Latest Updates - Yeovilton 5k series and Other results 2008 7 July 2008

Newsletter March 2004
Hello from Liz Martin—your new newsletter editor. Thanks to everyone who has contributed to this one. We intend to publish a quarterly newsletter, the next one being in June. So as soon as you have any items that can be used please pass them onto me. I don’t mind whether it’s written on scraps of paper, beautifully word processed or

 e- mailed to me, just as long as I get some news! As you can see from this publication, people are prepared to write all sorts of things, from race reports, coming events, poems etc.  So it’s up to you—if you don’t contribute I will be forced to write some jokes and I’m not too good at them—I tend to forget the endings!

HAVE YOU PAID YOURS?

Membership fees were due on the 1^st January for this year.

If you haven’t already done so, please fill in the form at the end of this newsletter and return ASAP to Grahame. We are trying to get an up to date list of members which we can pass onto team captains, so it is really important to fill in the form and pay up!!

Hi Girls

I would like to take this opportunity of introducing Gina and myself who are once again your Ladies Captains for this year. Both of us have been running for quite a few years and have taken part in a variety of races and events. These range from 5k to marathons on road, cross-country and track. Most of these we enjoy especially the ones which are team events. Unfortunately we only have a small core of ladies at present who enter these and would like to extend an invitation to all lady members to take part in future team events.

If we had more ladies to call on we could enter in the correct age groups ie. Vets teams rather than a mixed age team racing with seniors.

During the summer months we usually enter a team into the athletics meetings. This gives us the opportunity to not only compete in the running events but also field events. These involve “having a go” rather than needing to be an expert. Most of us that go have a good time and an even better laugh.

We will hopefully be contacting all of you to ask if you would be interested in participating in future events but if in the meantime you would like to contact us then please note the numbers below.

Also if there is an event you think that the ladies would be interested in entering then please feel free to contact us, see the contacts page.

Team Events

The club intends to enter teams in various events this year. Entry to these events follows different criteria - some are on the day, others we have already entered, the others we will enter if we can generate a team. Steve will pursue a team for these races within the membership, however if you wish to be part of a team, let him know as soon as possible.

Team events include:-

SW. TRACK AND FIELD LEAGUE (See dates and venues elsewhere in this issue)

SOMERSET SERIES  Main team races—Easter Bunny 10K, Crewkerne 9 and Battle of Sedgemoor 10K

WESSEX RIDGEWAY  RELAY RACE  16th May (closing date = 17th April). This 12 stage route is across Dorset from Tollard Royale to Uplyme using the Wessex Ridgeway. The distance is approximately 62 miles (100K ). 6 per team. More details on Gillingham Trotters Running club website.

MAN V HORSE, Llanwrtyd Wells Powys, Wales  12th June Man V Horse is a mad event, either a 22 mile off road race, chasing horses or a seven leg relay over the same course, chasing horses! Prize of £25,000 to the runner who beats the horse!!  More details on Chiltern Harriers AC website.

RACE THE TRAIN, WALES 21st August Annual 14 miles race along the Welsh coast from Tywyn, following the route taken by the Talyllyn Railway on its journey to Abergynolwyn and back.

Both Man V horse and Race the Train are in Wales and involve a weekend away. This is, of course, part of the attraction, however it also makes it hard work to organise.  This year, we are asking the membership, which of these events they would like to enter. We will need a team of around 20 to make the trip viable.  Let Steve know if you want to go, by the first week of April.

WESTON 10 MILE BEACH RELAY 19th September (1 mile per leg)

PARRETT TRAIL RELAY 16th October ( provisional date ) Six legs of about 9 miles each, starting near the mouth of the River Parrett at Steart, near Bridgwater,  and ending at the source at Cheddington, about 4 miles SE of Crewkerne. For more details see Crewkerne Running Club website.
 

LET STEVE KNOW ABOUT ANY OF THESE TEAM EVENTS YOU WISH TO COMPETE IN.

SEE NEXT PAGES FOR SOME OF THE RUNNING EVENTS THIS YEAR

JUNIORS – PLEASE NOTE AGE LIMITS FOR RACES ON NEXT PAGE

IF THERE ARE ANY OTHER RACES THAT YOU THINK PEOPLE WOULD LIKE TO ENTER THIS YEAR, CONTACT THE LANGPORT RUNNERS WEB SITE

JUNIORS – AGE LIMITS

 A number of races on the events pages are not suitable for young athletes. The following table sets out the maximum distances allowed, but see Steve if you are not sure whether you can enter.

