V S Update - 8 September 2017

- Tuesdays
- parkrun takeover 9 September
- Junior mile and autumn handicap 12 September
- West Yorkshire XC League entry information
- England Athletics coach at 19 September session
- Membership renewals
- Results from Leeds Country Way, Kimbolton (win for John Hobbs), York T&F, Wetherby mini-marathon (win for Jamie Walker), Wetherby 10k
- Race report from Tour of Bradwell

Don't worry if your last V S Update was on 21st August, you haven't missed one!

Tuesdays

All training sessions on 12 September are replaced by the 1 mile junior races (also available to adults) and 5 mile club handicap (age 15+) see below.

For the 7pm session on 19 September we have an England Athletics coach visiting, please come to this session even if you aren't a Tuesday regular - more information below.

Roundhay Parkrun Take Over Saturday 9 September

I've checked with Steph and she has all the marshals and pacers that she needs (thanks).

It would be great to see lots of V S members running and please wear your club vests (even if you don't normally wear your club vest for parkrun).

The new club marquee (see picture on the front page of the website) will be near the finish and, if this rainy weather continues, will get some good use!

Any enquiries please email [email protected]

Junior 1 mile and Club Autumn Handicap Tuesday 12 September

All races are free to enter and all races are open to club members and non-members including friends of existing members and juniors on the waiting list.  It would help us if non-members and those on the waiting emailed [email protected] to let us know you are coming.

Meeting place for race start and postcode for parking are on the front page of the website www.valleystriders.org.uk.  Note that it is a 3 minute jog / 6 minute walk from Alwoodley Lane to the start.

On the night, we will be asking parents of juniors to marshal along the half mile length of the junior route as (especially if it is a nice evening) there are likely to be walkers, dogs and bicycles on the route.

We need a few marshals for the 5 mile race, if you can help please email Sue Sunderland [email protected] . The race can't take place without these marshals.

West Yorkshire Cross Country League (from Myra)

Here are the dates and venues for the WYXC league:
- Saturday 14th October- Wakefield (Thornes Park)
- Sunday 29th October - Nunroyd Park
- Sunday 19th November - Spenborough
- Saturday 9th December - Keighley.

Please email [email protected] if you'd like to run.

We have to post the entries so please let us know by 17th September.

The series costs £15 (£8 for juniors) so please transfer this to "AC payments", Sort Code 53-70-00, A/c number 72143851, Reference to include your name and "WYXC"

2nd claim members who have 1st claim club outside of West Yorkshire can represent us in these races.

Juniors must be aged 9 or more on 14 October 2017.

We normally do very well in this series so it would be good to make sure we get a good turnout at each race.

Training Tuesday 19 September (from Myra)

The 7pm session on 19th September will be led  by David Lowes.  Further details will be available next week but we urge as many of you to attend as possible.

David is a level 4 coach specialising in endurance events.  He has coached a number England & GB Teams and regularly writes articles for running magazines, including Athletics Weekly. His PB for a marathon is 2:15.

He will be leading a further 2 sessions (26th September and another later in the year). The sessions are designed to support us in improving our half and full marathon times.  The sessions will be suitable for those who already attend the main Tuesday sessions (advanced and faster intermediates).

This is a great opportunity for some more varied and challenging coaching so please make an effort to attend if you can.

NB Juniors and beginners/improvers at 6pm at Far Moss as usual.

Membership renewals

The new V S year started on 1 September.  There will be information about renewals in the next V S Update.  No need to pay yet!

RACE RESULTS

Leeds Country Way

Summary
- Men's team 2nd - runners up to Saltaire
- Ladies team 2nd (and 27th overall) - runners-up to Horsforth
- Vets team 1st (and 7th overall) - ahead of St Theresa's
- "B" (or "D") team 49th overall - there were 54 teams in the race (a record)
- Fastest leg trophies were won by John Hobbs & Daz Hibberd, Sarah Grant & Rachel Mackie and Hannah Corne & Sarah Graham.

Many thanks to Myra Jones who organised all the teams and to John Hobbs and Simon Vallance who captained the men's and vets' teams.

Full results in the next V S Update (and a race report if anyone sends one in).

In the next V S Update I'll also be publishing full results from Calderdale Way Relay and Bradford Millennium Way Relay which somehow have eluded previous editions.  Race reports welcome for these too.

