Subject: V S Update - Training on 11 Jan ; Peco on 16 Jan ; Autumn marathon ;Film festival ; Results/reports from Rombalds, Dewsbury, Liversedge (win for Myra) and Cape Town

Sent: 09 February 2014 23:56

Tuesday 11 February - Training

Just a reminder that it’s the second Tuesday in the month this week so the Intermediates and Experienced Runners sessions will be at 7pm from Leeds Met track (maps etc on Valley Striders website)

Beginners/improvers and Juniors sessions will be, as usual, at 6pm from Leos.

Sunday 16 February – Peco XC

Many thanks to everyone who has volunteered to marshal so far. 

We now just need 4 more marshals for Sunday, and you “only” need to be available from 10:20 to 12:20.  If you can help, please email [email protected].  Note that one of the vacancies is for sweeper for the senior race, so if you fancy a steady jog with possibly a walk or two, then sign up for this!

Providing we can get the 4 extra marshals, everyone who has volunteered to help but said they “Would Like To Run” will be able to run.  However you are all required for pre-race activities – registration or course set up or car-parking.  And for most of these jobs it is an 8:30 or 8:45 start.  The good news is that all of these jobs will be on shifts i.e. you won’t be “working” all the time till the races start at 11:00. 

Near the top of the home page of the Valley Striders website are links to a pair of maps of the course and a list of marshals.  I’ll be sending out the list of marshalling duties on Wednesday.

Race information is on the Peco XC website www.pecoxc.co.uk.  Note that to be included in the club results you must have registered by now, but if you haven’t, you can run as a “guest” (but I’d prefer that you marshal!)

Autumn Marathon – from tour organiser Patrick Barrett

Dear people of the VS

After yet another the great and successful running tour to Brussels last year (well for some anyway!) the Brussels attendees posse have now voted for this year’s autumn tour and overwhelmingly voted for Lisbon, the sunny capital of Portugal! The running events are on Sunday 5^th October 2014. They have a run to suit all, including Full and half marathon and a mini marathon

We had 28 Valley Striders that went to Brussels last October.  We all had a fantastic time, both running, sunshine and the local Turkish hospitality!  let’s try and beat that number this year. If you have any doubts, just ask anybody who went to any of the previous tours, inc Dublin, Amsterdam, Palma or Eindhoven

So the provisional arrangements and costs are:

Sat 04^th

·         Train to Manchester airport, approx 7:30am, for as little as £15 return, book early

·         Flight: Manchester to Lisbon, depart approx. 11:00am, arrive 13:45, approx £120- £140 return

·         Bus to City centre, approx 30 mins,  few Euros

·         Central hotel, approx £55/70 pppn, B&B based on 2 sharing

·         Marathon Expo, to collect race number and goody bag. Race Entry, EUR 55, 33 and 18 respectively.

http://www.running-portugal.com/lisbon/marathon/en/marathon.html.

·         Evening, meet for pasta dinner and a few beers to calm nerves!

Sun 05^th

·         am, Early runners breakfast

·         am, Run for all your worth, whichever distance you’re up for

·         After race, sweaty beers in a local sunny piazza

·         back to hotel for quick change

·         Out for evening group party and beers

Mon 06^th

·         Late breakfast/hangover cure

·         sights, piazza’s and bars, and more Bars of Lisbon

·         sight-seeing, if you know what I mean?

·         Evening, all meet for pre-dinner drinks, official VS presentation and prize giving, dinner drinks and followed by after dinner drinks and press ups!

Tues 07^th

·         Early one, far far too early, so far the only flight I can find is a 7:20am departure, so I’ll keep looking and let you all know

The tour is open to all VS member, family, friends, any non-running supporters, all irrespective of running ability (otherwise there would be very few of us going). If you wish to attend this great fun pack tour weekend, please confirm by Fri 7^th March at the latest, by emailing: [email protected] after we have the final numbers, I will arrange hotel(s) and bus transfers to/from Lisbon, you will need to book your own train to/from Manchester, (assuming that’s where we’ll fly from/to)flight and race entry.

Looking forward to it already…………..

Leeds Banff Mountain Film Festival – 12/13 Februa– message from Amanda Seims

Advert:

Be inspired by 2 entirely different film programmes over 2 nights on 12 and 13 February. Both events will feature the most extraordinary collection of mountain and adventure films from around the globe.

