Newsletter June 2004 Welcome to the June newsletter - this truly is a MARATHON issue - with 20 pages as well as news of all the Langport Runners who have run marathons this year - and not just London - they have travelled to places as far apart as Cornwall and South Africa in their personal quest for success. But the common theme throughout is the fact that they have been pounding the roads around Langport, often with fellow Langport Runners who, whilst not doing a marathon themselves, have been willing to do the endless miles and listen to the moans and groans about niggling injuries, training plans, eating habits etc! So a big thank you to all of the support group! But the newsletter is not all about marathons - there are results and write ups about many local races as well as reminders about all races coming up in the next 3 months. Don't forget that our website is up and running (sorry!) and we try to keep it up to date by adding results as soon as they are known. Between us Pete and I aim to get Langport Runner results on there within a couple of days. We are now adding website address links so that you can get the full results as well. So there is no need to spend ages looking - go to www.langportrunners.co.uk, first. It would be interesting to know how many people look at our website so I am going to try a survey - it's very simple - just go the website - click on contacts - newsletter@langportrunners.co.uk and send me an email saying that you've looked at the website. Liz Runners - please note!! Whilst you are busy pounding the roads in the Battle of Sedgemoor ON AUGUST 29TH make sure your family and friends enjoy a visit to the Craft Fair 10 - 1 Langport Town Hall and Garden Funds to Langport Xmas Fair Dec 4th All enquiries to Sue Forster 01458 250607 BBQ invitation- Amanda and Richard bragg are inviting Langport runners to a bbq at their home in east lambrook on Saturday July 24th more details later RACE DIARY Forthcoming races/athletics meetings: In the last newsletter I printed a list of races for the rest of the year. If you have mislaid this, then here are the up and coming races for the next 3 months - all local ones, some are in the Somerset Series. If in the future you take part in a race and think others would like to do it next year - let me know so that I can include it in the race diary. Somerset Series Quantock Beast 5.7 mile multi terrain Sunday 27th June 11.00 am Fyne Court Wellington 10 mile Sun 11th July 10.30 am Wellington School Haselbury Trail 10K off road Wed 4th August 7.15 pm N Perrott Cricket Club Battle of Sedgemoor 10K Sun 29th August 11.00 am Langport Arms Hotel Burnham Beach 10K off road Sun 5th Sept 11.00 am Brean Leisure Park Ash Excellent 8 mile multi terrain Sun 12th Sept 11.00 am Ash Primary School Athletics S W Athletics League Div 2 Braunton Sun 4th July S W Athletics League Div 2 Yeovil Sun 5th September Other Local Races/Events Torbay Half Marathon Sun 27th June 10.00 am Paignton Sea Front Puddletown 20K Sun 27th June 10.30 am St Mary's Middle School Hobledon 6 mile multi terrain ( hilly ) Sun 27th June 11.30 am Stourpaine Playing Field Blandford Forum Poole Race for life 5K ( women ) Sun 4th July 11.00 am Portland 10 miles Sun 4th July 11.00 am Portland Leisure Centre Charmouth to Golden Cap 8 miles Challenge multi terrain (hilly) Sat 10th July 3.00 pm Yeovilton 5K Wed 14th July 7.15 pm Yeovilton air station sports centre Tarrant Valley 10 miles multi terrain Sun 18th July 10.30 am Langton Arms Blandford Forum Street Race for life 5K ( women ) Sunday 25th July 11.00am Millfield School Swanage 12 miles Sun 31st July 11.00 am TIC Swanage Sturminster Half Marathon Sun 1st Aug 10.30 am Leisure Centre, Sturminster Sidmouth Festival 10K Sun 8th Aug 11.00 am Connaught Gardens Yeovilton 5K Wed 11th August 7.15 pm Yeovilton air station sports centre Enduroman Dorset Marathon Sat 21st Aug 12.00pm Enduro house Portland Baltonsborough 5.5 mile Sun 29th August 11.30 am Baltonsborough Playing field Shillingstone 5 mile hill Race Mon 30th August Blandford Forum The Beast 13 mile trail Sun 5th Sept 10.30 am Corfe Castle Harepath 6 mile multi terrain Sun 5th Sept 11.00 am Colyford Yeovilton 5K Wed 8th Sept 7.15 pm Yeovilton air station sports centre Bristol Half Marathon Sun 12th Sept 9.30 am Bristol City Centre New Forest Marathon and Half Marathon Sun 19th Sept 11.00 am New Milton Weston 10 mile Beach Relay Sun 19th Sept 2.00pm Weston-super-Mare Taunton 10K Sun 26th Sept 11.00 am Blackbrook Pavilion Race Results and Reports featuring Langport runners Congratulations to Heather Buckingham, in the English National Cross Country Championships at Leeds on February 21st 2004 Heather, running for Team Solent, came 14th in the Junior Women's category in a time of 20.20. The Grizzly March 14th 2004 There were 1545 runners. First male and female shown plus all Langport Runners Position Time Name Club Category Number 1 1:55:50 HOLMES, Neil Erme Valley Harriers M 2 63 2:14:26 VAN BERGEN, Inge The Netherlands (Maastricht) F 2082 425 2:47:37 FARLEY, Beverley Langport Runners FV40 2042 426 2:47:38 BARNES, James Langport Runners MV40 2043 934 3:18:22 GOLD, Paul Langport Runners M 385 945 3:18:52 HAYLLAR, Crispin Langport Runners MV50 2022 1109 3:29:55 MASTERS, Georgina Langport Runners FV50 1186 1248 3:42:43 MONAGHAN, Tracey Langport Runners FV35 139 1261 3:44:07 BROOKS, Chrissie Langport Runners FV50 1569 1286 3:45:26 HOWELLS, Deirdre Langport Runners FV45 1775 THE WIND AND THE BRAIN!! The Tale of Two Marathons. Chapter 1 At 7am Sunday 21st March I awoke at my daughter's in Cornwall to blue skies and a light breeze, ideal or so I thought. Today was the Duchy Marathon, a two lap course taking in the mining area of Redruth, Pool and the North Cliffs, described as a mostly flat course (having lived there for many years I had my suspicions). With the conditions it all looked bright and I was raring to go. By 9am my fears started to grow, black clouds were massing and the wind was raging, suddenly the heavens opened, it was snowing!! This swiftly turned to hail, my heart sank! Waiting as long as I dared I left for the start in sleet and a gale. Arriving at the Penventon Hotel for the start the skies went brighter, the clouds left and the wind? Well that stayed! So off we went on this mostly flat course, away from the Hotel and down the hill from Redruth to Pool, turning right towards the North cliffs area, we found the slightly flatter area! The wind is a past thought now. The marshals direct us right then left and oh no a hill, up the hill into