April 2003
Contents
Coming Events
April, May and June 03
Races in
March: Dent 14.3 and Spen 20.
22nd
March 2003 – We are one!!
Blackpool
Marathon: Idle AC Club race for 2003.
Annual
General Meeting – Thursday 10th April 03.
The
13th April 2003 saw our first men’s team in a marathon as Chris
Smith, Peter Vickers and Peter Helliwell all ran at London, posting 3:19, 3:58
and 5:03 respectively. They ran in support of the Yorkshire Air Ambulance. In addition Joanne Belcher ran her first
marathon, finishing in an impressive time of 3.57 and setting a new female club
record. She was raising money for the Family Holiday Association. Congratulations
to our second claim member, Ian Fisher, who was 36th in a time of
2.28.
Events in bold indicate a ‘club’ event which members are encouraged to run.
|
Date |
Event |
|
1st April 03 |
Bunny Run1, 3mile ‘Fell’ race, 7.00
pm. Tues. |
|
6th April 03 |
Wakefield 10k, 10am. |
|
6th April 03 |
Baildon Boundary Way Half, 10.30am. |
|
8th April 03 |
Bunny Run 2, 3 mile Fell Race, 7.15
pm. Tues. |
|
12th April 03 |
Meanwood Valley Trail 8, 10.30am.
Saturday. |
|
15th April 03 |
Bunny Run 3, 3 mile Fell Race, 7.30
pm. Tues. |
|
20th April 03 |
Guiseley Gallop 10k, 10.30am. |
|
22nd April 03 |
Bunny Run 4, 3 mile Fell Race, 7.30 pm. Tues. |
|
4th May 03 |
Keswick Half Marathon, 11.30 am. |
|
7th May 03 |
Hare & Hounds Fell Race, 7.30,
Wed. Lothersdale (Skipton) |
|
11th May 03 |
Leeds Full & Half Marathon, 10 am. |
|
11th May 03 |
Fountains 10 mile Race (Black Sheep
Series). |
|
14th May 03 |
John Carr 5k race, Race 1, Esholt,
7.30 pm. |
|
21st May 03 |
John Carr 5k race, Race 2, Esholt,
7.30 pm |
|
25th May 03 |
Melmerby 10k, (Black Sheep Series). |
|
28th May 03 |
John Carr 5k race, Race 3, Esholt,
7.30 pm. |
Top Fifteen Club Races for 2003: Handicap/ Attendance Scheme -6 out of 15 possible races to count. Please don’t forget to sign in the book each time you attend a club session (but only pay once per week) as each attendance at a club training session is worth 1 point and to be eligible for a trophy members must accumulate at least 30 attendance points during the year. Each attendance at a “Club” designated race earns you 5 points (see below). 50% of the required points must be achieved by attendance at training sessions.
The March standings are as follows:
|
Membership |
Name |
March |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Mar |
Mar |
||
|
Number |
|
4 |
6 |
11 |
13 |
18 |
20 |
25 |
27 |
|
Races |
Totals |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Adrian Trevelyan |
1 |
|
1 |
|
1 |
|
1 |
|
|
5 |
9 |
|
|
Amnuay Scott |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
|
5 |
13 |
|
|
Brian Heaton |
|
1 |
|
1 |
|
1 |
|
1 |
|
|
4 |
|
|
Chris Marshall |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
1 |
|
|
Chris Smith |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
|
5 |
13 |
|
|
Chris Stubbs |
1 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
1 |
|
|
|
3 |
|
|
Dave Currie |
1 |
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
3 |
|
|
David Lewis |
1 |
1 |
|
|
1 |
|
1 |
1 |
|
5 |
10 |
|
|
Davina Smith |
1 |
1 |
1 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
3 |
|
|
Donna Edmonson |
1 |
1 |
1 |
|
|
|
1 |
1 |
|
10 |
15 |
|
|
Edward East |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
|
5 |
13 |
|
|
Glen Pinkney |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
0 |
|
|
Holly Brassington |
|
|
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
|
|
|
|
4 |
|
|
Ian Fisher |
|
1 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
Janet Burnside |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
0 |
|
|
Joanne Belcher |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
|
1 |
|
5 |
12 |
|
|
