THE HARRIERS HERALD No. 287, January 2017 Editor: Sue Francis
Contents, features, reports, results
Thursday night schedules for January and February Compton Harriers Committee 2017 Membership renewal 2017 Gemstone found in Compton Harrier’s knee Christmas meal – an enjoyable end to Compton Harriers’ year Handicap Race – Kirsty sets PB to win December’s race, and Championship winner is announced Race results – Oxford Mail x-country: Another good course for Race 2; Mapledurham 10: A close race for three Harriers; Andy Reading 10K: Good race for Lucy, but Martin sustains an injury; Aylesbury race reports: Simon takes on his first Park Run, and a Boxing day 5K with his sister-in-law; Goring & Streatley Fell Race: Harriers do well in a challenging but fun and friendly event Webmaster’s article – Mo features: Online entry for CDC; how to treat a swelling injury; and forthcoming races and links to other race calendars Thanks to Mo and Simon for this month’s articles, and Mo, Dick and Darren for photos
Thursday night schedule for January Thurs Thurs Thurs Thurs
5th 12th 19th 26th
Susanne to lead Lucy to lead Handicap Race Darren to lead
Thursday night schedule for February Thurs Thurs Thurs Thurs
2nd 9th 16th 23rd
Mo to lead Pete O to lead Handicap Race Philomena to lead
Compton Harriers Committee 2017 Following last month’s AGM, our Committee for 2017 will be: Chairman - Martin Fray; Secretary - Sue Francis; Membership Secretary - Jonathan Phillips; Treasurer of Club account - Pete Humphreys; Treasurer of race account - Mo Francis; General Committee Members - Terry Bartholomew, Aaron Doy, Lucy Gettins.
Membership renewal 2017 Jonathan (our Membership Secretary) will soon be sending out Compton Harriers membership renewal / application forms. The Club membership fee remains at £10, but those who wish to register for a competition license with England Athletics will need to pay an additional £14. Please aim to pay your fees in a timely manner!
Gemstone found in Compton Harrier’s knee On 23rd December, Dick underwent surgery to remove a stray fragment from his knee. The ‘little gem’ (pictured) had been causing him a lot of pain when it lodged in certain positions in the knee joint. Dick hopes to be able to start running again early in the new year. We wish him a quick recovery, and look forward to seeing him back in action.
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Compton Harriers Christmas Meal Sue Darren did a great job of organising this year’s Christmas meal, and The Fox at Peasemore proved a very good choice of venue. Dense fog was hanging over West Berkshire’s roads, so it was quite a slow journey to drive the dark, narrow and winding lanes between East Ilsley and Peasemore. Darren decided to walk the 4 miles there from East Ilsley, to help him sober up from his work ‘do’ the day before! A total of 23 Harriers and partners attended, although Ricky and Charlotte were rather late, as they got lost in the fog. There was a nice festive atmosphere in the pub, the food was plentiful and really nice, and the service friendly. The only minor disappointment was the truffles and mince pies, which were miniscule and did not get as far as everyone who’d ordered them! After the main course, I made the presentation of the annual Handicap trophy to the winner – Colin (see next page for full report on Handicap Championship). Jan K received a present on behalf of all Compton Harriers, to thank her for her support and commitment to the Club, and we all sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to Richard D. Dick’s cryptic Christmas quiz kept everyone quiet for some time, but there was a clear winner – Jan Price, who scored an amazing 24 out of 25 points. We ended the evening with a synchronised ‘blow-off’ of party poppers.