Age on race day	Max distance permitted Male	Max distance permitted Female	Age on race day	Max distance permitted Male	Max distance permitted Female
11 or 12	5K	3K	15	10K	10K
13	6.5K	3.5K	16	16K	16K
14	8K	3.5K	17	25K	25K

MONDAY NIGHT TRAINING

STARTS 19^TH APRIL ON THE SCHOOLGRASS TRACK 6.30- 8.00 PM

9 YEARS UPWARDS  (Under 12’s will need parental/guardian supervision).

Monday night training is based on track speed work and a little field athletics. This is available and can benefit everyone in the club.  (The juniors in our club will find this of most benefit though).

The training can also help improve style and co-ordination.  This is an absolute must if you intend to compete on the track this summer.

Steve

RACE REPORTS AND OTHER EVENTS FEATURING LANGPORT RUNNERS

Parrett Trail Relay Saturday 18th October 2003

Yes, I know it seems like a long time ago but I think it’s worth a mention, as there were some memorable moments! 12 teams entered this event, organised by Crewkerne Running Club. Langport was the only club to enter 3 teams—men’s, women’s and mixed. Although the race followed the Parrett Trail, we were all advised to recci our leg, just to make sure we didn’t get lost on the day. Just as well for John C and Jenny who seemed to have the map upside down during their practice run and ended up doing most of it backwards! My practice run from Bridgwater Docks was far more straight forward, although with John around it was never going to be uneventful—within the first 200m he had broken his rucksack, dropped my mobile and fed the ducks with a packet of Jaffa cakes!

On the day, having sorted out the logistics of getting to the start, Chrissie, John and me got to Bridgwater Docks ready for the second leg. It was 8.30 and cold standing around in shorts and vests, but we knew that Bev, Rob and Paul (?) would do a fast first leg so we waited and waited and …..then heard the news that some runners had gone the wrong way. Surely- not our runners?! Oh yes—Bev and Rob started off so well, following 2 runners who looked confident—until a mile and a half across the fields when they suddenly decided that they didn’t know where they were going! As I started on my leg I noticed a runner from another club going the wrong way, so sportingly told him where to go!  He was ahead of me for the next 5 miles, then disappeared, and to my satisfaction, arrived at Burrow Mump about 10 minutes after me! The ladies team continued confidently, with Alice, Gina and Tracey running well. Louise was our last runner and she started off well but couldn’t find her way out of a field so had to ring Steve who was just finishing, to find out how to escape! I managed to see Alice, Jenny and Gina finish and then headed up to Cheddington to watch the end. There was a bit of a gap between the finish and the pub opening—but I passed the time very happily in Alice’s camper van, complete with G and T! Oh and for the record—Crewkerne won the men’s, Langport men were 2^nd, Yeovil won the mixed, Langport mixed were 10^th and WE won the ladies race!!

Sorry if I’ve missed anyone else out re incidents—but it was 5 months ago—I seem to remember something about Matt?!,,,,,,,,,

Liz M

The Full Monty ‘Cute’ Ten Mile Multi-terrain Race Sunday 7^th December 2003

It was a bright, but cold morning when 220 or so runners congregated in front of the magnificent Tudor mansion of Montecute, including ten from Langport Runners. After a lap of the park, I followed Liz Martin onto the climb through lovely beech woods - up the first of the eight hills that make this race an interesting challenge! I had time to enjoy the view over the village and towards St Michael’s Hill which I knew was the last of the eight hills – something to look forward to. A steep descent gave me a chance to get my breath back (and overtake Liz) and then an equally sharp rise reduced me to a walk. Then it was a mixture of tracks, footpaths, grassy hill-sides and woods through some of the best of South Somerset’s countryside that looked fantastic on this crisp and sunny morning. The recent spell of dry weather had made the going good, though I had heard reports of what the race was like in a wet year.

After about eight miles , I recognised where we were as we made the long climb to Ham Hill Country Park (hill number six!). No sooner had we reached the level grassy top to the hill, than we were hurtling down again through the woods and within half a mile it was a hands and knees job straight up the hill again. With just one climb to go I felt excited and exhilarated although tired. St Michaels Hill was the final sting in the tale, but with the eight hills behind me I could enjoy the final downhill towards the imposing approach to Montecute House. As I gasped my way up the impressive avenue, I thought of dazzling horse-driven carriages that would have been driven up this same drive for over three hundred years. Now it was a few straggling tired and sweaty runners who staggered to the finish to collect their Christmas pudding. As a scenic race, on such a bright and sunny day, there can be few more beautiful runs than this.

