Newsletter December 2004 Christmas Edition 
Road, X Country, Track &
Field, Tri
Pointing the way to a
healthier
lifestyle
Pointing the way to a
healthier
lifestyle
|
What do runners do when they forget something? – They jog their memory! Yes it’s the Christmas edition of the newsletter so, appropriately, you will find this edition stuffed full of results together with some cracking race reports, the odd (very odd) joke, plus the essential Christmas present wish list for Langport Runners!
Don’t forget to use your new calendars and diaries to write in next year’s races and most importantly THE LANGPORT RUNNERS AGM which is FRIDAY JANUARY 28TH at THE LANGPORT ARMS 7.30 pm. If any club member would like to fill any of the positions on the committee, or would like to suggest any names, please let Pete know.
STOP PRESS
FRIDAY 31ST DECEMBER - NEW YEARS EVE CLUB
RUN 10.OOam from RIDGEWAY HALL. ALL WELCOME. REFRESHMENTS AFTERWARDS
The Clarendon Way Marathon – ‘Are You Tough
Enough??’
During a telephone conversation this August my dad asked the question ‘How far is it from Somerton to Salisbury?’ Me, eager to please without considering the next question, answered ‘just up the road.’
My dad runs for
the ‘Carnegie Harriers ‘who are based in Dunfermline, Scotland. A fellow runner in the club has relatives
near Salisbury and has for the last few years run the Clarendon Way. He had now convinced my dad that it was one
not to miss! And very soon I too would be convinced…………………………….
The Clarendon Way
Marathon starts from Winchester College in the city centre, on the banks of the
River Itchen. It passes through some stunning countryside in Hampshire and
Wiltshire before finishing at Wyvern College, Laverstock in Salisbury.
The route is mostly off-road, is tough and challenging but possibly one of the
most scenic races you'll ever enter.
It was now
mid-August, only half a dozen weeks to go and my non-existent training plan was
probably not the best way to go about business. I soon became focused and upped my weekly mileage to 35-40
miles. With the Clarendon being a pure
off-roader, I tweaked my training accordingly and soon made great use of my Boy
Scout map reading days and planned some routes from Somerton.
Mid September my
mum and dad spent a week with us that became an ideal opportunity for a run
together. Dad even managed a guest appearance at the club during his stay. The best training run we managed was a
three-hour plod from Somerton›Ash›Langport›Pitney›Somerton, with plenty of mud
and hills on the way. In hindsight we
should have ran many more of these runs!
Race day rapidly
arrived and our early morning journey to Salisbury began. The race had parking at both start and
finish with transport to get you to the right place; all very well organised I
might add. We opted for parking at the
finish. With plenty of the usual
pre-race banter we were soon in place.
At the start we met both Tracey and Gina who were all set for the race,
Martin had adopted the role as en-route support (photo man!).
The Clarendon can
be run as either the Marathon, Half or as a Team Relay comprising of 4
runners. With this in mind the few who
sprinted off at the start were relay runners I hoped….
The weather was
perfect however the forecast was rain and gales from the west, probably on cue
at 13 miles. I had a pre-race call
confirming rain at Somerton.
We were off and
the pace was slightly up on our plan but we felt fine, it wasn’t long before we
were off road and the race was living up to expectations. Plenty of water stations en route but I was
glad of the dried fruit and carbo-drink carried as well, my dad also providing
a fine selection of jelly babies to up the levels.
We had been
plodding along at a fair old rate of knots for about an hour and my dad mentioned
he wasn’t as fresh as usual at this pace, so we gently eased off for a couple
of miles.
Cue the Rain! Batten down the hatches and push on…we
reached half way in about 1:55 which we were both pleased with, and had a few
more jelly babies to celebrate.
The half marathon pack had set off 1½ hours before us and now we were following in their footsteps, which at times resembled The Battle of the Somme; the grass and hard tracks had turned to mud, and the chalk was now nice and slippery. Nobody said it would be easy!
We battled on meeting some hardened runners, Clarendon Marathon 7 years on the trot – Hats off to them. All was going quite well considering, until at about 19 miles I felt a bit of a niggle in my left hip, and with it starting to give me a bit of grief we backed off a little. With what seemed like a continual onslaught of climbs, dad and I resorted to a quick march up the hills. This gave me some short-lived relief on the hip.