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Race Reports and Results Handicap Race, December Sue The final Handicap Race of 2016 saw twelve runners taking part, including five of the six Championship contenders, and Pete O and Andy B both making a return to the Handicap after a long break. We started and finished to the gentle chugging sound of ‘Mister Lister’, Dick’s steam engine which was running in his front garden. Kirsty further lowered her PB to retain the monthly trophy, while Colin was just four seconds behind, closely followed by Susanne in 3rd. Ben set the evening’s fastest time, frustratingly close to the sub12 mark. Well done Kirsty, and thanks to Jan and Dick for timekeeping. Finish Position 1 2 3 3 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Position on handicap 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 10 New Runner New Runner 9
Name
Start time
Kirsty Colin Susanne Lucy Ben Aaron Richard D Sue Jonathan Pete O Andy Mo
4:51 3:35 5:57 4:35 6:53 6:16 4:30 6:28 6:10 5:37 5:41 0:23
Finish time
Actual time
18:27 18:31 18:36 18:47 18:54 18:57 19:05 19:07 19:28 19:32 20:18 21:14
13:36 14:56 12:39 14:12 12:01 12:41 14:35 12:39 13:18 13:55 14:37 20:51
Handicap Beaten? -0:33 -0:29 -0:24 -0:13 -0:06 -0:03 +0:05 +0:07 +0:28 New Runner New Runner +0:14
Handicap Championship 2016 – final scores Thanks and well done to everyone who took part in the 2016 Handicap Race series, which consisted of six races around the winter Village Lap, two races around the summer Relay Lap, and one race around a ‘hybrid lap’ when the High Street roadworks were in place. Twenty-two runners completed at least one of the nine races, but only Mo and I completed every race. There was a record turn-out of 15 people for November’s race. Many thanks to Jan who was there to time-keep for every race, whatever the weather, and to Dick who was there to assist her with the race finishes. For the Championship, a person’s best five scores count towards their final total. Colin, Aaron and Kirsty each secured two wins, and there were also wins for George, Richard D and Terry. Colin, Aaron, Sue and Mo all scored well in the first three races and remained at the top of the table throughout the year. Meanwhile, George and Richard D scored well later in the year and gradually moved up the ranks. By finishing 2nd in the final race, Colin secured victory in the Championship with 52 points (the same score he achieved when previously winning the Championship in 2011). Aaron was 2nd, ahead of Sue, while Mo, George and Richard D also did well to score over 40 points. The presentations were made at the Christmas meal. Thanks to Nick Bull for engraving of the trophy and medal. (See next page for full results). The 2017 Handicap Championship will use the same format and scoring system. The first race of 2017 is scheduled for Thursday 19th January, and will be around the Village Lap route.
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Handicap Championship 2016 – final scores Pos.
1 2 3 4= 4= 6 7= 7= 9 10= 10= 12 13 14 15 16 17 18= 18= 18= 18= 18=
Name
Colin Aaron Sue Mo George Richard D Lucy Philomena Jonathan John Kirsty Susanne Martin Terry Ben Helen Richard T Ryan Mike Darren Pete O Andy
Race 1 12 8 10 9 7 5 6 -
Race 2 8 12 10 8 6 9 5 -
Race 3 10 12 8 10 6 5 7 -
Race 4 (7) 10 8 12 9 6 -
Race points Race Race 5 6 (6) (5) 9 8 (8) (5) (4) 10 12 10 (4) 6 7 9 7 1 1 1 2 1 12 1 3 3 2 -
Race 7 12 7 (8) (5) 10 9 6 4 1 -
Race 8 (3) (2) 8 5 8 10 6 1 12 9 1 4 1 1 1 -
Race 9 10 (6) (4) (3) 5 8 2 12 9 7 1 1
Total of best 5 52 48 46 43 43 42 38 28 27 25 25 23 16 13 12 6 2 1 1 1 1 1
Oxford Mail x-country Race 2 – Bo Peep Caravan Park, Adderbury, 4th December Sue The second Oxford Mail x-c race was held at another new venue – Bo-Peep caravan park in Adderbury, near Banbury. Again, this was a good venue, with plenty of parking space, toilets that were way-too-posh for runners, and a good course which was relatively flat but with some unexpectedly tough slopes. The course was interesting and scenic, with lots of twists and turns, grassy hedge-lined lanes, a path alongside a stream, but two ploughed fields which were just starting to thaw out and getting very sticky. The men’s race was won by Steven Naylor (Woodstock) in 27:26. The first Team Kennet finisher was Christopher Hall in 60th place. Ben continued his good form to finish 115th (36:08), with Jonathan 175th (39:22) and Colin 236th (44:57). Unfortunately, there was no complete team on this occasion. The ladies race was once again won by Sophie Crumly (Newbury AC, 25:15). The first Team Kennet finisher was Helen Preedy (26th, 29:36). I started well, but really flagged on the second lap, and finished 33rd in 30:47. Like the men, we had no team this time.
