Midland Master Athlete # 251 November 2016 Merry Christmas MMAC Members everywhere

Midland Master Athlete # 251 November 2016 Merry Christmas MMAC Members everywhere

Acting Editors Spot Merry Christmas MMAC members everywhere. I am standing in for Margaret Simpson as Editor in this month's edition as Margaret had an accident recently but glad to say she is now recovering and we all wish her well. As usual when you take on a new job comes the pressure! I have been inundated with articles and information to go in the magazine, this along with the essential pieces that we have to include, have made it a bit of a tight squeeze. So apologies for anything or anyone I may have missed out. May I thank Dave Oxland, Graham Lamb and Mollie Mills for their excellent articles and Irene Nicholls for her contribution. Finally, I wish you all good health and a successful competitive year in 2017. Louis Satterthwaite London Marathon The successful applicant for the MMAC Club Entry to the Virgin Money London Marathon 2017 was Tony Jeffs: Reserve Bob Care. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ T&F Cup Final The MMAC Track and Field Mens Team once again won in the C division cup final in the Midland Veterans Track and Field League held on Sunday September 4th at Nuneaton which combined with the Ladies team 3rd place gave MMAC ably managed by Tony Porter pictured seated front page overall Victory, also action shots of from left to right descending Dave Russell, Andrea Burnett, Paul Shackleton, David Daniels, Margot Griffiths. Also good performances from Kevin Williams, Kirtley Robbins, Manohar Singh, L S, Dwayne Butterley, Perris Wilkins, Jill Langford, Jennifer Cooper, Half Marathon and Marathon Virtual Championships The newly resurrected Half Marathon and Marathon Virtual Championships for 2016/17 has now begun. Both competitions will run simultaneously from the 1 st April 2016 to the 31 st March 2017. This will be a virtual contest based on age graded results, with the top three positions getting Gold; Silver and Bronze medals. In addition the combined best average percentage for both Half and Full Marathon will be awarded a special trophy. These will be presented at our AGM. Please submit any results going back to the 1 st April 2016 for this year s competition, it is intended to publish the interim tables both on this website and in the Newsletter. The criteria/rules of the competition are as follows: 1. The competition will run for a 12 month period, normally from the 1 st April until the 31 st March the following year 2. Results will be calculated using the WMA Age Grading Calculator 2006 (updated 2010) that appears on the Howard Grubb website at http://www.howardgrubb.co.uk/athletics/wmalookup06.html 3. Medals will be presented at our AGM to the members scoring the highest three percentages and an overall trophy to the best combined Half Marathon & Marathon average percentage. 4. The qualifying performance percentage for awards to be presented is 65%+ 5. Any number of results can be submitted during the designated period provided that at the time of the race the member is fully paid up. 6. Submissions should be by email, to irenenn@aol.com, or the online form on the MMAC website (see below) stating the member s date of birth; membership number; full name; date and name of event together with the time recorded. These must be accompanied by a hyperlink to the official results 7. Races must be over a certified course with a UKA issued Licence or under appropriate Rules for any overseas events. 8. Where possible gun to chip times will be counted when published otherwise chip to chip times. Either way the same criteria will be used for any one event to maintain consistency within that event 9. We do reserve the right to reject submissions that do not conform to the above criteria

