Sent: 01 September 2010 23:54
Subject: V S Update - final reminders LCW, Handicap, pies, WYXC; also membership fees, more news and space station sightings

 

LCW – Sunday 5 September

 

Good luck to our 5 teams / 60 runners for this Sunday.  A full team will be on http://www.valleystriders.org.uk/vsteams.htm in a few minutes showing estimated start times.  If you are running, your leg captain will contact you re travel arrangements (if you’ve not been contacted by Friday evening, please contact them).  NB bring safety pins with you on the day!

 

We have had another 3 volunteers for substitutes and used them all so we are back again at zero reserves.  If you are willing to stand by Friday and Saturday and prepared to accept a late call, please email me.  Don’t worry, you won’t be paired with Dan Fisher or Gwil Thomas, I promise!

 

Club Handicap and Pie & Peas – Tuesday 7 September

 

Meet 6:50pm PROMPT by the lodge by Eccup Reservoir (normal summer location).  If it’s a light evening it will be 10k otherwise 5 miles.

 

If you want food afterwards, book at [email protected] by 10pm Sunday 5 September, saying whether you want

  • meat pie or vegetarian bake
  • mushy peas or baked beans
  • apple pie with ice cream

 

West Yorks XC – closing date Thursday 9 September

 

Dates are 10 October, 30 October, 20 November and 5 December.  Distances are 9-10km for men, 5-6km for women. 

 

Entries for the first race are required by Thursday 9 September.  There are definitely no entries and no substitutions on the day.  Entry fees are £8 for the series whether you run one race or all four.  It would help our admin if you entered now even if you can’t run the first race.

 

To enter, please email a special address  [email protected] .  Check your entry at  http://valleystriders.org.uk/vsteams.htm

 

Happy New Year / Annual Membership Subscriptions

 

A few of you already have asked when your membership subscriptions need to be paid.

 

The Valley Striders financial year started today, so the answer is now.  But until we've had the Annual General Meeting, which will be the first week of November, the Club hasn't formally agreed the rates.

 

However at our Committee Meeting last week, we discussed the finances of Valley Striders, and also the finances of our Tuesday hosts, Leodiensian Club.  Whereas Valley Striders are financially sound, Leo's aren't, and Paul White, our treasurer, has attended several meetings with them to look at options to get them back into the black.

 

Our current payment to Leo's is £500 i.e. an average of £2.50 per member.  Our committee have agreed to make an extra payment of £1000 to Leos and to cover this our subs will go up by £5 from £15 to £20.  We're hoping you will approve this at the AGM.  

 

Effectively your membership fees are allocated as follows

  • Valley Striders Club £7.50
  • England Athletics Competitor Registration £5
  • Leos Club £7.50

 

The philosophy of Valley Striders is that you can use as few or as many of the facilities as you want.  Subs of £20p.a. (40p per week) entitle you to 3 training sessions per week (for one of which you have "free" changing and showers), registration with England Athletics, opportunities to run in club teams, discount at sports shops etc.  And the rate is cheaper than the entry fee for some big races!

 

We hope that you still consider this good value and we hope you all will renew your memberships for 2010/11.

 

Please send cheques, payable to “Valley Striders”, to Paul White at 17 Whinmoor Court, Redhall, Leeds, LS14 1NX.

 

(If you’re running LCW and/or WYXC, you could include payment at the same time, £8 each)

 

NB the new rate applies to first-claim adult members.  We're not putting up the rates for other classes of member which will remain as

·         under-11  £3

  • under-18  £8
  • second claim and social £10

·         volunteer  £3

 

NB also that a some new members, who joined after May of this year, paid their 2010/11 membership in advance at the current rate of £15.  We'll be contacting them individually and hoping they'll pay the extra £5 too.  

 

Cyclist wanted (from Mick Tinker)

 

Erica Hiorns and I are considering entering the Leeds Triathlon based in Roundhay Park on Sunday 12th September but for various reasons we don't want to do all the 3 disciplines this year (but hopefully next!), so Erica has suggested entering as a relay team in which she would swim (1500m in the large lake) and I would run (10K around the park).

