Subject:                                     V S Weekly Update - Training, Junior and senior Abbey Dash, WYXC race 3, Peco race 1, Xmas do, Harewood ale, Membership reminder, WYXC race 2 report, Harriers/cyclists report, Mary Harris

 

Sent: 13 November 2012 00:14

Apologies, this is last week’s late edition, not this week’s early edition.

 

Training – Tuesday 13 November

 

Almost a normal week!

·         Kathy's Run Leeds beginners/improvers/juniors group meet Leos 6:00pm for training session (new starters welcome!) click for more info

·         Grace's intermediates group (48-60 mins for 10k, 18yrs+) meet Leos 7:00pm for session to be agreed 

·         Experienced runners (faster than 48mins for 10k) meet Leeds Met Indoor Sports Centre 7:00pm for track session

 

Abbey Dash 10k and Junior Race – Sunday 18 November

 

Entries are open just for one or two more days for the 2k Junior Race which starts at 09:00.  Age range 8 to 15 year olds. Call 0800 169 8787 to sign up with details of the entrant and a credit/debit card for the £6.00 entry fee. All finishers receive a medal and a chocolate bar.

 

Entries for the 10k have closed, I’ve got my race number and chip, have you?  VSGP points at stake, so expect some Strider vs Strider sprints up the Headrow – we’ll see who has been doing the Tuesday interval sessions!

 

If you want to meet beforehand, meet on the Town Hall steps, look for Holly with a “Run England” banner.  Afterwards at Wetherspoons on Park Row?   Will confirm in the next Weekly Update (assuming I send it out before Sunday!)

 

West Yorkshire XC Race 3 – Saturday 24 November

 

Race is at Fartown School Huddersfield, details at http://www.westyorkshireathletics.org.uk/

 

If you’re not registered but want to run, please email me before or on Tuesday 13 November.  VSGP points at stake.

 

Peco XC Race 1 – Sunday 25 November

 

Hoping to see lots of Striders juniors and seniors at this race.  Final race of 2012 for VSGP points.  Quite a distance to travel, so perhaps use the Forum to arrange transport share.

 

Full details at www.pecoxc.co.uk .  Pay on the day – will be either £2.50 or £3 for seniors, not sure of fee for juniors, possibly £1.

Race Times & Distances:
Junior XC Challenge (School Years 4-6): 10.00am, 1 mile approx.
Junior XC Challenge (School Years 7-12 inclusive): 10.20am, 2 miles approx.

Seniors (men * women 17 and over*): 11.00am, 4.9 miles approx.  * Age groups for all 5 races in the season are based on age on 25/11/12

Race Location: The race is being held entirely within the boundaries of Fitzwilliam Country Park, Fitzwilliam which lies immediately to the south-west of Ackworth. Fitzwilliam is reached by taking either the B6273 or B6428 (between Ackworth and Nostell Priory) off the A638 Wakefield – Doncaster road. Follow the signs to Fitzwilliam Railway Station / Priory Business Park into Railway Terrace which becomes Wentworth Terrace. The park borders Wentworth Terrace and the railway line. Sat Nav: WF9 5AA / Wentworth Terrace, Fitzwilliam / Fitzwilliam Railway Station.

Registration: The race HQ will be in the park, (approximately ¼ mile from the railway) by the start/finish area. Registration will be from 9.15am – 9.45am for juniors, 10.00 – 10.45am for seniors. See map:

Car Parking: Ample parking is available along Wentworth Terrace (a no through road) or in the car park close to the station.

Xmas Meal and Presentation Night Friday 14 December

 

We’re heading towards the end of the year, time to reflect on the year over a buffet meal, hand out a few trophies and plan the new year (depending on how many drinks you’ve had).

 

To book your place (and partners are welcome), email [email protected] as soon as possible and at the latest by Friday 7 December saying whether you want carnivore, veggie or half'n'half (cost is £10).  You will receive a confirmation email if you’ve addressed it correctly. 

 

Please pay Paul White before the night so that he can enjoy his meal rather than having to spend the whole evening collecting money.  Send a cheque to 17 Whinmoor Court, Red Hall, Leeds LS14 1NX.  Alternatively you can make an internet banking payment as follows

·         Sort Code: xx-xx-xx

·         Account Number: aaaaaaaa

·         Please ensure you include your name in the reference along with “Xmas”.

