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THE HARRIERS HERALD No. 254, April 2014 Editor: Sue Francis

Contents, features, reports, results • Thursday night schedules for April and May • Compton Relay – preliminary notice • Membership subscription renewal reminder • Compton Downland Challenge races – Can you help?

• Race results: Oxford Mail XC – Last race of the series at Harwell; Reading Half – Martin and Jamie race to the finish; Sus does well in the Bath Half, while Colin completes the Banbury 15; Goring 10K – Jeremy and Jamie are Harriers top finishers; Spitfire 20 – Three Harriers race round Surrey airfield; Great Horwood 5K – Simon sets his fastest pace for 5 years; Berlin Half – A PB for Mags as she and Gillian race in Germany • Handicap Race – A win for Martin in the rain • Webmaster’s article – Mo features Compton Harriers new Twitter account; the benefits of interval training; and lists forthcoming races of interest • Thanks to Simon, Mo and Fay for this month’s contributions to articles and photos • Copy date for next Harriers Herald – 30th April

Thursday night schedule for April Thurs Thurs Thurs Thurs

3rd 10th 17th 24th

Mags to lead Aaron to lead Final preparation for Compton Downland Challenge Handicap Race

Thursday night schedule for May Thurs Thurs Thurs Thurs Thurs

1st 8th 15th 22nd 29th

Gillian to lead Jonathan to lead Compton Relay (see below) Colin to lead joint run with Team Kennet Susanne to lead

Compton Relay Sue The annual Relay will take place on the evening of Thursday 15th May starting at 5:30 pm, and there will be no ‘normal’ club run scheduled for that day.

The Relay is an event for people of all abilities, organised by me (with the help of other Harriers) and supported by the Institute’s Recreation Society, who man the barbecue and the Pickled Pig bar. Teams of four run around a lap which includes both road and tracks (each stage 1.6 miles, or 2530 metres). This is the same route which we used for some of our 2012 summer Handicap Races, but starting and finishing in Compton cricket field. Ask me if you’d like a map and route description.

The Relay is open to employees of the Institute, members of Compton Harriers, and we will also invite the other ‘external’ teams which competed in 2013. Teams may also include relatives, friends or other guests, should you be struggling to make up a foursome. The idea is just to encourage lots of people to take part, whatever their ability. The start is handicapped so all teams should have a similar chance of winning, and there is a trophy for the winning team. Competition can be hot at the ‘sharp end’, but it’s also a fun social event and is accompanied by a barbecue and bar, open to competitors’ families too.

Please let me know if you’d like to form a team or would like more information; or if you don’t wish to run but would be prepared to help Jan with time-keeping, or to help as a marshal.

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Membership subscription reminder About 20 members have now paid their 2014 fees for Club membership (£3), England Athletics competition registration (£10) and Institute Rec. Soc. membership (£24). If you wish to remain a Club member, but have not yet paid for 2014, please give your fees and completed forms to Jonathan ASAP. This is particularly important for those wishing to retain their England Athletics competition licences, since these are due for renewal on 1st April. If you do not wish to renew your membership this year, please let Jonathan know so we can update our records accordingly.

Compton Downland Challenge A reminder that our 18th Compton Downland Challenge takes place on Saturday 19th April (Easter Saturday). Are you able to help out to maintain the Club’s reputation for staging one of the best ultra trail events in the UK? Dick is compiling a list of Harriers who will be able to help on Good Friday, Easter Saturday, or both. Much event admin is already being done "behind the scenes" by Lucy, Martin and Mo, so it would be nice if we could have a good turn out of practical help over the two days. Jobs for Friday include marking the 20-mile route with arrows and flour, packing up check-point boxes, and setting up in the Downs School Hall for registration. On Saturday, we will require car parking marshals, route marshals, check-point crews, and people to do various ‘odd jobs’ as required at race HQ at the Downs School.

If you are willing to help, or if you know of someone who might be willing, please contact Dick (dickjan@talk21.com ).

Correspondence received – none during March.

Race results Reading Half, 2nd March Several Harriers took part in our local ‘Half’ and all did well. Ryan ran under someone else’s number and, since that someone else was a lady, he ducked out before the finish line so does not appear in the results. However, his time was approximately 1:23. Martin and Jamie were our next finishers. Jamie had a good first 10 miles, before suffering from cramp. Martin caught Jamie in the later stages of the race and encouraged him on. Both crossed the line together in 1:28:00 gun-time (605th and 606th) – see photo. But, according to the chip timing, Jamie just had the edge (1:27:34 to Martin’s 1:27:38). A good run from Lucy was rewarded with a 1:41:37 chip time (2403rd). Debbie B (and Partner Alex) travelled down from Leamington to take part, and Debbie smashed the 2hour mark with an excellent 1:53:09 (6204th). Terry accompanied his wife Emma, and they finished together in 2:26:45 (12879th).

