I found my thriiiiilllllll on Parliament Hill

Transcription

1 Volume 13 Issue 3 March 2012 Newsletter for Desford Striders Running Club I found my thriiiiilllllll on Parliament Hill F.preparing for battle! A colourful scene met the Striders up on The Hill or the first time in six years the Striders competed at The English National Crosscountry Championships. I don t know if the venue had a particular lure for our merry band, but the club s last visit to this event, was also Parliament Hill, back in On that occasion your reporter wasn t able to make the trip, but this time I am very pleased to say I was and what a tremendous occasion to be part of! With over 4,800 runners taking part in any one of the 10 races being staged, there was a myriad of different club colours from the length and breadth of England. Tents and flags were planted all over the hill side giving it the look of a medieval army preparing for battle, as runners donned their club vests and battle equipment of walshes, trail shoes and spikes. And in the history of the Nationals this turned out to be a pretty special occasion, the running of the men s 125th race. Save for the two World Wars, men having been battling for the title of English Cross-country Champion since 1876 (which incidentally was abandoned), whereas the first ladies race wasn t until Moving on..amongst the many thousands of competitors, coaches and supporters, was a significant band of Striders, which included 11 runners. With the club flag standing proud, the poor bashed up old tent was once again fought into an erect state and we set up camp for the afternoon! As we prepared ourselves and did our individual warm up routines, the now famous Striders Soup Kitchen was prepared and hot soup and rolls was a post race promise. However, the weather didn t fully merit such warming nourishment, as we were blessed with warm pre-spring sunshine all day long. However this didn t stop us tucking into the soup once we had finished! We had journeyed down on a coach, together with our LRRL friends and neighbours from Huncote, Nuneaton, Wigston Phoenix and Fleckney & Kibworth, arriving in plenty of time to soak up this unique atmosphere. The ladies race was at 2.20 p.m. and I am pleased to report that we had a full ladies team out. It had been in the balance up to a day before the race, as unfortunately Lisa Dixon was unable to make the trip and Anne Robertson had to pull out due to injury. Thankfully though Marie Hobbs, herself coming back from injury and new member Jill Sharpe, stepped in at the last minute. (Jill is a past Strider and has re-joined, literally hours before the big race!) The start of the ladies race.

2 Page 2 Desford Striders Ladies National XC squad 2012: June Morris, Jill Sharpe, Ali Ide and Marie Hobbs. Likewise the men, who started 40 minutes after the ladies (and whilst many of them were still out on the course) also fielded a full 6 man team, in fact we just a couple short of getting a 9 man team out. Next year perhaps? The course itself was.. testing. The start itself was a long steady uphill section. Thankfully there was no particularly nasty hill, but many short, and longer, inclines. One might have called it undulating. With multiple laps, these inclines gave the runners legs a good work out. With the weather being so delightful, the course was relatively dry. There was mud (wouldn t be proper cross-country without it!), but nothing too serious. It was quite twisty and turny too and after a relatively short distance we could see the leaders going in the opposite direction. Never ceases to amaze me just how fast they run! Jill Sharpe marked her return by coming home first for the ladies in 47:51. Less than a minute behind was Ali Ide, finishing her first National in 605th position. June Morris was next in, finishing in 57:23, with Marie Hobbs bringing the team home in 58:57. Their fine efforts ensured that we had a team on the results list. O.k. they may have been 72nd of the 72 teams, but in respect of representing only Charnwood and Nuneaton also got teams out. Due to starting whilst our ladies were still out on the course, the gents unfortunately weren t able to cheer them in. However this disappointment was soon dispelled as they got down to the business of dragging themselves around the 2 and a half-lapped 12K course. It was quite an experience to start in such a large field of runners for a crosscountry race (nearly 1,700) and to see hundreds and hundreds of runners stretched Ali Ide and Jill Sharpe, close together in the very early stages. out in front of us was quite something. Although it would have been nice to have had just dozens ahead of us, there were some very fine runners there! This didn t deter our hearty souls. They had two legs, the same as the whippets, they are club runners, the same as the whippets, and they were just as entitled to be there! Fine efforts were put in all round and they were led home by Graham Hobbs, finishing in 50:31 and 923th place. Paul Goddard was next to finish in 58:35, followed by the two Gar (r)ys. Mr Grimsley dipped in just under 64 minutes, whilst Garry Birch was just over 65 mins. Francis Breen and Paul Carnegie provided the closest Strider tussle, with just 40 seconds and 7 places between them. Steve Morris was our final runner, completing the course in 1:26:32. As with our ladies team the men provided the last scoring team by finishing in 125th position. In respect of Leicestershire clubs they were also third behind Nuneaton and Huncote. Paul Carnegie and Steve Morris lend their support to Marie Hobbs on the latter stages of the first mini lap.

3 Page 3 Support was provided by Paddy Crowe and Mr Ide, Alison s dad, who ran in the Nationals many moons ago and travelled down with us for a nostalgic re-visit. Jill Sharpe s daughter and partner, who live a stones throw away from Parliament Hill, popped over to say hello and cheer mum on. And of course Ruth Carnegie, who provided the majority of the pictures you see. Our sincere thanks to them all for their help and encouragement. Well what can I say? We may have a little work to do before we win either of the men s or ladies team trophies (chortle, chortle), but as a club WE WERE THERE! If you get a chance take a look at the results and see just how many of Leicestershire s running clubs WEREN T there! Well done to everybody Desford Striders Men s National XC squad 2012: Paul Carnegie, Gary Grimsley, who went down and next year hopefully Paul Goddard, Francis Breen, Steve Morris, Graham Hobbs and Garry Birch we ll have even more there. We are runners! It s a race! We ran! Above: The men s race underway. Left: Paul Carnegie leads Francis Breen, although the roles reversed before they finished! Above: Paul Goddard shows his concentration out on the course. Men - 12K Graham Hobbs Paul Goddard Gary Grimsley Garry Birch Francis Breen Paul Carnegie Steve Morris (1689 finishers) Pos Time 50:31 58:35 1:03:55 1:05:06 1:07:41 1:08:21 1:26:32 Ladies - 8K Pos Jill Sharpe Ali Ide June Morris Marie Hobbs Time : : : :57 (670 finishers) All good things come to an end.