Mapledurham Ten, 4th December Ryan finished 15th in 1:08:23, closely followed by his cousin Mike (1:12:25, 34th), and Susanne (1:15:03, 49th). The winning man and lady were both from Reading Roadrunners: Robert Cortney (58:11) and Nikki Gray (1:09:47).
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Andy Reading 10K, 11th December Lucy had another good run to finish 151st in 48:33, but things didn’t go so well for Martin. His calf muscle began to twinge early in the race and then pulled badly, so he was forced to slow right down and did well to finish (52:55, 216th). The race winners were Ian Kimpton (Luton, 30:29), and Helen Mulhall (Bearbrook, 39:25) and there were 363 finishers.
Aylesbury Christmas 2016 Race Reports Simon Joanna’s sister Emma came up to stay with us this Christmas and, being a runner herself (she’s a member of Reading Roadrunners), I thought I’d take the opportunity to show her the major tourist attractions in the area. For those of you who don’t know Aylesbury these are best seen from a distance (Australia or New Zealand are recommended) and only once, as quickly as possible… As a regular Parkrunner (she’d done 168 of them) Emma quite fancied ticking off another one and I, having signed up a month or so ago, had a current total of somewhere around zero. So, on Christmas Eve morning we jogged the mile-and-a-bit to the start area. Most Parkruns, apparently, start pretty much where the runners meet. Not so Aylesbury: there’s a 500m walk to the start post, and I couldn’t help thinking that with a little bit of extra thought the route – a 1.3K out leg, two small laps near the A413 and a 1K leg back – could start a lot closer to the finish, but it was ok I guess. Anyway, Emma did her usual ‘shuffle’ and I walked, though I had to wait for her at the end so we completed it together. We recorded 35:06 for the 5K and finished in 163rd and 164th respectively out of 182 runners. So it was that I experienced my first Parkrun, and now I have a time to beat… The high point of Emma’s stay came after the excesses of Christmas Day when we took part in the Aylesbury Boxing Day 5K – an event I last did in 2011. Being just over a mile away, we jogged up to the start in the town centre and registered on the day. Turn-out was pretty good – there were 230 finishers, including runners from Bicester, Chiltern Harriers, Tring, Leighton Buzzard, Peckham, Ealing, Bristol, Leeds and Chester. Some of them were either on holiday or they drove a hell of a long way just for a 5K. The route – unchanged since I last did it – consists of a small lap of Market Square followed by two laps around the outskirts of Aylesbury Town Centre. It’s not particularly inspiring and not particularly pretty but it does the job. Emma, unfortunately, didn’t enjoy it at all – not even the part that passed the chosen location for a singing David Bowie statue (I kid you not) – and walked a fair amount. Having done the first kilometre together I pulled away and finished in 28:46 (183rd out of 230) whilst Emma finished with a time of 36:11 in 226th place. The winning time of 15:21 was set by Owain Jones from Bristol & West AC, with Fabian Downs from Chiltern Harriers second in 15:47 and Simon Coombes from Leighton Buzzard AC third in 16:27. First lady was Helen Eastham from BRAT in a time of 18:48, followed by Tracy Galbraith from On The Run in 20:32 and Alice Wright of Vale of Aylesbury AC in 20:51. Last back was MV60 runner Peter Jacobs in 39:30. There seemed to be a bit of confusion amongst the three people recording numbers, who at one point each had a different number of finishers on their sheets, but the official results were available by the evening of the 27th so I guess they tallied them somehow. All-in-all the event is pretty well organised (mind you, it’s been going for over 50 years so they should have ironed out any problems by now) and for an immediatelyafter-Christmas event it’s well attended. I’ll probably do it again sometime, but only because it’s local. On returning home Emma and I heard the news that George Michael had died. My first thought was: I wonder if Goring will follow Aylesbury’s example and erect a singing George Michael statue…