Fell Championship 2017 (from Steve Webb)

Latest version is on the V S website; includes Burnsall Classic, Crowden Horseshoe, Long and Half Tours of Bradwell.

Kimbolton Castle Half Marathon

John Hobbs won this race in a time of 72:51.  There were 493 finishers

(Kimbolton is just off the A1 near Huntingdon and St Neots.)

City of York track and field

Gus Cawcutt was our only representative and in his first T&F competition for VS had some respectable results
75m - 17th/23 in 12.69secs
600m - 15th/21 in 2:08:52
Long jump - 16th/19 with 3.01metres

Wetherby mini-marathon (approx. 2km)

Congratulations to Jamie Walker who finished first in the race!  His time was 09:53

Wetherby 10k

Pos

Cat

Cat pos

Gun Time

Chip pos

Chip time

126

Adam

Parton

M45

(014/076)

00:44:12

129

00:44:22

131

Leroy

Sutton

M60

(005/027)

00:44:06

126

00:44:47

161

Paul

White

M65

(002/030)

00:46:11

174

00:46:13

187

Alistair

Smyth

M55

(006/032)

00:46:36

184

00:47:09

197

Amanda

Spencer

F45

(004/063)

00:47:19

201

00:47:36

323

Dawn

Parton

F40

(011/073)

00:51:22

341

00:51:38

606

Rachel

Waters

F S

(050/104)

00:58:46

614

00:59:23

692

Helen

Gill

F45

(042/063)

01:01:39

693

01:02:40

754

Maureen

Coffey

F65

(004/006)

01:04:32

760

01:05:23

892

Meryll

Cripps

F65

(006/006)

01:17:40

892

01:18:17

 

Long Tour of Bradwell (from Amanda Seims)

Having enjoyed the short tour two years ago in glorious sunshine, I'd been looking forward to finally checking out the long tour route. I felt I had enough distance in my legs to get me round in a reasonable time and in the lead up to the event I'd wondered if I could push to make top five lady, given that it was usually a small field that didn't attract lots of top athletes.

Much to my horror I came down with a nasty cold the week before which was just peaking the day of the race. As I'd been looking forward to it I decided I'd dose myself up on medicine, carry some caffeine gels and see if the fresh air and nice views could help clear my head. Sarah Smith kindly drove myself and some other club runners and started the pick-up at a shocking 6am. Sarah had only just completed the Lakeland 100 (that's 100 miles!) two weeks before so my cold didn't seem much of an excuse to complain after all!

On arrival, the first person I saw was THE Nicky Spinks herself (google her if you don't know who she is) which was exciting but also meant that I probably had to drop my expectations from top five to maybe top 10 lady at a push if there were amazing ladies like her in the event. Anyway, top 5, top 10, top 15 ... it doesn't really matter as it's top 3 that get on the podium but I like to challenge myself and at every race I try and set a goal which helps me focus when I'm tired in a race, which sometimes may be to get in the top half of the field or just get to the end!

I was really hoping for a repeat of the weather last time I raced in Bradwell, but here we were stood at the start, wearing waterproof jackets and wondering if we were dressed in the most appropriate kit. Suddenly we were off - this is a self-navigational event and I'd hoped that as the short and long routes take in some of the same stretches I'd remember parts, however I definitely don't recall the first few miles being a constant uphill drag on rocky tracks ... I do remember the fun, albeit quite slippery, rocky descent down the Limestone Way into Castleton followed by a climb up onto the fells. This time I was climbing all the way up to Edale and then suddenly a familiar sight ... the bridge crossing to get to the start of the Edale Skyline fell race which meant that I knew the next part was going to be a tough climb up even higher. It was a bit cold and bleak on the tops and the small group I was trying to stick with was drifting apart and I ended up running with Tom from Wakefield triathlon club. Somehow we went a slightly different way to the others which meant we missed the trods and had to figure out how to get back on route. After a fun steep and muddy descent, it was time to climb back out of the valley (passing an unofficial checkpoint which was basically a lady who'd set up a table with drinks and snacks outside her house for the runners) and all the way up to Lose Hill.  Suddenly blue skies appeared and the weather seemed to be picking up for the time being which was a good sign. Lose Hill is followed by another fun long descent but I managed to mess up by following another runner (who'd already gone wrong so I should have realised he wasn't a good person to follow!).

