THE HARRIERS HERALD No. 285, November 2016 Editor: Sue Francis
Contents, features, reports, results
Thursday night schedules for November and December Christmas meal – Update Compton Harriers AGM – preliminary information London Marathon Club Entry 2017 Goring & Streatley Fell Running Champs – an invitation from Giles Race results – Hanney 5: Lucy and Martin run together; RARE 5K and 10K: Trophies for Terry and Sue, and a season’s best for Colin; Oxford Half: Darren sets another PB; Abingdon Marathon: Giles goes sub-3, and four other Harriers go sub-4; Great South Run: Richard T completes 10-miler with his brother; Beachy Head Marathon & 10K: Six Harriers complete a very challenging course Handicap Race – A win for Colin gives him Championship lead Webmaster’s article – Mo features: New team photo on Harriers website; 85-year-old world-record breaker; how to improve endurance, speed and cadence; forthcoming races of interest Thanks to Darren, Giles, Philomena, Ryan and Mo for this month’s articles and photos
Thursday night schedule for November Thurs Thurs Thurs Thurs
3rd 10th 17th 24th
Martin to lead Colin to lead Handicap Race Richard D to lead
Thursday night schedule for December Thurs Thurs Thurs Thurs Thurs
1st 8th 15th 22nd 29th
Jonathan to lead Handicap Race followed by AGM Aaron to lead Sue to lead Christmas / New Year break - No leader scheduled
Compton Harriers Christmas Meal 2016 Thanks to Darren for taking on the organisation, our Christmas meal will be at The Fox (Peasemore) on Friday 16th December (arrive 19:00, to eat at 19:30). The menu looks very nice, with a good choice, and it is £23 for two courses and £26 for three courses. Currently, Darren has a total of about 20 Harriers and partners singed up to come. If you are not yet on his list, and you’d like to come along, please let Darren know ASAP, and give him your deposit (£10 per person). Nearer the time, Darren will ask for your menu choices.
Compton Harriers AGM 2016 The AGM is scheduled for the evening of Thursday 8th December at 20:00 (after the Club run) – venue to be confirmed. All members are encouraged to attend. Further details and an agenda will be circulated nearer the time.
London Marathon Club Entry 2017 Each year every England Athletics-affiliated running club can apply for a / some 'guaranteed' entries to the London Marathon, the number of entries being dependent on the number of first claim club members. I have applied on behalf of the Club for 2016, and it has been confirmed that we are entitled to one Club Entry (as usual). Although a guaranteed entry, it is not free - the recipient still must pay the race entry fee. As in previous years, we will have a draw to decide who receives this guaranteed place in the Marathon. Those eligible to be in the draw are any first claim members of Compton Harriers who had posted an entry for the 2017 Marathon but had that entry rejected. If this applies to you, and you would like your name to go in to the draw, please let me know by Monday 14th November. So far, I have Jeremy, and Terry (London Marathon’s most rejected Compton Harrier!). HH November 2016
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Goring and Streatley Fell Running Champs, 27th December, 11:00am Giles Please come and join us for the third running of the Goring and Streatley Fell Running Championship at 11am on Tuesday 27th December. For those who haven't done it before, the 5.4-mile course includes 1,000 feet of up, the same amount of down, starts at the bottom of Lardon Chase and finishes in The Bull. All are welcome no matter what age (last year the youngest competitors were 8, I think), what specie (there were plenty of dogs) or what degree of preparedness. Registration will open 40 minutes before the start (10:20am) in The Bull car park (RG8 9JJ) and close just before we start at the bottom of Lardon Chase. There is no charge for entry, no refreshments (except a few jelly babies and what you buy yourself in The Bull afterwards), and I will accept no responsibility for your safety. Details of the course are at: http://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/637769486#.VHDRCKYNI28.email
Race Reports and Results Hanney 5, 2nd October Lucy and Martin completed the Hanney 5 together in 39:20 (110th and 111th out of 192 finishers). The race winner was James Bolton (Woodstock Harriers) in 26:48.
