Sent: 24 July 2008 00:35
Subject: FW: VS Update - biggest ever edition!
Events
Club Handicap and lasagne
Tuesday 29 July – club handicap 5¼ miles from the
lodge by the reservoir, meet at 7pm prompt. There’s a map of the route on
the website http://valleystriders.org.uk/hcaptrl.jpg
but instructions will be given on the night.
Afterwards, at Leos there will be lasagne £3 (meat or
veg), and apple pie £1.50 optional. Please order by email by 10pm Sunday
evening (orders will be confirmed) or by text to 0777 5898 558 by 2pm Monday
afternoon (orders will not be confirmed). If you miss these deadlines
there is a chance there will be one or two spare on the night but you take your
chance!
Leeds
Country Way – 31 August
Here are the provisional teams and pairings
"Womens"
1. Tracey & Vicky
2. Xanthe & Hayley
3. Sue & Sharon
4. Laura & Elika
5. Carmel & Bernadette
6. Kates & Mary
Reserves: Anna Costello, Carole Schofield
"Mens"
1. Mick L & Mick W
2. Rob & Drew
3. Ian S & Graham
4. Panos & Steve W
5. Paul H & Eirik
6. Simon V & Gwil
Reserves: Alastair Kennis, Jon Uttley
"Vets"
1. Jonathan B & Patrick
2. Mick T & Paul S
3. Alan H & Tim T
4. John W & Geoff
5. Paul W & Bob J
6. Tony H & Jonathan C
Reserves: John Hallas, Alistair Fale
"X"
1. Dan M & Greg
2. Joel & Simon R
3. TBA
4. Richard A & Ian R
5. Lucy & Kay
6. Erica & Sarah C
Reserves: Jim Clay, Matt Allen, Nick Barnes
If you are on the list but unavailable, let me
know urgently. If you are not on the list but available, let me know
urgently. If you are going on holiday for the next 5 weeks and haven’t
time to recce, let me know urgently. If you don’t like the leg you’re on
or don’t like your partner, let me know urgently. Further details will be
emailed out next Tuesday.
Your calendar for the next 10 weeks
Sunday 27 July – Round Hill Fell (and Grand Prix
points). Also Harrogate 10k and Pudsey
10k
Tuesday 29 July – club handicap – see above
Tuesday 5 August – 3 by 10 mins training, possibly
pie’n’peas (we’ll decide next Tues)
Tuesday 12 August – track training at Leeds Met
Headingley
Sunday 31 August – Leeds Country Way – provisional teams
listed below – a few more reserves needed
Tuesday 2 September – pie and peas night at Leos, also
Special General Meeting to discuss new Club Constitution (details to follow)
Sunday 7 September – Leeds Half Marathon (GP points) –
as at last Thursday there were less than 1000 of the 3800 places left. 48
of the 2800 entries are Striders. Enter this week or risk missing it.
Tuesday 9 September – track training at Leeds Met
Headingley
Sunday 14 September – Yorkshireman marathon and half
(GP points). Also Cancer Research run at Harewood – 6 more marshals
needed. Also Wetherby 10k (not GP)
Tuesday 16 September – recce run of part of Harewood
Trail Race route. Meet Harewood Village Hall at 6:45 pm prompt.
Tuesday 23 September – Autumn Handicap
Sunday 28 September – Abbey Valley Challenge at
Horsforth 10k (and GP points). Ranges of numbers have been reserved for
Striders and Abbey. Can we retain the Challenge Trophy? Please
enter early!
Sunday 5 October – Harewood 10 Mile Trail Race
organised by Valley Striders. 50 more marshals needed. This is our
biggest fundraising event, last year we raised over £3000 for Lineham Farm
Children’s Centre. Please keep this date free.
Sunday 12 October – first race in West Yorkshire Cross
Country League. At Otley. Striders are helping Otley A C organise
the race. 20 Striders needed to help please (some of whom will be able to
run the race)
Performance Certificates
Striders have been competing in various road races
over the last 3 weeks including the Hyde Park 5k, Eccup 10, Burn Valley
half marathon, the Thorpe Edge Festival 10k, the City of Manchester
10k, the Jane Tomlinson
Canal run and the weekly Hyde Park 5k Time Trials on Saturday mornings.
All of these results have been updated on the performance
spreadsheet and a version of this, up to 13 July, is now on the website http://valleystriders.org.uk/vsperfs.htm
The Performance Certificates started in January 2007,
and during 2007 22 certificates were presented. Anyone running in 2007
but not getting 5 performances at the same grade was able to carry their
performances forward into 2008. During 2008, 35 more certificates
have already been presented or are due to be presented. In total, 46
different Striders have earned these (some Striders have had certificates in
2007 and 2008, NB they only get one frame!)