the open and wham into the teeth of a gale, with every breath you gasp, with every step forward a gust and you feel like you're going backwards. From mile 3 to 7 along the cliffs into the wind then a right turn towards Tehiddy, hang on I remember where I am, another hill! At least there is a nice bit of down at the top of this hill, then it's flat for at least three quarters of a mile and then a big hill along the road a while then past Pool school and back towards Redruth to start the next lap. Going reasonably well at halfway - 1h49 so should make less than four hours. Then we hit the north cliffs again into the wind and even harder now, feeling knackered and the wind takes away what breath you have left. Never mind, only miles 15.5 to 19.5 to suffer it!! Really struggling up the hill into the wind when one kind runner steps in front and says "have a breather for a while"-what a difference running behind someone, but then he is gone but it helps for a while. To the 20 mile point and the end for some. Those using the run as a training session for London, get on the bus for the return to Redruth and you can see their big grins as we struggle past. Never mind only six miles and only one really big hill to go. Here we are now, on the way back to Redruth, round the roundabout, up and over the small steep hill and there is the entrance to the Hotel, hang on why is that marshal stopping those runners in front of me going into the entrance? Why are they going down the hill? I thought this was the finish!! "Carry on to the bottom of the hill turn left at the lights and carry on only a mile to go." ONLY A MILE HE SAYS, DOES HE NOT REALISE HOW KNACKERED I AM!! I was looking forward to this entrance for the last couple of miles. A mile to go and its 3h48 - I can still break 4 hours!! Down the hill, left along the road for what seems a very long way, left turn up the rear hotel entrance and there is the finish. 3h57, and now the only reason I did the race-a free oggy (pasty). The worst thing of all I couldn't even eat - it I had to give it to my son-in-law, I just could not face it. This is the worst I have felt at the end of a run, I hate the wind but on the bright side it didn't rain!! It was a nice route, but I am still looking for the mostly flat parts! Chapter 2 Well that was the wind now for the brain! It's now 0955 the 6th June, a very sunny and warm Sunday and I am lining up at the top of a Welsh hill waiting to start the Lake Vyrnwy Marathon. The clock strikes 10am and we're off on a nice two mile run down hill to the village and then on up a winding hill to the Lake Vyrnwy dam, left over the dam and twice round the lake. Fairly flat, just slight inclines up and down, a very scenic route with quite a bit of shade as we run along towards the end of the lake for the first lap of the course. At the bottom of the lake we turn to head back to the dam and 9 miles have gone, going well feeling good, 12 miles now and for the last three miles we have been going slightly up hill all the way, you don't notice it, just feel it in the legs. The shade has gone and the sun is beaming down. Here's Sue, plus my brother and his wife, that's given me an extra spur, as well as a drink, and away I go again. Reach the halfway point now and at 1h38 feeling and going well. Back over the dam, crowds clapping and the announcer naming everyone as they go past, another lift and the spring comes back into the step, this is great. Back down the shady side, still going well, make the turn at the bottom and back up the long hill, an incline really but at this stage it feels like Everest. Mile 19 and here's Sue and co again, another spring in the step, still going reasonably well and feeling hot but ok, grateful for a quick slurp of drink. Mile 20, 2h35 and boy it's hot, ouch it's starting to hurt now, feeling tired, eyes are even feeling tired, I still feel like I am running but I could probably walk faster! Stop it, come on pull yourself together, a quick spurt for twenty yards, and then back to a crawl, can't focus the mind, willpower going. Three miles to the water hole, I can make it, come on keep going, another twenty yard speed up, then it's snail pace again. Can't do it- I am being beaten by my own mind, although the legs are aching I can still put in a few fast yards, but then the brain starts wandering and oh what am I doing here? Mile 23 and a water hole - 6 plastic beakers of water, four wet sponges over the head and a fairly long stop and it's off again. Going well again, catch a few people up and pass them, this is better, ouch my stomach, oh no, now stomach cramp from all the water I drank. Doubled up now and past they all go again, dig my fingers into my stomach, ease the pain and away again, catch up again, pass and then pain and caught again. Mile 26 nearly there up a little hill and there is the shop and the finish, come on Peter I hear, spring back in the legs, people clapping, pain gone there's the clock and I have done it 3h55. Isn't it amazing how negative thoughts can ruin a good day out!! The one thing I learnt from this is- even though the body is willing, if the brain is passing negative thoughts and you don't have the willpower to overcome these, then you are beaten, mind over matter. Next time I shall stop for water, even if I had taken 30 seconds at each water stop, I still would not have lost as much time as I did through not taking in enough liquid at all. Peter Jones Taunton Half Marathon April 4th 2004 - Results Position Time Name Club Category Number 1 1:13:11 CRENOL, Kevin U - Burnham On Sea SM 1343 25 1:21:23 ELLIS, Melanie Shaftesbury Barnet F35 3279 141 1:32:25 BARNES, James Langport Runners M40 1569 212 1:35:49 BRAIN, John Langport Runners M60 1818 216 1:35:54 FARLEY, Beverley Langport Runners F40 3217 349 1:42:00 LEWIS, Kevin Langport Runners M40 1464 426 1:46:32 STOODLEY, Grant Langport Runners SM 1465 428 1:46:38 GOLD, Paul Langport Runners SM 1073 431 1:46:45 MARTIN, Liz Langport Runners F45 3138 716 2:00:51 BYROM, Jenny Langport Runners F50 3297 740 2:02:14 ROWSWELL, Kathryn Langport Runners F45 3277 788 2:05:38 BROOKHOUSE, Jane Langport Runners F45 3276 There were 1017 finishers Taunton Marathon 4th April 2004 Position Time Name Club Category Number 1 2:57:59 WATKINSON, Richard U - Middlesex SM 9 8 3:09:15 FOUNDLING-HAWKER, Heather Honiton RC F35 276 109 4:16:12 MASTERS, Georgina Langport Runners F50 271 120 4:29:54 MONAGHAN, Tracey Langport Runners F35 280 There were 121 finishers Congratulations to Gina and Tracey on completing the full marathon The