V S Update - 2 July 2016

- training & food on 5 July
- VSAC committee and open meeting on 5 July
- VS junior mile and handicap on 12 July
- VS BBQ
- call for runners for Golden Acre Relay and Leeds Country Way
- race results from Pudsey junior race and Hyde Park mile
- race report from European Aquathlon

Tuesday 5 July training and food and committee meeting

- Juniors parents, beginners, improvers and slower intermediates will be at Leos at 6pm.
- Experienced runners and faster intermediates will be 5 by 6 minutes by Eccup Reservoir, meet Leos at 7pm
- Early sessions followed by lasagne at 7:15pm - book at [email protected]
- Later sessions followed by lasagne at 8:30pm - book at [email protected]
- Book before 10pm Sunday 3 July
- Choosing meat or veggie lasagne (£3.50)

At 8:45pm there will be a VSAC (i.e. running section) committee meeting with an open agenda and open to all members - topics will have a 10 minute limit and individual's contributions maximum 2 minutes per topic.  Please email me if you'd like anything putting on the agenda.  Note that we won't be discussing cycling or swimming!

There have been very few orders so far for late food, so just to reassure you:
- You can have food but not attend the meeting (but it would be great if you would)
- If you attend the meeting, you don't have to say anything (but it would be great if you would)
- Even if you say something, you don't have to volunteer for anything (but it would be great if you would)
- If you volunteer for anything, you have a 14 day cooling off period to change your mind

Tuesday 12 July - V S junior mile and club summer handicap

All races start by Eccup Reservoir, juniors from 6:10pm and seniors from 6:55pm.

The start is by the lodge by the reservoir - postcode LS17 7RW.  This is on Goodrick Lane but this is only a footpath.  The nearest place to park is on Alwoodley Lane.  Goodrick Lane is opposite where Mount Drive meets Alwoodley Lane.

There will be two junior races, one for school years 1 to 5, the other for school years 6 and above.  In the first race, adults may accompany their children but will not be included in the results.  Juniors who are on the waiting list to join V S are welcome to run.

The adult race at 6:55 is approximately 5 and a quarter miles, mainly fields and footpaths, but some tarmac.  The route is at http://valleystriders.org.uk/hcaptrl.jpg .  As you can see, we need 7 marshals, please email me if you can help.  The race is for V S members, but you may each bring up to 2 guests (members of other clubs or unattached runners).

Valley Striders Club Barbecue - Saturday 6 August

A reminder to put this date in your diaries.

Last week, Dan posted in Facebook requesting a volunteer from VSAC to help publicise the event and compile a list of names who have booked

https://www.facebook.com/groups/291402584033/permalink/10154177514854034/

Still no replies to this post, please message Dan if you can help.

NB re "collecting the monies", most payments will go through the V S Payments account so you won't be handling vast amounts of cash.

Race Diary

Danefield Relay on Tuesday 5 July http://www.fellandale.com/new-page/

Canal Race 5k and junior race on Tuesday 5 July from Methley http://rothwellharriers.org.uk/canal-run/

Golden Acre Relay is on Wednesday 13 July, teams of 3, approx. 2.75 miles each.  Please make up your own teams (and choose a suitable name including either "Valley" or "Striders").  If you are 2 and need 1 more for a team or are 1 and need 2 more, post on Facebook. 

More info http://www.abbeyrunners.co.uk/golden-acre-relay/

Leeds Country Way is on Sunday 4 September.  Myra requested names in by 4 July so that pairings and allocation to legs can be done in plenty of time - this is critical as if people go on holiday for 2 (or more) weeks it becomes difficult to organise recces.  In spite of my request last week, response is still disappointing - only 30 - so 30 short of our usual 5 teams and 42 short of our most ever 6 teams.

More info http://www.kippaxharriers.org.uk/lcwv2.htm .  Please email [email protected] if you're available to run.  Names can be checked at www.valleystriders.org.uk/vsteams.htm

For more local events, see www.valleystriders.org.uk/vsdates.htm 

RESULTS

Pudsey Junior Race

1

Sophie Turner

0:09:36

1st!