RARE 5K and 10K, Harwell, 9th October Sue Three Harriers took part in the RARE (Rutherford Appleton Running Event) on a nice autumn morning. The race took place on flat roads around the Harwell Science Campus. Some of these roads are usually out of bounds to the public, but security gates were opened and the course included a lap around the outside of the Diamond synchrotron. Terry and I opted for the 5K (1 lap) race, while Colin did the 10K (2 laps). After a battle with two young teenage twins I finished as 1st lady (6th overall) in 20:49. Terry was 1st MV40 (11th overall) in 21:39, but twisted his ankle badly when he tripped on a kerb on a tight turn into the finish straight. Colin ran his fastest 10K of the year to finish 34th in 50:51. The 5K winner was Paul Hughes (Abingdon AC, 17:44) and the 10K winner Tristan Clarke (Headington, 36:04). More of Mo’s photos at can be viewed at: http://www.comptonharriers.org.uk/WebPlus/Photo.html
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Oxford Half Marathon, 9th October Darren So here we go, my second ever half marathon one week after the first. Seemed beforehand to be a well organised affair with endless updates on this and that. My pack came through the post, with my race bib, all the info one could require, even included safety pins. One very good idea I thought was to have specially put on park and ride buses from 4 out of 5 Oxford sites. You had to book online, the cost being £6, which included all day parking, and took you somewhere near to the ‘village’. So, having left home at 7am having received endless warnings about congestion and the need to arrive early, I had no issues at all, and was knocking back a coffee at the assembled race village in the hope the sun would soon rise and warm me up a bit. Changing facilities were provided and for once was not just a tent, someone had the foresight to think that chairs and benches within would be a good idea, which it was. ‘Vitality’ had provided a bag in which to place your clothes and items in the pack, which could then be left in the ‘secure’ baggage area on site. Not having any trust in ‘secure baggage areas’, I took only my debit card and £20 cash. However, on this occasion I was wrong, a marquee divided into numbers and two members of staff on each meant you would be happy to leave your valuables there, very well organised, I shall not worry if I do this race again. So, to the race itself, the start was in Broad Street a shortish walk from the village. We had previously been registered into ‘pens’ A – I, based on what predicted time we put on our application. I was in D having put down 1:45. Not having done a half marathon at the time I guessed what I thought. Having done a 1:39 the previous week I thought I might be a little out of place, so found my way nearly to the front of pen D. This didn’t help once the slightly delayed start was underway - it was everyone for themselves as we were engulfed and baulked by other runners, indeed some poor soul ended up in the barrier, promise I didn’t touch him. Once though this melee there were a few other tight areas, but for the most part our trip around Oxford was very good. Running on all closed roads was a real joy. There were loads of water stops, together with jelly babies thrown at you in little cups, not to mention at least two locations handing out sports drinks. Lots of bands scattered around the course, everything from classical, to Jamaican drums. Personally, before the start I had a blister and a bruised toe from the previous weekend, so the plasters were applied before leaving home, and I was having no trouble until around midway I got cramp in the same foot. This had me worried at one point, but I found that the opposite camber on the road helped no end. Anyway, with cheering crowds all the way around and about 9000 starters what’s not to like, fantastic event - do it. So, I finished in a time of 1:36:38 - PB over Blenheim. This put me 93rd out of 586 in the M40 category, 725th male out of 4271, and 804th overall out of 7688 finishers. Plenty of charity runners but some real quality club runners from clubs across the country. Once completed, a pint or two in ‘The Rusty Bicycle’ was required; medicinal purposes.
