundred steps out of the river Roden valley. That conquered it was plain sailing in to Wem where we reported back about 5 hours after the start and enjoyed a well earned meal, as much tea as we could drink and have a dip in the brantub. Apparently we had covered over 22 miles.

All that for ÂŁ10 and a pressie to put in the tub.

Shufflers taking part that I know were Richard Bishop, Geoff Harding, Jad Bienik, Libby Collinson, Katie Whitfield, Helena Bramwell, Maria Spurling, Sarah Hayward, Mark Bayliss and Louise Dermont.

Alan Morris

These events take place, without fanfare, all over the country and are incredible value and well worth a try. For a list of events and details go to the website of the Long Distance Walkers Association: www.ldwa.org.uk 21

S H R E W S B U RY R E N E G A D E R U N N E R S Being a bit of a plodder myself and finding the Shufflers improvers group on Monday evenings are right on pace for me, I decided to see if anyone else wanted an alternative to Thursday nights excellent coached track sessions with the Shufflers; I would however always encourage people to give track a try too!

who are there offering fun, enthusiasm, encouragement and sharing running experiences. You don’t have to be a shuffler to join in the fun, we meet at 1850hrs every Thursday at the Play park in the Quarry for a gentle run; the more the merrier! I hope to be planning some runs with a difference in the summer months to compliment our great Shufflers alternative runs and I’m sure there will be drinks and cakes afterwards!

The response I got was amazing and the first week we had 12 in the group. This was a freezing cold night and it was snowing so I was impressed with peoples determination.

The responses and feedback I have had have been great and some people have managed parkrun PB’s since they have joined; so it’s all very worthwhile. I try to put in some longer stretches and hills to improve stamina and so far it’s working well.

This group is ideal for people who don’t know if a running club is for them so they can come along and try this first; it’s free, great fun and a real taste of the Shuffler community.

For more information please join the Facebook page ‘Shrewsbury Renegade Runners’

There is no official coaching as it is run by a social group of like-minded Shufflers

I look forward to welcoming you to the group.

Nick Hardman

Alternative Runs Summer 2016 For those new to the club, we organise alternative runs through the summer in place of the Wednesday night run from the Shirehall.

The runs are from village halls, pubs or on occasions, members own gardens and are over field paths and quiet lanes. Runners met at the venue from 6.30ish, register, are given a route sheet for the distance they won’t to run (4/6/8ish miles), organise them selves into groups of friends/runners of a similar ability, complete the run following the instructions, return to the venue for food and drink.

The dates aren’t set in stone and are up for negotiation.

These events rely on club members coming forward to host them, so if any one would like to volunteer please contact me on 01743 358113, e-mail chriswood56@btinternet.com or catch me on a Monday night, l’m currently injured, so you’ll find me with the walk/jog group.

22

Provisional dates for this years Alternative Runs: 20 April: Haughmond Hill from Uffington 11 May 1 June 13 July 3 August 24 August 7 September: Haughmond Hill from Upton Magna

Lead coach Tony Welsby talks: coach sessions safety

COACHES CORNER

health

This is an opportunity to thank the coaches for turning out in all weathers each week to ensure we all get good mixed sessions on Monday’s and Wednesday’s in addition to track sessions on Thursdays where we provide running drills and more intense interval training. All the sessions will improve stamina and speed but you will need to run 3 or 4 times a week to get a significant improvement. Last year we provided improvement sessions and if there is sufficient interest we will provide a more detailed improvement plan over 8 weeks from about June again this year.

I will put a post on face book nearer the time. I am sure you are aware that Dave Perry organises our coaches rota working on 3 months in advance, when the rota is prepared it is downloaded onto the club website and works really well, so a big thanks to Dave for all his hard work in preparing the rota.

Already this year you have been posting some fantastic times in weekend races all over the country and it seems to me that Shufflers are well represented in a significant number of races each weekend, so well done to you all. Taking part is the enjoyment, a PB is a bonus.

It is great to see you all wearing high viz clothing for our running sessions, it might seem we keep going on about it but it is of course for your safety. Talking of safety, most of our coaches are also first aiders, we recently went on a refresher course and on the course it was highlighted to us of the dangers of chewing gum whilst running. It is now known that gum is a real choking hazard and it really is advisable not to chew whilst running. We also mention the need to ensure you know someone else in the group as well as, preferably, carrying some form of identification with known medical problems. We hope never to have to use our first aid skills but in the unfortunate event that an emergency does occur we need to know who to call, your ICE number(in case of emergency), should be readily available.

I realise that we have had some cold spells but it is still important to remain fully hydrated during cold as well as warm weather, the body will only function at its best if we are properly hydrated, and yes, this does apply even on the coldest of days. Ideally you should be fully hydrated before running, either training or racing and if you feel the need to sip fluids whilst running and it makes you feel more comfortable, carry on doing so.

Enjoy your running and I hope you stay fit and healthy and to those of you who are currently injured the thoughts of the club are with you during your recovery.

Tony.

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the SHROPSHIRE

S HUFFLER

S/S 2016 Issue

www.shropshire-shufflers.org