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Oxford Mail x-country, Round 4 – Harwell, 2nd March Sue The final race of the 2013/2014 Oxford mail xc series was held on dry grassland behind the Rutherford Appleton laboratory on the Harwell campus. Each lap consisted of a flat first mile, then a looped stony path took the runners to the bottom of the tough hill – a steep grassy ascent, which briefly levelled before a hairpin turn took us to the summit. The views from the top, of Harwell campus and the surrounding countryside, were good if you had the energy to look up. The descent took us down to a short boggy bushy section, before going back out onto the grassland for lap 2. The men were off first, and they raced over three laps. There was a new winner this time – James Eve (Headington RR) in 30:14. Tom Munt led the team home in 21st place. Three Harriers also took part.

Another strong run from Rich saw him finish 122nd (39:14), Jonathan was 147th (41:06), and Colin 178th (46:45), out of 199 finishers. The team finished top of Division 3.

The 2-lap ladies race had 110 finishers. Race winner was Melissa Hawtin (Oxford City) in 22:41. I was the only Tkt runner on this occasion, but was pleased with my run (22nd, 26:27) Thanks once again to Colin for excellent team organisation and for making the Harriers welcome as part of the TK team.

Jonathan on the easy bit, and Sue on the difficult bit

Bath Half, 2nd March Susanne was our sole representative, crossing the line in 1:27:44 (383rd). The men’s and ladies race winners were both Kenyan - Nicholas Kirui (1:03:13), and Gladys Kwambai (1:15:07).

Banbury 15, 9th March Colin finished 200th in 2:18:19. The men’s and ladies race winners were Paul Fernandez (Abingdon) in 1:25:42, and Rosanna Andrews (Rugby & Northampton) in 1:42:07.

Goring 10K, 16thMarch Sue This was my first attempt at the Goring 10K for 4 years, as I don’t especially enjoy this event (the organisation and atmosphere are great, but it’s a tough course, with three challenging hills). This year I was inspired to run it again by our neighbours (Pete and Nicky) who, although now both in their mid-60s, decided to run in memory of their son Ian who died of cancer last year aged only 42. Ian won the first ever Goring 10K in the late-1990’s, and was 1st veteran in 2012 before falling ill 6 months later. Nicky and Pete, while generally fit and healthy, have never been runners, so they built up from scratch over the last 6 months, until they were able to jog-walk the 10K route.

The 10K was held in the warmest conditions ever recorded for this spring event (18oC) – I even got a bit of a suntan! While some competitors really suffered in the ‘heat’, the five Compton Harriers all fared well. Jeremy was first Harrier home, in an excellent 38:35 (11th). Not far behind, Jamie also had a really good race, being the first HH Apr 2014

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under-20 male runner to finish (16th overall, 39:23), and just 2 seconds ahead of the next young man in his age category. I was next in 44:07 (72nd, 5th lady overall and 2nd veteran lady). Richard D ran well for 115th (45:54), but Rich B felt weary, having done a long cycle the previous day (133rd, 46:46). There were 784 finishers.

The race winner was Newbury AC veteran, Steve Barnes (35:28). Amazingly, the second finisher overall was a junior lady (Jess Gibbon of Reading AC, who has represented England in cross-country at the Junior level) in a fantastic time of 36:52 – her first ever 10K! Pete and Nicky finished in 1:06 and 1:22 respectively, both about 10 minutes faster than they had achieved in training runs, and raising several hundred pounds for the Sue Ryder Hospice. The action was all captured on camera by Mo, who cycled round parts of the route to cheer us all on.

The full race results were up on the website later that evening, and included a list of top finishers from the ‘RG8’ postcode area. The Harriers featured highly! Jeremy was first RG8 MV40, I was first lady, and Richard D was first MV60. And our neighbour Nicky was rewarded with being first FV60.

The name of one of the other runners caught my eye in the results; I don’t know if this really is his name, but ‘Jesus Mate’ finished 171st in 48:23!

Richard D at South Stoke (5K), Jeremy on the final descent (9K), and the happy Harriers at the finish

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Surrey Spitfire 20, 16th March Three Harriers did this race round a Surrey airfield, as part of their marathon training. Martin ran 2:26:19 (79th), Philomena 2:42:30 (213th), and Lucy 2:43:38 (220th). Looking at their 10-mile split times, Martin slowed a little in the 2nd half, Lucy sped up, while Philomena ran an almost perfect consistent pace. Race winners were Daniel Watt (Tonbridge AC), in 1:55:58, and Megan Feltham (2:17:09).

Great Horwood 5K, 23rd March Simon This one had been on my radar for a couple of years but, as it always clashed with our annual holiday to Egypt my warm-weather training camp, I’d not previously had an opportunity to do it. However, after our hotel was annexed

by Russian tourists last year (so I now know what it’s like to be a Ukrainian) we didn’t go this year and as compensation I got to do this instead...

