Midland Master Athlete # 249
MAY 2016 Summer is on the way and in the last two weeks of May temperatures have been unusually high in parts of our region. The track season is upon us and details of Midland Masters Athletic Club Track and Field Championships appear in this issue. We hope it will be well supported this year a great deal of work goes on behind the scenes and a large entry is a just reward for all those involved in the organisation A warm welcome is extended to husband and wife new members, Graham and Jill Lamb, who have volunteered to join our committee Graham in the post of Membership Secretary and Jill as Road Secretary. They will have the full support of Irene Nicholls and the committee and we wish them well in all their endeavours. Graham Jill MIDLAND MASTERS ATHLETIC CLUB President: Martin Wilkinson Life Vice-President: George Phipps Chairman: Irene Nicholls, Rainbow Cottage, 15 Meadow Lane, Alvechurch BG48 7LH & acting General Secretary: IRENENN@aol.com Membership Secretary: Graham Lamb tel.no. 07790 495 115. Treasurer: Martin Wilkinson, 249 Boldmere Road, Sutton Coldfield B73 5LL mmactreasurer@virginmedia.com Editor: Margaret Simpson, 87 Willow Road, Solihull B91 1UF colmarsimpson@btopenworld.com Asst. Editor: Louis Satterthwaite URGENT!!!! A TEAM MANAGER IS URGENTLY REQUIRED TO ASSIST WITH A NEW EVENT CROSS COUNTRY RACE TO TAKE PLACE IN LONDON ON 1st OCTOBER If you are able to help with this event, please contact Irene Nicholls or a member of the committee. Life is like an onion: You peel off one layer at a time, and sometimes you weep. Carl Sandburg
REPORT ON ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING The 44th Annual General Meeting of the Midland Masters Athletic Club took place at the National Forest Cycling Centre, Hicks Lodge, Willesley Wood. Swadlincote on Sunday 17 April 2016 at 1.00pm. The meeting was preceded by the Open Relay Championships. The following committee members were elected for the year 2016/2017:President: Martin Wilkinson Chairman: Irene Nicholls Vice Rita Brownlie Treasurer: Martin Wilkinson Secretary Irene Nicholls (acting) Membership Graham Lamb Secretary T&F Sue Kneill-Boxley Asst. Jamie Liddington Officials Jamie Liddington Handicapper: Eric Horwill/Geo. Smolenski Social Sec. Adrian Lloyd Minutes Margaret Simpson Walking Lyn & Julie Bellfield Media Sue Kneill-Boxley Manager N/L Editor Margaret Simpson Asst. Lou Satterthwaite President(s) Elect Lyn & Julie Bellfield At the present time Irene Nicholls is still dealing with membership but will be handing over to Graham Lamb shortly. Please watch the website where a notice will appear when the changeover occurs. Delegates: MCAA Rita Brownlie EAMA; EA and BMAF Brian Owen Team Managers: Mick Smedley (Int.); Elaine Mee (Inter area) Richard Brittain (First claim R&CC) Co-opted- Marcia Smedley, Jill Lamb. The competitors in the Open Relay Championships reported an excellent course and the event was well supported. Results of the race appear on the next page. Congratulations to all who took part, especially to Claire Martin (Telford AC) 17.15 Fastest Woman Chris Davies 15.33 Fastest Man Fastest Teams M35 Telford AC, in 64:13 M45 Charnwood AC, in 68:47, M55 Charnwood AC, in 60:59 M65 Sparkhill Harriers, in 69:32 W35 Telford AC in 55:02, W45 Telford AC in 62:25 Composite Team in 73:33 A diplomat is a person who can tell you to go to hell in such a way that you actually look forward to the trip.c Stinnett
Midland Masters Road Relay Results Actually, I don't exercise at all. If we were meant to touch our toes, we would have them farther up on our body.