Axe to the Exe Race 4th April- as Experienced by Jim Hill The sons in my family, Matt (21) & Chris (19) picked up a flyer at the Grizzly for an event called The Axe to the Exe race. Being full of bright ideas they got their Mum, Kris, (52 going on 21) to send in entries for themselves and "oh yes we might as well drag the old man - Jim (58 going downhill) - along as well." Time passed and, in the interim via something called the internet, said sons found out more. For instance, they found out it was an 'AL grade' fell race organised by the Fell Running Association and Sidmouth Runners. They then found out what 'AL grade' meant...oh b*****r. So it came to pass that Chris decided he had better cement Anglo-American relationships with his girlfriend in Colorado and Matt suddenly developed a nasty attack of shin-splints, alcohol poisoning or undergraduate lethargy (delete two as necessary). Again it came to pass that the 'old man' found himself standing alone in the Hook & Parrot at Seaton surrounded by kit hold alls proudly declaring membership to 'The Pennine Fell Running Association', 'North Yorks Fell Runners' and the like. My attention then turned to the competitors there or, more accurately, the competitors who were not there i.e. No rugby shorts & barrel chests, no street leisure wear & fashion trainers, no bandanas, no size 18 ladies in Lycra and no keen types saving points for their inevitable heart attack. What I did see were around 70 no. persons of no discernable age or sex, no apparent boobs or bums, just legs like knotted ropes and complexions like dried prunes, in short, hard case fell runners. The race briefing advised us that the route across country was not marked and provided that we kept the sea to the left all should be well as it was only about 22 miles to the finish, so that's Ok then!! But the thought crossed my mind that if you found yourself running down Dorchester High Street, the sea would be on your left and you would not be Ok then -you'd be bloody well lost!! The masochistic nature of this event was evident from the off. The start was outside the pub and straight on to the sloping shingle of Seaton beach with tide in, wet salt encrusted socks do help to sterilize blisters, apparently. Half a mile, then straight up the cliffs and on to Beer. We dropped back down to sea level through the town where many spectators cheered us on. Again the steep climb up to the cliff tops and away out into the country always within 1/2 mile of the cliff face. By the time Branscombe came into view several climbs/descents of 200' were behind us, then it got serious. After Branscombe and the beach, the next 2 miles included a near vertical climb up the goat track to 400' and by the 5 mile mark the climb took us to over 500'. At the 7 mile mark drop 400', at the 8 mile mark climb 400', at 8.5 mile mark drop 500' and then running on shingle. On to Sidmouth, along the esplanade and, yes, climb to 500' on to a goat track again and so it went on. Between the 12 mile & 15 mile mark the terrain continuously climbed and fell but only by about 200' altitude change. The 16 mile mark came at Budleigh Salterton along with near total exhaustion and, despite the contents of a camelback, dehydration. At Budleigh Salterton a detour in land by about 2 miles was necessary to enable a river crossing, then back to the coast along the esplanade, back up the cliff paths to the 500' mark. The last 4 miles were a long descent with the Exe estuary coming into view. Still the running was on grass and pine forest tracks until the route took us through the first of the cliff top caravan sites, around the back of the Royal Marines rifle range on the Exe headland and eventually on to the tarmac footpaths above Exmouth. The finish was literally at the bottom of a series of steep concrete steps in the Maer Beach car park. How they were traversed I will never know, to help, the last mile was run in torrential rain and large hail stones. To summarize, it is one of the toughest races that I have ever run, far harder than the Grizzly. To give some indication my body weight prior to the start was 12st 1lb, that evening my recorded weight was 11st 7lbs. Would I do it again? You bet I would. I also now know what a 'grade AL' fell race is!! Winning time : 2hrs 44mins My time : 4hrs 7mins My position : 48th No. of starters : 86 No. of finishers : 71 Total aggregated climb (see route profile below) : 6050' Easter Bunny 10K April 12th 2004 Thirteen Langport runners appeared for this road race (the 3rd in the Somerset Race Series) over a very nearly flat figure of eight course. Cold weather previously had fooled some of us to run with rather a too complete covering of clothes on what turned out to be a warm morning. As expected, Rob Ellis and Steve Brown were the leading Langport runners in 27th and 33rd places respectively, with Rob managing to dip under 6-minute mile pace. Amongst our largely veteran assemblage (10 out of 13!) Jim Hill and John Brain shone, with Jim just pipping John in achieving an Age Related percentage of 76.2. Once again Liz Martin led the ladies home with very nearly 70% Age Grading in 156th position, and gaining useful speed training for the London Marathon in the process. In the overall race results, as quite often happens, a vet (Simon Anderson, Plymouth) won the race in 32:23 with 86% A.G. Maddie Horton (N. Devon) was the leading lady with an excellent 85.8% A.G. Our club put in a very solid and creditable performance with 56 other club runners finishing after our last one home. Mike Parr Easter Bunny 10K Results Position Race No Time Name Category Club Age % related Pace Min/km Pace Min/mile 1 467 00:32:23 SIMON ANDERSON MALE 40+ VET PLYMOUTH HARRIERS 86.1% 00:03:14 00:05:13 9 526 00:34:52 MADDIE HORTON FEMALE SENIOR NORTH DEVON RR 85.8% 00:03:29 00:05:37 27 558 00:37:07 ROB ELLIS MALE SENIOR LANGPORT RUNNERS 72.7% 00:03:43 00:05:58 33 519 00:38:02 STEVE BROWN MALE SENIOR LANGPORT RUNNERS 71.7% 00:03:48 00:06:07 92 546 00:42:10 JIM HILL MALE 50+ VET LANGPORT RUNNERS 76.2% 00:04:13 00:06:47 103 520 00:42:55 MARK SHEPHERD MALE SENIOR LANGPORT RUNNERS 62.8% 00:04:18 00:06:54 117 525 00:43:44 JOHN BRAIN MALE 60+ VET LANGPORT RUNNERS 75.6% 00:04:22 00:07:02 139 574 00:45:52 TREVOR HOWELLS MALE 40+ VET LANGPORT RUNNERS 64.5% 00:04:35 00:07:23 140 446 00:45:54 DAVE GOSLING MALE 50+ VET LANGPORT RUNNERS 70.0% 00:04:35 00:07:23 152 610 00:46:48 DAVID RICHARDS MALE 50+ VET LANGPORT RUNNERS 64.2% 00:04:41 00:07:32 156 325 00:47:22 LIZ MARTIN FEMALE 45+ VET LANGPORT RUNNERS 69.9% 