From the Chair / Secretary; Just a brief update on progress regarding our forthcoming Events and requirements. I can confirm the following; MMAC Cross Country 22 January 2017 Wolverhampton Entries on Line or Post (1) Colin Simpson 5 mile Handicap 5 February 2017 Chelmsley Wood, Birmingham Entries by Post (2) Inter Area Indoor T&F 26 February 2017 Lee Valley, Enfield, London, Contact Elaine Mee (3) MMAC Relays & AGM 23 April 2017 YHA Hicks Lodge, Swadlincote, Derbyshire Info Spring NL MMAC Track & Field Champs 4 June 2017 Nuneaton Inter Area Outdoor T&F 2 or 9 July 2017 Solihull Please see more detailed information on items 1-3 elsewhere in the NL. Information regarding future BMAF events and results can be seen on the BMAF Website bmaf.org.uk The EAMA website is once more being updated with interesting Inter Area and International XC information. Membership Subscriptions are now due. Confirmed membership is required to enter MMAC & BMAF events on line. Subs can be paid online at bmaf.reportlab.com. There is an additional link from the Facebook site. MM second claim remains at 15. Additional 3 for posted NL. If you are a member of an Open Club you will pay the EA levy through them. First Claim 29 including 14 EA levy ( 1 increase) plus NL if required. Posted fees may be sent to MMAC Treasurer, 249 Boldmere Rd, Sutton Coldfield, W.Midlands B73 5LL Cheques made payable to MMAC - sae for a receipt. Internet banking to the MMAC Account 00496325 30-97-57 quoting MM Subs & your name email mmac.treasurer@virginmedia.com to confirm payment. Congratulations to our Cross Country athletes who performed so well for England in Glasgow. Once more Midland Masters have shown our quality by being well represented in most age group teams. Our returning competitors from Perth are also bringing home a goodly medal haul extremely well done. More details elsewhere in the NL. Please may I make a plea for help with our various events. We are presently without a Road & Cross Country Secretary and therefore it is essential that we have help at Wolverhampton with Course marking, timekeeping & recording, marshalling and also registration. Liaison with the venue and general oversight on the day would be greatly appreciated. Our usual Registration Team is greatly diminished. Margaret Simpson who has been my right hand for many years has unfortunately suffered another fall and is now recovering at home from her second hip operation in the last few months. We wish Margaret a speedy recovery but at 85 it is most unlikely that she will be able to help in January. Edgar also will not be available so it looks as though I shall be on my own unless a new recruit can be found. I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has worked throughout the year on behalf of the Club and to the Officials and athletes who have supported our events so magnificently. Happy Christmas and a very successful & injury free 2017 to you all. Irene

Midland Masters Membership There is an increase of a pound to 29 for First Claim membership to reflect the increase of England Athletic Registration fee next year to 14. We have also increased the additional cost of receiving the postal newsletter to 3. However the newsletter is available from the website and there is also a link from the facebook site. It is also possible to pay by cheque by sending the payment to MMAC Treasurer, 249 Boldmere Road, Sutton Coldfield, W.Midlands B73 5LL. With the Cross Country season underway, winter is setting in, at the end of the note is some details of a team event. Meanwhile a few people from the Midlands are on their way to compete at Perth in the World Championships. Next year the Word lndoor track and field championships take place in South Korea and the European championships are in Denmark. On the BMAF website you can see all the National events scheduled for 2017 and we again will have our normal events in the Midlands. The last year has also seen various nit is now possible to pay membership for 2017 online at bmaf.reportlab.com/. The cost of Midlands Masters second claim membership has remained at 15. ew events nationally to widen the competition options for members. It is also now possible to enter most of the events from the online system Irene Nicholls ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Mollie Mills writes Sorry for the delay regarding renewing my membership for next year but after 60 years of competing,coaching and admin. etc. I have decided to retire. Both John and I have very much enjoyed our involvement especially with Midland Masters and wish you all very best wishes for the future. I competed in the European Masters indoor champs.this year placing 3rd in the 60m and 200m and was a member of the 4x200m relay who won gold with a new world record-i could not have wished for a better ending! 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 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. grahamhlamb@gmail.com 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