Check the website http://valleystriders.org.uk/vsperfs.htm
to see whether you have earned a certificate. If you have and you haven’t
been presented with it yet, come along to the lasagne night for the next set of
presentations.
Fell Championship – from GW
With the
fell championship at the half way mark only two runners have reached 7 races
and therefore have acquired most points so far. If Eirik keeps up the pace he
will become the first V.S international to achieve the great distinction of
getting his name on the fell championship trophy. He already has achieved a
first for V.S. by getting his picture on the front cover of The Fell Runner
magazine: eyeballs stuck out like chapel hat pegs running up Pen-y-Ghent in the
3 Peaks Race.
Commiserations
to Caz who was making the running in the championship (317 from 4 races) until
suffering a stress fracture. Let’s hope she recovers as fast as Paula Radders
to take part in the late season races.
Anthony
Fryer is another runner worthy of note because of his exploits in the Lake District long races. Most notably his run of 5¼ hrs
in the Wasdale 20 mile race involving 9,000’ of climb. However none of his
efforts in that part of the world will count towards the V.S. championship
because they are not included in the V.S.fell race list. Maybe next year a V.S.
team could venture forth into the lakes and do a long ‘A’ race.
Meanwhile
anyone wanting a taster of these races should enter the Sedbergh Hills Race (14
miles) on August 17 (enter on day). No doubt Anthony will be there to show how
it’s done and he will get points!! Cos it’s a V.S. race.
Fell
Championship Positions
7 races:
Eirik 505, GW 484
5 races:
John W 296
4 races:
Caz 317, Mick L
283, Richard K 225, Sara 96
3 races:
Simon V 242, Anthony
F 188, Jim T 139, Lyn 135, AC 127
2 races:
Rob B 178, Richard A
151, Ian S 127, Simon R 115, Paul H 114, Nick B 106, Joel G 90, Bob J 78, Eric
G 70, Sylvia 60, Sharon 56
1 race: Ingo 90, Dan H 80, David C 77,
Madeline 74, Paul S 73, Peter S 72, Eric C 71, Pam 70, Adela 69, Mick W 47,
Laura 45, Mark H 43, Howard J 43, Tony H 43, Alistair 37, Xanthe 35, Sue 29,
Steve D 27, Mick T 23, Bob W 19,.
Points
awarded according to race length and degree of difficulty: best 7 results to
count
Reports
Run Report – V S Anniversary Run
About 15 Striders (and one Abbey interloper) turned up
on a bright sunny Sunday morning to run the Meanwood Trail to Woodhouse Moor
and back, a total of 9 miles according to Xanthe’s GPS.
En route we visited 18 Lucas Place, the ancestral home of the
Striders, where, on 23 July 1982, 7 people got together and “proposed the
formation of Valley Striders with the object of participating as a team in
various forms of running”. Three of them – Stuart StJohn, Martyn Hopson
and Geoff Webster – are still members of the club.
Afterwards, 7 of us plus some friends and family went
on to Angel Share in Chapel Allerton for pizzas, pastas and liquid refreshment.
If you’d like to read more about the early days of the
club, a very informal account can be found at http://valleystriders.org.uk/vslife.htm
Race Report - Hyde Park 5k - from Carmel Barker
Good
turnout from Valley Striders last night, 14 of us charging around Hyde Park with Panos flying the flag once again. Some
good support and encouragement along the way, mainly for a young girl just
ahead of me who must have brought all her family/friends along.
Well after 15 years of racing I decided to get totally out of my comfort
zone and enter my first 5k race and I have to say I
absolutely hated every step of the way!! My legs were more 'jellyfied' in
the home straight than my 42k few months ago, give me the long ones anyday.
Tried to keep on Elika’s tail for first few km but reality/age set in when I
was finding it very hard to breathe and decided I just needed to get round
without been resuscitated at the finish! Managed to complete in 20.55
which I suppose isn't bad for an old bird (as I am constantly been reminded
of by a couple of my male running colleagues), I even forgot to pick up my
bottle of beer which is totally out of character for me!!
As I've entered the series I'm keeping positive and giving it another
bash, might even enjoy it by the 3rd? I've been assured all the pain and
suffering will get me a PB in Leeds Half. We were asked by the organisers
to encourage more to enter the next two as they were down on numbers from last
year.
Race Message – Hyde Park 5k - from
Carole Schofield
Here's some
pictures from the Hyde Park 5K, unfortunately
couldn't run tonight I've got plantar fasciitis in my foot but went to support
a child from school in the fun run. (We have started a running club at
school, we've only been training a couple of weeks!) so she did really
well. Mike Sherman emailed me the results for the race, he also sent the
5K results so I've attached them too.