00:04:44 00:07:37 189 385 00:49:49 MICHAEL PARR MALE 60+ VET LANGPORT RUNNERS 75.0% 00:04:59 00:08:01 233 575 00:53:56 DEIRDRE HOWELLS FEMALE 45+ VET LANGPORT RUNNERS 62.0% 00:05:24 00:08:41 242 622 00:54:17 JENNY BYROM FEMALE 45+ VET LANGPORT RUNNERS 64.5% 00:05:26 00:08:44 256 600 00:55:40 JANE BROOKHOUSE FEMALE 45+ VET LANGPORT RUNNERS 59.0% 00:05:34 00:08:57 312 535 01:14:19 NICKY ADCOCK FEMALE 45+ VET YEOVIL TOWN RRC 45.0% 00:07:26 00:11:57 There were 312 finishers S.W. ATHLETICS LEAGUE Division 2 - 25th April, 2004. Salisbury. A party of 17 Langport competitors plus some 'officials' travelled to Salisbury for the first track and field meeting of the season. Unfortunately, 17 athletes spread over some 59 events means that overall Langport was poorly represented and unsurprisingly finished 9th out of 10 teams. If only we could persuade more of our members to 'have a go' we could pick up many more points. The scoring of events is as follows: 'A' String athletes and Relays: 1st. 14 points, 10th 5 points; 'B' String: 1st 10 points, 10th 1 point. This means that even with modest placings, if sufficient members turned out they could significantly boost our team score. However, despite our relatively low numbers, some good performances were recorded which should provide encouragement for future meetings. Notable placings include Charles Albrow's win in the U17M Steeplechase and his 4th place in the 1500m, and Steve Brown's second place in the senior 1500m. Mike Parr Results: U13 Girls 800m A Pippa Baker 6th (2:55.9) B Alanna Gauld 5th (2:59.5) 200m A A. Gauld 8th. (34.3) B P. Baker 6th (34.2) U15 Boys 1500m A Owen Astington 8th (5.52.2) B Todd Parkinson 3rd (6:23.5) U15 Girls 100m A Stephanie Wright 6th (14.5) HJ A S. Wright 4th (1.3m) U17M 1500m A Charles Albrow 4th (4:31) B James Checkley 1st (5:48.7) TJ A J. Checkley 6th (7.68m) 1500m A C. Albrow 1st (Time not known; 5:05?) U17W 300mH A Sadie Cox 3rd (52.5) 3000m A Emma Crowe 3rd (12:17.3) TJ A S. Cox 4th (9.24m) Jav A E. Crowe 3rd (15.43m) B S. Cox 2nd (12.48m) Shot A E. Crowe 7th (5.32m) Sen. Men 400m A Steve Brown 6th (63.6) B Matt Bentley 5th (76.8) 200m A Trevor Howells 7th (30.7) B M. Bentley 8th (38.8) 1500m A S. Brown 2nd (4:59.2) B T. Howells 3rd (5:52.8) Sen. Women 400mH A Claire Brown 2nd (88.9) 100m A C. Brown 5th (14.9) 800m A Gina Masters 5th (3:19.9) (Guest: Chrissie Brooks 7th: (3:28) B Dee Howells 1st (3:43.7) 3000m A G. Masters 3rd (14:00.8) B C. Brooks 2nd (14:27.9) (Guest: D. Howells: 15:23.2) Relay 4X100m A Langport 6th (63.8) Great West Run May 2nd 2004 Position Number Name Chip time Category Club Category Position 1 1209 John Ward 1:10:23 SM Bideford AAC 1st/711 31 1286 Peter Kelland 1:23:09 SM Langport Runners 18th/711 270 964 Peter Jones 1:38:46 M50 Langport Runners 12th/93 527 1562 Dave Gosling 1:46:15 M55 Langport Runners 17th/61 There were 1771 finishers Glastonbury Road Runs May 2nd 2004 Position Name Club Number Category Time 0001 MARTIN HULA SBH 0001 SENIOR MALE 29.38 0010 JUDE CRAFT HRR 0444 SENIOR LADY 33:50 0013 STEVE BROWN LANGPORT 0378 SENIOR MALE 34:56 0032 JIM HILL LANGPORT 0380 MALE VET 50+ 38.16 0057 MARK SHEPHERD LANGPORT 0456 SENIOR MALE 40.15 0194 JENNY BYROM LANGPORT 0474 LADY VET 45+ 51.25 There were 350 finishers SUMMER 5K RACE SERIES; YEOVILTON, 12 May 2004 Because I had been ill the previous week I was able to enjoy the rare privilege of watching and photographing a race. The evening was still and warm enough to quickly generate a sweat, but some fast times were recorded - the winner, Rob Whalley, clocking a searing 14:04 and an Age grading of 93.2%, which is well inside the World Class grading. Langport's stars were veteran Jim Hill and juniors Doug Hall and Charles Albrow, all with AG percentages in the high 70's or 80's. There were 149 finishers. Results 21 Doug Hall 17:05 AG 78.0% 30 Charles Albrow 17:36 75.7 57 Jim Hill 19:08 81.3 61 Russell McArthur 19:25 66.8 81 Anthony Forster 20:24 70.1 84 Trevor Howells 20:47 68.8 90 Matt Bentley 21:16 61:0 98 Paul McSparron 21:41 64.0 101 Grant Stoodley 21:58 60.1 102 Dave Gosling 22:02 70.6 103 Liz Martin 22:05 72.6 116 Alice Allen 22:55 65.4 125 Chrissie Brooks 24:11 68.2 128 Tracey Monaghan 24:36 60.4 139 Deirdre Howells 26:38 60.8 MIKE PARR Plymouth Half Marathon May 30th 2004 Race No. First name Surname Gun time Chip time Position 2714 Erick Kiplagat 1:07:26 1:07:25 1 334 Tony Rudge 1:49:17 1:47:59. 743 1776 Liz Martin 1:55:20 1:54:27 972 218 Tracey Monaghan 1:58:33 1:56:36 1125 1796 Susan Hall 2:12:20 2:09:42 1609 2211 Nicola Chrascina 2:12:20 2:09:42 1610 There were 2056 finishers CREWKERNE '9' Sunday, 6 June 2004 A hot, sunny day and a hilly course, and yet at least 170 runners of all shapes, sizes and ages turned out for the pleasure of being tortured around the lanes of Crewkerne. For those of you who don't know this course, it IS interesting and it certainly IS tough, especially in the hot conditions that always seem to occur on race day! Fourteen Langport stalwarts started, but Dave Gosling had to call it a day after around 2 miles because of a hip injury. Steve Brown was our first man home in 17th place (1:01:27) and Jim Hill (42nd) ran very well to record 1:06:50 and our highest age-grading of 71%. Apart from the winner (P. Holley, Axe Valley) who finished in 0:51:56, times were generally slow, due as much to the weather as the inclines. The age-grading percentages do reflect the severity of courses, and this can be seen by comparing some of these Crewkerne results with those from the Yeovilton 5 and 10k races. Results 17 Steve Brown 1:01:27 AG 65.5% 42 Jim Hill 1:06:50 71.0 52 Russell McArthur 1:09:50 57.2 55 Mark Shepherd 1:10:14 56.9 65 Grahame Turner 1:13:14 55.4 71 Grant Stoodley 1:14:15 54.2 72 Paul McSparron 1:14:16 57.4 116 Liz Martin 1:22:38 59.0 121 Mike Parr 1:23:37 65.9 124 Gina Masters 1:24:08 59.5 142 Deirdre Howells 1:27:55 55.9 146 Nicola Chrascina 1:28:42 51.8 159 Jenny Byron 1:33:43 53.4 MIKE PARR Flora London Marathon April 18th 2004 Overall Pos. (Gender Pos.) R. No. Name Age Club Time 26237 (20226) 7946 JAMES D. BARNES (GBR) M40 LANGPORT RUNNER 5:10:40 20541 (4021) 38004 JENNY M. BYROM (GBR) W50 LANGPORT RUNNER 4:38:56 5205 (548) 24936 BEVERLEY P. FARLEY (GBR) W40 LANGPORT RUNNER 3:33:50 11558 (9890) 24935 PAUL A. GOLD (GBR) M18 LANGPORT RUNNER 4:01:38 2042 (1890) 520 PETER J. KELLAND (GBR) M18 LANGPORT RUNNER 3:10:33 10849 (1519) 24934 ELIZABETH A. MARTIN (GBR) W45 LANGPORT RUNNER 3:58:42 18622 (15184) 34505 SHANE A. PLEDGER (GBR) M18 4:30:32 14441 (12106) 5760 GRANT E. STOODLEY (GBR) M18 