Fellow Harrier Mags Topham, who now lives in Gloucestershire but remains a club member, finished in 2:38:43. HH November 2016
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Abingdon Marathon, 23rd October Sue After a cool and foggy start, conditions were good for the Abingdon Marathon. Compton Harriers five representatives all ran very well and did the club proud. Terry was still troubled by his swollen ankle, and Ryan was making a gradual return to fitness having fractured his elbow in a cycling accident. They set off with Philomena and Susanne, and all four ran together until about mile 16, when Ryan and Terry gradually drew away from the ladies. However, Susanne picked up the pace in the last six miles, and she and Ryan came in together (3:40:32, 377th) followed by Terry (3:47:05, 428th) and then Philomena (3:50:06, 448th). Meanwhile, Giles had a great race to break the 3-hour mark for the first time (2:59:09, 73rd). Giles said afterwards: “I didn't have great hopes for the event because my training had tailed off in recent weeks, but I went for 3 hours, as I always do, and for the first time ever I went under. I was in quite a state at the end but very satisfied.” The race winners were Paul Fernandez (Abingdon AC, 2:30:35), and Katherine Matthews (Chepstow Harriers, 2:58:59).
Great South Run, 23rd October Richard T ran this event at a relaxed pace, to accompany his brother. Richard finished in 1:28:35.
Beachy Head Marathon & 10K, 29th October Six Harriers did very well to complete this very challenging course over the Seven Sisters in Sussex. In the Marathon, Susanne was first Harrier home (250th in 4:15), followed by Martin (301st, 4:22), Ryan and Philomena together (428th, 4:36) and Lucy (553rd, 4:51). There were 1711 finishers, with the last person taking 9½ hours. The race winners were Sam Humphrey (Victoria Park Harriers, 2:50) and Sarah Swan (London Heathside, 3:30). Jonathan did the 10K, finishing in 47:35, 30th out of 438 finishers. The 10K was won by Darryl Hards (Brighton Phoenix) in 35:50.
(Photos by Gerry Morris) HH November 2016
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Handicap Race Sue October saw eight Harriers return to the Village Lap route for the 7th Handicap Race in the 2016 series, and our first ‘dark’ Handicap since March. It was a nice evening for running and, now that the roadworks have been completed in Compton High Street, we had a new tarmac path to run on and keep us off the road between the Institute and The Swan. Susanne, Aaron, Jonathan and I all accidentally set off 1 minute too early, so we caught some of the other runners sooner than usual, and this made Colin and George run hard, and pushed them to good times! Once I’d done the more-complicated-than-usual calculations, it became clear that Colin had beaten his handicap by the greatest amount, and was the winner of the trophy, ahead of George and Lucy. I set the evening’s fastest time, while Jonathan and Aaron also broke 13 minutes. Well done Colin, and thanks to Jan and Dick for timekeeping. The next race is scheduled for 17th November, around the same route. Finish Position 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Position on handicap 4 5 1 6 2 3 8 7
Name
Start time
Sue Aaron Colin Jonathan George Lucy Susanne Mo
4:45 4:24 2:22 4:30 4:20 3:19 4:23 0:35
Finish time
Actual time
17:09 17:11 17:14 17:16 17:41 17:45 18:09 21:18
12:24 12:47 14:52 12:46 13:21 14:26 13:46 20:43
Handicap Beaten? +0:04 +0:11 -0:46 +0:16 -0:19 -0:15 +1:09 +0:18
Handicap Championship 2016 By securing his second win of the year, Colin has moved into top spot, while Aaron has moved up to 2nd place, knocking Sue into 3rd. George, the 2015 Champion, also has a good score having run only four of the seven races so far. Pos.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8= 8= 10 11 12 13 14 15 16= 16=
Name
Colin Aaron Sue Mo George Richard D John Jonathan Lucy Philomena Martin Terry Helen Susanne Richard T Kirsty Ben
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Race 1 12 8 10 9 7 5 6 -
Race 2 8 12 10 8 9 6 5 -
Race 3 10 12 8 10 6 7 5 -
Race 4 7 10 8 12 6 9 -
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Race points Race Race 5 6 (6) (5) 9 8 (8) 5 (4) 10 12 10 7 4 6 7 9 1 2 1 12 3 3 1 2 1 1
Race 7 12 7 (8) (5) 10 6 9 1 4 -
Race 8 -
Race 9 -
Total of best 5 49 48 46 40 38 29 25 24 24 22 15 13 6 5 2 1 1