Centurion Grand Series 2016/17 A six month series of races on Sundays: Nov. 6 th Dec. 4 th Jan. 8 th Feb. 5 th Mar. 5 th Apr 2 nd John Henry Newman Catholic College, Chelmsley Road, North Solihull, Birmingham B37 5GA 2K Fun Run (10-30am start) 5 Mile Race (11-00am start) Cash prizes (5 mile): 1 st 4 male & female and 1 st 3 in age category Series Awards - Best 4 results to count Certificates for all 2k runners Lots of spot prizes Commemorative memento for participating on 4 or more races (helpers and marshals included) Run on footpaths through flat (traffic free) parkland Ample parking, changing, showers and refreshments Age category prize rota (age on Nov 1 st will apply for series awards) Nov. O/40 U/21 Dec. O/50 U/19 Jan. O/60 U/17 Feb. O/40 U/21 Mar. O/45 U/19 Apr. O/55 U/17 Entry Fees: 5 mile: 5 ( 6 on the day) 7 ( 8 on the day) for unattached runners Series: 25 ( 30 for unattached runners) 2k: 2-50 ( 10 series) Entries to: Janet Walker, 111, Cooks Lane, Kingshurst, Birmingham B37 6NU Tel: 0121 603 2795 UKA rules apply (permit applied for) Runners in 5 mile race must be over 15 yrs. Runners must not wear any form of headset. News and Results: www.centurions.org.uk Forename: Surname: Sex (M/F): Address: Post Code: Tel: Affiliated Club / School: Date of Birth: / / Races entered (tick boxes) Age on 1/11/16 (for series): years Boxes for official use only 5 Mile NOV DEC JAN FEB MAR APR SERIES Midland Masters Handicap Entry (tick box) Include entry into Midland Masters 5m Handicap Race (Colin Simpson Memorial) as part of February GP race. This year the handicap is open to any masters age athlete (35 or over) and included within the GP entry fee. Entries close 27 th January. No entries on the day. Age on 5/2/17:.. Best performance at or near 5M in last12 months Distance:...Time:... Entry fee enclosed: (cheques made payable to Centurion Running Club) I declare that I am an amateur as defined by UK Athletics and will abide by their rules. I confirm that I am medically fit and will run entirely at my own risk. I understand that the race organisers will not accept any responsibility for any injury, loss or damage as a result of my participation in this event. Signed: Date: / /

KEN WESTLEY 1929 2016 It is with sadness that we learn of the death of one of our Club s founder members. Ken was one of the original group of fellow athletes who set up the Club in 1971. His number was 15 reflecting his finishing place in their first competition. He was for many years the Secretary but the advent of computers and post codes (he deleted them all to the inconvenience of his successor) lead to him standing down from that post. Ken was a man of strong principles and a great supporter of the Veteran movement, he was strongly opposed to the change of name to Masters - we had some frank and meaningful conversations on that subject. He was a long time member of West Bromwich Harriers but in his later years he took up fell running and joined Mercian Fell Runners. Ken s wife Maisie died earlier this year and she too will be remembered as a great supporter at our events. We shall try to present a more comprehensive report in our next Newsletter. Meanwhile our thoughts go out to Ken s family. Irene Nicholls