The Relay Heroes People always get tired of one another. I grow tired of myself whenever I am left alone for ten minutes, and I am certain that I am fonder of myself than anyone can be of another person. G B Shaw
MIDLAND MASTERS AC COMPETITION VESTS AVAILABLE FROM SUTTON RUNNER The MMAC vest has been updated to include the club badge. It is white with red vertical band bearing the club name. This is a must for your kit bag. The mini-mesh vest is 14.99 (plus postage and packing) Women s vests to order at the same price. Existing vests can have the new badge put on at the shop for a charge of 2.00 Please send your order to: Sutton Runner, 268 Jockey Road, Sutton Coldfield B73 5XL Telephone first to confirm sizes in stock (0121-355-2901) Shop open: MON-SAT 9.00am 5.30 pm MMAC Track & Field Championships 2016 Sunday 5th June 2016 Venue: Events: Age groups: Eligibility: Fees: Prizes: Nuneaton, Pingles Leisure Centre Avenue Road Nuneaton CV11 4LX First Field Event 10:00 am. First Track Event 11:00 am 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1500m, 5000m, shorth, longh, 5km walk, LJ, HJ, TJ, PV, SP, DT, JT, HT, Men and Women. 5 year age bands from 35 to 100+. MMAC members. Other BMAF members accepted as guests 8 first event, 3 each additional event Medals for first three MMAC finishers in each age category provided medal standard achieved. This also applies to guests finishing in the first three. Closing Date for all Entries 23rd. On line entries preferred www.bmaf.org.uk but postal entries will be accepted to; MMAC T&F Entries, Rainbow Cottage, 15 Meadow Lane, Alvechurch, Worcs B48 7LH Stating; Name / MMAC No. / Dob / Age on the day / Club / Events pb in last 12 mths Cheques to MMAC. Include a stamped addressed envelope for timetable and details. Help required please from graded Officials and anyone who could spare some time on the day to assist with the usual non graded jobs. Please contact Irene on irenenn@aol.com with offers of help. FIXTURES MMAC Midland Masters T&F Championships Wilne 10K Rugby 10 mile Nuneaton 5 June 2016 Wilne 4 September Rugby 25 September See: midlandmasters.com for details of events, results etc. Inter-area Outdoor Match Solihull 17 July 2016 If anyone is interested in competing in the match please get in touch with Elaine Mee email jandemee@btinternet.com Inter-area Cross country London 1 October 2016 BMAF Events Please See: bmaf.org.uk for full list of events. 19th June 2016 BMAF 5k Championships, Horwich 14th August 2016 BMAF Marathon Championships, Isle of Man America is the only country that went from barbarism to decadence without civilization in between. Oscar Wilde
Life's challenges are not supposed to paralyze you; they're supposed to help you discover who you are.
BRITISH & IRISH INTERNATIONAL CROSS COUNTRY SATURDAY 12 NOVEMBER 2016 TOLLCROSS PARK, GLASGOW SELECTION CRITERIA The criteria for England team selection are based on BMAF/MMAC events during the current year as with previous years. Cross country championships Road Relay championships, Sutton Park 14 May; 5K Road championships, Horwich 19 June Track & field championships 10K MMAC Road championship, Wilne 4 September Other relevant local or regional events over the same, correctly measured distances, may also be considered for selection. If you wish to be considered for selection the relevant forms and information can be obtained at the BMAF website at www.bmaf.org.uk ALL APPLICANTS MUST BE CURRENT FULLY PAID UP MEMBERS OF MMAC Full information will be on the website in the next two weeks. When completed all forms from both men and women must be sent to:mick Smedley, 12a Bagshaw Street, Derby DE24 8TX A STAMPED ADDRESSED (MJAX 9 X6 ) ENVELOPE MUST BE ENCLOSED (NO S.A.E. NO ACCDEPTANCE Mick Smedley MMAC Representative Financial Support for International England Selection Representing England is a huge honour yet the cost of travel to national and international events can be quite prohibitive. MMAC provides a small subsidy to any of their athletes selected to represent England only. Current support is up to 50 for travel within mainland UK and 70 towards overseas travel. To claim it is a simple matter of contacting me via email mmac.treasurer@virginmedia.com and I will send a claim form. I will need evidence of national selection from your team manager or the results. All claims should be submitted within a month of the event. Martin Wilkinson : Treasurer "When I am working on a problem I never think about beauty. I only think about how to solve the problem. But when I have finished, if the solution is not beautiful, I know it is wrong." - Buckminster Fuller (1895-1983)
