Date	Event
3^rd August 03	Harrogate Town Centre 10k. 10.30 am. Free T- shirt.
Wed 6^th Aug 03	Hyde Park (Leeds) 5k series. Wed 2^nd July, Wed 6^th Aug & Wed 3^rd Sept at 7.30pm. Final race incorporates Yorks vets 5km championships.
Sat 9^th Aug 03	ARNCLIFFE GALA FELL RACES. AS. 3pm. 1.8 miles/443’ from Arncliffe Village Green, near Skipton. £2.50 on day. Points race.
Sun 10^th Aug 03	Isle of Man Marathon. Peter Vickers represented Idle AC.
Sun 17^th Aug 03	‘Away run’ from Shipley Station at 9.30
Sat 23^rd Aug.	Burnsall Classic, 10 mile road race (plus Fell race). Details to follow. Club race. Points race.
Sun 7^th Sept 03	Bingley Relief Road 10k, 11am. One and only chance to run this race. We hope to have a large club turn out.
Sun 7^th Sept 03	Great Langdale marathon & half.
Sun 14^th Sept 03	Robin Hood Marathon & Half. There will be a few Idle vests at this popular event (flat course)
Sun 14^th Sept 03	Yorkshireman Off road marathon & Half. 10am, Oxenhope. Recommended event.
Sat 20th Sept 03	Idle Tide: ALL members required to run/assist.
Sun 21^st Sept 03	Ilkley Tri. Swim 500m, Cycle 9 miles, run, 3 miles. 12 noon.
Sun 5^th Oct 03	Horsforth 10k. 10am. Good to see a full club turn out for this race (points race).
Sun 12^th Oct 03 Sun 12^th Oct 03	Harewood House 10 mile Trail race. 10.30am. Scenic off road event with free bottle of beer to all finishers. Bridlington Half marathon 12 noon, Yorks Vets Champs. Seafront start, fairly flat.
Sun 12^th Oct 03	Temple Newsam 5 mile road race 11.05 am and 5k fun run 10am.

Attendance Scheme - Updated

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.

Well done to July’s Attendance winner who because of holidays will be announced in the September edition.

The Club races, where points can be earned, are as follows:

Date	Race Details	Comments.
February - Sun 16^th	Liversedge Half Marathon, 12.00 noon.	8 members ran. 3 club records broken: Male, Female & M40. 5 pb’s.
March - Sat 22^nd	Coniston 14, 11am.	Sue Elliott flew the Idle AC flag.
April - Sun 6^th	Wakefield 10k, 10am.	Chris Smith, Martin and Jo Belcher ran. Jo set a new pb in a time of 46.01.
*April - Sun 6^th**	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 12^th**	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.
*April - Sun 20^th**	Guiseley Gallop 10k, 10.30am.	6 runners in this local event: Richard 46.25, Dave Lewis 46.30, Donna 48.03, Tony 48.46, Edward 49.17 and Pete Helliwell 51.00.
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.	6 runners in the Half, many of whom obtained pb times, including Pete V who took 8 minutes off his previous best.
May - Wed 14^th	John Carr 5k, Esholt, first race.	16 runners at this first of the John Carr 5k series with Dave Lewis, Donna Edmondson & Kay Gambles all breaking club records.
June - Sun 22^nd	Blackpool Half or Full Marathon, 9am.	16 runners at this race and despite the hot weather pb’s were broken and Kay Gambles set a new F45 club record.
Aug -Sat 9th	Arncliffe Gala 4 mile Road and/or Fell race.	8 Idle AC members in the road race and three in the Fell race, including Jo Belcher was 2^nd female.
Aug - Sat 23^rd	Burnsall Classic 10 mile road race.	Next points race.
Oct – Sun 5^th.	Horsforth 10k, 10am.
Nov- Sun 2nd	Guy Fawkes 10mile.
Dec- Sun (DNK)	Abbey Dash 10k.

Next chance to get points is by running at the Burnsall Classic 10 mile road race.

Black Sheep Series.

The final Black sheep race took place on Sunday 27^th July with the Burton Leonard (off road) 10k. We had 8.2 runners taking part: the results were as follows: 24^th Steve Little 42.59, 29^th Chris Smith 43.35, 40^th Dave Lewis 44.41, 67^th Simon Bellwood 48.33, 95^th Amnuay Scott 51.08(2^nd F35), 129^th Kay Gambles 55.17, 165^th /166^th Davina Smith and Sue Little 65.03.