Website update… http://www.comptonharriers.org.uk Mo Harriers who were present on a certain club night in September may remember stopping for 'George's photo shoot' on the Ridgeway between Lowbury Hill and Churn Bridge. I have now merged photos from that evening to produce a new website intro page which will save me time in the long run when updating the site each month (see photo at end of this Harriers Herald). It will also be useful for adding instant links such as entry to the Downland Challenge and any other important announcements. Links of interest this month: My link of the month for November features an 85-year-old marathon runner who set a world record in the Toronto Waterfront Marathon and it was under 4 hours! WTF ... that was my target in my first attempt at the London Marathon when I was only just over half his age ... and I missed it by 6 minutes! The link is https://twitter.com/runcrs/status/787740826759725061 Improving endurance and speed Following last month's article which was aimed at the slightly older runner, this month's article is about improving performance whatever the age, although it may be a little more testing for our more senior runners! If you are seeking to improve your endurance and speed, it can be difficult to find a starting point as there are so many articles and opinions readily available in the world of running. Of course, the most effective advice is to train harder and run more miles! Success in running generally does come down to hard work, sacrifice and consistency, but improvements can be made through areas such as diet, hydration, stretching and injury prevention. However, if you have the time to sift through the wealth of information available at your fingertips it is possible to pick out a few techniques that could help in the quest to boost performance. With this in mind, I have scanned through a variety of online experts' tips and recommendations to come up with the following suggestions that will hopefully assist you in achieving your goals. Exercise Session/Pre-Race Warm-up For peak performance, it is essential to carry out a muscular/cardiovascular warm-up to reduce the possibility of muscle injury and aerobic shock resulting from a sudden jump in heart rate. A controlled warm-up will ensure a good flow of blood to the muscles, thus reducing injury risk and will also allow a gradual increase in heart rate, so avoiding aerobic shock which will slow you down until the body recovers. A structured warm up will therefore allow you to exert more effort from the start of your session and boost overall performance. Sample Warm-Up Routines For Different Distances ◦ 5K: 20min light jogging; 10min stretching; 10min dynamic drills (high knees, kicks, skipping); 6-8 x 10metre strides ◦ 10K: 20mins light jogging; 10mins stretching; 10mins dynamic drills; 5-7 x 100m strides ◦ ½ Mthn: 15min light jogging; 10min stretching; 5min light dynamic drills; 3-4 x 100m strides ◦ Marathon: 10min jogging; 10min stretching; 5min light dynamic drills; 2-3 x 100m strides. The first mile of marathon completes the warm-up. Maintain Optimal Body Weight Reducing excess bodyweight can help to a point, but every runner will have an optimal racing weight at which they perform best. Losing a few pounds could make you faster, but losing too much weight may make you slower and could also lead to other health issues. In other words, if your goal is maximum performance, you need to stay focused on performance. Eat and train to get faster and trust that your weight will take care of itself. Do not eat and train to lose weight with the hope that your performance will improve as your weight comes down! Plyometric Exercises (Jump Training) The main objective of plyometric training for runners is to produce greater power by training the leg muscles to contract more quickly and forcefully from an actively prestretched position. In other words, Plyometric exercises are for developing speed and endurance through your leg muscles, thus improving overall performance. ◦ Switch Lunge: Begin in lunge position, one foot out in front and the other behind your body. Both knees should be bent at 90-degree angles. Make sure your front knee is directly over your front ankle and not pushed forward over your toes. Jump
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upwards from the lunge position, switching legs in the air and landing in lunge position on the opposite side. Do 20-30 reps, 10-15 on each side. ◦
Single-leg Hops: Begin by hopping in place on one foot 15 times. Then hop side to side on that foot 15 times. Follow that by jumping forwards and backwards 15 times. Then repeat on the other foot.
Leg Bounds: Bound in the forward direction, exaggerating your running form and jumping with each step for about 30 meters. Turn around and go back. Repeat 2-3 times. ◦ Bench Taps: Begin by standing in front of the bench with both feet on the ground. Rapidly alternate, tapping the top of the bench with each foot, springing off the ground with each step. Move your arms in the running motion as your feet tap. Do 20-40 taps. ◦
◦
Box jump: Choose a box that is 1-2 feet high. Standing on the ground, squat downward and leap onto the box. swinging your arms forward for momentum. Jump backwards off the box, being careful to bend your knees and land softly. If you have Achilles issues, step off the box. Do 10 reps.