 

So all we're missing is a cyclist!  The cycle stage is a 3 lap course North of Leeds covering 40K.  If you’re interested, email [email protected]

 

Result - Leeds Express Triathlon (Leeds Grammar School)

  • Mick Tinker posn 100 in 1:28:47 - 1st M55-59
  • Simon Redshaw posn 132 in 1:32:40
  • 252 finishers

Mick says “yes it was me who shouted at the Striders about to enter Church Lane from the A61 in Harewood whilst I was cycling back to Leeds Grammar School before the 5k run”

Treadmill for sale (from Lisa Hodgson)

 

Just wanted to let you know that my husband has accepted a job in Sydney, so we will be moving out there just after Xmas for up to 4 years. All very exciting though I will very much miss the Valley Striders and the friends that I have made over the last 5 years. 

 

Anyway we need to get rid of a lot of things before we go, one of which is our treadmill, though I am sure you don't advocate too much treadmill running to members, I wondered if you could include it in your weekly email !

 

Its about a year old and to be honest hasn't seen that much action ! It's a Tunturi T85 folding model, we paid £2,000 for it and would be happy to get c.£800 for it if anyone is interested.  Email [email protected]

 

Parkrun Result Adjustment

 

Back at the end of June, in parkrun 141 I had noticed that the second woman had run 20:42 – she was over 60 she had scored 96% age graded which is vets world class – as good as Lou Gilchrist.  But then I checked and found all her previous runs were 24 or 25 minutes, very good but a 4 minute improvement was unlikely.  I queried this and the following week her result had disappeared.

 

Then I noticed that in the same race, the first woman, in 7th place overall, had run 17:39, also very impressive.  And she was unattached.  First thought was to recruit her, so I looked for previous times, she’d run 29:31 three weeks earlier.  Ok she might have been running with a friend.  So I decided to monitor her progress.  Her next race was 27:52, so I sent an email to the parkrun organisers querying the 17 minute time.  I got an acknowledgement but that was all.  The following 3 weeks her times were also 26 and 27 minutes, so I challenged the 17 minute time. 

 

This time I got a reply “Ordinarily these anomalies do need to be reported by the persons concerned. We cannot make wholesale changes to these events at parkrun HQ without a confirmation from the runner and the event team.  In this case I will make a judgement call based on the times reported. However, we have no other evidence to report that Bev didn’t actually record this performance?” and her result has now disappeared.

 

So now, I am pleased to announce the real ladies winner of parkrun 141 – a big cheer please for Sharon Tansley!

 

Space Station Sightings

 

Keith Cluderay was at the club last night for his monthly chat with a few of our runners, but at 9:30pm we all had to rush outside and look up in the sky due West.  About 3 minutes later a bright “star” appeared and within 5 minutes had traveled the sky, almost over our heads (it was slightly South of us at its “nearest”), before disappearing into the East.  When overhead it was much brighter than the brightest star.  It was the International Space Station.

 

Clear skies are forecast for the next few nights, so if you want to take a look, just step outside at the following times, (preferably away from house- and street-lights) and look in a Westerly direction at an angle of 15 to 20 degrees (that’s like a 1 in 5 hill).  I promise that you will not be disappointed!

 

           Time first    Direction      Max       Mins     Direction    

Date        in view      first seen     height   in view   last seen    

Thu Sep 02  08:51 PM     16 above WSW    55deg      4      16 above E   

Fri Sep 03  09:18 PM     16 above W      53deg      3      30 above SE  

Sat Sep 04  09:45 PM     15 above W      37deg      2      37 above SSW 

Sun Sep 05  08:38 PM     24 above WSW    51deg      4      16 above ESE 

Mon Sep 06  09:04 PM     15 above W      35deg      3      23 above SSE 

Tue Sep 07  09:32 PM     15 above WSW    20deg      2      20 above SSW 

Wed Sep 08  08:24 PM     21 above WSW    33deg      3      15 above SE  

Thu Sep 09  08:51 PM     16 above WSW    18deg      2      16 above S   

Sat Sep 11  08:10 PM     15 above SW     17deg      2      15 above SSW 

 

More information http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings/cities/view.cgi?country=United_Kingdom&region=England&city=Leeds

 

NB we we also fortunate enough to see the Russian supply ship “Progress” just a minute ahead of the Space Station.  It is much much fainter than the space station.  For us it was one minute ahead of the space station so when we saw the space station we looked ahead and saw it.  By Thursday it will be 5 minutes ahead and Saturday 7 minutes ahead but you have a possibility of spotting it if it is very clear with no light pollution.