Heraldapr15

THE HARRIERS HERALD No. 266, April 2015 Editor: Sue Francis

Contents, features, reports, results      

   

Thursday night schedules for April and May Correspondence received Boundary Run & Walk - further information Compton Downland Challenge – Harriers stage another excellent event, but will it be the last CDC? West Berkshire Brewery – Nine Harriers and friends enjoy a Brewery tour and beer sampling Race results & reports: Cholsey Chase – Ryan and Sue run really well in local event; Barcelona Marathon – Four Harriers record great times despite injury and illness; Flying Monk 10M race – Colin completes a challenging course; Great Horwood 5K – Simon returns to improve his time; Reading Half – Jonathan represents the Harriers; White Horse Half – Lucy collects a prize in tough weather conditions Handicap Race – Nitish smashes his PB to retain the trophy Webmaster’s article – Mo features: Compton Challenge - a runner's video and words of appreciation from happy competitors; and features forthcoming races of interest Thanks to Simon, Lucy, Mo and Philomena for this month’s contributions to articles and photos Copy date for next Harriers Herald – 1st May

Thursday night schedule for April Thurs Thurs Thurs Thurs

9th 16th 23rd 30th

Martin to lead Handicap Race Pete O to lead Boundary Run & Walk (see below for more details)

Thursday night schedule for May Thurs Thurs Thurs Thurs

7th 14th 21st 28th

Sue to lead Richard D to lead Aaron to lead Colin to lead

Sender England Athletics

Correspondence received Subject matter Club EA affiliation fee (£100) due April 2015; individual athlete registration fees due May 2015 (£12 for each runner who has paid for a competition licence)

Action Club affiliation fee sent, accompanied by letter to register our concern at this increasing fee; Athlete registration payments to be sent next week by Sue

Boundary Run & Walk, Thursday 30th April The annual Boundary Run & Walk will take place on the evening of Thursday 30th April, in place of the usual Thursday Club Run. Start at the Institute Main gates (Walkers 16:45, Runners 17:45), and finish in the Cricket Field.

Participants run or walk around the Boundary of the Institute estate and farms, a scenic 8-mile route on tracks, through fields and woods. Runners and walkers of all standards are welcome – it’s competitive at the front of the field, but many choose to take part for fun and to enjoy the scenery. There are trophies for the first men and lady runners and walkers.

The Boundary Run & Walk is not a ‘formal’ race. There is no entry form, no entry fee, no race insurance, and no race permit. Participants take part at their own risk. I do ask people to let me know if they intend to come along, just so we know roughly how many to expect for barbecue purposes!

The course will be well-marked, but not marshalled. I can provide route descriptions upon request, and a 'Boundary Run Map' (with 3D flyover option) can be found on Compton Harriers website.

The bar and barbecue will be available for all at the finish in the cricket field (spectators welcome).

HH Apr 2015

1

Compton Downland Challenge, 4th April Sue Compton Harriers once again staged an excellent Compton Downland Challenge, with competitors full of praise for all aspects of the event - the scenic and challenging route, the organisation, marshals, routemarking, finishers T-shirts, hot meals‌.. and many were very disappointed at the suggestion that this might be the last Compton Challenge.

Many thanks to all the Harriers, family and friends who helped out with pre-race organisation and setup, on the day, and with the post-race tidy up. In no particular order: Lucy and Martin for administering pre-race entries; Tom, Aaron, Mo, Martin and Lucy for route-marking; Lucy, Martin, Aubrey, Richard D and Sue for set-up at the Downs School; Susanne, Gillian, Colin, Jonathan, Tom, Aaron, Richard D and Ann D for marshalling; Susanne for designing and ordering finishers' T-shirts; Mo for time-keeping and runners' tag removal; Nitish for giving out finishers T-shirts, creme eggs and drinks; Lucy for compiling results and Mo for putting them on the website; and, last but no means least, Dick and Jan for the enormous amount of work and worrying they do behind the scenes to make the event happen - booking the school, buying all the checkpoint food and hot meal food, arranging checkpoint resources, organising marshals and helpers, entering results on the computer as runners finish........ For such a small Club, we really can be proud of ourselves.