With the surrounding scenery now looking familiar the finish was well within a mile, one last climb and the sound of the marshal’s microphone booming out race numbers - we were there! I managed to muster a sprint for the crowd and we crossed the line together
Yahoo!!! 4:23:29 Russell McArthur
Why was Cinderella such
a bad runner?
She had a pumpkin as
a coach!
Mendip
Muddle 10th October 2004 Results
I used to take pupils up to Charterhouse Outdoor Activity Centre and remember traipsing through places such as Velvet Bottom, Tynings Farm, Beacon Batch and Rowberrow. So I decided to reminisce by doing this 20K multi terrain race over the Mendips.
Nicky thought she would wear her new hiking boots and back pack, as it would be good training for the Karrimor - 12 miles later she came in with heavy mud laden boots, saying that she hated every moment of the race!
The rest of us thought it was great. It was a windy day which certainly took it out of you as you climbed up towards Beacon Batch but there was plenty of downhill to compensate and fantastic views across the Bristol Channel. The race was well organised by Weston Athletic Club with plenty of marshals – one was even handing out Kendal mint cake!
I was doing well until the forest section when one of my shoes came to a halt in the mud minus my foot– some kind man retrieved the shoe and I squeezed back into it – no wonder they give you socks as a memento at the end!
There were showers back at Charterhouse – freezing cold but they got the essential mud off, plus plenty of hot food and cakes. There were 195 finishers.
Definitely a recommended race for next year and a good one pre Exmoor Stagger, so put it in your diary.
Liz
|
Place |
Time |
Name |
Club |
Category |
Race no. |
|
1 |
1:27:08 |
GIBBS, Tom |
M.D.C. |
senior men |
150 |
|
153 |
2:09:18 |
MARTIN, Liz |
Langport Runners |
vet ladies 40 |
96 |
|
184 |
2:27:47 |
ROWSWELL, Kathryn |
Langport Runners |
vet ladies 40 |
114 |
|
185 |
2:27:48 |
MONAGHAN, Tracy |
Langport Runners |
senior ladies |
55 |
|
186 |
2:28:08 |
BROOKHOUSE, Jane |
Langport Runners |
vet ladies 40 |
171 |
|
190 |
2:37:13 |
CHRASCINA, Nicola |
Langport Runners |
vet ladies 40 |
149 |
What goes ho squelch,
ho squelch, ho squelch?
Father Christmas out
for a run with Langport Runners!
Parrett Trail Relay 16th October 2004 Liz
Leg 1 report
At 9.00am on an extremely wet and windy Saturday morning 4 intrepid Langport runners set off on the first leg of the Parrett Trail Relay. Within 100 metres we were running along pebbles, trying to shelter from the storm which was tearing in across the Bristol Channel. By then I was wondering why I was there at all! John and James had said they would stay with Kathy and me as they hadn’t had a chance to recci the route, but by about half a mile you couldn’t see the boys for dust – well mud and puddles! I ended up running with Mike Reagan from Yeovil RC – we both knew the route and were able to keep going at a good pace. As we turned inland at Cannington Brook we spied a Wells runner on the opposite side of the drain running towards us – so we waved cheerily and sportingly suggested that he might like to try and catch us up – which he did and beat us by 16 seconds at the end!
There were 16 teams. Well done to Matt Hill for being first man home on leg 4. Langport Ladies A were first ladies team home, Langport Ladies B were second. (Oh alright – yes there were only 2 ladies teams!) Well actually that isn’t quite true – Minehead had a ladies team but they ran it as a hand over relay so were not included in the results – just as well - if you go the full results on http://www.runnerswebuk.com/results/2004/parett.html you’ll see why!!
Anyway well done to everybody who ran – it was fun and
raised a lot of money for Cancer Research UK.
Thanks to Crewkerne Running Club for organising it. Next year’s race is
set for Saturday 15th October 2005. In our last committee meeting it
was 
suggested that we tried to run one
leg of this race every last Sunday morning in the month – a) because its nice
to run somewhere different and b) so that more people know more of the routes,
thereby stopping the mad reccying (or not) of routes in the days before the
race! The first run will be at the end of January – to be confirmed in the New
Year.
How do you start a polar-bear race?
Say 'Ready! Teddy! Go!'