This is a fairly low-key event, organised by Great Horwood School PTA to raise funds and, as such, it’s not advertised extensively, though I did pick up an entry form at the Winslow 10K last month. Nevertheless it attracts a good turnout of local families and I did spot a couple of Chiltern Harriers and a Bearbrook Jogger. Most of the entries are ‘on-the-day’ and a large number of those are children from the age of four upwards. It all makes for a very friendly and relaxed event.

The course, described as undulating, is a simple but effective out-and-back route from just in front of the school.

Undulating is a very accurate description – there isn’t a single bit of flat ground on the route and, although only 5K, it’s surprisingly testing. The younger runners do what younger runners do – sprint for a bit, walk for a bit, sprint for a bit and so on – and tend to run diagonally across the road rather than in a straight line, but the field thinned out after the first kilometre so it wasn’t too bad.

Not much else to report really. An undulating out-and-back course with a drinks station just after we rounded the half-way cone in the middle of the lane and started heading back to the village. Every finisher received a medal and there were trophies for both first male and female overall and first male and female in the 16 and under, 12 and under, and 9 and under age categories. All in all a great atmosphere, friendly people and a very well organised event.

In total there were 189 finishers. First home was Trevor Poole (I think he’s a Chiltern Harrier, but Club names weren’t recorded) in 18:13, whilst second overall and first lady was under-16 runner Amy Radford in an excellent time of 19:10. I finished in 35th place and, with a time of 24:31, actually recording my first sub-8 minute mile race for nearly 5 years, so I was well pleased.

There were some very quick times recorded by some of the younger runners which I think warrant a mention: Ryan Martin, Sam Lister and George Landymore, all running in the Male Under-9 age-group, recorded 21:35, 22:02 and 22:04 respectively, Anna Radford (F16 and I would guess Amy’s sister) recorded 21:49, Rhianne Rush (F12) clocked 22:18 and Amy Lee (F9) was first in her age-group with a time of 29:49.

Unless the Ruskies are evicted from our favourite hotel and we go back to Egypt next year, I’ll definitely do this one again. I may even take Hannah with me.

Berlin Half, 30th March On a warm morning in Germany, Mags and Gillian tackled the Berlin Half. Mags had an excellent run to set a PB of 2:18:55 (5369th) and Gillian also put in a good performance to finish in 2:53:47 (7705th).

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Handicap Race Sue Seven regular Harriers were joined by new member, George, for the last of this winter’s Handicap Races round the Village Lap. It was windy, with steady rain, and lots of big puddles, and there were also some roadworks to navigate. So, there were no PBs this month.

Martin was last to set off, but had hit the front by the top of Shepherds Mount, then extended his lead to win with a 14-second margin, in the evening’s fastest time. A strong finish from Jonathan saw him finish in second place ahead of George who, once past his house at the top of Shepherd’s Mount, pushed on for a fast finish. Sue, Colin and Lucy followed in close succession, with Dick and Mo completing the field.

Well done Martin, and thanks to Jan for timing from the shelter of the back of her car. The next race is scheduled for Thursday 24th April, and will be around one of our off-road routes (actual route to be confirmed nearer the time).

Finish Position 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Position on handicap 1 2 New Runner 3 4 5 7 6

Name

Start time

Martin Jonathan George Sue Colin Lucy Dick Mo

Finish time

4:51 3:54 1:30 4:41 2:54 3:44 3:54 0:04

Handicap Beaten?

-0:08 +0:06 New Runner +0:12 +0:24 +0:31 +1:08 +0:42

Actual time

16:52 17:06 17:10 17:12 17:24 17:31 18:08 20:42

12:01 13:12 15:40 12:31 14:30 13:47 14:14 20:38

Handicap Championship: Martin now has a four-point lead at the top of the table, ahead of Jonathan and Lucy.

Pos.

1 2 3 4 5= 5= 7 8 9 10 11 12= 12=

Name

Martin Jonathan Lucy Sue Dave Colin Mags Mo Aaron Dick Richard D Jacqueline George

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Race 1

Race 2

9 7 8 5 12 4 10 2 6 4 1 -

12 10 7 9 8 6 5 1

Race 3 -

Race points Race 4 Race 5 -

-

6

Race 6

Race 7

Race 8

-

-

-

Total of best 5 21 17 15 14 12 12 10 8 6 5 4 1 1

Website update… http://www.comptonharriers.org.uk Mo Links of interest this month Local photographer Barry Cornelius has set up a photo site with links to various events in the Oxfordshire area, many of which feature CHRC members; the link is http://www.oxonraces.com/photos Can I also suggest a visit to http://twitter.com/ComptonHarriers which is the Twitter account I have recently set up for CHRC. Regular Twitter users will know how quick and easy it is to post information, so why not set up your own Twitter account and follow CHRC and of course post your instant running outcomes. We also have a presence on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/ComptonHarriers so that’s another site on which to post your running experiences for all to see.