Five Compton Harriers completed the 20-mile event this year in muddy, windy but rain-free conditions.

Sue was 3rd lady (33rd overall) in 3:04:17, Rich B 72nd (3:21:00), Simon 140th (3:57:05), Emma 186th (4:19:12) and Terry 189th (4:21:02). There were 219 finishers, the last lady crossing the line in 6:10:01, and Compton Harriers were 12th team. The 20-mile race winners were Paul Jegou (White Horse Harriers, 2:28:42) and Jill Hadland (Cirencester AC, 2:58:42).

The 40-mile race winners were Nathan Montague (Swindon Harriers) in an amazing 5:05:08, and Karen Galpin (Almost Athletes) in 6:56:07. There were 67 finishers, the last runner recording 9:52:00.

Start of the 19th Compton Downland Challenge

HH Apr 2015

2

Harriers Tour of West Berkshire Brewery Nine Harriers and friends enjoyed a visit to West Berks Brewery in Yattendon. On arrival, we each received a ‘Good Old Boy’ pint glass, with the opportunity to try the first of three pints of West Berks beers (or a pint of coke for the non-drinking driver). We had a guided tour of the brewing facility and a talk about the brewing process while sampling some of the malts. This was followed by more pints of beer while looking round the brewery shop, watching the Morris dancers in the courtyard and having a good laugh while our own Rich B joined in (much to the bemusement of the accordion player). We followed the tour with a nice pub lunch at The White Hart in Hampstead Norreys.

Thank you to Richard D for arranging an enjoyable social event.

See Webmaster's article for links to two videos taken on the day

Race Results and Reports Cholsey Chase 9M MT, 15th March Sue Ryan and I enjoyed the inaugural Cholsey Chase in 2014, and we both returned to give it another go this year. It’s a scenic 9-mile multi-terrain race from Cholsey to Aston Tirrold, then a long climb up to The Fairmile, and an enjoyable descent back to Cholsey in the later stages of the race.

Conditions were near perfect this year and, with very little mud and a nice new pair of trail shoes, I was inspired to go for it. I was really pleased to be 9 minutes faster than last year, with a finishing time of 1:04:46, 34th overall and 4th lady. It was particularly pleasing to be only 1 minute behind the winning lady (Claire Norrish, White Horse Harriers, 1:03:44) and 15 seconds behind the third lady. I could see the first three ladies all the way, but I just couldn’t catch them! As first veteran lady, I received a trophy and an insulated travel mug.

Ryan also had a great run. He was 4 minutes faster than last year and finished in a fantastic 5th place in 58:21.

The race winner, Paul Fernandez of Abingdon, crossed the line in 53:03 with a 3.5 minute lead over his nearest rival. There were 156 finishers.

With this being only the second Cholsey Chase, and conditions being so much better than last year, all course records were broken meaning that I am now the course record holder in the FV40 age category!

This is a well-organised, friendly and enjoyable local event, which I plan to make an annual fixture. Thanks to Mo, who cycled much of the route to cheer us on and take photos (see next page).

HH Apr 2015

3

Barcelona Marathon, 15th March Four Harriers travelled to Spain to contest the Barcelona Marathon in nice running conditions. This was Philomena’s last run before her foot operation, and she set off uncertain as to whether or not she would be able to finish. But, with the company of Susanne, Philomena crossed the line in a very respectable 3:47:22 (6901st), only then admitting that she had been in considerable pain for the last 10 miles. Susanne recorded the same finishing time and was 6897th. Terry accompanied wife Emma on her first marathon. Emma’s target was to break 5 hours and, despite feeling really poorly in the latter part of the race, she smashed her goal to cross the line with Terry in a fantastic 4:46:28 (14080th and 14081st).

Flying Monk 10M MT, 15th March Colin entered this challenging two-lap race at Charlton Park private estate in the Cotswolds. The route includes wooded trails, open vistas and plenty of mud. Colin finished 50th in 1:31:21.

Reading Half, 22nd March Jonathan was our sole representative in this local Half. Despite having a cold, he finished 1382nd in a respectable 1:33:57.