John Cummings |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
0 |
|
|
John Nellist |
1 |
|
1 |
1 |
1 |
|
1 |
1 |
|
5 |
11 |
|
|
Joseph Marjoram |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 |
|
5 |
6 |
|
|
Kay Gambles |
1 |
|
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
|
5 |
12 |
|
|
Laura Taylor |
|
|
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
|
|
|
5 |
|
|
Martin Burnside |
1 |
|
1 |
1 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
3 |
|
|
Matthew Coles |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
1 |
|
|
Mel C |
|
|
|
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
|
|
5 |
|
|
Michael Masleczko |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
0 |
|
|
Neil Jackson |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
0 |
|
|
Peter Helliwell |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
0 |
|
|
Peter Vickers |
|
|
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
|
|
|
5 |
|
|
Richard Raistrick |
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
5 |
6 |
|
|
Simon Bellwood |
|
1 |
|
|
|
|
|
1 |
|
10 |
12 |
|
|
Steve Bottomley |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
0 |
|
|
Steve Britton |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
4 |
|
|
Steve Little |
|
1 |
1 |
|
|
1 |
1 |
|
|
|
4 |
|
|
Sue Elliott |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
0 |
|
|
Susie Jollie |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
0 |
|
|
Tony Blythe |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
|
5 |
13 |
|
|
Trevor Hooley |
|
|
1 |
|
1 |
|
|
|
|
|
2 |
|
Total Attendance |
15 |
13 |
17 |
15 |
15 |
12 |
15 |
16 |
0 |
118 |
236 |
|
Well done to Donna who is March’s Attendance
winner.
The Club races, where points can be earned,
are as follows:
|
Date |
Race Details |
Comments. |
|
February - Sun 16th |
Liversedge Half Marathon, 12.00 noon. |
8 members ran. 3
club records broken: Male, Female & M40. 5 pb’s. |
|
March - Sat 22nd |
Coniston 14, 11am. |
Sue Elloitt flew
the Idle AC flag. |
|
April
- Sun 6th |
Wakefield 10k, 10am. |
Chris Smith,
Martin and Jo Belcher ran. Jo set a new pb in a time of 46.01. |
|
April* - Sun 6th |
Baildon Boundary Way Half, 10.30am. |
6 runners at the
Baildon BW: Joe Marjoram 1.41, Dave Lewis 1.42, Adrian 1.43, Donna 1.45,
Edward 1.46 and Simon 1.50. |
|
April* - Sat 12th |
Meanwood Valley Trail 8, 10.30am. |
Two club records
were set at this 8 mile race: Simon
set an M40 record in a time of 60.38 and Richard set a Male record in
61.03. Simon is
currently in 50th position after two events in the triple challenge.
|
|
April* - Sun 20th |
Guiseley Gallop 10k, 10.30am. |
|
NB: the above 3* races are part of Triple Challenge - 5 points for any individual race but extra 2 points if all three are completed. Therefore a total of 17 points available from the Triple Challenge Series.
Continued:
|
Date |
Race Details |
Comments. |
|
April- Tues 1st |
Bunny Run1, 3mile ‘Fell’ race, 7.00
pm. |
9 runners at the
first Bunny run: Kay, Jo, Amnuay, Chris, Tony, Donna, John, Richard &
Simon. |
|
May - Sun 11 |
Leeds Half or Full Marathon, 10am. |
|
|
May - Wed 14th |
John Carr 5k, Esholt, first race. |
|
|
June - Sun 22nd |
Blackpool Half or Full Marathon, 9am. |
|
|
Aug -Sat 9th |
Arncliffe Gala Road and/or Fell race. |
|
|
Aug - Sat 23rd |
Burnsall Classic 10 mile road race. |
|
|
Sept- Sun (DNK) |
Horsforth 10k. |
|
|
Nov-
Sun (DNK) |
Guy Fawkes 10mile. |
|
|
Dec- Sun (DNK) |
Abbey Dash 10k. |
|
Next chance to get points is by running the Guiseley Gallop on 20th April.
We hope to have a strong turn out for this series of 5k races around Esholt on Wednesday nights on 14th, 21st and 28th May 03. Get a ‘league’ position by completing all 3 races. Entry forms are available at the club.