4 Page 4 National X Country event at Parliament Hill London 25 th February 2012 My thanks to June Morris who penned this article following her successful completion of the National XC Championships. A s the day approached it brought with it an equal amount of anxiety and excitement. The Nationals! Memories returned of our minibus excursion in 2006 and the effort and enjoyment of that day. Steve and I met up with the main party on Parliament Hill itself, so I can t comment upon the coach journey, but everyone seemed in good spirits as they arrived. Having read about the previous year s championships with horrific weather, we were well prepared for the elements. However, luck was on our side, giving us a lovely sunny day one in which we did not have to huddle in the tent between races. (Although Steve said he would have preferred this!) Instead we bathed in the sunshine looking out over the famous London landmarks. To begin the races we had to descend the hill to the Pens. And, with the gun, we had to ascend that same lovely hill (they say it was ½ mile to the top!) My aim was to keep with the pack at all costs. I did not wish to stand out in front of the cheering crowds. It was such a relief to round the bend at the top and know that I had managed this. There then followed a series of ups, downs, rounds and abouts until that much-longed-for finish was in sight. On the final descent someone had the audacity to overtake me! No way was I going to allow this to happen, so I somehow summoned extra strength to hurtle past her. Then it was a delight to realise that there were several others finishing behind me. In fact I had achieved a P.B. coming in 3 minutes faster than I had done 6 years previously. So, yes, it was all worth it! A quick shopping spree to get the ( look I really do compete in races ) hoody to wear with my more sedentary friends, a welcome mug of soup from Desford soup kitchen and I was off to cheer in the men as they finished their event. I must say I was very proud of a certain individual who this time last year was about to have his new hip joint! Although the sun shone, it was February after all, so a big thank you to those who came as spectators, and suffered with coldfingeritis. A special thanks to Graham, Marie and other soup kitchen staff and Ruth Carnegie for her time spent behind the lens. It was good to see Desford there, along with Charnwood, representing our county. So think about putting the County, the Area and the Nationals in your event diary next year. A day of challenge with Strider camaraderie is guaranteed. Livingston Relays Sunday 29th April a.m. (Braunstone Park, Leicester) fter the success of last year, the Livingston Relays are again being staged at Braunstone Park, Leicester. This A year s date is Sunday 29th April, so nowhere near Easter! We ll again be looking to get out as may teams as possible, last year we had three chaps and one chapesses teams. Each leg will be three miles and we need four men per team and three ladies. You don t have to be quick or have been with the club since time immemorial, just want to have a go at a different event and want to enjoy a good morning crack (not the drug!), with your mates. If you can run, you ll do just fine! Mark Dixon stepped up to the mark to take names etc. and has kindly done so again (unless he s had a change of heart!) So if you want to give it a go, please let him know by either speaking to him directly or dsrc.inform@googl .com. Not heard what the entry fee is, but it s usually around 3. As with all the relays we take part in as a club, I m sure the club will pay half the fee. However, the usual rule applies, commit to take part, but don t run, you ll have to pay the full amount. Fair? So if you ve not tried them out before, why not give it a go? Hopefully see you there. June concentrates hard and ensures she stays in the pack on the first incline.

5 Page 5 Derby Runner Cross-country League They re off! The start of the final xc league race at Ullesthorpe T he final league race of the season attracted another good supply of Striders and equalled the number who ran at Foremark and Grace Dieu, with 20 taking part. The difference on this occasion was a comparatively superb turnout of 5 ladies who made the trip to Ullesthorpe, for the event hosted by Hinckley RC. This club do remarkably well when it comes to hosting crosscountry races, they have around 5 courses that they alternate between and this was the time that this course had been used since late Which meant that the turnout of just under 300 runners may have been a little disappointing. Mhairi Billington pushing up the hill to the finish. Lee Barber, Gavin Speed and Neil Ackland battle it out in the latter stages. Ullesthorpe proves popular with Striders Nevertheless the fact that we had 5 ladies running meant we had a full ladies team for only the second time in this season s 6 league races. Amongst these were Kate Beaumont and Laura Rossi. They recently made their road debuts for the club at the Barrow 6 and they both made their debut doubles by taking part in this event. They were accompanied by Mhairi Billington, Ali Ide and June Morris. This course was just under 5.5 miles and consisted of quite a number of short sharp inclines, sprinkled amongst large sections of skirting around the edges of fields. There were two stream crossings, which weren t particularly deep, but left the feet pretty cold after leaving the water. The second one of these was within sight of the finish and just before a field which the running of can only be described as the feeling of riding a roller coaster. It was impossible to get a rhythm on this section as you went up and down with the waves of the green terrain. However this was nothing compared to what can lay claim to one of the meanest finishes we are likely to encounter in any race, whether on the road or over the fields. Pure up hill! And pure sadism!! It was a very steep incline and not many of us were ale to put much of an impressive finish up it, although everybody tried. The two most impressive that I witnessed, from Strider colours, were probably Ali Ide and Gavin Speed. They put on such a spurt of energy that they literally left their respective opponents standing. In respect of the men, Richard Billington returned from injury and despite taking it nice and steady, still led the men s team home by a comfortable 18 seconds over Cont. O/leaf Ullesthorpe Men Pos Time R. Billington 40 37:51 G. Hobbs 43 38:09 G. Speed 91 42:06 L. Barber 93 42:20 N. Ackland 95 42:37 D. Percy :00 P. Marvin :04 P. Faver :48 P. Lord :51 B. Moran :21 G. Grimsley :46 J. Shade :30 N. Trotman :48 F. Breen :40 H. Long :07 S. Morris 207 1:11:27 Ladies M. Billington 26 47:52 K. Beaumont 34 49:07 L. Rossi 70 56:34 A. Ide 72 57:09 J. Morris finishers