Midland Masters AC Cross Country Championships 2017 Our 2017 Cross Country Championships will be held for the fifth year running at Aldersley Stadium, (Aldersley Leisure Village) Aldersley Road, Wolverhampton WV6 9NW on Sunday, 22nd January 2017. Once again our very good friends at Wolverhampton & Bilston AC have agreed to organise the race on our behalf despite their own heavy schedule of races and our thanks go to them for doing so. To enter please go to www.bmaf.org.uk with your username and password*, click on Competition Entry, click on the radio button against MMAC Cross Country Championships, accept the terms and conditions then click on Choose Competition. Click the box and enter an approximate 6k or 8k time for your appropriate age, then click on Submit. Check that all the information is correct and click Buy Now and follow the instructions to pay. Members who have not used the online entry system before or have forgotten their login details should contact the Membership Secretary on grahamhlamb@gmail.com and your username and passwords will be sent to you. For the members who do not have internet access, please send a cheque made payable to MMAC to MMAC XC Entries Secretary, Rainbow Cottage, 15 Meadow Lane, Alvechurch, Worcs B48 7LH. You do not need an entry form. Receipt of a cheque for entry infers that you accept the terms & condition of entry. If you want an acknowledgment please include a stamped self-addressed envelope. The entry fee is 9.00. Start time 11.30am. The usual 5yr individual and 10yr team awards will be presented dependant on the number of entries and we reserve the right to make amendments. Teams are as follows:- All ages on day. 8k Race: M35-44 (first 4 to count); M45-54; M55-64 (first 3 to count). 6k Race: M65+; W35-44; W45-54: W55+ (first 3 to count) Please pick up your race numbers on the day. Closing date for entries is strictly midnight on the 16 th January 2017. No entries will be accepted after the closing date or taken on the day. There will be no exceptions. IMPORTANT: Please note that on the 1 st January 2017 members who have not paid their subscriptions for 2017 will have their Membership Status set to Not Confirmed and will NOT be able to enter ANY competitions on OpenTrack until their subscription is paid and their Membership Status set to Confirmed. If you intend to enter the Cross Country Championships then please make sure subscription payment is made in plenty of time. DO NOT LEAVE PAYING SUBSCRIPTIONS UNTIL THE 16 TH JANUARY Help on the day with Marshalling, Course Marking and Timekeeping / Recording would be much appreciated. Please contact Irene to offer help 0121 44553 Other National events Competition date first, last entry date second 26/02/17 EAMA Indoor Track & Field Inter Area Challenge 2017 24/02/17 Lee Valley Athletic Centre Meridian Way London N9 0AR 26 Feb 2017 BMAF 10 Mile Championships 12 Feb 2017 Netherhall School Netherhall Road Maryport Cumbria CA15 6NT 11-12 Mar 2017BMAF Indoor Track & Field and Winter Throws Champs 20/17/26 Feb 2017 Lee Valley Athletic Centre Meridian Way London N9 0AR 18 Mar 2017 BMAF Cross Country Championships 05 Mar 2017 Wavertree Athletic Stadium, Wellington Road, Liverpool L15 4LE 09 Apr 2017 BMAF 10 km Road Championships 02 Apr 2017 The Tollgate Watling Street Gravesend Kent DA11 7NP

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David Oxland A report on his 4 weeks of international travel and racing. International XC-- Glasgow Tollcross Park, Saturday 12 th November 2016 (Home International plus Republic of Ireland) In contrast to two years ago when this event was held in Wollaton Park,Nottingham, and the club had four representatives called up and running for England plus several more from the county, there was to the best of my knowledge only one Notts AC club representative running this time. To what extent Notts members were called up but declined to run because of the distance and cost, I do not know. The fact is that, whilst this is the only Masters event which involves a selection process, it is still not equivalent to an International Seniors event because those events are normally fully funded and the Masters event is not. (Midland Masters will normally pay a grant of 50 and a vest is provided free of charge and that is as far as it goes.) A hilly damp course- an excellent course for those liking XC. Despite my comments about cost, the standard was generally excellent throughout all age groups and in my age group the top ranked runners all turned up. M65 6k race David Oxland 4 th in age group 22 minutes 23 seconds Gold team medal (M65s 12 points) World Masters Athletics Championships (outdoors) Perth Australia 26 th October to 6 th November 2016 Continuing my comments above, if a trip to Glasgow will put off worthy athletes from competing then what about a fortnight down under? The answer is obvious of course and there was again only one representative from the club attending (to the best of my knowledge). I am optimistic that there will be a much better representation at the European Masters outdoors championships next Summer when the event will be held in Aarhus, Denmark and it is also possible some will go to the World indoor championships in Daegu South Korea in March 2017, although I will not be joining them. That said it is my experience that most races contain a world class field although in the middle distance it was noticeable for example that the M60 races were often won in times little or no better than the M65s and so standards will vary from age group to age group. And of course the whole of Australia, in terms of Masters athletes turned out, it seemed, which added quality to virtually every event. A particularly encouraging feature was the first time attendance of a small but very effective team of 22 athletes from Kenya whom it is understood were fully funded. It has been suggested that, with the whole emphasis of funding of athletics (and other sports) being to achieve podium positions, it is quite possible that other countries will follow suit with a view to winning Masters medals alongside Olympics and Para Olympics. Whilst this may result in disparity amongst the nations, personally I would welcome this trend. David Oxland M65, Silver in 8K XC 31 minutes 42 seconds (Team Gold)-an easy course suitable for track runners! Silver in 5000m 18 minutes 47.75 seconds tough windy conditions and only 3 days to recover from the XC, but a slightly disappointing performance, two seconds off Gold, Fastest qualifier for 1500m 5.07.02, Bronze in 1500m final 5.03.95- a slow tactical run for first two laps, run in 37 degrees Celsius, Silver in 4 by 400m relay well behind world class Aussies but a good team performance.