It’s great that so many members have taken part in the Bunny Run series of fell races during April. The first event on 1st April saw the following 9 members running: Amnuay Scott, Kay Gambles, Jo Belcher, Donna Edmondson, John Nellist, Richard Raistrick, Tony Blythe, Simon Bellwood and Chris Smith. David Lewis joined the fray for the second event, and confessed to being shocked at the nasty hill. The last two Bunnies are April 15th and 22nd, both 7:30. The Bunny relay is on 29th April, and is 3 legs of 2.5m (the big loop). Any team concoction of 3 is welcome – perhaps Kay, Jo and Donna will form the first ever Idle AC women’s fell team for instance?
Members who took part in any Bunny Run Race in April will be eligible for a ‘Level 1’ fell race certificate. Chris is recommending the following ‘course’ of fell races, which, gradually increase in difficulty. To those first time fell runners who indicate an interest and who progress on the course, certificates will be awarded as follows:
Level One: Single Bunny
Level Two: Multiple Bunny
Level Three: Bunny plus Hare and Hounds
Level Four: Bunny, Hounds, Chevin
Level Five: Bunny, Hounds, Chevin, Widdop, Arncliffe
The course is as follows:
1. Bunny Run (1st, 7th, 15th, 22nd April)
2. WED MAY 7th HARE & HOUNDS FELL RACE. BS. 7.30 pm 4.5 miles/600’ from the Hare & Hounds, Lothersdale near Skipton. £3 on night.
3. WED JUNE 4th CHEVIN FELL RACE. AS. 7.30 pm. 3.5 miles/900’ from Otley Town Centre. £2.50 on night. Bottle/can beer to all finishers.
4. WED JULY 23rd WIDDOP FELL RACE. BM. 7.15 pm. 7miles/1200’ from the Pack Horse Inn (The Ridge) Widdop, Hebden Bridge. £3 on night.
5. SAT AUG 9th ARNCLIFFE GALA FELL RACES. AS. 3pm. 1.8 miles/443’ from Arncliffe Village Green, near Skipton. £2.50 on day. Also Gala road race (see list above).
Please see Chris if you are interested.
Chris, Davina and Kay represented Idle AC on what had to be the wettest race ever. Not only did it rain throughout the duration of the race but also long stretches of standing water meant running constantly through water that was ankle deep. Despite the conditions and the fact the course was lengthened to almost 15 miles to avoid the most severe flood, the hardy three achieved the following times: Chris: 1:41, Davina: 2:05, Kay: 2:16.
The following Saturday saw much better conditions for 5 Idle members to run the Spen 20 where despite the hilly course two club records were set and 4 pb’s obtained. Chris Smith 2.24.10, Peter Vickers 2.53.13 pb, Peter Helliwell 2.57.13 pb (M40 record), Jo Belcher 3.01.18 pb (Female record) and Martin Burnside 3.01.18 pb.
In recognition of our first year in existence and to mark our achievements over the past year we hosted our first anniversary party on Friday 28th March. Everyone seemed to enjoy the night. Please contact Kay if you want a goody bag, as there are still a few left (£6 each).
West Yorkshire Winter League Canal
Relay – Saturday 31st May 2003 with a 5pm start.
A date for the Winter League Canal Relay (Leeds
to Riddlesden approx 18.8 miles in total) has been agreed for Saturday 31st
May 2003. We will therefore be hoping to select runners to run in pairs over
this 5-leg event. The team has to include at least 2 vets and 2 women. If we
have enough interest we will submit more than one team. Please let Chris know if you are available
to run so we can match runners of a similar speed.
The race will start at Granary Wharf in Leeds at
5pm and will involve the following change overs:
1st Change – Bridge over canal at Pollard Lane,
Newlay (off Leeds/Bradford road).
2nd change – Swing bridge at Apperley
Bridge on Apperley Road.
3rd change – Dock Lane swing bridge,
Near Dockfield Road.
4th change – Junction of canal road
and Newland Road (off A650 Keighley Road).
The presentation of the canal relay trophy will
be awarded in the Marquis of Granby pub at Riddlesden.
Millennium Way Relay, hosted by
St.Bede’s AC - Sunday 15th
June 03. 8am start.
This is also run in pairs over 5 legs with 10
runners per team and is limited to a maximum of 50 clubs. Due to the category requirements we have
decided to only enter a men’s team. This
will cost £6 per runner but that includes a T-shirt to all runners and
refreshments at the finish. We hope, if possible, to select as fast a men’s
team as we can and that all members who are unable to run will support the team
members who are running. Please let
Chris know if you are available to run so we can match runners of a similar
speed. In addition the legs will need to
be recced beforehand.