CLICK HERE to head to the 'Films and Tickets' page where you can select your chosen screening date (or dates!) and see the full list of films being shown. With 5 sold out Banff shows already, don't delay buying your tickets! A discount is available if you buy tickets for both nights!

Amanda says:

I'm volunteering at this and it may be of interest to the club as I've always really enjoyed the films - there's £1000 of kit to be won too by an outdoor club and I reckon our fell running section count for that. Just need to take a photo of your club members at a screening to enter.

The films are usually about climbing, kayaking, skiing, snowboarding, base jumping, mountain biking and often some adventure expedition type films in there too.

You have to buy tickets for each night but there is a free prize draw each night too with stuff like headtorches, backpacks etc given away.

V S Vest available / Garmin Forerunner charger wanted

Two messages from Helen Kelly Ali [email protected] who used to be a member of Striders a year or so ago

I'm getting back into my running, and I've dug out my trusty old forerunner 305, the only thing is I've mislaid the charging cradle.
Does anyone have a spare they could possibly sell me?  It's the round plastic bit with the contact points.
Most of ebay/amazon are in the US, or go before I bid on them, so I thought I'd try local before I re-bid.

I have a VS running vest going, if anyone needs one to represent the Striders?
It's a Fastrax white one, black VS print, I picked it up from the complete runner in Ilkley.
Size 38 inches, I think it is actually a men's vest as it is quite roomy.
I only wore it a few times.
Get in touch to arrange post/pick up, hope it finds a new running home!

Rombalds Stride – from Ian Sanderson

Very disappointing turn-out from Striders this year. Simon had a storming p.b. run in conditions that were not conducive to fast times (he must be a good ice-skater – the flagstones on the moor were lethal). I trotted round half-heartedly until bumping into Richard Adcock at Whetstone Gate - he wasn’t in the race but was out training for the marathon de Sable in his ‘sweat-suit’ - and we had a good gossip all the way back to Guiseley. Our Sarah Smith is the fast Sarah Smith (I know, two Sarah Smiths’ is a frightening thought!). And Meg Galsworthy made up the Striders quartet, getting back just in time to prevent Sarah leaving with her car keys! Pie was good, and we all came away with a certificate and a thermos-cup thingy.

     Pos                       Time      GP pts                  

      55  Simon Redshaw       3:39:08      100

     120  Ian Sanderson       4:14:10       93

     199  Sarah Smith         4:40:47       87

     207  Meg Galsworthy      5:10:40       80

Dewsbury 10k results

     Pos                     Gun time    Chip time   GP pts

      47  Dave Penman        00:35:39    00:35:35     100

      58  Paul Kaiser        00:36:01    00:35:56      99

      88  Rav Panesar        00:36:45    00:36:43      98

     106  James Tarran       00:37:20    00:37:06      97

     118  Ian Sampson        00:37:47    00:37:37      96

     120  Andrew Bell        00:37:53    00:37:48      95

     124  Joel Giddings      00:38:03    00:37:48      95

     132  Kevin McMullan     00:38:37    00:38:19      93

     166  John Shanks        00:39:29    00:39:23      92

     198  Paul Smith         00:40:36    00:40:15      91

     219  Roy Huggins        00:41:20    00:41:03      90

     238  Rob Marsh          00:41:47    00:41:36      89

     272  Graham Jones       00:42:22    00:41:42      88

     290  Andy Pagdin        00:42:52    00:42:38      87

     331  Leroy Sutton       00:44:00    00:43:38      86

     369  Sue Sunderland     00:45:08    00:44:48      83

     382  Adam Parton        00:45:26    00:44:42      84

     393  Liz Wood           00:45:34    00:44:41      85

     400  Paul White         00:45:41    00:45:22      82

     413  Sharon Kaiser      00:46:04    00:45:43      81

     420  Sarah Harper       00:46:11    00:45:49      80

     477  Simon Barker       00:47:19    00:46:47      79

     547  Dawn Parton        00:49:16    00:48:54      77

     563  Rachael Nevins     00:49:33    00:48:26      78

     611  Claire Senior      00:50:47    00:49:39      76

     623  John Bucktrout     00:51:01    00:50:36      75

     671  Gemma Midwood      00:51:58    00:51:17      74

     937  Anne Jones         01:00:19    00:58:49      73

    1070  finished

Stop Press – Liversedge Half Marathon

If you’re on Twitter or Facebook, you’ll already have this news, if you’re not on either then I can announce congratulations to Myra Jones, 1^st lady across the finishing line at Liversedge Half Marathon earlier today.