LANGPORT RUNNER 4:13:54 Grants Flora London Marathon 2004 It was the time of year when you start wondering when you will hear if you have a place in the London Marathon. For the last 3 years I had been unsuccessful and felt a sense of relief when at last the envelope dropped through the door with a place for me - it took me 3 days to come back down again. After Christmas I started training. I found it quite easy to start with, but as February began the pace started to increase and so did the distance. Sunday mornings became one very long training session and the rest of the training through the week seemed never ending on a very tired body. By mid March the training had become a real chore and if it had not been the London Marathon I think I would have stopped - but I was that determined and couldn't let myself down or the people who had sponsored me. I tried to follow my running plan as close as possible and eat what was suggested - the carbo loading, I must admit, was very enjoyable! Eventually the Marathon weekend arrived and we were leaving Taunton Deane Services on our way to London. After arriving at the hotel, we went to register at Excel. I couldn't believe I would be running the next day. Sunday morning was an early start and a light breakfast. We eventually got off the coach after it got lost en route. Then followed a long walk of at least a mile to the Blue Start. The weather was damp and windy but I didn't care. Before I knew it was time to load my kit bag , join the never ending toilet queue, find my race pen and then we were off! I was suddenly in the London Marathon; it was now I knew it was real. Four and a half minutes later I crossed the Start line - there were just so many people it was difficult to comprehend. I ran with Liz to start with but soon lost her after my first toilet stop. I caught up with her again briefly, but too much water the night before made me stop again several more times! After 13 miles I realised that I had lost Liz again and then I began to take in all the sites - there was so much to take in. Up to 20 miles I felt really good but mile 22 saw my legs really tighten up but I was determined not to walk. My pace slowed down and I was in discomfort with every step. The last mile and a half was tough on my body - I was running the marathon but my head was somewhere else. The run down the Mall went on for what seemed like forever. It was awesome when I eventually crossed the Finish line- I was so emotional I burst into tears. My time was 4 hours 13 minutes - I wanted to do 4 hours, but was just proud to finish without injury. The meet at Horse Guards Parade with loved ones went smoothly thanks to Liz's idea of pink balloons. Apart from not being able to walk properly for 3 days the whole weekend was an experience not to be missed and I think every runner should run the London marathon just for the experience of the run and the amazing crowds all the way around. Liz's thoughts - the first Marathon It was everything that you experienced London marathoners said it would be - a fantastic day - and both physically and emotionally draining. What do I remember? Here are some of my memories of the day: Wondering why there were so many men's toilets and very few women's - didn't realise how many more men ran the marathon. Running with Grant for the first 2 miles, then losing him as he did a pit stop, then finding he'd caught up with me again. (It happened twice more - then I finally got rid of him!) Hearing my name being called out so many times. It really gave me a confidence boost. In the latter stages of the race I even started counting the number of times I heard my name. Being overwhelmed by the size of the buildings as I ran around Canary Wharf. I read somewhere that when the running gets tough, for each mile think of someone important to you - well I tried this at mile 18, thinking about my Dad, who was a true Londoner and would have loved the whole atmosphere - but had to stop thinking about him as I was getting too emotional. Seeing my husband Steve at mile 24 holding a huge bunch of pink balloons. A tear jerking moment as he was so excited to see me - and this was from someone who tells me that watching somebody run is like watching paint dry!! Not being inspired by Big Ben - I think I was on automatic pilot by then. Being grateful for the Lucozade sport drink - but vowing never to drink it again as I passed mile 25. Mistakenly thinking that when I turned the corner at Buckingham Palace that I still had to run all the way up the Mall - what a relief it was to find that the finish line was only 100m away. Seeing the clock and realising that I was going to reach my sub 4 hours target - another excuse for the tears to fall. After the elation of getting my medal, the realisation that my legs were seizing up fast and I still had to walk a long way. Deciding, on the way home, on the coach, that I want to do it all over again next year! Liz Paul's Marathon notes or the diary of a madman This is a snapshot of what went through my head that wet and windy April day:- 7.00 am - coach sets off for Greenwich packed full of fine athletes like Grant, Liz, James, Bev and myself. Bladders full of liquid to get us through the day. 7.30 am - coach driver lost - does a U turn- runners cross fingers hoping that we will get to Greenwich in good time. 8.00 am - find Greenwich- walk for what seems like ages to the start pens. Tired out already! Weather rainy and chilly - ideal for runners but not for reptilian wifelike supporters! 9.00 am - prepare to move to correct pen. James and Bev not keen to start behind me ( no beans the night before! ) and manage to get into my "top club runners pen" ( Its not what you know its who you know!) 9.30 am - started off by Johnnie Wilkinson ( wife swoons ). Decent pace. Let Bev and James go on with a view to catching them up in the second half! 9.50 am - 2 miles in and right calf begins to hurt. Negative thoughts begin to play on my mind. Will I finish it? Oh the shame! 10.00 am - know that Fran ( wife) is watching at Cutty Sark ( 6 miles ). Tell myself to focus on getting there before pulling out. 10.20 am - see Fran. Spirits lift. Leg not so bad. Begin to enjoy myself. Look around at other runners - a myriad of colours, cacophony of noise. Join in with the oggies and the singing and dancing at the pubs. It maybe the support or the lucozade but the next 7 miles fly by - feeling more confident now. 11.10 am - Tower Bridge - a second meeting point where 4 friends cheer me on - further positive vibes to spur me on. 11.20 am- hit 13.1 miles at 1hr 50 mins so on target for a healthy time. See the elite running back towards the bridge - wish they were me and I was them! Mile 13 - 17- gradually becoming more and more tired. Pace begins to suffer. Realise that for all of the race I have been more or less going with the runners around me but now feel a surge of humanity going passed me. 17 - 20 miles - the following supreme athletes run pass me - Great Uncle Bulgaria, Andy dressed in a red telephone box and 2 blow up Michelob bottles. Not happy! 