6 Page 6 Graham Hobbs. Gavin was next home, and as well as pushing up the final hill, had done remarkably well to overhaul both Neil Ackland and Lee Barber in the last third of a mile or so. We had a good turnout of supporters too, including Paul Carnegie who was actually celebrating his 50th birthday on the day of the race. Unfortunately he d been pretty ill during the week and had to cancel family celebrations as well as running the race. So we were very pleased he was ale to come and support along with Ruth, who once again has produced some excellent photos for you to enjoy. See the website to access these. Also many happy returns to Gary Grimsley who was also celebrating his birthday..age not disclosed! Amongst our other supports were Karen Percy, who again Above: Pete Marvin pushes his Leics. Tri. opponent all the managed to end up handing out the finishing discs. way up the hill and to the line. This gives an idea of the steepness of the Ullesthorpe finish. Here we can see Nigel Trotman heading for the finish line. Kate Beaumont encourages Lisa Rossi up the final stretch. Thanks Karen. Steve Bailey and Marie Hobbs, both suffering from injuries also came along to add their voices to the Strider shouting and it was also a pleasure to welcome Mrs Faver (apologies my goldfish memory has lost your first name), who was lending much needed support to Paul. We also owe our thanks to the Bringers Of Cakes. It s becoming a bit of a tradition that we have cakes at the end of our races and we are getting a marvellous selection to choose from. Worth burning up those calories! I would just like to thank those folk who have run for the club during any of this season s races, hopefully we ll get good turnouts next year. And last but not least, our thanks to the ever present Paddy Crowe for taking the money and sorting out the results at the end of each race...that it! Hit 50 and your fashion sense is straight out the window! Ruth and Paul Carnegie, together with Marie Hobbs give Steve Morris some verbal encouragement

7 Page 7 Ladies down, but men hope to stay up ue to the lack of ladies during the season we have unfortunately been unable to get a score in half of the races. Consequently this meant they were D on a hiding to nothing and an impossible task of remaining in Division 1. In the final race they picked up 5 points, almost double the whole season s tally in one go! In the end they were 13 behind second from bottom Roadhoggs and will start 2012/13 in Division 2. Hopefully the men s team will fare better. Going into the final race they were three adrift at the bottom of the table. But they too scored their best result of the season and as Sth. Derbyshire didn t get a full team out, thereby scoring no points, the men have finished in the penultimate place. In the past this has meant Division 1 survival. Hopefully only one team will get relegated again this season! Otherwise we will all be in the lower divisions. The mixed team has also had a difficult season, but being in Division 2 weren t threatened by relegation. Having said that there was only one team below them who scored any points. It would be nice to use this season as a turning point and start working our way up the tables next year. Fingers Team - Div 2 crossed that we get teams out consistently for both them men and ladies.. Leicester Tri 87 Derwent 80 Huncote 73 Birstall 65 Hermitage 58 Desford 52 Wigston 22 Harborough 9 Beaumont 0 Charnwood Tri 0 Fleckney 0 Owls 0 R. Royce 0 S. Derbyshire 0 Stilton 0 Derby Runner League Tables Ladies - Div 1. Shepshed 57 Wreake 45 Birstall 39 Hatton 39 Ivanhoe 37 Huncote 25 Westend 24 Hinckley 23 Barrow 18 Desford 5 Men - Div 1. Hermitage 50 Hinckley 50 Wreake 46 Hatton 42 Shepshed 40 Derby Tri 30 Barrow 23 Westend 16 Desford 14 S. Derbyshire 12 Above: Mr Dependable! Paddy Crowe packs away the Striders flag at the end of the Ullesthorpe race. Right: Cakes, cakes and more cakes! It s why we run! Ali, Marie and Karen dishing out the wares after the race W e were back to a compliment of 4 Junior Striders at the final Ullesthorpe race and once again it was the Percy and Ratnett brothers. In the Year 1 to 6 race Edward Percy scored his first victory over Mathew Ratnett this season by finishing the short course in a time of 7:25, 13 seconds ahead of his club mate. The roles were reversed form the Grace Dieu event, for the older lads, with Dan Ratnett taking the Strider honours. However, it wasn t achieved without having to work hard for it. Alex pushed him all the way to the line and was just 2 seconds behind Dan s time of 13:03. I d like to offer the club s gratitude to these young lads. I m aware they train with Wreake, but wanted to run in Strider colours at the xc races, so our thanks to them and in of course to Wreake for their acceptance of that. Alex Percy is pushed all the way by Harborough s Niamh Watson. They eventually recorded the same time.

8 Page 8 Cross-country Individual Club Standings Anne bags first club win, whilst Graham and Gavin retain their titles ollowing on from Ali Ide s success earlier in the year, the remaining three titles have all now been decided. The vets. ladies was the closest competition, F with both Mhairi Billington and Anne Robertson finishing the season on 15 points. However, as Anne had run more race, the title was hers. It s her first Striders win and we offer her our congratulations and commiserations to Mhairi for missing out in such close circumstances. Gavin Speed powers his way up the Ullesthorpe hill and to another Senior Men s xc title. Third place was stolen on the line at the Nationals and that was by June Morris. Her finish in London gave her equal points with Lisa Dixon, but as with the top two, she completed more races and took third place. Both men s titles were decided at Ullesthorpe, and both went to the previous year s winners, Gavin Speed for the seniors and Graham Hobbs for the vet s. Gavin s closest rival was Pete Marvin, also runner up last season, but he ensured victory by a convincing 8 points. Neil Ackland who completed two races in the season, picked up third place. With just the two races to go, Graham could still have lost out on the vets. title to Duncan Percy, but his second place at Ullesthorpe ensured he had enough points to pick up his third xc vets. title of his Strider career. Andrew Coles absence in the last three events, allowed Duncan Percy to keep hold of runners-up spot, finishing 18 points ahead of Andrew. We had 41 members run in the Derby Runner xc league this season, with three completing all six league races. They were Ali Ide, Duncan Percy and John Shade. However only one managed to complete the 6 league events and the three Championships, and that was Graham Hobbs. Well done to all four of them. Hopefully we ll be able to attract more Striders for next year s races, as it s much more fun the more of us there are. Either way well done to those who took part and many congratulations to those who placed And many thanks to Paddy Crowe for being there and calculating the results. To Ruth Carnegie for the photos, to all the cake makers and anybody else who lent their support on those, mainly, cold mornings. Female Snrs. A. Ide 15 K. Beaumont 2 Male Seniors G. Speed 18 P. Marvin 10 N. Ackland 6 L. Barber 7 G. Roberts 3 Anne Robertson, ladies vets. xc champion for 2011/12. Female Vets. A. Robertson 15 M. Billington 15 J. Morris 8 L. Dixon 8 M. Hobbs 7 V. Holmes 4 J. Sharpe 4 L. Rossi 3 Male Vets. G. Hobbs 122 D. Percy 83 A. Cole 65 G. Grimsley 61 M. Foley 60 P. Carnegie 45 P. Faver 43 B. Moran 42 R. Billington 42 D. Playford 40 J. Shade 37 G. Birch 32 F. Breen 31 H. Long 27 N. Trotman 26 S. Bailey 24 P. Goddard 23 S. Morris 22 P. Lord 10 S. Tebbutt 9 C. Minto 9 C. Coulson 6 P. Goodchild 4 M. Hill 4 D. Lea 3 P. Bradshaw 2 MONDAY NIGHT OFF ROAD RUNNING They re back! Not just the lighter evenings on their way, so are the off-road runs. Once again our thanks to Marie and David Playford for sorting out the schedule. As with last year there are five venues and distances range from 5 to 9 miles. So a little something for everyone. These runs will start every Monday at 6.30pm. Please come along there will be plenty of re-grouping stops so no-one will get left behind! Any questions, please give Marie and David a ring on either (M) or (D). See you on the 26th Mar? Ratby, Burroughs Lane Mar 26 Apr 23 May 21 Jun 18 Jul 16 Aug 13 Sep 10 Bradgate, Outside Post Office Apr 02 Apr 30 May 28 Jun 25 Jul 23 Aug 20 Sep 17 Thornton Reservoir Car Park Apr 09 May 07 Jun 04 Jul 02 Jul 30 Aug 27 Sep 24 Desford SID Car Park Apr 16 Jun 11 Aug 06 Huncote leisure Centre May 14 Jul 09 Sep 03