Webmaster’s article this month: The benefits of varying your Training Modes (Part 2) This is the second in my series of three articles to explain and outline the benefits of various common modes of training, namely Speed/Interval, Tempo/Threshold and Long Runs. Having covered the long run and development of aerobic endurance last month, this month’s article will continue with Speed (Interval) Training, also known as Fartlek Training. I will cover the Tempo/Threshold training in May’s HH. Interval Training is ideal for improving 5k and 10k times and consists of short bursts of timed reps and longer intervals over a measured distance. Many schedules use the athletics track when planning distances for interval sessions, i.e. 400m is one lap of the track (approx ¼ of a mile), but speed work can also be planned to time if preferred i.e. between 90 seconds and 2 minutes would be a typical 400m rep.

The training will make you a stronger, faster and more efficient runner and will make a big difference in a relatively short period of time. The process will also strengthen quadriceps, help you breathe more efficiently and prepare you mentally for racing.

You will need to work at a high intensity (85 to 95 percent of max heart rate) over a series of short intervals. As these are high intensity sessions, you should include at least one but no more than two sessions a week in your training program followed by an easy or recovery day.

Different types of speed work are designed to improve different aspects of running. Short sharp sprints will boost your leg turnover and anaerobic fitness, and with these you plan in a longer recovery, for example two to three minutes.

For marathon runners looking to develop speed endurance, a general rule of thumb for planning interval training is to make the whole distance covered longer and the recoveries shorter. So for short 30-second bursts, you might do 20, with a 30-second recovery. You will also benefit from doing longer intervals.

Here are some suggested speed sessions for marathon training (making sure you warm up and cool down for 10 to 15 minutes before and after): o Pyramid: 400m, 800m, 1600m, and then work your way down 1600m, 800m, 400m, with recovery jogs of 1 minute between each burst. o 4 to 6 x 1 mile at 10k pace, with 90 second recovery. o 6 to 8 x 800m with 1 minute recovery.

For 5K & 10K runners, Fartlek (Swedish for speed-play) is ideal. There is no need for GPS or a measured course, you just run fast and slow - run between lamp-posts, or do timed bursts (30 seconds to 3 minutes). You could also try a pyramid fartlek session, e.g. run hard five, four, three, two and one minute bursts with equal recovery time.

Next month: Tempo/Threshold Runs

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Forthcoming Events of Interest See Website Events Calendar for more details

Tue, April 1 Sun, April 6 Sun, April 13 Fri, April 18 Sat, April 19 Sat, April 26 Sun, April 27

Sun, May 4 Mon, May 5 Wed, May 7 Sat, May 10 Sun, May 11 Sun, May 18 Sun, May 25 Sun, June 1 Sun, June 8 Sun, June 15 Sun, June 22 Sun, June 29

Berkshire Primary Schools X-C Chedworth Roman Trail 10 miles The Bluebell Race 12k White Horse ½ Marathon Bag4Sport Abbeyfield 10km & Fun Run Virgin Money London Marathon Maidenhead Easter Ten 18th Compton Downland Challenge Chieveley Chase 5.7 miles Hurstbourne 5 Multi-Terrain Race Ridge Off-Roader 10K Fairoaks Five & Ten (Miles) Highworth 5 Treehouse School 10k Three Forts Challenge (Mthn & ½Mthn) Chalgrove Festival 10K Silverstone Grand Prix 10K Marlborough Downs Challenge Grant & Stone Marlow 5 Highclere 10k Woodley 10K Royal Berkshire 10K Barton Stacey Fun Run 10K & 5K Welford & Wickham 10k Bayer Newbury 10k Wallingford 10K Thames Run Kintbury 5 Chiltern Chase - 5K Wargrave Charity 10K Ridgeway Relay Hungerford Harey 8 Whitchurch 10k & 5k Airbase Race - 10K

Inkpen Gibbet Challenge 10k Sun, July 6 Sun, July 13 Sun, August 24 Sun, Sept 21 Sun, Sept 28 Sun, Oct 5 Sun, Oct 19 Sat, Oct 25 Sun, Oct 26 Sun, Dec 7

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Thame 10K Didcot 5 Tadley 10k New Forest 10 mile Severn Bridge Half Marathon Farnham Pilgrim Mthn + ½ Mthn The Barnstaple Mthn & ½ Mthn Basingstoke Half Marathon Frieth Hilly 5k and 10k Tadley 10 Mile Beachy Head Marathon & 10k Fairoaks Five & Ten (Miles) Tadley Xmas X-C 5.2 Mile

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