12.45 pm nearing mile 23. Wife and friends on the embankment to cheer me on. Pick up the pace as Martyn and Guy run along with me. Must be mind over matter - why didn't I run this pace for the previous 6 miles? Mile 23- 25. "My body is floating- its very light - I am fast ". I try to kid myself. Final mile - push, push push. 1.30 pm. I've finished. Whata relief. Tell myself never again, ( said that the previous two times ). Finishing time of 4 hours 1 min 49 secs. Wonder if I'd been more sensible and started off with Grant and Liz whether I would have got under 4 hours. I'll never know. 2.00 pm - meet up with Fran and friends for pizza. Feel I deserve it but can't cope with ale! Tube back to Hammersmith ready for the journey home. Special thanks to Trish who got my leg working better than before the hamstring injury. I am now a 'worn down' advocate. Paul Gold 2004 London Marathon by train! James Barnes I've wanted to run in the London Marathon for some 20 years. The only other time I managed to get accepted I slipped a disc in my back whilst out training so it was with a certain amount of excitement and anticipation when I finally arrived at the start line on a rather wet April morning. As I wasn't far back from the start line I was soon running and after 2 miles settled in to a steady pace at 7.5-minute miles with my aim to finish in 3.15-3.5 hours. At about 7 miles I started to feel 'not quite right' and had to gradually slow the pace down. However by 13 miles I had no option but to start walking, not an easy decision when there are 1000's of runners passing you and no one else seems to be walking! By 17 miles after having completed the last mile in over 22 minutes I had to lie down, feeling very ill. Even after 10 minutes rest I could hardly stand up so for the first time in my life I decided I couldn't finish the race. As luck would have it I was right next to a train station so I staggered onto the train planning to go to the finish to meet the others from the club. After 5 stops I could still see masses of so called fun runners on parts of the route I had passed ages ago. This inspired me to catch the next train back to where I had left the race and after some food and some stretching I managed to carry on, running a bit to start with, but then at a painful walking pace. I finally crossed the finish line in 5 hours 10 minutes just after being overtaken by a pantomime camel! What started off as a training run as part of my ironman preparation turned out to be one of the hardest races of my life. My time may have been a bit slower than I hoped for but as they say, at least I did it!! Jenny's Marathon It was very different the second time round - you knew what to expect regarding the hard training and what was going to happen next - the 'first time' experience and 'newness' of it all had gone. I also found the training harder this time as the weather the previous year had been so much better - only ran once in the rain - but this year was very different as we all know from the ever present wind and rain. Girding your loins after a day at work to make sure you got those miles in when it was tipping it down outside was a hard task .......but then the day came and travelling up to London, registering and being with all those people with only one thing on their minds (yes, running!!!!) still gave a brilliant buzz as did the crowds who came out to cheer us on, despite the weather. The funniest moment was standing in the 'starting pit' next to a guy who was a running karaoke singer with a music centre around his waist but as it was only him who could hear the music it left the rest of us guessing what he was singing! Sadly, ham string strain also made the run less comfortable this year and dashed my hopes of a better time which made my lowest point being taken away by St. John's Ambulance once I had finished the race suffering from back spasms and hypothermia (they were absolutely brilliant!!!). Naturally my highest point was finishing even though it was 1 minute slower than last year. But I did it, which is the important thing. Will I do it again next year? Am saying 'no' at the moment but you never know, that application form might just get slipped into the nearest post box. Thanks also to all the members of the club who accompanied us 'marathoners' on our long runs - couldn't do it without you! Jenny B The Neolithic Marathon May 2nd 2004 Hard to believe that I had only run my first ever marathon 4 weeks ago and here I was on my way to Avebury to run my second marathon already. Gina and I travelled to Wiltshire with Yeovil town couple, Sue and Fred Fox. This event is very well organised by Wiltshire Wildlife Trust, as a walk, half marathon and full marathon. Our car was parked at the finish at Stonehenge and we were bussed to the start 45 minutes away at Avebury, By the time we were herded to the start line it was looking like being a glorious day. Gina and I ran the whole thing together and enjoyed it so much that we can't wait to do it again next year! Most of the route was off road, the first half being a variety of country lanes, fields, lots of stiles and gates and some large hills! The second half was across Salisbury Plain and was on hard rutted, rubble tracks. The sun shone relentlessly and we all got burnt here and there! There were lots of supporters en route and we were constantly catching and passing walkers of which there were approx 2000. They also cheered us on as we passed them. We hit a bit of a low between 16 and 20 miles where we took a couple of walking breaks, but finally after 4 hours and 50 minutes we crossed the line together, with Stonehenge just a few hundred metres in front of us - a beautiful sight. We were awarded a lovely medal and given free refreshments. Both Gina and I found our joints suffered much less on this terrain and we recovered more quickly. At Taunton Marathon we could barely walk afterwards but at the Neolithic we could have run another 3 or 4 miles - so we're sticking to off road marathons