HH Apr 2015

4

Great Horwood 5K, 22nd March Simon Having run this last year, and with Egypt still out of bounds to us, I thought I’d put in another appearance at this great little event. Sadly my running buddy Matt, with whom I planned to run this this year, has recently taken it upon himself to attempt to reduce the net UK immigration figures single-handedly and moved himself, his wife and his children (and two cats, but I don’t think they’re counted in the figures…) to San Francisco, where he’s got a new job. I’m not sure just how much of a dent that’ll make in the figures, but six out is better than six in…

I won’t bore you all by repeating last year’s report on this race (HH 254) – suffice to say it’s an extremely wellorganised and very family-friendly event, run by Great Horwood School PTA. It’s advertised as a fun run and this is evident by the large number of local families (with children as young as four) who turn up to take part.

The route was the same as last year – an undulating out-and-back course on a traffic-free lane – though I have to admit I got caught out by the final uphill section (again). I think I started off a bit quick too – I know, I should know better by now but I got caught up in the excitement of it all :) – but I still managed to knocked off a handful of seconds from last year’s time and finished with a time of 24:25 in 30th position.

First home of the 135 finishers, reprising his victory from last year, was Trevor Poole in a time of 18:34, whilst first lady (and 3rd overall) was Tanya Taylor in 20:12.

Given the times recorded – some very quick times indeed – the age category winners are worth a mention too: M16 category: 4th overall, 20:53, Matthew Rizzo-Naudi; M12 category: 6th overall, 21:25, George Landymore M9 category: 7th overall, 21:27, Sam Lister; F12 category: 8th overall, 21:29, Rhianne Rush F16 category: 17th overall, 22:22, Anna Radford; F9 category: 58th overall, 28:46, Amy Lee There’s no need to tell me. I know. I ran slower than the winner of every age category bar the under-9 girls. I suspect she let me win so I wouldn’t cry…

White Horse Half, 29th March Lucy The weather was not very inviting at the start and, as Martin and I huddled in Grove Rugby Club pavilion, we met Ryan who was wearing a huge “wheelie-bin” bag, down to the ground. The WHH course is flat and open, so although the start was fast, things soon got a bit harsh in the 50 mph winds. My mile splits ranged from 7:29 to 8:58 - I was putting a lot of effort in seemingly to no avail, but my 1:45:53 time was rewarded with the second FV45 prize (although I was behind the 1st V55 and V65 ladies!). Martin was within a few seconds of the V50 podium at 1:29:00, in 45th place overall and Ryan was 28th overall in 1:26:37. Jennifer McBain won the ladies’ race in 1:23:41, and James Bolton won the men's race in 1:14:32. There were 471 finishers – the last in 2:42:51.

Best Wishes to Philomena who is resting after an operation to remove a Morton’s neuroma from her foot.

Meena will not be able to run for 6 weeks, but reports that she has comfortably managed a short walk in her 'special shoe'.

HH Apr 2015

5

Handicap Race Sue The March Handicap Race saw nine competitors face the starter. The mild, dry, twilight conditions resulted in some good performances all round, with several runners setting personal best times and nearly all finishing ahead of handicap.

In his fourth attempt at the Handicap Race, Nitish knocked a further 30 seconds off his previous best to record an excellent finishing time with a winning margin of 20 seconds. In second place, George also set a well-deserved PB, as Richard D finished close behind to record a season’s best. In 4th place, Aaron shaved a few seconds off his PB, while Jonathan beat his best by 1 second. Lucy set a season’s best, while Colin equalled his February time, and Mo completed his first Handicap Race of 2015. Struggling with a calf muscle injury, I completed the route at a fast walk.

Well done Nitish, and thanks to Jan and Dick for timing. The next Handicap Race will be around our summer Relay Lap route (multi-terrain, 2.5K) on Thursday 16th April.