5

Tally Diamand

0:10:09

2nd girl

7

Jamie Walker

0:10:26

8

Keira Jones

0:10:36

4th girl

13

Imogen Idle

0:11:10

5th girl

26

Jessica Baxter

0:12:02

9th girl

139

Finished

 

 

 

Hyde Park Mile

Wave

Wave Pos

Overall Pos

Name

Time

GP Pts

14

7

8

Paul Fotherby

0:05:09

100

13

6

14

Dave Penman

0:05:17

98

13

10

19

James Tarran

0:05:19

96

14

10

20

Gary Mann

0:05:21

93

12

2

25

Jack Crawford

0:05:26

91

12

4

31

Gareth Barns

0:05:31

89

12

11

40

Graham Jones

0:05:37

87

8

4

103

Alex Watson-Usher

0:06:34

84

7

11

137

Sue Sunderland

0:07:04

82

3

18

201

Meryll Cripps

0:09:04

80

 

European Aquathlon Championships - from Howard Jeffrey

Chateauroux France 25th June

I took Friday off to fly/drive down to the pleasant town of Chateauroux in mid France (Indre) for the European aquathlon championships on Saturday. The travelling took 12 hours which is not the best prep the day before a race. Anyway on the day I was up with the lark as usual and then had to pace myself through the day as the race did not start till 17.50. The weather was warm and sunny at a very pleasant 24 degrees which co-incidentally was the lake water in which we swam, due to really hot weather in the preceding week. That temperature meant the swim would be non-wetsuit which I hoped would be a good thing.

I had anticipated that I could make the podium in bronze position if I had a good race given the competition. There were two very good Frenchmen, whose swim times are minutes better than mine and a Brit and a German (who got the Silver medal in this event in Germany last year) and we three were all comparable on paper. They split the male swim wave in two because of the numbers which was a good thing as even then there seemed to be a huge number of people in a small width of start. The swim was 1000m, the first third or so to a yellow buoy across the lake, sharp right turn to a beach exit 200m away, run 10 m on a beach then back in the water (I don't know why as it was a long way from any spectators) 200m to another yellow buoy, sharp left and to the boat ramp exit. We were in the water for the start and I felt OK so I hoped for a strong swim. At the gun the melee sped off and I struggled a bit to settle into a rhythm and could not blame the wetsuit this time. After a couple of minutes of mental and physical anguish I got into my stroke. I caught up and left a small number of people behind and expected to catch up some of the others in front. Although I felt I got into quite a strong rhythm I did not make up any water on people in front but I reckoned I was not losing much more time, although missing out on the advantage of drafting. I also decided that rather than waste effort in the swim I could exit fresher than the competition for the run.

When I got out of the water I was a bit disappointed to see very few people still swimming but on the tannoy I heard the name Hans Heinz Schumacher is just approaching transition. That was the German so I was not that far behind. 'Got him'! I thought. The route to transition was about 300 yards across grass and then out onto two laps in a figure T of 5K All of it fairly flat. I got my running shoes on quickly and as there was no wetsuit to struggle out of got onto the run route in sharp order. About 400 yards in front was Herr Schumacher. I resisted the temptation to blast off in pursuit as a 24 degree air temperature in the hot June sun can still be quite deceptively taxing, ( I noticed a few heat exhaustion casualties at the end of the race).  I steadily got into my stride (I could feel last week's half marathon in my thighs still) and when I next saw my rival I was 350 yards behind after 1K of running. Not going to catch up at that rate of gain so I dug a bit deeper to see if I could find another gear in there somewhere. The swim may have been a bit feeble but the running legs were in fine fettle and I soon found myself up on my toes feeling quite strong. As I closed the gap on the German I overtook the fellow Brit in the category which was a bonus. At 2K I went past Hans and he tucked in behind but I could sense the adrenaline shock (which is now rare but still exiting) in me and I pulled away easily. I finished the run at what felt like a great pace in a time of 20.07 for the 5k (short?).

No sign in the race of the French guys because they had both exited the water literally minutes ahead of me (my run time was comparable) but I had made the podium in Bronze. The one I expected to win had finished second by a couple of seconds even though he was on paper a slightly better athlete. It turned out the 'winner' was disqualified for not wearing his National kit. Seems a bit harsh but it was a European Championship and the rules are clear and although it did not affect me the other Frenchman, Monsieur Maubras said he had not kicked hard at the finish as he had not recognised the kit of the person in front as the competition which I believe. Consequently I got the Silver! Photo grace a Madame Maubras. The lady is a Brit who won gold as they did the male and female age group medals together.