Exmoor Stagger
Results 24th October 2004
|
Position |
Number |
Name |
Category |
Club |
Time |
|
1 |
118 |
ANDY SYMONDS |
SM |
KENDAL |
1:52:11 |
|
18 |
72 |
MATT HILL |
SM |
LANGPORT RUNNERS |
2:13:53 |
|
118 |
442 |
JIM HILL |
M50 |
LANGPORT RUNNERS |
2:49:26 |
|
127 |
519 |
JOHN BRAIN |
M60 |
LANGPORT RUNNERS |
2:51:04 |
|
193 |
665 |
LIZ MARTIN |
F45 |
LANGPORT RUNNERS |
3:12:38 |
|
226 |
618 |
ALICE ALLEN |
F35 |
LANGPORT RUNNERS |
3:37:54 |
|
227 |
670 |
KATHRYN ROWSWELL |
F45 |
LANGPORT RUNNERS |
3:37:55 |
There were 240 finishers. Congratulations to John Brain who was First Male Vet 60 for the second year running.
Exmoor Stumble
Results 24th October 2004
|
Position |
Number |
Name |
Category |
Club |
Time |
|
1 |
948 |
PETER RIGLER |
SM (stumble) |
TIPTON HARRIERS |
0:44:34 |
|
5 |
941 |
STEVE BROWN |
SM (stumble) |
LANGPORT RUNNERS |
0:51:36 |
There were 88 finishers.
What lies
in a pram and wobbles?
A jelly baby.
The
Karrimor – 2004
This is about the fourth or fifth time I have competed in the KIMM (Karrimor
International Mountain Marathon) - a two-day event which involves approximately
2000 participants (in teams of two of mixed or single sex) taking part in a
challenging orienteering event whereby a course is navigated in mountainous
terrain, carrying all food, stove, tent and equipment for an overnight camp.
What delight, I hear you cry - and so it was - and it was made all the more
pleasant by persuading Jane and Nikki to 'join in'. The weekend started, on
Friday night, in a delightful hostelry in Crickhowell where we drank to our
future success! The next morning, at the crack of dawn, we set off to get
to the 'base camp' in the Brecons - only I got lost en route - a bit embarrassing
to say the least as I was just about to set off on an orienteering
course. I eventually met up with my partner and the ordeal started.
Incredibly it was the first time I had taken part and it had not been a)
raining or b) blowing an absolute hoolie and some of the views were absolutely
spectacular. You very soon give up any idea of staying dry as you thrash
your way through bogs and streams and, at times, the thought of climbing up yet
another mountain to grab a few points is daunting - but, by late afternoon,
having walked up to our ankles through some delightful smelling slurry, finally
made it to the overnight camp site (i.e. a farm somewhere in the middle of
nowhere in the middle of the Brecons with only a stream to drink from but
thankfully a number of porta-loos!!). Jane and Nikki (and other friends)
were already 'pitched' and the next few hours were spent getting dry and warm,
fetching water from the stream, drinking mugs of hot tea, queuing up for hours
for the loo, cooking our gastronomic meals (eaten out of the plastic bag in
which they were cooked!) and generally trying to while away the time until it
was acceptable to go to bed. It was quite a strange experience, as night fell
on the site, to see two thousand people walking around with lit head-torches
and to hear the squelch of four thousand feet walking through the inevitable
mud!!! But finally tent doors were zipped closed and silence fell on the
farm - only to start buzzing again at about 5:30 the next morning as the early
starters began to get their breakfasts and 'down' tents, ready for the final
assault. And so we too soon joined the masses - the worst part having to
retrace our steps through the 800 metres of slurry! The weather was not
so kind on Sunday with a lot of low mist and cloud which made navigation on the
tops of the mountains quite hard. However, although my partner and I dropped a
number of places on the second day, we were very pleased when we finished, back
where we began, in 104th position out of the 245 teams who completed our course
(there are 7 different categories) as well as being the first female veterans
in our class. Did I enjoy it? Yes, of course I did - there is
something spectacular about doing something you love in a wonderful
environment. Come on other Langport Runners - join in next year.
It's well worth it!!!
Jenny Byrom
And a P.S. from Jane...
Just one thing - I did not have to be persuaded to do the Karrimor - I've wanted to have a go for years, but the event is often held way up north in Scotland or the Pennines!! When I heard it would be just round the corner (relatively), I jumped at the chance!! And it was great fun!! Lots of memories - mud, mud and more mud, b****y hard work (Exmoor Staggerers, eat your heart out), but there was a real sense of camaraderie, both up on the tops, with teams suddenly emerging out of the mist, clocking their points, then disappearing into the gloom again, and in the camp site, swapping stories of the day's adventures, comparing notes on dehydrated meals and different makes of fell shoes!! It was a real test of our orienteering skills (which actually weren't bad at all!) and our fitness and endurance. And a couple of times, we even got a glimpse of a view or two, in between the low cloud!