Masters World Championships Perth Report Author Graham Lamb Graham and Jill Lamb were both competing in Perth and saw some of the midlands athletes competing. Jill was first in action in the women 55 hammer at the Ern Clark stadium, the smaller venue. In her first international competition she was pleased to get a first throw recorded. Before improving to close to her PB for 14th place and beating 2 Aussies. Meanwhile on the track the 5k walks were underway and Peter Bozak started fast to try and keep close to the speedy Mexican. However this effort in the hot sun later saw him drop back to 6th, a place he then held. Later on though Peter went on to a team gold in the 10k walk and an individual bronze in the 20 k walk. Meanwhile at the 8k cross country Martin Ford was Getting the first British medal a bronze and leading the team, including John Oldfield to silver. David Oxland soon followed with a silver in the. M65 cross country. Meanwhile in the main stadium Irie Hill won the women 45s pole vault with 3.50 40 cm clear and with a better height than the w35 and w40 winners. While at Ern we met Marise Taylor who scored over 3100 points in the w50 pentathlon for 12 th place later in the week. Graham Lamb was in action on day 2 at the main stadium in the m60 800 metres running a bit isolated he kept working hard and got a seasons best of 2.41.66 but was 2 places and 3 seconds from the final. In the M55 800 Ludwig Ramsey controlled his heat to qualify for the final. in the final he was trapped at the back of the field at the bell when 3 set off, Ludwig worked hard down the back street to work his way into 4th but couldn't close the gap and the effort counted against him in the home straight as he finished 6th. The 1500s saw a lot of midland interest, Phillip Brennan was 9th in the m70 qualifiers a position he also finished in the final. Graham Lamb ran a seasons best for 15th place in the qualifiers and his first world final after outsprinting a Swede in the prelim. In the final he ran another seasons best for 14th, this was the hottest day of the championship 37 degrees. Karl Hick found a very large competitive field in the M55 event as he worked hard to come home in 29th. Zara Hyde Peters in the w50 comfortably won her heat. In the final a group of 5 were together at the bell but as another Brit attacked in vain, Zara dropped to 4th but her time of 4.52.5 moved her to 3rd in the UK rankings. Ludwig Ramsey in the 400 meters was 3rd in his prelim, but his 10th place in the semi meant he just missed out on the last place in the final. he did get the consolation of a silver in the 400 meter relay for the over 50s though In the run up to Perth we had a few members join MMAC who are living in Australia at the moment and wanted to run for GB. It was good to see Nick Franey getting a team bronze in the M45 Marathon and Eleanor Quested a silver in the w35 half marathon. There was also a team gold from Martin Ford and Phillip Brennan in the M70 half marathons where Martin also got a bronze. While one of the hardest working people there John Oldfield who was taking many photos of GB athletes was 4th in the m70 marathon but got a team silver in the m45 category. For any one who want to see the Perth action if you go to the Perth2016 site you can still see the video which was live streamed from the main venue. A chance for the athletes to relive their performances and for those that may be interested in the future a chance to see the event. Hopefully at the next worlds in Malaga in 2018 this live streaming can be extended to all venues. Finally at Perth the host of the 2020 worlds was confirmed as Toronto who just beat Gothenberg in the vote. Appologies to other Midlands masters we haven't mentioned. Obituary Sprinter Kevin lovelock died suddenly in the summer at the age of 61. Kevin competed for Burton and Took part in many Midlands masters championships events and went to various international championships where he mainly competed over the 200 metres. I spoke to kevin shortly before his death and he was still training and was looking to compete actively next year.