To check your booking go to www.valleystriders.org.uk, click “For Club Members” and “London & Xmas”

 

We will be making the draw for London Marathon places, so if you want to be in the ballot, email [email protected] saying whether or not you received a rejection slip.

 

Also on the night, bring along any race T-shirts – unworn or only worn once or twice – charity collection for Africa. 

 

Harewood Trail Ale for Collection and for Sale

 

We have a number of bottles of beer left over from the Harewood Trail Race.  If you marshalled, please claim your free bottle of Harewood Trail Ale.

 

We definitely have too many so if you’d like to buy some they are £1.25 per bottle, all the money collected goes to Lineham Farm.  I believe that the bottles contain Daleside Brewery “Blonde” see http://www.dalesidebrewery.com/bottled_beers2.htm

 

Bottles available at Leos.

 

Membership Reminder

 

About half of our members have now renewed for 2012/3.  Please go to www.valleystriders.org.uk, click “For Club Members” and “Membership List”

 

If it says “Due” by your name (and you’ve not paid in the last 7 days), please send payment to Paul White at 17 Whinmoor Court, Red Hall, Leeds LS14 1NX.  Alternatively you can make an internet banking payment as follows

·         Sort Code: xx-xx-xx

·         Account Number: aaaaaaaa

Please ensure you include your name in the reference along with “Membership”.

Race Results - West Yorkshire XC Race 2

 

women

     23     LEVENTON, Julia     0:26:09    

      36     JONES, Myra         0:27:04    

      50     NANCOLAS, Hayley    0:28:10     

      74     SUNDERLAND, Sue     0:29:19    

      85     SCHOFIELD, Carole   0:30:37    

      86     TANSLEY, Sharon     0:30:37    

     117     HOWELL, Sarah       0:33:26    

     135 finished   9th/16 teams

men

      24     FISHER, Dan         0:36:51    

      32     PARKER, Jon         0:37:40    

      53     THOMAS, Gwil        0:38:32    

      66     WATSON, Jerry       0:39:04    

      82     KAISER, Paul        0:40:11    

      88     WEBB, Steve         0:40:36    

      91     FOTHERBY, Paul      0:40:42    

     132     MANN, Gary          0:42:45    

     137     PENMAN, Dave        0:42:54    

     195     ADCOCK, Richard     0:48:18    

     197     MARSH, Rob          0:48:38    

     218 finished   6th/21 teams

 

Jerry Watson emailed “Left at Nunroyd by the banner, a pair of white (so weren't worn in the race!) Nike socks. Given the size, probably ladies. If you wait long enough before claiming you may even get them washed!” [email protected]

Harriers vs Cyclists Report from Andy Stoneman

Here’s a race report from the Harriers vs. Cyclists race that we did on Saturday 10th November.

Adam Parton, myself, my brother Dave (Airecentre Pacers) and my mountain-biking mate Joe Krasinski got sucked in by the potential of this event to be a fun, interesting and unpredictable race, so we decided to make an afternoon of it over in Bingley on Saturday for the race and beer or two.

After a recent mountain-biking excursion on Ilkley Moor with my mate Joe - I joked that I reckoned we could have run the course quicker than it had taken to cycle it (although in truth he’d have done it a lot quicker if he hadn’t been waiting for me to keep picking myself and my bike out of every ditch). With that in mind I challenged him to this Harriers vs. Cyclists race to see what the outcome would be.

Saturday was a gorgeous day – sunshine, no wind or rain etc – however reports had abounded that the course was in favour of runners with the fields being wet and boggy and Baildon Moor being equally muddy and slippy. On the start line in a field 200metres down the canal from the Fisherman’s pub in Bingley, we all lined up with what looked like a 50/50 mix of bikes and runners. Most cyclists were on cyclo-cross machinery with the rest being a 50/50 split of 26” and 29er mountain-bikes. I think there was also a mini-battle going between the cyclists themselves to see which type of bike would be the best choice on the day. With the cyclo-cross being lighter to carry up the hills and the mountain-bikes having the suspension to help carry them downhill quicker it would have been a hard judgement to make. While we waited in the field the midges and horseflies fed on our fresh offering of bare legs and a number of participants could be seen to be itching their war wounds before battle had even taken place.