We had a good club turn out for all the Black Sheep Series and although the final race times and series positions have still be to confirmed we are confident that at least Amnuay Scott will have won a series prize (3^rd F35 in the series). We hope to run a minibus to the presentation at the Black Sheep Brewery in Masham, which will be on Sunday 5^th October at 4pm. This could involve a run too – more later…

First Overseas Marathon!

10^th August saw Peter become Idle AC’s first “overseas” marathon competitor. He ran a sprightly 4:00:26 at the Isle of Man Marathon. Races on the Island (including many fell races) tend to have tiny fields, this being no exception, with 70 runners completing the 2 lap course.

Christmas Do - Friday 12^th December.

Remember to keep the evening of Friday 12^th December free as we have again booked the Symposium (Idle) for the club’s second Christmas celebration. Whilst we don’t have a definite price as yet we hope by giving advance notice of the date that all the club, partners and friends will attend. As with last year we plan to provide a little gentle entertainment.

Harrogate 10k results.

We had four Idle AC members running at this race which had a field of 770 runners. The results were: Matthew Coles 44.17 (231^st), Michael Masleczko 49.18 (416^th), Jo Belcher 49.18 (417^th) and new member Vicki Hawker 54.10 (542^nd). Ian Fisher, running for his first claim club, Otley AC, finished in 3^rd place in a time of 32.14.

Nike Bowerman Van – Tuesday 9^th September

We have invited Steve Millward from Nike to a Tuesday night speed session on 9^th September. Steve has a motion analysis system complete with treadmill onboard the Nike Trial van. The machine biomechanically assesses runners and recommends the correct type of running shoe to be worn and only takes 5/10 minutes per person. Steve will be at the club from 6.30pm so runners can start to try the system and we will offer this facility along side the speed session. Nike also offers runners the opportunity to try road and off road shoes free on the night. Afterwards we will put on a few snacks and drinks in the clubhouse. In addition we were considering inviting one of the other local clubs to join us.

What is Hashing?

Booze and Shoes Basically hashing is a form of non-competitive cross-country running with the main objective of working up a decent thirst. Great emphasis is placed on the social aspects - particularly the communal boozing session at the après-hash. It's a fun activity and not to be taken at all seriously.

How It All Started...

A brief look at the origins of this worldwide organisation.

Hashing . . . it's a mixture of athleticism and sociability, hedonism and hard work; a refreshing break from the nine-to-five routine. Hashing is an exhilaratingly fun combination of running, orienteering, and partying, where bands of harriers and Harriett’s chase hares on eight-to-ten kilometre-long trails through town, country, jungle, and desert, all in search of exercise, camaraderie, and good times.

Hashing, as we know it today, began in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in 1938, when a group of restive British company men started a hare & hounds running group. They named the group after their meeting place, the Selangor Club, aka the "Hash House." Hash House Harrier runs were patterned after the traditional British public school paper chase. A "hare" would be given a short head start to blaze a trail, marking his devious way with shreds of paper, soon to be pursued by a shouting pack of "harriers." Only the hare knew where he was going . . . the harriers followed his marks to stay on trail. Apart from the excitement of chasing down the wily hare, solving the hare's marks and reaching the end was its own reward, for there, thirsty harriers would find a tub of iced-down beer.

Hashing died during World War II (Japanese occupying forces being notoriously opposed to civilian fun), but came back to life in the post-war years, spreading slowly through Singapore, Indonesia, Australia, and New Zealand, then exploding in popularity in the late 70s and early 80s. Today there are thousands of Hash House Harrier clubs in all parts of the world, complete with newsletters, directories, and regional and world hashing conventions.

Despite its growth, hashing hasn't strayed far from its British and Malaysian roots. A typical hash "kennel" is a loosely organized group of 20-40 men and women who meet weekly or biweekly to chase the hare. We follow chalk, flour, or paper, and the trails are never boring. When forced to, we'll run the occasional street or alley, but in general we prefer shiggy . . . fields, forests, jungles, swamps, streams, fences, storm drains, and cliffs. And although some of today's health-conscious hashers may shun a cold beer in favour of water or a diet soda, trail's end is still a party. Perhaps that's why they call us the "drinking club with a running problem!"

So . . . if you'd like to spice up your running program with fun, good company, new surroundings, and physical challenge, try hashing. Just remember one thing . . . never wear new shoes to the hash!

A Guide for New Feet

If you have half a mind to join the Hash, that's all it takes. If you have hashed before you will know the format but for the newcomers here's a quick rundown on what happens.

The Hash generally meets at a pub chosen by the HARES and the HOUNDS set off at the appointed hour along a clearly defined trail (blobs of chalk or sawdust) with the front runners calling "ON, ON" for the benefit of the slower runners and latecomers catching up.