The new menu system has bedded in nicely and all
menu links are correct (as far as I am aware - please give me feedback if you
find a problem). They are very easily updatable for future
amendments. The hit counter has now gone past 5700 and the following
month shows an even bigger increase over previous months. The most
popular pages this in March were the news and announcement pages and the race
results pages. Spen20 generated a lot of interest as did the
cross country photos.
I'm very pleased with the profile of the site since changing to a hosted site. If you search for a race result e.g. "Spen20", "Wakefield 10K" etc, you can almost guarantee that Idle AC will appear in the top 5 hits for most of the popular search engines laying around the web. This is bound to raise our profile on the web.
Current work is standardising on page groupings
(i.e. all race results are in the same format). This will facilitate the
gradual rollout of xml over the next six months. Everyone using the site
is using Internet Explorer 5.5 or later so they will not have any issues in
displaying any xml files. It's worth another mention that if you click on
the small "xml" wording just above the posing picture of Chris you
should be able to display some race results. If you can only see a title
row and no actual named member's results please let me know so that I can point
you to the correct update patch for your computer's operating system.
The photos have now been standardised into two subgroups. Small thumbnails at around 10kb size each, and the main photos which are typically 350kb - 0.5Mb on average. Any larger and we would start to eat into our 250MB of available webspace surprisingly quickly indeed.
One last plea. Please send in some more
"Members' Profiles" - don't be shy it's nice to be famous (Well OK
then - on our website only). If you want any ideas just have a look at
the few that are already posted.
That's all for this month - Keep Browsing.
Martin.
Please remember to get your entries in for the Blackpool marathon and half marathon on Sunday 22nd June 2003 if you’re coming on the big trip! We have had a big response from club members and really want to try and get most members running either the half or full. Entry forms are available at the club.
For those of you with caravans or tents Martin has recommended the Gillett Farm Caravan Park, Peel Road, Nr Blackpool that is set in 12 acres and has 76 pitches. Tel: 01253 761676. Many of those with caravans and tents have already booked their pitches. The caravan park is 6.7 miles from St.Annes. Chris and Davina, plus anyone who wants to join them, will be booking into a hotel in St Anne’s for the Saturday night and can now offer the following information:
St.Annes -on-Sea offers a gentler and more peaceful location than Blackpool yet its only 3.5 miles to the Pleasure Beach and 6.2 miles to the marathon start (Hilton Hotel). There is a variety of hotel and B & B Accommodation in St.Annes and Davina has a supply of accommodation guides if anyone wants one. However Chris and Davina are likely to stay at The Lindum Hotel, which is on St.Annes sea front, opposite St.Annes pier. This two star hotel has 80 en-suite rooms, including a number of family rooms. Prices start from £32 pppn for a double room on a bed & breakfast basis and from £37 pppn for a single room. There is also an option of Dinner, bed & breakfast from £47 pppn (£52 single). In addition the hotel has special family rates for 2 adults and children sharing a room for £75 pn. For details about the hotel log onto their website at: www.lindumhotel.co.uk. We may be able to negotiate discount for significant numbers.
In addition there are of course many other Hotels and guesthouses around the Blackpool area!
Idle AC’s first AGM was held on Thursday 10th April at 7.15pm. Thanks to all who contributed. The minutes will be circulated to all members and will be available on the website (members only page). Please note that 2003/4 subs are now due at the same price of £10/£5. Please complete your renewal membership form and give subs to Davina Smith. It would be appreciated if all subs could be paid by the end April as the North of England subscriptions are due to be paid in May 2003.
Many thanks for the cards, flowers and messages
of support that I received during my recent illness. I’m now back on the road
to recovery and hope to start running again in early May. All the support from friends at the club
really helped, so thanks again. Davina.
March is a great month for running.
At the start of March, the 8th to be
precise, our Vet stalwarts split to the opposite sides of the country using
differing disciplines to compete at the Dent Road Race and the Tina Horn Fell
Race. Both events required the pre race fitting of webbed feet or fins and some
sort of buoyancy aid to be carried.
At Dent our two Idle AC mermaids Davina and Kay
completed the unusual Dent distance of 14.2 miles in 2:05:54 (257th)
and 2:16:35 (328th).