Results: Peter Kelland finished 11^th 1.15; Rob Ellis was 25^th in 1.17; Dave Gosling 126^th in 1.37; Dave Richards 128^th in 1.38; Liz Martin 144^th in 1.42; Trevor Howells 152^nd in 1.43. Chrissie Brooks, 193^rd in 1.55 Jane Brookhouse,  194^th in 1.55, Georgina Masters, Deidre Howells, Tracey Monaghan all completed the race in  2 hours 7 minutes – in Father Christmas costumes! ( 220 runners finished )

Dave Gosling

BABCARY 7½ MILE ROAD RACE, 29 February

For those of you who haven't yet run this race, the race information accurately describes it as 'undulating' - that is, without any severe hills, but it is definitely not flat. The Babcary 7½ has particular interest to many Langport Runners because as well as the normal full results, a separate age-grading of results is also available. This means that for those of us who are veterans, we can see how we have performed compared to everyone else, taking age into consideration. Basically, this is achieved with the aid of a computer programme which compares each individual time in relation to actual age (not just to age groups) and expresses this as a percentage of the world best time for the distance for the relevant year of age for each runner.

Langport had a reasonable turn-out of 10, but only Jane Brookhouse, who was not fully fit, represented the ladies. Grant Stoodley, taking his marathon training seriously, ran the course twice: first as a 'warm-up' and then a bit faster second time round. The rapid results service, the well marshalled course and the array of cakes and drinks available afterwards make this a race you shouldn't miss!

RACE RESULTS

1 Gary Eagle (Frome) 42:01, Age-grading (AG) 82.7% (1) 2 Rob Parfill (Wells) 42:02, AG 77.8% 3 Paul Levick (RNAC) 42:28, AG 77.8% 7 Rob Ellis 45:42, AG 71.6% (22) 8 Peter Kelland 45:58, AG 72.4% (19) 12 Steve Brown 46:53, AG 70.5% (28)18 Linda Cummins 48.07, AG (6), 20 Jenny Moore U/A 49.03, AG (10), 38 Claire Thomas Wells 52.45, AG (34),  39 John Cox 52:46, AG 71.2% (25) 45 Russell McArthur 53:55, AG 60.7% (80) 48 James Hill 54:52, AG 70.3% (30) 74 Dave Gosling 1:00:18, AG 64.8% (56) 78 Grant Stoodley 1:00:51, AG 53.9% (104) 86 Mike Parr 1:02:18, AG 72.6% (18) 110 Jane Brookhouse 1:10:15, AG 56.6% (98). 140 runners entered and 130 finished.

Bramley 20/10 February 29^th

I was a little nervous about this race as I had never run for 20 miles non stop, but decided that, as part of my London marathon training, I really ought to do it. Alice, Jenny and I set off for Bramley (just north of Basingstoke) in plenty of time for the start – well so we thought, until we reached a rather long diversion on the A303. We arrived at Bramley with only a few minutes to spare – no time to be nervous and the brisk walk to the start got us warmed up!  I stuck myself behind some Reading Road Runners (the host team) as I heard them say that they were going for a 3 hour time, which was also my aim. The race took us along country roads, undulating but not hilly. The worst bit was waving to Alice as she finished the 10 mile race, knowing that I had to do the loop all over again.  But I soon settled back into it and with the help of the marshals and some glucose sweets, (thanks Jenny!), I finished the race within my target time.  So that’s it – only another 6.2 miles to add on for London!!

 Results: - 10 miles – 253 Alice Allen 1.27.58, 326 Sue Hall 1.37.54 (381 runners)

20 miles: - 589 Liz Martin 2.58.58, 732, Nicky Chrascina 3.22 39, 733 Alf Chrascina 3.22.52. (805 runners). I think Jenny Byrom did around 3.09 but she managed to run with her number upside down and confused the time keepers!

Liz

THE TERMINATOR – PEWSEY 29^th February

Well, what can one say, 11 miles of MUD, HILLS, MUD, HILLS, with more MUD, more HILLS, finished off by a soaking in a very wet cold river!  The only highlight of the day was the sexy over-big, bright turquoise T shirt at the end!