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Goring & Streatley Fell Race, 27th December Sue It was a chilly but lovely sunny morning for the 3rd running of the annual Goring and Streatley Fell race. This is a fun, friendly and informal event organised by Goring’s third-most-famous Compton Harrier, Giles, with help from Streatley’s Compton Harrier Jeremy, and a small group of marshals and helpers. About 55 people and 15 dogs registered in the car park of The Bull, before crossing the road to gather at the bottom of Lardon Chase. Following a group photo and a short wait for some latecomers, Giles climbed onto a tree stump and gave the race briefing. I particularly liked his plea that we should not get run over (“not even a little bit run over”) on the road crossing. Giles did his best to describe the route, but it had been thoroughly marked with tape and flour by Jeremy and Giles, so was easy to follow. With a blast from Giles’ whistle, we set off up Lardon Chase, the first of the five hills in this challenging 5.4mile course. It was a good idea to have a shorter route option of ~4 miles for the youngsters and the adults who couldn’t face five hills (though they still did three big hills), and nice that this shorter route omitted a loop, so that the field closed up again as faster runners lapped the slower runners on the loop. I was very impressed by the hill-running ability of some of the youngsters who are coached by Jeremy at Streatley Primary School’s running club. I was expecting them to fade rapidly – but most of them didn’t! At the front of the field, Compton Harrier Jim battled all the way with Neil Hart (a South African gentleman from Reading). In the end, only 2 seconds separated them, with Neil (who had youth on his side) just edging ahead in a sprint finish (38:26 to Jim’s 38:28). Teenager Harry Rose was 3rd in 47:07, while two boys aged only 10 and 11 also broke 48 minutes for the full route. After a steady start up the first hill, I sped up and settled into position, running with three men and two dogs. They were a bit better than me on the ‘ups’ and on the steep ‘downs’ but I made sure I caught them on the flatter sections. On the last hill, we caught another man whose yellow T-shirt had been in our sights for some time. I got away from two of my running buddies in the final mile (partly because one of them lost his dog!) and I outran the third running buddy on the nice long finish down The Coombe. I was 1st lady in 51:10. Giles, who had done little running in December because of a bad cold, completed the full route with his son. Jeremy ran with his daughter Nancy who, at the age of just seven, did incredibly well to complete the short route. Not to be outdone, her older sister Elsie did extremely well to do the full route with Jeremy’s wife. The last person finished in 1:43:10. After waiting a while in The Bull car park for the lady who had registered, but apparently not finished, someone found out that she had in fact ‘retired’ before the start! So, then we all trooped into The Bull for a well-earned drink. Thanks to Giles for putting on this great event. I would certainly encourage more Harriers to have a go in 2017.
Jim & rival lead the charge up Lardon Chase
Giles HH January 2017
pleased to top the final hill
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Sue reaches top of hill #2 (Golf Course)
Jeremy & Nancy going strong
Website update… http://www.comptonharriers.org.uk Mo A New Year ahead with plenty of new challenges, not forgetting our own 20 mile Downland Challenge in April ... we already have 21 entries at the time of writing (New Year's Eve ... yes I know, I should be out celebrating). Details on Sport Systems web site: https://www.sportsystems.co.uk/ss/event/Compton20mileDownlandChallenge20172/PreEntries
Links of interest this month: Looking for a different challenge? You may find it at http://www.rogueruns.com whose slogan is 'Our events are: by runners for runners'. (Unfortunately, it will be too late to enter the 'Glastonbury Tor Dash' on New Year's Eve!) How should you treat a swelling injury? Have you ever wondered how professional sportsmen and women seem to recover so quickly from their injuries? Well, apart from having a very good physio team behind them, the secret is to act immediately after injury and follow a particular treatment plan. Most running injuries tend to involve swelling, particularly knees and ankles, so I looked for an effective