Respectable times considering the conditions of flooded roads, high
winds and road diversions. The high moors above Halifax and Bradford saw the
Tina Horn Fell Race run in similar conditions. Here Steve Little, Dave Lewis
and Amnuay Scott battled around the 10k course in heavy rain and windy
conditions finishing in 78th, 103rd and 218th
positions. By the size of Amnuay smile at the finish she really likes fell
running or maybe she was just glad it was all over. The finishing times at fell races are usually
irrelevant as weather and ground conditions are variable even on the same
route. It should be noted that this was another milestone for Idle AC, this
being the first fell race ran by any vet in Idle AC colours. By contrast on
March 16th the classic Spen 20, no prizes for guessing the distance,
dawned sunny and warm. Peter Helliwell and Martin Burnside recorded times of
2:57:13 and 3:01:18.
Our sole representative at the Coniston Race on
the 22nd of March was Sue Elliott, finished in 1222nd place with a time of 2:14:45.
The next Yorkshire Vets GP race is on Sunday 20th
April. This race starts at 11:00 near the centre of Halifax. It is about 6
miles in length and runs up a great big hill, on a bit then down again. All
good fun. More info from me as it comes.
If you fancy trying a fell race series, the Tina Horn race was the 3rd
part of a 10 race event called the Grass Routes (South Pennines) GP. See www.ogdenwater.freeserve.co.uk
for more details or let me know.
My tip of the month to improve your road running
is Feng Shui. Roads in Feng Shui are considered as water, so when you are out
running on the roads, do not see them as roads but try to picture them as
rivers. A good way of looking at it is if a car was travelling down the road
and it lost its brakes the car would be aimed straight at you (considered bad
Feng Shui). If so try placing some obstacles in the way, like a row of small
trees or a fence to slow the car down before it hits you (considered good Feng
Shui).
Personally I get very good Feng Shui down on the
canal and now with the lighter nights this can only get better. May you all have good ch’i till next month. –Steve.
On Tuesday 6th May 2003 we have
arranged to train at Greenhead Track,
Utley School near Keighley, from 7pm.
The cost will be £2 (£1 concessions)
per runner although you will not then pay on Thursday 8th
May.
We welcome Chris Marshall as our 44th
member. Chris is relatively new to
running but hopes to build up his mileage over the coming weeks in time to run
at Blackpool.
PETER DIDN’T need my advice. He’d just run 5:03 at London, almost an hour and 40 minutes outside his original target time, having contracted some awful stomach bug just before the race. Others with his undoubted potential might have been downhearted, yet the very next day he was round at my house brightly discussing the positives. And positives there are indeed for someone who has prepared diligently for a marathon. The two Peters and Jo have a strong training base behind them. If after a week’s recuperation they return to moderate training, and include speedwork, races of all distances and proper rest, they are likely to have a very good summer in race performance terms. When talking to Peter after London I recalled my own (self inflicted) disaster in 1991 when I completed huge monthly mileages and countless cross country races in preparation for London. Having decided nothing could stop me winning the race I set off at a ridiculous pace, set a 10k pb, and then hit the wall at 14. I shuffled the rest of the race and returned home inconsolable. By the end of the year I had set 10k, half marathon and marathon pb’s which I have never touched since. Despite my stupidity in the race I had at least set firm foundations for the rest of the year.
A huge positive for everyone is the long summer of daylight running, better weather and trips away to races which stretch away before us. At the AGM it was clear that ‘away’ training runs would be popular, and there may well be a few volunteers to suggest and ‘host’ these. At the moment I derive great pleasure from looking forward to personal favourite races in late spring and summer. I greatly enjoy the reactions of new ‘Bunny Run’ victims at the club, and look through the race calendar to personal highlights like the Ambleside Sports Rydal Round Fell Race, The Kendal Half Marathon, and the Black sheep series races, which all take place in beautiful North Yorkshire countryside. For many of us too is the opportunity to run whilst on holiday. Next week I will be able to pound the Cleveland way, and indulge in that most extreme of resistance workouts, surf running, on the long sandy beach of Sandsend above Whitby. In the change of scenery and experience the runner’s enthusiasm within me is reborn.
And so, even as I stood with Peter on the grass verge by the motorway as he retched violently into the gutter, on the way to the London Marathon, I knew like him that there would be positives. We were still the first Idle AC men’s marathon team. We still made the money for charity. And we still have a great summer’s running before us.
Website: Visit us at www.idleac.co.uk
I
www.idleac.co.uk