Finish Position 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Position on handicap 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Name

Start time

Nitish George Richard D Aaron Jonathan Lucy Colin Mo Sue

4:45 2:51 3:49 5:02 5:35 4:19 3:04 0:52 0:00

Finish time 17:06 17:26 17:29 17:39 17:49 17:53 17:56 21:04 22:03

Actual time 12:21 14:35 13:40 12:37 12:14 13:34 14:52 20:12 22:03

Handicap Beaten?

-0:53 -0:34 -0:31 -0:21 -0:11 -0:07 -0:04 +0:04 -

Handicap Championship 2015 After only three races, Nitish has a huge 13-point lead in the Championship. Meanwhile, Martin is holding 2nd place, with Colin 3rd and several others in close contention.

Pos.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

HH Apr 2015

Name

Nitish Martin Colin Aaron Sue Lucy Jonathan Richard D Dick George Pete O Mo

Race 1

Race 2

Race 3

10 12 6 8 7 9 5 -

12 9 8 10 7 4 3 5 6 -

12 5 8 3 6 7 9 10 4

Race 4 -

Race points Race Race 5 6 -

6

-

Race 7

Race 8

Race 9

-

-

-

Total of best 5 34 21 19 18 18 17 16 12 10 10 6 4

Website update… http://www.comptonharriers.org.uk Mo Hopefully everyone is getting familiarised with the new website layout ... there have been one or two links that have stopped working here and there, but I am rectifying this as I become aware of problems. Just one point: as I am regularly updating pages, in order to open the latest version, you may need to reload or refresh a page occasionally in order to clear the browser 'cache' of the stored pages. If this doesn't work, go to the browser 'History' and click 'Clear browsing data' which will then force the browser to reload the latest page versions.

Links of interest this month Well, after the success of the 2015 Downland Challenge, the link of this month just has to be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffUDocBUgMI&feature=youtu.be which was very kindly supplied by Darren Cassidy who managed to carry his video camera on an extended stick throughout the 20 mile Challenge ... a feat in itself! I only managed to take a few photos in the start/finish area this year, but if you would like to view the 'story', just follow this link http://goo.gl/djO2Kg .

A few Compton Harriers also visited West Berks Brewery towards the end of last month and I made a couple of brief video recordings of the visit. Links: https://youtu.be/4Md9SvzR67E and https://youtu.be/_VAb7Zbm284 My article for this month: Comments received from Challenge finishers. (Twitter, Facebook & email) Ultra Dreaming @UltraDreaming @Mister_KG: Compton Downland Challenge 20/40M - what a cracker of an event. Well done @ComptonHarriers  Karen Galpin@KarenGalpin Thanks @ComptonHarriers for a lovely 40 miler today. Tough but beautiful. Great support. Delighted with First Lady! pic.twitter.com/ydOggIWnPB  @CassieGledhill @ComptonHarriers The movie doesn't do justice to the incline of the hills.. Overall, a really enjoyable and organised run. 

Howard Clark: A massive thank you for organising the 20/40 Downland Challenge! It is much appreciated.

 Hi, thank you for putting on another fantastic event this year.

I regret hearing the race may not take place next year so I'm offering any help at all you may need - I live in London but I'm pretty okay with a pc and can certainly help out with admin or heavy lifting responsibilities where I don't need to be on site. To be honest I think this is a great event and the value and organisation overall is unbelievable so I'm happy to help keep it on the calendar if you need some assistance. Thanks again Jon (O'Leary)  Just wanted to say a BIG Thank You to everyone involved with the Challenge on Saturday.

Fantastic organisation and great marshals all the way round, made a punishing event enjoyable. Once again, thank you.

Maxine & Steve Lawson-Smith  I just wanted to thank you all for another fantastic day at the Compton Downland Challenge yesterday. It was my second time at the event (my first being in 2013 - my first ever ultra!) I remember it fondly and was very much looking forward to doing the race again. The set up is professional yet friendly with great pre/post race facilities. I love the variation of the course and find it very easy to navigate (I don't have a great internal sat nav!) Most importantly I would like to thank all the organisers, volunteers and anyone involved in making such a great event. We were greeted with smiles and encouragement at every checkpoint and I loved the carrots! I know this may be the last year this event happens, if it is I feel lucky to have taken part. I hope you all enjoyed the rest of the Easter weekend, please pass on my thanks to all involved. Kind regards, Cassie Escott  Just a short note of thanks to you and all the team at Compton for a really well organised and memorable run yesterday. Janet and I were both doing the run for the first time and enjoyed the day enormously. The marshalls were excellent, the food stops were absolutely vital and the after race food was just what was needed. Everyone was friendly and encouraging and made it a really enjoyable day. My best memory will be of running at the top of Goring hill with a postcard view on one side and a red kite hovering above the ground ten metres away on the other side - outstanding!!