in the future! Tracey Monaghan The Lanzarote Ironman 2004- James Barnes It all started some 4 years ago whilst reading the July 2000 issue of '220 triathlon magazine' In it was an article on the Lanzarote Ironman titled 'The toughest Ironman in the World' In those days I could only dream of competing in such a race but have since come to realise that providing you are prepared to put in the hours of training required it is possible to do almost any type of event. So it was that towards the end of May I found myself at 7am lined up with 800 other competitors from 36 different countries ready to jump into the Atlantic Ocean to swim a 2-lap course of 3800m or 2.4 miles. The start was horrendous as there was only about 100m until the first turn and everyone was literally swimming on top of each other. After about 10 minutes the field started to spread out and there was enough room to start swimming properly. The rest of the swim was uneventful and I came out of the water in 1hour 18 minutes. A quick shower whilst I pulled off the wet suit, on with my bike gear and a generous coating of suntan lotion and I was out on the bike for a 180km or 112 mile ride. The first 2 miles along the sea front were ok but then the hills started and they didn't stop until 108 miles later when I was going back along the seafront again. The total climb was some 2551m or twice the height of Ben Nevis and apart from the start and finish there didn't seem to be than a couple of hundred metres of flat road on the whole. Not only were there the hills such as 'fire mountain' to content with but there was also the heat; the wind and some very rough road surfaces. To put it mildly it was bloody hard with most parts of my body hurting at one time or another. I eventually finished the ride in 7 hours 17 minutes feeling totally exhausted. It was at this point, when I would rather have gone to sleep, that I had to start running a full marathon of 26.2 miles. The route was 4, out and back, laps along the sea front, relatively flat but very hot in the afternoon sun. Feeling sick, light headed and sunburnt my running soon deteriorated into a slow walk and I knew I was in for a long hard slog. My plan of finishing in less than 13 hours went out of the window and all that mattered was finishing by midnight, which was the cut off point at 17 hours. Some relief came when the sun went down but I was feeling very unsteady by then. Finally I managed to run as I entered the finishing straight where masses of spectators were cheering competitors in. I crossed the finish line in a time for my run of 6 hours 4 minutes with my total time being 14 hours 57 mins and 49 secs Plans to have a relaxing post race massage were cut short as my body began to pack up due to dehydration and low blood pressure and I was taken to the hospital tent where my worst fears were realised-a large needle in the arm followed by 2 litres of IV fluid. Maybe I should have taken the organizers advice and drunk the recommended 44 pints of fluid during the race but I found it hard even drinking half that amount. 90 minutes latter, patched up with creams for my sores and sun burn I was able to walk again and after seeing the last runner home at 10 minutes to midnight I staggered back to my apartment where too sunburnt to shower I soon fell asleep in bed. 2 weeks later whilst writing this I still have a few unhealed sores to remind me what I did. It was not fun and there was a lot of pain but it was one of life's experiences that I will never forget and I wouldn't have missed it for the world. As for what's next I really don't know!?! And finally.......many congratulations to nicky Chrascina on completing not just one but two ultra marathons this year! In April she successfully completed 56kms in The Two Oceans Ultra Marathon, in South Africa. Then not content with that she goes back to S. Africa in June and does the Comrades Ultra - a mere 89kms! It makes the London marathon seem like a walk in the park!! I haven't managed to get a report from her (not surprising really) but hopefully she'll write one for the next newsletter. We all want to know what her next challenge is...watch this space! OF MARATHONS LONG AGO As the Marathon Season looms, (or at least the training part!), I am reminded of my introduction to running. Once upon a time when the world was young - or at least I was a lot younger - hardly anyone ran Marathons - maybe a dozen enthusiasts for a typical event. But it was 1977 and the Running World was changing. Words like 'Fun Runner' and 'Jogger' were increasingly heard. Having been persuaded to run a 4 mile cross country in Wisley Woods, (now the M25!), I was encouraged to start running with the then British Aircraft Corporation Running Club - all six of us! Next came the Woking 10 - a daunting distance - but I finished. Then the subtle hints started - "You doing the Masters and Maidens Marathon?" "What? How far's that?" (Naivety!!) The reply was devious - "It's a great race" - meaning the speaker had done it last year and didn't see why others shouldn't suffer as well. "Yes" I said, "but how far?" "A bit over 20" - you didn't have to specify miles in those days and the "bit"- well no real runner did less than 10 so the "bit" could be discounted! October loomed - the popular myth at the time was that if you trained up to 13 miles you could manage to finish the rest! So, I dutifully plodded along in Adidas 'Country' running shoes, (white with real kangaroo leather uppers - everyone wore them!) The Great Day dawned - carbohydrate loading consisted of eating spoonfuls of honey on the coach to the start line. The then massive field of 200 was bussed to a heath in the depths of Surrey to run back to somewhere near Guildford Cathedral. If I had seen the Exorcist film by then, I would have at least had a foreboding of the horrors to come! Initially of course, the training worked well, 15 miles in just over 2 hours, the 31/2 hour goal (fantasy!), looked promising. Shortly after numerous muscles seized and the run>walk>hobble started. The drinks station at the bottom of the Hogs Back Hill (I think there were only two or three altogether), enabled a survival shuffle to finish in nearly 5 hours. There was one small crumb of comfort - at the time there was a list of the 'Top' 1000 Marathon Times worldwide and yes, somewhere in the high 900's, my name dutifully appeared! Mark Comparing performances over time: age related performance calculators Dave Gosling The best time you can achieve for any given distance over the age of 35 declines with