9 Page 9 The last 6 seasons of the Derby Runner xc League. (excludes B Finals and Relays) After 6 years with the club, John Shade gives an analysis of everything to do with xc league races during that time, from the Wettest Car Park to the Highest Strider Turnouts. F or the start of 2007/08 Derby Tri, Harborough, Huncote and Barrow were added. For 2008/09 Fleckney, Wigston and Charnwood Tri joined. For 2010/11 Derwent and Leics Uni joined. For 2011/12 Leics Tri Joined, making a total of 26 clubs. There 14 different venues used, the most time was 5, shared by Bagworth Heath, Grace Dieu and Foremark Reservoir. There were 32 races over this period, 30 were raced and 2 cancelled, both at Bagworth Heath due to snow and ice (Jan 2010, Dec 2010). One other race was switched, the Allestree park, Derby race 2010/11 never took place but was taken up from Bagworth Heath (Feb 2011). Progressive highest totals - Fosse Meadows Nov 2007, 384 (264, 120), Foremark Nov 2009, 403 (282, 121), Foremark Nov 2010, 413 (266, 147), Grace Dieu Jan 2012, 428 (301, 127). Lowest turnout was Sinai Park March 2008, 219 (153, 66). This was also the lowest male total and joint lowest female total, at the same venue Feb The largest number of Striders was 37 at Manor farm, Ullesthorpe Oct 2006, (25,12). This is also the club s largest male/female totals. The lowest was 11 in three events, Aylestone Meadows Dec 2009 (11/0), Bosworth Showground (9/2), Allestree Park Dec 2011 (10/1). Lowest male total of 9 jointly (as previous) and Sinai Park Feb Top individual Strider was Emma Marvin who finished joint 1st Senior lady in 2009/10 and was 2nd in 2010/11. Strider ladies won Division 2 in season 2008/09. There was one race restart, that was after 1/4 mile at Swithland Nov Wettest car park/most remote venue/easily the worst bottleneck on a course was Fosse Meadow, Sharnford in Nov Most scenic/most diabolical water hazard was manor Farm, Ullesthorpe Oct On a cold, beautiful day looking out from high ground and seeing and running over stunning rural Leicestershire countryside. The waist deep water we had to wade through and getting in and out of high sided muddy banks (oh what fun we had!!) Wettest race underfoot was Bagworth Heath Dec 2006, apart from the hard standing bits, the whole of the rest of the course was ankle deep in mud and water. Driest underfoot/heat wave Weather was Sth. Charnwood Oct 2011 (only xc race where you needed sun tan lotion!) Best for pitching tents, Bosworth battlefield Feb 2010, Allestree Park Dec Best Fun Moment, Grace Dieu Jan 2009, when a Birstall lady crossed the finish line covered head to toe in mud and having a huge smile on her face (the teeth gave it away), she joined the rest of her club for a wonderful team photo. My best races were Foremark Feb 2008, light frost in surface and misty Bosworth park Nov 2008, muddy. Favourite course was Foremark. Least favourite are any with bottlenecks. I had my joint worst races at Grace Dieu Jan 2008 and Sinai Park Jan Best for spectators (both 2 lappers) are Bagworth Heath and Foremark. Am I In The Right Sport Moment: Sinai Park Jan The ladies started 10 minutes after the men and Emma Marvin flew by me, running that fast that the draught caused me to spin round. Of the 30 actual races, I have run 26 of them, including the last 12. Of the other 4 I was injured for 2 of them. These 6 season have come full circle in respect of the tice used manor Farm, Ullesthorpe venue. By coincidence it started he sequence, Oct 2006/Feb Where it all started for John, the view from Manor Farm over the latter stages of the Ullesthorpe course. Got anything for the newsletter? Articles, photos, etc?? Please forward to: Graham Hobbs dsrc.inform@gmail.com Or 146 Kirkby Road, Barwell, LE9 8FS Thursday Night Club Running Winter Runs Date Name Dist. Name Dist Kirkby Mallory + Desf 8.7 Kirkby Mallory Botcheston hill and pub 6.0 Botcheston Back to summer running