Hope the day was successful for you and the Club All the best, Gary and Janet (Shaughnessy)  Had an absolute blast today and was very sorry to hear this may be the last event!

Thanks to everyone involved in the organisation & execution of the event. Kindest Regards, Celine (Wilcock)

HH Apr 2015

7

Events of Interest – see Website Training & Events Calendar for more details Sun, April 12: Sun, April 19: Sun, April 26: Sat, May 2: Sun, May 3: Mon, May 4: Wed, May 6: Sat, May 9: Sun, May 10:

Sun, May 17: Sun, May 24: Sat, June 6 Sun, June 7 Sun, June 14: Sat, June 20 Sun, June 21: Sun, June 28: Sun, July 5: Sun, July 12: Sun, July 19: Sun, July 26: Sun, Aug 9: Sat, Aug 29: Mon, Aug 31: Sun, Sept 6: Sat, Sept 12: Sun, Sept 13: Sat, Sept 19: Sun, Sep 20 Sat, Sept 26: Sun, Sept 27: Sun, Oct 4: Sun, Oct 18: Sat, Oct 24: Sat, Nov 7: Sun, Dec 6:

HH Apr 2015

Brighton Marathon & 10k Bungay Half Marathon Fuller's Thames Towpath 10 London Marathon 2015 Treehouse School 10k, Cholsey Hurstbourne 5 MT Race Three Forts Challenge Chalgrove Festival 10K Silverstone Grand Prix 10K Chieveley Chase ~ 5.7mile MT Deddington Four Farms Challenge 5k & 10k Marlborough Downs Challenge 2015 Blenheim 7k Berks AA T & F Champs Run The Rock 5k & 10k MT Chiltern Chase 2015 - 10/15km & 5km MT Wargrave Charity 10K Ridgeway Revenge ½ Mthn & 10K Cheltenham Challenge (MT) The Gibbet Challenge 10K Ridgeway Relay Grant & Stone Wycombe ½ Mthn & 10K; North Downs Way Marathon "Down Tow Up Flow" ½ Mthn Bearbrook 10K Road Race Thames Meander ½ & Full Mthn Harwell ½ Marathon Maidenhead Half Marathon Mountain Bike Ridgeway Challenge 45th Chiltern Marathon Hereford Festival of Sport Hereford Festival of Sport IOW Fell Race Series 2015 IOW Fell Race Series 2015 Reading O2O 10K Fairoaks 5mile & 10mile Beachy Head Marathon & 10k Thames Meander Half & Full Marathon Tadley Runners Xmas XC 5.2

Highworth 5 Danesfield Dash 10k MT Incurro Urban X 10k run Ridge Off Roader 10k & 6.5K

Fairoaks 5mile & 10mile Southampton ½ Mthn & 10k

Shinfield 10K & Junior Races

MK Mthn & ½ Mthn

Bracknell Half Marathon

Grant & Stone Marlow 5

Oxford Town and Gown 10K

Hairy Legs 12K

Royal Berkshire 10K & 3K Wallingford Thames Run 10k & 5k

Tewkesbury Half Marathon Royal Windsor ½ Mthn,10K & 6K Trail Runs

Ollie Johnson Kintbury 5 1st Downlands Dash 10k & 4k MT

Hungerford Harey 8 Tadley Runners Summer 10K New Forest 10

Fort William Marathon Salisbury 5-4-3-2-1 Trail Mthn

Rutherford Appleton 10k & 5k

Pangbourne 10K

Frieth Hilly 10K

Tadley Runners 10 Mile

8