I’ve just had a text from her – “really pleased to win and even more pleased to get my prize (a big glass vase) home in one piece”

   Pos                  Gun time Chip time

    56 Myra Jones        1:30:18  1:30:11

   118 Joe Hanney        1:39:30  1:39:23

   141 Sean Fitzgerald   1:42:10  1:42:03

   226 Mike Robins       1:49:48  1:49:26

   456 finished

Race report from South Africa from Sean Fitzgerald

I've not done a race report for the newsletter before, but ran quite a special race at the weekend so thought I’d better break my duck. Hopefully you'll find this interesting enough to print in the next newsletter.

Kloof Nek Classic 21.1k, Camps Bay High School, Cape Town, Sunday 26th January.

So knowing I'd be in Cape Town at the end of my holiday I looked for a race to enter to burn off some holiday calories. Step forward the Kloof Nek Classic half marathon, which since the organisers described it as a 'particularly challenging' race, I think I had found my event. 

The race started at 6am due to the searing day-time temperatures in Cape Town, so it was quite an alien experience getting up in total darkness at 04:30 to prepare for a race. I got to race HQ at 05:15 and the first thing I noticed was that most athletes had permanent numbers sewn onto their vests which is valid for every ASA race in 2014. Pretty good idea I thought, rather than having to mess about in massive queues for numbers on the day (Eccup 10 2013 sprang to mind). Then every runner fills out an on the day race card, which they also had to carry on them in a little baggie (which would become clear later).

The race got off to a good start at 6am on the dot, but just before it did the race director wished all 1st time runners good luck, and hoped to see them back at the end. Ominous. I was quite high up in the field after the gun and I noticed that everyone seemed to be running at an almost sedate pace despite the fact it was pretty cool because of the time in the morning, but after we got out of the high school and round the first bend I saw why. The accent up the Kloof Nek Road to Table Mountain began, and we went up and up and up and up and up...............Checking my Garmin after the race, we had gone from pretty much Sea Level to 1317 ft in altitude over a distance of 4.28 miles. My legs have never known anything like it, and all I kept thinking at the time was that if my climb up Table Mountain itself was such a good idea the day before. Alas, To late.

Then came the payoff, as we reached the summit of our climb which was the service road that runs at the foot of Table Mountain to the cable car station, runners were treated to a bird’s eye view of the Cape Town basin with the mighty African sun gently lapping morning rays over it. Spectacular, and a sight I will never forget as long as I live. 

After a pretty fast out and back along this road, we crossed over to the next task which was called Signal Hill. As the name on the tin suggests, Signal Hill is, well, just a big hill that stands next to Table Mountain. As I started this new accent I took a deep breath and thought of my Valley Strider Hill Sessions up Eccup reservoir to get me through this, as my will was crumbling rapidly, as was that of many runners around me had started walking at this point. This latest climb saw me rise 'just the' 304ft over 2.23 miles, but again during the assent I was treated to a view of a now sun drenched Cape Town from the other side of the basin. Head down, I reached the top of this hill having not stopped once (1108 ft) with a grimace on my face, I turned about knowing that I had a nice 3.81 mile decent to the finish the way I had come up. I was hoping to get into 6 minute something miles here as the decent looked rapid up at this end, but my legs were finished at this point and it was purely gravity taking me down the hill. I was completely spent, and now the sun was fully out now and the already 30 degree heat was sapping my remaining energy every step of the way. What should have been quite an easy and fast finish actually turned out to be one of the more challenging parts of the race and the only memory I have of this decent was the car that tried to run me and another runner off the road after blind overtaking a group of runners going up the hill. I have a few choice words for her, that I won’t repeat here. 

So I finished the most challenging yet scenic race of my life in 1:50 and to be fair after two weeks of holiday indulgences I would have taken that before the race. All that remained for me to do was put my little race card I filled in at the start into the corresponding place on the boards that they put up at the finish, telling me I came in 189 in a field of circa 2000 runners. Result, and a race I would certainly like to do again one day.

P.S. A little tip to anyone doing a particularly hilly race is that I think my little climb up a mountain the day before on reflection did help my legs in the end.