Hope to be
back soon
(And I
hope to get Carole’s pics on the website soon)
Race Results
Race
Result – Hyde Park 5k Race 1
Congratulations to Elika – 1st W prize
4 Panos Aristotelous
0:16:41 100
7 Gwil
Thomas
0:17:39 99
10 Drew
Taylor
0:18:15 98
11 Jeremy Ladyman
0:18:36 97
14 Graham Needham
0:18:46 96
17 Eirik Stangnes
0:19:29 95
19 David
Bass
0:19:45 94
20 Elika
Tasker
0:19:59 93
22 John
Wallace
0:20:32 92
27 Carmel
Barker
0:20:55 91
28 Paul Sanderson
0:21:05 90
35 Mick
Tinker
0:22:02 89
36 Chloe Hudson
0:22:43 88
56 Anne Mccaffrey
0:29:05 87
Race Result – Eccup 10 mile
Congratulations to Elika – 6th W prize and
to our winning ladies team of Elika, Carmel
and Hayley
15 Gwil
Thomas
1:01:03 100
41 Howard Jeffrey
1:04:28 99
49 Jon
Uttley
1:05:43 99
52 Drew
Taylor
1:06:13 98
55 Eric
Green
1:06:24 97
57 Ian Sanderson
1:06:36 96
63 Dan
Murray
1:07:23 95
83 Elika
Tasker
1:08:57 94
84 Tim
Towler
1:08:58 93
98 Graham Needham
1:10:17 92
119 Simon Redshaw
1:11:43 91
125 Carmel
Barker
1:12:15 90
130 Greg Skerrett
1:12:46 89
143 John Wallace
1:14:02 88
145 Patrick Barrett
1:14:05 87
172 Gary Sutherland
1:15:50 86
177 Hayley Nancolas
1:16:09 85
185 Jonathan Brownbill
1:16:33 84
213 Xanthe Hannah
1:18:32 83
290 Sue Sunderland
1:22:41 82
312 Bob
Wilkes
1:24:27 81
330 Sharon Tansley
1:25:55 80
356 Lucy
Carey
1:27:29 79
384 Carole Towler
1:29:28 78
402 John Bucktrout
1:30:24 77
Grand Prix points have been entered on the website http://valleystriders.org.uk/vsclubch.htm
Race Result – Eccup 2 mile junior race
14 Eddy
Robinson 13:18
World Corporate Games
If you were driving around Leeds
2 weeks ago you’d have seen many yellow signs for locations for various events
in the World Corporate Games
One of the events was a 5k race, held at Leeds
Carnegie, in which Jane Halloran finished 1st W30-39 and 2nd W overall.
Race Result - Golden Acre
Relay
Congratulations to Dan, Elika and Greg, first mixed
team.
This was Elika’s fourth prize in her last 3 races – is
this a record?
6 “Striders from Mars” 51:22
Jeremy
Ladyman 17:00
Simon
Vallance 17:06
Graham
Needham 17:16
9 “Les Trois Vallees” 52:41
Andrew
Cutts
18:11
Paul
Hunter 17:37
Rob
Bumstead 16:53
16 “G.E.D.”
54:30
Dan
Murray 17:32
Elika
Tasker 18:29
Greg Skerrett
18:29
20 “Valley’s Finest”
56:52
Eric
Green 19:03
Simon
Redshaw 19:01
Joel
Giddings 18:48
37 “Towler Striders”
63:46
Dan
Towler 18:32
Jake
Towler 24:53
Tim Towler
20:21
Race Result – Washburn Valley
Relay
10 “Valley Striders”
68:00
Graham
Needham 20:07
Andrew
Cutts
27:02
Paul
Hunter 20:51
NB, before
you wonder why Andrew’s time was so much slower, he had a longer leg.
This race, unlike Golden Acre, has legs of different lengths.
More Race Reports!
Race Report – Wasdale Fell Race - from Anthony
Fryer
But first I must mention that we have a Strider on the front
cover of the Fellrunner magazine. Eirik is pictured going up Pen Y Ghent
I completed the Wasdale Fell race at the weekend. Probably one of the toughest
races in the fell running calendar, with 21 miles of running across the fells
with a massive 9000ft of ascent.
The race started from Wasdale head, a secluded spot in the shadow of Great
Gable and the Scafell Range next to Wast Water, Britain’s
biggest mountain next to Britain’s
deepest lake. The race had around 145 competitors line up for the challenge.
For those who know the lakes the route takes in Whin Rigg, Seatallen,
contouring round Scoat fell and Black Crag and onto Pillar, descending into
Black Sail Pass, contouring west round Kirkfell, up Great Gable, down to
Styhead Pass, up to Esk Hause, final ascent up over Broad Crag and onto Scafell
Pike, before the final killer 3000ft descent back down to Wasdale.