The next section I remembered well as I'd previously made as mistake on the short course and I was happy to see that it was flagged so easy to follow. I found myself back running with Tom and had been told I was in 4th place so I was very excited but also feeling that it probably wouldn't last as my legs had felt quite tired from early on but I wasn't giving up! Tom and I were enjoying our chat but we made a pact that we wouldn't feel obliged to stay together if we felt we could run faster (I was happy to have someone to help with the navigation to be honest and not feeling that spritely!). By checkpoint 9 the sun was out and it was fairly warm so I stripped down to just the Valley vest (no sun cream!) and it was onwards and upwards towards Stanage Edge (the famous climbing area). Suddenly a girl appeared, hot on my heels, out of nowhere and a feeling of dread came over me as it meant I either kept chatting away and enjoy the nice intermittent walk/jog pace we were going at, or I see if I can muster a steady shuffle and keep ahead of her. I thought I may as well see how long I can hold her off, so off I went, and by the end of the rocky ridge over Stanage she was out of sight and I breathed a sigh of relief! That stretch along Stanage and the path above the valley south of there was some of the most beautiful stretches of trail I've ever run on and the terrain was quite varied and interesting after that, following small streams and through beautiful secluded woods. By this point I was pretty tired and was counting down the miles - frustratingly I was back to playing cat and mouse with the girl again which meant I had to leave the other runner I'd tagged onto for the last couple of miles (very handy as he knew the way through a tricky section!). So about 5 miles to go and I was being chased down by this girl, on my own with no idea where I was going, but hoping my map reading skills were sufficient. At times I saw the girl's husband (who'd been popping up all round the course on his mountain bike) so I knew that meant I was still on track but it also meant she probably wasn't far behind me.

The last few miles were along a high exposed track which kept creeping uphill and was so tough and I felt like my legs were hardly moving more than a walk (I so wanted to walk a lot!) but I told myself that as long as I'm still in 4th place then I have to dig in and keep going. It's funny that you can be running along, tired, in pain and feeling quite miserable but then suddenly you can see the light at the end of the tunnel ... the village where we started and I knew the trail would soon be going downhill back into the valley so I just had to grimace through the pain in my quads and pick the pace up a bit ... and then through the village on a long stretch of tarmac and then the end!

I was welcomed back by friend and Kirkstall Harrier, Kelvin who'd made a sensible decision to switch to the short route considering that he would be racing the CCC ultra in Chamonix at the end of the month. The weather was still glorious and it was nice to sit around in the sun and let my body rest after what I'd just put it through. The adrenaline was wearing off and I was starting to feel quite poorly again but I was so happy to have made it round it a respectable time and had really enjoyed the views all the way round. A bonus of finishing in that time meant that I could cheer in all the other runners and it's nice to see the look on people's faces as they cross the finish line. My friend Becki came in looking very strong and Sarah Smith similarly breezed in like the Lakeland 100 was two years as opposed to two weeks ago! My 4th place put me in 3rd overall female which got me a bottle of beer (much appreciated by our fellow car sharer Dave) and it was great to see that Valley Striders had also done well in the short course with Graham and Camilla finishing in great times, including Camilla taking 4th female and the 3rd open female prize.

A great event and a must for the calendar next year!

Final results
Short tour
1st man - Bart Shaw, Totley AC, 2:04:24
1st lady (11th place) - Tracy Dean, Raidlight UK, 2:24:40
4th lady (3rd open F and 22nd overall) - Camilla West, Valley Striders 2:32:06
34th place (4th V50) - Graham Jones, Valley Striders, 2:37:56
142 started, 141 finished (last runner in 4:26:15).
Long tour
1st man - Lee Kemp, Waverley Harriers, 5:03:51
1st lady (1st FV50 and 13th overall) - Nicky Spinks, Dark Peak Fell Runners, 6:23:36
4th lady (3rd F open and 24th overall) - Amanda Seims, Valley Striders, 6:52:19
15th lady (4th FV50 and 66th overall) - Sarah Smith, Valley Striders, 8:18:54
115 started, 106 finished (last runner in 10:28).