Dee Howells accompanied by Trevor Howells and Chrissie Brooks.

Apologies if I haven’t mentioned any other idiot, daft enough to have been there.

CHRISTCHURCH - MAD MARCH HARE MARCH 7TH

                           BEFORE……..                     DURING….                                 AFTER!

Grant finished 137^th in 02:49

Tracey & Dee finished 196^th and 197^th in 03:13. There were 241 runners. Well done! Thanks to Martin for pics.

Butleigh Multi-terrain, 7(ish) miles. 7 March 2004

The second in the Somerset Race Series, this race is mostly fields, tracks and woodland, but with some road at the start and finish. Three (by my count, anyway) significant hills make it quite a tough course even when dry, as it was for this race. Eight Langport members lined up for the start, and as in the Babcary race the previous week, Rob Ellis was our star, finishing 5th, with Matthew Hill not far behind in 14th position. Liz Martin (proving what marathon training can do) had another good run to finish second Lady Vet 45+ and Alice Allen also did well in the Lady Vet 35+ category. About 100 ran.

Results

Senior Male: 1. Paul Levick (RNAC) 43:15; 5. Rob Ellis 46:39; Matthew Hill 48:49

Senior Lady: 52. Anna Barburina (Millfield School) 60:01

Male Vet 40+: 2. Mark Pattison (Nailsea) 45:08

Lady Vet 35+: 12 Linda Cummins (Yeovil Town) 48:24; 66. Alice Allen 64:01

Male Vet 50+: 8. Ricky Lewis (Minehead) 47:42; 38. James Hill 54:58; 60. Dave Gosling 61:24

Lady Vet 45+ : 54. Mikki Coates (Cheddar) 60:43; 55. Liz Martin 60:53; 88. Jenny Byrom 72:55

Male Vet 60+: 44. Terry Kingham (Wells) 58:08; 78. Mike Parr 68:02.

Mike

THE CHARGE OF THE WALSH BRIGADE      By Dee Howells

Whilst sorting through my running rubbish the other day I came across this poem which I wrote when I belonged to a previous running club.

Sunday mornings, come rain or shine, were often spent haring around the countryside, following no particular route, but starting and finishing at an ex Yeovil runner’s, Martin Wills, house at Odcombe. Those who run from Huish Sports Centre with Langport Runners on Sundays will know the feeling!

Dee

Sunday morning should be a rest

But we’re up to Sandra’s looking our best.

We’ve all got Walsh shoes that were once new,

Black and yellow and a nice bright blue.

Off we trot at ten past nine,

Eager to run and feeling fine.

Up the road and through the gate,

Across the fields at a steady rate.

Martin is leading and the hills are steep,

The stiles are awkward and the mud is deep.

He checks his map and says with a grin,

“Come on girls, just dig right in,

Not far to go we’re almost home”

“Thank God for that” we’re heard to moan.

Many hours pass and Odcombe’s in sight,

A drink and a sit down will be alright

I‘ll write to Walsh as I feel let down,

My nice new shoes have turned to brown.

FORTHCOMING EVENTS

MARATHON TRAINING RUN MARCH 21^ST

Once again we have been invited by Crewkerne running Club to take part in their annual pre-London Marathon training run. It covers a distance of 22 miles, starting and finishing at South Petherton car park.  It is well marshalled and there are plenty of drinks stations and – if my memory serves me right – at mile 12, there are also jelly babies on offer!

Anyone can take part in this event: you can just run part of the route to give encouragement to the marathon runners.  This support is most helpful in the latter part of the course when runners may need to be carried up the slight incline in the last mile (bad joke – sorry but veterans of this run will know what I mean). However if you would rather not do the run, Crewkerne RC would welcome any offers of help. This run takes place on Sunday 21^st March (reminder – it is also Mothering Sunday) and you need to be at South Petherton car park by 8.40 am.

I can personally recommend this run, it boosts the confidence knowing that you have just completed 22 miles and the real event is only another 4.2 miles.

Kathy

SAMARITANS ROUTE 66 Coast to Coast Challenge 26^th June 2004

Extracts from Route 66 Challenge website: http://route66coast2coast.mysite.freeserve.com/

Three years ago Martin Monaghan had run the London Marathon on three consecutive years, each time raising money for Samaritans. One evening he was studying a map on the wall and noticed that drawing a straight line between Weymouth and Weston-Super-Mare it cut very close to Yeovil. By now (very naively at the time) considering himself an ‘experienced’ runner with his three marathons behind him he thought it would be a possibility to run from one coast to the other to raise money for Samaritans, as each town has its own Samaritans branch.