10 Page 10 Leicestershire Road Running League. Ashby success for Striders L ess than 24 hours after competing in the Nationals at Parliament Hill, 6 Striders were amongst a total of 24 members for the third LRRL, the Ashby 5, hosted by Sth. Derbyshire RC and staged from the Leisure Centre in Ashby-de-la-Zouch. Ashby 5 Pos Gun Chip Time Time G. Hobbs 73 31:02 30:53 A. Cole :29 33:22 L. Barber :31 33:20 P. Goddard :19 34:09 D. Percy :23 34:13 P. Faver :00 B. Moran :02 34:52 L. Dixon 24 37:01 36:45 D. Playford :05 37:47 M. Dixon :29 38:12 G. Grimsley :33 38:15 K. Beaumont 51 39:12 38:52 M. Billington 55 39:16 38:59 J. Shade :05 39:46 E. Newton 88 41:41 41:22 L. Rossi 97 42:12 41:53 P. Carnegie :45 42:27 R. Evans :28 43:05 N. Trotman :57 43:38 F. Breen :17 43:58 M. Hill :28 44:02 A. Ide :36 45:17 P. Bradshaw :44 45:26 M. Hobbs :23 56: finishers Newcomer Charlotte Turner had a fine debut for the Striders, coming home as our first lady. We again had a super turnout of ladies, with 8 of them giving us two scoring teams and easily a full men s team. Graham Hobbs had an excellent run, clocking his second fastest 5 mile time of 31:02 and was followed home by Andrew Cole in 133rd place. He was just a couple seconds of Lee Barber, who completed the 5 miles in 33:31. Just behind the front three Paul Goddard and Duncan Percy were separated by just four seconds, as were Mark Dixon and Gary Grimsley. For the ladies, Lisa Dixon smashed her personal best, achieving a splendid time of 38:29, Ashby 5 because of the previous day s Na- Paul said that his time was a little slow at the whilst Kate Beaumont had a fine finish to pip tional race. Me, I think he was just aping Mhairi Billington in the run, although I learnt around! afterwards that Mhairi had been brought off her bike the day before by a nutter in a car. Hopefully she s recovered o.k. Just a couple of 2012 first timers, John Shade for the gents and Ali Ide for the ladies. In respect of the teams, the ladies were eighth of the ten teams in Division one, whilst their B team were 7th in Division three and are having a fine season. Hopefully the ladies numbers will stay high and this team will have some success. The ladies vets., like the seniors are hovering just above the bottom place, scored 12 points in sixth place of the 8 teams. Both the men s teams had successful days, with the seniors finishing second and the vets. Scoring their second victory in three races. Ladies day at Markfield 10K W hat a day the Markfield 10K turned out to be! We were again just short of the magical 30 mark, but a showing of 28 Striders kept up the recent good turnouts. And amongst that was a splendid 11 ladies! The largest number we ve had for Winter league race that I can remember. And the weather! A very slight, cooling breeze, with beautiful warm sunshine. Could Spring have arrived at last? Hoorrahh! So, a fine show of Striders for this testing 10K course, which set off from Sth. Charnwood School, which incidentally is also the venue for a cross-country league race. There were over 470 starters, but only 466 finishers. I heard that at least 6 people pulled out before the 3K marker. The large field of runners headed towards Thornton and immediately had to engage two large, steep hills. The first downhill, with the second a long slow grind into the village. Then with barely the chance to get their heart rates under control, they were confronted by another pair of hills by Thornton Reservoir (thankfully looking a little more like its old self) before heading off to Markfield. Happily the hills after this were a little kinder on both the lungs and knees, but no less challenging due to dropped energy levels. Graham Hobbs brought the Striders home, running his second fastest ever 10K. He covered the course in a very pleasing time of 39:12. He was followed home by Andrew Cole and Duncan Percy, who had quite a battle. Duncan managed to catch his team mate on the final hill, but was only just out done on the run in. I mentioned in the Ashby report that Mhairi had been brought off her bike by a driver in the run up to the race. Well, it may be become a Strider curse, but Paul Faver was knocked down by a reversing motorist during the week leading up to the Markfield race. Thankfully he wasn't seriously hurt and only received a few bumps Cont. overleaf

11 Page 11 and bruises. He complained of not having a good race as a result, but let s be thankful he was able to run! We had just the one Strider making his first appearance of the year and that was Mark Goodrich. He completed the course in a time of 51:02 and finishing 256th. Our ladies were led home by a new face. Charlotte Turner is a student at Leeds University, and is a friend of the Goddard family. She mentioned wanting to run some races and hey presto! There she was on Sunday morning, lining up with the rest of us. She admitted to feeling a little nervous, but soon settled down and had a fine run. She completed the run in a time of 46:08 and around half a minute ahead of Pete Marvin and Lisa Dixon, who was 22nd lady. Mhairi Billington was our third lady, completing the course in 48:49. Markfield 10K Pos Gun Chip Time LRRL 2012 Ladies Div 1 Charnwood AC 75 Barrow 64 Birstall 64 Huncote 55 Ivanhoe 53 Wreake 50 Barrow B 43 Desford 42 Leicester Tri 37 Fleckney 33 Time G. Hobbs 56 39:12 39:07 A. Cole :47 42:42 D. Percy :51 42:45 P. Goddard :09 44:02 B. Moran :36 45:27 P. Faver :41 45:32 P. Lord :02 45:50 C. Turner 20 46:08 45:41 P. Marvin :33 46:15 L. Dixon 22 46:48 46:39 M. Billington 41 48:49 48:24 M. Foley :34 49:01 K. Beaumont 48 49:47 49:39 M. Goodrich :02 50:34 G. Grimsley :56 52:25 L. Rossi 71 52:56 52:48 E. Newton 79 53:44 53:19 J. Green 81 53:55 53:29 R. Evans 82 53:59 53:27 P. Carnegie :00 53:29 N. Glover 84 54:08 53:42 N. Trotman :27 54:54 M. Hill :22 56:49 P. Lord :56 58:24 P. Bradshaw :58 58:34 S. Morris :33 64:00 J. Morris :24 67:54 S. Hibben :06 81: finishers As well as Charlotte, we had two other ladies making their 2012 LRRL debuts. Nicola Glove was 84th lady and June Morris came home in a little under 68 minutes. There was some welcome support on the way around, with Jill Godard and her party giving vocal encouragement just before we got to Markfield. Steve Bailey and Marie Hobbs were also urging their team mates on from the saddle, whilst Ruth Carnegie was behind the lense of her camera and Paddy Crowe at the finish to recover the timing chips. Our thanks to them all. n respect of the league tables, all the teams are ticking over nicely, with both men s I teams sitting in the top two positions in their respective divisions and the ladies two first teams keeping their heads above water in their own divisions. Having had such good turnouts so far, the ladies B team are currently 5th in Division 3. The men s senior team was second at Ashby and third at Markfield, this leaves them 4 points behind first place Birstall and a useful 8 points ahead od Sth. Derbys. In respect of the Vets. they have so far had 2 wins and 2 second places, giving them a 10 point lead over Sth. Derbys at the top of the table. Our three ladies teams are doing well too. The senior and vets. teams will have a testing time keeping their Division 1 status, but are doing a fine job so far. Both are lying third from bottom, with the seniors 5 points in front of Leicester Tri and only the single point behind Barrow B. It s a little tighter for the vets. as they are 5 points behind Hinckley and equal with Huncote. Meanwhile the ladies B team are having a fine time, having managed to field full teams in three of the four races so far. Hopefully we ll keep up these fine performances at Kibworth, where we will need your support, please run if you can. Leicester Running Shop LRRL Tables LRRL 2012 Ladies Vet Div 1 Ivanhoe 74 Birstall 65 Charnwood AC 62 Barrow 60 Hinckley 52 Desford 47 Huncote 47 Wigston Phoenix 41 LRRL 2012 Men Vet Div 3 Desford 74 Sth Derbys 64 Stilton 64 Nuneaton 58 Birstall 52 Harborough 52 Shepshed 44 Whetstone 40 Charnwood Tri 27 L University 0 OWLS 0 LRRL 2012 Men Div 3 Birstall 71 Desford 67 Sth Derbys 59 Stilton 57 Nuneaton 52 Harborough 48 Shepshed 46 Whetstone 43 OWLS 34 L University 31 Charnwood Tri 22 Mark Goodrich on his first outing on the road. LRRL 2012 Ladies Div 3 Pt Harborough 97 Huncote B 78 Hinckley B 75 S. Derbys 74 Desford B 70 Wreake B 67 Hermitage B 63 Nuneaton 60 West End B 59 Roadhoggs B 47 Wigston Phoenix B 45 S. Derbys B 29 Harborough B 23 Shepshed 22 Nuneaton B 21 Whetstone 18 Beaumont B 12 L University 11 L. Tri B 11 Charnwood Tri 0 Fleckney B 0 L Coritanians 0 OWLS 0 Stilton B 0