treatment plan to follow on the road to recovery and return to full fitness. The body's inflammatory response to injury shows through skin redness, heat, swelling and pain. Increased blood flow in the damaged area causes redness and heat, followed by swelling owing to the increase of fluid and white blood cells into the area of inflammation. The release of chemicals and compression of nerves then causes pain. As we all know only too well, this can stop us running until the pain eases and the swelling reduces in size. However, unless we take steps to effectively treat the injury, there is a danger of developing atrophy or wasting of the muscles in the surrounding area which can then lead to further injury. Therefore, an effective treatment plan is needed: ◦ ◦
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First of all, you need to guard against further damage, which may mean limiting movement by way of a sports protection bandage such as a knee sleeve or elastic ankle support. You also need to rest by keeping weight off the injured area and avoid moving in such a way that you add to the pain. However, some general movement can increase healing, but it needs to be fairly pain-free at this stage. When resting, if possible elevate the injury above heart level as this will encourage the swelling to return towards the body, where it is more easily dispersed. The application of an ice pack, for 20 minutes in every hour for the first 72 hours, will considerably reduce the swelling, but it's important not to exceed 20 minutes as it can reverse the effect and may increase the swelling. If using a chemical icepack, ensure it is not applied directly to the skin as it can cause frostbite! Do not use heat for the first 72 hours as this will increase the swelling. Compression with an elastic bandage or kinesiology tape will also minimise the swelling. Video instructions are readily available on youtube.com showing you how to wrap the body part to minimize swelling. Knee: https://youtu.be/nIm3n-vVXtw or Ankle: https://youtu.be/-j3BeHr3Fe4
Should the swelling last for more than 2-3 weeks, you should visit your doctor who will be able to recommend appropriate treatment or therapy. Swelling is the body's reaction to an injury, therefore if the swelling is still present, so is the injury! Until you are able to perform multiple repetitions of your normal running activities without increased swelling or pain in the injured area it is advisable to avoid an early return to competition.
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Events of Interest – see Website Training & Events Calendar for more details: January 2017 Events: http://southernrunningguide.com/races/01/2017 Sat, 07Jan: Berks County XC Champs • 10:30 Gibbet Hangover 10 & 5 miles Sun, 08 Jan: 10:30 Woodcote 10k • 11:00 Rough 'n' Tumble 10 Sat, 14 Jan: 08:30 Country to Capital 45 Sun, 22 Jan: 10:00 Oxford 10K • 12:30 Windsor 5k, 10k, 15k, 20k & ½ Mthn Sat, 28 Jan: SEAA XC Champs - Parliament Hill February 2017 Events: http://southernrunningguide.com/races/02/2017 Sat, 04 Feb: 08:30 Thames Trot 50 Sun, 05 Feb: Oxford Mail XC Round 4 - Harwell • 10:30 Gloucester Marathon & 50K • Lungbuster 9 ml off-road Sun, 12 Feb: 10:00 Wokingham ½ Mthn Sun, 19 Feb: 10:30 Bramley 20/10 Sun, 26 Feb: 09:00 Winchester 10K • 10:30 The Terminator • Bourton-on-the-Water 10k • 11:00 Goring 10K March 2017 Events: http://southernrunningguide.com/races/03/2017 Sun, 05 Mar: Oxford Mail XC Round 5 - Farmoor Sun, 12 Mar: 09:30 The Ridge Off Roader ½ Mthn & 10k • 11:00 Bath ½ Mthn • 12:00 Silverstone ½ Mthn Sun, 19 Mar: Reading Half Mthn April 2017 Events: http://southernrunningguide.com/races/04/2017 Sun, 02 Apr: 10:00 Treehouse 10K • 14:00 Combe Gibbet to Overton 16 Sat, 08 Apr: 10:00 Compton 20-mile Challenge Sun, 23 Apr: Virgin Money London Marathon 2017 Fri, 14 Apr: 09:30 Maidenhead Easter 10 Sun, 23 Apr: 08:30 North Dorset Village Marathon & Relay • 10:00 Danesfield Dash 10K May 2017 Events: http://southernrunningguide.com/races/05/2017 Sun, 21 May: 10:00 Wallingford Thames Run 5k & 10k ... remember, if you want to search for more events, especially those further afield, just follow our page link for other sources: http://www.comptonharriers.org.uk/linkindex.htm#Event Finder:
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