Sent: 05 September 2008 00:38
Subject: VS Update - Diary, SGM report, LCW results and report, Race reports, Messages

 

Diary

 

Leeds Half Marathon – Sunday 7 September

 

Good luck to the 60 Striders running this Sunday morning.  And hopefully there will be another 60 or so cheering.

 

Anyone able to stand in Millennium Square after the race handing out entry forms for the Harewood Trail Race?  I have about 400 forms so they won’t last long.  Please phone or text 0777 5898 558 if you can help.

 

Afterwards we’ll be celebrating our successes (or making our excuses) in the Mustard Pot on Stainbeck Lane in Chapel Allerton. Go up Harrogate Road to the centre of Chapel Allerton.  At the old police station turn left and the Mustard Pot is 150 yards on the right.  LS7 3QY for your sat-nav.  10% discount on food and drink on presentation of your race number (Paul, it must be this year’s number)

 

Harewood Recce Run – Tuesday 9 September

 

Tuesday’s training session will be replaced by a run from Harewood Village Hall (LS17 9LJ).  Harewood Village Hall is on Church Lane.  Go along the A61 to Harewood, through the traffic lights and after 150 yards, turn left (there is a shop on the corner).  The Village Hall is 150 yards on the right.  Meet in the car park at 6:30 so we can start running at 6:40. 

 

There will be 3 groups, a 10 mile run at 7-min-mile pace, 8 mile at 8½-min pace and 5 mile at 10-11-min-mile.  We’ll all run the first mile together and then you decide which group to join.

 

Message to those of you “only” doing 5 miles – if you did either the Valley-Abbey barbecue night or the summer handicap, then those are the “other” 5 miles of our 10 mile race.

 

Harewood 10k for Cancer Research – Sunday 14 September

 

We just need another 4 marshals for this event – PLEASE contact me if you can help 289 2830 or 0777 5898 558 or email

 

Wetherby 10k – Sunday 14 September and Kirkstall Trail – Sunday 21 September

 

Help wanted to hand out Harewood entry forms at these races, please

 

Club Handicap 10k – Tuesday 23 September

 

Meet by the res.  Early start 6:45 prompt to get your handicap start times.  Also, pie and peas night.  Please book by email stating whether meat or veg pie, whether mushy peas or baked beans and whether apple pie afterwards (optional).

 

Horsforth 10k – Sunday 28 September

 

Numbers so far are 20 Valleys and 25 Abbeys.  That doesn’t include me, I sent mine in today.  Entry forms on www.ukresults.net or  http://www.horsforthharriers.co.uk/

 

Harewood 10 mile Trail Race – Sunday 5 October

 

Thanks to the people that have volunteered to marshal so far (names on  www.valleystriders.org.uk/vslists.htm ) , another 30 required please. Please volunteer early to choose your marshalling position.

 

West Yorks Cross Country – first race 12 October but entry cut-off 18 September

 

We already have over 20 names www.valleystriders.org.uk/vslists.htm (if you have sent money directly to Paul you may not be on the list but I will update it soon).  Names must be in by Thursday 18 September.  No late entries, no number swaps.

 

Special General Meeting

 

Thank you to everyone who attended the Special General Meeting to discuss the revised (re-written) constitution

 

Thanks to Dave Middlemas for starting the process off and writing the first draft.  Thanks to Paul, Sylvia and Geoff for working through it paragraph by paragraph to come up with what you saw last night.  And thanks to Max for some good suggestions.

 

It was a process that needed to be done because our current constitution, written 25 years ago, has some loopholes. Also the legal responsibility for the club should be with fewer individuals and should not be a burden shared by all of our officers. We currently have 19 different committee members and there are some vacancies ( http://valleystriders.org.uk/committee.htm ).  We will let our officers get on with arranging teams, organising grand prix, collecting stats, organising races etc, and the new committee will oversee this and form a strategy for the future.

 

The meeting managed to cover every paragraph and there were some key discussions e.g. whether the colour of shorts should be in the constitution (no), whether second claim members should have full voting rights (yes), whether we should specify the time before a member not paying subs should have their membership cancelled (no).

 

The outcome of the meeting was that the new Constitution was agreed in principle, but that a few very small changes of wording are needed. A sub-committee of myself, Geoff, Paul, Sylvia, Dave and Max will meet in the next 4 weeks to finish this off.

 

We will need another SGM to finally approve these revisions.  This will be Tuesday 7 October. Before you all make excuses, the intention is that this meeting will last no longer than one minute to formally approve it.