12 Page 12 AGM 2012 Return of the Breen! The club s Annual General Meeting was unfortunately poorly attended, with just 22 of the members in attendance, although there was some lively and valuable contributions from those that were there. The main talking point was the surprise volunteering of Francis Breen to take over as Chairman. As he was unopposed (Steve Morris got his hand down very quickly after Francis raised his!), his election was guaranteed. It s his second spell in the hot seat having previously been elected in April A number of issues were raised and discussed and should you wish to read a copy of the minutes, just ask a committed member and I m sure a copy can be made available. So that you are aware our new committee is made up as follows: Chairman: Francis Breen Vice Chairman: Steve Morris Social Secretary: Andy Hurd Secretary: Paddy Crowe Treasurer: Richard McBean Newsletter Editor: Graham Hobbs Membership Sec: Pam Lord Kit Man: Steve Bailey General Member: Nicola Glover General Member: Gary Grimsley Our thanks to Paddy Crowe for his hard work as Chairman over the last two years, there was an audible sigh of relief as he moved out of the chair to make way for Francis! From Paddy that is, not the assembled Striders! Since the AGM a further person has jumped onto the good ship HMS Committee, and that is Sarah Cotterill. She is very enthusiastic about getting the club on Facebook and will be administering it, no doubt along with other bits and bobs. Welcome Sarah and indeed thanks to the above people for putting themselves forward. Y ou may, or may not know, who runs road running in this country. Well, I m no expert but just to lend you the benefit of what small morsel of knowledge I have, there are two main bodies. One is the official one. English Athletics (EA), under the umbrella of UK Athletics. This was put in place by the Government to run athletics within England and under that banner comes our road running. The second one is The Association Of Road Runners (ARC). This was set up in opposition/objection to EA and is run by people from the running community. There are a number of differences and a number of reasons for registering with either body and if you bear with me, I will enlighten you.i hope. Desford Striders is registered with both organisations, that means if you run an event organised under the banner of ARC, you are an attached club runner. However if the event is being staged under the EA banner, you are not recognised as an attached runner and have to pay the extra unattached 2 charge. The only way to get around this, is to register as an individual with EA, which currently stands at a 5 charge per annum and can only be done through the club. They will then send you a credit card sized piece of plastic telling you what your EA membership number is and also your name. (Sorry, trying to remain impartial, but finding it difficult). There is no need to register as an individual offer with Arc and it is an individual s choice as to whether or not they register with EA or not. But there are a couple of down sides if you don t. First of all, the London Marathon people have told us that unless we have members registered with EA, we won t receive anymore club places. This is even though this is not one of their listed requirements to obtain these places(?) Unfortunately they haven t told us how people we need to have registered with EA to obtain them. Secondly, both the Midland and the National XC Championship exclude runners who are not individually registered with EA. The only way to run these is to pay up an extra 5 and register with EA. There are obviously more differences at a club admin level, but I feel that is the main gist of how individuals are affected. If you have any other observations or wish to correct any errors I may have made, please do. 28th-29th July 2012 Just a quick reminder about this event. We ve ha s a reasonable first show of interest, with Lee Barber, Graham Hobbs, Marie Hobbs (subject to the knee getting better), Andrew Hurd, Ali Ide, Paul Goddard and Gary Grimsley expressing an interest. Naturally more would be much more fun. More details are available in February s newsletter and even more at: Let us know a.s.a.p. if you're interested.