◦
Rocket jumps: Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and bend down into squat position. Touch the ground with your hands and explode upward with your arms stretched over your head. When you land, make sure your knees are bent as you go right back into the squat. Do 10- 15 reps.
Increase your Running Cadence: Cadence is the number of times your feet strike the ground in a given time period, usually measured per minute. Your height, weight, leg and stride length and running ability will determine your optimal cadence. To determine your cadence, count the number of times your feet strike the ground in a minute. The easiest way is to choose one foot and count how many times it strikes the ground in a minute and then double the figure. This will be your training cadence in steps per minute. Running researchers tend to agree that there is a 'sweet spot' of about 160-170 steps per minute for everyday runners at race speed, and 180 steps per minute or higher for most elite runners, with some achieving over 200. A higher cadence leads to more efficiency and reduces the chance of over striding. So, how do you increase your running cadence to boost your performance? You could use a metronome or some sort of electronic sounder or if you like running to music, make a play list of songs with a beat rate around your target figure. I found a website that will help you in compiling a suitable play list according to the beat rate of your choice. I tried 180bpm in the search box to find songs from which I could compile a play list to suit an elite runner https://jog.fm/workout-songs/at/180/bpm . I could then choose music to suit my own personal taste: Songs such as: Led Zeppelin - Rock and Roll (181 bpm) The Hit Crew - Johnny B. Good (178 bpm) Pretenders - Middle of the Road (178 bpm) UB40 - Red Red Wine (178 bpm) Bill Haley & The Comets - Rock Around the Clock (179 bpm) Dire Straits - Twisting By the Pool (182 bpm) George Thorogood & The Destroyers - Howlin' for My Baby (180 bpm) Aswad - Shine (Beatmasters 7" Mix) (180 bpm) Herman's Hermits - I'm Henry the Eighth (180 bpm) HH November 2016
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Yes, I know some of it is a bit dated, but it's the 'beat rate' that is the important factor in the training. Quite apart from that, I don't seem to remember the artists and song titles these days ... although I do recognise the music!
Events of Interest – see Website Training & Events Calendar for more details: Sat, 05 Nov: Sun, 06 Nov: & 7M Sat, 12 Nov: Sun, 13 Nov: Sat, 19 Nov: Sun, 20 Nov: Sun, 27 Nov: Sun, 04 Dec: Sun, 11 Dec: Sun, 18 Dec: Sat, 07Jan17: Sun, 08 Jan: Sun, 19 Mar: Sat, 08 Apr: Sun, 23 Apr:
10:00 Muddy Mo 10Mile & 10k OXON XC Round 1 - Newbury • 9:30 Meon Valley Mthn & ½ Mthn • Marlow Striders ½Mthn 9:30 Tough-10-Chilterns (10k) 10:00 Grand-union-canal ½ Mthn 9:00 Windsor & Eton ½ Mthn BBO XC Champs - Reading • 10:00 Chilly 10k • Rugged Radnage 10k • 11:00 Swindon 10k 11:30 Herbert's Hole Challenge 10k 10:30 Avebury 8 (miles) • Eynsham 10k OXON XC Round 2 • 10:00 Mapledurham Ten (10k & 10miles) 10:30 Andy Reading 10km • 11:00 Tadley 5.2M X-country 10:00 Hooky Christmas Canter ~7miles Berks County XC Champs • 10:30 Gibbet Hangover 10 & 5 miles 10:30 Woodcote 10k • OXON XC Round 3 Reading Half Marathon 2017 10:00 Compton 20 mile Challenge Virgin Money London Marathon 2017
... remember, if you want to search for more events, just follow our page link for other sources: http://www.comptonharriers.org.uk/linkindex.htm#Event Finder:
(Photo by George Wilkins)
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