On the blow of the horn, we all rushed up the short steep hill to a narrow gate with most runners already gaining an advantage within a minute of the start. We then ploughed through a boggy field knee-deep in manure and stale rainwater, leaving the cyclists in our wake as we crested the first summit, at which point we turned downhill through a field and onto a bumpy concrete path and ‘hey-presto’ the leading bikes came flying past, with the two leading riders promptly crashing on the first fast corner...I tried not to laugh ;-) as they quickly picked themselves up and sped onwards. The course them undulated up through some woods through muddy paths and rocky trails, with bikes gaining ground on the descents and then losing it again on the ascents. When we reached Shipley Glen at about the 1 mile point the flat surface allowed a number of bikes to get ahead once again.

After a short distance we hit the climb many of us are familiar with from the BBW up to Baildon Moor. This was a long gruelling climb and took us past the turn point from the BBW, carrying on all the way up to the top of Baildon Moor and the trig point at about 280metres having covered just over 2 miles. From here on in it was mainly downhill, firstly taking in a circular lap of Baildon Moor before retracing our steps back down the moor. Cyclists started to come past but not as rapidly as I’d imagined and to be honest apart from the descent of Baildon Moor and the flat section of Shipley Glen it was hard to see (considering the muddy conditions) where cyclists could find much of an advantage.

We carried on down through the Glen, woods, back up the concrete path, through the now even boggier fields and down the final hill to the finish. After a pretty flat-out effort I managed the 5.5 miles in 44.57mins finishing 31st, with my brother coming home three minutes later in 47.50 (52nd), followed by Adam (now sporting a twisted ankle) in 50.27 (66th) and my mate Joe a few minutes further back in 59.07 (98th), having discovered his back brake had failed just as he had summited Baildon Moor.

Pro rider Rob Jebb of Hope Factory Racing took the overall victory on his bike in a time of 33:53, closely followed by Tom Adams of Ilkley Harriers - being the first runner home in 34:02. U18 Annabelle Mason from Wakefield put in a stunning time of 37:22 to set a new female record and was placed 4th overall. With only 5 bikes in top 20, the runners won overall.

After taking a dip in the weir to clean our legs, bikes and bites we all went back to the Fishermans for a couple of well-earned pints and a bit of bike vs. runner banter.

We all loved every minute of it despite the mud, sweat and failing gears and are already looking forward to a return in 2013...hopefully with some more Striders and cycling pals to take on the challenge!

Mary Harris

 

It is with great sadness that I report the death of former Valley Striders member Mary Harris from cancer at the age of just 55.

 

Mary’s daughter Sam joined us in June 2003, and after training with us for a few weeks, Sam asked whether she could bring her mum along.

 

Looking back at the Grand Prix results, I see that in 2004, in the Ackworth Half Marathon in March, Mary ran 1:45:40 (and Sam 1:30:03) but the two of them must have been doing some serious training in the Summer and Autumn, because in the Abbey Dash in December, Mary ran 42:57 and Sam 35:29.

 

Then in the 2005 Brass Monkey Half, Mary ran 1:28:39 and was part of the winning ladies team with Tracey Morris (1:14) and Jules Barltrop (1:29).  Mary picked up a number of W45 prizes that year, and ran 39:59 in the Abbey Dash.

 

Back at Brass Monkey in 2006, Mary ran 1:25:06 and Striders again won the ladies team prize with Tracey 1:16 and Sam 1:22.  The next race they ran was the Spen 20, and in terrible conditions of sleet and snow, both failed to finish and both picked up injuries that kept them out of running for a while.

 

In 2006, Sam was entries secretary for the Meanwood Trail Race, but I got the impression that Mary did at least 51% of the work!  Mary and Sam also did results recording at a couple of our races.

 

Later that year, Mary and Sam moved to Weston-Super-Mare where Sam had a new teaching job, but they returned to Leeds a year later and rejoined Striders.  Due to injury Mary was unable to run competitively, but did support Sam on her training runs by cycling alongside her.

 

We send our condolences to Sam and her sister Niki.