13 Page 13 Y ou may recall me writing about an event that myself and Marie went to last year in Bedfordshire, The Colworth Marathon Challenge. It s three races in three days, the distances of which add up to 26.2 mile, hence the marathon Challenge. You DON'T have to do all three, just one, two or if mad enough like me, the whole trio. It s quite a test of stamina and starts on the Friday evening with a 5 mile event; on Saturday afternoon it s an 8.1 mile offroad run and finishes off with a half-marathon on Sunday morning. The 5 mile and 1/2 are a mix of road and off-road, (the half consists of two aps and uses a fair section of the 5 mile route), whereas the 8.1 m run is pretty much all off-road and is a good test! The site is only around an hour an a half away and there is the opportunity to camp, with excellent facilities a two minute walk away. Both myself and Marie would highly recommend it and have sent our entries in. Amongst the other takers I know are Francis Breen, Gary Grimsley, Marie and Dave Playford and, possibly Steve and June Morris. It would be wonderful to have a larger party of Striders as we will be inviting the non-campers back to our humble canvas abode for tea and biscuits. Each race does have a small limit so you will need to get in quick, hopefully we'll get a good crowd and if you want to camp, let me know as we ll try and reserve a Desford area for ourselves. For more information see also our own photograph site will give you a taste of what lies in store. Y ou may recall some years ago that Steve Humber set up a Desford Striders Facebook page. Well since then it s not had much of an airing and barely used. Well since the arrival of Sarah Cotterill, things seem to have changed. She s using it on a regular basis with others such as Mark Foley (to name but one) and I m even plucking up the courage to get involved too. That will definitely cause consternation and shock amongst my children! A nyway, love it or hate it, it is a very widely used forum for getting information out there, so as the logo says above why not Add Desford Striders as a friend? Membership Fees held at 22 for another year As decided at this year's AGM the subs are to be held at 22 for the year. Prompt payers will earn themselves a 2 discount if they pay before 1st May You can send cheques to Pam Lord at the address below, or pay cash or cheque to Pam, or any other committee member, on a club night. To make it even easier you can now also pay by on-line banking. The account details are: A/C Name: Desford Striders Running Club A/C No Sort Code: Please put your full name in the reference so we know that you have paid. Contact Pam: 20 Bramble Drive, Newbold Verdon, Leicester LE9 9LZ, dsrc.inform@googl .com; Text: s anybody interested in taking I part in this series of races? I ve only ever done one, many, many years ago. There are all on either a Tuesday or Wednesday and admittedly some of them are a little distance way. However, a few such as Harborough, Rugby, Weedon and Corby are not an unbearable distance. We could travel together and make an evening of it. It would be something different to do. Drop a line to the club s address if you fancy the idea. Wed 16th May Silverstone 10K Wed 16th May Rugby 6 Tue 22nd May Bedford 6 Wed 30th May Corby 5 Tue 12th Jun Banbury 5 Tue 19th Jun Harborough Tue 26th Jun Weedon 10K If for any reason you decide not to continue your membership, or want to take a sabbatical, please let Pam know. Text, telephone, , carrier pigeon, we don't mind, but it will save you getting lots of irritating s and letters from us.

14 Running League Page 14 Road Races Individual Club Standings ndividual tables are starting to hot up and all categories have a reasonable number of competitors, although only two of the races have had Seniors run in them. Having run at Bos- I worth and Markfield, Pete Marvin now leads the Senior table, with Sean Byrne, Neil Ackland and Richard Greenlees sitting behind him. Duncan Percy and Andrew Cole battle it out in the vets. category. Female Vets. Lisa Dixon 28 Mhairi Billington 18 Ruth Evans 16 Laura Rossi 14 Pam Lord 10 Marie Hobbs 8 Anne Robertson 5 Nicola Glover 4 June Morris 1 Female Snrs. Kate Beaumont 11 Emily Newton 9 Jo Green 4 Charlotte Turner 4 Sarah Cottrell 3 Sandi Punia 2 Ali Ide 2 Graham Hobbs is mounting a challenge to retain his Vets. title won last year, but he is being pursued closely by Andrew Cole who is just 5 points behind. Paul Faver has moved into third place, replacing Lee Barber who missed the Markfield 10K. After last year s absence of senior ladies in the Winter league races, it is great to be able to report that we have had a splendid smattering of these ladies through the first four races. Kate Beaumont is setting the early pace and is currently 2 points ahead of Emily Newton, last year s winner. There is then a five point gap to both Jo Green and Charlotte Turner. The ladies vets are also turning up in good numbers, with 10 having taken part so far. Lisa Dixon is our early pace setter and has a 10 point lead over second place Mhairi Billington, who in turn is just ahead of Ruth Evans. Hopefully we ll continue to keep the numbers up for the rest of the season and in particular the Kibworth 6. We traditionally have a low turnout for the event and as the Loughborough Half is on the same day, we really could do with those not running the half to make their way to Kibworth. Anybody want to share a lift, then contact us on the address of facebook. I ll be there and hope to see you too! Male Seniors Pete Marvin 6 Sean Byrne 4 Neil Ackland 3 Richard Greenlees 1 Male Vets. Graham Hobbs 75 Andrew Cole 70 Paul Faver 58 Lee Barber 51 Duncan Percy 47 Brian Moran 43 Gary Grimsley 42 Dave Playford 38 Mark Foley 38 Paul Carnegie 32 Paul Goddard 32 Mark Dixon 31 Nigel Trotman 25 Phil Lord 25 Francis Breen 23 Richard Billington 19 Paul Bradshaw 17 Malc Hill 15 Henry Long 15 Steve Bailey 13 Mark Goodrich 11 Steve Morris 9 John Shade 9 Steve Hibben 5 Gavin Roberts 4 Ruth Evans scored a rare finish ahead of Nicola Glover at Markfield. Block Entries for the Summer LRRL races Gary Grimsley has once again offered to look at the block booking entries for the Summer League races. He ll take your entry fee, complete an entry form and send it off to the host club, thereby saving you the effort. He s usually up at SiD on Thursday evenings, so if you get yourself organised there shouldn t be any problem getting hold of him. If you re giving Gary a cheque, then please make it payable to whomever the host club states (a quick search on the internet should find this) and not to either Gary or Desford Striders, otherwise he ll have to chase Richard McBean for a club cheque. Also, please give him your date of birth, he ll need this for the entry form. This doesn t include the Hinckley half, which by the way I understand, is filling up fast! So don t hang around! The first race this will apply to is the Swithland 6M. If not seeing Gary up at SiD, your cheque to him at 25 Berry Hill Cottage, Dawson's Lane, Barwell, LE9 8BE. You can also get hold of him on Date: 25th Mar 2012 Venue: Kibworth Sports Club, Smeeton Rd, Kibworth Beauchamp Time: a.m. Dist: 6M, 1 lap course Cost: 3.50 Parking: Please car share. Leicestershire Road Summer 13 May Hinckley 1/2 27 May Swithland 6M 4 Jul Hungarton LRRL 1 Aug Huncote 5 fixtures 12 Aug Hermitage 10K 2 Sep John Fraser 10M (For individual entry fees, check race details.)