Every 500 metres or so the trail will end signified by a check mark which may be in the form of a line or a circle - ask the hare before you set out. The frontrunners on reaching the check start searching for the new trail. This can start up to 50 metres from the check in any direction. The time taken by the frontrunners to find the new trail allows the runners at the back (the "social or chat-pack") to catch up thus increasing the chances of everyone reaching the pub at the end at roughly the same time. The frontrunners will usually find that the cunning hares have laid some FALSE TRAILS in addition to the real trail - these falsies usually consist of up to 3 blobs followed by an X or a T (again ask!). This ensures that the really fit types, known as FRBs (Front Running Bastards) will become exhausted more quickly and be forced to join the social pack. Another device used by Hares to achieve the same objective is the LOOP whereby the trail might go round 3 sides of a field allowing the back markers to run across the fourth. Hash runs are usually 4 - 7 miles long and are designed to last 1 - 1½ hours. Revelries in the pub after the run are up to the individual but it has been known for some muddy sweaty hashers to be turned out of the pub at closing time......

Hash Hints

A few words of advice before you begin...

Here are a few suggestions and explanations which may help a newcomer to enjoy the Hash but first and foremost please bear in mind that hashing is supposed to be fun and don't ever take it seriously:

1 Hashing is totally non-competitive although someone has to be first. If by some fluke you manage to find yourself in this unfortunate position (or anywhere near it ), yell "ON, ON" until you are exhausted enough to fall back to your rightful place in the pack. These calls are not designed to help you but the poor unfortunate at the rear who can then shortcut (HASH TACTICAL) back to the pack. The sounding of the HASH HORN achieves the same aim for all but the stone deaf.

2 If it is your misfortune to arrive first at a check, don't sit down and rest, or stand about like a wet weed, but look for the new trail and shout "CHECKING" loud and often. If you find an X or a T, announce "FALSE TRAIL" equally loudly.

3 The "social pack" retains its superiority by the deployment of its greater intelligence. Short cutting from the rear (HASH TACTICALS) is to be positively encouraged and a united pack is far better for warding off homicidal landowners and rabid Rottweilers as well as forcing the publican's arm if you arrive back at the pub early.

4 Short cutting from the front is NOT ALLOWED (one of the very few firm rules of hashing - actually there are no rules!). Anyway this practice could result in the whole Hash straying on to uncleared land.

5 Move at your own pace. Ignore the FRBs and Jockstraps who urge you to go faster. If you should fall behind, try a HASH TACTICAL. If your tactic is successful you may be accused by a jealous FRB of being an SCB - a SHORT CUTTING BASTARD. If so, just ignore it; such accusations merely confirm your superior abilities.

6 Always try to keep at least one hasher between you and anything which looks at all fierce such as bulls, pitbull terriers, landed gentry, geese and pigs.

7 If you hear the cry "LOOKING" it means that the trail has disappeared into thin air. This could be due to several reasons: the Hares playing silly Bs or simply running out of chalk, the trail being washed out by rain or an attack of chalk blindness by the front runners. Usually in this event the pack will spread out and the trail is soon located.

8 If you wish to know what the hell is going on up front, call "HOW ARE YOU?" which should evoke the response "CHECKING", "FALSE TRAIL", "OFF CHALK" or even "LOST".

9 Please don't shout too loud near animals. They don't like it. If cows, horses or sheep appear to about to stampede, WALK, don't run. An insurance claim for an animal like Desert Orchid could bankrupt the Hash insurance company let alone the Hash. Yes, your Hash may carry insurance but remember it's for third party damages, not a personal accident policy for you.

10 If you damage fences or gates, try to affect some sort of repair before running on and, most important of all, NEVER LEAVE GATES OPEN.

Transgressions of this and any other "crime" committed during the hash will be drawn to the attention of the Hash RELIGIOUS ADVISOR who will mete out some dire punishment at the Après-Hash. You may also be asked to do a WRITE UP of the run (for publication in the Hash Trash). If so, please oblige - it helps everyone to remember where they've been and what they did but it doesn't have to be accurate - let your creative imagination roam free!

We will be trying to find a local hash for anyone who wants to have a go. Watch this space.

Fell Races

Chris’s ‘course’ of fell races, which, gradually increased in difficulty proved to be a great success. The course consisted of the following fell races:

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 following members will be awarded certificates as follows:

LEVEL 2: Trevor Hooley, Donna Edmondson, John Nellist

LEVEL 3: Simon Bellwood

LEVEL 4: Amnuay Scott, Kay Gambles, David Lewis

LEVEL 5: Joanne Belcher

Note: A list of local fell races in 2003 is available at the club or on the website.