age. This is a well-known (and disheartening) fact. That doesn't mean you can't improve as you get older, but if you are improving and you're over 35 that only proves that in your earlier races you hadn't achieved your maximum potential. For those of us who have been running over a lifetime an intriguing question is: how can you compare your performance now with your best performances say twenty or more years ago? Can you factor in the expected decline that occurs with age in order to compare two performances separated by twenty years? Another similar question is can you factor in age and gender in order to compare one club runner with another? Might a slower run by an older runner actually be 'better' in some sense than a faster run by a younger club member? The answer is yes to all these questions, although there are many ways of making the comparison. Let's look at some ways of making the comparison using the World Association of Veteran Athletes' (WAVA) age related calculations . Fortunately there are a number of web-sites you can go to which will do the age-calculation for you. This makes doing the calculation easy. This year both the Babcary and the Yeovilton 10K and 5K have included age-related % in the results. On this system each runner's speed is calculated as a % of an age standard which is taken as 100%. So Jim Hill's speed in achieving a time of19.08 in the 5K was a very creditable 81.3% of the speed needed to achieve15.25 which is the world standard time for the distance for 55-59 year old. Incidentally, the world best time for 5K by a 55 - 60 year old male is 15.42, set in 1981 by Gunther Hesselman. A calculator to allow you work out your age-related % can be found at http://jick.net/~jess/track/grubb/wavalookup.html. (a warning: unless you enter your time correctly using colons between the hour, minutes and seconds it produces nonsense). This calculator gives me (for example), based on my actual time of 22.02 at the Yeovilton 5K, the age-graded factor of 0.834. The open standard, for 5K is12.58 and the age standard for a 55-59 year old for 5K is15.33. My age graded result is given as 18.20 and age-related % speed of 70.57%. My age graded result of 18.20 is quite similar to my times nearly twenty years ago, so for an ageing runner this can be very re-assuring. We're not necessarily getting worse - just older. So this means it is also possible to make comparisons between any runner irrespective of their age or gender by using an age-graded factor to convert their time at their current age into an 'open' (i.e. age 20 - 30) time. So if we take for example Liz Martin's time at the Yeovilton 10K. the age-graded factor in the 10K for gender/age group W45 is 0.9192 , so her performance of 47.22 corresponds to an Open (ages 20-30) equivalent of 43.05. This can then be compared with any other runner taking into account their age and gender. For example Mike Parr's time of 49.49 converts to 35.71. This theoretical age-neutral time would have placed Mike 15th in the open, just behind Jim Hill's time which converts to 35.63. The club could produce age-related records based on this method. You can use this process to compare your results over time and set age-related targets. At the Cheddar Half Marathon aged 58 I ran 1.45.10 which converts, with an age-related factor of 0.84564, to a time of 1.28.56. This compares with my Madeley Half Marathon in 1983 at age 38 with a time of 01.19.16 which converts to 1.18.23. I would have to run approximately 1.34 to achieve an equivalent time at my current age - so that's my (optimistic) target for the next 12 months. An alternative web-site do this calculation - by simply filling in age and distance and time - is on the Jess Brewer's web page at http://jick.net/~jess/track/mtf/agt.html. You can also use the Oklahoma Runners web-site which also has a WAVA calculator to make the same calculation - http://www.runningnetworkarchives.com/okrunner/wava3.html You can find the world standards on the Spectrum Striders web-site http://www.spectrumstriders.org.uk/champs/standards.htm and there is an interesting article about age-graded results on the Ryston Runners site http://www.rystonrunners.org.uk/agegraded_article.htm. On the Spectrum Striders web-page there are also Club Standards Tables which enable any runner to see the level of their achievement matched against the world standards for their gender and age. So for example the platinum Standard is set at 120% of the world standard. At 5k for a 55 - 60 year old man this is 18.30. The Gold Standard is 135 %, which is 20.49. So Jim Hill's time was Gold Standard. Tony Forster's time of 20.24 for men's 40-45 was Silver Standard (Silver is below at 20.30). There are Platinum, Gold, Silver and Bronze Standards for every distance, every age and for men and women. Alternatively standards could be based on achieving % thresholds. For example Gold Class could be over 80%, Silver Class over 70% and so on. Any runner could submit their three best results for an award relative to their age and gender. I hope the club might consider adopting this idea. An annual awards ceremony could be a big motivator for runners of all ages. If anyone who does not have access to the internet would like me to run their results through the web-calculator to get your age-related results, just send your best results and the age at which they were achieved to david.gosling@ccche.co.uk (or give them to me on a club night) and I will let you know what your age-related performances are. Well that's the maths lesson from Dave (!) but if you have had moments on a run wondering why you bother, Jean has found this poem which explains why! Why do I run? Why do I run? 'Tain't no mystery- Wanna have a good medical history Doctor told me runnin' is great- Helps them blood cells circulate, Great for the lungs, great for the ticker, Can't nothin' getcha in better shape quicker. Feels so healthy, feels so sweet, Pumpin' my arms and flappin' my feet, Moldin' my muscles, firmin' my form, Panting like a pack mule, sweatin' up a storm. Keeps me youthful, keeps me loose Tightens my tummy and shrinks my caboose Beats bein' sluggish, beats bein' lazy Why do I run? MAYBE I'M CRAZY! Footnote - caboose is an old word for ship's galley - It's also a car on a freight train - make of it what you like! AND FINALLY...GOOD LUCK TO TRACEY AND MARTIN MONAGHAN RUNNING ROUTE 66 ON SATURDAY 26TH JUNE FROM WEYMOUTH TO WESTON-SUPER-MARE SUPPORT THEM IF YOU CAN - EITHER BY RUNNING PART OF THE ROUTE OR BY SPONSORING THEIR CHARITY -THE SAMARITANS