15 Page 15 Thursday night running Thursday night running is many things to many people. For me it There has been some discussion about the club run on Thursday evenings. Here our Chairman Francs Breen gives his own take on how this should work and the benefits. Knowing what route is being run on the night Knowing that we will have a group of runners to run with knowing that I will not be left behind knowing that we will all re-group several times knowing that I can race for all sections or just some sections and then recover Knowing that I can run a long or short run To me these are valuable assets to have on our running night. Over the past 4 years of standing in front of many of you on a Thursday night, I have seen the club change. Thursday nights used to be individual groups deciding on where they would go with others tagging along and keeping up if they could. If you weren't in the right group it was a bad experience. To me the change has brought a greater stability to the running on a Thursday and I believe we have grown and retained club members as a result. However I do accept that we may have lost runners that feel they want to be "free spirits" when deciding when and where to go. After all running is one of those sports that does not easily lend itself to team spirit like say football, rugby etc. Prior to becoming chairman I started the Thursday night coordination as a personal choice based on my belief that it was in the best interests of the club. However now that I have been elected as Chairman I feel I need to formally establish what the club wants as its format for a "club running" aspect to Thursday night. The first step in this process was to have a healthy discussion at the committee meeting to seek out what the committee's views were and it was mixed - some favouring staying as is, some wanting a variation to the theme and some expressing concern that we had lost our "hard run" aspect on a Thursday and were in danger of losing some established runners. As regards what Thursday night club running is currently about I have listed below what it is trying to do and what it is guarding against. What is it trying to do? The Club run The overriding reason for club running is to create a club that has all levels of running ability together so that we can all benefit from being together. This provides a great opportunity for everyone to get to know one another and to share experiences and learn about what's happening in the club whilst running in a relaxed atmosphere. Two routes This is to ensure that the varying levels of ability have the opportunity to run a route that is within their capabilities. Re-grouping points This is to ensure that we all gather together several times so that individuals are not left behind and made to feel that they are slow or delaying anyone or everyone. That new runners are not lost, injured runners are identified and helped as necessary, have short periods of recovery and create the feeling that we are belonging to a single club. Re-grouping also is meant to be used as part of each person's training requirements. Improving your running can be done by racing between the re-grouping points at whatever speed you wish to do. It can be used as mini races between fellow runners or individual speed sessions or just a casual run with friends. There is also the element of the lead runners running back to the last runner and running with them to the regrouping point. This is very beneficial for both types of runners i.e. the lead runner is recovering from a hard session and the others are able to meet and chat to people they may not normally talk to. I see this as a key part of making our club unique in being known as a very friendly club. The aim overall is to try and cater for everyone's requirement but it does mean that everyone has to bring a level of compromise to their evenings run. What is it trying to guard against * The club reverting to individual groups running various routes & not ensuring everyone in the group is looked after * People feeling that they are not good enough to run with others within the club. * New runners to the club being left out, not knowing who is who and not understanding what the route is or how long or fast they will have to run. * Stopping potential new members from joining the club, or worse, new members joining and never coming back. * Becoming a less friendly club Cont. overleaf

16 Page 16 Quality running This has been introduced to try and accommodate people s request for more opportunity for challenging running and has proved popular. NOW ITS YOUR TURN TO HAVE YOUR SAY At the committee meeting it was agreed that I would send out an article explaining what we were trying to achieve on a Thursday together with making sure that we capture the feelings, views, and requirements of the club. There is no point in having a structured Thursday if it is not what people want, so hence it is your chance to say exactly what it is that you would like to be happening on a Thursday. Please do not worry if your views do not agree with what I have said, as this is the committee wanting to ensure that any changes that are made to the format of Thursday are in line with your views. Also please do not feel that you may/will upset me by saying you are not happy with the current format as this is about getting it right for the majority. However we all need to recognise that not all views and ideas can be accommodated in their raw format but rest assured that every effort will be taken to ensure that they are addressed in some form or other. Please your views and requirements (positive or negative) to me so that I can collate them prior to discussing them with the committee. Should you feel that you wish to be anonymous then please respond by getting together and having a single spokesperson ing your collective view on behalf of the group. Francis Thursday night s curry night Following on from the success of the fish and chips night, Andy Hurd is arranging a Thursday Curry Night after the club run on Thursday 26th April. There will be a choice of poppadums, naan, rice, pickles, veg and 2 meat curries. All for the bargain price of Names and money are needed the week before (at the latest!) and whether vegetarian is required. These can be passed to Andy, Nicola Glover of Garry Birch and further details can be obtained from this folks. Desford Striders 'Runner of the Race' I n a bid to further encourage Striders to take part in league road races and cross country events, we are introducing Desford Striders 'Runner of the Race'. In the same vane as 'Man of the Match', this will acknowledge an individuals effort and/or performance in a race by awarding them with a bottle of wine and the title of 'Runner of the Race'. The decision to award this title will ultimately be decided by the Chairman, however fellow Striders can nominate candidates, who they believe have shown individual effort or achievement in a particular race. The presentation will be take place on the Thursday club night following the race. As the Cross Country races have finished and the winter league races are nearly complete, we will begin this at the Hinckley Half Marathon and continue it through the summer league races and take a rain check before the cross country season begins. The Grizzly And Ashby 20 As you are probably aware both of these races were run in March, in fact the Ashby 20 was today (18th). However the newsletter has already become a horrendous monster this month...a record 16 pages. So reports etc. will possibly appear next month. Gives you something to look forward to. Congratulations to the Striders completing both events. (Now the sucker punch). Could somebody form those races knock a few lines up for April s edition please? I didn t do The Grizzly and as you can see I ve got more than enough with rest of the drivel I write. Just a small paragraph will do. Pretty please...