Function of the Soleus Muscle in Distance Runners In a desperate attempt to solve the calf injury problems that had dogged me for about 30 years and unable to run quite slowly even for a very short time, I delved into the function of the calf muscles. I may have come acrossan answer as stated in the above article the soleus muscle becomes long and weak with time. Amazingly, almost the very next day they installed a machine in the Fitness First Gym at Hobs Moat Solihull that was ideal for exercising both calf muscles effectively. The Rotary Calf Machine The soleus muscle is trained with the knees bent and the gastrocnemius muscle with the legs straight. For those without access to such equipment the soleus can be exercised with calf raises performed in a sitting position with the front of the feet on a 2 inch block and some kind of weight on the knees (not too heavy) 20 reps X six sets is the recommended dose. It s a conditioning exercise or reconditioning in my case. Anyway I am back running again with no twinges just hope to get really fit now for the over seventies next year. Louis Satterthwaite. PS I wrote this in 2009 see September issue Centurion Runners Newsletter. The Technical Bit The mobilisers are found close to the body's surface and tend to cross two joints. They are typically made up of fast twitch fibres that produce power but lack endurance. With time and use, they tend to tighten and shorten. The mobilisers assist rapid or ballistic movement and produce high force. Stabilisers, by contrast, are situated deeper, invariably only cross one joint and are made up of slow twitch fibres for endurance. They tend to become weak and long with time. Functionally the stabilisers assist postural holding and work against gravity. This study evaluated the effect of the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles on dynamic knee stability by studying the effect of passive calf muscle loading on anterior tibial translation in normal and anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) deficient knees. Anterior tibial translation was measured bilaterally in 12 anesthetized patients with unilateral ACL-deficient knees using a KT-1000 arthrometer. An ankle-foot orthosis was used to passively dorsiflex the ankle and generate tension in the calf muscles. As the ankle flexion angle was progressively changed from 30 degrees plantar flexion to 10 degrees dorsiflexion, anterior tibial translation decreased 43% and 37% with manual maximum force in normal and ACL-deficient knees, respectively (P <.0001). These findings suggest that the calf muscles may function as dynamic knee stabilizers. Anterior tibial translation also was measured in four cadaver knees. Significant decreases were seen in anterior tibial translation with progressive ankle dorsiflexion in ACL-intact specimens and after the ACL had been cut (P <.05). This effect persisted when the gastrocnemius muscle was cut, but was lost when the soleus muscle was released. The data suggest that the soleus muscle may play a role in dynamically stabilizing the knee. As a runner your objective is to keep your foot on the ground for the least amount of time. The more contact you have, the more impact the body takes. By creating elasticity within specified areas, you are going to help the body's propulsion while also maintaining structural integrity. We begin with the range of motion of the foot because, no matter what, the foot is the first and last thing to hit the ground throughout the day. The way the foot hits the ground is the beginning of a biomechanical chain reaction that affects the rest of the body. Once the foot becomes rigid or loses its natural range of motion you have to massage the soleus (area 1), which will release the tension and reduce the amount of scar tissue and adhesions that prevent a natural foot strike. If the soleus is not addressed, the knee is forced to thrust forward putting a greater demand on the quad and IT band (areas 2 and 3). Once these areas lose elasticity, adhesions and scar tissue are going to limit the pliability of the muscle, shortening the distance between the pelvis and the knee, creating pelvic tilt. Source Sherbondy PS1, Queale WS, McFarland EG, Mizuno Y, Cosgarea AJ. PMID: 12943284 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] One man practicing sportmanship is better than 50 preaching it
Track and Field Veterans Southern League Tony Porters small but highly motivated MMAC Track and Field team acquitted themselves well at Stourport stadium in the first league match of the season despite being a few good athletes down due to injury. The inclement, at times horrendous weather almost saw the meeting abandoned but various team managers and athletes persuaded the brave and long suffering marshalls and timekeepers etc: to let it go ahead. Only the High Jump was abandoned due to the wet conditions. MMAC Team was Ladies Margot Griffiths 100mtrs, 400mtrs, 1500mtrs, Ann Gray 100Mtrs, 1500mtrs, Men Adrian Lloyd 100mtrs, Louis Satterthwaite 100mtrs, 400mtrs and relay. Kirtley Robbins 100mtrs, 400mtrs and relay. David Daniels 1500mtrs and relay. David Russell Hammer and Shot-put Last but not least a Trojan effort by Paul Fearon who competed in 6 events, 100 mtrs, 400mtrs, the relay the Hammer, Triple Jump and Javelin. ############################################################### More Images from MMAC Road Relays You don't run 26 miles at five minutes a mile on good looks and a secret recipe. Frank Shorter