 

The date of the AGM is likely to be Tuesday 21 October, so this will leave 7 days for Striders to nominate people for the committee (which, according to our new constitution, will require 7 days notice).  NB The new constitution does not stop you nominating yourself!

 

There is nothing in the new constitution about appointment of officers and so this, as has always happened in the past, can be done on the night!  And if no-one volunteers for jobs, the new committee has (in the new constitution) the right to press-gang people at a later date!

 

Leeds Country Way Results

 

An extremely successful day for the Striders, winning 22 trophies – ladies winners (a trophy and 12 individual trophies), vets runners-up, and 4 ladies pairs were fastest on their legs.

 

There were 35 teams and our B team was 18th which was exactly half way; our other 3 teams finished in the top half.  So all 48 Striders deserve congratulations.

 

Thanks to Paul Furness who assisted with the team selection and supported the teams on the day.

 

We had 11 Striders new to the LCW, and a good number of the other Striders were new to their legs – this is good as it gives flexibility for future years.  Our A team were only 12 minutes behind the winners (Abbey), so maybe we can make this up next year.

 

Just to tidy up,

  • there are still 11 people to pay - please pay by Tuesday 16th and if you are not going to be at the club before then, please send a cheque to Paul White, 17 Whinmoor Court, Redhall, Leeds LS14 1NX.
  • I have 3 ladies winners trophies – please claim them by Tuesday 16th
  • I have 18 olive oil jars – please claim them by Tuesday 16th

 

Any good stories to tell – let me know and I’ll publish in the next VS Update.

 

Full results and also over 150 pictures at http://www.kippaxharriers.org.uk/

 

“Ladies”

L1  Tracey Morris & Vicky Whitehead     1:17:13  (4) Fastest ladies

L2  Xanthe Hannah & Hayley Nancolas     1:31:45 (16) Fastest ladies

L3  Sue Sunderland & Sharon Tansley     1:44:30 (23)

L4  Erica Hiorns & Elika Tasker         1:39:00 (19) Fastest ladies

L5  Carmel Barker & Bernadette Clayton  1:18:27 (13) Fastest ladies

L6  Mary Egan & Lisa Hodgson            1:28:41 (23)

                                 TOTAL  8:59:36 (15) First ladies      

"Men”                                      

A1  Mick Loftus & Mick Wrench           1:19:19  (5)

A2  Rob Bumstead & Drew Taylor          1:20:03  (4)

A3  Graham Needham & Ian Sanderson      1:18:33  (5)

A4  Steve Webb & Panos Aristotelous     1:19:46  (4)

A5  Paul Hunter & Eirik Stangnes        1:15:28 (10)

A6  Simon Vallance & Gwilym Thomas      1:04:43  (2)

                                 TOTAL  7:37:52  (3) Third overall

"Vets”                                      

V1  Patrick Barrett & Bob Jackson       1:31:40 (16)

V2  Paul Sanderson & Mick Tinker        1:37:27 (19)

V3  Alan Hutchinson & Tim Towler        1:22:53  (9)

V4  John Wallace & Geoff Webster        1:50:23 (29)

V5  Andrew Cutts & Paul White           1:14:09  (9)

V6  Jonathan Cocker & Tony Haygarth     1:22:18 (17)

                                 TOTAL  8:58:50 (14) Second vets

"B"                                      

B1  Dan Murray & Greg Skerrett          1:28:43 (12)

B2  Simon Redshaw & Tom Button          1:31:17 (14)

B3  Kay Duggleby & Lucy Carey           1:44:39 (24)

B4  Matt Allen & Ian Rosser             1:26:03  (8)

B5  Alistair Fale & Jim Clay            1:25:39 (18)

B6  John Hallas & Sarah Coll            1:39:20 (30)

                                 TOTAL  9:15:26 (18)

 

Race Reports

 

Holme Moss Fell Race – from Rob Bumstead

 

This race was held on one of the few warm and sunny days this summer, with runners liberally applying sun-cream prior to the start.  The only other Strider running was Geoff W, and despite being described as a race requiring navigational skills, the only map-reading issue of the day was finding the start location which had changed this year - both Geoff and I got lost leaving Holmfirth and ended up on the wrong side of the valley, able to see cars parked up and runners assembling with the start time approaching, but unable to cross the valley, without a return to Holmfirth being required to take the correct road.  Eventually both of us made it to the start at Cartworth Moor Cricket Club just in time for the start of this 17.5 mile race with 4500 feet of ascent, this being slightly longer than in previous years due to the new location.  The race consists of a couple of loops either side of the Holme Moss road, with steep ascents of Tooleyshaw Moor and Laddow Rocks mixed with easier running on the Pennine Moors and a potentially boggy section (not too bad this year) after Black Hill summit.  The change of location also meant a final gradual killer climb back to the finish at the cricket club, where sandwiches and cake were provided and the weather was perfect for sitting in the field in the sun. 