Huge thanks to Nikki who agreed to be my partner - we didn't do too badly at all, considering it was our first time, and yes, I'd certainly do it again, if it wasn't too far away. But one thing I certainly won't do again is eat dehydrated chocolate pudding.
What
athlete is warmest in winter?
A long jumper.
Ilminster
Lions 10K 7th November 2004 Results:
This was the 13th year of the Ilminster Lions 10K. The first 5K is quite tough with a hill right at the start and at 2K plus a bit of a drag out of Dowlish Wake. But between 5K and 8K there is a nice downhill section for you to make up time.
We had an excellent turnout from the club with 14 runners plus Charlie Brown in his buggy! The Chard and Ilminster reporter saw Steve with the buggy and decided it would make a good photo shoot, so we all muscled in and got our picture taken for the paper! Steve maintained that pushing a buggy around wasn’t much of a handicap – he didn’t however bargain for having to do a toilet stop – I’m sure Claire put Charlie up to it!
Notable performance came from Emma Crowe running her first 10K. Apparently she rang Steve early on Sunday morning to ask about training and he suggested that she came along to do the 5k race – only to be told when she got there that there was no 5K but she might just as well do 10! Anyway her first 10K turned out to be a triumph as she was 2nd senior lady home! Well done Emma!
|
Position |
Race No |
Name |
Time |
Club |
Cat/Position |
|
1 |
0178 |
Paul Holley |
0:33:35 |
Axe Valley Runners |
A/1 |
|
11 |
0154 |
Rob Ellis |
0:38:30 |
Langport Runners |
A/9 |
|
35 |
0155 |
Steve Brown |
0:43:14 |
Langport Runners |
A/23 |
|
47 |
0158 |
John Brain |
0:44:40 |
Langport Runners |
D/2 |
|
55 |
0141 |
Tony Rudge |
0:44:06 |
Langport Runners |
B/14 |
|
61 |
0176 |
Emma Crowe |
0:46:25 |
Langport Runners |
E/2 |
|
86 |
0018 |
Liz Martin |
0:48:53 |
Langport Runners |
G/3 |
|
93 |
0147 |
Paul McSparron |
0:49:44 |
Langport Runners |
B/22 |
|
108 |
0183 |
John Cox |
0:50:41 |
Langport Runners |
C12 |
|
121 |
0152 |
Georgina Masters |
0:52:23 |
Langport Runners |
G/4 |
|
141 |
0114 |
Jenny Byrom |
0:55:50 |
Langport Runners |
G/6 |
|
157 |
0180 |
Jane Brookhouse |
0:58:26 |
Langport Runners |
G/8 |
|
170 |
0196 |
Susan Hall |
0:59:57 |
Langport Runners |
G/12 |
|
173 |
0197 |
Jean Hughes |
1:01:40 |
Langport Runners |
G/13 |
|
179 |
0066 |
David German |
1:05:25 |
Langport Runners |
D/11 |
|
188 |
0128 |
Ann Western |
1:08:25 |
N/A |
G18 |
There were 188 finishers. Category winners were:
John Brain 2nd Male Vet 60
Emma Crowe 2nd Senior Lady
Liz Martin 3rd Lady Vet 45
Where do elves go to get fit?
An elf farm!
Cheddar Half Marathon Saturday November 13th 2004
|
Place |
Time |
Name |
Team |
Category |
Pace min/mile |
Number |
|
1 |
1:12:04 |
MYTTON, Neil |
Plymouth Harriers |
Senior Male |
05:30.0 |
799 |
|
110 |
1:38:10 |
RUDGE, Tony |
Langport Runners |
MV50 |
07:29.5 |
652 |
|
146 |
1:45:06 |
MARTIN, Liz |
Langport Runners |
FV45 |
08:01.2 |
526 |
|
180 |
1:50:00 |
ALLEN, Alice |
Langport Runners |
FV35 |
08:23.7 |
765 |
|
265 |
2:06:01 |
ROWSWELL, Kathryn |
Langport Runners |
FV45 |
09:37.0 |
626 |
|
267 |
2:06:39 |
HALL, Susan |
Langport Runners |
FV45 |
09:39.9 |
771 |
|
269 |
2:07:37 |
CHRASCINA, Nicola |