We are now in a position to announce the inaugural running of Samaritans Route 66 Coast to Coast Challenge, the date for the run, Saturday 26^th June 2004. Starting from the clock on Weymouth seafront the route passing through Martinstown, Maiden Newton, Evershot, West Coker, Tintinhull, Pitney, Catcott, Rooks Bridge and Uphill, finishing at the clock on the promenade at Weston ( sounds so simple when you say it like that! ). Due to the nature of the challenge all those taking part will have to be fully fit and aware of the physical demands of completing such a distance, to date those people are:

Martin and Tracey Monaghan, Mike Regan, Fred and Sue Fox, Nick Brooke,

Yeovil Town RRC, James Barnes, Bev Farley, Langport Runners Ines Braun, Gillingham Trotters.

As well as the few runners covering the full distance there will be a number of runners completing shorter, but for the individual, no less challenging distances along the way, ranging from 10 to 30 miles. Hopefully they also will be able to raise much needed funds for Samaritans.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO HELP MARTIN, TRACEY AND THE OTHER RUNNERS, BY EITHER RUNNING PART OF THE COURSE OR BY SPONSORING THEM, PLEASE SEE THEM AT THE CLUB

OR e-mail: marti@firstflight.freeserve.co.uk

FLORA LONDON MARATHON APRIL 18^TH 2004

This year there will be 8 Langport runners running the London Marathon. They will be raising money for various charities. The runners are:

Bev Farley Diabetes UK

Grant Stoodley Breast Cancer Care

Paul Gold  Breast Cancer Care

James Barnes Samaritans ( Quote – “ I’ll treat the Marathon as a warm up for Route 66!!” )

Liz Martin Breast Cancer Campaign

Jenny Byrom Get kids Going

Shane Pledger SW Childrens Hospice ( I think )

Pete Kelland

In addition, Pete Jones is doing the Duchy Marathon on 21^st March, and Kathy, Gina and Tracey are doing the Taunton Marathon on April 4^th.  Good luck to everyone!

Please sponsor any of us if you can. Many thanks to everyone in the Club who has kept us going through our hours of training, either by training with us or by offering words of encouragement. We will do our best and  If any of us get interviewed we will give the club a plug!!

And finally – Mike has found out why running makes us tired ….read on………

HOW MUCH DO WE LIFT IN THE COURSE OF A RUN? - SOME THOUGHTS ON SHOE WEIGHTS

 For many years now I have raced in the lightest good running shoes available, and have reserved heavier shoes for training runs. It has always seemed obvious to me that one should avoid carrying excess shoe-weight around when we are striving to run our fastest!  When I ran for my Manchester & District club we were lucky to have almost on our doorstep Norman Walsh's shop and shoe making business.  Norman made shoes especially for the local Rugby League clubs and for athletes (track, road, cross-country and fell).  He made most of them for clients who would be individually measured for them and they never cost over £50.  The last racing shoes he made for me weigh just 225g each: they have lasted exceptionally well for many years as I tend to use them only for most important outings. Unfortunately when Walsh retired he sold the company, which now makes very ordinary mass-produced trainers.

 Recently I bought new training shoes (New Balance) weighing 350g each, which is not far from the average for this type of shoe, and I decided to make a few simple estimates to see how much more weight I am lifting using the NB compared with my Walsh racers.  I estimated my stride length to be roughly 1.118m, which means that 1m occupies 0.894 of a stride.  Thus, in a 10k race I might make 8940 strides.  With the Walsh shoes weighing 225g, that means I am lifting 2,011,500g which is more than 2 tonnes!  However, wearing the NB the weight I lift in 10k would be 3,129,000g and so this is a matter of lifting more than 1 tonne extra.  If we consider the marathon distance,  the comparable weights raised are roughly 8.5 tonnes for the Walsh, and 13.2 tonnes for NB: that is nearly 5 tonnes more lifted!  I think it goes without saying that we should consider looking for the lightest shoe possible, providing it is suitable for our individual running styles as assessed by the retailler and is comfortable.  And don't forget this is not counting our actual body weight we lift with each stride - it's not surprising running makes us tired!!!

 Mike Parr