One of the slowest starts to a race I have ever experienced, everyone seemed
quite apprehensive and I ended up being in sight of the leaders for a good 45
minutes as I was around 30th at Whin Rigg. Settling into my running realising I
had at least 5 hours of hard running, I dropped my pace until I recognised a
few of the runners and ended up going round in a group that were positioned
around 35 to 40th. The route really had everything, some good running, some
really tough ascents, some absolute killer descent, great views right across to
the Dales one way and out to the Isle of Man the other way.
It was nice to settle into my stride and was ascending well. I knew where I
needed to go on the route and was finding a lot of good trods. I was feeling
good as I went round Kirkfell and up Great Gable but this is where my race fell
apart. My descending was slow and awkward as my ankle is still weak and
swollen from its time in a cast earlier in the year. I was being too
apprehensive and this was putting a lot of strain on my thighs as I was
constantly braking. By the time I got to the bottom of Gable my thighs were
shaking uncontrollably, I had lost the group in front and I had to sort myself
out as I was staggering and swaying like a drunk. Slowing down, refueling with
a handful of jelly babies, a gel and a load of spring water I set off again, up
and over Scafell Pike. The uphills were still
fine but downhills were painful. Taking a nice line off Scafell down a rocky
descent, my thighs were screaming but I could see the finish a long way down,
soon it went onto a grassy descent which meant I should be running hard, but
every time I tried my thighs nearly collapsed underneath me. That was until a
few others were about to catch up, this put a bit of extra speed in me to hold
my position.
Finally came in 52nd in 5hr 14 minutes. Winning time was 3hr 51mins and 125
managed to finish and there was a fair few drop outs.
Great race, and the toughest running race I have ever done. The series is a
must do for anyone who likes running in the Lakes, be nice to go up with a few
more Striders next year.
Race Report – Årbostadtinden uphill
race, Arctic circle, Northern Norway 13/07/08
– from Eirik Stangnes
With only 4K and total ascent of 1180 meters,
This race is ranked as one of the toughest mountain races in Norway .The start
of the race was by the fjord with the finishing line at the top of the peak
1182 meters above sea level.
I only took part in the Uphill race, but the
whole event was also part of a triple challenge (5K trail race, 45K cycle ride
and this uphill race) and with big money prizes to be won, it was a very
elitist field.
Apart from a flat part half way up it was
extremely steep all the way to the summit, but by using hands, elbows, knees
etc I got to the top in 1.04.33 finishing 37th out of about 90
finishers in the competition class.
It was quite pleased with my time but when
overtaking some of the 2-300 walkers taking part, I was thinking how nice it
must have been to just ‘dawdle’ up the mountain. Anyhow, with the finish at the
summit I was able to enjoy the hot sunshine and the magnificent views of the
northern Norwegian Fjords and Mountains while ‘dawdling’ all the way down.
The race was won by one of the best cross
country skiers in Norway
in 46 minutes which was also a new course record. He was followed by 15-20 well
known Norwegian skiers, triathletes and cyclists.
All in all it was a cracking event so perhaps a
few more Striders should take part next year…..
http://picasaweb.google.com/estangnes/RbostadtindenUphillRaceHalfwayUpAt600Meters
(Eirik is in his Valley Striders vest, unlike in
the Three Peaks
when he ran in his Ipswich
Town away vest)
Ironman France 2008 – from Bill Murphy
Too long to fit in V S Update, you can read it
at http://valleystriders.org.uk/rr_ironmanfrance2008.doc
(make a cup of tea first!)
Note that there are many other race reports on
the website, see http://valleystriders.org.uk/vsracerp.htm
for a list.
And finally
Charity Places available for Great North Run and London Royal
Parks Half Marathon –
forwarded message from Dave Middlemas
From Kirsty Lambert, Individual Giving Manager, Methodist
Homes for the Aged, Telephone: 0113 272 8488
MHA has some guaranteed entry places still available for the
Great North Run and the first ever London Royal Parks Half Marathon. If
you can think of anyone who would be interested in taking part in either of
these events and helping to raise funds for MHA, please could you take a moment
to forward this on to them? The sponsorship money we raise from events like
this is vital for our work providing older people with the individual care and
support they need, so if you know of any runners who might be interested,
please pass this on.
Further details are attached about our charity places and
why it's a good idea to support MHA. If anyone is interested in taking part
please ask them to get in touch with my colleague Noemie, email [email protected]
or telephone 0113 272 8482.
Hope you can help, Thanks
Swapping numbers in races
I know that one or two of you that have entered Leeds Half
are now injured and are unlikely to run.
If you are considering selling or giving away your race number
to someone else, first read the words of caution http://valleystriders.org.uk/17rules.htm
.
Hope to see you next Tuesday!
Bob