 

The race was won by Chris Birchall of Leeds City in 2.37 and first lady was Helen Berry (Holmfirth) in 3.07.  I was 56th in 3.33 after fading badly from Black Hill onwards.  Geoff finished in 4.24 also complaining about not feeling great.

 

Sedbergh Hills – from Rob Bumstead

 

I was the only Strider at this race which takes in good running on paths over the highest summits in The Howgills as well as some rough pathless traversing in remote country at the heart of the range.  Although only 14 miles long, there is 6000 foot of ascent in this race, making it steeper than some of the classic races in The Lakes.  I set off far too quickly on the first steep ascent of Arant Haw, reaching the summit in 27 minutes and then being overtaken on the descent by people who eventually finished 15 minutes in front of me.  The route than followed a superb narrow terrace path high above Black Force, then crossed two rough cols before heading back towards the finish at Sedbergh.  I was now paying the price for my fast start, struggling to keep running on the easy two mile climb to the top of The Calf, but recovered after the summit, as the cloud descended and the rain started to fall. After a final steep grassy descent to the town, my time was 3:02.  The race was won by Darren Kay of Horwich in 2:23.  This race is to be recommended - a great route through some relatively unknown country in The Howgills with superb views.

 

Esholt Bash Trail Race – from Rob Bumstead

 

2008 was the first running of this midweek evening race, based I think on the course the revised (due to snow) Guiseley Gallop took this year.  Two wet, muddy laps of Esholt Woods formed the basis of this race organised by Skyrac.  The mud, rough terrain and a couple of steepish ascents made this a deceptively tough 10k.  The only runner to beat 40 minutes was Ilkley's Jamie Hutchinson in 39.00.  Despite taking one wrong turn on the first lap, leading two following runners astray, I was 7th in 44.40.  47 runners finished the course.

 

Skåla (29-1848) uphill race, South West Norway, 16/08/08 – from Eirik Stangnes

 

600 runners and 1000 walkers took part in this race which is the biggest and most high profile mountain race in Norway

 

After 8.2K and 1819 metres of ascent, I crossed the finishing line at the top of Skåla in an overall position of 220th with the time 1.48.44.

 

I was exactly 40 minutes behind the winner and arguably the best mountain runner in the world, Jonathan Wyatt of New Zeeland. Not sure if being beaten by the best in world by 40 minutes is good or bad but I was quite pleased my race.

 

I could perhaps have started faster but I got stuck in a 'traffic jam' on the very narrow path at the first 500 metres of climb or so but I managed to finish the race quite well so the slow start may have been good for me.

 

One of the requirements for this race was to carry a rucksack that weighed more than 2.5 kilos. My rucksack weighed 3.1 kilos and carrying the extra 0.6 kilo was well worth as I was able to enjoy the sunshine and the magnificent views from the top of Skåla with a bottle of Cumberland Ale.

 

The bottle of Cumberland cost me just over a pound in Morrison's but a pint of dodgy lager at the post race BBQ was slightly more expensive - 69 Norwegian kroner for 0.4 litres is equivalent to £10 for a pint!!

 

Anyhow, apart from the expensive post race beer, Skåla is really an excellent race in absolutely stunning scenery which can be enjoyed in full on the walk down from the summit.

 

Messages

 

From Lyn Eden

 

Sorry we can't help on the Harewood 10.  We are both in Australia for my daughter's wedding.  We will also miss the first 2 XC.  On the plus side I've managed to persuade my daughter to get married at this time so as we can run the Melbourne Marathon whilst we are out there.  It is the same course as the Commonwealth Games where Tracey Morris came 4th - and will bring back some good memories, especially running round the track at the Melbourne Cricket Ground where the race finishes, and where we watched some of the Commonwealth Games.

 

From Bill Murphy

 

You may want to circulate this to the club if you haven't already seen it:  http://www.london2012.com/get-involved/volunteering/the-volunteer-programme.php.